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Defense, Penalty Kill, Not Ozzie, Red Wings' Biggest Issue
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was critical of Chris Osgood following their win Wednesday over Phoenix, but their biggest issue isn’t goaltending.
They just have too many lapses in their own zone, and are not nearly as proficient at breaking out as they used to be. There have been too many giveaways.
Also, the Red Wings’ penalty-killing unit has been bad. It used to be their great strength. It’s difficult to put a finger on the exact reasons why this is happening. Could be that Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Nicklas Lidstrom are slowing down. They are advancing in age. But I don’t understand the breakdowns from players such as Niklas Kromwall and Brian Rafalski, who were so solid in those areas last season.
Osgood has played better the last couple months after a woefully slow start. His statistics aren’t good, but he has been getting bombarded with a lot more scoring chances than in the past. That’s a cause of the Red Wings’ defensive play overall as much as on Osgood - especially when the Red Wings are short-handed.
Random Thoughts
- Tigers general Dave Dombrowski said something very interesting when I interviewed him Thursday night on 97.1, The Ticket’s Tiger Talk. He said that the Tigers’ first round draft choice in 2007, right-hander Rick Porcello, would pitch every fifth day for the major league club in spring training, and that several scouts and coaches in the organization already feel like he is among the best five starters in the organization, and would be capable of pitching in the major leagues to start the 2009 season. Dombrowski, however, added he isn’t leaning that way.
Porcello has exceptional command of the baseball despite his youth (20). His off-speed pitches are very good. He should move quickly.
- If the Pistons played the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, would they win the series? As it stands, that’s who’d they play. And they wouldn’t have home court advantage. To me, it would be a toss up. Atlanta is 18-5 at home. It is imperative the Pistons move past the Hawks to secure homecourt advantage.
They just have too many lapses in their own zone, and are not nearly as proficient at breaking out as they used to be. There have been too many giveaways.
Also, the Red Wings’ penalty-killing unit has been bad. It used to be their great strength. It’s difficult to put a finger on the exact reasons why this is happening. Could be that Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Nicklas Lidstrom are slowing down. They are advancing in age. But I don’t understand the breakdowns from players such as Niklas Kromwall and Brian Rafalski, who were so solid in those areas last season.
Osgood has played better the last couple months after a woefully slow start. His statistics aren’t good, but he has been getting bombarded with a lot more scoring chances than in the past. That’s a cause of the Red Wings’ defensive play overall as much as on Osgood - especially when the Red Wings are short-handed.
Random Thoughts
- Tigers general Dave Dombrowski said something very interesting when I interviewed him Thursday night on 97.1, The Ticket’s Tiger Talk. He said that the Tigers’ first round draft choice in 2007, right-hander Rick Porcello, would pitch every fifth day for the major league club in spring training, and that several scouts and coaches in the organization already feel like he is among the best five starters in the organization, and would be capable of pitching in the major leagues to start the 2009 season. Dombrowski, however, added he isn’t leaning that way.
Porcello has exceptional command of the baseball despite his youth (20). His off-speed pitches are very good. He should move quickly.
- If the Pistons played the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, would they win the series? As it stands, that’s who’d they play. And they wouldn’t have home court advantage. To me, it would be a toss up. Atlanta is 18-5 at home. It is imperative the Pistons move past the Hawks to secure homecourt advantage.
Labels: Chris Osgood Nicklas Lidstrom Rick Porcello Dave Dombrowski Detroit Tigers Detroit Red Wings
posted by Pat Caputo at
1:30 PM
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