Malfunction at the Coaching Junction
Detroit 7 Vancouver 3
Three major reasons for the loss. (Probably plenty of others, too, but these are the ones that stood out for us.)
First
11 penalties. Are you kidding us? Sure, the refs had some bizarre moments (*the interference penalty against Matt Cooke in the 1st period. wtf??). But for the most part you obviously hold the players responsible. Undisciplined, stupid penalties all over the place. Excellent penalty killing however, for what it’s worth.
Second
Goaltending implosion. Bad night for Alex Auld.
Third
We thought the biggest factor in the loss was coaching. Does anyone else think that Marc Crawford made a terrible error in judgement by leaving Auld in the net to open the 2nd period? It seems to us that when Auld cracks early in a game, it generally just gets worse.
[More after the jump.]
Pulling him should have been a no-brainer, not only for the sake of this very important game, but also for the sake of his confidence. Stubbornly watching Auld get his ass handed to him with 7 goals isn’t helpful for anyone, neither the team nor him personally.
The other coaching issue could be seen in the waning moments of the 2nd period. Why - in the name of all that is good in the universe - do you put Naslund and Bertuzzi on the ice with less than a minute to play? Defense is not their forte by any stretch of the imagination. And so the puck ends up in the net with only seconds on the clock.
Marc Crawford is no doubt a 1000 times smarter than us about how to run an NHL hockey team. But tonight wasn’t a game to put on his resume.
Postscript: On the bright side, the Canucks had a 100% Powerplay conversion tonight. Whoo Hoo!! (Too bad we only had 2 powerplays to their 11.) The other bright spot was Mika Noronen. He looked controlled and comfortable in his 3rd period GM Place debut.
March 20th, 2006 at 1:55 pm
You’ve got the score wrong up there at the top.
Ugly game.
March 20th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Ooops. Well, leave us to our fantasies.
March 20th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
I’m totally with you. A couple of weeks ago when this tailspin began, my friends and I started seriously considering what a Crawford firing would do for the team. The guy has been a coaching genius in the past, but the last four weeks (and arguably the two before the Olympic break) have shattered my confidence in him.
They need to do something to shake things up, although being the optimistic type I am, there were a few positives to be gained from the blowout tonight. Naslund and Bertuzzi showed up, which could be the start of something beautiful. Our defence, while lousy defensively, was good offensively for the first time in ages. And as you mentioned, our back-up goalie endeared himself to the GM Place faithful.
Now would be the perfect time to peak, and go on a 6 or 8 game winning streak.