GBGA Regular Season Game 42: Lonely Island

Wait, I thought Lonely Island was some kind of reference to Nassau Coliseum

1st Period

NYI 1 Detroit 0; 19:07- PPG Moulson from Parenteau & Streit

The Wings are set up in a passive 1-2-1 on the PK. The Islanders have been able to move the puck all over on the PP and work the puck in low. Kronwall is the low defender and he decides to step up in the middle to take away Parenteau's pass to the slot. Parenteau instead passes to Moulson, who is uncovered and has lots of time to shoot.

Moulson puts one on net (or is it near net?) that looks like it's actually supposed to be a pass through the crease.

Unfortunately Drew Miller's skate has other plans. Moulson's pass hits Miller as he backs in and is redirected past Conklin, who had an otherwise solid period.

2nd Period

NYI 2 Detroit 0; 7:31- Tavares from Okposo

Franzen turns the puck over in the Wings' zone and the Islanders start a breakout the other way. As they carry in coverages start to develop for the Wings. Lidstrom has to take the left winger, White the right winger, and Franzen the middle of the ice. This leaves a trailing John Tavares as a coverage issue.

Okposo drops the puck for Tavares on the right wing side. Franzen doesn't turn fast enough and Zetterberg ends up picking up his man in the high slot. This leaves Franzen covering no one and Hudler trying to catch up to Tavares. Either Hudler needs to jump in earlier or The Mule has to make and effort to swing through the zone faster. This lapse gives Tavares the time and space to rip one high over Conklin.

NYI 3 Detroit 0; 11:10- Okposo from Tavares & Moulson

Stuart tries to play a puck near center and it bounces past him. This creates an Islanders rush. Stuart tries to get back into the play but loses his balance and stumbles. Kindl has to read a developing 2-on-1 now.

Kindl can't stop the feed from Tavares to Okposo. Conklin was shaded right in case Tavares decided to shoot, and Okposo's quick release from the slot beats him.

NYI 4 Detroit 0; 18:32- Grabner from Martin & Streit

The Wings turn the puck over near the blue line off of a pass from Holmstrom intended for an unaware Cory Emmerton. New York picks it up and carries into the neutral zone when Martin realizes he has Grabner open and gaining speed through the zone.

Kronwall was covering the left wing, Ericsson was never able to get in the play, and Grabner is in all alone with momentum. That's a deadly combination. No one can do anything to change Grabner's shot and he buries it.

3rd Period

NYI 4 Detroit 1; 2:36- Abdelkader (5) from Kindl (8) & Holmstrom (10) 

What looks like a harmless play turns into trouble for the Islanders. Kindl has the puck at the point and decides to shoot into traffic instead of passing back to the boards. Abdelkader makes a move and gains the middle of the ice, while Holmstrom glides towards his oh-so-familiar spot in front of the netminder. The shot  from Kindl is deflected off of Abdelkader's stick blade. Nabokov has no chance at stopping it beacuse he is already double screened and can't track the puck.

NYI 5 Detroit 1; 13:57- Moulson from Streit & Tavares

Tavares picks up a loose puck behind the net and, seeing that the entirety of the Detroit defense has collapsed on net, moves the puck to the point. Streit takes a slapshot that is deflected by an uncovered Moulson in front of the net. Both Wings defensemen have moved out to cover the wingers, which leaves Moulson uncovered in front of Conklin and creates the opportunity that NY converts.

GBGA Regular Season Game 41: Stolen Victory

Last night's game, as summarized by the Chicago media

1st Period


Chicago 1 Detroit 0; 3:35- PPG Bolland from Hossa & Leddy

Chicago shifts into the umbrella, and the Wings counter with a box. Abdelkader is playing high but not high enough to take away the passing lane to his left.

Hossa gets the attention of Lidstrom, who is covering low. Abdelkader's blown coverage both allowed Hossa to receive a pass and gave him the space needed to do something with the puck. A shot from Hossa is knocked down in the middle by Bolland. Lidstrom now has to turn 180 degrees if he's going to make a play on Bolland. In other words, he's in poor position to make a play. White is covering low as well and has a better chance of impeding a shot. 

Somehow Bolland shoots through that mess of winged wheel and gets it past Conklin (!). We're off to a bad start.

Chicago 2 Detroit 0; 4:19- Sharp from Frolik & Hossa

Hossa carries into the Detroit zone and has his shot deflected behind the net. Upon retrieval, Kronwall gets a stick on a pass and the puck is now airborne. Note Sharp lurking in the corner undefended and undetected.

Hudler sees the puck and tries to swat it down out of the air. This is a gamble and blows up in Hudler's face, as he was supposed to be covering the slot area. The puck goes over Hudler and falls at Sharp's skates. He digs it out and carries it into the middle of the ice.

Sharp double clutches and fires a slap shot. This is a soft goal allowed by Conklin, but fault also falls on the Wings defenders (mainly Hudler).

Chicago 2 Detroit 1; 13:29- PPG Filppula (14) from Zetterberg (23) & Hudler (15)

Detroit is at the tail end of a 5-on-3 powerplay. Zetterberg passes to Hudler in the middle of the ice, which pulls the Chicago defenders at the top of the triangle up towards the blue line just a bit. Hudler sees both defenders move and passes back to Zetterberg in the right faceoff circle.

Zetterberg sees that he's drawn the attention of the low defender. He has just enough time to pass across to Filppula before Duncan Keith converges on him. The pass is absolutely perfectly located, moving through the legs of the defender and onto Flip's stick. Pretty much the definition of a bang-bang play.

2nd Period 

None

3rd Period


Chicago 2 Detroit 2; 15:15- Cleary (10) from Zetterberg (24) & Filppula (21)

I'm starting this midway through an already impressive sequence of passing and boardwork for the sake of simplicity. Cleary has it behind the net and sees Zetterberg alone in the slot area. His pass through traffic connects.

Zetterberg sees that two Blackhawks have made a wall and cut off his path to the right. He makes a hard turn back to the left and puts a shot on net.

The initial shot is stopped but Cleary is in front of the net and hacks at the puck until it goes in.

Overtime


Chicago 2 Detroit 3; 3:08- Datsyuk (13) from Ericsson (7) & Franzen (20)

Datsyuk picks the puck up in the corner and slips past Kane along the boards. Pav shoots the puck directly into Ericsson. The puck hits him in the chest and falls straight down. 

Ericsson backhands one and the puck is moved to the side of the net. Franzen gets a stick on it and shoves it towards Datsyuk near the right post. 

Datsyuk whiffs on his first shot attempt, but there's no chance that Pasha is going to miss a second chance opportunity. He loads up and roofs a shot into a wide open net. Corey Crawford was upset after the game because he thought he was interfered with on this play. I don't see it. Is he pinned on the ice? Sure. Is it because his own teammate ran into him? Yep, it is.

GBGA Regular Season Game 40: Let's Take This Outside

Speaks for itself.

1st Period

Toronto 1 Detroit 0; 4:30- PS Kessel

Kessel picks up the puck and carries to the left, all the while switching from his forehand to his backhand. He keeps going forehand-backhand-forehand-backhand-forehand-backhand-forehand-backhand...etc., and lifts the puck over Jimmy to open scoring.

Toronto 2 Detroit 0; 8:19- PPG Phaneuf unassisted

Detroit wins the faceoff in their defensive zone and move the puck behind the net. It hits the boards takes a bizarre bounce, losing any and all momentum it previously had. Dan Cleary is expecting the puck farther down the boards and now has overskated the dead puck. He has to put on the brakes and readjust.

Cleary gets back on the puck but now has a defender draped all over him. He makes a panic move and tries to clear the puck by chipping into the middle of the ice. The smart play here is to move the puck behind him along the boards, but he apparently couldn't fight the impulse to attempt to clear the zone in the most obvious (and dangerous) way possible. 

The puck accidentally ends up directly on Phanuef's stick at the point. He has time to load up a nasty slapshot. From Jimmy's perspective there's not much you can do to stop a shot off a turnover when it happens that quickly.

Toronto 3 Detroit 0; 11:36- Steckel from Lupul & Kessel

The Wings have a great scoring chance in their end that turns into trouble in a hurry. Filppula is wide open in the slot for a one timer that's stopped, and the puck ends up to the right of Gustavsson. One of the Leafs picks it up and carries it out of the zone, creating a 3-on-3 rush the other way. Above you can see the structure of the rush as it enters the Detroit zone. The right winger passes to the left wing and then pulls up, which pulls a defender toward the blueline with him. Zetterberg is in the middle and is already a step behind the center. When the puck is moved to the left wing the center pulls away from Z, creating a 2-on-1 rush.

TPH is hung out to dry on the 2-on-1. He has to drop to one knee and cut off the passing lane through the slot to the left winger. 

The pass barely sneaks through under Lidstrom. It's hard to tell on the replay I have available to me, but it looks like it went through his legs. Steckel has to adjust a bit to the pass, but he's able to score because Jimmy was square to the puck carrier and isn't able to slide in time to cover his right side.

2nd Period 

Toronto 3 Detroit 1; 6:46- Bertuzzi (6) from Datsyuk (29) & Franzen (18)

Kronwall makes a great play to hold the puck in at the top of the zone. He slides across the blueline and swats it back to Datsyuk.

Datsyuk and Franzen work a nice give-and-go near the blueline while switching spots. Datsyuk has the puck and the left wing and Franzen is cutting through the middle. Three of four Toronto defenders have turned their attention to Datsyuk/Franzen. The deep man is Bertuzzi, who has good position on his defender.

Datsyuk throws a shot towards the front of the net that Bertuzzi is able to get a piece of. He tips it past Gustavsson to put the Wings on the board. When Bertuzzi plays the grinder/mucker role I really like this line, and this goal is a good example of why.

Toronto 3 Detroit 2; 15:49- Kronwall (9) from Franzen (19) & Datsyuk (30)

Franzen gets the puck near center ice and carries into the zone. He gets bumped off the puck in the right corner but is able to free himself from the defender, pick the puck back up, and carry around to the left side. 

The Mule leaves the puck for Kronwall, who is headed down the left side boards. This causes two Toronto defenders to have to put on the brakes and change direction. Directional changes create space, and Kronwall uses this space to cut hard towards the front of the net.

Kronwall reads Phaneuf's positioning well in front of the net and pulls the puck inside him, neatly tucking the puck under Gustavsson.

3rd Period

Toronto 3 Detroit 3; 4:32- Hudler (12) from Stuart (5) & Zetterberg (22)

The above screen cap marks the exact moment where Toronto's defense shoots themselves in the foot. Detroit is moving the puck around the offensive zone, and Toronto gets caught chasing the puckcarrier a little too much. Everyone keys on the puck, turning their backs on Jiri Hudler. Huds floats towards the front of the net and doesn't have to fight anyone for netfront positioning.

Zetterberg passes a puck across the zone that Toronto gets a stick on but can't stop. Brad Stuart is all alone and has tons of time to ready himself for a one timer.

Gustavsson stops Stuart's shot but gives up a rebound. Hudler is in the perfect place for clean up duty, hacking at the puck and putting it in on the second effort attempt.

Toronto 4 Detroit 3; 7:10- Lupul unassisted 

Detroit wins a faceoff in their own zone. Hudler plays it back towards the boards and Kronwall gathers it. He tries to rim it hard around the boards and fans on the puck. The molasses-charged puck reaches Howard's left, where Lupul is waiting for it.

Howard hits the ice pretty quickly, which allows Lupul to lift it over him off his backhand. If Howard hugs the post for another second and stays upright he has a better chance to stop this. 

Off Day Updates

• Groin Pains-According to the official site, Helm and Holmstrom are on the mend and might play this weekend, though it doesn't seem likely. Both practiced Thursday.
• Roose has a nice article about the Wings' annual fathers' trip. He details who's bringing whom and how deep the invitations extend.
• Petrella has a great post about 2012 free agents. Definitely worth a look, even though we're only at the half way point of this season.
• In ZOMG news, UofM confirmed they've been contacted about hosting the Winter Classic. All I can say is please please please please please let it be held there.
• As for everything else, there's no better source than Malik. Seriously, everything else is there.

Wings v. Stars Overnight Quick Hits

Due to some outside influences (going back to work, catching up with old friends over dinner, Michigan's bowl game, etc.) I don't have the goal-by-goal analysis ready to post this morning. A goal with nine total goals is going to take some time, but I'll try to have it posted late tonight. In the meantime, here are some sources to help satiate your need for Wings content.

• Malik's initial impression is that our defense was porous and our offense perhaps too willing to act with bravado, feeling they can outscore anyone.
• Helene St. James has a recap, with discussion of Jimmy Howard's struggles last night.
• Not related to last night's game per se, but Brendan Savage has a good article about Lidstrom's worthiness of an All Star nod.
• Ted Kulfan on the Zetterberg line and their impact on last night's game.
• A fairly lengthy recap from the Wings' official site. Bonus: the next tab over on that page has video of every goal.

GBGA Regular Season Game 38: One Great Period, Two Necessary Points

Happy Hud's New Year's Resolution: be more like Orr

1st Period

None

2nd Period


Detroit 1 St Louis 0; 7:28- Franzen (15) from Datsyuk (27) & Kronwall (10)

Datsyuk carries into the neutral zone and is met at center ice. He makes a smart move and uses his body position to back into the defender while leaving the puck behind for Johan Franzen, who is coming through the zone with speed.

Barret Jackman is back to defend Franzen, and it looks like he's got positioning such that Franzen will be forced to the outside along the boards. Franzen sells Jackman on this, then cuts hard across him to gain the middle of the ice. He isn't circled in the screencap, but take note of Kronwall in the upper left corner. He's skating hard towards the front of the net as well.

Jackman is left in the lurch, unable to recover from Franzen's move. Kronwall has now set up in front of the net, and the ensuing play is something that more closely resembles a pick and roll in basketball than anything I've ever seen in hockey. Franzen does a great job of using Kronwall in front, skating around him and firing a shot that Elliot never sees.

Detroit 2 St Louis 0; 8:45- Abdelkader (4) from Miller (7)

When viewing this goal, it has to be noted that the Wings are lucky Abdelkader is even on the ice. He took a hit to the head from Ian Cole earlier in the game that left him dazed, a hit that Ian Cole says came as a result of Abdelkader turning and running his head into Cole's shoulder.

The Wing turn the puck over in the corner and the Blues pick it up. As they head up ice, Drew Miller gets into defensive position and takes away the passing lane to the middle of the ice. The Blues try to force the puck there, and the puck goes off Miller's stick.

Abdelkader is in the right place at the right time, turning on the loose puck and firing nearly as soon as he gains possession. Elliot has no time to react and the puck finds the net behind him.

Detroit 3 St Louis 0; 19:07- Hudler (9) from Filppula (18) & Zetterberg (18)

Zetterberg's initial shot is wide and Filppula chases it behind the net. He carries into the corner, where StL tries to bump him off the puck. Hudler sees that the defender in the high slot has turned his attention to the blue line, while the two low defenders (Backes and Pietrangelo) are focused on the area behind the net. Hudler moves into the slot area.

 Flip hits Hudler with a pass in front of the net, but Hudler's first shot is stopped by Elliot. Hudler has the space he needs to shoot because Backes is floating behind the net area (an area which Pietrangelo already had covered) when he should be in the lot slot. Pietrangelo has to turn to try and disrupt Hudler but can't.

 Hudler's first shot may have been stopped but he doesn't miss on the rebound opportunity. The puck's in there somewhere, but I definitely can't find it. I don't feel too bad about it though, because Elliot couldn't either.

3rd Period

None