Archive for the 'Jonathan Ericsson' Category

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.

3/4 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 4, 2008
in Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dan Cleary, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jonathan Ericsson and Nick Lidstrom
. 0 Comments

Update (5:40 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more now that practice is over.

It looks like Lidstrom could be back as soon as Sunday against Nashville.

Chris Chelios is feeling better and could be returning soon as well.

Brian Rafalski will play tomorrow barring a setback at the morning skate.

Now for the surprise: Jonathan Ericsson will play tomorrow, even if Rafalski does, Babcock told MacLeod. No word on who will sit in Ericsson’s place, but my guess is Brett Lebda. He could use a kick in the pants and I wouldn’t be surprised if Babcock gives him one here. I don’t see Andreas Lilja getting scratched because he looked strong Sunday in Buffalo, in my opinion.

Lastly, Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow night against the Blues. It’ll be his third consecutive start. - Matt

Bruce MacLeod has an update from practice posted.

He says Nick Lidstrom (sprained knee) skated for the first time since sustaining his injury. Nick and Chris Chelios participated in non-contact drills and then left the ice. As MacLeod points out, it’s good news that they’re skating, even if they can’t participate in the whole practice.

With today marking his first time back on the ice, Lidstrom is a little behind schedule, as reports early last week had him skating by the weekend. However, there’s no indication that he won’t be back in a week or so. That’s a little over the original estimate, but pretty good considering what his recovery time might have been.

Also, Brian Rafalski (groin) is still scheduled to return tomorrow and participated in practice. In case he has a setback, though, the team has kept Jonathan Ericsson in town.

Lastly, Dan Cleary (broken jaw) skated again, with a full mask protecting his face. In other news, he and the Wings have agreed on contract length: five years. Still no agreement on amount.

2/27 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 27, 2008
in Brad Stuart, Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Jonathan Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall, Oilers, Pavel Datsyuk and Valtteri Filppula
. 2 Comments

Update (10:26 AM): The comments on IwoCPO’s response to Drew Sharp are worth reading, as usual. Particularly Baroque’s from 8:36 AM. - Matt

Update (10:04 AM): Brennan at Gloveside has a great discussion on the Wings’ breakout troubles here. The post includes what has to be the line of the week at the end of third paragraph. I won’t spoil it for you.

As for the solution to the breakout issues: Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, and Chris Chelios. As talented and impressive as Derek Meech, Kyle Quincey and Jonathan Ericsson have been, they can’t measure up to the masters of that particular art form.  - Matt

Update (8:35 AM): IwoCPO responds to Drew Sharp’s column here. - Matt

… The Wings lost last night in Edmonton, 4-3 in a shootout. They overcame a two-goal lead in the third and then gave up a goal in the final minute of the period as the Oilers forced overtime. Robert Nilsson scored the only goal in the shootout to give Edmonton their 13th shootout win this season.

I was not able to watch the game, but judging from the highlights, it was an exciting one.

… Good news: Valtteri Filppula scored last night and now has two goals in a little over a week. That’s closer to the correct rate of scoring, Fil.

… More good news: Jonathan Ericsson notched his first NHL goal to put the Wings on the board. Hopefully that’s just the first of many, many more.

… Anyone else want to see Pavel Datsyuk shoot the puck like that more often? I love it when he breaks out that rocket snap shot of his.

… It was nice to see Henrik Zetterberg try something a little different in the shootout. That brings the number of shootout moves in his repertoire to a grand total of about 4. Maybe someday he’ll come across a goalie that hasn’t seen the Forsberg Deke™ and he can use that one again!

… Post-game links

… The papers are understandably stocked with stories about Brad Stuart today:

Helene St. James has a straightforward piece about the new defenseman, complete with quotes from Ken Holland. It looks like he won’t join the team until tomorrow, though he is expected to play Friday. The man slated to be his defensive partner, Niklas Kronwall, is expected to return that night as well.

Ted Kulfan’s lede says it all:

The Red Wings found out last season a team can’t have enough defensemen during the playoffs.

Very true.

Drew Sharp, of course, second-guesses the move and wonders why Ken Holland wasn’t able to land a forward when guys like Martin Lapointe and Sergei Fedorov went to the East for a song. Two words Drew: Central Division. Two more: Eastern Conference. Put them together and you have a simple concept: the Wings are in the same division as Chicago and Columbus, and those teams aren’t looking to do the Wings any favors. And vice versa.

The Caps and Senators, on the other hand, are in the Eastern Conference and therefore not immediate threats to the success of the franchise. Do you get it? Sure, it’s disappointing that the Wings were able to bring in some scoring help, but the simple fact that the Jackets and Hawks are in the Central meant the asking price was too high for them.

Also, Martin Lapointe, Drew? You’re upset that they didn’t bring that loser back?

John Niyo has a refreshingly positive look at the move and makes a great point. Whereas teams like Dallas, Colorado, and San Jose are placing their hopes in their new acquisitions,

… teams like Anaheim and Detroit, the presumptive Cup favorites before Tuesday’s wheeling and dealing, are banking on something else: Themselves.

When Jiri Hudler’s turn came up at the shootout last night, Ken Daniels said a goal there would have be a much-needed boost to his confidence. He didn’t score, but you have to think that his not being traded was a boost of sorts. The same goes for the other struggling forwards. The management showed faith in the current squad and that counts for something. Whether the guys will honor that faith remains to be seen, of course, but it’s hard to believe that they won’t.

Niyo also points out that the Wings did not give up any of their “kids.” That will pay off in the future and, with the team they have at the moment,  shouldn’t hamper their chances now.

For another blogger’s perspective on the trade, see Gorilla Crouch.

Another one down…

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 23, 2008
in Chris Chelios, Derek Meech, Dion Phaneuf, Flames, Injuries and Jonathan Ericsson
. 4 Comments

I don’t know what the Wings did to deserve this, but it’s getting ridiculous: Chris Chelios left the game in the first period not long after blocking a shot with the unprotected back of his right leg. Mike Babcock told the media after the game that it might be something of a fracture, though he’s not sure if it’s the kind Cheli could play on (non-displaced).

The Wings played the remainder of the game with five defensemen, three of whom are effectively rookies. The defense came up big, though, with first time NHLer Jonathan Ericsson looking like a veteran together with a similarly poised Derek Meech. Ericsson is the real deal, folks, and Meech is more impressive every time I see him play.

After that performance, it’s hard to be worried about the defense in the playoffs, to be honest. I say that in spite of the fact that the Wings still lost 1-0. They called it a moral victory on the radio and it’s hard to disagree.  Still, I can do without the moral victories. That’s what Monday’s win was as well, and the team lost Nick Lidstrom. Tonight it was Chelios. Any more moral victories like that and there won’t be much of a team left.

Anyway, I’m sure there will be more on Chelios in the morning. It seems a safe bet that he won’t be in the lineup against the Canucks, which would mean the very, very green (i.e. not NHL-ready) Jakub Kindl  or the fairly steady Garrett Stafford could get the call.

Oh yeah. Anyone else think Dion Phaneuf should be facing league discipline for that vicious-but-somehow-unpenalized hit on Tomas Kopecky? Five games, please. Maybe more.

Rafalski out, Quincey in

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 14, 2008
in Brian Rafalski, Darren McCarty, Injuries, Jonathan Ericsson and Kyle Quincey
. 3 Comments

Update (1:55 PM): In his post on the Rafalski/Quincey situation, Ansar Khan includes an update on Niklas Kronwall. Apparently, he is hoping to play Sunday against the Stars. Khan provides no evidence for whether that’s realistic or not.

Also, it does not appear that Dominik Hasek (hip flexor) is very near returning, as Mike Babcock professed not to know his status. - Matt

Ryan Foherty reports that Brian Rafalski (groin) will sit out tomorrow night’s game against Columbus. Evidently, he suffered the injury during the Nashville game Tuesday night.

The team has called up Kyle Quincey from the AHL to fill in during Rafalski’s absence. To be frank, I don’t understand why Quincey was chosen instead of Jonathan Ericsson., who has over twice the points Quincey has and is +4. Quincey is -5 and, by all accounts, has not been the same player since being demoted to Grand Rapids after playing with the Wings in the playoffs.

Ericsson, I’m told, has had a solid year in the midst of the Griffins’ troubles this season. Perhaps that’s the reason the Wings opted for Quincey: the Griffins cannot afford to lose Ericsson and Quincey could use the confidence boost.

It doesn’t appear to be a waiver issue, as Ericsson is described by Red Wings Central as having a “waiver-free status.”

In any case,  Rafalski is a big loss, even though he’s only day-to-day. The last thing the Wings needed was to lose one of their better skaters as they head into a contest with a young Columbus team that’s fighting for a playoff spot.

It will, however, be interesting to see Derek Meech take on a larger role, if only for one game. My confidence in #14 is growing.

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. It’s been a bit busy at my end, but hopefully things will quiet down after this week.

By the way, I met Darren McCarty Tuesday night in Holland.  I’ll be at his home debut tomorrow night, as well.

Grigorenko in the wild

Published
by
Matt Saler
on September 10, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko, Jonathan Ericsson, Links, Mattias Ritola and Video
. 1 Comment

NHL.com has some video (opens Hightlight Machine) of Igor Grigorenko from the first prospects game (versus Atlanta). Nothing terribly exciting, as it consists mostly of Igor skating and gliding around, rarely lower in the zone than the circles. From the admittedly scant evidence provided by the video, it seemed to me that his linemates were doing most of the work. Granted, it was his first game, but I hope he starts moving his feet more than that and mucks it up along the boards a little more in the future.  For more video options, including film of Jonathan Ericsson and Matthias Ritola, click here. (via Snapshots)