Howard Is Back To Save Us
Well despite the fact that Babbles said otherwise, we're going to see Howard in the net tonight after Ty's rough performance. “I talked to Jimmy (goaltending coach Bedard) and I talked to Piet (trainer Van Zant) and everything seems to be OK,'' Babcock said. "Jimmy says he's feeling good about himself, so obviously we'd like to get him going.''
In addition, our newest addition Kyle Quincey has gone from being the #1 defensemen on Colorado to being a healthy scratch tonight. Replacing him will be Kindl.“We have seven D, we believe we really have depth,'' Babcock said. "I told the D before the Columbus game we're going to have a rotation. I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about that. I thought Kuba's (Kindl) been playing great his last 5-6 games, so you'll see a different guy out the next game.''
Kuba eh? I actually agree with this move, though I'm not sure I would have made it yet. Quincey's been struggling a bit out there. I do think, however, I would have let him go a few games with Big E to get some chemistry.
Hit the jump for more on the Big Rig and the PK:
Finally, Josh pointed me to an article with a little quote from Babbles I found interesting. To all the Big Rig haters, this might change your tune a little:
"When Big E went down, our penalty kill had been going along the previous 20 games at 87 percent. When Big E got hurt, we went down to 71.
Damn. I've had some thoughts about the kill, including my dissatisfaction with Quincey and Miller being on it, but that's an impressive stat there. I think Big E is slowing winning his way back into the good graces of Wings fans.
I'm a "Big E hater," and I choose to interpret that statistic in a different way- I think that shows just how bad our PK is. I actually think he is better on the PK than 5-on-5. On the PK, blasting a puck aimlessly down the rink is a good strategy. Since icing prevents that 5-on-5, he tries to do other things. Those things fail terribly several times a game with bad icings from overshot passes or undershot passes (aka- giveaways) that lead to goals against.
Sidebar, I hated the Quincey trade then and hate it now still. Not worth a 1st Round Pick at least. Think about our TB trades: TB gets Commodore and a 1st Rd Pick, and we actually only get Quincey (TB won't make playoffs so no 7th Rounder). I want our pick back in this allegedly deep draft field. Did see some article about us likely signing some Wisconsin Hobey Baker finalist defenseman this coming summer and that he would be the 3rd most sought after UFA then (behind Suter and Parise). Hope we get all 3 because trades like this are killing our present and future.
I'm sorry if I missed something, but if Jimmy is 100% good to go why in the world would we play anyone else? Granted my suspicion is that he isn't 100%, but I think you've got to play him unless there is a significant chance of re-injuring himself. Home ice advantage is important, however I'd rather not have home ice with Jimmy in net, than have home ice and Ty in net (because of Jimmy re-aggravating his groin).
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Don't discount the impact of losing Jimmy, TPH, and Pavel during Ericsson's injury. I would claim they have a larger impact on our PK percentage than Big Rig
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Only reasons (for me anyways) I hate the guy is how much he got talked up and how soft he plays for his size. High expectations and little product for the longest time. Same with Huds.
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@KevinMichael I concur. The guy is huge and rarely uses his body to his advantage. He also often over-skates the puck and has those signature turnovers in our zone that inevitably result in a goal against. I like the way Kindl has been playing. I'd rather have either Kindl or Smith on the ice than Errorsson screwing everything up. That PK stat is interesting, but not enough to convince me that he deserves a roster spot over Kindl and Smith. One of those situations where I keep repeating "In Kenny, we trust. In Kenny, we trust" over and over in my head.
@Kronwalled55 @KevinMichael I agree as well. He really needs to use his size & strength. Look at some of the smaller guys who go out playing twice as big...Conner comes to mind. I like Rig, but he's really gotta step it up. Mayber Kronner should have some one-on-one time with him. I wonder if it would help?
I do love seeing Kindl play though (what's up with the Kuba nickname - says one of the many who calls him Amazon). I love him. I'm excited to see Smith come back up & hopefully get some Playoff minutes.
