By Adam W Parks
Thursday, October 15, 2009 Kings @ Wings
Well the ship may not be quite right, but Thursday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings helped seal some recent leaks. The Wings have flashed brief moments of Wing-like brilliance, but for the most part have appeared out of rhythm offensively and everything but cohesive in their own zone. The back-to-back victories at Joe Louis Arena against the Blackhawks and the Capitals were critical after the back-to-back losses to the Blues in Stockholm. Outside of the flair and fanfare in Sweden, the trip resulted in little more than distraction and fatigue for the players. And any positive vibes felt from those wins at the Joe was eradicated by a 6-2 debacle in Buffalo. Against the Kings, the Wings were able to deal with and overcome their early struggles with consistency, chemistry, and turnovers.
GET THE *UCK OUT
Turnovers have been the Red Wings most glaring issue thus far, especially in the defensive zone. What was frustrating to watch in Sweden was nauseating to swallow in Buffalo as the Sabres were able to obtain the puck at will in the Wings zone and pour goals all over Chris Osgood. The first period against the Kings saw more of the same. The Wings suffered from sloppy play in their own end and struggled to move the puck through the neutral zone without icing it. That deficiency cost them. Shortly after a Los Angeles power play expired, Niklas Kronwall stepped out of the penalty box and watched as an errant pass from Daniel Cleary slid through center ice and behind Kings goalie Jon Quick. A face off win by Dustin Brown and four seconds later the Wings were down 1-0.
BRING A BUCKET
Osgood played fantastic after that first goal when Brown skated to the front of the net off the face off and stuffed home a rebound from a shot from the point. A bad goal, but not on Osgood. During that first period turnovers weighted down the Wings and nearly sunk them in the bottom of their own zone. Ozzie stayed calm and bailed his teammates out as they slowly gained their form. Neither Osgood nor Jimmy Howard have looked steady at the helm so far this season, but Ozzie was sharp and quick against the early opportunities from the Kings, especially with the loose pucks in front and around his net. His confidence was contagious as the Wings settled down, tightened up on defense, and loosened up on offense as the game progressed.
HOLMER'S ODYSSEY
Tomas Holmstrom disappeared in the playoffs last year lost amidst a torrent sea of mythical obstacles. Blame it on his hernia, back, shoulder, Calypso, The Cyclops, Poseidon, whatever. He scored only two goals and seven points while playing in all of Detroit's 23 playoff games. At age 36 Holmer appeared as if he had taken one hundred too many slashes to the back from a goalie stick. This season #96 leads the Wings with four goals and is tied with Brian Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg for most points (5). Consistency will be key for Holmstrom with Johan Franzen out until...What is most impressive with Holmer’s quick start is that he has been the wild card for Mike Babcock’s concoctions, and he has been productive while playing with different linemates and taking on various roles. There were times Thursday night when he looked as if he was trying his best to do his best Pavel Datsyuk impression, handling and controlling the puck and showing a skating ability that was all but absent his entire career. However, good ol’ Holmer was back in his office when he tipped in Nicklas Lidstrom's shot for a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
THE SACRED SWEDE
All things secular in LAMP THE LIGHT, but Lidstrom might be the exception. His assist on Holmstrom's tip-in power play goal was his 999th career point. In the third period he assisted on an incredible Zetterberg tip-in goal for point number 1,000. The goal was Zetterberg's first of the season which became the game winning tally; both are more essential results than the milestone. Sure, Lidstrom is the fourth-fastest Red Wing and just the second Swedish player (Mats Sundin) to reach that plateau, but taking a 3-1 lead in an important home game and getting Z on the scoreboard is crucial for the team. Lidstrom has four Stanley Cup rings, an Olympic Gold Medal, is a six-time Norris Trophy winner, is currently eighth all-time in scoring amongst NHL defensemen...and he can skate on water. 1,000 points is a milestone, but it is just a plateau for the Captain.
TODD BERTURDZZI
Is there anybody besides his family who likes this guy? Yes he is a Red Wing, so we are forced to embrace him. Like that friend who got too drunk at your wedding and punched a guy in the back of the head and shoved him face first into the cake. In the eyes of the fans, Bertuzzi is the junkyard cat: to be kicked around in a pool of gasoline until he earns respect, gets adopted, and becomes part of the team. It will be interesting to see what he has more or less of come playoff time: goals or teeth. Holmstrom thinks this guy is ugly. Seriously though, his hard work with the fore/backchecking will help his cause in Detroit, but he has to start producing in the box score. He is playing on a line with Zetterberg, who does not appear comfortable right now. Bertuzzi has two points (zero goals) and is -2 in the plus/minus column. Early in the second period, on a Detroit power play opportunity, he led a two-on-one with Valtteri Filppula. Kings defensemen Drew Doughty took away the pass offering Bertuzzi a clear shot on net from the bottom of the left circle. Ten feet away from the goal he sent the puck six inches wide and three feet high "aiming" top-shelf, glove side. He didn't just miss the net, he missed the glass. To his credit though, he did earn his second point off of Kirk Maltby’s goal on what might be the ugliest assist in recorded history.
GRIFFIN EGGS
Jonathan Ericsson picked up his second goal of the season off a clean face off win by Justin Abdelkader in the second period. Abdelkader and Darren Helm brought the energy and grit that earned them playing time. Helm looked particularly strong on the penalty kill and was arguably the Wings' best skater in the first period, if not the entire game. Ville Leino and Filppula have been on the most consistent line for Detroit and Thursday they were tenacious on both ends of the ice; however the group was left off the scoring sheet. Derek Meech was scratched in favor of Brett Lebda.
MICKEY’S QUOTE OF THE GAME
After an extensive review of Ericcson's goal, which would have gone wide of the net if Quick had not deflected it between his own legs, Mickey chimed in with this clever bit of triple-negative commentary, "Never never not shoot." Got to love the Mick.
Peace.
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