2011/ 2012 Red Wings

[TKshreve]

Following up my recent post about the Wings depth, let's hear it for journeyman netminder Joey MacDonald. One could tell he's really falling into a groove by being The Man while Jimmy Howard is temporarily on the shelf. He's playing his angles well and really not afraid to come out and challenge the shooters now. His one gaffe in the Philly game was playing the puck and that has to do with communicating confidently with his defensemen. But his team rallied around him and it didn't hurt the team any.

This was also following an impressive shoot-out victory against some pretty decent shooters in the Ducks game too. Way to stand tall Joey Mac!

I do like his confidence. He comes right out to the edge of the crease and gets a piece of those shots.

A lot of people were speculating that Joey was just riding surge of confidence. And that it would burst at any minute. But after his gaffe vs. Philly, he continued to play a solid, consistent game.

Tremendous difference between Joey and Ty. Which is too bad, because not only did Ty start the year strong, but he was pretty good for us when we had him several years ago. Nothing is ever guaranteed though.

[Thruster315]

Period one done and 20 shots on net already. Poor Dallas. I feel for Lehtonen because he's got to wonder where the five guys are in front of him.

And I'm not one to put the cart in front of the horse but if the Wings continue this sort of intensity, the NHL can scratch up a new record. It's seriously been dominating and very very workman like.

[Thruster315]

21 wins.

Impressive? Meh. A record nevertheless. I wish the team could've gotten Joey Mac a shutout but it goes down into the record books as another W. And just because we got 21 doesn't mean that this record is done with yet.

Next up is Nashville, San Jose, Vancouver & Colorado for the month of February. Again, who knows when it's going to stop.

[Downriviera]

It was nice to see the corporate fans in the lower bowl stay to the end for a change.

[kenp]

I always think its funny how the lower bowl is half filled until about 7 minutes after a period starts.
For me its always rush up after the period, piss, get a beer or 2 and back to my seat.

[rb336]

I remember at the beginning of the year, some pundits were predicting a bad year for the wings -- possibly not even a playoff berth! it cracks me up

[mikefmich]

I fear it will be a long summer this year.

[Downriviera]

By not suspending Weber, Shanahan just put a bounty on Nashvilles skill players like Radulov and Legwand. If I'm Babcock I tell my guys to target these players. Thanks to Shanny and the NHL its open season. This is exactly how the Steve Moore incident started. He went after Vancouver's top player, the NHL did nothing about it, and Bertuzzi fixed it.

[Thruster315]

The season ended too quickly. Sure, the Preds played like a hungrier faster version of the Wings, but the lack of depth on this Wings team showed. Darren Helm was out of the series early on but could one player like him have made that much of a difference? Doubtful. The chemistry just wasn't there and the bounces just weren't going our way. It's not time to break up the band yet but it's definitely time to re-tool.

One aspect of the Wings turnover that I'm not sure got looked over or not is the assistant coaching. Gone was Paul McLean, Brad McCrimmon [[God rest his soul) and Todd McClellan; they were proven players who transitioned into coaching. I wonder if the new assistants Bill Peters and Jeff Blashill tinkered too much or am I pinning blame on them?

The home streak was fun, fine and dandy but immediately after this exit, that's about all I can hang my hat on now.

[BrushStart]

^ The team is in desperate need of new blood. Holmer should retire. If Lidstrom decides to return, he should take a more secondary role. Pav and Z should be elevated to veteran status. While they are both still among the best two-way players in the league, they cannot be expected to take the full brunt of the other team's defense every shift. We need some young guys who are durable and energized to win. A lot could be accomplished just by winning battles by getting to the puck first. That only requires hustle. If the young guys can get the pucks to the vets like Pav, Z, and Johan, we can setup plays in deep and score some goals. That would improve the offense.

In terms of defense, we simply need more talent. This is where I'd spend the salary cap money. When Raf left, there was void. Nobody was there to pick up the slack and Lidstom can't do everything. I would bring in a player with a few years in the league who has shown promise and let Nik finish molding him. When Lidstrom is gone, we are going to have big problems on defense. Our weaknesses were already showing this post-season.

[jiminnm]

I think the home streak hurt the season end and playoff performance of the Wings much more than it helped. There was so much team focus on winning then, but that focus disappeared after the loss at home and never seemed to come back. It reminded me of the season that the Wings led the league in points but lost in the first round. For the last weeks before the playoffs, and against Nashville [[who beats the Wings most of the time anyway), the Wings were pretty passive on the ice and only occasionally displayed the aggression that they are known for.

They also never seemed to recover from the rash of injuries. Datsyuk came back, but I'm not convinced Howard and Franzen were fully healed. They missed Helm because he provides a spark and makes something happen almost every time he's on the ice, and no one else except Zetterberg and Datsyuk seemed to be able to do that [[and not as often). Patrick Eaves was also out since Nov. While not a star, he is a solid consistent player.

The Wings definitely need a more solid defense, as I expect Lidstrom will play even less next season [[if he's still playing). I like White and Quincey [[at times), and of course Kronwall, but I don't think they can carry the load. They also need a solid back up goalie, as I think McDonald is too inconsistent.

Well, sometime this weekend I'll have to take off the Red Wings' license plate frame.

[Downriviera]

In the past when we desperately needed a goal, Babcock put Z and Dats together on a line. I wonder why he did not do this in this series. The injuries killed our momentum, which you need going into the playoffs. I hope either LA or St. Louis wins it.