Wings: More Desperate than the Other Guys

By Adam W Parks

Thursday, January 21, 2010 Red Wings 4 @ Wild 3 SO

It was a game between two desperate teams. One, Minnesota, sat five points behind the other and were six away from a playoff position. The other, Detroit, sat one point behind Los Angeles and two back from Calgary and Vancouver.

Both teams came into Thursday night's game having lost three straight.

Getting Wild in the North

The Minnesota Wild is one of few teams in the NHL that I do not mind that much. Perhaps it is because they have the second coolest logo behind the Winged Wheel. What is that thing anyway? A bear? A Cougar? I like how the moon is the mystery animal's ear, how the eye resembles the North Star (an homage to the old Minnesotan franchise), and how its mouth looks like a river cutting through the north country.

Or perhaps my slight soft spot for the team comes from my admiration of Minnesota's wilderness. On two occasions, once backpacking, the other houseboating, I have spent extended periods of time in the Boundary Waters area in the northern part of the state. Now, I have lived in and explored Michigan's Upper Peninsula, from Taquamenon Falls to the Pictured Rocks to the Porcupine Mountains. I have seen parts of the Appalachian Trail and rafted down white water in West Virginia. I have done the Rockies north and south, Montana to Arizona. But I'm telling you, nothing compares to the waterways of Northern Minnesota

The most likely reason for my lack of hatred for this team is because of the Wings' dominance over the Wild. On paper Detroit holds history's edge with an 11-1-2 record over the last 14 matchups. But as this season has proved to be true on so many occasions in Detroit, history has no bearing on the present. The Wings needed to play a great game to get a good win, and they nearly let one slip away, again.

Howie Back In Net

"They got a couple of lucky bounces," Jimmy Howard said. "But for the most part, I thought we controlled the game.''

After his first breather in 12 games against Washington, Howard was back in net in St. Paul to face a struggling yet dangerous Wild team. Howard stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced and was excellent in the shootout for his 18th win on the season and improved to 10-4-3 in his last 17 starts.

Babcock has shown immense confidence in his rookie goaltender this season, hence the increased playing time over Chris Osgood. Howie has been quicker, sharper, and more aggressive around the puck than Ozzy. This helps with the intangibles that a goalie must inevitably face in every game, such as the bad bounces that Howard referred to, or simply being in the right place at the right time when things get thick in front. Check out this save:



Notice where Howard is perched to make that first save. He is out in front of his goal crease, challenging the shooter, cutting down the angle at the net. The rebound comes out to his left and he is able to move over and make another save. By staying out of the crease, the rebounded puck stays out of the crease, which keeps the Wild from crashing in around the net. This also allows Howard's defensive support a better opportunity to tie up their men and reduce the chances of a quality scoring chance off the rebound as the puck is nowhere near the goal line.

I hate to say it, but when I watch Osgood in net he looks tentative, and I have very little confidence that when things get hairy in front of him that he will be in the right position to sustain the pressure. Whenever there are a lot of bodies around Ozzy, I do not feel as safe about losing sight of the puck as I do when Howard is in net. As far as the playing time dispute between Babcock and Osgood, I do not see how Babs has any option but to continue to play Howie whenever possible. He gives the Wings the best chance to win because he is the best goalie on the team right now.

Know Your Role

The big name scorers have taken on defensive roles this season, and a large portion of the goal-scoring has come in large part from the role players. Leading these guys have been Darren Helm, Patrick Eaves, and Drew Miller; each played great on Thursday. Eaves, who was an assist shy of a Gordie Howe Hat Trick on Sunday against the Blackhawks, put the Wings up 2-1 in the third period when he capitalized off of Helm's hard work:



It was Eaves' seventh goal and 14th point of the season. Miller put the Wings up 3-1 shortly after Eaves with this tip-in goal off of Derek Meech's shot from the point:



That goal should have sealed the deal for Detroit, but Minnesota got a quick two goal spurt just a few minutes later to tie the game. Miller was called upon in the eighth round of the shootout to do what Henrik Zetterberg, Todd Bertuzzi, Ville Leino, Dan Cleary, and Patrick Eaves could not. It was his first NHL shootout attempt. He is now 100% for his career.

"In the minors, I never did too hot in them, but you got to get your first sometime," Miller said. "He's a pretty big goalie (Minnesota's Nicklas Backstrom), stays with the puck well, so I decided to come in and shoot a little bit farther out, try to catch him thinking another deke. You've got to get your first one sometime, and it feels pretty good."

Babcock tipped his hat to his role guys.

"That's who's been coming through all year," Babcock said. "We wouldn't have any wins if it wasn't for those guys. It's not like our big guys are scoring like crazy. It's been a team thing all year long. Because our power play's been like it was tonight again, just stagnant and standing around a lot, we need those guys."

"It's a huge win for us," Miller said. "We feel we've been playing well, just not getting the results we want. We battled hard tonight and came through with the 'W' in the end. You don't ask how, you just get it done."

Here is the shootout in all its glory:



Peace.