Mike Babcock has no time for your ‘bounce back’ talk
Goalie Petr Mrazek gets the start in Game 3 of the Detroit Red Wings’ series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his series this far as gone as expected. As long as you expected him to play well in giving up two goals in a 44-save Game 1 effort, and then fall apart in giving up four goals on just 18 shots in Game 2.
The Red Wings should have, as this has been Mrazek’s M.O. this season: Look brilliant one night, human the next, but then look just as brilliant in the next start.
As Bill Roose pointed out in the Red Wings’ site, Mrazek getting pulled for Jimmy Howard in Game 2 could mean good things for Game 3:
On the four previous occasions that Mrazek was relieved, he has responded by posting a 3-0-1 record with a 1.71 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in the four starts that followed the games in which he was replaced.
“That’s what he does and that’s what he has been doing for us all year,” defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “I will say however, I didn’t think (any) of those goals were faults on him. We made some big mistakes and he was left hung out to dry. We have to do a better job in front of him.”
So it’s that bounce-back ability that had Mike Babcock turning to Mrazek for Game 3, right?
Uh… please don’t bring up the bounce back thing to Mike Babcock. From MLive.com:
"This bounce back thing, I'd like to clear this up," Babcock said. "In the National Hockey League, if you get known for bouncing back you're usually not in the league because you can't have bad games to bounce back from. So you got to play good every night."
"I didn't think we gave Pete a chance," Babcock said. "I took Pete out in Game 2. I went to Pete right away and said 'Pete, you're starting Game 3.' That (his ability to bounce back) had nothing to do with it.
There you go. It’s not a bounce back because it’s the defense’s fault he was bounced, so hence it’s more like a “back.” Until he gets bounced from Game 3, in which case he either bounces back or is back on the bench as Jimmy Howard bounces off the bench per Babcock for a bounce-back bonanza battling Bolts. Boo-yah.
