Wings Analysis and More

I've been slacking off again in my writing. First I let the weekend go by and didn't even bother to predict that Arizona would have their hinds handed to them by Carolina. Turns out it was better that I keep my mouth shut. I didn't offer any commentary on the BCS Championship Game last week either because really, it just would have been a rant about my belief that Utah deserved a shot at the title but can never get it in the current system. And no matter how flawed and archaic the college football championship system is, I've learned enough about it to know that it isn't going to change any time soon, so I might as well just start wishing that Michigan could hang on to their recruits and field a team that doesn't suck next year. Perhaps one that can sustain the competitive level that saw them take that undefeated Utah team down to the wire in the first game of the season.

What I'm finally back on here to talk about today though, is the Wings game last night. Detroit has been playing pretty well lately with that six game winning streak riding into last night. I was pleased to see that TSN2 picked up the Versus broadcast from Dallas and allowed me to watch on what would have been an otherwise eventless evening. So tune in I did, only to see that the Wings also decided that they would just watch for the evening, as the Stars threw almost 50 shots at Osgood! Despite Ozzy playing fantastic and Datsyuk trying to win the game all by himself (check out the three links below), the rest of the boys had about the worst defensive game I've seen them play this year (and that's saying something because there's been a few bad ones). When Steve Ott potted the tieing goal, I had a pretty strong sense that the Wings were not going to leave with that win streak intact. Sure enough, another defensive breakdown in OT and the puck was in the back of the net before you could blink.

Datsyuk setting up Holmstrom's goal

Datsyuk burning Niskanen and roofing it on Turco

And for good measure ... Datsyuk beating Nashville's Vokoun in a shootout a while back

What I find most curious coming out of the loss last night is Detroit's struggles in four-on-four situations this year. The commentators (who were absolutely terrible, btw ... no wonder nobody watches Versus) postulated that the Wings' talent is struggling with too much ice, because it negates some of the advantage they typically have using their skills in tight spaces. I suppose that's a possibility, but what I'm seeing is a lack of discipline and effort in those 4-on-4 situations. The defense are moving the puck up ice just a little bit slower, probably thinking they have more time, and it's taking away the speed advantage that the Wings have over a lot of opponents. Since Detroit is a puck possesion team, the slow exit from their own zone is causing their rythym to break down as they enter the offensive zone and the counterattacks are leaving one or two guys caught up ice. Last night in OT, the situation was compounded by Brad Stuart losing his stick and then having to use Dan Cleary's, which is about six inches shorter than his own. When Stuart failed on a clearing attempt with the short stick, the counterattack took about five seconds to wind up in the Detroit net and the game was over.