Mark Spizzirri: Wings open up with a narrow victory over the lackluster Bruins

couple things:

-Outside of Nestrasil the young forwards looked good. Barely noticed Nestrasil.
Tatar flying out there. Jurco needs to start using his size a little like Shehan does. Nyquist back to scoring, he should be good for 30+ this year.

-The defense played ok. Quincey is Quincey. Brutal give away by Ericsson. Smith and Kronwall were both strong.

-no chance for Howard on the goal. good game for him.

-PP is a work in progress.

- Cant wait to see MANtha and Datsyuk in the lineup.

couple things:

-Outside of Nestrasil the young forwards looked good. Barely noticed Nestrasil.
Tatar flying out there. Jurco needs to start using his size a little like Shehan does. Nyquist back to scoring, he should be good for 30+ this year.

-The defense played ok. Quincey is Quincey. Brutal give away by Ericsson. Smith and Kronwall were both strong.

-no chance for Howard on the goal. good game for him.

-PP is a work in progress.

- Cant wait to see MANtha and Datsyuk in the lineup.
- Jurco_28

When Mantha is healthy, I guarantee he'll be sent to GR. He'll need the time to get up to speed.

First games of the year and teams are already playing back to back, it's so dumb. Boston's unfortunate scheduling by the league was clearly our gain last night.

they looked fast. even Franzen skating like he should.
hes a force when he plays like that.

When Mantha is healthy, I guarantee he'll be sent to GR. He'll need the time to get up to speed.
- houseofcards74

Of course he'll be in GR. If he comes back, lets say mid-November, I expect him to be in GR realistically until the All-Star break, maybe not that long if the Wings get some injuries to key forwards (Jurco, Tatar, Nyquist, Helm, Zetterberg, Franzen.. all of which were injured last year to some degree and don't see any reason for them not to be this year, knowing our luck ). I could see him spending time on the kid line or even a third line if Helm is brought back to center. I would like to see a Mantha - Helm - Nyquist line to see how that would work out. Or throw Tatar in instead of Nyquist, that'd be a very fast, tough line.

Last night's game made me happy to know that as long as Zeke is healthy, we offer a challenge to some of the best teams. Now, mind you, Boston was also without its first line center in Krecji and then Bergeron went down, but they still were NOTHING to scoff at. Ericsson was brutal the first period, Kindl meh as always, but Quincey was okay and Smith/DeKe/Kronwall were awesome. Howard was on his toes and the Wings forwards were playing great, especially and surprisingly Franzen. Loved his determination and grit. Hope he plays like this for longer than 3-4 games.

they looked fast. even Franzen skating like he should.
hes a force when he plays like that.
- Jurco_28

I was as surprised as you. He wasn't joking around when he said he was in the best shape of his career and wanted to prove everyone wrong that he is a one-dimensional player. He used his size, speed, skill, and brains throughout the night on all 200 feet. If he was in his 20's and could stay that way, he'd be a great 2nd PK player... well, maybe not. But, Franzen really needs to keep up the pace all of October and November. We NEED these points. And when Datsyuk comes back, this team will be sick.

Edit: Once we trade Kindl and bring up Ouellete AND get Datsyuk back. This team will be sick.

Jurco needs to use his size. i know u dont want to try and out tough Boston but he needs to use it along with his hands to make space for himself.

Unless they have as many injuries as last year Mantha will stay in GR for the whole season. If the Wings make the playoffs and GR doesn't/is knocked out early he will be brought in as a black ace. Even if the Wings completely fall apart and tank I imagine they would leave him in GR and bring up older kids and give them a shot in Detroit before him. I don't expect to see him play in more than a 2-5 games for the Wings this year if at all.

Unless they have as many injuries as last year Mantha will stay in GR for the whole season. If the Wings make the playoffs and GR doesn't/is knocked out early he will be brought in as a black ace. Even if the Wings completely fall apart and tank I imagine they would leave him in GR and bring up older kids and give them a shot in Detroit before him. I don't expect to see him play in more than a 2-5 games for the Wings this year if at all.
- noffsin6

i could easily see him in for Nestrasil or when theres a injury

Unless they have as many injuries as last year Mantha will stay in GR for the whole season. If the Wings make the playoffs and GR doesn't/is knocked out early he will be brought in as a black ace. Even if the Wings completely fall apart and tank I imagine they would leave him in GR and bring up older kids and give them a shot in Detroit before him. I don't expect to see him play in more than a 2-5 games for the Wings this year if at all.
- noffsin6

While I disagree with you, I see where you're coming from. DRW does love to overripen their young players but I do see Mantha getting at least his 9 games this year if he plays at his expected level.

Good first game but lots of room for improvement. Wings were skating good in the 1st but were just off. Looked jumpy, rushing plays, bad passes, etc. They started to click with Boston standing around in the second. Kept it up in the third, I only remember yelling "quit standing around and watching" and "get the f**king puck out of the zone" once or twice last night where as it was 10 times a game a lot last year.

Lots of room for improvement. Z looked a little Rusty, that whole line was pretty invisible until late in the 2nd to me. Sheahan line looked pretty good to me, once they figure some things out (when to pass/when to shoot, etc) they could be really good. The Helm/Nyquist line was pretty good. Even the 4th line did what they were supposed to do (kept the pressure on in the Bruins zone and generated some scoring chances).

Kronwall was fine. Quincey was Quincey, wasn't really put into too many bad situations which is when he has a tendency to make his worst mistakes. Kindl looked like he was trying, but still made some mistakes. Ericksson looked pretty terrible, I was most disappointed with him.

Smith/DeKyser looked really good though. DeKyser just looks like a potential number one defenseman. Just cool, calm and collected at a young age. Smith's not a terrible defensive defenseman, but his talent is in the offensive/pinching/gambling side and having DeKyser there when he gambles and loses is so much better than Quincey (who is at his worst when the pressure is on). Plus if Smith picks up some of DeKyser's smart plays (that leg block Smith made looked pretty DeKyser too me) and calm it will be a double bonus.

Penalty kill looked pretty good. Power play was terrible in the 1st, but got better as the game went on.

i could easily see him in for Nestrasil or when theres a injury
- Jurco_28

Nesatril is probably going back to GR next week when Datsyuk is healthy unless they decide to send Andersson down instead (doubtful since he can play center too).

If Mantha comes back in late November and tears it up in GR right away for a couple of months they might bring him up for the playoff push if someone gets hurt. Not a likely scenario though. Injuries often take longer to heal, he's going to be playing against pros for the first time. I imagine he'll score some goals but he's going to have to look good defensively as well to get a real shot playing with the Wings this year.

While I disagree with you, I see where you're coming from. DRW does love to overripen their young players but I do see Mantha getting at least his 9 games this year if he plays at his expected level.
- CreepyPasta

While the Wings do like to overripen their young players, not immediately throwing a 19 year old kid who has never played a pro game in his life to the NHL wolves is not overripening him, it's just smart. Only a desperate/dumb team would do that.

If Mantha is still in GR and tearing it up next year you'll have a point though.

I really liked how aggressive the defence was in the offensive zone. I thought it really helped up keep pressure having our D so active

I agree with all that franzen was awesome! ...can't say I love Gus on that third line kinda wish he was out there more. The kid line was very exciting and shows a lot of potential if they scan start clicking.

I agree that deke/smith played awesome in the back! I didn't see that hit by kronwall (is there video?) but it's nice to hear he's throwing some hits again. Ericsson...not great and Quincey was just w.e but! I gotta give credit even though I bash him I thought Kindl played well overall. Hopefully he can remain steady to increase his trade value!

Quincey is going to be Quincey. they just need to play him on the 3rd pairing

While the Wings do like to overripen their young players, not immediately throwing a 19 year old kid who has never played a pro game in his life to the NHL wolves is not overripening him, it's just smart. Only a desperate/dumb team would do that.

If Mantha is still in GR and tearing it up next year you'll have a point though.
- noffsin6

Oh. I don't expect them to throw Mantha in right away, and if he doesn't tear it up in the AHL when be gets back I expect him to see the 2 to 3 games like you stated. The Wings organization stays competitive during the regular season due to the fact they don't expect the kids to play like Zetterberg or Datsyuk. They let them develop at the right pace and usually bring them up when they are ready, although they have waited too long sometimes. (Nyquist and Ouellet come to mind.)

What are the chances we ever get a Red Wings blogger on this site that writes more than once per week and puts some effort in to it gathering information and giving opinions rather than just posting the exact same information I can get in 30 second highlights on TSN or Sportsnet??

What are the chances we ever get a Red Wings blogger on this site that writes more than once per week and puts some effort in to it gathering information and giving opinions rather than just posting the exact same information I can get in 30 second highlights on TSN or Sportsnet??
- Lytes9

slime to none. he left and went to puckrant website. then ek brought him back from that site. Im sure Mark is a nice guy and all but, yeah im with u on this.

I want to see if MANtha goes to the tough areas of the ice against NHL competition.

Where are all the Glendening haters?

Where are all the Glendening haters?
- TwoPieceFeed

I was waiting for someone to say that!
Overall amazing game by both sides last night. Very high tempo. Unfortunate ending wish they had at least made it to overtime for the point obviously but I can't complain too much it was an outstanding effort on all parts.

Where are all the Glendening haters?
- TwoPieceFeed

He still hasn't proven he's an NHLer by a long shot. He adds about as much value to this team as Cleary. One NHL goal in his career hasn't exactly made us believers yet. He'll need to get some more points and actually win an important faceoff to prove us wrong.

He still hasn't proven he's an NHLer by a long shot. He adds about as much value to this team as Cleary. One NHL goal in his career hasn't exactly made us believers yet. He'll need to get some more points and actually win an important faceoff to prove us wrong.
- Vladdie_Kon1

Maybe not to you, but to me, and more importantly both Ken Holland and Mike Babcock, he has. For the record, he has 3 career goals (including 1 in the playoffs where no one else without a letter on their jersey scored). As players such as Zetterberg and Datsyuk have proven, hard work pays out more than just pure skill, See; Ales Hemsky, Bobby Ryan, etc. When you have bottom sixers that never quit on a play or a game, it's contagious. Not only are your best players your hardest workers, but guys like Glendening and Miller never stop playing and do everything they can to win despite not having or being able to display the same kind of skill. The guy is a perfect 4th liner and FFS all of the "fans" on here b!tch and moan about him! I've seen him play in almost every single game at the NHL level and he's never cost this team a game. He's not an issue. Dan Cleary and Kyle Quincey? That's an entirely different story. Everyone needs to (frank)ing get off the 2nd-year 4th-liner's back and just enjoy some good hockey or shut the (frank) up.

Where are all the Glendening haters?
- TwoPieceFeed

It's still early BUT- who would have thought after 2 games (against top teams) that Franzen would have the most pts (3), Abdelkader would be right behind with 2, that Kindl and Quincey would be leading the D men on +/- with +1, along with Glendening having a goal and be the only forward on the + side @ +1? Maybe if the complainers keep it up, the players will keep it up on the ice

- think about it. The only players that are + Kindl, Quincey and Glendening. No one could have predicted that one...

Turnovers have been the biggest problem so far. There may not be "a lot" of them, but they are ending up in the back of the net.