Scoring Problem

[wings87 1,290]

I was looking through the post game comments after the Lightening Loss and I came upon the Bishop comment: “We did a good job of eliminating second chances and I was able to see the puck.”

I think that comment especially the second part perfectly exemplifies the reason for the scoring slump. That and not having a healthy lineup to throw out there every night. But putting aside the injuries for a second I'd like to dissect Bishops comment.

Watching the Wings play last season and this I just don't think we go to the tough areas as much as we used to, granted part of it is the fact that we don't have the players we used to have but the inability to block the goalie or tip the puck has become a major issue when trying to score. Bert does a decent job of blocking the goalie when he is out there and Abby isn't bad but they seem to move out of the way of the puck just early enough for the goalies to see the puck coming. Our net front guys just don't exhibit the same fearlessness that Homer used to show, and yes I know Homer was a once in a generation player especially taking in the fact that he was on the small side, but if our guys would hold the position in front of the goalie a fraction of a second longer it would make all the difference. I'm not exactly sure how Babs and the coaching staff should go about fixing it, but I don't think its as simple as sitting people or changing lines.

Some on here might call this post reactionary to today's loss but I think it's a problem that has reared its ugly head more than ones for example: Pittsburgh game 29 shots 1 goal, the two Lightening games combined 55 shots 1 goal,second Ottawa game 36 shots 2 goals, Flyers game 35 shots 3 goals(3 goals is enough to win but with 35 shots we should be able to score more). I could keep going on and on and I'm not saying we should have won all those games, hell we have won games where we shot plenty but still didn't score as many goals as the shot total dictates we should have.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we can't blame all our losses on injuries, sure some like the Pens game where we were outclassed, but in a lot of the games there have been plenty of opportunities to win. Lot's of shots but most went clean to the net without a tip or the opposing goalie wasn't screened properly and picked up the puck easily. I think we have the players to be able to screen goalies better and knock in rebounds but they have to greatly improve at it, and hey we are still in a great playoff position even with our struggles so if they finally figure it out and our shot totals stay the same we'll score more goals. I'll look forward to that day.

Edited December 16, 2013 by wings87

[Dabura 12,207]

It's been an issue with us for a very long time now. We're that team that should score five goals a game but, for whatever reason, likes to throw the fundamentals of solid forechecking out the window and take 40 shots from the perimeter, half of which won't even make it to the gargantuan goalie. ("Let me take three seconds to wind up for this shot. OH NO, IT GOT BLOCKED!") There's a bit of grinding in the corners, some shake-and-bakes here and there, but we're struggling mightily to establish a legitimately good forechecking game and maintain consistent pressure over a full 60 minutes. Too much one-and-done nonsense.