Bert, Fils, Mule, Dats...Offense

Despite the fact that he is hated everywhere he goes, Todd Bertuzzi may just be the next big thing in power forwards. He has never posted more than 45 points for the Wings, but haven't we all seen the 35-36 year old player all of a sudden find their groove and start producing? This is where Todd Bertuzzi is now. He is definitely capable of throwing up 60 points if he keeps playing like this. If you remember, he put 97 points on the board for Vancouver in 2002-03. Now I know what you all are thinking, but look at the stats: In the first 20 games this year, Bert scored ONE (1) goal. That's it. He couldn't have scored even if he picked up the puck and slam dunked it a-la Shaq. Which of course is illegal and ... well never mind. In fact, he only even had 6 assists, for a total of 7 points. HOWEVER, in his last 17 games, he has nearly doubled his production, including a 5 game points streak. If the Wings can get Bert to peak right as the playoff start, it will be a very good thing.

Valteri Filppula has 37 points. That puts him above headliners such as Marleau, Iginla, Thornton, and Ovechkin. Yes, THAT Ovechkin. He actually has more goals than Pavel Datsyuk. Hard to believe, but again, the Wings need players like this to come out of nowhere and make other teams wonder why they didn't take him earlier in the draft. Probably because they didn't want to embarrass themselves by butchering his name, like every announcer since he started playing. We all know that Kenny Holland doesn't give a crap about how your name sounds or how he will mispronounce it. He's drafted RUSSIANS for Christ's sake.

Johan Franzen also has 37 points. Which is expected of him. As long as he doesn't fall flat, he will continue to quietly pile up points like that kid that steals your candy but never eats it, just stashes it in his locker.

Which brings us to Pavel Datsyuk. This guy can play the game in a phone booth, and still put moves on people that would leave pieces of equipment on the ice like a yard sale. He is only 6 points out of the NHL scoring lead, and he hasn't played in all the games he could have. The really scary thing is that he might actually step it up as the season progresses. Scary for other teams, not the Wings, obviously. Hopefully he uses the all star break shake some of those nagging injuries that have been bothering him.

In all the Red Wings have 9 players with 20 points or more already, and it isn't even the all star break. The Wings plus/minus rating is fantastic. The worst is a minus-4, and there are only 4 player registering a "minus". The great thing about that is two of those players are Fabian Brunnstrom and Brendan Smith (don't get me started on Smith...dammit) who have only played in a few games. Granted, more than half the season is over, but numbers should start making moves soon, either up or down. Wouldn't it be great to see some third and fourth liners start making some noise? Comparatively speaking, that is, since Helm, Miller and Abdelkader are already in double digits for points. As fast as Helm is, he can be a real problem for other teams, especially on a long stretch pass or a race to the puck.

Oh, and did you see that game today?? Holy shit I thought I was hallucinating. It looked like Al Sobotka had a big hydraulic lift under the ice and was tilting it ever so slightly towards the Chicago end. The Hawks didn't even get a shot in the first 8 minutes, while the Wings had 10. The Hawks looked like they were lost in the dark and their flashlights were out. It was really fun to watch. Then the Wings relaxed a bit after 2 goals, and the Hawks found a stride for a while, and the game became more back and forth, with a few moments of brightness by the Hawks. During this time, and a little dominance in the third period by the Hawks and it was 2-2, with the equalizer coming in off Lidstrom's skate late in the third. And by "late" I actually mean "with 52 seconds left in the game". The Wings also stepped up the hitting game, doubling up the Hawks on hits, 30-15, including three separate instances when a Chicago player avoided a "Kronwalling" and thereby also avoided a lengthy stay in the local intensive care unit

In overtime, the Wings decided that they had seen enough and flipped the switch back to "ON". I think the only person from the Blackhawks to even touch the puck was the goaltender, as the Wings lit him up with 9 shots to the Hawks goose egg. Bert swatted an airborne puck into the net for the game winner, and everyone can relax.

Speaking of relaxing, can NBC PLEASE fire Eddie Olczyk? I mean, he used to play for Chicago, and when you're a commentator for anyone but the home team FOX affiliate, you need to remain unbiased. He cannot. Even though the Wings dominated the first like the Hawks were a mediocre JV squad, he had to pick at every little thing the Wings did wrong, while staying mute about Chicago's inability to, say, get a shot on net for the first 8 minutes, or the Hawks inability to clear their own zone for about 7 minutes. To hell with Eddie Olczyck, how the hell did he get on TV anyway? I would rather listen to Ben Stein read the Gulag Archipelago cover to cover in one sitting rather than listen to Olczyck rave about Chicago. Hopefully the rest of the Wings/Hawks matchups are on Fox Sports Detroit.

For Kenny: The Rangers blanked Toronto today to stay one point ahead of Vancouver for the League lead, and 3 points up on Boston for tops in the East. Sauer, Eminger, and Woywitcka (or however the fuck you spell that) are all on IR and not expected to return anytime soon. Sean Avery blew it and got sent down to Connecticut of the AHL. Something about "disciplinary reasons". Wait ... drama surrounding Sean Avery? Oh the huge manatee...