Jeremy Laura: Gains in net equal net gains for Wings in Vegas

Good to see Kubalik on the top line where he belongs. He's got a laser of a shot and probably the best shot on the team.

Bertuzzi did not return to play for the 3rd period. Hoping it was just a precaution and not serious. Good grief... he's just had a rough season. Husso was fantastic the entire game. Wish the team could put together a full 60 minutes like tonight on a consistent basis... so much more fun to watch. My only concern is they are still getting outshot on a nightly basis. Nice way to end this road trip though against a good Vegas team.

Enjoyable game makes an enjoyable read here!
Wings finally take advantage of a team in a slump and never give up the lead. That is how they should play when leading. Good to see a better team effort all around and Husso was solid in net. And even all 3 goals were very pretty! Whereas Vegas had a seeing eye shot and a ricochet!
So we are all smiles until the next inevitable loss.

Enjoyable game makes an enjoyable read here!
Wings finally take advantage of a team in a slump and never give up the lead. That is how they should play when leading. Good to see a better team effort all around and Husso was solid in net. And even all 3 goals were very pretty! Whereas Vegas had a seeing eye shot and a ricochet!
So we are all smiles until the next inevitable loss.
- HenryHockey

That last minute Vegas goal, I had to watch it a couple times. It was like a pinball game! When I came back, I’d said that I didn’t think this Wings squad would make the playoffs. With the “assumed” points total for entry being 95 at this point, that gives perception that this is an “easier” year. But, the Bruins have been point gluttons with an unreal run of home wins. I don’t mind a team playing hard and losing. I do mind those moments where it looks like 4 players are all in the same place in their own zone leaving the net front wide open. That, to me, is trying to learn a new system. And those moments of just mental breakdowns and a stretch where the goalies probably made Ned glad to be in Grand Rapids. Though not considered a sport by many, I’ve seen NASCAR strategy write ups and that is an interesting read. It’s all about baby steps and I had no idea how many people were on a “team” in that sport. I just have never been that interested. In the 90s I worked for the company that would develop film for all the photographers so you could volunteer to go. Just never interested me. There are steps being made, the first strategy was clearing the decks, now we’re in draft/develop and stop gap mode. Very tough sledding when not everyone is on the same page, but a lot of changes year to year.

Good to see Kubalik on the top line where he belongs. He's got a laser of a shot and probably the best shot on the team.

Bertuzzi did not return to play for the 3rd period. Hoping it was just a precaution and not serious. Good grief... he's just had a rough season. Husso was fantastic the entire game. Wish the team could put together a full 60 minutes like tonight on a consistent basis... so much more fun to watch. My only concern is they are still getting outshot on a nightly basis. Nice way to end this road trip though against a good Vegas team.
- Vladdie_Kon1

I agree. I’ve made it pretty clear that I deal with depression and other issues with a closed head injury. It’s tough to process “rationally” sometimes when something seems so inconsistent. Sometimes I do dishes before I do the write up just to get in a better head space! I realized that Yzerman, Lidstrom and Osgood were all at the game. I would love to just listen to the convos Lidstrom and Yzerman have during a game. Ozzy has been very kind to my wife and myself the couple times we met him

Line combinations for tonight:

Kubalik - Larkin - Raymond
Rasmussen - Copp - Perron
Erne - Suter - Fabbri
Berggren - Veleno - Sundquist

Defense:
Walman - Seider
Chiarot - Hronek
Maata - Oesterle

I just don't get why Sundquist is on the 4th line. He's way too good a player to be there. He's also a natural center... but I'm okay with him on the wing. Berggren should be on the 2nd line.... not Rasmussen. Erne should be on the 4th line where he belongs. Just my 2 cents on this.

Line combinations for tonight:

Kubalik - Larkin - Raymond
Rasmussen - Copp - Perron
Erne - Suter - Fabbri
Berggren - Veleno - Sundquist

Defense:
Walman - Seider
Chiarot - Hronek
Maata - Oesterle

I just don't get why Sundquist is on the 4th line. He's way too good a player to be there. He's also a natural center... but I'm okay with him on the wing. Berggren should be on the 2nd line.... not Rasmussen. Erne should be on the 4th line where he belongs. Just my 2 cents on this.
- Vladdie_Kon1

I just think this is Lalonde's attempt to produce 4 scoring lines and play all the lines so not to overuse the top 2.

Line combinations for tonight:

Kubalik - Larkin - Raymond
Rasmussen - Copp - Perron
Erne - Suter - Fabbri
Berggren - Veleno - Sundquist

Defense:
Walman - Seider
Chiarot - Hronek
Maata - Oesterle

I just don't get why Sundquist is on the 4th line. He's way too good a player to be there. He's also a natural center... but I'm okay with him on the wing. Berggren should be on the 2nd line.... not Rasmussen. Erne should be on the 4th line where he belongs. Just my 2 cents on this.
- Vladdie_Kon1

I don’t know LaLonde at all. I do know that with teams who have reputations for being very physical (whether it’s a current trend or not) we’ve seen coaches put players who were perceived as “tougher” up the lineup. It gets less and less prevalent as the league has continued to trend toward speed and playmaking. That’s all I can think of.

Line combinations for tonight:

Kubalik - Larkin - Raymond
Rasmussen - Copp - Perron
Erne - Suter - Fabbri
Berggren - Veleno - Sundquist

Defense:
Walman - Seider
Chiarot - Hronek
Maata - Oesterle

I just don't get why Sundquist is on the 4th line. He's way too good a player to be there. He's also a natural center... but I'm okay with him on the wing. Berggren should be on the 2nd line.... not Rasmussen. Erne should be on the 4th line where he belongs. Just my 2 cents on this.
- Vladdie_Kon1

I don’t know LaLonde at all. I do know that with teams who have reputations for being very physical (whether it’s a current trend or not) we’ve seen coaches put players who were perceived as “tougher” up the lineup. It gets less and less prevalent as the league has continued to trend toward speed and playmaking. That’s all I can think of.

Been on the road for work, so missed last week's late games. Got home to a slew of Sumo wrestling (love it, spent 2 years stationed in Japan), & 3 Wing's games. Catching up via the DRW app & here.

Kuby is a Top Line guy....for us. As he grows & makes a name for himself, he'll become a Top Line kinda guy if he were on other teams. Excellent pick up by The Captain. He's going to be a real stud.

Sunny is a physical guy along with Erne. Make no mistake, I am NOT an Erne fan. But tonight, he makes sense. Bear-Grin's a Top 2 lines guy. Period. Ras is growing more & more each day, staking a claim to being a guy who can play the tough minutes, get scruffy, and piss off goalies. We need that.

I mentioned Sumo. Jeremy mentioned NASCAR (I'm a big fan, as well). You don't think of long-term strategy as a fan of any sport; you (we, if you prefer) want instant gratification. Sumo wrestlers aren't just "fat guys pushing each other around"; there are different hand placements & body contortions to throw the opponent off-balance. The matches are short, but there's a world of strategy in those matches, and it takes a keen eye to see it. There's a world of strategy in rebuilding a team, it's longer-term but if we (again, we if you prefer) watch closely, we may begin to see it. We just have to dispose of the urgent need for instant gratification.

The wait kills me, though.

Been on the road for work, so missed last week's late games. Got home to a slew of Sumo wrestling (love it, spent 2 years stationed in Japan), & 3 Wing's games. Catching up via the DRW app & here.

Kuby is a Top Line guy....for us. As he grows & makes a name for himself, he'll become a Top Line kinda guy if he were on other teams. Excellent pick up by The Captain. He's going to be a real stud.

Sunny is a physical guy along with Erne. Make no mistake, I am NOT an Erne fan. But tonight, he makes sense. Bear-Grin's a Top 2 lines guy. Period. Ras is growing more & more each day, staking a claim to being a guy who can play the tough minutes, get scruffy, and piss off goalies. We need that.

I mentioned Sumo. Jeremy mentioned NASCAR (I'm a big fan, as well). You don't think of long-term strategy as a fan of any sport; you (we, if you prefer) want instant gratification. Sumo wrestlers aren't just "fat guys pushing each other around"; there are different hand placements & body contortions to throw the opponent off-balance. The matches are short, but there's a world of strategy in those matches, and it takes a keen eye to see it. There's a world of strategy in rebuilding a team, it's longer-term but if we (again, we if you prefer) watch closely, we may begin to see it. We just have to dispose of the urgent need for instant gratification.

The wait kills me, though.
- mcmastermike1968

I participated in 1 regional karate tournament ever. One of my teammates (and a mentor) was disqualified. I thought he did nothing wrong he threw a short jab and his opponent jumped to kick him at the same time. The opponent had both hands down, not up in the protective mode (and was a black belt). He jumped into the punch. Stood still, and blood started pouring out of his nose and he collapsed. It was awful. He had family there. My teammate was literally in tears. It was such a horrible timing event. Every strategy session we did (a version of shotokan) had one hand protecting your face regardless of your strike. Boxers do something very similar. Some learn the hard way. But the strategy sessions focuses so much more on defense than offense. To keep you safe but also to let your opponent open themselves up. The sumo guys terrify me. Some of the pacific island nations produce athletes that don’t look like “super heroes” but can rip the bumper off your car without thinking twice. Speculation is that they train many fighters in higher altitudes (Dormant volcanoes, etc) and it builds a different kind of strength. Just terrifying to watch how powerful they are

I participated in 1 regional karate tournament ever. One of my teammates (and a mentor) was disqualified. I thought he did nothing wrong he threw a short jab and his opponent jumped to kick him at the same time. The opponent had both hands down, not up in the protective mode (and was a black belt). He jumped into the punch. Stood still, and blood started pouring out of his nose and he collapsed. It was awful. He had family there. My teammate was literally in tears. It was such a horrible timing event. Every strategy session we did (a version of shotokan) had one hand protecting your face regardless of your strike. Boxers do something very similar. Some learn the hard way. But the strategy sessions focuses so much more on defense than offense. To keep you safe but also to let your opponent open themselves up. The sumo guys terrify me. Some of the pacific island nations produce athletes that don’t look like “super heroes” but can rip the bumper off your car without thinking twice. Speculation is that they train many fighters in higher altitudes (Dormant volcanoes, etc) and it builds a different kind of strength. Just terrifying to watch how powerful they are
- Jeremy Laura

Your mention of defensive planning is interesting,and makes me wonder what each D-line planning session looks like for the Wings.....

I played rugby for 19 years. If youwatch rugby today, you'll see tons of kicking: strategic defensive play to gain ground. Long-term strategy for short-term gain (or the other way around...) Again, Iwonder what our D planning sessions & plans look like. How do they planfor all of the contingencies? I say this because our D needs help; you can count Husso's games played this year in dog years, it seems (each game played = 7 games in dog years). How do the Wings hold a hand upto protect their "face" (goalie) from being smashed? Seems like we need better "hands providing cover for our faces"

By the way, I'm not a karate guy, but now you've gotten me watching UFC stuff to see how they protect.....watch their defensive strategy!!! Well played, Jeremy!!!

Your mention of defensive planning is interesting,and makes me wonder what each D-line planning session looks like for the Wings.....

I played rugby for 19 years. If youwatch rugby today, you'll see tons of kicking: strategic defensive play to gain ground. Long-term strategy for short-term gain (or the other way around...) Again, Iwonder what our D planning sessions & plans look like. How do they planfor all of the contingencies? I say this because our D needs help; you can count Husso's games played this year in dog years, it seems (each game played = 7 games in dog years). How do the Wings hold a hand upto protect their "face" (goalie) from being smashed? Seems like we need better "hands providing cover for our faces"

By the way, I'm not a karate guy, but now you've gotten me watching UFC stuff to see how they protect.....watch their defensive strategy!!! Well played, Jeremy!!!
- mcmastermike1968

For UFC fighters that are “strikers” and want to stay away from grappling, you’ll notice a lot of quick front leg kicks to the shins. Eventually, it wears an opponent down and the second they lean forward or backward a quick chin strike can end it all. I don’t know how grapplers handle that gig. I’ve only ever been in one or two submission holds and it just drains all your energy so fast. The other strategy is to take away the breathing. Work the ribs hard. It’s so scientific now. FYI, my former primary doc did his dissertation on NHL players. They rank the highest among athletes in aerobic recovery. Their training is built for those 30 second to 1 minute shifts and be able to go right back out after one shift on the bench. By bending over on an icing call as they skate, they straighten the air passage and can recharge. Now some are drinking pickle brine. Apparently vinegar helps a great deal. All sorts of stuff out of bio steel and university studies

I just think this is Lalonde's attempt to produce 4 scoring lines and play all the lines so not to overuse the top 2.
- HenryHockey

Yeah... you make a good point on having some balance and depth spread out on all four lines. I could definitely see the 4th line chipping in some goals / points against another team's 4th line and bottom pair defenders. Sundquist is great at planting himself in front of the other team's goalie for a screen and getting tip-ins and deflections. He should give Rasmussen some lessons on that. I'm glad Lindstrom is on the bench. He's the weakest link by a mile on defense.

Seeing a write-up on NHL Rumors that the Wings set a contract offer on the table for Larkin, but it was rejected. Big discussion about the road ahead. This looks, according to the write-up, bad. They think it's $$ vs Term..... loosing Larkin would be a huge blow to this team. That being said, I don't think the Wings should grab their ankles.....

Thoughts?

Seeing a write-up on NHL Rumors that the Wings set a contract offer on the table for Larkin, but it was rejected. Big discussion about the road ahead. This looks, according to the write-up, bad. They think it's $$ vs Term..... loosing Larkin would be a huge blow to this team. That being said, I don't think the Wings should grab their ankles.....

Thoughts?
- mcmastermike1968

2 quick things. Ek released a note that player agents are spreading rumors during trade and contract talk by getting ahold of bloggers with a “hot tip”. The other issue may be bonuses. Keep in mind, we are under the 2nd generation of ownership here. Mike was much more willing to put money on the table. Teams quietly started letting it be known that signing bonuses were going to be way smaller or non existent. Bonuses are paid out before even season ticket sales are settled. After the past few seasons, only a few owners have the flexibility $ wise to do those bonuses. My 2 cents and pure speculation. I have no source on this. Yzerman let Stamkos look around, but he eventually came back. He is willing to let players move on to build a team. I want Larkin around, and feel like this will get done

2 quick things. Ek released a note that player agents are spreading rumors during trade and contract talk by getting ahold of bloggers with a “hot tip”. The other issue may be bonuses. Keep in mind, we are under the 2nd generation of ownership here. Mike was much more willing to put money on the table. Teams quietly started letting it be known that signing bonuses were going to be way smaller or non existent. Bonuses are paid out before even season ticket sales are settled. After the past few seasons, only a few owners have the flexibility $ wise to do those bonuses. My 2 cents and pure speculation. I have no source on this. Yzerman let Stamkos look around, but he eventually came back. He is willing to let players move on to build a team. I want Larkin around, and feel like this will get done
- Jeremy Laura

Interesting.....agents can be slimey. Larkin is truly the heartbeat of this team. I'm confident The Captain will do whatever he can,I just wish the deal could be done sooner!!!

Thanks for the insight, Jeremy!!