A quick post about the Wings before I start working on getting the file size down of my copy of the Michigan/BC game.
Bless Mike Babcock. I don't think anyone could have asked for anything more out of his team through 9 games. 8-1-0, powerplay and penalty kill in the top 3 (which are even more important now!), and now this wonderful pearl from the Detroit News today. Manny Legace is the #1 goalie and Osgood is the backup. Bless his heart. Obviously if Legace doesn't keep playing well, that's subject to change, but just to see it in print does my heart good.
The absolute best thing about the guy though, is this. Check out the ice time that the Wings players are getting. Everyone except for Jamie Rivers and Mark Mowers is seeing 10+ minutes of ice-time a night and 12 players are seeing 15+ minutes a night. He's spreading out the ice-time, and pretty much everyone is producing because of it. Hands up, who saw Jason Williams leading the team in scoring? I didn't. I expect as the season wears on, he'll lean a little bit more on his star players, but for now, give everyone a shot. With the added emphasis on the PP and PK, it helps to develop players in those roles so that if, in the playoffs, you're faced with a situation where you have to kill off 3 penalties in a row or something, you're not scrambling to put people out there.
I've been very impressed with Babcock so far. But then again, Dave Lewis had great regular seasons as well. I just get the feeling that something is different here though...
And you can't say enough about Manny Legace. Across the league, scoring is up and the guy is still posting a 1.77 GAA and a .925 save percentage. He's been outstanding. As much as I hate him, I'm glad that Osgood is healthy though. They need someone to give Manny a break, and take 35 starts or so, and it was obvious they weren't going to let Howard do that.
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4 comments:
Just looking at the schedule real quick, I've seen 9 of the 10 Wings games so far this year. The only one that I missed was the 6-0 win over Columbus last weekend.
I'd pretty much assume that the Wings are playing every other day. The schedule is so condensed, it's pretty much every other night. I think 90% of the games are on Fox Sports, so just flip over there at 7:30 every night and you'll probably hit on most of the games. The new NHL is just incredible. They couldn't have done a better job with the new rules.
I think that you are right about Babcock. During last night's OLN broadcast they were talking about how he is frequently on the phone with coaches around the league, trying to learn something from coaches in similar situations. What really impresses me the most though, is the way that he seems to be getting the most out of every player on the roster right now. Cleary and Mowers have been excellent as energy guys, and I have been amazed with the production coming from Sammuelsson and especially the play of Holmstrom who actually looks like a hockey player (not a tree that you plant in front of the net on PPs). This is the most dangerous Wings team in a while and it is coming at a fraction of the price. Great observations on the ice times, by the way.
Hey there, I read this blog and I'm in the Michigan Marching Band. Just thought you'd like to know that we WILL have the Super Mario theme available for the next home game.
Tom...I really think he's doing a nice job of putting guys in the positions where they can make plays. Lewis put Williams on the checking line and people wondered what the hype was about because he never did anything. Babcock has him with Lang and Shanahan...and the kid's leading our team in scoring. Samuelsson is finally getting a chance with some top-notch talent, and lots of PP time and he's off to a great start.
Draper and Maltby have been slow starting offensively, but I believe it was Dave Shand on TKA yesterday who said they're both killing penalties as well as he's ever seen them (and with 4.2 gpg, we don't NEED those guys going)....
Anonymous from MMB: You guys are awesome. I can't wait to hear it!
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