The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
I made a list of the good, the bad, and the ugly after last year’s disappointing playoff exit and decided to go with the same format again this year for my postseason wrap up. There is definitely a lot more good points this year than what you saw after the 2006 playoff exit. I know this is a lengthy post, but I wanted to make sure I did this wrap up justice. I also realize that I did not mention every single Red Wings player. The post would have been much longer had I done so.
I encourage you guys to leave a comment with your own the good, the bad, and the ugly list regarding the Red Wings’ regular season and playoffs. Feel free to disagree with me, but please explain why you do in your comment!
The Good
No. 5 - Nick Lidstrom. The new captain of the Red Wings stepped up this year leading the team into the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. He played great defensive hockey all year and really piled on the minutes in the playoffs after Mathieu Schneider and Brett Lebda were injured. Lidstrom averaged 30:37 minutes per game to lead the team. Schneider came in second with 23:35. He even led the team in offensive points with 18 (4 goals, 14 assists). I think that whenever he retires, the Wings are going to have a huge hole to fill defensively that it’ll probably take a couple years to bounce back from that. Hopefully, we can take advantage of his presence in the lineup next season.
No. 3 - Andreas Lilja. Yes, he had a horrendous turnover that significantly contributed to our loss in Game #5. However, he completely shocked me with his play this postseason. Last year, I shuddered every time he and Jason Williams had the puck in the playoffs. I had that same fear this year, but Lilja really stepped up. I was really impressed and hope to see him get a roster spot for the entire regular season (instead of being the healthy scratch a lot of the time) plus he got his first career playoff goal in Game #5. He also surprised me with his character. After that bad turnover, he sat in the locker room answering every question from the reporters staying there after 15 minutes of questions when all but two other players had left.
The physical play. A lot of people didn’t believe the Wings could stand up to the big physical teams this postseason. Well, we defeated Calgary and San Jose in 6 games. We lost to the physical Ducks in a close WCF. I was just impressed with how physical the team did play compare to our regular season performances. It was a pleasant surprise and an encouraging sight to see because you knew that this team was different from last year and had a shot in the playoffs. What was even better? Even when we were losing, we didn’t play dirty and try to hurt any other player. For that, I’m pleased that the Wings stayed classy (think Anchorman).
No. 45 - Kyle Quincey. When Brett Lebda injured his ankle, the Wings called up Kyle Quincey from Grand Rapids. He played in his first NHL playoff game and continued to impress throughout the playoffs. Even though Lebda was able to return, Quincey then stepped in for Mathieu Schneider who fractured his wrist in multiple spots. I saw Quincey as a stay at home defenseman who didn’t turn the puck over much or make a lot of stupid mistakes. He only had one penalty in the two series he played in. I liked how calm and collected he was in his first postseason. You could tell he was getting more comfortable in his role on the team when he started getting some scoring chances. I hope we see a lot more of him in the red and white next season.
No. 39 - Dominik Hasek. (aka the Skeletor) GM Ken Holland knew he was taking a risk when he signed Hasek to a low one year contract with plenty of bonus incentives. Much to my delight, Hasek was able to stay healthy throughout the entire regular season and played a big role in the playoffs for us. Yes, he allowed some stupid goals. Sometimes he was the crazy Czech who frustrated the opponent and won the game for us. Other times, he was the insane old man throwing his stick, wandering out into the wide open ice, and flopping like a fish trying to draw a penalty. Don’t get me wrong, I hope he returns for another year because prospect Jimmy Howard is not yet ready for the NHL, but I sometimes found myself yelling at the TV because of Hasek’s antics. Admittedly, these same antics also make him the crazy good goalie that he is so I shouldn’t complain too much.
Game #3 vs. Anaheim. Yes, the glorious 5-0 victory over the Ducks. We saw Tomas Holmstom get up from a nasty hit and consequent cut from Chris Pronger and Rob Niedermayer. We saw plenty of goals. We saw a frustrated Anaheim squad. It was the most enjoyable game of the postseason for me.
No. 96 - Tomas Holmstrom. He really showed people his prowess in front of the opponent’s net this postseason with his great play on the top line. Did anyone else notice that Homer didn’t seem himself after that Pronger/Niedermayer hit? I wonder if he had a problem bouncing back after that hit. Anyways, he is one of the biggest bargains on the team and I’m happy that he’s sticking around for awhile. He had five goals and three assists in the post season. Homer was only behind the Eurotwins in terms of leading scorers this postseason.
No. 11 - Dan Cleary. He had some big goals this postseason. He was gritty and hustled around the ice. I think he impressed a lot of people with his play. Cleary scored four goals and notched eight assists. After the Calgary series, I probably would’ve named him team MVP. He’s “Dan the Man.”
Proving the critics wrong. Did the Wings win the Stanley Cup? No. Is there room for improvement? Yes. But pretty much no one in the mass media predicted the Wings to do this well and come close to winning the WCF. The Wings were underdogs in each series they played in and they won the first two and that’s an accomplishment in itself. I just hope the team can improve on it in the upcoming season and take it a step further in the playoffs.
No. 24 - Chris Chelios. He stepped up in terms of ice time and veteran leadership this postseason. With an injured Mathieu Schneider, he filled in on the power play. He might not be the player he once was, but it was nice to see him out there paired with a younger defenseman. It gave me some confidence knowing that Cheli was there in case things started to go wrong. He finished the postseason with a +7 (second best on the team). Lidstrom had a +/- of zero to give you an indication of how Cheli performed. GM Ken Holland has expressed a desire to re-sign Chelios this summer and I agree. With his low salary and great health, I don’t see how you could turn him down.
No. 51 - Valtteri Filppula. I really didn’t have any expectations for him this postseason. As a rookie, he wasn’t expected to get a ton of ice time and I would’ve been happy if he had just played some simple hockey. He definitely played a lot better than I ever would have predicted. Filppula had three goals and two assists. He could’ve had a lot more if he would’ve finished some of his stupendous moves. I look forward to watching him grow and mature over the next season and hopefully he’ll capitalize on his skillful stickwork in the 2008 playoffs.
No. 93 - Johan Franzen. He led the team with a +8 rating. He scored three goals and notched four assists including one overtime goal and two game winners. So Franzen definitely showed up when it counted and was certainly a clutch player. It was only his second year in the postseason so I expect great things from him in the future!
No. 30 - Chris Osgood. I know he didn’t have a minute of ice time during the postseason, but he did a great job in his role. He supported, pushed, and encouraged Hasek, but did not cause any awkwardness or hold any disdain toward Hasek. Plus, I think he did a lot to welcome Todd Bertuzzi to the team. I heard numerous instances where Ozzie had joked around with Bertuzzi to lighten the mood in the locker room (ie. placing his gear in Bertuzzi’s locker stall because he couldn’t get to his due to reporters). I remember seeing Bertuzzi throw a stuffed animal (that rally purple octopus) at Osgood at the end of a game during the SJ series (I believe).
The Bad
Injuries. Considering all the injuries we had, I’m impressed we were that close to heading to the SCF. I’m not trying to use injuries as an excuse for the loss as clearly the Anaheim Ducks had a reason for our series loss. But what other team would’ve played as well as we did with the loss of two of their top four defensemen? We lost Niklas Kronwall before the playoffs began to a broken sacrum and we lost veteran Mathieu Schneider in the San Jose series to a broken wrist. We were fortunate that Brett Lebda was able to come back when he did from his ankle injury. I remember reading a quote somewhere that said if it had been the regular season, he probably would’ve missed a month or so of action. Instead, he missed only a couple games. Todd Bertuzzi missed the first two games from concussion symptoms and then almost missed the last game due to back spasms. Tomas Holmstrom missed some time due to an accidental high stick in the Calgary series. It’s been rumored that Kyle Calder has a broken hand and that Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg’s has been bothering them during the playoff run. Obviously, every team has those little injuries that are hidden until the end of the postseason, but the Wings obviously weren’t close to 100% in terms of health.
No. 20 - Robert Lang. Yes, he had a couple huge goals. But for the most part, he seemed non-existent. In the past, I have cut Lang some slack for his mediocre play in the regular season because he’d bring it in the postseason. Not so much this year. I hope that GM Ken Holland does not re-sign Lang this summer. I don’t think his attitude meshes well with head coach Mike Babcock’s attitude.
No. 44 - Todd Bertuzzi. Unlike Lang, I want to see Holland re-sign Big Bert for one more year at a much lower salary because I think once he regains health, he can have a nice supportive and physical role on the team. Unfortunately, his back has not completely healed yet and he suffered a concussion right before the playoffs. Since he wasn’t 100%, we didn’t see the Big Bert I had hoped for. While it wasn’t a complete loss, I thought it took him awhile to get comfortable on the ice and turned the puck over numerous times (including a key one near the start of Game #4 vs. Anaheim).
Lack of conversion on opportunities. Whether it was the many power plays given to us against Anaheim or the suspension of Chris Pronger, it was definitely frustrating to see the Wings fail to capitalize on these various opportunities. I would also include the failing to hold off the Ducks in Game #5 when the team held a 1-0 lead for a lot of the game.
The Ugly
Dirty play. I know fans of the Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks may disagree with me, but I didn’t like that two dirty plays that took place against the Wings earned a lot of TV time when the hockey game itself did not. In Game #5 of the series against the Flames, backup goaltender Jamie McLennan came in for 18 seconds and then slashed Johan Franzen in his midsection. He was given a five game suspension. During that game, there was also a questionable butt-end motion by Jarome Iginla on Schneider and a suckerpunch to Brett Lebda’s head from Daymond Langkow. Against Anaheim, Chris Pronger and Rob Niedermayer hit Tomas Holmstrom at about the same time. Pronger’s hit was (in my mind) a nasty hit. The NHL agreed and gave him a one game suspension. Unfortunately for Detroit, they could not capitalize on his absence.
Brett Hull’s comments. When Hull was on the Wings, I liked the guy. I liked his big mouth because it made for entertaining quotes and sound bites on TV. I obviously liked the sniper-like edge he brought to the 2001-2002 team. Unfortunately, I did not appreciate his big mouth of late as a member of the NBC broadcast team. Before the start of the playoffs, he remarked that Datsyuk would not re-sign with the Wings. He was wrong as GM Ken Holland announced that same week Datsyuk had signed a seven year deal worth $46.9 million. Oops! Then during the Anaheim series, he really didn’t give much credit to the Ducks and gave them some ammunition and motivation to prove Hull wrong.
Slow starts. It has been a team problem throughout the entire postseason. A slow start by the team gives the opposing squad either an early lead or at the very least, plenty of scoring chances. Sometimes the team couldn’t come back and other times they were able to overcome early deficits later in the game. It definitely made it a lot harder on the team to win a game.
No. 17 - Kyle Calder. I don’t know if Calder has a broken hand. He has not confirmed that injury, but it has been widely rumored. He averaged only 8:18 per game and was pulled during the Anaheim series. Before Calder was benched, he was only playing five minutes or less per game. He had one assist, eight penalty minutes, and only 13 shots in the 13 games he played. If he was playing injured, I’ll cut him some slack. If he wasn’t, I’d be okay with letting him go this summer. I still am pleased with acquiring him at the trade deadline because we got rid of Jason Williams who had another year left in his contract. I’m in favor of giving a prospect Calder’s roster spot if he’s going to get so little ice time anyways.
and the Mediocre…
Penalty kill. The Wings were 8th out of the 16 playoff teams in terms of penalty kill success. They had an 86.8% success rate. It was better than San Jose, equal to Calgary, and slightly worse than Anaheim’s. It wasn’t the reason for the Wings’ series loss to Anaheim, but they allowed some unfortunate goals that came at bad times.
No. 95 - Danny Markov. He had a few rough moments during the postseason, but overall I was pleased with his play. He was physical, but so much that it hurt his defensive play. He was a -2 during the 18 playoff games, but I felt he was more good than he was bad. But I wouldn’t say he was outstanding. Markov only had a one year contract and unless we can grab a better physical defenseman this offseason, I would go with re-signing Markov.
No. 40 - Henrik Zetterberg. Now don’t get me wrong, Hank played well this postseason and will become a great leader for this team. No doubt. I was just disappointed with his play on the road. It wasn’t until the Wings’ last period of the postseason that Zetterberg scored his first goal on the road. Not so good when you go missing for 8 road games. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if Datsyuk hadn’t had the same offensive problem on the road. Hank had 14 points in 18 games (6 goals and 8 assists).
No. 13 - Pavel Datsyuk. I’m putting him in the “mediocre” category for the same reason as Hank. Where was he on the road? He did excellent at home, but we missed him in 8 of our 9 away games and it noticeably hurt our team when your two offensive leaders (excluding Lidstrom) weren’t putting the puck in the net on the road. Datsyuk had eight goals and eight assists in 18 games. Two of those goals were game winners and four came while the team was on the power play. He scored two goals on the road in the last game of the playoffs.
No. 37 - Mikael Samuelsson. I felt Sammy’s play improved as the playoffs went on. He averaged 15:26 minutes of ice time per game and finished the playoffs with 11 points (3 goals and 8 assists). Sammy had one game winning goal and was a +2.
Coaching. Don’t get me wrong, I like what head coach Mike Babcock has done with the team. No one predicted the Wings going as far as they did and you have to give a lot of credit to the different coaching style (compared to Dave Lewis’ style). We all saw how his line changing resulted in a 5-0 win over Anaheim. Unfortunately, he struggled to get the team to start off the game on the right foot especially in the series eliminating game and that hurt the team. I do believe he is the right coach for the team.
Overall
I definitely enjoyed this season and our postseason run. I’m proud of the team and the success they had in the playoffs despite the many key injuries on the team. Obviously, I had hoped and dreamed of a Stanley Cup victory, but they definitely helped distract us Michiganders from our economical worries. I look forward to another successful season for the red and white.
Go Wings!
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4 Responses to “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly”
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May 25th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
You admiration for Bertuzzi has clearly clouded your vision, Christy!
He’s a complete bum. A floating, offense-only, non-backchecking, overpriced, underachieving bum!!!
May 26th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Haha. I only want Big Bert back if we get a good deal on him for one year. If he wants more than a year and a salary close to what he got this year, I wish him well with his next team.
May 28th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Good read as always! I have mixed feeling on Bertuzzi as well. It will be quite interesting to see whether Ken Holland signs him this offseason.
May 28th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Thanks for the compliment Dave! I like that there isn’t quite so much uncertainty this offseason. Last year, there was a lot more up in air (and can you believe we almost signed psycho Eddie?).