Original 6 Matchup, Joey Mac, Hudler

The Red Wings tend to do fairly well against their Original 6 counterparts. Especially this season, going 6-2-0 against Original 6 teams with three games to go, all against the Blackhawks. For those of you who forgot what the original 6 NHL teams were, they are Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Red Wings go back a long way, and the Wings hold the edge in the series, 275-272-93-3. Yep there are 4 numbers there, because the NHL used to have ties. The proverbial sister-kisser. So from left to right, that would be Wins, Losses, Ties, and Overtime Losses from a Red Wings standpoint. It is amazing to me that over 643 games have been played, and it is still a virtual tie, despite the fact that the Maple Leafs have sucked out loud for so long.

So on to the game. Just 5 minutes into a fairly spirited first, Hank scores on the power play, which is followed by roughly 12 minutes of equally spirited play after which Joey Crabb ties it up. Let me say that Kenny Holland, despite the howls from fans who loved Bret Lebda, made the right choice. Lebda was just terrible in this game, and I cannot help but wonder if the Toronto GM isn't wondering if he can give him back to the Wings under the "Lemon Law".

In the second, a shot from Nik Kronwall is deflected in by Tomas Holmstrom, and referee Bill McCreary was a little slow in calling the goal. By that I mean from the view of the Red Wings fans. You could almost hear the crowd hesitate with the cheering a bit, as for the barest of seconds, the referee DIDN'T signal the goal. It was as if there was the old angel and devil on his shoulders:

Angel: "Oh, nice goal! Signal it."
Devil: "Fuck that, its Holmstrom, and he was close enough to the crease. Wave it off!"
Angel: "WHAT!?!? you gotta be kidding me, he was no where near the goalie!"
Devil: "So what? Let's give these Wings fans something to moan about. Wave it off"
Angel: "Call it a goal, William. It's the RIGHT CALL."
Devil: "You don't have a hair on your ass, McCreary, wave it."
Angel: "Hey you with the cute little tail, you wanna go?"

Then, while the Angel and Devil were pummeling each other, McCreary made up his mind and signaled a goal. I don't know if it was an extremely loud sigh of relief from the fans or a cheer, but it doesn't matter, its a goal. But the game was not to be without controversy. In the third period, Goeffrey Lupul actually knocked Howard over, laid on top of him, and swept the puck into the net. Everyone was waiting for the waveoff, but as you can see, "Lupul" is not spelled "H-O-L-M-S-T-R-O-M", and it was called a goal. A howl of despair rises from the crowd, and the Leafs fans cheer mightily. By the way, there were enough Leafs fans in the Joe to clog the Windsor tunnel. For real. The "Lets go Red Wings" chant was nearly equalized by a "Go Leafs Go" chant several times during the game. Anyway, the howls became louder as the crowd realized that there wasn't even going to be a replay, and Jimmah was HURT, for God's sake.

The Red Wings conspiracy theorists are warming up a press release as we speak.

Also in the third, Jiri Hudler, who isn't exactly having a banner year, broke the tie with a slapper from the top of the circle. Now, all you haters can kiss my ass, because Jiri has been clutch in the past few games. He isn't scoring tons of goals, but hes putting them in when it counts (mostly), so cut the guy some slack. And how about Joey MacDonald? OK, so he only had to fight off 9 shots, but DAMN he looked good doing it. Anyone else nervous about the playoff goalie situation? Well I am too, but the more I watch Joey Mac, the better I feel. I mean, when is the last time he let a goal in? Hes played in 13 games, and has a 2.05 GAA, and a .928 save percentage. Well I'll tell ya:

March 3rd against San Jose.

That was the last time he let a puck in the net. Since then, he has shut out Columbus (37 shots), blanked Pittsburg for 31 minutes (10 shots), and then denied the Leafs for 13 minutes (9 shots). He was key to the Pittsburg game, allowing the Wings to romp for 4 goals and gain a point. So for the past three games, his save percentage is actually 1.000. I can live with that. He has allowed 21 goals in 13 games. In contrast, Ozzie has allowed 29 goals in 11 games. Speaking of goalies, I bet Jordan Pearce gets a callup for a game after the Wings lock up the playoff spot or the Division, just to see what he can do.

Then Bertuzzi caps off an absolutely fantastic game with an empty netter, and everyone watching in my house cheer a little too loudly for the situation. Big deal, its almost playoff time. I am still looking for Mike Modano to really step it up. Hes got the experience, and if he does, look out if you are facing the Wings.

I personally like our chances.

5 is Right Out

Could there possibly be a little more bias against Tomas Holmstrom? I mean, if that was any other player, Nicklas Kronwall's goal would have counted. Except maybe Sean Avery, because, well, he's just a little dick. Pekka Rinne actually pushes Holmstrom out of the crease, and it was this action that allowed the puck to enter the net. Rinne wasn't paying attention, plain and simple. So, since they were touching, it's no goal? Even the ref knew it, and called incidental contact. Yeah, OK, because when the goalie pushes you its by accident AND its your fault, but only if your name is Tomas Holmstrom. Seriously, the Red Wings conspiracy theorists are warming up I can feel it.

I have also discovered why the Nashville Predators are the least penalized team in the NHL. The referees just don't call penalties against them. What about the late hit on Patrick Eaves by the Preds captain? Blindside hit! No call. What about the off the bench elbow on Justin Abdlekader? Didn't Matt Cooke just get suspended for that shit? No call. What about...ah never mind, bitching isn't going to help now. On a side note, during one stretch of about three uncalled and blatant penalties, I think Mickey Redmond actually went into vapor lock, because I didn't hear him for like 5 minutes. Or maybe he was off taking a piss and missed the whole thing. Takes a while for those old guys.

This is just the sort of thing I was talking about last game. The Wings can go out and beat Washington and Ovechkin, but when faced with the Predators of all teams, they just cant seem to bury it. Sure, they didn't have Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen, but haven't they won a game or two without them before? Sure, Nashville needed the win to get into the playoffs, but who says the Wings want them there? They sure can seem to win a game, so if the Wings have to play the Preds in the playoffs, will it be an early exit? Say it ain't so!

The high point was the two octopi that hit the ice in the third. Nice touch. Then a Nashville fan responded by tossing a 4 foot stuffed catfish onto the ice. It would have been better if the hottie ice girl that skated out to pick up the catfish had to go and get the octopi. Bonus points if she threw up while picking up the slimy uncooked things, and then they send another ice girl out to shovel up the small side salad and diet water that she ate before the game.

Hopefully the Red Wings get all their shit in one sock prior to the playoffs, and stop letting htese bubble teams run over them.

The "Good Team" Effect

So I finally figure out why the Red Wings do well against top teams, then go out and get beat by Edmonton. Its the "Good Team" effect. Have you ever noticed that your golf game is better when you are playing against someone that is a great golfer? OK, so me neither, but I have heard that this is true. The Wings could care less about the bad teams, but when it comes to playing the likes of Washington, Pittsburgh, Philly, etc...they bring out the A game and win, and usually in regulation. I may be imagining things, but last night against the Capitals they looked like a great hockey team again. Passing, skating all right up there with goaltending. Darren Helm and Kris Draper were everywhere, to the point of my wife making the comment: "Damn is that Helm and Draper that are everywhere?"

This is why the Red Wings have a serious shot at the Cup again this year. All Detroit fans KNOW that last night, as well as they played, was not the best hockey that they can play. Even as they spent minutes at a time in the Capitals zone, even pulling off a defensive pair change once while in the Caps zone, fans know there is another hidden level. Just like a video game where if you complete the game it opens a new level? Yeah, that's the same thing.

Datsyuk and Zeterberg are peaking at just the right time, Modano is back, Rafalski is back(no pun intended Raffy), and Bertuzzi, Helm and even Draper are showing signs that they have a little more to give. I predict that Jiri Hudler and Johan Franzen open the floodgates in the playoffs, and light the lamp several times each. Add that to Lidstrom and Kronwall blasting away from the points to put the biscuit in the basket and you have a Stanley Cup contender.

So...since all the teams in the playoffs are good, the Wings should have no problems, right?

So yeah...8-6 since the last time

Anyways, I have been out of it for a while. Blogging was not appealing to me, even if it was about the Red Wings. But I'm back now, so don't give me any shit.

So I haven't posted since Feb 3? Wow, didn't know it was that long. In any case, since then the Wings are playing barely over .500 hockey. Maybe I was a little put off by the back to back shutouts the Wings suffered in early Feb. Maybe I was worried that there was going to be a repeat of the steady flow of ambulances from the Joe from last year. Or maybe, and most likely, I am just a spoiled rotten Red Wings fan who cant bear to see them lose 6 out of 14, when everyone else, like Islanders or Oilers fans, would be turning back handsprings in their front yards if their team pulled that off.

Whatever. I just watched the Anaheim game, and just about ended my TV's life over that absolutely terrible call to give the Ducks a penalty shot. Horrible. I can actually hear Mickey Redmond howling about it if I go outside, and I live in Washington. So who can we blame it on? I say everyone. Why? Because even if they lose half of their remaining games, the Wings will still be in the playoffs. Last 20 games? YAWN...wake me up when the playoff start. The camera in the locker room prior to the game actually showed a Red Wings player dozing in his stall. What kind of shit is that? Of course, he was probably meditating or concentrating really hard on the upcoming game, but it sure looked like a nap to me.

Heres what REALLY gets me. The Wings are a puck possession team, and they havent been doing that very well lately, except for Datsyuk, who wouldn't give up the puck if he was playing with a broken arm, a bad eye, and Ebola. Everyone else, is just ho humming the season until the playoffs. I do, however have to give credit to the younger players, such as Helm and Abdelkader, and the GR Griffins that are occasionally called up, like Mursak, Tatar, and Kindl. These guys are playing their asses off and why? Because they want a spot on the team on a more permanent basis. Sure Helm and Abdelkader are safe enough with their spots, but if they slack off, they will find themselves on the bus back to Grand Rapids in a hurry. And they know it.

Now the rest of the team needs to take a lesson from the young guys and PLAY. Seriously.