Red Wings 3, Devils 1: Post Game Snipes...

• I love it when I can snag a good feed.
• That chance Mule missed in the dying seconds of the second period was killer. At least he capitalized on his chance at the end.
• The next time a Wing goes down after blocking a shot is more than likely going to send me into cardiac arrest.
• I really dislike playing the Devils.
• Isn't it nice when the Wings manage to not give up boatloads of goals?

Hero: Darren Helm
That kid knows how to kill a penalty. Plus, he found some hands and finished on a nice break.

Villain: Brian Rolston
For tying the game up and making us sweat for the next two periods until the Wings took the lead back.

Final Thought:
The next time the Wings suit up, there lineup will most likely include Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary. I'd say that's an upgrade.

Red Wings vs. Devils GP...

Red Wings: 29-13-6

Devils: 16-29-3

Red Wing Zen:

Pavel Datsyuk

12-27-39, +/- 8, 11 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Johan Hedberg

6-10-1, 2.91 GAA, .896 SV%

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

• The Wings got off to quite a start with two goals before most people were even in their seats. I don't have much for this one because I spent most of the game daydreaming about the epicness I'd just witnessed at the Big Chill (more on that later).
• The game was another one of those Eurotwins nights that I love so much.
• Ericsson got into what was allegedly a fight, but really just looked like a hugging contest.
• We watched the game at the viewing party at Motor City Casino. I was particularly fond of the free pizza. They also had trivia contests, giveaways, and games. One of those games was an Xbox set up with NHL '11. People were playing this while the game was on. Why? You can play video games at home. No need to drag yourself to a casino in Detroit.
• My favorite part about Datsyuk's goal was how nonchalant he was about it. When he took the pass from Zetterberg in the corner, he looked like he said, “Eh, I guess I'll score now.”

Hero: Chris Osgood
He played stellar last night. I was really hoping he'd pull off the shutout so I could say that neither one of my teams surrendered a goal all day, but it wasn't meant to be.

Villain: Patrick Elias
He scored early in the third period to get the Devils on the board and give me a reason to boo for the first time that day.

Final Thought:
The game was the perfect cap to a perfect day.  I couldn't have asked for a better day of hockey.

Red Wings vs. Devils GP...

Red Wings: 18-6-3

Devils: 8-18-2

Red Wing Zen:

Darren Helm

2-4-6, +/- 5, 2 PIM

(Yes, I know Helm was on here yesterday.  I just do what the random number generator says.)

Point and Laugh:

Matt Taormina

3-2-5, +/- -2, 2 PIM

2010-2011 Player Profiles: Tomas Holmstrom...

Hey, kids, guess what? Hockey's almost here. That means it's time for me to get back into this whole blogging thing that I've neglected during the off-season. Since I lack the creativity to come up with a new gimmick, I decided to continue the Player Profiles series I did last year leading up to the season. I'll be taking a look at a different player (almost) every day between now and when hockey starts. By my count, there are 17 days until the Wings open the regular season. Get excited. Today's subject:

Tomas Holmstrom

2009-2010 Regular Season: 68 GP, 25-20-45, +/-5, 60 PIM

2010 Playoffs: 12 GP, 4-3-7, +/- 3, 12 PIM

Season Highlight:  Scoring his 200th goal in classic Homer fashion against New Jersey.  (It always seems like he should have more goals than that after all these years.)

Season Lowlight:  Letting Brett Lebda break his foot in practice.

After struggling with injuries in recent years, Homer had a bit of a resurgence last season. He missed some time due to a broken foot suffered during practice (Thanks, Lebda.), but was one of the Wings' most consistent scorers. He ended up contributing a much higher thane expected 25 goals during the regular season. Despite what the media would have you believe, there's still nobody better at screening opposing goalies and causing havoc in front of the net than #96.

Homer's still an essential part of the powerplay, and he's slated for first line duty with the Eurotwins this season. If he stays healthy, he should once again be racking up tip-ins and “unofficial” assists. There are few things more enjoyable to Wings fans than seeing Homer make life miserable for opposing goalies. Plus, any interview with the man is bound to be entertaining, for sure.

What he needs to do to make me smile: Keep introducing goalies to his backside.

Interview with Alexey from Red Wings Grinder...

Today's Q&A is with Alexey from the great Russian-language blog Red Wings Grinder. Once again, the magic of Google Translator makes it possible for me to be a regular reader. Alexey can also be found on Twitter @Lexa1523.

How did you first become a fan of the Red Wings? Why did you choose them over other pro teams?

It was in the middle of 90-s when we got satellite-TV (I think 94-95 lockout season). We were lucky to get this gadget from my father’s friends, ‘cause it was a real rarity in Russia in that time. So, I could watch FOX Sport (not sure, I was only 9-10 y.o. but I think it was FOX). You know, I don’t remember why I chose Red Wings. Maybe I liked their colors/logo or it was just my destiny...And the best thing of that time I remember is finals against Devils… I was totally disappointed but became a real fan of Wings. Then it was Russian Five, Grinders Line, Cups… I think you know what I mean )))

How large is the community of Wings fans where you live? Are there a lot of other NHL fans?

There are a lot of Red Wings fans all over the Russia – from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. Most of them became fans in the end of 90-s during the “Russian Five Era”. But I know guys, who cheer for Red Wings sins late 80-s!!! Real dinosaurs!

Recently there appeared a lot of fans of Capitals and Penguins (I think it’s not difficult to guess why ;) ). And of course there are a lot of fans of other teams – Canucks, Leafs, Avalanche, Devils, Rangers etc. You know actually there are fans of all NHL teams in Russia.

What do you do to follow the team? Is it difficult to see games or find news about the Wings or the NHL in general?

We live in the Internet era and it’s not difficult to get the latest news about everything. So about Wings and NHL in general – all you need is to know language. Another matter – watching games. Unfortunately (I don’t understand why) Center Ice is not provided for Russian Federation. So our only way to see NHL games – two cable channels – “NTV+” (2-3 games per week) and “Viasat Sport” (ESPN America) – a lot of games. But not all the games. So we have to use illegal ways as justin.tv and other web-streams.

And yeah – it’s really difficult to watch every game live (as I try to do), because 7p.m. in Michigan is 3a.m. in Moscow… So, you can only imagine how I feel the next day at work...! ))) But it’s nothing ‘cause I know that the final point – Lord Stanley’s Cup and I’m ready for sleepless nights for this main goal!

What made you decide to start blogging about the Wings?

There are some Russian message boards and guest books about NHL in general and about red Wings. But when you post there something interesting you can’t find it in two days because of tons of posts and threads… So, I think it’s a good idea to create a place where all Russian-speaking fans could find the latest Red Wings news, games previews and reviews, interesting videos, exclusive interviews with players and other stuff in Russian. And another important thing is archive – all materials are available on the blog and every one could find something in archive.

Have you ever had the chance to see them play in person?

Yes, sure!

My first meeting with Red Wing was amazing. During the World Championship 2007 in Moscow I met The Captain – Steve Y! I was really excited to see him and shake his hand, but when he agreed to answer my questions – no words to describe my feelings! So, it was my first interview and first meeting with Red Wings. After that I spoke to another legendary person – Scotty Bowman!

And this season I saw the Red Wings’ play! It was in Stockholm. Two games against Blues. Unfortunately Wings lost both of them, but all the way it was amazing. I met a lot of interesting people there – Ken Deniels, Andreas Lilja, Ken Kal and others, got a lot of autographs and the main thing – I SAW RED WINGS IN GAME! I’m going to post a big photo & video report of that trip in December at my blog – don’t forget to check it out! )))

What is your favorite hockey memory?

It’s a difficult question, because it’s almost impossible to choose one or two favorite memories. There were a lot of great games, but I think my favorite is the last game in 1997 finals against Flyers and DMac’s great one-on-one goal! Another one great memory is a story of Darren McCarty’s come back and 08’ Stanley Cup. It’s a true story for Hollywood movie! And for sure I have to say again about my meeting with Mr. Yzerman and my first visit to the Red Wings game (in Stockholm).

Who is your favorite player on the roster right now? Why?

I like old school hockey. My favorite line is Grinders Line. I like tough guys and power forwards. No doubts I like Pav, Hank, Lids, Mule and others very much, but I can name 4 favorite guys. Three of them belonged to Red Wings organization for a long time – here we go with Draper, Maltby and Osgood. And the 4th one represents the new generation of Red Wings Grinders. Ladies and gentlemen, pleeeease welcome, numbeeeeeeer fortyyyyyy threeee - Darrrrrrrrren Heeeeelm!!!)))

So, these are my favorite players of current roster, but my favorite Wings of all times – Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and the best one – Darren McCarty!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d like to say GREAT THANKS to all Red Wings Bloggers, who provided us with great articles, interesting opinions, funny jokes and a lot of very interesting information about the best team in PRO Sport - Detroit Red Wings!!!

It’s a big honor for me to become step by step a little part of Red Wings Community. Unfortunately I have no free time to translate my blog in English, but I hope it’s not a barrier to our communication! Thank you Kris for this questions, Thanks Red Wings bloggers and fans! GO WINGS!!!!!!!

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

• Ozzie looked good early in the game. He made some downright awesome saves. Then he let in that second goal. Oh, Chris, why must you torment me so? He did get things together after that and made some other timely saves.
• The Devils’ first goal was the result of blown defensive coverage. I’m looking at you, Homer.
• Homer did, however, manage to redeem himself with an absolutely gorgeous tip-in for his 200th career goal during the second period. After geeking out about the beauty of the tip-in, I paused to wonder about what my enjoyment of that says about my mental state. However, I decided that nothing good could come from investigating that avenue, so I quickly returned to my usual pastime of not thinking.
• Draper’s goal was the result of a nice second effort. I always like it when guys like Drapes score.
• Patrick Eaves also scored a goal. As Mickey said, “There’s a reward for gutting it out.” I’m still not 100% sure why he was wearing the cage on his helmet after crashing into the boards, but I was glad to see him back on the ice. I like his signing more and more all the time.
• After the first period, I was concerned that Marty Brodeur was planning on pitching a shutout against the Wings to tie Terry Sawchuck’s record. This would’ve been simply unacceptable. The Wings did not look good at all at the start of the game. I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to dig themselves out of their 2-goal hole and at least earn a point.
• Brad Stuart saved a goal after Ozzie somehow let it bounce over his head and land smack in the crease. The puck was inches from crossing the goal line when he scooped it out. It turned out that that play was worth a point in the standings.
• I have absolutely no idea why Ville Leino was selected to go in the fourth round of the shootout. I would’ve gone with Eaves or Cleary over him any day. You know, someone who’s demonstrated an ability to play hockey recently.
• During the second period, there was a play (that I really can’t describe) in which the puck squirted out in front of the Wings’ vacant net. We couldn’t see the rest of the zone because of the camera angle, so I naturally assumed that there would be a Devil there waiting to pounce on the loose puck. Instead, Nick Lidstrom was there to scoop it up and I was greatly relieved. I feel like this is the story of my life.
• Mickey and Ken also spent some time debating whether or not a save that Brodeur made during the ’95 Finals on Kris Draper was a goal. Mickey wants the entire series to be replayed on that stupid show on FSN. He adamantly claims that it was in the net. Oh, Mickey, I love you.
• Pav was the only Wing to score in the shootout. Zetterberg, Bertuzzi (who pulled an awesome move but missed the net), and the aforementioned Leino were stopped by Brodeur. Ozzie got beaten on a couple of fantastic moves from Devs forwards. Despite that softie he let in in the first period, I was pretty pleased with his performance tonight.
• How much better has Ericsson looked since getting paired up with Nick Lidstrom? Of course, he’s paired up with Nick Lidstrom, so that probably has something to do with it. But still…he’s stepped things up lately.
• One of these games, the Wings are actually going to show up to play the first period. One of these games…
• During his post-game interview, Patrick Eaves had his long hair hanging all over in front of his face. It was driving me crazy just looking at it. I know from experience that that is the most annoying thing ever. I wanted to just reach through my TV screen and brush it out of his eyes. As I was typing that sentiment on TweetDeck, John Keating went and said the exact same thing. I was thoroughly disturbed even though I can’t quantify exactly why.
  

GP Answers:
1. Well, the good news is that it appears that Ericsson will be playing tonight (Does anyone even want to think about what the defensive lineup would’ve looked like if he wasn’t able to go tonight?). Of course, I won’t really believe that until I see him skate a shift, but I’m cautiously optimistic. However, it looks like Rafalski’s still going to be sitting out, so we’ll be seeing more of Jakub Kindl. I’m less terrified of this than I would have expected myself to be, and I don’t think holding him out of an extra game is the worst thing in the world. The last thing the Wings need is for his sore back to turn into another long-term injury. Still, the question needs to be asked: how’s the defense going to do tonight?
Again, the defense wasn’t the problem tonight. For the most part, the whole defensive unit was pretty invisible. That’s exactly how I like my d-men. It usually means that they’re not making mistakes. Kindl again looked fine. He also had three minutes more ice time than Derek Meech did for what it’s worth.

2. The Wings have had some issues lately running into backup goalies who play far above their ability against the team. Now that they’re facing a true top of the line goalie in Martin Brodeur, will they be able to catch a break or two?
Brodeur was good, but not unbelievable. No softies, but he wasn’t tested much until the third period.

3. The Wings have a long and storied history of mirroring the ability of their opponents. New Jersey’s currently sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference and boasts one of the best goalies in the league. Will the Wings show up to match their level of play tonight?
This was a horrendous question. I don’t even know how to answer it. I’m leaning toward ‘no’ though.

4. It appears that Chris Osgood will be starting tonight. How will he look after seeing Jimmy Howard get three straight starts?
As stated above, Ozzie made a ton of good saves. He did, however let in that one weak goal, which marred his performance a little.

5. This is the last day of Todd Bertuzzi’s free pass from me. How will he choose to use it? He’s had a decent few games since scoring that goal in the shootout, so here’s hoping he keeps it up.
I didn’t really notice him much during the game. While I have previously stated that I prefer my defensemen that way, I like to see a little more action from the forwards. On the plus side, he didn't do anything that made me yell at the TV, though. He pulled a great move in the shootout, but couldn’t finish. Even though I offered him another week of no criticism. For the record, I also offered this to Leino prior to his attempt, but had no takers. This is mildly relieving because I don’t like feeling constrained with my words.

6. Mike Babcock appears to have decided to reunite the Flying Circus line. Any time I see the Eurotwins out on the ice together it makes me happy. Will it be a glorious reunion that brings joy to all the good little Wings fans out there or will the concentration of scoring ability on that line relegate the rest of the forward units to a level of abject ineffectiveness? Only time will tell.
They didn’t spend the whole game together and Babcock seemed to be shuffling the lines a bit. I was hoping their little reunion would help wake Datsyuk up, but he didn’t do a whole lot tonight.

7. The Devils are holding a pre-game ceremony honoring their 1995 Cup team. It’s nice of them to wait until the Wings came to town. Oh well, if they had to lose that ’95 series to set up the run they went on afterward, I’m okay with it. However, the Wings have another tradition of being completely listless after pre-game ceremonies. Will they be unfocused as a result of the celebration, or actually come to play?
Hmmm…they sleepwalked through the first period and most of the second and then miraculously woke up in the third. I hate writing about this all the time.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Patrick Eaves
He came back from his ankle injury only to suffer some sort of mysterious facial injury in the first period. He responded by returning with a cage on his helmet and scoring a huge goal for the Wings. He was all over the place tonight.

An Extra Stick Tap for Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom
Stuart gets the tap for saving that goal. Plain and simple. He also played pretty darn well the rest of the night. Homer was up to his usual antics all night, and except for that defensive lapse had a fantastic game. Plus, he scored his 200th goal and I really think that’s worth at least a stick tap. I really hope Eaves shares his cookies and cupcakes with them.

Ville Leino gets the Golden Facepalm
This was tough because I had a hard time singling any particular Wing out. However, Leino made a bunch of lousy turnovers again and continued his streak of uselessness. He also failed in the shootout. And I’m really starting to dislike him. I refuse to maintain objective here.

What I learned:
That I am irrationally amused by brilliant hockey plays. And that I need to get a life. Okay, so maybe I knew all of that already....

Wings vs. Devils GP...

Wings vs. Devils @7 PM

1. Well, the good news is that it appears that Ericsson will be playing tonight (Does anyone even want to think about what the defensive lineup would’ve looked like if he wasn’t able to go tonight?). Of course, I won’t really believe that until I see him skate a shift, but I’m cautiously optimistic. However, it looks like Rafalski’s still going to be sitting out, so we’ll be seeing more of Jakub Kindl. I’m less terrified of this than I would have expected myself to be, and I don’t think holding him out of an extra game is the worst thing in the world. The last thing the Wings need is for his sore back to turn into another long-term injury. Still, the question needs to be asked: how’s the defense going to do tonight?
2. The Wings have had some issues lately running into backup goalies who play far above their ability against the team. Now that they’re facing a true top of the line goalie in Martin Brodeur, will they be able to catch a break or two?
3. The Wings have a long and storied history of mirroring the ability of their opponents. New Jersey’s currently sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference and boasts one of the best goalies in the league. Will the Wings show up to match their level of play tonight?
4. It appears that Chris Osgood will be starting tonight. How will he look after seeing Jimmy Howard get three straight starts?
5. This is the last day of Todd Bertuzzi’s free pass from me. How will he choose to use it? He’s had a decent few games since scoring that goal in the shootout, so here’s hoping he keeps it up.
6. Mike Babcock appears to have decided to reunite the Flying Circus line. Any time I see the Eurotwins out on the ice together it makes me happy. Will it be a glorious reunion that brings joy to all the good little Wings fans out there or will the concentration of scoring ability on that line relegate the rest of the forward units to a level of abject ineffectiveness? Only time will tell.
7. The Devils are holding a pre-game ceremony honoring their 1995 Cup team. It’s nice of them to wait until the Wings came to town. Oh well, if they had to lose that ’95 series to set up the run they went on afterward, I’m okay with it. However, the Wings have another tradition of being completely listless after pre-game ceremonies. Will they be unfocused as a result of the celebration, or actually come to play?

Okay, I know I said I probably wasn’t going to get a GP up today…and then I went and wrote the longest one ever. It helps that it’s only a half hour until puck drop and I’m already gearing up for the game. Also, I just noticed that tonight's Post Game Snipes will be my 200th post. When I started writing this nonsense, I fully expected to lose interest in it after a couple of weeks and forget I'd ever started a blog. It turns out that it's somehow managed to not only hold my interest, but to become ridiculously fun to write...and a giant black hole into which my very limited time gets sucked on a daily basis. So thanks for reading. I can't believe that I made it this far.

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.