Stanley Cup Hangover

[clayjoh 3]

After watching the first few games of the season it's obvious the team hasn't quite gelled yet and appear to be playing on the assumption that they can just about clobber all opposition by reputation alone

they're only playing well in spurts and can turn it on briefly but haven't really woken up to the fact that every opposing coach and team is going to be jacked up big time to play Detroit every night this year

I would expect they might not even lead the league by Xmas but will round into form mid season

You can just tell that all the boys had a terrific summer but aren't in the right head space to commit to 80 plus regular season games and a lenghty playoff yet

It might take a western road trip to get the team recommited to the bigger goal

hope Hossa starts to work better also haven't seen too much magic from him yet

[BlueMonk 102]

I don't think the part about getting the opposing team's best game is really new to them. Even when the Wings weren't winning Stanley Cups the past few years, let's be honest, they were still the best team all season long. Teams might be a bit more fired up with this latest Stanley Cup on their resume than in the past, but not by a huge amount.

On the other hand, the complacency is obvious. It's most pronounced on defense. Last year's team held the opposition to a minuscule shots against average by playing stifling defense. The backchecking was ferocious and they took away the middle of the ice. They haven't played a full game of that kind of D yet this season.

One of the most glaring omissions from the team so far is I'm not seeing any real physical play. The defense looks like what you see in an all-star game, when it's all sticks and positioning and nobody gets hit. That's fine for Lidstrom, but for the rest, it's not okay. One forward skating through 2 defenseman and getting a good shot off is inexcusable. Lay the guy on his ass, for Pete's sake. What big hit stands out so far? I can't even name one. The Wings laid more hits in 1 period of any of their playoff games last season than they've assembled in all 4 games this season.

I do think having Downey and/or Mac in the lineup would help with the physical play. Those guys make their teammates feel an inch taller and the supplemental violence goes up, which is something they need. This isn't the SCF anymore, where teams are afraid to take a dumb penalty. If Kronwall lays someone out now, the other team is going to come gunning for him and he's got nobody who'll back him up.

And the turnovers... can't forget the turnovers. Brutal. Gotta stop passing the puck from behind the goal line directly to an opposing forward skating in on your own net. Yeah. Worth a try, anyway.

There's lots of time to fix all this, of course. But they're not going to win games until they start playing defense again.

[dtowndrew 0]

I'm not going to be too critical four games into the season. They have played some very un-Red Wings like hockey with the turnovers and lack of defensive discipline, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they came out and played a flawless game against the Rangers tomorrow night. Babcock won't let the sloppy play continue for long.

Hey, at least we're off to a better start than Anaheim

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Better they get the sloppy play out with now instead of later.

[b.shanafan14 733]

The complacency is definitely there. The defense is playing terrible in my opinion and the lines seem to have no chemistry anymore, seems like individuals are trying to do too much and its leading to WAY too many turnovers and odd-man rushes against. Even the bounces aren't going for the Wings and Ozzy has looked shaky in net, probably due in large part to the quality of the chances against. I know its 4 games into the season, and we don't want to push the panic button, etc. but the Wings aren't playing like the Wings. And the games at the beginning of the season are worth as much as the harder competed later season wins, that why the Wings win the Presidents trophy so often, they come out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Not only that, but it seems the injury bug has reared its ugly head already. I'm not gravely worried yet, but something has to change.

[scotzman 29]

As everyone has mentioned, there is most definitely some kind of hangover or lack of effort through 4 games this year. They have been outplayed in 3 of their 4 games. They put forth a good effort in Carolina and Conklin played really well.

The thing that was bothering me last night (in addition to lack of physical play) was all the dipsy doodling that Hossa does... shoot the friggin' puck Dude! He and Datsyuk have not really jelled in my opinion.

On a brighter note, Helm is going to be great 3rd or 4th liner for this club...

[donfishmaster 62]

OK, this isn't an excuse, BUT....

They spent the day at the White House, then came back to Detroit. They looked like they weren't in their regular groove and I think the distractions of pre-season may have made them iffy in the opener against Toronto and the day in Washington D.C. (instead of coming back to Detroit) may have thrown them off their game last night.

I'm not in the least concerned. If they still look sluggish ten games into the season, then we'll see.

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

Instead of having the "Yeah we're Stanley Cup Champions" mindset that the Wings seem to have right now, they need to be thinking "We were Stanley Cup Champions in 2008 and we are going to bring it even more in 2009."