Previewing the Wings/Canucks with Chris Hollis

To further set up tonight’s game against the Red Wings, I interviewed Chris Hollis of Motown Wings and Sleepless in Michigan about the team’s struggles so far this year. He also asked me some questions about the Canucks; you can find my responses over on his site. My questions and his responses are after the jump.

Andrew Bucholtz: What do you think has been the biggest factor in the Wings’ slow start?

Chris Hollis: This is a two-part question in my mind. In terms of the fans and media, I think that an ever-present set of high expectations is making this start seem alot worse than it really is. Anyone who listened to management during the off-season would have realized that this team was going to go through some growing pains, and that is exactly what is happening right now. When expectations start at such a high level, it’s easy to get let down.

In terms of play, it’s a combination of youth in the lineup paired with a plethora of new faces and a sprinkling of injury. Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm are seeing a huge jump in regular playing time at the NHL level. Jonathan Ericsson is getting his first taste of how an 82-game season feels. Brad May, Jason Williams, Todd Bertuzzi and Patrick Eaves are all new to the lineup. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk both have had a slow start and some lingering injury issues. Johan Franzen is out until March.

Now combine that mess with some spotty goaltending to start the season, and it should be no surprise why we are struggling out of the gate. However, I think this is like dominoes waiting to fall: once one piece of the puzzle finally falls into place, the others will follow suit shortly. For me, the first domino needs to be some more scoring.

A.B.: Are they going to turn it around eventually, or is this a down year for Detroit?

C.H.: Again, I think it comes down to what you define as a “down” year. If you are in the “anything other than a Central title and Cup run” camp, you are going to be disappointed. Does that mean they can’t do it? Absolutely not. I think you will see the Wings start putting it together over the next couple of months, hitting a nice stride as the Olympic break nears. Then it’s all about a last big push toward the playoffs and the return of Franzen will help drive that. If they can just shore up the goaltending a bit, I can see Detroit right in the thick of the Western Conference battle.

A.B.: Who was the biggest off-season loss?

C.H.: Well, right now it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the loss of Mikael Samuelsson is hurting us a bit, but at the end of the day I’m going to say Jiri Hudler was the toughest loss. He’s a young guy with some nice upside and scoring touch, but more importantly he was a product of the system in Detroit and fit in nicely with the guys around him. Plus, once Hossa bolted for Chicago, everyone automatically assumed he was staying. Talk about damaging the psyche.

A.B.: How has Todd Bertuzzi looked so far? Does he have any gas left in the tank?

C.H.: Honestly, Bert has been a very pleasant surprise. It hasn’t necessarily translated onto the score sheet yet, but he is looking better every game out and is really pushing himself to play disciplined, system hockey. I mean, seriously, when was the last time anyone remembers Bert focusing on his defensive game? But he’s doing it and he’s going to be a solid contributor for this team this season at both ends of the ice, while providing a solid physical presence…if he can stay healthy.

A.B.: How is Nick Lidstrom playing? Will he contend for the Norris Trophy again this year, or has age caught up to him?

C.H.: I think Lidstrom is slowly embracing the role that we will see him take for the rest of his Red Wings career: a mentor. Sure, he’s still one of the best defensemen in the league, but I really do think we have seen him win his last Norris trophy. With a younger set of blueliners in the mix in Detroit, Nick is going to be counted on more and more to lead by example, and that means showing these guys the importance of a “D first” mentality. He has that “C” on his jersey for a reason, and he’ll grow into his role eventually. In fact, I’d love to see it start tonight with Mike Babcock putting the struggling Jonathan Ericsson with Lidstrom for some veteran support and advice.

A.B.: Both Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard haven’t put up impressive stats so far in goal. Are they both playing poorly, or are their numbers the fault of a poor team effort? Which of them do you see as the Red Wings’ main goalie this year?

C.H.: This is no real surprise when it comes to Osgood. He is notorious for putting up stingy playoff numbers while having mediocre numbers during the regular season. Let’s not forget, this is the goalie who had to go on a 10 day “head-clearing” break last season. Here’s the problem: Ty Conklin isn’t backing him up this season.

Instead, we have the Jimmy Howard Experiment in net, who has done almost nothing to make me believe he has the potential to be an NHL-caliber goaltender. Sure, he’s made some great saves in some of his starts, but the problem is not the pucks he stops, it’s the pucks he lets in. He’s good for a at least one bonehead goal against per game, and when you don’t have scoring in front of you, that leads to losses. I think some scoring would go a long way in helping both of their confidence levels, but they can’t sit back and wait all season for that to happen. Osgood can steal a game or two if needed, which is why he gets the most time in net this year.

A.B.: How do you see the Red Wings doing tonight? How about for the rest of the season?

C.H.: It’s interesting, because both of these teams have had interesting starts to the season and both are starting to understand the value of these early wins. I like Detroit tonight in this one for the fact that they’ve played two close, tough hockey games on this road trip and they are in line for some puck luck to finally go their way. Plus, with Samuelsson across from them getting all kinds of attention, you better believe these guys will want to try and knock him back down a few notches and remind him of what he left in the Detroit organization. Combine all of that with Vancouver’s injuries and I like the Wings to take down a 4-2 decision tonight. As for the season, they’ll bounce back over the next couple of months, compete for the Central title, and if they don’t win it will make it into the playoffs as a 4 or 5 seed.

Tags: Chris Hollis, Detroit Red Wings, interviews, Mikael Samuelsson, previews, Todd Bertuzzi