Jeremy Laura: The League’s worst power play beats League worst PK, Wings fall to Bruins

If Buffalo and Ottawa take us back behind the woodshed and open up an extra large can of whop ass on us again you just can’t ignore the fact that big changes need to happen. I thought and hoped a coaching change would come at ten games. Well we are way past that and I now believe we’ve lost all hope of seeing a winning season.😡🤬☹️

If you watched the game expecting a W with Husso in net, you haven’t been paying attention.

Detroit may change the head coach in season now just to see if they get the "coaching bump" to "save" the season. Q is now waiting on NYR, I can't see him wanting to come to Detroit with that caliber of a team needing a coach. Woodcroft is apparently the hockey writers' guess, as he has had some contact with the team. Q is the best choice, in my humble opinion. But changing the coach is easier than a trade right now, so they will go that route.

I’ll hit all 3 at once. I do think the coaching change is the easiest. Both NYR and DET are “rumored” to be interested in Q. But there are some college names floating around which would signal an end of season change. Not to sound mean, but Gus doesn’t need to be on the ice for the D. Like, almost at all. People who have been around the team a long time are lamenting talent issues and a lot of you (us) look at dispatching players that should be riding pine.

Detroit may change the head coach in season now just to see if they get the "coaching bump" to "save" the season. Q is now waiting on NYR, I can't see him wanting to come to Detroit with that caliber of a team needing a coach. Woodcroft is apparently the hockey writers' guess, as he has had some contact with the team. Q is the best choice, in my humble opinion. But changing the coach is easier than a trade right now, so they will go that route.
- HenryHockey

I said Woodcroft 2 weeks ago. Has ties to the organization. No Q controversy. Not expensive.

And remember this summer when people thought we could maybe push for a playoff spot...I noted how deceiving last year was. A miraculous finish to grab an 8th spot with an abyssmal 91 points. You need 95-98 points most years. Then a series of stupid moves throughout the summer. I said they would take a clear step backwards. Stick to facts right.

I said Woodcroft 2 weeks ago. Has ties to the organization. No Q controversy. Not expensive.

And remember this summer when people thought we could maybe push for a playoff spot...I noted how deceiving last year was. A miraculous finish to grab an 8th spot with an abyssmal 91 points. You need 95-98 points most years. Then a series of stupid moves throughout the summer. I said they would take a clear step backwards. Stick to facts right.
- Cooleus

With all the teams in the Atlantic other than the Leafs and Cats sucking and in a log jam, and the NYR falling, it is entirely possible for a team to sneak in at about 92 pts. There is only a 3 pt between the 1st WC and 7 positions below that spot!!!! The WC spots and 3rd in the Atlantic are very much in play!

With all the teams in the Atlantic other than the Leafs and Cats sucking and in a log jam, and the NYR falling, it is entirely possible for a team to sneak in at about 92 pts. There is only a 3 pt between the 1st WC and 7 positions below that spot!!!! The WC spots and 3rd in the Atlantic are very much in play!
- HenryHockey

The NHL standings do a pretty good job of obscuring how badly the bad teams are really performing, not only because of the loser point but also because there's no way to tell at a glance how many loser points a team is giving away to their opponents.

So, one thing I periodically like to do is reconstruct the combined record of all teams against Detroit. For example, if Detroit is 2-2-2 in six games, and one of those wins was in overtime, that means their opponents went a combined 4-1-1 against them in those games.

So far this year:

Detroit:
10-11-4, 24 points, 79-point pace

Detroit's opponents against them, combined:
15-8-2, 32 points, 105-point pace

It's tempting to look at a record like 10-11-4 and think we're almost .500, we're only a few points back. And that's sorta true, in a way. But it also hides the fact that Detroit needs to be much, much better than they have been the rest of the way. You can't give your opponents 33% more standings points than you gain yourself and expect to get anywhere close to a playoff spot.

With all the teams in the Atlantic other than the Leafs and Cats sucking and in a log jam, and the NYR falling, it is entirely possible for a team to sneak in at about 92 pts. There is only a 3 pt between the 1st WC and 7 positions below that spot!!!! The WC spots and 3rd in the Atlantic are very much in play!
- HenryHockey

Naive view. Boston is on pace for just 88 points. But they are 5-2 after firing their coach and have only given up 13 goals in those 7 games. Seems logical to expect them to right the ship and end up higher than their 88-point pace.

Tampa is on a 93-point pace despite facing some key injuries. Expect them to bump that up beyond 95 points.

The last spot is NYR at a 92-point pace. I would expect that roster to figure things out and get back into a 95-100 point pace. Would only take an extra 1-2 wins over the next 50+ games to get there.

Making the playoffs with 91 points was an outlier event. Unlikely to happen again.