“Leftover Wings?” Not so much.
I recently came across a post, “Leftover Wings”, by The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein regarding the Red Wings while updating Behind the Jersey: No. 19. The post was written back on October 17th so I don’t know if Bernstein would still stand by his previous comments, but I would like to address them nonetheless. Yes hindsight is 20/20, but I’d still have an issue with his post had I seen it back in mid-October.
His central argument:
In the early NHL season, there’s something missing in this flock of Wings. It’s not character, mind you. Any squad with names on the back of the jersey like Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Drake (the Dallas one) and Chris Osgood has leadership in the room. No, this year there’s an issue that hasn’t been present for over a decade.
They’re not that good.
He then launched into a look at the Red Wings roster, but before I dissect that aspect of his post let me refute his last statement. He says that the Wings are more like leftovers than a first rate meal now that the likes of Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, and Brett Hull have left (the “rock star” persona is no longer there).
After 40 games this season, the Red Wings are 29-8-3. That’s a .763 win percentage. They lead the league with 61 points, which is 7 more than the Eastern Conference leaders (the Ottawa Senators) and eleven more points than Dallas who sits in second in the Western Conference behind Detroit. And how far ahead are they of Anaheim? 18 points. The defending Stanley Cup champs are just 19-17-5.
Detroit’s power play has a 23.7% success rate, second best in the league. They average 35 shots per game, a league best. Detroit allows just 23.4 shots per game, the best in the NHL. The Wings win 54.4% of their faceoffs, again the league best. Detroit has the most power play goals so far this season at 45.
This season, the Wings matched their best start ever by reaching 25 wins in just 34 games on December 19th. The mark was sent in 1995-1996 when the Wings went on to set an NHL-record 62 wins.
Last season, many looked at the Wings’ record as inflated due to the weaker Central Division conference. That same argument cannot be used this season. The Central Division is the only division in the NHL in which every single team has a .500 winning percent or higher. In each of the other divisions, at least one team has a losing record. Additionally, the Wings are dominating the Northwest and Pacific Divisions. Detroit has a 10-0-1 record against the Northwest Division and a 8-1-0 record against the Pacific Division. In the five games against Eastern Conference opponents, Detroit is undefeated. The one division the Wings are struggling against is the Central Division where their record is just 6-7-2.
Among the forward wall, they have a stellar first line in Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom. But you try and name the second line and you’ll lose that bet.
Daniel Cleary? Poster child for first round underachievement, thank you.
Johan Franzen?
Mikael Samuelsson?
That’s a nice third line, perhaps but it’s not striking fear in Anaheim, San Jose or Dallas.
Perhaps at the beginning of the season, this argument would have had more merit as Detroit’s offense was heavily dependent on the top line. However, that argument wouldn’t work too well right now as the team has been playing successfully despite missing Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom due to injuries.
Ten Detroit players have 19 points or more this season. Yes, Zetterberg and Datsyuk lead the team in points with 50 (25G, 25A) and 49 (15G, 34A) points respectively and their linemate Holmstrom has 31 points. However, defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski have over 30 offensive points. Secondary scoring has been increasing of late. In just their sophomore seasons, Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula have 27 and 21 points respectively. With Homer and Hank out of the lineup, Filppula notched points in six straight games and has scored goals in seven of his last eleven games. He’s also +11 in his last 14 games.
While Dan Cleary may not be as successful as certain first round picks, 24 points (12G, 12A) in 40 games isn’t too shabby. Mikael Samuelsson has six goals and 16 assists. Even defenseman Niklas Kronwall has two goals and seventeen assists. Admittedly, Franzen’s eight points in 30 games certainly isn’t great, but the Wings are still scoring and winning without his offensive points.
Same deal at the blueline, after Lidstrom (who will probably win the Norris Trophy again) and Chelios (no longer a huge ice-time guy), you have second and third tier talent like Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja making significant appearance.
While GM Ken Holland smartly signed former Devils rearguard Brian Rafalski in free agency after losing Mathieu Schneider to Anaheim the same way, the smallish Rafalski is not the stopper they need in front of the aged Hasek come playoff time.
Yes, I am a bit dismayed to hear that the Wings have offered Lilja a two year contract, but our defense allows the least number of shots per game as well as goals against (2.12). Our two top defensemen are playing great on both ends of the ice. Especially now that Mathieu Schneider started the season with a broken ankle, I am definitely liking Rafalski and think he’s the better choice between the two. He’s a right hand shot and Lidstrom is a leftie so their passing can be a lot quicker, which is why the power play has been so effective. These two are the highest scoring defensive pair in the NHL.
And the Dominator, bless him, came back for one more run at age 42. He still is angular, hard to understand self, but I will guarantee he’ll miss 20 games this year with a bad groin and probably some of the first round of the playoffs too, thank goodness you have solid citizen Osgood as his caddy.
But you know Ozzy’s not taking you four rounds, he did that once and that’s that. And regardless of any regular season record setting, don’t do Babcock the disservice of comparing his to Scotty Bowman. Ever.
Dominik Hasek did have a bit of a slow start and the injury certainly didn’t help, but he has a 12-6-2 record with a .890 save percentage and 2.32 GAA. Chris Osgood has been the stronger of the two goaltenders this season with a 17-2-1 record, .930 save percentage, and 1.75 GAA. For his great play, the Wings have offered him a three year contract and if he keeps playing like he has been, I have no problem whatsoever with him being the starter in net (the same could never be said about former Red Wing Manny Legace).
I am not saying Mike Babcock is as good as Scotty Bowman because I don’t think anyone is. But I do see a little bit of Bowman in head coach Babcock and he’s certainly getting some desired results. He has a 206-105-57 record as an NHL coach. Last season, Babcock became the second-fastest NHL head coach to win 100 games with a particular team. He has also made Red Wings history by becoming the first head coach to lead the Wings to back-to-back 50 win seasons. This season, he can become the first coach in NHL history to guide a team to three consecutive 50 win seasons in his first three seasons with a team.
The attitude of the team has also changed under Babcock’s watch. The team was noticeably different last season in the playoffs when they showed a more physical side than we are used to. This year, the team has Aaron Downey to add a little more of a physical presence. The team is all about hard work and this is the kind of mentality that will win in the playoffs. Getting to the WCF sparked something in the team (in my opinion) and I believe this team could go all the way.
The Red Wings you know and love, or hated, used to beat teams in warm-ups with their attitude, their air of invincibility.
Yes, a lot of it went out the door the day Yzerman retired, but you replace that with leaders of another sort and management hasn’t done it.
Draper, for all his mastery on the penalty kill, doesn’t have the pedigree to get everyone’s attention. Datsyuk, for all his wizardry, got $42 million guaranteed last year, so he really doesn’t care. And Lidstrom, though a Hall of Famer, is just a nice guy and carries the impossible burden of carrying the C after a legend.
You’re not scared either, are you?
He concludes his argument by saying that it doesn’t boil down to the roster or even the coaching staff. Rather, the problem is the team’s lack of swagger that previously helped win games during pre-game warmups (according to Dennis). No, the team doesn’t have that Hall of Fame lineup or that rock star persona. But I bet you teams are scared of our top line and the fact that even when two members of their top line are injured, the team will still beat you.
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