Red Wings 5, Predators 2: Post Game Snipes...

• Tonight was much more fun than Thursday was. It's always nice when the real Wings show up to play.
• I wasn't planning to go to the game, but my family attended the Hockeytown Authentic costume contest this afternoon in an attempt to win tickets. My brother and sister went in our two-person horse costume and ended up winning. Since my brother had a previous commitment, I got to be my sister's chaperone to the game. You can add our visit to Hockeytown today to the long list of ridiculous things I've done in the name of my Red Wings fandom.
• The team actually got off to a good start this time around. They slacked off a little in the second period, but still managed to hold off the Predators.
• During the second period, there was a play where Nashville had the puck at the blueline and TAWD dove at the defenseman and knocked the puck away. I have to give credit to him for making a nice defensive play, but in fairness to the Predator (I can't remember who it was), I'd give up the puck too if there was a serial killer lunging at me.
• Pavel Datsyuk is a ridiculous human being. Find me a better stick-handler in the NHL right now and I'll eat my hat.
• Jersey foul or not?
• One of the personal highlights of the game for me was introducing my little sister to the fine art of Kesler Dancing.
• There were quite a few people in costume at the Joe. My favorites were the guys dressed as the Blues Brothers who were running around high-fiving people on the concourse after the game. I also liked the dude in a Darth Vader mask that he had painted red. I though pairing it wit a Lidstrom jersey was a bit odd, since I would've thought a TAWD one would be more appropriate.

Hat Trick:
1. Ozzie's getting the start again. Here's hoping he looks better than he did on Thursday.
He looked much, much better, as did the rest of the team.

2. Nashville is inexplicably leading the division right now. Let's fix that.
Well, the Wings tied the Predators in the standings, but the Blackhawks jumped ahead with their victory over Minnesota. No worries, though. The Hawks have already played 13 games, as opposed to the Wings who've only played 9. Despite this disparity, the Hawks find themselves a mere 2 points ahead of the Wings.


3. Is the team going to show up on time for a change?
They looked much more prepared to start the game at puck drop tonight. The second period was a bit rough as they let Nashville carry the play more than any other time in the game, but they rebounded with a stronger third period.


Hero: Pavel Datsyuk
The man is on fire. He looks unstoppable out there right now. I said to my sister tonight that we're truly lucky to get to watch him play every night. Not many other guys out there can guarantee at least one moment of jaw-dropping brilliance during every game.

Villain: Shea Weber
He drilled Ozzie right in the mask near the end of the third period. Luckily Ozzie was fine, and the crowd spent the delay caused by his broken mask chanting “Ozzie! Ozzie!” just like old times. It made me smile.

Final Thought:
That game gave me some much-needed peace of mind to carry me through to Wednesday when the Wings finally play again. At least it's not Thursday, I guess.

Wings 3, Predators 2 (OT): Post Game Snipes...

• The night began with a turkey feast with my little sister’s Girl Scout troop. We dined on the turkey that I won while turkey bowling at the Joe the day before Thanksgiving. It was pretty tasty for something I picked up on the ice at a hockey rink and then carted around the stands for two periods.
• After seeing Helm take that puck to the face, one of my 12-year-old Girl Scouts suggested that the Wings should do the same to Nashville, that they should “aim for the nose, because that hurts the most.” Obviously, I’ve been a good role model. The girls did spend a lot of time distracting me so I missed large portions of the game.
• Unfortunately, I missed the goal in OT because I was too busy wrestling with my brother to prevent him from deleting an awkward picture that I took of him. I caught it on the replay though and managed to salvage the picture, so all is well. Although I have to say that when I walked back into the family room and saw the celebration, I actually thought they were replaying the end of last night’s game.
• Bert’s first goal was the result of a spin move that actually worked. It was incredible. His second goal was another beautiful “goal-scorer’s goal.” I’ve never quite figured out what that means, but it was fantastic.
• I don’t know if this makes me a bad person or not, but I was actually kind of relieved when I realized that Jordin Tootoo was the injured Predator. I certainly never want to see players get hurt, but if one guy had to go down...I feel like silencing the whistles was a public service. I was just glad that I wouldn’t have to spend the rest of the game listening to them.
• The Wings’ PK streak ended at eight games and twenty-seven straight kills during the second period. While it was disappointing to see the streak end, it was going to happen eventually. That’s a pretty darn good run, and they need to keep up the good work. Now if we could just get that powerplay sorted out.
• Pavel Datsyuk had two assists tonight. Ken and Mickey originally wanted to award Miller’s goal to him, but his shot had clearly gone off the crossbar.
• Miller’s goal got reviewed briefly, and even though the replays clearly showed that his stick was below the crossbar…I was nervous that they would find some excuse to call it back.
• Not only did the Wings score first, but they also built up a two-goal lead. I was totally confused...until they let Nashville tie the game during the third period and force overtime.
  
• I never really had anything against Shea Weber before, but he certainly earned his way onto my list tonight.
• Since nobody was able/willing to believe what happened during OT last night, the Hockey Gods went and made it happen again. I think we’ve finally arrived in Wonderland because none of this makes any sense at all. I keep looking around and all I see is Todd Bertuzzi grinning at me like a gap-toothed Cheshire Cat.
  

GP Answers:
1. Ville Leino finally picked up a point last night, and Todd Bertuzzi came through with two goals. They’ve been the focus of much of the criticism for underproduction this season. Can the two of them build on the Anaheim game and keep putting up points?
Leino wasn’t completely invisible, but he still needs to do more. Bertuzzi, However, stole the show again. When he broke the scoreless tie in the second period, he had accounted for the last three Wings goals. He now has four of the last five. Not only that, but he’s also scored two straight OT game-winners. Yeah, I know. It’s hard for me to believe too. I love how confident he looks and how much fun he seems to be having out there. If he keeps this up, he may just make a convert out of me.

2. I haven’t seen the Wings’ starter announced anywhere, but I haven’t exactly had a lot of time to go looking for it. Based on the back-to-back rotation thingy Babcock likes to do, I’m assuming we’ll see Osgood in net tonight. Will we get treated to playoff Ozzie or regular season Ozzie tonight?
Osgood was fine. I’m not entirely sure what he was doing on the second Nashville goal, but there was so much else going on during that play that I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

3. During the post-game last night, Mickey Redmond was already getting feisty about those stupid train whistles the Nashville fans seem to enjoy using all the time. Keep in mind that this is also the same franchise that used to do the ridiculous screechy air-quote fangs. No team has the right to be that obnoxious, especially one that’s never won a playoff series. How long will I last before I have to mute the TV to keep from throwing things at it?
I had to watch the first period with the TV on mute anyway and then with Tootoo gone there was little whistle-blowing for the remainder of the game. My TV was quite relived to be saved from being pelted with whatever was within my reach.

4. Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been missing an absurd amount of shots that they should be putting on net and/or burying. The Eurotwins need to collectively recalibrate their targeting computers or something. Datsyuk had the game on his stick during the final minute of the Ducks game, and hit the side of the net. Zetterberg had a great scoring opportunity in close at one point and sent his shot about 300 feet wide of the net (Go ahead, challenge my measurements if you want. I dare you.). It’s like the two of them have caught Mikael Samuelsson cooties or something. Will they be able to figure out their issues tonight, or will I spend another game pulling my hair out?
Datsyuk had two assists tonight, but they both had issues putting the puck on the net. If they start burying half of their chances…

Cookies and Cupcakes for Todd Bertuzzi
He scored two goals tonight, including the overtime winner. If that doesn’t earn you free dessert, I don’t know what does. His second goal came off of an absolutely ridiculous shot move. Please, please let this carry over and get him on a roll. (Copy/pasted from last night’s Post Game Snipes with the exception of the one correction. I don’t know what to make of this.)

Derek Meech gets the Golden Facepalm
I don’t know if the second goal can really be pinned on him, but he’s due for one of these and I couldn’t single anyone else out who I felt deserved this.

What I learned:
Maybe my dad was right about Todd Bertuzzi…