By Adam Parks
Thursday, October 29, 2009 Red Wings 5 @ Oilers 6 SO
The H1N1 virus has infiltrated the NHL, and Edmonton is the petri dish. Defenseman Ladislav Smid was diagnosed with the swine flu a few weeks ago and several of the Oilers have been ravaged with symptoms of fatigue, nausea, soreness, and general discomfort ever since. Sounds typical of a normal Sunday morning. The Wings came into the Rexall Place on a slight high after their comeback in Vancouver against the Canucks on Tuesday, their first road victory of the season. Looking to ride the winning wave through Western Canada back to Detroit, the Wings did everything wrong but vomit on the ice during the first period in Edmonton. They looked hungover from Tuesday's win and was unmotivated to take advantage of a sick and tired team.
Fatigue Not A Factor
Detroit had won six of the last eight match-ups between these two teams, but the Wings skated into a flu-infested snakepit of infected Oilers on Thursday and were lucky to earn a point without contracting the pig disease...hopefully. Those dirty Canadians could have intentionally contaminated them. Never trust a Canadian. Despite a locker room full of worn down skaters, Edmonton did not show a lack of energy early on. With nine guys having swine-symptoms, two players out with the flu, and five others sidelined with various injuries, the Oilers punched the Wings in the face with three goals in the first period that appeared to be a knock-out blow from the get-go. It took Jean-Francois Jacques just 42 seconds to score off a Gilbert Brule rebound to give Edmonton the lead. This was the first Oiler goal scored in over seven periods, 141 minutes, of hockey during a stretch that included two-straight shutouts (Vancouver and Colorado). Dustin Penner, a 6’ 4”, 245 pound power forward, used his stick-shaft to slap Shawn Horcoff’s rebound out of midair about midway through the period. Penner also assisted on three other Edmonton goals to give him 19 points in 13 games to lead all Oilers. A power-play goal from Ales Hemsky, in what looked like a five-on-three advantage, rounded out the scoring in the first and left all in red and white with a splitting headache and an upset stomach.
The Tragic Tale of the Two Four-Goal Lead Comeback
The duo of Hemsky and Penner combined for a total of three goals and four assists and appeared too much for the stunned Wings to handle. Things worsened when Brian Rafalski bobbled the puck at his own blue line and watched Hemsky skate away on a breakaway and score on Jimmy Howard for a 4-0 lead 58 seconds into the second period. All the wind in the Wings’ potential comeback sails was sucked out and Darren Helm’s first regular season goal of his career seemed like just a formality. A blown shutout for Nikolai Khabibulin. Horcoff’s goal to make it 5-1 should have buried Detroit, but the Wings got a lucky bounce and a luckier goal from Henrik Zetterberg late in the second. They would put up a fight in the third period unlike anything else this season, and it was the role players that brought them all the way back. Jonathan Ericsson notched his third goal of the season, Todd Bertuzzi got his second, and Patrick Eaves earned his first as a Wing to bring Detroit all the way back to a 5-5 tie with seven minutes left. Edmonton began the game with four unanswered goals and Detroit ended regulation with four unanswered goals. It was unreal. It felt like a new game had started. The ugly, beady-eyed, poutine-covered Canadian faces in the crowd looked like it was August 9, 1988 all over again. At the end of regulation, in an attempt to relieve their anger and frustration, half of the log-rolling, curling-watching, canoe-making fur traders left the Rexall Place, grabbed their axes, and ran screaming into the Alberta wilderness. Sure, the Oilers would get the win off of Patrick O’Sullivan’s shootout goal, but the single point the Wings picked up, in a game they had no business being in, was worth more. Detroit showed great composure and grit in that third period and displayed a never-die attitude that had been all-but absent.
Griffin Eggs
With six goals in 41 career playoff games, who would have guessed that Darren Helm would have to wait so long to score in the regular season? After being scratched for the Vancouver game, Helm stepped up and skated in his best game of the year and was a pivotal component to the comeback with two points.
Like Helm, Ericsson also picked up the first regular season goal of his career in Edmonton in a 3-2 Wings win on March 24, 2008. With his third period goal Thursday he now has three goals total in the Rexall Place, and three goals this season. The young defenseman was a plus-2 on the night and also dished out an assist.
Ville Leino continues to search for the back of the net. The winger took a nifty pass from Pavel Datsyuk late in the second period and beat Khabibulin, but rang off the post. He still is yet to score a goal in North America.
Jimmy Howard had a shutout in the third period.
Nugs and Notes
Adding Injury To Insult-Valtteri Filppula left the game in the second period after a check along the boards from Gilbert Brule. Brule, like the satiny-custard creamed dessert, broke Filp’s wrist, and the center will be out for six to eight weeks. The injury comes at a terrible time for Filp who had become comfortable centering Detroit’s second line, and for the Wings as another goal-scorer/play-maker will miss time. Two possible scenarios to compensate for the loss: either Mike Babcock will split up Zetterberg and Datsyuk, or he will move Draper up to the second line and give Helm and Justin Abdelkader an opportunity to center the third and fourth lines.
Scorin’ In The Wind~Apparently Zetterberg’s favorite musician is Bob Dylan...which is awesome. Z has eleven points (two goals) in eleven games.
Peace.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
A Preview, A Swine Flu, and A 21-Year-Old Joke On Canada, Eh?
By Adam W Parks
STILL MISSING GRETZKY?
ESPN kicked off its 30 In 30 documentary series with Peter Berg’s "Kings Ransom", the glorious tale of how the United States of America imported Canada’s greatest export this side of Pamela Anderson: Wayne Gretzky. At the time it was impossible to imagine enough beaver pelts in the world to uproot Gretzky from his homeland. Hockey is a religion in Canada, and the Oilers traded away Jesus for a mere $15 million and three first-round draft picks. Edmontoners everywhere cried, “What’s this all aboot?” when then-owner Peter Pocklington signed on the deal and made it official August 9, 1988. The entire hockey world called it the ‘Trade of the Century’, although Canadians still consider it to be a bigger mistake than Bryan Adams. However, even Gretzky himself understands the reasoning behind the move and admits that if he could do it all over again, he would. Who wouldn’t? Instead of playing in front of an arena full of bearded, flannel-wearing moose hunters, Gretzky got to showcase his one-of-a-kind talents in Los Angeles in front of a crowd that included 1980s A-Listers like Ronald Reagon, Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Sly Stallone, Tony Danza, and John Candy, a fellow Canadian who also realized a better life could be had in America.
SWINE FLU CAUSES TAINTED OIL
The Oilers have been hit with the H1N1 virus harder than any other team in the NHL, allegedly. Defenseman Ladislav Smid is the only confirmed Edmonton player to contract the dreaded flu, though several others have made claims to swine-like symptoms (though they are all probably just sick of playing in Edmonton), including fellow defensemen Denis Grebeshkov, Tom Gilbert, and Lubomir Visnovsky, along with forwards Dustin Penner, Gilbert Brule, Ales Hemsky, Mike Comrie, and Robert Nilsson. What are these guys up to in the locker room? Penner (15) and Hemsky (12) lead the Oilers in scoring, and Visnovsky, Grebeshkov, Brule, and Comrie are all on the team’s top ten. This might help explain why they have gone winless in their last three games and why they have been shutout in their last two. The leak gets worse for the Oilers as five others are currently out with injury: defensemen Steve Staios and Sheldon Souray each with a concussion, and forwards Fernando Pisani (back), Marc Pouliot (hernia), and Ryan Stone (knee). Visnovsky and Comrie are the only pestilent-ridden influenza-boys to miss tonight’s game...they will be in bed experiencing slightly more discomfort than their teammates who will host a Wings team ready to build off a big win in Vancouver.
SO...ABOUT THEM WINGS
After taking a shot to the foot against Vancouver, Pavel Datsyuk missed practice on Wednesday but will play tonight. Mike Babcock joked about the injury to reporters, “I told you that last year in the playoffs, when he got a shot in the foot too, and it ended up being a hole in his thigh. So you can’t trust me one bet.” Apparently winning gives even the usually-stoic Babcock a chance to relax and enjoy a sense of humor.
The lines will look similar to Tuesday’s game against the Canucks, though Justin Abdelkader and Kirk Maltby are scratched in favor of Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves. Derek Meech is also a scratch, and it is an encouraging sign to see Andreas Lilja as a scratch instead of being left off the roster entirely. Jimmy Howard will get the start, one that he was scheduled for even before relieving a shaky Chris Osgood in Vancouver. Here is a look at the lines for tonight:
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Cleary-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Leino-Draper-Williams
May-Helm-Eaves
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Rafalski
Erisson-Lebda
Peace.
STILL MISSING GRETZKY?
ESPN kicked off its 30 In 30 documentary series with Peter Berg’s "Kings Ransom", the glorious tale of how the United States of America imported Canada’s greatest export this side of Pamela Anderson: Wayne Gretzky. At the time it was impossible to imagine enough beaver pelts in the world to uproot Gretzky from his homeland. Hockey is a religion in Canada, and the Oilers traded away Jesus for a mere $15 million and three first-round draft picks. Edmontoners everywhere cried, “What’s this all aboot?” when then-owner Peter Pocklington signed on the deal and made it official August 9, 1988. The entire hockey world called it the ‘Trade of the Century’, although Canadians still consider it to be a bigger mistake than Bryan Adams. However, even Gretzky himself understands the reasoning behind the move and admits that if he could do it all over again, he would. Who wouldn’t? Instead of playing in front of an arena full of bearded, flannel-wearing moose hunters, Gretzky got to showcase his one-of-a-kind talents in Los Angeles in front of a crowd that included 1980s A-Listers like Ronald Reagon, Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Sly Stallone, Tony Danza, and John Candy, a fellow Canadian who also realized a better life could be had in America.
SWINE FLU CAUSES TAINTED OIL
The Oilers have been hit with the H1N1 virus harder than any other team in the NHL, allegedly. Defenseman Ladislav Smid is the only confirmed Edmonton player to contract the dreaded flu, though several others have made claims to swine-like symptoms (though they are all probably just sick of playing in Edmonton), including fellow defensemen Denis Grebeshkov, Tom Gilbert, and Lubomir Visnovsky, along with forwards Dustin Penner, Gilbert Brule, Ales Hemsky, Mike Comrie, and Robert Nilsson. What are these guys up to in the locker room? Penner (15) and Hemsky (12) lead the Oilers in scoring, and Visnovsky, Grebeshkov, Brule, and Comrie are all on the team’s top ten. This might help explain why they have gone winless in their last three games and why they have been shutout in their last two. The leak gets worse for the Oilers as five others are currently out with injury: defensemen Steve Staios and Sheldon Souray each with a concussion, and forwards Fernando Pisani (back), Marc Pouliot (hernia), and Ryan Stone (knee). Visnovsky and Comrie are the only pestilent-ridden influenza-boys to miss tonight’s game...they will be in bed experiencing slightly more discomfort than their teammates who will host a Wings team ready to build off a big win in Vancouver.
SO...ABOUT THEM WINGS
After taking a shot to the foot against Vancouver, Pavel Datsyuk missed practice on Wednesday but will play tonight. Mike Babcock joked about the injury to reporters, “I told you that last year in the playoffs, when he got a shot in the foot too, and it ended up being a hole in his thigh. So you can’t trust me one bet.” Apparently winning gives even the usually-stoic Babcock a chance to relax and enjoy a sense of humor.
The lines will look similar to Tuesday’s game against the Canucks, though Justin Abdelkader and Kirk Maltby are scratched in favor of Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves. Derek Meech is also a scratch, and it is an encouraging sign to see Andreas Lilja as a scratch instead of being left off the roster entirely. Jimmy Howard will get the start, one that he was scheduled for even before relieving a shaky Chris Osgood in Vancouver. Here is a look at the lines for tonight:
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Cleary-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Leino-Draper-Williams
May-Helm-Eaves
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Rafalski
Erisson-Lebda
Peace.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wings: Red In Tooth and Claw
By Adam W Parks
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Red Wings 5 @ Canucks 4
Any behavioral biologist will agree that in the natural world, that of the beasts, nature can be violent and unsentimental when it comes to survival. One does not need to read a Richard Dawkins book to know that animals will fight, bite, scratch and claw their way to the top in order to survive in a competitive environment of limited resources. When facing oppression and adversity, human beings are just as capable of the same savage acts as any African lion or American grizzly. With their backs against the boards and facing an early deficit, Detroit played its most desperate game of the season against a confident Vancouver team and won in an evolutionary way.
Warning: Do Not Corner An Injured, Desperate Hockey Team
Losing games after leading by two goals has become a recent and nasty habit of the Wings having already lost three games in such a manner, but last night they found themselves on the opposite end of the two-goal curse. Vancouver scored just 30 seconds into the game when Henrik Sedin picked up his fifth goal of the year as he took a loose puck in front of the net and slid it underneath Chris Osgood. Ozzie was left pinned-up on the clothes line, finding himself out of position after a bad bounce along the boards. There have been several goals this year that Osgood could do nothing about, but there have also been several bad-angle shotes that he has neglected to stop as well. Several minutes after Sedin's goal Christian Ehroff sent a shot from along the boards, on a bad-angle, through Osgood’s gaping five-hole. A bad play by the Wings followed by a bad play by Osgood and Mike Babcock did not make any hesitation to give his starting goaltender the hook in favor of Jimmy Howard.
A Goalie Change Gives The Wings A New Perspective And A Reason To Fight
Howard skated onto the ice as all in attendance at the General Motors Place in Vancouver taunted Osgood. When a goalie gets yanked in the first period it usually is meant as a message to the entire team to wake up and get into the game. After three straight disappointing yet hard-fought losses, the Wings looked wasted and ready to get blown-out in Vancouver. Riding a three-game win streak, Roberto Luongo had only given up three goals during that stretch and five in his last six games. In his tenth season in the NHL, Luongo has been one of the elite goalies of the decade and was coming in off his 48th career shutout, a 2-0 blanking of the Oilers in Edmonton. Making his 12th consecutive start of the season, Luongo looked unbeatable early in the first, especially after a kick save off a Henrik Zetterberg break-away, and then preceded to stop everything thrown his way during a barrage of shots shortly thereafter. But the story of this game was Howard as he looked sharp and confident after his strong performance in the loss at Colorado. He was soon on call with about eight minutes left in the period when Brett Lebda tripped over Sedin and knocked the net off its moorings. It was a much-needed delay of game penalty as the Canucks smelled blood around the net, swarming for the kill. Howard and the penalty-killing unit did their part and the Wings were able to reverse the momentum of the game. Tomas Holmstrom’s goal shortly after the power play expired was the first allowed by Luongo in 99 minutes dating back to the second period of a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday. A precision tic-tac-toe play from Datsyuk to Zetterberg to Holmer resulted in a nifty backhand one-timer into the back of the net. It was Holmstrom’s team-leading sixth goal of the season and fifth in his last seven contests against Vancouver. It gave new life to his team while also proving Luongo to be beatable.
The Battle Rages On/There Will Be Casualties
Brad May continues to keep the opposition’s tough guys off of Detroit’s skilled players. With both teams throwing bodies at each other all around the rink during the second period, he squared off with Tanner Glass behind Howard. May has 15 penalty minutes this season: all five-minute fighting majors. Three fights in five games played. Awesome! This is what the Wings have needed the last few years. Hopefully the 37-year old does not wear himself out too early this season. Minus the fight there was only one other penalty called in a very clean, yet physical second period: a roughing penalty on Shane O’Brien. Despite a lack of scoring, it was an entertaining period of hockey to watch as both teams picked up the checking. However, a scary moment came early when Vancouver’s Ryan Johnson nearly broke his neck. In an attempt to chase the puck into the Wings’ zone, a full-speed Johnson was knocked off balance by Nicklas Lidstrom. He could not regain his balance and barely ducked his head before exploding into the boards. He could have easily been paralyzed on the play. Luckily his shoulder took the blow, but his entire body went motionless immediately after. Johnson left the ice on a stretcher but was alert and had movement in all his limbs. He was taken to a hospital for precautionary measures and was considered not to be seriously injured. A terrifying moment and a reminder that this is, all metaphors aside, just a game.
It Takes A Strong Leader For A Pack To Survive
Pavel Datsyuk is notorious for slow starts. This season he has missed two games with an undisclosed upper body injury, but had just four assists and zero goals heading into the game against Vancouver. Often times Detroit’s offense flows along with how Datsyuk is playing, and last night #13 broke out to the tune of three points with two goals. The third period was a back and forth scoring affair that started with Nicklas Kronwall tying the game early in the period with a wrist shot that beat the glove of Luongo as Alexander Edler shoved Holmstrom into his own goalie. The Canucks would answer soon after with a power play goal to regain the lead. Then Datsyuk took over. After bringing the puck in hard on Christian Ehrhoff and pulling up quick, Datsyuk ripped a wrister through Luongo’s five-hole. Approximately five minutes later, off a Kevin Bieska hooking penalty, Datsyuk struck again on the power play. He tied up his man on the face off, got a little help from Holmstrom to move the puck back to Brian Rafalski who left it for the cycling Datsyuk who then fired another wrist shot over the glove of a Holmstrom-screened Luongo. Sedin scored his second of the game on a five-on-three power play to tie it up again, but this game had that feeling that the Wings were going to find any way to win.
Closing In For the Kill
Willie Mitchell was called for a high stick on Zetterberg with about five minutes left and everyone at home, in the bar, and in the GM Place knew what was going to happen next. Todd Bertuzzi brought the puck in from the blue line, passed off to Valterri Filppula down low, who sent the puck through the blue paint in front of Luongo to Jason Williams for an easy tap-in goal just 14 seconds into the power play. Third periods have not been kind to the Wings, for the offense or the defense. Prior to last night, Detroit had been outscored in the final session 11-6. They gave up a game-tying goal in the final three minutes in back-to-back games against Colorado at home and in Phoenix against the Coyotes, the prior a loss in a shootout and the latter a loss in overtime. Against the Canucks the Wings kept the puck and the pressure in the Vancouver defensive zone and Howard came up with some great saves when he needed to, especially after Vancouver pulled Luongo for an extra skater. An exciting game and a much-deserved victory that the Wings had to fight red tooth and claw to win.
Griffin Eggs
Jimmy Howard! The guy comes in off the bench with a two-goal deficit, stops 20 of 22 shots faced, and picks up his first win as a Red Wing since his first year as a professional during the 2005-06 season. Congratulations! Now he needs to do that when he gets the start.
Ville Leino, unproductive in the boxscores but playing hard every night, went scoreless but was a plus-1 rating while skating on a new line. It is obvious that this guy has all the tools to be a potential 20+ goal scorer in the league, but he will have to start taking advantage of opportunities and finishing plays before he will even pick up his third of the season.
Justin Abdelkader was back in the lineup for Darren Helm (healthy scratch). Abdelkader is an exciting player and one that will be hard to leave off the roster as he continues to improve. He finished with and even rating, one shot on goal, two hits, but was just two of six on faceoffs centering the fourth line with Kirk Maltby and May.
With an assist on Datsyuk’s first goal, Jonathan Ericsson earned a plus-1 rating for the night. He and defensive partner Brett Lebda, also a plus-1, had been particularly suspect. The duo were a combined minus-10 coming into the game last night.
Nugs and Notes
Old Friends Now Enemies-The Canucks had a couple of former Wings on display. Mikael Samuelsson picked up an assist, his eleventh point of the season, and is tied with Ryan Kesler for second on the Vancouver roster. He leads all Wings scorers by one (Zetterberg has ten). In just his second game of the season, Mathieu Schneider ripped a slap shot past Howard for a power play goal in the third period. The shot was reminiscent of all the fond memories of the potent blue line firing range that was him and Lidstrom for four years in Detroit.
Bert: A Winged Wild Card?-Bertuzzi was all over the ice, skating on just about every line in just about every situation against the same team that both turned him into a superstar and traded him away to the Florida Panthers for Luongo. Bert’s story is well known: his animal-like behavior on the ice cost another man’s career and nearly his life. It was an inexcusable act that he will have to live with for the rest of his life. Though Detroit is a prime place for castaways, and in this case, rogues, to find a role and strive...if only to survive another season.
Peace.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Red Wings 5 @ Canucks 4
Any behavioral biologist will agree that in the natural world, that of the beasts, nature can be violent and unsentimental when it comes to survival. One does not need to read a Richard Dawkins book to know that animals will fight, bite, scratch and claw their way to the top in order to survive in a competitive environment of limited resources. When facing oppression and adversity, human beings are just as capable of the same savage acts as any African lion or American grizzly. With their backs against the boards and facing an early deficit, Detroit played its most desperate game of the season against a confident Vancouver team and won in an evolutionary way.
Warning: Do Not Corner An Injured, Desperate Hockey Team
Losing games after leading by two goals has become a recent and nasty habit of the Wings having already lost three games in such a manner, but last night they found themselves on the opposite end of the two-goal curse. Vancouver scored just 30 seconds into the game when Henrik Sedin picked up his fifth goal of the year as he took a loose puck in front of the net and slid it underneath Chris Osgood. Ozzie was left pinned-up on the clothes line, finding himself out of position after a bad bounce along the boards. There have been several goals this year that Osgood could do nothing about, but there have also been several bad-angle shotes that he has neglected to stop as well. Several minutes after Sedin's goal Christian Ehroff sent a shot from along the boards, on a bad-angle, through Osgood’s gaping five-hole. A bad play by the Wings followed by a bad play by Osgood and Mike Babcock did not make any hesitation to give his starting goaltender the hook in favor of Jimmy Howard.
A Goalie Change Gives The Wings A New Perspective And A Reason To Fight
Howard skated onto the ice as all in attendance at the General Motors Place in Vancouver taunted Osgood. When a goalie gets yanked in the first period it usually is meant as a message to the entire team to wake up and get into the game. After three straight disappointing yet hard-fought losses, the Wings looked wasted and ready to get blown-out in Vancouver. Riding a three-game win streak, Roberto Luongo had only given up three goals during that stretch and five in his last six games. In his tenth season in the NHL, Luongo has been one of the elite goalies of the decade and was coming in off his 48th career shutout, a 2-0 blanking of the Oilers in Edmonton. Making his 12th consecutive start of the season, Luongo looked unbeatable early in the first, especially after a kick save off a Henrik Zetterberg break-away, and then preceded to stop everything thrown his way during a barrage of shots shortly thereafter. But the story of this game was Howard as he looked sharp and confident after his strong performance in the loss at Colorado. He was soon on call with about eight minutes left in the period when Brett Lebda tripped over Sedin and knocked the net off its moorings. It was a much-needed delay of game penalty as the Canucks smelled blood around the net, swarming for the kill. Howard and the penalty-killing unit did their part and the Wings were able to reverse the momentum of the game. Tomas Holmstrom’s goal shortly after the power play expired was the first allowed by Luongo in 99 minutes dating back to the second period of a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday. A precision tic-tac-toe play from Datsyuk to Zetterberg to Holmer resulted in a nifty backhand one-timer into the back of the net. It was Holmstrom’s team-leading sixth goal of the season and fifth in his last seven contests against Vancouver. It gave new life to his team while also proving Luongo to be beatable.
The Battle Rages On/There Will Be Casualties
Brad May continues to keep the opposition’s tough guys off of Detroit’s skilled players. With both teams throwing bodies at each other all around the rink during the second period, he squared off with Tanner Glass behind Howard. May has 15 penalty minutes this season: all five-minute fighting majors. Three fights in five games played. Awesome! This is what the Wings have needed the last few years. Hopefully the 37-year old does not wear himself out too early this season. Minus the fight there was only one other penalty called in a very clean, yet physical second period: a roughing penalty on Shane O’Brien. Despite a lack of scoring, it was an entertaining period of hockey to watch as both teams picked up the checking. However, a scary moment came early when Vancouver’s Ryan Johnson nearly broke his neck. In an attempt to chase the puck into the Wings’ zone, a full-speed Johnson was knocked off balance by Nicklas Lidstrom. He could not regain his balance and barely ducked his head before exploding into the boards. He could have easily been paralyzed on the play. Luckily his shoulder took the blow, but his entire body went motionless immediately after. Johnson left the ice on a stretcher but was alert and had movement in all his limbs. He was taken to a hospital for precautionary measures and was considered not to be seriously injured. A terrifying moment and a reminder that this is, all metaphors aside, just a game.
It Takes A Strong Leader For A Pack To Survive
Pavel Datsyuk is notorious for slow starts. This season he has missed two games with an undisclosed upper body injury, but had just four assists and zero goals heading into the game against Vancouver. Often times Detroit’s offense flows along with how Datsyuk is playing, and last night #13 broke out to the tune of three points with two goals. The third period was a back and forth scoring affair that started with Nicklas Kronwall tying the game early in the period with a wrist shot that beat the glove of Luongo as Alexander Edler shoved Holmstrom into his own goalie. The Canucks would answer soon after with a power play goal to regain the lead. Then Datsyuk took over. After bringing the puck in hard on Christian Ehrhoff and pulling up quick, Datsyuk ripped a wrister through Luongo’s five-hole. Approximately five minutes later, off a Kevin Bieska hooking penalty, Datsyuk struck again on the power play. He tied up his man on the face off, got a little help from Holmstrom to move the puck back to Brian Rafalski who left it for the cycling Datsyuk who then fired another wrist shot over the glove of a Holmstrom-screened Luongo. Sedin scored his second of the game on a five-on-three power play to tie it up again, but this game had that feeling that the Wings were going to find any way to win.
Closing In For the Kill
Willie Mitchell was called for a high stick on Zetterberg with about five minutes left and everyone at home, in the bar, and in the GM Place knew what was going to happen next. Todd Bertuzzi brought the puck in from the blue line, passed off to Valterri Filppula down low, who sent the puck through the blue paint in front of Luongo to Jason Williams for an easy tap-in goal just 14 seconds into the power play. Third periods have not been kind to the Wings, for the offense or the defense. Prior to last night, Detroit had been outscored in the final session 11-6. They gave up a game-tying goal in the final three minutes in back-to-back games against Colorado at home and in Phoenix against the Coyotes, the prior a loss in a shootout and the latter a loss in overtime. Against the Canucks the Wings kept the puck and the pressure in the Vancouver defensive zone and Howard came up with some great saves when he needed to, especially after Vancouver pulled Luongo for an extra skater. An exciting game and a much-deserved victory that the Wings had to fight red tooth and claw to win.
Griffin Eggs
Jimmy Howard! The guy comes in off the bench with a two-goal deficit, stops 20 of 22 shots faced, and picks up his first win as a Red Wing since his first year as a professional during the 2005-06 season. Congratulations! Now he needs to do that when he gets the start.
Ville Leino, unproductive in the boxscores but playing hard every night, went scoreless but was a plus-1 rating while skating on a new line. It is obvious that this guy has all the tools to be a potential 20+ goal scorer in the league, but he will have to start taking advantage of opportunities and finishing plays before he will even pick up his third of the season.
Justin Abdelkader was back in the lineup for Darren Helm (healthy scratch). Abdelkader is an exciting player and one that will be hard to leave off the roster as he continues to improve. He finished with and even rating, one shot on goal, two hits, but was just two of six on faceoffs centering the fourth line with Kirk Maltby and May.
With an assist on Datsyuk’s first goal, Jonathan Ericsson earned a plus-1 rating for the night. He and defensive partner Brett Lebda, also a plus-1, had been particularly suspect. The duo were a combined minus-10 coming into the game last night.
Nugs and Notes
Old Friends Now Enemies-The Canucks had a couple of former Wings on display. Mikael Samuelsson picked up an assist, his eleventh point of the season, and is tied with Ryan Kesler for second on the Vancouver roster. He leads all Wings scorers by one (Zetterberg has ten). In just his second game of the season, Mathieu Schneider ripped a slap shot past Howard for a power play goal in the third period. The shot was reminiscent of all the fond memories of the potent blue line firing range that was him and Lidstrom for four years in Detroit.
Bert: A Winged Wild Card?-Bertuzzi was all over the ice, skating on just about every line in just about every situation against the same team that both turned him into a superstar and traded him away to the Florida Panthers for Luongo. Bert’s story is well known: his animal-like behavior on the ice cost another man’s career and nearly his life. It was an inexcusable act that he will have to live with for the rest of his life. Though Detroit is a prime place for castaways, and in this case, rogues, to find a role and strive...if only to survive another season.
Peace.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Lineups and Shakeups For Tonight
By Adam W Parks
Watch out for some mad-chemistry from Mike Babcock tonight. In an attempt to ignite some goal-scoring, Babcock has toyed with his second and third lines, flipping centers Valterri Filppula and Kris Draper and forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Ville Leino during practice, though nothing will be concrete come game time.
Darren Helm is a healthy-scratch tonight giving Justin Abdelkader and Brad May opportunities to get back in the lineup. Helm has played well this season coming off a sprained shoulder that forced him to miss four weeks of training camp, but Babcock believes he should be getting more out of the youngster. "Helmer should be pushing for the third-line center, not battling for the fourth-line center."
Forward Patrick Eaves is also a healthy scratch, and defenseman Derek Meetch was not able to nudge Brett Lebda out of the lineup for tonight. The lines will look something like this at the beginning of the game but are sure to get mixed up if the pucks do not find their way past Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo:
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Cleary-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Leino-Draper-Williams
May-Abdelkader-Maltby
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Rafalski
Ericsson-Lebda
Peace.
Watch out for some mad-chemistry from Mike Babcock tonight. In an attempt to ignite some goal-scoring, Babcock has toyed with his second and third lines, flipping centers Valterri Filppula and Kris Draper and forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Ville Leino during practice, though nothing will be concrete come game time.
Darren Helm is a healthy-scratch tonight giving Justin Abdelkader and Brad May opportunities to get back in the lineup. Helm has played well this season coming off a sprained shoulder that forced him to miss four weeks of training camp, but Babcock believes he should be getting more out of the youngster. "Helmer should be pushing for the third-line center, not battling for the fourth-line center."
Forward Patrick Eaves is also a healthy scratch, and defenseman Derek Meetch was not able to nudge Brett Lebda out of the lineup for tonight. The lines will look something like this at the beginning of the game but are sure to get mixed up if the pucks do not find their way past Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo:
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Cleary-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Leino-Draper-Williams
May-Abdelkader-Maltby
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Rafalski
Ericsson-Lebda
Peace.
Wings Leaking Red, Look To Osgood To Help Stop the Bleeding
By Adam W Parks
Well the Wings are 0-2 on this all-important road trip that started out poorly in Phoenix and got worse in Colorado. Tonight they begin a three-game gauntlet through western Canada with a match-up against Vancouver. The Canucks (6-5-0) also suffered from a slow start at 0-3, but are now riding a recent trio of consecutive victories on the pads of Captain goaltender Roberto Luongo and the stick of a former Red Wing.
That’s right Wings fans, Mikael Samuelsson is second in points on Vancouver’s roster behind Henrik Sedin. With ten points, Samuelsson is ahead of all Red Wings as Henrik Zetterberg has nine. His five goals matches Tomas Holmstrom for Detroit’s high water mark on the season. His 46 shots on goal is second in the NHL behind only Alex Ovechkin (67) of Washington. Samuelsson left via free agency in July after four career-resurrecting seasons in Detroit and signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with Vancouver. Another casualty of the salary cap, the Wings could only offer him $1 million more per year. Mathieu Schneider, who also spent four seasons in Detroit as Nicklas Lidstrom's defensive partner, will make just his second appearance tonight on the blue line for the Canucks.
Roberto Luongo is coming off a 2-0 shutout of the Oilers in Edmonton. He has only given up three goals in his past three starts, all resulting in road wins for the Canucks. He might be the hottest goalie in the NHL behind Craig Anderson of the Avalanche and Ilya Bryzgalov in Phoenix (despite Bryzgalov’s wretched start in New York where he gave up four goals on 11 shots against the Rangers). What a glorious, well-timed coincidence for the Wings. Tonight Luongo will be in net at home facing a desperate Detroit team that is struggling to score, and stop, goals.
Chris Osgood will get the start for Detroit tonight and will have to play better than he has so far this season to out-duel Luongo. Goaltending has been an issue for the Wings, but it has not necessarily been the problem. Detroit is ranked 17th in the NHL in goals scored (2.78 goals per game), whereas they were first in the league last season at 3.52 gpg. Nevertheless, Osgood and backup Jimmy Howard each have a goals-against average of over 3.00 and save percentages below .900. Giveaways have hurt the puck-stoppers in Detroit but so have bad, untimely, should-have-been-stopped goals. As the old cliche goes, sometimes the best defense is a good offense...hopefully this stagnant offense will get a wake-up call from a stellar start from Ozzie tonight.
Notes from Grand Rapids
The Griffins went 3-0 at home this weekend for their first games of the season in Grand Rapids as both the scoring and goaltending came alive. Daniel Larsson got the start in net on Friday and stopped 25 shots in a 5-3 win over the Abbotsford Heat. On Saturday Thomas McCollum, the Wings’ first round draft pick in 2008, also picked up 25 saves in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Toronto Marlies. Larsson was back between the pipes on Sunday with a brilliant near-shutout of the Heat, 6-1. He turned away 41 shots on net as the Heat scored their lone goal during a five-on-three power play with five minutes left in the third in what was a penalty-plagued period. 106 total penalty minutes were issued in that third session of hockey.
The scoring was well-rounded for the Griffins with forwards Jeremy Williams and Jamie Tardiff leading the way. Williams picked up a goal in each game and Tardiff watched the hats flutter around Van Andel for his three goals on Sunday. Grizzled NHL travelman Michael Nylander helped lead the Griffins with five assists on the weekend, tallying three on Friday and two on Sunday. Similar to Detroit (3-4-2), Grand Rapids is now 3-4-1 on the season, and, like the Wings, they appear to be a much more confident team at home than on the road thus far.
Peace.
Well the Wings are 0-2 on this all-important road trip that started out poorly in Phoenix and got worse in Colorado. Tonight they begin a three-game gauntlet through western Canada with a match-up against Vancouver. The Canucks (6-5-0) also suffered from a slow start at 0-3, but are now riding a recent trio of consecutive victories on the pads of Captain goaltender Roberto Luongo and the stick of a former Red Wing.
That’s right Wings fans, Mikael Samuelsson is second in points on Vancouver’s roster behind Henrik Sedin. With ten points, Samuelsson is ahead of all Red Wings as Henrik Zetterberg has nine. His five goals matches Tomas Holmstrom for Detroit’s high water mark on the season. His 46 shots on goal is second in the NHL behind only Alex Ovechkin (67) of Washington. Samuelsson left via free agency in July after four career-resurrecting seasons in Detroit and signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with Vancouver. Another casualty of the salary cap, the Wings could only offer him $1 million more per year. Mathieu Schneider, who also spent four seasons in Detroit as Nicklas Lidstrom's defensive partner, will make just his second appearance tonight on the blue line for the Canucks.
Roberto Luongo is coming off a 2-0 shutout of the Oilers in Edmonton. He has only given up three goals in his past three starts, all resulting in road wins for the Canucks. He might be the hottest goalie in the NHL behind Craig Anderson of the Avalanche and Ilya Bryzgalov in Phoenix (despite Bryzgalov’s wretched start in New York where he gave up four goals on 11 shots against the Rangers). What a glorious, well-timed coincidence for the Wings. Tonight Luongo will be in net at home facing a desperate Detroit team that is struggling to score, and stop, goals.
Chris Osgood will get the start for Detroit tonight and will have to play better than he has so far this season to out-duel Luongo. Goaltending has been an issue for the Wings, but it has not necessarily been the problem. Detroit is ranked 17th in the NHL in goals scored (2.78 goals per game), whereas they were first in the league last season at 3.52 gpg. Nevertheless, Osgood and backup Jimmy Howard each have a goals-against average of over 3.00 and save percentages below .900. Giveaways have hurt the puck-stoppers in Detroit but so have bad, untimely, should-have-been-stopped goals. As the old cliche goes, sometimes the best defense is a good offense...hopefully this stagnant offense will get a wake-up call from a stellar start from Ozzie tonight.
Notes from Grand Rapids
The Griffins went 3-0 at home this weekend for their first games of the season in Grand Rapids as both the scoring and goaltending came alive. Daniel Larsson got the start in net on Friday and stopped 25 shots in a 5-3 win over the Abbotsford Heat. On Saturday Thomas McCollum, the Wings’ first round draft pick in 2008, also picked up 25 saves in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Toronto Marlies. Larsson was back between the pipes on Sunday with a brilliant near-shutout of the Heat, 6-1. He turned away 41 shots on net as the Heat scored their lone goal during a five-on-three power play with five minutes left in the third in what was a penalty-plagued period. 106 total penalty minutes were issued in that third session of hockey.
The scoring was well-rounded for the Griffins with forwards Jeremy Williams and Jamie Tardiff leading the way. Williams picked up a goal in each game and Tardiff watched the hats flutter around Van Andel for his three goals on Sunday. Grizzled NHL travelman Michael Nylander helped lead the Griffins with five assists on the weekend, tallying three on Friday and two on Sunday. Similar to Detroit (3-4-2), Grand Rapids is now 3-4-1 on the season, and, like the Wings, they appear to be a much more confident team at home than on the road thus far.
Peace.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN
By Adam W Parks
Saturday, October 24 2009, Red Wings 1 @ Avalanche 3
“Well I woke up Sunday morning, with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.”
It’s doubtful that Kris Kristofferson had a hockey team on his mind when he wrote his songs, but his lyrics feel uncomfortably appropriate after the Wings lost another game they could have, should have, would have won if it weren’t for...
Missed Opportunities
Colorado took a total of 16 penalty minutes and for the first time this season Detroit failed to score a power play goal in a game. Half of that power play time came in the third period. Four power plays in the final eight minutes and the Wings could not find the back of the net. What makes this more nauseating is that by not converting opportunities, not creating scoring chances, and not holding onto the puck, the Wings handed the momentum over to the Avalanche, despite all the penalties. Watching this had the same feeling of when bile slowly rolls up the back of your throat on a rough Sunday morning. Chris Stewart scored the game-winner on a limp-wrister that gave Colorado a 2-1 lead halfway into the third. All of the third period power play minutes came after that goal. 12:40, Paul Stastny, high-sticking. 14:37 Scott Hannan, holding. 16:57 Paul Stastny, tripping. Hannan was called for cross checking with 19 seconds left, but it was a mere technicality after Stastny stepped out of the penalty box and sealed the game with an empty net goal. But it still counts as one more missed power play opportunity for the Wings.
Craig Anderson = Really Good
This guy was so good he made the Wings look bad. 48 saves never looked so easy. 20 saves on the penalty kill never appeared so effortless. The Wings wore down the Avalanche defense throughout the game. Detroit’s shots on goal increased in each period: 12 in the first, 16 in the second, and 21 in the third. Somebody in the Pepsi Center forgot to tell Kris Draper that Anderson was supposed to get a shutout. The Park Ridge, Illinois native has eight wins in nine starts, a goals-against average of 2.14, and a save percentage of .936. He deserved that win last night, and deserves beers from his teammates, but Avalanche fans do not deserve to call this a return of "The Rivalry". Anderson is not the next Patrick Roy, and Stastny is not the next Joe Sakic, and nobody on that Avalanche roster resembles Peter Forsberg. Adam Foote is the only relic left in Denver from those days, and he is not the same Adam Foote from the mid to late 1990s. Did you see Nicklas Lidstrom smash his stupid face up with another slap shot last night? Hahahahaha. Sorry Colorado. Not yet. Nowhere near.
And I Say Row, Jimmy Row. Gonna Get That Win? I Don’t Know.
Nobody wanted a win for the Wings last night more than Jimmy Howard because this season is basically it for him. Make or break. Last chance to dance (perhaps) in Detroit. Howard’s potential to be a good NHL goalie has rarely been questioned nor realized. After his fourth season with the Grand Rapids Griffins everyone around Van Andel Arena was wondering, “When is this guy gonna get good?” Not to say that Howard was bad with the Griffins, but he was definitely on the disappointing end of the impressive scale. His best season was his rookie campaign in 2005-06. He went 27-6-2 and led the Griffins into the conference finals. By the way, that was a really good Griffins team: Jiri Hudler, Tomas Kopecky, Valtteri Filppula, Derek Meech, Brett Lebda, Kyle Quincey, Darryl Bootland. Anyway, things looked great for Howard early on in his career and everyone around Van Andel Arena was saying, “He’s the future! Send him to Detroit now! He’s ready!” In 2006-07 Howard had as many wins as losses, and the Griffins were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. In 2007-08 he had a losing record (21-28-2), but bounced back slightly last season 21-18-4). Howard is now in Detroit because...well...he’s almost out of time to prove himself, and Ken Holland did not have enough cap space to bring in another Ty Conklin-like backup. Howard may have wanted that win more than anybody else, but he didn’t get it. He nearly played good enough to get it with 20 great saves, but that Stewart goal was awful, bench-able under different circumstances. He has just one win in a Red Wings jersey, and that came back in that stellar rookie year. He was lit up for five goals against the Blues in Sweden in his first start this season. Last night could have been his break-out performance, a much-needed win in Colorado for him and for Detroit to stop the bleeding and get the Winged Wheels back on track. Another opportunity missed.
Seems a common way to go, so get out and row, row, row.
Griffin Eggs
Jonathan Ericsson picked up an assist on the Draper goal giving him five points on the season and moving him into a third place tie on the Wings’ roster with Dan Cleary, Brian Rafalski, and Jason Williams.
Despite skating on what has been the best line for the Wings, Ville Leino has been very unproductive. He has just three points on the season and his two goals were scored in Stockholm. That equals one point in America for Leino. Last night was once again quiet for him, registering just one shot on goal while the other winger on that line, Jason Williams, had six. Leino surprised everyone when he was called up to Detroit last season by scoring five goals in nine games, but he’s not surprising his opponents this season.
Darren Helm stood up and flattened former Griffins teammate Kyle Quincey in the first period. It was a clean, open-ice hit that Quincey saw coming but could not get out of the way of. Helm skated on a line with Kirk Maltby and Patrick Eaves. Eaves was in the lineup over the scratched Justin Abdelkader.
Notes and Nugs
Coming Around-Todd Bertuzzi was flying around the ice last night, pressuring the Colorado defense and creating scoring chances for his line mates. He had three shots on goal, Cleary had four and an assist, and Draper had three with the goal. When the Wings get their act together, they should not have trouble scoring a few more goals with their top three lines.
Missing Marian?-Does anybody else miss Marian Hossa a little bit? His 40 goals? Sure he may have punked in the playoffs, but the guy was hurt and played through the pain. He still hasn’t played a game this season. The bottom line is he's an elite scorer. The truth is Detroit is still trying to figure out how to score goals without him. And Jiri Hudler. And Mikael Samuelsson. And Tomas Kopecky. And Johan Franzen.
Trending-Think you might be seeing some disturbing trends too? Here are some disturbing stats to support them. The Wings are 0-2 this season when leading after the first period. They have two overtime losses when leading after the second period. So they are having trouble holding a lead. They are also unable to rally a come back: 0-3 after trailing through two periods.
“And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert.”
Peace
Saturday, October 24 2009, Red Wings 1 @ Avalanche 3
“Well I woke up Sunday morning, with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.”
It’s doubtful that Kris Kristofferson had a hockey team on his mind when he wrote his songs, but his lyrics feel uncomfortably appropriate after the Wings lost another game they could have, should have, would have won if it weren’t for...
Missed Opportunities
Colorado took a total of 16 penalty minutes and for the first time this season Detroit failed to score a power play goal in a game. Half of that power play time came in the third period. Four power plays in the final eight minutes and the Wings could not find the back of the net. What makes this more nauseating is that by not converting opportunities, not creating scoring chances, and not holding onto the puck, the Wings handed the momentum over to the Avalanche, despite all the penalties. Watching this had the same feeling of when bile slowly rolls up the back of your throat on a rough Sunday morning. Chris Stewart scored the game-winner on a limp-wrister that gave Colorado a 2-1 lead halfway into the third. All of the third period power play minutes came after that goal. 12:40, Paul Stastny, high-sticking. 14:37 Scott Hannan, holding. 16:57 Paul Stastny, tripping. Hannan was called for cross checking with 19 seconds left, but it was a mere technicality after Stastny stepped out of the penalty box and sealed the game with an empty net goal. But it still counts as one more missed power play opportunity for the Wings.
Craig Anderson = Really Good
This guy was so good he made the Wings look bad. 48 saves never looked so easy. 20 saves on the penalty kill never appeared so effortless. The Wings wore down the Avalanche defense throughout the game. Detroit’s shots on goal increased in each period: 12 in the first, 16 in the second, and 21 in the third. Somebody in the Pepsi Center forgot to tell Kris Draper that Anderson was supposed to get a shutout. The Park Ridge, Illinois native has eight wins in nine starts, a goals-against average of 2.14, and a save percentage of .936. He deserved that win last night, and deserves beers from his teammates, but Avalanche fans do not deserve to call this a return of "The Rivalry". Anderson is not the next Patrick Roy, and Stastny is not the next Joe Sakic, and nobody on that Avalanche roster resembles Peter Forsberg. Adam Foote is the only relic left in Denver from those days, and he is not the same Adam Foote from the mid to late 1990s. Did you see Nicklas Lidstrom smash his stupid face up with another slap shot last night? Hahahahaha. Sorry Colorado. Not yet. Nowhere near.
And I Say Row, Jimmy Row. Gonna Get That Win? I Don’t Know.
Nobody wanted a win for the Wings last night more than Jimmy Howard because this season is basically it for him. Make or break. Last chance to dance (perhaps) in Detroit. Howard’s potential to be a good NHL goalie has rarely been questioned nor realized. After his fourth season with the Grand Rapids Griffins everyone around Van Andel Arena was wondering, “When is this guy gonna get good?” Not to say that Howard was bad with the Griffins, but he was definitely on the disappointing end of the impressive scale. His best season was his rookie campaign in 2005-06. He went 27-6-2 and led the Griffins into the conference finals. By the way, that was a really good Griffins team: Jiri Hudler, Tomas Kopecky, Valtteri Filppula, Derek Meech, Brett Lebda, Kyle Quincey, Darryl Bootland. Anyway, things looked great for Howard early on in his career and everyone around Van Andel Arena was saying, “He’s the future! Send him to Detroit now! He’s ready!” In 2006-07 Howard had as many wins as losses, and the Griffins were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. In 2007-08 he had a losing record (21-28-2), but bounced back slightly last season 21-18-4). Howard is now in Detroit because...well...he’s almost out of time to prove himself, and Ken Holland did not have enough cap space to bring in another Ty Conklin-like backup. Howard may have wanted that win more than anybody else, but he didn’t get it. He nearly played good enough to get it with 20 great saves, but that Stewart goal was awful, bench-able under different circumstances. He has just one win in a Red Wings jersey, and that came back in that stellar rookie year. He was lit up for five goals against the Blues in Sweden in his first start this season. Last night could have been his break-out performance, a much-needed win in Colorado for him and for Detroit to stop the bleeding and get the Winged Wheels back on track. Another opportunity missed.
Seems a common way to go, so get out and row, row, row.
Griffin Eggs
Jonathan Ericsson picked up an assist on the Draper goal giving him five points on the season and moving him into a third place tie on the Wings’ roster with Dan Cleary, Brian Rafalski, and Jason Williams.
Despite skating on what has been the best line for the Wings, Ville Leino has been very unproductive. He has just three points on the season and his two goals were scored in Stockholm. That equals one point in America for Leino. Last night was once again quiet for him, registering just one shot on goal while the other winger on that line, Jason Williams, had six. Leino surprised everyone when he was called up to Detroit last season by scoring five goals in nine games, but he’s not surprising his opponents this season.
Darren Helm stood up and flattened former Griffins teammate Kyle Quincey in the first period. It was a clean, open-ice hit that Quincey saw coming but could not get out of the way of. Helm skated on a line with Kirk Maltby and Patrick Eaves. Eaves was in the lineup over the scratched Justin Abdelkader.
Notes and Nugs
Coming Around-Todd Bertuzzi was flying around the ice last night, pressuring the Colorado defense and creating scoring chances for his line mates. He had three shots on goal, Cleary had four and an assist, and Draper had three with the goal. When the Wings get their act together, they should not have trouble scoring a few more goals with their top three lines.
Missing Marian?-Does anybody else miss Marian Hossa a little bit? His 40 goals? Sure he may have punked in the playoffs, but the guy was hurt and played through the pain. He still hasn’t played a game this season. The bottom line is he's an elite scorer. The truth is Detroit is still trying to figure out how to score goals without him. And Jiri Hudler. And Mikael Samuelsson. And Tomas Kopecky. And Johan Franzen.
Trending-Think you might be seeing some disturbing trends too? Here are some disturbing stats to support them. The Wings are 0-2 this season when leading after the first period. They have two overtime losses when leading after the second period. So they are having trouble holding a lead. They are also unable to rally a come back: 0-3 after trailing through two periods.
“And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad, so I had one more for dessert.”
Peace
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Eaves In, Abdelkader Out, Howard Starts
By Adam W Parks
Patrick Eaves, an under the radar free agent signing for Detroit, was brought in from Carolina to bolster the third and forth lines. However, even with the Johan Franzen injury and Pavel Datsyuk missing two games, Eaves has not been able to stay on the active roster.
A former Hobie Baker finalist from Boston College and 2003 first round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, Eaves showed promise in his first two seasons in the NHL but took a step back with the Hurricanes. In three games with the Wings he has yet to produce a point and will have play better to become a regular on the roster ahead of Justin Abdelkader, who is a scratch for tonight's game in Colorado.
After six straight starts, Jimmy Howard will give Chris Osgood a rest. In what was supposed to be a time-share similar to Osgood/Conklin last year, Howard will get just his second start of the season tonight against the Avalanche. His only other start came against the Blues in Sweden where he was torched for five goals on 32 shots.
Howard was selected in the second round by Detroit from the University of Maine in the same draft class as Eaves. He was the third goaltender taken behind number one overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh) and second-rounder Corey Crawford (Chicago). Prior to this season Howard had only played in nine games for the Wings and has earned just one victory which came in his rookie campaign. He has been steady at best as the regular starter for the Grand Rapids Griffins, though he has yet to maximize his potential. The Wings need Howard to prove that he is a legitimate NHL puck stopper, and the 25 year old is running out of time. Opposite him tonight will be Craig Anderson, one of the hottest goalies in the league.
Brad May might play tonight. Then again, Kirk Maltby could get the nod. Mike Babcock will wait until after the pre-game skate to make his decision, but expect Malts to be on the fourth line with Darren Helm and Eaves. Why not May? Tough guy Cody McLeod, the guy who picked a fight with May and scored two goals against the Wings last week, was placed on the injured reserved earlier this week.
The lines for tonight's game against Colorado are below:
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Leino-Filppula-Williams
Cleary-Draper-Bertuzzi
Eaves-Helm (May or Maltby)
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Rafalski
Ericsson-Lebda
Meech scrathed
Howard
Peace.
Patrick Eaves, an under the radar free agent signing for Detroit, was brought in from Carolina to bolster the third and forth lines. However, even with the Johan Franzen injury and Pavel Datsyuk missing two games, Eaves has not been able to stay on the active roster.
A former Hobie Baker finalist from Boston College and 2003 first round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, Eaves showed promise in his first two seasons in the NHL but took a step back with the Hurricanes. In three games with the Wings he has yet to produce a point and will have play better to become a regular on the roster ahead of Justin Abdelkader, who is a scratch for tonight's game in Colorado.
After six straight starts, Jimmy Howard will give Chris Osgood a rest. In what was supposed to be a time-share similar to Osgood/Conklin last year, Howard will get just his second start of the season tonight against the Avalanche. His only other start came against the Blues in Sweden where he was torched for five goals on 32 shots.
Howard was selected in the second round by Detroit from the University of Maine in the same draft class as Eaves. He was the third goaltender taken behind number one overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh) and second-rounder Corey Crawford (Chicago). Prior to this season Howard had only played in nine games for the Wings and has earned just one victory which came in his rookie campaign. He has been steady at best as the regular starter for the Grand Rapids Griffins, though he has yet to maximize his potential. The Wings need Howard to prove that he is a legitimate NHL puck stopper, and the 25 year old is running out of time. Opposite him tonight will be Craig Anderson, one of the hottest goalies in the league.
Brad May might play tonight. Then again, Kirk Maltby could get the nod. Mike Babcock will wait until after the pre-game skate to make his decision, but expect Malts to be on the fourth line with Darren Helm and Eaves. Why not May? Tough guy Cody McLeod, the guy who picked a fight with May and scored two goals against the Wings last week, was placed on the injured reserved earlier this week.
The lines for tonight's game against Colorado are below:
Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Leino-Filppula-Williams
Cleary-Draper-Bertuzzi
Eaves-Helm (May or Maltby)
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Rafalski
Ericsson-Lebda
Meech scrathed
Howard
Peace.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Staying Positive
By Adam W Parks
Thursday, October 22, 2009 Detroit 2 @ Phoenix 3 OT
The Wings played there best game in a week on Thursday against Phoenix, though their only other game in the past seven days was the shootout loss to Colorado. This defeat was just as crushing. For the fourth time this season the Wings turned a lead into a letdown, but at least they did not squander another two-goal advantage against the Coyotes. Stay positive. Alas, Detroit remains winless outside of Joe Louis Arena, and with the longest road stretch of the season looming directly in front of them, they really could have used this win, for their record and their psyche. Stay positive. With the extended time off (Sunday through Wednesday) the Wings needed to regroup, find their focus, and play a good game, which they did. But they fell into familiar pitfalls with turnovers and mucky play in the defensive zone, and they flat-out got out-played in the third period. However, Detroit did get Pavel Datsyuk back and he was the best skater on the ice for either team. Stay Positive.
Russian Back
Datsyuk’s status for Thursday’s game was probable all week and did not become certain until close to game time due to an undisclosed upper body injury that kept him out the past two games. He came back just in time to face a Coyotes team that he has absolutely torched in recent seasons. With two assists he extended his point streak to 17 games against Phoenix and is averaging two points per game during the run. Playing left wing opposite Tomas Holmstrom with Henrik Zetterberg at center, Datsyuk took 25 shifts for 18:30, second amongst Detroit forwards behind Valterri Filppula (19:46). It did not take long for Datsyuk to find his legs and cripple his opponents’. About eight minutes into the first period he swiped the puck from Scottie Upshall alongside the boards, skated into the Coyotes’ zone, looked off one defender and tip-toed around salty veteran Ed Jovanovski for an excellent one-on-one scoring opportunity against Ilya Bryzgalov. Jovanovski looked like a drunkard on a Slip n Slide with broken ankles after that Datsyukian deke. He looked like the Dallas Cowboys defense attempting to tackle Barry Sanders. He looked like Jacque Vaughn after an Allen Iverson crossover. And Datsyuk looked like himself skating with Zetterberg and Holmstrom again as the line combined for five of six points earned by Wings skaters.
A Tale Of Two Lebdas
The sixth point came from Brett Lebda’s layup goal in the second period. Zetterberg dropped the puck to Datsyuk who pulled up short along the boards and slid a pass cross-ice to a wide open Lebda. Bryzgalov had no chance on the play as all Phoenix defenders' eyes were on Datsyuk. Credit Lebda, who has struggled to stay in the lineup, for his first goal of the season. Right place, right time. He was so open he could have sneezed the puck in the net. Lebda has wheels and is great pinching in with speed from the blue line, but his decision-making in his own zone is what keeps the question marks swirling around. He never seems to be in synch with his defensive partner, Jonathan Ericsson. His no-look, reverse pass behind Chris Osgood to Ericsson trailed around the boards for a, ahem, turnover, and set up the game-tying goal for Petr Prucha with less than three minutes left in the third period.
Yeah, But...
Okay, the Coyotes might have gotten away with one on that goal. Zbynek Michalek and Martin Hanzal picked up assists on Prucha’s goal, but Radim Vrbata deserves an ‘interference assist’ as he pushed Osgood, and the puck, into the net. Ozzie looked like a child who just had his living room fort invaded. Mike Babcock was furious on the bench and had a good argument. The whistles were late on several occasions, and there were several other occasions when the Coyotes collapsed on top of Ozzie. On this occasion he did not have the puck located and Phoenix took advantage. Deal with it. That situation should never have happened. It is a situation that the Wings are beginning to make a trend of. Take a look at all of Detroit’s losses, minus the Buffalo game. It becomes obvious that when the Wings have a lead, particularly late in games, they are having trouble matching the energy and intensity of their opponents. Lackadaisical hockey becomes hazardous, especially when you are a team that has gone to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, ie opponents really want to beat you. Babcock needs to find an answer to this equation before it disrupts the confidence of his team.
Griffin Eggs
Darren Helm, Ville Leino, and Justin Abdelkader were left off the box score, but each continued their solid play combining for five shots on goal. Helm and Abdelkader totaled seven hits with five credited to Helm.
Ericsson needs consistency from his partner, whoever that might be. He was a minus-2 with only one hit.
After a tough start on the road (1-4), the Griffins are in Grand Rapids for the first time this year with games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Swede forward Dick Axelsson and American defenseman Doug Janik lead the Griffs with three points each. Goaltender Thomas McCollum, Detroit’s first round pick in the 2008 draft, is 1-2 with a nice 2.92 goals-against average and a not-so-nice 0.883 save percentage.
Notes and Nugs
Osgood Gets A Pass-Adrian Aucoin’s goal in overtime was by all accounts a horrible goal. An unscreened shot from a bad angle. Ozzie wanted to steer the puck away and into the boards, but it ricocheted off his pad and his arm and into the net. No excuse. Stay positive. The game should not have even reached overtime, and Osgood is the main reason for that with 30 saves. He played a near-flawless game up to that point. Thursday was his sixth start in a row; look for Jimmy Howard to get the nod Saturday night in Colorado.
700 For Rafalski-He had an assist taken away from him on Holmstrom’s goal in the first period, but Brian Rafalski would rather have the win in his 700th career game. He looked great teamed with Nicklas Lidstrom on the power play and was buzzing around the puck, firing blue-line shots left and right in the vicinity of Bryzgalov. Hopefully #701 will have a better outcome for him.
Lebda or Meech or...-Derek Meech was a scratch on the roster in favor of Lebda. The two are a combined minus-5 with one point in eight games splitting time. Neither one is a strong candidate to hold onto a sustained starting spot, which begs the question...where the Hell is Andreas Lilja? He has not been on the ice for the Wings since February 28 when he got concussioned by Nashville’s Shea Weber. Lilja was never Mr. Consistency, but he was playing much better last season before he got his brains bashed around. Him and Ericsson would make a formidable third defensive pairing, but as of last week Lilja was still suffering from punch-induced headaches.
Out Performed-The game was Detroit’s to lose, which they did, but Phoenix out-performed them in several key categories that the Wings normally dominate. Shots were 33-27, faceoffs 34-27, and takeaways 7-3, all in favor of the Coyotes. But the Wings almost won. Stay positive.
Peace.
Thursday, October 22, 2009 Detroit 2 @ Phoenix 3 OT
The Wings played there best game in a week on Thursday against Phoenix, though their only other game in the past seven days was the shootout loss to Colorado. This defeat was just as crushing. For the fourth time this season the Wings turned a lead into a letdown, but at least they did not squander another two-goal advantage against the Coyotes. Stay positive. Alas, Detroit remains winless outside of Joe Louis Arena, and with the longest road stretch of the season looming directly in front of them, they really could have used this win, for their record and their psyche. Stay positive. With the extended time off (Sunday through Wednesday) the Wings needed to regroup, find their focus, and play a good game, which they did. But they fell into familiar pitfalls with turnovers and mucky play in the defensive zone, and they flat-out got out-played in the third period. However, Detroit did get Pavel Datsyuk back and he was the best skater on the ice for either team. Stay Positive.
Russian Back
Datsyuk’s status for Thursday’s game was probable all week and did not become certain until close to game time due to an undisclosed upper body injury that kept him out the past two games. He came back just in time to face a Coyotes team that he has absolutely torched in recent seasons. With two assists he extended his point streak to 17 games against Phoenix and is averaging two points per game during the run. Playing left wing opposite Tomas Holmstrom with Henrik Zetterberg at center, Datsyuk took 25 shifts for 18:30, second amongst Detroit forwards behind Valterri Filppula (19:46). It did not take long for Datsyuk to find his legs and cripple his opponents’. About eight minutes into the first period he swiped the puck from Scottie Upshall alongside the boards, skated into the Coyotes’ zone, looked off one defender and tip-toed around salty veteran Ed Jovanovski for an excellent one-on-one scoring opportunity against Ilya Bryzgalov. Jovanovski looked like a drunkard on a Slip n Slide with broken ankles after that Datsyukian deke. He looked like the Dallas Cowboys defense attempting to tackle Barry Sanders. He looked like Jacque Vaughn after an Allen Iverson crossover. And Datsyuk looked like himself skating with Zetterberg and Holmstrom again as the line combined for five of six points earned by Wings skaters.
A Tale Of Two Lebdas
The sixth point came from Brett Lebda’s layup goal in the second period. Zetterberg dropped the puck to Datsyuk who pulled up short along the boards and slid a pass cross-ice to a wide open Lebda. Bryzgalov had no chance on the play as all Phoenix defenders' eyes were on Datsyuk. Credit Lebda, who has struggled to stay in the lineup, for his first goal of the season. Right place, right time. He was so open he could have sneezed the puck in the net. Lebda has wheels and is great pinching in with speed from the blue line, but his decision-making in his own zone is what keeps the question marks swirling around. He never seems to be in synch with his defensive partner, Jonathan Ericsson. His no-look, reverse pass behind Chris Osgood to Ericsson trailed around the boards for a, ahem, turnover, and set up the game-tying goal for Petr Prucha with less than three minutes left in the third period.
Yeah, But...
Okay, the Coyotes might have gotten away with one on that goal. Zbynek Michalek and Martin Hanzal picked up assists on Prucha’s goal, but Radim Vrbata deserves an ‘interference assist’ as he pushed Osgood, and the puck, into the net. Ozzie looked like a child who just had his living room fort invaded. Mike Babcock was furious on the bench and had a good argument. The whistles were late on several occasions, and there were several other occasions when the Coyotes collapsed on top of Ozzie. On this occasion he did not have the puck located and Phoenix took advantage. Deal with it. That situation should never have happened. It is a situation that the Wings are beginning to make a trend of. Take a look at all of Detroit’s losses, minus the Buffalo game. It becomes obvious that when the Wings have a lead, particularly late in games, they are having trouble matching the energy and intensity of their opponents. Lackadaisical hockey becomes hazardous, especially when you are a team that has gone to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row, ie opponents really want to beat you. Babcock needs to find an answer to this equation before it disrupts the confidence of his team.
Griffin Eggs
Darren Helm, Ville Leino, and Justin Abdelkader were left off the box score, but each continued their solid play combining for five shots on goal. Helm and Abdelkader totaled seven hits with five credited to Helm.
Ericsson needs consistency from his partner, whoever that might be. He was a minus-2 with only one hit.
After a tough start on the road (1-4), the Griffins are in Grand Rapids for the first time this year with games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Swede forward Dick Axelsson and American defenseman Doug Janik lead the Griffs with three points each. Goaltender Thomas McCollum, Detroit’s first round pick in the 2008 draft, is 1-2 with a nice 2.92 goals-against average and a not-so-nice 0.883 save percentage.
Notes and Nugs
Osgood Gets A Pass-Adrian Aucoin’s goal in overtime was by all accounts a horrible goal. An unscreened shot from a bad angle. Ozzie wanted to steer the puck away and into the boards, but it ricocheted off his pad and his arm and into the net. No excuse. Stay positive. The game should not have even reached overtime, and Osgood is the main reason for that with 30 saves. He played a near-flawless game up to that point. Thursday was his sixth start in a row; look for Jimmy Howard to get the nod Saturday night in Colorado.
700 For Rafalski-He had an assist taken away from him on Holmstrom’s goal in the first period, but Brian Rafalski would rather have the win in his 700th career game. He looked great teamed with Nicklas Lidstrom on the power play and was buzzing around the puck, firing blue-line shots left and right in the vicinity of Bryzgalov. Hopefully #701 will have a better outcome for him.
Lebda or Meech or...-Derek Meech was a scratch on the roster in favor of Lebda. The two are a combined minus-5 with one point in eight games splitting time. Neither one is a strong candidate to hold onto a sustained starting spot, which begs the question...where the Hell is Andreas Lilja? He has not been on the ice for the Wings since February 28 when he got concussioned by Nashville’s Shea Weber. Lilja was never Mr. Consistency, but he was playing much better last season before he got his brains bashed around. Him and Ericsson would make a formidable third defensive pairing, but as of last week Lilja was still suffering from punch-induced headaches.
Out Performed-The game was Detroit’s to lose, which they did, but Phoenix out-performed them in several key categories that the Wings normally dominate. Shots were 33-27, faceoffs 34-27, and takeaways 7-3, all in favor of the Coyotes. But the Wings almost won. Stay positive.
Peace.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Listen to Lidstrom
Bill Simonson of The HUGE Show radio program dialed up Nicklas Lidstrom to discuss turnovers, Babcock, and milestones.
Listen here!
Listen here!
Tonight's Lines
As was expected, Pavel Datsyuk will be back in the lineup tonight against the Coyotes. Datsyuk missed the past two games due to an undisclosed upper body injury. The Wings can use his scoring against Phoenix's goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov, though he only has two assists and zero goals so far this season.
Datsyuk will be skating in familiar territory alongside Tomas Holmstrom (right wing) and Henrik Zetterberg (center). The other lines are as follows:
Leino-Filppula-Williams
Bertuzzi-Draper-Cleary
Abdelkader-Helm-Maltby
Defensemen:
Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lebda
Osgood gets the start.
The biggest move here is Bertuzzi getting dropped from Zetterberg's line down to the third line. Watch for that line to forecheck plenty and put a lot of pressure on the Coyotes defesemen.
Datsyuk will be skating in familiar territory alongside Tomas Holmstrom (right wing) and Henrik Zetterberg (center). The other lines are as follows:
Leino-Filppula-Williams
Bertuzzi-Draper-Cleary
Abdelkader-Helm-Maltby
Defensemen:
Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lebda
Osgood gets the start.
The biggest move here is Bertuzzi getting dropped from Zetterberg's line down to the third line. Watch for that line to forecheck plenty and put a lot of pressure on the Coyotes defesemen.
A Preview of Tonight's Game and A Review of the Phoenix Coyotes
By Adam W Parks
Coyotes Used To Losing Everything But Games This Year
The Red Wings begin a West Coast tour in Phoenix tonight that will extend through the end of October. In what normally would be considered a scrimmage, the struggling Wings, who are winless on the road this season, will face a shockingly strong Coyotes squad that has jumped out to a 5-2-0 start by riding the searing-hot pads of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Amidst losing money, fans, ownership, and ‘The Great One’, Phoenix has been able to prevail and succeed on the ice...too bad few people in Arizona care about hockey.
“Don’t Bankrupt Me, I Beg Of You, Pleeeeaaaase Don’t Bankrupt Me!”
Last season it became obvious that the Phoenix Coyotes were in fact a pack of dire wolves when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stepped up in February and loaned the team money to stay afloat. By May, team owner Jerry Moyes had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Since then there have been just a few potential buyers, most notably Canadian Bazillionaire Jim Balsillie, whose back-door dealings with Moyes and intentions to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario angered the all-powerful Bettman. Balsille’s original bid of $212.5 million eventually grew to $242.5 million, but Bettman came in, got his deck of cards, and sat down for the game. Unfortunately for Balsillie, the cards were all the same. The NHL offered $140 million with hopes of reselling the franchise to a buyer that would keep the team in Phoenix. Both bids were rejected by the court, rights to sell remain in the hands of Bettman, and the Coyotes began the 2009-2010 season without proper ownership.
The Not-So-Great One Loses Luster In The Desert
As if the turmoil wasn’t torrent enough, nine days before the season began Wayne Gretzky resigned as head coach. Subtract all of the team’s monetary troubles and it was still obvious to anyone who saw Gretzky’s blood pressure boiling over last year that he needed to step away from the sand storm. He joined the Coyotes organization in 2001 in the organization’s futile attempt to make ice hockey a popular sport in the desert. He took over as coach in 2005. The greatest statistical player to ever lace up the skates would like to have his coaching numbers stricken from the record: 143-161-24, 0 playoff appearances, 12th place (as in the Coyotes’ best ever finish under Gretsky’s tenure was 12th place in the Western Conference), and 1 illegal sports gambling ring. Remember that one? Gretzky’s close friend and assistant coach Rick Tocchet’s scandalous sideshow that involved Gretzky’s own wife, Janet? But the blame of this disastrous team that is the Phoenix Coyotes cannot be placed entirely on Gretzky, though he certainly felt the weight of it. No, the franchise was doomed from day one when it left Winnipeg in 1996.
Caveman Science 101: Fire Burn! Melt Ice!
The real blame for this pathetic, scavenging pack of glorified dingos must start directly with the man that blocked Balsillie from buying the team and moving it back to hockey’s motherland. Yes Gary Bettman is the man that decided to bring Canada’s sport to the Sun Belt of America. Not just Arizona, but Atlanta, Nashville, Florida, etc. A brilliant marketing scheme: ‘Let’s take a winter sport and try to force-feed it to people who are already in love with college football and car racing’. To a possible new fan of the sport, a hockey game in Phoenix is little more than a few hours out of the blazing sun to enjoy excellent air conditioning and overpriced beer. Here are the facts that any potential owner of the Coyotes must face, 1) The team has never won a playoff series, 2) The team has not even made the playoffs in seven years, 3) The team recently devised a plan to give away free tickets to future home games if fans will PLEASE attend upcoming games, and 4) The team has never, not once, made money since moving from Winnipeg. The Coyotes may put a good product on the ice this season, but if that product don’t sell...
An Oasis On The Horizon Or Just Another Mirage?
The only bright spot about the Phoenix Coyotes this season is the actual team. In the wild, coyotes are known for being highly adaptable, especially with their diet, often feeding off of garbage and rubbish to survive through the tough times. These coyotes seem to be sick of trash and are off to a fantastic start under new head coach Dave Tippet who has the team concentrated on hockey, not politics, finances, empty seats, and half-eaten hot dogs thrown onto the ice after a home loss. The real story is between the pipes. Bryzgalov, who signed as a free agent with Phoenix from Anaheim two seasons ago, boasts a 1.14 goals-against average, a .953 save percentage, and two shutouts in just six starts. His suffocating stats earned him the first star of the NHL last week, ahead of Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson and Capitols superstar Alex Ovechkin. If the Wings hope to turn things around for themselves and start this road trip off with a win, Mike Babcock and his players will have to figure out a way to put pucks past Bryzgalov and hope his early season heroics are just a fluke.
Coyotes Used To Losing Everything But Games This Year
The Red Wings begin a West Coast tour in Phoenix tonight that will extend through the end of October. In what normally would be considered a scrimmage, the struggling Wings, who are winless on the road this season, will face a shockingly strong Coyotes squad that has jumped out to a 5-2-0 start by riding the searing-hot pads of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Amidst losing money, fans, ownership, and ‘The Great One’, Phoenix has been able to prevail and succeed on the ice...too bad few people in Arizona care about hockey.
“Don’t Bankrupt Me, I Beg Of You, Pleeeeaaaase Don’t Bankrupt Me!”
Last season it became obvious that the Phoenix Coyotes were in fact a pack of dire wolves when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stepped up in February and loaned the team money to stay afloat. By May, team owner Jerry Moyes had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Since then there have been just a few potential buyers, most notably Canadian Bazillionaire Jim Balsillie, whose back-door dealings with Moyes and intentions to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario angered the all-powerful Bettman. Balsille’s original bid of $212.5 million eventually grew to $242.5 million, but Bettman came in, got his deck of cards, and sat down for the game. Unfortunately for Balsillie, the cards were all the same. The NHL offered $140 million with hopes of reselling the franchise to a buyer that would keep the team in Phoenix. Both bids were rejected by the court, rights to sell remain in the hands of Bettman, and the Coyotes began the 2009-2010 season without proper ownership.
The Not-So-Great One Loses Luster In The Desert
As if the turmoil wasn’t torrent enough, nine days before the season began Wayne Gretzky resigned as head coach. Subtract all of the team’s monetary troubles and it was still obvious to anyone who saw Gretzky’s blood pressure boiling over last year that he needed to step away from the sand storm. He joined the Coyotes organization in 2001 in the organization’s futile attempt to make ice hockey a popular sport in the desert. He took over as coach in 2005. The greatest statistical player to ever lace up the skates would like to have his coaching numbers stricken from the record: 143-161-24, 0 playoff appearances, 12th place (as in the Coyotes’ best ever finish under Gretsky’s tenure was 12th place in the Western Conference), and 1 illegal sports gambling ring. Remember that one? Gretzky’s close friend and assistant coach Rick Tocchet’s scandalous sideshow that involved Gretzky’s own wife, Janet? But the blame of this disastrous team that is the Phoenix Coyotes cannot be placed entirely on Gretzky, though he certainly felt the weight of it. No, the franchise was doomed from day one when it left Winnipeg in 1996.
Caveman Science 101: Fire Burn! Melt Ice!
The real blame for this pathetic, scavenging pack of glorified dingos must start directly with the man that blocked Balsillie from buying the team and moving it back to hockey’s motherland. Yes Gary Bettman is the man that decided to bring Canada’s sport to the Sun Belt of America. Not just Arizona, but Atlanta, Nashville, Florida, etc. A brilliant marketing scheme: ‘Let’s take a winter sport and try to force-feed it to people who are already in love with college football and car racing’. To a possible new fan of the sport, a hockey game in Phoenix is little more than a few hours out of the blazing sun to enjoy excellent air conditioning and overpriced beer. Here are the facts that any potential owner of the Coyotes must face, 1) The team has never won a playoff series, 2) The team has not even made the playoffs in seven years, 3) The team recently devised a plan to give away free tickets to future home games if fans will PLEASE attend upcoming games, and 4) The team has never, not once, made money since moving from Winnipeg. The Coyotes may put a good product on the ice this season, but if that product don’t sell...
An Oasis On The Horizon Or Just Another Mirage?
The only bright spot about the Phoenix Coyotes this season is the actual team. In the wild, coyotes are known for being highly adaptable, especially with their diet, often feeding off of garbage and rubbish to survive through the tough times. These coyotes seem to be sick of trash and are off to a fantastic start under new head coach Dave Tippet who has the team concentrated on hockey, not politics, finances, empty seats, and half-eaten hot dogs thrown onto the ice after a home loss. The real story is between the pipes. Bryzgalov, who signed as a free agent with Phoenix from Anaheim two seasons ago, boasts a 1.14 goals-against average, a .953 save percentage, and two shutouts in just six starts. His suffocating stats earned him the first star of the NHL last week, ahead of Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson and Capitols superstar Alex Ovechkin. If the Wings hope to turn things around for themselves and start this road trip off with a win, Mike Babcock and his players will have to figure out a way to put pucks past Bryzgalov and hope his early season heroics are just a fluke.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Four Days Off, Then Wings Begin First Road Trip of the Season
By Adam W Parks
IT AIN'T GETTIN' ANY EASIER Pt. I
The best way to forget about a bad loss is to get a good win. After the disappointing letdown to Colorado on Saturday the Wings will have to wait a little longer any such opportunity. Detroit does not play another game until Thursday when they travel to Phoenix to face another surprisingly good team. The Coyotes (5-2-0) currently stand alone atop the Pacific Division ahead of the Stars, Sharks, Kings, and Ducks. Oh, and they have the hottest goalie in the league. Ilya Bryzgalov is 5-1 in six starts with a 1.14 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage.
IT AIN'T GETTIN' ANY EASIER Pt. II
Take away one of the home losses against the Blues in Sweden, and the Wings are 3-0-1 at home. However they are winless on the road so far and, unfortunately, that is where they will be spending the rest of their time until November. After Thursdays game at Phoenix they will get a rematch against the Avalanche in the Pepsi Center, a game that is an absolute must-win for the Wings to salvage some dignity lost from the collapse on Saturday. Then Detroit will take a tour of Western Canada with games in Vancouver (10/27), Edmonton (10/29), and Calgary (10/31). If the Wings do not take all this time off to figure out their troubles it could be very scary come Halloween.
A DATSYUKIAN RETURN?
Unless for an unforseen setback, Pavel Datsyuk will be back from his upper body injury and in the lineup Thursday against Phoenix. How vague are NHL coaches with their injury disclosures? An upper body injury could be anything from a concussion to tennis elbow to a sore belly button. Apparently his injury had something to do with the mechanics of his shot, but everything seems to be back to normal. “I can shoot now.” Datsyuk missed the previous two games, and with four full days off before the Coyotes contest, he and the rest of the Wings should be ready to go.
IT AIN'T GETTIN' ANY EASIER Pt. I
The best way to forget about a bad loss is to get a good win. After the disappointing letdown to Colorado on Saturday the Wings will have to wait a little longer any such opportunity. Detroit does not play another game until Thursday when they travel to Phoenix to face another surprisingly good team. The Coyotes (5-2-0) currently stand alone atop the Pacific Division ahead of the Stars, Sharks, Kings, and Ducks. Oh, and they have the hottest goalie in the league. Ilya Bryzgalov is 5-1 in six starts with a 1.14 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage.
IT AIN'T GETTIN' ANY EASIER Pt. II
Take away one of the home losses against the Blues in Sweden, and the Wings are 3-0-1 at home. However they are winless on the road so far and, unfortunately, that is where they will be spending the rest of their time until November. After Thursdays game at Phoenix they will get a rematch against the Avalanche in the Pepsi Center, a game that is an absolute must-win for the Wings to salvage some dignity lost from the collapse on Saturday. Then Detroit will take a tour of Western Canada with games in Vancouver (10/27), Edmonton (10/29), and Calgary (10/31). If the Wings do not take all this time off to figure out their troubles it could be very scary come Halloween.
A DATSYUKIAN RETURN?
Unless for an unforseen setback, Pavel Datsyuk will be back from his upper body injury and in the lineup Thursday against Phoenix. How vague are NHL coaches with their injury disclosures? An upper body injury could be anything from a concussion to tennis elbow to a sore belly button. Apparently his injury had something to do with the mechanics of his shot, but everything seems to be back to normal. “I can shoot now.” Datsyuk missed the previous two games, and with four full days off before the Coyotes contest, he and the rest of the Wings should be ready to go.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Curse Of The 2-Goal Lead Strikes Again
By Adam W Parks
Saturday, October 17, 2009 Avalanche 4 @ Red Wings 3 SO
David Byrne once wrote: "Everything is divided, nothing is complete. Everything looks impressive, do not be deceived." An accurate summation of the Red Wings shoot out loss to the Avalanche. The Wings season so far can be chalked up to inconsistency, both on the offensive and defensive ends. But Saturday's terrible defeat to Colorado was less about consistency, and more about complacency. Through two periods of hockey, Detroit dominated defensively and kept pressure on Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson. The Avs appeared to have a 0% chance of winning that game, let alone even scoring a goal. Shots on goal in the first period were 13-5 Wings, and 23-13 through two. With a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission, everyone watching the game expected a shut-down third period and a well-deserved shut-out for Chris Osgood. Apparently the players in red and white shared the same sentiment. Colorado won the shots battle in the third 13-7. 13 shots on goal. The same amount they had through the first two periods. Colorado's goals came just 2:37 apart. Cody McLeod snapped a wrist shot five-hole on Osgood after a break down at the Wings blue line, and rookie Matt Duchene wristed one from the top of the circle that Ozzie still wants back. Complacent, unorganized hockey.
MAKING FILPPY FLOPPY
Valtteri Filppula flipped the lead back in favor for the Wings. Centering what continues to be Detroit's best line with Ville Leino and Jason Williams, Filppula cleaned up an easy rebound after the trio pushed strong across the blue line, connected tape-to-tape passes, and charged in on Anderson. It was Filp's second goal of the season, a number that is sure to rapidly increase and possibly inflate to a career high for the young center, but it was all for naught. A poor line change created a Colorado three-on-two that resulted in an easy second goal of the game for McLeod with less than three minutes left. "It was just kind of an open net," McLeod said. Sure was.
(doorbell rings) WHO IS IT? GOONS. WHO? HIRED GOONS.
Is it coincidence that McLeod scored twice in the third period after fighting the newest Red Wing tough guy Brad May? The pair squared up and exchanged Jack Johnsons and Tom O'Learys during the first period which could only be called a draw. It seemed like an appropriate time for May to drop the gloves: late in the first period with just a one goal lead. Perhaps not getting the best of McLeod gave the 25-year-old the confidence to lead his team back from a deficit...twice. May, 37, was a great last minute free agent signing for Detroit to replace the muscle and fists of Darren McCarty (not resigned in off season) and Aaron Downey (signed with Phoenix). May, a former 14th overall draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 1990, was once part of the most feared pairing in all of the NHL. May and Rob "Rayzor" Ray terrorized opponents of the Sabres for years. The duo are infamous for the NHL's installation of the rule that requires a player's jersey to be tied down. However May may be best known for his "incidents". Does a 20-game suspension for slashing Blue Jacket forward Steve Heinze in the nose in 2000 ring a bell? How about more recently, in the 2007 playoffs as an Anaheim Duck, when he cold-cocked Minnesota's Kim Johnsson, knocking the defenseman utterly senseless. Wait, it gets better. May then lifted the unconscious Johnsson up and proceeded to body-slam him back onto the ice. Here's an interesting twist: it was May who, allegedly, put a bounty on the head of Steve Moore, whose career was savagely ended by, yup, Todd Bertuzzi. Ken Holland appears to have taken the Montgomery Burns approach to this season. "I prefer the hands-on touch you only get with hired goons."
A GOOD POINT MADE ABOUT A BAD POINT EARNED
Despite the failures in the third period Detroit did earn an important point. The Wings also gave away a dirty, shameful, and embarrassing point at home to a young, confident, and surprisingly good Western Conference rival. The Avs out-shot the Wings 3-1 in the overtime session and won in the shoot out 2-1. Entering the fifth season of its installment, the shoot out at the end of overtime continues to be a controversial and polarizing way to settle a hockey game. To some, it's the most exciting overtime event in all of sports, an opportunity for the skilled players to showcase their moves and goalies to make back-breaking saves. Honestly, who would not want to watch Pavel Datsyuk and Dominik Hasek square off in a best-of-27 shootout? Opponents of the shoot out prefer the old school method of a tie if neither team scores during the five minute overtime period. Each team gets a point, and the fans go home at best indifferent. A simple Simpsons reference should settle this matter once and for all. In the eighth episode of the sixth season, Bart and Lisa square off in an ultimate show down of sibling rivalry: on separate ends of a hockey rink. The game is tied and in the final seconds Bart is awarded a penalty shot against Lisa. In a heart-warming moment, forward and goalie embrace and decide that their relationship is more important than the game. Time runs out, game ends in a tie. A man in the stands asks, "What the heck is a tie game?" A woman cries, "This is Outrageous!" A weeping and disappointed Homer exclaims, "They're both losers. Losers!" The arena quickly erupts into vandalism, fist-fights, and fires.
GRIFFIN EGGS
Justin Abdelkader is really making the most of his time in Detroit right now. He almost ended up back in Grand Rapids, but was back on the fourth line with Darren Helm and May, and scored the first regular season goal of his fledgling career. The Muskegon native and Michigan State University National Championship hero is making it difficult for the Wings coaching staff to leave him off the roster, and Spartan fans love to hear the MSU fight song played inside Joe Louis Arena when he scores. Helm dished out an assist on Abdelkader's goal giving each their first point of the season. Could these two plus May be the next Grind Line? Former Griffin/Red Wing Kyle Quincey, who was a Black Ace on Detroit's 2008 Stanley Cup team spent last season in a Kings jersey but signed with Colorado in the offseason and has been one of their best men on the blue line. He has one goal and six points, a plus-3 rating, and ten penalty minutes in eight games this year. Griffins fans were sad to see Detroit's 2003 fourth round draft pick (132 overall) leave Michigan, but are happy to see a player groomed in the Red Wings organization succeed...in Colorado...damn it.
NOTES AND NUGS
Bertuzzi: Starting to Impress?-Bert picked up his first goal of the season during a power play in the second period. He got position on and out-muscled Adam Foote in front of the crease and tipped in a pass from Henrik Zetterberg. He also made a perfect pass from the boards to Zetterberg in the third period, but Anderson's glove was more perfect.
Foote to face-Nicklas Lidstrom once stopped the heart of the hated Chris Pronger with a slap shot. Against the Avalanche he nearly shot a hole through the hated Adam Foote's stupid face. Who says Lidstrom isn't physical enough?
There Will Be Blood-Jason Williams was the recipient of a high-stick to the face from Marek Svatos that drew blood, giving the Wings a 4:00 double minor early in the third period up 2-0. They failed to convert, split open and meltdown ensued.
MICKEY'S QUOTE OF THE GAME
Banter with Ken Daniels and Larry Murphy about protecting the melon leads to Mickey reminiscing about his playing days, "I can't imagine wearing a helmet." Got to love the Mick.
Peace.
Saturday, October 17, 2009 Avalanche 4 @ Red Wings 3 SO
David Byrne once wrote: "Everything is divided, nothing is complete. Everything looks impressive, do not be deceived." An accurate summation of the Red Wings shoot out loss to the Avalanche. The Wings season so far can be chalked up to inconsistency, both on the offensive and defensive ends. But Saturday's terrible defeat to Colorado was less about consistency, and more about complacency. Through two periods of hockey, Detroit dominated defensively and kept pressure on Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson. The Avs appeared to have a 0% chance of winning that game, let alone even scoring a goal. Shots on goal in the first period were 13-5 Wings, and 23-13 through two. With a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission, everyone watching the game expected a shut-down third period and a well-deserved shut-out for Chris Osgood. Apparently the players in red and white shared the same sentiment. Colorado won the shots battle in the third 13-7. 13 shots on goal. The same amount they had through the first two periods. Colorado's goals came just 2:37 apart. Cody McLeod snapped a wrist shot five-hole on Osgood after a break down at the Wings blue line, and rookie Matt Duchene wristed one from the top of the circle that Ozzie still wants back. Complacent, unorganized hockey.
MAKING FILPPY FLOPPY
Valtteri Filppula flipped the lead back in favor for the Wings. Centering what continues to be Detroit's best line with Ville Leino and Jason Williams, Filppula cleaned up an easy rebound after the trio pushed strong across the blue line, connected tape-to-tape passes, and charged in on Anderson. It was Filp's second goal of the season, a number that is sure to rapidly increase and possibly inflate to a career high for the young center, but it was all for naught. A poor line change created a Colorado three-on-two that resulted in an easy second goal of the game for McLeod with less than three minutes left. "It was just kind of an open net," McLeod said. Sure was.
(doorbell rings) WHO IS IT? GOONS. WHO? HIRED GOONS.
Is it coincidence that McLeod scored twice in the third period after fighting the newest Red Wing tough guy Brad May? The pair squared up and exchanged Jack Johnsons and Tom O'Learys during the first period which could only be called a draw. It seemed like an appropriate time for May to drop the gloves: late in the first period with just a one goal lead. Perhaps not getting the best of McLeod gave the 25-year-old the confidence to lead his team back from a deficit...twice. May, 37, was a great last minute free agent signing for Detroit to replace the muscle and fists of Darren McCarty (not resigned in off season) and Aaron Downey (signed with Phoenix). May, a former 14th overall draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 1990, was once part of the most feared pairing in all of the NHL. May and Rob "Rayzor" Ray terrorized opponents of the Sabres for years. The duo are infamous for the NHL's installation of the rule that requires a player's jersey to be tied down. However May may be best known for his "incidents". Does a 20-game suspension for slashing Blue Jacket forward Steve Heinze in the nose in 2000 ring a bell? How about more recently, in the 2007 playoffs as an Anaheim Duck, when he cold-cocked Minnesota's Kim Johnsson, knocking the defenseman utterly senseless. Wait, it gets better. May then lifted the unconscious Johnsson up and proceeded to body-slam him back onto the ice. Here's an interesting twist: it was May who, allegedly, put a bounty on the head of Steve Moore, whose career was savagely ended by, yup, Todd Bertuzzi. Ken Holland appears to have taken the Montgomery Burns approach to this season. "I prefer the hands-on touch you only get with hired goons."
A GOOD POINT MADE ABOUT A BAD POINT EARNED
Despite the failures in the third period Detroit did earn an important point. The Wings also gave away a dirty, shameful, and embarrassing point at home to a young, confident, and surprisingly good Western Conference rival. The Avs out-shot the Wings 3-1 in the overtime session and won in the shoot out 2-1. Entering the fifth season of its installment, the shoot out at the end of overtime continues to be a controversial and polarizing way to settle a hockey game. To some, it's the most exciting overtime event in all of sports, an opportunity for the skilled players to showcase their moves and goalies to make back-breaking saves. Honestly, who would not want to watch Pavel Datsyuk and Dominik Hasek square off in a best-of-27 shootout? Opponents of the shoot out prefer the old school method of a tie if neither team scores during the five minute overtime period. Each team gets a point, and the fans go home at best indifferent. A simple Simpsons reference should settle this matter once and for all. In the eighth episode of the sixth season, Bart and Lisa square off in an ultimate show down of sibling rivalry: on separate ends of a hockey rink. The game is tied and in the final seconds Bart is awarded a penalty shot against Lisa. In a heart-warming moment, forward and goalie embrace and decide that their relationship is more important than the game. Time runs out, game ends in a tie. A man in the stands asks, "What the heck is a tie game?" A woman cries, "This is Outrageous!" A weeping and disappointed Homer exclaims, "They're both losers. Losers!" The arena quickly erupts into vandalism, fist-fights, and fires.
GRIFFIN EGGS
Justin Abdelkader is really making the most of his time in Detroit right now. He almost ended up back in Grand Rapids, but was back on the fourth line with Darren Helm and May, and scored the first regular season goal of his fledgling career. The Muskegon native and Michigan State University National Championship hero is making it difficult for the Wings coaching staff to leave him off the roster, and Spartan fans love to hear the MSU fight song played inside Joe Louis Arena when he scores. Helm dished out an assist on Abdelkader's goal giving each their first point of the season. Could these two plus May be the next Grind Line? Former Griffin/Red Wing Kyle Quincey, who was a Black Ace on Detroit's 2008 Stanley Cup team spent last season in a Kings jersey but signed with Colorado in the offseason and has been one of their best men on the blue line. He has one goal and six points, a plus-3 rating, and ten penalty minutes in eight games this year. Griffins fans were sad to see Detroit's 2003 fourth round draft pick (132 overall) leave Michigan, but are happy to see a player groomed in the Red Wings organization succeed...in Colorado...damn it.
NOTES AND NUGS
Bertuzzi: Starting to Impress?-Bert picked up his first goal of the season during a power play in the second period. He got position on and out-muscled Adam Foote in front of the crease and tipped in a pass from Henrik Zetterberg. He also made a perfect pass from the boards to Zetterberg in the third period, but Anderson's glove was more perfect.
Foote to face-Nicklas Lidstrom once stopped the heart of the hated Chris Pronger with a slap shot. Against the Avalanche he nearly shot a hole through the hated Adam Foote's stupid face. Who says Lidstrom isn't physical enough?
There Will Be Blood-Jason Williams was the recipient of a high-stick to the face from Marek Svatos that drew blood, giving the Wings a 4:00 double minor early in the third period up 2-0. They failed to convert, split open and meltdown ensued.
MICKEY'S QUOTE OF THE GAME
Banter with Ken Daniels and Larry Murphy about protecting the melon leads to Mickey reminiscing about his playing days, "I can't imagine wearing a helmet." Got to love the Mick.
Peace.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Lidstrom On Slow Start, 1,000 Points
George Malik offers up some quotes from Lidstrom from his interview on Hockey Night In Canada Radio.
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/10/red_wings_captain_nicklas_lids_15.html
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/10/red_wings_captain_nicklas_lids_15.html
Friday, October 16, 2009
Turnovers and Goalies Like Things On My Mind, Seem To Get Lost, and Harder To Find
By Adam W Parks
Thursday, October 15, 2009 Kings @ Wings
Well the ship may not be quite right, but Thursday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings helped seal some recent leaks. The Wings have flashed brief moments of Wing-like brilliance, but for the most part have appeared out of rhythm offensively and everything but cohesive in their own zone. The back-to-back victories at Joe Louis Arena against the Blackhawks and the Capitals were critical after the back-to-back losses to the Blues in Stockholm. Outside of the flair and fanfare in Sweden, the trip resulted in little more than distraction and fatigue for the players. And any positive vibes felt from those wins at the Joe was eradicated by a 6-2 debacle in Buffalo. Against the Kings, the Wings were able to deal with and overcome their early struggles with consistency, chemistry, and turnovers.
GET THE *UCK OUT
Turnovers have been the Red Wings most glaring issue thus far, especially in the defensive zone. What was frustrating to watch in Sweden was nauseating to swallow in Buffalo as the Sabres were able to obtain the puck at will in the Wings zone and pour goals all over Chris Osgood. The first period against the Kings saw more of the same. The Wings suffered from sloppy play in their own end and struggled to move the puck through the neutral zone without icing it. That deficiency cost them. Shortly after a Los Angeles power play expired, Niklas Kronwall stepped out of the penalty box and watched as an errant pass from Daniel Cleary slid through center ice and behind Kings goalie Jon Quick. A face off win by Dustin Brown and four seconds later the Wings were down 1-0.
BRING A BUCKET
Osgood played fantastic after that first goal when Brown skated to the front of the net off the face off and stuffed home a rebound from a shot from the point. A bad goal, but not on Osgood. During that first period turnovers weighted down the Wings and nearly sunk them in the bottom of their own zone. Ozzie stayed calm and bailed his teammates out as they slowly gained their form. Neither Osgood nor Jimmy Howard have looked steady at the helm so far this season, but Ozzie was sharp and quick against the early opportunities from the Kings, especially with the loose pucks in front and around his net. His confidence was contagious as the Wings settled down, tightened up on defense, and loosened up on offense as the game progressed.
HOLMER'S ODYSSEY
Tomas Holmstrom disappeared in the playoffs last year lost amidst a torrent sea of mythical obstacles. Blame it on his hernia, back, shoulder, Calypso, The Cyclops, Poseidon, whatever. He scored only two goals and seven points while playing in all of Detroit's 23 playoff games. At age 36 Holmer appeared as if he had taken one hundred too many slashes to the back from a goalie stick. This season #96 leads the Wings with four goals and is tied with Brian Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg for most points (5). Consistency will be key for Holmstrom with Johan Franzen out until...What is most impressive with Holmer’s quick start is that he has been the wild card for Mike Babcock’s concoctions, and he has been productive while playing with different linemates and taking on various roles. There were times Thursday night when he looked as if he was trying his best to do his best Pavel Datsyuk impression, handling and controlling the puck and showing a skating ability that was all but absent his entire career. However, good ol’ Holmer was back in his office when he tipped in Nicklas Lidstrom's shot for a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
THE SACRED SWEDE
All things secular in LAMP THE LIGHT, but Lidstrom might be the exception. His assist on Holmstrom's tip-in power play goal was his 999th career point. In the third period he assisted on an incredible Zetterberg tip-in goal for point number 1,000. The goal was Zetterberg's first of the season which became the game winning tally; both are more essential results than the milestone. Sure, Lidstrom is the fourth-fastest Red Wing and just the second Swedish player (Mats Sundin) to reach that plateau, but taking a 3-1 lead in an important home game and getting Z on the scoreboard is crucial for the team. Lidstrom has four Stanley Cup rings, an Olympic Gold Medal, is a six-time Norris Trophy winner, is currently eighth all-time in scoring amongst NHL defensemen...and he can skate on water. 1,000 points is a milestone, but it is just a plateau for the Captain.
TODD BERTURDZZI
Is there anybody besides his family who likes this guy? Yes he is a Red Wing, so we are forced to embrace him. Like that friend who got too drunk at your wedding and punched a guy in the back of the head and shoved him face first into the cake. In the eyes of the fans, Bertuzzi is the junkyard cat: to be kicked around in a pool of gasoline until he earns respect, gets adopted, and becomes part of the team. It will be interesting to see what he has more or less of come playoff time: goals or teeth. Holmstrom thinks this guy is ugly. Seriously though, his hard work with the fore/backchecking will help his cause in Detroit, but he has to start producing in the box score. He is playing on a line with Zetterberg, who does not appear comfortable right now. Bertuzzi has two points (zero goals) and is -2 in the plus/minus column. Early in the second period, on a Detroit power play opportunity, he led a two-on-one with Valtteri Filppula. Kings defensemen Drew Doughty took away the pass offering Bertuzzi a clear shot on net from the bottom of the left circle. Ten feet away from the goal he sent the puck six inches wide and three feet high "aiming" top-shelf, glove side. He didn't just miss the net, he missed the glass. To his credit though, he did earn his second point off of Kirk Maltby’s goal on what might be the ugliest assist in recorded history.
GRIFFIN EGGS
Jonathan Ericsson picked up his second goal of the season off a clean face off win by Justin Abdelkader in the second period. Abdelkader and Darren Helm brought the energy and grit that earned them playing time. Helm looked particularly strong on the penalty kill and was arguably the Wings' best skater in the first period, if not the entire game. Ville Leino and Filppula have been on the most consistent line for Detroit and Thursday they were tenacious on both ends of the ice; however the group was left off the scoring sheet. Derek Meech was scratched in favor of Brett Lebda.
MICKEY’S QUOTE OF THE GAME
After an extensive review of Ericcson's goal, which would have gone wide of the net if Quick had not deflected it between his own legs, Mickey chimed in with this clever bit of triple-negative commentary, "Never never not shoot." Got to love the Mick.
Peace.
Thursday, October 15, 2009 Kings @ Wings
Well the ship may not be quite right, but Thursday’s win over the Los Angeles Kings helped seal some recent leaks. The Wings have flashed brief moments of Wing-like brilliance, but for the most part have appeared out of rhythm offensively and everything but cohesive in their own zone. The back-to-back victories at Joe Louis Arena against the Blackhawks and the Capitals were critical after the back-to-back losses to the Blues in Stockholm. Outside of the flair and fanfare in Sweden, the trip resulted in little more than distraction and fatigue for the players. And any positive vibes felt from those wins at the Joe was eradicated by a 6-2 debacle in Buffalo. Against the Kings, the Wings were able to deal with and overcome their early struggles with consistency, chemistry, and turnovers.
GET THE *UCK OUT
Turnovers have been the Red Wings most glaring issue thus far, especially in the defensive zone. What was frustrating to watch in Sweden was nauseating to swallow in Buffalo as the Sabres were able to obtain the puck at will in the Wings zone and pour goals all over Chris Osgood. The first period against the Kings saw more of the same. The Wings suffered from sloppy play in their own end and struggled to move the puck through the neutral zone without icing it. That deficiency cost them. Shortly after a Los Angeles power play expired, Niklas Kronwall stepped out of the penalty box and watched as an errant pass from Daniel Cleary slid through center ice and behind Kings goalie Jon Quick. A face off win by Dustin Brown and four seconds later the Wings were down 1-0.
BRING A BUCKET
Osgood played fantastic after that first goal when Brown skated to the front of the net off the face off and stuffed home a rebound from a shot from the point. A bad goal, but not on Osgood. During that first period turnovers weighted down the Wings and nearly sunk them in the bottom of their own zone. Ozzie stayed calm and bailed his teammates out as they slowly gained their form. Neither Osgood nor Jimmy Howard have looked steady at the helm so far this season, but Ozzie was sharp and quick against the early opportunities from the Kings, especially with the loose pucks in front and around his net. His confidence was contagious as the Wings settled down, tightened up on defense, and loosened up on offense as the game progressed.
HOLMER'S ODYSSEY
Tomas Holmstrom disappeared in the playoffs last year lost amidst a torrent sea of mythical obstacles. Blame it on his hernia, back, shoulder, Calypso, The Cyclops, Poseidon, whatever. He scored only two goals and seven points while playing in all of Detroit's 23 playoff games. At age 36 Holmer appeared as if he had taken one hundred too many slashes to the back from a goalie stick. This season #96 leads the Wings with four goals and is tied with Brian Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg for most points (5). Consistency will be key for Holmstrom with Johan Franzen out until...What is most impressive with Holmer’s quick start is that he has been the wild card for Mike Babcock’s concoctions, and he has been productive while playing with different linemates and taking on various roles. There were times Thursday night when he looked as if he was trying his best to do his best Pavel Datsyuk impression, handling and controlling the puck and showing a skating ability that was all but absent his entire career. However, good ol’ Holmer was back in his office when he tipped in Nicklas Lidstrom's shot for a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
THE SACRED SWEDE
All things secular in LAMP THE LIGHT, but Lidstrom might be the exception. His assist on Holmstrom's tip-in power play goal was his 999th career point. In the third period he assisted on an incredible Zetterberg tip-in goal for point number 1,000. The goal was Zetterberg's first of the season which became the game winning tally; both are more essential results than the milestone. Sure, Lidstrom is the fourth-fastest Red Wing and just the second Swedish player (Mats Sundin) to reach that plateau, but taking a 3-1 lead in an important home game and getting Z on the scoreboard is crucial for the team. Lidstrom has four Stanley Cup rings, an Olympic Gold Medal, is a six-time Norris Trophy winner, is currently eighth all-time in scoring amongst NHL defensemen...and he can skate on water. 1,000 points is a milestone, but it is just a plateau for the Captain.
TODD BERTURDZZI
Is there anybody besides his family who likes this guy? Yes he is a Red Wing, so we are forced to embrace him. Like that friend who got too drunk at your wedding and punched a guy in the back of the head and shoved him face first into the cake. In the eyes of the fans, Bertuzzi is the junkyard cat: to be kicked around in a pool of gasoline until he earns respect, gets adopted, and becomes part of the team. It will be interesting to see what he has more or less of come playoff time: goals or teeth. Holmstrom thinks this guy is ugly. Seriously though, his hard work with the fore/backchecking will help his cause in Detroit, but he has to start producing in the box score. He is playing on a line with Zetterberg, who does not appear comfortable right now. Bertuzzi has two points (zero goals) and is -2 in the plus/minus column. Early in the second period, on a Detroit power play opportunity, he led a two-on-one with Valtteri Filppula. Kings defensemen Drew Doughty took away the pass offering Bertuzzi a clear shot on net from the bottom of the left circle. Ten feet away from the goal he sent the puck six inches wide and three feet high "aiming" top-shelf, glove side. He didn't just miss the net, he missed the glass. To his credit though, he did earn his second point off of Kirk Maltby’s goal on what might be the ugliest assist in recorded history.
GRIFFIN EGGS
Jonathan Ericsson picked up his second goal of the season off a clean face off win by Justin Abdelkader in the second period. Abdelkader and Darren Helm brought the energy and grit that earned them playing time. Helm looked particularly strong on the penalty kill and was arguably the Wings' best skater in the first period, if not the entire game. Ville Leino and Filppula have been on the most consistent line for Detroit and Thursday they were tenacious on both ends of the ice; however the group was left off the scoring sheet. Derek Meech was scratched in favor of Brett Lebda.
MICKEY’S QUOTE OF THE GAME
After an extensive review of Ericcson's goal, which would have gone wide of the net if Quick had not deflected it between his own legs, Mickey chimed in with this clever bit of triple-negative commentary, "Never never not shoot." Got to love the Mick.
Peace.
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