Pure Michigan Sports

The last 10 games the Red Wings have struggled to a 4-6 record, looking very average in the process.  Instead of taking a real run at Vancouver for the Western Conferences top seed the Red Wings (still the #2 seed) only 10 points from being out of the playoffs.  It’s no surprise to see during this 10 game stretch that Henrik Zetterberg has accumulated just 3 points (scoreless in March) and is playing with a -12 rating.

David Guralnick/The Detroit News

Despite this latest bump in the road he’s still averaging a point per game this season, and is far too talented to stay in this kind of funk for too many more games.  Prior to this slump Zetterberg was enjoying one of the more productive seasons of his career, on pace for the second 90+ point total of his career.  While Zetterberg will gladly trade in personal accomplishments for team success there is no denying this team has been far better when he is at his best.

Zetterberg has morphed his game into more a playmaker this season, already contributing a career best 51 assists, continuously finding ways to set up teams, while still being aggressive with his shot.  This passing display is also another example of him doing whatever it takes to help this team win.  Zetterberg is not only one of the top paid Red WIngs, but is expected to be one of the more consistent contributors, especially since the team has numerous streaky scorers.  Hopefully Zetterberg can turn it on heading into the playoffs and put together another double digit point playoff campaign.  The Red Wings and Zetterberg have 13 games left in the season to get past this recent lapse and maintain their positioning in the playoffs starting tonight with the Washington Capitals.

Today the Red Wings announced they have re-signed goalie Jimmy Howard to a 2 year deal worth $4.5 million.  Instead of waiting until the offseason both parties were able to secure a deal now and not let this become a distraction.  This deal makes a ton of sense for both parties involved.  The Red Wings have managed to lock up their goalie for the next two seasons at a very reasonable salary cap hit.  While Howard gets a nice raise and has security for the next two seasons.  As Howard progresses he can build off this deal and can use two more seasons to elevate his game and bank account.

The Red Wings have been very pleased with Howard’s progression as he has built off his impressive rookie numbers from last year.  Despite his save percentage being far from impressive he has simply found ways to pile up wins as he is on pace to hit the 40 win mark this year.  Howard is still only 26 years old it seems likely he will continue to improve and likely make his new contract seem like a bargain in no time.  As impressed as the team has been with Howard, it all comes down to playoff success and whether he gets another deal will be greatly decided by his playoff success.

Detroit News Photo

If Howard can establish himself as a winner in the postseason a big pay could be in is future, unfortunately it probably won’t be with the Red Wings.  While many teams have no problem shelling out big bucks for premiere goaltenders the Red Wings aren’t one of them.  As much as they understand the value and importance of a proven winner between the pipes the Red Wings also have a few quality prospects in the minors and aren’t afraid to test the free agent waters if need be.  However this could be one of the many extensions the Red Wings and Howard agree upon.  Either it’s nice to know the Red Wings will have a player on the rise playing in net for the next two seasons.

This season the Red Wings were anticipating 50+ points from emerging players in Valterri Filppula and Jiri Hudler.  While Filppula has provided steady offense and has missed the past 5 games to injury it is unlikely he will reach 50 points this season. Hudler came out of the gate slow, but has been quite the playmaker of late tallying assists on virtually a nightly basis.  However the Red Wings continue to receive a major contribution from veteran Todd Bertuzzi.

David Guralnick/The Detroit News

Todd Bertuzzi quietly re-signed with the Red Wings this offseason and started the season strong, but it didn’t seem likely he would be able to continue at his early pace.  Although he is a streaky goal scorer, he has been hot of late scoring 4 goals in the last 6 games.  Like many players before him, Bertuzzi appears to have found the fountain of youth with the Red Wings, providing consistent offense and has become virtually automatic on penalty shots.  So far this season he has contributed 14 goals and 36 points, on pace to eclipse 50 points this season.  Obviously when the Red Wings re-signed Bertuzzi in the offseason they were hoping for similar numbers from last season (44 points) but few could have imagined he would exceed those expectations.  Aside from compiling points he has also meshed well on any line Babcock has put him on and has improved his +/- rating from last season from -7 to +2 this season.

Last year Bertuzzi helped the Red Wings stay afloat during injuries and once again has been a calming force on the 2nd line all year long.  The toothless wonder has also done a fine job of staying out of the penalty box, he only has 38 penalty minutes so far this season, compared to 80 minutes last year.  He has managed to still find ways to provide physical play, and grit and still stay on the ice.  While many Red Wings fans may continue to doubt or not acknowledge Bertuzzi’s success, he is making it harder and harder to ignore the positive contributions he has provided on and off the ice.

On top of his contributions on the stat sheet he has also played mentor to many of the young players assisting them helpful tips that have helped improve their games as well.  Hopefully he continue his stellar play for the remainder of the regular season and help the Red Wings make a run at the number one overall seed in the Western Conference.

When simply checkin the standings it would appear as though the Red Wings are cruising their way into the playoffs, however their recent struggles have their coach concerned.  The last 10 games the Red Wings have gone 5-5-1, frequently getting outplayed, regardless of the opponent.  Obviously this team has had more than its fair share of injuries, but the Red Wings refuse to allow that to play a role in their overall success.  Babcock explained to the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan that the team has dropped off since the beginning of the year, but can still build off of their early success this season:

David Zalubowski / Associated Press Photo

“You need a blueprint of success so you understand what you can go back to when the pressure is on,” Babcock said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “To me, we haven’t played like that since the first 20 games of the year.”

The Red Wings are only a few weeks away from having both Brad Stuart and Mike Modano back in the lineup and barring any new injuries will finally have their roster restored.  However this team still must improve it’s defense and get better performances from their goaltending if they are going to regain their early season form.  This team can play better and will never become complacent with Babcock at the helm, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to regain their dominance from earlier in the year.  Especially when they continue to struggle with something as simple as effort.  Last night the Red Wings got embarrassed by the Nashville Predators at home, losing 1-4.  Coach Babcock was infuriated by his team’s performance, as he told the Detroit Free Press’ George Sipple about his disappointment:

“It’s absolutely unacceptable to compete like we did,” Babcock said after the Wings fell behind, 2-0, in the first period, 4-0, in the second. “You’re not going to be successful in anything, any walk of life, working (like that). Beyond ridiculous!  Obviously, we’ve got tons of work to do. I thought we were coming out of what we’re in, but obviously we’re not. So, we’ll have to get to work in practice tomorrow.  We’re not going to work in games? You can bet we’ll work in practice,” Babcock said. “We’re going to get some work ethic back, because there’s no way we’re going to have 22,000 people watching us play like that. That’s absolutely unacceptable.”

Hopefully Babcock can right this ship and get his team out of their funk, because poor defense and lack of energy has nothing to do with the ‘Red Wing Way’.  For better or worse the team only has one day off before playing the Bruins on Friday, but today will be anything but an off day in practice as Babcock will whip them back into ship reminding them of what kind of team they are and what kind of team they can be.

As the Detroit Red Wings prepare to make their push towards the playoffs they can only hope that they will continue to receive the impressive offensive production they have received from two of their top defenseman.  After posting average offensive numbers(for them) last season Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski have bounced back by providing quite a spark.  At the beginning of the season Coach Mike Babcock decided to split the dynamic defenseman up for the firs time since Rafalski joined the team in 2007.  The switch has seemingly energized both players on both ends of the ice.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

So far this season both players have already tallied over 30 assists and each are on pace to contribute more assists this season than total points they scored last season.  Luckily Babcock has been able to decrease both players ice time and both have remained durable (aside from the 3 weeks Rafalski missed in October).  Both players have dropped at least 2 minutes in ice time on a nightly basis, this should help keep them fresh during the playoffs.

Despite both players being over 37 years old ( Rafalski is 37 and Lidstrom is 40) they have continued to prevent age from slowing them down.  Although the team has struggled to score of late, they appear to be back on track for the foreseeable future.  As the team regains its health the scoring should return, with Lidstrom and Rafalski continuing to set teammates up, further adding to their impressive offensive numbers.

Jimmy Howard is following up his fantastic rookie season in style, he is tied for the league lead in wins (26) and frequently makes tremendous saves night in and night out.  However, his goals against average has slowly elevated to an average 2.83 and his save percentage (.908) hasn’t been that great for the bulk of the season.  Obviously the Red Wings have struggled through injuries and not having Brad Stuart in the lineup has made the defense weaker, but Howard’s numbers were very similar with Stuart in the lineup.  The Red Wings have never been a team to ask their goalie to stand on their head, but it has to be a littler concerning to see his stats drop so severely from one year to the next.

David Guralnick / The Detroit News

Last season the Red Wings struggled to score goals, but Howard kept the team afloat posting a much better save percentage (.924) and goals against average (2.26).  However the team also played far less aggressive, and their conservative offensive play cut down on fast breaks by their opponents.  Since the team has been able to open up their offense this season it has also lead to more odd man rushes and breakaways against Howard.  It’s hard to be critical of this team as they continue to win, especially considering the star power they have lost to injuries, but this team has to be better defensively as a team.

Few team’s have bought into team defense the way the Red Wings have, but it is something they must improve on in order to make a deep run in the playoffs.  The team simply needs to play better defensively, and that starts with Howard.  Frequently he will make numerous highlight reel worthy saves, but he is still prone to allowing soft goals and big rebounds.  He has also been unable to put together solid outings in a row of late and has been far from impressive.

Although the Red Wings plan on building their team around the idea of Howard being their goalie he still has to prove he can carry this team when necessary.    While he has had a very nice season overall, Howard understands every Red Wings season is judged by playoff success.  Hopefully he can elevate his game to another level soon and ride that success into the playoffs.

The Red Wings expectations for Darren Helm keeps increasing with every opportunity he has received.  Although he has spent parts of four seasons with the Red Wings this will only be his second full year with the team.  When Helm first joined the team he was mainly asked to used his speed and energy to agitate opponents and give the stars a break.  However as he has received more ice time he has taken on more responsibilities and thrived in his new roles.  Halfway through the season he is only 4 points shy of matching his career high in points and appears poised to take his scoring production up a notch in the future.  Last season he received extra ice time as the team suffered through numerous injuries and Helm showed flashes that he was on track to have a very similar career of Kris Draper.

Christian Petersen / Getty Images

While the Red Wings have suffered another season of injury woes Coach Babcock has continued to ask more of Helm.  He has become an excellent penalty killer, has improved his face off winning percentage, and has seemingly solved his problems to finish more consistently opportunities on break aways and other scoring chances.  Another attribute that Helm has added to his repertoire has been leading, he has shown great poise and has a knack for putting this team on his back for large stretches during games.  As a result it should be no surprise to see him have an A on his sweater in the new future.  As Helm continues to progress it’s important to note that as he has excelled he has never gotten away from still providing that speed and tenacity that first earned him a call up to the Red Wings in the first place.  Although it’s too early predict what path Helms career will take, with each passing game it is becoming more clear that the Draper comparisons may have actually in selling Helm short.

In Draper’s prime he had a similar skill set, but he always hovered around the 25-30 point total with a few seasons in the 30-40 point range.  In Helm’s second season he is on pace to eclipse the 35+ points, something Draper only did twice in his 17 year career.  Obviously Draper has had a successful career in Detroit and has mean’t a lot to the Red Wings organization playing an important role over the years, but instead of saying Helm is the next Draper HockeyTown should consider focusing on him being the first Darren Helm.

The Detroit Red Wings had confidence heading into this season that young defenseman Jakub Kindl would be ready life in the NHL.  The plan was to bring him along slowly as the team’s seventh defenseman, getting him into games when possible, however injuries have forced him into action finally giving him an opportunity to prove himself.  Although he got off to a slow start over the course of the 19 games he has played this season he has shown signs of becoming the elite defenseman the Red Wings had envisioned when drafting him in the 1st round in 2005.

David Guralnick / The Detroit News

He hasn’t posted big offensive numbers and doesn’t deliver bone crushing hits, but he has become very solid on the blue line.  The main focus of young defenseman in the NHL is to keep your head above water, by playing conservatively and consistent.  Kindl may boast a -1 plus/minus rating, but also already looks like a veteran on the ice, making the simple plays with ease and limiting his mistakes each game.  The Red Wings have been desperate to infuse young talent onto their blue line and early on Kindl appears to have a bright future with the franchise.  He has steadily seen him minutes increase up to 16 minutes of ice time a night, and even scored his first NHL goal two days ago against the St. Louis Blues.  It will be a long and bumpy road ahead for Kindl as he learns to hone his craft, but he has the skill and has numerous defenseman to learn from, including the greatest of all time in Captain Nick Lidstrom.

The Detroit Red Wings are on pace for another special season in HockeyTown as they sit a top their division and trail the top seeded Vancouver Canucks by a mere 2 points in the Western Conference.  Despite the Red Wings success this season, it has been very similar to last season as the team has been decimated by injuries.  Last year the team did it’s best to keep it’s head above water as they healed and eventually made a run to reach the playoffs.  While the team has had to grind out games and  is clearly better with Datsyuk, Cleary, Holmstrom and Stuart in the lineup the still keep on winning.  One of the main reasons for the team’s success has been an outstanding season from Henrik Zetterberg.

David Guralnick / The Detroit News

He hasn’t received the hardware or headlines that Datsyuk has and the bulk of the leadership of this team is credited to Nick Lidstrom, however the team’s MVP so far this season has been Zetterberg.  From day one in his career with the Red Wings Zetterberg subscribed to the ‘Red Wing way’ and he has never looked back.  He is on pace to match his career high in points from the 2007-2008 season and is currently averaging over a point a game.  The slew of injuries last season defused the Red Wings scoring attack, but this season whenever the Red Wings have needed points Zetterberg has been there to answer with a goal or an assist.

He doesn’t have the flashy moves of many of the elite players in the NHL, which has kept him off the radar, but his production and commitment to winning are on par with any player.  The Red Wings have been blessed with many great leaders over the years, most notably Yzerman and Lidstrom, and Zetterberg appears to be the Captain in waiting once Lidstrom finally hangs his skates up.  This season the Red Wings have gotten tremendous effort from their entire team, and many have been following the lead of Zetterberg.

As the Detroit Red Wings tried to put the ‘dead Wings’ era to rest they were fortunate enough to have Coach Scotty Bowman take over the team in 1993.  He  implemented his style and team first play until he retired in 2002.  Once the Red Wings adapted to Bowman’s values from their best player to their weakest the team started to win and haven’t looked back since.  After Bowman retired the Red Wings struggled to find playoff success under Coach Dave Lewis for two seasons, which eventually led the Red Wings to bring Babcock on board.  At the time it was unclear if Babcock was the long term solution for the Red Wings, but was a coach the organization was confident could lead the Red Wings to Stanley Cup victories.

DAVE REGINEK / NHLI PHOTOGRAPHER

Recently on an episode of CBC’s Inside Hockey Coach Mike Babcock said: “If you don’t do it the Red Wing way; not committed to off ice training, not a team 1st guy, then pretty soon you are not a Red Wing”.  Not only does this quote epitomize the franchise mantra, but it also speaks to the core of what  Babcock is all about, winning.  He demands his players sacrifice personal stats and go the extra mile on and off the ice, but he makes sure to lead by example as well.  Babcock is never done learning himself and does everything he can to study and teach new ideas to make sure his team is prepared to be their best.

While Nick Lidstrom has done an amazing job of building off the lessons he learned from Steve Yzerman, Babcock has done the same kind of job building off of the ground work laid by Bowman.  Obviously Babcock has put his own spin on the team, but it’s hard to find a difference between Bowman and Babcock’s teams.  This is especially impressive considering Bowman had the luxury of coaching without a salary cap and never had his team suffer injuries the way Babcock’s teams have over the last two seasons.  Coach Babcock may never win as many Stanley Cups as Bowman did over his career, but with him at the helm you can bet Babcock will be doing everything he can to put his team into position to win the Red Wing way.