Nightmare on Helm Street

We've Moved.

2009-11-25T07:49:00.001-05:00

Hey gang, The Nightmare on Helmstreet has picked up and moved.

You can now find us www.nightmareonhelmstreet.com

Thanks to all our readers who made this whole thing possible. I hope you like the new diggs.

-Drew

Tomorrow's Lineup vs The Thrashers

2009-11-24T14:45:00.002-05:00

As per usual, Khan(!) provides us with some insight...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

May-Abdelkader-Miller (Maltby working in)

Lidstrom-Ericsson

Rafalski-Stuart

Lebda-Meech

Howard (starting)

Osgood

Now before you get all frantic looking at that 3rd D-pairing, just read this:

The top two pairs will remain the same (Nicklas Lidstrom-Jonathan Ericsson, Brian Rafalski-Brad Stuart). They'll play against the opponent's top two lines. Then he'll pair one of those players with Brett Lebda and another with Derek Meech to use against the third and fourth lines. And he'll rotate.

Say what? Would you mind clearing that up for us a little bit, Babbles?

"So we’ll almost have an eight-man block with six players. It’s way too complicated to explain, but it’ll be simple.’’

Thanks, Coach. It looks like both Meech and Lebda have been given a vote of no confidence as a pair. Anyone want to argue with that logic? I didn't think so.

It's the PK, Stupid

2009-11-24T10:00:00.003-05:00

From Khan(!) this morning, following another dreadful perfmormance for Detroit's PK units which greatly contributed to last night's loss...

“You have to fight through it, have to find ways to kill those penalties and not spend as much time in the box. Just got to get back to the basics. Tonight, they're making some good plays, but we were kind of out of position, too. Instead of keeping the box tight, we were spread out a little too much. That gave them some openings."--Nick Lidstrom

Spread out a little too much? On the first powerplay goal, you could throw a blanket over all four of the Wings, and every single one of them had their eyes glued to the puck instead of...ya know...looking for someone to conver, say like, Jason Arnott. The guy isn't hard to miss. Protect the front of your net by taking the body instead of trying to play the puck. I hate that.

Face-offs were a real problem last night. Helm and Abdelkader combined for six wins in over twenty attempts. That is just unacceptable. Here's what Babcock had to say about it:

"You're chasing the puck. Those are kids getting lessons on the road, that's part of the process we're in. You just keep plugging and grinding every day."

Fix it, Uncle Mike.

Sour Grapes: 11/23 vs NSH

2009-11-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

Well another we put another frustrating game in the books last night. The Wings prove once again that it doesn't matter how much you out shoot or even out play a team, if you don't cover well in your own zone and don't cash in on your oppourtunities, you will lose. Let's see what our friends from Music Town had to say about last night's contest. These comments courtesy of On The Forecheck's game thread:

Dirk Hoag: Let's Go Marty, It's Time To Party! Might he start earning that paycheck? Thank goodness… 2-0 Preds!

Dirk is the proprietor of On The Forecheck. Though I did respect his oppinion and occasional relevant article during his time at KK, he seems to have fallen back into a world where exclamation points and bad rhyming are acceptable. "Let's Go Marty, It's Time To Party!"? Sounds like a bad facebook event, doesn't it?

LuvThePreds: monitoring Wings' SB nation site….“Winging it in Motown,” and there’s only been one bash-Nashville comment. Chicago was by far the worst in that department. Mainly, they’re just venting about Bertuzzi’s penalties.

This is somewhat amusing to me, the fact that not only did this person check WIM to make sure no one was saying anything bad about their team...but it looks like they do this on a regular basis. Yes, I see the irony of making fun of someone for monitoring other teams' blogs, but I do it post-game, dammnit. That's a big difference. And oh, Chicago fans lacking class? I don't believe it.

Hong Kong...

Jerseypredsfan: Phooey! 2-1

Did anybody get that? Ok, that one was bad, I'll admit. But these fans aren't really giving me anything to go with. You think anyone over at the A2Y Liveblog used the word "phooey"? I'm guessing not.

EXPECTATIONS: getting noticed on nhl.com again!!!!

Your obligatory CAPS LOCK and exclamation mark abuse post...there's one in every family. And getting mentioned on NHL.com is cause for that much excitement? Sounds like your "EXPECTATIONS" are pretty low for a team that plays in the NHL.

And the winner is...

Lil cutie: Erat's back baby!!! Erat fans can come out of the closet

Please do...it's nothing to ashamed of.

Surprisingly respectful and fairly well spoken game thread, small as it was. Abel to Yzerman had almost 18 times as many comments, but that is why the Chief is the master. So...enjoy it while it lasts, Bubba. Remember that you took the regular season series last year, yet you were still golfing when mid-April rolled around.

"The punishment should be five games and skating lessons."

2009-11-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

That's what Brad May told the Detroit News when talking about Georges Laraque's punishment...

"If they summon you to Toronto, it's at least four games. He probably didn't mean to hurt him, Georges is just too heavy on his skates. The punishment should be five games and skating lessons."

Like I told a co-worker today at lunch, if Don Cherry can't even defend a Canadian cheap-shotting a European... you KNOW it was a dirty play. Here's what Dan Cleary had to say:

"We have to get rid of plays like that. Clearly he was beaten and he was trying to stop him and he stuck his leg out. That's when guys get hurt. We have to send a message that we can't do that -- whether it's to a player on our team or another team."

Nobody seems to be against Laraque getting suspended, and not just in Detroit's camp. Here's a tidbit from Stu Hackel of the New York Times:

Even in Montreal there are demands that Laraque be punished. On Rue Frontenac, web site of the locked out Journal de Montreal employees, Pierre Durocher noted yesterday that he had gotten a number of emails from fans condemning Laraque’s recklessness.

Come on, Colie Campbell. Time to prove me wrong for all the times I've called you a sniveling coward. Another injustice has been done to Detroit, do you have the brass to do something about it? You are the NHL vice-president after all...

Tonight's Lineup vs NSH

2009-11-23T13:30:00.000-05:00

With Khan(!) missing in action, the Free Press has provided us with a little insight as to what our lines will look like tonight vs The Predators. Some interesting defenisve pairs...

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

Miller-Abdelkader-May

Maltby (scratched)

Lidstrom-Ericsson

Stuart-Meech

Rafalski-Lebda

Osgood (starting)

Howard

Coach Babcock on his pairings on defense:

“I thought Rafi and Lebs kind of share the same politics, so they can talk to each other about politics. I thought Big E is from Sweden and Nick is from Sweden, so that works good. And then I thought Meechie and Stuie are from the West, so why not? No, really, honest to God what we did is, we got through the morning skate so far. We’re a work in progress. We’re going to figure it out.”

Um....yeah...what he said.

Awaiting a Decision on Laraque

2009-11-23T11:30:00.001-05:00

From NHL.com this morning...

"There were four refs on the ice and they didn't call anything. If they called a match penalty it would be different. There was no intent, there was no reason why I would try to go and hurt him. It was a pure accident, that's why they called it tripping, so I'm not worried at all."--Georges Laraque

No intent, huh? Your knee just sort of accidentally stuck itself out? Why would you try and hurt him? Maybe it's because you're a goon. You're not paid to score goals, block shots, kill penalties...you're paid to enforce. What's more believable: that it was purely accidental, or that you were frustrated because you were already taking a bad penalty so you made a stupid decision? I'm thinking it's the latter.

Basically, whatever suspension he is handed down isn't long enough. This was a fourth line player taking out a top echelon defenseman. Laraque may get 1-5 games, but what about Kronwall? He could be out for two months. If you ask me, a blatant cheap shot such as this should see the offender be suspended for the duration of time spent on the sideline for the victim. Think Georgey boy would think twice about sticking his leg out if that were the case?

Pointless Preview: 11/23 vs Nashville Predators

2009-11-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

Category #1: Our Coach Looks Like a Fast Food Icon

Nashville has Barry Trotz as Jack in the Box.

Both have bulbous heads with no neck.

Detroit has Paul McLean as Colonel Sanders.

…not so much. I only went on this for glasses/facial hair. McLean would look sweet rockin’ that goatee though, if I do say so myself.

Winner: Nashville

Category #2: We’ve Never Won a Play-Off Series…Ever.

Nashville:

2003-2004- Lost to DET 4-2 in WCQF

2005-2006- Lost to SJ 4-1 in WCQF
2006-2007- Lost to SJ 4-1 in WCQF
2007-2008- Lost to DET 4-2 in WCQF

Detroit: Don’t make me go into details...just trust me on this one.

Winner: Detroit

Category #3: Quality of Ownership

Nashville: Craig Leipold was going to sell the team in 2007 to the infamous Jim Balsillie. Balsillie promptly put tickets on sale in Hamilton, which actually outsold tickets currently being purchased in in Nashville. Gary promptly put the kibosh to the deal and instead put in William “Boots” Del Biaggio who ran into legal trouble over a multitude of unpaid loans, culminating in him filing for bankruptcy. Del Biaggio, it is rumored, acquired the loans he used to buy his stake in the team through fraudulent means, prompting an FBI investigation and criminal charges. Del Biaggio may have offered to sell the team to Balsillie as a last ditch effort, but the deal was once again blocked by Mr. Bettman.

Detroit: In 1982, Mike Ilitch bought the Red Wings (legally) from Bruce Norris for $8 million. He used to give away cars at home games to boost attendance for the struggling franchise. His treatment of players/staff is second to none. Many former players are given front office jobs (Jiri Fischer, Steve Yzerman). When the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008, Illitch had Stanley Cup rings made for all the living players who had won the Cup previously, but did receive championship rings. His philanthropic efforts have been recognized by three different US Presidents. On May 8, 2009, Illitch was named by Sports Illustrated as the best owner in the NHL.

Winner: Detroit

Category #4: Google Image Search [Team City] + Redneck

Nashville:

Whew, doggie. Think he’s ever told a man to “squeal like a pig”?

Detroit:

Kid Rock is the self-proclaimed “long haired, red neck rock and roll son of Detrot”.

Winner: Detroit

Prediction: Will Nashville resort back to playing the back-up against Detroit? Dallas, Florida played their back-up and won. Montreal played their starter and lost. I’m saying that the Wings play surprisingly good defense and win this one 4-1. And that is still one too many times that “I like it, I love it” should be played at a hockey arean. YEE-HAW!

Sizing Up the Nashville Predators

2009-11-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

Masochists, rejoice! Kronwall is out 4-8 weeks with a sprained ligament in his surgically repaired left knee, leaving us with BOTH Brett Lebda and Derek Meech in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Tonight we play the Nashville Predators (aka Bubba). The Predators currently occupy 10th in the Western Conference while Detroit clings to 9th in the West, having taken 3 out of a possible 4 points on the weekend. Nashville stumbled out of the gate this season, but has gone 8-2-0 in their last ten games played. Once again, three out of the four Central Division teams are in play-off positions.

Scoring goals is not something the Nashville Predators do well. They’ve never really boasted a prolific scorer aside brief stints by Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg (yeah…remember when he was there?). The Predators currently rank dead last in the league as far as G/G average with 2.24. Detroit’s one goal game against the Panthers and two goal (three with the shootout) effort against the Canadiens brought their G/G average down slightly. However, they remain at 6th in the NHL with a fairly robust 3.10. Advantage: Detroit

Of course, when a team is struggling to score goals yet is only a couple points out of a play-off spot, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are at least decent at keeping the puck out of their own net. Nashville has had a history of riding a hot back-up goalie, and riding the starter out of town. Dan Ellis stole the job from Chris Mason, Pekka Rinne has stolen the job from him. The sophomore sensation has backstopped his team, which currently ranks 9th in the league with a 2.62 G/A average. The Wings are coming off of Saturdays’ 3-2 shootout win, which helped their goals against slightly. Howard played well on Saturday and Osgood can’t be blamed for Friday’s OT loss. They’ve risen to 16th in the league with a 2.81 G/A average. Advantage: Nashville

Nashville’s abysmal offensive numbers can in part be explained by ineptitude with the man advantage. The Predators are currently only converting 15.7% of their PP chances, which is good enough for 25th overall in the NHL. Detroit's power play scored twice on Saturday in the first frame, but was shut out the rest of the way. The biggest money-maker on the PP seems to be Rafalski’s slap pass to Datsyuk who camps out just below the circles for a tip-in. Nashville would do well to watch out for that. Detroit’s PP is currently 5th best in the NHL with a 23.9% conversion rate. Advantage: Detroit.

Barry Trotz, the neck-less bench boss for the Nashville Predators always preaches tough team defense. This, along with some stellar play by the Nashville goaltender has allowed the Predators to put up at least decent numbers on the penalty kill. The Preds are currently ranked 16th in the NHL with a 79.7% effectiveness rating. Detroit, has moved up one spot in the rankings, but remain near the bottom of the NHL in penalty killing effectiveness. They are currently ranked 26h in the league with a 75.7% kill rate. Advantage: Nashville

So, if we pull ranks and take the average for GA/G and G/G...

Nashville: 19(.5)th
Detroit: 11th

If you combine PK and PP percentages to get an overall effectiveness rating:

Nashville: 95.4%
Detroit: 99.6%

The key for a Red Wing's victory tonight will be to take care of the puck in our own defensive end. With Meech in for Kronwall (dear god, please don’t put Meech and Lebda together as a pair), it’s going to be interesting to see how well we play defense. Meech has looked decent at times, but for the most part, he’s been a huge headache. Nashville doesn’t usually score very many goals, which means they will probably score a lot tonight. No more turnovers in our own end, please.

Detroit was only able to post a 2-3-1 record against Nashville last year, which included an 8-0 demolition in Nashville during a very cold February. Will Trotz start a backup against Detroit tonight? I don’t know, what I do know is that I hate Nashville. This is a team that we should always beat. Yet, we always seem to find a way to lose. Let's do this.

Kronwall out at least Two Weeks

2009-11-22T11:30:00.003-05:00

Doubled up the competition in shots on Friday, lost 2-1 in OT.

Doubled up the competition in shots on Saturday, won in a shoot out. Three out of 4 points isn't bad I guess. But the big news isn't good.

Ever had one player injure two different guys in one shift? Well cement head George Laraque can now say that he's accomplished that feat.

After smacking Helm in the mush with his stick, the SOB went and stuck his leg out, one of the most dangerous plays in hockey...just seconds later.

And now this from the Detroit News...

"That's something that shouldn't happen in hockey. A guy shouldn't hang his leg out there and hurt another guy. It's unacceptable and it's disappointing because we just lost a good hockey player for a period of time. Our doctors will look at him (Sunday), but he's out for a chunk of time for sure." ---Mike Babcock

Holland says that Kronwall will be out at least two weeks, depending on the MRI results from today. Laraque said it was an accident...yeah-frickin'-right.

It's not worth winning if you can't win big.

2009-11-21T19:42:00.004-05:00

Few random thoughts about tonight's game...updated throughout the game.

Anyone feel like the Canadians are too worried about how they look rather than the product on the ice? Cool jerseys though.
Apparently you need to break a stick to get a cross check called today today.
I missed Kronwall's incident, feed died...how bad was it?
Nice goal by Stewy.
Damnit feed died again before goal two...but nice tippy by Datsyuk.
Wait, the new powerplay rules for faceoffs are confusing...you need a lawyer to know where the damn faceoff is.

And nothing till the end, but I think I'm gunna have to end this, my feeds aren't stable enough to really watch the game. For a real live blog, check out Abel to Yzerman.

Go Wings!

Wings Quarter Pole Player Rankings

2009-11-20T14:43:00.006-05:00

So it's about the quarter pole of the season, and I'm going to do a team ranking of each player, because, well, why the hell not, it's not like I have my first real law school final on Monday or anything. It's going to be hard not to write the same "so and so is doing better after a slow start" for each player on this list not named Maltby. I know it will come out here and there, so bear with it.

After the name is the following: GP/G/A/P/+-.

Abdelkader, Justin - 16/3/1/4/1 - B-

For a guy who is supposed to be in the AHL, he's fit into the team admirably. While his totals aren't impressive, he's been doing what we want him to do. He's gunna be a solid 3rd liner for a long time for the Wings. Plus your goal got me on FSN.

Bertuzzi, Todd - 19/3/6/9/-5 - C+

I've always been a Bertuzzi supporter. I think it's from his quote from a long time ago when he was a badass and knew it. Plus I was in high school and wanted to be cool.

"If beer has never touched your lips, you've never packed a lip or dropped the mitts, chances are you're not a hockey player...if you are, you're not a very good one"
--Todd Bertuzzi

So all year long, I've defended Big Bert from the haters that absolutely tore him up every game. And the Unabomber has surprised a lot of people, in a few different ways. He's working harder and backchecking more than any of us would have imagined. He's also shown us new ways to hit the post when it seems like the puck has no choice but to go into the net. So basically, we expected a lazy player who will put up points. We got the opposite. Is this good? Who knows. I still say he gets it going eventually though and ends up with 60 points.

Cleary, Danny - 19/4/7/11/1 - B

Cleary has, well been, Dan Cleary. He's a hard worker, isn't pretty, works wherever Uncle Mike puts him in the line-up, which is a new place every day. And Drew mentioned, he's on pace for his usual forty or so points. So not great, but not bad.

Datsyuk, Pavel - 17/4/12/16/4 - B+

Pav is starting to consistently look like himself lately, which means he is one of the top players on the ice. He singlehandedly showed the world that he's better than Ovechkin in the early matchup this year. And when he's on the ice with Zetterberg, good god, those two give me a rager with the magic that they make together. But, there have been games where Pavel has disappeared. I know he can be better and I'm sure he does as well.

Draper, Kris - 18/3/3/6/1 - B+

Babcock scratched Draper once this year. The team lost that game like 14-1. Yeah, I doubt that will happen again. He's gained a step this year and since Babbles put together the "Red Corvettes" line (is that gonna stick as like name?) those little f'ers have been flying around the ice.

Eaves, Patrick - 11/1/4/5/6 - A-

Eaves, after a start to the season where he wasn't even playing, has worked his way into the lineup (or figured out a way to poison people where their bones are brittle....) and has played like a madman. He doesn't have 20 goal potential really, but he is a quality player. He's the offensive threat on the Corvette line, but compared to Draper, I'm an offensive threat in my Thursday night bender league. I like the kid and he works. Thanks Carolina and Boston for the gift.

Ericsson, Jonathan - 17/3/6/9/-2 - B-

The Big Rig is having a mixed year. He's playing like a rookie defenseman, but a seriously talented one. His nine points is solid, but he's been real, real rough defensively. (He's third on the team in GF per 60 minutes played, but third worst in GA per 60, what does this tell you?) But hey, we expect this out of the kid. He'll be great in a year or two, and I expect him to get his shit together by the playoffs.

Filppula, Valtteri - 11/2/4/6/-6 - B-

Before the pretty boy broke himself, he was one of those players that looked like he was playing great, but the stats weren't showing it. Like I would have thought he had almost a PPG until I looked at his stats. He's the worst on the team for GA per 60, but unlike those who have the IQ of a chimp and think you can know everything from a few select stats, I know he's on his way up and was playing well.

Franzen, Johan - 3/1/1/2/0 - N/A

I remember how easily the Mule could score and that makes me sad.

Helm, Darren - 14/2/3/5/1 - B

Helm, our namesake, had a little Babbles mindf'ck timeout, but came back and is dominating like he can. Anyone else notice that he has a wicked wrist shot? Yeah, he's doing well after an average start. And he's fast. Real fast.

Holmstrom, Tomas - 19/9/3/12/5 - A

Jesus Holmstrom, you are awesome. The only consistent on the team this entire season, he's been putting the puck in the net as fast as his chubby Swedish arms will let him. Sure he's not fast, but you know, he's not bad with the puck. And I think this year was the first time since the Clinton got his winky wacked that he's scored on a slap shot. I wasn't even quite sure if Homer knew how to shoot a slap shot.

Howard, Jimmy - Record 4/3/1 SA 90.0% GAA 2.87 - B

Oh Jimmy, how you've split the fan base. At first everyone called for your head served on a platter and called you ugly. Now some people are saying you're taking over the number one job. Well no, no you're not. But you've done pretty well lately, so please, keep it up. None of that shit from the beginning of the season. Giving you a grade is tough. But a B is a solid way to say absolutely nothing in particular, so that's what you get.

Kronwall, Niklas - 19/5/8/13/3 - A

Nick Jr. has been playing like the way we knew he could for years now. He's been smart about his huge hits, hasn't missed any time yet, is third on the Wings in scoring, and just has a rocket slapper. He's been great. Not like Sr. great, but great.

Lebda, Brett - 16/1/2/3/-3 - D+

Lebda has lived up to my expectations of an offensive defenseman who doesn't score. I never thought I would yearn for The Lilja, but I do. He has gotten a little better, but, but, f**k how couldn't he?

As suggested by JJ, Lebda gets an extra bonus.

Leino, Ville - 18/3/2/5/1 - C-

I like you, Dr. E-Ville. You're talented, no doubt about that. But it is hard to get a read on you Ville. Are you trying hard? What's wrong? Are you happy? Did your puppy run away? I can't tell with that mean look on your face. You scored a few great ones at first. Then I forgot that you played on the team. Now you and Zetterman are on a line, so please use that to your advantage. And please, try to smile.

Lidstrom, Nicklas - 19/1/6/7/11 - A-

Oh, Mr. Lidstrom. I know the season has started a little slow for you offensively, but you're Nick Lidstrom, of course that's forgiven. Defensively, you've still been incredible (GA per 60 = 1.31), even when the goaltenders behind you were too busy taking a giant dump on the ice to care about the black disk flying towards them.   Now the idiots in the media think that you've started to fall off, but anyone that watches you play know for a fact that isn't true.

Maltby, Kirk - 13/3/2/5/5 - A-

For Malts, it is hard. Do I grade him for the fact that he scored three goals already and has been rock solid defensively? Or do I grade him for the fact he's been in and out of the line-up? He's proven to me he's still got a little left in him, so I'd say he's done better than I expected.   Plus he's a plus five. Impressive Kirk.

May, Brad - 12/0/1/1/-1 - B

Turns out I like Brad May. He seems like a great guy, tries hard, exposes Little Gary for the terrible commissioner that he is, and throws a great haymaker. And you know, he ain't half bad at hockey either.

Meech, Derek - 5/0/0/0/-2 - D+

Voted most likely to be picked up on waivers by some team and turn out to be a superstar. But honestly, Meech, come on. You can't win a spot over Brett Lebda?

Miller, Drew - 3/0/0/0/1 - N/A

Hello Drew, welcome to Detroit. Heard you're brother isn't half bad, want to talk to him and see if he can get out of his contract and come play here for like, I don't know, how does 500k sound? It'd buy you like at least 50 or so houses around the area.

Osgood, Chris - Record 6/3/2 SA 90.0% GAA 2.77 - B-

Osgood, you schizophrenic S.O.B., Be good or be bad, just as long as you pick one. I don't care, this is killing me.

Rafalski, Brian - 18/2/8/10/3 - B-

Rafalski is potent offensively as usual, but without Nick Lidstrom out there, I think he's +/- would take a beating. He's been caught a ton this season on pinches and, well hasn't looked great. But he's still a great PP guy and hopefully things will start coming together for him defensively.

Stuart, Brad 19/1/3/4/2 - B-

Stuart, we overpaid you a tiny bit, but I like you and your consistent ability to hit. And hey, you get PP time now. Oooh fun!

Williams, Jason 15/2/5/7/-5 - B

Sort of the same as Val, I think he's been playing well, even if the stats don't really show it. He's a lot better than I remember him, though in my memory, he was wearing rental skates and drooling on himself as he passed to the other team for a shorthanded breakaway, so that wasn't a high bar to surpass.

Zetterberg, Henrik - 19/9/14/23/7 - A

Stupid goalies got in the way at the beginning of the season, but if you've watched the Wings more than once, you know Zetterberg has been nothing short of dominate. He's an interesting player in the fact that he's not really great at any one thing. Like in NHL terms, he'd be a 89 at everything. And it turns out that being an 89 at everything makes you a 97 overall.   Even the create a player guy don't have enough points to cheat and make themselves as good as Henrik is, though he gets a few bonus points for going home and pounding Emma every night. Hell, I'd be in the show if I could rest up with her just once a week.

Harsh Words

2009-11-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

This from Free Press, Coach Babcock wants more out of his top line...and he isn't pulling any punches while talking about it:

“Pav, Bert and Homer haven’t been as good. They turn the puck over way too much and haven’t had enough substance playing in the offensive zone. For Homer to score goals and be effective, they gotta be on the grind in that zone, and he’s gotta be at the net. That’s a key for him.”

Sure he's abrasive and a little blunt at times, but that's our Uncle Mike, and we love him.

Truth be told, this line did look a little shaky on Wednesday. Bert looks like he's hustling, but without sustained pressure in the offensive zone, Holmstrom can be a liability at times. The pressure and shots needs to be established by Datsyuk and Bert, and the defense need to get their shots through the opposition.

Let's go, boys.

Another Back-Up Starts vs Wings

2009-11-20T12:30:00.003-05:00

Well, it's either one of two scenarios...

1. Coaches of opposing teams come on here, read my Pointless Preview and get so worked up about it that they change their lineup just to spite me.

2. Pete DeBoer is taking a page out of Marc Crawford's play-book to see if it actually works

That's right, this from the Miami Herald...

Scott Clemmensen, Florida's most vocal defensive critic to date this season, will find out firsthand how much better things have gotten. Clemmensen, who gave up seven goals against Washington on Nov. 7 and said playing behind the Panthers defense was ``kind of survival'' afterward, will start in place of Tomas Vokoun.

They may say that it's because Vokoun just played...but I think we all know the truth...don't we, Pete?

Pointless Preview: 11/20 vs Florida Panthers

2009-11-20T12:00:00.003-05:00

Category #1: We Made the Worst Trade Ever

Florida: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, and a sixth-round draft pick in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, and Bryan Allen. Luongo is still regarded as one of the game's "elite" goalies. Bertuzzi had the worst numbers of his career as a Panther and became a pariah for quite a while (still considered by some) until he landed in Detroit...again.

Detroit: Traded Adam Oates and Paul MacLean (yes, THAT Paul MacLean) for Bernie Federko and Tony McKegney. Federko was a star, so was Oates...a short term gain, long term pain. Detroit beat up on Adam Oates for pretty much the rest of his career. If Washington had won the Cup back in ’99 with Oates on the team, this would have been different.

Winner: Detroit (meaning Florida’s trade was worse).

Category #2: We Made Mike Milbury Look Stupid

Florida: Traded away Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha to then Islanders GM, Mike Milbury for Olli Joikenen and Roberto Luongo

Detroit: Completely shelled Jose Theodore in the second round of the 2008 Stanley Cups Play-offs shortly after Milbury, now a TV analyst who said that Theodore was “the best goaltender left in the post-season”.

Winner: Florida

Category #3: Google Image Search- Panthers + Red Wings

Winner: Detroit, trash talking in THOSE jerseys was an automatic disqualification.

Category #4: Pavel Datsyuk

Florida: Tried to trade for him using Luongo as bait.

Detroit: Told them where to shove it.

Winner: Detroit

Prediction: With Ozzie starting for the first time in a while, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some cobwebs that need to be shaken off. Vokoun has the ability to steal games, and so do the refs. I would imagine Detroit will come out pretty hungry tonight and win a 4-3 that’s not as close as the score would indicate.

Well...They Seem Optomistic

2009-11-20T11:15:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the late start, I participated in my second skate this morning at Joe Louis Arena. Though I heard that Babcock was already in the building, no word yet on if he actually got a chance to see me play.

Anyways, here's a little bit preview from a Florida source that helps paint a better picture of what we're up against tonight...

The Panthers are coming off a lopsided victory in Buffalo, winning for the third time in four games and extending their point streak to four straight contests (3-0-1).

This could be a good thing, considering that Detroit is usually good for curing a slumping team (Toronto), and turning up the intensity for those who are on a roll (San Jose).

Michael Frolik netted a pair of scores as Florida used a four-goal third period to skate away with the recent win in western New York.

Rostislav Olesz and Dominic Moore each posted a goal and one assist for the Panthers. Stephen Weiss and Cory Stillman also tallied while Tomas Vokoun stopped 26 shots for the win.

Someone asked me who the big gun was on Florida, and honestly, I didn't have an answer for him. I know the names of Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton...and I think I remember hearing Frolik's name once or twice last year. Anyway, we all know Vokoun well enough to know that we don't like him.

I'll be looking to rebound after Wednesday's game in attendance tonight with the brother-in-law. Actually, I don't think I'm counting Wednesday's game because I "intended" to see them win...which means it must have happened....right?

Sour Grapes: 11/18 vs Dallas Stars

2009-11-19T15:00:00.002-05:00

So I started this segment after the loss to Phoenix, yet haven't done one since. Well, in the essence of staying angry about what happened last night, let's see what Dallas idiots had to say about last night's travesty...

(These brought to you by Dallas Stars Blog and the letters F and U)

Gary Shinski: I can't believe it is the Detroit Redwings who are consistantly screwed by the refs. How the hell can you mean to blow a whistle? That call never would have been made against Dallas.

Okay, so that guy must not be a Stars fan...or maybe he is, and actually knows what he's talking about.

Jessica: are we going to see this team tomorrow night? or is the roller coaster ride going to continue? Good mood by Crawford to start Auld!

So, you’re telling my Crawford played Auld because he was cheerful?

Here's the winner...

TRXTR: Hehe, Wings getting screwed by the refs. That is classic...

LMAO!!!!!

Really? Are you serious with dat?

ROFL!!!!!

Bertuzzi was mugging people early, phantom calls on Daley for goalie interference, Ribeiro for cross checking, and the delay of game on Auld.

You are a funny guy Gary...

Oh where to start? How about with that username? $20 says TRXTR is this person's liscence plate on one of those useless pick-up trucks lowered to about an inch off the ground. Let's see, 10 exclamation points between the LOL and ROFL...good use of caps too, kid. Does anyone else picture these people actually phonetically pronouncing ROFL when they spell that out? That's what I hear in my head anyway...I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. Oh, and I am serious with "dat".

Dead Wings: Any long time hockey fan has consistently seen the Red Wings get all the calls. I think this was the first time in hockey history that a call didn't go there way. Kinda cool. Perhaps the economy is bad enough in Detroit where the Wings fans can't pay off the refs anymore. Now maybe all the teams will be on a level playing field with them.

Any one who thinks that Detroit has consistently gotten calls their way A. disproves that they belong to the demographic they describe as both 1. long time and 2. a hockey fan. B. You're an idiot. Maybe if you had watched the Wings in the play-offs last year (not like a Stars fan would have missed a game by watching Dallas in the post-season), you would have seen what really goes on with Detroit and refereeing. And of course, more immature middle-school level pokes and (in this case, catttle) prods about the struggling Detroit/Michigan economy...I know it's just a blog where anyone can post, but those are just cheap shots that have nothing to do with hockey.

Oh and by the way, your Cup doesn't count...Brett's foot was in the crease. That's why he came to Detroit to win a legitimate one. Keep dreaming about your livestock and wishing you could ever build a dynasty like ours. The refs handed you that one on a platter. Enjoy it.

Tomorrow's Lineup vs FLA

2009-11-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

Khan(!) gives us tomorrow's probable lineup vs The Florida Panthers (and possibly the refs).

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

Miller-Abdelkader-Maltby

May (scratched)

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Lebda

Meech (scratched)

Osgood (starting)

Howard

With the return of Ozzie, Daniel Larsson has been sent back to the red hot Grand Rapids Griffins. Also, Lilja has flown back to the miraculous chiropractor that had previously helped with his headaches.

Here's what Babcock had to say about replacing Brad May with Kirk Maltby:

“May’s done a real good job, it has nothing to do with how he’s played, it’s just the lineup that (Florida) have sets it up that we can roll four lines. We’re playing three games in a four nights, it’s important to have four lines rolling out of the gate.’’

AKA...Maltby scores goals that the refs actually count.

Sizing Up the Florida Panthers

2009-11-19T13:45:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow we play the Florida Panthers, a team who hasn’t made the play-offs since the Clinton Administration. However, while Detroit was having yet another game stolen from them by crap officiating (yeah, I’m still not over that), Florida was skating away with a 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres; a team that beat Detroit by that same score earlier this season. The Panthers currently occupy 13th in the Eastern Conference while Detroit slipped two spots to 9th in the West. So as it stands right now, of the four teams that started the season over in Europe, only Chicago (3 points ahead of Detroit) is in a play-off position with just under a quarter of the way through the season.

Like Dallas, Florida doesn’t boast superstars in any position, really. They have a decent mix of seasoned veterans and youth that they depend on for scoring. The Panthers currently rank 19th in the league as far as G/G average with 2.68. Detroit’s one goal (technically two) game against the Stars (and refs) hurt their G/G average. However, they remain at 4th in the NHL with a healthy 3.26. Advantage: Detroit

Thomas Vokoun has been a thorn in Detroit’s side before. He led an upstart Nashville Predators into battle against the Wings earlier this decade. He talked a lot of talk against the Wings once the series was tied 2-2, claiming Detroit was “not as good as they think they are”. Well, as you can imagine, Vokoun and the Preds were ousted in six and he was traded out of Music Town. His All-Star performance last season forced Florida’s hand in dealing Craig Anderson to Colorado…good call. Florida currently ranks 26th in the league with a 3.32 G/A average. The Wings are coming off of Wednesday’s 3-1 loss, which only hurt their goals against slightly. Howard’s play in Osgood’s stead has been stellar, if not show-stopping. They slipped to 20th in the league with a 2.90 G/A average. Advantage: Detroit

Florida’s lowly statistical numbers continue with its power play. The Panthers are currently only converting 14.7% of the PP chances, which is good enough for 25th overall in the NHL. Detroit's power play, after looking strong in three consecutive wins, looked outright bad on Wednesday. The crisp, clean passes and well-timed accurate shots gave way to turnovers and blocked shots. Despite the poor showing on Wednesday, Detroit’s PP is currently 6th best with a 23.5% conversion rate. Advantage: Detroit.

Well...this could be the first time that I’ve done one of these whereby Detroit swept every single category. With Vokoun being somewhat inconsistent and Scott Clemenson (yeah he left New Jersey), Florida also has a putrid penalty killing, even worse than Detroit. The Panthers are currently ranked 29th in the NHL (only in front of Toronto), with a 73.7% effectiveness rating. Detroit, who gave up their second of two PP goals against shortly after Dennis LaRue stole a goal from us on Wednesday, fell yet another spot and remain at the bottom of the NHL in penalty killing effectiveness. They are currently ranked 27h in the league with a 74.3% kill rate. Advantage: Detroit…barely

So, if we pull ranks and take the average for GA/G and G/G...

Florida: 22(.5)nd
Detroit: 12th

If you combine PK and PP percentages to get an overall effectiveness rating:

Florida: 88.4%
Detroit: 97.8%

The key for a Red Wing's victory tomorrow night will be execution at both ends of the ice. The Wings need to stop turning the puck over in all three zones. They also need to pass and shoot with a purpose. Too many times against the Stars, the Red Wings tried to make the pretty little play which more often than not, lead to a giveaway. They also need to celebrate more emphatically when a puck is in the net, the goal judge turning on the light wouldn’t hurt. Ok, so the key for tomorrow’s victory will be to have competent referees…are there any out there?

Last season, Detroit took the only meeting between these two clubs by a score of 3-2 at Florida’s home rink. However, the three key components in Detroit’s victory are no longer with us. Hossa had two goals, Franzen had the other and Conklin played in net. So who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow?

Williams/Newbury Panning out in GR

2009-11-19T11:30:00.001-05:00

Alright, let's attempt to move on here, people. It might not stick, but let's try it anyway...

From NHL.com:

"If Detroit is interested in you, it's a great compliment. I guess you could say I was jealous of (Kris Newbury) that first day. Then, the next day, my agent called and said Detroit was interested."--Jeremy Williams

I think I touched on this story a few weeks ago, but it still seems to be working. The Griffs went on a nine game winning streak, thanks largely to Williams and Newbury who lead the team in points. Newbury has 3G-9A-12Pts, and Williams has 8G-2A-10Pts.

Willaims continued on about the Detroit organ-i-zation:

"I'm extremely happy with this organization. It's opened my eyes a lot. The main thing as a player is you want to win all the time. You want to win championships."

Good luck doing that in Toronto. You made the right move, my friend...uh, I mean friends.

Not Letting it Go, Not Moving On, Not Yet

2009-11-19T10:00:00.003-05:00

Canada.com with some quotes you've heard, and maybe a few that you haven't...

``The guy never meant to blow the whistle. It was a shot. It was in on the shot. It's as dumb as I've ever seen."--Mike Babcock

He'll probably get fined for that comment, furthering the contraversy. Not only did the official make a mistake, not only did the league set up their rules so that it can't be corrected, but I'll bet you that instead of using their energy to correct a growing problem, they use that time to slap the wrist of anyone who calls them out for their shotty authority to make this game worse.

Babcock continues on the phone call with Toronto's War Room:

"That (call from league) was probably because Toronto can't believe you could shoot it in the net and it could be waved off. They tried to make a way for him to change his mind, I mean whatever.''

To make the play dead before the puck went in, Dennis LaRue would have had to have blown his whistle while the puck was traveling to the net. Watch the replay, well over a second goes by with the puck just sitting there behind the goal line, before that whistle is blown. Someone needs to sit down with Dennis and say, "Okay, here's the puck, here's the puck behind the goal line....and HERE's where the whistle was blown. You had a chance to correct yourself. Why didn't you?"

Anyway, here's what Brad May had to say:

"I recognize the referees are in a tough spot, but we have video replay in hockey for a reason, to make the right call in those circumstance. I think it's a joke. It's a 2-2 game and it's a different outcome for us. There's not a chance he's going to blow the whistle on a shot from the slot. I'm sure when he sees it, he'll be OK that was a blown call. Clearly, that's a difference maker in this game.''

Yeah right, Brad. No way that the league admits that it was a mistake...No.Fricking.Way.

Now just sit back and wait for the fines to be issues and the apologies to be NOT issued.

Plain Old Fashioned Highway Robbery

2009-11-19T07:45:00.000-05:00

A player shoots the puck; the goalie fails to keep the puck from crossing the goal line. The referee blows the whistle after the puck is across the goal line. This has been the definition of a goal in a hockey game for over a century. When did we start getting this one wrong?

I, along with all the fans at the Joe knew it was in. Dallas knew it was in. The fans in Dallas knew it was in. All of the Red Wings fans watching the game on TV knew it was in. Ken and Mick and even Larry knew it was in. Anyone watching Ken and Mick and Larry on the center ice package knew that it was in. Anyone logged on to NHL.com who was watching the game on their computer knew it was in. The people in the War Room in Toronto knew it was in. Even Gary, sitting atop his ivory tower ran down to the basement where Sidney has been living and told him that was a goal. But Dennis LaRue said it wasn’t, and thus…the goal doesn’t count.

That’s one person…out of thousands and thousands of people who knew it was a goal. One man said it wasn’t and thus it wasn’t. “The whistle had gone to blow the play dead.” Yes, we understand that, Dennis. That is what happens when a goal is scored, When you blew the whistle and skated over to the net with Abdelkader pointing and yelling, “It’s in! It’s in!” you must have noticed that the puck was completely over the line. When you got the call from Toronto, Dennis, they told you that the puck was over the line.

“What was the call on the ice?” Toronto says.

“I blew the play dead because I thought the puck was covered by the goalie,” Dennis replies.

“Well it was covered, behind the goal line.”

“Well I didn’t think it was.”

Therefore, it isn’t a goal? About 2.5-3 seconds after the puck had crossed the line, Mr. LeRue pulled out his whistle and blew it. Why do we even have instant replay? Seriously. If we can’t fix a monumental mistake such as that, we should just get rid of the entire instant replay system and revert back to the Bud Selig ways of Major League Baseball. You have a chance to right a wrong and the rules are set up in such a way that they prevent the right call from being made.

Let me say that again in a different way: the rules are set up so that mistakes can be made and that corrective actions simply cannot be taken.

That, my friends, is a flawed system. Oh and of course, this happens days after the GM meetings conclude…perfect.

Instant replay was instituted so that human errors could be corrected in an attempt to make sure that the game is fair as possible and the correct team wins. Well, that system broke down last night…again. The people on the NHL Network say “They get it right 99.9% of the time, and this time they got it wrong.” Sound familiar? It should, it’s the same B.S. argument we heard during Game 3 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals last season where Brad Watson “intended to blow the whistle” cancelling out a game-tying goal that went in before he could muster any air out of his pie hole. This was less than 30 games ago. Still want to think that they’re right 99.9% of the time? Those are two games (one of them a play-off game) that have been swayed by a wrong call that was not corrected.

Are we going to see an apology? Don’t make me laugh. We are going to get the same story we got when Brad Watson singlehandedly robbed us of a chance to get out of that Anaheim series a game earlier. The league will back the officials to the bitter end, no matter how badly he blew the call.

And he blew this one big time.

Edited because Drew didn't want me throwing f'bombs in the in title of the post

2009-11-19T01:32:00.004-05:00

Try explaining this to your twelve year old daughter Gary...

Turns out the only thing that can unite Wings, Pens (the couple who aren't idiots), Chicago (if they've watched hockey for more than two years), and any other teams' fans is something that all true hockey fans share, a f'***ing hatred towards the little troll that runs the league.

Dennis LaRue should never ref another game in the NHL. If he was a judge and he pulled that crap, he'd be disbarred and removed from the podium immediately, then taken to the back of the courtroom and beaten until he looked like Glass Joe at the end of a round of Tyson's Punch-Out.

I truly believe that Toronto called him back and said, "Hey Dennis, that's in. It went straight f***ing in." And LaRue responded "Go screw yourself."

From A2Y:

Are you sure they didn’t (call it a goal from Toronto)? Something tells me they did...and LaRue ignored it.

Posted by mrfluffy from Cincy on 11/18/09 at 10:45 PM ET

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So what are the headphones for that they put on during a review? I didn’t see any this time, and that’s bollocks. This misunderstanding cost a team the tying goal. Review one way, each game, always. But no...he would’ve had to admit he was wrong...and that was apparently too much.

Posted by mrfluffy from Cincy on 11/18/09 at 11:12 PM ET

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That’s why I miss Shanny.

He would fight Auld for the rubber, be penalized, argue with LaRue, fight LaRue, not be penalized, get the goal and sign LaRue’s dismissal.

Posted by Guilherme from Brasil on 11/18/09 at 11:15 PM ET

And he'd follow up by punching Gary in the face.

And here's a few Pens' fans comments.

Totally agree with Paul there, it obviously went in RIGHT from the shot! even when the the whistle would have been blown, the puck was already in the net. This is a pens fan here and i’m upset about that call! ludacris, man.

Posted by SteelPens111 on 11/19/09 at 12:58 AM ET

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I am a huge Pens fan who used to laugh at your whiny columns during the Finals. Having said that, you have every right to be furious. Detroit got robbed. The whole intent thing is stupid. How can there be intent to blow the whistle on a SHOT ON GOAL???? The intent begins only when the refs can’t locate the puck anymore. By the time the ref couldn’t locate the puck, the puck was already in instantly.

And even if one is too stupid to understand the simple point that a ref can’t have intent to blow the whistle on a shot on goal until at least a moment after he can’t see the puck, how is there a two second delay between intent and the actual whistle? This is why the whistle alone should be the deciding factor, not any vague notion of intent.

NHL should suspend the ref.

Posted by Praveen from Atlanta on 11/19/09 at 01:02 AM ET
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Screw it. We all know Brad May's real stats. Congrats to Brad on your first as a Wing.

Pointless Preview: 11/18 vs Dallas Stars

2009-11-18T11:45:00.002-05:00

Category #1: Isn’t that the from Guy Fresh Prince?

Dallas has Mike Ribeiro…

Carlton? Oh, that was Alfonso Ribeiro. But they probably dance the same way.

Detroit has Kris Newbury. Apparently (according to imdb), Kymberly Newberry played a character named Shauna in three episodes from 1990-1993

Winner: Dallas

Category #2: Google Image Search [Team Name] + stupid

Dallas yielded: Power Play Panda

That's pretty dumb but....

Detroit yielded: a picture of Marian Hossa

Winner: Detroit, for reasons not needed to be given.

Category #3: What Kind of Idiots have Away Third Jerseys?

Dallas: White third jerseys? Really? Maybe it’s because they’re last alternate home jerseys looked like a cross between a bull and a uterus.

Detroit: Too classy for third jersey revenue ploys.

Winner: Detroit

Category #4: Mr. “I’m Too Good for Your Farm System”

Dallas has Fabian Brunnstrom. He was a highly touted Free Agent in 2007-2008 and almost signed with the Wings. Was chased away by Kenny Holland saying that he would have to spend at least one year in the AHL. Scored a hat trick in his first game, Detroit fans wept. Has seven points this season with the trade rumors picking up, Detroit has forgotten all about him.

Detroit has Ville Leino. When Dallas won the Brunnstrom sweepstakes, Detroit settled for the Finnish super league MVP, Dr. eVille. Leino was promised a roster spot if he would spend one year in the minors to get used to the North American style of play. He spent his time with the Griffins and signed an extension with the Wings in the offseason after somewhat covertly forcing Kenny Holland to make good on his promise not to return him to the AHL this year.

Winner: Detroit, Leino only has 4 points to Brunnstrom’s 7…but Ville did his time like a man and is by no means in danger of leaving the franchise he signed with.

If Jimmy can outplay Luongo, then Turco in Detroit should be no problem. Let's be bold, I'm saying the Wings win this one 3-0 and Jimmy gets his first career shut out.

Tonight's Lineup

2009-11-18T08:15:00.001-05:00

Khan(!) reports what tonight's lineup should look like...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

May-Abdelkader-Maltby (Miller working in)

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Lebda

Meech (scratched)

Lilja (out)

Howard (starting)

Larsson

Osgood (out)

And also this...

Center Valtteri Filppula skated by himself after practice for the second consecutive day. His broken right wrist will remain in a cast for a few more weeks, so Filppula wasn't able to do anything except skate. The club expects him to return in mid- to late December.

Seems like Wally's recovery is going well. That's good news. The saddle remains on Jimmy Howard until Ozzie starts feeling better.

Helm's Deep

2009-11-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

From the Free Press this morning...

"That's probably been my biggest problem even in juniors and when I was in Grand Rapids, just being able to find that level where you have to play at without killing yourself. I'm starting to get it -- how I have to work off ice and on ice to play pretty consistently and with intensity, but not running around trying to do everything I did in the playoffs."--Darren Helm

It still remains Detroit's "nuclear bomb option", that emergency switch only pushed when the post-season rolls around. I had apprehension before this season even began that if Helm did try and sustain the level he has played throughout the past two post-seasons, he would spend a significant time on the LTIR.

Helm gets it. And he owes a lot to #33, Kris Draper. Here's what Helmer had to say about his mentor:

"He talks a lot, that's for sure. But just watching him, the little things he does, the off-ice training -- he's an intense guy and he practices 100% every day, and sometimes in practice I get laid back, whereas he's always going. He's been doing it for a long time, so if I can learn from that, hopefully I can have a career like he has."

You mean spending the bulk of your career and winning multiple Cups in Detroit? Yeah, I think I can deal with that. In fact, I'm counting on it. I thought long and hard and while attending last week's game against Vancouver, I walked into the Pro-Shop and ordered a custom jersey, embroidered with all of the fixings...an early Christmas present to myself. A red #43 Helm jersey.

Not-So-Random Clip

2009-11-17T19:45:00.000-05:00

Don't believe that Detroit owns Dallas? Watch this...

Ouch.

Sizing up the Dallas Stars

2009-11-17T11:30:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow we play the Dallas Stars, a team we vanquished in six games way back in the 2008 Western Conference Finals (they missed the play-offs last season). Detroit is currently a single spot ahead of Dallas in the Western Conference on the heels of Detroit’s 3 game winning streak (Dallas has played an extra game). The two teams, at present, would occupy the final two play-off spots if the regular season would end today. Pretty much all of the mainstream media is in full back pedal mode after predicting “the downfall of Detroit”, Detroit is 10-3-3 after the Swedish Stinkfest.

Dallas doesn’t boast superstars in any position, really. However, they do have a tendency to be moderately strong in each department, which sums up to at least a play-off caliber squad…if you ignore last year. The Stars currently sit at an impressive 7th place in the league as far as G/G average with 3.05. Detroit’s eight goal shellacking of the Blue Jackets and seven goal performance against the Ducks have lifted their G/G average as they rose to 4th in the NHL with a hearty 3.39. Advantage: Detroit

Marty Turco had an absolutely horrible start to the season last year, which contributed to Dallas’ slide out of play-off contention especially because the Stars were lacking of a consistent back-up. Marty, a former all-star hasn’t quite returned to his former glory this year, but has improved dramatically…Detroit owns him though. Dallas currently ranks 16th in the league with a ho-hum 2.79 G/A average. The Wings are doing much better on defense as of late, despite giving up three to Anaheim in the third frame of Saturday’s contest. They’re sitting 19th in the league with a 2.89 G/A average. Advantage: Dallas, but not by much.

Dallas’ mediocrity continues with its power play. The Stars are currently converting 17.2% of the PP chances, which is only good enough for 21st overall in the NHL. Detroit's power play looked bad against the Leafs, but has turned the corner. Working on the PP in practice last week seems to have paid dividends. Despite the PP losing Jason Williams on the point, it’s currently 5th best with a 24.7% conversion rate. Advantage: Detroit.

Marty Turco’s improved play has not seemed to help the penalty killing, which may come as a surprise. Dallas is currently ranked 17th in the NHL, with a 79.7% effectiveness rating. Detroit, who had came close to killing off an extended 5 on 3 power play on Saturday, remains mired near the bottom of the league in terms of penalty killing effectiveness. They are currently ranked 26h in the league with a 75.4% kill rate. Advantage: Dallas

So if we pull ranks and take the average for GA/G and G/G...

Dallas: 11(.5)th
Detroit: 11(.5)th
…weird.

If you combine PK and PP percentages to get an overall effectiveness rating:

Dallas: 96.9%
Detroit: 100.1%

The key for a Red Wing's victory tomorrow night will be to continue to own Marty Turco. Detroit has historically beaten the former U of M goaltender with staggering effectiveness. Detroit is clearly a more talented team, even with the injuries they have suffered. The loss of Sergei Zubov is a big blow to Dallas’ defense. The fact that Marc Crawford is the Stars’ bench boss could rekindle this rivalry right quick if he resorts to the same methods that brought him success in Vancouver and Colorado. However, unlike Bowman…I’d put my money on Babcock if another coach confrontation turned to fisticuffs.

Last season, Detroit surprisingly struggled against teams that failed to qualify for the play-offs (they were swept by Colorado and were shut out by the Islanders). They posted a 1-2-1 record against the Dallas Stars in 2008-2009. The home winning streak and my perfect attendance at the Joe will be on the line tomorrow night.

Have You Noticed Nik Jr.?

2009-11-17T08:30:00.002-05:00

Nik Kronwall currently sits #1 in scoring for defenseman on the Detroit Red Wings with 5 goals and 13 points. He is currently ranked ninth overall in the NHL for those manning the blue line. Kronwall is coming off of a career season in which he ranked just outside of the top ten for D-men last year with 51 points.

Right now he is on pace for 59 points, which would be equal to both what Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski netted in '08-'09.

Detroit's 1st round pick in the 2000 draft has increased his point total every year spent in the NHL.

Zetterberg "Da Man" last Week

2009-11-17T07:30:00.000-05:00

Henrik Zetterberg scored four goals and notched five assists in the three games played last week. That was good enough to earn him First Star honors for the entire NHL for the week.

Despite being separated from Pavel Datsyuk due to an injury to second line center and snappy dresser, Valtteri Filppula, Zetterberg has been racking up the points. He currently leads the team with 22 points in 18 games played.

Zetterberg has made the cut of NHL Stars of the Week three times prior, but not since late 2007.

Please forgive me for the complete lack of posting yesterday, I had some personal business to take care of.

I'm back.

NHL Suspension Policy - Uncovered!

2009-11-15T18:22:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to write a blog about the absolute insanity that is the NHL when it comes to suspensions, in which I was planning on using some impressive and confusing law school terms which I learned in the past six months of my three year quest to be on a Sam Bernstein commercial. While I still might try and pull this off, Down Goes Brown put up a post that totally explains everything to a tee regarding the NHL wheel of suspensions.

Please read, you won't be disappointed and you might even learn a thing or two.

Also, Tyler at TTD has one of the best analogies ever regarding Zetterberg and doubleshifting.

Most players think that "double shifting" is playing on multiple lines; to Z it means dominating a hockey game and then going home to work over Emma.

Basically, this post is me doing this, but in a respectful and awed way.

Wings Keep Winning

2009-11-15T12:32:00.001-05:00

In case you missed anything...

Free fries.

Wings / Ducks - Odds

2009-11-14T14:40:00.001-05:00

Today is going to be the first time in a long time that the Wings play the Ducks without me feeling intense rage against the poultry and all their brethren. Without Chris Pronger, it really isn't the same. Oh, I still hate Corey Perry and think that Getzlaf is a douche (seriously, when I saw that he had a huge bald spot on the back of his head at the All-Star game last year, that gave meaning to life.) But without Pronger on the blue line and the Manatee in net, the poultry don't have that special place in my heart that I usually reserve for sources of pure evil like Hitler, Kayne West, all country music stars, and, of course, Wal-Mart greeters.

So with that said, you can look to all the other great blogs around for real previews, here's your odds for tonight.

Selanne won't pass the puck once (9 goals, 1 assist, really?) - 3:1
Howard bandwagon to overflow/completely empty after the game tonight - Even
That in all reality, Brown's hit on Happy last year is the real reason the little guy isn't playing the show this year.. - 5:4
Corey Perry will continue to be a huge bitch until the Big Rig reminds him what happens to little bitches. Perry disappears without anyone noticing, like the period after Dr on a Dr. Pepper can. - 4:1
Getzlaf will continue to refuse Ralfaski 's offer to sit down and talk to him about the benefits of the Hair Club for Men. - 2:1
Parros' mustache will make a serious run for governor. - Even
Noone outside of Detroit will realize that Lidstrom is somehow a plus 10 on a team that is only a plus five in GF/GA. - 6:1
Ken Holland next year petitions the league not to let the Wings play on Saturday - 10:1
Within one week, Chicago will be once again looking up at the Wings in the standings. - 4:5

Go Wings!

Pointless Preview: 11/14 vs Anaheim Ducks

2009-11-14T13:00:00.006-05:00

Category #1: Your Team is Named After a Disney Movie

Anaheim: Drop the "Mighty" off the jersey change the colors if you want, but you'll still never escape it.

Detroit: Nada

Winner: Anaheim...and yes, if you frequent the Triple Deke, you're quite familiar with that shot of Emilio.

Category #2: Hotter Girlfriend

Anaheim has: Getlzaf and this girl...not too bad I guess.

Detroit has: Henrik Zetterberg and Emma Andersson. Yeah.

Winner: Detroit

Category #3: Jersey Foul!

Anaheim provides us with these two morons...

Oh.My.God.

Detroit has this guy, disrespecting Sawchuck's retired #1...

Come on Papa, even if it was a gift, a true fan should know better...

Winner (less of a loser): Detroit. The fact that the two Anaheim fans spent money to ruin TWO jerseys and paying tribute to something Ducks fans absolutely hate is actually quite sad. When you're making your own loser fans angry...something's obviously very wrong.

Category #4 Better Goal Horn

Anaheim has the fog horn...

Different, but pretty annoying.

Detroit is a little more classic...

Winner: Detroit. It's usually hard to even hear the horn at the Joe whether at the game or watching on TV because of the crowd going wild. Whether they just blow the fog horn louder in Anaheim, or maybe their crowd is just quieter, but everyone hears that stupid fog horn.

Prediction: Well...Anaheim is playing back to back nights after losing to Columbus last night in a shoot out. The 14th place Ducks are probably going to play their A game, but I don't think it's going to be enough. Wings win 4-1.

Late review...

2009-11-13T16:51:00.001-05:00

Another interesting game last night (and way different than the 9-1 smackdown of the BJ's that I witnessed.) I saw a lot of things in this game, but the one I think stands out to me is that this is the exact type of game the Wings would have lost a month ago 4-1. This time, they took the two points from the Canucks due to a combination of reasons.

Anyways, I did make a list of a few comments I wanted to make. A little later than the average recap I know, but here goes.

Wings are 6-1-1 in their last eight. We're coming Chicago...
Rafalski really seems to struggle on pinches. The perfect human makes up for it most of the time, but I don't remember him being so poor defensively. Some pretty bad turnovers too...fix it Brian.
I'll admit, somehow, someway, Sammy does something so rediculous, it is impressive. He somehow is still taking penalties for the Wings, ever without playing for them. I think he's a lot smarter than we think...maybe an Einstein in body that makes him look like a wild eyed goofy.

Nah..

During a lot of the first and second, the Wings were extremely sloppy, a few times I saw all three forwards down low, nobody was coving the points at all and the effort wasn't really there. This is exactly the opposite of Wednesday.
I've always been on the Bertuzzi bandwagon, but he's really f'ed up in the head right now. The skill is 100% there, but when it comes to thinking...nope. He is deking when he should should and shooting when he should pass. One sweet goal though, and I bet it all comes together.
Howard played great. I think the entire blogosphere has mentioned that. It has been a long long time since the Wings have had a goaltender steal one. He's gotta narrow his b-fly on some shots, but other than that, he looked great.
Cleary seems to be cherry picking a bit. WTF mate.
Leino is fast as shit in the attacking zone, slower than Homer trying to say a tongue twister in the neutral zone. And I don't know, but I can't remember him once all year in the defensive zone. Is this a good or bad thing?
Brad May is the next Gretzky, without all the goals and assists. He had some great shifts in the second and third.
I love that Gretzky is a word in spellchecker.
Jesus, I not only think that Larry Murphy and Mickey were drunk during this one, I'm pretty sure Ken Daniels did Shrooms after the first. It had the be one of the weirdest things I've heard on television This little exchange happened at 7:22 of the second period:

Larry Murphy: "It'd be like putting the Little Caesers guy on the Wings jerseys."
Ken Daniels: "HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!" (The kind of slow laugh at first you think he's making fun of him, then you realize that its real and you probably should call his neighbors and alert them they have a child predator residing nearby.)
Mickey: "Pizza Pizza." (Said like a down-syndrome pirate).
"Datsyuk makes me giggle like a retard chasing after bubbles."- Gold granted to us from JJ from Kansas
I want to know what it's like to be shit talked by Pavel Datsyuk in his Datsyukian speak. Someone give me an example of what it would sound like in the comments.
Howard had a hell of a glove save in the third. It was cocky and I like it.
Z to Bobby Lou after his goal: - "Waterbottle bitch!"
Kronner is really becoming a great player. Two years ago he was Stuart's equal, now he's easily the number two defenseman on the team.
Miller was totally alright in a, strange, Klopecky kinda way. Whatever, good for him.

Hopping Back on (or off) the Bandwagon

2009-11-13T13:30:00.003-05:00

First, I wanted to share this little bit from the Chief over at A2Y...this is oustanding writing:

What happens when you’re fans of the reigning champs and your team starts to suck and you’re too embarrassed to go back to the opposing team’s blogs because you just don’t have much to say when your precious little Pens are bending over for any team crosses their path? It was so easy over the summer to point to Detroit’s economic problems. It was just a piece of cake to discuss the auto industry and use it as a punch line while hundreds of thousands of Americans were out of work. Funny stuff. Soooo cold in the D, wasn’t it?

Well, it’s warming up now ain’t it? And while the temps start to rise (metaphor) along with Detroit’s winning percentage? The genius Pens fans are finding a creative way to cope with the sudden demise of their one-trick champs.

It's true, Pittsburgh has lost more games in a row than any other team not from Raleigh. And it's true, they're fans absolutely peppered Abel to Yzerman with trash talking all summer and through the first part of the season. All of a sudden, the line went dead. The Chief's ranting and raving above is more justified and spot-on than anything I've read today.

Pittsburgh has been reduced to posting crap like this at Letsgopens...

The thing actually moves, but I'm not good enough to do that...click on the link, I dare you.

And how about this from Pensblog...

Ok, that one's funny, and the sister's at the Pensblog are acknowledging the Bandwagon exodus.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings are back within the top eight of the conference, and have won their last two games by a combined score of 12-2. Powerplay is back on track and the penalty killing has been a whole lot better lately. And now we're starting to see articles like entitled "Motown Revival" and "Wings Open Red Kettle Season"...alright so the second one is actually about charity, but the point remains: everyone is bracing themselves for the Red Wings to start charging through Western Conference Standings faster than you can say "Jack Robinson". This only weeks after all of the main stream media had written Detroit off and days after ridiculing them for losing to Toronto. A third win tomorrow against the Ducks will further their backpeddaling as they try and come out with more bold predictions about how successful this Wings system is and how they knew it all along.

Well shut up. We knew it...the entire time. And yeah I know that Howie's performance in the last two games was probably the exception and not the norm. Many of you aren't convinced yet and many of you probably never will be until you see him raise the Cup as the starter, and some of you still won't be convinced (look at Ozzie). But he STOLE that game for us last night and played more solid during that farce in Columbus than many will give him credit for. I don't care what people say, Mike Babcock is the best coach in the National Hockey League. Sure you can point out flaws, but show me one coach where you can't. This team has lost so much, whether it be to free-agency or injury, and everyone was so eager to see a new champ crowned in the Central Division. Well hold the phone, because the Hawks are only point ahead of us in the standings. They don't have Hossa? We don't have Franzen. Who's more important? Ask Kenny Friggin' Holland and see if he bats an eye. With Franzen, Williams and Filppula in the lineup at the same time (NOT in Sweden), what's this team's record? Would we have lost to Colorado? Phoenix? Doubtful. But we keep pressing on. Guess what? We're on pace for 105 points right now...nothing to sneeze at.

But getting back to Pittsburgh. It amuses me that as one team goes up, the other goes down. When Detroit stumbled out of the gate, Pittsburgh hit the ground running. Detroit wins 5 out of 6, Pittsburgh loses 4 in a row. Inevitably, both teams will find consistency and will most likely end up in the post-season when it's all said and done. A three-match in the Finals? Not likely (just playing the odds on this one). But far be it from me to join in with the Chief and say to all those jumping aboard the Detroit bandwagon, or jumping off the Pittsburgh bandwagon...we told you so, so STFU.

Rant over.

How About Howie?

2009-11-13T10:30:00.002-05:00

Jimmy Howard has stopped 56 of his last 58 shots faced. That's a save percentage of 96.55%. Last night he outplayed Roberto Luongo, who's almost a shoe-in for team Canada come February. Wednesday night, he out played last year's Rookie of the Year who finished 2nd in voting for the Vezina as well.

Jimmy, according to USA Today, is happy with his performance, but realizes that his play of late is no more and no less than something he needs to build on:

"It's been a great step in the right direction, but I still feel I have a lot to work on."

Jimmy, like myself, is pleased with the way things are going. But you have to keep your feet on the ground and keep striving to improve. Each one of these wins is looking better and better for the young American netminder. Here's what Coach Babcock had to say:

"What needed to happen for Jimmy is what happened here — throwing up two one-goal games. He was way better tonight because he had more action and he was relaxed. He is all like all young players … when you are overthinking, you press."

Last night was a statement game for Jimmy. After breezing through the Blue Jackets, though his workload was more challenging than the score let on, Jimmy stole that game for us last night.

When's the last time a goalie stole a game for us?

Kick 'Em When They're Down: 11/12 vs VAN

2009-11-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

These comments brought you from Nucks Misconduct and their game-day thread:

Beantown Canuck: goddamn it i need to get a tv soon and then get centre ice

A good way to start I think. The recession has hit some people harder than others...maybe sell your computer to get a TV?

kentcheesehead: Can't do nothing right.

Ok, I feel like this is not a fair representation of the "seventh Canuck" (they have their own retired banner, ya know?), we have one guy who doesn't have a TV and this guy who talks like a Nashville Predators fan. Still, I thought it was funny. This comment came after a lot of F-bombs were dropped when Holmer made it 1-0 on the PP.

Brewhaha69: lol bert’s breakin necks again

Missy: bugger off, bert.

These two were posted in the exact same minute, same topic, so I put them together. Obviously, there's still some feelings there for Big Bert. I wonder what he was doing to set them off.

YankeeCanuck: Wow. Didn’t realize Detroit was full of bitches.

Bitches with rings, you oxymoronic username having cad.

Here comes another flurry after the Zetterberg goal, you ready?

SeanZandberg: Oh wow. That was a sweet goal by Zetterberg
cyxj: Just got the goal on the DD feed. Z is too good.
eightyseven: Hahah same here. What a beast.
missy: f**k you, Zetterberg

Impressed, complimentary...like I said before, Canucks fans are very respectful (most of them).

265 total comments. Some laughs, but in the end...nothing but cries.

Even 3 Goals-For Increases Beer Consumption

2009-11-13T07:15:00.000-05:00

So I didn't get on TV at last night's game, but what I did do was improve my record to 6-0-0 on North American soil.

Chicago: 3-2
Washington: 3-2
Los Angeles: 5-2
Boston: 2-0
San Jose: 2-1
Vancouver: 3-1

And I was indeed "bang on" in my pointless prediction of a 3-1 Red Wings victory (I'm not linking to my own post, so go find it if you don't believe me).

My funny story for the game came about mid-way through the 3rd period when I got up and ran to the men's room during a commercial break. For those of you who haven't been to the Joe, there's one particular bathroom that has a single door to get in and out...always causes chaos between periods. Anyway, I run to get in line and right in front of me is a stocky, balding man in a nice suit, wearing glasses. Right away I knew it was Scotty Bowman.

Rather than take the high road and leave the guy alone while he waits in line to do as nature intended, or even be polite and gawk and admire the guy and praise him with thanks like many others were doing, I decided to make some smart-ass remarks brought on by a great set-up from another onlooker, inspired by a couple Molson Triple X's. "Scotty," one guy in line says, "don't they have a suite or something for you, what are you doing pissing with the rest of us?" I spoke without really thinking... "He doesn't work here anymore." Now remember this is with the Hall of Fame coach standing directly in front of me...I mean, he probably could smell the beer on my breath. "Matter of fact," I continued to the security guard making sure no one took cuts "did you check his ticket?" Scotty didn't turn around, I think I heard him scoff. We both walked in, and he was gone before I was finished.

I walked back to where I thought my seats were only to realize that in my haste I had blown past my section and couldn't get across the seats without making dozens of people angry at me. I simply plopped down on the dirty steps and within seconds Hank popped in a beauty on one of the league's elite goalies (who was outplayed by Jimmy Howard).

Magical.

Vancouver is Scared (I say)

2009-11-12T15:15:00.001-05:00

The Vancouver Sun, with a apprehensive approach leading up to tonight's game...

Luongo got the flu, which pushed back his return date. Daniel Sedin’s recovery from a broken foot stalled, and the Canucks’ best scorer went home. Then the Canucks, in an inexplicably lousy performance, were roasted 6-1 Tuesday by the St. Louis Blues as backup goalie Andrew Raycroft suddenly turned into a pumpkin.

So, tonight, Luongo starts for the first time since a fractured rib forced him from the lineup on Oct. 28, and does so on the road against the powerful Detroit Red Wings, without the benefit of other reinforcements as the Canucks lurch toward a losing streak. And all this against the backdrop of Luongo’s history of starting slowly after injury or layoff.

Welcome back, Louie. Have fun.

So Detroit is now "the powerful Detroit Red Wings" after throttling the Columbus Blue Jackets. Really? Ok, let's roll with it. Here's a gem from Bobby Lou:

“I can’t think of a better way to come back than to have Tomas Holmstrom draped on my back for 60 minutes.”

And if Holmer's twiggy happens to get up near your ribs...well, don't blame us.

Drew Miller makes Debut Tonight

2009-11-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Helene St. James of the Free Press reports that Drew Miller will be playing with Justin Abdelkader and Brad May tonight. Apparently Kirk Maltby is sick.

“He gets an opportunity to get in right away, which is good. We’re excited to have him here.”--Mike Babcock

Also, Chris Osgood is feeling a little under the weather, so Jimmy Howard will get consecutive starts. Daniel Larsson has been recalled from Grand Rapids to back-up Howard tonight against the Canucks.

So as far as I can tell, here are your lines...

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

Miller-Abdelkader-May

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Lebda

Howard

Larsson

...welcome to the fold, Drew

Detroit Still Top 5 in Value

2009-11-12T11:35:00.001-05:00

How about some financial news? That sounds exciting, right? Here's a little ditty from Reuters this morning...

The teams dubbed the "Original Six" ranked among the top seven most valuable of the league's 30 teams, with the Philadelphia Flyers at No. 5 the only interloper, according to the list, which was released late on Wednesday.

The most valuable team was the Toronto Maple Leafs, which saw its estimated value rise 5 percent to $470 million, Forbes said. It was followed by the New York Rangers (up 1 percent to $416 million), Montreal Canadiens (up 2 percent to $339 million) and the Detroit Red Wings (up 11 percent to $337 million).

Not too shabby, I'd say...especially for a team residing in a state that was hit arguably the hardest by the recession.

Notables:

Chicago Blackhawks ranked 7th (up 26 percent at $258 million)
Pittsburgh Penguins ranked 11th (up 14 percent at $222 million)
Washington Capitals, ranked 20th (up 15 percent to No. 20 at $183 million)

Washington in the bottom ten? I would have thought Ovie-wan-kenobi jersey sales would be huge. Maybe if all the Redskins fans start jumping ship...I noticed TE Chris Cooley was helping the broadcast team during the Washington/Islanders game last night.

Nine Goals-For Increases Beer Consumption...

2009-11-12T11:01:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Tyler at the TTD predicted something so illogical it made perfect sense.

You know that the Wings are going to lose this game. Which means they will win it. Don't look at me like that, it makes perfect sense.

That was the exact feeling I had going into this game. And it was so ridiculous, the Wings came out and did exactly that, scoring nine f'ing goals for my first Wings road game.

I gotta say, Blue Jackets fans are some of the nicest fans on the planet. I didn't get one comment all night, either at the game or at the Jackets bar that me, my buddy, and my girlfriend went to. Who would thought that BJ fans would be so classy?

And, after Abbadabbado's first goal (Wings goal #8), I got blown up with phone calls and texts. As my buddy and former teammate Erik put it in an email this morning...

On my way to practice, I listened to the game on the radio, and by the time I got to the rink, the score was 3-0! I later heard on the radio on my way home that the wings dominated to a score of 9-1!

So I got home and threw on the wings game and basically fast forwarded the entire game watching all the goals. On one particular goal, the 8th, which was abby's 1st of the night, directly after the goal the camera went to the crowd. There was these two drunk idiots in wings jerseys celebrating the 8th goal of an 8-1 game, you know they type of asshole that was really rubbing it in and after second glance, I recognized one of the drunk sieves in the stands. I recognized his hat. It was completely worn out and should have been retired about 10 years ago. Then I saw this beach bodied pretty boy and immediately knew it was chris.

So yeah, I was the asshole after goal eight that was still celebrating like crazy. Hell, my kids large jersey from 1993 even made it up on the highlight real on NHL.com.

Assholes

But the game, what a beat down. Now Mason was not himself, there is no question about that. What the hell Hitchcock was thinking by leaving in his young goaltender for that long. The Wings, however, dominated this game like I have never seen. The passes were perfect. They seemed to know what each other were doing 10 seconds before it was going to happen. Shots were snipes to the top corner and almost never missed the net. Datysuk made a pretty good case for him to be president. Leino scored on one of the nicest moves I've seen. Zetterberg was all over the place. So was Eaves. So was Bert. So was EVERYBODY. Hell, Brad May looked like he was an offensive threat.

And Howard looked great. So logically, that means next game he'll have trouble skating to the net without falling. But man, he looked good out there. Crisp movements, solid rebound control. Everything that he can do, but never seems to put together, he did out there.

It was a great, almost relaxing game to watch. And, damn, the beer flowed well into the night. And this morning, seven AM came fast.

Great night and great game for the Wings.

Pointless Preview: 11/12 vs Vancouver Canucks

2009-11-12T10:00:00.004-05:00

We didn't do one of these the first time around so here it goes...

Category #1: How did Your Last Game Go?

Vancouver: 6-1 Loss @ St. Louis

Detroit: 9-1 Win @ Columbus

Both played rematches of their respective Western Conference Quarterfinals opponents. St. Louis got revenge for bowing out in four games. Detroit got revenge for some people saying the series with the BJ’s should have went 5 games.

Winner: Detroit...by a goal differential of +13

Category #2: Biggest Fan Butt-Kissing

Detroit: Used to give cars away every home game back in the troubling start to the Illitch dynasty. Now has given away bobble heads, Plaques, and free programs at every home game.

Vancouver: Actually retired the #7 on the team in honor of the fans being “the seventh Canuck”…yeah, I didn’t believe it at first either.

Winner: Vancouver...a banner? Really?

Category #3: Looks Most Like a Celebrity

Vancouver: Roberto Luongo as Jean Girard in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

"...and likes taking strolls with his husband, Gregory."

Detroit: Todd Bertuzzi as The Unabomber (inside joke for some)

Now that you actually compare the two, this could be Todd after a few years of seclusion hiding in the Rockies.

Winner: Vancouver

Category #4: Who’s more Banged-Up?

Vancouver has:

Michael Grabner (ankle)

Alex Bolduc (shoulder)

Roberto Luongo (ribs)

Daniel Sedin (foot)

Jannik Hansen (hand)

Pavol Demitra (shoulder)

Detroit has:

Andreas Lilja (head)

Johan Franzen (knee)

Valtteri Filppula (wrist)

Jason Williams (leg)

Winner: Detroit…quality over quantity. Luongo is back, Sedin will be soon.

Tie-Breaker Category: Stanley Cups Won

Vancouver has….**cough cough**

Detroit has...

Winner: Detroit by a score of 11-0

Predicion: I'm guessing that Detroit still has a few goals saved up for tonight. Though I am worried about over-playing the depth players last night (Helm, Abdelkader, Eaves) and over-resting the stars (Datsyuk, Zetterberg). I'll give this one to Detroit by a score of 3-1. Welcome back to Detroit, Sammy.

Kick 'Em When They're Down: 11/11 vs CBJ

2009-11-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

You know...I hate Chicago, I hate Anaheim, I dislike the Blues and I don't care much for Nashville. But I find it hard to actually hate the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's performances like last night, where the Wings absolutely vaporized the BJ's that almost make me feel bad for the franchise...almost.

Even last year when I attended games 1 & 2 of the Western Conference Semi-Final against Columbus, I saw fans around Joe Louis wearing blue jerseys, and I wasn't mad. I looked at them like you look at a wayward dog stranded in the median of the interstate..."Awww, you're not supposed to be there, you're going to get hurt!" Now it might have been different if they had stolen one of the games at the Joe, but they didn't.

You can imagine that what little blogosphere the Blue Jackets actually have isn't all atwitter after last night's beatdown, so here's what I could find over at The Cannon:

TESTIFY!: I didn’t get to watch the game tonight and when I got to my computer and saw the boxscore the only thing that went through my mind was what…. the ….. mufff?? I had to check the final score more then once to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I will still carry the flag proudly but seriously. What the muff

Is this guy trying to create a new catch phrase? Ridiculous. Maybe he's trying to play off of that flamboyant youtube star. Also all caps and an exclamation point in his username? Priceless.

SMF360: I did watch the game tonight and Im only stating the obvious when I say it was ugly. There were a couple times when it felt as if the Jackets were swinging a little momentum, at least towards getting their self respect back, but then bad goal and it all went to hell. Detroit is in the heads of Columbus

When was Columbus swinging momentum? Admittedly, I didn't watch the ENTIRE game on account of blinking...which is when I must have missed Columbus having self-respect last night. Oh and I'm not cutting off the end punctuation on either of the first two comments...they didn't one.

Ryan31: I left after it became (sigh) 8-1. The bad thing about being in 119, it was attack twice for Detroit. Ouch. Mason was horrible. Worst I’ve ever seen from him. Klesla should stop inviting the puck to dinner. And last but not least, what the hell was that for a 1,000 game night? Filatov didn’t play horrible. I think I saw everyone take a face off except mason tonight.

For what points he lost as a fan for actually leaving a game before it's over (I don't care what the score is), he makes up in not having an all caps username and putting punctuation on the end of his last sentence. PS...Klesla stopped about as many shots as Mason did last night.

dms2262: At the beginnig of the year we saw the Jackets team we were all looking for, hard hitting, great PK, and best of all winning. Where is that team now? The hits were pathetic last night, the PK was non-existent, and a AAA PeeWee team could have played better defense. The Jackets allowed guys to skate un-opposed in the corners, and down the slot, it was sad to watch. You cannot play that way against Detroit especially when thay were angry after having lost to Toronto. I love’em though. Let’s get back in the drivers seat and get going, it is still early and we are right up there in the division.

"Awww....look at the little optomistic Blue Jackets fan. Aren't cute? Wait, don't get too close, they scare easily."

Wings Win 9-1

2009-11-11T21:30:00.001-05:00

Yowsa.

Abby with 2
Nik Jr. with 2
Cleary
Bertuzzi
Draper
Datsyuk
Leino with a beauty

Still no curly fries from Arby's...that's pretty much my only complaint about this beatdown.

Can't Hurt His Chances

2009-11-11T18:00:00.002-05:00

Say it with me now....

COME ON JIMMY!

Drew Miller a Red Wing

2009-11-11T13:14:00.003-05:00

Per Lightning Strikes, the Wings have picked up Drew Miller, brother of strange looking Sabers goaltender Ryan Miller, off waivers. Miller is listed at 6'2 and 178 lbs. He has 6 goals and 15 points in in 67 games played in Anaheim and Tampa Bay. Miller also had 86 points in three years as a Michigan State Spartan.

Good depth signing. He'll be available to play, should the Red Wings choose, tomorrow vs. the Vancouver Canucks. He was pointless and a -4 rating for the Lightning thus far in 2009-2010.

Cool I guess.

I'm heading to a meeting with the BJ's legal counsel and then throwing on a Wings jersey and will be at the game tonight, hopefully making Jacket fans cry. Eat that Drew, I'll be at a game you won't be for once. Anyone else going to be there?

Go Wings!

Tonight's Lineup

2009-11-11T12:00:00.001-05:00

Here are what tonight's lines should look like, according to Khan(!)...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary
Draper-Helm-Eaves
May-Abdelkader-Maltby

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Lebda

Meech

Lilja (IR)

Howard (starting)

Osgood

This will be Jimmy's first start since the 6-5 shootout loss to Edmonton on October 29th.

Pointless Preview: 11/11 vs Blue Jackets

2009-11-11T10:30:00.002-05:00

Category #1: Looks most like a Professional Wrestler

Columbus: Ken Hitchcock as Paul Bearer

“Ohhh Undertaker!”

Detroit: Brad McCrimmon as Marty Jannetty

Sure not much similarity back when Jannetty was in his prime, but look at him now….

Winner: Surprisingly, Detroit...because Jannetty might actually do a better job of coaching the PK

Category #2: Dumbest Player

Columbus: Mike Commodore, for taking this photo...

Detroit: Doesn’t matter, no one tops that in stupidity.

Winner: Columbus

Category #3: Better Mascot

Columbus: Stinger…green cross between a bee and a ninja turtle. And what is that tuft of yellow I see peeking out beneath that jersey? Happy Valentines Day, indeed!

Detroit: Al the Octopus…though soft in color, fierce in demeanor. Rather than have a former college (male) cheerleader dress up in a suit, Al hangs in the rafters. Named after our legendary zamboni driver and fashioned after one of the game's longstanding traditions.

Winner: Detroit

Category #4: Best Use of Flammables at Home Games

Columbus: The cannon. Fired off every time the Blue Jackets score a goal at home. Thank god that 8-2 drubbing last season was NOT at their home rink. The cannon is also always accompanied by “For Those About to Rock” by AC/DC.

Detroit: The scoreboard goes ablaze during the pre-game during the Stanley Cup play-offs.

Winner: Actually, I’m calling this one a tie…the cannon is unique, but the Joe makes up lost points for saving the firepower for the the play-offs (much like the team does).

Since Jimmy Howard will be starting tonight, I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a high-scoring affair. Rick Nash is a beast and against Jimmy? I fear for the republic. Wings win, but it won’t be pretty…7-6

Stuey on the PP

2009-11-11T09:00:00.002-05:00

Khan(!), as per usual, is feeding us great game-day stuff. Like how #23 will now be used on the 2nd PP unit now that Jason Williams is busted. Lidstrom and Rafalski will man the 1st unit blue line with Kronwall and Stuart teaming up on the 2nd.

Here's what coach Babcock had to say about Stuart:

"He's got the hard shot, he's always played on the power play prior to coming here. We have just used him way more on the penalty kill role, a physical matchup role. We like him getting his minutes that way. But when things change, you got to adjust."

Stuey discusses the challenges of switching his role and playing the off-side (he's a left handed shot):

"It's fun to play on the power play, but I've kind of put my focus on other parts of my game, tried to take pride in killing penalties and just playing strong, physical defense. You're skating forward in a shooting position, as opposed to having to kind of backpedal on the left side. Both sides have advantages and disadvantages. On the right side, you got to play the puck off the wall on the backhand, can be a little more challenging."

Picture me like Bastian in the "Never Ending Story", yelling at Atreyu "Be confident! Be confident!"

Sizing Up the Blue Jackets

2009-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Detroit is currently 11th in the Western Conference…unfamiliar territory. Sure we’re tied for least amount of games played and our fellow Stockholm travel companions are worse off than we are, but 17 points in 15 games is very un-Red Wing like. Sure all of the mainstream media is probably getting sore shoulders from patting themselves on the back for predicting “the downfall of Detroit”, but the players haven’t done much to shut them up. Tonight we play the Division leading Blue Jackets, a team we ousted in four in the Western Conference Quarter Finals. But that was back when Ozzie was STFU Ozzie. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jimmy gets the start tonight.

Columbus has never been known for having a high powered offense aside from perennial Wing-killer, Rick Nash. Ken Hitchcock’s style of coaching trends more towards a defensive game. However, the Blue Jackets currently sit at an impressive 7th place in the league as far as G/G average with 3.19. Detroit’s one goal stinker in the Air Canada Center last Saturday sure didn’t help their G/G average as they fell to 16th in the NHL with a measly 2.80. Advantage: Columbus…big time.

Steve Mason seized control of the Columbus net last year. The young kid had an amazing season posting 10 shutouts as a 20 year old on his way to winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie and finished second in Vezina voting for top goalie. However, he appears to be going through the dreaded sophomore slump. Columbus currently ranks 27th in the league with a dreadful 3.25 G/A average. The Wings aren’t doing much better on defense, however. They’re sitting 24th in the league with a lowly 3.07 G/A average. Advantage: Detroit

One of Columbus’s weaknesses last season was its power-play, which was near last in the league in terms of conversion. They seemed to have fixed whatever was wrong and are currently converting 22.2% of the PP chances, good enough for 9th overall in the NHL. Detroit's power play looked bad against Burkie’s Leafs on Saturday night. Khan(!) told us this week that they were working on the PP in practice, and a good thing too, it’s currently 16th best with a 20.0% conversion rate. Hopefully, the amount of talent on this lineup will compensate for the loss of Jason Williams, the right-handed shot on the second unit. Advantage: Columbus

The Blue Jackets' penalty killing seems to be suffering along with their inconsistent goaltending (we don’t know anything about that, do we Detroit?). They are currently ranked 18th in the NHL, with a 79.4% effectiveness rating. Detroit, who had been improving on the PK, suffered yet another setback on Saturday. The dismal start in the first few games of the season is now starting to drag out into a bad first-quarter season. They are currently ranked 26h in the league with a 75.9% kill rate. Advantage: Columbus

So if we pull ranks and take the average for GA/G and G/G...

Columbus: 17th

Detroit: 20th

If you combine PK and PP percentages to get an overall effectiveness rating:

Columbus: 101.6%

Detroit: 95.9%

The key for a Red Wing's victory tonight will be simple as usual, to play hungry. Toronto just seemed to want Saturday’s game more than Detroit. They were clearly a more talented team, but ended up getting embarrassed on the score sheet. One of my all-time favorite sports-related quotes is “hard works beats talent when talent fails to work hard”…is there a more fitting scenario for your Detroit Red Wings? Whatever they found in themselves to stick it to the Blue Jackets last spring, they need to find it again.

Last season, Detroit edged the season series with a 3-2-1 record against the Blue Jackets. Though they were blown out at home at the Joe 8-2 on March 7th, they rebounded nicely a little over a week later and shutout the BJ’s for the second time in the regular season. The first round play-off series, as we all remember, was a decisive sweep for Winged Wheel.

Yzerman, Best of 2009 HHOF Class?

2009-11-10T12:00:00.002-05:00

According to a poll that THN put on, the answer is 'yes'.

Steve Yzerman 76 %

Brett Hull 13 %

Brian Leetch 7 %

Luc Robitaille 4 %

Yowsa...not even close. It just goes to show you how much respect and adoration The Captain commanded during his playing days and now into his post-playing days as well.

2009 HHOF Class: #19 The Captain

2009-11-10T11:00:00.002-05:00

Steve Yzerman: Numbers as a Wing

Regular Season:

1983-1984- 80 GP 39G-48A-87 Pts

1984-1985- 80 GP 30G-59A-89 Pts

1985-1986- 51 GP 14G-28A-42 Pts

1986-1987- 80 GP 31A-59G-90 Pts

1987-1988- 64 GP 50G-52A-102 Pts

1988-1989 -80 GP 65G-90A-155 Pts

1989-1990- 79 GP 62G-65A-127 Pts

1990-1991- 80 GP 51G-57A-108 Pts

1991-1992- 79 GP 45G-58A-103 Pts
1992-1993- 84 GP 58G-79A-137 Pts
1993-1994- 58 GP 24G-58A-82 Pts

1994-1995- 47 GP 12G-26A-38 Pts

1995-1996- 80 GP 36G-59A-95 Pts
1996-1997- 81 GP 22G-63A-85 Pts
1997-1998- 75 GP 24G-45A-69 Pts
1998-1999- 80 GP 29G-45A-74 Pts
1999-2000- 78 GP 35G-44A-79 Pts
2000-2001- 54 GP 18G-34A-52 Pts

2001-2002- 52 GP 13G-35A-48 Pts

2002-2003- 16 GP 2G-6A-8 Pts

2003-2004- 75 GP 18G-33A-51 Pts
2005-2006- 61 GP 14G-20A-34 Pts
Total- 1,514 GP 692G-1,063A-1,755 Pts

Play-offs:

1983-1984- 4 GP 3G-3A-6 Pts
1984-1985- 3 GP 2G-1A-3 Pts
1986-1987- 16 GP 5G-13A-18 Pts

1987-1988- 3 GP 1G-3A-4 Pts

1988-1989- 6 GP 5G-5A-10 Pts

1990-1991- 7 GP 3G-3A-6 Pts

1991-1992- 11 GP 3G-5A-8 Pts

1992-1993- 7 GP 4G-3A-7 Pts

1993-1994- 3 GP 1G-3A-4 Pts

1994-1995- 15 GP 4G-8A-12 Pts

1995-1996- 18 GP 8G-12A-20 Pts
1996-1997- 20 GP 7G-6A-13 Pts

1997-1998- 22 GP 6G-18A-24 Pts

1998-1999- 10 GP 9G-4A-13 Pts

1999-2000- 8 GP 0G-4A-4 Pts

2000-2001- 1 GP 0G-0A-0 Pts

2001-2002- 23 GP 6G-17A-23 Pts

2002-2003- 4 GP 0G-1A-1 Pts

2003-2004- 11 GP 3G-2A-5 Pts

2005-2006- 4 GP 0G-4A-4 Pts

Total- 196 GP 70G-115A-185 Pts

The Captain was (until last night’s ceremony) a man of few words, therefore I won’t drag this out…the numbers speak for themselves. What his ridiculous statistical achievements don’t tell you is that he was the classiest player to ever play the game. The greatest captain of any sports team in history. He redefined himself as a player near the pinnacle of his career and sacrificed points for the benefit of this team. Yzerman will forever fill the heads and our hearts of Detroit with fond memories.Most memorable moment: as played out and unimaginative as it is…”the shot”. 1996, Double OT of game 7 against the St. Louis Blues, #99 muffs the puck over and Stevie-Y rockets a slap shot far side of John Casey, off the bar and in. They didn’t go on to win the Cup until next year. But I will never, ever forget that goal so long as I live.

Thank you, #19.

2009 HHOF Class: #20 Luc Robitaille

2009-11-10T10:00:00.004-05:00

Luc Robitaille: Numbers as a Wing

Regular Season:

2001-2002- 81 GP 30G-20A-50 Pts

2002-2003- 81 GP 11G-20A-31 Pts

Total- 162 GP 41G-40A-81 Pts

Play-offs:

2001-2002- 23 GP 4G-5A-9 Pts

2002-2003- 4 GP 1G-0A-1 Pts

Total- 27 GP 5G-5A-10 Pts

I loved the acquisition of Lucky Luc, but I must admit that on the whole, his performance in Detroit was somewhat of a disappointment. He never really provided us with any of those highlight reel goals. And he never scored for us while lying on the ice spinning around, just against us. Still, Luc is a great guy, and we were happy to provide him with his Stanley Cup ring. Lasting memory of Luc as a Wing: scoring a goal against the St. Louis Blues in the play-offs. After much frustration, a slap-shot from the point caromed off of Lucky Luc’s jersey, snapping his goal-less drought.

2009 HHOF Class: #17 Brett Hull

2009-11-10T09:00:00.004-05:00

Brett Hull: Numbers as a Wing

Regular Season:

2001-2002- 82 GP 30G-33A-63 Pts

2002-2003- 82 GP 37G-39A-76 Pts

2003-2004- 81 GP 25G-43A-69 Pts

Total- 245 GP 92G-115A-207 Pts

Play-offs:

2001-2002- 23 GP 10G-8A-18 Pts
2002-2003- 4 GP 0G-1A-1 Pts
2003-2004- 12 GP 3G-2A-5 Pts
Total- 39 GP 13G-11A-24 Pts

Brett was an enemy for many years while playing for the Bitter Blues, but he was never a guy who I really hated. He was instrumental in Pavel Datsuyk’s young career. Lasting memory of Brett as a Wing: tipping in Lidstrom’s slap shot late in the game in the ’02 Finals…and then turning around with that smirk and giving Lidas a little wink. Igor went on to score the triple OT winner…inspiring the name of his wine.

Luongo may Start vs Wings Thursday

2009-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Via the Vancouver Sun, apparently Bobby Lou is just dying to get back into a game, but won't start tonight.

The Canucks' captain and most impactful player practised with teammates here Monday for the first time since leaving the lineup with a rib injury two weeks ago. He is dying to play tonight, which was possible until a "48-hour virus" confined him to his hotel room most of the weekend.

Luongo suffered a rib injury one game before the Wings shelled him for five on October 27th. Luongo rushed back from an injured groin nearly a year ago and ended up doubling his time spent on the sidelines.

I also found this little tidbit funny about one of Detroit's favorte "sharpshooters", Mikael "William Tell" Samuelsson...

He went in goal and didn't budge, even when hit on the collar by Mikael Samuelsson's shot. Minor-league call up Cory Schneider did not get into a single drill.

Well...at least Sammy was hitting the net, right? Good on Roberto for not throwing a hissy fit like some goalies would do...I always hate that. Regardless, it may be better to play against a Luongo playing in his first game back and be the team that knocks the cobwebs off of him. Andrew Raycroft who has stepped in for Luongo currently is tops in the NHL with a 1.60 GAA.

Never forget: the Detroit Red Wings could have won the Luongo lottery when he wanted out of Florida...but you would have had to see #13 Pavel Datsyuk in a Panthers jersey to see that...**shudders**

A Wednesday Night Video Clip

2009-11-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

Big Bad Brad...

Way to hustle over to that bench, Cindy...typical.

I am Smart

2009-11-09T15:30:00.001-05:00

Prediction confirmed...this morning I said the lines would be as followed (no, I won't link to my post, VooX):

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

May-Abdelkader-Maltby

Via freep.com...

Ville Leino replaced injured forward Jason Williams on a line with Dan Cleary and Henrik Zetterberg at practice today at Joe Louis Arena. Wings forward Patrick Eaves made it through practice, though he still has a bruised left foot. He remains on a line with Kris Draper and Darren Helm.

See, we lowly bloggers know what we're talking about occasionally. And I wrote that when I was still have asleep, downing my morning espresso. Good to see Eaves is back skating again...let's hope that minor injury doesn't derail his performance of late.

NOHS Global Readership

2009-11-09T14:00:00.003-05:00

So every once in a while, I like to check the Site Meter application near the bottom of the page. It gives me stats about how many people visit, what the average is per day, you know...useless crap like that. My favorite one is the option where I can actually see where people are checking my sit out from. Look at this...

What this translates into, is that the last 100 visitors to the Nightmare on Helm Street have spanned 5 different continents (North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia). That makes me pretty proud, even if some of you made it over here only by accident. So let me say thanks for reading, and also...

Where the hell are you, Guilherme? You could have made it 6 out of 7!

Lebda Sick

2009-11-09T13:30:00.001-05:00

...and not in that "oh, that was a sick move" or anything. Via the Detroit News:

"He's sick. He came in today and he had a fever so obviously real precautious, try and look after that."--Head Coach, Mike Babcock

Head throbbing, Brett? Feeling nautious? Now you know how we've been feeling when you're out on the ice. Now, I would never wish an illness on any of my Detroit Red Wings, but the inconsistent (heavily favoring the "bad" end of the spectrum) play of Leba has me more than a little worried each time I see him take a shift.

The pairing of Lebda with Ericsson baffles me. Niether one of these defenseman seem to have the know-how or ability to cover for one another, which is terrible considering they both love to jump up into the play. Putting Ericsson with Lidstrom and Lebda/Meech with Stuart seems to make the most since. Kronwall and Rafalski make a nice pair as well. But putting two, young, offensive-minded D-man together has been the recipe for disaster. The pairing of #22 and #52 are a combined -9 so far this year.

Malik Under Fire

2009-11-09T11:45:00.004-05:00

Wow. Check out this article entitled, "George Malik is a Whiner" by the Toronto Maple Leafs blog, Pension Plan Puppets. Apparently, they have some issues with one of the most consistent Red Wings bloggers out there...

George Malik knows so much about which teams won't make the playoffs based on poor play in October because he's a Red Wings fan and watched them only qualify for the playoffs twice between 1967 and 1983. When the Leafs are that bad feel free to come back and make fun of us Malik.

Of course, it's always nice to point on the PAST struggling of the Red Wings when your team hasn't made the play-offs in four straight years, eh?

Look I'm all for dissenting opinions here but when you're the lone voice saying Gustavsson isn't good and he stops the Red Wings 35 times on 36 attempts (7 on the penalty kill, 3 by Datsyuk, 7 by Zetterberg) you look like a @#$%-ing clown.

So I read the article by Malik and looked for the words "Gustavsson isn't good"...guess what? I never found it. Malik suggested that the "legend of the Monster" may have been played up a bit. Take that personal, did we?

On behalf of Toronto fans we apologize for being excited to watch our best player. We'll work harder to ensure that no one is excited about Phil Kessel so that no one cheers so that the Red Wings can pretend they're at home playing in front of a half empty stadium.

Average attendance for Toronto Maple Leafs: 19, 266

Average attendance for Detroit Red Wings: 19,243

**granted, Detroit is at 95.9% capacity and Toronto is 102.5%. But, "half empty" you say?

Malik quote: Gustavsson himself made a telling comment about the Wings' contentment with playing perimeter hockey:

PPP's response: This is classic annoying fan of a team with recent success syndrome. Malik is implying that the Red Wings lost because they played poorly and that Toronto is a bad team.

Toronto's not a bad team. The Leafs will probably finish behind Detroit in the points race when the dust settles on this season, but the Leafs will finish this season 1-0-0 against the Red Wings. They finished last year 1-0-0 against the Red Wings and they finished the year before that 1-0-0 against the Red Wings. I'm ok with that.

Recent success syndrome? How about claiming that winning 3 straight games (year over year) against a single team is compensation for not making the play-offs in each one of those years? THAT sounds like more of a syndrome to me. Leafs aren't a bad team, they just have the misfortune of only have three wins this season.

Former Wing, Legace signs with Hurricanes

2009-11-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

From ESPN.com:

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed veteran goaltender Manny Legace to a one-year, $500,000 deal, general manager Jim Rutherford told ESPN.com on Monday.

Last time we saw the man, it looked like he was sleeping on the bench after getting pulled against the Wings.

Some memorable quotes from everyone's favorite Eeyore...

"You play your heart out for a team, and the minute you hit a little bit of a rough patch, they dump on you."--After getting waived by St. Louis

"I feel like going home and hanging myself."--After getting eliminated in the first round, allowing 18 goals.

Good luck, Manny. Maybe we'll see you on January 14th, when the Hurricanes come to the Joe for their one and only meeting with the Wings this year.

Grffins on Hot Streak

2009-11-09T09:30:00.002-05:00

Update from Grand Rapids....

After losing 4 straight, the Griffins have been on a tear, winning their last six in a row. The Griffins (8-4-0) are climbing up the North Division Standings and currently occupy 5th position.

Leading the way in points is newcomer Kris Newbury who has 3 goals a team leading 7 assists and 10 points in 12 games played. Jeremy Williams leads the team in goals with 7 (8 total points).

Wings aren't Broken Yet

2009-11-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

So Saturday, Jason Williams went awkwardly into the boards...which apparently, for Detroit players is like the wolfman being shot by a silver bullet, Superman being touch by kryptonite, or a silver steak being shoved into a vampire's heart. Williams suffered a broken fibula and is expected to miss at least 6-8 weeks of action. How wonderful.

Franzen out.

Filppula out.

Williams out.

So basically, that's like plucking an entire second line off of a team's roster. How many teams in the NHL would be able to survive that? My guess would be not many. And to make matters worse, we haven't exactly built ourselves a nice cushion to fall back on while our players get healthy. The Red Wings are 3 points out of a play-off spot right now. Sure there's 67 games left to be played, but as whacky as the Western Conference has been this year, we can't afford to start dropping successive games as we did at the beginning of the season.

So what now? Don't expect Kenny Holland to make any noise in the trade department despite the General Manager meetings about to commence. It probably wouldn't make any sense to bring in a rental for two months once Filppula and Williams become available again.

Despite losing Williams (7 points in 15 games), Detroit still can ice a full roster, a play-off quality roster? You tell me. Here's how I see the lines as of now...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary

Draper-Helm-Eaves

May-Abdelkader-Maltby

That's still a pretty damn good core of forwards. And one we've already seen before. Losing Williams is going to force Babcock's hand into icing pretty much the same lineup day in and day out, as opposed to juggling scratches in and out as he has done up to this point. It is not time to panic.

After all, we're still only one measly point behind the almighty Chicago Blackhawks. And with a win on Wednesday, we can climb within one of the Central Division leading Columbus Blue Jackets. For all of you nay-sayers who didn't want Jason Williams in the first place, here's your chance to see what this team would have looked like without him. And don't give me that crap that we could have used that $1.5 mil to go out and sign someone else, because you probably would have whined about whoever else we would have signed anyway.

It's time for the kids (Eaves, Helm, Abdelkader) to prove their worth and veterans (May, Draper, Maltby) to prove that they still belong. The work load remains the same, there's just less people to do it. That's a concept I'm quite familiar with. When it all comes down to it, all you have to remember are the following...

We still have a pair of the best two-way forwards in the league
We still have the best defenseman to ever lace up the skates
We still have the best coach in the NHL
We still have the best GM looking over us

Relax.

Tonight's Lineup

2009-11-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the lineup for tonight's game as reported by Khan(!)...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Cleary-Zetterberg-Williams
Draper-Helm-Leino
May-Abdelkader-Maltby

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lebda
Meech (scratched)

Osgood (starting)
Howard

Eaves's foot is all nice and swollen after blocking a shot on Thursday vs San Jose.

“It doesn’t feel very good right now. Nothing’s broken. Just day to day right now., Feels better since I did it. Just taking a little time.’’--Patrick Eaves

Well let's see how Leino looks with two of the "Red Corvette" linemates.

Celebration of the Captain

2009-11-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

Busy day for the NOHS crew (and Drew only likes to post when he's getting paid to do other things), but no matter how busy, we can all take a second to honor the one and only, Stevie Y.

I bet everyone of you SOB's know exactly where you were when he scored my favorite goal in hockey, period.

We were lucky to be able to watch him for over 1,500 games. He truly is one of the top five players of all time.

Go Wings.

Little Red Corvettes

2009-11-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

Khan(!) spoke with Patrick Eaves after last night's game and got his thoughts on his new linemates:

"I've played with a bunch of players, but these guys have wheels that I have never seen or played with. It's a joy to play with them. Drapes is an unbelievable guy and leader and brings it every night. Helmer is just scary fast and competitive and causes turnovers with his speed. He's been really fun to watch in the playoffs. When you're playing with him, you can throw (the puck) in areas or chip it and he'll go get it. I noticed that right away just from watching him in the playoffs.''

Eaves assisted on Detroit's lone regulation goal, registered three shots, recorded five hits (team high), and is really starting to play like we all hoped he would be...that is before he was a healthy scratch for 6 out of the first 10 games. But the wheels of the "Red Corvette" Line (Draper-Helm-Eaves) seem to be on track.

Those guys are going to continue to be thorns in the oppositions sides...much to my delight.

Kick 'Em When They're Down Take #2

2009-11-06T12:30:00.004-05:00

Alright, so I missed this from chompboard.com...a live blog for last night's game. Only 100 or comments, not quite in the A2Y echelon, but there were a few good ones.

SharkieFan: Always a tough test to play at Hell aka Joe Louis Arena.

Not sure if that's a slight against the city of Detroit or the fact that San Jose always seems to lose in that building.

Wordlifetn97: detroit is skating hard. maybe its because i havent seen a sharks game since sunday but the wings look like theyre flying out there

He must have been watching the Eaves-Helm-Draper line. VooX over at A2Y has nicknamed them "The Red Corvettes", great speed and excellent in corners...I like it.

flyover fan: Looks like dtw is trying to prove a point since they're off to such a shaky start.

Do people really refer to Detroit by their airport code?

Sjsharx22: Did anyone else here notice on the replay of the Wings' goal that the ref's whistle was in his mouth before the puck went in? The rules state that once a ref decides to blow his whistle, it isn't a goal. Stupid eastern team and Red Wing favoritism! HEY REFS! YOU SUCK!

This one was my favorite. This poor misguided soul must have been watching the 2nd round last year even if the Sharks didn't make it there. Brad Watson = stopped the play in his mind. Last night's ref = let the play continue (as he should and as Brad Watson should have). Stupid eastern teams indeed. How dare they try and move in on what is clearly a Southern California spawned sport.

Outfox: Let's be happy with the point. It's probably good that we lose to these f*%#@n guys. We do not want to think that we can go to the Joe and get an easy win. The more our boys struggle with the Wings, the hungrier they will be. And hunger is what they lacked in the playoffs.

They lacked heart in the play-offs. Don't expect Dany "70 Goals" Heatley to help you out with that. Maybe we'll see you in the Conference Finals...if you make it that far.

Oh and I stole this pic from one of the chompboard member's avatars...
Can somebody please explain to me what in the name of all that is good an holy is Joe doing? Feeding a burrito to a puppet? Impromptu caption contest: GO.

We made the Tapei Times

2009-11-06T11:30:00.000-05:00

That's right, the global phenom that is the Detroit Red Wing Universe got yet another nod, this time here at the Tapei Times.

Red Wings 2, Sharks 1, SO

At Detroit, Michigan, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings snapped San Jose’s six-game winning streak.

Zetterberg also had a goal in regulation and Chris Osgood made 33 saves for Detroit.

Sure the actual article title is about Pittsburgh, but when the title includes the words: "Kings Kill Penguins"...I'm willing to let that go.

About Last Night

2009-11-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

People are actually whining about Zetterberg's goal last night in regulation. Whistle should have been blown? Give us a break.

As I had mentioned yesterday, one of my friends turned out to be Budd Lynch's grandson and so with about 5 minutes to play in the first period, my seating went from obstructed view, to suite. Not only did I watch the second and third periods with a bunch of rowdy Canadians in Budd Lynch's suite, but I got to have drinks between the periods here...

Recognize it? I wouldn't. It's the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Room across from the Olympia Club inside Joe Louis Arena. Nice place...pictures don't really do it justice, but I took these with my phone while trying to be as candid as I could (the guy in the right pic obviously knew what I was doing).

The rest of the game was seen from this view...

Free food, free drinks, Wings win...what more could a guy ask for? (Don't answer that.)

Kick 'Em When They're Down 11/5 vs Sharks

2009-11-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Remember, remember the 5th of November.
The gunpowder treason and plot.

I meant to throw that in yesterday, but forgot. Anyway...not much happening on the Sharks blogosphere. But I did find a preview of yesterday's game at Couch Tarts (interesting name, I know) over on the bloguin network. Check out their cute artwork...

The post was entitled: "Gameday Sharks vs Dreaded Wings". Doesn't that look like Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama? Anyhoo, here's what they had to say:

Another afternoon game.This time at 4:30 Sharks time and OMGTELEVISED. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to Bakes and Rusanowsky. They're some of the best in the biz, hands down. I like to put them on for after game coverage and bring headphones and a small radio to games so I can listen on my way home. There's just something about being able to WATCH a game that seems so much better.

Especially a game against the Wings.

Ok, I know, they aren't the same Wings team that's been dominate since, what, the big bang? But they're still dangerous. Any team is dangerous, and this team has a history of being ridiculously good.

Thanks for the compliments, you Tarts! Though I don't approve of your use of OMG and the word "biz", it turns out that your apprehension was well founded.

Not the same Wings, eh? Well it had the same result. Detroit owns San Jose. Period.

Don't Worry, People...I got this.

2009-11-05T15:00:00.001-05:00

So I did a little research on my own over the past two seasons in games that I actually attended. Turns out I'm pretty good luck.

2008-2009 Regular Season:

8-0-0, combined score 36-14 (Red Wings)

**1-0 at Wrigley Field

2008-2009 Play-offs:

5-0-1, combined score 23-12 (Red Wings)

2009-2010 Regular Season (so far):

4-2-0, combined score 19-15 (Red Wings)

**0-2-0 in Stockholm

As mentioned before...I've also witnessed these milestones so far just this year:

Lidstrom: 1,000 points
Osgood: 50th career shutout
Cleary: 100th goal ~~(it will happen tonight)~~...still pending

So relax, the Sharks aren't going to ruin my night...don't you @#$%^ing do it! Also, turns out one of my friends is actually Budd Lynch's grandson...so I'll be dressing nice for tonight's game and watching from a suite.

Tonight's Lineup vs San Jose

2009-11-05T12:00:00.002-05:00

Khan(!) proves his worth once more and provides us with tonight's lineup against the San Jose Sharks...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Cleary-Zetterberg-Williams

Draper-Helm-Eaves

Leino-Abdelkader-Maltby

May (eye injury, out)

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Stuart-Kronwall

Ericsson-Lebda

Meech (scratched)

Osgood

Howard

Also this: Coach Mike Babcock indicated he might flip-flop Leino and Draper during the game. He said his top two defense pairings will be reunited for the warm-ups, but it might not stay like that.

Cleary wants Goal #100

2009-11-05T10:00:00.002-05:00

Khan(!) provides us with a little insight to Dan Cleary and his mindset while being stuck at 99 career goals...

"Getting antsy, that's an understatement. Can't get too frustrated. Try to make sure I keep skating, good on the forecheck, that's how I create my offense. It's not based on being in the high slot and shooting, it's always around the net. I got to make sure I stick around there."--Dan Cleary

Cleary hasn’t netted a g-note in eleven games and only has one thus fear in the young 2009-2010 season.

Another career milestone for me to see first-hand?

Lidstrom’s 1,000th point: Check
Osgood’s 50th Shutout: Check
Cleary’s 100th goal: Pending

Pointless Preview: 11/5 Detroit vs San Jose Sharks

2009-11-05T08:15:00.003-05:00

So tonight we take on the San Jose Sharks, who year after year have a hockey season much like the month of March: in like a lion, out like a lamb.

Category #1: Tradition:

San Jose: The Sharks have kept the same pre-game celebration since they moved to HP Pavilion in 1993. At the beginning of each Sharks home game, a 17-foot open shark mouth is lowered from the rafters. As the mouth is lowered the eyes flash red and fog pours out. Then, a live view of the locker room tunnel with Sharks players is shown on the scoreboard and the goalie leads the team out of the locker room, through the mouth, and onto the ice.

Detroit: The throwing of the octopus goes all the way back to the 1952 playoffs, when the NHL played two best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup Play-offs. The octopus, having eight arms, symbolized the number of wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Cup. The tradition was first started on April 15, 1952, by Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market. The team swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens en route to winning the championship, as well as winning two of the next three championships. In one 1995 game, fans threw 36 octopuses, including a 30-pounder.

Winner: Detroit

Category #2: Having Mike Ricci as a captain

Detroit: Nope

San Jose: 10 games in 2003-2004

Winner: Detroit...good luck sleeping tonight.

Category #3: Prestigious Former Arenas

San Jose: Cow Palace 1991-1993. This magical place was built mainly for livestock exhibitions. It held about 11,000 people and had a smaller than standard sized ice surface. It was rejected by the NHL and the Oakland Seals in 1967, but somehow became “okay” for the new Sharks franchise almost 25 years later.

Detroit: Olympia (the Old Red Barn) 1927-1979. Besides the Red Wings, the Olympia was also home in 1957-1961 to the NBA's Detroit Pistons. It hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1959 and the NCAA Frozen Four in 1977 and 1979. Amongst musical performers to play at Olympia were The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, and Pink Floyd.

Winner Detroit

Category #4: Coach uses Just for Men “Touch of Grey”

San Jose: Todd Mclellan…could’ve been the spokesperson (and also a member)

Detroit: Mike Babcock might stare a hole right through your torso just for asking

Winner: San Jose

Prediction: Despite Dany Heatley going on to score “70 goals this season”, the Wings are going to take this one 5-2, once again proving that San Jose’s got nothing on Detroit.

To the Victors Go the Spoils

2009-11-04T17:30:00.000-05:00

True to his word, Greg has posted the e-mail that I sent him this morning over at Something's Bruin, in accordance with the little bet that we had on last night's game vs the Boston Bruins. Do so check it out. I thought that "thanks" were in order.

Check out "A Hearty Heaping of Crow"

One final thanks to Greg for being such a good sport...sucker!

Raf & Big Rig Back in Action

2009-11-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks for a solid game, Doug...now back to GR with you! George Sipple is reporting that Rafalski and Ericsson are going to be playing tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks.

Big Rig was admittedly, a little out of gas once practice was over with. Both he and Raf had missed last night's game due to flu-like symptoms. Most likely caught from those pesky Edmonton Oilers and basically the entire province of Alberta. Did you guys hear about the Flames line-jumping to get vaccinated?

“The air tank was pretty low. Hard to breathe out there. Felt a little bit better at the end of the practice.” --Johnny Ericsson

Rafalski sitting out sound much more like a precautionary measure more than anything. Here's what he had to say:

“Just had to sleep a lot. I didn’t get too feverish or anything. Little bit of a sore throat and cough. It’s coming around.”

So for all of you that fell in love with seeing #37 out there again, I'm sorry.

Kick 'Em When They're Down: 11/3 vs Bruins

2009-11-04T11:30:00.003-05:00

Stumbled upon a live blog of sorts at boston.com. Bruins fans were not happy with the game last night apparently. Here's a few choice comments:

ferdie_marcos: this team is awful! another shutout? absolutely pathetic! They will not win one game all week. They will be so far back by Thanksgiving. what a joke!

BatmanJWO: This is OnStar, can I help you? Yes, this is the Boston Bruins, we need help finding the net!

MontrealBruin:Outplayed by a better team. Two original six shutouts in as many games. If it's not stupid penalties it's they can't score a goal. For the umpteenth time, it's going to be a long season.

Ex-patriate: I hate this season.

Not one mention of fans changing their allegience by moving...strange. My on-hand "bonehead comment of the game" went to the old bag in a Bruins jersey sitting 2 rows in front of me saying, "Nice save, Boston!" when Thomas made a stop. Person sitting next to me laughed and said "Big fan, huh?"

Well Looky Here...

2009-11-04T10:45:00.001-05:00

Central Division Standings...

Chicago: 8-4-1 17 Points

Colombus: 7-5-1 15 Points

Detroit: 6-4-3 15 Points

Nashville: 6-6-1 13 Points

St. Louis: 5-6-1 11 Points

So the high and mighty Chicago Blackhawks are now only 2 points clear of the lowly Detroit Red Wings after 13 games...hmmm. Taxi cab drivers everywhere will fear the wrath of Patrick Kane if Detroit overtakes them in the standings.

Hurry up, boys...only 69 games left to make a play-off spot.

I can say "I was there" (again)...

2009-11-04T07:30:00.001-05:00

Morning, everybody. So on October 15th, I was there to witness Lidstrom reach a milestone. King Lidas collected his 1,000th point before my very eyes as the Wings went on to defeat LA.

Well last night, I was there to witness yet another milestone for a beloved Red Wing. Chris Osgood recorded his 50th career shut out. And what a game he played to do so. Only 22 goalies in the history of the NHL have more than 50 shut outs. Here's what Ozzie had to comment about the "s-word":

"I don't put much merit in shutouts; I don't know why I never have. The only thing they're good for is you know you have a great chance to win the game. I've said it numerous times … I grew up watching Grant Fuhr play and he was all about winning games. That's my mentality. Just win. I'm not that concerned with the score."--Chris Osgood

Ozzie has 394 wins now, just six shy of 400. What do you think about that, Chris?

"I used to think about it a bit," said Osgood. "Now, I try not to. … 400 is big for me. So is trying to be the winningest all-time in Red Wings history."

That second goal set for himself is currently held by the immortal Terry Sawchuck who recorded 351 wins while wearing the Winged Wheel. Ozzie currently has 309 in the red and white.

A nightly run-down...

2009-11-03T23:50:00.005-05:00

Able to Yzerman is the founder of Red Wings blogs on the internet. Started in 1977, many of the bloggers out there started in the comment sections of those hollowed ground over at Kuklaskorner. Only blog to ever combine hockey, puppies, the Navy, and a steady mix of Led Zeppelin, Dylan, and Gorden Lightfoot in one. Every game night, there is a tradition, known as a live blog, where puppies run for cover, mothers cover their children's eyes, terrorists renounce their god, and the FCC prepares the clearly forthcoming lawsuit, as the 19 readers of A2Y come together to watch the Wings and prepare greatness as one in the comment section.

Tonight, I want to give you an inside look at a few of tonight's highlights in the blog. I will note that tonight's liveblog, while still reaching 500 comments, was not near what some of the best ones can produce. However, as always, there are a few insightful comments that I know will help Gary run his league.

As always the night starts out with sexual references, confusion, and happiness all at once.

And of course, an early troll beat-down, who apparently is a closet A2Y fan.

And of course, the 19 can make fun of themselves too (while clearly showing the effects of a serious drinking problem).

We can all agree that Versus sucks...

A deep thought or two on religion...

Humor and insight go hand in hand...

Did I mention that Versus sucks?

I so called this one...and completely agree with him.

All this hard work and we still hate the Ducks...

And of course, no matter how many games they win, Grandpa Todd is never happy...

And the fellow blogger comes back with a solid drunk post. Buy this f'er season tickets somebody.

Tonight's Wings-Bruins Odds

2009-11-03T19:00:00.000-05:00

As every other blogger/commentator in the world is at tonight's game against Boston, I get to be the guy who lives vicariously though others. Anyways, here's a few lines on tonight's game, directly from the gambling center that is Ohio. And today, that actually fits, because I'm pretty sure they legalized gambling here today. Well here we go. Free kittens and puppies to the winner.

- We will eventually figure out that Milan Lucic is some sort of robot. (Seriously, have you seen the guy skate? You can't hit people that hard going that slow.) - 4:1

- Versus will somehow piss everyone off. Even those who aren't watching it. - Even.

- Tim Thomas throws the best hit of the game. See here and below. - 2:1

- Helm, Draper (New and improved!), and Eaves will fly around the ice, so fast that Chara's head will eventually pop off trying to keep up. - 5:1

- Chara admits he's actually been playing on stilts all this time, he's really the same size of Marty St. Louis. - 3:1

- If Janik plays well, at least 19 people clamor that has to replace Lebda. - 2:1

- I'm one of those people. - 1:1

- Saying "Wideman goes wide" will never, ever get old. - 3:1

- Maltby scores. - Almost guaranteed lately.

- Bertuzzi will admit he's actually been playing posts this year and that in his head, he's winning. - 5:4

- Every Red Wings fan will shreak in horror when they realize what the blue line looks like tonight. - 6:5

That's all I got. Go Wings!

Tonight's Lineup vs Boston Bruins

2009-11-03T14:30:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Khan(!) for delivering us some great news...and by great, I mean vomit-inducing. No Rafalski tonight...nor will "Only 4 inches shorter than Chara" Jonny Ericsson be playing. Doug Janik has been recalled from Grand Rapids. Here are the lines/pairings...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Cleary-Zetterberg-Williams

Draper-Helm-Eaves

Leino-Abdelkader-Maltby

Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-Lebda
Meech-Janik

Osgood
Howard

Should be interesting...

Rival Preview Up

2009-11-03T11:30:00.003-05:00

Just an FYI, Greg has posted his response preview here at Something's Bruin. I would invite all of you to wonder your little mouse over there and start trolling...just a suggestion.

Remember... Red Wings win, and I get to gloat all over that site.

Pointless Preview: 11/3 vs Boston Bruins

2009-11-03T08:00:00.007-05:00

Let me start off by saying that this might be the worst of the “Pointless Previews” to date. Why? Because it’s a whole lot easier to make fun of a team that you hate. I don’t hate Boston…not yet anyway. Probably because we don’t play them enough each year, but probably because I actually respect their organ-i-zation and fans. When Chris and I traveled to Boston and NYC last year, we caught a Rangers-Bruins game at MSG, and the Boston faithful came by the busload…which I thought was really cool. Anyway, the only thing I can be really mad at the Bruins for is completely choking in last year’s ECSF and letting Carolina squeak by them only to lay down to Cindy and the girls…thanks, boys.

Category #1: Biggest Shnoz

Boston has Milan Lucic. Check out the beak on this kid. Sure he’s a tough kid and his name sounds like he’s from dirty former Soviet State (he’s Canadian), but he’s got a nose that would make Toucan Sam jealous.

Detroit has Justin Abdelkader. I’m not sure if his nose is big or if its normal sized and the rest of his facial features are just small…nor do I plan on staring at any man’s face long enough to figure something like that out.

Winner: Mila….wait, what’s this?

Winner: Chris Chelios…my god, it’s glorious! Now there's a Greek tragedy. Opa!

Category #2: Google Search [Team Name] + fan

Boston has this little tyke. I believe I saw this kid during one of the play-offs games of Boston I watched. Cute? Yes, but the problem is, this kid will probably end up taking himself too seriously and doing this his entire life (and not much else).

Detroit has Kid Motherf***ing Rock. Bawitaba.

Winner: Detroit (sorry, kid.)

Category #3: Best Use of a Faulty Pituitary Gland

Boston has Zdeno Chara. When not playing hockey, the six foot nine, 255 pounder enjoys pillaging villages in his native Slovakia and eating livestock in one gulp. Chara is a consumate " always a bridesmaid, but never the bride" in the Norris Trophy race (aka the Lidstrom Trophy). Perhaps you saw him opposite Ewan McGregor in the delightful film, Big Fish? Like Ted Danson said in that one episode of family guy, “Sometimes it pays to be a freak”.

Detroit has Jonny Ericsson. At 6’5, the Big Rig is still looking up into Chara’s nostrils when standing flat-footed. Luckily, he doesn’t have that whole…gigantism look. I once saw him being followed out of Joe Louis Arena by 4 absolutely beautiful young ladies...how 'bout you, Chara?

Winner: Boston

Category #4: Most Fashionable Hairdo

Boston has Marc Savard. A faux hawk for warm-ups eh, Marc? Taking a play from the “how to be a metro-loser” book written (and illustrated) by Washington’s Mike Green. Next time, you should just leave the bucket on. Savard probably would win the “Most Likely to have his Wife/Girlfriend find him trying on her shoes” category. Underappreciated? Yes. Underrated? Yes. But now we know why…it’s the hair.

Detroit has Valtteri Filppula. This really was a no-brainer for Wings fans. Zetterberg has had some sick flow in years past, but Emma probably convinced him to keep it a little closer to the wood. Emma could probably be persuasive enough to talk any man (and some women) into doing just about anything. But anyway, Val’s golden locks are the stuff of legend among Wings fans of the female persuasion. Never mind the dark eyebrows. If my girlfriend sees him wearing this argyle scarf, it’s probably all over for me.

Winner: Detroit…not even close

Prediction: Trying to keep in line with yesterday’s post about breaking other team’s scoring slumps…I’m guessing Detroit takes this one in wild fashion, outlasting the B’s 6-5.

Can't Drive 55

2009-11-02T19:15:00.001-05:00

But he can drive you...

...right to the E.R.

Kronwall, pound for pound, the league's most devastating hitter.

Something's Bruin alright, a Friendly Little Wager...

2009-11-02T15:30:00.001-05:00

So I've been speaking to Greg at Something's Bruin today via e-mail. We've decided to make a little wager about tomorrow evening's game. But first, to do a little cross-blog promotion of the contest, I'll be writing tomorrow's "Pointless Preview" section which will be linked to Greg's blog. I've challenged him to match wits and write something similar of his own...so stay tuned for that tomorrow.

As for the bet, it's quite simple. When the Wings win, I'm going to write up a nice little ditty bragging about our win which he will post directly to his site and the Bruins' blogosphere. If by some miracle, the B's pull one over on us, Greg will get to post his smack-talkin' on here.

Tomorrow, it's game on.