CSSI: 11/7/09 @ Toronto

Like I said in “By the Numbers”, there isn’t much to say when the Wings show up and throw out a lame performance. As fans, we never want to see the guys come out and gack one up, but that’s what they did and all we can do is move on from it. What will be more interesting and telling is how they respond over the next few days, as the Blue Jackets, Canucks and Ducks all loom large. Two games at home, one in nearby Columbus, Jackets and Canucks on back-to-back nights. It’s stretches like this, especially in the face of injury adversity, that will tell us a ton about how mentally prepared this team really is and if they can find that extra gear to make success happen when all the factors are going against you.

Until then, here’s the CSSI from Saturday’s debacle against the Leafs.

Season CSSI numbers are updated here.

CSSI: 11/7/09 @ Toronto

Goal 1 (TOR 1 DET 0): Wayne Primeau (1) from Colton Orr (1) and Jeff Finger (2) at 10:34, First Period

• Wings on ice: Helm, Draper, Leino, Ericsson, Lebda

• DP(-): Ericsson (-1) for not using the poke check the one time when he needed to. Seriously, he pokes at everything else, and the one time it would actually work and disrupt a tip pass, he goes for the body. Ugh. Draper (-1) for faceplanting on the ice, allowing Primeau to zoom by him. Lebda gets put on an island again, but does a nice job recovering to help out. Unfortunately, Primeau puts one between his legs and Osgood fans on one he should have had.

Goal 2 (TOR 2 DET 0): Phil Kessel (1) from Jason Blake (8) and Ian White (5) at 19:34, First Period

• Wings on ice: Helm, Draper, Leino, Lidstrom, Rafalski

• DP (-): Lidstrom (-1) for getting outworked by Blake down low, allowing him to get the rebound on White’s shot. Rafalski (-1) for failing to stay with Kessel as he slid backdoor on him. Rafi went to play the rebound that Blake got his stick on, leaving Kessel wide open to move in behind him for the easy tap in.

Goal 3 (TOR 3 DET 0): Jeff Finger (1) from Lee Stempniak (5) and Matt Stajan (5) at 5:21, Second Period

• Wings on ice: Draper, Cleary, Williams, Stuart, Ericsson

• DP(-): For all intensive purposes, this is a shorthanded goal. And it was ugly. Very ugly. Bertuzzi, Abdelkader and Cleary all get a (-1) for their clusterf**k in front of the net after Williams powerplay shot from the point, leaving nobody back to defend. Bertuzzi and Abdelkader then get another (-1) for deciding to head to the bench rather than backcheck. Cleary is spared because he at least tries to get back, despite being late. Williams gets a (-0.5) for committing too quickly to Stempniak, leaving Kronwall on an island. It’s not a full point off for Williams since he’s not a true defender. All-in-all, this play was awful and gets worse with every look.

Goal 4 (TOR 3 DET 1): Dan Cleary (2) from Brian Rafalski (6) and Nicklas Lidstrom (4) at 5:59, Third Period

• Wings on ice: Abdelkader, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Lidstrom, Rafalski

• HP(+): Rafalski (+1) for the nice chip pass. Cleary (+1) for the nice finish.

Goal 5 (PPG) (TOR 4 DET 1): John Mitchell (2) from Phil Kessel (2) and Francois Beauchemin (4) at 9:22, Third Period

• Wings on ice: Helm, Maltby, Stuart, Ericsson

• DP(-): Everyone on the ice gets a (-1). Watch the replay. NO hustle. PLENTY of standing around. TOTALLY embarrassing.

Goal 6 (TOR 5 DET 1): Alexei Ponikarovsky (6) from Mikhail Grabovski (9) and Ian White (6) at 12:44, Third Period

• Wings on ice: Abdelkader, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Rafalski, Lebda

• DP(-): Actually, this one wasn’t played bad, but Rafalski (-1) mails it in when a strong poke check could have potentially disrupted Ponikarovsky. That said, Osgood should have stopped this.

Chart time:

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Not one guy in the green. That’s just flat out bad.

Tags: Toronto Maple Leafs