Saturday, November 21, 2009 Red Wings 3 @ Canadiens 2 SO
The Wings lost a 2-0 lead against Montreal when former Wolverine winger Mike Cammalleri potted two goals in the third period. It was the second game in a row that Detroit had given up a lead and found themselves skating during post-regulation minutes. The Wings were able to hold on for the win from Pavel Datsyuk's shootout goal earning two precious points, but they lost something just as valuable as the victory.
Kronner's A Goner For At Least A Month
The ravenous injury bug has bitten Detroit often this year, but up until now it has only lusted the blood of forwards. From the core of the defense, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, and Jonathan Ericsson, there have only been three games missed this season: Rafalski once and Ericsson twice--both with the flu. The Wings have been able to overcome severe hits to some of their most potent scorers, but this new chink in the defensive armor might damage the roster more than any prior injury.
Kronwall suffered a severe sprain of his MCL (medial collateral ligament) when the hated-Hatian George Laraque stuck his leg out and caught Kronner with a knee-to-knee hit. Here is the video if you missed it:
Although Laraque only received a two-minute minor penalty for tripping, everyone affiliated with the Wings was angered over the malicious-looking play. General manager Ken Holland had this to say, "Was it knee-on-knee? Yes. Was it a dirty hit? Yes...it was a play we don't need in hockey." Coach Mike Babcock agreed with Holland, "It's something that shouldn't happen in hockey. A guy shouldn't hang his leg out there and hurt another guy. It's unacceptable and it's disappointing."
After an MRI on Sunday it was determined that Kronwall will miss at least a month and possibly eight weeks. Kronner had arguably been the Wings' best and most active defender this year. We all know and love him for his crushing open-ice hits, but his offensive skills have really elevated his play this season. He leads all Detroit defensemen and is third overall on the team in scoring with 13 points, and three of his five goals have come on the power play. Only Tomas Holmstrom and Datsyuk, each with four, have more PP goals than Kronwall.
To describe Laraque's hit, I will turn to the immortal words of Ron Burgundy: "If you were a a man, I'd punch you. Punch you right in the mouth. That's bush. Bush league." Seriously, this kind of goonery does not have a place in sports. Not even in a game that glorifies and requires physical play and sometimes fighting. Watch Brad May when he fights someone. He is not looking to seriously injure his opponent, rather, send a message to the other team that you better not hurt my guys. That is hockey. This BS knee-to-knee stuff is nothing more than one man realizing he's been beaten and not being able to accept the fact. It is disrespectful to the game and to the players. Burgundy would never punch a woman in the mouth, but what about a dirty, thoughtless, talentless jerk-face that does yoga? How about a big fat vegan baby that is willing to cheap-shot his fellow peers, but cannot bring himself to eat a burger or drink a glass of milk?Laraque is a thug and not much more than that, which is actually fine within certain parameters. The NHL has been peppered with thugs throughout the history of the league and have even given them proper names: enforcers. Ahem, how many of us Wings fans loved to watch Bob Probert pummel any idiot dumb enough to breathe on Steve Yzerman? How about Joey Kocur? Tie Domi is one of the most hated dudes in all of hockey, but you have to admire a guy that stands only 5' 10'' and can go toe-to-toe with anybody in the league...ever. Enforcers are absolutely necessary in the NHL to keep other players honest, to limit cheap shots on the skilled players. It's when incidents like Laraque's hit on Kronwall occur that these enforcers turn to goons, or thugs, or talentless ass-clowns. I have read message boards and some people are saying Kronner deserved it because of his propensity for leaving his feet and hitting high. Sorry, Kronwall may be a marked man because of his hitting, but nobody deserves to lose time due to injury for a blatant, gutless cheap-shot.
Is A Suspension Enough?
For the hit on Kronwall, Laraque deserves a lengthy suspension, and will certainly get one. But if you look at the play in its entirety, he probably ought to miss some time for the high stick he put on Darren Helm just moments earlier. Watch it again if you missed it. The two players separated from each other along the boards and Laraque smacked Helm on the mouth with his stick as he started skating in the opposite direction. There was no apparent reason for the action at all, whether he would have hit him on the nose or the butt. He received a double-minor for the high stick (as blood was drawn) on top of the tripping call. Both plays are inexcusable. He has earned some time off with his idiotic ways, and several notables in the media agree.
ESPN's E.J. Hradek wrote this about the Larague incident:
I'm pretty, pretty sure that Montreal Canadiens winger Georges Laraque will be suspended by the league for initiating the knee-to-knee collision with Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who'll be sidelined for four-to-eight weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee as a result of the reckless play. Hey, things happen fast in a hockey game. But you can't stick your leg out every time a guy goes around you. If the league wants to clean up these types of plays, they can send a message by tagging Laraque with a double-digit suspension.
Scott Burnside, also with ESPN, had this to say:
We know Georges Laraque is a good guy who does lots of charity work, but we continue to be baffled about how he still has a job in the NHL. We watched as the Canadiens winger got caught out of position Saturday night. Then we saw him throwing a knee into Niklas Kronwall, sending one of the Detroit Red Wings' most important players to the sideline for as many as eight weeks. That prompts us to ask: To what end is Laraque's ice time at all valuable -- ever? Needless to say, Detroit coach Mike Babcock was not impressed by the knee-on-knee hit and called it dirty. He was being charitable. The NHL's Star Chamber style of discipline is on display once again; as of Monday, the league remains eerily silent about supplementary discipline for Laraque. For the record, Laraque has one assist in 10 games and is averaging 7 minutes, 4 seconds a night in ice time. He's making $1.5 million in the first year of a two-year, $3 million deal. Money well spent, no?
Does Laraque deserve a job in the NHL? Maybe not, but if some team is willing to pay him to ride the bench and hurt other people then he will continue to work. Although, he might be better off retiring. He could always pursue a career in promoting alcoholic energy drinks. Not too many hockey players get such endorsements now a days.
Griffin Eggs
Howie Does It Again-Jimmy Howard is turning into quite the reliable backup goaltender. When Chris Osgood was out with the flu, Howard received four straight starts and turned in a record of 3-1 in those games. Saturday he got the nod again and despite giving up two goals to Cammalleri in the third to tie the game and force overtime, he still got the win in the shootout. Howard made a glove save against Cammalleri on the first shootout attempt, and then Tomas Plekanec rang one off the post. Howard is now 5-3-1 on the season with solid statistics (2.76 goals-against average and .898 save percentage).
Some Meech Needed Ice Time-With Kronwall out for a long period of time, Derek Meech will get what he has struggled to get so far this season: consistent ice time. He has only appeared in five games this season, mostly filling in for the sometimes absent-minded Brett Lebda, and has a minus-2 rating. Babcock has mixed up the defensive pairings for tonight's game against Nashville. Watch for the big kid Ericsson to elevate and skate with Lidstrom, and Meech to pair with Stuart, while Rafalski and Lebda team up. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts as it will be Meech and Stuart on the second power play unit, leaving Rafalski without such duties.
Nugs and Notes
Stuart Steps Up-After his performance against Montreal it is no wonder why Babcock has Stuart playing the point on the power play. Usually a shy-shooter for the Wings, Stuart led all skaters with ten shots on Saturday and scored the first goal of the game, a power play goal. He also led all Detroit defensemen with 5:19 of power play time.
Z's Streak Snapped-Henrik Zetterberg did not register a point against the Canadiens, thus ending his five-game, eleven-point scoring streak. He was a minus-two on the night and only got one shot on Montreal goalie Carey Price, a rare but not so terrible occurrence. Hank is currently fifth in the league with 82 shots on net, and the only other time he has been held to one shot this season came in the 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks back in the third game of the season. In that game he earned an assist on Lidstrom's power play goal. In the Montreal game he scored the second Detroit shootout goal that insured the win.
Peace.
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