Chris Osgood credits Mike Vernon for helping him in his development. The hardest lesson for goalies to learn in the NHL is to move on quickly from a goal against. Whether is was a beautiful snipe or a bad bounce, you have to let it go immediately or it will derail you. There is a lesson for the sport as a whole there. Whether a team loses a scoreless game in a shootout, or you get buried by 10 in regulation, you have to move on. The Wings are fortunate to have that opportunity today (11/1) versus the Florida Panthers.
The word “fortunate… may be overly optimistic, as the Florida Panthers have been a bane for the Red Wings in the past few years. With newly appointed coach Joel Quenneville at the helm, today’s tilt will be one that focuses on matchups. Coach Q is as good as anyone at using the home ice advantage of last change. Florida has a number of weapons in all 3 areas. Goaltending, defense and forward all post threats.
Florida’s special teams numbers are right where a really good team should have them. 20.5% PP with an 84.8% PK for a total special teams number of 105.3%. That spells trouble for Detroit’s 14.9% pp and 71.1% pk(29th in the league) for a total special teams number of 86%. The mantra, again, is “stay out of the box….
The upside of today’s tilt could be the “4th period… effect. On a back to back, some teams can pick right back up on intensity from the night before. The downside is the “6th period… effect of a team being gassed, having traveled on back to back games.
Anthony Mantha’s 9 goals in 14 games is the best start of any forward since ‘08-‘09 when Henrik Zetterberg matched that output. Big Mo is setting up for a career year in numbers, but more importantly his contribution is more consistent. Tyler Bertuzzi has 6 goals and 8 assists, and Larkin has 4 goals and 8 assists. 2 players at a point per game and one very close is a good sign for Motown.
However, Mantha was a -3 and Athanasiou a -4 in yesterday’s tilt. That speaks to me of matchups. With the Larkin line working Helm in, that should be that matchup line du jour. DeLaRose, Abdelkader and Erne also do well defensively. The other 2 lines are struggling mightily when not in possession. Hence, if there is an icing, those are the lines Florida will try to take advantage of.
You can expect to see minutes tilted toward the 4th line and 1st line, especially if goals aren’t coming for the Wings. The role becomes one of “minimizing damage… for the staff when the offense isn’t clicking. This could be a difficult tilt for Detroit again. A lot will depend on intensity and a general dissatisfaction with yesterday’s result. If the Winged Wheel comes out flying and plays a solid 60, anything is possible.
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