Monday, April 19, 2010

Red Wings 2, Coyotes 4 (1-2): Post Game Snipes...

  • I viewed this spectacular game from the comfort of the Commune at Sara’s house. We had a delicious Swedish smorgasbord and sampled some of Homer’s favorite candy. The consensus was that it tastes like gummy bears mixed with memory foam. I really don’t think there could be a better favorite candy for Homer. It really fits his fake personality perfectly. Aside from the game itself, we had a fabulous time. Let's face it, Wings fans are just a little bit cooler than everyone else.
  • Everyone’s already said it, but this game was miserable. It was pretty apparent that the dozen or so people gathered at the commune cared way more about the outcome of the game than the Wings did.
  • Things went wrong right from the start. Not only did Al drop the octopus when he was twirling it, but the Wings gave up a goal on the first shift. Way to go, guys.
  • That has to be one of the top ten worst games of Nick Lidstrom’s career.
  • We were all shocked that Franzen’s goal went in the net. It was out just as fast as it went in, and nobody was willing to celebrate until we knew for sure. I didn’t think there was any net to shoot at, but it managed to squeak its way in off of the post. Maybe that’s the spark The Mule needs to get going.
  • Shane Doan tripped over Jimmy Howard and crashed into the boards. At present, he’s day-to-day with an undisclosed injury (I’ve got ten bucks on his shoulder.). Really, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
GP Review:
15. Playoff Franzen, wake up. Where are you?
He had a brief flash of brilliance with his goal in the third, but he’s still not pulling his weight. The whole top line needs to do more, but he’s been one of the Wings’ biggest underperformers.

14. Now that the series is back in a real hockey city, Wings fans can demonstrate how a building should sound.
According to Twitter, there were the standard insults about empty seats in the Joe. I think those people are stupid and petty. It’s the same old story every year from people who have nothing better to do. If you can’t rip the hockey team (and really, there were plenty of things to insult about the Wings’ performance yesterday), go after the economy. Because there’s nothing more funny than fellow Americans struggling to find jobs and make ends meet. I know I’m rolling on the floor laughing. And beside that, the Joe wasn’t really empty. Until the final few minutes of the third period, the building was pretty full and there were LGRW chants a plenty.

13. The Wings need to cut down on the back-and-forth action. Sure it was fun (or maybe heart-attack-inducing) to watch, but the whole series can’t go on like that.
Well they certainly did cut down on the back-and-forth. Unfortunately, that meant that their offensive rush was pretty much eliminated while still allowing the Coyotes to have numerous chances. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

12. The PK needs to keep clicking. It was spot-on in Game Two after a disastrous outing in Game One.
They did manage to kill off all three of their penalties. This was one of the few things they did right.

11. The Wings need to keep dishing out the physical play. They were much better in Game Two largely because of the fact that they weren’t running around looking scared.
According to the boxscore, the Wings actually outhit the Coyotes yesterday. That’s nice, but I’d much rather see them outscore the Yotes.

10. The big guns need to lead the way again. I have a theory that goes something like “As the Eurotwins go, so go the Red Wings,” but that applies to all of the big guns.
Yeah, how about that?

9. The defense needs to tighten up. There were still too many turnovers and generally sloppy play last game.
If only…

8. The boys need to keep testing Bryzgalov. He was my number one nightmare heading into this series, but hasn’t kept me from sleeping at all so far.
We were talking about this at the commune yesterday. I’m afraid we may have jinxed things. I’m so sorry.

7. They still need to keep an eye out for Shane Doan. He was less destructively physical in Game Two, but still managed to run Nick Lidstrom with a late hit.
Doan took himself out of the game after tripping over Jimmy Howard and crashing into the boards. The fact that it was self-inflicted made me laugh a little.

6. Bring your tin foil hats. You’re bound to need them.
We busted out the tin foil during the game and came up with some…interesting creations. There was a fist hat. There was a bonnet. There was a face mask. Nothing helped.

5. NBC’s pretty much said that their plan is to talk up the Coyotes and their Cinderella story all day this afternoon. Start mentally preparing yourself now.
Yeah, they did just that. Nobody was surprised, and at least they were up front about it.

4. Sixty minutes? Pretty please.
This actually reads like a joke at this point.

3. The powerplay converted a couple of times in Game Two. Special teams are liable to be the deciding factor in this series. If the Wings’ powerplay can keep clicking, they’ll be in good shape.
They did manage to tally a powerplay goal, but it wasn’t enough.

2. Watch out for Wojtek Wolski. He’s been dangerous all series. Plus, he’s got that whole ex-Av thing going on.
Sure enough, he scored a goal. I’m never singling out a player in one of these again. I guess at least I get to say that I told you so.

1. If you’re going to the game, make sure you arrive early enough to catch the pre-game show. You’ll see some familiar faces. Andy and Maria would like some recordings youtubed if you’ve got a camera with you. If you’re not going, according to Malik, this WDIV camera will be working at all times except when the game’s on. I don’t know exactly what that means, but it might be worth a try.
The Wings posted the video today. It’s pretty awesome. I can’t wait to see it in person tomorrow.

Hero: Valtteri Filppula
He’s been one of the few Red Wings actually playing at his expected level during this series. He scored the powerplay goal to tie the game up late in the first period.

Villain: Sami Lepisto
He scored less than thirty seconds into the first period and spoiled everybody’s fun. Not cool.

Final Thought:
If the Wings actually bothered to take things seriously, the probably wouldn’t be trailing in this series.

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