Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 2 wrap-up: Wings recollect bad memories from 2019-2020 season in rough loss vs. Hawks

The Detroit Red Wings’ 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon was consequential more for reasons related to the state of the fan base than it was the state of the team.

With 5 “regulars” out of the lineup due to COVID protocols, and the Blackhawks looking to predictably prey upon the Red Wings during an 11:30 AM-local start game, the pitfalls that the Red Wings could fall into were highly visible; the scary part of the team’s second loss and fourth of their past six games was what it did to the team’s momentum–or now, the lack thereof–and what it did to the fan base in evoking so many memories of last year’s untenable, unwatchable season.

This year’s Red Wings team probably won’t make the playoffs, and most of us in the fan base are okay with that. What we want is to see a more competitive team, and, over the past two games, the Blackhawks have exposed the kinds of deep cracks and flaws in the lineup that the first four games gave us hope were mended by Steve Yzerman and the coaching staff.

In other words, the Wings stank on ice Sunday like it was still 2020, and that was terrifying. Fans are already losing hope that the 2020-2021 season will be any better, and the Wings’ patchwork lineup needs to put a significant amount of work in over the next two games in Dallas to prove themselves to their long-suffering fans–and themselves–again.

For our friends from Chicago, Sunday’s game offered a perfect “story” in the break-out of Pius Suter, who scored a hat trick, as NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis noted…

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 2 wrap-up: Wings recollect bad memories from 2019-2020 season in rough loss vs. Hawks

Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 2 quick take: Egg-laying made easy

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to earn a “split” in Chicago after dropping their first game 4-1 on Friday night. Today’s matinee game (11:30 AM local start) provided challenges, but the Red Wings needed to be up to the task of an early start…

And they needed to learn from the errors made in Friday’s taxi squad-peppered loss while bringing in Taro Hirose and Givani Smith.

So those of us who got up “early” waited for the rosters to be presented, wondering who else has joined Sam Gagner, Filip Zadina, Jon Merrill, Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri on the COVID list.

Ultimately, the Wings laid an egg, losing 6-2, and it was the fault of everyone–the coaches, the players, the special teams (or the lack thereof), the goaltending, it was all ugly, and the pair of losses against Chicago displayed a distinct inability to learn how to better play an opponent the second time around, which was the most concerning part of an ugly, ugly loss.

Continue reading Red Wings-Blackhawks Game 2 quick take: Egg-laying made easy

NBC Sports profiles Bobby Ryan

Ahead of today’s “brunch” game between the Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, NBC Sports’ Sean Leahy posted a profile of Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan:

Ryan is long-past the early days of his NHL career where he was a four-time 30-goal scorer. But now healthy, in body and mind, he went to Detroit for the chance to turn things around.

“For me, this was a ‘prove it’ year,” he said, “an opportunity for me to take the step that I should have taken years ago but hadn’t been able to because of outside stuff.”

His arrival in a Red Wings uniform got off to a brief delay. An injury forced him to miss the team’s opener against Carolina, a 3-0 win. Since he joined the lineup, Ryan has produced in all three games, scoring four goals to lead Detroit entering Sunday’s meeting (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC) with the Blackhawks.

Ryan’s scoring streak was historic as well as he became the first player in franchise history to score four goals in his first three games with the team.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” said Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. “He’s come to play for our team, and that’s huge. He’s a smart hockey player and I think he’s been our best player the past two games. When he has the puck, he’s dangerous, when he doesn’t, he makes the right things happen and makes the right plays. It’s a lesson for guys like myself and our line to learn from.”

Continued

Anxiety and depression are limiting progression…But I’m not done fighting them

I’m doing a little better today, though “better” and “good” are separate things.

I’m aware that my mental health has been shitty lately, and I am very sincerely sorry for the lapses in coverage. It’s not been my intent in any way, shape or form to have to deal with these anxiety attacks–they are not something that I want to be happening to me–and I still believe that between medication, therapy and psychiatry, I’ll be able to manage them better than I have over the past three weeks.

Long story short, I’m not going to give up trying to battle through my anxiety and depression. I still believe that I can be a useful presence in the Red Wings blogging world, and the trio of setbacks over the past four weeks are not going to shake my resolve.

I’m sorry for the interruptions in coverage. They are not intentional and they are not personal. What’s personal is my damn battle to fight through my chronic illnesses to provide you with the best coverage I can, and that battle is far from over.

Pre-Wings-Hawks news: Blackhawks will start Kevin Lankinen in goal

The Detroit Red Wings play the Chicago Blackhawks at an absolutely odd hour today for NBC’s national telecast, skating into the United Center for an 11:30 AM local time start.

There is no lineup news regarding the Wings as of yet…

But there is news regarding the Blackhawks, per ChicagoBlackhawks.com’s Carter Baum: