Red Wings 1, Ducks 4: Post Game Snipes...

• The Wings’ powerplay makes me sad.
• They actually looked for the first few minutes. My attention was slightly divided between the WJC Final and the Wings game, but they looked like they had some jump. Then they got that first powerplay and gave up a shorthanded goal and the rest of the period was just a hot mess.
• During the first intermission, Keating accidentally called the Wings the Denver Red Wings. He’s officially banned for life. Of all the teams to mash up…unforgivable. Unacceptable. A travesty. A shamockery…you get the idea. The craziness continued after his interview with Z later on that break.
• Zetterberg joked that, “This is the first time the injured guys needed a bus to get to the game.” He also did an epic job at looking nonchalant and pretending like he didn’t notice that Keating was being weird again. I’m pretty sure he ran away as soon as the camera shut off, though.
• Team USA won the WJC. It’s not really Wings-related, but I was pretty excited. Especially since they looked horrible after they gave up two goals with less than three minutes left in the third to go to OT.
• Ritola had a fantastic move on a chance on Hiller. It was pretty, but he couldn't finish it.
  
• I hate Brad Watson.
• We somehow ended up talking about Man Pocky on Twitter during the game. @jennyquarx and I are starting a campaign to make its use as slang for attractive men universal. Get on board.
• Filppula scored his first goal since his glorious return from IR.
• There were more fights in this game than I’ve seen in a Wings game in a long time. Not that May’s and Bertuzzi’s were really great fights or anything.
• Where on earth was Datsyuk tonight? He apparently got an assist on Flipper’s goal, but for the life of me, I can’t remember seeing him on the ice more than once or twice. That’s not the kind of performance the Wings needed from their top gun.
• This game was definitely not worth staying up this late. I have to get up at 5:30 AM.
  

GP Answers:
1. Every time the Wings play Anaheim, I have to ask myself the same question: What will the Ducks do tonight to make me hate them even more?
Darren Helm got smoked on a hit before he’d touched the puck during the second period. The Wings got a powerplay out of it (and of course didn’t score), but I was just relieved that he wasn’t hurt.

2. When is Nick Lidstrom going to score a goal again? It’s been the better part of a decade since he put one in the net, and I’m going to copy/paste this into every GP until he does.
No dice tonight.

3. Cleary and Zetterberg are expected back on Thursday (*fingers crossed*). That means two guys are going to be headed to Grand Rapids or the press box. I had my money on Ritola being the first to go, but now that he’s being kept in the lineup over Leino tonight, who knows what could happen? Tonight would be a really good time for one (or more) of the bubble guys to have a “statement game.” Will it be May who starts sitting regularly? Leino (answer: most likely)? Maltby? What about Ritola? They have to know that they’re on the bottom rung of the ladder, so it would be nice to see them playing like they have something at stake.
Nobody stepped up. Nobody at all.

4. Is getting a powerplay actually going to be an advantage for the Wings tonight? It’s probably (hopefully) the last chance for some of the guys on the 2nd unit to show their stuff tonight, so maybe they’ll take advantage.
No. In fact, their lousy first powerplay and the shorthanded goal that Anaheim scored on the PK seemed to suck the life right out of the Wings. Their second go-round seemed to actually resemble a powerplay, but still…it’s pathetic.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Valtteri Filppula
He scored the Wings’ only goal to make the game close in the third period. Since nobody else really felt like doing much apparently, he wins the baked goods.

An Extra Stick Tap for Derek Meech
I liked his fight in the second period because it was the right kind of fight. He got hit and didn’t like it so he started the fight. It wasn’t staged or planned or any of that nonsense. I liked it.

Todd Bertuzzi gets the Golden Facepalm
He made a glorious pass…right to Saku Koivu that lead to the Ducks’ shorthanded goal. He also missed a glorious opportunity in front of the net on a powerplay in the second. I don’t know how he didn’t bury that one.

What I learned:
The Wings appear to be blissfully unaware of the fact that they’re currently sitting outside of the playoff picture and lack any sense of urgency.