By Kyle Bauer

A three day man fest! Or rather fest for men! Pt. 1 of 3

I typed in "Red Wings Night before Thanksgiving" into Google Image and
I got this....it works. Wonder who Dave Coulier spends
Thanksgiving with?

Grosse fin de semaine à Montréal, avec trois points sur une possibilité de quatre contre deux grosses formations (quoique les Wings ne font plus si peur cette année… Il leur manque quelque chose, une étincelle, je ne sais quoi… Lidstrom n’a que huit points depuis le début de l’année, Datsyuk est ordinaire, défensivement ça va plus ou moins bien. Mais bon, ils ont quand même une fiche de 11-6-4, ce qui n’est pas si pire.). Mais, au delà des performances, c’est en ce lundi que beaucoup de choses se sont passées. Allons-y en ordre chronologique d’importance.

Laraque suspendu
Pas de surprise là-dessus, Georges mérite ce traitement. Ces cinq matchs loin de l’action ne feront pas si changement pour lui, c’est le moins qu’on puisse dire. J’espère au moins que ceux-là le feront au moins réfléchir un peu plus sur le rôle qu’il a à remplir ici, qui n’est pas de prendre six minutes de punition sur le même jeu, mais plutôt d’imposer une présence physique permanante lorsqu’il est utilisé. Je comprends totalement qu’il soit déçu de son temps de jeu, mais ce n’est pas en faisant des gestes comme ça qu’il va revenir dans les bonnes grâces de l’entraîneur.

En vidéo : le geste de Laraque

C’est ce Price-là qu’on veut
Quelque chose de rare c’est produit : le même gardien a gardé les buts pour quatre matchs de suite pour le Canadien ! Et, pour une fois, une telle séquence n’est pas due au contre-performances de l’un, mais plutôt au succès de l’autre. Carey Price a enfin compris que c’était la saison de la vérité pour lui, en tout cas, c’est ce que j’espère. Je n’attribue pas ses quatres dernières performances (au cours desquelles il n’a accordé que huit buts au total) comme étant de la chance, mais plutôt du talent et, peut-être, un gros caractère. Il faut établir un ordre des gardiens à Montréal si on veut redresser l’équipe, et Carey ne laisse pas trop le choix à son entraîneur en ce moment. Jacques Martin se doit de garder son étoile devant le filet tant et aussi longtemps qu’il jouera comme ça.

Guillaume Latendresse s’en va! Et c’est le retour de Sergei Kostistyn…
Les trois points qui finissent le titre ne sont pas de l’appréhension. Je vois d’un très bon oeil le retour de Sergei dans la grosse équipe. Le CH a beau avoir connu une bonne semaine, ça ne veut pas dire que tout va bien et que tout est réglé, surtout que l’infirmerie se remplit encore à chaque jour. Spacek, Gomez, Gionta, D’Agostini, Markov, ce sont quand même des gros noms qu’il manque, et on a beau reprocher beaucoup de choses à SK, on ne peut pas gagner grand chose avec des Moen, Metropolit et Pacioretty sur la 2e ligne. J’espère vivement qu’il sera inséré dans la formation et qu’il suivra l’exemple de son frère en prenant un peu de maturité et en donnant son maximum.

Pour ce retour dans le grand club (pas celui de RDS, celui de la LNH), Sergei peut dire merci à Guillaume Latendresse, qui a été chassé de Montréal à coup de pieds dans le derrière. Pour moi, c’est une surprise. J’avais entendu des rumeurs, mais n’y croyais pas vraiment ; j’espérais qu’on essayerait des mater Tender plutôt que de l’envoyer loin d’ici et d’abandonner son cas. Je suis déçu de ça, j’aimais bien ce gros bonhomme, et en plus mon t-shirt avec son nom dans le dos est caduque. J’espère qu’il sera heureux avec Pierre-Marc Bouchard chez le Wild, où on lui donnera peut-être la chance de jouer avec régularité avec les mêmes joueurs. Peut-être nous fera-t-il regretter cet échange comme Mike Ribeiro l’a fait ? En attendant, regardons du bord de Montréal, où le nouveau venu, Benoit Pouliot, est un bon jeune qui pourra devenir très bon, mais qui, comme Tender est décevant. Pouliot est un joueur peu reconnu pour son ardeur au travail… un autre lâche avec le Tricolore ?!? Ça reste à voir.

Le mot de la fin
Scott Gomez : 2 buts, 9 passes, 8 000 000 $. C’est tout.

Last night, Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. While around town, we have only heard about Yzermans induction, remember all three played on one incredible hockey team. I understand the fawning of Yzerman in the light of this moment. Yzerman rejuvenated a franchise with his two hands and a bionic knee.

But it was that 2001-02 season, where four inductees in the past two classes, were grouped together and he was the one who stood out. His riveting performance on one leg, in visible pain, carrying the Wings back from an imminent first round upset at the hands of Vancouver. He finished the playoffs with 23 points in 21 games. Yzerman was largely ineffective after the second round series against St.Louis, but he carried the weight of nine other Hall of Famers through the first two rounds.

Yes, nine other Hall of Famers; Larionov, Hull, Robitaille, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Hasek, Chelios, Fedorov and likely Datsyuk, so lets say ten. Yet, this seems to be the forgotten team. I suppose it was for lack of longevity. Really the 2008 Cup winning team has already seemed to suffer a fade in luster and will likely suffer the same relative obscurity.

Nineteen-Ninety-Seven was the first Stanley Cup in 42 years, they won back to back, there was emotion and adversity with the Fedorov hold-out and Konstinov accident. All seems to point towards the back to back cups as being the forever titles. But the bottom line is an assembly of such supreme talent is rare. We didn’t see such an assembly in any other team than 2002. The 01-02 Red Wings would smoke the back to back cup teams, trust me, I know, I have played out this match-up on NHL 2K9 several times.

I am just asking talent to be appreciated. That team finished the regular season 51-17-10, a dominating total of 116 points. But they did not make it boring. Of course there was the aforementioned hiccup against Vancouver in the first round. Detroit fell behind in the series 0-2 and it took a freak center ice goal from Lidstrom (or rather the ineptitude of Dan Cloutier) for Detroit to save themselves.

They played back to back hard fought series against St. Louis and Colorado, both fine teams that season. The series against the Blues seen Chris Pronger injure himself, trying to take out the wounded Yzerman, which is still one of my all-time favorite hockey moments.

The first six games of the 2002 Western Conference was the best display of playoff hockey I had ever seen. The two teams went toe to toe, trading what looked like knock out blow after knock out blow. It wasn’t until a surprise Yzerman goal in game six, paired with another oddly effective Darren McCarty performance, that got the Wings game six in Colorado while facing elimination. Game 7 ended the Avalanche run as a contender and Patrick Roy’s career. Completing the circle of the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry, that for a time, was the best in sports.

Then how about in the Stanley Cup finals? So many people pass that series off as forgettable, but if you don’t remember some key moments of that series, then you simply weren’t paying attention in the first place.

Game 3 of that series was simply put, one of the best Stanley Cup finals games ever. It sea-sawed back and forth. The Wings had to score with a minute left in the third, on a controversial power play to send it into overtime. Fallowing a couple hit posts and tremendous saves from Irbe and Hasek it eventually went into a sixth period. Larionov got a great break on a pick set by Dandendault and floated a backhand up over Irbe to end it. This game seems lost in time. Despite had the Wings lost, they would had been down 2 to 1, with two more games to play in Carolina. It was a beautiful, clutch goal, in a gut wrenchingly important game, yet it seems overshadowed by Kris Drapper scoring in early overtime of game two in the ‘98 finals.

Who got the Conn Smythe? It somehow was not Yzerman who lead the team in points on one leg. It somehow wasn’t Hull who lead the team in goals. It somehow wasn’t Hasek who set a record for playoff shut outs with seven. It was Lidstrom who lead the team in ice time, plus-minus, while adding 16 points and only taking one penalty. This was a largely debatable decision rooted in the depth of this team.

So my plea is to take this time and remember not just Yzerman, but that entire 2001-2002 team. Every player, from Sean Avery and Jiri Slegr to Sergie Fedorov and Uwe Krupp. They were an interesting roster, just aside from the all the Hall of Fame talent.

It was for all intents and purposes, a rented team. There was a core from ‘98 there but the big guns were brought in to make sure the deed would be done. Maybe that is why this team has been swept under the bed. This is a “blue collar town” and that was a “white collar team”. The Red Wings were doing their best Yankees impersonation that season, and like for the Yankees this season, it worked then.

As I was impressed with this seasons Yankees team, I will forever be impressed with the 01-02 Red Wings and will hold them in high reverie. Three players from one Hall of Fame class playing on the same team, was a true privilege to watch. Just hope you knew what you were watching.

The Detroit Red Wings turned up their defensive intensity this week, giving up only one goal in a mid-week sweep of the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks. The Wings, now riding a three-game win streak, sit at 3rd place in the Central Division with 17 points, just one point behind the division-leading Columbus Blue Jackets. The Chicago Blackhawks sit at 2nd with 17 points also, but the Hawks have 8 wins to the Wings’ 7.

Though 3rd place is definitely not a position Wings fans ever want to see their team in, it’s nice to see the Wings starting to hit their stride. They have given up two goals in their last three games, showing the kind of hustle and grit fans expected right out of the gate this year. The 2009 version of Chris Osgood is worlds better than his 2008 counterpart. Ozzie looks much more focused than he did at any point in the regular season last year. The penalty kill finally looks competent, to put it modestly. Since allowing two power play goals in the first two periods against the Edmonton Oilers, the Wings have killed off the last nine penalties they have taken.

Though the Wings aren’t scoring as many goals, the offense is still getting it together. Their holding possession much better. If Todd Bertuzzi could finish the Wings would have won by about 5 goals last night. They controlled that game, and realistically should not have gone into overtime. Ever since Shawn Horcoff scored to put the Oilers up 5-1, the Wings have outscored their opponents 10-2 (in regulation).

Some thoughts:

Don’t look now, but the Wings have taken 9 of a possible 10 points out of their last 5 games. With a trip to the bottom-dwelling Toronto Maple Leafs looming this weekend, the Wings should extend that streak to 11/12 points.

It’s good to be home.

After a five-game road trip that saw Detroit pick up 6 out of a possible 10 points,

it looked like the Red Wings were happy to be back in Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit got two first-period goals on its way to a 2-0 victory against Boston on Tuesday night.

The first period was mostly a strong defensive effort from both sides and especially Wings goalie Chris Osgood. Neither team was able to get much of a rhythm going, and there must have been six stoppages in the first four minutes alone. Hits, shot blocks and nifty stick work defined most of the frame.

Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring just two seconds into a first-period power play for the Wings. Despite Patrice Bergeron winning the faceoff for Boston, Zetterberg skated behind him and took a slap at the puck while it was on its side.

Boston goalie Tim Thomas barely saw the puck fly past him.

Two amazing passes contributed to Detroit’s second goal. Todd Bertuzzi took his time and looked down the ice before launching a puck to Pavel Datsyuk just in front of the blue line. The puck bounced off the Russian’s stick, and he decided to flick the puck behind him to avoid the three Bruins chasing him.

Thomas came out of the net as well, and Tomas Holmstrom had a wide-open target to shoot at for his eighth goal of the year.

After that, it was all defense. The Red Wings stopped a Boston power play the third period, but the Bruins were kept relatively quiet.

All that worked out to generate Osgood’s first shutout of the season after he made 26 saves.

Things still aren’t perfect in Hockeytown, but Tuesday night’s team looked a lot like one that can go deep in the playoffs. The defense was outstanding, the power play connected and the penalty kill was flawless. There’s plenty of time, but it appears the Wings are moving in the right direction.

Five more observations:

1. The new guy. Doug Janik played his first game for Detroit after being called up from Grand Rapids before the game. He’s wearing the No. 37 jersey, Mikael Samuelsson’s number from last season. He logged nearly 14 minutes of ice time.
2. Huge kill. The Bruins had a third-period power play that Detroit completely blanketed. Boston had the puck in the offensive zone for more than the entire first minute and never got a clear shot away.
3. Thank you, come again. Tuesday night was Detroit’s only game against Boston this season. The next time these teams could theoretically meet? The Stanley Cup finals. The next likely meeting? Some time in 2010 or 2011 in the TD Garden. They haven’t met in the playoffs since 1957.
4. Boston’s winning ways. Overheard an interesting stat on the play-by-play: Boston is the only team this decade to have a winning record against Detroit. How about that? Didn’t matter on Tuesday night, however.
5. Lineup of backups. No Brad May, no Brian Rafalski, no Jonathan Ericsson, no Valtteri Filppula. Instead, Detroit did fine with Jarik, Derek Meech and Justin Abdelkader.

Player of the game: Osgood. Congrats to the veteran goaltender on his first shutout of the season and 50th of his career.

Word of the game: Homecoming. The Red Wings fans were clearly happy to see their team back in Detroit for the first time in two weeks. The Wings responded with a 2-0 blanking of boston.

Up next: San Jose, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

So I am hoping to do small previews and subsequent reviews of Red Wings games throughout the season.  Without further ado, the official blogging gets underway:

Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings,

November 3rd 7:00pm, Joe Louis Arena

Game Notes:

1. Both teams are searching for consistency of late.  The Red Wings return from their marginally unsuccessful road-trip, in which they somehow still managed to capture 6 out of a possible 10 points.  Saturday’s game against Calgary was the best game the Wings have played in weeks.  Hopefully that trend continues.  Boston meanwhile enters the game at an even .500  They have not won consecutive games this season, but they have also not yet lost 2 games in a row.  Coming off a shutout loss on sunday to the New York Rangers, they will be looking to put the puck in the net early and often.  If Boston overcompensates, their offensive focus may help the wings generate some chances in transition.
2. Tim Thomas was ordained a goaltending god after last year’s regular season performance.  This season he seems more human going 4-5 in his nine appearances and posting a 2.66 GAA.  However, he has still posted a shut-out and a .910 SV%  Ozzie on the other hand as we know all too well is floating with a GAA above 3 and a SV% under .900 (3.10 and .889 to be exact).  Goaltending will be huge in the first period as each team looks to get the jump.  Despite his inconsistencies, I think Osgood will play well enough to hold the team in it.  If Thomas can play like an average goaltender in the 1st period the Wings’ chances of getting the quick jump drastically increase.
3. Ville Leino returns to play on the 4th line alongside Abdelkader and Maltby.  I liked his benching last game by Babcock.  Before the season started I predicted he would score 20+ because we’ve seen the skills he has and the way he can play when he wants to.  He just did not seem to be working hard enough the last 4-5 games.  Hopefully Ville is angry enough to realize that if he wants to get 2nd PP-unit time, or 2nd line time, he needs to put the effort in every game.
4. Finally, Doug Janik makes his appearance for the Red Wings tonight.  Rafalski is out with the flu (…and for all the little piggies life is getting worse…) Janik is a 29-year-old player who has seen NHL time before, so this isn’t a new thing for him.  I can only hope he contributes well enough tonight, and in any time he gets, that the Red Wings feel comfortable getting rid of Meech or Lebda.  They have proven their inconsistency to me over and over.  Please Doug Janik, be the best 6th D-man I’ve seen all year.  I need to know our third pairing doesn’t have more holes than a strainer.

My Bold and Stupid Predictions for the Game:

1. The pentaly-kill prowess of draper/eaves/helm nets the Red Wings a short-handed goal.  Speed kills…penalties that is.
2. Pavel Datsyuk makes Zdeno Chara look foolish on an outlet pass tonight, creating a turnover and a subsequent scoring chance for the Wings.  This only re-affirms that Pavel Datsyuk is a pick-pocket and that Nick Lidstrom is the consummate Mr. Norris.  Lidstrom wants his hardware back Zdeno.
3. Boston delivers a questionable hit on one of the Red Wings players and the Wings quickly realize they actually really enjoy having Brad May in the lineup.  (Get well soon Brad…)
4. The offenses both have an outburst, but the play of Osgood in the first allows the Wings to hold on to an early lead.
5. Doug Janik gets on the scorebord with an assist, proving he can be more valuable then our stable of 6th defensemen so far.
6. Final score: 5-3 Red Wings win.

It’s been a bit of a rough week at the GHHT headquarters. Between exams and sickness, I haven’t had the energy to write much about the Wings’ time in western Canada.

Obviously, the biggest impact of this road trip was the loss of Valtteri Filppula for 6-8 weeks with a wrist injury. As I’ve mentioned in nearly ever Wings recap I’ve done this season, Filppula has been the Wings’ most-improved player in the early part of the year. He wasn’t exactly lighting up the box score, but he and Leino seemed to click well on that 2nd/3rd line no matter who the other winger was. This, coupled with the loss of Johan Franzen, is a big-time setback for the Wings. I’m still skeptical about Franzen’s ability to come back this season and be the same “I shoot, I score” Johan Franzen we know and love. Everyone needs to step up for the Wings now. There’s no more room for error. They need to bring their best effort on both ends of the ice for the entire game if they hope to get back to the top of the Western Conference. This year is becoming a test for the entire Wings organization, to see if they can fight through all the adversity they’ve seen so far and still be an elite team.

I don’t want to say that I’m “happy” with how Jimmy Howard played during the Vancouver and Edmonton games (specifically vs. Edmonton), but I definitely don’t think many of the goals in either of those games were his fault. I think it’s correct to say that he is a big part of why they beat the Canucks. Coming in stone-cold after Chris Osgood let in two soft goals and playing as well as he did was huge. The goalie change seemed to spark the Wings and they pulled out a huge win. Howard let in 5 goals against the Oilers, but many of those were not his fault. Kyle at Babcock’s Death Stare analyzed each of the five goals and broke each situation down, pointing out who was at fault in each scenario. Great stuff over at BDS.

Taking the Filppula loss out of the equation, I would actually consider this road trip a success for the Wings. They earned 6 out of a possible 10 points, including 5 of the last 6. Those first two games were against two of the hottest goaltenders in the business right now. Many fans went into this trip saying that the Wings needed it for “bonding time” yet expected 8 points (or more) out of the trip. If the Wings were in such dire need of time to gel as a team, there was no way they were going to get 8 points out of the trip. Were the points they got pretty? Absolutely not. But when they’re gearing up for the playoffs at the end of the season, nobody will remember how the Wings got those points. Honestly, I’m most impressed with the Edmonton game. It would have been easy for the Wings to treat it a lot like the Buffalo debacle and give up, but the team fought back and earned a point instead. Yes, both Datsyuk and Zetterberg put forth pathetic efforts in the shootout. Yes, Howard looked ugly at points. But they earned a point after being down 4 goals. If that’s not the definition of “stealing a point,” I don’t know what is.

Look at the lineup this year. Here are the healthy forwards that are coming back from last year’s regular season squad: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Cleary, Draper, and Maltby (based on the lineup vs. Calgary). Right now, the Wings are throwing out 6 new forwards while shuffling lines to deal with injuries and ineffective play. The Wings’ top goal scorer right now? Tomas Holmstrom. Why? Because he knows his role with this team. The rest of the Wings? Not so much. Mixing in so many new guys without having much consistency among the lines hasn’t given them a chance to figure out their role for this team, much less get into a rhythm offensively.

I wish I could explain what is wrong with the defense. Most of the guys are the same from last year, with the obvious exception being Jonathan Ericsson in Andreas Lilja’s place. The top two pairings have again been ineffective in the early going. Could it be due to age? I’d say so for Brian Rafalski and possibly Lidstrom. Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart don’t really have an excuse. The defense should definitely be better, though looking at various recaps from last night’s game in Calgary shows me that the D came to play.

Contrary to popular belief, the goaltending is a non-issue. We’ve all seen how anemic Osgood can be during the regular season, but as Captain Norris explains (via the Chief), “I’d bench a full boat of Martin Brodeurs over Roberto Luongos before I’d have Ozzie riding the pine [in the playoffs].” Brilliant stuff over there. A bit outdated (10/23), but awesome nonetheless. I’ve already said my bit about Jimmy Howard. Keep this in mind: he’s a rookie. Find me a rookie goaltender not named Steve Mason who had a great rookie season in the last 20 years. I can’t find one. We’re not expecting the kid to carry us, just to keep Ozzie fresh until he flips the switch.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This team is going to be fine. They got out of western Canada without the swine flu and seem to have found a bit of a groove. I trust that the best organization in sports can fight through the adversity thrown their way and come out ready to wreak havoc in April.

Before Detroit could blink, they were down 1-0 when Henrik Sedin scored 30 seconds into the game. Christian Ehrhoff added to the deficit seven minutes later.

Things weren’t looking good for Detroit on Tuesday night against Vancouver, as Chris Osgood was pulled after giving up two goals on four shots faced.

But then, something strange happened: The Red Wings were on the opposite end of a blown lead.

Rallying back from two goals down, Detroit got a first-period goal from Tomas Holmstrom and then four goals in the third period to win 5-4.

A comeback. A victory. On the road. How about that?

In what wound up being a thrilling contest for those few who stayed up to watch on the east coast, perhaps the most promising sign of the night was the two goals from Pavel Datsyuk.

The Russian is one of the two most important players on the team as far as offense is concerned (Henrik Zetterberg being the other), and he had been without a goal this season before Tuesday night. Datsyuk picked up his first two goals of the season in a three-minute span to give Detroit a brief 4-3 lead.

He also tallied an assist and ended the game with three points.

Jason Williams tapped in the game winner on a power play, and the Wings managed to hold the 5-4 lead for the last four minutes.

Jimmy Howard played very well in relief of Osgood, and that’s a good thing for the future. Osgood had an incredibly off night, but Howard was able to come in and bend just little enough for Detroit’s offense to salvage two full points from the game.

Tuesday was an uncharacteristically bad night from Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo as he let in five goals on 42 shots. To be fair, two of those goals were on Detroit power plays, but this is the man who had given up six goals in his last five games combined.

All in all, a very exciting game for both sides, though Detroit made Vancouver’s fans leave the arena unhappy. Could this be a sign of things turning around in Hockeytown, or was this just a one-game thing for Detroit’s offense?

Five more observations:

1. Ryan Johnson took a nasty slide into the boards in the second period and had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher. Let’s hope he’s alright, as his shoulder slammed into the boards very hard.
2. Filppula draws key penalty. Valtteri Filppula should be credited with drawing the penalty that turned into Datsyuk’s second goal. He burst through three Canucks and would have gotten a shot off on Luongo if not for Kevin Beiksa hooking him. That penalty set up Datsyuk’s second goal of the period. Filppula also got the primary assist on the game-winner from Williams.
3. Schneider says hello. Former Wing Mathieu Schneider scorched home Vancouver’s third goal of the night on a play very familiar to Detroit fans of the past. He was making those slap shots from near the blue line plenty during his four seasons in Hockeytown.
4. Homer right at home. Holmstrom scored Detroit’s first goal and was instrumental on their third and fourth goal, pestering Luongo with his presence in front of the net. There’s no one better in the NHL at that.
5. Road relief. Not only was the victory Detroit’s first in four games, but they also notched their first road victory of the season. They needed to get out of that funk bad.

Best of the Wings: Datsyuk. His first two goals of the season and an assist make him the best Wing on the ice, though it was close between him and Holmstrom.

Worst of the Wings: Osgood. The veteran faced four shots and allowed two goals before being removed. Another simple call tonight.

Word of the game: Relief. The first road win and first win overall in nearly two weeks. This must be a huge weight off the players’ shoulders.

Up next: Thursday, at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.

After Thursday’s loss in Phoenix, I complained Detroit wasn’t shooting enough.

The Red Wings shot plenty on Saturday night in Colorado, but instead were met by a brick wall of a goalie.

Avs netminder Craig Anderson stopped 48 of 49 shots fired his way to completely stymie the Red Wings.

One goal — a Kris Draper backhanded shot after he did his best Tomas Holmstrom impression — wasn’t enough for Detroit, and Colorado blasted two of its 23 shots past Jimmy Howard for a 3-1 victory.

At one point in the first period, Holmstrom had a wide open chance on the power play.

He calmly stuffed the puck into Anderson’s pads.

One period later, while shorthanded, Dan Cleary had a similar amount of time to just walk into Anderson’s face with the puck, and the Avs goalie calmly stuck out his stick to poke the puck away. Some nights, you’re just facing a hot goalie.

Later in the period, Pavel Datsyuk had a free skate into Anderson, but the goalie came out on top.

Plenty of chances for Detroit, not enough success.

To quickly harp on the point of the last two games, yes, Detroit did blow another lead against Colorado. This one, however, was a one-goal lead with still 20 minutes to play.

The lead wasn’t one goal with three minutes left or two goals with 20 minutes left. A one-goal lead in the second period is a tenuous lead at best.

It’s still bad to have a lead and lose it, but the problem Saturday was Detroit failing to add a second goal, not their inability to keep a lead.

Five more observations:

1. Homecoming not coming soon. With this loss, Detroit is still winless away from the Motor City this season. They have been outscored 21-11 in those games.
2. It’s been a while, Kyle. Former Red Wings draft pick (132nd overall in 2003) Kyle Quincey got leveled by Darren Helm early in the first period. Quincey spent the first six years of his career in the Wings’ system but only managed one goal in 13 regular-season games in all that time.
3. Turnovers are deadly. The Avs’ first goal, from T.J. Galiardi, was set up by one of those terrible clearing attempts that wound up right in the attacking team’s hands. And the shot Galiardi sunk was the exact shot Anderson was saving all night.
4. Foote soldier. Adam Foote is still on the Avs’ roster as the only player from their 1995-96 Stanley Cup Championship team. I remember hating him all the way back then. From the 2000-01 Cup team, the Avs still have Foote and Milan Hejduk.
5. Bertuzzi denied. The hockey gods were not smiling on Todd Bertuzzi on Saturday. The left winger had an apparent goal in the second period waved off by the referee because he couldn’t see the puck under Anderson and in the net. In the third period, Bertuzzi clanged one off the post that would have given Detroit a 2-1 lead. Ironically, Chris Stewart’s game-winner less than five minutes later went in off the post.

Player of the game: Anderson. The Avs’ goalie was phenomenal Saturday night, stopping 48 shots. That’s a huge number usually reserved for a Florida Panthers goalie.

Best of the Wings: Draper. The lone goal-scorer on a bad night for Detroit.

Worst of the Wings: Valtteri  Filppula. The poor guy. He was on the ice for all three Colorado goals and finished the game at -3, the only Detroit player with that honor.

Word of the night: Stonewall. Anderson’s performance was off the charts and reminded me of the old Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey graphic where the goalie would literally turn into a brick wall when stopping shots.

Up next: At Vancouver, Tuesday, 10 p.m.

Another night, another blown lead for the Red Wings.

Tomas Holmstrom and Brett Lebda scored to give Detroit a 2-1 lead, and then the wheels slowly fell off late.

Controversial or not, Phoenix tied the game with less than three minutes remaining because the Coyotes crowded the net and Chris Osgood had no idea where the puck was.

Not Osgood’s fault, just great rushing to the net and confusion generation by Phoenix.

The game winner? Much more on Osgood’s shoulders. Adrian Aucoin sped into the offensive zone down the right boards and flung a shot toward the net, a shot that normally has little chance of going in. Osgood had a clear view of the puck, but it somehow deflected off his stick and went into the net just two minutes into overtime.

Final score: Detroit 2, Phoenix 3 in Jobing.com Arena.

Those are the kinds of goals in hockey that make me wonder why teams don’t do as much shooting when they’re in the offensive zone. So often, teams will carry the puck and do a lot of fancy passing to fake out the goalie.

In this case, like countless others, just throwing the puck willy-nilly at the net was all it took for Aucoin to send the fans home happy. Throw the puck at the net, good things happen.

Blown leads are becoming Detroit’s signature this season. I wrote after Saturday’s loss to Colorado that I would be expecting plenty of blown leads in the future. It only took one game for that to be true.

In good news for Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk was back in the lineup and played very well for the first time all season. He picked up two assists in the game and now has four on the season. Him and Henrik Zetterberg were on fire with assists in the game, as Zetterberg took the second assists on both Detroit goals.

Three more observations:

1. Road woes. The Phoenix game was the first of five straight road games in the Wings’ longest road trip of the season. Detroit is now 0-3-1 away from Joe Louis Arena this year and has been outscored 18-10 in those games.
2. Shoot the puck! Usually a rarity in seasons past, the Coyotes outshot the Red Wings 33-27 in the game. Detroit is averaging 30.2 shots per game this year (16th in the league) against 29.8 for their opponents. For comparison, the Red Wings’ numbers from last year were 36.2 (1st in the NHL) against 27.7 (2nd), and their 2007 numbers were 34.4 (1st) against 23.5 (1st).
3. Laying low. Former Wing Robert Lang had a quiet night for Phoenix, shooting twice but not recording another stat in his 15:37 of ice time.

Player of the game: Aucoin. He assisted on the Coyotes’ first goal and score the game-winner in overtime. Simple enough.

Best of the Wings: Datsyuk. First assists on both Red Wings goals, and that pass to Lebda for his goal was beautiful.

Word of the game: Motif. As in, blown leads will be the motif of Detroit’s season. They’re the recurring theme, the story arc, the unifying piece to the early part of the year.

Up next: Saturday, at Colorado, 9 p.m.

This is precisely why I think the NHL did not go with renewing with ESPN and opted for the hardly-much-better Vs.

First of all, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are no longer in their NHL prime. Datsyuk is 31 and Zetterberg is 29. Those are not “prime” ages to play a nine-month NHL season (training camp to the Cup finals).

We’ve noted in this space for years — hockey is a young man’s game. Maurice Richard was 23 when he scored 59 goals in 50 games during the 1944-45 season. Bobby Orr was 22 when he scored 120 points and flew through the air to win his first Stanley Cup in 1970. Wayne Gretzky was 21 when he went 92-120-212 in the 1981-82 regular season. Sidney Crosby was 21 this past June when he became the youngest NHL captain to raise the holy grail.

Younger players are more energetic, more durable, heal quicker and, most important, have heightened mental clarity because younger people think only of the present, which is the key to creativity and productivity. I’m not saying Datsyuk and Zetterberg are Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden and will never win another Stanley Cup. Just realize that players get injured more in their 30s and begin a downward arc in their production.

Secondly, the Wings are probably at the end of their run. Their best players are older and their younger players are average NHL players. They continue to live off their power players and struggle with their penalty killing and goaltending. The injury to Johan Franzen is enormous. The Red Wings will struggle to score goals and that is a problem because they are not constructed to prevent them. Coach Mike Babcock may have to make some alterations to the Wings’ normal style of play and GM Ken Holland may have to reach into his bag of tricks and try to find a goaltender.

The first step is a healthy Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and go from there. Detroit won’t win the Central Division, but it has all season to get ready for the playoffs, when Franzen can hopefully return healthy. There is still a lot of good in Detroit, just maybe not championship good.

I don’t know where to start with this. Perhaps I’ll start with numbers, which were culled from the ESPN website, just to prove they have access to the same information I have.

Datsyuk’s numbers last year read as such:

81 games played 32 goals, 65 assists total of 97 points. +34 with 22 PIMs, on the PP Datsyuk registered 11 goals 25 assists. Oh yeah, did I mention he won the Lady Byng trophy for the third straight season, and the Frank J. Selke trophy for the second straight season? If Datsyuk was at the end of his career, why is he putting up numbers that a lot of players in their “prime” can only dream of. Is he Ovechkin, Crosby or Malkin? No. Is “past his prime” in Pavel Datsyuk’s world still better than most players career years? Absolutely.

Enough on Datsyuk, let’s dissect the Swede, Henrik Zetterberg. He played in a respectable 77 games last season and put up 31 goals, 42 assists and that was good for a respectable 73 points. For those that can’t figure it out on their own, that’s good for just under one point per game, actually, .95 points per game if you REALLY want to get technical. Zetterberg had a +/- of +13, which for a mostly offensive forward, is pretty respectable, granted he’s not Datsyuk, but not many people are, which is what made Datsyuk the Frank J. Selke trophy winner.

Are the Wings off to a slower start than usual? Is Buccigross correct in his assessment of their goaltending situation? For the time being, yes, but name the last season people thought Chris Osgood was going to have a great year. We’ve seen this before, and we know that Chris Osgood doesn’t play like this forever, when he turns it on, he’s almost impossible to beat, especially in big game situations. Which brings me to my next point. Why is it that ESPN covers hockey for maybe five minutes a day when Sportscenter has it’s Ovechkin or Crosby highlight from last night’s game, and they feel like they’re an authority on the sport? Further more, why do people care what John Buccigross has to say? Great, he co-hosted NHL 2Night and had absolutely no connect to the game whatsoever before he started being “the hockey guy” for ESPN.

The short version of this is basically, John Buccigross doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg still have plenty of time before anyone should write them off as “past their prime.”

Canucks D Willie Mitchell is a +/- diva deserving of fantasy attention.

Thrashers C Rich Peverley logged two power play goals as Atlanta won 4-2 in New Jersey. It was the second time this season he scored two goals in one game.

Peverley was not ultra-productive last year (15 goals and 29 helpers in 66 contests) though he did register a +13. Also, he plays center, making him a questionable add in rotisserie formats given his paucity of penalty minutes and unremarkable career PP stats. However, if he keeps up the PP work this season, he is someone to consider in weekly leagues when Atlanta plays four times. He is only eight percent owned in Yahoo! and 11.6 percent owned in ESPN.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent: This box score explains why we love Canucks D Willie Mitchell: In a game Vancouver lost 5-3 in Calgary, he was the only Nuck to log a +1. All his teammates ended up in the negative.

This is no small feat when you consider Mitchell played 21:00 minutes, trailing only fellow blueliner Alexander Edler (25:05, -1) for ice time.

Mitchell was a +29 last season. While the +/- stat has its detractors, Mitchell is proof that it is useful. He is 15.1 percent owned in ESPN and 15 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues. That means he’s yours for the taking if you need +/- help without sacrificing the scoring or PIMs that your forwards bring.

Also: The mighty Nucks are one of six teams playing four games next week (thank you, Sean Allen). Those of you in head-to-head leagues forced to fix your lineup Monday should consider Canucks. The other five teams playing four times are the Sharks, Kings, Oilers, Stars and Blue Jackets.

Aside from Mitchell, the man to add in weekly leagues is Oilers LW Dustin Penner, who scored twice in the Oilers 5-2 home win vs. the Wild last night. He now has nine points in seven games. Penner is 23 percent owned in Yahoo! and only 4.6 percent owned in ESPN.

On the flip side, the Maple Leafs play only once next week. The Capitals, Lightning, Coyotes, Senators, Devils, Red Wings, Blackhawks, Sabres, Flames and Ducks play only twice. From these teams, the only guys I would play are your key Caps (Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin and Green), your white Lightning (Stamkos, St. Louis), your bona fide Stars (Richards, Neal), your hot Hawks (Sharp, Kane) and your old reliables (Iginla, Phaneuf, Zetterberg).

In other words: Pavel Datsyuk (upper body), Nicklas Lidstrom (only three effing points so far) and Vincent Lecavalier (-5) do not make the cut.

photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images

After suffering a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, the Detroit Red Wings bounced back with a 5-2 victory over the LA Kings in front of the Joe Louis Arena crowd Thursday night. Jonathan Ericsson, Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Kirk Maltby, and Brian Rafalski (empty-netter) all scored in the win.

Michael Caples breaks down the game for DRW.com, including a look at Maltby’s great goal. A couple of bloggers commented on the game, including Red Wings Blog, Nightmare on Helm Street, and The Triple Deke.

The best moment of the night was when captain Nick Lidstrom registered his 1,000th career point on an assist for the game’s fourth goal. Lidstrom recorded two helpers in the contest, receiving a standing ovation from the fans in attendance when the PA announced his milestone. He joins Mats Sundin as the only two Swedish-born players to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

In Other News

• Pavel Datsyuk did not play in Thursday’s game as he is out day-to-day with an upper body injury.
• Bloggers continue to express their concerns about the 6-2 loss to Buffalo: Babcock’s Death Stare, Bingo Bango, Hockeytown Static, Motown Wings, Nightmare on Helm Street, On the Wings, Out of Bounds, Red Wings Blog, Red Wings Hardware, Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle, The Production Line, and The Triple Deke.
• The lopsided loss has caused some discussion among the media and even resulted in coach Mike Babcock describing his team as slow.
• The Detroit Free Press reports that former Wing Sergei Fedorov has sued his former lawyers.
• Johan Franzen will have surgery today in Birmingham, Alabama, according to The Detroit News.
• The Grand Rapids Griffins are giving away 1,000 tickets to the unemployed for their home game on October 25.
• The Toledo Blade notes that former Notre Dame goalie Jordan Pearce will be the team’s No. 1 goaltender.
• A blog for The Hockey News describes the “Homer Effect” and its influence in the NHL.

For the last decade and a half, Nicklas Lidstrom has been the most consistent defenseman in the NHL. He’s brought home six Norris Trophies, been named to 11 All-Star team, took home the Conn Smythe in 2002 and even has an Olympic gold medal from 2006.

Tonight, Lidstrom’s assist on what would be the game-winning goal from Henrik Zetterberg put him at 1,000 career point.

To him, it’s probably just another trophy in the case. But he earned a standing ovation from the crowd at Joe Louis Arena, and he responded with a nice curtain call of sorts from the bench.

His individual performance shined bright in Detroit’s 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings, but the team as a whole really responded strongly after a brutal 6-2 loss to Buffalo two nights earlier.

Despite letting in a first-period goal and going down one, Jonathan Ericsson put a slap shot past Jonathan Quick to start the second period, and the Detroit scored the next two goals (from Tomas Holmstrom and Zetterberg).

Those three consecutive goals put the Red Wings ahead for good despite a Kings goal with about eight minutes remaining in the game.

Kirk Maltby made a terrific individual effort in creating his own goal for the clincher with five minutes left, and Brian Rafalski put home an empty-netter with just seven seconds on the clock.

Chris Osgood might have had his best game of the season, stopping 24 of 26 shots and holding strong after allowing an early goal. The Kings, who had started out to a hot 4-2 this year, are now 0-4-1 in their most recent meetings with Detroit.

Detroit moves to 3-3-0 on the year with 6 points and a firm hold on third place in the Central Division. Chicago, on a four-game winning streak is still in first, with Columbus in a surprising second.

Five more observations:

1. Two for the show. In Detroit’s three wins this season, they’ve allowed just two goals each time. That seems to be the number they’ll have to stick to for victories. Their three losses saw four, five, and six goals hit the twine.
2. Home cooking. The Red Wings’ three victories have also all been in the friendly confines of Joe Louis Arena. The two games in Sweden and a trip to Buffalo ended in defeat.
3. Abdelkader gets on board. Since replacing the injured Johan Franzen in the lineup, after the Chicago game last week, Justin Abdelkader hadn’t put a point on the board. Thursday night, he assisted on Ericsson’s goal in the second period by winning a faceoff clean.
4. Saved by the glove. The Kings could have gotten off to an even faster start, but Osgood was able to put a glove on a puck that bounced off the post and into his back, then started moving toward the goal. Quick handiwork by Osgood kept the Kings off the board temporarily.
5. Holmstrom on fire. The veteran’s goal was his fourth of the season, and he is surprisingly in front of all Red Wings scorers. The tip-in tonight was a perfect example of Holmstrom being the best front-of-net scorer in the NHL. Still not on the board: Pavel Datsyuk.

Best of the Wings: Lidstrom. His two assists were huge in the second period, and he broke 1,000 points in his career.

Word of the game: Milestone. For Lidstrom’s 1,000th point.

Next up: Saturday vs. Colorado, 7 p.m.

Tonight will be a good test for the Kings.

They will have their number 1 goalie, Jonathan Quick in net, but they will also be very tired.  Having just played a disheartening game against the New York Rangers last night, this will be the Kings’ first test of the season in the 2nd game of a back-to-game scenario.

Luckily for the Kings, the Wings will be without star center Pavel Datsyuk, who has an “upper body injury”, per Larry Murphy on NHL Live today.  I’m going to assume that his “upper body injury” is a case of sore nipples.  Why?  Because I can.  The Wings are also without Johan Franzen, who sustained a torn ligament in his knee last week, and will be out for up to four months.

The Wings are primed to be clipped.

So far, no line-up changes have been announced.  Personally I would hope to see Trevor Lewis in place of Raitis Ivanans, who we all know has no real use against the Detroit Red Wings.  This is what Rich Hammond thinks could happen as well (linked here), as he posted “Terry Murray said he’s contemplating another lineup change but hadn’t yet talked to the players about it.”

There should be clarification on that soon enough.  It would be the right move, though I was not at all thrilled with Peter Harrold’s play last night either.

More importantly however, will be the team’s response.  We already saw them bounce back after a horrid effort against the Coyotes, but last night’s loss was different in that the Kings could have won that game.  Phoenix outplayed them, the Rangers did not.  One would think that last night would be an easier loss to overcome, but these things are strange, and in a way, last night’s game could be harder to swallow.

The comments from Kings’ players after the game indicate they are taking it in stride, recognizing their faults while being happy with their effort.

I’ll be happy with a win.

Go Kings Go!

Sabres: 6, Red Wings: 2

There’s not a lot of positives to take out of this one, so I’ll keep my recap short.

The Wings looked decent in the first period, going into the dressing room tied 1-1. I had mentioned that Valtteri Filppula had been playing well so far this season and he was finally rewarded, scoring on the power play to tie the game at 1. He was definitely one of the positives on the night, drawing a penalty shot later in the game. Ryan Miller made a great save on the penalty shot though, denying Fil what would have been his second goal of the night.

After the 1st intermission, the floodgates opened with the Sabres scoring 4 games in the second period, chasing Chris Osgood after going up 5-1. As Kyle at Babcock’s Death Stare put it:

This is the part of the video game where I’d turn it off without saving.

Ok, so that was actually from his post about Franzen’s injury, but I’ve been waiting to use that line.

Some random thoughts:

What is going on with the Circus? I know Z and Dangle have only been on the same line for two games now, but both are still scoreless to start the season. They need to start carrying the load on the offensive end, especially without Franzen in the lineup.

Not much else to say on this one. Hopefully the Wings just left their game at the Joe, as they will be back there on Thursday and Saturday. They can’t afford to forget it again though, with their first west coast trip looming after the next two games.

]]> http://gordiehowehattrick.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/red-wings-vs-capitals-stepping-up-big/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:03:07 +0000 Rob http://gordiehowehattrick.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/red-wings-vs-capitals-stepping-up-big/

Red Wings: 3 Capitals: 2

So I didn’t watch much of this one, I was too busy bashing my head against the wall watching this football game. As much as I stress over the Wings, Michigan football will most likely be what sends me to an early grave. I’m not going to rant on why Denard Robinson was in the game that late when he should not have been. This is all I will say: Michigan was the more talented football team on that field and should have won the game. That’s all.

Anyway, back to the Wings. I can’t say much on their performance, because I didn’t see the last two periods of it. However, when I hear things like this, it pleases me. I feel like a huge tool for lack of originality, but I agree with pretty much everything Matt says there. Holding the Ovechkin juggernaut line to an assist is a huge accomplishment. If the Caps can stay healthy, they are my early pick out of the East this year.

From what I watched, Leino and Filppula were all over the place. I wrote down that Filppula was playing like a man possessed when he drew the early penalty on forward 2008 Norris finalist Mike Green. I was also impressed with Leino’s willingness to crash the net, resulting in his second goal of the year. Seriously, the Wings should just tell him that every game is against Washington. Remember this?

Chris Osgood let in a soft goal early in the first, but apparently he tightened up his game after that, allowing only one goal in the last two periods. The last bit of the game I saw before flipping channels was Osgood robbing Ovechkin from point-blank range in the waning seconds of the first. Going into the dressing room tied feels a lot better than being down a goal. It was a big save at a big time for the Wings.

As much as I love the all-around game that both Datsyuk and Zetterberg bring to the Wings, Alex Ovechkin is the best player in the NHL. He’s an absolute bull with the puck and is seemingly everywhere at once. He will probably win the Hart Trophy again this year, and deservedly so. The Capitals aren’t even a playoff team without him.

This win could not have come at a better time for the Wings. They have a game at Buffalo on Tuesday, then two more games at the Joe on Thursday (LA) and Saturday (Avs). After that, they close out the month with a 5-game West coast road trip. Getting into a groove in these next few games could set them up nicely before going out west. I don’t want to rush judgment, but if the Wings bring the defensive effort like they did last night, they will be fine.

Lions recap up later.

]]> http://gordiehowehattrick.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/yeah-that-cant-be-good/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:57:10 +0000 Rob http://gordiehowehattrick.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/yeah-that-cant-be-good/

I know I’ve been heavy on the Wings coverage so far, but this couldn’t wait. Yesterday I was calm, not in any sort of panic about the Red Wings’ slow start to the year. Even this morning I was in a good mood. The Wings played well enough to come away with the W last night. Ericsson hobbled off, but it looks like a day’s rest and The Big Rig will be fine.

This afternoon? Not after this.

Johan Franzen, who developed into one of the NHL’s premier power forwards the past two seasons, will miss at least four months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He was injured during Thursday’s 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena.

Torn ACL. Two words an athlete never wants to hear. It’s on par with the rest of us hearing “You’re fired” or “I’m pregnant.” Knee ligament injuries hurt like hell and take forever and a day to heal. Even if Franzen is back in 4 months, he won’t be up to full speed until next year. NFL running backs typically take two full years to get back up to speed. I’m assuming Franzen won’t try to outrun 300-pound linemen though. The worst part? He’s hurt himself in three straight years in October, all against the Blackhawks. I’m not an expert on the NHL salary cap or anything, but Holland needs to write in a clause about sitting out regular season games against Chicago from now on.

Joking aside, this really hurts the Wings. Franzen was one of the guys expected to carry much of the scoring load for the Wings this season after losing Hossa, Hudler, and Samuelsson to free agency (and Communism). Now, the Wings will have to rely on Z and Dangle even more in the offensive zone while still asking them to play on the power play and penalty kill units. If Datsyuk’s injury last year during the finals wasn’t worry enough, imagine what his body will be feeling this season with this AND the Olympics. And don’t get me started on Zetterberg’s injury history.

The Wings need the young guys to step up big time. Leino and Fil need to blossom, and they need to do it quickly. Gator and Helm will need to step into important roles right away as well. I’m not worried about their ability to do so, but I’m wondering if this will cause the Wings to rush Helm back a bit earlier than they originally planned on. Even guys like Eaves, Maltby, and Draper will need to step up offensively. Osgood will need to be better than just “good”. Lucky for us, he was last night.

Hopefully, the Wings will be able to mix in some of the younger guys during Franzen’s absence without dropping off too much. It’s going to take multiple guys stepping into larger roles to fill the void. The Wings are the best-run organization in professional sports, with a farm system deeper than my fantasy football team. There’s probably another guy or two I haven’t heard about that will get a shot at the big leagues. Hopefully the fresh blood will keep the Wings’ intensity at a high level.

However, I’m still panicking until further notice.

UPDATE – 10/10 7:12 PM – Saturday’s lines, via A2Y:

Henrik Zetterberg | Pavel Datsyuk | Tomas Holmstrom
Ville Leino | Valtteri Filppula | Dan Cleary
Todd Bertuzzi | Justin Abdelkader | Jason Williams
Brad May | Kris Draper | Patrick Eaves

That third line scares the hell out of me.

]]> http://gordiehowehattrick.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/game-3-calm-down-detroit/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:25:30 +0000 Rob http://gordiehowehattrick.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/game-3-calm-down-detroit/

Red Wings: 3 Blackhawks: 2

I mentioned earlier that I wasn’t worried about Detroit’s slow start in Sweden. There were plenty of bad signs Stockholm, most of them involving the words goaltending and penalty kill. The Wings looked dominate at times, but that can happen to anyone when playing the Blues. The momentary lapses, whether by individuals or a collective effort, had many banging on Ken Holland’s proverbial office door pleading for some sort of move to be made.

That move, apparently, was the signing of Brad May. I’m not saying that May is the answer to our prayers by any means. He won’t shore up the goaltending and probably won’t see any time on the penalty kill either. However, he brings the enforcer presence that the Wings sorely lacked in the playoffs last year. Yes, players drop the gloves a lot less in the playoffs in fear of taking unnecessary penalties. Regardless, the Wings were flat-out pushed around last year by Anaheim. Thankfully, Mr. Holland had assembled the greatest collection of hockey talent in the world (at least until the Vancouver Olympics in 2010) and the Wings were able to outlast the Ducks in 7 games.

Fast forward to the present. Tonight, Osgood gets tripped up in the first period by either a Hawk or one of his teammates (I wasn’t paying close enough attention to see who). May knows his role. Less than 5 minutes later, he dropped the gloves against Radek Smolenak. It didn’t seem to have any immediate impact, but that is the type of thing his teammates will remember. Depending on which source you trust, Smolenak is either 20 pounds heavier (Mickey Redmond) or 40 pounds lighter (ESPN) than May. To reinforce my point, we’ll go with Mick. That, and May’s ESPN picture looks like it’s from 1999, so I’m thinking the Worldwide Leader doesn’t exactly have their shit together with the player pages. Regardless, May probably hasn’t even been in Detroit long enough to attempt to decipher anything Holmstrom or Datsyuk have spoken (which could take weeks, to be fair), yet he’s already dropping the gloves against a guy 20 pounds heavier than him for his team. AND, he still won. I don’t know if I like him taking up a roster spot from Helm, Eaves, or Gator yet, but at least he’s already willing to give up any brain cells he has left for the Wings.

Anyway, the reason I’m not worried about the Wings yet is because the two games they lost (yes, even to the Blues) were played halfway around the world on an ice rink that had to be resized for the two games. Whether the Swedes were fired up to play in their home country or not, being there was probably a huge distraction for these guys. Lidstrom and a couple of the other players touched on jet-lag also having an impact on their play.

Tonight, the Red Wings helped to quiet the masses with a solid effort against a constantly improving Blackhawks team. Chris Osgood was solid in goal, and that might be a discredit to Ozzie. The penalty kill was improved, especially early in the game. The Wings killed an extended 5-on-3 early in the second period when down 1-0. This kill seemed to take the life out of the Hawks for a while and the Wings jumped all over it, scoring 3 goals in just over 7 minutes to take control of the game.

The area that impressed me in was the lack of a “retaliation goal” allowed by the Wings after they scored. This was a problem for much of the season last year, but the Wings shut the door after they took the lead in the 2nd period. Todd Bertuzzi had a key play in the defensive zone right after Kris Draper’s goal, tying up a Chicago forward looking to tap the puck into an empty net when Osgood was caught out of position. Just after that play, the Leino-Filppula tandem had a great shift in the offensive zone. Leino’s effort drew a penalty on Chicago’s Brian Campbell, and the Wings took advantage when Johan Franzen tapped a puck that got behind Cristobal Huet across the goal line. Pavel Datsyuk may have a bone to pick with Franzen later, as the puck was going to go in anyway off of his shot. Either way, the Wings took a commanding 3-1 lead after that goal and shut down the Hawks until a powerplay goal in the 3rd period.

Pessimists will look to the late power play goal by the Hawks as a sign of “letting up” by the Wings. Watching that sequence, the Wings were flying around on the PK. The goal was a result of good puck movement and great spacing by the Blackhawks. They executed their power play how they should have in the 5-on-3 and finally came away with a goal. The Blackhawks are definitely going to be good this year. Better than the Wings? Not yet. But definitely good. Probably a top 4 seed in a wide-open Western Conference.

A few quick thoughts: