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Detroit Red Wings Report Between the Pipes

By Frank Cerulla

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With the season about to take off, the question is arising more and more, “Who is starting in net?” That question, however, is hard to answer considering the fact that Blashill has not named a starter nor has either goalie really proved themselves to their full extent. With goaltending comes confidence and competition. Starters and back-ups have a love/hate relationship. This can cause some serious competition, and for each goalie to push themselves to their limits in order to get in between those pipes for their team.

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Petr Mrazek proved that he can hang in this league. Starting all seven games in the 2014 post-season against the Lightning, Mrazek posted a .925 save percentage and a 2.11 GAA.

The problem with each goalie is consistency. One night you may see Jimmy stand on his head and make saves that you may never see him make again. Same with Mrazek. And another night you may see one of them let in a fluke goal that may be the difference maker of the game overall. Sad thing is, this may happen once in a blue moon for a goalie which is expected. But the only problem is, with the goaltending here in Detroit, it seems that happens a little too often for anyones liking.

As the pre-season carries on, both Jimmy and Petr both have split time and both have done alright. Although the pre-season doesn’t mean much, it can kind of give the audience and coaches a little insight as to what they might see to come in the season.

If you see Jimmy or Petr have decent games in the pre-season, don’t get your hopes up. Compare it to the NFL pre-season. It means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. It really is the only time for coaches to make their last roster changes before the big dance starts up.

On another night, you may see one of them let in a fluke goal that may be the difference maker of the game overall. The sad thing is that this may happen once in a blue moon for a goalie which is expected. But the only problem is, with the goaltending here in Detroit, it seems that happens a little too often for anyones liking.

So until the season starts up and us being able to watch what each goalie can accomplish,  there is not much to talk about unfortunately. With each goalie splitting time, we will just have to wait and see.  My prediction is that Petr Mrazek will start the season opener against the Maple Leafs when Babcock returns to town. With this up and coming young Red Wing squad, you may see a lot of new faces as Jeff Blashill was once the coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins. He now will have a grand opportunity to bring up a lot of his “guys” and give them a shot at the big leagues. Also with coaching Mrazek for the three years, he may have a confidence level in him that many others do not have.

According to Jeff Blashill and recorded by Ansur Khan of MLive.com:

"“We’ll let the competition play itself out, but I think the thing about competition is it doesn’t end at any point; it remains throughout the season and that goes for everybody,” Blashill said. “If you’re an elite player in this league, you’re fighting every day to stay an elite player. If you’re a player that’s been a good player for a couple years, you’re fighting to stay in that spot and maybe get higher.”"

This quote in general was meant for every player on that team. But hopefully this strikes a fire under Jimmy’s behind to get the wheels turning. Unfortunately, nobody is guaranteed playing time. In order to play, you have to perform. It may hurt the Wings putting Jimmy on the bench with such a large contract, but I would rather see the team win, they play a man just because “we have too.”

For now, lets focus game by game with the net-minders and see how it goes. The season is long which means there is a lot of hockey to be played. Even though my prediction is to have Mrazek start us off, we will more than likely see them split time until one of them gets hot.

Next: The OctoPulse: Who's trending up and down?

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