WING THINGS
With just one regulation win in the last five games, the month of March has not gotten off to a fantastic start for the Wings. The skid had landed them two points back of the final wild card spot in the East.
The Wings looked good through the first two periods against the Blue Jackets Tuesday night but couldn’t keep it together through the full 60 minutes for the win. The Red Wings applied pressure early, outshooting Columbus 18-8 in the first period but Sergei Bobrovski stood tall and kept the Jackets in the mix until the tables turned in the third, when the Jackets scored three times on 15 shots.
Not to play the “what-might’ve-been… game but it’s always baffling when a player is issued a two minute minor that ends up resulting in a suspension. Blake Comeau’s hit on Brenden Smith in the first period was dangerous. It was exactly the kind of hit that gets shown every time analysts bring up the “kind of hit that doesn’t belong in the game…. There was no turn, there was no grey area, it was right in the numbers. The league confirmed this when they handed down the two game suspension for the hit. Why then, in such an obvious circumstance, did Comeau only get assessed a two minute minor on the ice? The penalty hardly served as a turning point in the game but who’s to say what would’ve happened had Comeau been given a five minute major and a game misconduct for the hit.
The Red Wings need to nip the skid on in the bud and start getting some points on the board before they are leapfrogged by the Devils, the Capitals or even the Senators. There a few keys to success that the Wings will need to rely on in order to turn things around.
KEYS TO TURN IT AROUND
- Johan Franzen has been on fire since his return from injury. Though he’s cooled off a little bit over the last two games, The Mule is going to have to dominate for the Wings to win. In the absence of some major key players, Franzen has to be the dependable rock that the team can count on to bury timely goals, control the pace, and ultimately carry the team.
- Goaltending will have to be extra sharp with the firepower missing from the lineup. With such a busy schedule in March, it won’t just be one guy that has to step up and stop the puck. Whether it’s starter Jimmy Howard, Jonas Gustavsson (when he returns form injury), or Petr Mrazek, the man between the pipes has got to keep the puck out of the net so the Wings can win without having to put up four or five goals. Just like in a long playoff series, the goalies are going to have to steal a few games.
- Young guns Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco, and Riley Sheahan have played well since having the opportunity to step up in place of injured Red Wings so far this year. In order for the Wings to win, they need to continue to be the exciting, dynamic players that are not only incredible to watch, but very tough to play against. Tomas Jurco is out indefinitely with a rib injury, so the pressure falls on the other young sniper’s shoulders even more. Tomas Tatar has shown he’s got some unbelievable hands lately, but those dangles need to start finding the back of the net a little more often.
- When Daniel Alfredsson came to the team from Ottawa, there was much talk about the leadership he brings to the team, in addition to his impressive skill set. While Alfie might not be able to control a game quite the way he used to, now is the time that his ability to lead needs to show through. If Alfredsson can make his contributions noticed down the stretch, last summer’s acquisition could seem like a stroke of genius, not just a chance for a veteran to try out a season with some fellow countrymen prior to the Olympics.
- It is no secret that the Wings aren’t the toughest team in the league. It isn’t the way they play. With that said, there is definitely room for some more grit. There are games when the opposition seems to get from one end of the ice to the other a little too easy. When the Wings are at their best, they make it very difficult for the other team to get much going, that needs to happen each and every game for the rest of the month.
The pressure to make the playoffs is definitely a little heavier on the Wings than it is on some other teams. That streak that has spanned over two decades hangs in the air like the banners of legends past. This team has a lot to live up to and with 17 games left to play, it is time for them to prove that, injury or not, they belong in the playoffs. It doesn’t take an advance analyst or mathematician to know that the playoff race in the East will be tight. It will likely come down to the last game of the season. Every point counts, there isn’t any room to leave points on the table.