After another tough night on Monday (11/4) the Red Wings spent yesterday doing battle drills. Read about it here
The players are, again, saying the right things. Acknowledging an effort that’s not good enough, looking to play smart, hard 60 minute hockey. Dylan Larkin noted the team “melting… when things go the wrong way. The team and coaching staff are doing their level best to stand in front of an already difficult season. Self accountability, not blaming each other, win as a team.
A week ago, the matchup versus the Rangers was a welcome sight. They, too, were a team struggling. The caveat this season is that New York paid for some high level talent. Specifically Artemi Panerin who has 6 goals and 6 assists in 12 games. Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are all players I will be watching in this tilt. Kaapo Kakko is an exciting prospect. And, for as difficult as things have been, both Rangers goalies are outperforming the Wings netminders. The Rangers special teams read out at 17.8% PP and 79.6%. The total special teams number is 97.4%, just shy of the 100 mark that Scotty Bowman would look for in a team. The Wings numbers haven’t improved. 13.2% and 68.6% for 81.8% still spells “stay out of the box…. Goals for and against through 12 games for New York are 37 for, 42 against. In 16 games Detroit has 33 goals for and 43 against. Neither team has a plus rating in this category, but New York is scoring nearly 3 goals per game and Detroit at just above 2.
New York has 2 more points in the standings for 11, having played 4 fewer games. Detroit sits at the bottom with 9 (NY ranked 25). Standings wise, this is the closest contest the Wings will face since playing Ottawa and lost 5-2.
As mentioned far too many times already, any victory when you’re the bottom team requires a reversal. The bright spot of Monday’s game was seeing Athanasiou score his first. He tends to be a “streaky… goal scorer (as are many in the league) so history could lend toward some more offense from him tonight. Larkin came close, and I believe he is always knocking on the door. His effort is the best on the team night in and night out. Mantha always looks like he can score. Whatever work he’s done with his shot and skating have paid off (and will, quite literally, pay off at this pace). Bertuzzi is fearless. He’s not Holmstrom, but he has the same attitude. Take whatever abuse you have to in order to get a puck on net. It’s hard not to love what he brings. Hronek has a really good shot as well.
The rest of the team needs to stand up and be counted. I don’t envy the situation for Perlini. He’s still getting a feel for the system and didn’t play much in Chicago. It would be a huge relief to see him score even an ugly bounce to get going. Hirose needs some confidence. It’s the spiral of sports. Scoring gives you confidence, it takes confidence to score. And so on. The team needs a solid, if not brilliant, effort in net. The defense needs to make life better for the goalie. Before joining a rush, make sure no one is behind you.
The odd call up is Mcllrath. Originally drafted 10th overall in 2010 by New York, Dylan may have the chance to face his former team. His journey hasn’t panned out like he’d hoped. There still isn’t any word on whether he’s in or out for tonight’s tilt, so it may be for naught. He is a big, physical defenseman. In Grand Rapids he brings stability to games during intense situations. Stability is something Detroit could use in spades right now.
Hockey is the sport of momentum and goalies. Those 2 things can flip the script on any give night. If a player is “feeling it… they can break out and score a couple. A goalie can shut the door and give the team some jump. The “what ifs… are on the line again. I believe there are players with talent, effort and skill enough on this team to be able to take over in a game. There just aren’t enough of them right now. If our top 3 or 4 forwards can get it going, tonight could go well. It would be nice to see Larkin be able to enjoy the post game interview. He wears his heart on his sleeve and gives everything he’s got. That’s the type of person and the type of player you want to see succeed.
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