Wings look for return to basics in the desert
The Red Wings take plenty of encouragement into tonight's Game 2 of their opening series against the Phoenix Coyotes and fully expect to still steal a game in the desert.
It was an unusually bad night in the 3-2 Game 1 defeat for an otherwise strong penalty kill and lethal power play, and two big blown calls didn't help. The Wings need a boost in physical play, which is why Justin Abdelkader is in and Jason Williams is out. Throw in a few big hits, maintain a strong effort, and the Wings like their chances.
"I definitely think we can try to use our bodies a little bit more," Niklas Kronwall said Thursday. "But we just want to stick to our game plan and play the way we need to play to be successful."
Here's the to-do list for Game 2:
Make the Coyotes defensemen pay
The Wings need to go after them the way Phoenix forwards went after Detroit's blue liners.
Keep getting to Ilya Bryzgalov
The Wings had good traffic around him in Game 1 and need to keep irritating the big guy.
Use the power play in retaliation
The Wings had six opportunities with the man advantage, but only scored once.
Start strong, finish strong
The Wings owned the first half of the game, then sat back as the Coyotes surged. That's not the way to win playoff games.
The Red Wings take plenty of encouragement into tonight's Game 2 of their opening series against the Phoenix Coyotes and fully expect to still steal a game in the desert.
It was an unusually bad night in the 3-2 Game 1 defeat for an otherwise strong penalty kill and lethal power play, and two big blown calls didn't help. The Wings need a boost in physical play, which is why Justin Abdelkader is in and Jason Williams is out. Throw in a few big hits, maintain a strong effort, and the Wings like their chances.
"I definitely think we can try to use our bodies a little bit more," Niklas Kronwall said Thursday. "But we just want to stick to our game plan and play the way we need to play to be successful."
Here's the to-do list for Game 2:
Make the Coyotes defensemen pay
The Wings need to go after them the way Phoenix forwards went after Detroit's blue liners.
Keep getting to Ilya Bryzgalov
The Wings had good traffic around him in Game 1 and need to keep irritating the big guy.
Use the power play in retaliation
The Wings had six opportunities with the man advantage, but only scored once.
Start strong, finish strong
The Wings owned the first half of the game, then sat back as the Coyotes surged. That's not the way to win playoff games.
