Recap: Not Really, Just a Rant
The Red Wings earned all of the zero points they got last night. Calgary came ready to play and Detroit did not. Really, this game was just a replay of the Columbus game from Saturday night. Nothing positive will be said in this post, so if you’re not into that sort of thing, might want to skip this one.
Some brutal honesty after the jump:
Jimmy Howard is not our problem, but his numbers are not entirely a result of bad defense. Last year at this time we were calling him elite. Well, elite goalies don’t have sub-.900 save percentages, no matter who’s playing in front of him. He’s making some very good saves, but 4 goals on 25-30 shots will not win games. It just won’t. He needs to be better.
Kronwall is Kyle Quincey with points. Kronwall is out of position all the time, makes bad passes on the power play and shoots the puck into shin pads. He’s been burned on a few bad calls, but he’s also deserved plenty of them. Kronwall was our second best defenseman when Lidstrom was here. Lidstrom retired and Kronwall is still our second best defenseman.
Can anyone tell me what Cleary is doing on this team? Besides gliding around in slow motion and taking his sweet time “firing” wrist shots into the goalie’s logo.
Our depth is a joke this year. I do like the way they hit people now, but at some point they’ll have to start putting some points on the board. Out of the dozen or so bottom six forwards we have on this team, they’ve combined for one assist and that was Eaves on the power play.
Filpulla is a great penalty killer when he’s on our power play. Bert will make a decent pass to Cleary, Cleary will then slowly pass it to the blueline, who will then send it to Filpulla, and he’ll quickly proceed to attempt a pass through the skates and sticks of three defenders. And then there goes 30-45 seconds of the power play. The only way Filpulla could be any worse on our power play would be if he handed his stick to a defender who didn’t have one. And then kick him the puck and cost us 30-45 seconds.
Mike Babcock needs to go. I know he’s still a good coach, but he’s just going through the motions right now and no one is listening to him. If he tries to get the team ready for a game, they’re not listening. As far as going through the motions, when our 3rd line generates pressure, runs a team ragged and they’re forced to ice it, who does Babcock send out? The first line, who could take advantage of a tired squad and generate some scoring chances? No, of course not. How about Emmerton, Tootoo and Miller? Why, yes, that’s a great idea!
Our special teams are still terrible and have been for a few years now. A Red Wings power play used to spell certain doom for teams, but now it’s just another penalty that needs killing. Our penalty kill sucks. We have our own guys screening Howard, the other team screening Howard and not paying the price, pucks are not being cleared when we have the chance to clear them and we’re losing battles along the boards.
This team has enough talent to compete for the Central, but everything is going wrong right now. If Detroit hadn’t played a bunch of teams that had played the night before, what would our record be? 1-8? With that one win being in a SO against Columbus.
These things must change or this team won’t make the playoffs.
LGRW
I agree with almost everything. Getting rid of Babs would be ridiculous, coaches like him don't just fall from trees. Unless you're actually in the locker room, or the minds of the players, you don't know whats going on.
Otherwise this team is playing complete garbage, and you're dead right about the lines being out at totally the wrong times. Filpulla is frustrating to the point of suicide. Cleary needs waived. Kronwall is invisible if he's not taking penalties or trying futile slapshots from the point that get blocked, bounce out and result in the whole thing having to start over.
I am sick of hearing "why are they not playing Nyquist?". The way they're playing he would get smoked by someone and be out for the next decade with a broken ego to add to "concussion like symptoms". He needs called up when we're on a high, not a low. He is not someone who can raise this team from these depths.
Cleary is killing me. He's taking so many penalties as opponents rush past him that he has become a huge liability. He needs to ride the pine for a while or have a permanent change of scenery, and let's put Nyquist in his spot. I thought we'd have 4 easy points with Calgary and CBJ - we got zero. Time for a shake up, and start it with number 11.
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Sad to say, I disagree with nothing in the post. Except that you forgot to beat up on Quincey. Did anyone else hear Mickey muttering "unbelievable" under his breath as Quincey attempted yet another dump-in that was easily intercepted at the blue line and tuned into a rush by the Flames?
