The Red Wings took the bull by the horns, and posted a 5-0-0 record, the best start since 1972-73, where Detroit posted 6-0-0, but failed to make the playoffs come the post season, with Montreal defeating Chicago in the 1973 final, by 4 games to 2. Maybe I heard the stats more since I was actually in the USA at the time the Red Wings beat the Blue Jackets 5-2, and upon leaving the Joe Louis Arena, the radio was full of excited commentators and phone-in fans waxing lyrical about the amazing season that was in store for Detroit, and how with 5 wins from 5 we were looking unstoppable.

In all fairness, they were right. We DID look unstoppable. The non-existent powerplay had been 0 for 18, until that night, where Johan Franzen scored twice, and Lidstrom tallied in the 3rd to go 3 for 5 with the man-advantage. Suddenly, the powerplay issues were over, and Detroit would head to Washington full of confidence motivation, and a defence that was as stingy as they come, with just 7 goals conceded in 5 games, and 2 shutouts among their results.

Wrong. A 7-1 pummelling at the Capitals opened the floodgates and everyone was trying Detroit on for size. Losses were piling up and being beaten by the Caps was just the start. The Wings found themselves losing to Columbus, San Jose, Minnesota (twice) and Calgary, scoring just 6 goals in 6 games. The free-scoring, tight defence Red Wings were suddenly the no scoring, slack defence Red Wings, and after posting 5-5-1, the fans and media were getting restless.

Someone needed a good thrashing. We needed to play tight defence, slick offence and give some poor unsuspecting team a thorough stuffing. Enter the Anaheim Ducks.

Mike Babcock has only so much tolerance. Apparently, his coaching techniques become more aggressive as his frustration grows, and the Red Wings looked not only determined, but a little bit terrified when they took to the ice to face the Ducks. However, the team did was they needed to do. A solid defence performance resulted in Howard’s second shutout of the season, and the forwards did their job, potting 5 times to leave the Ducks in disarray.

The stats which had lauded the Red Wings for so long were coming back to haunt them. They went from best start since 1972, through to losing 6 straight for the first time since February 08, and acording to the Elias Sports Bureau, they were also the first team in League history to start a season 5-0-0 then follow it with a winless skid of six games or more.

I honesty, it didn’t matter who we played, the thirst for revenge meant that the Wings would play fast, hard hockey. Poor Jonas Hiller was on the receiving end, being peppered with 45 shots before being pulled in place of Dan Ellis, with Detroit forcing a total of 50 shots on goal by the final horn.

So what have we learnt from this? In Detroit’s case, we’ve learnt that winning is habitual, but so is losing, and it’s much easier to break the winning habit than it is the losing habit. I think one thing that’s key here though, is that when you break the losing skid, it’s best to do it with a big win over a top goalie, rather than scraping an OT or SO win over a backup netminder. There’s much more confidence around the Detroit camp now, and despite the failures we’ve already covered, there is still an air of expectancy. 6-5-1 isn’t great, but at the same time, considering the way we’d been playing during that 6 game losing streak, and the lack of goals we were scoring, I think any win is going to be a boost, let alone a big win and a shutout.

The other thing learnt is that when you’re winning, you want to hear all the stats you can about how great the team is, but when you’re losing, you really want those commentators to shut the hell up…

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As you will probably know, my team is the Detroit Red Wings. I’m sure, however, that these experiences are not limited to my team only, and are shared by all NHL fans around the globe. One of the few things that we all have in common are those “Huh?!” moments when you can’t quite take in what just happened. It’s not uncommon for a complete fantasy moment (your star forward netting a shootout win over a playoff rival, meaning you are secured a playoff berth), can be ruined the next day by a total facepalm moment (aforementioned star forward injuring his hand by getting it wedged in a Pringles tube…these are examples and unlikely to happen unless you’re the rotund Kyle Wellwood, or glassjaw Peter Forsberg).

Logic goes straight out of the window. Teams you expect to win without breaking sweat, drop points, and teams you expect to roll over and die, win by several clear goals. Players whose careers should be over, reach big numbers, and those who are expected to be star players, stumble and underachieve.

So what’s the best way to deal with it? What gets you through the season? How are you meant to keep your sanity when you lose to the St Louis Blues, allowing 10 goals, but then in the following game, destroy a team that’s a playoffs shoe-in? I mean really?

Surprises vary in their degree of severity. Small surprises are fine. Fabian Brunnström being one of these. One of only 4 players to score a hat-trick their debut NHL game, Brunnström never really got going in Dallas, and as such, found himself in the AHL, and then a free agent. However, since joining the Red Wings for pre-season, we’ve seen a huge leap forward from the 26-year old Swede. Goals aplenty, and points coming out of his ears (not literally, as although this would be handy, I can’t imagine it would be comfortable) in a manner which must frustrate Dallas fans. It’s OK that it annoys you. We think similar things about Kyle Quincy and Ville Leino. Did very little in Detroit, but go on the bigger and better things elsewhere. Admittedly, Brunnström is yet to show that he can carry his pre-season abilities into the NHL, but you have to be upbeat about a player that’s worked with Franzen and Bertuzzi all pre-season and come out one of the top point-scorers on the team. Also in the category of small surprises is the retention of Jiri Hudler. Last season Hudler performed below his expected points projection. He seemed to be on another planet a lot of the time and found himself a healthy scratch on more than one occasion.

Medium surprises are manageable, but not appreciated. It’s was expected that Osgood and Draper would hang up the skates, no big shock there, since Draper was the same age as the NHL, and Osgood had about as many flaws. However, it is a bit disappointing since Draper was the owner of one of the truly great playoff beards. What ranks as a medium surprise is the retirement of Brian Rafalski due to his continued knee problems, and then the replacing of him with Ian White, a decent and reliable D-man, who was a big reason that Detroit failed to progress in last season’s Playoffs. I’m happy with the replacement, don’t get me wrong, but the medium surprise is definitely the simple fact that it was needed.

Big surprises are hitting one extreme or the other. They can be “SURPRISE! Your team just signed Alex Ovechkin, Steve Stamkos and Sidney Crosby for a combined $9.50 because they decided they liked you as a fan so much, they wanted to play for your team!”, which is the kind of big surprise that only happens in the dreams of Ottawa Senators fans, or in publications by Eklund. They can also be “SURPRISE! Your franchise player has been released to free agency and he’s going to join your most hated rivals for one season, where he’ll most likely win the Cup, and everyone outside of your team will forget he ever played for you!”, which let’s face it, was a very real possibility for Dallas Stars fans last season for some considerable time. Usually, these take the form of trades to dump salary cap (Calgary, step right up!) where you ditch some of your best players due to contract issues, or trades for players you never expect to leave/arrive. The trade of Brett Lebda and young prospect Robert Slaney for Lombardi and Franson must have had Toronto fans hitting the F5 key repeatedly, waiting for the typo’s to be corrected. Lebda is as much use as a one-legged cat trying to bury poop on a frozen pond, whilst Lombardi and Franson are quality additions with both a young defenceman, and an experienced forward. I don’t quite know what Nashville fans did to deserve this.

However, all jokes aside, the loss of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team in Russia early in September, with the deaths of all the players and staff on board, was the biggest, and most upsetting surprise of the post-season. The deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak also put a sombre mood over the summer. All three NHL players were enforcers for their respective teams, and investigations are underway to see if there was anything the NHL management could change to avoid such sad and serious losses to the hockey community in the future.

It usually takes teams about 6-7 games to settle a roster and lines. Then you can start to see definite links emerging between specific players. You’ll find that when the opposition’s top forwards or out, your coach will ice Players A and B all the time, but it takes a few games to figure out that Players A and B are appropriate for that role. With this in mind, nobody ever really believes their divisions take shape until the 10-15 games mark, but let’s face it, nobody will be complaining if your team is top of the Conference come 15 games in!

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Nick Lidstrom is unstoppable. He’ll be 42 next season, and yet has signed up for another year of physical exertion, puck-flying danger, and a summer of working out in the gym, forcing the body to work harder than it probably should, and being the captain and leader of the Detroit Red Wings.

I know we have a history of taking on veterans (some even refer to the rink as the Joe Louis Retirement Home!), which doesn’t seem a bad thing when you look at Hasek, Drake, Hull, Robitaille and the likes, so older players must feel like they still have a chance at a cup with the Wings. We seem to have a nice little mix of both youth and experience right now, since Abdelkader, Tatar, Mursak, Emmerton and Helm are all pushing for permanent roster spots alongside Holmstrom, Franzen, Cleary, Datsyuk, Kronwall, Stuart, Bertuzzi and Zetterberg, who are all over 30.

However, trying to get that mix is tough. Who do you keep on as your nominated veterans, and who do you let go to give the younger players their chances?

Obviously, Lidstrom is in for as long as he wants to keep playing. The man is a machine. There was a comment last year about him being the perfect hockey player, and it’s difficult to dispute that. The rest however, are a bit touch and go.

Kris Draper (40)

Drapes had a decent season last year. His career has been exceptional. His first 22 NHL games were with the Winnipeg Jets, and the other 1,357 have been all in a Wings uniform. With 4 Stanley Cups and a Selke Trophy to his name, Draper has been Mr Reliable for many seasons. He is a Free Agent this year, and Ken Holland has already said he doesn’t think there’s a contract on its way to Draper. Much as though I’d be sad to lose him, I think it’s time to go. What I will say though, is that I hope he retires, rather than drifts down into the AHL and ECHL etc. The man has bled the Winged Wheel for 18 years, and needs to go out with dignity.

VERDICT – FREE AGENCY (HOPEFULLY RETIREMENT)

Mike Modano (41)

Modano arrived during last summer, with much pomp and circumstance. His return to Michigan was much heralded, but Mike played only half a season. 40 games, 15 points, and Wings fans were feeling a little deflated. Make no mistake, Modano is a class act. Every shift he takes, he just oozes experience. He collects the puck a lot, since he seems to know where it will be at any time, and although the slashed wrist shortened his season considerably, I still think we could get some results if he was kept on. However, with other forwards pushing into the bottom 6 forwards, Modano is likely to be shown the door.

VERDICT – FREE AGENCY (BUT I WOULDN’T COMPLAIN IF HE WAS KEPT ON)

Chris Osgood (38)

Ozzie’s season was good, bad, and ugly. From reaching his personal milestone of 400 wins, to his poor form surrounding that time, to the injuries that kept him to just 10 games started, Osgood’s season was one to forget. The injuries take longer to heal as you get older, and Osgood is struggling to get himself fit again. In the last couple of seasons, Osgood form has struggled, and he’s become the butt of many jokes. Although he’s stated his intention to return, I know Holland has made it clear that Howard is the no.1, and either MacDonald or a Free Agent will take the backup slot. Osgood will forever be remembered by the Red Wings faithfully, particularly for his playoff performances, but I honestly think it’s time to go. Take your 3 Cups, 2 Jennings, and record of one of few goalies to have scored a legitimate goal, and ride off into the sunset.

VERDICT – FREE AGENCY (HOPEFULLY RETIREMENT)

Ruslan Salei (36)

Rusty is one player I had my doubts about, but really came good. The physical defenceman is a big guy at 6’2” and 215lbs. His play this year was much better than I’d anticipated. Salei dressed for 75 games last season, and with 10 points, as the 6^th D-man, that’s not bad going, considering the amount of ice-time he would get in between Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart and Ericsson. He has a lot of heart and was visibly upset when he and Jakub Kindl started alternating games near the end of the season.

VERDICT – RETAIN (1 YEAR DEAL)

Now that I’ve carefully and logically decided the fates of these players I’m starting to warm to the theme. If only I had a team to be GM of…anyway, got to go, there’s a guy from Winnipeg on the phone…

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Brian Rafalski has retired with 3 Stanley Cups to his name, and has been one of the first names on the team sheet for the USA National Team since 2002. Not bad for a player that was undrafted. His knee problems are well documented though, and Brian obviously feels like it’s time to go whilst he can still walk. Smart move in my opinion.

Derek Meech has also decided to move on. This was written on the wall for some time. Meech requested a trade, nobody was interested in trading. Meech requested to be waived, Holland agreed, and nobody picked him up, not even on minimum contract. Therefore when Meech’s contract ran out this summer, it’s not surprising he made moves to leave Detroit. Put simply, he wasn’t able to crack the top 6-7 defencemen, and as such, would like to challenge himself elsewhere, and who can blame him? I think his next stop is Europe, and if he fancies coming over to the UK and playing for my team, we’re in need of a 3rd line defenseman. I’d even sort him out with a bottle of energy drink for free. Tempting offer isn’t it Derek?

So, that leads us to fill one major slot in the Red Wings defence. Who will partner Lidstrom on the top D-line (this is of course, assuming Nick doesn’t retire this year either, although sources and fans close to the team say he’s arranged with his wife to give it one last year)? There’s a veritable treasure trove of RFA and UFA defencemen out there this summer, and many look like excellent partners for Lidstrom.

Weber (RFA) – Nashville Predators

Doughty (RFA) – LA Kings

Bogosian (RFA) – Atlanta Thrashers (or whichever city this franchise is associated with this week)

Yandle (RFA) – Phoenix Coyotes

Jovanovski (UFA) – Phoenix Coyotes

Kaberle (UFA) – Boston Bruins

Markov (UFA) – Montreal Canadiens

Pitkanen (UFA) – Carolina Hurricanes

Bieksa (UFA) – Vancouver Canucks

Wisniewski (UFA) – Montreal Canadiens

Ehrhoff (UFA) – Vancouver Canucks

White (UFA) – San Jose Sharks

Now obviously, everyone would love to see Doughty or Weber team up with Lidstrom, simply for the youth and speed of the younger players, aided by the owl-like wisdom of the Red Wings captain. How frightening would that defensive pairing be? It’s also no harm in picking up a big-hitting physical player, and see if someone like Wisniewski or Jovanovski can challenge Kronwall to a “How many opposition forwards can you give concussions to?” competition.

Looking at a recent poll held on a popular Red Wings website, it appears that the front runners, at least in the fans eyes, are Wisniewski, Ehrhoff, and Pitkanen. Much as though everyone would love Doughty or Weber, their RFA status means Detroit would have to offer up something pretty staggering to sign the services of those players.

The UFA market looks much more likely, and since Ken Holland is a very experienced and shrewd GM, Red Wings fans have a lot of faith that the organisation will make a good move. After all, with Rafalski’s cap space freed up, then we could be looking at a top level D-man to replace him, or maybe even a couple of mid-level defensive players, and a move up for Kronwall or Stuart onto the top line. Either way, neither is a bad scenario.

The Wings have some of their own free agency issues, with 9 players falling into the UFA category this summer, defencemen Ericsson, Salei, and Lidstrom among them. Forwards are Modano, Draper, Eaves and Miller, with both Modano and Draper considering hanging up their skates, whilst goalie Chris Osgood ponders the same decision, both he and fellow backup Joey MacDonald are also UFA.

It’s not unreasonable therefore to assume that simply through retirement, the Red Wings could lose Rafalski, Lidstrom, Modano, Draper and Osgood (with a whopping 14 Stanley Cup wins between them!). This would free up approximately $11-12 million in cap space. With some decent prospect coming through too, such as Mursak, Emmerton, and the highly rated Brendan Smith, it might be prudent to splash out on a big points forward, a top line D-man, and promote a couple of prospects to the full roster.

I’m sure this idea is not new to Ken Holland though, and it is in him that we trust…

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Please, if you’re going to beat us, can it be by a blowout 4-5 goals or something?

Losing in OT or by one goal is really irritating as we then analyse everything in the game to try and figure out where we could have snatched victory in what was a very close game.

At least if we get stuffed well and truly, we can hold our hands up and say without doubt we were beaten by a team that played better than we did, instead of trying to figure out what slight change might have made all the difference.

In this series, we’ve lost 3 games, but yet only conceded 3 more goals than you. That’s pretty annoying.

Obviously I hope you don’t win at all, but if you are going to, make it comprehensive so there’s as little anguish as possible.

That would be great, thanks.

Love,

rocknrollnobody

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Every post-season, I throw down my razor and join the Red Wings majority in the cultivation of a playoff beard. As usual, last year’s effort was pretty lame, and although it was fairly large in coverage, which was new, I never really got the thick, rug-like beard I desired. Previous attempts had only resulted in patchy sections or fluffy growth that wasn’t worth maintaining. Even the 2008 and 2009 playoffs, both of which featured Detroit in the final, showed that I was unable to grow a proper beard, as I looked like someone had just drawn sporadically on my face with orange felt-tip pen.

Also, being blond doesn’t help, and I now find my beard turning dark around the chops, and yet strangely red/ginger around the ‘tache. After just over three weeks, my beard came off and life went on. No big deal.

This year, something has changed. In the last 12 months, a lot has happened to me. I’ve moved house twice, I’ve turned 28, I’ve got divorced, and I’ve booked a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the American mid-west to see the opening games of next season’s NHL schedule in Detroit, Chicago and St Louis. I also appeared to have collected the ability to grow a beard properly.

The playoffs started just this last Wednesday (April 13th 2011), and yet after 5 days, I’ve got a decent amount of face fungus, and more worryingly, it’s thicker and more hobo-esque than last year’s 24-day effort. The Wings are 2-0 up in the series against the Coyotes, but I don’t expect a sweep, and all I can really think about right now is that if Detroit make it to the second round (which they’re currently on course to do), then even at the very earliest, it’s going to be a 20-22 day beard growth, which concerns me a little, especially as I’ve also decided to not get my hair cut for the duration of the playoffs too.

Again it’s blond, but with darker chops and a fairer ‘tache and goatee area, but it’s thick like a toothbrush, and I’m finding it scratching on my sheets when I’m trying to sleep. These things are not new, as I backpacked around Europe with a friend whilst both refusing to shave the entire time, but it’s certainly annoying, and very frustrating. I tell you, sleeping bags and beards are not happy bedfellows. Neither is being in Spain, in summer, with a beard, having not showered for three days. But anyway, I digress.

I guess the only thing making this any easier, is that now I don’t have someone complaining about it all the time. Last year, I suffered multiple attacks upon my beard from the aforementioned ex-wife. These included at least two, but often all of:

“It’s scratchy”
“It leaves a mark on my shoulder when you hug me”
“Work won’t like it” (she was right, they didn’t!)
“You look like a hobo” (she was right, I did)
“I don’t care about the Islanders tradition, or Henrik Zetterberg” (I did shout “BLASPHEMY!” at this point)
“You look unprofessional”
“Why isn’t the bit below your bottom lip growing?”
“You always get food and crumbs stuck in it”
“Get the hell away from me”

My return argument that Chuck Norris had a beard didn’t really hold water, and her angry retort that I should stop modelling myself on Chuck Norris hurt me deeply.

I also found that she had been referring to it as a 3rd person. As in “When are you and your beard going to be home tonight?”, and “Will you and your beard take out the bins?” This year, I have less beard-related nagging, but a much more impressive beard, and I must say, I prefer it that way round.

As the Wings start their own playoff beards, many players have high standards to keep. Danny Cleary always comes up big with the beards, as does Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom, and of course Henrik Zetterberg. I can’t imagine we’ll see much of a beard from Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Ericsson or Justin Abdelkader, but I would hope we could maybe see some growth on the faces of rarely bearded players such as Brian Rafalski, Val Filpulla or Jiri Hudler.

Obviously, I could never reach the J S Giguere or Paul Mara level of beard-ism, but I do like to think I’m joining in. Last year, although my beard was a long-time coming, I had started to look quite a lot like Johan Franzen by the last couple of Sharks games. Hopefully this year the similarity will be a lot quicker in emerging, as it’s nice to pretend to be someone else for a while. Now, if only people in the UK actually knew who Johan Franzen was…

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The physical play of Nik Kronwall reminds Wings fans of a slightly older category (like myself!), of players like Derian Hatcher and Mathieu Schneider. He can shoot, he can block, and he can certainly hit. Kronwall’s ability to light up forwards over the blue line is something the first line does not possess, and Lidstrom has found himself paired with his fellow Swede on a number of occasions. Kronwall has been so prolific in his hitting, that since 2009 has had his own verb, ‘Kronwalled’. Shoring up the first two defensive lines is currently Brad Stuart, who plays in a similar style to Kronwall, but is a little less physical, and a bit more pass-minded and can grow a better beard. Stuart is more likely to set up a through pass, or play along the boards to a forward in good position for breakaways, than attempt to get his name in lights. Even so, there’s a nice little mixture, and between the four of them, Babcock can play a physical line and a skill/finesse, or mix them around (which he frequently does).

The issues come with the final two defensemen. Currently battling it out for ice time on the third line are Ruslan Salei, Jonathan Ericsson, and rookie Jakub Kindl. Belarus native Salei has been switching with young D-man Kindl for a few games now, and as the Wings reach the end of the season, it’s about to become more important than ever to solidify your place in the dressed list for the playoffs.

Ericsson shows a lot of promise, but seems to struggle to actually achieve the potential he has headed on him. Wayward passes and regular penalty minutes mean he’s often berated by Red Wings fans for turnovers in dangerous areas and needless penalty kill requirements. The Swede fights when required to, but rarely throws his weight around in hits.

Kindl has certainly come good in this regular season. With only 3 NHL games to his name before last October, the 24-year old Czech has played nearly 50 games, and the experience has seen him well. He has easily usurped the ‘extra defenceman’ tag from Doug Janik, who has only played 7 games this year.

Finally, Belorussian Salei is the veteran of the three, and has been deserving of his jersey in the main. His recent comments to the press that he’s played all year and now in the final few weeks of the season has to fight for his position, seem to show his frustration at being possibly switched out for a younger player. He took a few days off to be with his wife during the birth of their child, and for those games, was replaced by the impressive Kindl. Tough call to make for Rusty though. Be with your wife in a time of great change, or lose your place in the Red Wings team. Much as though I’m sure Salei doesn’t exactly want to be divorced, I think I’d have taken the other option. But maybe I say that because I’m already divorced?

So how do you choose? Should a player’s space on the roster be chosen for him on the strength of a good beard? Well, Kindl is still only young, and therefore a playoff beard on him is likely to be poor, whilst Salei is sure to be sporting a fine array of face fungus in a few days. You cannot count out Ericsson though, with his fellow countrymen Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen both cultivating some impressive whiskers in short periods of time. Maybe it’s something to do with all the snow in Sweden, and your face trying to keep itself warm?

Anyway, what matters is that the right players are chosen. With Ericsson’s poor form of late, and Kindl’s excellent play, coupled with Salei’s experience, and obvious desire to make the team, I think the Swede should make way. It would be tough for Ericsson to take, but when you’re giving up the puck in your own zone, then you should expect to get benched, even in the PeeWee leagues…

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The Wings are carrying a number of veteran players right now, with their roster holding Lidstrom, Modano, Bertuzzi, Osgood, Rafalski, Holmstrom, Salei and Draper, all of whom are over 36. The locker room must resemble something like a 1980’s disco, maybe with Chris Osgood in flares, and Holmstrom with a great handlebar moustache?

Will Modano make the same kind of impact as Dallas Drake did in 2008? Unlikely, as Drake was a third liner who threw his body, and played hard, whilst Modano is more of a skill and finesse player. Mike’s points tally of 14 from 33 games (and just 4 goals) is a little disappointing, especially as we as fans had high hopes, but let’s not hammer the guy. His injury earlier in the season was pretty horrific, with an errand skate slashing his wrist wide open. Modano was lucky to have the use of his hand, let alone carry on playing hockey.

The other question, is whether Modano will make a good playoff veteran. It’s clear that Modano has class, but quality players can all too often go MIA during the post-season. Perhaps what will make a big difference, will be the locker room influence, and the feeling of security that Modano brings to younger players.

There are many jokes about the age of the Red Wings roster, but the truth is, that there’s also plenty of new talent with players like Emmerton, Mursak, Helm and Kindl all needing a guiding hand through their early seasons in the NHL. Who wouldn’t want the experience of a seasoned veteran to assist you, and a top scoring one at that?

Although Mike’s adding to the Red Wings makes them almost Grandparents to teams like the infant Edmonton Oilers, the league standings do not lie.

To go deep into the playoff you need the right mix of youthful energy, physical strength and stamina, and veteran knowledge and reliability. Modano looks to be able to provide the latter, and at least be a consulting mouthpiece for the others. I’d rather enter the playoffs with him in my locker room, than without him, and I hope Mike Babcock feels the same.

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The subsequent deal to bring in Mike Modano was a pretty exciting prospect for Wings fans, but the story didn’t work out that way.

Hudler’s form was terrible. He seemed to still have the pace, and the skills to compete, but he was always a step behind the move. His confidence dropped noticeably, and Hudler found himself a healthy scratch, being displaced by the “firing on all pistons” players like Helm, Miller and Eaves.

After 6 points in 30 games, Hudler was beginning to look like trade fodder, and many Red Wings fans and blogs began to call for his value to be traded before the deadline at the end of February.

However, Hudler managed to grab hold of his lacklustre performances, and turn them into something of worth. In a turnaround likely to force many fantasy players to tear their hair out, Hudler came back after Christmas with a stonking 26 points in 31 games, including a 6-game point streak and the shootout winning effort in the Buffalo game.

So what happened at Christmas? What caused the turnaround?

There are constant comparisons between the KHL, where Hudler played last season, and the NHL, but one of the biggest changes is often overlooked. The KHL play on Olympic-sized rinks, whilst the NHL do not. Also the NHL game tends to be a little more frantic.

Therefore it looks like the difference was that it simply took Jiri 30 games to settle back into the fold. I imagine it’s much easier to slow your game down a step than to speed it up a notch. And to all those who had Hudler in their fantasy teams and dropped him due to poor form, then all I have to say is that patience is a virtue…

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In 7 games, we’ve hit 26 goals (including 7 in Monday’s night’s pummelling of LA), and collected 10 points from a possible 14. I’m not complaining.

Datsyuk has hit 7 goals in 7 games, with Cleary hitting 5, and no fewer than 11 different skaters lighting the lamp. I’m not complaining about that either.

Howard and McDonald have collectively saved 217 shots, and allowed just 19 goals, 7 less than Detroit have managed to score, which could be better, but I’ll not be complaining about that.

The Wings’ road trip out West has already beaten LA, and tonight we play the Ducks, with Phoenix our stop on the way back East. They’re tough teams, and it’s a tough road trip, especially playing Buffalo on Saturday, and then LA on Monday, which is a hefty distance in just one day off. However, it’s usually the same for all teams, so there’s no complaining from me there.

What I will complain about is the distinct lack of blockbusting, stomach-churning, hilarious trades on deadline day. As a Wings fan, I tend to enjoy watching other people’s trades and pass pompous judgements on them, without fear of my franchise doing something monumentally stupid. It’s always nice to know that Kenny Holland will have no fear about spending a deadline day admiring the drying patterns of paint, rather than make a trade for the sake of trading. He obviously also believes our goaltender issues to be over, as Vokoun was apparently being pimped around, but Holland wasn’t tempted.

My issue is that usually, in these circumstances, I sit back, relax and look forward to teams like the Blues, Stars or Flames utterly self-destruct with ridiculous trades that dump salary, trading away 2nd line players for a 7th round pick in 4 years, and the like. This year? Nothing of the sort. A couple of decent trades for both teams (like Penner to LA, who will use him well, for prospect and picks which Edmonton will rebuilt with…eventually), and although there were a couple of lop-sided trades here and there, it was a pretty quiet day.

So that’s my whine. Since my team have a good, solid roster, and injured players are returning to the ice, we’re winning games and holding a good position in 2nd place of the West, there’s got to be something to complain about right? However, I’ll admit that complaining for the sake of complaining seems totally unnatural to me. I guess I could never be a Leafs fan…

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The West is looking a very tight affair right now, with the Canucks and Red Wings the only two teams looking like their positions are secure. After that, 3 points separate the 3^rd placed Coyotes from the 9^th placed Flames.

Luckily this recent period has shown the Wings’ resilience, and we find ourselves welcoming back players from IR, rather than signing their casts. Datsyuk is back, as are Holmstrom and Cleary, and Stuart returned last night against Tampa Bay.  Osgood is still injured, but his surgery was a while back now and he should soon be swapping goaltending duties with Howard again. Modano is expected to return by the end of February, and Filpulla should be back in a week or so.

On the note of goalies, Howard has found his form again, and showed his confidence in ability in yesterday’s game, saving 38 of 40. This means the weight is lifted of MacDonald who, without being unnecessarily harsh, completely bottled his opportunity. When the regular and backup goalie both cannot play, surely the 3^rd choice netminder should be jumping into the crease quicker than you can say ‘goaltender interference’. Not so with MacDonald, who looked constantly nervous, frequently flapped at the puck and never looked like he was comfortable. His backup with Jordan Pearce, who was sent home with a note to his mother after bursting into tears whenever anyone asked him to do anything.

Another mention must go out to Todd Bertuzzi, who takes a lot of stick from hockey fans, and many Red Wings fans. Although true that the past should never be forgotten, Bertuzzi is certainly doing his best to make himself a key player in Detroit. His 4 goals in 2 games against Boston, showed what he was capable of, and with 12 goals and 22 assists, it’s hard to knock Todd’s contribution as a 2^nd/3^rd line player.

Detroit is certainly tightening up on its penalties as well. They give up around 8 minutes of penalties a game, second only to Florida as the least penalised team in the league. Couple that with a powerplay ranked 5^th then the results are pretty devastating on teams that take a lot of penalty minutes.

With Osgood reaching and surpassing 400 wins, then the pressure is now off and the monkey is off his back. Maybe once he returns from injury, we’ll see the playoff Ozzy that we all know and love. It’s also nice to see Jiri Hudler putting up points again. His first half of the season was poor, and he would have been more useful if he’d laid on the ice and pretended to be a puck to try and confuse the opposition. Now he’s hitting the net, putting up points, and starting to return to form. Maybe he’ll hit his peak just before the playoffs…just maybe…

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For those of you who haven’t been aware of the saga surrounding this, I’ll fill you in the details.
The Red Wings have a goalie crisis. A huge crisis. A ten-story, neon lit, open all hours, valet parking affair with a massive sign that can be seen for miles around saying “THIS IS A LARGE CRISIS”. Let’s go through the goalie option shall we?

Howard – Injured knee, and now he’s back, Jimmy is really struggling.

Osgood – Injured groin. Hernia operation means he’ll be out another few weeks.

MacDonald – Waaaaay out of his depth. Conceding goals he really shouldn’t be, and looking very shaky when opposition players crashed the net.

McCollum – Was backup for MacDonald in Grand Rapids, promptly broke his hand in training with the Wings.

Pearce – Is about 9 years old, plays for Toledo, and looks absolutely and utterly terrified when he’s on the bench. He’s currently backing up Howard.

Ken Holland decided he’d seen enough. Maybe Pearce’s tiny, tear-filled eyes finally broke him, and the Red Wings went goalie hunting. Out in Russia, Evgeni Nabokov was looking for a new team, and so he got talking to the Wings. Nabby and Ken came to a deal, a $570k contract, with undoubtedly multiple playoff clauses, as well as a No Move Clause (NMC), and a clause that stopped him ever being sent down to the AHL. Holland hoped this would put off the lower teams from picking him up as Nabokov entered the 24hr waivers.

It didn’t.

The New York Islanders claimed Nabokov early on, and GM Garth Snow said he was thrilled. Nabokov certainly wasn’t. When Snow rang, and introduced himself, Nabokov simply hung up. Not a sign that you respect someone. Anyway, Nabokov’s agent tried to smooth things over and insisted Nabby hadn’t realized who was calling.

Snow is now playing hard ball. Nabokov has publicly refused to play for the Islanders, stating that he’d rather stay at home. Snow is saying he can’t wait to see Nabby in an Islanders uniform. Technically, Snow holds all the cards here, and could, if he so chose, hold out the contract that means Nabokov is an Islanders player until the end of next season. Therefore, Evgeni would be paid a wage, but he’d stay at home and eat donuts…a bit like Kyle Wellwood does.

So we’re currently at stalemate. Snow says Nabby is playing for the New York Islanders. Nabby says he’s definitely not. And after all of this, the Red Wings still are missing a decent fricking goalie!

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What I would give for an Olympic break right now.

We’re really battered with injuries and are beginning to struggle because of it. 6 of our last 11 games have gone to OT, Detroit winning 4 of them (including 2 shootout wins in 2 nights).

Currently the injury list looks like:
Modano (wrist)
Osgood (groin)
Howard (knee)
Holmstrom (hand)
Datsyuk (hand)
Cleary (ankle)
Stuart (jaw)

I mean that’s bad right there. You’re looking at what is easily a first forward line of Datsyuk, Cleary and Holmstrom, and then both your goalies, plus your best penalty killer and, uhmm, Mike Modano.

Since my last blog, we’re 9-5-3 (21 points from a possible 34), which looks ok, until you remember how hard we had to fight to get those points. 5 of those wins came in OT or SO, so we’re hanging on until the bitter end to get the points. When you’re playing your 3rd string goalie, and your 4th string is sat on the bench, looking terrified, and about 12 years old, you begin to cringe at every goalie interference, every time MacDonald dives to cover the puck inbetween multiple skates, and every time someone is shoved over around the crease.

Equally, our 3rd and 4th lines are being filled with guys from Grand Rapids. Mursak has been great, and is up there with Darren Helm in terms of speed. Tater seems to be a bit more laid back, but tends to be everywhere on the ice. When his shift ends he looks thoroughly shattered, which is what you would hope. The guys puts everything in to play the best he can, and nobody can ask more from him than that. Kindl also seems to be making the step up on a regular basis and doesn’t look out of place. He and Salei look to be to be forming a pretty decent 3rd defensive pairing.

Please guys, wrap yourselves in cotton wool, or whatever it is you need to do to make sure nobody else gets injured. Any more injuries as even Grand Rapids might start to look depleted!

Tomorrow night we play St Louis, who are buoyed by the return of T J Oshie off long term injury. Let’s hope his return is not a particularly happy one!

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We lost to LA in OT, and then to San Jose and Nashville, before bringing ourselves out the slump with a great, hard fought, 4-2 win over Montreal, where the game could have gone either way several times, and was only secured by Eaves’ empty net goal at the death. I honestly feel like if we’d played for a minute longer, Montreal would have tied it. I managed to flick onto the game just as the puck dropped against New Jersey, and within 90 seconds, Detroit were 2-0 up. A start like that will always kill off your opposition’s morale and motivation, so it was no surprise to see the Wings run out 4-1 winners.

And so to last night, where we were thoroughly schooled by the LA Kings…again. Something about the Kings really disrupts the Wings play. They get so frustrated with the Kings defense, that the forwards pile on pressure, and the defencemen cut in from the blue line to help, and then we’re caught on an odd-man rush. It’s no surprise to see us concede 5 with the way we were playing, but what WAS a surprise was to see Jonathan Quick produce a 51-shot shutout. I mean really. Some of those saves were ‘save of the season’ types, especially that one with the stick. I think we need to introduce species-testing in the NHL, because I’m sure Quick isn’t human after that performance! Cleary must have felt the frustration as his rich vein of form could not capitalise and he was blanked at every opportunity, and I also notice Kronwall registering 4 shots, when he usually fires wide for tip-ins or he fires at the man screening for a deflection. It’s rare he’ll fire for goal, but he was obviously trying to kick-start the Wings offense. Take nothing away from the Kings, and Quick in particular, who certainly deserves the plaudits for an outstanding performance, which even surprised Drew Doughtry.

The Wings outplayed the Kings in most aspects of the game. Shots were 51 for DET and 26 for LA (Detroit registered 26 in just the 2nd period). The Wings won more faceoffs, threw more hits, and had more powerplays. Yet still we couldn’t put one past Quick. In the third, it was obvious the Wings had lost their motivation, when at that point you are outshooting the opposition 38-17, and yet you’re 2 goals down, it’s going to crush your spirit. Detroit went on to concede three times in the third.

The Red Wings are 7 games through their mammoth 16 game month, and if we can win tomorrow night against St Louis, then I think we’ll be ok. From a possible 32 points, I think we’ll be happy with 24 or so. Anything less and we might start to lose our grip on the Conference. What will be very telling, is that we play the in-form Dallas Stars twice over the festive period. That should be a true test of who will be the team to beat in the Western Conference.

Finally, I leave you with a little British Hockey. The Coventry Blaze and the Nottingham Panthers are not exactly good friends, but nobody expected a full bench-clearance brawl in the second period, resulting in a combined 235 penalty minutes! Suspensions weighing in at:

Brad Cruikshank (Coventry Blaze): 9 matches
Aaron Nell (Coventry Blaze): 1 match
Paul Thompson (Coventry Blaze head coach): 2 matches
Jade Galbraith (Nottingham Panthers): 1 match
David Graham (Nottingham Panthers bench coach): 3 matches
Marc Levers (Nottingham Panthers): 1 match
Danny Meyers (Nottingham Panthers): 7 matches
Alex Penner (Nottingham Panthers): 5 matches

For your viewing pleasure, and especially worth viewing, just to see the Goaltenders getting involved!

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As the cars slide around on the ice and snow, as Britain grinds to a halt because of the huge amount of white stuff (in Winter as well, can you believe it?!), I’m buoyed and cheered knowing that the Wings are looking dominating, and they’re not just intimidating in the results area, but on the ice, they’re playing the kind of hockey that frightens teams.

16-4-2 speaks for itself, and knowing that we’re 4 points ahead of Chicago, with 5 games in hand, and 5 points ahead of Dallas with a game in hand, really shows that Detroit have a strong team that can get the best out of their players, young or old.

Goals have come from throughout the lines, and from both forwards and defencemen, showing some good strength in depth. It’s all good news so far in the Red Wings camp.

Last night saw the Wings take on the Sharks in the 1^st of a 3 game stint out on the West coast (Anaheim on Friday and LA on Saturday), before coming home to play the Sharks again on Monday.

Detroit ran out 5-3 winners, and the usual suspects hit the scoresheet, with 2 goals and 2 assists from Zetterberg, and a goal each for Datsyuk and top scorer, Dan Cleary. The fourth line also proved its worth, with another goal from the forwards. This time, it was Patrick Eaves on the board, and his line with Miller and Helm is proving to be a real tough nut to crack, as well as chipping in with a few more goals than maybe some people expected.

Modano’s serious wrist injury is projected to keep him out of the season until the playoffs. Big blow that this is, the Wings certainly don’t look to be too poorer for it, as Miller and Eaves now both get a regular game, which their efforts and performances certainly deserve. The only person not really keeping up with hope is Hudler. He was a healthy scratch earlier in the week, and it looked like he was going to have to really fight to keep his place until he was saved the effort after Modano’s wrist was slashed.

Howard is really growing as a player and his recent performances are showing that last year’s Calder runner-up was maybe worthy of the award win, as he’s posted 14-2-2, is joint top of games won in the NHL with Carey Price (who has played 4 games more), has a 2.52GAA and a  0.915 save %.

The team, as I said, is getting points from all over, with 11 players registering 10 points or over so far this season. It’s surprising to see Detroit’s PK only at 18^th in the NHL, after watching the 2^nd Blue Jackets game where the PK unit was called out for a double minor, and then a 2-minute 5 on 3, which were all successfully killed off.

Onwards and upwards my dear friends. The Red Wings are back this season, as we look forward to the good run continuing!

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If the Red Wings were an adjective, that adjective would be awesome. At 10-3-1, top of the Central Division, just a point behind LA, the Conference leaders, and a team that looks to be brimming with confidence and creativity, then it’s no wonder most Detroit fans have smiles as wide as Lake Michigan right now.

The win over Edmonton last night was particularly satisfying. Cleary has scored in the last 4 games and has points in the last 6, Lidstrom and Datsyuk have points in the last 10, all 9 of the top 3 lines forwards had at least a point against the Oilers, and both Datsyuk and Zetterberg are averaging over a point a game. Even those players who are struggling did themselves proud, with Modano getting an assist on Cleary’s 1st (we’ll ignore the saved Penalty Shot), and Hudler setting up Filpulla for the cheekiest goal I’ve seen all season.

If the season continues, then Hockeytown is in for a treat, but of course, it never really works out like that, and I’m sure that there will be problems along the way, just as every hockey fan knows their own team, I know Detroit have a habit of putting themselves under pressure. Maybe by losing to some bottom ranked teams, at crucial times, or maybe by picking up a collection of injuries, we always make it hard for ourselves, and so, whilst the going is good, I’m going to make the most of it.

Watch us now get beaten by Colorado on Saturday! Hockey fans are a superstitious bunch, and raving about your team’s good fortunes is bound to call a halt to any kind of good results, but still, I can’t say I’m not relishing each game.

Slightly noteworthy are the number of fighting majors. Detroit have 6 in 14 games. No big deal you might think, until you remember that we had just 19 in the whole of last season. We’ve gone from 1 every 4 games or so, to now one every other game (almost), we have however, given up some of the fewest penalty minutes, which can only be a good thing. Add to that a top 10 PK, and it’s not looking like you’re going to get much from a power-play against Detroit.

I’ll sign off finally, with this from a good friend of mine who is a Maple Leafs fan:

“Enjoy your victories, no matter how small, insignificant or early in the season they may be. We both know something will kick you in the nuts in the near future.”

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When Detroit allowed both Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja to leave, there were questions about whether Nik Lidstrom’s 1 year contract was worth it. Lidstrom was given a $6.5m 1 year deal, whilst Lebda and Lilja were both offered deals they refused.

It appears, just a few games into the season, that the decision made by Ken Holland, was right on the money.

I certainly know who I’d want on my team. Sure he’s older, and gets more ice time per game than Lilja and Lebda, but there’s no denying that Nik Lidstrom was worth the 1 year deal. Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall and Ericsson look like decent and tough defencemen, so I’m not too worried about the depth of the roster. Even after injuries to Ericsson and Rafalski, both Janik and Kindl have stepped in and played some really good hockey. Kindl could maybe do with some more AHL time, as he’s a little too eager to please and makes a couple of mistakes, but in all, there’s not a lot of complaining.

The Wings are currently 5-1-1, which is definitely a start not to be sniffed at. They’re rocking the best penalty kill in the league (91.7%), and have one of the highest shot averages, as well as one of the lowest shots against averages. All in all, it’s pretty good to be a Red Wings fan right now.

There’s always that worry, when your team lets go of a 3rd line defencemen that you might have missed a trick. Wings fans will be well aware of the Kyle Quincey episode, where Detroit decided to favour Chelios rather than Quincey, and as such, he was claimed off waivers by the LA Kings. As soon as this happened, Quincey became a regular defencemen for both LA and then Colorado, where he’s posted 38 pts and 29 pts in the last two years. This is tough to see as a Wings fan, as you wonder about the younger players motivation when they see this. A guy who’s well into his 40’s being preferred over a promising defensive prospect.

Luckily, it appears this is a rarity, and the emergence of Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Ericsson, and Darren Helm certainly gives hope to the Wings fans who like to see some talent being nurtured and introduced to the NHL at the right time. After all, it takes time to figure out a players strengths and weaknesses, and you wouldn’t want to draft a player and thrust him into the NHL without him being fully ready (or you end up with Patrik Stefan all over again!). Sometimes it takes longer to prepare a player, and sometimes a players is just naturally gifted like ‘Old man’ Lidstrom, and can play nearly 1,500 games in less than 18 seasons.

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Currently 4th in the West behind Dallas (who have 8pts from 8), Nashville (yet to lose in regulation), and Colorado (have 6pts, but above us due to being top of the Northwest), the Wings can feel they’ve had a decent start. 3-1-1 isn’t at all bad for your first 5 games, and I’d have happily taken that if someone had offered it at the season start.

However, there have been issues with injuries already. 5 games in, we’ve lost Ericsson to back problems, Rafalski to knee issues, and now Franzen to a head injury, caused by Fistric’s elbow. Remember I said at the beginning of the season how a lack of enforcer could cost us injuries? I hate being right sometimes, especially over things like this.

All too often, we’re required to call up Grand Rapids players to help fill the gaps caused by injury. Maybe one or two, you can deal with it, but really, 5 games in and we’ve lost 3 regular roster players, including 2 starters?! I’m just waiting on the Calgary Flames game this Thursday to see who else gets cropped and has to leave the ice. We’ve called in Kindl and Janik, both who look a little lost at times, and are making mistakes that all too often leads to a good scoring chance for the opposition. Janik started a fight against seasoned dueller Cody McLeod, which I didn’t think was a good idea, and afterwards, when Janik had regained consciousness and vision, I bet he didn’t think it was such a good plan after all.

On the plus side, we’re pushing on well, and 7 from a possible 10 is respectable numbers for the fans who seem to expect instant success. Despite the wins, we lost to Dallas, and we lost in a shootout to Colorado, but I have to point something out about the Stars game. Why play Osgood? He let in 3 goals off 8 shots in the second period. That’s shocking numbers. It’s also worrying that the Stars only had 15 shots, compared to the 26 from Detroit, but managed to score 4. Seriously, Osgood used to be the saviour, but he’s becoming the talisman for failure, and I really wouldn’t want that to happen to a guy that’s been such a strong player for Detroit over the years.

Maybe we need a bit of luck, or superstition to help us along. Maybe we need to paint a huge mural of Zetterberg with a pig’s nose, standing next to the cup. Hey, it worked for the Blackhawks.

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Raising the Stanley Cup banner at your first home game of the season after the big win is a moment every player enjoys. Not so for the Blackhawks. Not only did their team look utterly ravaged by salary cap restrictions, but they went on to lose their opening game to a sell-out crowd.

Meh, I’m not really here to gloat about it. Toronto did it to us a year or so back after our win. That, and the fact that 8 players from the Stanley Cup winning roster had to go due to said restrictions. It was going to be a tough start for the Hawks.

However, the night before, Detroit had faced the Anaheim Ducks. I’ll be utterly frank, the Ducks looked good going forward, and Getzlaf and Perry were dangerous, but at the back, they were hopeless. Terrible defending cost them the game 4-0, and I see they lost with another 4 goals conceded in their second game too. They’ve signed Lilja today, and it looks like they need the help!

The Ducks did what they do best when starting to fall behind, and that’s get physical. They found this time, however, that the Wings were not the easy targets they had been the last couple of seasons. Salei, Stuart and Datsyuk (yes, DATSYUK!) all fought to show that the Wings would not be bossed around this season. Pavel registered his first ever 5-minute major for fighting, and in the process completed a Gordie Howe hat-trick (goal, assist, fight).

Modano scored with his first shot in a Wings jersey, and cue the scenes of jubilation as he looked visibly relieved. Modano did well to score, as Cleary was wrestling with two Anaheim defencemen in the slot as Mike shot the puck into the corner.

After the game, Ericsson was ruled out with back spasms, thrusting Jakub Kindl into the roster for the Chicago game.

The players decided not to watch the banner raising ceremony. I expect the players get more focus from an extra 20 minutes in the dressing room, than they would watching the opposition skate around the rink with a banner.

The game itself was pretty end-to-end. Turco looked his usual unpredictable self and a couple of times made moves I’ve seen him do a hundred times for Dallas, but the Hawks defencemen just weren’t ready for them. He gave the puck away a couple of times simply due to the Chicago defence not expecting his slightly unorthodox style of play.

Osgood was given the start for the second game in 2 nights, and proved himself still capable. Despite the lack of faith that I (and many other Red Wings fans) have about Osgood, it was truly heartening to see him put up a W. I have a mental image of him taking off his mask and having the world’s biggest grin behind it.

Filpulla’s winning goal was an accident. The player himself admits that. The puck was mis-controlled, but managed to slide five-hole and Turco was made to regret his faith in his defenceman, as the defender dived to stretch but the puck slid underneath his stick.

So the Wings are 4 points from 4, with 7 goals for, and 2 against. Howard registered a shut-out his opening game of the season, and right now, I don’t think the first two games could have gone much better.

And finally, yes, my blogs will all be titled with huge amounts of illiteration, whether the titles make sense or not!

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THE GOOD

Straight off the bat, Modano looks a quality addition to the Wings’ roster. The arguments that he’s too old, are from people who have simply looked at his age, rather than watched him play. He’s got a great hockey brain and he seems to instinctively know where passes are coming from, and where they need to be. I’m very excited to see his participation in this season’s schedule.

Smith, Tatar, Emmerton, and Mursak are all shaping up to be superb prospects, and Ilari Filpulla is also starting to look like a decent signing. When you’ve got that kind of depth, then injuries and suspensions start to worry you a little less. Salei looked pretty solid, and even Janik seemed comfortable, where I’ve seen him look shaky in the past.

The forwards can score, with 11 goals in 4 games being a respectable tally, and the goals are coming from all across the lines. It’s always nice to know that your team isn’t relying on a couple of forwards to bag all your goals.

THE BAD

We’re taking quite a few weak penalties at the minute. The Wings were shorthanded 21 times in their 4 pre-season games so far, but only conceded 1 Power Play Goal. Although it’s great news that the PK is playing well, you don’t want to have to play a man-down too much, as they can’t be expected to keep out every team’s powerplay, multiple times a night.

The Penguins game was particularly tasty, and racked up 59 PIMS (39 in the 1st period, and a game misconduct). Orpik Charlie-horsed Franzen (who missed 55 games last season with a knee injury) and put him out the game. Bertuzzi then beat the hell out of Orpik to make sure nobody thought the Wings were a soft touch, but still. Orpik’s only problem would have been Downey, who’d already fought Boulerice and was still in the box. With Detroit’s only enforcer out the way, Orpik was clear to do as he wished. Sure, he took a pounding from Bertuzzi, but it’s clear that the Wings don’t have a physical threat on their roster, especially since Downey is only trialling and isn’t an official player. Luckily, Franzen is OK, but there was a horrible feeling of ‘not again!’.

THE OSGOOD

Now, I want you to know, in my heart, I love the guy. He’s been a Red Wings goaltender (and an outstanding one) for 13 years, and he’s won 3 Stanley Cups and 2 Jennings Trophies, but the time has come to give it up. He’s simply not got it anymore.

He conceded 5 goals on 27 shots against the Pens, whilst Goalie prospect McCollum came in for the 3rd and shut out. Howard then played against the Hawks and conceded 1 from 8 shots, whilst the Wings other AHL Goalie Joey MacDonald saved 10 of 11. Osgood is then given a whole game against the Hawks again, but gives up 4 goals, before the Rangers game, where he is benched, and Howard backstops a 5-3 win.

I hate to say it, but we’ve won 2 and lost 2. Both losses came when Osgood was in goal, and in the opening game against the Pens, all 5 goals were conceded by Osgood.

Chris, I love you, and you’ll forever be a Red Wings hero, but please, give it up now before it becomes undignified…

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Ken Holland was able to tie up the key players that were Free Agents, and then add a couple of players that will definitely assist the team. Modano finally signed after weeks of deliberation, and Hudler is back in town and on the 2nd/3rd lines.

Defence-wise, Lidstrom still plays for another year, and we’ve also added Ruslan Salei, probably to the 3rd pairing.

Zetterberg – Datsyuk – Holmstrom
Bertuzzi – Filpulla – Franzen
Hudler – Modano – Cleary
Helm – Abdelkader – Eaves
(Draper – Miller)

Still to waive/sign: Maltby, Ritola, Williams

Lidstrom – Rafalski
Kronwall – Stuart
Salei – Ericsson
(Kindl – Meech)

Still to waive/sign: Lilja, Tollefsen
Howard – Osgood

Whilst a large amount of hockey fans are looking at the signings of Salei and Modano, and thinking how old the Wings will be, the average age of the Detroit roster is only 30.

However, there is a downside. Looking at the likely players to be dressed game in, game out, I see very few fighting players. Cleary has had a couple, and Eaves one or two, and Abdelkader has had to fight after a hit here or there, but nobody who will protect Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Even in the defencemen, Kronwall and Stuart only fight when they absolutely have to, and Ericsson has only fought three times I can remember (he seems to dislike the Anaheim Ducks as last season he fought Bodie and Perry in the same week).

My worry is that, just like last season, teams will feel free to batter our players, with no fear of reprisal as there’s no enforcer. Sure, Abdelkader, Kronwall, Stuart, Helm and Salei can all hit, and hit hard, but it’s not the same. You need at least one player on the roster, who is prepared to drop the gloves in defence of a teammate, and give a good account of themselves. Sure, Brad May did that, but he also failed to really assist the team, putting up just 2 assists in 40 games.

Of course, finding an enforcer who can put up goals and assists as well is easier said than done. Those kind of players are absolute gold. The kind of skaters I mean are like Probert, McSorely, and in more recent years, McCarty. Players who were intimidating and protective of their stars, but also able to put up 30-40 points a season.

Those players are now so rare, that they’re not for trading, waiving or allowed to reach Free Agency. There’s more teeth in Duncan Keith’s head than there are point scoring enforcers.

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So, whilst whacked out on painkillers, and still feeling like I could drool on the keyboard at any moment, I thought I’d break my routine of trying to put regular meals into a blender (baked potato through a straw anyone?), and write about the Red Wings off-season dealings.

I wrote in my last blog that the Wings missed out on Derek Boogaard, and that the need for an enforcer was getting quite urgent. Ken Holland has done, well, what Ken Holland wants, and has signed both Jiri Hudler, and then Valterri’s younger brother, Illya Filppula. Now, I’ve no idea if Illya is any good, but when there’s so many L’s in your name, that it looks a bit like a barcode, then it’s worth giving him a shot, just to see what happens. I can’t imagine Babcock will go the pre-season without trying both Filppula’s on the same line, just to see if they have that Sedin-like connection. I expect Illya to play at Grand Rapids for a while, but you never know, especially if there are some injuries, or bad form, then maybe we could see another set of brothers grace the ice. Maybe the commentators would have something else to talk about other than Drew Miller’s brother being Ryan Miller.

Anyway, the main talking point for Wings fans, after Lidstrom’s decision to sign another year, is Mike Modano. The Michigan native is a free agent after being released by the Dallas Stars after a 20 year stint with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise. Ken Holland has been taking Modano out on dates for a while now, trying to tempt him, and selling the club to him. I can’t imagine they’re cuddling up on the back row of the movies, but still, it’s nice to know the Wings are still trying hard to get their man. After all, when the franchise has a good reputation of getting good seasons out of ageing players, then picking up the highest scoring American-born player ever in the NHL seems like a good idea. He’s also being targeted by Minnesota, who are hoping to tempt him back to the city under the Wild franchise. I guess it then comes down to whether Minnesota can offer Modano more than Detroit, or if Modano’s ties to the City and area are enough to pull him back ‘home’.

Elsewhere, the search for an enforcer continues. Obviously with the decision not to sign Boogaard, the Wings are looking for someone who is willing to drop the gloves, but who also puts a few points on the board. We’ve not had such a player since Darren McCarty in his heyday of the late 90’s and early 00’s. Before then, we had Probert, who sadly passed away recently, aged just 45. Probert put up some amazing numbers, considering the amount of time he spent in the penalty box, and these are often overlooked due to his reputation as a fighter. Look them up and you’ll see what I mean. The 87-88 Playoffs, with Yzerman out injured for the whole post-season bar 3 games, Probert posted a massive 21 points in 16 games.

Now, if we could just find another fighter with exceptional scoring abilities, and fight off every other professional hockey team that would no doubt be desperate to sign him…

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Holland said before the Free Agency opened, that he wanted an enforcer in the organisation. Suddenly, Derek Boogaard is available from Minnesota, and what do the Wings do? Hesitate.

Now, I realise that Boogaard has not registered a point in a game for years, and that he has very little ice-time, very high penalty minutes, and will be practically useless in the playoffs, but still, it’s time the Wings got themselves a bad boy.

So, since it’s a few days into the Free Agency, and many of the better point scorers/skaters/goalies have been snapped up, we’re now looking at trading.

The problem now is, can the Management really justify trading a skater that plays well with the Wings style, for an enforcer? The protection will be gratefully received, especially by Holmstrom, Datsyuk etc, but when someone fails to add points, or fails to even spend much time on the ice, then you have to ask if it’s worth the trade.

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This is not just the end of contract negotiations with Lidstrom, but it also means that Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Eaves, Miller, Helm and Abdelkader can start their negotiations. All were being held up depending on the outcome of the Lidstrom contract.

Finally, we can now start securing some players for next season’s roster. There are a number of young players making their mark in the AHL, that will be ready for the NHL this coming season too. Ritola, Kindl, Tatar, Emmerton, Mursak, Pare and Pyett all look like they could make NHL debuts next year, as well as Goalie prospect McCollum. I really can’t see Osgood getting much of a look in, and unless he wants a coaching role, or wants a year playing AHL or for another team, it’s likely to be the end of the road for Ozzie.

Our main Goalie prospect behind Jimmy Howard, was Daniel Larsson, who recently signed for HV71 in his native Sweden, whilst the Wings have acquired Jiri Hudler, back from the KHL, on a 2-year contract. Whilst I’m a little disappointed to see our prospects leaving for teams outside the NHL/AHL (I always like to see them do well), it’s heartening to see Hudler back again. And more importantly, Hudler back for a reasonable amount. Yes we wanted him back, but not if it was going to cause us cap problems.

We’ll probably end up ditching some of the lower end players, such as May, Meech and possibly Ericsson or Lebda, but I’d hope their wage amounts would go towards another couple of decent 2nd/3rd line defencemen.

Roll on the draft, and roll on the Free Agency!

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The season started badly. Back to back losses to St Louis in the globally televised games in Stockholm was not the best way to convince the Detroit faithful that the team could survive without the multiple players lost to cap restrictions.

The Wings went on to win the next 2 games, but then capitulate to Buffalo. The season turned out to follow this same pattern. A couple of good wins, followed by some motivation-killing losses. A high point was the 9-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in November, followed a few days later by a 7-4 win over Anaheim, whilst the low end was a run of just 4 wins in 16 through January and the beginning of February.

The injuries were also racking up, with Franzen out for the majority of the season, Filppula out for a considerable time, Kronwall injured for several weeks, and multiple other month-long and week-long injuries, the Grand Rapids Griffins provided much of the Wings roster for many weeks.

After the Olympic break, the injured players started to return in stages, the Wings finally found their form, and they ran over teams with the confidence and finesse, that we’ve come to know and love from Detroit. They racked up a 16-3-3 record, pulling in 35 of a possible 42 points. With this final surge of wins, the Red Wings were able to plant themselves firmly in the playoff spots.

Despite being drawn against Phoenix, a slightly unknown quantity in terms of Playoff hockey, I was pretty confident of progressing. However, the Coyotes certainly made sure Detroit was put firmly through the mill as they took the lead in the series twice, with the score running to 3-3 and a game 7 decider. The Phoenix team played a physical and hard-working brand of hockey, something which the Wings struggled to contain and they only really found their legs when we brought our own, and possibly only, physical presence in the form of Justin Abdelkader. Even so, it was a tough series, and it took a visible physical toll on the Wings. Nobody will want to face the Coyotes in next year’s playoffs, if this year’s showing is anything to go by.

The next round pitted Detroit against the often disappointing San Jose Sharks. Famous for their ability to storm the regular season and flunk the playoffs, and with a history of being thoroughly stuffed by the Red Wings, there was a slight air of hope from the Detroit fans. However, this wasn’t the Sharks team that everyone enjoyed watching fail in the post-season last year, nor was it the same team that struggled against the Wings for the past 2-3 seasons. This Sharks team was rested (having taken out Colorado in the first series in 6 games), and were a little more rested, hungry and ready to go. Having completed the first series (which they were expected to lose, if history was anything to go by), they were high on motivation.

The Wings were certainly not rested, had just played a body-bruising 7 game series, and were only just able to close out the Coyotes, let alone charge head-first into a new 7 game series. This really showed. The Sharks were faster to the puck, quicker to avoid hits, and were proving they were no chokers. Winning the first 3 games, Detroit looked to be heading home with the humiliation of a sweep seeing them out the door, but they managed to pull one game back to avoid the embarrassment, only to be taken out in San Jose, 4-1 for the series.

There’s no excuses, no claims the refs were bad, no arguments that the Sharks are being handled differently by officials or anything like that. They San Jose Sharks were better than the Detroit Red Wings over a 7 game series. End of story.

With news of a Hudler return on the cards, the emergence of Howard as an excellent starting goaltender, and a possible shipping out of some deadwood, it looks like the future may still be bright for the Red Wings. All the very best to the Sharks, who deserve their place in the Conference final.

Many thanks to penaltykill.net, as I’ve really enjoyed writing this blog, and for my first full season it’s been great to have somewhere to share my thoughts, and also read everyone else’s opinions!

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I think in all honesty, there’s one reason why the Wings find themselves 0-2 in the series. They’re being outclassed. The Wings know the Sharks, they’ve played them many times, and have a promising record against them in regular season games. However, this isn’t regular season, and history, form, on-paper ability means nothing (just ask Montreal fans!).

The Sharks look to have found that form they require in the playoffs. After several years of choking in the first round, they’re finally looking like a team that could make it to the final. If Pavelski continues to play the way he is, there’s a Playoff MVP award heading his way, despite some of Nabakov’s outstanding saves.

In answer to the questions at the top of the article, I think it’s yes to all three. The Phoenix games were really, really tough, and all the players looked tired and sluggish in game 1. However, this is no excuse. This is playoff hockey. If your series gets to game 7, then the plans for the next series are going to be last-minute. They’re going to be rushed, with little time to rest and prepare. The Wings know this, as they’re no stranger to playoff hockey. They have had a couple of days back in Michigan before the home games, so this excuse, should it be used, no longer holds any water.

If the Wings want to get back into this series, they’ll have to beat a side that has been better than them in the last 2 games, win both the home games and pull it back to 2-2. If they lose one, then I fear it’ll be goodnight Detroit.

And if anyone’s worried, no I didn’t leave the oven on…

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Editor’s Note: rockandrollnobody lives in the UK which means games are generally 8 hours ahead, so a 7PM PST puck drop is approx 3AM.

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But d’you know what? We’re ok with that. It’s fine that everyone likes to see us lose, it’s not a problem that all other teams dislike us and our franchise. The hate is bred from envy and fear. Nobody wants to play with Wings in the Playoffs, and so if the Coyotes can take us out early doors, then everyone will be happier.

Don’t mistake this for arrogance, as it’s certainly not intended, but what has become very apparent in this playoff series, is that despite being the lower seeding, the Red Wings were favourites. Every prediction I’ve seen for the playoffs has the Wings making the Conference finals, if not the Cup finals. Every Coyotes forum around has other fans jumping on their bandwagon, and wishing them good luck against Detroit.

Fans from LA to New York are watching this series, and hoping that Phoenix can take us down. Every Coyotes goal is being cheered from Florida to Calgary, and this has firmly placed the Desert Dogs in the spotlight for a good, on-ice reason, rather than their bad, financial problems. Doan is coming through as the main man here. His tumble over Howard in game 3 looked bad, and it’s likely he’ll miss game 4, but yet the fans are still confident, especially after the game 3 win at the Joe. Phoenix are looking stronger than Detroit, and certainly more dangerous, yet nearly all other teams in the post-season are hoping they’ll win.

Make no mistake here. If the Coyotes beat us in the series, then it’ll be due to hard work, determination, and they’ll win on merit. They won’t be easy opponents for anyone, no matter what history you look into.

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The other day I jumped on Craigslist to see what there was in the world of game 1 Coyote tickets. There were a bunch to choose from, so I scrolled through checking seats and prices and stumbled upon some that caught my eye. These were 20 rows up in the corner left of Jimmy Howard of the Red Wings. Now, in any Canadian city, I am sure these tickets would have been hundreds of dollars and to actually get them would be a real chore. Anyway, for $75 each, my wife, a friend, and myself, enjoyed a classic playoff game.

The place was electric, everyone in white, screaming, chanting, and heckling. The action was fast, the Red Wings, a skilled veteran team, showed off their talent, with crisp passing, finesse, stick handling, and plenty of shots. The Coyotes on the other hand, a team that surprised everyone this year, and probably continue to, showed the heart, team work, chemistry, and relentless pressure, that has got them to this point. They out hit the Red Wings in a big way, which caused some key turnovers, they won most of the battles for loose pucks and capitalized when they had to. The top scoring defense core in the league had 5 points on the 3 goals and one of the worst power plays in the league went 3 for 4.

It looked like the Coyote game plan was to play with an edge and hit everything that moved. It seems like they realized this is a long series and if they can apply relentless pressure and physical play, they can ware down the aging, and often injured Red Wings. The Coyotes won game one, but it looked as though they were setting themselves up for games in the future as well.

It was the first playoff game I had been to in a long time and I couldn’t have been more pleased, as a hockey fan, with the game that was played by both teams. I will be honest, I am not a fan of either team to any great extent, but living in a city you can adopt a like for a team, especially a team nobody thought would be in the position they are.

Now tonight I can sit back and take in some other rounds on TV (go Canucks), and remember the great experience I shared with my wife and friend, in a place where nobody thinks hockey should be.

zambonidiaries

http://zambonidiaries.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @zambonidiaries

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After losing 15 of the first 25 games (.400), it looked like Detroit were going to be in the middle of the pack, and fighting hard for points even this early in the season. The injuries piled up high, and fast, with multiple AHL call-ups pulling on jerseys game after game for a month or two. Howard emerged as a gifted and reliable goaltender, albeit after a very suspect start.

Things were only the slightest bit better over the festive period, as Detroit lost 16 of the next 30 (.466). Lines were shuffled continuously as players returned from injury or got injured. Datsyuk was struggling for form, Zetterberg wasn’t lighting the lamp, and the Wings looked in real danger of drifting away from the post-season, for the first time in 19 years. Many Red Wings (myself included) summised that this was something we’d avoided for so long, that we didn’t really know how to react. I am used to winning 8 out of 10 games, and so this was bit reality check, and a big worry.

Finally the Wings found their feet, or skates, (especially after the Olympic break), with enough time to haul themselves into the playoff zone. They lost just 9 of the last 27 games (.666), which cemented them a place in 5th, 102 points, and a full-strength team, hungry to overcome their poor season (by Detroit’s high standards) and put in a good show to play deep into the playoffs.

As for the quarter final matchup, Phoenix were not my first choice, but also not my last. I would have preferred to have faced the Sharks, as our style of hockey really causes them problems, but at the same time, I really wanted to avoid the Blackhawks as we always need a few games under our belt before facing them. Maybe we play a similar game, I don’t know, but it’s always a close-fought thing, and I’d rather that happened later on into the playoffs.

The Coyotes surprised a lot of people this season. They had a large amount of OT/SO wins, and so hopefully this will mean that Detroit will be pushing hard to get them put away before the OT periods. Too many OT games, and everyone is worn out before the next game even gets to the 3rd.

We’re coming into the playoffs in great form, on the back of a really hot goalie and with a defense that is tightening up with every game. Plus we have Datsyuk. Need I say more?

Sorry puckgal, but I’ll say the Wings in 6.

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The Wings are, in the last 10 games, a blistering 9-0-1. 19 points from a possible 20, and hopefully this will have the Sharks, Blackhawks and Canucks all fighting to lose games to avoid the Wings in the Playoffs.

Where the spark came from, I don’t know. Maybe it was Babcock and Holland winning Gold with Canada, or perhaps the whole top 6 skaters bar, Rafalski and Filpulla, missing out on medals. Whatever it was, it’s worked wonders. Although it’s taken until March, now is definitely the right time to start your hot streak.

So, the matchups for the playoffs look good, and to be completely honest, I don’t think the Wings fear anyone. I don’t believe anyone wants to draw Detroit in the first round, and more importantly, I don’t think anyone expects the Wings to drop out early. Rule by fear, intimidate with skill, terrify with successful history, and steal the puck off the last defencemen’s stick for the 120th time this season. The look on the defencemen’s faces when Datsyuk snatches the puck and throws it towards net is just classic.

After a disappointing season until the Olympics, the Red Wings finally look to be showing signs of the team they know how to be. Here’s to another deep season, and annoying my wife with a huge playoff beard…

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However, as the season reaches the ‘business end’, there are more than a couple of teams who are suffering a similar fate. Just as the Wings find some form (7-2-1 in last 10), it seems teams all around are suffering from the jitters.

Calgary are fighting for the last playoff spot, but at crucial points in crucial games, they seem to be falling away. In their game against the Wild last night, they put on pressure and pinned Minnesota into their own zone, but after 5-6 shots, and no goals, they sat back, and let the Wild come at them. Either pile on the pressure and get as many goals as you can, or soak up the pressure, play defensively, and try to catch them on a breakaway. Calgary must choose one or the other, as it’s evident they can’t mix and match. Final score 4-3 in favour of the Wild.

The Colorado Avalanche have started dropping points, and are 7th in the West, whilst Detroit occupy 8th, and Calgary 9th. Although it’s unlikely, the St Louis Blues are 10th and although they’re a few points away, their current form demands attention, as they’re matching the Flames. The current playoff combatants are:

Nashville Predators: Currently 5th, the Predators are the hot team, collecting 18 points of a possible 24 since the Olympic break. With the Preds bringing home 75% of the possible points on offer, they’re only going to climb the Conference.

LA Kings: Currently 6th, the Kings are losing ground just as fast as the Avalanche. Their 4-4-1 record is not enough to keep at bay the teams trying to force their way into the coveted playoff spots. They’ll have to up their game to keep away from a final week scramble.

Colorado Avalanche: Currently 7th, the Avs are also currently running at 50%, with a 5-5-0 record that might have held them in their position earlier in the season, but right now, everyone is pushing them, and they’re struggling to hold their ground.

Detroit Red Wings: The Wings are currently 8th, in the final playoff spot, and are pulling in a points tally similar to the Predators. Their 75% points record is causing concern amongst the teams above, especially as the Wings have more and more players back from injury. Babock’s headache is a pleasant one, as he must decide who to bench, rather than who’s fit to play.

Calgary Flames: Currently 9th, just outside the spots, the Flames are just keeping in touch with the pack. Self-destruct games do them no favours, and they’ll have to band together. Even if everyone keeps their form, the Flames will have to do better than their current 60% tally to sneak into the top 8.

St Louis Blues: A little way off in 10th, the Blues are also running at 60%. Despite this being a relatively good form streak, they’re going to need some major catastrophes to befall some of the teams above them

Beneath the Blue, the Ducks, Wild and Stars are all on 76 points, which again, would require a major freefall of some of the playoff teams (San Jose 3-6-1?) to make it. Added to this occurrence, they’d have to make a playoff charge of historic proportions to catch the last spots.

So long as the Wings keep doing what they’re doing, then we’ll be ok. We’ll let San Jose continue their shocking fall from grace. We’ll let Calgary continue to build up a couple of wins and then throw the good work away, and more importantly, we’ll continue to pick up 75% of points. If all continues as it has done so far since the break, San Jose and Nashville will be tied on 103 in 4th and 5th, and that’ll put us 6th, and 4 pts clear of LA and Colorado in the positions below. Hence you see why Calgary and St Louis need to really get going for the last 10 games.

That’ll be lovely, thank you very much.

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Let’s cut to the chase, the Wings are not the formidable force this season that they were in the last few years. Discussions go on for hours (believe me!) about why, but the main consensus seems to be the same. We lost a lot of firepower in the summer, and couldn’t replace it. The salary cap restrictions hit us too hard. We had a lot of injuries, that decimated our main scoring lines and main defensive lines, and didn’t have the depth to patch up the missing links. None of this is out of our control, however. If you sign up big name players, then they’re going to cost you salary, and you have to prepare for it, especially if you want to pin them to long-term contracts. Also, you can’t rely on a couple of offensive and defensive lines to carry the team. When these main players can’t play, for whatever reason, the 3rd/4th line players need to step up and make up the points.

However, let’s not bemoan the season too much. After all, we’re still in the a good chance at a playoff place, the run-in to the end of the regular season looks fairly kind on Detroit, and there have been some excellent players come forward in times of need.

Patrick Eaves has really proved his worth as a scrappy and hard-working forward, and deserves his place on the roster since starting the season with AHL affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins. More impressive, however, has been the emergence of Darren Helm, as a fast, hard-working, and determined forward.

Helm is one of the quickest skaters I’ve ever seen, and his ability to breakaway is a key weapon in his arsenal. The recent game in Nashville was a classic example, as Helm, playing on a PK line, took a turnover and played it down ice. Nothing unusual, until Helm decided to chase the clearance. He put the defenceman under pressure, lifted the stick, and stole the puck, slotting it home for a shorthanded goal. Nashville really had a Nightmare on Helm Street, as that was Darren’s second of the night, and his 3rd shorthanded goal of the campaign. He’ll chase anything like an excited dog, and I’ve seen him a couple of times charge down the ice, sometimes totalling himself into the boards, if it meant forcing the opposing defence into a mistake for his teammates to capitalise on. Luckily Babcock has recognised the guy’s determination and ability, and his record of 10-9-19 is only going to improve as he gets more ice-time. Not bad for a 4th line player.

Lastly, it looks like Pavel Datsyuk is starting to regain some form. His season has been modest to say the least, and it’s nice to see him celebrating some good goals, and having the drive to steal the puck off defender’s sticks and push for goals. He totally embarrassed Kevin Klein during the Nashville game, poking the puck away from the defenceman right in front of the goaltender and slotting the puck home. Again on Sunday against Chicago, Datsyuk (the NHL leader in takeaways) stole the puck at the blueline and flew through the offensive zone, scoring a breakaway goal to round off Detroit’s 5-goal second period. It’s great to have Pavel back, firing on all cylinders.

I think I’m a little bit in love with Darren Helm.

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Andreas Lilja has been on long term IR since a massive concussion in February 09, caused by a fight with Shea Weber. He has since struggled with physical exertion causing him massive headaches and affecting his vision. However, after a successful conditioning stint with Detroit affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins, the Swede is ready to return to the NHL. However, the Wings are almost at their cap, and Lilja’s $1.2 salary is going to take some clearance. So, here’s how the Wings have sorted it out.

Maltby – About to undergo shoulder surgery. Long Term Injured Reserve
May – Assigned to Grand Rapids Griffins (cleared waivers)

Now, since Maltby is our best pest, chirping and annoying other teams, and May our enforcer, where does that leave the Red Wings? Maybe a bit toothless? Hey, at least our leading hitter, Abdelkader is still charging around the 4th line, and we’ve acquired in the Leino trade a new defencemen (Tollefsen) who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves.…oh wait.

Abdelkader – Assigned to Grand Rapids Griffins
Tollefsen – Assigned to Grand Rapids Griffins

So less of a case of all bark and no bite, but more of a case of no barking at all, not even a whimper. We’ve not had a fully fledged frightening enforcer since Darren McCarty, and Brad May was the closest thing we had. We need at least one or two guys that can dish out retribution for dirty hits, persistent roughing, or ‘accidental’ slashing of star players.

And then the Red Wings franchise wonders why all our players are injured…

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I don’t think the argument will ever be settled, but I can at least see the cases for and against, and also the reasons behind them.

FOR:

TEAM A fights hard and are denied a win by exceptional and/or very lucky goaltending. They may be scored on by a very lucky bounce/deflection, and then have to play against TEAM B that camps in its own zone, blocking the shooting lanes. In instances like this, the dominant TEAM A may end up losing in a shootout, whilst TEAM B got lucky and then protected the net at all costs to hold on for at least a point, even though they’re likely to be outshot by 20-30 shots. In those games, if the dominant team loses, then there’s a justifiable case for them getting a point.

AGAINST:

TEAM B could defend through 60 minutes, and spend their whole time on the back foot. Even though they hardly attempt to string an attack together, they still get a point for reaching the end of regulation. In some cases, this has actually encouraged teams to go to high-flying opponents and attempt to soak up the pressure as much as they can, as at least there’s a point in it for them. Plus, whichever team loses, loses, and shouldn’t be rewarded with a point, good performance or not. Sometimes you can play very well, and really be the better team but end up losing. That’s competitive sports for you!

However, I think your opinion depends on your own team’s experiences. Detroit’s game at Pittsburgh on Sunday was a good example. I thought we were a good opponent, and really made the Pens work for their game. I saw Datsyuk and Zetterberg play the forechecking game very well, and the Pens defence was often caught under pressure, and forced to blindly shove the puck to centre ice without direction. Even though we were outshot heavily, even though Howard was pushed hard by the Pittsburgh defence, I really think our defensive work, goaltending, and penalty killing was worth a point.

Another loss in OT for Detroit though, and this doesn’t sit well. Most Detroit fans had hoped the win against Nashville was a turning point, but then to lose in shootout to the Pens just shoved us back into the depression.

We play San Jose tonight, and then Anaheim later in the week. Usually against the Sharks, we fight hard and really cut out their passing play. Hopefully we can do that again tonight, and it will be, once again, a very entertaining game. Anaheim is a very familiar story. We’ll try to play with finesse whilst the Ducks attempt to remove body parts of the Wings players.

Holmstrom and Franzen will apparently both be back in the roster before the Olympic break. This should hopefully give us a full roster for the first time since the opening couple of days of the season.

On a final note, Andreas Lilja has been sent to Grand Rapids on a conditioning stint. After his severe concussion problems, he’s been finding that after a couple of minutes of exercise he was suffering from acute headaches and vision problems. Here’s hoping that the 11-month absence hasn’t taken away the bite and spark that Lilja often showed. This is great news for the big man.

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They are currently 2-3-2 from their last 7, but were 5-1-1 from the 7 before that. Crazy isn’t it? We’ve lost 2 of the 3 games at home this month, and there are two more to go (Coyotes come to Detroit tonight).

I mean, what’s going on? We play well for two weeks, and then we drop out for two. The Islanders game was shocking, and I touched on it last blog, so I won’t go into detail. Next up, we fought hard and beat Carolina at home to take two points and prove that the Islanders game wasn’t a trend.

Next up, we took a trip to Texas and faced the Stars. A tight game after Detroit roared into a 2-goal lead in the 1st, and then got pegged back in the 2nd and 3rd, before one of the most controversial shootouts ever. Ott’s effort hit Howard, and landed on the goal line. Howard’s scramble to remove the puck was successful on the second attempt, whilst the official closest to the play said no goal. The two trailing officials said goal, so it went to video replay. The video footage was non-conclusive, and so the officials decided that they would vote, and as the decisions had gone earlier, they vote 2 to 1 in favour of a goal. Ott’s goal stood, and Eaves was unable to level the tally, so Dallas took the win.

The next night, Chicago came to the Joe, where the game again was very tight, and at 3-3, went to OT and eventually a shootout. The moves displayed by the players and goaltenders in this shootout have to be seen to be believed. Some of the talent shown to score and save these shots is just astounding. Datsyuk and Bertuzzi scored the really flashy efforts, whilst the other big news from this game was Patrick Eaves. He fought Versteeg in the first period, in what ranks up there in the best fights I’ve ever seen. Eaves said afterwards that the fight was due to some history between the two, and boy, you could tell.

Against the Capitals, Detroit dominated the game. The Caps offense was uncharacteristically quiet as Detroit romped through the first two periods, throwing 31 shots at Theodore, but still coming out the start of the 3rd in a 1-1 game. Detroit took the lead again, before the Capitals scored twice in a minute to take the game away from the Wings. The defence did their job, with a certain Mr Ovechkin limited to no goals, 1 assist, no shots and a -1 points tally. The Wings outshot the Caps 46-23, but still couldn’t put the puck in the net enough to take the game. Osgood was preferred during this game, and it seemed goaltenders were key. Theodore won the game for Washington, no doubt.

The Wild were next, and provided the Wings with the 3rd shootout in 4 games. At 3-3 (Eaves on the scoresheet again), the game went to OT and finally to the shootout. Howard must have been dreading this. Luckily though, as the shootout entered its 8th round, Belanger was denied by Howard, and Miller was able to score on his attempt, giving the Wings their first OT win since Dec 11th 09 .

Finally, LA came to the Joe, and found themselves 2-0 down in the first 8 minutes. As usual though, the Wings weren’t able to hold the lead, and LA were able to fight back into the contest, eventually taking the game 3-2. Also worth noting that in the second intermission, a bloke was found climbing the catwalks above the ice. He had to be removed by the authorities before the game could continue.

So the defence looks good. We’re outshooting a lot of other teams and we’re managing to limit the influence of big players. However, the goaltending is an issue. We’re outshooting teams that we then lose to. Also, the offence is a big problem. As was pointed out to me earlier today, Detroit have scored the least goals in the league, except for Boston, putting us 29th in the list of goalscoring. This is simply not good enough. Injuries are only a partial excuse. The defence works. We have conceded just 128 goals, which gives us the 7th best defence in the league. So what do we need?

A goaltender, proven at this level and that can handle this pressure? A rugged, scrappy forward, to help Helm, Eaves, and Filppula to make the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lines more productive? I think perhaps we need both.

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Now, can someone please explain to me, how the schedule ended up like this? I’m no geographical genius, but even I know that Phoenix is further West than Detroit, and therefore I don’t mind us heading to Arizona, before we plant ourselves on the Pacific coast for a week. However, at the end of the Western team stint, we should be able to take in a couple of home games, or at least a road game near us (Chicago/St Louis etc), before we end up on the opposite coast. And for just one game, no less. It’s not even giving us chance to settle into a hotel for a few days and play the Rangers, or even the Devils. I’m not going to say it’s the only reason we lost, but it certainly can’t have helped.

I’ll stop complaining after this paragraph, but I just wanted to bring your attention to something. We got stuffed 6-0 by the Islanders right? Yet a couple of days beforehand we beat the high-flying Sharks. Now, I know one teams play is different from the next, so you can’t expect the same strategy to work every time, but I’m sure that the travelling had a really big part to play here.

After my last report on the importance of Thomas Holmstrom’s buns, he promptly injured himself. Thus we’ve had more ice time for the recently recovered Cleary, Filppula and Zetterberg.

The player that has stepped up most in this period of injury, has been Darren Helm. He’s potted 5 goals in the last 5 games, something of a breakthrough, as in his first 55 regular season games, he was able to notch up just 3 goals. If fairness to Helm, he’s never really been known as a goal scorer, even during his junior days at Medicine Hat. His game is more uptempo, a kind of seek-and-destroy guy, if you will. He does a lot of the dirty work and goes places, like the corners, that many scorers would prefer not visit. He’s also not shy of throwing his weight around, and in the final moments of the Kings game, was able to wrestle the puck from O’Donnell, despite having been thrown to the ice, before sliding his shot in the near side to claim a win for Detroit with moments to spare.

Franzen is still a fair way off playing fitness, with his progress described as being able to turn and stop, but that’s about it. The major surgery on his knee was apparently very successful, but only time will tell if the Mule has lost pace, or the ability to mix it up in the opposition zone. Cleary returned after separating his shoulder, and instead of try to bump a few Sharks players first and get the taste for it, Cleary decided to slam Devin Setoguchi into the goal from behind. Setoguchi was obviously displeased and the two decided to fight it out. I suppose that was one way of testing if your shoulder had healed.

And finally, it’s great to hear that Boyd Deveraux is recovering well after suffering a broken neck. Competing at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, Deveraux was checked with his head down by defenceman Beat Forster. Former Wings, Edmonton, Phoenix and Toronto center, Deveraux is recuperating at home, where he is expected to make a full recovery.

That concludes the report from the Detroit Hospital for slightly damaged hockey players.

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Now, having learnt my trade in hockey games on the Sega Mega Drive (yes, I was born in the early 80’s, yes, I’m nearly 30, don’t rub it in), and then the PC, this was unchartered territory.

As it turns out, hockey games have become exceptional in terms of capturing the atmosphere of the crowds inside the arenas, the personalities of each player (or the slight insanity in Turco’s case), and of course, the difficulty of controlling a small black puck, on a stick, whilst ice-skating, and attempting to avoid huge Zdeno Chara-types trying to hurl your limbs over the boards. I have no qualms about stating that I am utterly hopeless at this game. However, that doesn’t stop me enjoying it. I can’t skate very well, I can’t score, and I certainly can’t defend (although I have learnt how to do diving poke-checks, but these tend to be with Nick Lidstrom, which is a tad unrealistic), but my only plus point, is that I can fight. And by ever, can I fight! It appears this is my only benefit to the team, and although I do stir up enthusiasm in the team, I don’t actually put any points on the board. This makes me the online gaming equivalent of Brad May.

In reality, the Wings are 3-1-1 in their last 5. This is a fairly good form to be keeping, and the 4-1 win at Phoenix the other night seemed to look like the Detroit of the last couple of seasons. Holmstrom is still causing all sorts of havoc, both in screening, tipping, and generally annoying the living daylights out of goalies and defencemen. I can’t imagine how many goaltender’s have stared at Holmstrom’s butt cheeks for shift after shift. He’s collected 15 so far, and leads the Wings in goals scored. He’s going to be a major part to play in the Detroit push for Playoff qualification this season, especially as Franzen is still out, and with Datsyuk and Zetterberg also suffering injuries already this season, Homer has been pretty much our only consistently well performing player.

Although this all seems a welcome return to form, it is worth remembering that Detroit’s road form is an increasing concern. The Wings managed to win just 2 of their 6 road games in December, and it’s also very telling that Detroit has no players in the top 30 goalscorers, assist leaders, point scorers, and only Lidstrom in the top 30 +/- players (+13). We can’t even claim we’ve taken on a more aggressive style of grinding play, as we’re absent from the list of top 30 penalty minute leaders too.

We’re very much that kid at school, who was never last to be picked for the team, but not first either. The results are OK, and the performances are OK, but simply OK doesn’t get you into the Playoffs.

Our injury list is slowly shrinking, and although we’re still missing key players, the lines should hopefully return to some form of normality in the coming couple of weeks.

It’s not long until the break for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and although everyone takes pride in knowing their team has multiple internationals, injuries are always a worry. The players are obviously going to give their utmost to win for their country, and there is no greater pride than representing your homeland. Let’s just hope it doesn’t spell injury woes for those teams who have to patch their players up again after the February break!

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This is a pretty frustrating set of stats. The Wings can’t really seem to string more than a couple of wins together before capitulating. Zetterberg’s injury is just another problem to add to the list of growing concerns. Helm’s return is a welcome snippet of good news, but it is little but a footnote in the grand scheme of things. Babcock’s 300th win as Red Wings coach should have been celebrated, instead it was all a bit muted.

I think, now it’s nearly the end of December, it’s time to face facts.

1. The Wings are not going to be cruising into the playoffs as the top 2-3 of the league

We are far, far too inconsistent this season. I mean, all teams have a bad spell and a good spell. So long as the bad spell doesn’t ruin your season, then it’s a case of filling your quota of ‘rubbish games’ and hoping that is the end of it and you can get back to putting together a good winning streak. The Wings haven’t really got their season off the ground. It’s not that we’ve really had a bad season so far, but we’ve not had a good one either. It’s certainly not been good enough so far to put us up in the top few teams. We’re currently placed 14th, and I reckon that’s probably where we deserve to be. Last week was classic. Thursday we beat Tampa Bay 3-0, Saturday we lose 4-3 in a tough and exciting game to a good Dallas team, and then Sunday we lose 3-0 to an average Chicago team. 7 goals conceded, 6 goals scored, 5 different scorers, 4 days, 3 games, 2 points.

2. Our Road form is not good enough

With 7-7-3, then the road form is too hit-and-miss. The Devils (currently top of the league) have a road form of 13-2-1, which is quite frankly, exceptional. With their solid home form (13-6-0), then they deserve to be top. Road form is often the telling point between a successful team, and an average team.

3. Our injuries are bad, but we’re not the only ones

Everyone has injury problems at some point. It’s when the depth of the roster is tested. It’s when the players you call up from the affiliate teams get to prove their worth and depending on how deep your roster can go, can often make or break a game. Too often a team will have a great roster, but nothing to back it up with when injuries occur. I think that yes, our injuries have altered the team in a drastic way, but since every team will have this problem, it’s not really much of an excuse.

4. Ohlund’s hit on Zetterberg was clean

It was clean. End of argument. Matthias didn’t raise the elbow, he didn’t lift the skates off the ice, and he didn’t lift the stick to cross-check. Yes it sucks that one of our best players has been injured for a few weeks, but let’s be honest, Leino’s pass wasn’t great, and Zetterberg was stretching to reach the pass. Ohlund’s hit was solid, but not unfair. Time to stop complaining and get behind Helm and Eaves who will have to step up a gear to fill some more ice time. I mean, Kronwall and Stuart deliver hits like that all the time, and we applaud it. You can’t whine because you were on the receiving end for a change.

We’re 36 games down, 45 games to go to turn it around. Here’s hoping, wishing, praying, that we can put together a good run of form in the New Year, and hopefully, when April comes, we’ll be in the Playoff spots, and looking forward to the beard-a-thon that is the Stanley Cup Finals.

“Don’t stop, belieeeeeeeevinnnng…”

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Vancouver Canucks most exciting player 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The longest points scoring streak in Canucks history (tied). NHL All-star 2003 and 2004.

When Detroit signed him, I didn’t know any of those records, and I didn’t know he had a total of 255 goals, and 624 points in his 859 games.

What I did know, was that he ended Steve Moore’s career.

I wasn’t pleased at the signing, even after we’d lost Samuelsson, Hudler and Hossa and we were in dire need of a good offensive forward. I wasn’t pleased when we signed him the first time round, let alone picked him up 3 years later. I didn’t want him on the team, and comments from other Red Wings fans I know seemed pretty similar.

In the last two games, he’s scored 4 goals, 2 of which were OT winners, securing maximum points and back-to-back wins over the Duck and the Predators. But I’d still waive him in a heatbeat.

The problem with Bertuzzi is he’s at opposite ends of the spectrum. He’s either über aggressive, which attracts penalties, or he’s so lacklustre (presumably to avoid penalties) that he’s no use, and we might as well be playing with 4 skaters. The game will start and Bertuzzi will put in a couple of good shifts. All it will take will be a penalty call against him, and that’ll be it. He’ll be AWOL for a period at the very least. The Friday night game against the Ducks was a good example. Bertuzzi took a hooking call in the first period, and promptly backed off the pace for the next 30 minutes of hockey. He only game around to the idea of putting some bite into it at the end of the game. He had two shots in the whole game, one in the 3rd (goal) and one in OT (goal). Now, for your 2nd line forwards to hit just two shots, and waiting until the end of the 3rd to really get into the groove is not acceptable.

It seems like whenever a call is made against Bertuzzi, he panics. Maybe he thinks the refs are out to get him, and that they’re prejudiced against him? I’m sure it’s not the case, but even if they were, I’d probably understand. He destroyed Steve Moore’s career with a cheap shot to the back of the head. It was a cowardly and selfish act. Yes he was suspended for over a year, yes he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and yes his name will be tarnished for the rest of his career. But you know what? He deserves it.

I’m grateful for the points, and I’m grateful for the wins, but I’d rather we didn’t have Bertuzzi in a Red Wings jersey.

“It’s not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us” – Batman Begins

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The Wings form is so back and forth it’s making me feel sick. We’ll string together a couple of wins, and then we’ll lose in OT, sparking back-to-back losses. Then we’ll win (probably in OT or a SO), and then we’ll win our next two. The constant swing from hope and achievement, back to disappointment and frustration, then success and accomplishment, to shame and annoyance. Makes me feel a bit nauseous just writing about it.

Datsyuk scored in last night’s 3-1 win over the NY Rangers, which is his first for 7 games. Really, your first line centre should be lighting the lamp more than that, but it’s Pavel, and he’s got a cheeky grin, so we let him off.

The Detroit website chimes into the NY Rangers report with “Osgood has 395 NHL wins, 3 Stanley Cup rings, and a regular seat on the Red Wings bench”. I mean, come on guys, way to rub it in. They might as well have written “Osgood is old, can no longer cut it, has been replaced by a younger model, and has a silly haircut”. Let’s not take anything away from Howard, who has now racked up a 8-5-1 record this season with a 2.55 goals-against average, and played a blinder last night, stopping Callaghan’s penalty shot at a crucial, game-changing point in the proceedings.

I often wonder what the two goaltenders are like in the dressing room. Osgood could be sitting there, stroking his grey beard with a liver-spotted hand and mumbling about years gone by, and constantly calling Ville Leino “Sergei”, before Nick Lidstrom sits down next to the old man, holds his hand and tells him that it’s not 1994, and Fedorov doesn’t play in the NHL anymore. Osgood grumbles about how things were better when Chris Chelios was around, because at least Cheli knew what he was griping about. Howard will provoke the old man by asking in a loud voice ‘who’s Sergei?’, and then sniggering as Osgood rants off about the youth of today having no respect. Of course, this all happens before Brad May enters the room and everyone suddenly avoids all eye contact and makes a sudden dash for the toilet.

Osgood does have that look and style of being stuck in the late 80’s and early 90’s. His helmet is old school, and I can imagine him shunning the newer full face, decorated helmets because they’re ‘new-fangled technology’. He probably travels to road games listening to Milli Vanilli on his walkman, drives his DeLorean, and dances the running man to MC Hammer.

However, something is definitely missing with Osgood sat on the bench. I remember thinking that if the other goalie was a bit feisty (or Patrick Roy), that Osgood, Vernon, Conklin, and even Hasek would hold their own. I don’t get that feeling with Howard. I think he’d rather try and climb the glass than face a veteran goalie such as Kiprusoff, or Kabi. Osgood, on the other hand, seems to get some sort of Vietnam flashback, and throws his walking/hockey stick away, before taking on the intruder with his bare hands.

You just don’t see that old school, determined, never-say-die, slightly psychotic attitude in young goaltenders now (unless you’re Jonathan Roy).

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I bet on that midnight train he was sat next to Chris Osgood, who will of course be trying to hide himself away from the young upstart Jimmy Howard.

Poor Ozzy. He’s like your old Uncle, who’s lost the plot, and spends Christmas singing Irish drinking songs and talking to the cat, but you love him anyway.

With Conklin in goal last season, you always felt like Ozzy was resting. I mean, you still saw him behind the glass, so it’s not like he was at Daytona Beach with his shorts on, but still, the goal was in safe hands. With Howard in goal, Ozzy must still be on edge. I know I am. Howard is definitely creeping into the hearts and minds of the Detroit faithful. His performances are getting stronger, and even despite the team’s recent run of poor form (including scoring 1 goal in 3 games at one point), he’s building in confidence and last night’s game in St Louis was a good example of that. Even in the shootout, Howard looked composed and in control. I still have a nagging doubt that it’s a small patch of luck and that we’ll soon see the Howard we saw a few weeks ago. Shaky, nervous and slow to react. Obviously, I hope I’m wrong!

Osgood recently turned 37 years old, whilst Howard is just 25. I can’t help but think that Osgood may be starting to wind down his career. I really hope he can still play a backup role, and possibly coaching role to Howard, as the younger goalie emerges into the regular starting netminder. It would be sad to see Osgood lose his touch in the public eye, and drift down the rankings, maybe through the minors etc. This is no disrespect to the AHL or OHL, but more that when fans have a personal attachment to a particular player, you’d rather he hung up his skates (or mask in this case) when he still had the adoration and respect of the people around him. I hate to see great players fade away into minor leagues, and then when they retire, nobody can remember them.

Brendan Shanahan has just retired, and he did it in, what I feel, was the best way. He played until he felt he couldn’t do the NHL justice anymore. I really hope more great players follow in his skatelines and call it quits at a sensible time. Chris Chelios is, in my mind, doing himself no favours playing in the AHL. I hate to say it, but I do feel the Chicago Wolves saw a PR opportunity, and signed Chelios for publicity purposes, rather than to actually use him as an affective defenceman. At nearly 48 years old, most of Cheli’s records are ‘Oldest player to….’, and I can’t see how that’s how he would like to be remembered.

I really hope that if this is the wind down for Osgood, that he passes on everything he can to Howard, and bids a fond farewell to the Joe with his head held high. Then again, this could all be wrong, and it may be that he’s saving himself for the playoffs…

“Don’t stop belieeeeevinng……”

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First I learned that the hockey pre-season isn’t like other sports’ pre-seasons. Hockey players have said that the pre-season is really where you just find out who is making the team. It’s the beginning of the real season where you actually start learning how to play together. That’s why many teams have to find their footing when the season starts. By (US) Thanksgiving, they’ve usually been playing as a team for a solid month.

The second thing I learned is that Canada has their own Thanksgiving.

So here we are at (US) Thanksgiving and I wanted to see how The .Net’s teams are doing compared to this time last year.

The San Jose Sharks are just 1 point behind their point total from this time last year, and like last year they sit atop the NHL. Although there is nothing to be derived from this when it comes to the state of the team or their playoff prospects, all I will say is it’s nice to have a winning franchise to watch every few nights. The regular season is always fun in Sharkland.

rockandrollnobody’s Detroit Red Wings are 6 points behind where they were last year. While 34 points was worth 2nd place in the West last year, this year’s 28 points are only worth 10th. Given the goals the Red Wings lost when Hossa and Hudler left, and given the number of injuries they’ve suffered, a 6 point drop doesn’t sound too bad. However the increased strength of the rest of the West has them way down in the standings.

That strength is coming from hackett’s Chicago Blackhawks, who are surprising no one with their 9 point improvement over last season. With Marion Hossa finally joining the team the Blackhawks look to be the team to watch in the NHL. The only concern about this team is what to do next year. The Blackhawks could have serious cap issues so maybe it’s got to be this year.

The strength in the West is also coming from an unlikely source. That source is puckgal’s Phoenix Coyotes who are surprisingly occupying the 8th spot in the West. Perhaps the best thing that could have happened to the Coyotes was the loss of Wayne Gretzky. It makes complete sense that the Coyotes, under an experienced head coach like Dave Tippett, would be a better team. Could the Coyotes make the playoffs? By the way, to show just how little respect this team gets, wikipedia is still reporting Gretzky as the team’s head coach.

Where the West seems to have lost ground is with duxrox’s Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately it looks like Brian Burke left town leaving behind two things: 1) a Stanley Cup Title (yay!) and 2) a salary cap strapped team in free agency hell (boo!). My question to duxrox: is it worth it? Is it worth a title if it means enduring a ‘rebuilding’ year, possible signaling a window of a few rebuilding years? It’s always been that philosophical question - do you want to win all just at least just once, or do you want a perennial winner?

Despite all of the woes of massive injuries, pittpen’s Pittsburgh Pengiuns are tied for second in the NHL with their 36 points. The fact that they’re 5 points better than the were last season doesn’t really mean much when you consider that they made a coaching change later in the season to go from 10th in the East to Stanley Cup Champions. The Penguins seem to be skating along nicely despite having the longest hockey seasons two years in a row.

Tied with those Penguins are colonelbagpuss’ Washington Capitals. Here’s my beef - the marketing gurus at the NHL have been promoting Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin as the face of hockey. I understand that they’re both stars, but the ‘beef’ part is that they get more attention because, I think, they’re in the East. The Sharks have Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley - but the Sharks are in the West. This is one of the reasons why I started The .Net - not only does the NHL lack good nation media coverage compared to other sports (hence the idea that we’re always playing short handed), but the West gets even less coverage (hence the idea that the West is always playing short 5-on-3). Back to the topic at hand. The Capitals are being talked up as the next team to take it, giving Ovechkin center stage to sell the game. We’ll have to wait and see about that.

And last but not least, the Vancouver Canucks. Interestingly enough here at The .Net, the most blogged about team is the Canucks - I guess they just have way too many fans! Because of canucklehead, theoldtimer and hist, I know a lot more about this team than pretty much any team out there. Unfortunately I’m not sure where this team is going, they seem to be sliding sideways. Although only two points off last season’s pace, they’re sitting in 11th place in the west. I feel like of all the teams represented on The .Net, this is the one team that should be better than their record.

If they’re right and (US) Thanksgiving is truly the first benchmark of the season to come, it looks like most of the teams represented on The .Net are in a good position to make it a long, exciting season. The next typical measuring stick milestone is the month after the All-Star break, but since there is no All-Star game this year we’ll use the month after the Olympic break. It’s at that time where you start to see who has the mental fortitude to keep it up for 82 games. Teams that have been running away with things can get lazy around that time, while teams hungry to make a change usually ramp things up. But until then I’m sure there will be lots of continuing conversation so please - stay tuned!

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The queue for the treatment table must be getting ridiculous now. Lilja has been concussed since last season. I have this image of him wandering around the Joe Louis Arena, bumping into chairs and peeing in cupboards, before some people in white take him by the arm, tell him everything is alright, and slowly lead him away for a lie down. Franzen is still out with ligament injury, Filppula with a broken wrist and Williams has leg injuries. I mean, come on. Our forwards for the first 3 lines are cut from 9 to 6, with Bertuzzi (who still seems to be a bit too quiet for my liking), Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Cleary and Helm the only boys fit. Now I’m no accountant, but I can tell you that that 6 players, cannot fill 3 lines of forwards. We’re relying heavily on players such as Eaves, Leino, and Abdelkader. Unfortunately, these guys are just not causing the opposition as much trouble as they should be, and we’re paying for it.

With the loss of 1 of our 2 big open-ice hitters, Brad Stuart is going to have to start throwing his weight around more than normal if he’s to keep the 2nd line of defencemen as strong as they should be. Don’t get me wrong, I love having Lidstrom and Rafalski out there against the top opposition forwards, but their skill and poke-checking abilities just doesn’t get the heart going like a huge hip check. When was the last time you saw Nick Lidstrom flatten someone? I’m not saying he needs to, but that huge hit that Kronwall made on Martin Havlat in last season’s playoffs dramatically shifted the game’s momentum, and in Detroit’s favour. Not many forwards will get past Lidstrom and Rafalski. Not many forwards will survive Kronwall and Stuart.

The Wings were 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, but Nashville had won 5 in a row, and looked slick, fast, and confident. They deserved the win, there’s no doubt, and unfortunately Osgood looked too shaky. Both he and Howard are now very similar in stats, and despite our recent run of good form, those stats aren’t pretty.

Big props to 6’5” Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne who held firm in the 3rd, even though the Wings outshot the Preds 16-4.

Hopefully the staff at the Joe won’t do to our injured guys what my old sports teacher used to do to me and my schoolmates. If you were injured and it was your fault (challenged when you shouldn’t have done, mistimed a tackle etc), then it was punishable by training with no shirt on. Somehow I think we’d then have the players off for longer, with acute ice-burn.

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The Detroit season is 18 games old now, and the second set of 9 games are a whole other world away from the first set. In the first 9 games Detroit played this season, they posted up 3-4-2 (8pts), scoring 25 and conceding 31. These were bad times, and with Franzen out injured. It looked like this whole season may be a very bad egg.

However, something happened (I’m yet to figure out what) that spurred the team on considerably at this point. The next 9 games (up-to-date as of 16th Nov 09) the Wings racked up a 7-1-1 (15pts), scoring 37, and conceding 23.

I mean, what went on? Did Babcock lose his temper and lay down an ultimatum? Did the team finally get that pride, and sense of honour, that every Wings fan has when they see “11-time Stanley Cup Champions” written at the Joe? Is it due to my newly acquired, super special, mega lucky underpants? Who knows?

The last 3 games in particular have been either a masterclass in Detroit offense, or hard fought games culminating in the Wings being able to fight hard for a solid win. Obviously the Blue Jackets game was the former. It needs no introduction, but suffice to say it was a joy to watch, and more importantly, it filled the team, the staff, and the fans with confidence. When your lines are just hanging on after injuries to key players, it’s good to see multiple scorers, good to see a solid defensive showing, and good to see Brad May announcing his return by fighting Jared Boll.

The matchup against Vancouver the next night was a much harder-fought affair. After the fight with Boll, May had a gashed eye, but fought Rypien anyway. The match was a very even game I feel, with the final result not really indicative of the game. The Canucks outshot the Wings, but couldn’t get the puck past the staunch goaltending of Jimmy Howard. That’s right, you read correctly. Jimmy Howard. Now, as one of young Howard’s biggest critics (no, really!), this is pretty difficult to say, but in both the Columbus and Vancouver games he.was.awesome. In total for both games, he faced 58 shots, allowing just 2 goals. That’s good numbers for any goaltender, young, old, veteran or rookie. Both he and Osgood have seen their stats rise in this recent good form, but Howard should be proud of his performances.

Detroit’s 3rd game in 4 nights was against Anaheim. The Ducks were in the middle of a long road trip and were fighting to get some results from it. It looked like they were well in the mix throughout the game, and even though Detroit took a 2-0 lead, it was no surprise when the Ducks came back to level at 2-2. What was a surprise, was that the Wings then took the lead twice more, only to be pegged back once again by Anaheim. At 4-4 I thought we were finished for goals, but with 5 minutes left in the 3rd, Zetterberg popped up to put away his 2nd of the night. The Ducks looked visibly worn out at this point, and you could see they just didn’t have the legs to pull it back to 5-5. They sat back and hoped to catch Detroit on the rush. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, and the Wings are more than happy to pin a team into their defensive zone. Helm got the 6th, and then in the last moment Zetterberg caught and empty netter to notch up a hat-trick.

The Wings are now back up into the higher reaches of the league, and with the troubles we had earlier in the season, I can’t say I’m unhappy with our progress. Also, big kudos go out to the Carolina hurricanes for their 1st win in 14.

The Red Wings start their march to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Good times.

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Choose the least amount of fights in the NHL last season, dropping the gloves just 12 times.

Choose getting beaten 5-1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who recorded their 1st home victory that night.

Choose hideous injuries to key players early in the season, possibly because of a lack of enforcers.

Choose a primary goaltender that has a proven track record but can no longer co-ordinate both hands at the same time.

Choose a backup goaltender that is so weak, he looks like he needs a good hug from his mother.

Choose losing half of your goalscoring power in the offseason due to salary cap restrictions.

Choose the #1 powerplay in the NHL last season only to be way down in 15th right now.

Choose outshooting your opponent 36-28, but still allowing 5 goals against you.

Choose not having a single player in the top 30 points scorers.

Choose being shorthanded just 54 times so far, but having one of the worst penalty kill records in the league.

Choose destroying your 3 game winning streak and momentum by getting turned over at Toronto, the team bottom of the league for the majority of the season so far.

Choose the knowledge that every other team likes to see you lose, due to your success over the last 8-9 years.

Choose hope.

Choose love.

Choose persistence.

Choose addiction.

Choose optimism.

Choose the Detroit Red Wings.

Technorati Tags: Detroit Red Wings, hockey, nhl

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Maybe it’s optimism, maybe it’s because we’re used to being in the top 2-3 teams, or maybe it’s because life without the playoffs is too scary to contemplate.

Our main problem is goaltending. With just two goaltenders (when many teams have 3 available for each game), I feel we’re in trouble. Osgood is a legend, and will always be a hero to the Joe Louis arena, but this season he sucks. There’s no other comment to be made. He sucks. And don’t get me started on Howard. His NHL career is 2-7-1, and to me and the rest of the Red Wings fans, that’s just not good enough. Too hesitant, too indecisive, and too slow to react. When Jerome Iginla hits a slap shot your way from 6-7 yards out, you need to be alert and responsive. Howard is not.

Unfortunately, our leaky goaltending has brought the rest of the team down. The defence is becoming über protective of the final 3rd, and this is drawing a lot of penalties with desperate defensive manoeuvres. And thus, we play a lot of time a man down, and that’s inviting the opposition to odd-man rush, and put pucks toward the net. When you’ve got Osgood scratching his head, idly wondering where his skill went, or Howard reacting to a shot that was 90 seconds ago, then it’s no wonder the Red Wings are a shocking 28th in the Penalty Kill stats (just 70%).

The Calgary win was hard-fought, and we held on, catching an empty net in the final minute to make it a 3-1 victory, but in all honesty, we only played to our potential for about 10 minutes, in the 2nd. Detroit should be peppering Kiprusoff with 13 shots and 2 goals in every period, not just the middle one. Calgary were unlucky, and for most of the game were the better team I think.

Unless in the last couple of days, the Wings have managed to install some confidence into the Wings, some fighting spirit, and a bit of Patrick Roy-esque ability into the goaltenders, I think tonight, Boston are going to destroy us.

Technorati Tags: Detroit Red Wings, hockey, nhl

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It’s a miracle that I found the NHL at all, especially as there was no family interest, or media coverage in the UK. So how did this obsession start? Sadly, and quite embarrassingly, the answer is NHL 94, and the Sega Megadrive (or Genesis).

Until I bought this game on a whim, my only loves were Sunday League football, and York City FC. It was cheap, and I had very little money aged 12, but having just completed Streets Of Rage (look it up on Youtube, it’s awesome!), I was looking for something a bit different.

This was something so addictive, I couldn’t believe how much I got involved with this sport I’d never seen and players I’d never heard of. I’d be utterly elated with my ability to get Shawn Burr to deke past Mark Messier AND Brian Leetch to score the playoff winner against the Rangers, and at one point, I had a 52-game unbeaten streak. After establishing a good 2-3 goal lead, I’d then bring on Bob Probert and fight whoever on the opposition looked a threat, to keep them out the game for 5 minutes. Is it worrying I still remember this stuff? After just a week, I was searching the TV listings for NHL games on TV and found absolutely nothing for weeks on end. At this point the internet was not widely available, and as such, I found myself limited to memorising the names of the players in the whole Detroit roster simply by their number, then I moved on to Hartford, and then Winnipeg, and so on, until I could quite confidently name any player, from any team, for that whole season.

Why Detroit? Well, whilst learning how to play the game, I found that the setup of the Detroit first line (Yzerman, Fedorov, Ysebaert, Lidstrom, Coffey) was suited to my limited gaming ability. 4 years later, and Channel 5 started up on UK TV, which showed one game a week, and the highlights from other games, at about 3am on a Sunday night. I’d set my alarm, and then sneak downstairs and, keeping the volume low, indulge in watching the goals, hits and fights from the week. I was transfixed, and even more so, when my beloved Detroit would be shown, and I’d be able to watch Probert and Grimson knocking seven bells out of each other for real, or Yzerman slotting one-timers from Chiasson’s assist etc.

15 years on from that initial purchase, I’ve got a wife that loves the sport as much as I do, who imported me a hat, and recently a jersey (Lidstrom 5)from the USA, I’ve purchased the NASN network from my cable provider (which shows most games, but not all), just in case the Red Wings are featured, I’ve a favourite website that streams all the hockey games live and yes, I still creep downstairs and watch them online in the middle of the night, and I must have watched the Paul Newman film ‘Slapshot’ at least 25 times. We’re planning on a trip to the USA, to take a holiday, and of course, go to as many Red Wings games as possible. I have no problem with treating it like an addiction, and I definitely get withdrawal symptoms in the closed season.

Tonight we play the Coyotes. The junkie prepares himself for another fix.

I wonder what would have happened if I’d purchased NBA 94?

P.S. I’m really enjoying this blogging lark, so big kudos to Canucklehead for contacting me about it!

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The home game against the LA Kings was a game of penalty kill. With 12 minor penalties in the game, it’s amazing that there was just 1 powerplay goal. Both teams penalty kill lines worked harder than ever to stop the game being a landslide, or to stop a comeback, depending on which team you were rooting for.

In the end though, it appeared the 3rd period was just a touch too far for LA, and their gruelling road schedule (this being their 3rd game in 4 days) must have had a part to play. Detroit though, seemed all to happy to capitalise on the fatigue, with the shots on goal stats showing the LA Kings ran out of steam in the 3rd. In the 3rd, Detroit outshoot LA 15-7, scoring 3 times. Wether the win was due to opposition fatigue, or due to a good 3rd period of pressure, Detroit won’t care. A much needed win against the high-flying Kings will have boosted the team’s confidence no end.

Then last night, we play the Avalanche, losing from a shootout, but I can’t help but feel a little lucky. The game was a show of Detoit’s skill until the 3rd period. Shots on goal were 23-13 in Detroits favour until the final period where we stepped back and allowed Colorado back into the game. After the Avs successfully killed a 4 minute penalty, their tails were up, they had a glint in their eye, and they looked dangerous. Detroit just let it happen.

When you’ve dominated the game until this point, to see your team sit back and relax like this is terrifying. The Avs attacked with power, outshooitng the Wings 13-7, and scoring 3 times. When you’re playing a team that is 5-1-1 coming into this game, you should be pinning them to their own blue line for as long as possible.

So it’s a distinctly average record for the Wings (3-3-1), which for the fans, will be a bit disappointing. When you’ve been a dominant team for 2-3 seasons in a row, you expect to get your season off to a blistering start.

Maybe times have changed?

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Detroit on the other hand have just one major penalty (thank you Brad May!), and a handful of minors for hooking/tripping etc. Hardly the sort of record that’s going to terrify the Kings.

So with Detroit looking pretty toothless and a bit goal-shy (scored 14, conceded 19), how are we going to fare up against the rampant Kings tonight? It’s going to go one of two ways.

Either there’ll be an uprising in the Detroit camp, with our duck-taped front lines fighting hard for the puck, and players such as Helm, Filppula and Holmstrom putting the LA defence under pressure early, hustling hard to steal the puck on the LA blue line, and hoping to breakaway.

Or, it’s going to be a massacre. The Kings skating circles around our shaky, sieve-like defence, and slotting the puck easily though our very suspect goaltender(s). There’ll probably be a couple of massive hits and a fight that’ll see us lose another couple of forwards to injury.

Obviously, I’m hoping for the former scenario, but if the performances in Sweden against the St Louis Blues, or against Buffalo on Tuesday night are anything to go by, it’s not looking confident.

Every Red Wing fan I know is hoping the team can find that confidence (that often borders on arrogance), and that smooth passing that we’ve seen for 2-3 seasons in a row now. Maybe we lost too many players in the off-season? Maybe we lost the nerve?

However, the Wings being as they are, I’m sure that in a few weeks, we’ll be back in the scoring zone, beating the majority of teams that try to play the aggression game by skilfully dekeing and weaving through the offensive zones. With back-to-back Stanley cup finals (taken to game 7 each time, no less), nobody’s going to count out the Red Wings….are they?

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