gdt 10/13 GDT : Lightning 1 at Red Wings 3

[kipwinger 8,524]

Well said. Smith and Kindl are getting better at recognizing the serious pressure. Seems like they are making the safer plays.

I disagree. I don't think they're making safer plays. The cornerstone of Babcock's defensive philosophy was "make the safe play". He explicitly said so a number of times. He wanted the forwards to play back, and get quick passes from the defense to the offense when Detroit gained possession. That was the "safe play". Get the puck out of Smith or Kindl's hands and onto some forward's stick who doesn't suck.

Trouble is, they're both bad passers and are very susceptible to pressure (as are Ericsson and to a lesser extent Quincey). So teams forechecked us hard, pressured our defense, and caused turnovers in Detroit's zone. Obviously, that's not good.

Blashill doesn't ask those guys to make the "safe play". He empowers them to make the dynamic play. The next time you see Smith or Kindl gain possession of the puck and immediately carry the it up ice before making a play, ask yourself if either of them would be allowed to do that under Babs.

Seriously, when was the last time you saw any of our defensemen (other than Kronwall) lead the breakout by carrying the puck and making a play? Not for a long time anyway. Our defensemen are super mobile, and yet speed and mobility were never a part of their game under Babs. Even Ericsson and Quincey are mobile compared to most other teams' big stay at home guys.

Edited October 14, 2015 by kipwinger

[Bill Berzeench 310]

I disagree. I don't think they're making safer plays. The cornerstone of Babcock's defensive philosophy was "make the safe play". He explicitly said so a number of times. He wanted the forwards to play back, and get quick passes from the defense to the offense when Detroit gained possession. That was the "safe play". Get the puck out of Smith or Kindl's hands and onto some forward's stick who doesn't suck.

Trouble is, they're both bad passers and are very susceptible to pressure (as are Ericsson and to a lesser extent Quincey). So teams forechecked us hard, pressured our defense, and caused turnovers in Detroit's zone. Obviously, that's not good.

Blashill doesn't ask those guys to make the "safe play". He empowers them to make the dynamic play. The next time you see Smith or Kindl gain possession of the puck and immediately carry the it up ice before making a play, ask yourself if either of them would be allowed to do that under Babs.

Seriously, when was the last time you saw any of our defensemen (other than Kronwall) lead the breakout by carrying the puck and making a play? Not for a long time anyway. Our defensemen are super mobile, and yet speed and mobility were never a part of their game under Babs. Even Ericsson and Quincey are mobile compared to most other teams' big stay at home guys.

Fair assessment. I have just noticed Smith and Kindl using the boards for clearing attempts more effectively, where they were attempting the more dangerous play to not give up possession in the past.

[wings87 1,290]

Nvm

[kipwinger 8,524]

I think in general the team seems to be freer to make decisions for themselves, and play a more fluid game.

Blash is a lot like Cooper in that regard. And both remind me of coaches like Vigneault and Laviolette. Their philosophies seem less prescriptive. Babs' system seemed much less so. Other than a handful of guys (Dats, Z, Lidstrom, Kronwall), guys didn't seem free to make a play if it weren't part of the overall strategy. Hard to argue with Babs' system, he won lots of games. But I'm not sure its the right one for a team full of skill players. Guys like Dats, Z, Nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, Richards, Pulkkinen, Jurco, Green, Smith, Kindl were drafted because of their offensive creativity, playmaking ability, speed, vision, etc. Not their ability to take a hit to make a simple play. There are a million guys that can do that. IMO, taking away their freedom to create cuts down on their effectiveness tremendously.

I'm sure I'll get a thousand responses explaining how Babcock was a superstar at letting his players play, and that I'm biased, and blah blah blah. And obviously we've only got 3 games under Blash to compare, so we need to see how things pan out over a full season. But it sure SEEMS like our guys are getting up ice quicker, dumping the puck less, creating higher quality scoring chances, etc.

Edited October 14, 2015 by kipwinger

[Bill Berzeench 310]

I think in general the team seems to be freer to make decisions for themselves, and play a more fluid game.

Blash is a lot like Cooper in that regard. And both remind me of coaches like Vigneault and Laviolette. Their philosophies seem less prescriptive. Babs' system seemed much less so. Other than a handful of guys (Dats, Z, Lidstrom, Kronwall), guys didn't seem free to make a play if it weren't part of the overall strategy. Hard to argue with Babs' system, he won lots of games. But I'm not sure its the right one for a team full of skill players. Guys like Dats, Z, Nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, Richards, Pulkkinen, Jurco, Green, Smith, Kindl were drafted because of their offensive creativity, playmaking ability, speed, vision, etc. Not their ability to take a hit to make a simple play. There are a million guys that can do that. IMO, taking away their freedom to create cuts down on their effectiveness tremendously.

I'm sure I'll get a thousand responses explaining how Babcock was a superstar at letting his players play, and that I'm biased, and blah blah blah. And obviously we've only got 3 games under Blash to compare, so we need to see how things pan out over a full season. But it sure SEEMS like our guys are getting up ice quicker, dumping the puck less, creating higher quality scoring chances, etc.

I think this is a good assessment. In simple terms, the players seemed to be tight under Babcock. And they seem to be more loose under Blashill. Not in an undisciplined way, though. In a more creative and free flowing way.

[kipwinger 8,524]

I think this is a good assessment. In simple terms, the players seemed to be tight under Babcock. And they seem to be more loose under Blashill. Not in an undisciplined way, though. In a more creative and free flowing way.

It certainly seems like it to me. At least so far.

There are a couple of things that REALLY excite me about this team given how we're playing right now. First, we don't even have our best possible lineup on the ice. Add Dats, Dekeyser, and Helm and we're significantly better. That's unreal. Secondly, I actually think we HAVE been a bit sloppy. Not necessarily undisciplined, but sloppy. Like guys are still trying to figure out chemistry given their new linemates, tempo, etc. And thirdly, we're not really getting much out of second and third lines. Once we get three lines rolling (and we've clearly got the talent to do so), we're going to be REALLY hard to defend.

I think this team is going to be VERY good over 82 games.

[Bill Berzeench 310]

It certainly seems like it to me. At least so far.

There are a couple of things that REALLY excite me about this team given how we're playing right now. First, we don't even have our best possible lineup on the ice. Add Dats, Dekeyser, and Helm and we're significantly better. That's unreal. Secondly, I actually think we HAVE been a bit sloppy. Not necessarily undisciplined, but sloppy. Like guys are still trying to figure out chemistry given their new linemates, tempo, etc. And thirdly, we're not really getting much out of second and third lines. Once we get three lines rolling (and we've clearly got the talent to do so), we're going to be REALLY hard to defend.

I think this team is going to be VERY good over 82 games.

Agreed. My favorite thing so far is the offensive pressure we are applying taking pressure off our goalies. The opponents have really had to earn their goals so far. Howard and Mrazek havent been at their best, but when was the last time we had the ability to win without our goalie playing lights out? Been a while.

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

Okay so i think we should ice this lineup when dats and DD come back, waive Andy and Ferraro or trade them, send Marcheneko down or trade Smith and you have

Z-Datsyuk-Abby

Tatar-Larkin-Nyquist

Sheahan-Richards-Pulk

Helm-Glenny-Miller/Jurco

55-65

27-25

52-4/47 or 2

35-34 damn good lineup good enough to take down anyone in the east imo Maybe

[kipwinger 8,524]

Why demote Ericsson? Our defense is playing fine. We've given up 1.33 goals per game, good for 6th in the league.

[kickazz 5,459]

I'd rather have Z be with Larkin than Datsyuk at this point.

[rick zombo 3,739]

Okay so i think we should ice this lineup when dats and DD come back, waive Andy and Ferraro or trade them, send Marcheneko down or trade Smith and you have

Z-Datsyuk-Abby

Tatar-Larkin-Nyquist

Sheahan-Richards-Pulk

Helm-Glenny-Miller/Jurco

55-65

27-25

52-4/47 or 2

35-34 damn good lineup good enough to take down anyone in the east imo Maybe

When Datsyuk returns, one of Richards/Sheahan/Larkin will have to play the wing. Looks like you picked Sheahan but he really has no experience there. As much as I'd love to see him center that 2nd line, Larkin's the best winger out of those three, imo.

Edited October 14, 2015 by rick zombo

[Bill Berzeench 310]

Okay so i think we should ice this lineup when dats and DD come back, waive Andy and Ferraro or trade them, send Marcheneko down or trade Smith and you have

Z-Datsyuk-Abby

Tatar-Larkin-Nyquist

Sheahan-Richards-Pulk

Helm-Glenny-Miller/Jurco

55-65

27-25

52-4/47 or 2

35-34 damn good lineup good enough to take down anyone in the east imo Maybe

DeKeyser is going to play with Green.

I'd like to see Ericsson and Quincey moved for pics and Franzen, Miller, and Andersson all sent down. I know that's NEVER going to happen, but I'd ice this squad:

Zetterberg-Larkin-Abdelkader

Tatar-Datsyuk-Jurco

Nyquist-Sheahan-Mantha

Glendening-Helm-Athanasiou

Richards/Ferraro

DeKeyser-Green

Kronwall-Marchenko

Smith-Kindl

Ouellett

Mrazek

Howard

I like the youth and speed.

And I'd be eyeballing Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter HARD right now. Kings are about to have a firesale soon. Getting 9 mil off the books by unloading Quincey and Ericsson, which they need to do soon anyways, might not be a bad idea.

[joesuffP 1,746]

Yes let's make our team much worse since we're playing so well

Not to mention no team would take Franzen's contract and most likely nobody would take E's either. We'll have to wait until the deadline to move Q for a 7th rounder if we're lucky....

No team is taking on huge contracts for picks

Every team is up against the cap unless their a team transitioning to youth in which case nobody wants our aging vets with lots of term. If we trade anybody it's going to be Jurco/Pulks/Helm/Smith

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

Why demote Ericsson? Our defense is playing fine. We've given up 1.33 goals per game, good for 6th in the league.

Because splitting them up would give us three great pairs we could roll and not really have to worry about who they play against I think quincey and green could become a great pair the longer they stay together and DK is ready for top minutes

[kipwinger 8,524]

Because splitting them up would give us three great pairs we could roll and not really have to worry about who they play against I think quincey and green could become a great pair the longer they stay together and DK is ready for top minutes

We have three great pairs anyway. Even more so when Dekeyser is back and Quincey is on the 3rd. I'm still not sure why you'd break up a pair that works well together in order to create three that have never played together before. Or why you think that would make us better?

Than again, don't pay attention to me. I actually like Ericsson on the top pair so maybe I'm just justifying my own preferences lol.

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

I just keep remembering Johnson blow right past E in the playoffs..

[joesuffP 1,746]

Johnson blows past everybody... Only thing that stopped him in the playoff was injuries

[kipwinger 8,524]

I just keep remembering Johnson blow right past E in the playoffs..

I remember Johnson eating Datsyuk alive in the POs too. He does that for time to time lol.

[Bill Berzeench 310]

Johnson blows past everybody... Only thing that stopped him in the playoff was injuries

Youre right. Hes fast.

[Jacksoni 418]

Now would be a good time for Franzen to go on the LTIR list, right when Helm and soon when mr Pavel Datsyuk returns. As it stands, Larkin ain't going nowhere, so we have a logjam of the nicer kind on the forward position. Which is great for me, since I just ordered Larkin's jersey!

[matthewdanna 143]

Just so you all know, Q is our most consistent D-Man. He ain't getting traded.

I'm not ready to give up on Jurco, showed me something last night... but I think Ferraro is in the right spot... it's tough, but someone will be injured.

Richards is good, he looks nice as the 2nd line center... he leads on the ice.

Larkin's chemistry with Z is gonna be tough to break up... but we should be trading someone before we entertaining Larkin down. He's been one of our top3 players so far

All of these are good problems to have when Pav, DK, and Helm are back.

Blashill should just have fun and mix stuff up except for the defense and Glendenning and Miller always on the 4th line playing every day.

My lines look like this:

Z-Pav-Abby

Larkin-Richards-Nyquist

Tatar-Sheahan-Pulkcannon

Miller-Glendenning-Helm

Jurco/Franzen seeing time on the 2nd and 3rd lines

E-Kronner

DK-Green

Q-Kindl

Edited October 14, 2015 by matthewdanna

[kickazz 5,459]

Again I don't know if Datsyuk's return shud be the cause of breaking up Larkin and Z.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg on a line is usually our "oh s*** we need to generate some offense" strategy.

We aren't in an "oh s***" situation we're 3-0 to start the season.

There might not BE a reason to unite the euro twins and might be better off to keep them separated.

Edited October 14, 2015 by kickazz

[Bill Berzeench 310]

What about the MichiLine?

Abby-Larkin-Glendening.

Then Z-Dats-Jurco.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Again I don't know if Datsyuk's return shud be the cause of breaking up Larkin and Z.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg on a line is usually our "oh s*** we need to generate some offense" strategy.

We aren't in an "oh s***" situation we're 3-0 to start the season.

There might not BE a reason to unite the euro twins and might be better off to keep them separated.

I agree. Zetterberg Larkin Abdelkader is the hottest line in the league. They don't need Datsyuk right now. But Tatar, Richards, Sheahan, Nyquist etc could use a Datsyuk type player on their line to balance the offense a bit.

[Jacksoni 418]

Why change something that works quite well? That first line ain't going nowhere until Blashill sees a reason to change it, perhaps by it not producing. I think that's unlikely, they have a good mix of speed, skill and grit.