On the Wings

Tonight is Game 2 of the Western Conference Final series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks. The Wings lead the series 1-0 after a 2-1 win Friday night.

Everyone is talking about how the Ducks dominated the Wings in Game 1 and looking at the statistics, that’s an easy case to make. Still, they lost, and while some may say the Ducks shouldn’t change anything for tonight’s game, some adjustments would seem like a good idea.

• Puck possession. The Ducks were more concerned with laying on the body in Game 1 than in controlling the puck. Sure, much of the action took place in the Detroit end, but I still think Anaheim’s puck handling leaves much to be desired. If they can better sync up their passing, it’ll be tough for the Wings to hold them off.
• Shots on net. Too many of their shot attempts missed the net or were blocked. 32 got through, but Hasek stopped 31 of them. More shots on net means better scoring odds.
• Stay out of the box. If they’re going to continue their big hit act, this point is moot. But, they gave up two power play goals in Game 1, so you’d think the smart thing would be to stay out of the box.

The Wings have some things to work on. They may have earned a win by working hard, but they were still fortunate the game did not go the other way. They need to take control tonight.

• Puck possession. Like the Ducks, I believe the Wings need to be better at controlling the puck. It’s a cornerstone of their game, but one that was missing in the opener, as the offense was not nearly as effective, and the defense was of a more skin-of-their-teeth variety than anything else. They need to be able to confidently regain control of the puck in their own end and translate that to the offensive zone as well.
• Create more chances. This is related to the above point. They need to get the puck in scoring position more and then they need to capitalize on those chances. Scoring opportunities were few and far between for the Wings in Game 1, and they can’t rely on lucky bounces again. They need to get Giguere moving laterally, obscure his vision on blueline shots, and follow up on rebounds.
• Stay out of the box. Although the Ducks did not score on the power play, spending too much time on the penalty kill disrupts the Wings’ four line gameplan, so they need to be more careful tonight. You never know what an official is going to call, so they may not be able to do much different, but I’d hate to see them spend so much time killing penalties tonight.

A big game for both teams, obviously. I’ve got confidence in the Wings, but I’ll be even more comfortable if they score first. Let’s hope they made the necessary adjustments and that they will be able to control the flow better tonight.