Update (6:27 PM): Helene St. James has a little more on the botched line change that lead to the game winner a little further down here. Nice of Nick to hang his former defense partner, Andreas Lilja, out to dry there a little. - Matt
Update (1:16 PM): George Malik’s wrap-up of Game 3 is here. - Matt
Update (1:01 PM): George Malik notes that splitting up Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk did not work all that well. They ought to play together tomorrow night, in my opinion. Take Nashville head on. - Matt
Update (12:42 PM): IwoCPO reacts to Steve Schrader’s suggestion that the Wings pull Hasek every time the Predators score so that Osgood can play for a few minutes as a way of curbing these quick-hit goals.
Given that Steve Schrader is sort of the Freep’s resident funny man, I’m guessing the suggestion was a joke, but you should still read what Iwo has to say. - Matt
Update (12:31 PM): BS Fest of the Day: “The best moment in Predators franchise history.” Wow, why don’t we just give the Predators the Cup now? - Matt
Update (12:15 PM): Some further reactions:
Bruce MacLeod - touches on something I meant to mention below: Brad Stuart. He’s not having a very good series and the break he deserves for playing hurt doesn’t quite cover it.
- Matt
Update (10:21 AM): HockeyTownTodd has some points about the game that are worth reading.
I don’t buy that last assertion, though. There’s no way last night was a bid for another home game. It was simply a poor effort from the coaches down to the fourth line. - Matt
Update (10:03 AM): Megan has pointed out to me that responsibility for the botched change leading to the game winner could also lie with Chris Chelios. Cheli may have just made a bad decision to leave at that point, independent of Babcock, leaving Lilja to cover two halves of the ice on his own.
Obviously, Babcock wants Lidstrom on the ice against Nashville’s top line, and rightly so. The timing on that instance just didn’t work out.
It also did not help that Draper lost the faceoff, of course. - Matt
Because of class, I only had the pleasure of watching the Wings’ two-goal meltdown, one-goal recovery, and second two-goal meltdown last night.
The Red Wings team that I saw in that period and a half was not the same one that won Games 1 and 2. They couldn’t pass efficiently, they made stupid decisions on attempted hits, and they looked frazzled. This experienced group let the crowd noise and Nashville’s exuberance put them off their game.
Still, Pavel Datsyuk managed to crack a as-yet-unimpressive Dan Ellis after the Wings blew a two goal lead and put them within a period of going up 3-0 in the series. It was just a matter of holding out, as they had in the previous two games. But they couldn’t do it.
Suter’s goal, like Radulov’s before it, was one Hasek had little or no chance of stopping. A beautiful Brad Stuart screen made sure of that.
It’s the goal that came nine seconds that still makes me angry after that pathetic excuse for what passes as a night’s sleep in college. Andreas Lilja is getting a lot of flak for it already, but why not lay some blame at the feet of Mike Babcock? At the time of the face-off following the Suter goal, the defensive pairing is Lilja and Chris Chelios. By the time Arnott streaks into the Detroit zone, Chelios has gone to the bench and Nick Lidstrom has just gotten on the ice.
Was it so necessary to make a change there?
There’s also the question of calling a time out. In Game 2, Babcock used his timeout at a key moment and helped changed the game back in the Wings’ favor. Why not call a timeout just after Suter’s goal?
Those questions are secondary to my real beef, which is this: when his team needed him to make what should have been a relatively routine save, Dominik Hasek let them down. Arnott is no slouch, his performance to that point in this series notwithstanding, but that’s a save most goalies make nine times out of ten.
I missed Hasek’s performance in the first period, so my perception of him last night is colored by that one play, but I can’t just brush it aside. The blame for the meltdown rests on the whole team, but Hasek is supposed to be the fire insurance.
It’s just one loss, of course. It’s a bad one and a frustrating one for a lot of reasons I won’t elaborate upon at risk of being labeled a hypocrite. But it’s just one and I didn’t really expect a sweep. I just hate to see them lose like that.
Wednesday is a must-win game for both teams. For the Wings, they have history going both ways. In 2004, they lost both games in Nashville, but won the next two to take the series in six. In 2001, however, the Kings took them in six after a Game 3 stunner pulled the rug out from under them. Right now, the pessimist in me has taken over and you can bet that I’ll on edge all day tomorrow.
It’s possible that we may see a lineup change or two, though Babcock seems to be a guy that sticks with what he’s got until he has to change. That said, what could change? The popular choice, no doubt, is to dump Lilja in favor of Brett Lebda. That has its positive points, namely Brett’s speed. However, Lebda had, in my mind, an off season and also lacks size, an essential element in this series. Lilja brings size and a physical element the Wings will need to pull out a win in Game 3. Just pair him with someone other than Chris Chelios. The two slowest players on the team? Come on.
Another possibility is sitting Mark Hartigan in favor of any one of Aaron Downey, Justin Abdelkader, and Darren Helm. Downey brings size and physicality that will help deter the Predators from taking so many liberties (read: charges and boardings) with our stars. However, he has no offensive upside.
Abdelkader brings size and speed, but has zero experience at this level. That could be an asset in the form of pure youthful exuberence, but I’d hate to see him make a rookie mistake that turns this series on its head.
Helm brings speed and offensive ability, but he’s small. He’s also inexperienced.
It’ll be interesting to see if any lineup changes are made. If not, there are certainly strategic changes that must be made. This team will make the necessary adjustments, but tomorrow night we’ll find out whether or not they’re enough to pull out a win on the road.
Game 4 is not going to be fun.
The most frustrating thing to me about the whole situation is a chronic problem: the Red Wings play cocky when they are up, and don’t know HOW to hold out. Holding out does not mean playing like you’re on a penalty kill for the last 7 minutes of the game. They made nearly no attempts to get something going, instead choosing to just rely on tying it up in the defensive zone. With the way the playoffs are, and the way Dom is, that is a stupid, stupid strategy. They should remain just as aggressive when they’re up as when they’re down or tied. Especially seeing as how Dom seems to do better on chances on the rush than chances off the setup.
I’m sort of with you on the GWG Matt. My immediate reaction was “Freakin Lilja!” but watching the replays it’s clear that Hasek should’ve made the save, and the line change shouldn’t have happened.
But that being said, what was wrong with Lilja? He got caught watching his teammates making a change, and was even skating towards them. That’s a brain freeze that in my opinion is just inexcusable. In the playoffs you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times, and Lilja wasn’t last night on that play. He also had the bad play which lead to a goal in game 2.
Personally, If I were Babcock I’d put in Derek Meech. The kid showed all kinds of potential when we lost the top 4, and I think he could bring something to that third pairing that would be needed: speed. He’s also much more responsible defensively than Lebda.
I’d also love to see Hartigan benched though. Sure the guy has an assist, but he’s shown time and time again that he’ll take a stupid penalty at the wrong time. I’m not sure who to put in between Abdelkader and Downey though. As you said, Abdelkader has no expereince at this level of play, though he could provide an offensive spark if does play well. Downey is more physical, and can take care of Tootoo if needed.
I think I would go with Downey, just for the grit he brings. And you never know, no one though a man named Darren McCarty had any offensive ability, and he’s scored some huge goals for the Red Wings. Maybe the playoffs will be when Aaron Downey turn into a prolific goal scorer!
Ian,
I agree that they need to stay more aggressive, but I think they’ve done a fair job of that so far in this series, last night excepted. The prior two third periods were pretty strong lessons in puck possession hockey. For whatever reason, they fell away from that last night.
Alex,
I think on that play, Lilja was moving to the center of the ice so that he could cover for Chelios, who was leaving. The problem was that the left wing on the play (Hudler, I believe) failed to do his part to fill in, leaving that wing open for Arnott to come in and rip a shot.
Meech is definitely an option, though he has the similar experience deficit that Helm and Abdelkader have. You’re right, though, he showed a lot of potential in February and couldn’t be a bad choice were it not for the fact he’s not very physical.
Not sure about Downey. If he had any offensive potential, I’m sure it would have shown itself more this season. As it is, he just had that one great pass he broke out on January 2nd.