Detroit Red Wings Win 5th Straight and 5 Other Trends That Need to Continue
It may be hard to believe, in a season that has seen so much success so far, but this is the Red Wings' longest win streak of the year.
Five game win streaks aren't usually worth writing about in Detroit.
Most of the time, no one really starts to take notice of such a trend until after consecutive win number seven.
For the most part, win streaks are a ho-hum affair in Hockeytown.
But, with just over 20 games left in the season, the fact that the Red Wings five-game string of success is newsworthy is, well, newsworthy.
The Wings are rolling right now and look poised to continue rolling for the foreseeable future.
It would be easy to attribute their recent success to things like Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary coming back to the line-up, or, the verbal butt-kicking head coach Mike Babcock handed out after the Wings' last loss; an embarrassing defeat at home against the Nashville Predators.
Those things have helped, for sure, however, the reasons the Wings are suddenly hot again extend beyond the obvious.
Like most things as complex and difficult as winning hockey games in the NHL, it's all about the details.
Beyond the return of stars like Datsyuk and Cleary, there are five reasons the Red Wings are on the roll that they're on, and like that roll, we'd like to see these trends continue.
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Tune in to the Knee Jerks Radio Show on the Sports Geeks Radio Network (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mkesportsgeeks) Monday, February 21st at 7:45pm EST to hear me talk all things Red Wings with Greg Eno and Big Al Beaton!
"I Think I'm Possessed!" Said The Puck to The Ice
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For the better part of two decades "puck-possession" has defined what people mean when they talk about "Red Wings hockey".
It's kind of like Spiderman's powers: with them, he's unbeatable, without them, he's just a dumb kid in pajamas.
Likewise, when playing a puck-possession game, the Red Wings are the most dominant team in the NHL, when they play any other way, they're just another hockey club.
From sloppy giveaways, to risky passes to botched break-outs to lost face-offs, the Red Wings have, until recently, been uncharacteristically generous with the puck at various points this season and through most of 2011.
However, of late, we're seeing much more of the stingy, puck-hogging team we've come to know and love through the years.
This isn't just due to magicians like Pavel Datsyuk carrying the puck any damn place they please, though that is a beautiful sight.
The fact that defenders are more willing to play the puck off the glass than go for a low-percentage breakout pass and forwards are content to skate the puck into the offensive zone before passing to their line-mate rather than try to force the issue by making a rushed pass in the neutral zone all contribute to the success of Detroit's puck-possession game.
These are the things we haven't seen enough of for long enough periods of time this season, but we're seeing now.
Let's hope this continues.
Howie Doin'? Howie's Doin' Great!
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For a while now, if you were confronted by a non-Red Wings fan with some snide comments about Jimmy Howard's stats, the only real comeback you could muster would be to quote the number of wins he has compared to other goalies.
Doing so is a grave mistake of course as you open yourself wide to the most enduring criticism of any Detroit Red Wings goalie, "Yeah, but, he plays for Detroit."
Let's face it, Jimmy Howard's .907 save-percentage and a 2.76 GAA aren't numbers befitting most No. 1 goalies in the NHL.
While not horrible, they're below what most teams would expect from their top man in net and far below the stats Howard himself sported just a season ago.
Still, over the past five games, one can see a drastic improvement in the sophomore's numbers.
Having won all four starts he's had in the past five games, he's maintained an impressive .951 save-percentage and 1.52 GAA.
Howard, like the whole of his team, has had a dramatic turn around in his performance and there's no reason to think he can't maintain this solid play for the rest of the season.
Then again, as Greg Eno so deftly illustrated, goalie-panic is a tradition in Hockeytown, so, if you're not convinced Howie can get things done, you'll be in large company.
The Other Guys: Funny Movie, Serious Hockey Need
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So after nearly half a season slid by, Jiri Hudler finally decided to show up.
The much maligned winger looked downright lost for the first half of the season; a perplexing thing as he was playing largely with the same guys he won a Stanley Cup with just three seasons ago.
Now, things are mercifully better for the diminutive Czech.
Hudler has been just as hot as his Wings have over the last little while, himself on a five-game point streak, contributing a goal and six assists to the cause.
Similarly, Todd Bertuzzi has been quite productive as well, contributing back-to-back two goal games against Boston, then adding another deuce against his former Florida Panthers.
Winning consistently in hockey means that you've got players who may not be the guys the fans pay their money to come see, but can take fans out of their seats when they least expect it.
Having guys like Hudler and Bertuzzi, as well as others like Darren Helm and Kris Draper chip in on the scoring side of things for extended periods goes a long way towards ensuring the opposition's confusion as to who exactly to cover on the ice.
They know Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are going to come at them all night, but when little Jiri Hudler slips by unseen to deliver a quiet little pass to assist on the game winner, suddenly the idea that there's a successful way to play the Red Wings goes out the window.
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Yes, The Game Starts at 7pm, Not 8:15pm. Please Make a Note Of This.
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"Getting started on time" is a phrase Mike Babcock has uttered too many times this season.
It has been his team's inability to do that consistently that has directly contributed to most of the 22 losses (16-6) they've suffered this season.
Getting started on time isn't exactly about scoring first, though, quite often when your team is physically, mentally and emotionally engaged shortly after the anthem singer is heading off the ice, that's just what will happen.
Over their past five wins, the Wings have scored first in all but one game.
The commitment to outworking the opposition from the first puck drop has been noticeably better of late and most continue to be habitual if the Wings hope to reach June with significant facial hair intact.
Yes, the Red Wings are one of the best third-period teams in the NHL and the ability to comeback from a deficit is a valuable trait to have come playoff time.
It just can't be your game plan night after night.
Apparently, a few games back, Mike Babcock bought his team an alarm clock that works, let's hope he remembered to yank the 'snooze' button off of it.
The Injury Bug Replent Seems To Be Working..Keep Spraying It!
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This season, like the season prior, the Detroit Red Wings have suffered through a devastating number of injuries to key players.
Now that the Red Wings are nearly whole, the last thing anyone wants to see is one more player go off the ice in pain, not knowing how soon they'll step back on to it.
In recent games, both Todd Bertuzzi and Darren Helm suffered in-game injuries that saw them leave the ice in pain, aided by teammates.
That both of these players have been key components of Detroit's success of late made seeing them leave in such a way especially nauseating.
However, in both cases, the player came back a few shifts later, apparently willing and able to play through the pain they were so clearly in.
Thus, Detroit's health remains stable and could very well be upgraded to "good" before the month is out.
Center Mike Modano will almost assuredly return to the team before March and goalie Chris Osgood could conceivably do the same, if not, follow shortly after Modano's return.
The Red Wings know better than anyone that health is the big x-factor when it comes to determining how far a team can get in the post-season.
For the moment, health seems to be on their side. Let's pray it stays there for a few months.
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