Wings 4, Stars 1: Post Game Snipes...

• I missed about the first seven minutes of the first period thanks to class, parking, and a slight detour through downtown Detroit. On a side note though, I’m pretty sure I set a new record for fastest ¾ mile ride on a rusty 15-speed bike with flat tires through snow/hail. I’m not really sure how to define what it was, but I caught quite a bit of it on my tongue on the way home. And in my eyes. And my ears. It was great.
• When we finally arrived, we couldn’t get up to our seats because we were waiting for the whistle to stop play. Naturally, we witnessed what I’m pretty sure was the longest span of time without a stoppage of the season so far. We didn’t care very much though, because when play finally stopped, it was for Drew Miller’s goal.
• While we were waiting to be let up to our seats, we were joined by a woman returning from a beer run. She ended up sitting next to us. A little while later, the guy she was with, my seat neighbor, got up to make another beer run. He was standing on the landing at the bottom of the section waiting for a stoppage when Helm scored. Not long after that, the woman made another bathroom/beer run. Guess where she was when Cleary scored? Yup, right on the landing waiting for a stoppage. By this point, everyone around us was sufficiently amused. At the start of the third period, my seat neighbor made one final beer run. As I was celebrating Bertuzzi’s goal, I looked down and saw the guy, beer in hand, arms thrown out to his sides, standing on the landing where he had been stopped to wait for a whistle. I just about died laughing. After they announced the goal and Datsyuk’s assist, we said that it was a shame they forgot to announce his assist on the goal. The first couple of times it was a coincidence. Four times though? Someone needs to start a collection to get those two season tickets and a beer fund. It would be a community service.
• Back to Bertuzzi’s goal: I can’t believe that puck went in the net. I still can’t quite figure out how it did since the replay on NHL.com just shows the wide-angle view from center ice. Todd also picked up an assist. This was great timing since I’m not allowed to say anything bad about him this week.
• The Wings looked pretty good overall tonight. I felt like they were able to establish control in the offensive zone more than they have in the past few games.
• I seem to remember Derek Meech making a couple of really solid defensive plays. He and Ericsson have both really stepped up their games over the last couple of weeks.
• There’s no way that Marty Turco doesn’t have fantasies about burning the Joe to the ground.
• With the exception of Bertuzzi’s,all of the Wings’ goals came as a result of hard work and crashing the net. I’m just saying…
• I was pretty skeptical about the Leino/Datsyuk/Bertuzzi line. I informed my mother that Datsyuk deserved better wingers. Then they went and scored a goal. Combine that with the fact that I’m not allowed to disparage Todd Bertuzzi this week, and it killed my plans to name it the Superstar and Two Wastes of Ice Time Line. (Catchy, I know.)
• During the last few minutes of the game, someone a few rows behind us yelled, “Ducks fly together!” Seat Neighbor and a couple of other people around us spontaneously started quacking. We then proceeded to yell out random Mighty Ducks quotes for a little while. I, of course, contributed my best, “The goalieeeeeeeee” impression. It was a pretty awesome moment in my life. This season, I’ve had the opportunity to watch games from way down in the lower bowl and way up in a suite, but I’ve got to say that the cheap seats are where all the fun is.
  

GP Answers:
1. The Wings broke out of their scoring slump Saturday night with three goals. More importantly, they were the kind of gritty goals that the Wings keep talking about needing to score. So, can they keep it up tonight?
Yes. Yes they did. And most of the goals resulted from good, hard-working efforts.

2. Todd Bertuzzi scored a big goal to win the shootout on Saturday. Will that help his confidence and get him to snap out of whatever funk he’s been in? I’ve done a lot of ragging on Bert over the last couple of months, but I would like nothing more than to see him get on a roll.
He had a goal and an assist. I don’t think we have a right to ask for anything more from the guy. With any luck, his luck has turned, and he’ll find a way to start burying some of those chances he’s been getting.

3. We all know what happened last time the Stars visited the Joe. We’re also aware of what went down against Calgary on Friday. This question is kind of sad, but what percentage of the goals that the Wings score tonight will actually be counted on the scoreboard?
O% I’m happy to report that each and every goal that the Wings scored counted. Bravo, referees, bravo.

4. Will Darren Helm be able to finish the breakaway he inevitably gets tonight? I kid, I kid…but only a little. One of these times he has to put one of those away.
He didn’t get a breakaway, but he did manage to bury his great chance down low. I’m going to go ahead and take credit for that. You’re welcome.

5. The Wings’ special teams units both enjoyed 100% success rates against St. Louis on Saturday. This was a positive sign since both units have struggled lately. Can they build on that tonight?
The powerplay went 0-4, but when you pick up 4 even strength goals that’s easy to forgive. The PK was technically 4-4, but Dallas’ only goal came seconds after Holmstrom stepped out of the box. He never quite made it back into the play, but I’ll take what I can get.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Drew Miller
He opened the scoring with his goal after showing some nice hustle to negate an icing. This is more for his play overall since he got picked up by the Wings since I couldn’t decide who else to single out tonight. He’s been a great addition to the lineup and has even added two goals in his short time here.

Ville Leino gets the Golden Facepalm
This is another cumulative award (not sure that's really the right term...). He got the privilege of playing with Pavel Datsyuk tonight and still didn’t look particularly noticeable and I couldn’t choose any other Wing to pick on tonight.

What I learned:
Hockey fans are indeed the best people around. (OK, so that’s not exactly new information, but it was reaffirmed tonight…as it usually is during my pilgrimages to the Joe.)

Wings vs. Stars GP...

Wings vs. Stars @7:30 PM

1. The Wings broke out of their scoring slump Saturday night with three goals. More importantly, they were the kind of gritty goals that the Wings keep talking about needing to score. So, can they keep it up tonight?
2. Todd Bertuzzi scored a big goal to win the shootout on Saturday. Will that help his confidence and get him to snap out of whatever funk he’s been in? I’ve done a lot of ragging on Bert over the last couple of months, but I would like nothing more than to see him get on a roll.
3. We all know what happened last time the Stars visited the Joe. We’re also aware of what went down against Calgary on Friday. This question is kind of sad, but what percentage of the goals that the Wings score tonight will actually be counted on the scoreboard?
4. Will Darren Helm be able to finish the breakaway he inevitably gets tonight? I kid, I kid…but only a little. One of these times he has to put one of those away.
5. The Wings’ special teams units both enjoyed 100% success rates against St. Louis on Saturday. This was a positive sign since both units have struggled lately. Can they build on that tonight?

I’ll be at the game tonight using the tickets I won while failing epically at turkey bowling the day before Thanksgiving. With any luck, this game will be more enjoyable than the last time I made the trek down to the Joe. Please. Now that they’ve figured out a way to put pucks in the net (and make them count) again, this is as good a time as any to start stringing wins together to start climbing the standings.

Wings 4, Blues 3 (SO): Post Game Snipes...

• When the Wings finally scored during the second period, I actually yelled “Hallelujah” in my family room. I never thought I’d be that excited about a goal in the regular season.
• The third and fourth lines looked fantastic early in the game. During the first period, they were better than the top two lines by far. I figured it was going to be a long night upon seeing that.
• When the Wings finally scored, it had been 175 minutes since their last goal. That’s almost three whole games. Three.
• Tonight was also the first time in a week that the Wings had scored more than one goal. Getting into the plural was a nice change.
• The first period wasn’t particularly good. Jimmy Howard had to work much too hard. The team woke up for the second half of the game and I actually felt like they were controlling play at times. It was a welcome change.
• It was nice to see the Wings pick up a win in the shootout. Really nice.
• That first goal was a thing of beauty. Datsyuk absolutely threaded a pass to Z who got it to Homer for a perfect tip-in. The boys looked downright relieved to see the puck in the net.
  
• The last-minute goal was fluky to the max, but sometimes you just need those kind of bounces to go your way. FSN awarded the goal to Pav at first, but it was announced at the arena as being Zetterberg's. At that point, I could not have cared less who they credited. All that mattered was that the puck was in the back of the net.
• Is it sad that every time the Wings scored, I was looking at the referee to make sure he wasn't waving the goal off?
• Justin Abdelkader played ridiculously well. He didn't have much to show for it on the stat sheet, but this has to have been his best game of the season.
  

GP Answers:
1. They managed 3 goals tonight, including an “ugly” one to tie the game up with less than a minute left in the third. It was good to see the Wings’ stars score and to see them grind out some goals. Now they just need to maintain it.
2. See above. Mason played well, but the Wings managed to do what they needed to win.
3. This one was a bit sarcastic, but I can’t complain about the officiating tonight. Sure I would’ve liked to have seen the Wings get a few more powerplays, but they were consistent and that’s more than we get on most nights.
4. The first period was a little rough, but I’d say they had a pretty good showing overall. @Mserven said it best on Twitter: “nice to see the Wings playing like they want to win rather than like they should win.”
5. Three goals in fact. Plus a couple in the shootout.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Jimmy Howard
He had entirely too much work to do throughout the game, and made some spectacular saves. I can’t fault him on any of the goals he let in. The second one in particular was an absolutely ridiculous shot. My mom pointed out earlier that I was a little harsh about him at the start of the season, and I’m happy to say that he’s been a pleasant surprise. (She would also like me to state that she liked him the first time she saw him play when we made a family trip to the Joe four years ago.)

An Extra Stick Tap for Todd Bertuzzi
When I saw that he was going in the shootout, I yelled, “Oh Jesus, Bertuzzi?!” While he was taking his long, winding approach, I promised him that I would lay off and give him a free pass for a week if he buried it. He did, and I’ll keep my word. There’ll be nothing negative about Bert on this humble blog until next Saturday. With any luck this’ll give him some confidence and he’ll start producing.

Darren Helm gets the Golden Facepalm
I hate to do this because he actually didn’t play badly, but oh man did he ever miss some glorious opportunities. He’ll probably be having nightmares about those two chances he didn’t bury with a few minutes left in the third. The Wings came back to tie it up, so all is well, but I was pounding my head on my keyboard there for a minute.

What I learned:
That seeing the Wings score a goal feels ridiculously good.

Wings vs. Blues GP...

Wings vs. Blues @ 8PM

1. No really, where is the scoring? I don’t want to hear about outshooting the other team or running into hot goalies (although, seriously, is it really necessary for every goalie the Wings face to have his best game of the season?) or continuing to plug away. Good teams find ways to win games even when things are tough. The Wings haven’t been able to do that recently and it needs to change. (Copy/pasted from the previous GP because nothing has changed…)
2. I don’t know who’s starting in net for the Blues, but I’m sure he’s going to choose tonight to show off. Just how good will the Wings make him look?
3. What glorious display of incompetence will we see from the officials tonight? I just can’t wait.
4. The Wings are 2 points ahead of the Blues, a conference rival, in the standings. You’d like to think that this would be the kind of game they’d show up for. Will it happen?
5. Can the Wings please, pretty please score a goal tonight? Seriously.

Wings 0, Flames 3: Post Game Snipes...

• Well, we’ll start out with the obvious: the Wings got hosed by the referees. Again. There’s absolutely no reason the powerplay goal they scored to tie it up in the first period should not have counted. Except that this is the NHL.
• At one point, I even tried using Twitter to jinx Kiprusoff’s shutout. I feel like I’ve reached a new low.
• The Wings managed to get shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since 1977. That’s almost a decade before I was even born. I’m obviously not equipped to deal with situations like this.
• If ever there was a time to try shuffling the lines, I would think it would’ve been the third period tonight. It baffles me to continually see the same ineffective line combos thrown out there game after game after game.
• The Flames scored less than 30 seconds into the game. It naturally resulted from some horrible defensive coverage which consisted of a bunch of Wings standing around and possibly staring off into space.
• Is it really necessary for every goalie the Wings face to have his best game of the season?
• Mike Babcock didn’t hesitate to bench Leino and Helm earlier in the season when they weren’t performing. Why hasn’t he tried it with Todd Bertuzzi?
• I fully intended to go to the game today, but ended up canceling my plans. Boy, am I glad I didn’t. I don’t think I could’ve handled being present for back-to-back shutouts.
• Bertuzzi tried a behind-the-back pass that not only ended up on a Wings’ stick, but resulted in a good scoring chance. It figures that if you try it enough times, it’s going to work at least once. I’m just concerned that he’s going to think that means it’s a good idea and keep trying it.
• The good news is that the Wings were generating shots and they had a lot of traffic to the front of the net. That’s a very good sign. At some point, you have to believe that they’re going to get things figured out.
  

GP Answers:
1. Still no answer. I don’t think there is one.
2. It wasn’t necessarily the defense that was the problem tonight. The Flames’ first goal was a result of a pathetic defensive effort, but unless the team can figure out a way to score a goal the defense isn’t going to make much of a difference.
3. Not one bit of line shuffling for the offense. I would appreciate someone explaining that to me.
4. The powerplay generated tons of shots, and actually managed to put a puck in the net in the first period. On the plus side, Calgary didn’t score any on their two powerplays (although one was abbreviated).

Cookies and Cupcakes for Chris Osgood
Letting in three goals probably doesn’t indicate that he had a great game, but he had no chance on the first one because of poor defensive coverage,the second one was just plain weird, and the third one was off of a great shot. Besides, nobody else did anything spectacular.

Mike Babcock gets the Golden Facepalm
Seriously, there’s wanting to stick with line combinations in order to develop consistency and then there’s plain old stubbornness. Things obviously aren’t working, but he can’t seem to bring himself to shake things up. I just…don’t understand. I wish he would tell us what it is he sees so I could at least get what he was going for.

What I learned:
It is possible for this season to be more miserable.

Wings vs. Flames GP...

Wings vs. Flames @ 7PM

1. No really, where is the scoring? I don’t want to hear about outshooting the other team or running into hot goalies (although, seriously, is it really necessary for every goalie the Wings face to have his best game of the season?) or continuing to plug away. Good teams find ways to win games even when things are tough. The Wings haven’t been able to do that recently and it needs to change.
2. What’s the deal going to be with the defense tonight? It looks like they’re going to be going with the same rotation from Wednesday night. I’m not entirely opposed to this. Ericsson looked a lot better when matched up with better partners and I think being out there with guys like Lidstrom and Rafalski will be good for him long-term.
3. Babcock was doing quite a bit of line shuffling during the last game. What’s he going to come up with tonight? The lines obviously haven’t been producing, so something needs to get changed. (I suggest finding someone else, anyone else, to replace Todd Bertuzzi on the top line. Datsyuk deserves better.
4. So far this season, it seems like the Wings have been living and dying by their special teams (a bold observation, I know). Over the last few games, neither the powerplay nor the penalty kill has done anything worthwhile. Will either of the special teams units give me hope tonight?

Happy shopping if you’re one of those crazy enough to risk life and limb venturing out in search of good deals today. I’ll be busy having Second Thanksgiving (which is a little like Second Breakfast, come to think of it [I’m pretty sure this is the second GP in a row in which I’ve made a nerdy joke. I should probably stop doing that.]) and possibly trying to snag some more Student Rush tickets.

Wings 0, Thrashers 2: Post Game Snipes...

• I’m so glad that I only paid $15 to see this game. The Wings looked terrible, the crowd was pathetically quiet for most of the night, and the highlight of my night was watching Ozzie and Draper goof around in the net during warmups.
• Although, I have to admit that getting to go out on the ice as part of the turkey bowling thing was pretty cool…even though I looked like an idiot. If you were one of the people who I’m sure was laughing at me, I just want you to know that I had a strategy. It just failed miserably. But our team still won and I’ve got a pair of free tickets to Monday’s game, so the joke’s on you. Also, I had the pleasure of walking around the Joe while my brother carried a frozen turkey for the next two hours. Amazing photographs obviously ensued.
• We went down right behind the Wings’ net to watch warmups and I’m reasonably certain that Justin Abdelkader was trying to kill me. He personally fired at least half a dozen shots that hit the glass directly in front of my face. My little sister was not amused by the whole firing squad effect. If you’ve never watched warmups from that spot before, you’re missing out. It will give you a whole new appreciation for the work that goalies do.
• The News’ recap of the game began with this paragraph:

  It might be time to call in a priest to bless the sticks, or maybe a witch doctor to remove the curse. Because no matter how hard the Red Wings grind, no matter how many shots and chances they create, the puck will not go into the net for them.

  I’ve got a better idea. The team could just bother showing up to play hockey games from time to time. There's a pretty reasonable chance that that would help.
  
• Todd Bertuzzi is officially a waste of ice time. And bench space. And cap space (although that’s less of an issue at this particular moment).
• Also from the News’ recap was this beauty:

  In the third, Bertuzzi broke up a play and went into the Thrashers' zone on a 2-on-1. Yet, he tripped before he could make a play. There was nobody near him, he simply lost an edge -- can you say snakebit?

  I’m not sure ‘snakebit’ is the right word (or the correct grammar for that matter). “Snakebitten” is something you say about a guy who’s having rough couple of weeks on the scoresheet. When you’re having a rough five years, well, then you have to consider the possibility that you just suck.
• Datsyuk tried that thing he does where he flips the puck over the back of the net. One of these times it’s going to work and I think my brain is going to explode from the sheer awesomeness of it.
• Brett Lebda and Brad Stuart should probably never share ice time again. I don’t know what their deal was, but whenever I noticed them paired together bad things were happening.
• My pictures are up on photobucket.
  

GP Answers:
1. The defense wasn’t the only thing Babs was mixing up. The forward lines got put through the scrambler too. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to help.
2. Howard was fine. He gave them a chance to win and they didn’t take it. To think that going into this season my biggest worry was the goaltending. I’m not saying it’s been stellar, but the guys between the pipes are certainly not the reason the Wings have been losing.
3. Still no answer for this one. Someone needs the team’s ability to score goals on a milk carton or something.
4. Same old, same old on the powerplay. I guess the answer’s ‘yes’ for this one.
5. Please refer to the second passage that I’ve quoted from the News above. Yes, that really did happen. And yes, it did look every bit as pathetic in person as it did on TV.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Jimmy Howard
Because nobody else deserves any.

Todd Bertuzzi gets the Golden Facepalm
Once again, please refer to the passage from the News quoted above. This one is a no-brainer.

What I learned:
That carrying a turkey around Joe Louis Arena can actually be ridiculously fun. Especially if your little brother holds it on his head to mock the people wearing the turkey hats (yeah, people actually bought those).

PS. Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

Wings vs. Thrashers GP...

Wings vs. Thrashers @7:30

1. Well Babcock’s announced his slightly wacky and yet oddly logical plan for the defensive rotation. Somehow, through rotation, line-juggling, and possibly the use of a Time Turner from Harry Potter, he’s going to make the six-man defensive lineup resemble an eight-man lineup. I kind of get it, and I’m all about anything that prevents a third pairing of Lebda and Meech from taking the ice, so I’m willing to give it a shot. Will anyone (on the ice or otherwise) have any clue what’s going on by the end of the game?
2. Babs is also going with Jimmy Howard in net tonight, which worries me much less than I would’ve imagined it would a couple of months ago. Can he keep up his strong play?
3. I asked the same thing last game; it still hasn’t been answered, so I’ll go with it again: Where have all the goals gone? After going on a tear of 19 goals in 3 games, the offense has absolutely dried up. I know the offense has been depleted, but except for the loss of Kronwall, the lineup that’s been on the ice for the last few games is not markedly different from the one that was lighting it up.
4. Part of the offensive stall has been due to the issues with the powerplay. The first unit has been generating some buzz, but if they can’t score, that leaves a second unit of Cleary, Bertuzzi, and Leino. Now, I like Cleary a lot, but there’s a reason we call him Charlie Buckets. He’s the kind of guy who has an uncanny ability to take advantage of the strengths of his linemates. On this unit, there just isn’t a whole lot for him to work with. At this point, I would rather see the third line get powerplay time over this bunch. Are we really going to have to suffer through a one-unit powerplay interminably? And I'm not even willing to discuss the PK...
5. Over the summer I made it very clear that I was unhappy with Bertuzzi’s signing. However, I resolved to give him a chance. I would say that a quarter of the season counts as a fair chance. So far he has done absolutely nothing to impress me. So what fine work does he have in store for us tonight?

Wings 1, Predators 3: Post Game Snipes...

• The Wings were lucky to survive the first period only down by one. Their effort was sad.
• Drew Miller had his best game in a Wings uniform tonight. He was rewarded with his first Wings goal. It came off of a great individual effort.
• I really strongly dislike Todd Bertuzzi. More and more each game.
• Pavel Datsyuk had a beautiful check at one point during the second period. That’s an aspect of his game that continues to be underrated.
• Every time a goalie made a save, the Versus announcer would say, “____ says no.” Every time. I swear.
• The Wings really turned things on during the third period. It looked like one of their patented late-game awakenings. Unfortunately Pekka Rinne stood his ground and nothing came of it.
• Train whistles should be permanently and unconditionally banned from every live sporting event ever. Really, unless you are a train, there is no need for you to have one of those.
• A Predators fan decided that it would be a good idea to throw a hat on the ice after Erat’s second goal. Lame. Very lame.
• Darren McCarty did a decent job in his Versus debut. He looked nervous and I didn’t quite follow what he said during the first intermission, but he looked much more comfortable during the second one and in the post game.
• There is a very real problem with the powerplay in that if the Circus line fails to score…the team is left with a line of Cleary, Leino, and Bertuzzi.
  

GP Answers:
1. Well, the defense didn’t look spectacular for most of the game tonight, but neither did the rest of the team.
2. Well, Big Rig didn’t see any powerplay time but led all Wings skaters in time on the PK. This picture tells the story of the Preds’ first goal.
3. I didn’t notice Ericsson often, which is a good thing for a rookie defensemen. There’s no doubt that having a better defensive partner will improve his game. Just how much remains to be seen.
4. No answer for the lack of offense. Another game with only one goal scored. That’s not going to cut it.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Chris Osgood
There’s no doubt that he kept the Wings in it when they were busy sleepwalking through the first half of the game. He made some huge, huge saves.

Todd Bertuzzi gets the Golden Facepalm
This really could’ve gone to Tomas Holmstrom too, but Homer has actually made a contribution to the team so far this season, so he gets a reprieve. Bert took two stupid penalties, one of which led to the Preds’ first goal. The Versus announcer, in what may have been the first display of intelligent thought by one of their guys, said that he just didn’t think that Bertuzzi had the speed to play the Wings’ style of hockey.

What I learned:
This really is going to be a long season.

Farewell Shanny...

I kind of missed the boat in terms of career eulogies for Brendan Shanahan on account of him choosing to retire during the busiest week of my life (See how I manage to deflect blame for it away from myself? That’s talent.) But I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least make a couple of comments on the career of the guy who was my second favorite hockey player for the better part of my formative years.

I vaguely remember being upset when the Wings traded away Paul Coffey. I have no idea why, but I’m assuming it had a lot to do with the fact that I was barely 10-years old and not particularly bright. I do, however, know that I took an immediate liking to the Wings’ new arrival. He could score and he could fight and a few of you might remember the little-known incident in which he clotheslined Patrick Roy. At some point after the ’02 Cup, he became know as my alter-ego. It was mostly because I wore a Shanahan walking-jersey-foul to school the next day when we went around bestowing Wings players’ names on all of our friends. It was okay though, because I was Irish (I say “was” because we recently discovered that we actually have Scottish blood, not Irish…) and I embraced it. I still miss hearing the Irish Jig blasting from the speakers at the Joe.

How many guys left in the league could put it all together like Shanny did? Not many. And I think we’re all a little worse off for that. He deserved a better ending than his break with the Devils prior to the start of the season.

As far as the jersey retirement debate goes…I don’t see it happening. If the organization had any intention of doing so, they wouldn’t have let the likes of Derek Meech take it. I would have no problem with the team choosing to retire it, but I’m not sure he spent enough time in Detroit to have earned a place in the rafters. He played too many games for too many other teams, and even though his strongest legacy will be as a Red Wing, I think that’s going to keep #14 in circulation. That being said, I would much, much rather see his number on a banner than Fedorov’s. This post from Malik has two articles from the Edmonton Journal that sum up why.

Wings vs. Predators GP...

Wings vs. Predators @7 PM

1. The big question is the defense. While this one game obviously won’t be indicative of the next 4-8 weeks, it’ll be a preview into life with a defensive pairing that consists of Brett Lebda and Derek Meech. How many near heart attacks will those two tag team to give fans?
2. Ericsson finally got some powerplay time on Saturday. I think it’s safe to say that I liked him a lot better there than on the penalty kill. Reason dictates, however, that he’ll be seeing a lot of time on both special teams units in the coming weeks. How will he step up into his expanded role after a fairly shaky start?
3. Also regarding Ericsson, he’s slated to be paired with Stuart. How much will having a better partner improve his performance?
UPDATE (11/23/09 1:35 PM): It turns out Ericsson will actually be paired with Lidstrom. This is even better. It's no accident that his best games came when he was forced to fill in for Rafalski during the playoffs last season.
4. Where have all the goals gone? After netting 19 in 3 games, the Wings have only managed 4 (even if we count Brad May’s, 5 isn’t much better) over the last 3 games.

The Preds have come a long way from the days of their obnoxiously annoying tradition of squeaky air quotes fangs (They don’t do that anymore, right? I haven’t heard it in a while.) that inspired my siblings and me to take a picture in front of their building mocking them. They currently sit one point behind the Wings, so this would be kind a nice win to pick up.

Kronwall Update...

Well, the news on Nik Kronwall’s injury is both good and bad. It’s good in the sense that looking at the hit and knowing Kronner’s past knee issues, I immediately assumed that he’d be setting a date with a knee surgeon in the near future. From that perspective, the current estimate of 4-8 weeks seems like an early Christmas present.

However, if he were to come back in exactly four weeks, the absolute best-case scenario for his return, he would still miss 14 games. That’s right: 14 games minimum of a third pairing that consists of Derek Meech and Brett Lebda, but it’ll probably be closer to 20 because, let’s face it, that’s how this season’s gone. This next stretch of the schedule is as densely packed as I’ve ever seen, with numerous back-to-back games and only a couple of two-day breaks between games.

Losing Kronwall hurts even more because he’s been having the best year of his career so far. He’s currently ranked third in team scoring behind only the Eurotwins, and had absolutely been on a tear for the last couple of weeks. (And the fact that it came against the Habs, for whom I have always harbored a semi-irrational hatred only makes it that much worse.)

The NHL has apparently decided to review the hit to potentially punish Laraque further. Which is nice, but not particularly likely to help fill the hole on the blue line he caused. Predictably, the league asked for a medical report on Kronner to factor into their decision. This is a perfect example of why the disciplinary process is such a joke. It shouldn’t matter if he’ll be out for four weeks or four days, if the hit itself was dirty, it should be punished. (The same goes for headshots.) A dirty hit is a dirty hit whether the player on the receiving end has his career ended or shakes it off and doesn’t miss a shift. But we all know that’s not how the league rolls.

Wings 3, Canadiens 2 (SO): Post Game Snipes...

• The first period was absolutely ridiculous. Every time I thought the Habs’ parade to the penalty box was over, they got whistled again. I know the Wings scored two powerplay goals, but I felt like they should’ve had more. Especially since they had two extended 5-on-3s.
• In one single shift of destruction, Georges Laraque managed to cut Darren Helm with a high stick and take out Nik Kronwall’s knee. I was still worrying about Helm as he was collecting himself behind the play when I saw Kronwall go down. At that point, I was no longer particularly concerned with Helm's facial well-being. For his efforts, Laraque got six minutes in the box.
• I’m still not sure how Laraque only got a two-minute minor for his knee-on-knee hit on Kronner. I mean he still took six minutes of penalties at once (something I don’t ever recall seeing without a fight or a game misconduct being involved), but it was a dirty hit and there’s no place for stuff like that in the game.
• There’s no official word on Kronwall’s injury yet, but I can’t imagine it’s going to be good news. Babcock said “it ain’t pretty” when asked if he might be out months. CBC’s HNIC intermission report mentioned that the team thinks he suffered some MCL damage, so things certainly aren’t looking good. However, the Freep is reporting that, while we can expect him to miss 2-3 weeks minimum, it might only be a sprain. I’m choosing to assume the worst-case scenario of him being out for months, so on the off chance that it’s not that bad I’ll find myself excited instead of having my spirit crushed.
• The Wings, predictably, went to sleep in the third period and let the Habs claw their way back into the game.
• I don’t think I noticed the fourth line out there once all game.
• I like Jonathan Ericsson much better on the powerplay than the penalty kill. However, with Kronwall’s injury, he’s now one of the Wings’ top four defensemen. I’m not looking forward to seeing their defensive lineup on Monday. At all.
• Matt from On the Wings tossed out the idea of bringing Chris Chelios back into the fold. Signing him to a two-way contract would not be the worst thing in the world.
• At one point while waiting to start the rush, Brad Stuart paused behind the net to adjust the foot guards he’s apparently recently taken to wearing. He even took his glove off to take a second try at fixing it. Meanwhile, Montreal just kind of stood around in the neutral zone and watched him. I’m pretty sure that this incident was the single best argument against using the neutral zone trap that I’ve ever seen.
• Nick Lidstrom had a very rough game by his lofty standards. The third period was one of the worst that I’ve seen him play. And by that I mean that it was one of the approximately three instances in his career when he hasn't been a vision of perfection.
• Is it just me or is the FSN crew getting loopier and loopier every game?
  

GP Answers:
1. About halfway through the game, I caught the first rounds of that stupid “Ole” song. I know it’s semi-irrational, but I cannot stand hearing that.
2. We got treated to good Jimmy today. He didn’t have a whole lot of work in the first period, but he made some big saves when the Wings went to sleep later on in the game.
3. The Wings definitely slowed down toward the end of the game. That may be partially due to having to cycle 5 defensemen after losing Kronwall early, but I’ll give this one to Montreal.
4. Over the last couple of games, Pav has made it clear that Todd Bertuzzi is out of his league on the first line. A lot has been made of Datsyuk’s slow start, but you have to look at how many glorious opportunities he’s set his linemates up for only to see them fire it wide or whiff on the shot. For his part, Pav scored for the second game in a row and added a ceremonial tally in the shootout.
5. They were still buzzing tonight, but slightly less noticeable than they were on Friday. No breakaways for Helm, unfortunately.
6. The UM loss was tough, but losing Kronwall hurts more.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk
They both buried their shots in the shootout to ensure that the Wings limped away with two points tonight. I was going to give this to Hank on account of using his, “the puck was not my friend,” quote as a tiebreaker, but then Pav went and said, “Now it’s known I be try to dangle,” when discussing his shootout strategy, thus returning them to a deadlock.

Ville Leino gets the Golden Facepalm
His turnover led to the Canadiens’ first goal a whopping nine seconds into the third period. You could pretty much tell from that point on, things were going to be a challenge.

What I learned:
That this season could, in fact, get more depressing.

Wings vs. Canadiens GP...

Wings vs. Canadiens @7 PM

1. I really dislike the Canadiens. Despite the fact that they rarely face the Wings, I always take great joy in seeing them lose. I was thrilled to see their 100th anniversary season end in a first-round sweep. There’s something just absurdly arrogant about their fans. And that’s saying something coming from a Wings’ fan. So what antics are they going to come up with to make me want to throw things at my TV?
2. Jimmy Howard’s back in net tonight. I have to admit that he’s earned the start based on his performance during Ozzie’s illness. So will we see good Jimmy or the Jimmy who needs a dog shock collar to keep him in the crease?
3. Like the Wings, Montreal played last night so there’s no excuse for anyone about being “tired.” Who is going to have legs left for tonight?
4. Can Datsyuk follow up his strong game last night with another one?
5. Can the third line keep up the torrid pace it had in the game last night? Will Darren Helm manage to capitalize if he gets a breakaway?
6. Most importantly, will I have any voice left with which to yell at my TV or energy with which to care after the UofM game? It's my last in the Big House as a student, and let's face it, what this weekend's really all about. So, one last time: GO BLUE!!!

It's unclear if I'll be able to watch the game tonight or not, so no promises about a recap.

Wings 1, Panthers 2 (OT): Post Game Snipes...

• Darren Helm had not one, but two breakaways tonight. He didn’t score on either of them.
• He and Patrick Eaves were absolutely flying for the whole game.
• Scott Clemmensen did not look like a backup goalie tonight. I hate it when that happens.
• Can someone explain to me why the Wings are so terrible at overtime? I cannot wrap my head around that.
• After scoring 19 goals in 3 games, the Wings have managed only 3 2 goals in their last two games. It’s either feast or famine. A little more regularity would be nice.
• How miserable must it be to be a fan of a team that plays the trap like that? I don't know how you could stand to watch games like that 82 times every season.
• The Wings should've won this game. They had more than enough opportunities to put it away and didn't capitalize on them.
  

GP Answers:
1. Ozzie looked good during regulation. He wasn’t terribly tested, but he made some pretty good saves. The OT winner was weak, though.
2. They actually had a pretty quick start. They outshot the Panthers 11-2 in the first period. I had high hopes for the outcome of the game when I turned it off at that point to take care of other obligations.
3. Ericsson was, in fact, not involved in either of the Panthers’ goals. Kudos.
4. The tripping call on Miller was weak, but I prefer to save my complaining about penalty calls/non-calls for the playoffs. There weren’t really any horrendous moments.
5. Datsyuk certainly responded. I’m not sure Bertuzzi looked any better.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Pavel Datsyuk
He looked much more lively tonight. Babcock called him out and he certainly rose to the challenge. The Wings need him to get going.

Brian Rafalski gets the Golden Facepalm
I’m not sure exactly what he was doing on the Panthers’ tying goal, but it involved a lot of standing around and watching the puck get deposited into the Wings’ net.

What I learned:
Having twice as many shots on goal as your opponent does not mean that you will win a hockey game.

Wings vs. Panthers GP...

Wings vs. Panthers @7:30 PM

1. Obviously the big story of the night is Chris Osgood making his long-awaited return from a mysterious virus. How long will it take him to shake off the rust?
2. How will the team look after having a couple of days to stew about the blown call from Wednesday night? I’d like to see them come out with a little bit of fire and attitude, but then again, that’s what I would have liked to have seen immediately after the whole fiasco. The Wings have a tendency to play their best when they feel like they have an axe to grind, so hopefully we'll see a disgruntled bunch of guys out on the ice tonight.
3. How many goals is Jonathan Ericsson going to score for the Panthers tonight?
4. What spectacular display of incompetence will we see from the NHL’s officials tonight? This doesn’t even have to occur in the Wings’ game. Really, anything’s up for grabs.
5. Mike Babcock has called out the top line of Datsyuk, Bertuzzi, and Holmstrom. Datsyuk and Holmstrom were fairly invisible against Dallas, and the only reason anyone noticed Bertuzzi was because he kept making mind-boggling blind passes right to Stars. Babcock’s messages seem to have worked so far this season, so how will these guys respond?

It’s recently occurred to me that I keep asking all of these pre-game questions, but I very rarely bother addressing them in my post-game wrap-ups. I’m going to give that a shot starting tonight, even though I’m probably going to miss a good chunk of the game. And probably the one tomorrow.

Wings 1, Stars 3, Dennis LaRue 1: Post Game Snipes/Ranting...

Okay, I’m a little behind the ball on this one thanks to an epically long paper that I chose to hold off on writing until 48 hours before it was due. However, now that it’s all safely uploaded, I’m free to finally get my hockey-rant on. And, yes, rant I will. If you’re not in the mood for a good old-fashioned upbraiding of the league, you might try checking out a non-Wings blog for the time being. It’s been over 24 hours now, and this one still stings.

It’s frustrating as a fan of both logic and hockey to see these things that defy any standard of reason occur over and over again. Let’s not kid ourselves here. This is ugly, and it’s embarrassing for the league. If we want to move on to legislating things that are arguably judgment calls like, say, hits to the head, that’s going to be pretty darn hard if we can’t even figure out the simple things like whether or not the puck’s in the net.

Every person watching that game last night knew that the goal should have counted. The Dallas Stars knew that. So did their fans, come to think of it. Everyone, that is, but one Dennis LaRue. Because in the moment that the puck entered the net, he was apparently distracted by a bumblebee. Or something shiny.

His rationale for waving off a game-tying goal? It seems that he had already blown the play dead when the puck entered the net. He didn’t even bother to invoke Wings fans’ favorite “intent to blow” rule. He tried to tell us that not only did he intend to blow his whistle, he had, in fact, already done so. Never mind that there was clear evidence that this was a fantasy. Never mind that every standard of reason and logic said that it should have been a goal. Never mind that whatever shreds of credibility that the NHL’s officiating system had been clinging to were blown away along with the goal.

The league (admittedly to my surprise) issued a statement addressing the controversy that was amusingly labeled as an “explanation.” It managed to pretend to apologize for “apparently” blowing the call while at the same time supporting the decision process that led to the travesty. It really was an artful maneuver. Some people seem to think that the NHL’s admission of an issue represents intent to enact something to remedy similar situations in the future. I, however, am not nearly that optimistic. I will, as always, continue to expect the worst from the league until I am given concrete proof (something for which I have an innate respect, thus disqualifying me from ever being a part of the NHL’s staff).

If we’re to assume that the play was ended by LaRue’s intent to blow his whistle instead of the actual act of blowing it, we then have to question what on earth he was thinking. In order for this to be a legitimate reason, he would have had to have lost sight of the puck somewhere when it was out in the open. There was no scrum in front of the net. There were no bodies falling every which way and obstructing his view. There was no need to protect Alex Auld. If LaRue can’t keep track of the puck in that situation, he quite simply should not be refereeing games in the NHL. And the league’s “explanation” is tacitly admitting that much…but not really, because that would also involve an unseemly admission of fallibility.

And I haven’t even gotten to the issue of what was going on with the phone call from Toronto. I can’t believe I was actually relieved to see that they were going to weigh in on the situation. I mean, what’s the point of having a video review if they can’t overturn the ref? Even if he was adamant that he ended play before the puck ended up in the net, why couldn’t they say, “Listen, sunshine, we know you think you know what you saw, but we’ve got this fancy moving picture box here in Toronto that proves you’re delusional. Best not make fools of the whole lot of us.” Now I’m not normally an advocate of pulling rank, but if ever there was a time for that it was last night. (Yes, I understand that “intent to blow” calls are non-reviewable, but the sheer ridiculousness of that little rule is another rant for another night…or rather one that I seem to recall making sometime in the not too distant past.)

Do you honestly think that the NHL (or any employer for that matter) would tolerate that level of incompetence from anyone else on its payroll? If, say, an accountant made a catastrophic and incredibly public error while doing his or her job, how much longer do you think they’d be employed? If a member of the league’s legal staff screwed something up as epically as LaRue did, don’t you think they’d be polishing their resumes faster than you can say “intent to blow?” But for some reason, the league likes to imagine that its referees enjoy some mythical level of infallibility. Kind of like how Dennis LaRue imagined that he had blown the whistle before the puck ended up in the net.

And you know what one of the worst parts of this is? That it’s getting blown up into a Wings-fan-conspiracy-theorist debate. This is ironic, because I’ve spent a pretty good amount of time reading Wings blogs out there today, and I have yet to find one that is crying conspiracy. I fully do not believe that the NHL could be competent enough to pull of a conspiracy of the scale that size. Let’s be realistic. They can’t even figure out how to tell if a puck’s in the net, and you expect me to have a theory about an elaborate plot against my team? Please. That would require some level of competence, which clearly is not possessed by the NHL.

Instances like these are why it’s so difficult to be an NHL fan. Every single die-hard out there is a hockey fan because they made an active decision to become one. Hockey’s not an easy sport to get into, especially in the United States where it doesn’t have a presence like the other major sports. People are probably not going to stumble onto a game on tv when they’re flipping channels and they’re not going to discover it by watching mainstream media coverage. For the most part, we fans came to the sport, drawn in by family or friends who were fans before us. But how do we sell the game to others when we ourselves can’t even stand to think about the league? When the utter absurdity that emanates out of the league offices continues to baffle even those of us who know the game inside and out? When inconsistency and arrogance never fail to win out over justice and humility?

Honestly, sometimes I think that the fact that I keep coming back to watch games and spend my money night after night after horrendous mistake-filled night is clearly indicative of some level of masochism at best if not full-blown clinical insanity.

Post Game Snipes:

• I really would’ve liked the Wings to have come out with a little fire after getting robbed like that. It would’ve been a nice show of character from a team that still seems to be struggling to find an identity and consistency.
• Although, to be fair, I would’ve liked to have seen them show up to play from the beginning of the game instead of relying on Jimmy Howard of all people to keep them in the game.
• Speaking of Howard, he’s playing…well. He gave the Wings every chance to win last night, and they, with a little help from LaRue, chose not to take advantage.
• The one highlight was Henrik Zetterberg’s beautiful goal. Z is absolutely on fire. Keep it up, please. I want more.
• At one point during the first period (possibly in response to Brad May’s “slashing” penalty), I posted this on Twitter: “Another cheap call against the Wings. Is this really what I'm going to have to deal with all night?” Oh how sweet and naïve I was at that point. Little did I know what was lying in store for me.
• Babcock called May’s rant-inspiring non-goal (I’m still searching for what to title this one as The Goal That Wasn’t has already been assigned to Brad Watson’s playoff magic.), “as dumb as I’ve ever seen.” Which is putting it mildly…
• But really the killer quote out of all of this is the one from Alex Auld regarding the play. He said, “That’s the ref’s judgment call obviously. We caught a break there but I feel like you work for those too.” Now, I’m really curious as to what kind of “work” he put in to earn a gift like that. How exactly does one go about earning something like that? No really, do tell. We’d all like to know.
  

Cookies and Cupcakes for Jimmy Howard
I literally never expected that there would come a time when I would feel like he was the best Wing on the ice. And yet, there he was Wednesday night, keeping the score close enough that the non-goal will be causing us sleepless nights for weeks on end.

Jonathan Ericsson gets the Golden Facepalm
He had a beautiful tip-in during the first period. Unfortunately, it was into the Wings’ own net.

What I learned:
That no matter what reason and logic and your eyes tell your brain about reality, it’s still okay to ignore them in favor of your imagination.

Wings vs. Stars GP...

Wings vs. Stars @7:30 PM

1. So it appears that we won’t get to see Marty Turco tonight. That’s a shame, considering how he’s historically fared at the Joe. Will his backup manage to fail as spectacularly in Detroit as Marty has in the past?
2. I’ve seen different reports today regarding which Wings forward will be scratched. As of now, it sounds like Brad May will be in the lineup, though. Who’s taking bets on how long it’s going to take him to square off against one of the Stars? (Ott, anyone?)
3. Speaking of Ott, how many minutes into the game will it be before I begin throwing things at my TV whenever I see him on the ice?
4. Jimmy Howard is making his fourth straight start tonight. He was almost untested against Columbus, looked pretty solid against Vancouver, and looked shaky during the third period of the Anaheim game. All in all, it hasn’t been a bad run for him. I was starting to consider turning my opinion of him around until the issues toward the end of the game on Saturday caused me to hold off on that. Will he use tonight to continue work his way into my good graces as a reliable backup (please) or live up to my pre-season perceptions?

Okay, so I may or may not have phoned this one in. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something important here, but school and illness are forcing my hand. I might be on Twitter during the game tonight. I might not. It depends on how much of my gigantic paper that’s due tomorrow night that I get done before puck drop.

Off-Season Brilliance?...

So I got to thinking the other day about Ken Holland’s off-season work. And I came to a conclusion that I wouldn’t have expected a few months ago: Thank goodness the Wings didn’t re-sign Marian Hossa.

Now, I liked Hossa when he was here. I certainly wasn’t happy with his performance in the payoffs, but I liked him and I liked what he brought to the team. I kind of figured he’d be gone this summer and my only real problem with his departure was that he ended up in Chicago. I was kind of ambivalent about the possibility of re-signing him because while I liked the thought of another year of the kind of offensive firepower he brought, I knew it would be tricky to fill out a full roster with the kind of money it would take to keep him. And you know what? In the pre-lockout world, he would’ve been a Wing for life. And I would’ve been okay with that.

I also wasn’t thrilled with some of the free agent signings this summer, although that had a lot to do with my personal dislike of Bertuzzi and Williams. I questioned why Holland signed three bargain-priced guys instead of going after a bigger name with some scoring touch to replace what had been lost. While I still can’t say that I’ve entirely warmed to all of the new arrivals (Yes, Todd Bertuzzi, I’m looking at you.), we’re lucky that Ken Holland played his hand the way he did.

So far this season, the Wings have been dropping like flies (not to mention the fact that Hossa has yet to play a game), as the injury bug that began in the playoffs last season has blossomed into a full-on epidemic. The Wings’ depth has been tested as much as any point in recent memory, and it’s been an issue of having enough healthy bodies to field a lineup every night. Before picking Drew Miller up off of waivers, the Wings were dressing every healthy NHL forward they had. That includes Justin Abdelkader, who everyone expected to spend the majority of the season developing in Grand Rapids.

If the Wings had gone ahead and signed Hossa, it would’ve prevented them from making those additional signings (whose necessity I admittedly questioned back in August). Even with his salary coming off the books while he’s been on IR, the Wings would’ve had to have made more call-ups from Grand Rapids (none of the options are particularly appealing) or it would’ve forced Holland to make a move that probably wouldn’t have been beneficial to the Wings in the long run.

Anyway, whatever ambivalence I might have had at one time about Hossa’s departure has gone, and I’m just thankful that the Wings were able to sign three bodies with their precious salary-capped dollars. Even though Williams is one of the guys down with a long-term injury and Bertuzzi still makes me want to bang my head on a wall on a regular basis, I think it’s safe to say that Ken Holland made some wise decisions over the summer. I know there’s no way he could’ve foreseen the injury situation, but it’s just another example of why we Wings fans continue to subscribe to the motto “In Kenny We Trust.”

Wings 7, Ducks 4: Post Game Snipes...

• I live blogged the game from a bar tonight with two of my classmates. It was a pretty good moment in my college career. So if you happened to be out and about and you saw three people typing away on their laptops, there’s a pretty good chance it was us. I can't imagine that there were many other people out with a setup like that on Saturday night. I’m fairly certain our waitress thought we were nuts. Especially when we asked if there was any way we could move closer to an electrical outlet. Fun times. It probably would’ve turned out better if we hadn’t sat around talking the whole time instead of blogging. Maybe.
• Z scored a hat trick. Guess what I’ll be having for lunch tomorrow. I don’t think anyone else understood why I yelled, “Yes! Arby’s!” when he put it in the empty net. I’ve been coveting that for quite a while now, as it fits perfectly into my freegan lifestyle. He was buzzing all night. You just kind of had a sense that he was going to put one in eventually.
• The Wings looked excellent during the first period. I was pretty happy with their effort when they went to intermission. The second period was a little shaky, but they managed to escape with the lead. The third period was just...crazy-nutso, to quote the great Wayne Brady.
  
• During the third period, George Parros left his feet to hit Ericsson, driving his face into the boards. You know you got some good air when you manage to do that to the Big Rig.
• The Wings took a pretty obvious too many men on the ice penalty during the third. I was really confused because I was reasonably sure they were on the penalty kill, but there were actually 5 skaters on the ice. They realized and one of the guys bolted for the bench, but they got called anyway. This kind of made me wonder why that call couldn’t have been made in the Stanley Cup Finals. Apparently the NHL didn’t think of teaching their referees to count single digit numbers until this summer.
• Ericsson’s non-fight amused me a lot. While he never did quite get his helmet off, it was nice to see him step up and at least attempt to defend Z after he got mauled out in front of the net.
• It was nice to have a little confirmation that, yes, I do in fact still hate the Ducks.
  
• Cleary, Rafalski, and Helm also picked up goals for the Wings. Cleary's was briefly reviewed, and while I was fairly certain that it would count, after watching the video from last night's Toronto-Chicago game, I wasn't ready to take anything for granted.
  
• At one point, Brad Stuart made an awesome save in the crease. I can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure this was his best game of the season.
• Zetterberg had a 5-point night. Datsyuk had a goal. Kronwall had two assists. I mention this because all three of them are on the fantasy team that I’m matched up against this week. It figures that they would choose now to wake up. I can’t really complain, though.
• The Wings have scored 19 goals in their last 3 games. Not bad for a team that had 1,192 goals walk away in the off-season, eh? They’ve also already equaled their win total for all of October so far this month. They currently sit exactly one point behind Chicago for the division lead. I’d also like to point out that the Wings have scored 10 goals more than the Hawks have thus far, for what it’s worth.
• No games until Wednesday again. I hate long breaks like this. Don’t people know that I need my hockey fix? I guess it’s a good opportunity to get Ozzie healthy, though.
  

Cookies and Cupcakes for Henrik Zetterberg
Z finally, finally hooked the citizens of Hockeytown up with our long-awaited free Arby’s. As if, you know, we needed another reason to love him.

Jonathan Ericsson gets the Golden Facepalm
You know why. He apparently thought Christmas came early and decided to gift wrap a goal for Corey Perry. I’ve watched the replay of this goal several times now and I still don’t understand what he was thinking or trying to do or looking at.

What I learned:
That there is, in fact, such a thing as free Arby’s.