Our 5 on 3 is brutal because

[unexplainable 0]

Babcock refuses to change anything. Its the same, on the powerplay, even though its epically good it can be better. Its a simple fix to and I know im not the only one that sees it. Datsyuk and Lidstrom are often being misused. Lidstrom and Rafalski need to switch spots on the point more often and Datsyuk is more effective playing on the right circle, not the left.

A perfect example was during our long 5 on 3 during the Flames game. Z-D-H, Lids and Rafalski had nearly a minute and a half on the 5 on 3 and nothing changed. If anyone recalls the Anahiem series from 06-07 they will remember game six, the game Detroit was eliminated. Datsyuk scored two goals during the final two minutes, one being during a 5 on 3 and the other on the 6 on 4. How were the goals scored? It was the first and last time I seen the play run. Kronwall and Lidstrom were on the points but instead of Nick on the left, he was on the right point. This allowed Kronwall to dictate the play and wait for Lidstrom to one time the puck(Something he used to really be good at doing).

With the threat of a Lidstrom one timer, instead of an injured Schnieder firing shots over the net, this meant that the Anahiem player was forced to pinch on Lidstrom everytime he got the puck. This then allowed Lidstrom to slap pass the puck to a VERY open Datsyuk, who shooting left, allows for a very easy one timer.

This play really needs to be used more often, it worked twice in two minutes, nearly working a third time, again for Datsyuk.

I know Datsyuk isn't really thought of as a goal scorer but Datsyuk NEVER misses when hes wide open near the crease. He was completely robed by Kipper during the last game, working this exact play. Datsyuk seems almost wasted being used on the left circle, he has no shot, so basically hes reduced to setting up whichever D man is at the left point. Which is fine, hes the best passer on the team but his shot, the one timer specifically is completely underrated.

This is where the redundancy of Z and Datsyuk comes in. I think they should be split, Datsyuk and Hossa should be on the first PP and first 5 on 3 PP. Z can then take Datsyuk's spot on the second PP and 5 on 3. They're both very skilled but theres only one spot and it seems Datsyuk works better in this position.

Im certainly not the coach but its just something I have noticed. It doesn't seem that Babcock is really receptive to change until its too late.

[norrisnick 1]

The biggest problem is that Nick and Raf take way too freaking long to switch sides. It should be instant. That opens up a ton of options because both are now threats to one-time the puck.

[P. Marlowe 748]

Babcock refuses to change anything. Its the same, on the powerplay, even though its epically good it can be better. Its a simple fix to and I know im not the only one that sees it. Datsyuk and Lidstrom are often being misused. Lidstrom and Rafalski need to switch spots on the point more often and Datsyuk is more effective playing on the right circle, not the left.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Sometimes you miss, sometimes you are right on. It's not like they were dillying around on that extended PP time. Part of it also was Kipprusoff playing out of his mind as well. Goalie usually needs to be your best PKer, and he was plenty that night for Calgary.

[dicksmack 33]

Sometimes you miss, sometimes you are right on. It's not like they were dillying around on that extended PP time. Part of it also was Kipprusoff playing out of his mind as well. Goalie usually needs to be your best PKer, and he was plenty that night for Calgary.

Exactly.

Most teams will get grade A scoring chances on a 5 on 3 and even when you execute it right you can still hit the crossbar like Lidstrom did (btw, USED to be good on the one-timer?) or have a goalie like Kipper come up big. Due to Lidstrom's great shot, the Wings like to collapse the pk'ers a bit and he shoots the one-timer at very acute angle, which is harder to do.

It's clear though that the 5 on 3 has been a big factor in the Wings playoff fortunes the last couple of years...

It seems as though the team with the pivotal 5 on 3 advantage had the harder task due to the pressure. The Wings missed their final chance against the Ducks and the Pens missed theirs against us.

You see alot of times the Wings don't score on the 5 on 3 but get it 5 on 4. As long as they get it...

Still, with Hossa on the 2nd unit, I don't think other teams will want to be down 5 on 3 against the Wings.

[pjgj13 30]

They controlled the play for the entire 5 minutes of the PP. Kipper stood up to the challenge and played as good as any goalie could in that situation. He literally stold the game.

If it wasn't Kipper in goal, the Wings might have score 6 or 7 goals IN THE 1st PERIOD!!

[Andy Pred 48 337]

Hey, you can't score on all the PP. Our PP unit is top of the league by 3%, yes 3%!!

27.3% with the Caps next on 24.3%. 82 PP goals so far, and lets be honest if it wasn't

for our PP I hate to think where we would be in the standings. Everything could be better

with our current play, my concern at present is letting them in. We are 21st overall when a

man down, but more worrying, esp with the playoffs coming up and the amount of OT games that occur is that we are a league worse 30th when 4 on 4 !

Oh and as for the 5 on 3 brutal, 5th best in the league is brutal? Good job your're not rooting for Phoenix.

[chrisdetroit 189]

huh? Detroit has 7 5 on 3 goals which is tied for 5th in the league. You can't take 1 game and extrapolate it over the entire season and reach a logical conclusion from that. We didn't score 5 on 3 on Thursday because Kippersof stood on his head.

[Red Crazy 201]

I don't think that our 5 on three pp is brutal but I will agree that Lidstrom and Rafi need to switch sides quicker and more often. I still am not a fan of Sammy playing on the point on the second unit with Kronner though. I would use Kronner with Nick on unit one and let Rafi and Sammy be the #2 pairing. Raffi can move the puck up the ice better then Sammy and can make the break out pass run much smoother. Sammy tends to bring the puck up the ice with his head down and then trys to make a short pass that usually ends up in someones skates.

[unexplainable 0]

Everyone that has posted in this thread is what is the problem with this team. Getting too comfortable with the same old same old. Being comfortable with being "Fifth in the league" is the problem. This team is talented enough to be #1 in every relevant statistic and they're not playing like it. Changing up Raffy and Lids is a simple solution to get things going when its obvious, in games, that our regular PP isn't working. Instead, Babcock refuses to CHANGE, ever.

This team is going to bounce out of the first round if they don't start capitalizing on every PP given to them. The Pens rode to the Finals on the back of an insane amount of PP opportunities. The Wings did so on team defense. Well its obvious, outside of Lidstrom and Datsyuk that no one else is commited to playing that style. If we're going to play run and gun, 7-6 games then the PP needs work and its that simple.

Saying "It would have been 8-0" if not for Kipper is an excuse. He made one great save on Datsyuk point blank and the post help him four or five times. The score should have been 8-0 but instead of burying the easy chances they had, they lost the game in the shootout.

Whats next? Osgood is going to start the first three games of the first round, blow two games single handidly and then Conklin will have to come in salvage what he can from the series?

Babcock is motivating, tough coach but hes notoriously bad when it comes to recognizing when a change is needed. The only reason the Nashville series last year was even close was because Hasek stunk it up for two games and Babcock finally decided to go with Osgood. What if Arnott didn't get injured? Another first round sweep because Babcock wanted to prove a point?

The entire point of an 82 game season is to establish a lineup and find which players you're comfortable with going into the playoffs. Osgood has blown, severely yet he'll still get a chance to "Prove himself" when it counts.

The only person that needs to prove themselves is Mike Babcock in two upcoming seasons, with a less talented, cap stricken lineup that can't win games on talent alone.

[esteef 2,679]

The biggest problem is that Nick and Raf take way too freaking long to switch sides. It should be instant. That opens up a ton of options because both are now threats to one-time the puck.

Agree 100%. Both are great shots from the point and we have arguably the best front-of-the-net presence in Homer just foaming at the mouth for those shots to come his way. All this does is give Dats and Zetts those extra few inches of open ice with which to work, and we all know what happens when those two have time and space.

esteef

[Yzersyukstromberg 0]

The problem I see with their 5-on-3 powerplay strategy, is that they treat it exactly the same as the 5-on-4. Too many long shots from just inside the blue line, when they should be taking advantage of the 2-man advantage and moving the puck around closer to the net for the high percentage opportunity. I watch other teams' 5-on-3 attack, and it just seems that the defensemen are quicker to slide in closer to the net, with the intention being that all of the opportunites, even shots from the d-men, are taken from close proximity to the net. The Wings' d-men seem to hold their position within 5 to 10 feet of the blue line far too long, and only begin to pinch in after the puck has been cycled around the half boards for some time.

I'm definitely not sitting here thinking I know more than Babcock and his coaching staff, because the simple fact is that the Wings' power play is still clicking at 27%...which is outstanding, but I honestly think the Wings are more effective on the 5-on-4 advantage, simply because their strategy suits that type of a situation better.

[digitaljohn88 4]

Didn't we hit 3 posts on the 5on3 in question? Plus we managed 18 or so shots. Pucks weren't going in and Kiprusoff was great, but I would hardly call it an ineffective 5on3.

That said, I like the strategy you've outlined.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

On a 5 on 3 you should have your defense men push there 3 players down so our defense men would be at the top of the circles. Then you work the puck around. It would have there 3 players screening there own goalie. I don't know if this would work in the NHL but our High School team always did this when we had the chance on a 5 on 3.

[norrisnick 1]

huh? Detroit has 7 5 on 3 goals which is tied for 5th in the league. You can't take 1 game and extrapolate it over the entire season and reach a logical conclusion from that. We didn't score 5 on 3 on Thursday because Kippersof stood on his head.

Considering our PP as a whole is lapping the league being 5th in 5on3 scoring is pretty bad. Way too casual and deliberate for having such a prime opportunity to score. Why waste 20-30 seconds passing around the edges before you finally put your primary shooting options into position?

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Lidstrom and Rafalski dont switch quick enough, and we dont always get shots through. Work on that and getting everyone to shoot a little more and it wouldnt be a problem.

[Dano33 41]

There is a reason they don't switch sides instantly, it's their gameplan.

Lidstrom and Rafalski don't switch sides right away so they can take one-timers when the passes come from down low. Then, if that isn't working or teams are taking that pass away, they change things up and switch sides.

[Carman 387]

Changing a power play that isn't broken is not a good idea. Especially when it's set-up that way for a reason.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Gotta agree in general with Rafalski and Lidstrom switching too slowly. They are also just too slow and deliberate with their passes to each other and to the guys down low. Hank also is guilty of this. Any time he gets the puck down low he takes it and holds it and by then the play has rotated down low and there's a stick in the passing lane for the cross crease pass. Quick passes open up that opportunity, and all the while the one-timer will still a threat.

[unexplainable 0]

Didn't we hit 3 posts on the 5on3 in question? Plus we managed 18 or so shots. Pucks weren't going in and Kiprusoff was great, but I would hardly call it an ineffective 5on3.

That said, I like the strategy you've outlined.

There isn't a 5 on 3 in question, actually if you recall it was a 5 on 2 but that is besides the point.

Being fifth in 5 on 3 scoring is a joke when your team consists of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Rafalski and Hossa. Their PP is at 27% because they can ice an all star lineup for 1:30 of any PP.

Shots and quality shots are two different things.

Like I said, the main problem with the 5 on 3 currently is that they're using Datsyuk as the setup man, which is fine if hes on the right side but they use him on the left. Sometimes he and Z switch off but it usually takes a broken play. Watch highlights from 04-07, Datysuk playing on the right half boards is better than sex. Datsyuk is a playmaker with a good one timer when hes in tight. Zetterberg is a playmaker who takes a TON of shots and scores around 10 more goals a season then Datsyuk. Z is by no means a sniper, so i don't see the point in using him as the shooter in this particular play.

If anything, use Hossa in place of Z.

If you want to see this play in action just watch any Pittsburgh game. They even used it against us in the finals on "The play", Zetterberg robbed Crosby but it was the same play in question, its effective and should be used much more often. Teams ALWAYS take the cross crease pass away, which eliminates Datsyuk and Zetterberg and if Lidstrom and Rafalski aren't in the position to one time the puck when they receive a puck from Z or D, it again allows for the defender to force the play.

The bottom line is that the play that Babcock prefers is low percentage and allows for even the most mediocre of defense to defend.

Watch any game in which the Detroit goalie is pulled for the extra man, Babcock dusts this play off and uses it.

[norrisnick 1]

There is a reason they don't switch sides instantly, it's their gameplan.

Lidstrom and Rafalski don't switch sides right away so they can take one-timers when the passes come from down low. Then, if that isn't working or teams are taking that pass away, they change things up and switch sides.

One-timers, high or low, are easier on the offhand wing.

On plays where they cut to the net it might make sense staying on their usual side, but usually it's just Nick and Raf and sometimes Pavel passing it around and neither one cuts down low for the backdoor play. Considering we're primarily a shooting/crease crash PP it's stupid not to do so on a 5on3 as well.