The 2011-12 NHL Season was one that many people felt a few of the stalwart Stanley Cup contenders might fall by the side of the road. Many of these gurus pointed to the potential demise of the Detroit Red Wings as an example. The City of Detroit may have a lot of problems, but the Red Wings are definitely not one of them.
Old Man River
Nobody doubted the talent on the Red Wings heading into the season. The only question was the one that none of us could avoid – AGE. Could the Red Wings make it through another season on their aching legs or was it time to rebuild. Management undoubtedly looked at the misery that will be the rebuilding process and decided to see if the old men could work one last season of magic. With this in mind, a bunch of 30 years olds and one epic 40 year old hit the ice. This will be a team that needs your support to boost moral. Be sure to purchase your Red Wings tickets now to cheer them on at every game.
The early season results made it look like management had made a very bad mistake. The team looked old and slow. The team went as far as losing five games straight at one point in the season. One could almost hear knees clicking as the players moved around the ice and the results showed as much. The Red Wings needed to do something to get people to stay interested in buying Red Wings tickets and they did. Just when it seemed like the great Red Wings era was over, someone either found the fountain of youth or made a deal with the devil. Players like 42 year old Nicklas Lidstrom and thirty year olds Pavel Datsyuk, Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, Johan Frantzen and Henrik Zetterberg all started to play well. People started getting very excited about going to games and a lot of Red Wing tickets sold out.
Suddenly, the Red Wings of old returned. The team clamped down on defense and started scoring again like it had in past seasons. The team shot up the standings and now has the second highest point total in the Western Conference with a 23-12-1 record good for 47 points. The gloom and doom is gone and the coach and players now talk openly about challenging for the Stanley Cup at the end of the year. I mean who wouldn’t want to buy Red Wings tickets to see them win the Stanley Cup? I know I would buy them if I had the chance.
Offense
The Red Wings are a treat to watch on offense, particularly when center Pavel Datsyuk has the puck. They have the 5th best offense in the league, which scores 3.3 goals a game as well as the 5th best power play which converts at 20.1 percent. Datsyuk leads the way with 38 points, while Johan Frantzen has a team best 14 goals. The real breakthrough player, however, is Valtteri Filppula who has 12 goals, 17 assists and 29 points. These three are followed closely in the points by a compliment of players, which gives the Red Wings one of the deepest offenses in the league.
Defense
The 2010 Red Wings defense was simply not good. Management seemed to realize as much and sought to bolster it with a new player for the top four pairing. It worked and the team returned to the fifth best defensive rating in the league. New addition Ian White has been a revelation with a +25 rating while Niklas Lidstrom continues to defy age and play at a very high level. Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronwall round out a top four that can match any in the league.
To have a truly fine defense, however, one has to have a top quality goaltender. Jimmy Howard has become that for the Red Wings. Scarily inconsistent when he first came up from the minors, Howard has settled down and become the anchor of the defense. He sports a 1.95 goal against average with a save percentage of .930. No team could ask for more.
Improvements
Do the Red Wings have any immediate concerns? Yes. They have shown a relatively porous power play defense. They let teams convert their power play opportunities at a 19.4 percent rate, which is 21st worst in the league. The team will need to tighten this up significantly if it hopes to go far in the playoffs where power plays take on added importance.
Outlook
The Red Wings looked all but dead early in the season. Now, they look like the Red Wings of old. Can they win another Stanley Cup? It is a long grind to get there and these players have seen plenty of miles pass under their skates. The talent is there, but it will take some good fortune to avoid any injuries to major players that could put a stop on their run. Lets hope that this does not happen. Be sure to go out and support the team by buying Red Wings tickets.
