Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Stuart going to be part of the power play
Just read this over at freep.com. Stu is going to be part of the second power play unit because of the injury to Williams. I didn't know this, but he has extensive experience on the power play. I'm all for this decision, but we'll wait to see him on the power play to see if there's any rust.
Jason Williams suffers broken leg, out 2 months
Another game, another injury. Williams is the 3rd forward the Wings have lost to injury this year, alongside Johan Franzen and Valterri Filppula. Williams will not only need to be replaced in the regular lineup, but in the shootout lineup as well. He had been shooting second. Who will take his place I'm not sure of, but I could see Ville Leino being slotted in there. Just for fun (twisted fun, that is) let's look at just how many guys are out of the lineup for the Wings this year, including guys lost over the offseason.
Hossa
Samuelsson
Hudler
Franzen
Filppula
Williams
Granted, Williams probably wouldn't be on the team if some of those guys were still around but it shows just how decimated this team is right now. The fact that we're only 3 points behind the division leader is miraculous.
Hossa
Samuelsson
Hudler
Franzen
Filppula
Williams
Granted, Williams probably wouldn't be on the team if some of those guys were still around but it shows just how decimated this team is right now. The fact that we're only 3 points behind the division leader is miraculous.
Wings v. Maple Leafs in review 11/7/09
A loss on many fronts. The Wings couldn't get anything going, and they lost Jason Williams to a broken leg. Yet another forward goes down, which brings the total to three.
Toronto goal (1-0) 10:34 in 1st period; Primeau from Orr & Finger:
Draper tries to make a play on the puck but falls, which leaves the Toronto player with a lot of space coming into the zone. The first time I saw this play I was more than willing to lay the blame on Osgood, but I see what he was trying to do here. Yes, he did get beat glove side and easily could have stopped the puck had he been 6 inches farther to his left. There was, however, another Toronto player in the crease, and Primeau easily could have passed to him. Had this happened, Ozzie would have needed to slide cross crease, which meant he couldn't commit too much to either side.
Toronto goal (2-0) 19:34 in 1st period; Kessel from Blake & White:
I love alternate camera angles. At first this looked like a simple shot from the blue line that got tipped in front and went through Osgood's legs. From the other camera angle, you can see that the puck actually hits something before its reaches Ozzie. The puck starts bouncing, and is tipped through Osgood's legs. Kessel is actually behind Ozzie and shovels the puck into the net.
Toronto goal (3-0) 5:21 in 2nd period; Finger from Stempniak & Stajan:
This one I don't have an excuse for. It's a 3-on-2, and Osgood gets beat glove side. He's square to the shooter and there's no angle on this one, so I guess Osgood just got beat.
Detroit goal (3-1) 5:59 in 3rd period; Cleary from Rafalski & Lidstrom:
A line change causes mass confusion/loss in personnel for the Leafs. Rafalski launches a beautiful saucer pass to Cleary, who's streaking down the middle of the ice (no pun intended). He makes a move and puts this one in the net for the lone Wings goal of the night.
Toronto goal (4-1) 9:22 in 3rd period; PPG Mitchell from Kessel & Beauchemin:
This one gets redirect in front of the net off a slapshot from Kessel. Not much Osgood can do about this one.
Toronto goal (5-1) 12:44 in 3rd period; Ponikarovski from Grabovski & White:
Osgood looked slow on this one. It was a backhaner, he wasn't screened, and he looked square to the shooter. Not a good one to let in.
Sigh. Just when I thought the Wings might have turned a corner they come out flat and lose yet another forward. This season is going to be a test, but I'm just hoping that the Wings are getting their injuries out of the way and that, come playoff time, everyone will be healthy.
Toronto goal (1-0) 10:34 in 1st period; Primeau from Orr & Finger:
Draper tries to make a play on the puck but falls, which leaves the Toronto player with a lot of space coming into the zone. The first time I saw this play I was more than willing to lay the blame on Osgood, but I see what he was trying to do here. Yes, he did get beat glove side and easily could have stopped the puck had he been 6 inches farther to his left. There was, however, another Toronto player in the crease, and Primeau easily could have passed to him. Had this happened, Ozzie would have needed to slide cross crease, which meant he couldn't commit too much to either side.
Toronto goal (2-0) 19:34 in 1st period; Kessel from Blake & White:
I love alternate camera angles. At first this looked like a simple shot from the blue line that got tipped in front and went through Osgood's legs. From the other camera angle, you can see that the puck actually hits something before its reaches Ozzie. The puck starts bouncing, and is tipped through Osgood's legs. Kessel is actually behind Ozzie and shovels the puck into the net.
Toronto goal (3-0) 5:21 in 2nd period; Finger from Stempniak & Stajan:
This one I don't have an excuse for. It's a 3-on-2, and Osgood gets beat glove side. He's square to the shooter and there's no angle on this one, so I guess Osgood just got beat.
Detroit goal (3-1) 5:59 in 3rd period; Cleary from Rafalski & Lidstrom:
A line change causes mass confusion/loss in personnel for the Leafs. Rafalski launches a beautiful saucer pass to Cleary, who's streaking down the middle of the ice (no pun intended). He makes a move and puts this one in the net for the lone Wings goal of the night.
Toronto goal (4-1) 9:22 in 3rd period; PPG Mitchell from Kessel & Beauchemin:
This one gets redirect in front of the net off a slapshot from Kessel. Not much Osgood can do about this one.
Toronto goal (5-1) 12:44 in 3rd period; Ponikarovski from Grabovski & White:
Osgood looked slow on this one. It was a backhaner, he wasn't screened, and he looked square to the shooter. Not a good one to let in.
Sigh. Just when I thought the Wings might have turned a corner they come out flat and lose yet another forward. This season is going to be a test, but I'm just hoping that the Wings are getting their injuries out of the way and that, come playoff time, everyone will be healthy.
Wings v. Sharks in review 11/5/09
A good confidence builder for the Wings. There really was nothing to dislike about this game. The Wings won a low scoring game, they looked solid, the big guns put on a great performance in the shoot out, and no one got hurt.
San Jose goal (1-0) 14:41 in 2nd period; Couture from Callahan & Thornton:
Callahan starts the rush and carries the puck straight down the ice from his zone to the Wings' zone. As he's entering the offensive zone Ericsson blows a tire (woo auto references) and falls down. Callahan passes to Couture on his right, who puts a snap shot on net. Osgood is square to the shooter, he just doesn't drop to the ice fast enough and gets beat five hole.
Detroit goal (1-1) 5:38 in 3rd period; Zetterberg from Lidstrom & Eaves:
Eaves carries the puck behind the net, and rather than try the wraparound he passes to Lids on the blueline. Lids unleashes a slap shot, which Nabokov kinda sorta tries to bury in his body. Zetterberg is floating through the crease and smells blood in the water (shark reference. Good, no?). The puck falls in front of Nabokov, and Zetterberg is there to tap it in.
Shootout:
This is what's supposed to happen when you have two of the most offensively talented forwards in the world.
Datsyuk goal: Dats plays stick-tac-toe beautifully. He then makes a move that looks like he's completely committed to going right, when he somehow pulls the puck left and almost literally tucks it in behind Nabokov.
Zetterberg goal: Zetterberg makes a similar move in going right to left, but he halts his momentum in front of the net to switch left. Really impressive.
San Jose goal (1-0) 14:41 in 2nd period; Couture from Callahan & Thornton:
Callahan starts the rush and carries the puck straight down the ice from his zone to the Wings' zone. As he's entering the offensive zone Ericsson blows a tire (woo auto references) and falls down. Callahan passes to Couture on his right, who puts a snap shot on net. Osgood is square to the shooter, he just doesn't drop to the ice fast enough and gets beat five hole.
Detroit goal (1-1) 5:38 in 3rd period; Zetterberg from Lidstrom & Eaves:
Eaves carries the puck behind the net, and rather than try the wraparound he passes to Lids on the blueline. Lids unleashes a slap shot, which Nabokov kinda sorta tries to bury in his body. Zetterberg is floating through the crease and smells blood in the water (shark reference. Good, no?). The puck falls in front of Nabokov, and Zetterberg is there to tap it in.
Shootout:
This is what's supposed to happen when you have two of the most offensively talented forwards in the world.
Datsyuk goal: Dats plays stick-tac-toe beautifully. He then makes a move that looks like he's completely committed to going right, when he somehow pulls the puck left and almost literally tucks it in behind Nabokov.
Zetterberg goal: Zetterberg makes a similar move in going right to left, but he halts his momentum in front of the net to switch left. Really impressive.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Wings v. Bruins 11/3/09
Detroit goal (1-0) 14:21 in 1st period; PPG Zetterberg from Datsyuk:
Right off the faceoff, the puck trickles ahead and into the slot area. Zetterberg's right there and rips a shot off. This play developed so quickly the netminder barely had time to react. Really nice blink-or-you'll-miss-it play.
Detroit goal (2-0) 17:43 in 1st period; Holmstrom from Datsyuk & Bertuzzi:
This might be the best Wings goal I've seen yet this year. Bertuzzi throws the puck down the ice. Datsyuk knocks the pass out of the air, gets it on his stick, passes it behind himself, and finds Holmstrom behind him. How he knew Homer was there I really don't know, because it doesn't look like he ever turns his head to check.
Right off the faceoff, the puck trickles ahead and into the slot area. Zetterberg's right there and rips a shot off. This play developed so quickly the netminder barely had time to react. Really nice blink-or-you'll-miss-it play.
Detroit goal (2-0) 17:43 in 1st period; Holmstrom from Datsyuk & Bertuzzi:
This might be the best Wings goal I've seen yet this year. Bertuzzi throws the puck down the ice. Datsyuk knocks the pass out of the air, gets it on his stick, passes it behind himself, and finds Holmstrom behind him. How he knew Homer was there I really don't know, because it doesn't look like he ever turns his head to check.
Wings v. Flames 10/31/09
Calgary goal (1-0) 14:43 in 2nd; Langkow from Borque & Regehr:
I'm coining a new term here; scrummaging. What is scrummaging, you might say? It occurs when there is a scrum in front of the net and there is much rummaging for the puck. So there. A new word. On this particular play, Langkow is bodied up yet he somehow gets his stick on a rebound. I think he deflects it while it's in the air. I don't know. Whatever happens, Ozzie gets scored on.
Detroit goal (1-1) 15:18 in 2nd; Stuart from Draper & Helm:
Drapes drops this one for Stuart, who has jumped up to join the rush in the offensive zone. The Calgary d-man makes as good of a play as he can, but Stuart puts the puck high and beats ol' Kipper.
Detroit goal (2-1) 16:17 in 2nd; Holmstrom from Datsyuk:
Holmstrom scores from somewhere NOT in front of the net? Yeah, we're gonna win this game. Dats makes the smart play here to not pass to Bertuzzi, who gets swallowed up by the defense pretty quickly. Instead he finds the trailer, and that happens to be Holmstrom. Homer puts one on net and it happens to go in.
Detroit goal (3-1) 19:16 in 3rd; EN Maltby:
A Calgary player makes a pass to no one that Malts picks off at the blue line and shoots for an empty netter. That Calgary player is lucky because if he didn't have his back to the bench I could spot his number and tell you who it was. But his back was to the bench. But still, haha Calgary guy, you passed to no one and we scored.
I'm coining a new term here; scrummaging. What is scrummaging, you might say? It occurs when there is a scrum in front of the net and there is much rummaging for the puck. So there. A new word. On this particular play, Langkow is bodied up yet he somehow gets his stick on a rebound. I think he deflects it while it's in the air. I don't know. Whatever happens, Ozzie gets scored on.
Detroit goal (1-1) 15:18 in 2nd; Stuart from Draper & Helm:
Drapes drops this one for Stuart, who has jumped up to join the rush in the offensive zone. The Calgary d-man makes as good of a play as he can, but Stuart puts the puck high and beats ol' Kipper.
Detroit goal (2-1) 16:17 in 2nd; Holmstrom from Datsyuk:
Holmstrom scores from somewhere NOT in front of the net? Yeah, we're gonna win this game. Dats makes the smart play here to not pass to Bertuzzi, who gets swallowed up by the defense pretty quickly. Instead he finds the trailer, and that happens to be Holmstrom. Homer puts one on net and it happens to go in.
Detroit goal (3-1) 19:16 in 3rd; EN Maltby:
A Calgary player makes a pass to no one that Malts picks off at the blue line and shoots for an empty netter. That Calgary player is lucky because if he didn't have his back to the bench I could spot his number and tell you who it was. But his back was to the bench. But still, haha Calgary guy, you passed to no one and we scored.
Wings v. Oilers in review 10/29/09
Som grit and sticktuativness was shown by the Wings here, but the loss was disappointing none the less. This'll be a heck of a long one to catalog. I'm begining to really like 2-0 or 2-1 games...
Edmonton goal (1-0) 00:42 in 1st; Jacques from Brule & O'Sullivan:
I'm no goaltending coach but it's hard for me to not think that Howard was out of position here. He would have been fine if he could have held on to the puck, but he's in trouble because his legs are no longer in butterfly position but are outstretched and Howard is sitting on his butt. The puck somehow ends up to his left, and even though he fans on it the first time Jacques put its in the net.
Edmonton goal (2-0) 9:09 in 1st; Penner from Horcoff & Hemsky:
Another weird one. The puck gets tipped in front of the net, but the guy doesn't have typical net front positioning. He comes in from the left corner and whacks the puck out of the air. Howard gets tripped up, but it looks like that happens after the puck's already beaten him.
Edmonton goal (3-0) 12:24 in 1st; PPG Hemsky from Penner & Horcoff:
The margain of error on Hemsky's shot is razor thin, yet he still manages to score here. Stuart dives in front of him, and all Hemsky has is the top corner. He aims for it and hits it, as Howard's pretty slow to react with the glove.
Edmonton goal (4-0) 00:58 in 2nd; Hemsky from Penner:
Hemsky is alone on a breakaway. He goes front-back-front and just plain beats Howard five hole. This is about as perfect as a breakaway can go.
Detroit goal (4-1) 6:15 in 2nd; Helm from Filppula & Stuart:
On a 2-on-1, Helm rips one from the top of the right circle and beats the netminder.
Edmonton goal (5-1) 9:05 in 2nd; PPG Horcoff from Grebeshkov & Penner:
A big scrum forms in front of the net, and after much pushing and jostling the puck trickles in. I feel bad for Howard here, because this one isn't really his fault. Kinda. He makes two initial stops, and never has a real good opportunity to get control of the puck and stop play. The puck ends up near the goal line on the left side of the crease, and Howard tries to stop it with his blocker but it slides under.
Detroit goal (5-2) 12:50 in 2nd; Zetterberg from Kronwall & Datsyuk:
Score one for puck luck. Hank is wide open on the left side, and gets the puck off a rebound. He slaps one at the goal, and it ricochets off the Edmonton defender's skate and into the net.
Detroit goal (5-3) 6:32 in 3rd; Ericsson from Draper & Eaves:
Eaves gets squeezed along the boards in the neutral zone and drops a nice pass to Drapes, who's coming through the zone with speed. He lays a really nice cross ice pass behind himself to the left blueline, where Ericsson lies in wait. He puts a slap shot on net and scores.
Detroit goal (5-4) 7:47 in 3rd; Bertuzzi from Datsyuk:
I'm pretty sure that the fact the puck ends up on Bertuzzi's stick is half accident half right place, right time. Pav has the puck along the boards and starts doing one of his crazy puck handling displays where he makes three guys collapse on him, leaving Bertuzzi open. I honestly can't tell if the pass is intentional or just Pav losing control, but somehow the puck ends up with Bert. He picks a corner and chooses right, aided in no small part by Homer and his ubiquitous net front positioning. *Begin rant*I know some people think Homer can't play 5-on-5 hockey anymore, but I can tell you that from all the film I've watched this year he's as integral as any player on this team. He may not be fast and he may not be able to handle the puck, but he makes up for it and then some with the work he does in front of the net. *End rant*
Detroit goal (5-5) 12:53 in 3rd; Eaves from Helm & Ericsson:
This one must've surprised Khabibulin, because he was tracking the puck the whole play. Edmonton plays pretty good defense here, and it looks like Eaves starts to fall. He somehow recovers his balance and puts a hard wrister on net, and Khabibulin gets beat. I'm guessing that he thought Eaves would fall and was waiting to see who would end up with the puck, and he was screened a bit by his own man. I'd say the screen accounts for not being able to see Eaves regain his balance.
OT: a whole lotta nuthin'.
Shootout:
Edmonton 1 - Detroit 0
Edmonton goal (1-0) 00:42 in 1st; Jacques from Brule & O'Sullivan:
I'm no goaltending coach but it's hard for me to not think that Howard was out of position here. He would have been fine if he could have held on to the puck, but he's in trouble because his legs are no longer in butterfly position but are outstretched and Howard is sitting on his butt. The puck somehow ends up to his left, and even though he fans on it the first time Jacques put its in the net.
Edmonton goal (2-0) 9:09 in 1st; Penner from Horcoff & Hemsky:
Another weird one. The puck gets tipped in front of the net, but the guy doesn't have typical net front positioning. He comes in from the left corner and whacks the puck out of the air. Howard gets tripped up, but it looks like that happens after the puck's already beaten him.
Edmonton goal (3-0) 12:24 in 1st; PPG Hemsky from Penner & Horcoff:
The margain of error on Hemsky's shot is razor thin, yet he still manages to score here. Stuart dives in front of him, and all Hemsky has is the top corner. He aims for it and hits it, as Howard's pretty slow to react with the glove.
Edmonton goal (4-0) 00:58 in 2nd; Hemsky from Penner:
Hemsky is alone on a breakaway. He goes front-back-front and just plain beats Howard five hole. This is about as perfect as a breakaway can go.
Detroit goal (4-1) 6:15 in 2nd; Helm from Filppula & Stuart:
On a 2-on-1, Helm rips one from the top of the right circle and beats the netminder.
Edmonton goal (5-1) 9:05 in 2nd; PPG Horcoff from Grebeshkov & Penner:
A big scrum forms in front of the net, and after much pushing and jostling the puck trickles in. I feel bad for Howard here, because this one isn't really his fault. Kinda. He makes two initial stops, and never has a real good opportunity to get control of the puck and stop play. The puck ends up near the goal line on the left side of the crease, and Howard tries to stop it with his blocker but it slides under.
Detroit goal (5-2) 12:50 in 2nd; Zetterberg from Kronwall & Datsyuk:
Score one for puck luck. Hank is wide open on the left side, and gets the puck off a rebound. He slaps one at the goal, and it ricochets off the Edmonton defender's skate and into the net.
Detroit goal (5-3) 6:32 in 3rd; Ericsson from Draper & Eaves:
Eaves gets squeezed along the boards in the neutral zone and drops a nice pass to Drapes, who's coming through the zone with speed. He lays a really nice cross ice pass behind himself to the left blueline, where Ericsson lies in wait. He puts a slap shot on net and scores.
Detroit goal (5-4) 7:47 in 3rd; Bertuzzi from Datsyuk:
I'm pretty sure that the fact the puck ends up on Bertuzzi's stick is half accident half right place, right time. Pav has the puck along the boards and starts doing one of his crazy puck handling displays where he makes three guys collapse on him, leaving Bertuzzi open. I honestly can't tell if the pass is intentional or just Pav losing control, but somehow the puck ends up with Bert. He picks a corner and chooses right, aided in no small part by Homer and his ubiquitous net front positioning. *Begin rant*I know some people think Homer can't play 5-on-5 hockey anymore, but I can tell you that from all the film I've watched this year he's as integral as any player on this team. He may not be fast and he may not be able to handle the puck, but he makes up for it and then some with the work he does in front of the net. *End rant*
Detroit goal (5-5) 12:53 in 3rd; Eaves from Helm & Ericsson:
This one must've surprised Khabibulin, because he was tracking the puck the whole play. Edmonton plays pretty good defense here, and it looks like Eaves starts to fall. He somehow recovers his balance and puts a hard wrister on net, and Khabibulin gets beat. I'm guessing that he thought Eaves would fall and was waiting to see who would end up with the puck, and he was screened a bit by his own man. I'd say the screen accounts for not being able to see Eaves regain his balance.
OT: a whole lotta nuthin'.
Shootout:
Edmonton 1 - Detroit 0
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