Erik Marsh: Game Three: Bruins @ Red Wings

Good read Erik. I think if Franzen and nyquist step up tonight and Jimmy plays a solid game we can take this.

3-2 wings in OT

Alfy is out and Andersson is in. This doesn't help an already struggling power play...

Alfredson out... Certainly a big loss and especially on the PP gives the bruins more reason to take penalties and not worry about the Pk in order to get the wings to play a more physical game. Bruins are going to try and play physical and Detroit can't give in and just use their skating. Tonight's a close one 2-1 bruins

Alfy is out and Andersson is in. This doesn't help an already struggling power play...
- JohnnySoze

Meh...he really has been a ghost because of whatever has been bothering him.
Hope he heals up and comes back hard.

Surprised Bert isn't getting the call and Andersson is. Maybe because he plays a more controlled game and Bert may get goated into the Bruins type game. Didn't work so well in game 2. Andersson won't bite.

Looking forward to a good Tilt tonight Boys

Go Bruins

Alfy is out and Andersson is in. This doesn't help an already struggling power play...
- JohnnySoze

Alfie*

Meh...he really has been a ghost because of whatever has been bothering him.
Hope he heals up and comes back hard.

Surprised Bert isn't getting the call and Andersson is. Maybe because he plays a more controlled game and Bert may get goated into the Bruins type game. Didn't work so well in game 2. Andersson won't bite.
- MedicineMan

Was surprised at how little I'd noticed him through the 2 games. Pretty clearly not 100%

just walk away from the nonsense. c'mon wings... dig deep

Alfie*
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

He decided to mix it up when he donned the winged wheel

Was surprised at how little I'd noticed him through the 2 games. Pretty clearly not 100%
- Double_A

He isn't fast enough to get away from the B's checking. He's only going to be effective on the PP, and after in zone possession is established (2 shots over 6 PPs tells that story). Andersson bring way more speed than Bert, and as mentioned above, is much less likely to end up in the penalty box. Andersson also kills penalties well and is a good faceoff man. Should probably be in for Glendenning most days but for Babcock's love of Luke

just walk away from the nonsense. c'mon wings... dig deep
- Popcorn Kid

This has nothing to do with the Leafs

Alfredsson has been in the series all along?? Wow, barely noticed him. Andersson is younger & faster, better on the PK, give the kid experience, why not.

Not sure what I expect from the game tonight, do we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot & have constant mental lapses (ahem, Kindl, Smith, Lashoff), or do we play like we did in game 1? Who knows...consistency the last couple seasons has not been our trademark, I'm sorry to say.

Alfie*
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

playoffs*

He isn't fast enough to get away from the B's checking. He's only going to be effective on the PP, and after in zone possession is established (2 shots over 6 PPs tells that story). Andersson bring way more speed than Bert, and as mentioned above, is much less likely to end up in the penalty box. Andersson also kills penalties well and is a good faceoff man. Should probably be in for Glendenning most days but for Babcock's love of Luke
- JohnnySoze

+1

Go Wings. That is all.

time for Franzen to show up. this is his time of year, doubt he will though

He isn't fast enough to get away from the B's checking. He's only going to be effective on the PP, and after in zone possession is established (2 shots over 6 PPs tells that story). Andersson bring way more speed than Bert, and as mentioned above, is much less likely to end up in the penalty box. Andersson also kills penalties well and is a good faceoff man. Should probably be in for Glendenning most days but for Babcock's love of Luke
- JohnnySoze

+1

Where the Hell is Big Bert ???

This is his kinda series!

time for Franzen to show up. this is his time of year, doubt he will though
- Jurco_28

It's not 2008, so I don't expect it.

Because of his hot scoring streak, Nyquist has become a target for other teams. Even before the playoff started teams were going after him physically and even after the whistles. He is learning what Datsyuk and Zetterberg learned when the Wings lost to the Oilers in the 1st round years ago. Both Dats and Z added muscle the summer after that series and got much stronger. Both looked slower at the start of the next season but once they got their speed back they were much harder to stop...I think Nyquist will have to do the same thing. Would also like to see Nyquist back with Franzen and with Mule back at center. Mule seems much more into games when playing center than wing unless they are playing Ottawa or Colorado.


Alfie being out is not a big deal since he is clearly dealing with something. He hasn't been good at all in the 2 games and even made some very bad giveaways that weren't even forced which is not like him.

One big difference between the Bruins and Wings is goaltending and by that I'm not really talking about making saves...I'm talking about puck handling from the goalies. Rask is handling it nicely making plays for his defensemen for quick exits out of their zone and allowing their defense to spread out and avoid being hit on dump ins. Howard is not good at handling the puck at all and creates more pressure on the defense to move the puck while dodging checks all the time. Either Howard has to learn how to handle the puck better or the Wings should bring in a goalie like Mrazek to play against big teams that like to forecheck like the Bruins, Blues, Kings ect...

How Smith is still not seeing PP time is beyond me. He is probably the 2nd best offensive defenseman the Wings have after Kronwall. His game is way better suited for the PP than PK. PP hasn't been good all season and using forwards on the point hasn't worked in years for the Wings. Time to change things up and give the PP a different look because it's hard to imagine it could be any worst than it is. Wings don't have Lidstrom and Homer there to make it look decent anymore. I wish they could use Sproul just for the PP...I think that would add some bite to it.

Because of his hot scoring streak, Nyquist has become a target for other teams. Even before the playoff started teams were going after him physically and even after the whistles. He is learning what Datsyuk and Zetterberg learned when the Wings lost to the Oilers in the 1st round years ago. Both Dats and Z added muscle the summer after that series and got much stronger. Both looked slower at the start of the next season but once they got their speed back they were much harder to stop...I think Nyquist will have to do the same thing. Would also like to see Nyquist back with Franzen and with Mule back at center. Mule seems much more into games when playing center than wing unless they are playing Ottawa or Colorado.
.
- dcz28

How would you see that affecting the rest of the lines? If you moved Jurco back with the kids at that point, who would Datsyuk play with? Abdelkadar and Legwand? I like playing with lines, so I'm just curious how you would play that out in this hypothetical

How would you see that affecting the rest of the lines? If you moved Jurco back with the kids at that point, who would Datsyuk play with? Abdelkadar and Legwand? I like playing with lines, so I'm just curious how you would play that out in this hypothetical
- JohnnySoze

I might go with something like:

Tatar - Datsyuk - Abdelkader
Nyquist - Franzen - Andersson/Legwand
Jurco - Helm - Sheahan
Miller - Glendening - Andersson/Legwand

Lots of ways to do it. Could also swap Abdelkader with Sheahan or Jurco. Could swap Andersson/Legwand for Jurco, Sheahan or Tatar (put Jurco with Datsyuk if you take Tatar off Datsyuk's line). Main thing is to get Franzen involved and going and not leave Datsyuk playing by himself with Abdelkader. Top 2 lines need to be generating to offense and if you have to load them up and leave the 3rd and 4th line as grinders mainly then so be it...they can dump and chase while the top 2 lines play a puck possession game with skill.

wheres that other wings fan who called me a wussy in the other blog?
i see he hasnt posted here
what a fukin tool

I might go with something like:

Tatar - Datsyuk - Abdelkader
Nyquist - Franzen - Andersson/Legwand
Jurco - Helm - Sheahan
Miller - Glendening - Andersson/Legwand

Lots of ways to do it. Could also swap Abdelkader with Sheahan or Jurco. Could swap Andersson/Legwand for Jurco, Sheahan or Tatar (put Jurco with Datsyuk if you take Tatar off Datsyuk's line). Main thing is to get Franzen involved and going and not leave Datsyuk playing by himself with Abdelkader. Top 2 lines need to be generating to offense and if you have to load them up and leave the 3rd and 4th line as grinders mainly then so be it...they can dump and chase while the top 2 lines play a puck possession game with skill.
- dcz28

This is a great point. He makes himself available as an outlet pass to Datsyuk, but basically so Pav can skate out of trouble without the puck and get it back. Playing Mule at center would force him to skate a lot more, and with so many centers in the line up, it probably wouldn't kill him since he wouldn't have to play close to 20 min a night.

I like it