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
March 29th, 2016 at 10:25 PM ^
Blashill has been successful everywhere he's been as a head coach. Western was actually decent under his watch after years with Culhane, he won in the USHL (I think), and he did pretty darn well in Grand Rapids as well.
Ken Holland, OTOH, is still living off of faded glory from championships that grow farther into the past. It's been 8 years now since the last Cup. And once Lidstrom retired, we saw just how much he papered over the poor defense that Holland built.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:36 PM ^
Fine. But I would counter that if we're going to look at Blashill, we need to look at the guy who hired him, too. That's not exactly an endorsement of Holland, either.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:19 PM ^
The answer to the OP's question is literally impossible to say because the season is not over yet.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:20 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:23 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:22 PM ^
Good Period
Bad Period
Pretty much the season in a game right there
March 29th, 2016 at 10:22 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:27 PM ^
Must win in regulation against both Philadelphia AND Boston. Otherwise, it's death for this streak.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:25 PM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:29 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:37 PM ^
its bad in that he's being paid 5M to put up less-than-darren-helm stats. That's double what he's worth. Its not the end of the world, like you said, but its still another in a long line of bad contracts to old veterans who can't hack it anymore.
March 29th, 2016 at 10:41 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:36 PM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:38 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:46 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:49 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 11:21 PM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 11:00 PM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 11:14 PM ^
They will be without the services of Duncan Keith for a while I'm guessing. Intentionally slashed Charlie Coyle in the face tonight. Match penalty for intent to injure. Would post the link but it won't seem to copy and paste.
March 29th, 2016 at 11:34 PM ^
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March 30th, 2016 at 12:55 AM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:44 PM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 10:55 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 10:55 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 11:29 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 11:27 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 11:40 PM ^
March 29th, 2016 at 11:28 PM ^
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March 29th, 2016 at 11:49 PM ^
March 30th, 2016 at 10:03 AM ^
This isn't to say they have no talent on the farm. However, a few of the legit prospects appear to have been promoted this year.
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March 30th, 2016 at 12:29 AM ^
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March 30th, 2016 at 10:03 AM ^
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March 30th, 2016 at 12:08 AM ^
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The wings making the playoff is like the Lions not going to the Super Bowl. It's just a fact of life.
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No, they won't make it - if they do they are swept.
Goalie problems would be solved if we had a defense that added up to even 50% of Lidstrom.
The recent Pittsburgh game proved our defense is bad - really bad.
Historically, bubble wildcard teams that do well at the end of the season and into the playoff do so by lock-down defense.
This needs to be a complete rebuild this summer.
Larkin could be the next Stevie Y, but it took years to get a decent team built around him - 4 years until the Conference Finals were reached. 10 years to get to the cup.
Hopefully it won't take that long, but we will be on the edge of missing the playoffs the next few years.
If they hold onto the dead weight that makes up 1/2 the current roster, it will be longer.
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March 30th, 2016 at 10:02 AM ^
Zetterberg is a better comparison (stats are nearly identical) and I'll take that any day.
March 30th, 2016 at 10:04 AM ^
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Not really, he's a rookie phenom - you have to build your team around some rising star. Who else is it going to be?
Z and Datsyuk are getting old.
He could be the new Yzerman, Kane, Forsburg, Ovechkin, Crosby or Stamkos.
Or he could flame out / get injured like a Skinner, Heatly, Gomez, Selanne.
We need to rebuild around him like Yzerman did in Tampa with Stamkos.
Substitute Stamkos = Larkin
Z = Lecavalier
Dats = St. Louis
you get the point.
March 30th, 2016 at 10:59 AM ^
Easy question. There is a 1 out of 25 chance that they won't make it.
Probably not, but it's still an amazing streak if it does end now. I mean, there are mid-20's people who don't know a world in which the Red Wings didn't make the playoffs. That's crazy.