Them Pesky Oils; Red Wings 5, Oilers 4 Recap

It was a game of two halves, the first going to Detroit and the second going the Oilers way in a game that was much closer than it should've been.

The Red Wings blew a 4-goal lead they held late in the second period, but two points is two points because the Wings took a 5-4 decision and drew within a point of the Nashville Predators for fifth in the Conference, with 2 games in hand.

Detroit dominated the early going outshooting the Oilers 16-7 in the first frame and opening up a 3-goal lead after one period.

The Wings continued to dominate the second period with innumberable great scoring chances but Oilers goalie, Jeff Deslauriers stood tall, holding for his team a minor chance to get back into the game. But with under 4 minutes to go in the period whilst on the powerplay, Johan Franzen netted his tenth of the season to seemingly put the game out of reach for Edmonton.

Less than 30 seconds later, the game reached a turning point as Valtteri Filppula was sent to the box. The Oilers needed only 4 seconds of that powerplay to get on the board and gain some momentum, and gain momentum they did.

Less than a minute later Mike Comrie cut the lead to two, on a soft goal by Jimmy Howard's standards.

The third period also went the Oilers way. Barely half way through the Red Wings had completely blown their 4 goal lead on goals from Zack Stortini and Tom Gilbert. Luckily, the Wings were able to steady the ship and Brad Stuart tipped the puck by Deslauriers for the perhaps undeserved win.

Undeserved or not, a win is a win, and good teams often get 2 points from games they shouldn't.

For Detroit, Andreas Lilja, Drew Miller, Nik Kronwall, Johan Franzen and Brad Stuart scored. Whilst Comrie, Stortini and two from Tom Gilbert fileld the scoreboard for Edmonton.

WOW Factor
The tide seemed to turn and turn quickly as soon as Filppula took his penalty and the Oilers scored off the draw. The Wings were their own worst enemy as they became almost fatally complacent with the 4-goal cushion. It wasn't until the game was tied that Detroit really applied more offensive pressure to Edmonton.

Special Teams
The Red Wings powerplay was very strong but scored once from three chances thanks to some acrobatic stops from Deslauriers. The Oilers scored 4 seconds into their 2nd PP of the game but couldn't muster much on their other chances going 1/4 for the game.

In net
Jimmy Howard stopped 22 of 26 shots for Detroit.
Jeff Deslauriers stopped 39 of 44 for Edmonton.

Up Next...
Detroit continues its 3-game home stand on Thursday against Columbus followed by a Saturday afternoon showdown against the 5th-placed Predators (that I'll be attending WOO!!)

Red Wings vs. Oilers Preview

The Red Wings hope to get their first win against the lowly, last-placed Edmonton Oilers in their final match-up of the season.

Amazingly, the Oilers are the one team in the league the Wings have had the most difficult time beating.

“We get beat like a rented mule,” coach Mike Babcock said. “They just slap us around every time we play them. We’re usually down two after about six minutes. So we’re hoping they’re going to let us touch the puck tomorrow.”

A win for Detroit will give the Wings 6th-place in the West trailing the Predators for fifth by one point with a game in hand.

It's Been Too Long But They're Updated

All the stats have now been updated after last night's game (which didn't really cause me much trouble aside from simultaneous TOI).

Sorry, for the delay, I was totally removed from the internet while I was in FL and updating the site just wasn't possible.

Hot Wings Get Fifth Straight; Red Wings 1, Preds 0 (SO)

Maybe I should be cut off from the outside world in Miami more often. Believe it or not, the Red Wings have now set a season high win-streak of 5 wins. Yep, five. The win, coupled with another loss for the Flames all but secures a playoff birth for Detroit as 9th-placed Calgary is now 8 points behind.

Anyway, onto the game...

The Red Wings continued their dominance of the season series with Nashville tonight, with an important road win over the only other team that has been as hot as Detroit.

Contrary to what may be assumed from the uninspired final scoreline, the game saw its fair share of great scoring chances from both sides, but conservative attacks, rough ice and some exceptional goaltending from two young netminders, kept the game scoreless through 65 minutes.

Wow Factor

In the third period, a turnover from Johan Franzen in the Red Wings zone resulted in a brilliantly set up play from Nashville. A perfect tic-tac-toe exchange gave David Legwand an open shot from the slot with a gaping net in front of him. Legwand got the shot off quick, but Jimmy Howard shut the door, getting his left pad over in time to keep the Wings in it.

Special Teams

Obviously all penalties were successfully killed in this one with Nashville going 0-3 and Detroit going 0-2.

In Net

- Jimmy Howard stopped all 33 shots from the Predators for his second career shutout.

- Pekka Rinne continued his phenomenal run, stopping 38 shots for Nashville for his fourth shutout of the month!

The Shootout

Detroit participated in their longest shootout in franchise history. The game-decider lasted 11 rounds, with Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Sullivan both converting in the 5th round. Howard and Rinne each made five more saves until Niklas Kronwall found Rinne's 5-hole to score what turned out to be the winner, after Howard shut the door on Francois Bouillon, giving the Wings the two-points.

Next...

The Wings go back home for a three-game home-stand, the first game being on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. Detroit still seeks their first win over the last-placed Oilers in the final of four contests between the two clubs this season.

Stupid Work

Tomorrow I'm off to Miami for work, and I expect to remain pretty busy until Sunday. So, if the site seems a little neglected this week, don't think I've gone away. WOW is always growing!

Go Red Wings!!

Rick.

One Step Closer; Wings 3, Penguins 1

I doubt it could be called "revenge", but the Red Wings gave the Penguins some minor payback from their last visit to the Joe. A visit which I don't remember so clearly.

Moving right along, the Wings have now taken 11 of the last 12 points they've contested for and continue to consolidate their place in the top 8 of the West. The big win over the defending Champs now gives Detroit a 4-point lead over Calgary, who sits in ninth. Both teams have 10 games to play in the season.

The first period began with an early powerplay, one of four that the Wings weren't able to convert on. The period progressed as a stalemate until Valtteri Filppula continued his fine form with a great toe-drag move to thread the puck through the legs of both Sergei Gonchar and Pens' goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury to take a 1-0 lead late in the 1st.

The second period was also tightly contested with both teams trading goals. Henrik Zetterberg rolled on with his hot-hand, backhanding a rebound off his own backhand attempt by Fleury before Pascal Dupuis cut the lead in half amid a goal-mouth scramble.

A delirious Red Wings audience watched Henrik Zetterberg solidify the lead with his 22nd of the season and they steadily headed to one of their strongest victories of the season with a 3-1 result.

As the final seconds ticked away, a beaten Sidney Crosby took out his frustrations on his opponent, Henrik Zetterberg, but the Red Wings wouldn't have it. Jimmy Howard even got involved as a fired-up squad in Red left the ice to an enraptured and energetic crowd, serenading the Pens' captain with chants of "Crosby Sucks!"

Wow Factor

Funnily enough, I think Pascal Dupuis' goal was one of the biggest positives of the game. Detroit seemed to respond to the challenge as they gave their talented opponents very little to work with and were determined to take full points.

Special Teams

Typically, for a Detroit Red Wings contest, not many powerplays were awarded. The Red Wings were unable to convert on any of their 4 chances, but gave the Penguins nothing on their sole PP, extending their streak of successful penalty killing to 9 games.

In Net

- Jimmy Howard stopped all but one of Pittsburgh's 27 shots on goal.

- Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves of 33 for the Penguins.

Next...

Detroit continues their 3-game home stand as they await the arrival of the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

The Pens Visit Detroit

Words of the Week

Some great reads for the Red Wings-lover:

Red Wings and anteaters are totally clutch

The Production Line had returned. I really love the anteater pic but it's a great recap and also sums up the great success of the worthwhile cause of H2H.

Taking this seriously

Drew at the Fox Sports-acclaimed Nightmare on Helm Street put together a shortie but a goodie earlier this week about the Red Wings taking the Oilers seriously. Whether or not they actually did remains debatable.

I bet the purple gang would win sixteen Stanley Cups in a row

The girls from Hockeytown Static take a look into the future of the Red Wings uniforms with this one.

Playoff picture: 3 and a half weeks to go

Wings Win, Eh? has a great summation of the playoff picture for both conferences as we near the end of the regular season.

You mean to tell me it's Wednesday and it's acceptable to drink and write?

An funny St. Patrick's Day read from the Scrappy Octopus.

Missed Opportunities

A disappointing loss to the league-worst Oilers, followed by a big win over the mighty Canucks -- a weekend one wouldn't be blamed for being surprised by, but this is the story of the Red Wings season, and after seeing these stats, you may not be so surprised in retrospect.

Against Teams Currently in the Playoffs

The Red Wings don't seem to do too bad against the better teams in the league with an overall record of 22-9-7 (.671%) against the top 8 of the East and West. Amazingly, of those 15 teams, Detroit has a losing record to only TWO of them -- New Jersey (OTL) and Pittsburgh (OTL).

Against Current Division Leaders

When playing the cream of the crop, the Wings fortunes don't seem to fade much at all. Their cumulative record against Washington, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, San Jose, Chicago and Vancouver is an outstanding 10-5-3 (.639%).

Against Teams Currently OUT of the playoffs

The Red Wings ability to take points away from the lower-placed teams in the league inexplicably erodes with a 13-14-6 (.485%) record.

Against Teams Currently Last in their Division

The Wings record amazingly worsens further against the bottom-feeders of the league. When playing Anaheim, Columbus, Edmonton, Florida, NY Islanders and Toronto they are a disenchanting 4-5-4 (.462%).

How can this be? How can Detroit get 63.9% of the points available against the best teams in the league but only 46.2% against the worst?

If Detroit could maintain that .639 pts% against these punching bags of the league, they would have 6 more points on the season and be battling Los Angeles for the fifth seed without any worries of missing the playoffs.

Statistics like this can only be a reflection of the team's mindset when approaching games. At times, Detroit doesn't seem to take these lowly teams seriously, almost with an expectation that they'll be awarded the points regardless of the result. It's great to see them save their fight for the big teams and pick up big wins like the one in Vancouver, but the problem lies here:

Games remaining x 11, including (EDM x 1, CBJ x 3, MIN x 1, STL x 1).

Most people think that it's great news that only a few of Detroit's remaining games are against playoff teams. But with the current .485% points rate they have against teams outside looking in, they'd only get 6 points of 12. Can the Wings really make the playoffs if they drop 6 points. Not to mention the tough games to play against PIT, NSH x 2, PHI and CHI will almost certainly see further points lost.

The bottom line is, Detroit needs to take every game seriously. Losing to Edmonton was unacceptable given the situation, and thinking this easy schedule means automatic points is as good as practicing your golf swing.

All the Time in the World; Red Wings 4, Canucks 3

If Mike Babcock was anything like my dad, and the Red Wings were me in high school, he'd be criticizing his players to no end about "Always leaving everything to the last second!"

Nevertheless, two points is two points and what I like most about this victory, is that the Red Wings had every excuse to lose this one to the NW division-leading Canucks.

With a few injuries, short bench with only 10 forwards, second of back-to-back games and a few bad bounces early, one might've expected this one to become somewhat of a blowout after heading into the first change with a 2-0 deficit, after having outshot their leading opponents, 17-8.

But in the second period, fortunes changed as the Wings continued to apply the pressure and were eventually rewarded for it much to the chagrin of the Vancouver crowd, as Todd Bertuzzi snapped his 19-game goal-less drought.

Then irritation turned to outrage for the Canucks' faithful, as they witnessed a tying-goal only 5 seconds later. A Vancouver Canucks record for quickest successive goals allowed as well as a Red Wings franchise record for goals scored.

5 seconds!!

What can you do in five seconds?

In five seconds, I can get one shoe on my foot and begin begin to tie the laces. Pavel Datsyuk on the other hand, can win a face-off, deke through a few defenders and fire a 40-footer past an Olympic gold-medal winning goalie. Not bad, eh?

But more goodness was still to come in the second period as while on the penalty kill, Valtteri Filppula seized on a mis-handled puck from Alex Edler and streaked in all alone and backhanded it by Roberto Luongo for his eighth of the season, giving the Red Wings a 3-2 lead after 2 and stunning the Canucks.

The Vancouver Canucks were however, a league-leading +37 in the third period of a hockey game and added to that despite being outplayed again by the gutsy Detroiters, and tied it up with a goal from the Sedins that seems almost mandatory in a Canucks game these days.

Overtime comes and much of the same happens, with the Wings outplaying the 'Nucks outshooting them 4-1, the last of which came under all too familiar circumstances, with 0.3 seconds left in the OT frame from the stick of Henrik Zetterberg. A shot which happened to get by the goalie to end the game, giving Detroit the two points.

Detroit now sits 2 points ahead of Calgary with 11 games to play for both teams. Nashville is 4 points ahead with 10 games left and Colorado now sits 7th with a 3-point lead over Detroit but have a game in hand of the Wings.

WOW Factor
There were two obvious WOW moments in this game for the Wings, but Pavel Datsyuk's long-range goal on Roberto Luongo seemed to instill a confidence into the Wings that this game was theirs to lose and while the scoreboard wasn't lopsided, the Wings thoroughly outplayed the Canucks and deserved the win.

Special Teams
The refs weren't too busy in this one with only 2 PP's each way, but Detroit's special teams were again a big reason for the win. While Detroit weren't able to convert with the man-advantage, they were very effective down a man, and without Flip's shortie in the second, the Wings probably would have had nothing to show for this game.

In Net
- Jimmy Howard stopped 29 of 32 shots for the Wings in his 18th consecutive start.
- Roberto Luongo faced a whopping 54 shots for Vancouver, stopping 50 of them.

Next...
Detroit heads home today and prepares for a 3-game home stand, the first game being tomorrow night against the defending Stanley Cup-champs, Pittsburgh.

Preview; Red Wings vs. Canucks

After a dramatic comeback loss to the last-placed, lowly Oilers, the Red Wings will now have to get it done in Vancouver against the Oilers' division leader, the Canucks.


The last meeting at GM Place saw a Red Wings victory, and the same will need to happen as the Calgary Flames refuse to let up on the playoff race after a narrow win at home to the Sharks last night.


The Red Wings still hold the eighth and final playoff spot over Calgary by virtue of win%, having a game in hand, but the two teams share equal points. A regulation loss will see Detroit slip to 9th and out with 11 games to play.

Red Wings vs. Oilers; Preview for Friday Night

The Synergy of a Team and Their Goalie

For the first time since Bud Lynch turned 4, the Detroit Red Wings seem to have had a season relatively 'Goalie Debate' free. In the recent history of our great club we've seen Cujo vs. Hasek, Legace vs. Osgood, Hasek vs. Osgood, Conklin vs. Osgood and let's not risk naivity, there has been a bit of Osgood vs. Howard as well. But by season's end, Jimmy Howard will have played the most games in a season of any Wings goalie since Curtis Joseph in 2002-03 and even Chris Osgood's biggest fans are hard pressed to find a serious argument why this shouldn't be so.

Regardless of any of this, for me, another debate would be redundant, my intention is solely to show, statistically, how the Red Wings' skaters play in front of each goalie with just a few notes from the plus/minus chart.

Skaters with a plus-rating:

While playing in front of Jimmy Howard, 13 Red Wings have more goals for, than against while 5 on 5. On the flip-side, only 3 of Ozzie's teammates were able to benefit from having him in net. Even Nicklas Lidstrom, who is +15 in front of Howard, is Even with Osgood. Brian Rafalski seems to prefer Howard even more, as he is a team-leading +18 with Howard, but -3 with Oz.

The evil, useless, hopless -- Brett Lebda:

Believe it or not, Brett Lebda is actually a plus player with Jimmy Howard in net. The often-criticized Illinoisan is a pretty respectable +7 with Howard, but -6 with Osgood. When you take into account the minutes he plays for the Wings, +7 is comparable to even his best teammates.

At least Val Filppula likes you, Ozzie:

With Chris Osgood as his netminder, Valtteri Filppula is a rare Wing with a net gain -- the other two being Kirk Maltby and Drew Miller. Miller has enjoyed Osgood's company the most with a +4 rating and Fil and Maltby at +2. The curious thing about "Flip" is that in front of "Jimmeh", his play seems to suffer 5 on 5, being on the ice for 7 more goals against than for.

The Struggles of Stu and Big Rig:

Brad Stuart has had an admirable season, having to step up for his team and play some tough roles. This season he has played more 5 on 5 minutes with both goalies than anyone else on the team. Jonathan Ericsson has also had more asked of him this season, but that seems to have had an adverse effect on his development. As a result, both player's numbers have suffered.

Brad Stuart's fortunes in front of his goalies seem fairly proportional, -4 with Osgood and -11 with Howard, while Ericsson improves from -10 with Osgood to -7 with Howard.

The Numbers don't lie:

Osgood is one of the all-time greats, but this season, whether he is to blame or not, the Wings' most important players have been better in front of Howard. When looking ahead to the run to make the playoffs and beyond, it's difficult to ignore these numbers:

Lidstrom: Ev w/Osgood, +15 w/Howard

Datsyuk: -3 w/Osgood, +15 w/Howard

Rafalski: -3 w/Osgood, +18 w/Howard

Zetterberg: -7 w/Osgood, +12 w/Howard

Franzen: -1 w/Osgood, +2 w/Howard

Holmstrom: -3 w/Osgood, +12 w/Howard

In total, Osgood's mates combine for -85 whilst playing in front of him, while Howard's, +41.

Revenge Served; Red Wings 2, Flames 1 Recap

It was a red-hot start for the Flamers, in stark contrast to the one they'd had the night before but they weren't able to build on the early goal, as the Wings slowly took control and in turn, control of the playoff race.

The Flames were quick to get on the board, as Craig Conroy nabbed his first goal in 2010 only 1:47 into the game to take a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings then took over in the second piling the pressure on the Flames, but goalie, Miikka Kiprusoff, was equal to the task. The Wings first and only powerplay of the game came late in the second and it didn't get off to a great start as Curtis Glencross forced a breakaway early in the PK. In an attempt to stymie the chance, Jason Williams was forced to hook the streaking Glencross, resulting in a penalty shot. Jimmy Howard made the save and pumped his fist in relief which proved to be the turning point for the Wings.

40 seconds later, Pavel Datsyuk ties it up, to enter the final period all square.

After a big 4-minute penalty-kill for Detroit, in which Calgary mustered almost no offense, the third period was a stale-mate most of the way. The game looked destined for overtime until, with just 79 seconds remaining, Tomas Holmstrom tipped in a shot from Johan Franzen silencing the rabid Southern Albertan fans.

Jimmy Howard was able to withstand the barrage of the final minute to record his 27th win of the season and give Detroit a 3-point lead over the Flames with equal games remaining.

WOW Factor

The obvious turning point of this game was Howard's penalty shot save on Curtis Glencross. Without that, the Flames would've owned a 2-goal lead in a very tight game and the Wings would most likely be sitting out of the playoffs right now.

Special Teams

Only 16 PIM's were handed out in this game resulting in 4 powerplays but the Red Wings dominance of special teams was where the game was won. Going 1-1 on the PP and killing Calgary's 3 chances, including a 4-minute double-minor for high-sticking in the third period set up the victory.

In Net

- Jimmy Howard stopped 22 of 23 shots for Detroit including a penalty shot from Curtis Glenscross.

- Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 26 of 28 for Calgary.

Next...

Detroit heads to Kelowna for a few days before meeting the last-placed Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Friday night. Calgary will meet the Avs in Colorado on Wednesday.

Detroit Visits Calgary; Aims for Payback

I'm not going to lie, I was slightly tempted to copy and paste last week's Calgary vs. Detroit preview and just make a few appropriate changes. But I guess I like my blogging.

Nevertheless tonight is a rematch of last week's pivotal game between the Wings and Flames, the only significant difference: this one's in Southern Alberta.

Just like last time, Calgary looks to leapfrog the Wings, who sit one point ahead of them in 8th place while the Wings look to pull within one point of the 7th-placed Predators. This time around, the Wings are hoping events go a little differently.

Mike Babcock will try to overcome the disadvantage of playing on the road and hope to benefit from a Calgary squad that played and lost in Vancouver last night. The also look to do something they have still not been able to do this year; win three games in a row. Their last opportunity to achieve the mark came against this very team, but fell 4-2 to a hungrier Flames team.

If the preceding meetings between Detroit and Calgary are anything to go by (and let's face it, they probably aren't), the Wings should be favored tonight as all three past meetings went the way of the visitor; Detroit winning 3-1 in Calgary and the Flames topping the Wings 3-0 and 4-2 in Detoit. The Winged Wheelers are in desperate need of this trend to continue tonight.

Jimmy Howard will make the start tonight and didn't mince words about his team's intentions, "We owe Calgary after they embarrassed us in our own barn in the third period. We'll be ready."

Howard's opponent in net will be Miikka Kiprusoff, who was pulled after the first period when the Flames trailed 3-0 by coach Brent Sutter, in a move that was more for preservation for tonight's game than anything else.

Detroit will certainly need to be ready and they'll need all their top players performing to beat the Flames, who have won 4 of their last five.

Scary Pairs:
Zetterberg & Franzen
5v5 TOI - 32.6 min, HOOK-UPS - 2, MIN/HU - 16.3, +1

Bertuzzi & Holmstrom
5v5 TOI - 271.7 min, HOOK-UPS - 6, MIN/HU - 54.3, +5

Wings Top Sabres in OT

Brian Rafalski continued the Red Wings 9-game powerplay goal scoring streak, at a most appropriate time, overtime to be exact.

With 47 seconds remaining in a Tyler Myers delay of game penalty to start OT, it took only 31 of them before Rafalski drove in a Lidstrom pass with a one-timer from the top of the left circle to net the overtime winner and grab the all-important two points for the Red Wings.

The Wings were again off to a great start against the Sabres, as they took 2-0 lead only 3:15 into the game on the back of some Datsyukian magic and a great individual effort from Patrick Eaves. Vezina-favorite, Ryan Miller steadied the ship though, as the Sabres slowly battled back to take a 2-2 tie heading into the final frame thanks to two Jochen Hecht goals. The teams were unable to decide it in the third period needing overtime to decide the victor.

For Lindy Ruff's Sabres, a point is better than nothing as it gives them a 3 point advantage with 2 games in hand on the Ottawa Senators who were blown out in Vancouver later last night, 5-1.

For the Wings, the extra point was much more needed, giving them a one point lead of the hot Calgary Flames, who play their catch-up game tonight, also in Vancouver. The Wings are also within a point of the Predators with the same games played.

Jimmy Howard stopped 24 of 26 shots with Michigan-native, Ryan Miller stopped all but three of the 37 Detroit shots.

The Wings were 1/4 on the PP whilst killing off all three Sabres man-advantages extending their successful penalty killing streak to 5 games.

The Red Wings meet Calgary in Alberta on Monday night in a pivotal Western conference tilt, to begin their 3-game Western Canada road trip.

Memorable Night Ahead for Millers; Buffalo @ Detroit

Red Wing, Drew Miller and Sabres' goalie, Ryan will meet for the third time in their NHL careers, but tonight will mark their first ever meeting in Detroit, the hometown of the Miller family.

“It’s always been a fun experience playing against Drew; it hasn’t happened often in our careers,” older brother, Ryan said.

Drew, who scored Thursday against the Wild, hopes to find the net for the first time against his silver-medallist, Olympic-MVP brother but says it's not going to be easy and never was, even as a kid.

A win over the Sabres would get the Red Wings into 8th spot in the Western conference, with Calgary set to meet Vancouver Sunday night to claim that spot back. A loss could prove to be very costly with Nashville and Calgary showing no signs of making the chase an easy one, for the Red Wings. Calgary rides a 4-game winning streak -- one of them in Detroit, and Nashville knocked off Anaheim in SoCal last night, 1-0; all but putting the Ducks out of the playoff picture.

Early in the season, the Wings visited Buffalo in what turned out to be a disaster for the boys in Red, as they were dismantled 6-2.

Now the Wings seek consistency, looking to build a playoff-clinching win-streak beginning Thursday against the Wild.

Jimmy Howard stopped 21 of 22 shots in that win and will make his 15th consecutive start tonight to face home-coming Ryan Miller.

Scary Pairs:

Datsyuk & Holmstrom:

5v5 TOI - 506.2 min, HOOK-UPS - 9, MIN/HU - 43:00, +10

Cleary & Filppula:

5v5 TOI - 233 min, HOOK-UPS - 8, MIN/HU - 37:30, +1

Detroit Blast Wild 5-1

Two out of three ain't bad: Detroit came up big over Minnesota, Nashville loses 8-5 to the Sharks, but Calgary rolls on, shutting out the Senators, 2-0. All this means that Detroit remains out of the playoffs -- in 9th for now, but draws within a point of 7th-placed Nashville with all three teams having playing the same amount of games.

In this game, not always does the score reflect the game but in this case it was fairly accurate, as Detroit steam-rolled over the Wild, 5-1.

The Wings got off to a start quick which, in the end, set up the victory. Johan Franzen opened the scoring at 2:25 as the Wings piled the pressure on Wild goalie, Josh Harding, the puck barely exiting the Minnesota zone for the first five minutes. Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg added two more mid-way through the 1st to make it 3-0. Some hope came though, as Andrew Ebbett gave the Wild a chance, just 11 seconds before the 1st intermission as the puck went in off his skate making it 3-1.

Detroit controlled the game from that point on however, Howard shutting the Wild out the rest of the way with Miller adding a shorthanded goal and Franzen netting his second late in the game, to seal to win.

Henrik Zetterberg answered the call from his coach to be better, adding 2 assists to his 1st-period goal, to tie Pavel Datsyuk for total points this season for the Red Wings lead. Johan Franzen's 2 goals is also a welcome sight for Wings' fans. A hot Mule come April can decide the winner of a playoff series and all signs seem to show that Franzen can once again, be a hassle for defenders in the second season.

Chris Osgood's patient wait on the bench looks like it will continue as Jimmy Howard doesn't seem to be showing signs of faltering. Howard stopped 21 of 22 shots, but didn't need to be spectacular for the win with a lot of help from his skaters.

Detroit will play their last home game before a 3-game Western Canada road trip next week when they meet the Sabres at the Joe.

Wild Hope to Gain Ground in Detroit

The Red Wings have not seen such consistent necessity to win outside the playoffs in so many years, the younger Wings' fans have never experienced such a thing.

After a costly loss to the Flames on Tuesday night booted the Red Wings from the top-8 in the West, Detroit hopes to bounce back tonight with a win over Minnesota at the Joe. In response to the loss to Calgary, Mike Babcock has done some minor line shuffling putting Henrik Zetterberg with Valtteri Filppula and Daniel Cleary, in hopes of seeing some much-needed secondary scoring from the trio.

Jimmy Howard will make his 14th consecutive start while Niklas Backstrom is expected to mind the net for the Wild.

Earlier in the season, Detroit and Minnesota split two games at the Xcel Energy Center, 4-3 (SO)Detroit on January 21 and 5-2 Minnesota on January 27.

Other previews:
Winging it in Motown
Sporting News
Unconnected Red Wings Blog

Red Wings Fail; 4-2 Flames

So close, yet so far; the Detroit Red Wings again fail to reach the lofty accomplishment of winning 3 games in a row. A feat even the best of the best are seldom able to achieve.

Now that the sarcastic ridiculing of the Wings inconsistency is behind me, let's take a look at the circumstances.

This loss is disappointing for a few reasons. Detroit had a lead in the 3rd period only to let it slip resulting in a loss that pushes the Wings out of the top eight in the West. It also means that in mid-March 2010 -- granted they weren't easy teams to beat, in Nashville, Chicago and Calgary -- Detroit has once again failed to win three straight games.

Consistency like this is of no use in the playoffs, so maybe sitting in ninth doesn't matter as much.

The good news for Wings' fans is that there is still much to be improved on. Key players like Zetterberg, Filppula, Stuart and Franzen had slightly off nights, but credit must be given to Calgary, who was solid and seemed pretty switched on for most of the game. Miikka Kiprusoff also had a stellar game for the Flames and out-played his opponent Jimmy Howard.

It also must be noted, that when the Red Wings play with energy, they play good hockey, particularly with their wins over Nashville and Chicago. The main concern is why that energy seems unsustainable for more than a few games.

For Detroit, Datsyuk and Holmstrom were the scorers, while Flames captain, Jarome Iginla broke his 20-game goal-less streak against Detroit, with Daymond Langkow, Rene Bourque and Chris Higgins rounding out the 4-2 result.

Calgary returns home to meet Ottawa on Thursday night, while the Red Wings remain at the Joe to visiting Minnesota. Fans of the Winged Wheel will also be paying attention to Nashville's visit to San Jose that same night.

Loser Drops Out... For Now

Perhaps it seems like an irritatingly recurring motif, but once again, huge points are on the line when Calgary visits Detroit. The loser of the contest will be tentatively out of the playoff cut while the winner gets two points closer to April action.

Detroit comes into the game in good form having won 4 of their last 5 meetings, the latest of which a narrow win over the division-leading Blackhawks. Todd Bertuzzi left the game late in the second period with a charley horse, but is expected to suit up against his old team, the Flames. Jonathan Ericsson, who missed the Chicago victory, will also play as Brett Lebda makes way. Pavel Datsyuk missed practice Monday, because of flu-like symptoms, but will also play.

Datsyuk has been red hot lately registering 3 goals and 5 assists in his last five games. Eurotwin counterpart, Henrik Zetterberg, has also had a hot hand with 10 points in his last seven.

For the Flames, who've won 3 of their last 4, captain Jarome Iginla will be relied upon to help his team pick up the big points. Iginla snapped up 4 points including a hat-trick in the Flames 5-2 win on Sunday, totalling 10 points in his last 6 games. His luck against Detroit however, hasn't been so auspicious as Iggy has failed to put the puck in the net against the Wings in his last 19 games against them, managing to get 10 assists. Ending his cold-streak against Babcock's boys will go a long way to getting his team the much-needing victory.

After the game, both teams will be eager to learn the result of the concurrent Atlanta vs. Nashville game. For Detroit, a win over the Flames coupled with a Nashville loss will vault them into second place. On the other hand, any sort of loss to Calgary will see them drop to ninth and provisionally out of the playoffs, regardless of the Predators' fortunes.

Jimmy Howard and Miikka Kiprusoff are likely to be in opposite nets to start.

Other previews:

Winging it in Motown

A2Y

Sportsnet.ca

mlive

Nightmare on Helm Street

Spirit in the Second City: Wings 5, Hawks 4

These days, any time you enter the Blackhawks' home arena and get a win, you've done well. Detroit showed great character when defying the league's best defense with five 2nd period goals to set up the important victory.

The Chicago Blackhawks exited the ice after one period to a roaring ovation from their fans as they controlled the game for the majority of the period taking a 2-0 lead. The classy fans of Chi-town were extra boisterous with their "De-troit sucks!" chants at that point. As time went on, that roar was not so slowly muted.

The sold-out crowd went from delirious to hushed as they saw their team facing a 4-2 deficit by the 10:27 mark of the second. Two pairs of goals less than a minute apart seemed to 180 the complexion of the game, almost instantaneously.

Sparked by a 4 on 3 powerplay goal from Brian Rafalski, Detroit was on the board and quickly took control of the game. 28 seconds later, Nick Lidstrom got his 8th of the season. The second onslaught came five minutes later when Jason Williams put in a beautiful feed from Henrik Zetterberg followed by a tally from Valtteri Filppula 42 seconds later, prompting Joel Quenneville to remove Cristobal Huet from the net in favour of Antti Niemi. The game-winning came with 2.7 seconds left in the 2nd on a breakaway from Pavel Datsyuk who continue his hot-streak.

Chicago refused to die in the third as they clawed back to make the game interesting with two goals from Andrew Ladd. Jimmy Howard hung on for dear life and managed to resist the torrents of offense from the Hawks in the dying moments to get the win, 5-4.

The win moves Detroit 2 points closer to 7th place after a home loss to the Canucks for Nashville. The win was made doubly valuable as Calgary's win in Minnesota would've leap-frogged them over Detroit for 8th.

Duncan Keith was the other scorer for Chicago, while Andrew recorded his first career hat-trick.

The win was a great display of character from a team that just might have gained something form the adversities of the season. Facing a 2-0 deficit and almost going down a third had it not been for the benefit of a goalie-interference call, Detroit surged in the second period, looking like a team that wants to see playoff action this year.

The only significant negative for the day was Todd Bertuzzi's apparent knee injury sustained late in he 2nd period. No word yet on his status.

Detroit will now go for their third-straight victory -- something they are still yet to accomplish this year -- at home against Calgary, in another contest of monumental importance.

Challenge ahead as Chicago awaits

Detroit will be faced with a tough test as they take to the ice with the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks today.

Both teams are coming off Friday night victories with Chicago beating Vancouver 6-3.

This games marks the first game of the season between the two rivals, where both teams will contest with a full line-up. Adam Burish could make his return after pre-season knee surgery, but otherwise all Blackhawks are ready for action. In the other locker-room, the only absentee is Kirk Maltby, as will be the case for the rest of the season.

The Red Wings will make no changes to the lineup that handled the Predators on Friday night, as Jimmy Howard will get the nod in goal again. Cristobal Huet is expected to mind the net for Chicago.

Nick Lidstrom and Detroit's defense will have a tough time stifling the talented offense Chicago will unleash today, one that includes former-Wing, Marian Hossa, who has 4 point in the 'Hawks last two winning contests. Fellow Olympians, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will also need to be contained. Kane has 12 points in his last 7 skates, while Blackhawks' captain Toews, has 8 points in his last 4.

For Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk has been heating up of late, a very welcome development for Red Wings' fans. He has 7 points in his last 4.

A win in this game is vital for Detroit. Firstly, the obvious need to remain in the playoff race is of utmost importance, but further to that, the Wings need to show themselves they can still contend with the best. Chicago seems to have all but locked up the Central, with a 16 point lead over 2nd-placed Nashville and are amid a dogfight with San Jose for top spot in the West.

Other Previews:

Winging It In Motown

On the Wings

Abel to Yzerman

NHL.com

The Playoff Picture

Last night's win over Nashville was vital to keeping with striking distance of Nashville, but perhaps just as important as that, the win helps stave off the group of teams trying to chase down the Wings for the coveted 8th and final playoff spot. Among them is Calgary, who won at home against the Devils last night, 5-3, to remain just one point shy of the Wings 72 point total.

Minnesota fell victim to a rare Edmonton victory last night, losing 2-1 in a shootout and falling one point further back of 8th, now with a 5 point deficit with a game in hand.

Other teams breathing down the necks of Detroit are Dallas, who visit the defending Champion, Penguins today, St. Louis who'll head to the Pepsi Center tonight to try and knock off the Avalanche, and arch-rival Anaheim, who'll fight for points in Phoenix.

As it stands, there are seven teams fighting for two playoff spots, one of them owned by Detroit:

7 - Nashville Predators, 75 pts, 18GR

8 - Detroit Red Wings, 72 pts, 18GR

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9. Calgary Flames, 71 pts, 18GR

10. St. Louis Blues, 69 pts, 18GR

11. Dallas Stars, 68 pts, 19GR

12. Minnesota Wild, 67 pts, 19GR

13. Anaheim Ducks, 67 pts, 19GR

There is still a lot of hockey to play, so this picture will surely change in many ways, but whether they're from this group or not, five good hockey teams won't be playing playoff hockey. As unsettling as the thought is of Detroit possibly being one of them, it surely makes for an exciting stretch, something not seen for many years for a Red Wings fan.

Wings 5, Preds 2

Detroit got one of, if not the, most important win of the season so far, edging two points closer to the 7th-placed Nashville Predators, who now have a 3-point lead over Detroit with equal games played.

The Red Wings had a great start to the game, something lacking for most of the season, taking a 2-0 advantage into the locker-room after 1, and doubling it by the mid-point of the game on the back of a short-handed goal from Darren Helm, his second of the game.

Less than two minutes later, Nashville managed to beat Jimmy Howard to get on the board, after very little offense from Trotz's chargers prior to that.

A nervousness fell over the Red Wing-faithful at the Joe, as Nashville edged within 2 after Joel Ward put a well-placed one-timer by Howard. Detroit's general inconsistency and inability to hold onto good leads this season, began to creep into the forefront of everyone's mind at that point, but once again, Detroit steadied the ship and kept the Preds off the board from that point on, with some good goaltending and strong penalty killing.

Scorers for Detroit were Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg with the empty-netter while Nashville got goals from J.P. Dumont and Joel Ward.

Jimmy Howard had to make 20 saves for the win including a few stymied breakaway bids from Nashville.

Detroit will now need to be prepared for a rare afternoon game against divison-rival, Chicago, at the United Center on Sunday.

Big Points on the Line Vs. Preds

Just like the 81 other games this season, it's worth just the two points, but in the context of current situation the Wings face, it's about the biggest two points of the season thus far.

Currently, Detroit sits 8th in the West with a meager one point lead on 9th-placed Calgary. Just ahead in the standings, in 7th, is Nashville with 75 points meaning a regulation win for the Red Wings will bring them within 3 points of the Preds.

So far, Detroit leads the season series 2-1, two games being hosted by Nashville. It's feasible that the result of the season series could be an important advantage at the end of the season if the standings continue to tighten as they might.

The Red Wings are coming off a disappointing 6-3 home loss against Vancouver, while Nashville are aiming at their fourth straight win after getting by the young, but impressive L.A. Kings last night.

Todd Bertuzzi acknowledged the team's poor perforamce on Wednesday and says it's being addressed, "(Wednesday) was pretty much unacceptable, especially against a team coming in after playing the night before. The performance we gave was just not right. We addressed it, and we’ve got the same scenario coming in tomorrow -- Nashville is playing (Thursday), and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready."

An improved performance will definitely be required or Detroit faces the unwelcome situation of being 7 points in arrears of the 7th-place in the West.

Lines were shuffled for Thursday's practice with these lines skating:
Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Franzen
Cleary - Zetterberg - Williams
Bertuzzi - Filppula - Miller

With Pekka Rinne starting for Nashville last night and Jimmy Howard's uncharacteristically bad game against Vancouver, the starters in net are uncertain for now.

Canucks 6, Wings 3

Detroit remains fortunate to be in a provisional playoff spot, after been blown out last night by the Sedin twins and the surging Vancouver Canucks.

The Red Wings are still yet to win 3 games in a row this year, as they failed for the third time since December 19, 2009 to achieve the modest feat, in a time when lengthy winning streaks are in desperate need.

Vancouver seemed to have jump from the start, taking an early lead, but the Wings were able to match that energy as they found a way to twice tie the game early in the second period. The proceedings got ugly from that point however, as the next four went the 'Nucks way, chasing Jimmy Howard, on the way to an easy win.

A bitterly disappointed coach Babcock described the overall performance as "poor", saying "The bottom line was we didn't look like a team that was dying to be in the playoffs tonight, in anyway or shape of form."

The game marks a very disappointing halt to momentum the Red Wings seemed to be showing on the back of a return of long-term injured players. Mike Babcock and his men will try to regain that momentum on Friday night against Nashville in an even more important contest as the Predators are one of the teams the Wings hope to chase down for a higher playoff seed.

Late last night, the fortunes of the Calgary Flames matched those of Detroit, being shutout 4-0 by the Wild and allowing Detroit to keep the all-important 8th place in the Western Conference for now.

Jason Williams, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen all scored for the Wings, while Alex Burrows, Sami Salo, Kyle Wellwood and former-Wing Mikael Samuelsson all netting one with Michigander, Ryan Kesler adding two more for the Canucks.

Full Line-up Vs. Canucks

It almost feels odd to say, but the Red Wings, once again, will have a full roster tonight as Vancouver visits the Joe.

Detroit currently sits barely within the top 8 of the Western Conference with a 1-point lead over Calgary, who host Minnesota tonight, and a 2-point lead over the 10th-placed Dallas Stars. The desperate need for points is compounded when looking ahead in the standings, seeing deficits of 3 and 6 points to Nashville and Colorado, respectively.

The Canucks are still with defenseman Kevin Bieksa, who has been out for over two months with a lacerated leg, as well as Alexandre Bolduc and Willie Mitchell who are also unfit to play. Detroit's sole injury is Kirk Maltby (shoulder).

Jimmy Howard will again make the start for the Wings while Roberto Luongo will make his first start since winning Olympic-Gold in Vancouver on Sunday.

The Canucks are coming off a 4-3 overtime win in Columbus last night, while the Wings are seeking their 3rd-straight win after a 3-2 win in Colorado Monday.

Hungry Wings Edge Avs

It was a fairly impressive return to action for Detroit as they overcame the surprising, young Colorado Avalanche 3-2 with a full roster and a the desperate need for points.

Tomas Holmstrom and Johan Franzen were impressive for the Wings, who definitely needed some help from their goaltender nightmares. Both Franzen and Holmstrom seen little action this season through injury with Franzen only playin in his seventh game of the season. "Homer" scored a goal as well as adding two assists while "the Mule" helped with a goal of his own.

Detroit showed they were hungry early on as they dominated the hapless Avalanche in their own building. Scoring chances were plentiful as they outshot their opponents 10-6 in the first frame and took a 2-0 lead into the dressing room. Apparently this was just due to a tilt in the ice as Colorado took control in the second period with two even-strength goals from young guns, T.J. Galliardi and Chris Stewart.

The 10th-placed Wings recovered in the final frame and regained their advantage on the eventual game-winning goal from Lidstrom on the powerplay.

Special teams seemed to be the difference in a game where few penalties were called. Detroit went 2/4 with the advantage whilst killing off both of Colorado's two powerplays.

Captain, Nicklas Lidstrom was the game's First Star, scoring his first road goal of the season from a beautiful feed from Pavel Datsyuk, and assisting on Franzen's 1st period tally.

Detroit shot 30 pucks at Craig Anderson, while Jimmy Howard was forced to stop 22 of 24 to get the win.

The Wings head home to face Olympic-Champion, Roberto Luongo, and the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.

Rafalski a maybe for Avalanche; Lilja Returns

Tonight, the Red Wings return to action against the old nemesis the Colorado Avalanche, with about as full of a roster as you can get.

After a year and a day on the sidelines with concussion symptoms, defenseman Andreas Lilja makes his long-awaited return. If Olympic silver-medallist Brian Rafalski is able to go, it will be the first full contingent of defense the Red Wings have had all season.

Mike Babcock and Rafalski himself will make the call on whether or not he'll suit up against the Avs. With Rafalski in, Andreas Lilja will pair with Jonathan Ericsson with Brett Lebda a healthy scratch. If not, Lebda will come in to pair with Lilja.

Jimmy Howard is expected to make the start with lines looking like this:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Cleary-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi
Miller-Filppula-Williams
Draper-Helm-Eaves

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lilja or;

Lidstrom-Kronwall
Ericsson-Stuart
Lebda-Lilja

Kirk Maltby is out after season-ending shoulder surgery during the Olympic break.

Puck drop is at 9pm EST tonight, televised on VS.