Wings Let Another One Slip Away

The Detroit Red Wings are running out of games, and they are running out of time.

The Wings had a chance last night to lock up 2 points to pull even with division foe Columbus in the Western Conference standings, but lack of finishing took a 1-1 tied game all the way to the shootout, where the Red Wings did what they've seemed to do every time they go that deep into a game: absolutely nothing.  Max Lapierre got the only goal in the shootout and the Vancouver Canucks stole that invaluable second point from Detroit in a 2-1 final.

At least what we saw from Detroit last night included more heart and effort than had been witnessed in many of the recent matches.  The Wings did battle harder yesterday, but on so many scoring chances, just couldn't seem to find the cracks in Cory Schneider's armor.  The only Red Wing to beat Cory was...well, Cory! Cory Emmerton got a beautiful tip off a shot heading toward the net and slipped the puck between the arm and pad of Schneider to knot the game at 1 after Vancouver had taken the lead earlier in the 1st period.

It was another game in which the bottom forward lines seemed more effective than the top, and another game where Detroit did not capitalize on their powerplay chances.  Detroit managed to give the Canucks not one, but two shorthanded breakaway opportunities, with goalie Jimmy Howard bailing out his skaters once again.  Howard's stat-line has been phenomenal, but the production from the skaters has been strangling the life out of the team, costing Detroit precious points far too late into the season.  Johan Franzen, for all his chances last night, could not find the twine--and he had a ton of chances, especially early on in the game.  Val Filppula was his usual self: uninspired and turning away from the opposing net every chance he could find.  So of the top 6, the Eurotwins were left to shoulder the big load on their shoulders with little to no help once again.  Hank and Pavel are obviously exhausted from the extreme wear and tear of trying to control the entire game in both ends by themselves to make up for incompetence coming from their linemates.

On the injury front, Drew Miller, another of the rare breed on this year's Wings who has the heart to play with some energy, left the game with a broken hand.  Todd Bertuzzi is hoping to make a comeback before the end of the regular season, and if his back issues finally do clear up in time to allow him some games, he will hopefully add a spark to a reeling Red Wings squad that is watching the sand of a playoff spot slip through their fingers.

Four games remain, and the nail is dangerously close to the coffin.  Detroit needs wins, especially against Phoenix and Dallas who both chase them coming into this morning.  Anything less could very well sink the ship.

Quitters Never Win

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. If effort was money, Red Wings would beg.

                But to beg would be to desire a result, to be concerned about a result, and so perhaps Red Wings would not beg. Perhaps Red Wings would lay down and die, as they have most nights this season. Some games they lay down and die less than the other team, but across the board our Wings have not produced above an 85% effort in a game (excepting perhaps Vancouver) I can attest to, and have averaged a 60% effort. That’s if we’re being generous.

Want to know what’s funniest about this? I couldn’t even catch the game tonight. I was working, a concept the Wings seem positively allergic to. But I didn’t need to watch to know what probably happened:

 I’ll bet the Red Wings came out with a 40% effort. I’ll bet they came out with all the fight and urgency of a fat cat on a sunny day.

                I’ll bet the Red Wings didn’t bother to crash the net and force rebounds. That’s not a good idea when the entirety of your hockey strategy seems to revolve around firing a puck through three or more solid human bodies.

                I’ll bet the Red Wings still wouldn’t know what a good pass looked like if it appeared on their stick with a wide open shooting lane beckoning to them.

                I’ll bet we looked like bored toddlers. I’ll bet we looked the same way we have all season. I’ll bet we still don’t get what’s on the line. I’ll bet we won’t wake up until it’s too late. If we haven’t woken up yet, there’s absolutely no indication we will soon.

                And if disappointment were music, Hockeytown would sing. We do sing. Night after night, we wax lyrical and un-lyrical about the shortcomings of a team that just doesn’t care. We sing of excuses, none of which explain away the fact that a professional hockey team doesn’t seem to feel like playing hockey. I sure wish I could be paid hundreds of thousands not to show up at my job. The worst excuse of them all? That we have a “garbage roster.” Here’s some truth: I’ve seen worse rosters do better things and I have seen better rosters do worse things. But I have never seen THIS roster, this Red and White, Winged Wheeled Sweatered Roster, do less things. I find myself disgusted. After all, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. And this pup’s got no fight. This pup’s got no urgency. This pup’s got no ambition. This pup’s not going anywhere, not at this rate.

                So what do we, the fans who actually play our hearts out on the message board and twitter rinks of hockey each night, do? We waited half a season for hockey and have been treated for another half a season to effort akin to a 9^th grade girls gym class. So what now? What do we do now as our beloved team stands on the precipice of a virtual unknown frontier? The one I dare not speak the name of. The place without *deep breath* P-L-A-Y-O-F----I can’t finish. What do we do?

                We don’t give up. We continue to play our hearts out, because this is Hockeytown. We stand up and cheer for a team who has brought us what fans of many other teams will never see in their lives: four championships, over two decades straight of playoffs, a long list of HoFers. Sure, this year has been one hell of a disappointment. But damn it, we aren’t out of it yet. If it can hurt this bad to lose it must be because we have something special on the line. If there isn’t a single person in that Red Wings’ locker room who feels the need to stand up, rally that team and kick into their heads the idea of giving it your all, maybe we can. We signed up for this fan thing, for better or for worse. It hurts tonight, but that’s sports and that’s love. Let’s ride out the season behind our guys, show them what effort really is. Who knows, maybe they’ll surprise us and turn the afterburners on just in time. We aren’t out of this yet. We are not out of this yet. If you don’t want our guys to quit on the season just yet, set an example.  There’s not a damn bit of good giving up will do us. So stick your heart back on your sleeve, Hockeytown, and get ready for the next one.  If wishes are second chances, maybe we’ll get one. Again.

Despite Sunday Win, Detroit's Destiny Still Undetermined

The Red Wings skated into Nashville yesterday evening, played 60 minutes of pretty darn good hockey, and skated out with two points.  The elation most Wings fans got from that is a foreign concept.  We're giddy about one win against the PREDS!? Yes, yes we are, because that win kept us relevant.

Detroit's victory last night retook the 8th and final spot from the Dallas Stars, who had leap-frogged Detroit. The Wings are now tied in points with 7th seed Minnesota, but lose the ROW tie-break, and are thus still holding the final spot in the West.  With three teams hot on their heels, the Wings got it done when it really counted.  A loss on Sunday could have been catastrophic.

Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Justin Abdelkader scored against Nashville and Jimmy Howard recorded another shutout in the win.  It was a VERY welcome sight to be Hank and Mule scoring.  These are the guys who need to get it going, along with Datsyuk and--to a greater extent--Filppula. Our bottom 6 are grinding as best they can and doing a good job, now we need our top 6 to turn up the offense and start lighting the lamp more consistently.

By the time Wednesday rolls around and the Wings play their next match against Calgary, it's hard to say where Detroit will sit in the standings.  One thing is for sure though: if we get more efforts like Sunday's to close out this season, Red Wings fans would sleep much more soundly at night.

Preview: With Playoff Hopes Dimming, Detroit Desperately Needs Win

Detroit (19-15-7) @ Nashville (15-19-8)

We've already hit mid April and for the first time in over two decades, Wings fans are legitimately scared.  Detroit's tenuous hold on 8th spot in the West was finally ripped away when the Dallas Stars won their latest match to take the seed from the Wings through tie-break rules.  It is now imperative that Detroit win some hockey games to keep pace with not only Dallas, but also Phoenix and Columbus, who are all swarming.

Tonight, the Red Wings can reclaim 8th with a win over divisional foes the Nashville Predators.  It's the first game of a one-on-two-off week for Detroit, who will play Calgary on Wednesday, and finish the week in Vancouver against the Canucks.  Detroit and Nashville have split the first two games of the series, the most recent game being a blowout by Detroit, who crushed the Preds 4-0.  A similar effort tonight for the Red Wings would be just what the doctor--or in this case, the Geek--ordered, since Detroit's recent games have lacked offensive punch.

With Nashville pretty much out of the playoff picture now, they will likely look to play the role of giant-killer and try to help end Detroit's playoff appearance streak.  If the boys in the Winged Wheel want to have a chance at the big dance, they need to win games like this.  These are the teams you're supposed to beat, and when you find ways not to, well...the playoff window just shuts a little bit more each time.

With a concerted effort from all four lines and communication between the blueliners, Detroit has every chance to walk out of Tennessee with two points in their pockets.  We'll see if they're up to the task very soon.