Jimmy's Getting Upset! Blues 2 - Wings 1

by Amerinadian on Nov 15, 2011 10:37 PM CST in Game Recaps

Sometimes you have a night where things work against you. A bad bounce, a bad call, an unfortunate turn of events. It's a small difference between winning and losing.

Tonight was not one of those nights for the Wings.

The Wings were flat-out awful tonight, getting out-played in every facet of the game. After taking an early lead on Justin Abdelkader's goal, they were given a 5 minute power play after Chris Stewart boarded Niklas Kronwall in a hit that should get Brendan Shanahan's attention, and not just because it's a chance to stick it to the Blues once again. However, the Wings forgot about the "power" in power play, and that was the turning point of the game.

Tonight was a night where you tip your cap politely at the other team and then turn inward to examine why you played such a shit game. Truth be told, the Wings would have lost to any team in the league with their play tonight, and probably a bunch of AHL teams, too.

When one of the best things about a game is that it's over, you know it's been a bad night. Follow the jump for the bullets.

At least they didn't give up 10 goals this time, amiright?
You know, when Jonathan Ericsson was announced as being paired with Nicklas Lidstrom for the game, there were some who thought that he might be able to break out of the little funk (or as we like to call it, his career) that he's been in, but Murph was ready with the excuses like it was Dollar Hot Dog night; he was playing with a new partner; he was playing on the opposite side. A very tough first period with multiple giveaways and the penalty that led to the Blues' first goal couldn't make up for a decent night the rest of the way. Get well soon, Ian White.
Hey, Chris Stewart: nice hit jackass. When a guy has his back to you and is about 3-4 feet away from the boards, most players have enough respect for his opponent not to push him in the back and drive him into the boards face first. However, you're a St Louis Blue, so I guess we know where you stand on respect for your fellow players. You do play for a team that employs David Backes, the poor-man's Shane Doan. Enjoy your suspension.
To anyone complaining that the Wings lack an enforcer or someone should have "gone after" Stewart after the hit: shut up. The hit was not Stewart making a play because he knew no one would do anything; it was a stupid, gutless hit from behind that will earn him some supplementary discipline. Players did confront Stewart, but the refs wisely got involved early to break things up before it got ugly. I said it in the game thread, but the way to make a player pay for that type of hit is to have a power play that can score multiple goals. Instead, the Wings' power play looked it was being run by inbred 5 year olds, and they generated a grand total of 4 shots in 5 minutes of PP time. That penalty kill for the Blues was the turning point of the game, and the Wings never looked right after that.
Speaking of the power play, what the fuck is going on? Seriously? At one point the Wings had 13 minutes of power play time and 6 shots, scoring 0 goals, while the Blues had 12 seconds of power play time, 1 shot and 1 goal. I don't know who exactly is in charge of the power play, but it unless you dream about puppies and unicorns you should be extremely concerned about the lack of production. It's not due to no talent; the Wings can throw 2 PP units out there that should be able to score almost at will. It's got to be the system. Hitchcock said that he needed one practice to fix the Blues power play; how long will it take Babcock? I've been watching the Wings for about 25 years, and I've never seen a Wing power play look as bad as it has this season.
Coming back to the power play, how do you fix it? Put Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom back together? Give Brad Stuart a chance with his big shot? Put the third line since they'll actually, you know, go to the tough areas to try and score? Hell, Drew Miller has been one of the best Wings' forwards over the last 4-5 games; give him a shot on the power play. Detroit's power play is an embarrassing 14.3% on the season, so it's not like tonight was some sort of anomaly. The power play is broken, and if it were working, the Wings could have won the game with all the penalties the Blues were taking.
There are a lot of numbers from tonight that are very telling: 26 blocked shots for the Blues over the course of the game; 0-6 on the power play with just 6 shots on net; 26 shots against the Wings after 2 periods (they averaged less than 26 SOG against a game); Henrik Zetterberg 22% faceoff percentage in the Blues' zone; 4 SOG for the Wings in the 3rd period despite having 3 power plays. Those are all the stats of a team that was outplayed. The Wings lost this game by not adjusting to what the Blues were doing, which is not a complicated style. That's a coaching issue, and it's something that needs to be watched going forward, because far too often the Wings are not adjusting mid-game to an opponent who is out-working them and playing a system that frustrates their puck possession game. The worst part about all this is that when the Wings do play like this, they look so off it's disturbing.

All the good feelings generated from the 4-game winning streak were dashed in less time it took for the Blues to kill Stewart's penalty. It's a shitty way to start a road trip, losing to a division rival, but there's no time to dwell on this because the Wings have to put their bibs on as they go fishing for shark meat on Thursday. The only good thing to come out of this game (besides the fact that Kronwall is ok) is that this should piss them off enough to take out their frustration on the Sharks. It's another week of late games and staying up late, but after December when the Wings move to the East, we'll remember these times with fondness while we're sleeping in our comfy beds after watcihng the Wings at a reasonable time.

Poll

Who was the Wings' Player of the Game?

Jimmy Howard

180 votes

Drew Miller

30 votes

Justin Abdelkader

15 votes

225 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 32 comments | 1 recs |

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Comments

One of the worst games I've ever watched.

Seriously, I was hoping that I’d never have to live in a “Dead Wings” era.

Jimmy Howard is the only guy giving a shit. Holland has his work cut out for him, especially since he has to somehow bring in talent without sending away some “talent” (such as Franzen). The only players I’ve been happy with so far are Howard, Filpula and the grinders. Z has been playing eons better than Pasha, but still not at the level he’s capable of. Cleary and Holmstrom don’t work with Datsyuk. Seriously, at least swap Hudler for Homer…Huds + Dats work well. Since we don’t like drafting in the first round anyways, why not use that pick to help bring in a big name?

by shanny14 on Nov 15, 2011 10:48 PM CST reply actions

miller and helm really looked good tonight

in addition to howard. those guys come to play at least.

I Like Pie

by mrsunshine on Nov 15, 2011 11:08 PM CST up reply actions

My take

First off, I agree with you 100% on what you are saying. Here is my take:

1) The power play. The two units we have aren’t working. Hudler at the point isn’t working. What is there to do now? Shake the whole damn thing up. I have never sat infront of a Wings game and laughed at their power play as much as I have this year. Last year they struggled to start to the season and needed a Nik Kronwall blast in OT on th PP against the Coyotes to break em out of their funk. This year, they need a prayer.

2) Zetterberg and Datsyuk. Are these guys going to wake up anytime soon? The Wings looked good in the first five games of the season and the last four game win streak. They looked like shit in the six game winless streak. All in all, this whole season, Detroit’s two best players haven’t been their best and it shows. They have started off 9-6-1 without Datsyuk and Zetterberg playing to their abilities and in time, the team will show that they need those guys to be their best.

3) Back to the powerplay. With White and Lidstrom on the first unit and Kronner on the second, scrap Hudler as his partner. Detroit needs to start from scratch, maybe even sit Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the PP cause obviously together they weren’t working out and being on separate lines its not working out. Time to experiment.

4) If this team is going to go through this season combining winning and losing streaks, there won’t be any playoffs. Things have to change, and fast.

by Chris Letterio on Nov 15, 2011 10:51 PM CST reply actions

1. Time to fire an assistant coach or two.
2. Datsyuk is 2-8-10 +/- ~~2. Lidstrom, Kronwall, and White all have more goals then him and are even or better. Datsyuk actually has the worst +/~~ on the entire team. Darren “No Hands” Helm has two goals and is positive. I don’t know what is wrong with Pasha, but until his game turns around, the Wings are in trouble.
3. I think Datsyuk needs to spend long minutes on the PK to get his defensive game going again. He’s a great two way player, but he’s going 0 ways as of now. It all starts on defense.
4. Hopefully they change long before the trade deadline.

by shanny14 on Nov 15, 2011 11:00 PM CST up reply actions

Didn't mean to strike through all of that

by shanny14 on Nov 15, 2011 11:01 PM CST up reply actions

It's a formatting issue

1. The assistant coaches have been with the team for a grand total of 16 games. I’m pissed about the power play too, but it’s reactionary to just fire coaches. The power play wasn’t very good last year, so they replaced the coaches.
2/3. It’s time to break up this Dats/Buckets/Homer line. It’s been just awful (I’ll have more tomorrow), and Dats needs players that work with him. That line is not working, and it’s time to cut losses and switch it up.
4. I’m pissed about tonight too, but it’s 1 loss. A win on Thursday and there’s no “losing streak”.

Winging It In Motown

by Amerinadian on Nov 15, 2011 11:16 PM CST up reply actions

1. Eh, I don’t think the coaches were replaced last year because of the powerplay…considering one of them is now the head coach of some AHL team, I mean the Senators.
2. Yeah, we all love Cleary and Holmer, but they don’t belong on the 1st line.
4. I don’t know if I can watch this upcoming roadtrip, Sharks, LA and Anaheim. LA is better than their standings show, and the Ducks are going to show up at some point. Perry, Getzlaf, Ryan..eek Oh and freaking Teemu Selanne. Although Detroit disposed of them last time pretty easily, we’ve been streaky (obviously). Now that I think of it, the Wings can capitalise on their crap defense and as long as Howard keeps on keepin on, we’ll be fine in that one.

by shanny14 on Nov 15, 2011 11:42 PM CST up reply actions

awful awful effort

PP looked completely miserable they just didn’t look like they had it period as a team tonight…except for Howard he came to play

LETS GO RED WINGS!

2011 what a disappointment

Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."

by TuLoRocks2008 on Nov 15, 2011 10:52 PM CST reply actions

Seems to be a constant trend this year.

by Chris Letterio on Nov 15, 2011 10:57 PM CST up reply actions

1. I have to disagree with the notion that Howard played well tonight here. While he did play decently and we generated almost no offense, Howard also looked to be fighting the puck, giving up bad rebounds, and losing track of where the puck is.
Ericsson cannot play that side. He made a lot of bad decisions tonight that compounded into big mistakes with the Blues aggressive forecheck.
2. Not going into details about how much I was disgusted with the PP. Dats Z and Homer has to be our 1st unit. But our biggest problem on the PP right now is that all of our offense is generated by shots from the point. We have barely any plays made from the wingers and coaches these days are smart enough to notice that. Also poor executions in zone entries. We get ridden into the boards almost as soon as we enter the zone. cycle the puck down low or ring the puck around to the other side and get the D to aggressively pitch down low. I have never seen the wings have this much trouble with zone entries and setting up. If it’s not what the assistant coaches are doing or most likely, aren’t doing, I don’t know what else. They need to fix the PP now or we’re fucked.
3. Commodore and Kindl. Terrible pairing. I have not the slightest clue how they’re going to fix that. Kindl looked clueless out there tonight.
4. Dats Cleary Homer. What is this line still doing together? Datsyuk is having a horrible time out there with no support from either cleary or homer. Turnovers is the major theme for this line which is why you see Datsyuk playing defense most of the time. Get rid of cleary from the 1st line, bring up Flippula or Zetterberg to the wing. 2nd line is definitely weaker this way but that’s the truth about our top six forward depth right now.
5. Franzen. I’m starting to get sick of his terrible positioning in the offensive zone and bad turnovers in the d-zone. 2nd Blues goal was a sweet feed to Steen. While he has a very good release and accurate shots, he will never be a 40goal scorer because he doesn’t position himself in spots to make a scoring chance.
6. Zetterberg has no speed. I think it’s pretty evident that his back is slowing him down A LOT. We gotta do something about him. He needs to sit and let it heal or drop down to the 3rd line or play wing. Absolutely cannot have him center that 2nd line. Just too slow out there in the neutral zone.
7. I disagree again that it’s poor effort that’s putting this team down. Our transition hasn’t been top notch and we had no sustained pressure in the offensive zone. Everyone is trying to do too much out there by themselves. Time to realize that it’s a team game. Go back to the fundamentals, cycle pucks, drive the net, stop dangling like you’re pavel, and keep it simple. Keep the plays simple. Too much dangle dangle even from Datsyuk.
8. A legit powerforward or a sniper. Our top-six needs that go to guy for Datsyuk. A guy that can finish plays. Zetterberg looking more and more like bottom-six material with his speed…

by MajesticY on Nov 15, 2011 11:09 PM CST reply actions

To sum it up,

play better against the sharks on Thursday, which happens to be my birthday :). Will be donning the winged wheel cheering them on at the shark tank!

by MajesticY on Nov 15, 2011 11:12 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, Jimmy was only able to make 35 saves in all that bad play of his. Howard is the one good thing about the Wings right now, LET US HAVE THAT AT LEAST!

I agree with putting Z on the wing..move Flip to the center. Throw Hudler in for Homer on the 1st line and I think things already look better.

by shanny14 on Nov 15, 2011 11:46 PM CST up reply actions

I agree that Howard

has been the best wing (along with Lids of course) this season so far. But I just thought he looked slightly less solid than his previous outings where he looked vezina-caliber, if there is such a thing. Just really disappointed overall with our plays tonight I guess. :(

by MajesticY on Nov 16, 2011 1:33 AM CST up reply actions

I totally agree about Z, he has looked really bad this year. His speed is worse than its ever been (and never was good), but he seems to have lost his ability to just slowly power around a defender.
Cleary has been terrible as well. I can’t count the number of times this season I’ve seen him get muscled off the puck along the boards. For a guy who needs to make his living in the corners, he is getting outmatched way too often.
The biggest thing that stood out to me about this game was that the Wings just didn’t seem to deal with an aggressive forecheck (and never seem to). Many times our D were just dumping it off the glass or turning it over because they had no one to pass to. The Blues were shutting down the passing lanes and putting quick pressure on us, and it was leading to lots of turnovers.
Losing 90% of your offensive zone faceoffs won’t help your PP either…

by NMJ on Nov 16, 2011 12:09 AM CST up reply actions

The biggest thing that stood out to me about this game was that the Wings just didn’t seem to deal with an aggressive forecheck (and never seem to).

I would say they handled an aggressive forecheck very well against Edmonton last Friday.

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 16, 2011 12:12 AM CST up reply actions

Don't look here for objective analysis.

We are all fans…but come on man. You sound like one of the 10,000 drunk idiots who call in to the postgame radio show after a loss.

One thing worth noting…Of course the Blues won tonight, a pumped-up team in front of a sellout crowd playing for their new coach. A 2-1 loss where the other team blocks 100 shots doesn’t erase the good feeling from the past weekend for me, but I didn’t watch the game yet….

by yzguy on Nov 15, 2011 11:46 PM CST reply actions

If you haven’t watched the game, then where do you get off passing judgment on anybody’s reaction to it?

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 15, 2011 11:55 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

I’m not sure who you’re responding to, but this is a fan-blog, and we’re all commenting and writing shortly after a game in which the Wings were flat-out terrible in every aspect of the game. If you want objective analysis, read the AP report.

The Wings lost 2-1 to a team that blocked 100 shots because they were unwilling or unable to adjust their play after being frustrated for 2 periods.

I tell you what: watch the game in its entirety and with context and come back and tell me you’re not pissed off. The Wings played great in their last 4 games prior to tonight, but none of that means shit when they lose tonight. Just as tonight won’t mean shit if they rip off 3 wins in a row.

If you can watch the game and legitimately tell me that you’re still filled with good feelings from their winning streak, then I applaud your optimism.

Winging It In Motown

by Amerinadian on Nov 15, 2011 11:57 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

Please watch the game, then revise your statement.

Or take our word for it..it was painful.

by shanny14 on Nov 16, 2011 12:32 AM CST up reply actions

where can I watch it?

thx for answer

who cares?

by Vilge on Nov 16, 2011 2:45 AM CST up reply actions

subjective analysis

A 2-1 loss where the other team blocks 100 shots doesn’t erase the good feeling from the past weekend for me, but I didn’t watch the game yet

It will once you watch the game :P

by MajesticY on Nov 16, 2011 1:34 AM CST up reply actions

Herp-a-derp tough guy idiot

I wish I wasnt banned at WIIM…..
I go over there a tear them a new asshole…..

by dablues7 on Nov 15, 2011 9:42 PM CST reply actions

Hahaha. Let’s translate:

“I wish I wasn’t banned at WIIM… so I could go GET banned!”

If we could harness stupidity for electricity, this guy could power Vegas.

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 16, 2011 12:08 AM CST reply actions 1 recs

Why was he banned? Just a troll?

by shanny14 on Nov 16, 2011 12:31 AM CST up reply actions

yeah

Just a common troll.

by J.J. from Kansas on Nov 16, 2011 1:48 AM CST up reply actions

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume he was banned after the 10-3 game by talking shit

And since his shitty team won yesterday against a Wings team that didn’t even care in the slightest , it gives him the go-ahead to talk shit because it’s not like we destroy his team every other matchup or anything

My friends call me Lenny... only I ain't got no friends.

by greg5897 on Nov 16, 2011 2:06 PM CST up reply actions

Kill me

If you’d like but Huds, shitbox, and a 1st rounder or even Franzen for some one like Rick Nash sounds freakin awesome to me. Also Sit Z or Dats for a game or so and put some youngins with heart in a couple of games. Maybe even put them in the top lines. They seem to be the only ones with heart right now. But send a message. That or prepare to fire some assistants or some thing. This team is lost. It showed in the 6 game losing streak but really came out tonight. Especially coming from a team we should’ve had no problem beating. Just my opinion

by chez_bazaldo on Nov 16, 2011 1:04 AM CST reply actions

Per Bob Mckenzie

Chris Stewart’s hearing is at 11 a.m. ET

I hate Jonathon Ericsson.

by Brion on Nov 16, 2011 8:29 AM CST reply actions

i have a interesting comment...

lets say Chris Stweart isnt a total douchbag and doesnt hit kronner into the boards from behind. that first power play never happens and maybe the outcome is a little different in this game. the power play needs kronner. that big shot has been important along with TPH. something to think about as we wait for shanny to torch this guy

by Drumbum87 on Nov 16, 2011 12:09 PM CST reply actions

Rec'd for awesome Seinfeld reference

… that is all I want to say about the game.

by kylegroombridge on Nov 16, 2011 1:05 PM CST reply actions

Errickson played better than u think, he saved one goal by tying up his man in front ,the problem with him is that Babcock will not give him time on the power play,sits for 5minutes and then goes out with a tired lidstrom who was on the ic e for 3.5 minutes of 5. Kindle is not playing well and that might be because Commodore is not in game shape or his legs are gone. They need to sit Hudler , poor decisions in offensive zone and does not play defense , and where was Zetterback on 5 min power play. the team looks like a college team offense, maybe we schould have hired a european assisant coach.

by the insiderl on Nov 16, 2011 2:26 PM CST reply actions

who are these guys?

seriously, who the hell were those guys wearing the Winged Wheel last night? Didn’t the Wings make it to St Louis in time for the game? Did they round up a bunch of doofusses, gave them uniforms and told them to go look helpless on the ice? WTF! Zetterberg plays like he’s 50, Datsyuk…what the hell is wrong with him? Cleary…he spent so much time picking himself up off the ice I thought he was the puck. Stupid penalties, a power play which operates like old people fuck, and just a complete lack of actually giving a shit. Seriously, the Wings are in trouble on this road trip. It’s readily apparent to the rest of the league that it’s okay to: hack, whack, trip, crosscheck, slash, board, and any other type of penalty, because the RED WINGS POWER PLAY SUCKS ASS! Thought Draper was going to be in charge of fitness for this bunch? Honestly the Wings looked like they were always late to the puck, couldn’t hang onto the puck when the Blues were checking them, and looked COMPLETELY GASSED throughout most of the game. Personally speaking, I would SIT the following players if for no other reason then to send a very strong message: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Cleary, Holmstrom, Ericsson, Commodore, and Helm. I know some of you may not agree with Helm sitting but honestly, how many f-ing times can you have a for sure goal and miss the f-ing net? After watching the entire game, it occured to me that the Wings looked pretty small compared to their counterparts in Blues uniforms. Cleary, Filppula, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Helm, Hudler were all getting knocked off the puck and manhandled like they were little kids playing an adult’s game. Kenny Holland has been a genius about bringing in players which fit the mold but after watching the Wings get manhandled throughout “THE STREAK” and during last night’s game, I think it’s time the Wings start getting larger at ALL positions. And what’s with the coaching? Babcock was clearly outcoached last night without a doubt! I know the Wings aren’t going to win every game they play. But there was no reason for them to look as bad as they did last night. None. Attention Wings players: you’re getting paid millions (some of you, not all) and you’re expected to at least TRY HARDER then you all did last night. I know you guys are talented but since you were blanked completely on the power play, and pretty much knocked around the ice for three hours, you all looked like a bunch of no talent ass clowns. Get your shit together! If you all were in my battalion and in battle, you ALL would have died an unglorious death on the field of battle. Maybe you need to go through Marine Corp boot camp to get yourselves into shape. Will be watching Thursday’s game despite it being a late start. Hope to see some spark and some real effort not that crap which you showed everyone Tuesday night.

"If we knew what the outcome would be it wouldn't be called hindsight."

by wjr on Nov 16, 2011 5:00 PM CST reply actions