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

Is It Time To Say Goodbye To Johan Franzen?

      The Detroit Red Wings are having an off year and Johan Franzen is no exception, although his point totals are comparable to past seasons the timeliness of his goals just doesn't seem to be there.  He is a defensive liability and is only good for one thing.  It just might be time to say goodbye to the Mule and move on.  He will be 34 in December and has played for the Wings since 2005.  He has scored 164 goals, 142 assists for 306 points in 513 games.  He is +99, has 329 penalty minutes, scored 58 powerplay goals and 37 game winning goals.  It isn't his regular season production I'm worried about it is his performance in the playoffs.
      In the playoffs he has scored 42 goals, 37 assists for 79 points, 14 powerplay goals and 12 game winners.  Franzen has amassed 76 PIM and is +29 in 100 playoff games.  In the 2008 and 2009 playoffs he was unstoppable, scoring 25 of his 42 goals in those years.  Recently he has become human and the aura surrounding him has disappeared.  So far in the 2013 playoffs he has four goals, two assists for six points.  He is -6, has six PIM, scored three powerplay goals and no game winners.  In the 2010 playoffs he played the same number of games scored 2 more goals, ten more assists, he was +8 with 16 PIM, one powerplay goal and one game winner.  In past years if the Wings needed a goal to tie it up late in a game or another goal to pad a lead Franzen was the man but the last three years he has scored a total of seven goals compared to 31 in the three years before that.       
      Franzen just isn't the same player he was in 2009-10, the fear he used to instill in opposing goalies is gone and defenseman seem to be able to push him around unlike previous years.  In past seasons whenever he got the puck Detroit fans would expect him to score, especially if it was the playoffs.  Now, their happy if he doesn't turn it over in their zone.  The Mule has always been a one trick pony, he scores goals, has never been great defensively but now he is a liability.  I'm sure he thinks he has some good years left but I wonder if those years should be with us.  Unfortunately for the Wings they signed Franzen to a long term deal in 2009.  That deal make him a Red Wing until 2020 when he will be 41.  He made $5.2 million this year and is scheduled to make 5 million the next three seasons before it drops to 3.5 million in 2016-17, 2 million in 17-18 and 1 million the last two years of the contract.  I think Detroit will be hard pressed to find a team to take on a contract that size, especially for a one dimensional player with a declining impact.
      This year has shown the Wings have a strong cadre of young players in the minors ready, or nearly so, to step up to the big club.  Tomas Tatar, for one, is ready to join the big club.  He scored 23 goals and 49 points in 61 games with the Griffins this season.  He played 18 games with the Wings this year and scored four goals and three assists.  Tatar has been one of the last cuts in training camp the last three years and looks more then ready to make the jump, the only thing standing in his way is the lack of roster spots.  If Franzen is moved then the Wings would have room for a player of the future.
      Don't get me wrong, I love Franzen and harbor him no ill will.  In 2009-10 he was one of my favorite players but if this year has shown us anything it is the NHL is a league for the young and Franzen isn't young any more.  I believe our fond feelings and memories of the Mule are clouding our judgement and not allowing us to see that Franzen's time has passed and that the Wings and Franzen would be better served to move on. 

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 5 Recap

      Game 5 of the first round match-up between the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks took place Wednesday night in Anaheim.  The best of seven series was tied at two games apiece going into the contest.  The winner of the game would take a 3-2 lead and history says that 73% of the time the winner of game five will win the series, making this game very important.
      The first period saw the teams trade goal with Detroit opening the scoring on a powerplay goal by Johan Franzen, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Damien Brunner at 5:28 of the period.  Anaheim tied the score with 2:19 left in the period on a goal by Kyle Palmieri, his second of the playoffs assisted by David Steckel.  The Ducks outshot the Wings 18-9, while Detroit was 1-2  and Anaheim was 0-2 on the powerplay in the period.
      The second period saw both teams score and had the Wings get a long powerplay.  Detroit scored first again with Mikael Samuelsson lighting the lamp assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk at 10:08.  The Ducks even the score with 32 seconds left in the period on a powerplay goal by Ryan Getzlaf, his third of the post season, assisted by Francois Beauchemin and Sheldon Souray.  The Wings outshot the Ducks 15-9 while the Ducks were 1-1 with the man advantage while detroit was 0-1 even though the had a long powerplay after Daniel Winnik was giving a major for boarding.
      The third period was scoreless with Anaheim getting five shots for a three period total of 33 and Detroit getting six for a total of 29 shots.  There were two penalties in the period with Brendan Smith and Matt Beleskey both going off for roughing at 16:53.
      The overtime did not last long with Nick Bonino scoring his third of the series assisted by Ben Lovejoy at 1:54 into the overtime period.  The Duck outshot the Wings for the game 34-31 while both teams were 1-3 on the powerplay.
      The series now shifts back to Detroit for Game Six on Friday, time to be announced, where Anaheim will try to close out the series with a victory.  If Detroit can come up victorious on Friday then the series will return to Anaheim for Game Seven on Sunday, time TBA.

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.