Postgame: Red Wings @ Flyers – 3/6

I wasn’t going to write up and postgame notes ’cause the Wings’ power play effort has me p*ssed off, but I don’t want to do a formal recap of the game right now either so I’ll start with notes.

After the game, Babcock said he thought the Wings played the Flyers hard but gifted them two goals. I won’t disagree about the gifts but I’ll be damned if that was the Wings playing hard.

Even though Detroit came back to outshoot Philly, was there ever a moment where the Flyers felt threatened? Sure, they were mad after Niklas Kronwall’s hit on Jakub Voricek (more on that to come) but I don’t think they ever thought, “Man, we might lose this game.”

People used to talk about the aura the Wings had. Around the time that you started hearing that the Wings didn’t need a fighter because their power play was a better enforcer than a fourth-liner would ever be, people talked about the team like they were a force of nature. This team doesn’t have that. Quite honestly, they haven’t earned it.

Now, some of that is the fact that seven players who should be in the Detroit lineup right now are injured. Yes, I think Patrick Eaves should be in over Jan Mursak or Cory Emmerton. And to a certain extent, the guys who are left are doing what they can.

That said, losing one power play unit doesn’t make the other one suddenly forget how to get the puck to the net. Multiple power plays with no shots on goal? That’s just absurd.

As for the Kronwall hit… Earlier I said I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a suspension but that I don’t think there should be one. I’m going give Shanahan some more credit than that and change my mind. There won’t be a suspension there. That’s the poster child for a “keep your head up” play. While no one wants to see Voracek hurt, we also don’t want to see that kind of hit taken out of the game.

For those who missed it, that clip is all over the Internet right now but I’ll get a version of it up on DH.N soon.