Detroit Slicked By Oilers, Grand Rapids Smothered By Snow

By Adam W Parks

Thursday, December 3, 2009 Oilers 4 @ Red Wings 1

As snow fell onto the streets and slowed the traffic in Grand Rapids, oil leaked onto the ice and slowed the Wings in Detroit. As I was brushing the eight-inch blanket off of my car Friday morning I nearly puked onto my ice-scraper thinking of the Wings game from the night before. I will spare myself the rise of my lunch and let Mike Babcock describe this game for you:

"I didn't think we were any good. I thought this was our worst game since we played in Buffalo (6-2 loss Oct. 13)," Babcock said. "I think we've been a very competitive, organized, structured, hard-working team and I never saw any of that tonight. I saw continuous turnovers, guys getting beat up the ice. We weren't good. They were better than us from start to finish."

To find a positive element for the Wings in this game is like looking for a clear patch of water in the middle of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. It was just ugly and tragic all around. Those poor birds. Babcock continued to vent:

"When you are playing against a team and a kid in net that's not exactly got a ton of confidence right now, you should be jumping all over them, and yet, they did the opposite," Babcock said. "They worked hard, they competed hard, they did it right, they looked after the puck, their goalie made saves, they cleared the front of the net. They did everything the way they should have and we didn't respond."

Oiled and Feathered

The Wings were embarrassed by Edmonton on Thursday in a public display of humiliation leaving them in a rather undignified manner on their home ice. The team that Babcock was referring to is an Oilers team that was in last place of the Western Conference heading into the game. A team that had lost three straight. A team that has had more injuries than the Wings. He was talking about an Oilers team that had not beaten Detroit in regulation in the last 12 meetings (0-7-5), and was 0-11-4 in the past 15 games at Joe Louis Arena.

The kid Babcock referred to is Edmonton's backup goaltender Jeff Deslauriers who made 27 saves filling in for Nikolai Khabibulin (back spasms). He is the third backup goalie to smother the Wings in their past six home games. Detroit is 1-4-1 during that stretch. Deslauriers was scarcely tested with quality scoring chances as the play was predominantly down in the Wings zone. Edmonton ripped 36 shots at Jimmy Howard who played much better than the score dictates; half of the Oilers' goals came off the sticks of Wings defenders in front of their own goalie.

This was a game that the Wings had to win if they were ready to make a serious push towards getting into the playoff picture in the month of December. With the loss they rest just five points ahead of Anaheim for last place in the Western Conference and are 13 points behind San Jose, the leaders in the West. However, a slight ray of hope shines down on the mess, as the conference is in a tight race after the Sharks. Only seven points separates second place Chicago from the Detroit as ten teams range in the 30-37 points total. If the Wings can clean up their act a little bit and find a winning groove, they could still find themselves in the middle of the playoff pack by Christmas.

A Good Sign from a Bad Game

Dan Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi, the two forwards for Detroit that have perhaps the most pressure on their shoulders in the wake of the Wings injury wave, have both gone through their fair share of slumping this season. Against Edmonton Cleary picked up the only goal of the game for Detroit and Bertuzzi assisted on the score. For Cleary it was his second goal in as many games and his sixth of the season. Since getting the game-winning shootout goal against St. Louis, Bertuzzi has racked up four points in the last three games after not registering a point in the prior six-straight games. The two were paired together on Henrik Zetterberg's line as Babcock switched things up in an attempt to get Pavel Datsyuk's line going. Datsyuk was joined by Tomas Holmstrom and the perpetually struggling Ville Leino. Personally, I would like to see Datsyuk share some ice time with Darren Helm somehow. The combination of speed (Helm) and ridiculousness (Datsyuk) would be sure to create more room on the ice and generate some scoring chances.

The New Nick

Nicklas Lidstrom received the other assist on Cleary's goal, an occurrence that has become eerily rare. It has been an unusual season for the captain as he only has one goal and nine points thus far. His assist against the Oilers was just his third in the last eleven games, and he has not scored a goal since the third game of the season, way back on the eighth of October against Chicago. Defensively, Lidstrom has been his usual steady self with a plus-five rating and only four penalty minutes. He has turned the puck over in his own zone more than I have ever seen him do, though this is a problem he is sharing with his entire team. Lidstrom's Norris Trophy years are most likely behind him, but he is and always will be (until the sad day of his retirement) the most trust-worthy defenseman in the NHL.

Griffin Eggs--Re: Kindl

Jakub (pronounced yah-cub) Kindl (pronounced kin-dl) has been blossoming in Grand Rapids for a few seasons now and Thursday night he finally got his first shot at skating with the big kids as Brian Rafalski was out of action with a sore back. Here is a little video preview of Kindl's debut



In the first of many more NHL games to come for the young defenseman, Kindl registered a minus-2 rating and got one shot on goal on 19 shifts in 14:18 of total ice time. As was predicted, he got one shift and 0:59 of power play time paired with his idol, Lidstrom, on the only man-advantage for the Wings of the game.

Kindl was the first-round and 19th overall draft pick by Detroit in 2005. At 6'3" and a generous listing of 199 lbs, the 22-year-old has yet to fully grow into and realize his size, though he is not the same style of defender as his fellow Czechoslovakian countryman, Jiri Fischer. It took Fischer several seasons to figure out that he could crush just about anybody else one the ice at will, and just when he did his heart stopped. Literally. It was one of the scariest scenes I have ever witnessed in hockey. But I digress...Kindl is not the smash you against the glass type of guy, though he does have a mean-streak in him. His game is more comparable to Lidstrom's. He has excellent offensive abilities and is a tremendous skater with good speed, and he prefers to take the puck away from the opposition rather than separate the body from the puck.

In his third season in Grand Rapids Kindl leads the Griffins with eleven assists through 19 games. Mike Babcock did not hesitate throwing him in on the power play unit with Lidstrom because he has a hard, accurate shot from the point and can move the puck well. In a game where every skater in red looked slow and unmotivated, his effort and hustle stood out. His idol had some kind words for him:

"He's a very skilled defenseman and a very good skater," Lidstrom said. "As he gets more comfortable he can make more plays. He can get up in the play if it's there, but keep it simple to begin. (Our) system is what they play in the minors, but it might be a little faster pace (here). It's something he'll have to adjust to, but we've seen him here at camps and we know the type of player he is."

Wings general manager and resident hockey genius Ken Holland talked about patience and potential with Kindl:

"We believe he's an NHL defenseman, but there's growing pains, that's just the nature of the NHL," Holland said. "The people that step into this league and don't miss a beat at the age of 21 or 22 are probably going to be stars and Hall of Famers. Everybody else has growing pains. With Kindl, he's got two years under his belt. He's much better defensively than he was his first year or two of pro. He's always been good at moving the puck. He's a part of our future, so let's give him a chance."

Translation: Jakub Kindl will not be the next Nicklas Lidstrom, but he will be a top-four defensman for the Red Wings in the near future, probably next season. Kindl is an exciting prospect to keep your eyes and ears open for. I will provide more information on him from Grand Rapids as the season progresses.

20 Years Later...We're Still Upside Down

Two decades ago last March was the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the worst man-made environmental tragedies this side of Chernobyl. Since the accident, little has changed in America as our reliance on crude oil is as strong as ever and the crusade for cleaner and safer energy sources is still considered by many as science fiction. As important as it is to remember destructive events like the attacks on September, 11th and Pearl Harbor, it is just as necessary to remember the mistakes we have made and the consequences we have dealt with in regards to our environment.



Peace.