Post-Game Talk: Wrapup : Game 4 CHI @ DET

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Was at a dinner last night, and did not see too much of the game.

After I watch the tape I may place a vote, but in the mean time I request having the option to vote for "The Nose" who repsected the streak and went with his Helm jersey last night.

Nose...please be sure the jersey is in a safe place and ready to go for Saturday.

Buy me some tickets and some train tickets and you got a deal

 

[Cbdudek]

Everyone is playing well right now.

But to be fair, this game was not ALL red wings, and NO blackhawks.

If anything, Chicago out played us this game.
Howard beat that.

The Blackhawks have hit alot of posts.

Lets be honest about a few things. We have been getting some "puck luck", "good breaks". However you want to call it.

That being said... everyone is working hard out there.

Did anyone else notice Brunner back checking??? (horrible defensive during the year, skating harder to backcheck than to score!)

Nyquist... what can i say, he looks like mini datsyuk. For a regular player its amazing. If it was datsyuk himself, we would say he was snake bitten. Darren Helm earned his Detroit red wings spurs in the playoffs. I think Nyquist just won his spot on the roster for next year. He did amazingly well. (again!)

I am watching abdelkader and cleary out there. They are working hard, I am not seeing anyone fall down. They are throwing hits, going to the net. They are doing there job. They can't be Datsyuk, but the point is they are not trying to be datsyuk (not everyone can be). But we need their play to win. Without cleary screen, kindl doesnt score. These are big plays.

How about Smith and KQ playing well defensively. I mean how about Kronwall playing well defensively.

Bottom line though, Howard makes our team look better.

I don't ever want to see people complain about him again.
$5 million goalie... yes... is he playing better than Lundquist right now..ya
is he playing better than Quick right now?....
...
...
Lets hope we find out!!!

In order to win the Stanley Cup, you need a couple things.....

1. A healthy team
2. Some puck luck

We have gotten the bounces thats for sure. Yes, the Hawks are hitting posts, but thats all part of puck luck. Health wise, we are also doing pretty well. We lost Dekeyser to that broken thumb and Helm hasn't played since the first game, but overall our team is pretty healthy.

I agree with your assessment overall. Lets hope this trend continues and we can advance to the next round.

 

[Sentinel]

Red Wings are terrific in their own zone, when without the puck. Their man coverage and stickwork is stellar. Notice how Hawks could not even set up their PP: all because of Wings speed, backchecking, and positioning.

But as soon as they get the puck, it's like they forget how to skate, pass, or stickhandle. I've never seen a winning team turn the puck over so much. We are exceptionally lucky Chicago can't capitalize at all (Howard, posts, Kronwall, etc.). They really need to work on puck possession in their own zone.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Canes fan here. I have many, many questions coming into these playoffs about the consistency of the Wings organization. It seems that many of the other teams in the second round achieved success through high draft picks, with the only exceptions being San Jose and you guys. Basically, can we steal some of your scouts? I know they say the 2nd Round onwards is "luck-based", but the consistency your scouting department has in those rounds is clearly NOT luck. Looking at Holland's roster: Kronwall, Howard, Kindl, Smith, Abdelkader, Nyquist, Tatar, and Emmerton were late-1st or 2nd round picks. Datsyuk, Zetterburg, Franzen, Filppula, Helm, Quincey, and Andersson were mid-to-late round picks. Ericsson, a top-4 D, was the LAST pick of his draft. What exactly is in the Detroit system that turns them into the ultimate role players? Our team (the Canes) finally has the top tier talent, but we lack the crucial role players and defensive depth to keep the consistency in the regular season. Oh well, I guess patience is key to my team's future success. Congrats to your team, and hope they eliminate the Hawks next game.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Red Wings are terrific in their own zone, when without the puck. Their man coverage and stickwork is stellar. Notice how Hawks could not even set up their PP: all because of Wings speed, backchecking, and positioning.

But as soon as they get the puck, it's like they forget how to skate, pass, or stickhandle. I've never seen a winning team turn the puck over so much. We are exceptionally lucky Chicago can't capitalize at all (Howard, posts, Kronwall, etc.). They really need to work on puck possession in their own zone.

Agreed, we've been lucky so far that we haven't been burnt by that a lot more in this series. Seems like less of a problem when they're not capitalizing, but it could really put the skids on this streak of wins we have going and potentially give the Hawks some life. Needs to be addressed as do the breakaways.
One game more for round two boys. Tighten it up! Can't expect the goalie to be perfect every night or their shots to keep finding iron.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Canes fan here. I have many, many questions coming into these playoffs about the consistency of the Wings organization. It seems that many of the other teams in the second round achieved success through high draft picks, with the only exceptions being San Jose and you guys. Basically, can we steal some of your scouts? I know they say the 2nd Round onwards is "luck-based", but the consistency your scouting department has in those rounds is clearly NOT luck. Looking at Holland's roster: Kronwall, Howard, Kindl, Smith, Abdelkader, Nyquist, Tatar, and Emmerton were late-1st or 2nd round picks. Datsyuk, Zetterburg, Franzen, Filppula, Helm, Quincey, and Andersson were mid-to-late round picks. Ericsson, a top-4 D, was the LAST pick of his draft. What exactly is in the Detroit system that turns them into the ultimate role players? Our team (the Canes) finally has the top tier talent, but we lack the crucial role players and defensive depth to keep the consistency in the regular season. Oh well, I guess patience is key to my team's future success. Congrats to your team, and hope they eliminate the Hawks next game.

First of all, appreciate the compliment given to our organization. Secondly, no. You can't have any of our scouts.
Lastly, I think you hit the nail on the head - patience seems a key. Not just getting the guys but patiently developing them the right way. Patience is certainly not something Wings fans seem to have in spades, particularly when things were looking bleak this season, but I think it's paid off for the organization.
Not sure if this post season is a validation for our management, ownership or coaching staff; I'd like to think it is, however I'd like to think that the last two decades have been. Really, I think you have to look at management and ownership when giving praise for the team we have now and the success we have had. The right owner hiring the right people and letting them do their jobs, even if the fans think they are doing them poorly.

Hope we eliminate them next game also, thanks!

 

[SoupGuru]

First of all, appreciate the compliment given to our organization. Secondly, no. You can't have any of our scouts.
Lastly, I think you hit the nail on the head - patience seems a key. Not just getting the guys but patiently developing them the right way. Patience is certainly not something Wings fans seem to have in spades, particularly when things were looking bleak this season, but I think it's paid off for the organization.
Not sure if this post season is a validation for our management, ownership or coaching staff; I'd like to think it is, however I'd like to think that the last two decades have been. Really, I think you have to look at management and ownership when giving praise for the team we have now and the success we have had. The right owner hiring the right people and letting them do their jobs, even if the fans think they are doing them poorly.

Hope we eliminate them next game also, thanks!

We are really lucky to be fans of this organization. The Ilitches were looking long term when they put it together. Their commitment to the top and especially the bottom of the entire system is remarkable.

Here's what I think the secret is to Detroit's drafting: development. Think about this. If you took some Joe off the street and trained with him for 5 years, 24 hours a day, to be a hockey player, he might actually be... uh, not awful.... passable.... uh... I don't know what word to use. You look after his diet, his weight training, his cardio, get some of the best hockey minds to teach him theory and fundamentals, go over video, have teammates and vets to learn from, practice practice practice, game after game...

OK, so instead of taking some random dude off the street, restrict yourself to the guys in the draft - guys who obviously know a thing or two about hockey already - and put them through the same process.

Sure, getting guys with natural ability is awesome and picking first would be sweet, but I think the Wings could make NHLers out of a good portion of a random sample of each draft class.

I think a lot of other teams look to draft a guy that's close to NHL talent already and don't have the organization to do much with anyone else - just drop them on your AHL affiliate and hope for the best in a year or two.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Pens fan here. What you guys are doing is absolutely amazing. Just one question: Who is this Toews person? I thought his name was Zetterberg's *****.

Suter was abusing him last series too.

 

[JPE123]

Canes fan here. I have many, many questions coming into these playoffs about the consistency of the Wings organization. It seems that many of the other teams in the second round achieved success through high draft picks, with the only exceptions being San Jose and you guys. Basically, can we steal some of your scouts? I know they say the 2nd Round onwards is "luck-based", but the consistency your scouting department has in those rounds is clearly NOT luck. Looking at Holland's roster: Kronwall, Howard, Kindl, Smith, Abdelkader, Nyquist, Tatar, and Emmerton were late-1st or 2nd round picks. Datsyuk, Zetterburg, Franzen, Filppula, Helm, Quincey, and Andersson were mid-to-late round picks. Ericsson, a top-4 D, was the LAST pick of his draft. What exactly is in the Detroit system that turns them into the ultimate role players? Our team (the Canes) finally has the top tier talent, but we lack the crucial role players and defensive depth to keep the consistency in the regular season. Oh well, I guess patience is key to my team's future success. Congrats to your team, and hope they eliminate the Hawks next game.

It's a great organization from top to bottom. The player development can be frustrating to a fan but you can't argue with the success and Thanks, but we'll keep our scouts

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

We are really lucky to be fans of this organization. The Ilitches were looking long term when they put it together. Their commitment to the top and especially the bottom of the entire system is remarkable.

Here's what I think the secret is to Detroit's drafting: development. Think about this. If you took some Joe off the street and trained with him for 5 years, 24 hours a day, to be a hockey player, he might actually be... uh, not awful.... passable.... uh... I don't know what word to use. You look after his diet, his weight training, his cardio, get some of the best hockey minds to teach him theory and fundamentals, go over video, have teammates and vets to learn from, practice practice practice, game after game...

OK, so instead of taking some random dude off the street, restrict yourself to the guys in the draft - guys who obviously know a thing or two about hockey already - and put them through the same process.

Sure, getting guys with natural ability is awesome and picking first would be sweet, but I think the Wings could make NHLers out of a good portion of a random sample of each draft class.

I think a lot of other teams look to draft a guy that's close to NHL talent already and don't have the organization to do much with anyone else - just drop them on your AHL affiliate and hope for the best in a year or two.

Meh I think our development has been sub-par until the Blashill era where it seems to have turned the corner.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

It's a great organization from top to bottom. The player development can be frustrating to a fan but you can't argue with the success and Thanks, but we'll keep our scouts

I think a great example of the frustration you guys went through over the years: the goaltending hierarchy. I remembered through reading this board that while fans were screaming for his promotion, Howard went through five seasons of the minor leagues before Holland thought he was ready. Instead of listening to fans, he watched and made his own observations. Hence why Osgood, a somewhat mediocre (regular season) goalie, and a bunch of retread backups stayed in the top club for many years while Howard stuck around the minors. (BTW, it seems that many of the best goalies these playoffs had long trajectories. I wonder if Holland has a similar succession plan with those goalies you drafted before, just a thought )

 

[GeoSacks]

Exactly. It was very stupid of him to complain about that call. High stick is an Automatic call. A very bad sign for the Hawks they captain losing it.
We love it.

I'm starting to think that the refs aren't letting Toews get away with any bodrerline play because he's been complaining so much about the refs missing too many calls.

 

[PullHard]

You don't need 20 SOG necessarily, you just need to move the puck up the ice smoothly and efficiently.

While I agree that he won't win us games single handedly, I think having him makes us obviously better at getting out of our end, and therefore makes this a closer and more competitive game. We didn't play awful all 60 minutes. I'm not saying we would win the series in 4 or 5 games. I just think that if we are able to generate more of an attack consistently throughout this past game, the outcome would likely look different than it did. Maybe we lose 5-3 on an EN goal, or maybe we lose 2-1 in OT. I just think that with a bit more help back there it is a different game. The Hawks are good, but I don't think they are unbeatable.

Just going to pump my own tires, here.

We didn't get Danny DK back, but basically they improved what he would help with.

Babcock has smartened the team up nicely.

 

[WingedWheel1987]

Still can't believe the Wings are one game away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

 

[crashman]

Just going to pump my own tires, here.

We didn't get Danny DK back, but basically they improved what he would help with.

Babcock has smartened the team up nicely.

Babcock is a hell of a coach, but he's better with the young guys. All the vets have heard his message and know what needs to be done, but I think he's done a great job with the younger/inexperienced players. Their improvement is why the Wings are still playing right now.

 

[Hckytwn]

I realize it's 2013. He's still the worst. He's the worst most overpaid defenseman in the league. How does he get $3.25 million with a NTC? Horrible.

Not true. He's not even the worse player on the Red Wings. That title goes to Jonathan Ericsson.

Or every 4th game Kyle Quincey

Wow, for forums know for their hyperbole, this takes the cake.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

That's why I think you should let a veteran get the C even if he's not the best player, maturity, control over emotions and leadership is something you gain with experience.

Not that Toews is a kid anymore, his young compared to Z but do have a lot of experience already, so I guess that contradict my thought a bit, but still...

Unless you're Steve Yzerman

 

[Yemack]

Just going to pump my own tires, here.

We didn't get Danny DK back, but basically they improved what he would help with.

Babcock has smartened the team up nicely.

very well done sunshine. though when I made a comment regarding DD, it was under pretense that he was playing in game 1. I still stand by that he wasnt going to be a factor in game 1. Nobody was going to be a factor in game 1 with rest of the team getting owned like that.

I think the puck movement out of the zone has alot to do with our forwards being more aggressive. I insisted our forwards to move up the ice right after game 1 ended because our D dont have place to get the puck out.

However, I think the major turn around was the rest, and willingness to compete and battle. If we dont win the puck, Wings are going to spend all night defending and getting pasted to the board in our zone.

 

[PullHard]

very well done sunshine. though when I made a comment regarding DD, it was under pretense that he was playing in game 1. I still stand by that he wasnt going to be a factor in game 1. Nobody was going to be a factor in game 1 with rest of the team getting owned like that.

I think the puck movement out of the zone has alot to do with our forwards being more aggressive. I insisted our forwards to move up the ice right after game 1 ended because our D dont have place to get the puck out.

However, I think the major turn around was the rest, and willingness to compete and battle. If we dont win the puck, Wings are going to spend all night defending and getting pasted to the board in our zone.

Yep, very true. I think I have noticed a trend with our club, too. Goes on in GR as well. Team chips/passes puck up ice with a short-ish pass to forward along boards. Often the forward is covered. If he can, he moves forward with it, or continues to move the puck deep. If not, nearly everyone on the ice is ready to collapse backwards. It is like they assume they are going to turn it over, so that there isn't an odd man rush coming back our way ever, basically. It seems to be working pretty well.

 

[TatarTangle]

I have a serious question for everyone; Is this real life?

 

[obey86]

Still can't believe the Wings are one game away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

this close to bumping my "what if the red wings make the conference finals or SCF?" thread.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I have a serious question for everyone; Is this real life?

Hard to believe, I keep waiting for it to crash apart. This season has had a lot of highs and lows, strange to see the consistency we were clamoring for finally arrive. I hope it can stay for another month.

 

[Bench]

I'm also wondering what kind of influence Tom Renney is having. Babcock has been notoriously hard on the kids, but Renny is more of a player's coach and always considered a great guy to work with.

Are we seeing some results from a good cop, bad cop routine? Or has Renny been a calming influence on a roster which appears to have excellent poise, especially when you contrast the Wings with the Ducks and Hawks.

 

[Fugu]

I'm also wondering what kind of influence Tom Renny is having. Babcock has been notoriously hard on the kids, but Renney is more of a player's coach and always considered a great guy to work with.

Are we seeing some results from a good cop, bad cop routine? Or has Renny been a calming influence on a roster which appears to have excellent poise, especially when you contrast the Wings with the Ducks and Hawks.

I think he's gotta be a factor. Babs let his former staff go, probably feeling he wasn't getting enough from them to counter/augment whatever it is he does. When he had the original McCoaches, that was a very good mix until McCoach I left. (McLellan)

 

[Bench]

You just had to quote my post before I could spell his name right. Renney.

But Renney was always, in my view, the wrong place at the wrong time. His New York team was kind of a mishmash disaster of a roster. And he wasn't going to take a young Edmonton anywhere with their defense and goaltending.

Settling in here probably feels good for him, and it's clear how much the Wings organization likes him and Babcock appears to appreciate his lighter touch.

It also makes me wonder if Nill is going to snatch him up for the vacant job in Dallas.