A Game Best Forgotten

Thrashers 5, Red Wings 1 -- I think this one falls under the "Never happened" category.

The Wings just never seemed to be too interested in putting in what was necessary to win. A nasty little habit had been creeping up before this game, and for the most part Detroit had been getting away with it, but it had to catch up eventually and in Atlanta it did... big time.

Being the irritatingly fair guy I am, I have to say, Atlanta isn't a terrible team. I daresay they've improved quite a bit since they last upset us 12 months ago. They've got a great young group there and I never realized this, but their defense is actually very solid. A great mixture of experience and offense. This should be a playoff team really. They seem to be coming on of late, but it's difficult to see why their record is so mediocre at this point in the season.

Detroit heads north to Ohio to face the Blue Jackets tomorrow night. I sincerely hope they're more prepared this time around. I seem to recall getting destroyed by Columbus even worse than this not too long ago. I don't want to harp too much on the negatives, but we really gotta watch those turnovers and help the goalie out a little. Jimmy wasn't at his best [again] but he could've gotten by with a little help from his friends. No points for recognizing the Beatles reference.

Perhaps Howard might get a rest. Osgood isn't expected to be ready to play until next week so maybe Joey MacDonald will get his first start as a Red Wing since, I dunno... I guess the days of Manny Legace?? This is just pure speculation, but maybe Howard could benefit from the rest. While I agree with giving Howard a #1 goalie amount of starts, I do not want to see the Nabokov, Kiprusoff, Brodeur type of work overload that kills a team come May. There's no advantage to giving Howard 70 starts a season, particularly with Detroit's lofty position in the standings. The NHL season is a marathon, not a sprint.

So anyway, let's move on and get back on track with a W. Go Wings!