Detroit lost a close 2-1 contest against Carolina on Sunday. An unfortunate short handed goal (but a beautiful shot by the hottest UFA Dman to hit this market if he chooses to this year) and an end to end rush after a couple brilliant saves by Carolina’s goaltender. Mantha’s odd deflection with 10 seconds left spared Detroit the goose egg. It’s one of those odd types of bounces that the Wings just weren’t getting early on. Mantha has 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 5 games.
So, early on (before COVID and injury wiped out a chunk of the team’s top lines) a series would be “a tale of two cities”. A tough loss followed by a nice win. Bernier did everything he could to give the team a shot, stopping 30 of 32. So, will Detroit come back in this one? The gist of my title is, Chili (to me) is better on day 3 than on day 1. Steak, however, is not that good if you reheat it (unless you marinade and make into fajitas. Or, make steak chili!!!). Tonight will be one of the two. Detroit could come out and have a good contest, or serve up some regrettable leftovers.
Carolina has so many good pieces. From back end to top 6 there is some serious talent. Brind’amour has the team fighting hard and competing. Due to ownership’s “frugality” some of this may well taper off after this season. From open comments about how “easy” it will be to sign Svechnikov since he has “no rights and belongs to us” to an affinity to try and keep staff without contracts. It would be a shame to see this team shaken up, but Aho proved that you may have to circumvent the offices to get a better deal.
If Brind’amour did hit the open market, there’s probably a half dozen teams (including Detroit, I hope) that would roll out the red carpet (see what I did there?). Brind’amour is cut from a cloth coaching-wise of Barry Trotz. Demanding, but players love playing for him. He’s also got a love of experience as a player that he can relate to the room. Incredible double threat that he maximizes. I think coach Rod could be successful anywhere, and could command a decent salary for his talents.
In the meantime, Caroline is simply a better team. (Sorry if that feels like a jab). They have high end talent, but more than that they have high end coaching. So many teams get the top picks and can’t get it together quickly (Buffalo, Edmonton, New Jersey, New York) but Carolina got early success, due in a big part to a very good coach (my opinion).
Most nights, Detroit will be facing a higher talent level for now. They have to win by outworking a team and getting some seriously friendly bounces. Carolina is hard to outwork. A huge credit to the character they’ve put together. I hope to see Mantha continue to contribute, would like to see the power play connect again, and get some defensive help. Hronek is more than overdue for a goal.
Win or lose, the effort is still the litmus test. Hoping for some solid checking and tight defensive play. Let me know what you’re looking for tonight.
For those who know, I’m back to the cardiologist tomorrow. Still haven’t gotten my heart under control. I hate the gaps in blogs right now. Trying to find a normal routine again. Bless each of you for your prayers and support and for keeping this blog alive. Sometimes, it’s a huge blessing to let the inmates run the asylum! That’s when every day is taco Tuesday.
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