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What is the difference between this year and the last?

Could it be that Holland and Babcock have made some good decisions? Nah, what was I thinking....?
 
1. Z's first year as captain is getting a special performance out of him. He has always been a playoff performer, but he is absolutely refusing to let this team get a sullied image his first year as captain.

2. Health wise this team got healthy at the end of the season vs. being injured last year.

3. Kind of like the above our older guys also didn't play an 82 game NHL season.

4. We have a competent 3rd line and one that has a center that can win faceoffs. Andersson's ability to win faceoffs gives us another great PK option and it means that our 3rd line isn't always starting off without the puck.

5. We have youth that can skate. This is a big deal in terms of OT games and such because when you have a really old roster, they get tired easier, so anytime you play extra time you are at a disadvantage.

6. Jimmy playing like a beast when it mattered.

7. Better defensive matchup vs. the Ducks.

8. Defensive speed and size. Yeah this team coughs up the puck but they can also take the body better and skate better.
 
The ducks are not as good as the preds. The ducks were a one line team and half that line was shut down. Also Howard didn't let 2 softies in a game like last year.
 
just look at game # 7 , wings best game, Bert -7:58min , Sami-4:20min, Eaves- 7min. They shoudn't be in the team next year . Last year wings were looks tired, couldn't play next day game. This year is they're yanger and faster . For next year i like them to add power forvard , maby Perry or Lucic , i meen power forvard
 
lilidk said:
just look at game # 7 , wings best game, Bert -7:58min , Sami-4:20min, Eaves- 7min. They shoudn't be in the team next year . Last year wings were looks tired, couldn't play next day game. This year is they're yanger and faster . For next year i like them to add power forvard , maby Perry or Lucic , i meen power forvard
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Perry just re-signed with Anaheim for eight years. Don't bet on him coming here.
 
I had pretty low expectations. If we would have lost in 5, I would not have surprised or even upset. This team plays with a lot of determination. We really make a lot of bad turnovers and they have hurt us all year. Still a solid core of players and if Smith, Andersson,Nyquist,Brunner, DD, and the other prospects step up their game next year could be exciting. We do need a big scoring forward. Franzen could be that guy if he wants it bad enough.
 
This season reminds me of the '07 series where we beat the Flames and Sharks. I don't know if the Wings will find a way to beat the Hawks, but I wouldn't be completely shocked.
 
Between the 2012 Preds and 2013 Ducks...the only thing Anaheim had the edge in was up front. I'd definitely take Trotz, Rinne and the Nashville defense over Boudreau, Hiller and the Ducks blue line.
 
Heaton said:
Nashville was no better last year than the Ducks this year. They had an excellent game plan against the weeks but they got destroyed by the Coyotes the next round. I think it's the Wings new players that made the difference.
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I disagree. Anaheim is weak defensively and while Hiller was good (not great), Rinne is way better.

I meant it in more ways than one. Not only is Nashville 2012 a better team than Anaheim 2013, but the matchup was far more favorable for the Wings.

I mean, lets be reality...Weber-Suter pairing with Rinne behind them for 30+ minutes per game is a helluva lot more daunting than anything Anaheim did this series.

Please dont interpret this post as bashing the Wings.
 
DarkReign said:
I disagree. Anaheim is weak defensively and while Hiller was good (not great), Rinne is way better.

I meant it in more ways than one. Not only is Nashville 2012 a better team than Anaheim 2013, but the matchup was far more favorable for the Wings.

I mean, lets be reality...Weber-Suter pairing with Rinne behind them for 30+ minutes per game is a helluva lot more daunting than anything Anaheim did this series.

Please dont interpret this post as bashing the Wings.
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I don't think it's bashing at all, I just think that the way the Wings team is currently built would've stood a much better fate against the Preds last year. Suter/Weber/Rinne is great... But they lost 4-1 to the Coyotes last year. We lacked speed and youth last season, this year we have it.
 
Bench said:
Better match-up. The 2012 Predators were "all in" with their roster and designed to give teams like Detroit fits.

Also combine that they've had more puck luck and Jimmy Howard showed up big. The Wings continue to throw tons of rubber on net, and against the Ducks, shots kept finding their way through. Against the Preds, it felt like there was a bubble around the crease.

Finally, while this roster isn't "better" it certainly has more to prove. There are guys, especially on the blueline and 3rd line, putting their heart into every shift. Veterans like Cleary and Zetterberg are also going all out. It's a total team effort top to bottom, and it's great to see, so hopefully the Wings can spoil some of Chicago's fun.
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i don't understand this idea that nashville was a worse matchup.

DRW struggled more vs anaheim than vs nashville, in both regular season and playoffs. 2-2 against 2012 nashville and 2-1 vs 2013 anaheim, but that is mostly due to luck and goaltending (much of which is luck).


i also think the intangibles talk about heart and effort is probably BS. i don't remember anyone talking like that during the several blown leads in 3rd periods, or when anaheim's forecheck was destroying the transition game.

Heaton said:
Nashville was no better last year than the Ducks this year. They had an excellent game plan against the weeks but they got destroyed by the Coyotes the next round. I think it's the Wings new players that made the difference.
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agree

2012 nashville was absolutely not better than 2013 anaheim.
 
nik jr said:
2012 nashville was absolutely not better than 2013 anaheim.
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They were better at keeping the Wings contained. Not a better team, just better at that specific skill. Great defenders and a first shot goalie you can't beat.
 
last year we had to deal with pekka playing absolutely out of his mind. this year, as a few have already stated, howard easily outplayed hiller. howard has been our rock all year imo
 
The Nose said:
Call me crazy but its because they have a new captain.

Don't get me wrong, Lidstrom was an unreal captain, but his "style" didn't really coincide well with a struggling veteran team. Lidstrom was a laid back simple-minded captain who just did what he had to do. There was never any sign of urgency, any hard-nosed hard-working effort that uplifted the team. Lidstrom was a perfect captain for a contending team.

Zetterberg on the other hand shows his captaincy on the ice with his hard-working, won't-be-denied attitude. His "style" really rubbed off on the team and you could tell by the effort and the sense of urgency from the entire team. Zetterberg was clutch and when the team relied on him he showed up big time. He is a better "style" captain for an underdog team with a lot of youngsters (though he would be a great captain for any type of team).


Hopefully I explained that well, it was a struggle :laugh:

I'd say another HUGE aspect was the kids, especially the third line. Andersson, Nyquist, Brunner and Kindl were some of our best players and they really brought a new dimension of energy and hard-work that we were missing with Helm out. Andersson has been unbelievable these playoffs considering where he was at the starting of the year - he is one of the most reliable forwards on the team behind D and Z.

Its obvious the youth movement has rubbed off on Babs as he was ecstatic about the third line's effort all series (via post-series interview). He trusts the kids now and it appears he's dealing with their mistakes instead of the knee-jerk reactions (IE benching them).

This team just plain wants it more than I've seen in a long time.
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This, it's just a lot more fire and fight in this team. Chicago will have superior talent on thier side. It will simply take a whole lot of heart from the wings to stand a chance against them.

What I am happy about when comes to Zetterberg is that he doesnt seem to be that bothered with his back, and hasnt missed games because of it for a while. Only thing that can hold him back to work his butt off, is injury problems. Is his back problems behind him? Maybe he can slowly regain some footspeed even?
 
Suter, Weber and Rinne...period. Don't know how anyone can forget how completely shut down Datsyuk and Zetterberg were, and neither played with much jump to compound the issue. If that same Preds team played this current Wings team they would win in 5 or 6 games. That series wasn't even close, and Detroit isn't appreciably more skilled or quicker up front and certainly worse on the blueline than they were last year.
 
Holland was over at the coffee machine so I asked him, tell me again how you found Zetterberg in northern Sweden.

So he went through it for me – their European scout, Hakan Andersson, and their assistant GM Jim Nill were at a game to scout a prospect named Mathias Weinhandl, and they kept getting distracted by a smallish forward, who always had the puck on his stick and made something happen every time he touched it.

So that year, the 1999 entry draft, one of the worst in NHL history, they took a chance on a too-small guy and selected Zetterberg at No. 210 overall. Holland is a very modest guy, unusual in that job, and always says the same thing about the late-round picks that got them both Zetterberg and Datsyuk: “We got lucky.”

Well, yes and no. I happen to think you make your own luck in situations like that – to actually have two people on site, scouting a game, and then thinking far enough outside the box to take a chance on a player who, by the league’s 1999 standards was never going to be big enough play in the NHL.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...to-mind-vintage-doug-gilmour/article11895556/
 
I think the Wings want it a bit more this time. They almost lost it and had to fight to get in. That's a completely different perspective than the Wings are used to, so now they're engaged. I think this one is also about pride more than the others have been.

It reminds me of the Wings teams that would only show up in the 3rd period after a lazy 1st and 2nd. For them, fighting as an underdog has been their 3rd period.
 
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