By the Numbers: Blackhawks 3, Red Wings 0

Postgame Thoughts

Well, the win streak came to a crashing halt this past weekend, so I’ll step away from the bullet points for a change of pace.

It’d be a lie if I said this weekend wasn’t disappointing to watch, but I would also be straying from the truth if I said that I didn’t expect this to happen. In a league where parity is highly encouraged through the salary cap, it’s tough to run off big strings of wins at any given point. Hit the road and it becomes even harder. Have the injury plague strike your lineup and the chances of anything over two or three wins becomes almost zero. It’s the nature of the beast that is the modern-day NHL and it’s just the way it is. So for the Wings to run off four in a row with all of the factors stacked against them speaks volumes about what they are capable of.

That said, there are some glaring deficiencies in the current lineup and they were badly exposed on the trip to Dallas and Chicago. Most noticeable were the missed defensive assignments late in the Dallas game and throughout the contest in Chicago. When the pressure got cranked up in the third period against the Stars, Doug Janik made crucial mistakes culminating in a missed assignment that led to the game-winning goal. It’s pretty obvious why he’s an AHL guy at this point. Sure, he’s a pretty good penalty killer, but when the flame got put under the pressure cooker, Janik couldn’t take the heat and the execution suffered because of it.

The problems aren’t limited to the defensive game, though. It was painful to watch the Wings offense slog through the opening 13 minutes of the first period at the United Center before finally registering a shot, but it’s ultimately the reality that the team somehow dodged during the early part of the week. The Wings have one line capable of scoring at any time and three lines of “hustle guys”, which ultimately causes problems in that the sustaining solid offensive pressure is a priority that has to be sacrificed. It’s like playing with three lines of Kris Drapers and Kirk Maltbys on the ice: the hustle is there but the offensive knack is completely limited to firing shots at the net and hoping that the goaltender gives up a favorable rebound. Add to it the complete waste of space that Brad May constitutes, with some epic underachieving from Ville Leino and it’s the perfect recipe for offensive futility. We’ll see if the Wings can conjure up some scoring magic when Mattias Ritola hits the ice on Wednesday, but there is no magic band-aid for this one. All the Wings can do is wait for guys to get healthy and find ways to compete in the face of adversity.

I know we haven’t hit the halfway point of the season yet, but the reality of this season is quickly becoming apparent. The Wings now trail Chicago by 8 points in the division, and the Blackhawks still have two games in hand. Detroit could hypothetically find themselves 14 points behind the Blackhawks when it’s all said and done, and you’re kidding yourself if you think a seven game swing is something that is easily attainable for this Wings team. The Wings have done a good job keeping this injury mess and Central standings in perspective up until now, but if they lose to Chicago on Wednesday, you can bank on the fact that the “Wings are finished in the Central” talk will heat up. That’s just how these cases get portrayed when the once mighty giant is appearing to be slayed by the lowly David, but at the end of the day it just doesn’t matter. If other teams need validation through words on a screen or in a newspaper, so be it. But the Wings do have one thing in their favor at this point and it’s something that has nagged them in the past: the league’s goal of parity amongst teams. It’s been said before and I’ll say it again: show me one team in this league that wants a first round matchup with a healthy Wings team, even if they are the 8th seed. Sure, it would be unfamiliar territory for Detroit but the playoffs are not unfamiliar and the talent deficiency between the Wings and any opponent would be minimal at best. Throw in the veteran experience of multiple Stanley Cup runs and most talent deficiencies get negated. It’s a beautiful thing and after so many years of the Wings struggling to push it down in the playoffs, they may finally get a chance to use it to their advantage.

Like I said, the playoffs are a long way off and anything can happen between now and then. But for Detroit, the goal needs to remain simple: just stay in contention until the cavalry arrives. There are going to be ugly nights and there are going to be tough losses. It happens. But at the same time, the talent and scorers are going to start returning and the obvious flaws in the game will begin diminishing. It’ll happen, but it’s just going to take time. Settle in, grab a big glass of patience and trust in the system.

On a personal note, I’m off to Florida for a few days of relaxation. I’ll be keeping up with the blogging, but it might be delayed a bit while I’m out on the golf course.

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Production Charts

*The season totals are updated here and here.

Line Production

Special Teams Production

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CSSI

*Season CSSI numbers are updated here.

Goal 1 (PPG) (CHI 1 DET 0): Duncan Keith (6) from Jonathan Toews (13) and Kris Versteeg (10) at 7:58, First Period

• Wings on ice: Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Miller, Stuart

• DP(-): Miller (-0.5) hangs back just a bit too long before challenging Keith, allowing him to get the shot away.

Goal 2 (CHI 2 DET 0): Brian Campbell (3) from Patrick Sharp (16) and Andrew Ladd (7) at 16:05, Second Period

• Wings on ice: Helm, Abdelkader, Eaves, Lebda, Janik

• DP(-): Osgood’s got to have this one, but alot of things go wrong here. It appears that someone goes for a line change, which would explain why Abdelkader and Helm are on the ice at the same time, as well as how Campbell trails the play untouched. I don’t know who to dock for this. I also don’t like Janik’s (-0.5) move to try and cover Sharp. Rather than stay in his position, he comes out way too high and leaves no extra support down low.

Goal 3 (CHI 3 DET 0): Dustin Byfuglien (10) from John Madden (6) and Duncan Keith (22) at 19:27, Second Period

• Wings on ice: Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Lidstrom, Meech

• DP(-): Osgood. Fail.

Miscellaneous Points

• HP(+): Abdelkader (+1) for bringing the grit and being a real pest. Lidstrom (+0.5) for a solid game and Stuart (+0.5) for continuing his steady play.
• DP(-): Leino (-1) for continuing to act like he just doesn’t get the system and causing everyone else’s play to suffer. Janik (-1) for just being completely overmatched all night.

Chart:

Tags: Brad May, Chicago Blackhawks, Doug Janik, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, Mattias Ritola, Ville Leino