Red Wings vs Avalanche Recap
Detroit had a great start, but a slow finish. A few of the guys had off-nights and the result was a loss to a lesser opponent.
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Conklin was not bad. He wasn't epic, but he played well enough to win the game if he had some help. Position-wise, the shorty was not his fault. He did, however, give away the puck and the Wings never did recover from that. Still, he played well enough to win, but the shots didn't go the Red Wings' way.
Hudler needs to shoot more. Even when he has the puck in the slot, he looks to pass. He has a great shot, but needs to use it.
Kronwall and White both seemed off tonight. Maybe they just didn't have their heads in the game. It happens.
Conner has some speed. I'd like to see him play some more minutes, but he'll probably get sent back to Grand Rapids in favor of Emmerton.
I'd like to see Bertuzzi sit out the Colorado games. He knows he's going to be booed and tries to get rid of the puck as soon as he gets it. Whether that means just tipping it into the zone, a one-touch pass to no one, or a a one-timer from the neutral zone. It clearly bothers him. Can't say I blame him, but it does affect his game.
Good news!
Datsyuk is still the best. His assist on Franzen's goal was a thing of beauty.
Val got cut on his leg and is listed as day to day.
St. Louis on Tuesday.
LGRW
We had a horrible 2nd period. This usually happens almost every game, maybe not to the extent of last night, but in the mid-game we always have small stretches of sketchy play. the difference is Jimmy has been countering the sketchy play. Something happened to Conks in St. Louis and he isn't the guy we had a few seasons ago. He kept us in it (kind of) but he isn't going to be a shut down guy like Jimmy.
How about Dave Strader doing the game last night! It brought back some pretty awesome memories when I was a kid watching them on PASS. Now, if we could only do something about Larry Murphy...
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@marti783 just keep him liquord up and full of hot dogs... That guy is entertainment personified.
@marti783 i like murph. watching the FSD crew is like watching hockey with friends and that's a big deal for us transplants. murph is the incoherent drunk guy everyone laughs at. not because of what he said but because of how he said it.
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Can we do something with Ericsson? That crosscheck that led to the Avalanche power play and goal was just stupid.
@thebiglachovsky I agree, it's getting really bad. He's just terrible. I don't see he ever growing into that contract like Kenny had hoped. We should have just let him walk.
I think there may be an official impeach Conklin movement after this one. I don't think Cinks is to blame outright, but by osmosis. The team is playing scared in front of him and it led to mistakes which in turn led to goals, I think Kenny needs to find a replacement, tits mental damage may be done.
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Just found out that my wife set a bunch of common words to autocorrect with dirty ones, that was so nice since I primarily use my phone for work emails
I completely blame Conklin for goal #2. Every goalie knows if you don't know where it is, drop! He just looks weak and slow and the team isn't confident in front of him.
Bert was ok I thought, he was on ice for both goals right?
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@Reddy He did look a few steps behind everyone else. On that second goal he looked like he thought we had possession after the initial save, so he got relaxed and out of position and didn't have time to get back in position. If there is one thing I learned in my short stint as goalie was to always stay in position until you're confident the puck has left your zone and to keep your damn stick on the ice at all times.
While I think Conklin did have a few good saves, I honestly think I would feel better with Joey Macdonald in net right now. He looked pretty sharp when called upon last season.
I actually thought "Boo-tuzzi" didn't look too bad and was using the boos to fuel his play. I also feel that Conklin looked out of position on that second goal and kind of awkward all night (though playing in as few games as he has lately would be the likely contributing factor). He certainly gave them the chance to win the team just looked deflated after that second goal and fell apart.
