Hello and welcome to another season of Red Wings Hockey!

[WingNut722]

Yeah yeah, I know the Red Wings have already played three games, but last night's tilt against the Senators was the first one I actually was able to watch due to (ironically enough) a quick trip to Michigan.  

 

I won't opine on what happened the first two games, except to say that Nielsen, Vanek and Darren Helm all appear to be holding up their salaries. And a hat trick for Mike Green??   I could see that the first game at the Joe for the season really energized the group and they played well in front of a raucous crowd.  The Wings were able to control the play for the first and third periods, and looked like they really started to lose it for a bit after Ottawa scored, but once they killed the intermission-split penalty going into the third, they got back on the horse.  Nice to see Drew Miller back on the ice, and getting right in the thick of things.  I've always been a big fan of his and yes, I defend his contract renewal.

 

It's still early obviously, but Detroit is 6th in the league in total goals right now, something that absolutely has to continue if they have a shot at some success.  Without a strong blue line or an unstoppable goaltending duo, the Wings will simply need to score more than their opponents.  

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how the lines develop.  As has been said ad nauseum, if Tatar, Nyquist, and the kids can get going, the Wings will be able to roll four effective scoring lines

[yave1964]

@WingNut722

 

Welcome back! Been wondering where you were, hope everything went well in Michigan.

 

 Yeah, the first two games, simply brutal, outscored 10-5, couldn't get the puck across center ice, just awful. Congrats on missing them. I watched five hours of the worst hockey I have ever seen and will never get the time back. Brutal.

 A few highlights, Vanek looks reinvigorated. I know the Wild fans are probably laughing and saying, 'just wait' and they may be right, but if he puts up 20-25-45 and plays hard like he has been, he is a great improvement over Richards who is the man he replaces in the lineup.

 Neilsen is fun  to watch, a two way center, looks smart as hell. I was saying a year ago I would love to see him wear the winged wheel, he is as good as advertised.

  So many positives last night. Vanek, he looks like he is in search of one last long term deal. Green was fine last year, with Kronner out he seems to have hitched up his britches and said that this is his team and is even better. Glendeninglived under the Sanators skin, Phaneuf even speared him after the third Green goal. Beautiful.

  AA managed exactly one game in the top six, the Florida game, last night he was already relegated to the 4th line with Glendening and Miller and played what, ten minutes? That was quick. Give the kid a chance!

  Overall the Wings played like a hungry veteran team and beat the Hell out of Ottawa. TWO FIGHTS!!!! Ericsson is not the player he was but two fights in three games and Abby taking on Neil in the third!

  Glad you made it home from Michigan. I know I am a Wings fan, but the Buckeye nation that I live in always say that you only die one of two ways in Michigan- either boredom or multiple gunshot wounds. Glad you made it back tot he Garden State in one piece.

Go Wings!

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964 @WingNut722

 

Thoughts:

 

Vanek looks better than I could have hoped. He is even getting back on the backcheck. Saved a REALLY good scoring chance for Ottawa. He isn't just scoring. He's making plays. Even on some where he isn't getting assists he really deserves some. I hope he finds playing in Detroit comfortable for him. Sometimes just playing in the right place with the right crew makes all the difference. He's definitely looking to set himself up for one more long-term deal, and if he does well this year, I hope he will consider staying.

 

Mrazek has his moxie. Though he made a couple of mistakes in Tampa amongst the brilliance, he looks like the formidable guy we saw in the middle of last year. There could be no better news than this for our team short of picking up Karlsson off of waivers. ;-P

 

The Helm line have all earned their paychecks so far. Nyke looks rekindled. Helm, I don't know if it's just puck luck, but he has suddenly remembered how to finish!

 

Mike Green: OK, yave, Green was not "fine" last year, unless that "fine" is said with resignation, as in, "Fine, mother. I'll eat my brussells sprouts." He had 7 goals last year. <crickets> He has been reborn, shooting the puck well and often. I'd say he looks like a new man, but he looks more like his old self, even though I'm not expecting Capital-like numbers. We need him to continue to do that.

 

I'm right with you on AA. One game? Too dang short a leash! Give him 3-4. Switch up his line mates if you want, but give the kid 14 minutes for a few. Geez.

 

Love, love, LOVE the fights! Not that it needs to be the centerpiece of our game, but it is going to have to be a part of it. We are going to have to earn our space by force to some degree. We can't win on talent alone. We've gotta be physical and aggressive. LOVE Glendening's game right now.

 

@WingNut722 I don't think either yave or I have said we didn't like Miller's resigning. He plays a very important role very well when he's healthy, and his price is right for that role. You are correct about him.

 

My big concern is Tats. You can see his efforts out there. He always plays with heart. He is getting opportunities, but he hasn't been able to capitalize on them. On almost all of them it has been because he has been interfered with juuuust enough to prevent his desired shot. I'm concerned because I think he had a good WCOH because he had more space to shoot. When he doesn't, he doesn't do well. See the playoffs. I really like his heart, and I like him as a player. I hope he is able to start getting rewarded for his efforts. But if not, he might be the player to move at the deadline to get what we need if we are close.

 

Finally, even though Mike Green has had a lot to do with it, it is nice to see the PP more effective again. It has to remain this way if we are gonna be above the line when it counts.

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

 I thought Green earned his paycheck last season, which is more than can be said for most of our defense, Ericsson was simply awful, Kronner (sadly) is a shell of himself, Quincey, well, there is a reason it took him until October to find a job. Green was not bad. Puck luck worked against him a bit last year, this season used properly I could see him scoring 15-20 goals and being a force on the back end. Paired on the top unit with Dekeyser is a perfect match. When the other two pairings are out there I hold my breath a bit, but Green is allowed to rove because of DK, your boy, who is solid so far, to say the least.

  One quibble, Sproul has watched the first three games from the press box, he has a hard, low accurate shot, is a big boy, he is not afraid to throw a shoulder. QB on the second PP would be ideal, a lot better out there than Smith anyway. They cannot ship him down without him clearing waivers (he wont) which would leave another Frk/Pulkinnen situation. The kid needs to play, I would absolutely no questions asked have him out there over Oullet and possibly even Marchenko. The other two may be slightly more sound defensively but have no real game beyond their blueline. Sproul can carry the puck and has a hard accurate first pass. Looking forward to seeing what he can do as well.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

I haven't seen enough of Sproul to say anything. I'll take your word for it. Besides, since he's up here and can't be sent down, might as well put him through his paces. I agree that X and Marchy aren't bowling anyone over. Smith doesn't seem quite as spirited as he was last season so far. Sure, give him a shot. If KH was to lose Sproul to waivers as well, there will be an uproar from fans, and I will be among them.

 

I'll agree that Green wasn't a liability last year. He just wasn't quite worth his $ to me. Not quite. He wasn't WAY short, but he WAS short. He wasn't as much of a defensive liability as I thought he might be, but he fell far short of my expectations on the offensive side. The PP was case in point. It was awful for much of the season last year. It looks better this year so far, and Green is the difference IMHO. I would guess that we aren't too far away from one another on this, but I think you gave him more credit than he deserved for last year. This year, he is earning his $ and if he keeps this up I will add "and then some."

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

I believe we are in agreement more or less, where we differ is in why Green was fair to good and not good to great last year.

 

  I love Kronwall, I really do, there is not a hit that I cannot replay in my mind without a grin, he always brought an edge to another wise soft skilled team. When he and Stuart were on the ice, if you skated with your chin down admiring the puck smelling salts were the order of the day. And he could score a bit too.

  The problem was that when Lidstrom retired too much was asked/expected of Kronner. He is not a first pairing offensive defensemen, never has been and never will be. He always was as good of a complimentary player as you could ask for but as a number ne he was out of his depth. Not that he didn't try, but you either are or your not.

  Green came onto Kronwall's team with a rookie coach who was trying to find his way and slotted Green onto the second pairing and second power play. Kronwall struggled playing 24-25 minutes a night, Green never quite found his role playing lesser minutes with lesser skilled forwards in front of him.

  This year with Kronwall out Green is opening the year on the first everything and has staked claim that he is there to stay. Do I expect him to ever score 30 in a year again? No, simply not happening, but 15,20 and providing decent defense, with DK having his back, sure, why not? If/When Kronner comes back we will see whose team this is, if Blashill drops Green back to the second pair then the 'Swedish Mafia' do indeed run the team, if Kronwall is on the third grouping where sadly at this point in his career he belongs, then the Wings will be much better off.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

I seriously LOVE talking Wings with you! You very often give me a different perspective to consider. This is a good example, because you have hit the nail on the head about where we differ.

 

I accept everything that you said about Green's situation last year. However, I guess I am of the mind that great players find a way to be great despite circumstances. I suppose this is simply a correlative with the principle that you earn the ice time you get by how you play. Larkin, for example, you can just SEE that that kid doesn't know how to NOT give you effort. He gets switched back to center, but he has never done faceoffs at the NHL level. Now he is working both in and before and after practice on faceoffs. That's the kind of effort I want to see from my top line players, whether O or D.

 

In my kind, Mike Green is and has been a top-pair level guy, especially for OUR team. We don't have anyone better than him for what he does. To me, if he had come out of the gate shooting like he has this season, he's going to score more than 7 goals, even if as you've suggested--and for the sake of discussion I'll grant you that it is very possible that either the Swedish Mafia OR the Red Wing penchant for deferring to historic Red Wing veterans--his minutes were limited because he was second fiddle to Kronner when he shouldn't have been.

 

I'll grant you that your Kronner assertion may be in part true, but I still think that if Green had come out with purpose like he has this season that his minutes would have increased and his production would have been more in line with what we should expect from a guy with his resume, even as his game is and will continue to decline from what it was with Washington. He is not a kid, after all, and Blashill does seem to fit the Babcock mold that shies away from playing kids in favor of vets while still saying that they need to show him something if they want more minutes. It is very likely a combination of both things.

 

Either way, I am thrilled that those issues seem to be things of the past, and I hope Blashill is smart enough to see Kronner's deserved position for this year. I know it is difficult for you to say Kronner is a 3rd pair Dman, but you are being honest. Blashill and RW leadership need to be honest too.

 

The Swedish leadership era seems to be ending. Vanek looks like he is ready to lead. Larkin is obviously being positioned to carry the mantle. Nielsen looks like the anchor of the second line. DK and Green appear to be the top D pair with some gap between pairs 1 and 2. Mrazek is clearly #1, and Coreau looks like the backup and potential future net minder. There are enough non-Swedes in enough places of leadership and key spots AND there is now a general recognition by the front office, the players, and the fans that things cannot stay as they are, that the influence the Swedish Mafia may have been having will be significantly decreased moving forward. That era, if it was real in the first place--very possible there was some truth to it--is ending.

 

 

[WingNut722]

@yave1964

 

Thanks!  Good to be back.  Spent a quick weekend in Michigan to celebrate Mom's retirement party.  It was a good time, but over altogether too quickly.  We intend to move back there at some point, but we just need to get our affairs together and the wife and I need to agree on the timeline itself.  But I do enjoy the trip across I-80 through the Buckeye State, but I noticed the OTC is very proud to display the new batch of orange construction barrels.  It's an impressive arsenal to be sure, but I would have gladly taken their word for it!

 

@SpikeDDS

I agree with you on Tats.  Damien Brunner had the same problem translating from European to North American ice.  With Detroit he ended up being just "okay" and ended up finding work elsewhere.  That may be the issue for Tats and Nyquist, although Nike is at least making a few plays and getting on the scoresheet.  You're right that Tats is "right there" and just needs a little puck luck himself, but he's in it to win it every night, and that counts.