get a job Ansar

Posted by edillac from bitches please,this isnt funny on 02/08/10 at 08:34 AM ET

Khahn is stealing material from each and every Wings blog there is.

And just thought of it: why the hell didn’t he talked about the Leino trade before it happened? He’s a beat writer, dammit.

On-topic: it’s obvious we have to win more games, but I don’t see the WIngs out of the playoffs, with a full roster and full focus after the Olympics.

Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 02/08/10 at 08:42 AM ET

Herm, the Wings are in bad shape for a playoff run, honestly.  With 3-point games now, there’s a lot less room for error than we realize.  They need to be turning it now NOW, and they’re not.

Only 3 points separates 9th form 12th at the moment.  What that means is a couple more bad games could leave Detroit looking way up at the playoffs and then somehow having to try and fight their way back up.

That’s why the LA game was so predictable.  My wife and I were watching at a BWW and I said to her “You can see it coming can’t you—an LA goal”.  About 1 minute of game-time later, they scored.  That point even for going into OT was so important, yet they couldn’t even manage that.

Detroit right now is stuck somewhere in about November.  Their roster changes daily still form injuries, and they’re tired and a bit mentally deflated.  It’s no way to make a playoff run, and as I’ve said before this is Babcock’s time to shine as a coach and he’s not doing it…  not doing it in the X’s and O’s, not doing it in the motivation, just plain not getting it done…

Posted by Primis on 02/08/10 at 09:13 AM ET

But Primis, considering 93 pts as the 8th seed, a 13-11-3 campaign would put us in the playoffs, and that’s very “doable”.

Worth saying that “now” might mean “after the Olympics”, with two weeks in between, so the hot teams around the league will cool of a little, and the 60% Wings players can get a much deserved break.

Posted by Guilherme from Brazsil on 02/08/10 at 09:28 AM ET

I know, but DET’s losing to non-playoff teams too often quite frankly to manage a 13-11-3 record down the stretch at this point.  You can’ lose to teams like DAL and ANA and expect to make the playoffs.

And once in the 8th spot, DET’s shown no desire to actually STAY in it.

Posted by Primis on 02/08/10 at 10:29 AM ET

Too much quit with this team. How many times in the last 12 games have they had a 2-goal lead and still lost the game? And losing in OT/SO is still losing. It’s giving up points that you should’ve had in the bag.

They played dominant hockey in parts of games against Chicago, Washington, L.A., Phoenix… the list goes on. Problem is, they only played for the first period or two, and allowed the opposition to take it all back, so it means nothing.

I think this team knew they’d have two things to contend with—the loss of three quality forwards, and the Olympic distractions for their front office, coach, and many of their players. I think the injuries were the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Bottom line is that this team has talent. You look at the talent that’s out there, and wonder why it’s not producing results. Yes, injuries are a big part of it. But as they’ve gotten healthier, their record has gotten worse. On talent alone, I think you’d still put the Wings in the top five with San Jose, Chicago, Washington, and Pittsburgh.

I think Mike Babcock was a legit Adams candidate after the first half of the season. He had a team with a ton of injuries grinding out and winning low-scoring games with waiver wire miracles, a rookie goalie, and a rejuvenated Todd Bertuzzi.

Since the half-way point, the talent has started trickling back into the lineup, and the performances have become more enigmatic (and the results worse).

What I’m getting at is that if Babcock deserved credit for keeping it together through the brunt of the injury crisis (and I believe he does), then he also deserves criticism for this fuch nuts disaster that’s been going on since that bad call in the shootout cost them a point against Dallas. The talent has been on the way back. Filppula’s back to game shape. Helm and Ericsson have been back and in game shape for a long-while now. Kronwall looked to be just fine until he got slew-footed. And yet the team is getting worse. That points to coaching.

Filppula has 14 points in the last 18 games. Not a great clip, but a 60-point full-season pace coming off a long-term injury is pretty good.

Over the same span…
- Lidstrom has 16 points, and on a team that has made defensive collapse a routine in the third period, he’s found a way to be +11 over that span.
- Rafalski has 12 points and is +9.
- Datsyuk has 16 points and is +5.
- Howard has a 2.38 GAA and SV% of 0.932.

And the well-above expectation performances of Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Kris Draper, and Darren Helm all speak for themselves.

Yes, a couple guys have been cold over this stretch. Zetterberg hasn’t been great. Bertuzzi has gone nearly invisible after having a great December. And certainly the injuries to Homer and Kronwall really hurt the power play (and thus, probably hurt Z and Bert).

But you’ve got nine guys right there that have been playing at a high-level since the start of 2010. So, answer this—how do you have nine guys turning in quality individual performances, but the team is still shitting itself on a nightly basis? This is especially puzzling when one of those guys that’s playing so well is on the ice 60 minutes per game, two more of ‘em account for around 30 minutes of ice time, and another plays about 20.

This tells me that something is being mismanaged.

I like Uncle Mike, and I think he’ll be here for years and years to come, and probably another Cup before his Red Wings days are over. But right now, when he should’ve had his head in the Red Wings, doing everything possible to get the healthy players to gel back with the team, it seems like his head must be stuck in Olympic land or something.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 02/08/10 at 10:47 AM ET