Caption Fridays Volume Seven...

Caption Fridays disappeared for a while because I sort of ran out of pictures.  I don't get to go to games now that I'm not based in Detroit, so my stash was running low.  Luckily, I got to go to a game when I was home for Thanksgiving, and our seats were perfectly positioned for me to get some good caption fodder shots.  This one is my favorite:

Red Wings vs. Ducks GP...

Red Wings: 5-5-1

Ducks: 5-5-3

Red Wings Zen:

Point and Laugh:

Video Candy:

Red Wings vs. Wild GP...

Red Wings: 5-3-0

Wild: 3-3-3

Red Wing Zen:

Point and Laugh:

Video Candy:

Red Wings 5, Senators 3: Post Game Snipes...

• How great did it feel to drop the puck on the new season? Birds were singing, there were rainbows, and unicorns frolicked in my living room. Actually, that's a lie. It was pouring outside and I was trying to clean pizza sauce off of the couch when the game started, but that's how I felt in my mind.
• I pretty much love Budd Lynch. His voice makes me happy. Sometimes I wonder if the players slip him cash to mispronounce their buddies' names as a joke. That's what I'd do if I was a hockey player, anyway. Either way, I love it.
• I think Ozzie's officially the most beloved goaltending coach of all time, judging by his introduction tonight.
• The pre-game ceremony with Brad McCrimmon's family was nice. It was super sweet (and a little heartbreaking) when his son put on the jersey that he was presented.
• If I had to predict which one of the Wings would give the most awkward hugs, I'd choose Pavel Datsyuk.
• It's a good thing that they switched to those low-energy goal lights at the Joe before the opener what with the Wings scoring five goals and all.
• I know some people want to panic about the three goals that the Wings gave up towards the end of the game, but I'd like them to take a deep breath and a chill pill (yeah, I actually used that phrase). They let up on a big lead late in the game against a lousy team. Of course, in an ideal world, the team would be absolutely flying for every minute of every game, but that would only be realistic if they were all robots. Nick Lidstrom aside, that's just not the case. Let's wait and see for a few more games before we start hyperventilating, ok?
• Speaking of Lidstrom, Datsyuk's apparently been teaching some of his dangling tricks. He pulled a nice move waltzing in on Anderson for his goal.
• Cory Emmerton is evidently the first Red Wing in possession of a Twitter account to score a goal in an NHL game. Because you needed to know that.
• I liked pretty much everything about Bert's goal.
• So how about those special teams, eh?
• We're only one game in, but consider me sold on the Ian White signing. He was impressive all night. I will, however, continue to call him Not-Kirk-Maltby until further notice because I don't handle change very well. That's what happens when you take over the number of one of my childhood icons.
• Please, pretty please let Hudler continue doing what he did tonight all season long.

Final Thought:
There is nothing worse than spending the hockey off-season in Florida. I'd take a never-ending Michigan winter with permanent hockey season over four hockey-less months in this live-in oven.

Red Wings 4, Maple Leafs 2: Post Game Snipes...

• Hey, look, I'm actually writing a game recap! This one comes to you courtesy of the fact that I have to work in the morning and had to skip a night out with my roomies. And also my rage over the Lupul goal/Howard's injury. It's always nice to put a good rant down on paper (or, you know, the internet) every once in a while.
• The first was one of the best periods I've seen the Wings play in a while. Passes were crisp. Their puck possession was dominant. Even though it ended tied at one, the Wings looked to be in control.
• The second was a little rockier, and the Wings found themselves in penalty trouble toward the end.
• They took a 2-1 lead into the premature intermission thanks to a classic Homer deflection in front of the net. How sad is it that his first reaction to the goal was to look over at the ref to make sure he wasn't going to wave it off?
• Since Dion Phaneuf's shot broke a pane of glass during a Toronto powerplay with a couple of minutes left in the second, the teams took intermission early to avoid a long delay. This kind of played in Toronto's favor since they got clean ice for the second half of their powerplay, but it ended up not mattering. The Wings took another penalty right before the carryover time wound down anyway.
• The real disaster came in the third period when Jimmy Howard went down with an injury. I've got some ranting to do about the ensuing goal, but I'd happily spot the Leafs ten such goals if it meant that Jimmy finished the game healthy. All this talk of the Baby Pegger (who, despite being my favorite goalie prospect for his Training Camp snipe, I have absolutely no desire to see in a Wings uniform right now) possibly being called up has me in full RSV mode.
• Just to be clear, in the NHL, this is not a goal, but this is. Listen, I like to think I'm a pretty smart lady, but I once again find myself confounded by events in an NHL game. I fail to see how a goal can be called back one night because a goalie initiated contact with a skater who was outside of the crease because of “incidental contact,” and then a few nights later, have a goal stand when a player bumped into the goalie in the crease and proceeded to fall on his back, pinning him to the ice. Take the jerseys the players are wearing out of the question. Only in the NHL does this make sense. Or at least we're supposed to think it makes sense. Or something. I'm not sure anyone really gets it.
• Luckily for the Wings (and my sanity), Jiri Hudler put them back in the lead for good with a quick shot off of a rush.  Check out this picture of his celebration at your own risk.
• Justin Abdelkader was all over the ice tonight. He must've had at least thirty brilliant chances. He didn't finish any of them, but it was a nice effort. Plus, he got into a fight after a big hit on Rafalski, which was also nice to see.
• It looks like Rafalski got lucky after the hit, as his knee brace protected him. It looked pretty bad at first though. I would've been pretty happy if that was the scariest moment of the game. Now that the playoffs are approaching, I'm becoming increasingly paranoid.
• Nick Lidstrom broke up a great scoring chance for the Leafs with a brilliant defensive play. You know, just another day at the rink for him. Sorry, boys, he's just better than you. It's not mean; it's just a fact. Please never leave us, Nick.
• On the other end of the defensive spectrum, Brett Lebda played exactly as you would expect Brett Lebda to play.  How's that Stanley Cup experience treating you now?
• Hey Maple Leafs fans: Todd Bertuzzi's empty net goal effectively ended your team's slight playoff hopes. TAWD Bertuzzi. Hahahaha. Snack on that for lunch.

Hero: Joey MacDonald
He's been astoundingly solid in his last few games, and performed admirably after taking over for Jimmy in the third. I still don't like it one bit, but I guess it does offer some glimmer of hope.

Villain: Joffrey Lupul
Bet you saw that coming, eh?

Final Thought:
This injury nonsense is making my annual post-season nervous tics come early this year.

Red Wings 4, Bruins 2: Post Game Snipes...

• I actually got to watch part of today's game on a real, HD TV. It brought tears of joy to my eyes. I sat at my desk starving for three hours because I wanted my lunch break to coincide with the third period of the game. I was more than prepared. I kicked back in the break room with a frozen dinner, my Wings hat from the last viewing party, and one of the last cans of Vernor's that I brought here from Michigan. The only thing that could've made it better is if it had been Ken and Mickey on the broadcast. Or if I hadn't been at work. You get the idea, though.
• I only got to watch the third, but it sure seemed like Datsyuk got knocked around a lot. It was uncharacteristic.
• Darren Helm had a great chance off of a rush in the third, but failed to convert. It's okay though; I'm pretty sure if he and Kris Draper had finished chances like that in the same game it would've caused a break in the space-time continuum.
• I kind of like it when the Wings play puck-possession hockey.
• I decided that the only thing I like about afternoon games is the fact that the lower bowl looks like it's full of fans in Wings gear instead of bored businessmen in work clothes.
• Remember that crazy run Bert went on last November/December? This kind of reminds me of that.
• I never, never, ever want Nick Lidstrom to retire. Never.

Hero: Todd Bertuzzi
Back-to-back two-goal games? Get this man a round of glitter.

Villain: Zdeno Chara
I know it's not his fault that he's tall, or that people keep talking about it, it's just that I'm tired of hearing about it. Yes, I get it. He's an extremely large person. Being tall isn't a skill though; it's an asset, but that doesn't mean the world.

Final Thought:
I usually hate NBC, but I could've kissed the tv when I turned it on and saw the Joe.

Weekly Wrap-Up Volume Thirteen...

Caption Mondays: Someone with the unusual name “Anonymous” (Is that French?) won this week.

Osgood: Did you drug my Pepsi?
Bert: Don't worry, it will keep you focused.

Trivia Tuesdays: TimFill got the answer this week.

This week's question: Which player has the most all-star game penalty minutes in Wings history?

The Answer: Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe racked up 25 penalty minutes in 23 all-star appearances.

Caption Mondays Volume 13...

What are Bert and Ozzie up to here?

Red Wings 5, Oilers 3: Post Game Snipes...

• The fourth line was buzzing tonight. It paid off with goals from Darren Helm and Kris Draper.
• I barely noticed the top line except for a couple of shifts in the third period.
• Ozzie played great until he gave up that weak tying goal. In other words, you could say that it was a typical Chris Osgood game.
• I had my fingers crossed that Ken Daniels would say, “Petry dishes...,” when describing a pass by the Oilers' Petry. Alas, he did not. I'm a total nerd.
• Franzen did his best Brad Stuart impersonation and scooped a puck off of the goal line on a fluky play when the puck popped up in the air and landed behind Ozzie. How close was it to going in? Close enough to fool the spotlight operator into prematurely starting a celebration.
• I hate the jump-into-the-boards goal celebration. I keep hoping for the day when I get to witness someone go right through the glass live. I don't know about you, but when I'm happy, my first instinct is not to propel myself into walls.
• It was another 3 GAA game for the Wings.  I spent some time looking at goalie stats this afternoon, and they're not looking pretty lately.

Hero: Todd Bertuzzi
He came through with two goals after seemingly going ages since his last tally.

Villain: Ales Hemsky
Because he picked up two assists and I still haven't gotten over 2006.

Final Thought:
I was really hoping for Tuzzifries at the end. What gives, Todd?

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

• I headed down to the Joe with the lovely Sara Neuie for tonight's game. I think it's safe to say that we had a good time.
• We knew it was going to be a good night when we were walking on the concourse and came across a beer vendor who was singing Christmas carols, but replacing every syllable with the word 'beer.” I don't even like beer and it made my day. I spent my whole drive home singing beer songs along with my CD player. Seriously. Give it a whirl.
• I don't know who DJed tonight, but they should be banned from the building. It was the worst collection of “music” I've ever heard played there. I suspect it was our DJ friend from the Town Pump up there playing his stupid techno music. Seriously, a little rock here and there wouldn't have killed anybody. Techno “Jingle Bells” made me want to stab my ear drums. When they finally played a Bon Jovi song in the third period, I threw my arms up in the air and
• So that Nick Lidstrom guy...he's pretty good, eh? We were pulling for curly fries as soon as he scored his second goal. I was surprised to find out that that was his first career hat trick. It just seems like after all these years, he would've had one already. As far as I can recall, this was the first hat trick I've ever seen in person. It was perfect. The Perfect Hat Trick.
• I can promise you that yelling, “Curly Fries!” in the stands at the Joe was way more fun than yelling, “Junior Roast Beef Sandwich!” would've been. No contest.
• I'm going to map out every Arby's in a 20-mile radius and visit each one for my free Perfect Curly Fries tomorrow.
• Helm and Kronwall are the only two Wings who recorded a point tonight who aren't on one of my fantasy teams. It was a pretty lucrative night.
• It was Dollar Pretzel Night at the Joe. I don't know if I've mentioned it on here before, but I'm a big fan of carbs.
• I managed to complete the rare concession stand + bathroom trip in a single intermission. Anyone who frequents the Joe knows how impressive that is.
• We loved Kronwall's little kick after he scored his goal. We're pretty sure he learned it while drinking Captain and Kesler dancing at karate practice (no, that's not supposed to make sense to anyone but Neuie). I think the Kronner Kick should be part of all future goal celebrations.
• Henrik Zetterberg had four assists. That's...a lot.
• Datsyuk made most of the crowd at the Joe laugh in astonishment at least twice tonight.  Watching him play hockey is just pure fun.
• The Wings' penalty kill looked fantastic during their first kill. The Blues were barely able to enter the zone at all.
• You know who else looked good tonight despite not really factoring in on the scoresheet? Todd Bertuzzi.

Hero: Nick Lidstrom
This one's pretty obvious. He sent all of Hockeytown into a frenzy by buying us all lunch tomorrow. Thanks, Nick.

Villain: David Backes
He tried to destroy poor Homer along the boards. At least the Wings made the Blues pay on the ensuing powerplay.

Final Thought:
Going to Astoria for a victory celebration is more fun than going to Astoria to eat your feelings after a loss.

Red Wings 2, Predators 3: Post Game Snipes...

• The Wings looked terrible tonight. They looked like they slept through the entire first period.
• Fittingly, during his first intermission interview, TAWD looked like he was about to doze off at any moment. It pretty much summed up the Wings' play.
• If Ozzie had given up that third goal, the internet would've collapsed from the massive outpouring of hatred and criticism.  I'm not blaming Jimmy for the loss, but it was a terrible goal to give up at that point in the game.
• Pav's shorthanded goal was quite nice. I figured that four-minute PK would be a turning point in the game since failure to kill it would've put them down by three goals and a successful kill would've given them some momentum. When the Wings ended up scoring on it, it seemed like they had a good chance to get back in the game.
• Martin Erat looked ridiculous after he got high-sticked. Yes, he got hit with the stick, and yes, he got cut, but good lord, I thought he'd lost an eye the way he was flopping around on the ice. Think about how Mike Modano reacted to having a tendon severed and a nerve damaged in his wrist. Now imagine if that had happened to Erat.
• The lights at the Joe flickered momentarily during the third period. I'm sure it inspired a plethora of witty “they're so poor in Detroit...” jokes from other fans. Almost immediately afterward, the Preds scored.
• Way to toy with my emotions, Wings. I'd pretty much written the game off when they were down by two late, but then they went and scored with an empty net. It made the last minute of the game exciting, at least.

Hero: Pavel Datsyuk
Go ahead and tell me that he and Zetterberg aren't the top two-way forwards in the league. Go ahead.

Villain: Martin Erat
Every time the Wings play the Predators, I like that man a little bit less. And I don't mean in the “oh, I hate playing Rick Nash because he's so good against the wings” sense.

Final Thought:
Hey, boys, wakey-wakey. It's not February yet. It's too early to slip into the mid-season funk.

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

• I got a last minute invite to the game, so I headed down to the Joe straight from work. Unfortunately, I was wearing a shade of blue that was dangerously close to the Sharks' colors. Fortunately, I was also wearing an ugly, old man cardigan that covered most of it.
• Tonight was the quietest I've ever seen the Joe. Even during the first when things were going smoothly, it was quiet.
• During warmups, someone set their pop on the boards. Jiri Hudler noticed and shot the puck at it, knocking it off and spilling it all over. That was about the only good thing he did all night.
• Poor Budd Lynch must be coming down with a cold. His voice sounded awful, and kept getting worse as the game went on. He barely made it through the post-game announcements. Someone really should've gotten the man a cough drop. Feel better, Budd.
• San Jose's powerplay in the first period looked like it was moving in slow motion.
• I was pretty optimistic after the first period. The Wings looked pretty good and looked like they were getting ready to cruise to a win. Apparently they thought so too, as they proceeded to fall asleep.
• The Sharks' goals eight seconds apart just killed everything. What little crowd energy there was was gone, and even though the Wings were only down by one, it didn't seem like there was anything going.
• Why was there a dude in a Rangers jersey sitting behind the Wings' bench?
• I'm not sure if this ended up on the broadcast, but at one point, Homer took a pass at center ice right in front of the penalty boxes, and promptly fell flat on his back. The puck was scooped up by a Shark and returned to the Wings' zone. This is the conversation that ensued: “Was that Homer?” “Of course it was Homer. Who else would it be?”
• There was a trivia question posted on the big screen in which Sid Abel's name was spelled wrong. It's not like his last name is displayed prominently somewhere in the building that could be used for a spelling reference or anything.
• Hudler just isn't working. He makes me angry nearly every time he's on the ice and contributes nothing postive.
• Zetterberg was an impressive -4 on the night. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that he hasn't had many games like that in his career.
• Stop being a baby when you get hit. Just because someone nailed you doesn't mean you need to fight them. Try keeping your head up next time.

Hero: Mike Babcock
“Cute-fest.” I love it. It reminds me of how I like to say, “Awww, you're so cute,” in a baby talk voice to my dad. He usually snarls and says, “There's nothing cute about me,” and tries to do something macho like pretend to be Rocky.

Villain: Dany Heatley
As this debacle was going down, I thought to myself, “well, at least Heatley's on my fantasy team.” Of course, then I realized that since I went to the game straight from work, I hadn't had a chance to set my lineup and Heatley was benched. Thanks for nothing.

Final Thought:
Bert winked and did a finger gun at some guys standing near us during warmups. There's no word on whether or not they made it home alive.

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

• Draper and Ozzie both came back from injuries tonight. Ozzie played well. Draper didn't get much playing time, so it's hard to pass judgment.
• The Kings have yet to give up a powerplay goal while at home. That's crazy considering that we're more than a quarter way through the season. I was hoping that the Wings would be able to end that streak, but they sadly did not.
• Ozzie got called for a trapezoid penalty. We can all pretty much agree that this is one of the stupidest things the NHL has ever come up with, right? If we're going to restrain the goalies, at least add some humor to the game by using a shock collar or chain.
• Another road game, another LGRW chant by the Wings faithful in attendance.
• Brad Stuart drilled someone late in the first period. Later on in the game, he knocked Davis Drewiske down. He followed that up with a little nod at Drewiske as he was down on the ice. I love the swagger.
• Ericsson started the scoring with a goal late in the first. I didn't see the puck go in the net at first because I was focused on Zetterberg who looked like he was going to slam into the endboards. Datsyuk picked up the assist on the play while Homer was causing his usual mayhem in front of the net.
• Rig looked dangerous in the offensive zone all night. He had several good chances after scoring his goal. It was definitely one of his better nights.
• Justin Williams tried to stickhandle past Datsyuk at one point and ended up just looking silly. Homer finished the play by coming in and knocking him down. It amused me.
• I was still settling onto the couch for the second period when LA tied up the score.
• Luckily, Bertuzzi put the Wings back in the lead shortly afterward. Ken Daniels yelled, “Snipe!” when he scored. Personally, when I hear the word “snipe” associated with Bertuzzi, I assume it involves a rifle and ghillie suit. After the game, someone asked him about his snipe, and Bert responded by asking for a lawyer.
• The Wings started out with a strong first period, but gradually faded as the game wore on. You could tell that they were feeling the effects of playing back-to-back games. They looked a little more lively during overtime, but the Kings ended up winning on a goal that came off of a Lidstrom turnover.
• Any team that doesn't have two syllables in its name should ban its fans from doing the, “Let's go, ______!” chant. It just sounds stupid.
• After the game, the Kings' mascot rode an ATV out to center ice and pretended to be having a seizure. This was after the Kings celebrated their OT goal in the same fashion that teams usually use for Stanley Cup clinching goals. It's still December, sunshines.

Hero: Jonathan Ericsson
He had the Wings' first goal, but more importantly, he looked good tonight. I kept noticing him for positive reasons, instead of after mistakes. I wish he could play like that consistently.

Villain: Anze Kopitar
He got the Kings' goal in OT to seal the win.

Final Thought:
I'll take 5 out of 6 points on a roadtrip all season long.

Weekly Wrap-Up Volume Six...

Caption Mondays: I'm declaring this week's caption contest a tie because I make the rules and I can do whatever I want. Don't like it? Get your own blog.

From Sara Neuie:
Eaves: Don't look at BizvNasty, don't look at Biz Nasty, don't look at Biz...
Homer: What's with all the homeless people holding rolls of toilet paper?
Tuzzi: I dunno, but something smells kinda funny... and what's with that girl staring at Biz Nasty? Something's not right there...
Biz Nasty: haha, soup's almost ready, BOOM!
Eaves (familiar with Biz's twitter account): Ew, ew, ew, ew, EW!


And from JennHo:
Eaves "What IS she DOING?"
Bert "Don't know but I don't hate it"
Homer "Fer Sure"
Biz "She'll be with me in the pressbox tonight boys. BOOM"

Trivia Tuesdays: Ari Twice from The Detroit Offices won this week's trivia contest. Congrats!

This week's question: Which team have the Wings gone the longest since last facing in the playoffs?

The Answer: The Wings haven't played the New York Rangers since 1950 when the two teams faced off in the Finals. The Wings won the series 4-3 with Pete Babando scoring the Cup-winning goal on home ice in double overtime in Game Seven. Interestingly enough, the Wings had five home games that series and New York didn't really have any. The two road games for the Wings were played in Toronto because the circus had taken over Madison Square Gardens. This was also the year that Ted Lindsay began the time-honored tradition of skating the Cup around.

Caption Mondays Volume 6...

This one's from the warm-up before the Coyotes game on October 28th.  What are the guys concerned about here?

Red Wings 1, Thrashers 5: Post Game Snipes...

• The Wings looked awful tonight. They never even got going in the third period. It wasn't hard to predict that their habit of starting slowly and sleepwalking through large portions of games was going to catch up to them eventually.
• There were a ridiculous amount of turnovers tonight. Everybody was making them in every area of the ice.
• The blue stanchions in Atlanta annoy me.
• Joey MacDonald played the third period and wasn't awful. That's somewhat reassuring in a strange way.
• Zetterberg made some nice plays with the puck, particularly late in the game, but to no avail.

Hero: Todd Bertuzzi
He scored the Wings' only goal of the game. It got them back into the game after falling down 0-2 at the beginning. Sadly, it was only a glimmer of hope.

Villain: Andrew Ladd
He scored the killer shorthanded goal that ended up being the game-winner.

Final Thought:
I think the Wings were already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving. Not a good night, but it's not the end of the world either.

Red Wings 5, Flames 4 (OT): Post Game Snipes...

• Friday night, it was the fourth liners who were featured on the scoresheet. Tonight, it was the stars who took over. Franzen, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom each found the back of the net. That's a pretty awesome list.
• The Wings went three-for-seven on the powerplay tonight. It was nice to see them convert later on since there were so many missed opportunities in the first period. With the two late-game penalties that went against Calgary, it would've been a major failure if the Wings hadn't been able to convert to tie the game.
• Dan Cleary left the game after getting wrecked against the boards in the corner. There's still no word on his injury, but I'm guessing it won't be happy since he didn't return. Someone should start tracking players who are on the receiving end of big hits. Whereas Lidstrom almost never gets rocked, it seems like Dan Cleary gets laid out at least once every game. It's like he needs some convex mirrors mounted on the side of his helmet or something.
• Ericsson also left the game briefly after blocking a shot with his ankle. He was helped to the dressing room, but came back to finish the game. That was a relief because he's actually been playing well lately.
• The Wings' first intermission naptime evidently ran over because they were totally flat-footed at the beginning of the second when they allowed Calgary to take over the game.
• Defensive zone turnovers came back to bite the Wings again tonight in a big way.
• Datsyuk's goal was the result of his best Tomas Holmstrom impression.
• Zetterberg's first goal came off of another strong play on the puck. Z had a really quiet stretch there where it seemed like he was drifting, but lately he's been working his way through the defense with strength better.
• The last-second tying goal was a classic Eurotwins goal. It was even more exciting because when Calgary cleared the zone right before it, I said to my dog, “Well, that's game.” Then Datsyuk broke in, danced through the defense, and dished it off to Zetterberg for the shot. I loved the waterbottle pop, too. It made it that much more dramatic.
• Abdelkader threw a nice, clean hit at one point and then got jumped after the whistle by a Flame who felt that he needed to get revenge. They ended up getting offsetting minors for roughing. What a stupid mentality.
• Bert got a double minor midway through the third when he took an interference call and then was slapped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (most likely for being named Todd Bertuzzi). I figured that was the end of the Wings' chances since even if they killed all four minutes off, they'd be eating up a huge amount of time off the clock. Shortly afterward, though, Calgary took a penalty of their own and Zetterberg scored on the ensuing four-on-four. All in all, it was a much better result from Bert's penalties than I was envisioning.

1. The Wings have managed to pull three out of four possible points over the last couple of games while not really looking good enough to earn them. Here's hoping they'll actually show up to play a full game. The early start has me less-than-optomistic.
It was another typical early start. If someone understands the Wings' problems with games that don't begin at 7 or 7:30, I'd love an explanation.

2. Jimmy Howard didn't have his best game on Friday night. How will he rebound today?
Four goals against isn't great, but I wouldn't rag on him too much. One of them could've been a little soft, but the defense didn't really do him many favors tonight.

3. I'm still looking for the top line to get going again. The Eurotwins have really quieted down lately and the Wings are going to need them to get scoring again.
They took over the game in the third period in true Eurotwins fashion. It was the best they've looked in a few games.

Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
His two third period goals sent the game to overtime and set the Wings up to win the game. His last-second tying goal was as exciting as they come.

Villain: Jarome Iginla
It was so nice of him to regain his scoring touch just in time to face the Wings.

Final Thought:
The Wings have come out flat three games in a row. In those three games, they've picked up five out of a possible six points. Think the rest of the league is scared?

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

• Bert's goal came on a shot that was just nasty. I could watch the replay all day long.
• Shortly afterward, Mule attempted the same shot Bert scored on from the other side of the rink like he was playing a game of H-O-R-S-E. Sadly, he was not successful. I guess that means he gets an H.
• Lidstrom extended his point streak to 11 games. Pavel Datsyuk did not.
• After two periods of total domination, the Wings decided to stop skating during most of the third. After Colorado finally got on the board, they really turned things up for a while and I thought they were going to score again and really make things interesting. The Wings looked a little better during the last five minutes.
• There was only one commercial break during the third period. It didn't come until 3:20 left in the period. If I'm not mistaken, the teams played almost nine minutes without a whistle.
• Eaves took a holding penalty in the third period. He definitely didn't get his money's worth for that one.
• Dan Cleary has been unstoppable lately. He's scored in five straight games now.

1. Jiri Hudler finally made an impact in the game on Thursday. Was that enough to wake him up and get him going or is he going to go back to being invisible again tonight?
The little guy finally put a puck in the net. Well, actually, he banked it in off of Budaj's skate. The result is all that really matters, though. Here's hoping he's finally going to look like the player the Wings thought they were getting back this season.

2. Now that Mule finally netted #100, is he going to go on one of his tears again? I certainly hope so.
Franzen picked up an assist on TAWD's powerplay goal in the first period. He didn't manage to score any of his own, but he looked threatening. It would've been nice to have seen him capitalize on that breakaway he #Eavesed.

3. Courtney, one of the co-founders of the other blog I write for—Chicks Who Give a Puck—is an Avs fan. In light of that, I think it'd be fun if everyone spent the day tweeting her to let her know where your allegiance lies for tonight's game. She's a good sport, so give her some good-natured joshing today. I'll let you know if we're still on speaking terms in the recap tonight.
Now that the game is over, we're all on the same side again. Liz, Ellen, and I get to retain CWGAP bragging rights now, though.

Hero: TAWD Bertuzzi
This was one of those nights when Bert looked like a giant (maybe a viking? A giant viking?) pillaging his way through some peaceful little medieval village. He was blasting through town, out-muscling the men, and rounding up kittens like a takeout meal.

Villain: John-Michael Liles
He broke the shutout in the third period. It added a little drama to the game and made things interesting, but it would've been nice to see Jimmy pick up the shutout.

Final Thought:
The Wings just keep on rolling.

Red Wings 6, Oilers 2: Post Game Snipes...

• Well, that was fun. The Wings started the game flying like bullets downtown (har dee har har) and never gave Edmonton a chance to get going. This was one of those wins where you sit back and relax because, well, the Wings are going to win. It's kind of the equivalent of putting your car in cruise control on the highway.
• I think Mickey Redmond said, “hot to trot,” at the beginning of the game. I have no idea what it means, but it sounds terrible.
• The clips of players thanking the veterans were nice, but incredibly awkward. My favorite was Jimmy Howard's. The sideways glance at the end sealed it.
• Hey, Jiri Hudler, welcome back to the NHL. How was Russia?
• You know what I liked about most of the goals the Wings scored tonight? They were ugly goals. They were scored from close range with traffic in front of the net. The Wings have a tendency sometimes to try to get too cute and make the highlight reel fancy pants plays, but goals like the ones from tonight win playoff games.
• Dan Cleary is the frontrunner for the title of Most Improved Over Last Season on the Wings.
• Bertuzzi's play to set up Cleary's second goal was impressive. Didn't Chris Chelios switch his hands on the stick like that on the point from time to time? I'm not sure I've ever seen it actually result in a goal, though.
• Penalty shots make for great drama, but when you have a great offensive team like the Wings, it almost seems like a waste.
• Immediately before Franzen scored I was telling my friend that he'd been stuck on goal number 99 for a while and that if he scored, he was liable to go on a tear. As soon as I finished talking, he swatted the puck into the net. You could kind of sense that he was going to do something good tonight. He was flying right from the start.
• Tomas Holmstrom was doing his usual Homer thing in front of the net tonight.  He was rewarded with a pair of goals.  
• I find it oddly amusing when Pavel Datsyuk hits people. I don't even know why. It just makes me laugh for some reason. I kept rewinding the part where he knocked Dustin Penner down over and over again on the DVR.

1. The Edmonton Sun posted a game preview article that featured this as the intro: “Welcome to Detroit, where the forecast, as always, is muggy, with a chance of murder. When you’re trying to breathe a little life back into your year, this is not the place to visit. And not just because they use more white chalk at crime scenes than they ever did in the schools.” There's nothing like a good old knee-slapping murder joke to introduce an article about hockey. I hope the Wings live up to their billing in the article and dominate Edmonton like they did last week.
I spent the evening downtown (although sadly not at the game), and the only thing I saw outlined in chalk was the Oilers' season (see what I did there?). Okay, to be fair, there was also a chalkboard at Astoria, so I guess there were things outlined there. I'm pretty sure the chalk was yellow, although I'll be the first to admit that I was a little distracted by the delicious and fattening (for you, Neuie) baked goods.

2. Mike Babcock was shuffling lines in practice yesterday. Will changing things up help spark things?
I'd say that six goals counts as a spark.

3. Brian Rafalski's return made an immediate impact on Monday. How will he look in his second game back?
The defense didn't really have a whole lot to do tonight. Rafalski was just fine.

Hero: Dan Cleary
That dude has been on fire.

Villain: Dustin Penner
It was hard to pick a villain for this one. There really wasn't a whole lot of hockey-related stuff to hate on. I went with Penner for breaking the shutout and netting the Oilers' first goal.

Final Thought:
This is totally unrelated to hockey, but after we ate dinner downtown, my friend and I were standing on the edge of the street waiting for traffic to clear. A helpful homeless man saw us waiting and decided to assist us in crossing the street by jumping in front of a bus and telling it to stop. I really thought the bus was going to run him over and was actually reaching for my phone in case I needed to call 911. The bus managed to stop, and the guy stood there in front of it waving us across the street. We were quite content to just wait for the crossing signal, but he insisted that we cross and we obliged since he had just had a near-death experience in order to get us on our way. According to him, he runs this whole town, so it was no problem.  Just another day in Detroit.

Red Wings 4, Canucks 6: Post Game Snipes...

• I had the great pleasure of watching this game with the Commune at Sara's belated Halloween party. Regardless of the outcome of the game, watching the Wings play with the Commune is always infinitely more fun than watching alone. Those of you who haven't had the chance to do so are missing out. I feel sorry for you, really.
• Last night was an awfully sad defensive play from two of the best teams in hockey.
• Vancouver's throwback jerseys were nice and all, but the lack of names on the back was killing me.
• The turnover by Datsyuk that led to Vancouver's shorthanded goal was surprising. We all kind of looked at each other and said, “That was Pav?” It was uncharacteristic for sure, but those things happen sometimes. Hopefully he'll come back fired up on monday.
• The parade to the penalty box at the end of the game was unhelpful, to say the least. It seems like the Wings have a habit of taking a lot of late-game penalties. Or maybe it's my imagination.
• The only three Wings who ended up with positive +/- ratings were Kronwall, Zetterberg, Stuart, and TAWD. Lidstrom was an ugly -3.

1. How will the Wings look playing in the second night of a back-to-back?
They were incredibly sloppy and disorganized in the third period, and it wouldn't surprise me if that had a lot to do with having played the night before. Plus, they were probably pretty confused about not having four days off between games like they've been having. “What do you mean we have to play again already?”

2. The second line has been kind of quiet over the last couple of games. I want to see them have a big night tonight.
Neither one of the top lines looked like their usual dominating selves.

3. Ericsson's looked pretty good in the couple of games he's played since coming back from his injury. I guess he doesn't want to lose his job to Kindl after all. Can he keep it up tonight against a better Vancouver team?
He actually scored a goal and he didn't really look that out of place on the team last night. Then again, the rest of the guys didn't really look that spectacular either, so I guess that made him look comparatively better.

Hero: Niklas Kronwall
He netted two goals last night. That should be enough to stand out on any night.

Villain: Manny Malhotra
He also scored two goals last night, including the shorty that put Vancouver in the lead in the second period and seemed to turn the tide definitively in their favor.

Final Thought:
The Wings didn't look so good, but it happens. Even dominant teams have their off nights.