Detroit Red Wings 2009

**Downriviera** · October-17-09, 09:22 PM

Several of the local radio sports talkers have said that they think the Wings are in a downward spiral and will struggle to make the playoffs. They're citing the loss of Hossa, Hudler, and the injury to Franzen as well as improved division rivals Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis...and goaltending. Your thoughts?

**Optima** · October-18-09, 09:01 PM

I definitely agree with the assessment and will be surprised if the Wings get out of the first round this year. Where I disagree is with the ascertain that Hudler and Hossa, who were complete non-factors in the playoffs will be missed more than the increased presence of the upstart teams in our conference. All of those teams are on the cusp of breaking out while our threats and scoring punch [[except for the obvious) have lessened greatly. Per usual, it all begins and ends with goal-tending although this year we need some scoring from unproven sources...

Cm

**Downriviera** · October-23-09, 05:03 PM

ESPN's John Buccigross has now jumped on the Red Wings are at the end of their run bandwagon. Hopefully all this talk will be good motivation for the team

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/notebo.../091021mailbag

**Downriviera** · November-08-09, 02:19 PM

A real stinker last night for the Wings in the Hall of Fame game. Nasty looking injury for Williams, hope we don't lose any more players.

**Bobl** · November-21-09, 08:05 PM

The cheap shot to Kronwall's knee tonight was bad. I hope Kronwall is OK.
Far more injuries result from stupid plays like this than from fighting.

**Downriviera** · November-22-09, 11:15 AM

Laraque is the dirtiest player in the league, worse than Pronger. I hope he gets suspended. Sucks that we don't play them again this year so May could get him. Laraque likes to cheap shot than run from a fight, as he did with McSorley a few years ago.

**smogboy** · November-30-09, 08:16 AM

Seriously the Wings need to stay aloft somehow until the injury bug passes. We can't afford to drop too far in the standings. We just have to stay in the thick of things until the likes of Filppula, Williams, Kronwall and Franzen can come back off of the mend.

So far things have been a little disappointing for the likes of Pavel Datsyuk. I know historically he's been a slow starter but he's really going to need to ramp up his game with the lack of scoring punch that this team has now. Same with the likes of Todd Bertuzzi; where are those soft hands and big body days that he had in his Vancouver glory days? I'd really like to see guys like Leino, Eaves, Helm and Abdelkader step up to fill that scoring void because they're young and this is truly a golden opportunity for them to shine with the additional ice time. Defensively Ericcson & Meech need to prove their mettle too. We can't constantly rely on Nick Lidstrom to save our bacon and man the power play and PK forever.

**Downriviera** · November-30-09, 06:50 PM

I made a big mistake in my previous post regarding Laraque. For some reason I had him confused with Donald Brashear. Laraque is not a cheap shot artist as Brashear is. I've taken a few pucks to the noggin myself over the years which probably lead to my error. Agree with d.mcc, Laraque could take May.

**d.mcc** · December-01-09, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

I made a big mistake in my previous post regarding Laraque. For some reason I had him confused with Donald Brashear. Laraque is not a cheap shot artist as Brashear is. I've taken a few pucks to the noggin myself over the years which probably lead to my error. Agree with d.mcc, Laraque could take May.

I knew something was amiss when you mentioned the McSorely incident... LaRaque isn't a dirty player, but that knee-to-knee bullshit sure as I'm straight, was a dirty play. When I played in junior and college, that type of play was usually returned 10-fold the next time the offender stepped on the ice.

**Downriviera** · December-01-09, 07:23 PM

Yea, I don't know what Laraque was thinking. Thats as dirty as it gets. And now we have a guy on the Panthers hitting his own goalie in the head by accident when he meant to break his stick on the goal post. Theres been times I wanted to knock some sense into my goalie, but that was pretty extreme.

**d.mcc** · December-02-09, 01:32 AM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

Yea, I don't know what Laraque was thinking. Thats as dirty as it gets. And now we have a guy on the Panthers hitting his own goalie in the head by accident when he meant to break his stick on the goal post. Theres been times I wanted to knock some sense into my goalie, but that was pretty extreme.

I've actually been on the receiving end of that little mishap. It hurt... A lot, and I wasn't to happy about it, but couldn't really do anything about it during the game. Needless to say, I took a few extra liberties in practice when the coach made him stand in front of me for tip-in drills.

**thnk2mch** · January-23-10, 09:34 PM

Not a good night for the Wings.....

**smogboy** · January-24-10, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by thnk2mch

Not a good night for the Wings.....

Let's hope that the returning injured players can provide a boost for this team. Kenny Holland will have some numbers juggling come that time to fit them under the cap so the product we see now will change in a few more weeks. Some players are on their way to Grand Rapids, some might get waived, some will get traded and hopefully it'll be a rejuvenation of this team for the playoff run.

**Downriviera** · February-13-10, 10:29 AM

Usually the Wings have a playoff spot wrapped up about Christmas time. You have to go a long way back to the times when they were struggling to make the post season. Will the Wings make the playoffs? And if they do, who starts in net?

**Bobl** · February-13-10, 02:20 PM

I'm thinking/hoping that they will sneak in. More healthy bodies coming back, but they just plain have to score more goals, and end the uncharacteristic soft finishes to games they should have won. This year, it is "now or never".
I think coach is using Osgood as a backup this time.

**smogboy** · February-13-10, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by Bobl

I think coach is using Osgood as a backup this time.

I'm wondering if Jimmy Howard has to be a part of the Calder Trophy consideration if he can lead this team deep into the playoffs.

It was also nice to see Detroit handle the Senators tonight with some sense of urgency too. They seem to be building some confidence which is nice. They have the talent to contend but for some reason [[and hockey is also an emotional game as it is physical), this team just hasn't gotten in stride all season. They lack the killer instinct to close it out late and just haven't been able to bury other teams like they have in the past. Yes, I understand that the other teams have also got some pretty amazing talent and are always shooting to take down a top dog like the Wings, but I'm not so sure we're on the total downward slide just yet.

The few games they've also seem to be taking many more shots [[Nabakov was shelled!) but we've also got to be able to convert better. Shots taken and quality chances are obviously two different stats and we need to improve the quality shots.

It'll be nip, tuck all the way as the final few playoff positions are jockeyed for in the next few months. It should be pretty exciting and maybe the dominant team of the 90's [[I still hate how the Wings aren't even considered a dynasty yet for their dominance in that era) just isn't ready to pack it up or rebuild just yet.

**kenp** · February-15-10, 10:07 AM

How many points has Howard left on the table because of weak Shoot-out performances?
I'm not at all sold on him.
I see the Mule is replacing Holmstrom in the Olympics. At first that didnt make sense since he is recovering from the knee injury. However he needs playing time and this really helps. Please dont get hurt!

**smogboy** · February-15-10, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by kenp

How many points has Howard left on the table because of weak Shoot-out performances?
I'm not at all sold on him.
I see the Mule is replacing Holmstrom in the Olympics. At first that didnt make sense since he is recovering from the knee injury. However he needs playing time and this really helps. Please dont get hurt!

Obviously the buck has got to stop with the goalies in Shootouts but let's not solely pin the blame on Jimmy Howard here. Ideally we should just outright win the games in regulation. I'd be curious to see the stats on how many games this team has let the lead slip away in the third period in order for us to go to OT and the Shootout. And once we do get to the Shootout, where are our snipers in all of this?

Datsyuk- [[11 attempts) 54.5%
Filppula- [[2 attempts) 50%
Bertuzzi- [[6 attempts) 33.3%
Williams- [[6 attempts) 33.3%
Zetterberg- [[10 attempts) 20%
Miller- [[1 attempt) 100%

I see that Shootouts are an entirely different beast than the regular game too. Just briefly looking over the stats there, goalies' regular save percentages are hovering around the .900 mark whereas even the best goalie in a shootout is about 50%- most seem to be at or around the 35% range. Jimmy Howard's stats are at 36.1%- not stellar but not far from the norm. In regular game situations, Howard is 5th in the league with an impressive .927 save percentage.

I will admit there was a time when Osgood and Hasek were teammates I had the nutty notion of if Osgood ever got the team to a Shootout, let Hasek come in [[cold) and let it be an intimidation/ mind game factor against the other team's shooters. But seriously at that point of their professional careers, are there any goalies that can intimidate a shooter? 'Twas just a thought.

As far as the Olympics, please don't let ANYone get hurt. I know it's for national pride but it's still a game and from a fans' perspective- we want these guys around for the long haul in the NHL. Play hard, win your respective medals for your countries but come back strong and play for the Cup too!

**Downriviera** · March-21-10, 11:44 AM

I've been really impressed with the Wings on this latest west coast road trip. They have played hard nosed, tough hockey. While we lament the goal scorers we lost, who often disappeared in the playoffs, we now have more of a grinding type of team better suited for the playoffs. And we got ourselves a great goalie in Howard. Go Wings.

**smogboy** · March-23-10, 12:59 AM

Has this past week been one of the best emotional stretches for the Wings or what?

•March 15th- 1:19 left in the third period and Tomas Holmstrom beats the Calgary Flames with an amazing tip-in.
•March 19th- Brian Rafalski ties the game to at least net us one point with two-tenths of a second left in regulation.
•March 20th- Henrik Zetterberg wins the game in OT with a nifty backhander over Roberto Luongo as the buzzer goes off.
•March 22nd- While Detroit handles the Penguins pretty well in a 3-1 victory, seeing the rookie netminder Jimmy Howard come to the defense of his team mate, Henrik Zetterberg at the end of the game is what makes certain goalies in this town legendary. His face wash of the perennial NHL darling/ punk Sidney Crosby will be the talk of sports radio in the AM. I think fans will remember moments like that for years to come. We've had a pretty good history of our goalies in this town not afraid to scrap and hold their own for this team.

**smogboy** · March-23-10, 03:33 AM

Way to go Jimmy Howard. Way to endear yourself to your team mates and this town!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkOdCEgnv3U

**smogboy** · March-28-10, 04:06 AM

Having never been much of a fan of the shootout to determine winners in any game [[to me, it's nearly tantamount to a skills competition), I will have to admit that the Wings/ Predators game did get interesting once the shootout started going deeper into the roster.

The only forwards that didn't shoot for the Wings were Darren Helm and Derek Meech, who is technically a converted defenseman playing up in the place of Dan Cleary. Seeing Kronwall tuck that shot between the pads of Rinne was nice to see. It was also nice to see Bertuzzi finally crack the armor of Rinne too with his slow [[nearly plodding) methodical approach in the shootout.

I also wonder how much ribbing poor Patrick Eaves got for tumbling on his way into taking the shot.

While it was nice for the Wings to have won the game, ideally I still wish we would've won this game in regulation therefore snaring the sole two points. Instead the shootout win gave the Predators an extra earned point. It is nice to see the Wings relatively healthy and playing with some grit. The game earlier wasn't anything special to bring me out of my seat and it wasn't like a true defensive struggle either. Maybe it was the horrific ice conditions that made both teams tentative to make the first mistake, but it was a snoozer up until the shootout. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Wings end up 5th place overall in the division if they continue playing this well- they've ground out some pretty gritty games against some pretty good talent as of late.

I just hope that this team does not play down to Edmonton's level the next game. I think we took them too lightly the last time in Alberta and nearly didn't get a point out of it. I hope that Babcock scowl will continue to motivate this team and help its confidence peak at the right time. I don't think there are going to be too many teams wanting to play a healthy veteran Wings team surging into the playoffs.

**Wingnatic** · March-28-10, 09:07 AM

We haven't had our regular lineup since the 2nd game of the season with all of our long term injuries of some of our best players , what we are seeing now is our regular lineup has all returned with some games under their belts and we are now back to the Red Wing hockey we are used to . Alot of these players have missed many many games , but they haven't experienced the grind of the entire season which adds up to players that won't be tired come playoff time .

**Downriviera** · March-28-10, 11:07 AM

Eaves was pretty funny, once we finally won. That will be on sports blooper shows for years to come.

**Thruster315** · March-28-10, 08:52 PM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

Eaves was pretty funny, once we finally won. That will be on sports blooper shows for years to come.

It's funny NOW because we won. Imagine if we would've lost. I know the team would've teased him mercilessly but if the Wings would've lost the game, he would've been teased even worse claiming that HIS shot would've been the game winner.