Post-Game Talk: Postgame Wrap and 3 Stars : Game 4 MIN @ DET

HIFE

Registered User
May 10, 2011
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Detroit, MI
It goes to show it doesn't matter what players are thrown together. As pros they come in to get the job done and our D is managing to win. It all starts with our forwards staying strong and fresh in all 3 zones. Defense can be purely backup if the forwards are playing like they did against Min. All the forwards had swagger. Who cares who's on D if we get a win. Kindl is a badass in my opinion. He is focused, scary intense. On one shift he ripped 2 guys over in the corner (1 twice). Had one terrible flub giveaway but got back, broke up the play and out. His successful plays far outweigh a couple mistakes.

There were times the Wings were whipping the puck around passing with serious power. It felt like the same style as the Wings through the last years. With Datsyuk, Zetter, and I dare say Fil leading this team I remain confident.

I couldn't imagine the hockey could be any better than last year but I think there is a slight increase in speed, strength, quickness, etc. that even the goalies are unprepared for. May be I'm trippin though. To increase the offense we'll be seeing more penalties so I guess we'll have to get used to the pace of special team match -ups. I feel like there is more entertainment and offense for the fans already this season without the strict officiating, blah.

When you'r high you're high. 4 games in we got a solid win, there was no way we could lose that game. 1 day off and back at it. I feel A LOT better meeting Chicago on Sunday. See you in chi-town!
 

Austin Wings Fan

Registered User
Mar 9, 2010
215
4
This happens every. single. year.

Bert goes on a short tear, we want to believe he's the player of old and like a group of Alzheimer's patients we embrace him.

Then he goes completely quiet for 15 games, lazily stick handles with one hand and shies from contact.

Then he scores a sweet shootout goal and the cycle begins anew.

No doubt. I bought in last year after about 20 games of solid play, and then he went totally silent again. Never again. Lets be honest. He is going to have some hot streaks. He isn't going to be a consistent physical presence, and he is is still going to drive you crazy with perceived laziness half the time. That said, even when he is being lazy, his shootout prowess is a valuable asset. And, as Heaton said, his short hot streaks take on increased significance in a shortened season.

Bertuzzi isn't really a problem in the grand scheme of things, but he's no gem either.
 

pdd

Registered User
Feb 7, 2010
5,572
4
In '06 and '07 Franzen was a 3rd/4th line defensive forward. I wish he wasn't so 1-dimensional,in the sense he can seemingly only bring one part of his game to the rink each night, i.e. if the team wants him to score goals, he does that. If the team wants him to play defensively, he does that. If the team needs him to be physical, he does that. But he can't bring all of those assets to the same game at the same time. That's why he's so gosh-darn frustrating.

This is what I have been saying for half a decade.
 

Austin Wings Fan

Registered User
Mar 9, 2010
215
4
This game was about Datsyuk looking like the guy we expect him to be more than anything else. That said, the inability to trust our PK to our D and grinders is going to cost us. Pavel and Z spent waaaay too much time out on the PK tonight. They made some good plays, but they should not be out there in non 5-3, end of game/playoff situations. We need to conserve them for ES and the PP, since we rely heavily on them for offense. Babcock knows this, and yet they are still out there ALL THE TIME on the PK right now. Tells you what the coach really thinks of our D core and PK at the moment.

Quick Question: Did anybody notice Smith taking stupid chances with the puck at the offensive blueline with around 2:30 left? Wings had sustained pressure, and Smith had the puck and tried to dance around one guy at the offensive blueline to hold it in. It could have easily been poked off his stick and led to a breakaway the other way. I'm all for being yourself, but you have a 2 goal lead with 2:30 left and you are dangeously wheeling around like that? Jesus, be smarter.Then he jumped in deep looking for a seam pass. It was, dare I say, Ozolinsh-like. KNOW THE SITUATION. /end rant.

Other thoughts:
-Huskins looks solid in the 5-6 role. Lashoff appears to be holding on admirably, but this guy is going to get exposed sooner rather than later. Lets hope our guys heal before the magic runs out.
-Kindl had some terrible turnovers, but lets give him some more time before we render a final judgment on him with this team.
-Cleary really does look done. His stupid penalty in the third made me very angry.
 

The Zetterberg Era

Ball Hockey Sucks
Nov 8, 2011
40,956
11,575
Ft. Myers, FL
Am I the only one who thought Kindl played really well for his first game...he was knocking guys on their ***** most of the night, granted one or two of those resulted in a penalty but I thought he was way better than Quincy.

You're not alone I was impressed with Kindl at several points in what he brought physically when looking at his normal game. Given it was the first game back after some time off, I thought he played well. Guess I was watching something else, I know he can improve but wanting to establish himself physically is a good sign for Kindl and I hope he builds on this and cleans up some of the errors.

Q was better and Smith skated much better tonight.
 

ricky0034

Registered User
Jun 8, 2010
14,862
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This game was about Datsyuk looking like the guy we expect him to be more than anything else. That said, the inability to trust our PK to our D and grinders is going to cost us. Pavel and Z spent waaaay too much time out on the PK tonight. They made some good plays, but they should not be out there in non 5-3, end of game/playoff situations. We need to conserve them for ES and the PP, since we rely heavily on them for offense. Babcock knows this, and yet they are still out there ALL THE TIME on the PK right now. Tells you what the coach really thinks of our D core and PK at the moment.

they weren't really out there THAT much

I mean Datsyuk was out on the PK for 3:11 which I suppose would be a lot for a normal game but the Wings took 8 penalties

Datsyuk was 5th among forwards in PK time tonight behind Miller,Helm,Abdelkader,Cleary

Zetterberg got 1:43 of PK time and was 7th among forwards behind the Datsyuk list,Datsyuk,and Filppula as well

Huskins and Quincey had over 8 minutes of PK time each tonight
 

Fugu

RIP Barb
Nov 26, 2004
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You're not alone I was impressed with Kindl at several points in what he brought physically when looking at his normal game. Given it was the first game back after some time off, I thought he played well. Guess I was watching something else, I know he can improve but wanting to establish himself physically is a good sign for Kindl and I hope he builds on this and cleans up some of the errors.

Q was better and Smith skated much better tonight.

Kindl did well in most everything he did tonight except in getting the puck out of the defensive zone. He hangs on to it too long and then gets trapped. I think he's just going to have to move/think more quickly, learn to chip it up along the boards... find a forward circling back to help.


All the other D looked much better, and like hockeyisforeveryone says above, having solidified your forwards, that takes a heck of a lot of pressure off defense.

Bertuzzi is always best when he's allowed to skate around and cycle the puck. I used to rag on on Babs when he wanted Bert doing the Homer imitation. Bert simply has too much skill to be a big body you plant in front of the net. He 'can' do that but you're not getting everything (or the best) out of him in that case. He and Dats were putting on a clinic with the puck movement tonight. Excellent work.

It's great to have the Helminator back. You don't realize how much the team misses his speed until you get him back.
 

Austin Wings Fan

Registered User
Mar 9, 2010
215
4
they weren't really out there THAT much

I mean Datsyuk was out on the PK for 3:11 which I suppose would be a lot for a normal game but the Wings took 8 penalties

Datsyuk was 5th among forwards in PK time tonight behind Miller,Helm,Abdelkader,Cleary

Zetterberg got 1:43 of PK time and was 7th among forwards behind the Datsyuk list,Datsyuk,and Filppula as well

Huskins and Quincey had over 8 minutes of PK time each tonight

Ah, fair enough. I missed the first period, but it seemed like to me they were out there a lot. The numbers say otherwise. I will note, Pavel was out there for a lot of the PK after Cleary got called in the 3rd.
 

ArGarBarGar

What do we want!? Unfair!
Sep 8, 2008
44,017
11,677
Positive: I saw Mike Babcock in a restaurant after the game.

Negative: I missed the game because I was busy getting pumped in a hockey game.
 

Brick Top

LANA!!!!!
Mar 2, 2012
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Grand Rapids
Finally broke the seal on the power play, no shorties allowed and only gave up 1 PP goal against- nice on all fronts.

Outhit and blocked more shots than the Wild by a significant margin... tried to make up for it by having twice as many giveaways.

The D-men played better, Smith seems to be gaining a little confidence, Q was better, and Kindl was better than I expected him to be in his first game (can't believe he knocked someone down)

Yep, the Nose still plays.

Helm and Tootoo need to play on the same line, Cleary really doesn't need to play at all, and Howard was good when he had to be.

What power forward in the league wouldn't want to play with Datsyuk? Good Lord, if he can make Bert look that good at times, imagine if we could somehow land a younger, more consistent guy to play on his wing? Bert played well today, but I don't expect it to last b/c it never does.

Really lovin' Lashoff (eat crow haters), and Huskins is still doin' his invisible thang.

Come on Jman, who can honestly say that they hate Lashoff? I think you have to be really good, once good but now terrible, or overrated to be hated. Hating Lashoff is like hating Delaware... who goes to the bar with his buddies and says "hey, you guys wanna know what REALLY chaps my hide? Delaware."
 

Big Poppa Puck

HF's Villain
Dec 8, 2009
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Bertuzzi's size and Helm speed being back in the lineup really helped.

I love what Tootoo brings.

If Brunner signs an extension, I might get his jersey.

Quincey wasn't hilariously bad for once.

Huskins has a chance to be a invisibly solid like Salei was, but with a chance to be better. Lashoff is decent too.

Kindl had a rough night though.

I don't think there's anything left to be said about Datsyuk.
 

Flowah

Registered User
Nov 30, 2009
10,249
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Did anyone catch Bert getting reeaaaaally close to giving Datsyuk a big kiss after his second goal? He grabs him, and just gets closer and closer. Hilarious!
 

Brick Top

LANA!!!!!
Mar 2, 2012
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Grand Rapids
Did anyone catch Bert getting reeaaaaally close to giving Datsyuk a big kiss after his second goal? He grabs him, and just gets closer and closer. Hilarious!

I also had a double-take in that goal celebration- almost had a man-on-Manti situation there (stealing from the Dan Patrick show). I'd much prefer that Bert does the Yakupov slide after his next goal instead of the college girl cheek press photo op with Pavel. :nod:
 

Fugu

RIP Barb
Nov 26, 2004
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What power forward in the league wouldn't want to play with Datsyuk? Good Lord, if he can make Bert look that good at times, imagine if we could somehow land a younger, more consistent guy to play on his wing? Bert played well today, but I don't expect it to last b/c it never does.

It was never allowed to go for too long because Babs would just put Homer back up there. Now he can't do that any more. :)
 

garry1221

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Mar 13, 2003
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Walled Lake, Mi
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Tonight looked much better all around. Huskins and Lashoff keep looking good. Quincey for once didn't make me cringe. It seems splitting D and Z was the right thing to do. I'll give Kindl a couple more games. Didn't personally notice anything glaringly bad, but reading this thread, I may have to watch closer. All in all, it was a big step in the right direction. How much of that was getting Bert and Helm bac'? That remains to be seen. One way or another, good things happened tonight and I only hope it continues.
 

Lugaid

Hajlajtreelmål!
May 28, 2008
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Stockholm
Nice, solid win. Things are looking a lot more bright now than before. We got some injuries and the people replacing all stepped into their roles. Huskins looks really solid, barely knew him before, but I really like his effort and stability. I'm not getting a lot of the Kindl-hate, he hasn't got top 2 potential but he's still improving, methinks.

I really liked that Helm was back, and his line was fantastic.

Cleary looks god awful, I'd muuuch rather replace him with a prospect.

Franzen and Filppula continuing to struggle, but I'm expecting them to turn it around soon.

Datsyuk looked on fire, Bertuzzi was fortunate enough to play with him, and let's be honest, while Bertuzzi has declined, he's still the same guy who would wreck it up in Vancouver - he knows how to play when he wants to.

Zetterberg working hard all over the ice, but he's a couple of steps after.
 

JPE123

Registered User
Jan 23, 2013
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Pavel was Pavel- great
Hank is trying to carry the entire load
Helm and Tootoo together is great
Lashoff is really a surprise- plays solid
Smith will be fine, needs more time playing with the big kids
Howard was pretty good-really only 2 goals that 3rd was a fluke off Z
Quincey still scares me
Fils is hustling like crazy- good things will happen
Bert is a steady hand for Pavel's line
Brunner will be a goal scorer
Franzen is hustling for early season
Kindl- hard to tell from 1st game
Cleary looks like career is finished to me- looks old
 

Marky9er

Registered User
Jan 30, 2008
7,476
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When Bertuzzi "wants to play" or "isn't being lazy" is really just when he is healthy, let's hope he can stay 100%. That's the legitimate concern here. There may be one player on this team who is useful at 60%, but that's it.
 
Jul 30, 2005
17,659
4,588
I mean, what is location, really
This game confirmed what I suspected: that the Wings PP functions almost entirely off of set plays and that's why they were so bad before. They didn't have the usual structure.

Of course, you take the good with the bad, because this is exactly what makes their PP ridiculously predictable at times. I mean, if I can figure out exactly what's going to happen when Kronwall and Datsyuk come together at the blue line, so can the other team eventually.
 

BF3

Boom Roasted.
Dec 30, 2011
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To clarify my Kindl thoughts, I don't think we should throw him out with the bathwater, it was his first game coming back from injury. He wasn't awful, I just thought he looked the worst out of the D corps tonight, and since we have to rag on one defenseman at all times, I though Kindl should have that mantle (until the next game).

Top 6 looks good, nothing really to complain about.
Bottom 6 - concur with Helm and Tootoo needing to be on the same line. But this is probably what Babcock will do after Sammy gets back:

Cleary-Helm-Sammy
Miller-Gater-Tootoo

I don't want Cleary or Sammy, but I am just trying to be realistic. If Babcock tries to put Sammy in the top 6 or on the power play I will explode.

D corps going forward (near future):

Kronwall-Huskins
Ericsson-Smith
Quincey-Kindl
Lashoff sent back to GR

After White and Coca Cola return in 2-3 weeks, it's going to be messy, with 3 top-4 guys (Kronwall, Ericsson, Smith) and 6 bottom pair guys (White, Huskins, CocaCola, Quincey, Kindl, and Lashoff)
 

mindfly

Happy camper!
Jan 7, 2011
9,878
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I also think Lashoff has looked really solid out there, yet when I watch the stats sheet, he and kronwall was -2 where as quincey +2 etc....

Stats isnt everything but....
 

nik jr

Registered User
Sep 25, 2005
10,798
7
missed the entire game, but based on highlights, looks like a goodly win.

3rd GA was fluky. PP was successful. scored 5 goals

sounds like quincey was not crappy. :amazed::amazed::amazed:
 

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