I'll be honest... I didn't get to watch the whole game last night, but man, the Red Wings are looking like a tough team to beat. This team is starting to show some swagger, and a confidence not seen since Jeff Blashill took over at the helm.
I was beyond skeptical of their ability to contain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but they did. For the most part, they managed to keep them to the outside, limiting the quality shots. They are getting timely offense from up and down the lineup, with Namestnikov scoring two. He now has 7 on the year in just 14 games, while he had 8 all of last year in 53 games. These are the kind of bounce-back seasons the Red Wings need to move the needle on the rebuild. We all knew there was more to Vlad's game than the 8 he scored last year, and I'm sure there will be a down stretch, but he was able to score on a night when the top line wasn't clicking.
Nedeljkovic had his best game as a Red Wing, shutting the door when the barrage did come in the third. The Red Wings showed up on time for this one, something I lamented in my last post. They were out in front from the start, and maybe it's the big-game motivation that got them there. This is how they need to show up every night.
I don't expect them to win every time they face a top team, but this was a welcomed change from game one where they blew two separate three-goal leads to the Lightning. This team is battling, and has me eating the words I wrote just before yesterdays game. I am very cautiously optimistic about this team. The infusion of immensely talented youth, coupled with some savvy veterans continues to pay dividends, and I can't wait to see how they follow it up tomorrow. We are now 20% of the way through the season, and this team is looking like they belong right where they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment