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New Enthusiasm for Wings, Ovi on Mt. Rushmore
Summary - here’s the good news. The penalty kill looked really good. Gagner was all over the place and did some fantastic work. Here’s the bad news. The power play was awful. First, the second unit was out there for way too long. Hronek and Seider need to change places and have the rookie up with group 1. If you need to call a timeout to get the top group out there for the faceoff, so be it.
The ridiculous overpassing was akin to a young couple trying to get off the phone. “You shoot the puck”, “no YOU shoot the puck” and so on. It was so poorly executed that it became physically painful to watch.
Honestly, the game wasn’t that bad. There were 10 disastrous seconds that resulted in 2 goals. Other than that, it was some pretty good back and forth for much of the game. In the 3rd, Washington just shut down the Wings. Orlov was out there to stifle the Larkin line and did an admirable job. It was tough to get shots through to the net. The ice was mucked up fairly well with tight coverage and solid defensive play by the Capitals.
My only gripe, honestly, is the power play. The second unit looks so bad. The first unit wasn’t successful either, but they move the puck better. I really don’t get having Hronek in the first group. That’s my opinion, for what it’s worth (not much). The quick passing does open lanes, but you kill yourself when no one gets a shot on net.
Defensively, for most of the game, Detroit played well. They kept Ovi from getting shots on net and shut down Washington’s power play. Again, take those 2 goals out of the equation and this would have been an overtime thriller. The lack of production from the man advantage (and 2 man advantage) is irritating. The 2nd unit needs to be aware and swap out after 30 seconds. For them to be out there for over a minute is just bad. Unless Larkin/Bertuzzi/Raymond are blue from lack of oxygen, start with the first unit.
I’ll definitely call it a win for the PK tonight. They stepped up in a big way. After shutting down the best power play in the league on Tuesday, they were ready for action tonight. Kudos to those players, and especially Gagner. He seemed to be part of many important plays.
The power play still needs a lot of help. They’re trying new things, but to go 2 minutes without a shot on net is not something that should be acceptable. We’ll see if they make any marked improvement Saturday as Montreal comes to town. Detroit’s been embarrassed twice by the Habs, hopefully they can get a better performance on this side of the border.
First Period:
No Detroit goals
Second Period:
No Detroit goals
Third Period:
Some of my previous posts:
New Enthusiasm for Wings, Ovi on Mt. Rushmore
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Wings shut down Edmonton Power Play, Nedeljkovic and Namestnikov stand tall
Wings vs Oilers pregame
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Soderblom’s value is climbing
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Confidence carries over, Captain comes back as Wings beat VGK 
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