Dabura

Future HYPE!

Was thinking about this last night. In victory and defeat, the games are always close. I guess it's been that way for the past few years, but it's unmistakably a thing this season. On the one hand it's troubling, because virtually all of our wins are unconvincing one-goal squeakers. On the other hand it's encouraging, because we're not an easy two points for anyone, and that's all you can really ask of a team like ours.

This has always been my concern with Karlsson.

Detroit Red Wings will send Filip Zadina to World Juniors. Here's why [Detroit Free Press]

Team ain't even all that young tho. (The D corps is almost entirely grizzled veterans.) And blowing leads has been a thing for a while now. In this area, I do think the blame falls mostly on the coaching. The opposition kicks into a higher gear, we facilitate their resurgence by giving them lots of time and space in our end, we panic, we start running around -- the collapse/comeback is basically a self-fulfilling prophecy. We tempt fate by doubling down on the way we play instead of adjusting the way we play to suit the given circumstances, and we do this because it's all we know how to do, apparently. It seems there's no real Plan B when Plan A ("box them out") isn't cutting it. "I like Glenny because Glenny's a stopper; he's real good defensively and he's an elite, elite shot-blocker" is not good enough. Leaning on "stoppers" is basically taking the L before the game's even over. I like Blashill. I think he's mostly good for this team. I think he doesn't have much to work with and he's done a pretty good job of squeezing blood from a stone. All of which just makes these collapses and assorted fixable problems that much tougher to swallow. So close, yet so far...

I think it's because of the World Junior Championship. I believe training camp starts in a few days.

OK, I vented. I feel a little better. Points update: Larkin (2A) - 11 goals and 28 points thru 30 games Nyquist (1A) - 7 goals and 27 points thru 30 games

Maybe it's just that I'm sour (probably), but I'm gonna rag on Blashill a bit. Things that stood out to me: Seemingly no one was being held accountable for anything tonight There's no excuse for blowing leads like we've been blowing them The power play is broken We spent at least half of that 3rd period trying the same east-west passing on our zone entries and every time it was an exercise in futility Re: 1 a -- Ericsson was bad tonight. Lazy mistakes. On the ice for the first Isles goal, and Blashill keeps him -- and everyone else who just got beat -- on the ice. What happens? Ericsson takes a penalty. Not long after, it's a 5-on-3 kill and a tie game. Re: 1 b -- Tell AA to control the puck or he's not going to play. If a light breeze is enough to strip him of the puck, he shouldn't be playing. Re: 1 c -- Vanek was bad tonight. That botched pass with the goalie pulled that led to an easy clear should've been the last straw. But no, he stays on the ice for the faceoff, because no one's accountable for anything. Re: 2 -- Blowing multi-goal leads has become routine for us. That's unacceptable. What can be done about it? I'd start by demanding more aggressive pressure in the D-zone when we have a multi-goal lead. Sitting back in a tight shell and letting the opposition fire away is an ok strategy if it's a tie game or you're up/down by a goal, but when you're up a couple goals with a ton of time left and you know the other team is going to be pressing hard, I think you need to try to counter that push with, well, some pushback. Instead of doubling down on the normal strategy (sink back, box out, sticks in lanes, stand around, pray), focus on disruption. Don't let them get comforable with the puck. Don't let them establish ownership of the puck. Otherwise, you're just indulging and enabling their comeback effort.

Wings lose. Well-deserved.

He'd be right at home on this team. Don't worry, Vanek, not like we're trying to win or anything.

Bernier comes up big. AA is back to having zero puck control ability. Bernier to the bench, net empty.

Not to get too salty here, but...you'd think our ensemble cast of veteran leaders would maybe help prevent these massive collapses. Like, if this were truly a really, really young team with only a few vets, I'd understand. But we're veteran-heavy (though we are getting younger) and we blow leads on the regular.

Powerless play. 2-for-29.

PP Do or die, boys.

We're not executing right now.

But he punches people and inspires other people to punch people and then we lose Bertuzzi to a suspension and Mantha to a broken hand and we lose control of games that we were firmly in control of. But he punches people.

Isles score. 2-3. I mean, I dunno what the Wings are expecting to happen. Spend all the time the world running around in your end, win stupid prizes.

At some point we're gonna have to address the fact that our power play hasn't done jack lately.

I'm in the mood for some Cholowski heroics. Buttclench time. 3rd period is on. LGRW!

PP Would be a good time for the power play to do something. End of 2nd. 2-2. Dumb period. Need to be better in the 3rd. LGRW!

Wings now the league leaders in fights with ten. Feels like it's been more than that.

Big kill. Great in the 1st, crap in the 2nd.

Ericsson is not good tonight.

PK. Sigh.

nah