Post-Game Talk: Polls show: Wings take philadelphia

[Frk It]

I think AA's real advantage is that he has the hands at full speed that I think Larkin doesn't, at least not to the same degree. And AA has speed that Nyquist doesn't have even if Nyquist's hands are about as good. That skill and speed combination is going to allow him to be more lethal. You can try to limit those opportunities but he's literally one of the fastest players, if not the fastest. Blash says he's faster than AA. Larkin was the fastest skater at the NHL All-Star game last season. Helm's speed somehow keeps him relevant, despite his hands. AA's got both.

Two things:

1: AA has not only the speed, but the hands to actually beat players 1-on-1 or split the D, meaning he's not as easy to force to the outside as Nyquist or even Larkin.

2: AA displays a lot of great tendencies in terms of slowing the play down and creating chances off actual o-zone play, probably more so than Larkin imo. He's also made some terrific passes this season that haven't been converted on, not his fault really when he's making them to Sheahan/Helm/Glendening/etc.

I have been saying he will be the best 1 on 1 player in the organization post-Datsyuk since he was playing in the OHL, so I share some of your sentiments here.

Just wanted to point out that great speed and great hands don't necessarily guarantee a great player. Max Afinogenov is a good example of that. He was a solid top 6 player, but his speed and stickhandling were both very high caliber.

We know the speed and hands are there, just have to see how the rest of his game rounds out.

 

[Frk It]

Larkin came out of the gate playing with a great playmaker in Zetterberg. Same with Nyquist. AA has been playing with Glendenning and Miller most of the time. It's not really a fair comparison at all.

The best stretch of Nyquist's career occured when Datsyuk and Zetterberg were both injured. His center was David Legwand.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Finally got to see a Wings win live I was like 0-7 before last night.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

AA joint leading goals for this team. Give him more minutes. Makes things happen.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo we have to shelter him some more

Right, Wings staff?

 

[Flowah]

Noooooooooooooooooooooo we have to shelter him some more

Right, Wings staff?

It clearly helps him to play against lesser competition while on the 3rd line. If he continues to get ~15 mins a night I won't be upset. He's racking up points down there. Let him keep that up. We need ONE of our lines to come out on top every night, let it be his.

 

[LionsFan01]

Must have been watching a different game because he looked like one of our best defenseman to me tonight. Very active.

Agreed. Thought there were several occasions where he made good, quick decisions with the puck in our zone that lead to breakouts. If DDK is going to get an even 0, there's no way Smith deserves a -6 IMO.

 

[SoupNazi]

Guys, if you want to discuss last night's U.S. Presidential Election, you are more than welcome to do so on the Politics board. You aren't allowed to do so here.

 

[Retire91]

It clearly helps him to play against lesser competition while on the 3rd line. If he continues to get ~15 mins a night I won't be upset. He's racking up points down there. Let him keep that up. We need ONE of our lines to come out on top every night, let it be his.

It is nice to have someone on the team who can tare it up from the bottom 6. Its a little more justified when your top 6 is too stacked for them to fit though.

The best stretch of Nyquist's career occured when Datsyuk and Zetterberg were both injured. His center was David Legwand.

That run was so awesome. I remember this board being absolutely on fire through that stretch.

 

[Yemack]

Agreed. Thought there were several occasions where he made good, quick decisions with the puck in our zone that lead to breakouts. If DDK is going to get an even 0, there's no way Smith deserves a -6 IMO.

I do not always agree with BinCooking's rating criteria but overall I think the score total comes out similar to what I see. Smith has come a long way but he's still making errors in simple executions which is just not acceptable.

I think we've been little too harsh on our D. They are not really difference makers by themselves aside from Green maybe but this D is capable for more. Defence at NHL level is mostly coordination and communication between teammates. If the team is losing players kinda hesitate on making decision and that leads to even more defensive holes and errors. As we all know swagger and confidence are huge. Hopefully team can gain some confidence and start moving faster and react faster on ice. We need to get it rolling really bad.

 

[14ari13]

I think that's now 3 people calling the guy with 19 NHL points our best player.

People really love their flashy new toys

Yes, IT is all about the new flashy toys. We SAW this with nyquist. We saw it with Mrazek, and we see how happy we are to have Howard around. Rushing AA is not the answer.

Ridiculous. Babcock also looked/looks all business no matter if it's a big win or bad loss. It's part of being professional. If Blash didn't like AA he could have left him in GR. To suggest that the coach is actually disappointed if AA plays well and helps us win is the most insane thing someone's said since Trump last opened his mouth.

Coaches give the same interviews. I do not see any difference between Blashill and Babcock, or other coaches.

Nyquist and Tatar are still pretty good players. Nyquist though rode a pretty high SH% his first year. That said, Nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, Sheahan, and even Jurco all were given bigger roles than AA pretty quickly. Tatar spent a few games on the 4th line then moved up to the top9 really fast. Nyquist started there. Larkin was given top6 right away. Sheahan and Jurco started top9. AA was 4th line basically all year last year and large chunks of this year.

Not only do minutes matter but so does time. Players take time to adjust. I expect most newcomers to get better after adjusting and then settling in.

And where are Tatar and nyquist now.

I have been saying he will be the best 1 on 1 player in the organization post-Datsyuk since he was playing in the OHL, so I share some of your sentiments here.

Just wanted to point out that great speed and great hands don't necessarily guarantee a great player. Max Afinogenov is a good example of that. He was a solid top 6 player, but his speed and stickhandling were both very high caliber.

We know the speed and hands are there, just have to see how the rest of his game rounds out.

Hopefully so.

It clearly helps him to play against lesser competition while on the 3rd line. If he continues to get ~15 mins a night I won't be upset. He's racking up points down there. Let him keep that up. We need ONE of our lines to come out on top every night, let it be his.

This.

Dylan Larkin is -9.. man

So we see how much nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, abdelkader, clearly ... benefited from Z and D.

 

[Yemack]

we definitely have to get better at this. I think the hope has to be that as the season progresses, we develop that ability. The main thing is just getting guys to commit to going in and at least engaging in the battle, regardless of whether or not they are losing it right now. They have to be willing.

I'm not as optimistic as you are as it's not like they aren't trying right now.

We should definitely address the need if we can but I rather Wings try to maximize the talent they have right now. There is very little chemistry between forwards on ice right now aside from odd ones here and there. I think we should try to address that first.

As we are moving forward, we have no choice but to channel our offence through Nyquist, in my opinion. Many people believe him to be a sniper which he can be but I think he's more of playmaker type. You can see him always baiting out guys and wait for his teammates to jump in behind the D who is puck watching. Sadly, no one is jumping into space right now and they just sit on their space which kinda nullifies what Nyquist is trying to do. Z plays this way as well. When Z is stick handling he is always drawing D out of their position and waiting for his teammate to get behind those D. Tatar and Larkin should be those guys who should be moving their legs and finish the play. They should never stand still and constantly move around looking to get behind D who get caught puck watching. If it is executed fast enough it's pretty much unstoppable as puck will be passed to an area in front of Wings player.

 

[Claypool]

Dylan Larkin is -9.. man

He's been very sloppy with the puck this season. He's giving it away far too many times. The opposite of what happened last year.

 

[Dotter]

The best was after Athanasiou scored the shootout winner they showed Blashill and he just turned away. No emotion at all about finally winning one. He doesn't like Athanasiou and now he's going to have to play him after he had a monster game when getting actual playing time down the stretch.

I agree.

WTF is Blashill's deal with this kid?
And AA is smart enough to keep saying the right thing and skating all out every game. He's our best player.
Look I like Larkin too but why play Larkin 15+ minutes every game and keep trying to promote him over AA and Mantha.
There's no reason Mantha isn't up here to standing in front of the net.
Blashill is a joke, his attitude sucks and he's the one who should go back to the ahl.
The Wings, including Holland, haven't even committed to keeping AA up here publicly.

There will be a fans revolt if they keep ******** on this kid for absolutely no reason.

Even the NHL writers scratching their heads on how he's treated here.

Kinda reminds me of that Scotty Bowman bum and dimwitted Mike Babcock loser. Jerk-offs!

 

[Dotter]

Yes, IT is all about the new flashy toys. We SAW this with nyquist. We saw it with Mrazek, and we see how happy we are to have Howard around. Rushing AA is not the answer.

Coaches give the same interviews. I do not see any difference between Blashill and Babcock, or other coaches.

And where are Tatar and nyquist now.

Hopefully so.

This.

So we see how much nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, abdelkader, clearly ... benefited from Z and D.

Remember when management was condemned by fans on here for not playing Smith after having a good training camp, or when he didn't get PP time by Babcock? But can't be too hard on Wings fans for overrated their 'shiny new toys', all fans do that.

AA has looked good, but Blashill (who I trust more than forum fans), said AA thrives off lower ice time right now. Play him too much and he might drop.

That said, I hope he keeps up the great play and increases his trade value!

 

[Flowah]

But can't be too hard on Wings fans for overrated their 'shiny new toys', all fans do that.

AA has looked good, but Blashill (who I trust more than forum fans), said AA thrives off lower ice time right now. Play him too much and he might drop.

That said, I hope he keeps up the great play and increases his trade value!

You've advocated for Howard over Mrazek because "ride the hot goalie." What's the difference with AA? Kid is clearly hot right now. He's scoring at a torrid pace given his minutes, one of the best on the team. Over his NHL career, his 5v5 scoring is one of the best in the league.

The minute criticism against Blash was far more applicable and pronounced when he was being played like 7-9 minutes a game. That's far too low for a kid that produces so much.

And where are Tatar and nyquist now.

Nyquist is doing fine. Tatar will be fine. I doubt either of them were flash in the pan. They're struggling of course, because they're complementary players not the straw that stirs the drink. They both benefited from when we could have Z/D center their own lines. Datsyuk, despite his age, was our best forward last season and probably would have been again this season. Dude is so damn smart and so damn skilled.

 

[Winger98]

I'm not as optimistic as you are as it's not like they aren't trying right now.

We should definitely address the need if we can but I rather Wings try to maximize the talent they have right now. There is very little chemistry between forwards on ice right now aside from odd ones here and there. I think we should try to address that first.

As we are moving forward, we have no choice but to channel our offence through Nyquist, in my opinion. Many people believe him to be a sniper which he can be but I think he's more of playmaker type. You can see him always baiting out guys and wait for his teammates to jump in behind the D who is puck watching. Sadly, no one is jumping into space right now and they just sit on their space which kinda nullifies what Nyquist is trying to do. Z plays this way as well. When Z is stick handling he is always drawing D out of their position and waiting for his teammate to get behind those D. Tatar and Larkin should be those guys who should be moving their legs and finish the play. They should never stand still and constantly move around looking to get behind D who get caught puck watching. If it is executed fast enough it's pretty much unstoppable as puck will be passed to an area in front of Wings player.

During their recent slide, I didn't see nearly the same effort as I saw against Philly. Athanasiou and Sheahan have been particularly allergic to it, but they fought for it here. I think they are skilled enough (and big enough) to win the majority of those battles with practice. Bertuzzi was willing to get in there and grind. I thought it was noticeable in the overall work of the team when those guys started doing that and doing it consistently.

Agree about Nyquist sucking the D toward him, but Tatar and Larkin love having the puck too much. I'm just not sure it's in their makeup to look for the soft spots to slide into for a pass. Mantha, yeah, I think he'd excel at something like that. If he could function in the NHL, Pulkkinen would have been ideal for that. Part of the reason that Vanek-Helm-Nyquist line was going so well was probably Vanek's game slipping into that role really well, of just finding space and being open. They were very complimentary for that type of play.

Regardless, I'm liking our kids, the speed, and how well they work when they are engaged and fighting for space.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Kinda reminds me of that Scotty Bowman bum and dimwitted Mike Babcock loser. Jerk-offs!

You're seriously comparing Jeff Blashill to Scotty Bowman and Mike Babcock? WOW.

 

[Wood Stick]

I have been saying he will be the best 1 on 1 player in the organization post-Datsyuk since he was playing in the OHL, so I share some of your sentiments here.

Just wanted to point out that great speed and great hands don't necessarily guarantee a great player. Max Afinogenov is a good example of that. He was a solid top 6 player, but his speed and stickhandling were both very high caliber.

We know the speed and hands are there, just have to see how the rest of his game rounds out.

Maxim Afinogenov had no finish sadly. He was such an exciting player though. AA's shot and finish is luckily so much better.

The best stretch of Nyquist's career occured when Datsyuk and Zetterberg were both injured. His center was David Legwand.

To be fair, he played with multiple players during that stretch. Started it with Z in the middle, then had a stretch with Franzen in the middle and then Legwand. He was the driver. Legwand was used so wrong in Detroit sadly.

He's been very sloppy with the puck this season. He's giving it away far too many times. The opposite of what happened last year.

Pretty much. I also think he, Gus and Frans all play so similar with the whole speed thing and liking to skate up the wing. I would probably have them all on different lines to be honest but you have AA playing kind of like that too.

Z-Larkin-Bertuzzi
Tatar-Helm-AA
Nyquist-Frans-Abby