Red Wings vs Canucks Recap 2.2.2012
Another game, another two points. I'd say Detroit played a solid 53 minutes in regulation, then dominated the OT. It was just enough. Hopefully that bonus point to Vancouver doesn't come back to haunt us.
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I gave Ericsson a ton of crap earlier this year for all of his mistakes. I also said that Kindl was the better of the two. Lately, that has switched around completely. Ericsson has been good. Kindl has not. He's been slow, out of position and comes across as not being interested in the game. A couple years ago, I watched him play a game in Houston against the Aeros. The Griffins got blown away and Kindl was on the ice for almost every goal against. At one point, he was casually skating out of his own zone for a line change when the Aeros grabbed the puck and rushed right past him for a 2 on 1 and another goal. He didn't even notice until the Griffins' bench yelled at him to turn around. It was sad. I hope he can get past this little slump of his, because lazy play will win no Cups.
What will win cups is guys like Miller making up for his own mistakes. I was mad at Miller for trying to skate through 3 guys, but he was even more mad than I was. Great determination in front of Luongo.
Some people, myself included, were not thrilled to see Abdelkader drop the gloves right after Hudler's goal. It's usually not a good idea to fight right after your team has scored. For whatever reason, getting punched in the face wakes up your teammates and makes them care. Good that he won, but I'm sure he'll be reminded that there's a time and a place for that sort of thing.
Power play. I don't know. They're getting shots. I just don't know. Maybe you could say that they're making too many passes. I don't know. I'll look at it over the next few days and do a highlights post.
Okay, now be honest: If you were a Canucks fan, you'd be pissed about the missed calls tonight. I know I would be. Half the time the fans freaked out it was over nothing, but they got zero favors tonight and we did. I'd say we were due for some, though. And hey, they can suck it, because last game they got a goal out of the most obvious goalie interference I've ever seen. It all works out in the end.
Hudler. Keep him.
NOHS Three Stars of the Game:
First Star: Jiri Hudler. Good shooting out there. He also owns Luongo in the shootout and he hasn't even deked him yet.
Second Star: Dan Cleary. He worked hard today and was rewarded on the score sheet. Could a guy like Cleary find himself on another team after the trade deadline? Not if he keeps playing like this.
Third Star: Drew Miller. It's not just that he scored. It's that he redeemed himself. That's Detroit, friends. That's what we do.
NOHS Favorite Moment of the Game: When Ken and Murph were talking about how the Canucks went 5 of 6 on the PP against Chicago, then suddenly found themselves with a PP opportunity the last two games against Chicago. Sound familiar? Murph says something like "Chicago learned their lesson and started playing disciplined hockey against Vancouver." Then Ken says exactly what we're all thinking as he points out that maybe, just maybe, the NHL is behind that one. You might be on to something there, Ken.
Next game is Saturday night against the Oilers. They are young, fast and on fire. Especially Gagne. They played well against Detroit last time they were in Edmonton, but hopefully they got all their scoring out of the way tonight after stomping Chicago 8-4. The puck drops at 10:00 EST.
LGRW
I said it last night and I'll say it again, how about Happy bringing it back this year? The man is doing work.
I was at the game last night. Granted there were a few calls they didn't get, but it's tough to draw penalties when you're chasing the puck all night.
I will say this though - if Vancouver's not getting the calls, its because their reputation is getting ahead of them. No ref wants to look stupid and that's what the Canucks do. They dive and embellish and embarass the refs. It's starting to catch up to them now.
hudler is not only scoring again but he's scoring timely goals. that's the one thing i remember about him before he went to russia. last year his goals came in losses or blowouts. now, he seems to be back to the clutch hudler of 07-09.
the powerplay NEEDS to be fixed or we won't be winning the cup this year. i can't imagine us winning 4 playoff series with such an awful, inconsistent powerplay. the penalty kill doesn't bother me as much because we don't take too many penalties but the powerplay is a truly serious matter.
kindl is terrible.
@marti783 @brendanksullivan yeah I'm going to disagree with this. We're first in the league with shit PP, though improving our PP will only add fuel to the fire. If we can get our PP going, watch out. I will say this though, there is no reason this team with it's depth should be struggling this bad.
@thebiglachovsky@brendanksullivan i really hope you guys are right but where we finish in the regular season really means nothing to me, besides getting home ice advantage. the playoffs are an entire different animal and when it comes to getting out of the west, it may come down to special teams. the games are tighter and converting on your powerplay chances is a must, in my opinion.
I thought E made some actually ok plays that game, some good zone entry preventions, but the one thing that still pisses me off is his lack of imagination about what to do when he gets the puck. It's never there for more than a touch or two before it airmailed in the vague direction of the other net regardless of what plays could be made or how useful he could be. He can't shoot for crap so why not learn to make some decent passes.
Loving cleary right now, and is it just me or does anyone else think Detroit should get to skip OT so they can go straight to the shootout and dominate?
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after the missed call on the obvious hook on Filpulla's breakaway we were do a few favors.
Wings looked solid, bring back Commie. Fave moment was Cleary's goal. The shot was so fast, I didn't see it until I had rewound twice. Shots barely lagged, good pressure through all but the start of the third. Vancouver shined bright, the little wings shined brighter. Just need a backup goalie.
