On a wing and a prayer
Adding to the long list of banners in Joe Louis Arena is a goal of the current Red Wings club.
The Detroit Red Wings find themselves in a rare situation. After years of simply trying to get into the playoffs, Detroit sits fourth in the Western Conference at the mid-way point of the season with 53 points. That's 13 points ahead of ninth placed Dallas Stars. And with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games, the winged wheel doesn't appear to be slowing down at all.
It's a quick turnaround for the Wings. After reaching the WCHL Cup finals and pushing the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in Season 12, the Wings have seen a quick decline in their fortunates ever since. Barely making the playoffs the next year, the Wings fell on harder times last year, missing the post-season altogether.
In their first full season under General Manager Will Englesby, who came over midway through last year from the Chicago Blackhawks, the Wings got off to a fast start and haven't looked back since. Riding a surprisingly solid season from veteran netminder Nikolai Khabibulin, the Wings are one of the top surprises of the WCHL at the midway point.
It's been all Nikolai Khabibulin at times in Detroit.
"It's been a total team effort. Some games were get hammered, but most games we find a way to stay close and keep ourselves in the game, then turn it on at the end at nail down the win. It's a rope-a-dope style of play that's worked so far," said Englesby.
On the surface, the Wings don't look overly impressive. A collection of players largely thought to have already seen their better days, the Wings have proven to be the fountain of youth for guys like Khabibulin, Michael Ryder and Danius Zubrus, all of whom are on pace for excellent seasons.
With five shutouts, Khabibulin sits tied for the fifth most shutouts in the league with Miikka Kiprusoff. This despite facing the fourth most shots in the league at 1,067. On average, Khabibulin faces the fifth most shots against per game in the league amongst starting goaltenders.
Zubrus meanwhile is on pace for nearly 70 points, while Ryder has amassed 20 goals in 43 games so far. Needless to say, neither has seen this much production in years, if ever.
The play of Danius Zubrus and Michael Ryder has been a key cog in Detroit's success this year.
"It's been clicking well," said Zubrus of his season thus far. Me and my linemates are playing well at both ends of the ice, and it's making things fun so far. Hopefully it continues."
For it to continue, the Wings are likely going to need to spread out the scoring. A second line of Simon Gagne, Jonathan Sim and Paul Gaustad has combined for just 22 goals so far. That's what you get from a line with one player past his prime and two others who never were legitimate scores in the WCHL.
As a result, Detroit sits 21st in goals for this season, and despite their 25-15-3 record, the Wings have actually been outscored 117-119 this season.
The problems certainly aren't on the powerplay, where Detroit ranks fourth best in the league with a 19.56 per cent success rate. Combined with the league's sixth best penalty killing unit, the Wings hold the league's second best combined special teams units, with a total value of 104.7 per cent. Only the Montreal Canadiens are better.
"We've been deadly on the special teams this year. It's been our source of strength," said defenseman Johnny Boychuk who participates heavily on both squads.
If that success could translate to five-on-five play, Detroit would be almost unstoppable.
"We need to find a way to carry that success over to all situations," assessed Englesby. "We've been outscored by 15 goals at even strength. We can't keep doing that and expect to win a lot of games."
In the meantime, the club will continue to look for more help, both from within and from without. Trade options are being explored, but seeing improvement from guys such as Taylor Pyatt, who only has one goal and three points as far, would be a boon.
Less smiles, more goal needed from Taylor Pyatt in Detroit.
If not, the Wings are poised to fall off th rails, and ruin what could be a storybook season in Detroit.
Adding to the long list of banners in Joe Louis Arena is a goal of the current Red Wings club.
The Detroit Red Wings find themselves in a rare situation. After years of simply trying to get into the playoffs, Detroit sits fourth in the Western Conference at the mid-way point of the season with 53 points. That's 13 points ahead of ninth placed Dallas Stars. And with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games, the winged wheel doesn't appear to be slowing down at all.
It's a quick turnaround for the Wings. After reaching the WCHL Cup finals and pushing the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins to seven games in Season 12, the Wings have seen a quick decline in their fortunates ever since. Barely making the playoffs the next year, the Wings fell on harder times last year, missing the post-season altogether.
In their first full season under General Manager Will Englesby, who came over midway through last year from the Chicago Blackhawks, the Wings got off to a fast start and haven't looked back since. Riding a surprisingly solid season from veteran netminder Nikolai Khabibulin, the Wings are one of the top surprises of the WCHL at the midway point.
It's been all Nikolai Khabibulin at times in Detroit.
"It's been a total team effort. Some games were get hammered, but most games we find a way to stay close and keep ourselves in the game, then turn it on at the end at nail down the win. It's a rope-a-dope style of play that's worked so far," said Englesby.
On the surface, the Wings don't look overly impressive. A collection of players largely thought to have already seen their better days, the Wings have proven to be the fountain of youth for guys like Khabibulin, Michael Ryder and Danius Zubrus, all of whom are on pace for excellent seasons.
With five shutouts, Khabibulin sits tied for the fifth most shutouts in the league with Miikka Kiprusoff. This despite facing the fourth most shots in the league at 1,067. On average, Khabibulin faces the fifth most shots against per game in the league amongst starting goaltenders.
Zubrus meanwhile is on pace for nearly 70 points, while Ryder has amassed 20 goals in 43 games so far. Needless to say, neither has seen this much production in years, if ever.
The play of Danius Zubrus and Michael Ryder has been a key cog in Detroit's success this year.
"It's been clicking well," said Zubrus of his season thus far. Me and my linemates are playing well at both ends of the ice, and it's making things fun so far. Hopefully it continues."
For it to continue, the Wings are likely going to need to spread out the scoring. A second line of Simon Gagne, Jonathan Sim and Paul Gaustad has combined for just 22 goals so far. That's what you get from a line with one player past his prime and two others who never were legitimate scores in the WCHL.
As a result, Detroit sits 21st in goals for this season, and despite their 25-15-3 record, the Wings have actually been outscored 117-119 this season.
The problems certainly aren't on the powerplay, where Detroit ranks fourth best in the league with a 19.56 per cent success rate. Combined with the league's sixth best penalty killing unit, the Wings hold the league's second best combined special teams units, with a total value of 104.7 per cent. Only the Montreal Canadiens are better.
"We've been deadly on the special teams this year. It's been our source of strength," said defenseman Johnny Boychuk who participates heavily on both squads.
If that success could translate to five-on-five play, Detroit would be almost unstoppable.
"We need to find a way to carry that success over to all situations," assessed Englesby. "We've been outscored by 15 goals at even strength. We can't keep doing that and expect to win a lot of games."
In the meantime, the club will continue to look for more help, both from within and from without. Trade options are being explored, but seeing improvement from guys such as Taylor Pyatt, who only has one goal and three points as far, would be a boon.
Less smiles, more goal needed from Taylor Pyatt in Detroit.
If not, the Wings are poised to fall off th rails, and ruin what could be a storybook season in Detroit.
