Unwinglike
Going nowhere.
— noun
1. Not like the Wings … prone to blow 2-goal leads regularly and 3-goal leads on occasion … injury prone … aging … tends to get outworked along the boards … has trouble scoring goals but can hit goal posts like laser beams … misses the playoffs.
Game #58: 64 points, 9th place in the Western Conference and sinking fast 24 games (48 points) remaining.
Score: Kings, 4, Wings 3
What I liked about the game: The Kings. They outworked the Wings along the boards, never stopped working, and earned their ninth-straight victory. Credit where credit is due. Henrik Zetterberg scored twice in a 3-0 first period and hit a goalpost in the third. Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski each were plus-three, but they couldn’t stay on the ice all the time (56 minutes between them), which meant Brad Stuart and Jonathan Ericsson were on the ice (see: What I didn’t like about the game).
What I didn’t like about the game: Long list. Wings keep getting injured. Nick Kronwall didn’t dress (again). Tomas Homstrom suffered a lower-body injury (again). Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller got hurt, too. Jimmy Howard had a terrible second period, but guess who was on the ice for all four goals against (yup, Stuart with a big minus-4, rivaled only by Ericsson‘s minus-3. At least Ville Leino didn’t have to watch from the pressbox (he was traded for next to nothing earlier in the day).
Quote: “I was very disappointed with the way I played.” — Jimmy Howard. Me, too.
In search of: The Olympic break in a week.
What is: The standings are beginning to look bleak — 2 points out of 8th with one more game played, 3 points out of 7th with a game in hand, 6 points out of 6th with one more game played; only 3 points up on 12th place. I hope the Wings’ scouts are working hard.
Mood meter: Ready for some Tigers baseball?
February 8th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Great blog but I wish the content was more positive (which would mean less truthful). They are certainly struggling and the injuries keep coming. Ericsson might as well go home for all the good he is doing. I can’t imagine being that big and casting such a small shadow.
Figures the year I get season tickets they go in the tank. We will see how they do in the remaining games before the break and that will provide some guidance as to the rest of the season.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, we as Wings fans have had it good for a long time and inevitably the time seems to have come where our beloved team has slipped into mediocrity. Seeing this team lose over and over to teams ahead of them in the standings(Must wins) is truly frustrating at best. The inability to string together more than 2 or 3 wins in a row meanwhile watching teams like Washington, San Jose, Ottawa, Phoenix, and LA basically steamroll through 9 to 14 games, its sickening. I WAS glad to see the Caps beat the Pens on Sunday though, man I don’t think that there are a pair of teammates I hate more than Cindy Crosby and Evgeni “Duh” Mulkin except maybe Ryan “Rogaine” Getzlaf and Corey “Opie” Perry. One thing I’ve noticed(really couldn’t help but notice since every time I go to NHL.com, Crosby and Alex Obnoxious are pretty much crammed down my throat) why is Ovechkin always left wide open? No wonder he scores as much as he does. But I digress, although I’m really looking forward to the return of “The Mule” I really don’t think he’s going to be our saving grace, but who knows, maybe having the big man back may give this floundering team the shot in the arm it so desperately needs.
For a “No nonsense” opinion of the Wings debockle against the Kings go to “onthewingsblog.com” in the comments section under “Wings 3, Kings 4” I wrote a reply under the heading “Here we blow again LA 4 Wings 3. I will warn you the language I used is pretty rough but this frustrating season has really gotten to me.
Is it just me or is Brad “Minus” Stuart performing like a player who wants out of Detroit? I don’t really know how else to explain the complete 180 he’s done compared to the first half of the season. What happened to the Brad Stuart who was checking everyone who came close to him? And as for Johnny Ericsson, WOW! has he been a big disappointment this season, with his size he should be slaughtering guys left and right, instead he’s become pretty much as worthless as Lebda and Meech.
Well Ville leino is gone, I really wanted to see Ville turn it around and become the player I think he could be. You could see little glimpses of his talent from time to time but they were too few and far between. That being said I wouldn’t be surprised if Ville turns it around in Philly (Hmmm….Ville in Philly….that has a nice ring to it…LOL).
Continuing down the road of disappointment we come to Brad May, I wasn’t happy about the Wings aquiring him and he certainly has lived up to my expectations of him, GOODBYE BRAD!(hopefully). Now we come to Kirk Maltby, Malts has been disappointing me for YEARS now, sure he’s a fan favorite and gets under the skin of opposing players but when push comes to shove, he ALWAYS backs down from a fight. I know that the Wings are loyal to their veterans, and I know his contract is up at seasons end (hopefully not to be renewed) but loyalty to underperforming veterans doesn’t win championships.
COME ON OLYMPIC BREAK!!!
February 8th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Thanks for your comments! It’s nice to have a dialogue going. We all have one thing in common. We love the Wings!