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Hasek Has To Be Better Than That
I know it’s old hat in this town to blame everything on the goalie. And I know Dominik Hasek wasn’t necessarily horrible Tuesday. But he wasn’t that good, either. On a night when the Red Wings really needed their goalie to steal victory for them on the road, Hasek wasn’t up to the task. Jarome Iginla has a great shot, but that was a bad angle goal that decided the Red Wings’ 3-2 loss to the Flames. The other two Calgary goals weren’t soft goals, but Hasek didn’t come up with the big save when the Red Wings needed it. If a team is up 2-1 in the third period in the playoffs, and squanders the lead, the goalie needs to protect it. The Red Wings didn’t suffer massive defensive breakdowns. Hasek needed to be better. If he isn’t, the Red Wings will struggle in this series. That could have been Curtis Joseph or Manny Legace in the net. Hasek was no better than they have been in recent playoffs. Not on Tuesday.
Random Thoughts
- I thought Daniel Cleary’s hit on Deon Phanuef was a classic. Nice to see Phanuef get a little of his own medicine. What goes around comes around. Both he and Kris Draper played exceptionally well.
- Kansas City stinks, but the Tigers cleaning up on the Royals should not be taken lightly. Their hot start last season was built upon dominating the bad teams.
- I like everything about the way the Pistons setup for the playoffs. You know who is still a good player? Lindsey Hunter. I just wonder which Flip Murray will show up for the playoffs. Also, I think the Pistons’ player most on the spot in the playoffs this year will be Richard Hamilton.
- The situation with Joey Crawford is a case of somebody getting so full of themselves and their authority they self-destruct. It’s like the bouncer at the bar who decides who passes or stays on the sidewalk. Or a control-freak boss. That type of syndrome. Sometimes officials or umpires get so out of control. And it’s not like he was trying to pick a fight with some bad guy. I mean Tim Duncan?
- I would put Jiri Hudler back in the lineup for Todd Bertuzzi Thursday. Big Bert clearly was not himself Tuesday. Hudler has been very good and deserves to play.
Random Thoughts
- I thought Daniel Cleary’s hit on Deon Phanuef was a classic. Nice to see Phanuef get a little of his own medicine. What goes around comes around. Both he and Kris Draper played exceptionally well.
- Kansas City stinks, but the Tigers cleaning up on the Royals should not be taken lightly. Their hot start last season was built upon dominating the bad teams.
- I like everything about the way the Pistons setup for the playoffs. You know who is still a good player? Lindsey Hunter. I just wonder which Flip Murray will show up for the playoffs. Also, I think the Pistons’ player most on the spot in the playoffs this year will be Richard Hamilton.
- The situation with Joey Crawford is a case of somebody getting so full of themselves and their authority they self-destruct. It’s like the bouncer at the bar who decides who passes or stays on the sidewalk. Or a control-freak boss. That type of syndrome. Sometimes officials or umpires get so out of control. And it’s not like he was trying to pick a fight with some bad guy. I mean Tim Duncan?
- I would put Jiri Hudler back in the lineup for Todd Bertuzzi Thursday. Big Bert clearly was not himself Tuesday. Hudler has been very good and deserves to play.
posted by Pat Caputo at
2:00 AM
9 Comments:
Pat I agree with you for the most party about Hasek needing to shut the door after the Wings took the lead. The Iginla goal was the difference. I thought the Wings took Calgarys best shot and almost took a 3-0 series lead.
Regarding Bertuzzi, I thought either he should've sat until the next round or Babcock should've sat Lang or Samuelsson. Scotty Bowman would never had changed his lineup after 2 dominating performances. Keep Hudles in there!
Tony,
I agree with you about Hudler. He is one of their better players right now. Lang is strong on the puck and has a knack for scoring goals, but he hasn't been effective in the first three games. Samuelson has decent size and that's important, but he hasn't been that effective, either. I like Bertuzzi, but I am a big believer in not fixing something that isn't broken. Seems like it wasn't broken with Hudler in and Bertuzzi out. Why not wait until they lost a game to fix it?
Caputo
Pat, dead on about the Tigers..dominate the bad teams...didn't lose to KC till end of season last year. FInally checked out your Blog, had to say, you got me back into sports radio about 3 years ago when i heard you during a rain delay tiger game and loved it. Ever since, i've been hooked on 1270, and i hold you responsible, i'm honest, not kidding, i was bored with it and ya got me callin' in every once in a while too.
I'm thinkin' Flip Murray might not bring the effort this postseason, cuz like last year, Saunders played a 6-7 man rotation, which ended up killin' us in the East finals. Hopefully, which actually seems to be the plan, i think Coach will really work the bench more often, possible Maxiell, Murray, obviously Dyess. Coach actually seems to have made some good changes this season from last, which was my biggest fear.
Anyways, diehard Tigers fan, appreciate your effort and knowledge on the team, keep it up and i'll keep checkin' out the blog. Great job Pat!
Pat, here is one more vote for getting Hudler back on the line with Filppula and Frazen. The Euro Two line went from an outstanding asset to just standing.
Everytime I hear about Jiri's lack of size I think Martin St. Louis and Theo Fleury. I shouldn't forget about Dennis Polonich and his grit.
Huge game Thursday, to state the obvious. If the Wings lose this game, they're in the exact same situation they were a year ago with Edmonton. Coming back home from Alberta with the series tied at two games each. But if they win, then they've got a stranglehold.
Marc,
Appreciate the compliments. I didn't much of Flip Murray's effort early in the season, but he has gotten better in the second half of the season. He might be a big help if he can remember the team concept. The Pistons' bench should be better for this playoff run. Delfino has been better, too. They might even get some help from Maxiell.
Caputo
Andrew Winkle,
I really like that line. All young players with the same purpose. That definitely would be part of my gane plan, too. You're right - the criticism about Hudler has been unfounded. He's a player.
Caputo
I don't know what you are thinking. Flip Murray can't play.
Anonymous,
Well, he did do better late in the regular season. The Flip side (nice pun, eh) is that Murray didn't get it done during the playoffs last season with the Cavs.
Caputo
Joe E,
I saw your comment and for some reason it didn't publish. It was about Bonderman being pulled after 86 pitches in his last two starts and when he was throwing well. Leyland said he noticed he was getting the ball up in the last inning Wednesday. Also, his bullpen was setup perfectly with the off-day Thursday to use Zumaya and Jones. But generally, I agree with you. At some point they have to let Bonderman become the ace. That means letting him try to finish what he started.
Caputo
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