DETROIT — You can spin it any way you want and maybe
a 10th of a second would have made the difference.
But, until the Red Wings start on time, stay out of the penalty box and receive
a goal or two from Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler, time may not really
matter.
A slow start, an early power play goal, and a lack of production from two of
Detroit’s top goal scorers resulted in a 3-2 Red Wings defeat to the Nashville
Predators, Sunday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.
It was Nashville’s first franchise playoff win in Detroit and propelled the
Predators to a 2-1 advantage in their best-of-7 first-round series.
With Game 4 slated for Tuesday night, the Wings need to find a way to quickly
tweak their game or the Predators could return to the Music City with a
stranglehold in this series.
“We’ve got to be more disciplined, because they’re calling this stuff. We’ve
got to stay out of the box,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “We did a
lot of good things, their goaltender was good. We just have to come back and
get after them at the start of the game to the end of the game, like we did
today in the latter half.”
Starting on time has been Babcock’s mantra all season long. A typical
Wings effort is a sleepy first period, a jump-start second period, followed by
an all-out barrage in the third period.
It may win games during the regular season, but during the playoffs the Wings have
to be dialed in from the start or they’ll allow opponents a distinct advantage.
The Wings need to come out of the gate strong, they need to play more
controlled and they must play better in their own end. However, if they
continue to struggle to score, their run to the Cup is in serious jeopardy.
The Wings outshot the Predators 43-22, but they missed numerous opportunities
because of bad puck luck — Johan Franzen’s apparent game tying-goal at the end
of the second period was a 10th of a second too late.
Maybe the Wings deserved better, but when creating chances in this game, they must
seize the moment at this time of year.
That’s why it’s imperative to Detroit that Filppula and Hudler begin to light
the lamp. Of Detroit’s 43 shots on net in Sunday’s game, Filppula and
Hudler combined for three, one by Hudler and two by Filppula.
That’s not enough shots from a duo that scored 48 goals between them (Hudler,
25, Filppula, 23) during the regular season. Only Franzen scored more
regular-season Detroit tallies with 29.
For the series, Filppula has an assist, six shots and is a minus-2.
Hudler hasn’t registered a point, has four shots on goal and is also a minus-2.
By comparison, Henrik Zetterberg fired nine shots on Pekka Rinne in just
Sunday’s game.
Sure, Zetterberg receives more ice time and that the quality
of shots is far more important than the quantity, but Filppula and Hudler have
been missing in action. They need to be more engaged and drive harder to the
net. What makes their lack of production alarming is that each of them
has made significant contributions during previous playoff runs.
Heading into this playoff campaign, Hudler had 31 points, including 10 goals in
63 career playoff games. Filppula totals are 50 points, including 17
goals in 88 playoff contests.
With season-ending injuries to Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves, Detroit’s
secondary scoring is at a premium and Filppula and Hudler should not be
secondary scorers on this team.
Babcock and the rest of Detroit’s brass may not publically admit it, but they
must be extremely miffed and concerned that two of their key goals scorers have
become ice cold.
There’s still time for Hudler and Filppula to dent the score
sheet, but if they remain passengers on this playoff ride, they’ll lead their
team on the road to nowhere.
