The Wings lost 1-0 on Sunday afternoon and lost the potential 6th spot to the Blues, who have two games in hand. Detroit looks like they’re racing for 8th.
CSSI Methodology Explanation here
Goalie Ratings
More to credit Elliott on a solid performance than to take away from Howard on only allowing one goal on 25 shots, but Howard lost the head-to-head battle. Overall though, he didn’t do anything wrong. His rebound control was excellent and he did a good job of keeping pace when the Wings needed it and getting whistles when they were struggling. I’m going to give Howard a +1 overall.
The Goals
2nd Period 16:28 – St. Louis Goal: Chris Porter (wrist shot) from Patrik Berglund and Barret Jackman
The Blues overpass the puck and still get the puck into the net thanks to an ugly scramble ending in Porter sweeping it under Howard as he scrambles in the crease. Kindl’s going to pull a majority of the blame here. He gets a shot blocked high in the zone while the Wings are changing and then he fails on transition to stop the rush. Finally, he loses his balance & kicks the puck in on Howard before sliding out of the play. The combination turnover/coverage is going to earn Kindl two full minuses. Datsyuk is going to get a coverage minus here too. He’s got two chances to stop this rush and fails to get either the puck or the man both times. Zetterberg and Abdelkader will be cleared of minuses.
Penalty Adjustments (pluses and minuses only)
1st Period 17:01 – Jakub Kindl (interference): Kindl earns a minus for stepping into Chris Porter’s path as the Blues’ forward forechecks across the Wings’ blue line.
2nd Period 12:22 – Patrik Berglund (interference): Abby drives the net and Berglund knocks him down. It’s not much, but pushing in the hard areas will earn Abdelkader a half-plus.
3rd Period 03:48 – Vladimir Sobotka (roughing): same Abby half-plus as above.
3rd Period 17:52 – Niklas Kronwall (concealing the puck): It’s shitty timing, but it’s the right call. Minus for Kronwall.
Bonus Ratings
+0.5 to Cory Emmerton: The kid’s PKing has been incredible. He made good plays all game.
+1 to Jakub Kindl: I’m partially giving this to him because I don’t feel like he deserves to be an adjusted -4. Kindl did good things in the offensive zone while also making mistakes on the lone goal of the game.
+0.5 to Johan Franzen: The hustle was noticeable out of Mule in this game and he used the body very effectively.
+1 to Danny DeKeyser: Danny DK had sheltered minutes, but he played very well in his second game. Very smart stick-work and body work in this one.
-1 to Jonathan Ericsson: Riggy had a pretty egregious defensive zone turnover in the 2nd period and then another couple less-egregious ones. Not a good game for Riggy.
Honorable Mentions:
Filppula might have earned himself a minus for being too cute with the puck if it weren’t for a fantastic backcheck late in the first period to save a goal. Sheahan played hard. Nyquist still looked like he belongs in that top six role. Very close to an adjustment for him.
