Kass

I don't think it's a personnel problem as much as it is a strategic one. The Wings built up too slowly along the boards going through the neutral zone, allowing the Preds to set up an effective backcheck and choke them off at the line. This meant that they had to dump the puck in or risk giving up a turnover trying to lug it in under heavy pressure. Naturally, they chose to dump it just about always, and the time it took to recover gave Nashville ample opportunity to set up their tight defensive scheme. Once they wrested control of the puck, the Wings would then spend most of their time cycling it along the boards and the blueline before finding that the Preds were in most of the best shooting and passing lanes and that they'd be checked if they tried to push into the interior of the zone but would remain mostly untouched if they stayed in those areas. Because of this, attacking plays would usually end in shots from low-percentage that got blocked or smothered and passes that got knocked away or stripped. Nashville's discipline (and the predictability of the Wing's offense) meant that their defensive play hardly ever broke down, which is where the Wings scored most of their goals in the series regardless.


Phoenix, on the other hand, counter-attacks fast enough through the center of the neutral zone to be able to carry the puck in over the line instead of dumping it in (imo the most important factor in their success), and when they get into the offensive zone they do it with such speed that the Predators can't effectively set up their scheme and pressure out the guys who are trying to push deeper into the zone. The Coyotes crash the net almost as soon as the puck is in and make quick passes and shots to the front of the net, creating scrambles that give the Coyotes a pretty good chance of finding Rinne out of position and getting a goal while Nashville's defense is broken down. That's the kind of thing that the Red Wings almost never produced, and it's really the only way to defeat Nashville considering that their defense is pretty much designed to be an insurmountable object for slow, methodical defenses like ours. The same lesson applies to Phoenix when they attempt to set up in a similar fashion on the PP and end up being snuffed out immediately.

Wow. It's almost like breaking into the zone fast and crashing the net is a better strategy against a defensively strong team than setting up a methodical passing offense and taking constant shots from the point.

I think this team has had some bad luck this series that is giving off a false impression of them being far worse than they actually are, but even then, I don't think this is a team that could win a Stanley Cup. The '08/'09 teams were absolutely stacked in terms of depth, and that's definitely not the case anymore. The second and third lines are too inconsistent, some of the guys have been playing much worse than they did back then, and some of them just aren't good enough to warrant being on the lines that they are. The glut of talent from those years has been replaced by a bunch of holes that Holland did an inadequate short-term job of patching up with the cheapest players available at the time because he couldn't find long-term solutions via the free agent market (where value admittedly comes at a steep premium) or trade (where we don't have the assets to get teams to give up current talent).

Signing some high-quality free agents is a must. Especially a top D-man, as there will be a terrifying lack of talent there if Stuart leaves and Lidstrom retires. Maybe even find some way to swing Nash from Columbus. Bring in the youth players too, and get rid of the most obvious of the dead weight and spare parts that just can't cut it anymore.

They should put Mrazek in and see what he can do. I know he's young, but he's the team's best goalie prospect. Giving him a small taste of NHL action would let him know what level he needs to reach. It worked pretty well for Howard during a similar injury crisis back in 2005.

I'm going to sleep. Somebody wake me up when Jarnkrok, Pulkinnen, and Tatar are tearing up the league.

Why don't we play like the Sharks? Do you see those guys? They harass us AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. They've always got someone on the boards, they've always got someone in the shooting/passing lanes, they've always got someone to block shots. They use their sticks to stop everything. Why can't we do that?