Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks Series Recap

Chicago Blackhawks (1^st Seed) vs. Detroit Red Wings (7^th Seed)

Game 1 Thursday 5/15/13  Detroit-1  at  Chicago-4

Game One between the top seeded Chicago Blackhawks and the seventh seeded Detroit Red Wings took place in Chicago on Thursday 5/15.  The Wings had not beaten the Blackhawks during the regular season and that trend continued in this game.  The Hawks opened the scoring with a powerplay goal scored by Marion Hossa, his fourth of the playoffs Jonathon Toews and Patrick Sharp at 9:03 of the first period.  Detroit tied the score 1:54 later on a goal by Damien Brunner, his third of the post season, assisted by Gustav Nyquist and Jonathon Ericsson.  The Wings outshot the Hawks 7-6, while Chicago was 1-1 on the powerplay and Detroit was 0-2 with the man advantage in the period.  The second period was scoreless with Detroit getting one powerplay chance and Chicago, two.  The Blackhawks outshot Detroit 17-5 in the period as Chicago took control of play in the period.  The third period saw the Hawks score three goals, the first, scored by Johnny Oduya assisted by Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp 8:02 into the period.  The second goal was scored by Marcus Kruger, his second of the post season, assisted by Daniel Carcillo and Nick Leddy making the score 3-1 Hawks.  The score stayed that way until the Red Wings pulled goalie Jimmy Howard for an extra attacker.  Patrick Sharp scored into the empty net, his sixth of the playoffs, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson at 19:11 to give the Blackhawks the 4-1 victory and the early 1-0 series lead.   

Game 2  Saturday 5/18/13  Detroit-4   at  Chicago-1

Game Two, again being played in Chicago saw the Hawks trying to seize a two game lead in the best of seven series.  The Wings were victorious to tie the series at one game apiece.  The first period saw Chicago score first on a goal by Patrick Kane, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Michal Handzus and Patrick Sharp.  The period ended with Chicago up 1-0, the Red Wings outshot the Blackhawks 12-8.  Detroit was 0-2 on the powerplay while Chicago did not get a powerplay opportunity.  The second period saw the Wings score two goals.  The first, scored by Damien Brunner, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Jakub Kindl and Joakim Andersson.  The second goal scored by Brendan Smith, his second of the post season, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Dan Cleary.  The period ended with Detroit ahead 2-1.  The Wings outshot the Hawks 8-5while each team was 0-1 on the powerplay.  The third period featured two more Detroit goals, the first scored by Johan Franzen, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Jonathon Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall.  The second goal was scored by Valtteri Filppula, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg.  Detroit outshot Chicago 10-7 for a three period total of 30 for Detroit and 20 for the Hawks.  For the second period in a row Chicago did not get a powerplay but Detroit was 0-2 with the man advantage.  Chicago still has not given up a powerplay goal this season    

          

Game 3  Monday 5/20/13  Chicago-1  at  Detroit-3

Game 3 was played in a sold out Joe Louis Arena and with the series tied saw each team trying to earn a 2-1 series lead.  Detroit was able to prevail with a 3-1 score and take that 2-1 lead with game 4 in Detroit as well.  The first period was scoreless and featured three Detroit powerplays where Chicago was able to continue their penalty kill perfection.  Chicago outshot the Wings in the period 15-9.  The second period saw the Wings score two goals, the first scored by Gustav Nyquist, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Damien Brunner and Joakim Andersson at 7:49.  The second goal was scored 31 seconds later by Drew Miller, his first of the post season, assisted by Patrick Eaves and Corey Emmerton.  The only two penalties of the period were assessed to Brendan Smith but Detroit was able to kill both off.  Detroit outshot the Hawks 14-8 for the period.  The third period saw the teams exchange goals.  The first goal was scored by Patrick Kane, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Duncan Keith at 4:35 of the third bring the Hawks within one goal.  Detroit re-established their two goal lead on a goal by Pavel Datsyuk, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Johan Franzen and Brendan Smith.  The Wings had four powerplays in the period but were unable to convert as Chicago remained perfect in shorthanded situations. Game 4 is in Detroit on Thursday                                   

Game 4  Thursday 5/23/13  Chicago-0   at  Detroit-2

Game four in this best of seven series saw the Blackhawks trying to tie the series at two games apiece.  The Red Wings were looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead, before the series shift back to Chicago for Game Five.  The first period was scoreless with Chicago getting the only powerplay, which they were unable to convert.  The Hawks outshot the Wings 14-10 in the period.  The second period saw the Wings get on the scoreboard on a powerplay goal scored by Jakub Kindl, his first of the post season, assisted by Carlo Coliaicovo and Johan Franzen.  This was the first powerplay Chicago had given up in eight games.  Detroit was 1-3 with the man advantage while Chicago was 0-1.  The third period saw the Blackhawks pressing hard to tie the score by Jimmy Howard was up to the task stopping every shot he faced. When Chicago pulled Corey Crawford for the extra attacker, Detroit was able to capitalize on the empty net with Dan Cleary scoring assisted by Valtteri Filppula with 39 seconds left in the game.  After the goal the focus shifted to securing the shutout for Howard, the Wings did, giving Howard his second career post season shutout and his first of these playoffs.  With the victory Detroit has a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series as the series shifts back to Chicago for game 5       

Game 5  Saturday 5/25/13  Detroit-1   at  Chicago-4

Game 5 played at the United Center on Saturday saw the Red Wings trying to end the series and upset the #1 seeded Blackhawks.  Chicago, on the other hand were playing for their playoff lives.  Chicago outclassed the Wings to earn a 4-1 victory and force a game six in Detroit Monday 5/27.  The first period saw the Hawks score first on a goal by Bryan Bickell, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Patrick Kane and Michal Handzus at the 14:08 mark.  That was the only goal of the period.  Chicago outshot Detroit12-11 and each team was 0-1 on the powerplay.  The second period had Detroit scoring once and Chicago getting two goals.  The Wings tied the game at the 9:37 mark of the period on a goal by Dan Cleary, his fourth of the post season, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg.  Chicago regained the lead 3:31 later on a powerplay goal by Andrew Shaw, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.  Chicago added another powerplay goal 2:39 later when Jonathon Toews scored his first of the playoffs, assisted by Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith.  The period ended with Chicago leading 3-1, they outshot the Wings 16-11 in the period and were 2-3 with the man advantage while Detroit was 0-2.  The third period saw the Hawks increase their lead on a goal by Andrew Shaw, his second of the game and third of the playoffs, assisted by Victor Stalberg and Brandon Saad.  The victory for Chicago allowed them to stay alive in the series, now trailing the Wings3-2 in the best of seven series, with game six in Detroit.   

Game 6  Monday 5/27/13  Chicago-4   at Detroit-3

Game six played Monday 5/27 at a sold out Joe Louis Arena saw the Red Wings again trying to close out the series with a victory and Chicago playing to force a Game 7 in Chicago.  The first period had the teams trading goals, the first, scored by Chicago on a backhand shot by Marian Hossa, his fifth of the post season, assisted by Jonathon Toews and Duncan Keith at the 3:53 mark.  Detroit tied the score with 1:09 left in the period on a goal by Patrick Eaves, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Drew Miller and Brendan Smith.  Each team had ten shots in the period and both were 0-1 on the powerplay.  The second period saw the Wings take the lead on a goal by Joakim Andersson, his first of the season, assisted by Jakub Kindl at 10:11 of the period.  Detroit outshot the Hawks 18-10 in the period, while Chicago was 0-2 and Detroit0-1 on the powerplay.  The third period was the difference maker in this game with Chicago scoring three goals.  The first goal, scored by Michal Handzus, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson was just 51 seconds into the period.  The second goal was scored by Bryan Bickell, his fifth of the season, assisted by Jonathon Toews and Marian Hossa.  The third goal was a controversial goal, on a breakaway after a blocked shot, Michael Frolik was being chased by Carlo Colaiacovo, Colaiacovo gave Frolik a sleight tap on the gloves with his stick and the Ref called a penalty shot.  Frolik scored on a backhand shot just over Jimmy Howard’s left pad.  It was Frolik’s third goal of the post season.  Detroit closed the gap at the 19:08 mark on a goal by Damien Brunner, his fifth of the playoffs, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary but were unable to tie the game even after pulling Howard for an extra attacker.  The win by Chicago sets up a pivotal Game 7 in Chicago Wednesday 5/29.  If Detroit loses they will be only the ninth team in NHL history to blow a 3-1 lead in a best of seven series.    

        

Game 7  Wednesday 5/29/13  Detroit-1  at  Chicago-2 (OT)

Game seven was played in the United Center Wednesday night in front of 22,103 screaming fans.  The Chicago fans were hoping to see the Hawks completed a historic comeback and Detroit fans were hoping to see their underdog team advance to the Conference finals against the LA Kings.  There was no scoring in the first period, a tight checking period where players found little room to maneuver Chicago outshot Detroit 13-11 and neither team scored on the powerplay, with Chicago getting two chances and Detroit one.  The second period saw Chicago take the lead on a goal by Patrick Sharp, his seventh of the playoffs, assisted by Marian Hossa and Michel Handzus, just 1:08 into the period.  The rest of the period went by without a goal being scored as Chicago had 11 shots on Jimmy Howard and Detroit sent six at Corey Crawford.  The third period saw the Wings tie it up as the carried the play in the Chicago end.  The goal, scored by Henrik Zetterberg, his fourth of the playoffs, assisted by Gustav Nyquist and Dan Cleary.  The period ended with the score tied as each team had nine shots on goal.  Detroit was 0-1 and Chicago 0-2 on the powerplay in the period.  The overtime period did not last long with Brent Seabrook scoring 3:35 into the period, his first goal of the playoffs, assisted by Dave Bolland and Michael Frolik.  The goal sent the Chicago faithful into waves of frenzy as their team became only the ninth team in NHL history to comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to win in game seven.  As the Red Wings and the Blackhawks shook hands, a tradition only followed by the NHL, the Hawks were planning to face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.  Detroit on the other hand were left wondering how a collapse of this magnitude could have happened to a team with the history of Detroit.

Cumulative Round Two Stats:

	G	A	P	S	H	+/-	PIM	TOI
Brendan Smith	1	2	3	10	9	EV	6	131:01
Jakub Kindl	1	2	3	17	11	+3	6	117:38
Justin Abdelkader	0	0	0	18	43	EV	16	116:16
Daniel Cleary	2	2	4	11	16	EV	0	118:36
Pavel Datsyuk	1	1	2	16	12	EV	2	144:50
Gustav Nyquist	1	2	3	15	4	+2	2	84:06
Patrick Eaves	1	1	2	8	13	+1	0	67:52
Drew Miller	1	1	2	4	13	+1	2	78:45
Damien Brunner	3	1	4	15	8	+3	0	88:45
Cory Emmerton	0	1	1	8	14	+2	2	68:03
Kyle Quincey	0	0	0	2	8	-1	4	132:28
Carlo Colaiacovo	0	1	1	4	8	+2	2	106:20
Henrik Zetterberg	1	1	2	25	9	+1	2	136:07
Todd Bertuzzi	0	0	0	0	1	EV	0	7:56
Valtteri Filppula	1	1	2	6	7	-3	0	106:29
Jonathan Ericsson	0	2	2	2	18	EV	2	161:46
Niklas Kronwall	0	1	1	7	4	+1	4	177:34
Joakim Andersson	1	1	2	8	2	+3	4	82:45
Johan Franzen	1	2	3	13	12	-2	0	133:02
Totals	15	22	35	189	212	+11	54
	W	L	SA	GA	SV	SV%
James Howard	3	4	236	16	252	.936
Totals	3	4	236	16	252	.936

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings Games 3 and 4 Recaps

Game 3  Monday 5/20/13  Chicago-1  at  Detroit-3

Game 3 was played in Detroit at a sold out Joe Louis Arena and with the series tied saw each team trying to earn a 2-1 series lead.  Detroit was able to prevail with a 3-1 score and take that 2-1 lead with game 4 in Detroit as well. 

      The first period was scoreless and featured three Detroit powerplays where Chicago was able to continue their penalty kill perfection.  Chicago outshot the Wings in the period 15-9.  The second period saw the Wings score two goals, the first scored by Gustav Nyquist, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Damien Brunner and Joakim Andersson at 7:49.  The second goal was scored 31 seconds later by Drew Miller, his first of the post season, assisted by Patrick Eaves and Corey Emmerton.  The only two penalties of the period were assessed to Brendan Smith but Detroit was able to kill both off.  Detroit outshot the Hawks 14-8 for the period.

      The third period saw the teams exchange goals.  The first goal was scored by Patrick Kane, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Duncan Keith at 4:35 of the third bring the Hawks within one goal.  Detroit re-established their two goal lead on a goal by Pavel Datsyuk, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Johan Franzen and Brendan Smith.  The Wings had four powerplays in the period but were unable to convert as Chicago remained perfect in shorthanded situations. Game 4 is in Detroit on Thursday.                                           

Game 4  Thursday 5/23/13  Chicago-0   at  Detroit-2

Game four in this best of seven series saw the Blackhawks trying to tie the series at two games apiece.  The Red Wings were looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead, before the series shifts back to Chicago for game 5. 

      The first period was scoreless with Chicago getting the only powerplay, which they were unable to convert.  The Hawks outshot the Wings 14-10 in the period.  The second period saw the Wings get on the scoreboard on a powerplay goal scored by Jakub Kindl, his first of the post season, assisted by Carlo Coliaicovo and Johan Franzen.  This was the first powerplay Chicago had given up in eight games.  Detroit was 1-3 with the man advantage while Chicago was 0-1.

      The third period saw the Blackhawks pressing hard to tie the score by Jimmy Howard was up to the task stopping every shot he faced. When Chicago pulled Corey Crawford for the extra attacker, Detroit was able to capitalize on the empty net with Dan Cleary scoring assisted by Valtteri Filppula with 39 seconds left in the game.  After the goal the focus shifted to securing the shutout for Howard, the Wings did, giving Howard his second career post season shutout and his first of this playoffs.  With the victory Detroit has a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series as the series shifts back to Chicago for game 5

Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks Game 6 Recap

      The first round series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks continued on Friday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.  The Ducks had the lead 3-2 and were looking to close out the series Friday.  Three periods were not enough to settle the contest for the third game in a row and the fourth game out of the six so far.  Detroit blew a two goal lead late but pulled it out in overtime 4-3 to force a Game 7, 10:00(EDT) Sunday in Anaheim.  Given the tenor of this series it would be no surprise if Game 7 goes into overtime as well.
      The first period saw the Ducks carrying the play in Detroit's end but Detroit scored first, on a goal by Pavel Datsyuk, his second of the playoffs, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson.  There was only one penalty in the period, a tripping call to Ryan Getzlaf, but Detroit was unable to capitalize on the man advantage.  Detroit outshot the Ducks 11-7 in the period.
      The second period saw the Ducks tie the game at 11:31 on a goal by Kyle Palmieri, his third of the post season, assisted by Emerson Etem.  The Ducks outshot the Wings for the period 14-6 for a two period total of 21 for the Ducks and 17 for Detroit.  There were no penalties in the period. 
      The third period saw a lot of action with each team scoring twice.  Detroit scored the first two goals.  The first, a powerplay goal, after Kyle Palmieri was called for hi-sticking, scored by Henrik Zetterberg assisted by Mikael Samuelsson and Pavel Datsyuk at 6:19.  Daniel Cleary scored his second of the playoffs at 11:30, assisted by Justin Abdelkader and Valtteri Filppula.  Filppula figured prominently in the first Ducks goal of the period, when he was going behind the Detroit net and thinking he had a trailer dropped the puck.  He did have a trailer, unfortunately it was Emerson Etem who slid the puck past Jimmy Howard for his second of the post season at 16:32.  51 seconds later it was Bobby Ryan scoring his second, assisted by Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin to tie the game.  The period ended with the Ducks outshooting the Wings 16-9 for a three period total of 37-26.  This would be the third overtime game in a row but it didn't last long.  Henrik Zetterberg was the hero scoring his second of the game assisted by Niklas Kronwall and Pavel Datsyuk 1:04 into the extra frame.
      This win for the Wings sets up the most dramatic thing in sports: a Game 7. This will take place Sunday 5/11 at 10:00(EDT) at the Honda Center in Anaheim.  If that game goes into overtime it will set a NHL record for overtime games in a single series.  If the Red Wings can upset the Ducks in Game 7 then they will earn the right to advance to the second round and face the first seed Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks will play the San Jose Sharks.  If the Ducks emerge victorious then they will face the Canucks and Chicago will play the Sharks.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks Game 3 Recap

      Game three between the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks took place Saturday night at the Joe Louis Area in Detroit, both team were looking to take a two games to one lead in the best of seven first round series.  At the end of the game it was the Ducks that had the led and the Red Wings and their fans who were fuming.  The Ducks had a 4-0 victory and one the Wings top three forwards had been kicked out of the game and would be facing suspension for a hit in the second period. 
      The first period was scoreless but featured four Anaheim penalties as well as three by Detroit,  with neither team being able to cash in on the powerplay.  The Ducks outshot the Wings 13-7 in the period.  The second period was the period that turned the game in favor of the Ducks.  The game remained scoreless until the 15:11 mark when Justin Abdelkader crushed Toni Lydman coming out of the corner to the left of Jonas Hiller.  Abdelkader was called for a five minute major for charging and was also giving a game misconduct, sending him to the showers early.  The replay that I saw showed that Abdelkader stopped striding before the hit, one of the criteria for charging, it also showed that Abdelkader hit Lydman shoulder to shoulder before sliding up to make contact with the head.  As with any big hit in today's NHL this one will be looked at by League Disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan who could decide to suspend Abdelkader or not, that will be revealed Sunday.  The result of the play was a five minutes powerplay for the Ducks, who would remain on the powerplay no matter how many goals they scored.  It didn't take the Ducks long to cash in with Nick Bonino scoring assisted by Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf  18 seconds after the penalty call.  The Wings were able to settle down and kill of the remaining 4:42 of the penalty which ran into the third period.  That third period was the killer for Detroit with the Ducks scoring three more goals.  The first was a shorthanded unassisted goal scored by Ryan Getzlaf 6:33, into the period, the second goal scored by Emerson Etem assisted by Teemu Selanne coming at 8:04 just 2:10 after the Getzlaf goal and a powerplay goal scored by Matt Beleskey assisted by Saku Koivu and Bobby Ryan at 13:34.  The Ducks outshout the Wings for the game 29-23 and were 2-6 on the powerplay while Detroit was 0-6 with the man advantage. 
      I just found out that Justin Abdelkader will be suspended for two games after the hit on Toni Lydman in the second period of Saturday night's game.  In a video released by Brendan Shanahan regarding the incident he stated "Abdelkader elevates at contact, turning what could have been a hard, full body check into a high, violent check with significant contact to the head that caused an injury,".  Abdelkader will miss game four Monday night in Detroit as well as game five in Anaheim.  I believe this could be a case of Shanahan handing down a punishment that was more sever then normal because he didn't want the Ducks and their fans to scream "bias" because Shanahan was a long time Red Wing player, winning three Stanley Cups with Detroit.  It will be interesting to see what effect this has on the Wings both for the perspective of who will take Abdelkader's place in the lineup and what will it mean to the rest of the team.  Will they just fold and lose the next two game or will they turn this into a rallying point and fight back to make this a series?     

Down the Playoff Stretch for the Red Wings

      The Detroit Red Wings have five games left in the regular season and as it stands going into play on Thursday 4/18, they are in ninth place two points out of the last playoff spot.  If they miss the post season it will be the first time in 21 years.  Can they pull it out, make the playoffs and extend that streak?  If they want to, they need to play better and get help from other teams in these last few games.  The Columbus Blue Jackets are the team the Wings are chasing and they have four games left in the season.  The play in Los Angeles, in San Jose and in Dallas before returning home to play Nashville, which means they face two teams already in the playoffs, one team that is out and one team, Dallas, that still could make it.  The Jackets are 0-2 against the Kings this season, 2-0 against the Sharks, 1-1 versus Dallas and 3-1 against Nashville.  Detroit, on the other hand, has games at Vancouver, at home against Phoenix, Los Angeles and Nashville before going to Dallas to end the season, meaning two playoff teams, two out and Dallas fighting for their playoff lives just like Detroit.  The Wings are 2-0 against the Canucks, 1-1 against the Coyotes, 1-1 against the Kings, 2-1 against the Predators and 1-1 against the Stars.  Of course this means nothing if Detroit can't start winning their own games.  I have written a few posts about the struggles of the Red Wings and there hasn't been anything done to fix the issues I spotlighted.  The powerplay is still awful, the stars aren't scoring,   the defense is still a sieve and Jonas Gustavsson is a horrible netminder, what ever happened to Petr Mrazek?  If the Wings have any hope at all they need to start by winning Saturday night against Vancouver.  That is the game they need to focus on, if they can't win that one the season is over.  If they get by the Canucks then the Coyotes become the one game to think about.  That is the only way this will work..  Babcock and his coaches have to keep everybody focused as a laser on the next game, not what are the Blue Jackets doing, or how are the Stars playing.  Nope, the only thing they can be thinking about is the team  they play that night and if they're good enough and lucky enough  to get help from the other teams in the league, then they might get the honor of facing the Chicago Black Hawks, in which case they will be golfing really early and planing on starting the 2014 season in the Eastern Conference.  I'm starting to get to the point of writing them off this year and just looking forward to 2014.  I hope that I'm wrong and they can make the playoffs and go on a deep run but I don't think so.    

The Playoff Fate of the Detroit Red Wings.

      The last time the Detroit Red Wings missed the NHL playoffs George H. W. Bush was President, the Soviet Union was still in power, Dances With Wolves won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Bette Midler won the Grammy for Record of the Year.  Pump up the Jam was burning up the airwaves and Cheers and Seinfield were number one TV shows.  2013 might be the year the Wings miss the post season again.  The standings going into play Thursday 4/11/13 have the Red Wings with 43 points in the eighth and last playoff spot.  They are three points behind the Minnesota Wild in seventh but only one point ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes in ninth and two points ahead of the Dallas Stars and Columbus Bluejackets in eleventh place.  Can the Wings hold off the Coyotes, Stars and Jackets and extend their playoff streak, the longest in North American sports, to 21 years?  The Wings have nine games left against, the Sharks, Blackhawks, Flames, Canucks, Coyotes, Kings, Stars and two against the Predators.  That is six games against teams already in the playoffs and three against teams behind them battling for that last playoff spot.  There are a few aspects of their game the Wings need to improve if they have any chance at staying in eighth. 
      The powerplay is an area of concern, as it has been all season, the Wings rank 14th on the powerplay at home with 21.4%, 20th on the road with an anemic 14.5% and 14th overall with 18.3%.  This stat almost as much as any other is the reason the Wings are struggling this year.  I have already written posts on the powerplay and how it can be improved and the Wings have not done enough to improve it.  They still haven't found a person to replace Tomas Holmstrom in front of the net, a good powerplay quarterback is still missing and they are still losing the battles in the corners.  The lack of powerplay scoring effects most other aspects of the offense and if it isn't changed, and fast, then Detroit will either miss the playoffs or lose in the first round.  The Wings are 10-11 in one goal games, 2-4 in two goal games and 7-6 in three or more goal games.  They allow 2.60 goals per game but only score 2.53 goals a game, ranking them 24th in goal differential at -3.  All these stats mean two things; one, the Wings don't have the horsepower to make any kind of comeback especially if they are down by more than one goal.  The other thing it means are teams aren't afraid of the, once potent, Detroit offense which always used to play into Detroit's hands.  If teams are afraid of the offense then they will play tight and when you play tight, mistakes will be made and the Wings used to feast on other team's mistakes.  Without those mistakes the Wings are having to rely on their talent it it just doesn't seem to be there this year. 
      Goals are down across the board.  The Wings don't have one player in the top 40 in goals scored, in fact they only have two players, Pavel Datsyuk and Damien Brunner, with ten goals or more.  There are only seven other team in the entire NHL that have only two ten goal scorers, and only one, Dallas, that has less than Detroit and that includes the other 14 teams not making the playoffs!  Brunner started out fast but has only scored one goal in the last 21 games, Henrik Zetterberg only has eight goals and Johan Franzen only has seven.  The Wings need to do something to get those guys on track.  Detroit is not getting much third and fourth line scoring which puts more pressure on the first two lines, and this year, they're not up for the challenge.  Of course offense isn't the only problem facing the Wings.
      The defense this year is another area in which the Wings need to improve, although it has improved since the start of the season.  Even though he will be the first to admit it Nicklas Kronwall is no Nicklas Lidstrom and is a weaker cornerstone to the defense.  Teams are still getting way too many chances once a puck is around the net and, just as in the offensive zone, players are getting beat to loose pucks and losing the battles in the corners.  The passing in their end has been bad at best and is leading to entirely too many chances for the opposition and Howard's backup Jonas Gustavsson has played poorly this season shifting a bigger burden onto Howard to play well every time.
      These are the issues facing the Red Wings and with only eight games left before the start of the playoffs, they need to figure them out in a hurry or they may miss the playoff for the first time in a long time.  Would that be such a bad thing?  Yes, in a way it would, the fans of the Red Wings expect their team to make a run at the Stanley Cup ever single year, so it would be quite a shock for them.  However, every team needs to go through a rebuilding phase and this looks like the start of Detroit's rebuilding and maybe a lowering of fan expectations is a good thing.  I know players have said time and time again that they feel the pressure to win it all every year in Detroit and who knows how much of a role that plays in their success or failure.  I know that it is a disappointing year for the last year in the Western Conference but hope springs eternal and next year they move to the East and will only have fifteen game outside their time zone and that can only help.  Besides, there is always next year!  Detroit fans have gone long periods of time without winning the Cup and managed to get through it, and they will again.        

Continuing Woes for the Red Wings

       The struggles for the Red Wings continue, they have lost their last three games and are now in a three way tie for the eighth playoff spot in the West with Phoenix and Minnesota.  If the Wings can’t right the ship and start playing much better than this could be the first year they miss the playoff since 1989/90 season.   Injuries have played a role in this streak of poor play but the team cannot hang it’s hat on that excuse.  The Wings aren’t playing with the fire they’ve had in years past, the fore-checking is spotty and the special teams are atrocious.  Detroit is getting outshot in 33% (5 of 15) of the games so far this season.  In past years the Wings would go a full 82 games without being outshot in that many games.  What factors are causing this strange phenomenon?  Injuries do play a part in this stat but aren’t the only factor the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom is looming larger than anyone thought.  He was the cornerstone of that defense and a mentor of the younger rear guards and now that he is gone the defense just doesn’t seem to have a leader.  Ian White is back from his injury and Kronwall, Ericsson and him need to step up and provide that leadership.  Another factor in the Wings being outshot is the lack of consistent fore-check by the forwards.  They are letting the other team start up ice without having to make passes to get around fore-checkers, giving their offense a head of steam and not allowing the defense to stack up on the blueline and stop them.  All the forwards, but especially the third and fourth liners need to pick up their fore-check and keep the opposition bottled up.  An aggressive fore-check will also lead to turnovers, scoring chances and penalties.  Of course, having the other team shorthanded isn’t as much of a benefit as it usually is because of the lack of scoring on the man advantage. 

      I wrote a blog a week ago about the lack of powerplay scoring and it hasn’t improved at all.  They are operating at 14.5% which is good for 23^rd in the league.  The Wings still have not scored a powerplay goal on the road and it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon.  Tuesday 2/19 the Wings go to Nashville whose penalty kill is clipping along at an 89% pace and are only giving up 1.03 goals per game.  The Wings still haven’t solved the problem of Holmstrom’s retirement and it seems like they are trying too hard to get the perfect shot rather than following the old hockey adage that if you throw rubber at the net good things will happen.  With both Franzen and Bertuzzi on the IR Detroit just doesn’t have a traditional big body to put in front of the net.  As I said in the other entry I believe Abdelkader and/or Tootoo could do the job although not in the power forward sense but in the sense of just having a body screening the goalie.  Just as I said before someone on the back end needs to step up and become the powerplay quarterback the Wings have been without since the retirement of Lidstrom.

      Detroit also needs to have more scoring from the defense, the nine defensemen that have played this season have 6 goals and 18 assists and nine of those assists belong to Kronwall.  I’m not saying the Wings need to turn everybody loose and defense be damned, but the rest of the defense corps needs to start shooting more.  This will lead to more scoring chances both for them and the forwards.  Speaking of the forwards, Babcock needs them to start scoring too, after the first line of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Brunner scoring has been sparse.  The top line has accounted for 19 goals and 28 assists in the 32 game so far and the other 15 forwards that have played this season have 14 goals and 24 assists or to put it another way the top line has scored 1.47 points per game and everybody else 1.19 per game.  To put it one more way, the top line is scoring 15.7 points per person and everybody else 2.5 points per person.  That needs to change if the Wings have any hopes this season.  Patrick Eaves, Jordin Tootoo and Justin Abdelkader have yet to score a goal this season and Darren Helm hasn’t scored because he has yet to play a game this season.  The Wings need all these guys as well as Johan Franzen and Todd Bertuzzi to start scoring.  I also think letting Jiri Hudler go to free agency was a mistake, something Ken Holland doesn’t do very often.  Last year Hudler scored 25 goals and already has 4 this season which would put him fourth on the Wings.  There just doesn’t seem to be the usual swagger in the Wings and they are letting teams dictate the pace of games and giving up leads entirely too often.  The Wings have surrendered five leads this season, and that doesn’t count a one goal early lead but just two or more goals.  If the Wings want to win then they have to protect those leads especially late in the game.  I guess everything has to come to an end eventually but I’m not ready to see the Wings miss the playoff for the first time since 1989/90.  I hope Ken Holland, Jimmy Devellano and Mike Babcock have something in store for the team and the fans or this could be a long shortened season.