The Wings Start With a Big Win

Facing a tired Bruins squad the Red Wings scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 win in the season opener. Along with outshooting the Bruins 24-17, the Red Wings dominated possession, finishing 71.4% at even strength. While I am obviously pleased with the result, it remains to be seen how much can be taken since the Bs clearly had played the night before. The Red Wings took advantage of the fresh legs early, all four lines seemed to be absolutely buzzing on the forecheck. Most of the game was spend with the Bruins simply trying to escape their own end. To make matters worse for the Bruins, the Wings defencemen were incredibly aggressive, pinching at every opportunity. Both of these factors will be huge keys for the Red Wings going forward. If they Red wings use their speed and disrupt teams on the forecheck it should take some pressure off the defensive core, particularly in the bottom pairing. Now for some of my more specific observations.


Bruins First Goal- A very sloppy turnover by Ericsson, who is ironically probably the last d-man I expect to make such a turnover. The bigger problem was his inability to get back into position to effectively eliminate the pass. Jimmy had to respect the pass, forcing him deeper into his crease, giving Bergeron enough room to place an incredible shot. (For comparison, look to the Marchand chance later in the period when Howard is completely outside the crease)

4-3 Penalty Kill- I thought the Wings, particularly 41/18, did a pretty good job of taking away Chara. However in doing so Spooner was left by himself as the Wings dared him to make a play. It worked on the rookie, but it won't against more elite players.

Wings First Goal- Overlooked on the replay will be the incredible play by Tatar just moments earlier to set up Abby for a great chance. After that the Wings just get bodies in front, a necessity against a great goalie like Tuukka and get a good bounce off a DK slapper.

Someone Kicked the Mule- Franzen has always driven fans crazy as he doesn't bring the same compete level every night. Thankfully tonight he was incredibly engaged and was unstoppable. It seemed that every time Mule was below the goal line good things were happening. He made a great move to set up Z for a great chance early in the 2nd, then almost created another goal and drew a penalty just a few minutes later.

Brendan Smith On the Offensive- Smith was like all the Wings defenders incredibly aggressive tonight, and created plenty of chances as a result. The pairing with him and DeKeyser seemed to do well for the most part and the Wings really need them to step up if they want to compete with the elite squads. For now Smith still continues to lean towards offense and occasionally gets caught out of position as a result. Some of these risks you just have to live with because of what he gives you offensively but he could be a little better in staying on the D-side of the puck.

Wings Second Goal- As was pointed out on the broadcast, this all start with Z winning a battle along the wall. Eventually the puck bounces to Helm who showed great patience and awareness, sliding it back to Nyquist who takes advantage of poor defending by Seidenberg.

Guys Who Looked Good- I thought the 4th line was pretty good tonight, Miller created a couple chances at even strength. I'm not a huge fan of 8 being on the top line, but when he is able to work down low with 93 they make a pretty decent combo, now if he could only score. Kid line was awesome as always, matched against the Lucic line for most of the night they were always around the net creating chances. Jimmy wasn't called on often but came up big when necessary, and got some help from the post late to preserve the win.

Guys Who Looked Not So Good- Poor Kindl, I actually thought he looked good early on and he still has the potential to be useful. The biggest problem if his consistency in decision-making. Too often he shows great patience, only to throw the puck away or make a bad pass. If he can figure out how to take advantage of the space he creates or just make the easy play I think he could still be salvaged.

A great way to start of the season with a win at home. Hopefully this was not simply the result of playing a tired and already slow Boston Bruins team. If the Wings stay this fast and aggressive all season they will give a lot of teams trouble. 1 down 81 to go, the dream for a perfect season stays alive for now.