In our penultimate preseason game at PPG Paints Arena last night, a loaded Red Wings squad rallied from an early one-goal deficit to defeat the Penguins’ B-team, 2-1.
Still, there was a lot to like about our performance. Namely snap, crackle and pop…with a little hop and jam mixed in. Elements sadly lacking in our first-teamers’ play the other night. And while the execution might have been lacking to a degree, the effort wasn’t.
We even carried the play to the visitors, for the most part keeping the game north-south simple while piling up a 53-44 edge in shot attempts. The only thing missing? The ability to finish.
Here are my impressions.
Thumbs Up
I’ll start in goal. Alex Nedeljkovic was sharp as a tack, turning aside 22 of 24 shots while flashing the form he displayed in Carolina. Midway through the final period he stoned Wings sharpshooter Lucas Raymond and Austin Czarnik on a pair of shorthanded breakaways.
Radim Zohorna drove possession (Corsi of 65) and was a towering two-way presence in the middle while skating with his usual speed and authority. “Big Z” was strong on faceoffs as well (63.16 percent). Ditto Sam Poulin, whose willingness to play in traffic and get his fingernails dirty was evident.
Newcomer Jansen Harkins (pictured above) was quite noticeable. He paced the team in Corsi (72.22) and picked up a first assist on Xavier Ouellet’s goal. Harkins also displayed a welcome mix of speed and sand, engaging former Pen Jeff Petry in a shoving match.
Valtteri Puustinen may not fit the description of what we’re looking for in our bottom six, but he’s slick, skilled and crafty and possesses great offensive instincts. He assisted on our lone goal.
Although pretty much ticketed for Wilkes-Barre, Ouellet gave a strong performance (Corsi 63.16) and showed great hands on his goal, roofing a backhander from the doorstep. Mark Friedman, who appears to have been fitted with a muzzle and restraining bolts by coach Mike Sullivan in an effort to curb his aggressive instincts, was otherwise solid.
Meh
To my eye, most of the team fell into this category. Forward hopefuls Vinnie Hinostroza, Andreas Johnsson, Rem Pitlick, Austin Wagner and Colin White all showed flashes. Just not enough to really make a statement.
To digress, Johnsson was one of our few forwards who had an idea of what to do with the puck on his stick. However, he and linemates Avery Hayes and Joona Koppanen had a dreadful game, possession-wise. Wagner drew praise in some circles for his play last night. But aside from an occasional burst of speed and/or bump in the corners, I’m just not seeing it, although I confess I didn’t watch the whole game.
Continuing in the mixed-bag vein, defenseman Ty Smith handled the puck with aplomb and makes nice, tape-to-tape passes, a quality not to be overlooked. However, his d-zone play was predictably iffy at times.
I’ll lump veteran rearguard Chad Ruhwedel into this category as well. He was okay. But I’m hoping for more.
Thumbs Down
Stats-wise, Alex Nylander played a decent game (four shots on goal, 62.5 Corsi). But to me, he flunked the eye test. Virtually invisible at times, he just isn’t doing enough to earn a spot.
I wasn’t too enamored of Ryan Shea, either, although apparently he’s a sleeper candidate to make the team. He had a rough game in terms of shot suppression and he displays absolutely zero aggression (no wonder Sullivan likes him). While the much smaller Smith tangled with Wings behemoth Simon Edvinsson during a scrum, Shea stood idly by.
Thanks, but no thanks.
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Rick
I didn't see the game but by all accounts "Big Z" has a real shot to be on the
opening day roster.
I'm still wondering who on this team is going to be an offensive net front
presence, and who will be the other Defenseman alongside of Graves
to be on the first PK's first unit.
Also, I saw where the Pen's put Johnsson, Koppanen and Nylander on
waivers. "No surprise here"