Detroit (39-19-7) @ Phoenix (33-23-10)
Class is in session, Red Wings, and I hope you're listening. Absence from this class will NOT be tolerated!
Detroit takes on Phoenix tonight and I, for one, hope that we can begin to scrape our dignity off the pavement, because I've gotten fed up with not seeing any dignity on the ice. There's not one player, down to the last man, who is not a target of this lashing. Let me spell it out for you, Wings: You are -not- competing! You have one and all been lazy, unenergetic, cowardly, hesitant and sloppy in your play over the last slew of games and it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing for you, because you are a team far superior to the product you've been putting on the ice recently, and it's embarrassing for us fans who already damn well know that exact same thing!
I understand there are still some injuries, but guess what? That's not an excuse. We don't have near the injuries now that we had 2 months ago, and we somehow managed then, didn't we? If I were coach Babcock, I'd start thinking about whose asses are going to be warming the bench the most, because if my players aren't going to show up to play, I don't want them playing.
Now...Phoenix is 5-4-1 coming into this match tonight. They're middle-of-the-road right now, and there's no reason why good, hard play won't bury the Desert Dogs this evening. Think you can muster that for once, guys...?
Since Detroit seems to need my guidance -so- much (Detroit has lost 3 of the last 4 games I have NOT done a Winning Formula for after putting up a 5 game winning streak previously...), guess what's making a comeback?
Ears open, Red Wings! It's The Geek's Winning Formula!
1.) Shoot! ...Please? - It's come down to begging, now. I'm castrated before you, beseeching you, my boys, to PLEASE SHOOT THE PUCK! Remember that adage from that guy, uh...oh yes, Wayne Gretzky? The one about missing 100% of the shots you don't take? Could we make that a mantra for tonight's affair...? Thanks.
2.) Create Pressure - Really, Detroit, this one and done stuff has got to end. When you -do- take shots, there is nobody jumping to loose pucks, it just gets lapped up the the opposition defense and cleared out...every...single...play. San Jose showed us what creating pressure looks like at the start of Thursday's game, and we let it turn into complete domination numerous times, guys getting caught in the defensive zone for shifts upwards of 2:15!! Hope you watched the tape and took some notes, boys...
3.) Chemistry: Not Just for Geeks - This one is easy, fellas: Work together instead of trying to be a hero. If the chincey pass isn't going to work, don't force it. It still isn't going to work. If you can't push the play forward, send the puck to a teammate who has a better chance. Please, just stop with these high-risk maneuvers that HAVE NOT BEEN WORKING. Maybe when you boys get used to the simple stuff again, the more difficult plays will start o, oh I dunno, come naturally again...?
60 minutes of smart, determined hockey wins the day 9 times out of 10. Any less effort than that costs you the day 8 days out of 7.
Rant over...for now. Now, let's see what happens next.
Enjoy the game, Wingnuts! Let's Go Red Wiugs!!
