Babcock: Petr Mrazek is starting Game 1

[roboturner 562]

Good luck kid... although the leash is short for both him and Howard.

One thing I don't agree with is why Babs made this public. Personally I wouldn't until game time.

All the writers who watched practice already knew it was Petr from which net he was in. No point in trying to keep it a secret after that.

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

^ True... What if it's all a tactic from Babs. Wait that wouldn't happen

[kickazz 5,459]

Ive always felt as tho Mrazek and Howard could used interchangeably. Having a good puck moving goalie would be a better advantage against the highest scoring NHL team. Whereas with a team like Pittsburg that Howard reads really well, he would have the advantage. Lets see if Babcocks cooking some strategy here

[number9 3,297]

IMO TB is the sleeping giant in the playoffs this year. If we're going to get out of this series alive I think Mrazek is the right choice right now.

We know what we get with Howard. He'll be good but he's not gonna steal the series. There's a chance Mrazek could that if he's on one of his hot streaks I think. Good luck petey

[joesuffP 1,746]

It's really a toss up between the two. Tough decision I believe both have the ability to get it done but I'm not overly confident in either goalie. Mrazek might be one of those guys that thrive in high pressure situations. Feel bad for Jimmy, he had a great season minus this last stretch but he hasn't been himself since his injury

[Jersey Wing 1,521]

I could draw up charts and graphs and crunch data and numbers and talk for hours about matchups and who'll play where. One injury and or one funny hop and that's all drivel.

The Wings will produce enough offense to win 2, maybe 3 games this series. Mrazek will have to steal 2 games. Faceoff % is going to matter in this series A LOT. At the end of this series look at who won that battle and by how much. My key player to watch is Ericsson. We need to mitigate their offensive prowess and he's got to play huge this series. I mean Chara-like.

[evilmrt 636]

Mrazek will be on a short leash. He is not the starter for Round 1, just Game 1...and the series is his to earn. I wish him the best, but I expect Howie to show up by the end of the playoff run.

[Dr Dubya 32]

Against a team like TB, a good puck-moving goalie is a bigger advantage than usual - and Mrazek is an excellent puck-handling goalie. Babcock will be looking to him to seriously disrupt their style of play and slow down, if not change their style of offense altogether.

I can only assume that was the main driver behind Babcock's decision. It's an aggressive tactic but I don't see a conservative approach winning us this series. It's one of the few advantages of being the underdog and not having home-ice. Losing game 1 sucks, but it's no biggie.

[Seraph 240]

Wow, I did not expect this at all from Babcock. Though we're more likely to fall behind in the series than sweep, so I am betting Howard will get his starts too. That's one way to light a fire under a guy's ass.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

I thought he was our best player against Minnesota, not giving him the next game (against the Hurricanes?) could turn out to be a huge mistake. I'm convinced we are going to see him in the third period of game 1.

After the Wild game we played the Caps. It was a back-to-back game and we pretty much always change goalies in that situation.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I like the decision. Mrazek has winning pedigree, is coming off a good game, and if he gets hot who knows. I don't think Tampas D is as good as people seem too, but their forward depth is unbelievable. It should be a good series. Glad were rolling with the kids (Mrazek, Marchenko, Ferraro)

[TripleS 46]

both back for game 1?

Garrison the only one to miss the series. Coburn and Sustr should be back.

While the offense is oozing with success, the back end limps into the postseason with injuries to three of its biggest contributors. Veteran defensemen Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn have been sidelined for three and four weeks respectively and could miss the first-round playoff series. Andrej Sustr also suffered an upper-body injury but is expected to be back in time for Thursday’s Game 1.

A susceptible blue line is exposed with rookies like Nikita Nesterov and Luke Witkowski who combine for just 43 games of experience. Top-pair d-men Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman will have to log major minutes to compensate for the youth on the back end. An overwhelming forecheck by the Wings can wear down the opposing veterans logging serious ice time and can force young players into ill-advised turnovers.

- From the Red Wings website ... http://redwings.nhl....s.htm?id=762981

Edited April 13, 2015 by TripleS

[LeftWinger 4,953]

Well, I am happy with the choice to go with Mrazek. He mostly struggled when playing back to back games...as long as NBC doesn't screw us with Sat/Sun matinee games, we may be ok!

[brett 1,029]

It could go either way. He's either going to have the game of his life and light a fire under Jimmy's ass or the nerves are going to get to him and be a bust

[Guest Playmaker]

For whatever reason, this just feels like there's more to it than just the goalie. It seems like it's more of a Babcock middle finger towards Ken Holland. The remark about this not feeling like a playoff team in July, starting 3 younger rookies over established veterans. That's not the typical Holland/Red Wing way. Seems like Babs has gotten more bold and confident in his own personal hunches and not sticking with the company line.

[gcom007 1,465]

For whatever reason, this just feels like there's more to it than just the goalie. It seems like it's more of a Babcock middle finger towards Ken Holland. The remark about this not feeling like a playoff team in July, starting 3 younger rookies over established veterans. That's not the typical Holland/Red Wing way. Seems like Babs has gotten more bold and confident in his own personal hunches and not sticking with the company line.

I don't think many people at all thought the team looked like a playoff team in July. I don't even know if Holland would say that in July. And you're assuming Holland has no say or influence on the roster? He most certainly does. As someone who thinks Ken Holland deserves a middle finger now and again, I'd love to say that's what this is, but I don't think that's the case at all right now.

[kickazz 5,459]

For whatever reason, this just feels like there's more to it than just the goalie. It seems like it's more of a Babcock middle finger towards Ken Holland. The remark about this not feeling like a playoff team in July, starting 3 younger rookies over established veterans. That's not the typical Holland/Red Wing way. Seems like Babs has gotten more bold and confident in his own personal hunches and not sticking with the company line.

Doubt it. Holland is quiet fond of the younger players. He had a lot of good stuff to say about Marchenko on his own accord at the FSN interview few months ago. Babs is also fond of Marchenko (hence he's starting game 1) So they both meet eye to eye on that. Babs has said it time and again that him and Holland have a very good relationship. Before the trade deadline he said that he gave Holland a list of what he needs and Holland followed up with 2 veterans. Holland basically gave what Babs had been wanting. A right handed shot and a big body (Zids and Cole). If they disliked each other you wouldnt hear them agreeing on basically everything and you wouldn't have seen a right handed shot on our roster after trade deadline (a damn good one for cheap too).

I'm pretty sure both Babs and Holland agree on one thing. We need a goalie that can win it for us. Whatever it takes. As of now, seems like coaches believe Mrazek is the guy. Holland just wants results.

Edited April 14, 2015 by kickazz

[Echolalia 2,961]

For whatever reason, this just feels like there's more to it than just the goalie. It seems like it's more of a Babcock middle finger towards Ken Holland. The remark about this not feeling like a playoff team in July, starting 3 younger rookies over established veterans. That's not the typical Holland/Red Wing way. Seems like Babs has gotten more bold and confident in his own personal hunches and not sticking with the company line.

I think it has more to do with the success that Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco, Nyquist, Glendening, etc have had when thrust into the spotlight after showing promise in a more limited NHL role, and now we have additional young talent who seem to be ready for that opportunity as well.

[marcaractac 3,963]

I don't think many people at all thought the team looked like a playoff team in July. I don't even know if Holland would say that in July. And you're assuming Holland has no say or influence on the roster? He most certainly does. As someone who thinks Ken Holland deserves a middle finger now and again, I'd love to say that's what this is, but I don't think that's the case at all right now.

This is absolutely true. I thought they were, but many folks were in sky is falling meltdown mode back in July. It wasn't until the season started and they played well when all that went away (for the most part).

[kickazz 5,459]

After seeing the young guys perform the way they did last year and knowing the Z and Pav would be healthy I actually thought the team would have a better chance going into this season. Still not sure how Babs thought there was less of a chance. Maybe he thought Nyquist's performance last year was a fluke and probably didn't have much high hopes for post back-surgery Z and constant knee issue Pav (aka similar to what Yzerman went thru). If that was the case, I guess I can see that side too.

[kliq 3,755]

I don't know what I think about this. When I first heard the news I felt disappointed and a bit nervous, but if something is wrong with Jimmy which I think there is, then this is the best option.

Plenty of young/inexperienced goalies have had great runs in the playoffs. Kipper in 2004, Cam Ward in 2006 etc. just off the top of my head, so hopefully Mrazek can be one of them. He does have playoff experience at the AHL level, and he did win a Calder Cup, so hopefully that run helped prepare him for what going to be the most important string of games in his career.

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

@RedWingsFeed: Howard disappointed he's not starting for Red Wings: Goaltender's advice for Petr http://t.co/TAqhalCCf5via @freepsports #RedWings

[KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426]

Jimmy Howard look at it this way. As the old saying goes.

What have you done for me lately?

Ya, your a good goalie. Prove it in the playoffs when it's your turn.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Why do people think Babcock won't play young kids? He's put at least one rookie into the playoff lineup over a vet almost every year. They keep the kids in GR for depth, then play them when roster limits are gone.

[Wing-in-avs-town 123]

He's our starter, so I'm behind him 100%. Lets all hope that he doesn't give Jimmy a sniff of ice time!