Ryan’s prowess and deciding to be on the off wing, what a slick move. Rasmussen dropped right in. The wingers on that line aren’t passengers. This is really exciting stuff to see.
- Jeremy Laura

The talent, drive & character Ryan brings is amazing. Lots of compliments from MacGuire on Ryan & the Wing.

Greiss is....yeah, almost speechless. If his level of play stays the way it is, or doesn’t drop, he’ll be the team MVP lead. What an asset.

Ryan....sweet Jeebus that guy’s good. Keeping the puck in the zone, twisted wrister, hitting, speed... think this kid’s good??? LARMANZZI is still trying to hit full stride. Mantha needs to get back into the mental zone; MacQuire said it: Detroit needs him to take the next step. He can easily be a 35 goal-scorer, he just needs to get his mind clear, drive harder, shoot like the best he is.

So many good things so far this year. Hoping it continues to improve. Just clicking more, crisp passing, FOWs, better attitude.

Second period notes are up. CBJ used the shorter change to their advantage. Late forward waiting at the blue line for stretch pass and breakaway (Chicago was masterful with that play during cup runs).

Second Period summary - Detroit went almost half the period without a shot on net. East - West passes are killing the rush and creating opportunities for CBJ. Turnovers by top two lines trying to make a soft play. CBJ using line changes to spring a forward on a breakaway. Forward waits at the blue line and defense uses the stretch pass (Chicago used to own this play). Detroit needs to simplify and play north south. Shots on net, look for rebound or whistle. Faceoffs more valuable than the rush at this point for the boys in Red. Still leading on the shot clock, but the second period could have been much worse if not for Greiss coming up huge again.

The talent, drive & character Ryan brings is amazing. Lots of compliments from MacGuire on Ryan & the Wing.

Greiss is....yeah, almost speechless. If his level of play stays the way it is, or doesn’t drop, he’ll be the team MVP lead. What an asset.

Ryan....sweet Jeebus that guy’s good. Keeping the puck in the zone, twisted wrister, hitting, speed... think this kid’s good??? LARMANZZI is still trying to hit full stride. Mantha needs to get back into the mental zone; MacQuire said it: Detroit needs him to take the next step. He can easily be a 35 goal-scorer, he just needs to get his mind clear, drive harder, shoot like the best he is.

So many good things so far this year. Hoping it continues to improve. Just clicking more, crisp passing, FOWs, better attitude.
- mcmastermike1968

The Greiss stop on Jenner was mind blowing. Good grief. Detroit was outplayed in the second, luckily the score is only tied. CBJ used short change in a huge way.

The Greiss stop on Jenner was mind blowing. Good grief. Detroit was outplayed in the second, luckily the score is only tied. CBJ used short change in a huge way.
- Jeremy Laura

Dude’s simply amazing. Knowing he’s back there, I think, gives the guys confidence to play with more....confidence...🤨. Seriously, they just seem more poised knowing he’s there. He follows the puck like a hawk, anticipates, controls rebounds. What a great get for The Captain.

I was watching the short-changes. Torts is a good coach and plays the margins. Blash needs to figure a way to counter that.

Stall’s looking much better today, more active, better positioning, but still needs to find some control....

If I hear MacGuire say “Gleiss” again, I’m gonna 🤮🤮. He sounds like a dork.

Tex made a great play, the Filpula line was there like the house on the side of the road...Fil burned, Nemeth late to recognize. Momentum’s been slowly shifting to CBJ since about 10min left in the 2d.....

wayyyy to many breakaways today.

The Greiss stop on Jenner was mind blowing. Good grief. Detroit was outplayed in the second, luckily the score is only tied. CBJ used short change in a huge way.
- Jeremy Laura

Stecher’s been burned twice today, but that happens when all you have back for D is freakin’ Bertuzzi.... our D collapsed in the O zone & got burned.

wayyyy to many breakaways today.
- wingz4life

Yup. Part of that is the short changes Torts uses, part of it is slow recovery by our older guys (Filpula, anyone), part of it is the D collapsing in the O zone leaving forwards playing D (how PLD scored the CBJ 3d goal....). This is a result of the D thinking they have to join in because the forwards aren’t getting the job done. Discipline. Bring in Smith, dump Fil, keep Ras in....play the margins...

I think tomorrow might be a bag skate for the wings.

wayyyy to many breakaways today.
- wingz4life

Larkin, Zadina, & Ryan....interesting line....

I think tomorrow might be a bag skate for the wings.
- Tee56

they play tommorrow night

Yup. Part of that is the short changes Torts uses, part of it is slow recovery by our older guys (Filpula, anyone), part of it is the D collapsing in the O zone leaving forwards playing D (how PLD scored the CBJ 3d goal....). This is a result of the D thinking they have to join in because the forwards aren’t getting the job done. Discipline. Bring in Smith, dump Fil, keep Ras in....play the margins...
- mcmastermike1968

You don't like Ken and Mick?????

I think tomorrow might be a bag skate for the wings.
- Tee56

We’re playing back-2-back....Hoping to see Smith in for Fil...

I know we’re not going to win every game, but I’ve said for the longest; I just want to see improvement. FOWs are growing, so there’s a huge positive....slow reactions to what CBJ is doing, which is a leadership/coaching issue - gotta realize it & react to it. SOGs are definitely better, scoring chances are as well.

they play tommorrow night
- wingz4life

They can use that as an excuse.

You don't like Ken and Mick?????
- HenryHockey

I live in SC, so can’t watch Fox50 to hear those guys. I LOVE me some Mickey Redmond. He & Daniels are the George Kell & Al Kaline of hockey - comforting, familiar, vivid in description....a taste of home...

I live in SC, so can’t watch Fox50 to hear those guys. I LOVE me some Mickey Redmond. He & Daniels are the George Kell & Al Kaline of hockey - comforting, familiar, vivid in description....a taste of home...
- mcmastermike1968

Poor guy! Do you have a palmetto tree?

Poor guy! Do you have a palmetto tree?
- HenryHockey

If the game is nationally televised, I’m forced to listen to those broadcasters, when I get the game on Center Ice, I’m teleported home....worth the $$ to listen to Mick!!

Poor guy! Do you have a palmetto tree?
- HenryHockey

Magnolia trees....I can’t keep palmetto trees alive, it actually gets kind cold here (31 last night 🥶🥶🥶)....

Larking & Ryan throwing hands!!!!!

CHIT!!

Great. Freakin’. Game.

Last year, this would’ve been a blow-out. The guys didn’t quit, Larkin threw hands WITH HIS BEST FRIEND!! The whole attitude seems to have changed. Physical play, not quitting, crashing the net....What happened to the team from last year?!?!?!?

Ryan....guys, I’m tellin’ ya, he needs a multi-year deal, I’ve said it a few times already, and I know it’s waaay early in the season, but you know when you know. He’s someone that brings talent, drive, a great attitude. ****Jeremy; If you can get the ear of folks, I’m tellin’ ya, WE NEED Ryan long term!!!

We lost, but the last few minutes were hockey gold. We were down from about 5min left in the 1 until about 8min left in the 3d, but they didn’t give up. Gotta tighten down the D to ensure coverage of the short changes/things the opposing team does, but this team is playing with heart. Can Namestnikov get a freakin’ break?!?!? Mantha seemed to have taken part of the 2d & 3d periods off, then showed some life toward the end of the 3d....his shot created the goal that was reviewed within :50 of the end, he just needs to play hard continuously.

Good game. Vast improvement.

Third period notes and summary are up.

* a quick note. I’d guessed that Columbus would win this one 4-2 (see my pregame thoughts). I assumed they would get an empty net, they didn’t. Their play up until now has been better than the results indicated. I originally guessed that Detroit will win tomorrow’s contest in OT 3-2. We’ll see if that comes to fruition. Your an see my three period summary and how I felt the game went. Detroit’s strong first period was undone by Columbus as they dominated in the second and continued into the third. Soft plays leading to turnovers came back to bite this squad. Good learning opportunity, I expect Detroit to knuckle down tomorrow and come out swinging.


First period summary
Summary - Detroit has been really good on faceoffs. The flow is better, and the team is on track for their highest SOG this season with 13 in the first. Ryan makes the fantastic move to be on left wing for faceoff, shoots a moving puck after Rasmussen wins the faceoff to score. Puck was on edge, scorers make that work.

I can’t over emphasize what Greiss is giving to Detroit. He stripped Jones of the puck on a penalty shot, poke checking and gobbling up the puck. Korpisalo not holding the puck, rebounds bouncing to neutral zone. Bertuzzi drop pass almost led to the tying goal. Larkin line showing more swagger, but those blind passes are leading to opportunities.

Second Period summary - Detroit went almost half the period without a shot on net. East - West passes are killing the rush and creating opportunities for CBJ. Turnovers by top two lines trying to make a soft play. CBJ using line changes to spring a forward on a breakaway. Forward waits at the blue line and defense uses the stretch pass (Chicago used to own this play). Detroit needs to simplify and play north south. Shots on net, look for rebound or whistle. Faceoffs more valuable than the rush at this point for the boys in Red. Still leading on the shot clock, but the second period could have been much worse if not for Greiss coming up huge again.

Third period summary - final 3 minutes aside, CBJ used a very strong second period to keep momentum and get 2 goals at the beginning of the third. The continued trend of bad/soft passes plagued Detroit and was a big part of CBJs success. Columbus is excellent on transitioning after intercepting a pass. The Blue Jackets defense was very hard to get behind, and Savard is very good below the goal line. Full marks to Korpisalo, but it wasn’t just goaltending that won the day for Columbus. Strong efforts all over the ice. If Greiss hadn’t made so many really good saves, the score could have been even more tilted. Detroit needs to look at those failed passes and get them out of their game for now. It’s a skill play that isn’t working. Mantha’s big shot led to Detroit’s second goal. His shot can still cause very good things to happen.

Quick observations:

Solid effort. Not unhappy about that.

Staal really needs to sit. Not sure if Djoos will be ready to go by tomorrow, but if not still draw somebody else in. Cholowski probably, since he's probably the least useless offensively of the available options.

The powerplay is just criminally bad, and not just the zone entries. Even when they get "set up" it's a lot of standing around, perimeter shots, no pressure. I mean it's partly personnel (if Jon Merrill is your second unit QB you're in trouble) but I think there are strategic problems too, especially the obsession with always having a "net front" guy.

Hronek played 26 minutes. No other Wings defender was above 20 (Nemeth second at 19:56). Seider can't arrive soon enough.

We’re playing back-2-back....Hoping to see Smith in for Fil...

I know we’re not going to win every game, but I’ve said for the longest; I just want to see improvement. FOWs are growing, so there’s a huge positive....slow reactions to what CBJ is doing, which is a leadership/coaching issue - gotta realize it & react to it. SOGs are definitely better, scoring chances are as well.
- mcmastermike1968

I do agree with your statement wanting to see improvement. Coaching needs to adjust to other teams and we haven’t seen that for quite some time. With the coaching we have you need to be the best skating team to get deep into the 3rd.
Just frustrated and waiting to see a well oiled machine.

Quick observations:

Solid effort. Not unhappy about that.

Staal really needs to sit. Not sure if Djoos will be ready to go by tomorrow, but if not still draw somebody else in. Cholowski probably, since he's probably the least useless offensively of the available options.

The powerplay is just criminally bad, and not just the zone entries. Even when they get "set up" it's a lot of standing around, perimeter shots, no pressure. I mean it's partly personnel (if Jon Merrill is your second unit QB you're in trouble) but I think there are strategic problems too, especially the obsession with always having a "net front" guy.

Hronek played 26 minutes. No other Wings defender was above 20 (Nemeth second at 19:56). Seider can't arrive soon enough.
- Sven22

Sooo much to unpack here because it's ALL factual.

Staal actually played a decent game, I would offer. HOWEVER, he cost a couple of scoring chances (I think it's inevtiable w/the Wing's current D....). That needs to be fixed. Cholo or Lindstrom need to be put in. Comoletely agree. Stecher played ok, but got burned twice, did I mention Cholo & Lindstrom??? I'm NOT Team Cholo, but for the love of everything Hockey, make a change.

The PP was decent Saturday night, but Game 1 & today were painful to watch. Hronek, Mantha, Ryan (what does this kid NOT do???), Larkin, & Bert would seem to be a good PP1, but are having issues. I liked the 2d line from Sat..Zadina, et. al. Hell, GANGER was on PP2 Thurs night 🤮🤮. Bylsma needs to take control of the PP units. If we're 💩 on the PP, there's nothing but another screw-job coming in the 21-22 draft. Definitely needs to fix this; FAST. Perimeter shots indicate a lack of penetration, which means that there's no crashing the net & causing chaos and getting dirty goals. THAT needs to be fixed. I will say the Hronek does a good job settling the puck down & passing quickly to the open slot. Mantha's SOG today was a laser blast that cause Korpi to be off-balance & lose control; dirty goal by Ryan (,he should get credit for that goal...). That's what we need if we're going to rely on perimeter passing....Mantha & Zadina in the slots for their deadly shots, then Bert & Ryan to clean up the trashy rebounds. So many things that could ve done here....

Hronek will be on LTIR if he keeps logging DAYS in TOI. That's an even better indicator that there's NO confidence in the D corps. If that's the case, CHANGE IT 🤪🤔. I think Stech & Merrill are operable D pairing, 3d D at best, but 💩 has got to change. Seider will not be the panacea, but he'll be an awesome addition. We know it'll take a while for him to get up to speed so pairing him with a solid defender will be mandatory. So who does he pair with??? Hronek. That kid's the hand's-down #1 right niw. DK is ok, but I'm not Team DK, he's slower to react, lacks a good 1st step, his outlet passes don't, and he crashed down like he thinks he's a beast that can win the battle & make things happen. He can't. I'd say, honestly, we're 1 good D-man away from formidable on D (considering Seider coming to the NHL at the end of the season). That future is brighter, but our need for a functional bottom 2D is great. I think Stecher can evolve, he was really good last year. He just needs good coaching & mentoring....

I do agree with your statement wanting to see improvement. Coaching needs to adjust to other teams and we haven’t seen that for quite some time. With the coaching we have you need to be the best skating team to get deep into the 3rd.
Just frustrated and waiting to see a well oiled machine.
- Tee56

Ya know, I'm really hard on Blash, but there's Houda & Bylsma as well. Bylsma is a damn good coach with a record of success. He needs to take control of some aspects; Special Teams, for example. Houda is ok, but I don't think he's doing enough....or maybe he's marginalized, I dunno. Coaching needs to up the game. I just think, at this point, Blash needs to be replaced MacGuire today talked about Blash's success in GR, "So he knows what it takes to win..." So why aren't we?? The rosters have been less than stellar (for sure...), but there needs to be a concerted effort to lead this team, know the strengths & weaknesses, be able to see issues & make changes, establish a game plan, review games objectively, assume blame when things go wrong & for Gordie's sake DON'T blame the team when things do go wrong. Nothing wrong with naming names when a little pressure's needed....but nit all the time....

Just my thoughts.