Are the Red Wings Going To Make the Playoffs?
Mates,
The Wings have the longest running playoff streak in sports, but after getting thumped by Pittsburgh this past weekend those chances are in big trouble. Looking at tonight's box score, they were down 2-0 in the first period and pulled Mrazek (sp). Then the Wings scored 3 power play goals in the second to take a 3-2 lead over Montreal.
They have alternately played well, then limped along and played like crud for most of the year. So do the Wings make the playoffs again this year or is that streak going to die this year? Also, is Jeff Blashill the right hire on a go-forward basis, or merely a stop gap until someone better comes along?
XM
Its a nice streak but at this point its just for show and is not really all that important. They won't go far in the playoffs, should they make it.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:25 PM ^
We need change at the top. It's obvious Ken Holland has lost it. If the team keeps sliding, he'll end up like Dumars. I just hope there's a chance to bring back Jim Nill, he's doing a hell of a job in Dallas.
March 30th, 2016 at 12:24 AM ^
We probably had a chance with Yzerman, but at the time there was no need to can Holland. Fine that he went to TB.. But Nill should have been this team's GM starting in 2014 and it sucks that he's gone. One great candidate off the table. I am all for dumping Holland, who replaces him? We saw what replacing Babcock was like.
Magic 8 ball says......
No
They are The Wings, so of course they will.
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Most are looking at the wings and flyers. But look at Boston. They could easily be left out of the playoffs. What's crazy is that it is still mathematically possible to win the division. The division is weak, and looking down the stretch, which includes a game against the Flyers, and I see the wings extending the streak. They will likely be the 8 seed, but would not at all be surprised to see them as the 5 or 6.
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These goalie problems would've been solved if they signed Hunwick in 2012. Been saying it for years.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:03 PM ^
Lololz? Massive blinders here...
March 29th, 2016 at 10:27 PM ^
Shut up :(
March 29th, 2016 at 10:35 PM ^
Good college goalie. Not a pro.
I love the nameplate on those jerseys.
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:20 PM ^
LOLOLOL yeah let's just sign every former Michigan player. That's how you win Stanley Cups.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
I am sure if hunwick had what it takes to be in the nhl he would have played more than his few games he played in the nhl. He played a few games in the echl a few years after and that was it. Great college player that didn't have what it takes for the pros.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:21 PM ^
Sorry, WD, Hunwick not NHL caliber. Like some good college QB's, even some very good ones who won the Heisman, (Gino Torretta, John Huarte, Pat Sullivan, Terry Baker), college skill doesn't necessarily "translate".
Is there is bigger moron on this site than WD?
Terrible takes all over the place.
And Jimmy Howard was not the problem in previous seasons. Unless Hunwick was an undercover top-15 NHL defenseman, he would not be helping this group.
If a goalie can be even somewhat consistent...yes.
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I'm not sold on Blashill, but I'll reserve judgment on any coach's first year in the show. But if they miss next year too, you can bet your ass there will be a new coach in there for the new arena. The streak could have been saved, but Holland is too stubborn to make the necessary moves (sitting Kronwall, Green, and Ericsson for Sproul and Marchenko and Ouellet) and was too blind to sign Howard, Nyquist and Abdelkader to such huge deals. Unfortunately they're really stuck, because they aren't bad enough to bottom out completely and rebuild quickly through the draft. I think next year will be a carbon copy of this year.
Don't forget that Franzen is still on the payroll. Post-lockout Holland is not as good as the pre-lockout version. The post-lockout version has made a myriad of moves that were covered up by the fact we still had a core of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom.
Now that Lidstrom and his 20+ minutes of ice time are gone, we are seeing how bad our defensemen are.
With Zetterberg and Datsyuk approaching retirement, we don't have a consistent 1PPG scorer on the roster to help them out. I believe we have those guys (Larkin, Nyquist, etc), but they aren't there just yet with the consistency.
Making the playoffs will be good :) But if they are playing like Michigan....
The last time I checked, most power rankings had them somewhere in the 14th-16th range, and the one not terribly encouraging thing is that they've not gained much ground of late, but of course they haven't lost much either. It feels like it comes down to the last couple games this year, and part of me feels like they could stay on the right side of the rankings, but if you ask me if this team has an impactful playoff run in them.....probably not.
Ugh...Max scores for Montreal and we're down 4-3.
Holland needs to go. Plain and simple. What was the last good move he made to put the wings into a position to win the cup? What good trades has he made at the deadline, or at all lately. Off season signings.... Pffffft what are those. All he's done the past 6 years is be way to loyal to players who came up through the system and give them ridiculous contracts that they don't deserve. Fire holland.
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:05 PM ^
Yeah I agree with Holland's time being up. His trades over the past 4-5 years have been bad.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:06 PM ^
Fire holland and go all in for Stevie y
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:15 PM ^
I would put down a deposit on season tickets so fast
March 29th, 2016 at 10:29 PM ^
Agreed. Stuart was the last trade deadline that was successful. Holland had too many handshake agreements with players that he will protect them and take care of them. It is frustrating watching teams like Chicago get the players they need at the deadline and cut them loose after the season. I understand this isn't how holland runs things but maybe that is the problem. We need someone who knows what it will take to win a cup and won't be afraid to do it.
Maybe
March 29th, 2016 at 10:08 PM ^
that you feel strongly both ways?
March 29th, 2016 at 10:19 PM ^
Now strongly leaning toward maybe.
Not if thet play like they did tonight
I think Philly's playing too well. They need to play better and hope Boston or the islanders fall apart. I think they'll miss it unfortunately. They almost blew it last night and they're blowing it tonight
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Pretty much control their destiny here. Games against Boston and Philly remaining...
Even if we beat Philly, if they win out, they're in. I think our best chance is over Boston, who we trail by a point and are even in terms of games played. We do play Boston and Philly back-to-back, so I think a best case scenario, based on our current play, is to pick up three out of four points in those games.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:05 PM ^
with about 7 minutes left in the third. not looking good when we can't beat a sub-.500 team when we absolutely, positively need the points. as much as it kills me to say it, maybe in the long run it would be better not to make it and thus force a more serious and severe re-tooling of the team.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:08 PM ^
Kill the streak and wipe out holland and bring in yzerman. Put blash on notice and move forward.
March 30th, 2016 at 12:25 AM ^
Just like that, bring in Tampa's GM after he built an empire there, to take over an embarrassingly mismanaged team full of albatross contracts..
You serious?
No one in Tampa Bay expects him to stay if the Detroit job opens up and what you said is precisely what he did here: take an embarrassingly mismanaged team full of albatross contracts and build an empire (with the added disadvantage that they had virtually no talent in the pipeline).
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I think EVERYBODY in Tampa Bay expects him to stay
I don't have any inside info on the Lightning, but I live a few miles from Amalie and have a lot of friends and coworkers that range from casual fans to hardcore fans with connections. Very few of them expect Yzerman to stay when the Detroit job opens.
Why wouldn't he stay? I'm as big a homer as any but the thought that the he is waiting for the Detroit job to open and will jump ship after signing a 4 year extension.. is absurd.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:11 PM ^
Doesn't look like it
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:11 PM ^
At this point it may be better to let the streak end. Sneaking in as the bottom team with basically no chance at the cup doesn't do any good. Need lots of changes. Things have grown stale.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:24 PM ^
This statement is silly. I'd rather get there and lose in round one than not get there at all. It's the same thing with big bowl/championship games in football. I'd love to get to the Rose Bowl (or any other big bowl game) every year, even if it meant losing it. That just says we had a great season and likely defeated MSU and/or OSU.
March 30th, 2016 at 12:20 AM ^
His point is that making the playoffs is not an accomplishment if you're not a contender. this team isn't a contender. But, making the playoffs every year is the "accomplishment" that keeps Holland around and in the good graces of the owners. In reality, the complacency with making the playoffs is what should be getting him fired. Without the playoff streak, he has done nothing.
That's what Drew Sharp stole from somebody and said as his own commentary.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:18 PM ^
Fuck!!!!!
March 29th, 2016 at 10:18 PM ^
Not after this loss.
They're going to get trucked by Phiily again in the next week, and that's probably going to be the end of that, regardless of what they do against Boston.
Don't blame Blashill. Go a little farther up the ladder.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:20 PM ^
While I agree holland needs to be looked at so does blashill. I've seen coaching blunders all season and starting mrazek tonight was another of them.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:23 PM ^
not sure what he was thinking going back to Petr tonight