Final
Detroit Red Wings
2
Ottawa Senators
5
Even in Ottawa, the Detroit fan base screams “Fire Blashill”. After losing to the Senators on Friday night, the Red Wings repeated their losing ways with another bad loss.
The Detroit Red Wings have been considered a building and growing team all season. When that is your identity, losses are inevitable. However, losing to a team that holds the same identity is never good. Little lone doing in twice in the matter of three days.
First Takeaway
Fans have been upset with the play of the Red Wings and that is quite understandable. Dropping six straight games, and being outscored 13-32. I mean how is that not going to hurt? However, I think what hurts Red Wings hearts even more is the fact that they are unable to even hold their own for 20 continuous minutes of game-play. Furthermore, they seem to have developed a niche of allowing young players score their first hat-tricks.
When you look back to the 5-2 loss against the Ottawa Senators this past Friday, you’ll notice that they gave up three goals to the Senators newly acquired forward, Mathieu Joseph. Yesterday, they gave up three goals to forward, Josh Norris.
The Red Wings have developed that ability, and it is a bad habit that needs to be rid of. If they want to win games, they can’t afford to be giving up three goals to one player alone. Heck, they can’t afford to be giving up three goals period. They have to find a way to become a strong defensive team and close up the oppositions shooting lanes.
Second Takeaway
In yesterday’s game, there simply weren’t many bright spots. The Red Wings let the Senators control the puck for a majority of the game it felt like, and although the Red Wings did have some very good chances, that didn’t stop the Senators from winning 5-2.
Now, I know you may all think “We gave up two empty-net goals.” Well, that’s exactly my point. We gave up two empty net goals yesterday, and we gave up one on Friday. Now, I’ll be straight-forward with you, I don’t think emptying the net is a smart decision at all. It rarely ever works.
It’s one thing if you use it in the juniors but when you are a NHL team, it’s not rocket science to know that if they see an empty net- they can hit it. I mean, these guys that you are playing against are the best of the best. If you think that the empty-net trick will work when your having a hard time generating offense to begin with, well then your mistaken.
In order to win games, you have to play smart. You have to be able to make good decisions with the puck and don’t miss out on easy chances when they present themselves.
Third Takeaway
This takeaway here is something I’m sure just about everyone will agree with- Jeff Blashill need’s to go. It’s as simple as that. He needs to go.
Looking at how he put some of the lines together not only yesterday, but throughout the season, he clearly isn’t equipped to coach this team. Quite frankly, given the Red Wings current stage in this rebuild, this is the time in which the organization needs to take action.
The Red Wings have so many talented players and most of them are very young. Looking at the roster, you see guys like Joe Veleno, Jakub Vrana, Filip Zadina, and Taro Hirose, they all need to be placed in a situation where they can develop and have opportunities.
In yesterday’s game, Joe Veleno was one of the more noticeable players for the Red Wings, but yet he was on the third line and didn’t see hardly any ice time. Veleno saw 13:32 yesterday, and given how well he played when out on the ice, he should’ve received more minutes- but he didn’t.
If the Red Wings want this team to grow and becoming a power house once again, Blashill is not going to be their guy leading the charge. The sooner he is out, the better off this team will be.