Archive for the 'Andreas Lilja' Category

The shaking-out

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 2, 2008
in 2008-2009, Aaron Downey, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Chris Osgood, Dallas Drake, Derek Meech, Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Ericsson, Justin Abdelkader, Kyle Quincey, Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Opinion, Roster Moves, The Team, Valtteri Filppula and Ville Leino
. 4 Comments

Update (10:18 PM): Of course, as soon as I write that I’d like to see Mac take a two-way contract, the Windsor Star comes out with a report indicating he may not be willing to do so. Come on, Mac! I thought you loved GR. - Matt

Updated @ 10:00 PM - see end of post - Matt

The Lilja, Stuart, Conklin, and Hossa signings raise questions about the final makeup of the Wings’ roster. Here’s how I’m hoping it all shakes out:

To start, the Valtteri Filppula question. If anyone offers him $3+ million and he takes the offer, the Wings’ can’t stop him leaving. However, I like to think Fil would relish the thought of playing for the Cup again, particularly with a winger like Hossa. Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t see a problem there as long as he’s willing to accept $2.5 million or less from Detroit.

On the way out should be Dallas Drake, who ought to retire in order to make way for others. All indications seem to be that he’s going to hang them up while he’s on top. It’d be great to have him back, but there’s not a lot of room.

I’d love to see the Wings convince Darren McCarty to take two-way contract. It would be a move aimed at bringing in a physical presence if needed for the playoffs and would go a long way in boosting the popularity of hockey here in West Michigan. Mac can still bring it and would be valuble to have available.

I’d prefer they keep Aaron Downey around the main squad, but if it’s he who goes to GR, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. By all accounts, the guy is so good in the lockerroom that I don’t hesitate to overstate his role in the Cup win when I talk about the guy. If nothing else, I think they should make Downey Director of Team Morale or something.

Assuming Fil re-signs, Drake retires, and the enforcers split as outlined above, the Wings would end up with 12 forwards with settled statuses: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Marian Hossa, Dan Cleary, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler and Aaron Downey/Darren McCarty (with this guy sitting out more often than not).

I’ve seen a lot of reports stating they want to carry 13 forwards, so there’s a spot up for grabs. Personally, I’d love to see Darren Helm take it over Tomas Kopecky. The kid certainly earned it during the playoffs and would make the fourth line killer once again. However, his ability to return to the AHL without having to clear waives could mean he’ll be headed back to GR, unfortunately.

Another option for this spot is Ville Leino. Apparently, they want to bring the Finn over this season and not to play for Grand Rapids. He would face the very difficult proposition of beating out a Babcock favorite (Helm) and a good, skilled grinder (Kopecky). I can’t see that happening.

I’ve seen some talk about Justin Abdelkader, but I can’t see him cracking the lineup. He should go to Grand Rapids and get acclimated to professional hockey before he makes the leap. He’s going to be really fun to watch in GR this year, if that’s where he ends up.

On the defensive side, as I stated in the Hossa post, I think Kyle Quincey’s days as a Red Wing are over. There are a lot of fond memories of the kid from the 2007 playoffs floating around, but the fact is he’s not a very good skater and is not much on the offensive side. In other words, he’s not the prototypical Red Wings defenseman. He lacks the size to make up for those skill deficiencies in the way that Andreas Lilja does. He’s also got an apparent attitude problem. He’s got to be the odd man out in this situation. If they can’t swing a trade for picks or something, waive him.

As for Chris Chelios, as I wrote before, he’s going to have to decide for himself whether or not the very reduced role he’s facing will be acceptable. I’d love for him to come back because he brings so much to this team, but he’s certainly slowly being ushered out. I have a hard time seeing him doing anything but come back, though.

I know many fans can’t stand Lilja, but I’m a little more “eh” about the guy. He’s got an upside as a shot blocker and PKer. The guy is not here to carry the puck and make two-line passes. He’s not your typical Red Wing defenseman, but his size and physicality are meant to compensate. Obviously, his downside is that he has all-too-frequent and very visible gaffes. Still, I’m inclined to buy the argument of his few defenders that these mostly happen when he’s left out to dry by his more offensively-minded partners. If anything, he needs to improve his recovery skills. Anyway, unless he’s majorly beaten out in camp and the Wings look to trade him, Lilja’s one half of the third pairing, with Brett Lebda likely making up the other half.

I think Jonathan Ericsson is ready for an NHL job, but it won’t be this year unless he “pulls a Filppula” at training camp and forces his way onto the roster by being so good. The potential for him to be a hugely dominate AHL defenseman and the confidence that would arise from that makes sending him back to GR an attractive idea. I think he’s stronger mentally than Quincey in that it doesn’t seem likely he’ll have an off year as a result of coming down from the high of being a part of a long playoff run.

With Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart, Lebda, and Lilja under contract and assuming Chelios signs, the Wings would be up to seven defensemen with an apparent interest in carrying eight. Unless Ericsson tears it up in camp, that spot should go to Derek Meech. Meech is NHL-ready and is out of options. I’d hate to see him forced off the team, so I hope they make a point of keeping him around. He, like Ericsson, is the future of the Detroit blueline.

Now to goaltending. Chris Osgood is the starter at this point, there’s no question. He’s arguably playing the best hockey of his career, so it’s his job to lose. The job of back-up is a little more up in the air, though not too high. Jimmy Howard is going to have to be stellar in camp to pass Ty Conklin in the depth chart. Or Conklin will have to be awful.

Personally, I’d rather Conklin be the guy on the bench recording faceoffs while Jimmy gets actual ice time in Grand Rapids. Howard needs to have at least one strong year in the AHL before he’ll be ready for the NHL and if he can play the majority of the season with the Griffins, he should have the stability necessary to do that. Conklin is a great insurance policy, as his record this past season for Pittsburgh indicates.

So to me the 2008-2009 Wings roster would ideally look something like this:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Hossa
Cleary-Draper-Maltby
Samuelsson-Hudler-Helm ( or, more likely, Kopecky)
Downey

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Lilja-Lebda
Chelios
Meech

Osgood
Conklin

GR:

Leino
McCarty

Ericsson

Howard

That’s my take on the situation. We’ll see how much of it happens!

One last question that obviously needs addressing at some point is who is going to replace Todd McLellan.

In any case, the Wings are poised to have another great season. Like last summer following the loss to the Ducks, I’m fully confident in their ability to go all the way. They appear to have all the tools in the right places once again.

Update (10:00 PM): I should add here that I think the chances of a Red Wings post-Cup hangover are slim. This team is too well-coached and too focused for that. They certainly aren’t counting their chickens before they’re hatched, you can bet on it.

So, my fellow fans, feel free to do some harmless counting of poultry while the team takes care of business like group of professionals they are. There’s no harm in our being excited about their chances. - Matt

I really can’t wait for hockey to start up again!

Retaining the Defense

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 1, 2008
in Andreas Lilja, Brad Stuart and Roster Moves
. 0 Comments

I apologize for my disappearance over the last few weeks. I’ve been busy with my new job and life. And getting a much-needed break from blogging, I suppose.

I can’t say much now, but I’m glad to see the Wings bring back Brad Stuart. The four-year deal really solidifies the defense for the coming post-Lidstrom reality. Stuart fits in well with the team and brings a nice element of physicality that goes great with Kronwall.

Of course, this, together with the Lilja signing, perpetuates the developing logjam on the blueline. It’s great that the Wings have seven NHL veterans on the blueline again, but players like Derek Meech and Jonathan Ericsson remain stuck on the outside looking in.

Meech is out of options and will have to remain as the 8th man (or be let go), but it looks like Ericsson will have to return to Grand Rapids with the experienced gained from being along for the ride on a Stanley Cup run. Hopefully he won’t go the Kyle Quincey route and have a bad year as a result of being demoted.

At this point, the Wings are doing everything right: bring back the Cup-winning team. If a favorable opportunity arises to bring in new talent, I’m not opposed to the idea, but the last thing I want to see is a disruption of team chemistry in an effort to sign an unnecessary big name. They can do it again with the same group of guys.

3/6 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 6, 2008
in 2007-2008, Aaron Downey, Andreas Lilja, Blues, Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Coyotes, Derek Meech, Jonathan Ericsson, Manny Legace, Stars and Tomas Kopecky
. 6 Comments

… I only caught the first period of the Wings’ 4-1 win over the Blues last night. I was reasonably impressed with what I saw, though it’s obvious they aren’t quite firing on all cylinders yet. Still, it’s a marked improvement over their February play, that’s for sure.

I have to say something about the phantom Pavel Datsyuk call that led to the Blues’ late first period power play. What the heck was that? I’d like to think that the official who called the penalty knows the difference between a trip and a player falling on his own. Apparently not.

In the end, it doesn’t matter, but my confidence in the officiating is waning. What with the missed call in the Sharks game Friday night, the play that was not stopped in Buffalo Sunday, and various phantom calls, how are we expected to trust in the referees? It’s not as though it’s just a problem in Wings games either. Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers.  I hate to complain about the officiating, but to me this is a League-wide quality issue, not a Wings fan-specific gripe.

… I’ve been trying to cut Andreas Lilja some slack lately. I figure there’s a reason he remains in the lineup, despite his more visible blunders. With that change in mindset, I’ve been able to appreciate big #3 more.

On the Blues’ goal, however, I thought his attempt to knock the puck down was a little on the boneheaded side. It turned out to be a perfect redirect. I thought the conventional wisdom was that defensemen leave the puck alone if they can’t outright block it. With Stempniak  right there, I can understand what Andreas was trying to do, but it just didn’t turn out so well.

… It wasn’t  Brett Lebda that Mike Babcock sat in favor of Jonathan Ericsson  last night. It was Derek Meech. I admit it, I was surprised. Meech apparently hit a high point against Edmonton last week, but his play since was still quite good, I thought. I assume Babcock was just demonstrating to Meech that his spot on the roster is not a given. Hopefully it won’t backfire, somewhat like we saw with Quincey.

… Giving Ericsson another game paid off, if only because of a little drop pass  that kicked off the cycle leading to Pavel Datsyuk’s first goal. If Nick Lidstrom does return Sunday, however, last night was probably Ericsson’s last game in the Winged Wheel this season as he’ll be returned to Grand Rapids.

… Since I missed the second and third periods, I didn’t see the hit on Tomas Kopecky or the aftermath.  It didn’t make the cut on the highlight reel, and neither did the Rafalski throwdown or Downey’s coming off the bench. Too bad. IwoCPO says he’ll have video later.

I’m glad to read that Kopecky’s okay. He looked good in the first period and I assume played a strong game in the second and third, as well.

… I don’t know what he looked like in the second and third, obviously, but you get the feeling that Jiri Hudler is finally going to break out of this horrendous slump. I thought he looked strong in the first.

… Where was Manny Legace’s head on Brian Rafalski’s goal? It just blew by him.

… The Dallas Stars lost at home to the Coyotes last night. That’s two home losses in a row for the second-ranked team in the Conference. Much ballyhooed trade deadline acquisition Brad Richards has zero points in both games since posting five in his debut with the Stars. That’s called being brought back to earth.

The Wings’ two consecutive wins have put them 7 points ahead of Dallas and they retain two games in hand.

Babcock on Lilja

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 25, 2008
in Andreas Lilja, Mike Babcock and Quotes
. 0 Comments

Mike Babcock breaks down Andreas Lilja’s game perfectly:

“I think he’s just gotten better and better. He’s one of those guys — because he’s not a puck (carrying) D-man — he makes a turnover. His hockey sense and his ability to play the game are better than his hands. Once in a while, the way we play gets him in trouble. But, he’s a great shot-blocker, our most physical guy, stands up for his teammates all the time, penalty kills, plays great in match-up situations, lets Junior (defense partner Niklas Kronwall) be up the ice all night long.”

As Ansar Khan notes, Lilja gets a lot of attention for the times he makes mistakes like turning the puck over. I think that’s more due to our tendency to seek out a goat on even the best team, but if you look at it like Babcock, there’s not much to complain about. Watching games on TV, it’s sometimes hard to notice all the positive things Lilja does because, as Babcock says, he’s not a puck carrying defenseman, and his best work is not generally the focus of the play.

It’s time to start watching him more closely, I think.

1/14 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 14, 2008
in Aaron Downey, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Dallas Drake, Injuries, Thrashers and Trade Rumors
. 2 Comments

Update (11:05 PM): Be sure to read Pete’s well-thought-out followup post on the Trade Question. Nonetheless, I remain unenthusiastic about trade possibilities.

I guess part of my reluctance in this is due to my belief that too much tinkering (read: any tinkering) would mess up what’s already a good thing. The Wings can always try to “trade up,” I suppose, but why? I’m in basic agreement with HockeyTownTodd on this (from the comments):

I am reluctant to play wannabe GM, and think the Wings should stand pat. The girl should dance with the guy who brought her to the prom.

As long as the Wings are healthy, why would they want to risk screwing up team chemistry for what may only be marginal potential gain? - Matt

Update (10:40 PM): I feel I should clarify my position on the Blake/Lebda/Meech thing. As I said below, I think the argument that the Wings will look to improving their defense at the deadline makes sense, given the consequences of injuries last post-season. That said, I don’t know that a move is really all that necessary.

Derek Meech has played in a grand total of nine games for the Wings this season. In those nine games, he put up zero point. So the kid hasn’t dazzled offensively. But what do you expect? He’s a rookie in the NHL with a precarious spot on one of the deepest teams in the game. It’s perfectly understandable if he plays a conservative game in his position. Heck, it’s probably demanded of him.

He’s minus-2 and that may not be impressive, but this is: he’s taken zero penalties. For comparison’s sake, Kyle Quincey had zero penalty minutes through six games with the Wings in the regular season last year, and just two through 13 playoff games. I’ve frequently seen Quincey touted as a rock-solid young defenseman and part of the reason for that was his conservative play. Why doesn’t Meech get the same credit?

When Meech has been in the lineup, I generally only notice him the first time I see his #14 and think “Shanny…” In my experience, hardly noticing a young defenseman is a good thing. I don’t think Meech is an exception to that rule. There’s no need for him to be flashy or to “show anything.” He just has to do his job, and I think he’s done it pretty well for someone relegated to a practice drone.

There are far worse things than having Derek Meech as a seventh defenseman. A way to improve the situation would be to get him in the lineup more often in the second half. Give Chris Chelios a rest more often. Bench Andreas Lilja after a bad game in order to motivate him. Another “conditioning stint”(I’m told Derek has been “awesome” in his brief return to Grand Rapids, by the way. He should re-join the team late this week.). Whatever it takes to get him some playing time. Then Meech will gain the confidence he needs to stand out more. He’s not going to put up huge numbers, but he’s more than capable of being a solid, steady depth defenseman.

That said, I did write below that, “The team may be better off including Derek Meech in such a trade.” Of course, there I meant relative to trading Brett Lebda, whose upside is greater than Meech’s. I certainly didn’t mean to imply I think they should trade Meech. I’m not a fan of the idea of trading either of them, though if I had to choose, Meech would be the one to go.

My point is this: The Wings can go get a veteran (such as Keith Carney, as suggested by Todd below) if they feel they must and that they can get a good deal. It probably can’t hurt (they’re generally good at finding players that fit with team chemistry). But they also can stick with what they have and probably do okay as well, assuming everyone stays healthy. - Matt

… Bruce MacLeod, George Sipple, and Ansar Khan report that Dallas Drake missed practice today due to a knee injury sustained on the same collision in which Ottawa’s Dany Heatley separated his shoulder. The collision happened around the 3:42 mark of the third period Saturday night and was the last time Heatley saw the ice.

Drake, however, was able to play two more shifts before hitting the bench for the final time at 11:21, finishing with just under seven and a half minutes. Drake has started to get less time since the return of Kirk Maltby, so the low TOI wasn’t necessarily due to his knee. He is, however, questionable for the game against Atlanta tomorrow night, though Mike Babcock told Sipple that he thinks Drake will be available.

… All three beat writers also note that a possible replacement for Drake in the lineup, Aaron Downey, hurt his knee in practice when he fell and hyper-extended it. He  did return, though, and seemed none the worse for wear. According to MacLeod, he shared time with Matt Ellis skating on the fourth line.

… According to MacLeod, the team “spent significant time” practicing their power play today. That’s good news as they’ve been pretty ineffective with the man-advantage for a while now. MacLeod has a good piece on that topic here.

… Ansar Khan addresses the Trade Question by claiming Rob Blake would be a better acquisition than Mats Sundin. He presents a good argument, though I wonder if Blake isn’t at the end of the road at 38. He would, as Khan points out, be cheaper than Sundin, though. He’d also fill in an actual need (making the defensive corps an experienced seven), whereas the Swede would be somewhat extraneous on a team already full of forwards.

Pete at yzerman is god is all for Blake and outlines a possible trade scenario involving Brett Lebda.

I have to say that I’d hate to see that happen. As Pete points out, that would probably result in a third pairing of Andreas Lilja and Chris Chelios. Whereas Pete considers that an upgrade over Chelios/Lebda, I’d call it a nightmare. The two slowest defensemen in the same pair? One of the reasons Chelios remains so effective is that he has a smooth skating partner in Lebda. The same goes for Lilja with Lidstrom.  Put them together and they’ll both be relegated to pylon status.

Sure Lebda doesn’t have the size. Sure he’s not producing offensively like he should be. But his speed and skating ability alone makes him worth keeping.

The team may be better off including Derek Meech in such a trade. It would go a long way in clearing the logjam and would give the kid an actual chance to play in the NHL.

Who knows, though, whether the Wings will actually look to Blake to fill out their defense? It stands to reason that they’d want to shore up against injuries this time around, as losing Mathieu Schneider while already down Niklas Kronwall was probably the single biggest reason they were eliminated, but Blake may not be their man. Holland likes to go for guys few people were expecting and the more I hear the Blake rumor, the less I’ll believe it.

… Lastly, the Thrashers are pumped to be visiting Detroit tomorrow night.

11/5 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 5, 2007
in Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios, Dan Cleary, Derek Meech, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Lines, Links and Valtteri Filppula
. 2 Comments

Update (2:45 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Johan Franzen will wear a visor at least until the laceration (from taking the puck to his face off Brett Lebda’s stick Thursday) on his face heals, and maybe even after that, “to make his mom happy.”- Matt

… Bruce MacLeod reports that Niklas Kronwall (groin) did not practice today and will not be in the lineup Wednesday against Nashville. The Free Press’ George Sipple quotes Mike Babcock as saying, “He looks like he might be (ready) on Friday” for the game with Columbus.

More from MacLeod:

… Dominik Hasek (hip) has recovered and will be evaluated after tomorrow’s practice to determine the starter Wednesday.

… It looks like Jiri Hudler saw some time with Henrik Zetterberg today. He also practiced as part of the second power play unit with Dan Cleary, Johan Franzen, and Valtteri Filppula. So, his banishment to the fourth line does not extend to practice.

… On top of practicing special teams, the Wings focused on 2-on-2s and 3-on-2s.

… With Kronwall still out, Andreas Lilja will have the benefit of being paired with the smooth-skating Brett Lebda once again and Derek Meech will be paired with Chris Chelios for another game.

… Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, Matt Ellis and Tomas Kopecky rotated on the fourth line. You have to wonder if there won’t be a change to the lineup with the team preparing to face Jordin “Hit High, Hit Hard, Run Away” Tootoo. Personally, I’d like to see Aaron Downey patrolling the ice Wednesday night.

More on Lilja

Published
by
Matt Saler
on September 15, 2007
in Andreas Lilja and Links
. 0 Comments

Ted Kulfan notes on the News blog that Lilja’s contract is up after this season, and suggests that he “could become very expendable with so many talented young D’s coming up.” Again, we’ll have to see how camp and exhibition go, but I still think Lilja’s job is on the line a bit here.

On Sopel

Published
by
Matt Saler
on September 12, 2007
in Andreas Lilja, Brent Sopel, Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Nick Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall
. 3 Comments

Update (13. Sep, 12:22AM): Bruce MacLeod has posted a look at the situation and it’s a good read. He writes that the competition is between Sopel and Meech, not Lilja. At the onset, that’s exactly how it will be, but MacLeod admits that “[Sopel] could force Detroit’s hand into trading or cutting one of its top six defensemen.” If it came down to it, I’d guess that player would be Lilja, which would give Meech the 7th spot. Or the team would just carry 8 defensemen, which isn’t fair to the experienced player (Lebda or Lilja) that gets to share the skybox with Meech. Plus, it would create problems with the forward corps.

What problems? Well, if Grigorenko has a strong enough camp to make the team, and if the Wings want to keep Matt Ellis (a heart-and-soul player in GR ready to be one in Detroit), they’d need to carry 14 forwards (those two, plus Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Filppula, Cleary, Samuelsson, Franzen, Maltby, Draper, Drake, Hudler, Kopecky). 14 forwards plus 2 goalies plus 8 defensemen equals 24 players, one man over the limit of 23.

So, as already looked at by IwoCPO, if both Sopel and Grigorenko turn out to be good enough to make the team, someone’s on their way out. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out. Maybe Sopel will be a flop and all they’ll have to worry about is what to do with Igor and Ellis. - Matt

Ansar Khan has a blog post up with a few Babcock quotes on various topics, but one of the most interesting is this one on Brent Sopel, one of the Wings’ free agent camp invitees:

“… I’ve known him since he was a kid, we have a real good feel for him and think he’s a top-four NHL defenseman. Now, just because we think it doesn’t mean anything, he’s got to relax and let his skill come to the forefront and show us what he brings (though the preseason).”

Sopel’s entry into the top four would upset the current projections of the group, which is generally considered to be Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, and Andreas Lilja. The first two are locks for the top pairing (or at least, the top four, in Rafalski’s case) and the team isn’t paying Kronwall $3 million to play in the third pairing, or, for that matter, to sit on the bench. And speaking of the third pairing, Chris Chelios and Brett Lebda play too well together to break that up. So, that leaves Andreas Lilja. If Sopel cracks the lineup, it seems to me that Lilja would be the odd man out.

That wouldn’t be a new situation for old Andreas, whose had an up-and-down career in Detroit, ranging from Nick Lidstrom’s defensive partner in 05-06, to seventh defenseman and odd-man out to Niklas Kronwall and Brett Lebda last year. He had a surprisingly good playoffs and still brings the most physical presence of any Red Wings defenseman (relatively speaking), but even in the Mike Babcock era, offensive defensemen win out in Detroit.

Obviously, Sopel is no lock for a contract with the Wings, but the possibility is intriguing.

I realize I’m a little late to chime in on this topic. Others have said their piece already and made some great points. See Abel to Yzerman, Gorilla Crouch, and yzerman is god.

Kronwall gone two months, Lidstrom to miss Sunday’s game

Published
by
Sarah Baker
on April 1, 2007
in 2006-2007, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Derek Meech, Injuries, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Roster Moves
. 4 Comments

Just thought I’d do a little update since I know that Matt is without internet access for the time being…

Yesterday’s game was a such a disappointment. The Wings showed great promise in the first two periods, only to let it all slip away in the last half of the third. It was tragic really. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too painful. These close ones just kill me, especially when we seem to have the game all locked up early on.

Not only did we lose the game, but we also lost Niklas Kronwall in the first thirty seconds to a broken pelvic bone (Dave from gorilla crouch has a nice diagram if you want specifics…). He was against the boards behind the net fighting for the puck, and Joel Lundqvist barreled in and gave him one heck of a hip check into the boards. Unfortunately I have to say it was clean - I really wish I could blame him (or anyone for that matter…), it’d give me somewhere to direct the venting of my frustrations.

Mickey Redmond lamented the play for quite some time, saying that generally one of your teammates (like the goaltender…) should warn you when someone is flying toward you like that. Though he did admit the possibility that Kronner had been warned, but may not have had the time necessary to react. Honestly it just seemed like a freak play, another unfortunate break for Kronwall. I love the way he plays, but he has yet to make it through a season with the Wings without a major injury. I just wish he could stay healthy! Oh I forgot to mention… he’s out for 6-8 weeks, or about two months. That means that the only way he’s coming back this season is for the Stanley Cup Finals - maybe. As IwoCPO points out, that means we’ll likely be seeing all too much of everyone’s favorite whipping boy, Andreas Lilja. While I do feel that Lils has seemed better of late, he’s still the weakest link on our defense and can be a liability.

To top it all off, our defensive rock, Nicklas Lidstrom, is out with a lower back strain. Lidstrom doesn’t get injured! What is up with that? They’re saying it’s nothing serious - just precautionary, but given the wings’ tendency to downplay injury severity, I can’t help but be a just a little bit concerned. I really, really, really hope they’re right, because there’s no way we’re going anywhere in the playoffs without Nick Lidstrom.

Anyway, the gaps in our depleted defense will be filled by the returning Brett Lebda and call-up Kyle Quincey. Not sure why Quincey got the call over Derek Meech (who has outplayed him all season in GR - when Quincey has been healthy, that is). I like Quincey, but he seems to have a tendency to take bad penalties. Hopefully he’ll be on his best behavior against the Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Wings 3, Kings 2 (OT)

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 10, 2007
in 2006-2007, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, Danny Markov, Game Reports, Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Johan Franzen, Kings, Matt Ellis and Mikael Samuelsson
. 2 Comments

I didn’t take notes on the game, so I can only offer a few thoughts, not a comprehensive summary.

… Big story of the night: Johan Franzen left the game in the second period, not long after Pavel Datsyuk scored to make it 1-1, and did not return. According to Helene St. James, he didn’t practice yesterday due to the same injury (contradicting Babcock’s “Mule’s fine” comment) but apparently he felt good to go before the game.

Hopefully Franzen’s not going to be out for long because he was a big loss against the Kings. His tendency to shoot first, ask questions later, would have come in handy at some points later in the game.

Also, you may have noticed Danny Markov was missing from the lineup. According to St. James, he’s not hurt, he was just being given the night off, in favor of Andreas Lilja, who was in need of some playing time.

… The Wings came out flat and paid for it as the Kings took a one-goal lead in the first period. A bad turnover by Niklas Kronwall led directly to the goal, and it was too early in his return to expect Dominik Hasek to be 100% sharp on the play, especially after Kronwall failed to clear the net. Not Nik’s best game by a long shot.

The team as a whole looked out of sync for much of the first half of the game, whereas the Kings were battling hard and earning their lead.

… One positive thing was that there were few penalties called, so the flow of the game wasn’t disrupted so much. Only two penalties in the first two periods combined, followed by three in the third. Of course, the final call was an unfortunate one as it put the Wings on a 4-on-3 penalty kill to start overtime.

… Sean Burke was steady the whole game, though to be honest, he didn’t have to shine all that often. The Wings put 54 shots on net but the majority of them were low percentage perimeter shots or C-grade offensive chances. Not to take anything away from Burke, he had a great game. But the Wings did not put on their best performance offensively. The Kings, to their credit, put up a pretty good stand on the defensive side, though, which contributed to the Wings’ offensive hiccups.

… I noticed Matt Ellis a lot tonight. The man was obviously pumped from becoming a father, as he was everywhere when on the ice. He finished with only 8:22 in ice-time, but came close to scoring his first NHL goal a number of times.

… Good to see Brett Lebda channel Bobby Orr and/or Paul Coffey on his (literally) coast-to-coast goal in the third. Brett’s got the best wheels on the team, I think, and showed he’s got some great hands to go with them with that impressive finish. One of the top highlight reel goals of the season for both the Wings and the League, I’d say.

… Late in the third, the Wings had a power play but got far too cute in their attempts at scoring. They had Burke beat down low multiple times but made two or three too many passes and blew their chances.

… Nice penalty by Robert Lang at the end of regulation. I was a bit surprised when Mike Babcock put Andreas “Relative Pylon” Lilja out there with Chris Chelios and Kris Draper for the 4-on-3 penalty kill in OT. Fortunately, Lilja played it well and my fears were unnecessary.

… Nice give and go by Mikael Samuelsson and Pavel Datsyuk for the game winner. Poor Aaron Miller had no chance to defend the play, having committed to Datsyuk just as Pavel dished it right back to Samuelsson for the slam dunk.

Of course, I look foolish for saying in my preview Samuelsson probably wouldn’t figure much into the game. I admit it. I was surprised. He looked good in his return, though he looks real good for having scored a goal handed to him on a silver platter by Datsyuk. Hopefully it was just the first in a series of goals for Sammy.

… The win put the Wings one point behind Nashville in the Central Division title race. They have one more game in hand, Sunday’s matchup with Boston, before the big mid-March home-and-home showdown.

… Also, Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond said not to expect Henrik Zetterberg or Todd Bertuzzi back until after the team’s trip to Vancouver and Calgary later this month, saying that the Wings would probably rather not have the two make the six hour flight out there with their backs having just healed. If they’re right, that would mean a March 22nd return, at the earliest.