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Third period summary - as the Pharaoh said when the locusts were gone, “thank God that’s over. Can it get any worse?” In the third period, Tampa really backed off on their play. Detroit started getting some looks, but nothing could get through Kyle Quincy, er, Vasilevsky. (If you get it, you get it). Adam Erne threw some nice hits on Hedman, who even appeared shaken up after a net front scuffle. I was fine with Mantha’s interference penalty. He was able to start making players think twice. Sam Gagner had a nice drive in on net. There were positives. But, at the end, seeing Larkin on the bench completely gassed and completely overwhelmed is not a good sign. Zadina will be in on Friday, but this team needs the GM to throw them a life preserver. Something, anything to help them feel good about the direction of the squad.
Seeing Nielsen on the ice with Rasmussen in GR was not pleasant. When Babcock would pick the veterans over the kids, there were at least some serious up sides to some of those players. I haven’t seen a case where Rasmussen isn’t playing better than Nielsen. Not at all.
As with the above mentioned Pharaoh, there are still some serious troubled times ahead. Frogs, crimson rivers, skin conditions, etc. without some sort of injection of energy or positive change, things are going to stay this very brutal course. Last year was horrible, and Yzerman did some admirable shifts in the roster. At what point in the current slide will some other promising adjustment be made? This team will play every other day for a month (and with two back to backs mixed in there). The normal fatigue is only going to exacerbate the mental strain. Something has to give at some point. We’ll see if it does before Friday.
Second period summary - at some point in the last ten minutes I realized that I forgot to blink. I’m just staring at an absolute trouncing as Detroit is down 5-1. Credit to Mantha, he skated hard to get a nice breakaway tally. Detroit had moments of better puck movement and some decent looks. The problem becomes facing an elite goaltender even if you manage to get behind an elite defensive core. I’m not sure what the team can take away from this. I look to the coaching staff to engage the players and not throw them under the bus on this one. There isn’t any structure in too many areas of the ice. At some point, this has to reflect back behind the bench.
First period summary - if you’ve been isolated so long that you forgot what a mugging looked like, keep the first 4 minutes of this game on your DVR. This is a night where you wish you were working on a faulty water heater (in the dead of winter) instead of watching hockey. Not to take away from the insane amount of talent (and well coached talent) on the ice, Detroit is gaining Karma for making for of the famous “turtle” posters making fun of Claude Lemieux. Tonight, Detroit is doing an extended version of that famous fetal position.
I want to sound somewhat grounded here, but that was the type of period that should get a coach fired. IE - not allowed to return for period 2. The book of Romans gives us this nugget in the 5th chapter: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
So, if this were to ring true for the team, we are going to be lousy with perseverance, character, and hope at some point in the future. For now, I suppose we’re having glory in the suffering. I’m not sure where this game will end, but it may be time to reconsider a mercy rule...
Good news and bad news as Detroit gains Fabbri but loses Bertuzzi for tonight’s tilt. I’ll be doing in game thoughts and analysis during intermission. Fill up the comments with your thoughts!
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