wings/avs - blueline depth

[Guest Azazello13]

for all the talk of detroit's four lines that can score, i think the avs are starting to show that they're better and deeper on the blueline.

 

the avs 3,4 and 5 d-men are devries, kaspar and skoula, all of whom have looked pretty good (or better) through the whole playoffs. the wings answer? fischer, duchesne and olaussen? fischer has looked absolutely LOST out there against the avs' speed. olaussen and duchesne are OK, but they're not the kind of players you can look to to contain the sakic and/or forsberg lines. lidstrom and chelios can only play so much, and size and age aren't on their side as the series moves on. this is something to keep an eye on.

[Hugh 0ne]

Agreed, and as the series goes deeper, the Wings D may tire. In general, the longer the series goes, the better for the Avs. The Wings have the talent and the coahing to be great, but their age offensively and lack of defensive depth can hurt them.

[policyvote]

The main problem is that the Wings are without Larionov and partially without Yzerman--both of whom are extremely savvy, intelligent vets who can play both ways very well. In their place are Datsyuk and Willams--who are both talented young players, but who aren't as savvy or as defensively skilled (especially Datsyuk, who's a total space cadet in his own end). This has put even more pressure on the Wings' defensemen, and the result has been far too many blown assignments and wide-open Avs. Hasek is on his game, but the kind of shots that the Wings are letting the Avs take are the very kind that goalies can't do much about.

 

On the other side of the ice, Roy has been substandard in net (and not substandard in "Greatest Playoff Goalie EVER!!!!" terms, just plain substandard), but the Avs defense has played very well. As Az said, the second tier of Colorado blueliners (DeVries, Hinote, etc.) have stepped up their play, and the Wings just weren't explosive tonight. They couldn't get up the ice, they couldn't keep it in the zone, and they weren't getting any shots on net--all of which Detroit is normally very good at.

 

Yup, Colorado's blueline gave 'em the W.

 

Peace

policy

[Guest Azazello13]

there are two big reasons at the start of the second round i predicted the winner of the avs/sharks series would win the cup:

1 is that i admittedly hate the wings and relish the thought of seeing them lose;

2 is that the avs and sharks have the two best, deepest bluelines in the league.

 

san jose's D corps is just going to be PHENOMENAL for years to come. i mean, right now their third pair is suter and marchment...that could be the second pair on all but a handful of teams in the league (including the wings!). they're all big and strong, and they're all great skaters. and their best players on D are their youngest players: stuart, hannan, rathje.

[redwings.cup]

i think you're under rating the amount of time chelly and lidstrom can play. this was a great game tonight, and one the avs won due to drury's great individual effort as opposed to a wings d failing. fischer will continue to play better as the series progresses. Scotty will shift things around as need be... 7 games here we come. fun to watch, but don't underestimate the savvy of the old vets like olaussen and duchesne .

[Guest Azazello13]

redwings.cup:

fischer will continue to play better as the series progresses.

you'd better hope so. he was AWFUL tonight. how about that game winner, when chelios bit HARD on drury's fake calling for the shot, and fischer looked like the fish flopping around in that faith no more video in front of the crease.

loco :P lol