Post-Game Talk: Game 25 vs SJS - 3 stars

[Filppula]

Forgot to say, Kostin looked friggen good last night. Every shift he was noticeable. His hands were great, making plays, holding onto the puck, backed himself, so impressed. Skated well too.

 

[19 for president]

Spacegoats:

1. Newsy & the coaching staff
2. Team defense

It is time for a wakeup call

1. Husso needs to sit, and I am hoping this is the game that finally gets us there. He is not playing like a starter. While I can't say that any of those goals were entirely on him last night, there is a level of expectation that your starter should be able to steal the occasional save. Husso does not. It should also not be a given that your starter will give up at least 3 goals. On top of that his rebound control is horrendous. You can assume that 90% of the time that he will give up the rebound and frankly our D are not good enough to make up for that. Both Lyon and Reimer have looked more competent in net so far this season. Husso needs to sit for a bit, and when one of Reimer or Lyon strings together a couple of bad games he can try to work back in.

2. Wings cannot keep playing this loosey goosey on defense. 3 SH (one unofficial) goals on 1 pp is disgusting. Not being to hold a 4 goal lead is ridiculous. That isn't NHL defense. The Wings forwards need to do a better job supporting their dmen. We need a goalie in that doesn't allow rebounds 90% of the time. This is now the 3rd game in a row that we've looked like this and I'm glad we loss because it's human nature to say its ok we are winning. Well we didn't win. We lost to the worst team in the NHL (although currently playing better) after being up by 4 goals.

3. Newsy & company need to do a better job. Use your timeout in multiple well timed spots (2nd pk goal, 3 pk goal, 4th tie up goal, etc). Be willing to swap your goalie to help change momentum (even if you don't think he let in a super weak goal). Don't completely change your 1st unit PP to swap in a guy that has been out for 7 months and then on top of it stick him at the point. Also they need to fix the drop pass entry on the PP. It is one thing to drop pass the puck to someone like 10 feet behind you, the Wings are drop passing the puck to people that haven't even crossed their own blue line. By the time our drop guy is getting to the opposition blue line, the other team has already adjusted.

4. Wings need to do a better job of getting softer pucks on net. Our point men are doing a lot of shooting into shins or doing their best Schneider (high & wide) impressions. We are allowing way too many odd man rushes because we are rifling pucks off of chest protectors, end boards, and shins. Walman has been especially bad about this so far this season and has lead to Seider having to defend many odd man rushes.

 

[14ari13]

Were all of SJs goals odd man rushes and a breakaway?

3 sh goals on 1 PP.

Yes. Not surprising though.

Walman and Gostisbeer are offensive defensemen.
Holl, Petry, and Chiarot are not good at anything.

I wish they had some solid stay at home defensemen not prone to boneheaded plays.

Chiarot is very good this season

In THAT game, how the HELL did Lalonde never find it appropriate to use his timeout? That is incredible.

And he has done the same mistake many times

The 5-5 goal was not, but otherwise, yeah.

The 5th goal is the lone one he can be blamed for

I’m confused. Beyond the Hertl goal, what goals should have Husso saved?

5th.

I could tell right out of the gate that the Wings were flat. Being too cute. Not making simple plays. Just not on their game. I figured we were bound for a loss. And then we scored 4 goals and I was like "Wow, I guess I was wrong"

Everyone expected the loss, but with 4-0 and PP they could put it away

4th line and Kane were good.

Others were just shit and forgot what defending is.

Kane wasn't good

So is this like the most embarrassing loss in team history or

3 sh goals on 1 pp is very embarrassing

Forgot to say, Kostin looked friggen good last night. Every shift he was noticeable. His hands were great, making plays, holding onto the puck, backed himself, so impressed. Skated well too.

He was very good, his best game.

Stars
Rasmussen
Chiarot
Husso, yes he was our best player in the 1st period by far.

Scapegoat the coach and Larkin

 

[schuelma24]

Only bright side of last night is hopefully it's a wakeup call for tomorrow and we run Ottawa out of the building tomorrow.

 

[RRhoads]

3 sh goals on 1 PP.

2 shorthanded goals

 

[jkutswings]

Hopefully Compher is back on Saturday. Not sure who should sit.

Husso.

 

[jkutswings]

Spacegoats:

1. Newsy & the coaching staff
2. Team defense

It is time for a wakeup call

1. Husso needs to sit, and I am hoping this is the game that finally gets us there. He is not playing like a starter. While I can't say that any of those goals were entirely on him last night, there is a level of expectation that your starter should be able to steal the occasional save. Husso does not. It should also not be a given that your starter will give up at least 3 goals. On top of that his rebound control is horrendous. You can assume that 90% of the time that he will give up the rebound and frankly our D are not good enough to make up for that. Both Lyon and Reimer have looked more competent in net so far this season. Husso needs to sit for a bit, and when one of Reimer or Lyon strings together a couple of bad games he can try to work back in.

2. Wings cannot keep playing this loosey goosey on defense. 3 SH (one unofficial) goals on 1 pp is disgusting. Not being to hold a 4 goal lead is ridiculous. That isn't NHL defense. The Wings forwards need to do a better job supporting their dmen. We need a goalie in that doesn't allow rebounds 90% of the time. This is now the 3rd game in a row that we've looked like this and I'm glad we loss because it's human nature to say its ok we are winning. Well we didn't win. We lost to the worst team in the NHL (although currently playing better) after being up by 4 goals.

3. Newsy & company need to do a better job. Use your timeout in multiple well timed spots (2nd pk goal, 3 pk goal, 4th tie up goal, etc). Be willing to swap your goalie to help change momentum (even if you don't think he let in a super weak goal). Don't completely change your 1st unit PP to swap in a guy that has been out for 7 months and then on top of it stick him at the point. Also they need to fix the drop pass entry on the PP. It is one thing to drop pass the puck to someone like 10 feet behind you, the Wings are drop passing the puck to people that haven't even crossed their own blue line. By the time our drop guy is getting to the opposition blue line, the other team has already adjusted.

4. Wings need to do a better job of getting softer pucks on net. Our point men are doing a lot of shooting into shins or doing their best Schneider (high & wide) impressions. We are allowing way too many odd man rushes because we are rifling pucks off of chest protectors, end boards, and shins. Walman has been especially bad about this so far this season and has lead to Seider having to defend many odd man rushes.

Great post. I look forward to seeing how Kane impacts the offense - both with his own play and in rubbing off on the other forwards - but as good as this roster has been scoring goals, they've been almost equally bad at preventing them. Time to adjust the strategy/scheme, perhaps even more of a return to the good old Left Wing Lock to get another body helping out. SOMETHING.

And based on the first few months of games, even if Ed gets called up and plays well, I'm not opposed to an eventual trade for an actual defensive defenseman (and maybe an actual starting goalie).

 

[RRhoads]

Husso.

I think it has been confirmed that Lyon starts vs the Sens.

Not sure which forward should sit. Sprong maybe.

 

[jkutswings]

I think it has been confirmed that Lyon starts vs the Sens.

Not sure which forward should sit. Sprong maybe.

You're probably right. But depending on what's happening behind closed doors, I wouldn't even mind it if Lalonde sent a message by sitting Larkin. I don't at all expect it, but that entire roster needs better two-way play, and it's overdue for the coaches to get their attention.

 

[RRhoads]

You're probably right. But depending on what's happening behind closed doors, I wouldn't even mind it if Lalonde sent a message by sitting Larkin. I don't at all expect it, but that entire roster needs better two-way play, and it's overdue for the coaches to get their attention.

I have had the exact same thoughts

 

[Leadzedder]

I’m a little short for time. Could someone tally this up for me?

Thanks.

 

[14ari13]

2 shorthanded goals

Three.

 

[RRhoads]

Three.

nope

SJ's third goal came 12 seconds after the PP was over.

 

[Pavels Dog]

You're probably right. But depending on what's happening behind closed doors, I wouldn't even mind it if Lalonde sent a message by sitting Larkin. I don't at all expect it, but that entire roster needs better two-way play, and it's overdue for the coaches to get their attention.

What the absolute hell

 

[jkutswings]

What the absolute hell

Do you disagree that the roster has played lousy defense recently? Including Larkin?

I'm absolutely thrilled at where they are in the standings, and how the offense has looked so far. But they won't stay there playing like this. Three consecutive games of outright collapse is something that should be addressed immediately.

Losses will happen, as will streaks of up and down play. But they're completely falling asleep out there once they have a lead. Winning games 5-4 on the regular is not a viable strategy.

 

[19 for president]

Do you disagree that the roster has played lousy defense recently? Including Larkin?

I'm absolutely thrilled at where they are in the standings, and how the offense has looked so far. But they won't stay there playing like this. Three consecutive games of outright collapse is something that should be addressed immediately.

Losses will happen, as will streaks of up and down play. But they're completely falling asleep out there once they have a lead. Winning games 5-4 on the regular is not a viable strategy.

I get your point on sitting Larkin but I'm not sure if that wakes him up and makes him play better. He isn't a guy that shirks his bad plays. I honestly think he is dinged up and his timing is super off. His stick handling has been trash but I don't think that is an effort thing.

If you think benching Larkin gets the other guys to stand up and take notice, then maybe I can see the point.

One thing that Newsy needs to do is have a whole practice on making tape to tape passes under pressure. Half those goals last night were do to weak passes that were stuck in peoples feet. Its one area that I really hope Kane can help with because he is such an excellent passer. As someone else noted a lot of his passes where missed last night because he was passing where a player should be going. Our guys are so used to bad passing that they slow down or stop skating in transition.

Please bring up Ed.... we need a transition D and he is probably the best one we have.

 

[jaster]

I'm not sure benching Larkin sends the right message. To me, the team needs more stabilizing features, not more destabilizing features. Larkin is your captain, your best player, and one of your highest effort players. He just endured a family tragedy last week. Benching him risks messing with Larkin himself, and I'd bet more than one person in the locker room would have a "wtf?" reaction. Meanwhile Kane just joined the team, and we're going to risk adding more chaos? I'm not sure who we'd be trying to inspire to play better by benching Larkin.

Plus, overall, the Wings have played well when you zoom out. They need to be more consistent and hold leads better, but benching Larkin just seems too drastic to me.

 

[jkutswings]

I'm not sure benching Larkin sends the right message. To me, the team needs more stabilizing features, not more destabilizing features. Larkin is your captain, your best player, and one of your highest effort players. He just endured a family tragedy last week. Benching him risks messing with Larkin himself, and I'd bet more than one person in the locker room would have a "wtf?" reaction. Meanwhile Kane just joined the team, and we're going to risk adding more chaos? I'm not sure who we'd be trying to inspire to play better by benching Larkin.

Plus, overall, the Wings have played well when you zoom out. They need to be more consistent and hold leads better, but benching Larkin just seems too drastic to me.

That's fair. And to clarify, I'm not saying that I think benching Larkin is the optimal course of action. Just that it's disappointing that the coaches have not already taken bigger steps to address things, and that something more than "just keep working on it" seems to be needed.

 

[RedWingzz]

4th line and Kane were good.

Others were just shit and forgot what defending is.

Lucas was good too, although he did make a couple turnovers.

So is this like the most embarrassing loss in team history or

No, and it's not even close.

We got a loser point out of it, which could help us make the playoffs. Very frustrating and unacceptable loss for sure, but there have been worse losses. The 10-1 game to Montreal from 2017 is up there.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

You're probably right. But depending on what's happening behind closed doors, I wouldn't even mind it if Lalonde sent a message by sitting Larkin. I don't at all expect it, but that entire roster needs better two-way play, and it's overdue for the coaches to get their attention.

No thank you. Larkin wasn't great last night but neither was the whole team. Singling out the captain and benching him a week after he loses his unborn baby seems like a terrible idea.

So is this like the most embarrassing loss in team history or

As someone who watched during the Dead Wings era, not even close.

And as @RedWingzz mentioned, there've been worse not too long ago.

 

[19 for president]

This was a frustrating loss more in the mold of it you want to make the playoffs with a bubble team you can't afford to play that way and give up points to an opponent you should beat.

Every team (including top tier teams) have absolutely stinkers like these, but you can see the team sliding into bad habits. They need to be corrected and some lineup changes need to be made.

All the Kane hoopla also probably added to the less than stellar focus last night too.

This is where coaching and team leadership need to step up and knock these bad habits out of it before a 1 game dumb loss turns into a 5 game slide.

 

[WF19]

I love Larkin and all but someone in one if these threads called him out being a little bitch and I'm not saying I agree but don't exactly disagree. Him throwing his head back and flailing like he got a high stick was embarrassing as well as high overtime performance. Kinda starting to remind me when Crosby used to get called out for being a whiner.

 

[19 for president]

I love Larkin and all but someone in one if these threads called him out being a little bitch and I'm not saying I agree but don't exactly disagree. Him throwing his head back and flailing like he got a high stick was embarrassing as well as high overtime performance. Kinda starting to remind me when Crosby used to get called out for being a whiner.

He is lousy at it to boot. A guy like Malts could sell with the best of them. Larkin looks terrible doing it and it really isn't a good luck for him. Stevie needs to pull him aside and say I'd rather you go off on the refs on occasion and get an unsportsmanlike than to do all the diving. Your focus needs to be on the puck and playing until the whistle goes.

 

[norrisnick]

I'm not sure benching Larkin sends the right message. To me, the team needs more stabilizing features, not more destabilizing features. Larkin is your captain, your best player, and one of your highest effort players. He just endured a family tragedy last week. Benching him risks messing with Larkin himself, and I'd bet more than one person in the locker room would have a "wtf?" reaction. Meanwhile Kane just joined the team, and we're going to risk adding more chaos? I'm not sure who we'd be trying to inspire to play better by benching Larkin.

Plus, overall, the Wings have played well when you zoom out. They need to be more consistent and hold leads better, but benching Larkin just seems too drastic to me.

If the entire team is playing poorly... bench the coaching staff a couple games...

 

[jaster]

If the entire team is playing poorly... bench the coaching staff a couple games...

I'll coach them for a game. We'll probably lose, but I promise to use my time out.