I watched both these games into the wee hours of the morning on the DVR. On Friday night, I was in Providence, RI covering an AHL game between the P-Bruins and the Connecticut Whale. The Whale won 3-1. Former Griffins Kris Newbury (2 assists) and Jeremy Williams (goal) had solid nights. I had a chance to speak with Williams after the game. Nice guy. You'll be able to watch the highlights in my hockey show. I'll post the link here when it's completed. On Saturday night, I was out shooting another package for a different show....but enough with my personal life that no one here cares about...let's talk some Red Wings.
I hate the Ducks. It's always great to beat them and even better to shut them out. Jimmah was absolutely fantastic. I can't say enough about the defense either. Petrella over at TPL nailed it.
There’s a lot of talk about how poorly the defense is playing, and I respectfully disagree. This will be familiar if you read the Spaceballs pre-game, so apologies for that, but there’s a difference between playing weak defense and playing efficient defense. No one should expect to have their goaltender face fewer than twenty shots in any given game. If that happens — and it does — it’s a combination of exceptional circumstances, and probably says more about the horrid offense of the opposition than the stellar defense of your squad. Allowing 41 shots sounds like a lot, but Howard saw each and every one of them clearly, and was able to play them well. When there was a rebound or a scrum, his defense was there to mop up. I’d happily take 40 unobstructed low-percentage shots over 15 quality opportunities every night of the week.And while we're on the topic of defense...can we talk about the pairings? Uncle Mike's decision to shuffle the pairings at the beginning of the year has been pure genius. Obviously, Lidstrom and Stuart are your top pairing, but there really isn't a 2nd or 3rd pairing. It's pair 2a and 2b. Is there a better 2nd/3rd D pair in the league than Kronwall/Salei? Or Rafalski/Ericsson? Big Rig has been better than anyone could have predicted before the season started. I don't know what it was, but something must have just clicked for him while he was out with his back injury. I love how you can make the case that each pairing has skill type defenseman and a physical type defenseman -- Nick (skill)/Stuart (physcial), Kronner (skill)/Salei (physical), and Rafalski (skill)/Ericsson (physical). These combos have just flat out worked so far. The solid play from the defense is making Jimmah look better out there and Jimmah's excellent play is, likewise, doing the same for the D. They're a solid, in-sync unit right now.
I hated the overtime goal in last night against the Kings. I keep wondering if maybe that goal doesn't happen if Franzen doesn't stuttered before beginning to back check. Maybe he gets back in time to help of the D and picks up the late man. I thought at times the Wings were running around in their own zone, not connecting with clean passes, and it just looked like the last game of a western road trip and the second game in two nights. With that said though, they still played well enough to get a win. That's what is great about this team this year. Even when they're not on top of their game they can still pull out a W.
Speaking of Ws...can this team get to 63? Last night, Ken Daniels mentioned that the Wings were 30-5-4 in their last 39 regular season games. That record now stands at 30-5-5 in their last 40. That is an insane pace. If you take the Wings record this season (17-4-3) they're on pace to go 58-14-10 for 126 points. If everyone stays relatively healthy, there is no question that the Wings have enough depth and talent on this team to make a run at it. At the end of the day though, the team will not be judged on regular season record or success, but whether they're raising Lord Stanley's Cup on the last day of the post season.
I want it all though. I want the records. I want the trophies (Lidstrom for Hart). I want the Cup.
Let's Go Red Wings.
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