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.