We here at Ab(r)andon Inge have decided to do a weekly roundtable post, where we all give our insight and opinion on a single question relating to Detroit sports.
This week, the question is:
Will the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup this season?
Ryan Prohaska (@Ryan_M_Pro):
In short, I do not believe the Wings can win the cup. Considering they will most likely play 3 of the 4 series on the road, where they struggle, I do not see them being able to pull it off. I think they will make the conference finals and lose in 6 games to Vancouver.
Phil Johnson (@DoWorkLaRoy):
If you put a fork to my nose and asked me if the Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup, I'd say yes. If you put a fork to my nose and asked me if the Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup this year, I'd say no. The lack of firepower from the team since the 23 game home winning streak ended has been alarming. Unless the power play pulls a Franzen and wakes up in the playoffs, I think this Wings team will bow out in the first or second round depending on the draw.
Frank Vajcner (@Frank_Vajcner):
It’s hard to bet against The Red Wings in the playoffs. With players that have been on the team for at least one cup winning season, you can always expect them to be in contention. This year is no different. The Wings don’t have a dominant 40-plus goal scorer, but they don’t need one when they get balanced goal scoring. Four players (Johan Franzen, Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, and Henrik Zetterberg) have scored at least 20 goals this season, and the team has gotten an NHL-best 44 goals from their defensemen. Plus Jimmy Howard has been a lot better in goal, posting a 2.14 GAA and a .920 save percentage. On the injury front, the only player that will be out is center Darren Helm. The only knock against the Wings is their power play, which is ranked 21st in the NHL.
Despite only being able to possibly secure the 4th seed in the Western Conference, the Red Wings have the talent and coaching to win their 12th Stanley Cup. The keys to success will be to improve the power play, and avoid a first round matchup with Nashville, or with San Jose without home-ice advantage. The Wings have not been good on the road, and that is why the wait for cup number twelve will continue until at least next season.
Brian Sakowski (@B_Sakowski):
Admittedly, I'm not the biggest hockey guy. I love watching the Wings, but that's about as far as my interest in the sport goes. I do know from watching the Wings this season that they play ridiculously well at home, not so well on the road, rely on 1-2 actually consistent players (Datsyuk, Pavel; and Lidstrom, Nicklas), and then ride the hot streaks of others for X amount of games at a time (Filpulla, Franzen, etc). If these streaky players decide to catch fire all at once, and maintain it for a month, then yes, I do believe that the Wings will win the Stanley Cup. However, for the sake of not sounding like a ridiculous slappy, I will say no, not this year.
LGRW
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