Wings Skate Along Different Path, Find Similar Outcome

By Adam W Parks

Saturday, December 12, 2009 Red Wings 3 @ Predators 2 OT


















Another night, another 3-2 overtime victory for the Wings, and look who is in the center of that picture. Yup! Another game-winning overtime goal for Todd Bertuzzi!

Whereas they had to stage a comeback from an 0-2 deficit against Anaheim the night before, Detroit actually scored first, and second against Nashville, but allowed the Predators to get back into the game and force an extra session. In dramatic fashion, Detroit picked up a much-needed point on their Central Division rivals and are now 2-0 after losing Dan Cleary to a separated shoulder. With all the adversity they have faced, the Wings have hung in and are quite relevant in the Western Conference playoff picture. When last season they were the most feared team in the West, this group may be the most dangerous this season once all their pieces are back in place.

As for the remaining players who are not sidelined by injury, they are beginning to gel and rally together. "Role" players like Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves are stepping up and filling gaps, and the stars that are left are persevering and still producing. Despite not scoring a goal in the last seven games, Henrik Zetterberg is still averaging about a point per game (32 in 33 games). Pavel Datsyuk has only scored once in the past eleven games, though he has three assists in the last two including a pair on Saturday. But, however unlikely it may seem, it has been Bertuzzi that has been the most brilliant in the past couple of games.

Bert Does It Again, and Then Again

Hey Bert, what's wrong Bert? You scored two more goals on Saturday, Bert. And you got another overtime goal, Bert. But Bert, you still look like a caveman, Bert.

When Cleary went down with that untimely shoulder injury, two different scenarios were likely play out. 1) The Wings would wallow in pity and lose important points in games and ground in the standings. 2) Someone would step in with an iron will and a sturdy back and carry Hockeytown through another rough patch of this rough season. Honestly? I figured it would be the former.

With so many injuries rippling through this roster, how often can the Wings expect to put the rally caps on and bounce back with what they have left in the cupboard? Let's go through the names again: Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Jason Williams, Niklas Kronwall, Dan Cleary...am I missing anyone? Probably, but I'm tired of harping on it.

Bertuzzi, at least for now, has given this team reason to believe that they can pull together and drag this thing along for a while and wait for guys to return to the lineup. What he did against Anaheim was amazing. What he did against Nashville was unbelievable. His first goal, the first goal of the game, came off a nifty (if not lucky) shot that beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne on the far side. Bert carried the puck from the blue line along the right side boards to the circle, pulled off a little spin-o-rama move on a defender, and sent a blind backhand towards the net. At 6' 5", Rinne is a big boy between the pipes, and Bert's shot somehow made it's way underneath and past his pads.

That goal was as impressive as it was flukey. It is nice to see that Bertuzzi can still put on the brakes and handle the puck like that, but it is even nicer to see him finish the play. His overtime goal was both nice and impressive without a single trace of flukiness. Datsyuk swiped the puck away from a Predator and fed Bert an outlet pass that sprung the big guy on a breakaway. With a combination of speed and strength that is a relatively rare commodity in the NHL, he outskated the Nashville defender and positioned himself in a way that he could protect the puck, and then put a quick, solid move on Rinne.

If you missed the highlights of the game, check them out below. Never mind the idiot commentators who think it was Zetterberg with the breakaway winner.



Osgood Does Good

If you did not know, Chris Osgood had not won a game since November 5 against San Jose when he allowed just one goal on 34 shots. Granted, that was a great victory for Ozzie and the Wings over a Sharks team that still leads the West, but it happened over a month ago. Since that game, and before Saturday's, he had gone 0-3-2 in his last five starts, and now it appears (though nothing has been made official) that Jimmy Howard has taken over the regular starting goaltender position in Detroit.

Osgood stopped 33 shots from the Predators and held on when his team needed him the most. Despite being up 2-0 in the second period, Nashville battled back to tie things up early in the third. The Wings were outshot by a staggering 19-8 discrepancy in the second, and then again 11-6 in the third. Detroit could have folded under the Predators' pressure, but they maintained and survived through regulation, thanks mostly to Ozzie.

As big of a win as this was for the Wings, it was monumental for Osgood as he desperately needed something positive to build off of. Detroit will need him playing at a high level later in the season if they hope to have any shot at advancing in, or even making it into the playoffs. The future is unclear as to who will be the goalie that will be counted on down the road, but if Ozzie can regain some resemblance of himself then Detroit will be all the better for it...whether he is the starter or not. With the win he improved to 7-5-4 on the season.

Miller Time

Remember when I mentioned how "role" players were beginning to step it up for the Wings? Remember when I mentioned Drew Miller's name? Yeah, I did that on purpose. Miller potted the second goal of the game for the Wings in the second period by instinctively swatting the puck out of midair. The puck was well-below the cross bar as the refs actually got a call correct and utilized the video replay in a way that actually made sense.

Pavel Datsyuk started the play by intercepting a pass and taking the puck all the way deep into the Nashville zone. Pav sent a backhand shot that went over the should of Rinne, hit the post, and bounced to the waiting Miller. A great play from a Russian to an American, proving that the two former Cold War rivals can indeed work together to make Hockeytown a better place.

Miller also assisted on Bertuzzi's first goal earlier in the same period, and the two-point night is his first in a Wings jersey. He is one of those unexpected goal-scoring sources for the Wings as three of his four points on the season have gone for goals.

Griffin Eggs

Helm Down, but Not Quite Out-The speedy Darren Helm strained a tendon in his wrist but did not pull a Filppula. Helm was able to remain in the game and should not miss too much time with the minor injury.

"He's day-to-day, we're hoping he's OK for Thursday (vs. Tampa Bay),'' Holland said.

Helm races around the ice and forechecks as good as anyone for Detroit. He creates mismatches and problems for the defense no matter what line he is on or who he is going against. The Wings dodged a bullet with this injury as they could not afford to lose him for a long period of time.

Peace.