Wings look to regroup after Game 7 stunner

[19Wingsfan4ever 0]

Here is an interesting article below that I found today at Yahoo Sports.

Just how much should we read into that Game 7 loss on home ice with the Stanley Cup at stake? The Detroit Red Wings were this close to repeating as champions of the NHL, a fifth Cup in 12 years and No. 12 in the franchise’s trophy case – more than twice as many as any franchise not located in Montreal or Toronto.

Up in games 3-2, the Red Wings first lost Game 6 in Pittsburgh by a 2-1 score and returned to the friendly confines of Joe Louis Arena three nights later where, shockingly, it happened again – Penguins, 2-1. For only the third time in league history a road team won Game 7 of the finals.

What Detroit should take away from the unexpected conclusion to a series it led 2-0 and 3-2 is it wasn’t a fluke. Pittsburgh not only deserved and earned the Cup, but the Penguins found a way to neutralize a Red Wings team that looked every bit as poised to win again as it did 12 months previously against Pittsburgh.

Coach Mike Babcock hit the nail on the head with his analysis shortly after the series ended. He said his team never really hit its stride throughout the seven games. The Wings never reached that extra gear that always seems to get opposing teams running around. They never put the Pens back on their heels.

It really seemed to come out of nowhere, too. Detroit swept Columbus, wobbled a bit in needing seven games to turn away a determined and peaking Anaheim outfit, then rolled to the conference title in convincing fashion with a five-game victory over upstart Chicago.

Had playing to the bitter end in consecutive seasons finally caught up to the older legs between the two teams? Had an opponent finally exposed a ***** in Detroit’s seemingly impenetrable armor? These are the questions the Wings have had to try to answer, and react to accordingly, all at a time when the ceiling of the salary cap is crashing down.

Money had a lot to do with a pretty significant exodus – Marian Hossa(notes), Mikael Samuelsson(notes), Tomas Kopecky(notes), Jiri Hudler(notes), Ty Conklin(notes) and Chris Chelios(notes) all departed. For most teams that would be cause for concern. But these Red Wings are deep and no one gets rushed into the NHL.

More opportunity and ice time for players such as Darren Helm(notes), Ville Leino(notes), Justin Abdelkader(notes) and Jonathan Ericsson(notes) is probably not good news for the rest of the Central Division and the remainder of the league.

Last season: 51-21-10 (120 points), first place Central Division, second in the Western Conference and third in the overall standings. The Wings won their eighth straight division title and eclipsed the 100-point plateau for a league-record ninth consecutive time.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 18th straight season, Detroit swept Columbus in the opening round, needed seven games to oust Anaheim in the second and won a second straight conference title in five games over Chicago. The Red Wings took a 3-2 series lead over Pittsburgh in their attempt to be the league’s first repeat champ since 1997-98 but lost Game 6 on the road and the decider on home ice, 2-1.

Imports: RW Todd Bertuzzi(notes) (Calgary), C Jason Williams(notes) (Columbus), RW Patrick Eaves(notes) (Carolina), D Doug Janik(notes) (Boston) and D Andy Delmore(notes) (Germany).

Exports: RW Marian Hossa (Chicago), RW Mikael Samuelsson (Vancouver), C Tomas Kopecky (Chicago), G Ty Conklin (St. Louis), D Chris Chelios (free agent) and LW Jiri Hudler (Russia).

Re-signings: RW Johan Franzen(notes) and LW Ville Leino.

Salary cap: The Red Wings have some work to do here before opening night. Currently, the team is almost $1 million over the ceiling so something has to give. The only way Detroit will add to the roster is a money-for-money deal.

Three keys: It can be said for every team, but Detroit’s best players really have to be its best players. Henrik Zetterberg(notes), Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) and Brian Rafalski(notes) need to lead the way on the ice and on the score sheet.

The Red Wings have marvelous depth, all the parts seem to fit so well, but if the top-line players falter, get injured or fail to live up to their expectations Detroit doesn’t really have superstars in the waiting.

Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen are all signed to long-term, big-money deals so complacency can’t slip into their game. Lidstrom is going into the final year of his contract so there is motivation to earn one final deal in Detroit or go out with a blaze of glory at age 38.

Second, this being an Olympic year, the Red Wings could have nine or 10 players involved in the midseason, two-week tournament in Vancouver. Detroit has already played 209 games the last two seasons so that’s a lot of mileage on a lot of legs, and the best players are getting the most ice time.

Babcock knows how the drill goes so he’ll monitor ice time and rest, but the Red Wings still have to be smart about planning for the long haul. They’ve been through it enough in recent years so they should have it down pat.

The 25-and-under group – Valtteri Filppula(notes), Patrick Eaves, Derek Meech(notes), Helm, Abdelkader, Leino, Ericsson, Jimmy Howard(notes) – have to bring that youthful exuberance and energy to a room of veterans to make that long regular season go by just a little bit faster.

The beauty of the Red Wings’ ways is no one is asked to play a role he’s not ready to play. All of the aforementioned young guns will be asked to simply fulfill a supporting role, whether it’s on a third or fourth line, a penalty-killing unit or whatever.

On the hot seat: The Red Wings were very patient with starting goalie Chris Osgood(notes) last season, and they were rewarded when the 36-year-old wiped his poor regular-season performance aside with a superb postseason. He very well may have been in line for the Conn Smythe Trophy had Detroit won one of the final two games against Pittsburgh.

But it starts all over again for Osgood, who now sees Howard in the rear-view mirror, a drafted and developed netminder who the Wings have high hopes for down the line. If Osgood surrenders the net like he did for a while to departed Ty Conklin last year, he might have trouble getting it back from Howard.

Poised to blossom: Leino? Howard? Ericsson? Take your pick. But the youngster who we favor is Helm. He has speed and a nose for the puck, but he also exhibits a passion that’s very evident in every shift and that’s going to make him a hit in Motown ala Kris Draper(notes) and Kirk Maltby(notes).

As much as Detroit fawns over the superstar – Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan(notes), etc. – they always show their cult-like appreciation for the third- and fourth-line grinders. Helm has certainly displayed great speed, so don’t be surprised if his hands start to catch up, too.

Time has passed: Not sure we really get the Todd Bertuzzi signing. GM Ken Holland doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and there’s certainly some recent history between the two parties. Bertuzzi is two years and two teams removed from his eight-game showing with the Red Wings in 2006-07.

He feels his improved health will translate to more production, but he’s an old 34 playing in a far different game than the one in which he enjoyed so much success with Vancouver much earlier in his career.

Prediction: Other teams in the division have gotten stronger – four of the five reached the playoffs last year – but Detroit is still the team to beat. There’s something about The Joe, the old barn seems to intimidate opponents and the Wings are always a popular team on the road, too, often drawing large and vocal rooting sections away from Detroit.

The Wings seem to feed off of the adulation; they just always seem to find a way to win, especially in the regular season. No change this year as Detroit will be a top-three seed in the West and a very difficult out in the postseason.

[T.Low 1,011]

Good read.

My quick answer to header is that I'm going with the tired/injured/too wornout to kill theory.

[Doc Holiday 0]

People seem to forget that Detroit had two days before game 5 of the WCF and game 1 of the SCF.

That was also a big factor.

Good analysis, either way.

[hooon 1,089]

People seem to forget that Detroit had two days before game 5 of the WCF and game 1 of the SCF.

That was also a big factor.

Good analysis, either way.

There were other factors too such as injuries, rule exemptions, Hossa...

But good article, and the guy is right. Despite the factors, the Wings lost it for themselves and the Pens played better.

[VM1138 1,921]

Good article, except for the things already mentioned, plus the conclusion where he says the Wings usually find a way to win, at least in the regular season. Last time I checked they find ways to win in the playoffs too...two consecutive Finals appearances, one Cup win, and three straight Western Conference appearances...

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

We had lots of injuries, however, we were up 3-2 in the series despite all those injuries. With a better and more focused effort, we should have taken game 7 at home. There's no excuses for losing that game, and the Pens just wanted it more than the Wings, which still drives me crazy.

I don't know how to feel going into this season, because in my lifetime, the Wings have never come so close to a Cup without winning it. I won't be satisfied unless Lidstrom raises another Cup.

[ltgator333 3]

We had lots of injuries, however, we were up 3-2 in the series despite all those injuries. With a better and more focused effort, we should have taken game 7 at home. There's no excuses for losing that game, and the Pens just wanted it more than the Wings, which still drives me crazy.

I don't know how to feel going into this season, because in my lifetime, the Wings have never come so close to a Cup without winning it. I won't be satisfied unless Lidstrom raises another Cup.

I feel close to the same way myself, but I think the other thing to throw into the mix is that we're spoiled. I've been a wing fan in some capacity since the 94ish- I've never seen them not make the playoffs, I've not seen them really questioned rightfully so in years. Our team is a winning machine, period. Sooner or later the ride will be over (not this year), and I think we all should teach ourselves to be grateful to be wings fans before humility does. I'd love to see Nik raise another cup, I don't know if that will ever happen or not but I'm happy to some degree either way.

[DMAC 25 18]

Here is an interesting article below that I found today at Yahoo Sports.

Just how much should we read into that Game 7 loss on home ice with the Stanley Cup at stake? The Detroit Red Wings were this close to repeating as champions of the NHL, a fifth Cup in 12 years and No. 12 in the franchise’s trophy case – more than twice as many as any franchise not located in Montreal or Toronto.

Up in games 3-2, the Red Wings first lost Game 6 in Pittsburgh by a 2-1 score and returned to the friendly confines of Joe Louis Arena three nights later where, shockingly, it happened again – Penguins, 2-1. For only the third time in league history a road team won Game 7 of the finals.

What Detroit should take away from the unexpected conclusion to a series it led 2-0 and 3-2 is it wasn’t a fluke. Pittsburgh not only deserved and earned the Cup, but the Penguins found a way to neutralize a Red Wings team that looked every bit as poised to win again as it did 12 months previously against Pittsburgh.

Coach Mike Babcock hit the nail on the head with his analysis shortly after the series ended. He said his team never really hit its stride throughout the seven games. The Wings never reached that extra gear that always seems to get opposing teams running around. They never put the Pens back on their heels.

It really seemed to come out of nowhere, too. Detroit swept Columbus, wobbled a bit in needing seven games to turn away a determined and peaking Anaheim outfit, then rolled to the conference title in convincing fashion with a five-game victory over upstart Chicago.

Had playing to the bitter end in consecutive seasons finally caught up to the older legs between the two teams? Had an opponent finally exposed a ***** in Detroit’s seemingly impenetrable armor? These are the questions the Wings have had to try to answer, and react to accordingly, all at a time when the ceiling of the salary cap is crashing down.

Money had a lot to do with a pretty significant exodus – Marian Hossa(notes), Mikael Samuelsson(notes), Tomas Kopecky(notes), Jiri Hudler(notes), Ty Conklin(notes) and Chris Chelios(notes) all departed. For most teams that would be cause for concern. But these Red Wings are deep and no one gets rushed into the NHL.

More opportunity and ice time for players such as Darren Helm(notes), Ville Leino(notes), Justin Abdelkader(notes) and Jonathan Ericsson(notes) is probably not good news for the rest of the Central Division and the remainder of the league.

Last season: 51-21-10 (120 points), first place Central Division, second in the Western Conference and third in the overall standings. The Wings won their eighth straight division title and eclipsed the 100-point plateau for a league-record ninth consecutive time.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 18th straight season, Detroit swept Columbus in the opening round, needed seven games to oust Anaheim in the second and won a second straight conference title in five games over Chicago. The Red Wings took a 3-2 series lead over Pittsburgh in their attempt to be the league’s first repeat champ since 1997-98 but lost Game 6 on the road and the decider on home ice, 2-1.

Imports: RW Todd Bertuzzi(notes) (Calgary), C Jason Williams(notes) (Columbus), RW Patrick Eaves(notes) (Carolina), D Doug Janik(notes) (Boston) and D Andy Delmore(notes) (Germany).

Exports: RW Marian Hossa (Chicago), RW Mikael Samuelsson (Vancouver), C Tomas Kopecky (Chicago), G Ty Conklin (St. Louis), D Chris Chelios (free agent) and LW Jiri Hudler (Russia).

Re-signings: RW Johan Franzen(notes) and LW Ville Leino.

Salary cap: The Red Wings have some work to do here before opening night. Currently, the team is almost $1 million over the ceiling so something has to give. The only way Detroit will add to the roster is a money-for-money deal.

Three keys: It can be said for every team, but Detroit’s best players really have to be its best players. Henrik Zetterberg(notes), Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) and Brian Rafalski(notes) need to lead the way on the ice and on the score sheet.

The Red Wings have marvelous depth, all the parts seem to fit so well, but if the top-line players falter, get injured or fail to live up to their expectations Detroit doesn’t really have superstars in the waiting.

Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen are all signed to long-term, big-money deals so complacency can’t slip into their game. Lidstrom is going into the final year of his contract so there is motivation to earn one final deal in Detroit or go out with a blaze of glory at age 38.

Second, this being an Olympic year, the Red Wings could have nine or 10 players involved in the midseason, two-week tournament in Vancouver. Detroit has already played 209 games the last two seasons so that’s a lot of mileage on a lot of legs, and the best players are getting the most ice time.

Babcock knows how the drill goes so he’ll monitor ice time and rest, but the Red Wings still have to be smart about planning for the long haul. They’ve been through it enough in recent years so they should have it down pat.

The 25-and-under group – Valtteri Filppula(notes), Patrick Eaves, Derek Meech(notes), Helm, Abdelkader, Leino, Ericsson, Jimmy Howard(notes) – have to bring that youthful exuberance and energy to a room of veterans to make that long regular season go by just a little bit faster.

The beauty of the Red Wings’ ways is no one is asked to play a role he’s not ready to play. All of the aforementioned young guns will be asked to simply fulfill a supporting role, whether it’s on a third or fourth line, a penalty-killing unit or whatever.

On the hot seat: The Red Wings were very patient with starting goalie Chris Osgood(notes) last season, and they were rewarded when the 36-year-old wiped his poor regular-season performance aside with a superb postseason. He very well may have been in line for the Conn Smythe Trophy had Detroit won one of the final two games against Pittsburgh.

But it starts all over again for Osgood, who now sees Howard in the rear-view mirror, a drafted and developed netminder who the Wings have high hopes for down the line. If Osgood surrenders the net like he did for a while to departed Ty Conklin last year, he might have trouble getting it back from Howard.

Poised to blossom: Leino? Howard? Ericsson? Take your pick. But the youngster who we favor is Helm. He has speed and a nose for the puck, but he also exhibits a passion that’s very evident in every shift and that’s going to make him a hit in Motown ala Kris Draper(notes) and Kirk Maltby(notes).

As much as Detroit fawns over the superstar – Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan(notes), etc. – they always show their cult-like appreciation for the third- and fourth-line grinders. Helm has certainly displayed great speed, so don’t be surprised if his hands start to catch up, too.

Time has passed: Not sure we really get the Todd Bertuzzi signing. GM Ken Holland doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and there’s certainly some recent history between the two parties. Bertuzzi is two years and two teams removed from his eight-game showing with the Red Wings in 2006-07.

He feels his improved health will translate to more production, but he’s an old 34 playing in a far different game than the one in which he enjoyed so much success with Vancouver much earlier in his career.

Prediction: Other teams in the division have gotten stronger – four of the five reached the playoffs last year – but Detroit is still the team to beat. There’s something about The Joe, the old barn seems to intimidate opponents and the Wings are always a popular team on the road, too, often drawing large and vocal rooting sections away from Detroit.

The Wings seem to feed off of the adulation; they just always seem to find a way to win, especially in the regular season. No change this year as Detroit will be a top-three seed in the West and a very difficult out in the postseason.

after that i stopped reading, sorry to be the person to blame the refs again but come on everyone knows who the better team was and it wasnt pittsburgh

[Lidstrom for life 20]

after that i stopped reading, sorry to be the person to blame the refs again but come on everyone knows who the better team was and it wasnt pittsburgh

I thought the refs in the SCF weren't that bad actually. It was much much better than say the Anaheim series for instance. I know the wings were tired and injured and Hossa sucks etc etc but at the same time Pittsburgh deserves a lot of credit, a lot of teams would have given up after falling down 0-2.

[StormJH1 231]

We had lots of injuries, however, we were up 3-2 in the series despite all those injuries. With a better and more focused effort, we should have taken game 7 at home. There's no excuses for losing that game, and the Pens just wanted it more than the Wings, which still drives me crazy.

I don't know how to feel going into this season, because in my lifetime, the Wings have never come so close to a Cup without winning it. I won't be satisfied unless Lidstrom raises another Cup.

I lived and died with every minute of the 2009 Playoffs, but for whatever reason, losing that Game 7 didn't crush me as much as it probably should have. If you're old enough to have been aware of what happened in the 1995 Finals and the 1996 WCF, those two series were much more devastating, having been without a Cup for 40+ years.

The Pens didn't give up in 2008 either, which just leads me to believe that it was a combination of injuries (including hampering injuries to guys like Lidstrom and Rafalski who were still in the lineup) and the fact that a young Pens team wanted it more and had developed that much more since the year before. The assumption that Detroit would win was based on the fact that it was the same Pens team, minus Hossa, but that wasn't true. The improvement in play of Crosby and Malkin from '08 to '09 superceded the loss of Hossa, Malone, etc., and they also had some bit players like Guerin (and freakin' Maxime Talbot) that also stepped up to fill that void. It was a much better, and more poised team that we lost to in 2009, and I guess I kinda felt the writing on the wall as soon as we struggled in Game 6.

[19Wingsfan4ever 0]

after that i stopped reading, sorry to be the person to blame the refs again but come on everyone knows who the better team was and it wasnt pittsburgh

I have agree with you on this one...Go ahead blame the refs. Also you should blame Gary Puckman as well.

[19Wingsfan4ever 0]

I lived and died with every minute of the 2009 Playoffs, but for whatever reason, losing that Game 7 didn't crush me as much as it probably should have. If you're old enough to have been aware of what happened in the 1995 Finals and the 1996 WCF, those two series were much more devastating, having been without a Cup for 40+ years.

I disagree because the Redwings were on verge to become a dynasty in the new millenium...That PHUCKING hurt like hell!!!

Indeed I was old enough to remember what had happened back in 95 SCF and WCF in 96 that was painful as well. I have been a Redwings Fan my whole life.