Thoughts on the Realignment...

Now that I've finally had a chance to look at the realignment plans, I'm developing a deep sense of confusion. I actually feel like the NHL might've done something right. That doesn't happen very often, so it's going to take me a while to get used to that fact. It's not exactly what I would've drawn up in a perfect world, but it's a heck of a lot better than the current system. At least for the Wings and Columbus. It doesn't seem like it affects other teams nearly as much.

(Sidenote: All of these news articles are describing the decision as “radical.” Is it really that radical? The new Conferences don't deviate a whole lot from the way things are now.)

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that the Florida teams are grouped together with the northern teams in the East. It just doesn't make sense to me, and things like that tend to annoy me forever. Also, through my Wings-fan goggles, it seems an awful lot like pandering to teams like Pittsburgh, Philly, and Washington. On that note, funny how the coddled little Eastern teams ended up in the smaller divisions, eh?

I'm also not super excited about having to see the same old boring Central Division teams over and over again, but that has a lot to do with the current quality of competition. A couple of years down the road, those teams could change a lot and make life interesting. Well, maybe not Columbus, but you get the idea.

Mostly though, I like the fact that the Wings' travel is going to be cut down significantly. This makes the biggest difference in the playoffs. I've said for years that there would be at least two extra Stanley Cup banners hanging in the rafters from the last decade if the Wings had been in the Eastern Conference. Think about how much easier all of those long playoff runs would've been if they hadn't included multiple trips to the west coast. I've always secretly enjoyed the west coast roadtrips because I like staying up for the late games, but I recognize that I'm kind of strange in that sense.

I think my favorite part of the plan is the potential reseeding after the second round of the playoffs. It opens up a whole array of Finals match-ups that could never happen in the current format. Imagine if the Wings had been able to face the Avs in the Stanley Cup Finals during the rivalry years when they were the league's two best teams by a mile. Imagine the possibility of a “Subway Series” with the Rangers and Islanders matched up in the Finals. (That one was a joke, ok?) The league's top two teams should have the ability to play for the Cup in the Finals, even if they both happen to be from the same Conference.

Red Wings vs. Capitals GP...

Red Wings: 5-0-0

Capitals: 6-0-0

Red Wings Zen:

Point and Laugh:

Video Candy:

Red Wings vs. Capitals GP...

Red Wings: 41-20-8

Capitals: 41-20-10

Red Wing Zen:

Johan Franzen

27-23-50, +/- 9, 48 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Boyd Gordon

3-5-8, +/- -2, 12 PIM

Hey We Made It...

I still haven’t actually seen most of the Flyers game. It’s stored on my DVR, but I haven’t quite gotten around to actually sitting down and watching it. That explains the lack of a recap. I really just prefer to pretend like it didn’t happen. The part that I did catch led to a heated Easter-dinner-buffet-line conversation with my brother about the difference between being a bunch of worthless goons and playing tough hockey. He actually dared to defend Chris Pronger. I was aghast.

Anyway, the real event on Sunday was the fact that the Wings managed to clinch their 19th straight playoff berth thanks to Calgary losing. I was out in the backyard playing with my little cousins when I got the score update on my phone and everyone was pretty confused when I broke out into a happy dance right in the middle of the chaos. I did, however, find it ironic that a couple of weeks ago we were making fun of Washington for clinching the conference by losing and waiting for another team to do their dirty work for them. The Wings are home free now and I could not care less about seeding and first round matchups. There are definitely teams that worry me out there, but truth be told, all of the teams worry me. I never think about teams I want the Wings to face because I live in fear of some sort of be-careful-what-you-wish-for comeuppance.

The bottom line is that we made it. The Wings are in the playoffs, and, to the best of my knowledge, all of the 19 survived. And just a note of warning to friends, family, co-workers, and roommates: if you thought I’ve been obnoxious and insane for the last six months, just wait until the puck drops on the first round.

Red Wings vs. Wild GP...

1. The Wings have been looking like their old selves for the last couple of games. Unfortunately, they have next to nothing to show for it other than some warm, fuzzy feelings. Can they keep up that level of play, or sink back into the habits of their recent past?
2. Despite their largely solid play, there are still glaring defensive lapses that need to get taken care of (see the Sharp goal against Chicago, and a couple of the Capitals’ goals on Tuesday). Minnesota isn’t quite as dangerous as the Wings’ last two opponents, but they’ve been creeping up the standings lately. Can the Wings find a way to lock things down and show the kind of defensive focus that they supposedly pride themselves on?
3. On a positive note, the Wings have been getting more of an offensive contribution from the blue line over the last few games. Lidstrom and Rafalski have both chipped in with key goals lately. This is a huge element that’s been missing from their game this season, especially since Kronwall went down (exactly two months ago today). Can the back end keep it going tonight?
4. Pavel Datsyuk has looked phenomenal over the last few games after floating along for most of the season. (Not only that, but he’s graced us with two great interviews over the last couple of days. The one at Puck Daddy is a must-read, as is pretty much anything that involves Pav and speaking.) Is his recent performance a trend, or was he just showing off for NBC and AO?
5. “The young goalie” has a chance to cement his status as the Wings’ starter beyond any shadow of a doubt with a strong performance tonight. Even the most die hard Osgood supporters can’t argue that the Wings are better off with Ozzie in net right now. Can Howard keep up his hot streak and demonstrate why he won the starting job this season?

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

• Okay, the Wings should’ve won this one. There’s no question about that. They were clearly the better team, but blew it in the third period.
• The Wings should’ve had more than two goals tonight. They had more than enough shots on net, and Jose Theodore isn’t nearly that good. I know that because he’s been dragging my fantasy team down all season. Of course, the night that I benched him with the hope of a Wings’ win, he plays well. So thanks for that.
• According to Ken Daniels, Rafalski’s goal went through Theodore’s pearly gates aka five hole. I was disturbed. He should know better than to pre-game with Murphy and Keating.
• The Wings’ powerplay needs to start sucking less ASAP. They’ve shown some flashes over the last few games, but they’re still having issues capitalizing when it counts.
• Filppula had one of his best games since returning from his injury. The Wings need more of that from him because they’re still largely a one-line team.
• I missed the interview with Datsyuk, and that makes me sad. If it’s not on Youtube by the time I get up tomorrow morning, I’m going to have some serious issues. I’ve been told that it was a good one.
• And that’s all I really have to say.
  

GP Answers:
1. The last time the Wings played Washington, we barely noticed Alex Ovechkin. Thanks largely to Nick Lidstrom, he just didn’t look threatening very often. The box score says that he got an assist, but the Wings did a great job limiting his chances. Will they be able to repeat that performance?
They held the guy without a shot for only the third time in his career. I’d say that that counts.

2. The Eurotwins were in vintage form on Sunday. They were the best players on the ice, and I think we’re all still trying to piece our minds back together after Datsyuk’s shootout goal. If the Wings want to gain any ground, they’re going to need efforts like that from them on a consistent basis. Are they going to live up to our lofty expectations?
Datsyuk looked like he was flying tonight. He always seems to get up for games against the Caps for some reason. I think he likes taking on Ovechkin. Zetterberg was less noticeable, but he had a good game too. He had a couple of glorious chances that he just put wide.

3. I haven’t heard who’s slated to start in net yet. Will Ozzie finally get a chance to redeem himself? He played the first game against Washington this season, and since it’s against an Eastern Conference opponent, a potential loss would hurt less, I suppose. You’ve got to figure that he’s going to get a start one of these days. I know Howard’s on a hot streak and is young, but at some point he’s going to need a break.
Ozzie got a chance, but he didn’t exactly wow anybody. I was hoping for a statement performance from him, but I was expecting one like we got.

4. The Wings have a chance to break into the top 8 with a win against the Caps. They’ll need LA to lose to San Jose, but it’s within reach again. They’ve had a few chances to do that over the last few weeks, and haven’t been able to put a good effort together. Can they finally get over that hurdle and start working their way up the standings?
I’m going to stop writing GP questions like this because every time I do, the Wings lose. Maybe it will magically reverse-unjinx-will the Wings to an important win the same way dropping the Nick Lidstrom question got him to score.

5. The Chicago game on Sunday was by far the best hockey I’ve seen since the playoffs. The Wings dominated for large stretches and controlled the play. They looked like the better team out there despite still missing some key guys from the lineup. I know we won’t be treated to that kind of hockey every minute of every game, but can the Wings keep up that level of intensity and drive on a regular basis? It sure would make moving up in the standings a lot easier.
I thought the Wings had a good effort throughout the game. The Caps seemed to pick things up a bit after their first goal, but with the kind of shot disparity that the Wings had tonight, it’s pretty clear which team was in control. This loss hurts.

6. Ville Leino or Brad May tonight? Does it matter?
Not really, no. For some inexplicable reason, Leino was back on the powerplay. If somebody out there understands why, by all means, let me know because I sure don’t.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Dan Cleary
His goal came off of an awesome second effort. I loved it, even if I’m not entirely sure why.

An Extra Stick Tap for Pavel Datsyuk
That guy was on tonight. He didn’t have anything to show for it on the scoresheet, but he looked like the best Russian on the ice. This probably would’ve gone to Bertuzzi on account of how good he looked for most of the game, but I have a self-imposed rule that you can only qualify for one award per game. Which brings me to…

Todd Bertuzzi gets the Golden Facepalm
Oh, Todd. I want to like you. I really do. It just seems like for every great thing you do, you make a glaring blunder that just drives me crazy. An offensive zone penalty late in the game 8 miles away from your own net? You’re killing me, Todd. Killing. Me.

What I Learned:
The Wings are incapable of taking the opportunity to climb into the playoff rankings.

Red Wings vs. Capitals GP...

1. The last time the Wings played Washington, we barely noticed Alex Ovechkin. Thanks largely to Nick Lidstrom, he just didn’t look threatening very often. The box score says that he got an assist, but the Wings did a great job limiting his chances. Will they be able to repeat that performance?
2. The Eurotwins were in vintage form on Sunday. They were the best players on the ice, and I think we’re all still trying to piece our minds back together after Datsyuk’s shootout goal. If the Wings want to gain any ground, they’re going to need efforts like that from them on a consistent basis. Are they going to live up to our lofty expectations?
3. I haven’t heard who’s slated to start in net yet. Will Ozzie finally get a chance to redeem himself? He played the first game against Washington this season, and since it’s against an Eastern Conference opponent, a potential loss would hurt less, I suppose. You’ve got to figure that he’s going to get a start one of these days. I know Howard’s on a hot streak and is young, but at some point he’s going to need a break.
4. The Wings have a chance to break into the top 8 with a win against the Caps. They’ll need LA to lose to San Jose, but it’s within reach again. They’ve had a few chances to do that over the last few weeks, and haven’t been able to put a good effort together. Can they finally get over that hurdle and start working their way up the standings?
5. The Chicago game on Sunday was by far the best hockey I’ve seen since the playoffs. The Wings dominated for large stretches and controlled the play. They looked like the better team out there despite still missing some key guys from the lineup. I know we won’t be treated to that kind of hockey every minute of every game, but can the Wings keep up that level of intensity and drive on a regular basis? It sure would make moving up in the standings a lot easier.
6. Will Ville Leino or Brad May be in the lineup? Does it matter?

One other note: Ville Leino did this the last time these two teams met. Remember when we thought he’d actually be good? I’m pretty sure that was the last time he’s been anywhere near the crease.

Go East, Young Men...

In an effort to avoid the million things that I’m supposed to be doing, I decided to play around with the standings differential between the Eastern and Western Conferences. We’ve long maintained that the Wings would’ve been even more dominant if they’d been able to cakewalk through the East for all these years. These are the numbers that I came up with for so far this season (through Sunday):

The 15 Western Conference teams have a total of 730 points. The 15 teams in the East? Merely 683. I was so surprised by the differential that I double checked my addition. The current playoff teams in the West have a total of 438 points, while the Eastern teams only have 409. The eighth place team in the West has 51 points, but the eighth place team in the East has 45. The Wings’ 48 points would place them 6th in the Eastern conference, because they have a game in hand on the Senators who also have 48 points.

I came up with two possible explanations for the difference in numbers: 1. The teams in the West have played more overtime “three-point” games or 2. The Western Conference teams have been winning more of their games against the East.

The teams in the West have accumulated a total of 78 overtime losses, 61 of which have come against in-conference opponents. On the other hand Eastern teams have 81 overtime losses, with 65 of them coming against other teams in the East. Teams in the Eastern Conference have actually played more three-point games than teams in the West have.

Looking at the Western Conference’s cumulative record against the East gives pretty good support to explanation #2. The West is 84-44-17 in games against Eastern teams. The East is only 61-68-16. They’re not even .500 against the West this season. In fact, only three Western Conference teams are below .500 against teams from the East. Those three teams are St. Louis, Edmonton, and Anaheim, who currently occupy three of the bottom four spots in the West. There are only six Eastern Conference teams who have winning records against the West: Pittsburgh, Boston, Buffalo, Atlanta, Washington, and Florida. Not surprisingly, that group of teams accounts for positions 2-5 in the standings, with only Atlanta and Florida being the outliers.

That just goes to show you that when we call it the Leastern Conference, we really mean it. Must be nice, eh?