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There are only so many ways to process a loss. Duclair had a breakaway in OT that was stopped, Larkin got strong armed by A.D. who made a cross crease pass for a tap in by a rookie. It was an unpleasant ending, but by far a better effort than the 7-3 loss in Dallas.
Detroit is 2-5-2 at nine games in. Nine games in 16 days. They have 15 more games in the next 28 days. This schedule is insane. A player that’s out for 14 days will miss 7 or 8 games. Everything is magnified. By the end of February Detroit will be more than halfway done with their season. There just isn’t much time between games to process and digest, let alone improve. With all this in perspective, a close game like this is much more palatable. Florida has played just over half of the games Detroit has. They have a strong roster, a hall of fame coach, and plenty of energy. It’s clear that the Wings are already worn thin, and Bertuzzi may not be available tomorrow.
Detroit will have to wait until March to have more than 2 days off between games, with multiple back to backs on tap as well. In fact, the team will hit the ice again tomorrow, less than 24 hours from tonight’s start time. Other teams will feel the pinch at the close of the season for rescheduled contests. For now, Detroit is in the grinder. Larkin is nursing some injuries already. If Bertuzzi can walk comfortably tomorrow, he’ll try to be on the ice. Those guys want to make a difference, and they may end up being severely injured before they can be forced onto IR.
56 games may have been a bit too ambitious. Still, as bad as things seem, the Rangers and Senators are in similar waters. Both teams have some enviable talent (especially New York). This compressed schedule has the top teams ready to try and win every single night. Detroit is in the soup, and there’s no way around it.
Looking at Florida’s depth chart was intimidating. There is far more depth from lines 1 to 4. I’m impressed that Detroit was able to muck it up tonight. Back to backs can go either way. If the Wings can get another overtime appearance it will go a long way toward building some much needed confidence. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
Dallas was dominant in the second meeting. For a game I had to miss, it may have been a blessing in disguise. Many of you had some very good input in the comments, and several feel that the team is regressing. The current COVID protocol is beyond frustrating, making Fabbri and Zadina both unavailable for at least another week. The current setup is not based on testing they way the playoff bubbles were. Players are not allowed to work out at all for 14 days regardless of test results. It’s almost impossible to know what sort of team this is going to be with the second line shelved.
It’s tough to know if Detroit’s play at home was solely affected by having Zadina going strong on the second line. That line made Columbus and Carolina have to focus on someone outside of LARMANZZI. Tonight, we’ll find out if the mental aspect of the “road bubble” produced additional strain on Detroit as they’ll be playing with some home cooking. Florida has had their way with Detroit for the past few seasons. Duclair now in the fold, he dined on Wings playing for Ottawa last year. It will take an outstanding performance in net for Detroit to stay in this one. The “ifs” that could lead to a closer contest would be as follows:
IF Mantha has one of those games where he’s feeling it. The pressure and criticism have been immense and it shows. Blashill hasn’t pulled punches in interviews, Mantha has been borderline self-abusive. He’s going to have to be able to put it all in the rear view mirror.
IF the power play finds its way. Yes, poor decisions in passing and shot selection are killing any momentum. Again, the coach is throwing that out during interviews. It’s not helping the team stabilize to have the added stress of that negativity.
IF Blashill can help settle the team down and find a positive focus. I’ve avoided being over critical to the Detroit bench boss as much as possible. Yzerman brought in some upgrades, and now I look to the coach to get the players in a positive frame of mind. The entire team knows things aren’t going well. Focusing on individual failures week after week is killing the room. At some point, the team’s preparedness and execution comes back to coaching. The same issues pop up game after game, the message needs to change.
Most of you know I’m buried under some medical issues right now. For the most part, I’ll be unable to watch again tonight. I will have a blindfold on and listen as best I can. Each of you are so important and valuable to this blog. You make it a fantastic experience. Hopefully next week I’ll be back in action and over-analyzing for your reading pleasure. Have a safe and fantastic night. I’ll see you in the comments.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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