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Wings pull off OT win, but bad habits created problems again |
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Game Summary:
A win is a win. It’s worth celebrating. What has me concerned is watching Detroit work hard, cycle hard, and the structure pays off with a goal. And then, usually about 2 minutes later, the opposing team turns on the jets and ties it up.
Against San Jose it was almost a carbon copy. In the Bowman days, to a player everyone knew that the shift after a goal is scored is going to be a high intensity and important shift. Montreal managed to get something special out of Chicago in Dach. Off the ice, he’s as humble and nice a person as you could hope to meet. On the ice, he’s starting to look like a nightmare for opposing teams. He uses his long frame exceptionally well, and left Copp in a heap face down on the ice. This is not a player that looks for fights but that looked embarrassing.
Husso made a difference, but 3 saves on 23 shots isn’t going to get it done. If you remember Jose Theodore, his teammates used to call him “Jose three or more”. It was fairly accurate. This isn’t the 80s. Your goals against can’t be in the 3s or higher and expect to find some sort of consistent success. I don’t know if it’s a focus on offense, a lack of focus on defense (Lidstrom is literally pulling his hair out) or just the lack of development/maturity and a roster that doesn’t have the depth it needs. Possibly some combination of it all.
Mo makes a lot of good plays. Walman has had some good looks lately. Defensively, this team is lacking. Offensively, if you can score 3 or 4 that’s a pretty good sign. It all leads to the same conclusion: it’s still a rebuild.
Most of you know Chycrun was my go to in terms of players I wanted to get. But, like Samuel L. Jackson’s character in “glass”, he seems to be on IR an awful lot. Teams know when they have top tier D men and centers. (Goalies as well, but the other 2 can help with that). I like Edvinsson and hope he turns out as projected, but in the meantime we need some more stabilizers. Those players like Brad Stuart that you don’t really notice and that’s when they’re at their best.
I liked watching the Larkin line. Bert is knocking on the door. Raymond is still hot and cold, but keeps getting up (though that missed high stick and his slow skate to the bench cost a shorty). We know we can build a pretty good bottom 6. Ras seems to be getting into it more and more as the season wears on. Copp just doesn’t seem to have found that groove yet. I love Perron, I think that kids watching him can learn creative ways to keep possession and make plays. Sundqvist has some up and down, but a good guy to have around developing kids (except for dental health advice).
I want to see Detroit treat the shift and the 2 minutes after scoring like it’s a high pressure, game changing scenario. Momentum swings change the game so much. It’s that intangible force. Like having White Castle for lunch and being stuck in a full elevator. It can either go really well or really poorly.
I don’t doubt that Yzerman is making his “available” list. He’s one of the best in the league about not sharing it. When the GM makes a move, it seems to be quick, decisive and sometimes comes out of nowhere. He will make good deals and bad deals. That’s life. You can’t control outside issues. For the most part, having Yzerman and Lidstrom talking on a daily basis feels like a very, very good thing for the future of this organization. I would love to see Nick do a video breakdown for the D squad. You should get college credits for that. Let’s see if the last game before the break shows glimpses of improvement on those follow up shifts.
First Period Detroit goals:
At 3:54 Rasmussen broke through to get things going. He skated in effortlessly (unassisted) and made a low shot far side. Really nicely done.
Montreal tied it up about 2 minutes later after some sloppy D zone play. Almost a carbon copy of last game. Sore, then get it tied up.
Shots: 10-5 DET
Score: 1-1
Second Period Detroit goals:
Berggren regained the lead as Detroit had the man advantage. Larkin got a shot on net, Bertuzzi seemed hit the rebound (not credited at this point) and it landed on Berggren’s stick. Goal at 3:56. 2-1
Montreal tied it up short handed. Awful. 2-2
Wings seemed to regain the lead but I’m sure there is some review on the play as Sundqvist ended up snuggling the Montreal net minder. It was a short relationship. Kubalik and Seider with assists. Goal at 13:30. 3-2
Of course MTL ties it back up at about 5 minutes later. Half the effort, same score. 5-5
Shots: 27-15 DET
Score: 3-3
Third Period Detroit goals:
No third period goals.
Shots: 38-21 DET
Score: 3-3
Overtime:
With 2:24 left in OT it looked like Fabbri had the overtime winner. I’m waiting a second because it looked very close to being offside. MTL has gone to the dressing room and so have the Wings and Refs. Husso made a 1 on 0 save as MTL set a moving pick on Seider. Seider ended up doing some nice skating all the way back down the ice, got the puck to Ras and Fabbri had a wide open net. Ras has multiple reels from tonight’s game. He works, and I’m honestly glad to see him find his way. Nice to see Fabbri get a winner after a long IR stay.
Final shots: 42-23 DET
Final Score: 4-3 DET
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