Wings Drop Potential Playoff Preview

In a game that had the look and feel of a playoff matchup the Wings once again came up short to Carey Price the Montreal Canadiens. Despite controlling play for the majority of the game, the Wings struggled to get shots to the net and when they did Price what there to answer. The loss is extremely disappointing, especially as the team prepares to for this tough west coast road trip. If there is a single silver lining to be had, Jimmy Howard appears to have shaken off the rust after his first start and looks ready to carry the Wings once again. A tough loss for sure but should provide confidence that the Wings are still clearly the more superior team, and will be come playoffs.




The first started with the Wings playing a bit sloppy through the neutral zone but they contracted the lack of offense with a good job of preventing carry-ins by the Habs. As the period worse on the Wings started improving on the forecheck, although some of that was the result of Habs high off the glass breakout. The improved forecheck led to the Wings getting a lot of zone time and shot attempts but they struggled to get them to the net in the early going. While the Wings dominate possession, it is really important to take care of the puck as it seems like the only chance for Montreal to generate offense is off turnovers. Wing get a glorious chance late in the 1st as Nyquist threaded a beautiful pass to Helm to finish a give-an-go, unfortunately Helm was unable to finish in tight and the period ended 0-0.

Pavel drew a penalty for hooking early in the 2^nd after dangling his way into the slot but the PP continued to struggle. The rest of the 2^nd period follows a similar script as the first to start, the Wings dominate zone time but cannot to get pucks to the net. A Smith turnover gave Prust a semi-breakaway but Smith was able to clean up his own mess to keep the game tied. The Wings got a great chance on a defection by Zetterberg but Price made a very impressive toe save to keep it tied. The game got  chippy late in the period and as a result we saw nearly 4 minutes of 4-4 hockey. With only 2 minutes left the Wings were called for hooking to give the Habs their first opportunity with the man advantage. The Habs had a couple good rebound opportunities but it was Glendening with the best chance on a breakaway after Subban fell down at the point. Luckily for the Canadiens Max Pacioretty came back with a defensive effort to keep it tied 0-0.

The third period was nearly a carbon copy of the first two.  Detroit dominated possession but struggled to get grade A chances against this collapsing Montreal defense. Meanwhile Montreal is waiting for Red Wings turnovers to generate offense. Even when the the Red Wings are getting shots through they are mostly peripheral shots and Carey Price has gotten a chance to see everything. Late in the third the game started to get a real playoff feel as each team really locked up defensively to prevent the 4 point mistake. The officials were also in postseason form, letting the teams play, as some egregious penalties by both sides went uncalled. Just as we all began to this the game was headed to overtime Datsyuk lost an edge in the defensive zone, the one mistake Montreal needed to escape with the big 2 points. With the rest of the Wing caught out of position, Plekanec got a clean shot from the slot that he put past Jimmy to make it 1-0 Montreal. The Wings gave it their all at the end but with 9 seconds left Pacioretty picked up a lose puck at center and dumps it into the empty net to seal the 2-0 victory for Montreal.

Comments & Observations:

PP Breakout- At this point every team knows the Red Wings love the drop pass on the PP breakout. Since everyone knows it is coming the D really need to at least threaten to carry it in. Too often teams just wait on the drop pass and the D still force the play rather than just taking the space.

Big E- I previously tweeted out a chart showing that Ericsson has been a turnover machine this season. In addition I feel his play in general has been extremely sub par this season. Unlike someone like Smith or Kronwall whose turnovers are tolerable since they brings offensive ability, Ericsson has to be stellar in the defensive zone. As we head down the stretch, Ericsson has to improve or the Red Wings will need to find someone else to anchor the top pair with Kronwall.

Playoff Implication- Despite the outcome and Montreal’s domination of the Wings this season I still find myself optimistic about the team’s chances come April. The Red Wings dominated possession for the entire game but again were unable to get the bounces needed. Although Carey Price is arguably the best goaltender in the league, Montreal's luck will run out eventually. When it does the Wings will be there to capitalize.