Wings Need Every-Dayers to Make Cup Run

In a rematch of the 08/09 Stanley Cup Finals the Red Wings had another opportunity to determine where they stand relative to one of the East’s elite teams. Despite the opponent and 3 days off suggesting the Red Wings would bring their best to Pittsburgh, they were anything but their best to start. The speed and work rate of the Pens was top notch and prevented the Wings from escaping the defensive zone. The Penguins' domination of zonetime resulted in an early 4-goal lead from which the Wings would never recover.

All night long the Penguins were able to cycle at will, taking advantage of Detroit’s subpar d-core to generate scoring chances. The offensive zone time provided dividends for the Pens as they scored 4 goals in the first 30 minutes and forced Babcock to replacing Mrazek with Howard to start the third. With 7 minutes left in the 2^nd the Red Wings got what many on twitter called a pity penalty, and I have to agree. The team was able to take advantage of this gift, doing an excellent job of moving the puck before Weiss deflected one by Fleury to end his shutout streak at 168 minutes and give the fans a single bright spot in this horrid showing. The third started with the lines returning to their pre-streak form and improvement in Detroit's work rate. With the Penguins sitting back and preserving their lead the Wings finally started to generate some chances. While they were never able to claw back into the game they at least provided a building block heading into Saturday's game against the Jets.

Unfortunately, the Red Wings were somewhat due for this kind of result after taking a number of games they did not deserve to win over the course of the hot streak. As the team prepares for a daunting month of February that sees them play 8 more teams either in the playoffs or in contention, this game demonstrated the requirements for success in the NHL. Unless Ken Holland is able to make a deal the team’s defenders are the clear weakness of this squad. As I demonstrated in the system breakdown, the team has been able to excel defensively despite this weakness thanks to the incredible speed and work rate of the forwards. However when the team decides to take games off, such as tonight, they are unable to overcome the lack of effort and are completely dominated. As they prepare for what we hope is a long and successful playoff run, this road trip should go a long way to answering the biggest remaining question. Have the young forwards learned how to become what Babcock calls “every-dayers?” Datsyuk and Z are no longer able to compensate when the kids do not bring their best effort. This road trip will be the closest the team has seen to a playoff atmosphere since last year’s series against the Bruins. If the kids are able to bring effort and energy to these games, regardless of the results, I will be convinced that they can compete for the Stanley Cup. If they continue to take nights off,  I lose hope that they will be able to survive the 1^st round.

As we enter the grind of the season, it is inevitable that teams take the occasional night off. As a result, there is no need to overreact to a single bad game, regardless of how bad the showing was. However, it is imperative that this remains the exception rather than the rule. I truly believe this team has the ability to be one of the best in the league. This trip should answer once and for all if this is truth or delusion.