Babcock, in an unusual case of of coherent speech, makes a strong, and accurate indictment.  The numbers support his point; SJS is playing the best hockey in the league to this point.  SJS goal differential is a phenomenal +35 (92 GF, 57 GA).  DET meanwhile is +12 (82 GF, 70 GA) [DET has played 23 games]. 

Something is not quite right for the Wings, and I’ll go along with Uncle Mike’s assessment—they are getting outworked.  Hopefully it is due in part to their grinding road schedule, we’ll find out this month when they play nine out of 13 games at the JLA.

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 12/01/08 at 12:47 PM ET

Jeff, I certainly think the schedule has been tough, but I think it is mostly mentality. The talent hasn’t gone anywhere (only been upgraded), and when they’ve turned it on for a period here and there, they’ve looked like the team we’ve grown accustomed to watching. This is where Babs should (and I think will) earn his money.

I think the human nature of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is hurting the team right now. They aren’t competing full force, and yet they’ve still taken two points far more often than not. I’m sure all the players consciously know this is a bad habit, but I think it’s tough to break. They’re slacking on D coverage, and the goaltenders are not focused, and yet they’re still winning.

Sometimes, I think it takes some losing to make the players consciously realize they need to make adjustments, no matter what else has happened and what the coaches say and do.

With that said, hopefully the embarrassing losses to Boston and Montreal provide the wakeup call the club needs to realize that “it IS broke, so GO fix it!”

I don’t have long-term concerns for the team, as they continue to top the division, but they will need to get things moving no later than the All-Star Break if they want to make a legitimate run at a Cup.

Uncle Mike has made a lot of “adversity” in his time with the Wings—let’s see how he (and the team) pull through this early-season adversity. It might have already taken longer than we’d like, and it might yet take longer than we want it to, but I think we can all count on them pulling through the funk. Does that mean they’ll win a Cup? Does it even mean results will be different in the standings? Maybe not. But it does mean that I’m sure we will see a team with more consistent efforts and work ethic before the playoffs come.

As a side-note, the only talent-related issue that does concern me is in net. Deep down do I think Ozzie will get his game back to around last season’s level? Yes. But there has to be concern because we have seen this story from Ozzie before, and it has played out poorly just as many times as it has played out well. By no means do I say this to heap the blame for the club’s trouble on him. But I think it’s fair to say from a TALENT perspective, you can’t really be concerned with the skaters—there’s way too much high-end and depth talent with the skaters for them to go a whole season without applying themselves and showing us some solid work ethic and performance.

Posted by Nathan on 12/01/08 at 01:20 PM ET

It is so frustrating watching this team getting out-worked so often thus far this season.  Obviously, Uncle Mike hits it right on the head.  Which he should, seeing as how he’s the goddamned coach and it’s his *#$%@& job to make sure the players are competing every night.  Now he needs to DO something about it. 

Personally, I think team defense on the Wings, last season anyway, started and ended with the Flying Circus.  They set the tone for the forecheck the team used so well, a forecheck more or less absent most of this season.  Not a dig at Hossa, at all, but there’s something off and I think putting Dats and Z back together might get it going.  Now would be a good time to do it, too, with Homer out- switch Z in for Cleary, bring back the Mule-Flip-Sammy line, Cleary-Hudler-Kopecky, and Drapes-Malts-Meech.  My point is the Eurotwins were so dominant, at BOTH ends, that it kicked the butts of everybody on lines 2-4 to really work.  I don’t know why switching Z out for Hossa this year isn’t having the same effect, but it isn’t.

I think re-jiggering the forwards would strengthen the back-check, too, and help out the D.  Kronner and Raffi NEED help (Lebda is beyond it, IMO).  And maybe it would reduce our goalies’ suckiness, too.  That’s probably too much to ask, but you never know…

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 12/01/08 at 01:55 PM ET

I wouldn’t say they were outworked by Boston. Their goaltending was terrible....Getting shutout by Montreal is pretty bad, however

Posted by kevin from boston on 12/01/08 at 02:03 PM ET

Kevin, I agree with you, I felt like Detroit worked much harder and generated a lot more through 40 minutes. Credit to the B’s though for burying the one golden opportunity they found on the 2-on-1. But otherwise, yes, I think the other three goals would’ve been stopped by most average NHL goalies on an average night in an average game, even the one that came off of a D-zone turnover.

Boston really worked hard in the third though, and choked Detroit right out of the game, similar to what the Habs did a few nights prior. And that is what isn’t acceptable. The Wings should ALWAYS be a threat to comeback, even down 4-1 with 10 minutes to go, considering the talent they have up front. The work ethic was lacking in the third period, and the Bruins deserve credit for it, because their opportunistic offense and dedication to working on defense really damped the Wings’ spirits, IMO.

The team that won a Cup didn’t let things like that happen. Even if they would lose 4-1, they would’ve found a way to generate more in that third period than they did.

Posted by Nathan on 12/01/08 at 02:49 PM ET

As a side-note, the funny part of all of this is that if Ozzie or Conks comes out, make 25 saves, a few great ones, and the Wings tighten the D and score a couple 5-on-5 goals, and beat the Ducks handily by a score of something like 3-1, 4-1, 5-2 tonight, we’ll all be like, “Geez, what’s the big deal, everything’s fine now!”

Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening… I think they are probably due for another loss or two, at which point I think they will wake up and kick it into gear for a strong chunk of home games through December.

Posted by Nathan on 12/01/08 at 02:51 PM ET

It’s been frustrating watching the Wings these last few weeks. It was like watching the Enigma when he played for the Wings. He had so much talent but no work ethic. That’s been the Wings this season. Lots and lots of talent, but no work ethic. On most nights, talent is enough, but when facing the top teams in either conference it hasn’t been enough. Let’s hope this is all the wakeup call the Wings need. If they keep playing like this they’ll be out in the second round of the playoffs.

Posted by wingsfanindenver on 12/01/08 at 03:03 PM ET

Hopefully it is due in part to their grinding road schedule, we’ll find out this month when they play nine out of 13 games at the JLA.

Not sayin’ you’re wrong, Jeff, but I would like to point out:
At home, 12 out of a possible 18 points, or 67%
On the road, 22 of a possible 28 points, or79%

All teams (W/conf especially) are dealing with a grueling road schedule...
It may be little gary’s secret plan.....’engineering parity’.

Tonight… Anaheim plays the third in 4 nights incorporating 2 flights totaling 1968 miles
(Denver to Raleigh, and Raleigh to Detroit), but here is the problem:
ANA is recovering from a very weak start.
DET is sliding from a strong start.
Gonna be interesting.

Not a dig at Hossa, at all, but there’s something off and I think putting Dats and Z back together might get it going.

I think Mudshark is on to something:

I have paid attention to Hossa’s game his entire career.
I like the guy, and happy he is in Detroit, but I will take the bait..
here is my dig…
When he makes a great defensive play, he gets credit, but he has always
been a floater.  Before his brief sentence in PIT, he never played for a winning team.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 12/01/08 at 03:24 PM ET

I don’t think the forwards have been bad on the forecheck at all, the problem has been Lebda and Kronwall, in particular, running around in their own zone like they forgot how to skate.

While Todd is generally right about Western Conference teams having a tough schedule, there is one thing I think is significant.

Maybe I’m the only one that thinks this, but it’s a lot easier for my body to adjust to traveling east than it is to traveling west. For team in the Pacific time zone to play in the Eastern time zone, the body essentially just thinks it is an afternoon game, admittedly at a weird 4:30pm start time. For a team in the Eastern time zone to play in the Pacific, the body thinks it’s time for a shower and a game of cards on the flight home when they should be playing hockey, since it feels like 10:30pm instead of 7:30pm.

Look, there’s no doubt, regardless of schedules or any other lame excuse you can throw at any team in the league, the Sharks have been the class through the first quarter. Fortunately for non-Sharks fans, while it helps tremendously to start well, it does nothing to guarantee a finish. Wings fans know this well. So do Sharks fans, actually.

Posted by Nathan on 12/01/08 at 03:49 PM ET

HTT, no question the Wings are the proverbial “Road Warrior”, they win alot on the road.  I think that over time, and especially recently, they have become “worn out”.  And as one of the articles I read today suggested, they have not gotten much practice time.—

We’ll see if some “home-cooking” doesn’t right their work ethic some.

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 12/01/08 at 05:00 PM ET