Looks like those new lines worked out pretty well. The Wings offense showed up in spades on Tuesday, and the Wings managed to win their first road game of the year.
Vancouver goal (1-0) 00:30 in 1st period; Sedin from Samuelsson & Bieksa:
Osgood plays the puck behind the net and tries to clear it out of the zone. There are no Wings along the boards to pick up the puck, and it is instead intercepted by a Canucks player. He quickly passes to the right defenseman, who lays a shot on net from the blue line. The rebound bounces off of Osgood. Osgood curiously keys on Sedin to his left, and it looks like he watches him the whole time as he moves into the crease. Somehow, the puck also ends up in the middle of the crease. A Wing defender turns and tries to stab at the puck and get it out of the zone but is unable to. Sedin comes in with speed and backhands the puck past Osgood.
Vancouver goal (2-0) 7:05 in 1st period; Ehrhoff from Kesler & Bieksa:
This really was a routine play and I'd like to think 9 times out of 10 Osgood stops this. Three Canucks come into the offensive zone and there are three Red Wings there to check them. Ehrhoff unleashes a simple wrist shot from the left circle that beats Osgood.
*Osgood gets pulled at this point*
Detroit goal (2-1) 15:47 in 1st period; Holmstrom from Zetterberg & Datsyuk:
This goal exmplifies exactlly how good this line is. Holmstrom camps out in his signature spot in front of the net the whole time and does a great job screening the goalie. Zetterberg carries the puck up the right side wall. He's able to dump the puck to Datsyuk in the right circle. He then slips around behind the defense and makes his way to the left edge of the crease. Datsyuk gains the attention of four (!) Canucks players, and he uses some of his fany stick work to keep them focused on him. Once they commit, Dats passes the puck across the crease to an open Zetterberg. Z puts a snap shot on net, which is then banged home by Homer.
Detroit goal (2-2) 3:51 in 3rd period; Kronwall unassisted:
Zetterberg carries the puck into the zone and gets the puck knocked off his stick in the right circle. The puck shoots up towards the blue line, where Kronwall enters the zone at just the right time. He picks up the puck and carries it to the right circle, where he puts a high wrist shot on net. Holmstrom is screening Luongo in front of the net as per usual, and I think a large part of why this shot goes in is because Luongo can't track the puck.
Vancouver goal (3-2) 5:05 in 3rd period; PPG Schneider from Sedin & Bieksa:
Sedin has the puck on the right side. He waits until the Wings defense shifts towards the right, leaving Schneider wide open a little above the faceoff circle on the left side. He fires a nice cross ice pass and Schneider fires a hard slap shot past Jimmy Howard.
Detroit goal (3-3) 6:05 in 3rd period; Datsyuk from Williams & Ericsson:
Go to detroitredwings.com and watch the video. Seriously. Datsyuk carries the puck into the zone on the right side and unleashes a truly Datsyukian deke in the right faceoff circle. He freezes the defender, and shoots and scores while falling to his left.
Detroit goal (4-3) 9:31 in 3rd period; PPG Datsyuk from Rafalski & Holmstrom:
For the third time tonight, Homer's netfront position leads to a goal. I know people think he can't play 5-on-5 hockey anymore, but just look at how integral he is to creating better scoring chances. End rant. Luongo can't see the wrister Datsyuk fires from the left circle, and the Wings get the lead back.
Vancouver goal (4-4) 12:03 in 3rd period; PPG Sedin from Edler & Kesler:
Howard makes a couple good first stops, but the Wings never get to the puck to clear. The third shot in the sequence is a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that Howard turns aside to the right. A Canucks player is to the right on the red line. Howard sees him get the puck and dives towards it but the puck is already past him.
Detroit goal (5-4) 14:57 3rd period; PPG Williams from Filppula & Bertuzzi:
Bertuzzi passes the puck to Filppula to the left of Luongo down on the red line. Filppula threads a cross crease pass to Williams, who bangs it home. Luongo was unable to get back across the crease fast enough to recover. In large part this is because Flip was on the red line, which meant Luongo had the get tight against the post. This made it even hard for Luongo to slide across. Good positioning on the Wings part.
Nice to see the Wings fight through adversity to get a win on the road. I think things are starting to click, and hopefully the Wings can carry this into Edmonton tonight. This one has to be a confidence builder, and getting a win on the road is huge.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Paging Dr. offense
The Free Press is reporting that the lines were shuffled again at practice today. Look for Filppula to center Bertuzzi and Cleary tomorrow. Personally, I like this move. I think Bertuzzi especially is ready to break out, and pairing him with Filppula could work well.
Wings v. Avalanche in review 10/24/09
Ok, there's good news and bad news here. The good news: the Wings played what is probably their most complete game of the season. The bad news: they lost...again. The Wings outshot the Avs 49-23. Another nice stat is that the Wings outshot the Avs in every period, indicative of them outplaying the Avs for a full sixty minutes. Credit goes to Anderson in goal for Colorado, because allowing one goal on 49 shots is truly impressive.
Detroit goal (1-0) 3:09 2nd period; Draper from Cleary & Ericsson:
Nice goal here. Draper pulls a Holmstrom and camps out in front of the net. Cleary puts one on net and Anderson can't scoop up the rebound. Draper is right in front and whacks at the puck until it finds the back of the net. This sequence started on a failed clear attempt from behind the Colorado net that was intercepted by Detroit. Nice to see this one go Detroit's way after a similar play in Phoenix in which the Wings were unable to clear and Phoenix took advantage, tying the game that would eventually end in an OT loss.
Colorado goal (1-1) 14:26 2nd period; Galiardi from Stewart:
Well, the luck ran out pretty quick. A failed clear attempt by Rafalski hits Ericsson and falls to the ice. No Detroit player is able to get to the puck, and the Avs player passes to a wide open teammate in front of the net. One deke later, and the puck goes right between Howard's legs.
Colorado goal (2-1) 9:20 3rd period; Stewart from Galiardi & Cumiskey:
This one's embarrassing. Stewart is entering the offensive zone with speed, and he unleashes a simple wrister from near the top of the right circle. He beats Howard, who outstretches his blocker but can't slide cross-crease fast enough. He's about four inches too far to his left, and gets beat far side.
Colorado goal (3-1) 19:00 3rd period; Stastny from Hannan & O'Reilly:
Wings lose the faceoff, Stastny gets a nice loooong pass right on his stick, he shoots from the neutral zone and scores. Oh yeah, this one was an empty netter.
Well, the story of this game was really Anderson's stellar goaltending. The positive I take from this is that the Wings made fewer mistakes and had some great scoring chances. I truly believe that things will start clicking soon. After all, a little puck luck can go a long way.
Detroit goal (1-0) 3:09 2nd period; Draper from Cleary & Ericsson:
Nice goal here. Draper pulls a Holmstrom and camps out in front of the net. Cleary puts one on net and Anderson can't scoop up the rebound. Draper is right in front and whacks at the puck until it finds the back of the net. This sequence started on a failed clear attempt from behind the Colorado net that was intercepted by Detroit. Nice to see this one go Detroit's way after a similar play in Phoenix in which the Wings were unable to clear and Phoenix took advantage, tying the game that would eventually end in an OT loss.
Colorado goal (1-1) 14:26 2nd period; Galiardi from Stewart:
Well, the luck ran out pretty quick. A failed clear attempt by Rafalski hits Ericsson and falls to the ice. No Detroit player is able to get to the puck, and the Avs player passes to a wide open teammate in front of the net. One deke later, and the puck goes right between Howard's legs.
Colorado goal (2-1) 9:20 3rd period; Stewart from Galiardi & Cumiskey:
This one's embarrassing. Stewart is entering the offensive zone with speed, and he unleashes a simple wrister from near the top of the right circle. He beats Howard, who outstretches his blocker but can't slide cross-crease fast enough. He's about four inches too far to his left, and gets beat far side.
Colorado goal (3-1) 19:00 3rd period; Stastny from Hannan & O'Reilly:
Wings lose the faceoff, Stastny gets a nice loooong pass right on his stick, he shoots from the neutral zone and scores. Oh yeah, this one was an empty netter.
Well, the story of this game was really Anderson's stellar goaltending. The positive I take from this is that the Wings made fewer mistakes and had some great scoring chances. I truly believe that things will start clicking soon. After all, a little puck luck can go a long way.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wings v. Coyotes in review 10/22/09
Yet another win that got away. We've already experienced way too many of these this year, but this one was more controversial than most. Should this have ever reached overtime? No way.
Phoenix goal (1-0) 16:30 1st period; PPG- Lombardi from Aucoin & Doan:
Good passing leads to a wide open slap shot from the blue line by Aucoin. The puck bounces up and off of Osgood in front of the net, where Lombardi gets his stick on it and knocks it into the net. A good goal all around, and Lombardi makes a good effort to keep his stick below the crossbar.
Detroit goal (1-1) 19:40 1st period; PPG- Holmstrom from Datsyuk & Zetterberg:
Zetterberg shoots from the top of the right circle, and Homer is in his signature place right in front of the goalie. He tips in the puck to tie the game.
Detroit goal (2-1) 7:45 2nd period; Lebda from Datsyuk & Zetterberg:
Hey hey defensive breakdowns! No one picks up the trailer (Lebda), who comes into the zone with speed. The defense is fixated on Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and they pay the price as Datsyuk sees the open man and fires a cross ice pass to a widdddddde open Lebs.
Phoenix goal (2-2) 17:20 3rd period; Prucha from Michalek & Hanzel:
Should this goal have been allowed? No. No no no no no. The Yotes throw the puck on net in what looks like a pretty routine play, and Osgood absorbs the puck with his body and holds on to it. He is then pushed into the net (goaltender interference? yeah, definition of) while Prucha whacks at Ozzie with his stick. The puck gets knocked out on Osgood's left side, and Prucha pushes the puck into the net PAST the goal line. This never should have been allowed.
Phoenix goal (3-2) 1:57 OT; Aucoin from Vandermeer & Fiddler:
Fiddler fires a pretty textbook cross ice lead pass that lands on the stick of Aucoin. Osgood can't recover in time and Aucoin backhands it in. I think. Honestly, the play happens quick enough (and my video is blurry enough) that I can't really tell if its a backhander or on his forehand. Doesn't really matter though, cuz it's a game winner.
Phoenix goal (1-0) 16:30 1st period; PPG- Lombardi from Aucoin & Doan:
Good passing leads to a wide open slap shot from the blue line by Aucoin. The puck bounces up and off of Osgood in front of the net, where Lombardi gets his stick on it and knocks it into the net. A good goal all around, and Lombardi makes a good effort to keep his stick below the crossbar.
Detroit goal (1-1) 19:40 1st period; PPG- Holmstrom from Datsyuk & Zetterberg:
Zetterberg shoots from the top of the right circle, and Homer is in his signature place right in front of the goalie. He tips in the puck to tie the game.
Detroit goal (2-1) 7:45 2nd period; Lebda from Datsyuk & Zetterberg:
Hey hey defensive breakdowns! No one picks up the trailer (Lebda), who comes into the zone with speed. The defense is fixated on Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and they pay the price as Datsyuk sees the open man and fires a cross ice pass to a widdddddde open Lebs.
Phoenix goal (2-2) 17:20 3rd period; Prucha from Michalek & Hanzel:
Should this goal have been allowed? No. No no no no no. The Yotes throw the puck on net in what looks like a pretty routine play, and Osgood absorbs the puck with his body and holds on to it. He is then pushed into the net (goaltender interference? yeah, definition of) while Prucha whacks at Ozzie with his stick. The puck gets knocked out on Osgood's left side, and Prucha pushes the puck into the net PAST the goal line. This never should have been allowed.
Phoenix goal (3-2) 1:57 OT; Aucoin from Vandermeer & Fiddler:
Fiddler fires a pretty textbook cross ice lead pass that lands on the stick of Aucoin. Osgood can't recover in time and Aucoin backhands it in. I think. Honestly, the play happens quick enough (and my video is blurry enough) that I can't really tell if its a backhander or on his forehand. Doesn't really matter though, cuz it's a game winner.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Datsyuk will play tonight
After two games out of the lineup, Pavel Datsyuk will return tonight against Phoenix. This is great, as Phoenix doesn't look like the cakewalk they used to be. Their start this year has been impressive and pretty unexpected. The Wings will have to hope Pav's truly healthy because the Coyotes have only given up something like 10 goals so far this year (I think I read that somewhere). Pav will be paired with Zetterberg and Homer on the top line. I am and have always been a fan of playing Pav and Z together, so I'm glad there won't be any line shuffling going on.
-John Buccigross has a pretty interesting little column up over at ESPN. He says that Dats and Z are both past their prime. I don't think I can bring myself to agree with this, but he makes a better point than you'd think from just reading the title. My take on this is that he's probably right, the athleticism of a player peaks in their mid 20s, but I don't think that means they're past their prime when this diminishes. Look at Pavel, who didn't come into the league until he was 24. He's a lot better at 31 than he was at 25. However you feel about it, it's worth a read. Here's the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/notebook?page=buccigross/091021mailbag
-John Buccigross has a pretty interesting little column up over at ESPN. He says that Dats and Z are both past their prime. I don't think I can bring myself to agree with this, but he makes a better point than you'd think from just reading the title. My take on this is that he's probably right, the athleticism of a player peaks in their mid 20s, but I don't think that means they're past their prime when this diminishes. Look at Pavel, who didn't come into the league until he was 24. He's a lot better at 31 than he was at 25. However you feel about it, it's worth a read. Here's the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/notebook?page=buccigross/091021mailbag
Monday, October 19, 2009
Wings v. Avalanche in review 10/17/09
I apologize for missing the Wings/Avalanche preview. I have a lot of work right now and just didn't have time to get it done. Moving on, here's the in review for what should have been a victory for the Wings but, like far too many games already this year, was a loss. The Wings have shown a propensity for letting games slip away in spans of less than five minutes, and that continued again in this game.
Detroit goal (1-0) 3:25 in 1st period; Abdelkader & Helm:
Tremendous forechecking by Helm sets this one up. He takes away the puck and skates hard to the net, where a bunch of guys flop around, including the goaltender. This leaves the puck unattended and at the edge of the crease, and Abdelkader wastes no time in flipping it over the goalie for his first regular season goal.
Detroit PPG goal (2-0) 1:14 in 2nd period; Bertuzzi from Zetterberg & Cleary:
A pretty pass from Cleary results in a shot from Zetterberg off to the goalie's left. Bertuzzi is in front of the net in good position for the tip, and he banks it home.
Colorado goal (2-1) 9:06 in 3rd period; McLeod from O'Reilly:
A turnover along the boards by Abdelkader leads to a 2 on 1, and Lebda doesn't have much of a chance to make a play here. Not the kind of goal you want to give up at this point in the game.
Colorado goal (2-2) 11:45 in 3rd; Duchene from Clark:
Wow. Now this one was impressive. Duchene picks up the puck at the Avs blue line, carries it across center, and shoots under the glove and the right side of the leg of the defenseman. He beats Osgood stick side.
Detroit goal (3-2) 13:37 in 3rd period; Filppula from Williams & Leino:
Williams and Leino had a nice give and go on a 2 on 1, but the shot from Leino was stopped. The goalie was on his belly and the puck was directly in front of him. Filppula came in with speed from the right side and put it in the net.
Colorado goal (3-3) 17:28 in 3rd period; McLeod from O'Reilly & Galiardi:
The Wings get caught on a line change at the wrong time. This leads to a 2 on 1, and the Wings defender commits to the wrong guy. Ozzie scrambles to get the other side of the crease, but the one time gets past him to tie the game.
Shoot out:
Det- Williams goal 1-0
Col- Svatos goal 1-1
Det- Zetterberg stopped 1-1
Col- Hejduk goal 2-1
Det- Leino stopped 2-1
This one hurts. Unfortunately, that pharse is starting to lose its effect because I've had to use it so often this season. This was way closer than it should have been. The Wings need to string together a full 60 minutes because there are four games already this year that they could have won if not for lapses of a few minutes that buried them. This team is obviously better than its record, and they need to make up ground immediately or risk falling into a far larger hole than necessary.
Detroit goal (1-0) 3:25 in 1st period; Abdelkader & Helm:
Tremendous forechecking by Helm sets this one up. He takes away the puck and skates hard to the net, where a bunch of guys flop around, including the goaltender. This leaves the puck unattended and at the edge of the crease, and Abdelkader wastes no time in flipping it over the goalie for his first regular season goal.
Detroit PPG goal (2-0) 1:14 in 2nd period; Bertuzzi from Zetterberg & Cleary:
A pretty pass from Cleary results in a shot from Zetterberg off to the goalie's left. Bertuzzi is in front of the net in good position for the tip, and he banks it home.
Colorado goal (2-1) 9:06 in 3rd period; McLeod from O'Reilly:
A turnover along the boards by Abdelkader leads to a 2 on 1, and Lebda doesn't have much of a chance to make a play here. Not the kind of goal you want to give up at this point in the game.
Colorado goal (2-2) 11:45 in 3rd; Duchene from Clark:
Wow. Now this one was impressive. Duchene picks up the puck at the Avs blue line, carries it across center, and shoots under the glove and the right side of the leg of the defenseman. He beats Osgood stick side.
Detroit goal (3-2) 13:37 in 3rd period; Filppula from Williams & Leino:
Williams and Leino had a nice give and go on a 2 on 1, but the shot from Leino was stopped. The goalie was on his belly and the puck was directly in front of him. Filppula came in with speed from the right side and put it in the net.
Colorado goal (3-3) 17:28 in 3rd period; McLeod from O'Reilly & Galiardi:
The Wings get caught on a line change at the wrong time. This leads to a 2 on 1, and the Wings defender commits to the wrong guy. Ozzie scrambles to get the other side of the crease, but the one time gets past him to tie the game.
Shoot out:
Det- Williams goal 1-0
Col- Svatos goal 1-1
Det- Zetterberg stopped 1-1
Col- Hejduk goal 2-1
Det- Leino stopped 2-1
This one hurts. Unfortunately, that pharse is starting to lose its effect because I've had to use it so often this season. This was way closer than it should have been. The Wings need to string together a full 60 minutes because there are four games already this year that they could have won if not for lapses of a few minutes that buried them. This team is obviously better than its record, and they need to make up ground immediately or risk falling into a far larger hole than necessary.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wings v. Kings in review
Nice to see the Wings stay hot at the Joe. Losing this would have hurt, especially after working hard in practice to re-establish the system.
LA goal (1-0) 5:41 in 1st; Brown from Greene & Stoll:
The Kings win the faceoff, the puck trickles back to the D man, and he pucks a hard shot on net. It looks like Ozzie gloves it and is then run into and drops the puck. Maybe Ozzie never had it in the glove, it's hard to tell from the replay. Brown is waiting on the left side of the crease to put the puck behind Osgood.
Detroit goal (1-1) 3:33 in 2nd; Ericsson from Abdelkader:
Abdelkader wins the faceoff cleanly and the puck goes to Ericsson at the top of the left circle, who fires a slapshot that beats Quick short side.
Detroit PP goal (2-1) 8:47 in 2nd; Holmstrom from Lidstrom & Rafalski:
In typical Holmstrom fashion, this one comes on a tip in off a slap shot by Lidstrom. Homer got great position in front of the net and had his stick at just the right height for the tip.
Detroit goal (3-1) 3:24 in 3rd; Zetterberg from Lidstrom (Lidstrom's 1000th point):
Lidstrom puts yet another slap shot on net that gets tipped in. Zetterberg's stick redirects the puck and puts in the far top corner, just beating the glove of Quick.
LA goal (3-2) 11:57 in 3rd; Williams from O'Donnel & Kopitar:
Good passing led to a good shot, and from the replay it looks like this one was tapped in right in front of the net.
Detroit goal (4-2) 14:43 in 3rd; Maltby from Bertuzzi:
Now this one was nice. Relentless checking led to an LA turnover, and Bertuzzi ends up with his back to the goalie but manages to dump the puck right into the slot where Maltby finishes the job. Great effort goal.
Detroit goal (5-2) 19:53 in 3rd; Rafalski from Zetterberg & Ericsson (empty netter):
Pretty straightforward. A good pass finds Rafalski all along past the blue line, and he does a good job of not embarassing himself and converting.
Overall, a good effort from the Wings. The comforts of home seem to work magic for this team. They'll need to continue this kind of effort in order to make up for the injured stars.
LA goal (1-0) 5:41 in 1st; Brown from Greene & Stoll:
The Kings win the faceoff, the puck trickles back to the D man, and he pucks a hard shot on net. It looks like Ozzie gloves it and is then run into and drops the puck. Maybe Ozzie never had it in the glove, it's hard to tell from the replay. Brown is waiting on the left side of the crease to put the puck behind Osgood.
Detroit goal (1-1) 3:33 in 2nd; Ericsson from Abdelkader:
Abdelkader wins the faceoff cleanly and the puck goes to Ericsson at the top of the left circle, who fires a slapshot that beats Quick short side.
Detroit PP goal (2-1) 8:47 in 2nd; Holmstrom from Lidstrom & Rafalski:
In typical Holmstrom fashion, this one comes on a tip in off a slap shot by Lidstrom. Homer got great position in front of the net and had his stick at just the right height for the tip.
Detroit goal (3-1) 3:24 in 3rd; Zetterberg from Lidstrom (Lidstrom's 1000th point):
Lidstrom puts yet another slap shot on net that gets tipped in. Zetterberg's stick redirects the puck and puts in the far top corner, just beating the glove of Quick.
LA goal (3-2) 11:57 in 3rd; Williams from O'Donnel & Kopitar:
Good passing led to a good shot, and from the replay it looks like this one was tapped in right in front of the net.
Detroit goal (4-2) 14:43 in 3rd; Maltby from Bertuzzi:
Now this one was nice. Relentless checking led to an LA turnover, and Bertuzzi ends up with his back to the goalie but manages to dump the puck right into the slot where Maltby finishes the job. Great effort goal.
Detroit goal (5-2) 19:53 in 3rd; Rafalski from Zetterberg & Ericsson (empty netter):
Pretty straightforward. A good pass finds Rafalski all along past the blue line, and he does a good job of not embarassing himself and converting.
Overall, a good effort from the Wings. The comforts of home seem to work magic for this team. They'll need to continue this kind of effort in order to make up for the injured stars.
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