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Detroit down 2 for 2 in California, can the team turn it around? |
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This is obviously not the type of game coverage this blog usually does on a game night. It seemed evident early on that tracking this play by play for a recap was going to be painful. Above, you see the lone Red Wings goal as Larkin got his 10th with the goalie pulled to make the game 3-1. The game ended up 4-1 in favor of L.A. Detroit was outshot 41-18.
In fact, there wasn’t a single period where the team had double digits in shots (and the converse goes for the Kings). Detroit now sits 2nd to last in the Atlantic with 15 points and 26th in the league. We’ve gone into the personnel changes and lack of structure, but seeing Nashville dead last in the league with all the moves that were made is probably a bit more shocking. Trotz is nearly universally hailed for his coaching but this team that shocked free agency acquiring Stamkos is probably themselves a bit shell shocked.
A lot is changing in the hockey world. To the league’s credit, technology has opened the door for more advertising revenue along with advanced player stats. Unfortunately there seems to be some retraction to sports in general. The Red Wings had caused a lot of stir last year that led to season tickets selling out, a waiting list, and sizeable 2nd contracts for the first two first round picks over the summer.
Unfortunately, the team hasn’t been able to build on the momentum of “raised expectations” (I’m using quotes because it seems like there’s a split within this board on what those actually are). All of it aside, it’s not a lot of fun for those fans that follow every step the team makes. Hockey is a marathon sport, and it’s been tough out of the gate this year in Detroit. Right now, the buzz is for the Lions and had recently been for the Tigers. Hearing Jared Goff chanted at games is surreal, still.
The point of all of this, personally, is not to take anything for granted. In the ‘08/‘09 season my office was buzzing about the Red Wings as Hossa came on board. Short handed goals and a burned in memory of Fleury stopping Lidstrom from tying game 7 in the dwindling seconds now, more than ever, feels like a roll for the end credits of a very special era.
We’re approaching US Thanksgiving and we’ll hear the stat about teams being in and teams being out. We’ll also continue to see the Zamboni Gravy boat. Last year there seemed to be bursts of excitement along the way all the way to the final day of the season. This year feels a great deal different. It feels like the days drag on and nothing is happening. It also feels like nothing is going to happen in terms of righting the ship right now. A number of teams are making players available and those with control don’t seem to want to come to Detroit even if Yzerman had the pieces in place to make the deal. Jacob Trouba and now Cam Fowler seem to have directly addressed how they intend to use trade protections and what they’d like to see.
In 2019 I got an email from Eric O’Dell (now moved on) that asked, “want to try it?” I’d been writing blogs on my own in the fan section and just pouring over numbers as there was a lot of excitement around #19 returning to Michigan. I then learned what it looked like when the entire world seemed to shut down in 2020. We watched games with no fans and sought for a sense of normalcy. It came seemingly out of nowhere.
As tough as this stretch is, try to embrace it. We don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like. The “self fulfilling prophecy” of believing something will be bad and being right has surprisingly little satisfaction. All of you and this community love hockey. At this point, if you’re still engaged, some part of you hopes or believes things will be better. We never really know what the office is doing until it’s been done. Grand Rapids had a record breaking start to the season and seems to be heading in a solid direction. There are good things happening. Unfortunately right now, banking standings points and moving up in the NHL isn’t part of that list for Detroit. Tomorrow may be different, and a better feeling could encapsulate a very difficult road trip. We’ll see how they play in San Jose.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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