Sharing the Wealth

Wait, you meant the OTHER Production Line?

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Only some brief observations today here at MW, as I got tabbed to step in and pick up the postgame mantle over at The Production Line last night. It was nice change of pace over there, but I missed you guys and am happy to be back in the saddle. However, I do recommend you go check out the TPL recap, as well as the subsequent post from Petrella that lavishes undue praise upon yours truly. (Hey, we all need an ego boost from time to time.) Happy to step in anytime you need me, fellas.

Overall, I’m not sure how things could have gone much worse last night for the Wings. They were fortunate to get out of St. Louis with the one point, given that they were totally outplayed for about 54 minutes. Jimmah deserves a huge pat on the back for keeping the team in the game, turning away a barrage of shots from a Blues offense that was swarming on every shift. It’s unbelievable to me that a team coming off of two days rest could look so flat-footed against a team that had to play the night before and then travel back home, but then again, nothing should come as a surprise with this group of players right now.

Yes, the injuries were a factor and yes, the Wings finally punched back late in the game to salvage the point, but it’s quickly becoming apparent that there is no magic bullet that will save this season. The only way this team cracks the 7 or 8 seed in the West is if they get gritty and muck their way to some wins. This iteration of the Red Wings is not built to score the finesse goals that we’ve seen in the past, save for when Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg or (now) Johan Franzen are on the ice (more on Mule in a second). But that’s the thing: the Wings don’t do the dirty work until their backs are against the wall and a loss is imminent. What’s more troubling is that the Wings continue to act like this is all part of their master plan and that we are all just stuck in the dark, waiting for the day when we can poke our heads into the tent and cry “OHHH, Now I see what you’re up to!”

Example #982,312:

“We showed a lot of fight coming back,” Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “We played as a desperate team, we were the ones getting the pucks to the net and crashing the net and getting rewarded, too.”

That’s great Nick, but what about the other 54 minutes? The effort was NOT there. The team got manhandled and skated around like a bunch of 10 year old kids out on the pond with their 18 year old brothers, and yet you are still trying to pick out the silver lining for us? Don’t insult us like that. The effort last night was laughable and the discipline on the ice was absolutely non-existent. You’ve lost three in a row and the playoffs are now something that very well may not be attained, yet it’s all sunshine and rainbows and the same old crappy company line that we’ve heard through this entire mess of a season. I know it’s not your “MO” to be loud and vocal in the locker room, but maybe it’s time you threw some sticks or kicked over a Gatorade bucket and lit a fire under some asses.

Speaking of intensity, good to see Franzen come out last night and get his legs back under him. Mule looked really good, drawing a number of scoring chances and laying some big hits. No goals for the big guy, but he did notch an assist and made one play where he was moving so fast down the ice to chase a puck that I thought he must have eaten Darren Helm’s soul and channeled his inner energies. Definitely good to have him back and let’s hope he can spark something.

Two games until the Olympic break against two pretty solid squads. Sure would be nice to ride a wave of positivity into the rest period.

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Production Charts

*The season totals are updated here and here.

Line Production

Tags: Darren Helm, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, St. Louis Blues, The Jimmah Howard Experiment