Recap: Detroit Red Wings 2, Ottawa Senators 3

Bleacher ReportJan 13, 2008

Some folks, such as Sherry at Scarlett Ice and Jes Golbez at AOL Fanhouse, are writing that the game lived up to the hype.

I have to disagree and it’s not because the Wings lost. Had they played at a level on par with the Senators and still lost I would, of course, be disappointed, but I’d be right there with the people saying it was as good a game as advertised. But they didn’t play at the same level as the Senators, not for much of the game, anyway.

Whereas Ottawa came out of the gates in all three periods flying, the Wings were flat when they needed life the most. They were able to make it a game in the third period, but they couldn’t keep up in the end. Usually it is Detroit that has the opposition standing around watching them play. Last night, for too much of the game, the Wings were the observers.

Some scattered thoughts:

Despite their even strength reunion, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg were all but invisible. I think the fact that Ottawa’s CASH line often seemed to have their way with the Wings’ defense while the Eurotwins were by and large silent may have been the most disappointing aspect of the game. They and Tomas Holmstrom remain one of the top lines in hockey, but it’s obvious that there is some separation there.

I’m thankful Dominik Hasek played as well as he did. He made a number of huge saves and kept his team in the game when they were busy doing pylon impressions for the speedy Senator forwards.

The first Alfredsson goal was screened, so there can’t be much blame there. Mike Fisher’s goal was the result of a bad turnover and while you’d like to see Dom control the rebound better, there wasn’t much he could do. Fisher’s acceleration on that play was incredible. He was screened on the game-winner as well, though of course he could have held the post better. Can’t really blame him for it, though.

29 saves should be enough to win a game.

The Wings have become much more physical than they used to be, but the fact that they were knocked around by Ottawa, of all teams, is pretty embarrassing. I found myself thinking more than once that it would have been nice to have had Aaron Downey in the lineup. Perhaps he could have awakened his teammates. Perhaps not. I don’t know. But when Chris Kelly gets away with knocking Dallas Drake in the back of the head, you know something is wrong.

With the exception of the setup leading to Brian Rafalski’s goal and maybe one or two other man-advantages, the Wings’ power play was pathetic. At times even embarrassingly so. Their inability make a decent pass was a problem in all situations, though.

While on that topic, I should just mention that part of the Wings’ problems may have stemmed from the fact that the first period was so broken up by chintzy penalty calls, on both sides. Why officials feel they have to ruin a perfectly good hockey game between two highly skilled and generally clean teams is completely beyond me.

Early in the third, Dany Heatley initiated contact with Dallas Drake at the endboards, but ended up taking the brunt of the damage, as he went down shoulder first. He didn’t return to the game and will be out 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulder. Unfortunate for the Sens, of course, but I’m more concerned with the fact that the Wings only somewhat took advantage of his absence.

Rafalski’s goal gave the Wings the life they had been lacking most of the night. Prior to that, I had started to wonder whether they’d score at all, with their offensive opportunities boiled to a bare minimum and with Ray Emery making all the necessary saves. When Rafalski found himself wide open in the slot, it seemed ordained, but at the same time I thought, “Wouldn’t it be typical if he got stoned or sent it wide?” Then he scored and we had a game.

Somehow Jiri Hudler found a spot in the corner to put the puck a little over four minutes later, tying the score at two. If the game was ever a nail-biter, it was after that. I was thinking my prediction for the Fanhouse could come true.

Then Alfredsson made it 3-2 with just under three minutes left. So much for that.

End verdict: the Senators took this game seriously and earned the win. The Wings evidently took it somewhat more lightly and were lucky to escape with a respectable-looking score. I’m sure they’d make a better showing in a rematch, but they’d be better off worrying about getting back on track now or else there won’t be a rematch.

They have games against Ilya Kovalchuk and Roberto Luongo (otherwise known as Atlanta and Vancouver) this week before a three-game trip around California starting Saturday. Tuesday is as good a time as any to halt this skid.

I leave you with a quote from the Senators’ coach, John “Adolf” Paddock, via Hockey Capital:

“[C]ome on! No more questions? MVP of the league this year? Votes? Hand up for Zetterberg? No? Alfredsson? Yes?”

I won’t relate my initial reaction to reading that. This is meant to be a family blog, after all.

I will, though, say this: I think the fact that the Wings didn’t miss a beat when Hank was out last month effectively took him out of Hart consideration. He’s one of the top players in the League (who happened to have a bad outing last night, Paddock), but even calling him the Wings’ MVP would probably be a stretch because of Pavel Datsyuk.

Personally, I’d rather have it that way. The Wings, I’m sure, are concerned with Zetterberg’s health, but they also have the consolation that, if he does go down, they have a wealth of depth to help make up for his absence. On the other hand, members of the Senators organization should be developing ulcers and seeing psychiatrists due to stress over whether or not Alfredsson will go down.

So, you can have your Hart Trophy candidate, Paddock. I’d take a team over a single player any day. That may seem like an empty point the day after the Senators beat the Wings, but, tell me, what would the score have been without Alfredsson’s tallies?

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