WINGS POSTGAME: MAYBE NEXT TIME

Starting the season in Florida was not only going to be incredibly difficult but also very important. Four potential points between two division rivals. No points against the Lightning, that was expected but a depleted Panthers team missing two of their top-six forwards? That should be a viable two points. As we saw last night though again, that wasn’t the case. 

Things were bad from the hop. Just over a minute in, Trocheck put the Panthers on the board with a bad bounce off the skate of Dylan Larkin:

Before the period was over the Larkin line would again find themselves on the ice watching the puck go in again. As Brendan Smith opted to turn towards the play instead of stay with his man, he lost just enough strides to give up the odd man rush and allow Colton Sceviour to pot his first as a Panther. Larkin was far too lofty on his forecheck:

But Detroit did manage to bounce back soon after and get a goal of their own. The most productive line of the season thus far, Nyquist-Helm-Vanek, struck again:

Nyquist has kept that fire he brought into preseason and has consistently been one of, if not the best player on the Wings roster through two games. He’s getting to all the greasy areas, he’s using his speed, he’s creating turnovers and he’s generating chances for himself and his line mates. 

While everyone got excited seeing the projected lines before the game (Ott out/AA in) Detroit still left the first period with a deficit they would never recover from due to some questionable deployment:

Detroit was lucky to make out out of the second period without another goal. They were outshot 12-4 and again leaned on Mrazek heavily to bail them out. This was a pretty good summation of how that period went:

One surprising positive though, the penalty kill managed to be a perfect 2-0 on the night after a terrible outing in Tampa Bay. The Nielsen-Helm killing pair were a good tandem. 

Turnovers, odd man rushes, getting hemmed in their zone repeatedly. This was a brutal start to the third for Mrazek who was left scrambling trying to make up for all the mistakes the team in front of him was making. Things began to settle down a bit and with the score at 2-1 with five minutes remaining, they took to the power play:

Sorry, actually, there are no highlights because that power-play was awful. One shot on goal from sixty feet out with no screen. The rest of the time was spent hemmed in their own zone or botching entry into the offensive zone. They almost managed to give up a shorthanded breakaway as well. These special teams killed Detroit last year, they ended their playoffs real quick and once again they’re already an issue two games into the regular season. The Wings bench could take notes from the Panthers penalty killers. They used Barkov, Smith, Trocheck and Yandle all in one PK. High skilled players who were not only excellent at defending but created havoc and chaos with their speed and skill when teams like Detroit come into their building with a rather lax attack. 

Danny DeKeyser had a rough go alongside Alexey Marchenko in Tampa Bay but even after getting a new defence partner in Mike Green, he still had another terrible showing. None worse than this one here:

He enters the zone in a race with Jagr and he actually manages to lose. He’s almost double your age and you can’t out skate him in a wide open zone. Green decides he wants to get trapped in the same corner as well and Larkin has once again lost his man as Barkov sat wide open in front with enough time to take multiple wacks at the puck. You can actually see the confusion on Sheahan’s face as his natural centre instincts kick in and he wonders if that’s his man (which it isn’t) because that’s been his position his whole life up to this point (and now it’s not). Two Panthers wide open in front with two minutes left in a one goal game. The Wings are doing this to themselves. Whether it’s too many men penalties or the seemingly unending turnovers in their own zone, this death by 1000 tiny cuts seems to have gotten them in both games this year.

So it wasn’t exactly the easiest start to the year but that’s a huge four points to give up already. Hopefully Athanasiou can keep his spot in the lineup and we see some more support for a Mrazek who has been doing his best out there with little to no help. 

The Wings face another division rival in the Ottawa Senators back at home on Monday and they need a bounce back. Another mid-week game vs the Rangers also will prove an important one because they have a heavy weekend going back-to-back vs Nashville and San Jose. Should play not improve, this could be a shattering week for the team.