(Breaking with my usual gameday format a bit)
Bruce MacLeod offers further hope that yesterday’s “He’ll play,” wasn’t just another mind game with the news that Pavel will play his first shifts on Hank’s wing. The goal will be to split them up “if he looks like himself” (Babcock); he’ll then move to center, presumably on his own line. I’ll still only believe he’ll be in the lineup when I see it myself, but this definitely chips away at my disbelief.
As for the game itself, it’s huge, obviously. The series isn’t over after this one, but the team that loses faces the challenge of their lives on Tuesday.
I really don’t care to list out keys to the game for Pittsburgh. They just have to keep doing what they’ve been doing, and that is balancing a strong effort at the focal point of the play and taking advantage of the officials’ leniency/blindness away from it. Assuming they can keep up that level of energy, and the refs don’t start calling them, they’re in good shape.
The Wings, on the other hand, have to do a lot differently.
Energy. It all comes down to this. They’ve got to dig deep and play with a high energy level. This comes from the work ethic we know they have. They have to pursue every puck as if their lives depend on it, because in the context of this series, their lives do depend on it. And it has to be for the whole game. They don’t have to dominate every shift, but they need to play their hearts out on every one.
Patience. In the defensive end, I think they’re letting themselves be rushed too much by the Pittsburgh forecheck. The defensemen need to make the safe, smart play rather than the dangerous one, even if it means passing it back to their partner to set up another go at it. They can’t send it up ice just for the sake of advancing the puck, when a Penguin stick might be there to pick it off. Doubling back and trying again as the Pens have to shift their attack might be the way to go on a lot of these breakouts. Don’t force it.
Speed. They need this through center. Once the breakout takes place, the forwards need to get the puck through center and past the blueline with speed. This’ll help in getting around the screen of obstruction thrown by Hal Gill and his friends.
Urgency. In the offensive zone, patience can be important, but the Wings have been patient to the point of freezing when it comes to kicking off offensive chances. Far too many plays have been knocked down by Pittsburgh pass/shot blockers because the Wings took too long to pull the trigger. If holding off a second means you can move around a prone defenseman, fine. Otherwise, get the puck moved, whether it be to a teammate, or to the net.
The net. Tomas Holmstrom has become a bum. He’s been all but useless. That has to change tonight. He has to be a factor from the front of the net, and the same goes for Franzen, and really any other forward with the stones to go there.
Special teams. These units have to be better and to say the Wings’ post-season lives depend on it is no exaggeration. The power play should be holding the puck in the zone for as long as it takes to score. The penalty kill should be animal in its desire to defend its turf. Unless the Wings plan on blowing Pittsburgh out of the water while at even strength (yes, please), fixing these units is not an option.
The team. Finally, the easy wrap-up for all this is that they all need to play as a team. Defensemen need to use their partners, forwards need to use their linemates, all players need to use the open man, all players need to support the goalie. And everyone needs to take part in the task of shutting down the Pens’ offense. The big guns need to show up, but so do the light ones. Pittsburgh is playing like a team, with everyone fulfilling their role. The Wings can do that better than anyone, when they choose to. Tonight has to be such a night.
Dan Cleary missed practice, but it sounds like he’ll be in. Same goes for Rafalski, who also skipped out. Abdelkader had the flu, but isn’t likely to play even if he’s available due to the supposed return of Datsyuk. Whoever is sitting for Datsyuk likely won’t find out until after the warm-up.
If he makes it back, Datsyuk won’t be the solution to the Wings’ problems. He’ll make them easier to solve, but he’s only one guy. The Wings will need to play around him if his return is going to be a success. The biggest benefit will be the weight taken off Zetterberg, and the added danger on the power play. But those things won’t mean much if the rest of the team doesn’t step it up. The Wings need to fuse over the next two or three games into a single unit and play the best games of their season by a wide margin.
I’m not sure how I feel about the game tonight. I’m leaning toward nervous, but I’m excited at the prospect that the Wings might respond to Thursday as they should.
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