Strong week pushes Wings to top of TSN Power Rankings

Firstly, sorry for the lack of posting recently and no game preview of the Wings and Ducks on Saturday. I've been having some major PC issues of late which culminated in the mysterious and still unexplained inability to log into any of my google accounts. This, of course, makes it difficult to update a blog hosted by Blogger.com (ie. Google). Anyway, all that's in the past (hopefully) and we're now back on board and good to go.

So, it was a pretty successful weekend for Detroit, who find themselves with a somewhat leisurely schedule right now. The Wings week began with a four day break to prepare for home games against the Flames and Ducks on Thursday and Saturday respectively, and now are in the midst of another four day hiatus with another Thursday, Saturday home stand ahead.

The offensively embattled Calgary Flames found ways to find the net early on Thursday and give Babcock's boys more than a few headaches. Calgary was able to double their season total of first-period goals on the back of a strong display of offensive potency from 21-year-old future star Mikael Backlund. Henrik Zetterberg also nabbed his maiden tally of the season with the Wings sporting a 2-1 deficit at the first break.

Detroit's top two lines then began to take over as the Wings scored three goals unanswered to take a 4-2 victory for Jimmy Howard. Bertuzzi, Zetterberg and Datsyuk all getting two points each with Franzen scoring his fourth of the season and his second game-winner.

The Winged Wheelers were able to snatch another victory from behind two nights later, this time against Anaheim.

The Ducks had a one-goal lead midway through the third period and a 2-goal lead midway through the game, but Henrik Zetterberg with his 2 goal, 4 point night lead Detroit to victory, with a little help from his magical friend Mr. Datsyuk. Franzen also added another lazy goal for the game -- a feat he seems to find as difficult to achieve as a bowel movement. With continued health, this man will surely be Detroit's next 50-goal scorer.

#13 roofed the puck over Curtis McElhinney with under 12 seconds left in the game to steal the win as Anaheim agonized over two more points lost.

The game was not without controversy however. Early in the game Teemu Selanne his head down was rocked with a front-on shoulder hit from Niklas Kronwall. The play was without penalty due to the hit being completely legal.

A usually classy Selanne complained about the hit after the game claiming Kronwall was dangerous and got his elbow up. He also admitted he hadn't seen the hit. Perhaps if he actually looked at the hit he might understand that to outlaw a hit like this is to outlaw hitting from the game. The Flying Finn is understandably frustrated with the recent fortunes of his team and the harsh nature of their loss on the night.

The victories give Detroit a 5-1-1 start to the season and gave Jimmy Howard his 20th consecutive start without a regulation loss, tying his teammate Chris Osgood's post-lockout record. The team's recent success seems to have caught the attention of TSN, as the Winged Wheel moved from #7 to #1 in their Power Rankings, leading Central rivals St. Louis in #2 and Nashville third.

Detroit now awaits visits from Phoenix on Thursday, followed by Nashville on Saturday.

Wings and Flames Attempt to Warm Up Offense; Game Preview

I feel like it's not too often that Detroit plays a team with a longer injury list than them. Unfortunately for Calgary, they'll make the first opponent for the Red Wings of the season to fit this bill.

It has been confirmed that Johan Franzen will play against Calgary -- a much needed boost for a team that has scored 3 goals in it's last 6 periods. Franzen's addition will also allow Mike Babcock a full compliment of forwards for use on the powerplay, though one of our PP quarterbacks on defense, Brian Rafalski will remain sidelined for the next 2 weeks at minimum.

Hot Goalies
Jimmy Howard and Miikka Kiprussoff will most likely be given a chance to build on their stingy stats early in the season. Flames' rookie back-up, Henrik Karlsson is a possibility to start however. Brent Sutter and Karlsson himself are keeping their cards close to their chests, but it seems all but a certainty he will start one of the Flames next two games in Detroit and Columbus.

Zetterberg Warmed Up?
Henrik Zetterberg got a couple of assists in the last game vs. Phoenix. Look for another multi-point game from Hank as a return to form for him will be paramount to the success of the Red Wings, particularly if Franzen, Bertuzzi and Filppula continue to light the lamp.

Stone Cold Attack
This might sound like pointing out the obvious, but I think against a team like Calgary moreso than usual, putting the puck in the net more than 3 times will make it tough for them to get the win. Three times in their first five games the Flames have been shutout in regulation -- an incredibly damning stat for Calgary's forward corps. The fact they've been able to go 3-2-0 despite these offensive woes could be taken as a positive however. Another considerable stat is their shooting percentage. The Flames actually get 35 shots a game on goal but goalie's have a .949SV% on them!

Franzen Cleared to Play

Finally some good news from the medical room.

From the beginning of this young season, Red Wings' fans have been forced to watch addition after addition to the injured reserve list, with no subtractions until perhaps now.

Ken Holland confirms Johan Franzen has cleared his baseline test and could be available to play Thursday against the Flames. If Franzen does play, he will only have missed one game from his concussion -- a win against the Coytes, making the 4-day break a very handy one indeed.

A Cruel Return to Dallas for Mo

His #9 will one day hang from the rafters of the American Airlines Center, but of all the memories Mike Modano has had in the building, this would rank among the most forgettable.

The Dallas Stars franchise's greatest on-ice servant received a classy standing ovation from the locals but that proved to be the highlight of his night as the Red Wings skated to a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of his former team-mates.

From the get-go nothing seemed to go right for Detroit. Whilst only sporting a 1-0 deficit at the first break, the signs weren't good. A horrible Lidstrom turnover and a Franzen injury... uh oh!

But the second frame was where it got ugly.

The puck seemed to bounce off skates and in on one end, but just couldn't do likewise at the other. Throw in some sloppy coverage and a puck or two off the post, and you got a 4-0 game after two.

Osgood was not good, but neither was anyone else. A consolation PP goal in the third period gave the Wings a semblance of respectability on the scoreboard but not much else.

Moving forward it didn't look to be getting any better. Franzen's concussion was never good news and just to make things worse, Daniel Cleary crashed into the boards in practise earlier today. The updated diagnoses of both were good however, as Franzen said he felt good today and hopes to be able to go Saturday night against the Coyotes and Dan Cleary's knee injury scare appears to be just that... a scare.

It was looking for a while like the Wings may have been forced to dress 16 or 17 skaters in Phoenix, hopefully that's not the case. A reprieve from this tumultuous tackle with the injury bug will go a long way to getting the Red Wings back to winning form.

New Red Wings Wallpaper; Red Wings Skyline

Visit the Wallpapers page to download the new Detroit Skyline wallpaper which features Jimmy Howard, Johan Franzen, Nick Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. It wasn't the original intention but it's almost turned out a little bit mafia-style. Anyway, please enjoy.

Game 5; Red Wings vs. NHL Referees Preview

The Western Conference Semi-Final series between Detroit and uhh... San Jose continues tonight back in Northern California in Game 5.

I successfully managed to keep quiet about the awful officiating in Games 1-3, in an attempt to not sound too bitter about the losses. So I waited 'til we won to whine about it.

Even after the huge 7-1 performance on Thursday night, Detroit still finds themselves in a big 3-1 hole in the series. A win in this game will however send the series back to Motown for a chance to tie it. That would certainly makes things interesting, but... a win tonight is needed first.

There are a number of keys to getting the victory in this one.

Firstly, stay out of the box!! The refs seem to have been constantly looking for excuses to hand the Sharks a powerplay throughout the series, a bit of extra discipline to not give them the excuses will go a long way to winning. This I cannot stress this enough when already down a man. The Sharks have scored 3 goals in this series with a 2-man advantage. That hurts!

Another key is shutting down Pavelski. We did it in Game 4, but one would think Little Joe would come out with a little more fire back in his own barn. Keeping him quiet will go a long way!

Two other important factors are associated with the Scary Pairs for tonight.

Scary Pair Numero Uno is obvious. Franzen and Bertuzzi combined for 5 goals and 6 assists in Game 4 in a monumental performance from the duo. The Sharks will look to keep the Zetterberg-Franzen-Bertuzzi line quiet which leads me to Scary Pair Two...

...Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom may just find themselves with less attention than usual tonight. Todd McLellan is very familiar with Johan Franzen's 9 goals in 4 games destruction of the Colorado Avalanche in 2008 and will keep that at the forefront of his mind when sending out his lines. Dats and Homer could see some opportunities tonight and they'll need to take advantage of them. They've both been relatively quiet in the series so far.

Brad Stuart's undisclosed lower body injury is said to be fairly minor and he's likely to play, while a larger question mark floats over the head of Patrick Eaves and his elbow.

The puck drops and about 10:10 tonight.... GO WINGS!!!

Johan Franzen History Will Be Made

An homage to the incredible performance of Das Mule last night.

The Mule Kicks Sharks in Record Setting Affair

The fans at the Joe got quite a show in what might have been the Red Wings last home game of the season. Facing an undeserved and embarrassing sweep, the Mule lead Detroit past the hapless Sharks in a memorable night.

It wasn't the most auspicious start for Detroit when a mix-up with Franzen on the bench lead to a Too Many Men penalty, giving the Sharks an early powerplay. It turned out to be a blessing however, as Detroit was solid on the PK and picked up some momentum leading to a powerplay of their own.

Then, Detroit exploded onto the scoreboard.

With only 3 seconds remaining in Helminen's tripping penalty, Johan Franzen put the puck past Nabokov by way of Todd Bertuzzi's calf. The Mule refused to be kept off the scoreboard though, netting the next three goals of the game in a span of 3:26, the second fastest in NHL playoff history.

After 1 period, the Sharks found themselves in an insurmountable 5-0 hole.

The onslaught slowed down after that. With Sharks' goalie Nabokov looking on from the bench, the Wings fired a few more by Thomas Greiss whilst San Jose netted their only goal of the night while on one of their mandatory 5-on-3 powerplays.

After all was said and done, Johan Franzen finished with 4 goals and 6 points, tying franchise records. The Mule's supporting role was played by Todd Bertuzzi with 1 goal and 4 assists, while Lidstrom and Zetterberg got 2 assists each to be the Wings' other multi-point players. Jimmy Howard stopped 28 of 29 for the win.

Franzen is now tied with Sidney Crosby for the league lead in points with 17 in 11 games. He has a point in each Red Wings game this playoff year.

For me, it was a reminder of what the Red Wings and Johan Franzen can do to a good team like the Sharks. The sad part is, Detroit is still in a very big 3-1 hole. I'm unconvinced the Sharks will be doubting their ability on Saturday. It's an embarrassing 7-1 setback, but it ends a 6-game win-streak for San Jose, 3 of them against Detroit. If anything, it will help the Wings believe they can overcome this huge hurdle they face, but they need to replicate the intensity shown in Game 4 another three times. Anything less will probably mean curtains for the 2010 season.

Wings Seek Seventh Straight; Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets Preview

Detroit looks to do something they haven't done in two years; win 7 in a row. More importantly, Detroit looks to do something they haven't done this season; sit 5th in the West.

Tonight's game vs. Columbus marks only the fourth game of the season between the divisional rivals, who will play another pair of games against each other before the conclusion of the regular season.

Columbus has been pretty hot lately under the guidance of new coach Claude Noel, going 7-2-2 in their last 11 games. Two of those wins against the Central division leaders, the Chicago Blackhawks, by a combined score of 12-5.

Detroit on the other hand, has been the hottest team in the NHL after the Olympic break with an impressive stretch of their own going 12-2-1 since Canada won Gold in Vancouver.

This surge has pushed the Wings from 9th in the West to a solid 6th position and all but a certainty to continue their playoff qualification streak to 19 seasons. A victory tonight would give Detroit an almost insurmountable 8 point lead over the Calgary Flames in 9th, with only 5 games to play in the season.

Other Previews:

Winging It In Motown

As mentioned on FSD: Nightmare on Helm Street

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!!)

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.

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.

Wings in Vancouver

A brief summary of the international experience of each Red Wing taking part in the Olympics:

Pavel Datsyuk -- Russia

International Mens Debut: 2001

Olympic Record: 2002 - Salt Lake City (Bronze), 2006 - Torino (4th)

International Achievements: Olympic Bronze (2002), World Championship Bronze (2005)

International Stats: 41 GP, 7g, 21a, 28pts, 10PIM

Valtteri Filppula -- Finland

International Mens' Debut: 2010
Olympic Record: None
International Achievements: None
International Stats: None

Johan Franzen -- Sweden

International Mens' Debut: 2005
Olympic Record: None
International Achievements: World Championship Gold (2006)
International Stats: 13GP, 1g, 3a, 4pts, 12PIM

Niklas Kronwall -- Sweden

International Mens' Debut: 2003
Olympic Record: 2006 - Torino (Gold)
International Achievements: Olympic Gold (2006), World Championship Silver (2005)
International Stats: 24GP, 3g, 12a, 15pts, 32PIM

Nicklas Lidstrom -- Sweden

International Mens' Debut: 1991
Olympic Record: 1998 - Nagano (5th), 2002 - Salt Lake City (5th), 2006 - Torino (Gold)
International Achievements: Olympic Gold (2006), World Championship Gold (1991), World Championship Silver (2004), World Championship Bronze (1994)
International Stats: 36GP, 9g, 13a, 22pts, 12PIM

Brian Rafalski -- USA

International Mens' Debut: 2002
Olympic Record: 2002 - Salt Lake City (Silver), 2006 - Torino (8th)
International Achievements: Olympic Silver (2002)
International Stats: 15GP, 1g, 7a, 8pts, 8PIM

Henrik Zetterberg -- Sweden

International Mens' Debut: 2001
Olympic Record: 2002 - Salt Lake City (5th), 2006 - Torino (Gold)
International Achievements: Olympic Gold (2006), World Championsip Gold (2006), World Championship Silver (2003), World Championship Bronze (2001, 2002)
International Stats: 60GP, 12g, 26a, 38pts, 22PIM

New addition to the roster, defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, and Grand Rapids Griffin, Sergei Kolosov will also participate in the Olympics representing their home nations of Norway and Belarus, respectively. Both are yet to play an NHL game in the Winged Wheel.

This will be Tollefsen's international mens debut for Norway, while Kolosov rejoins his compatriots for the first time on the international stage since the 2008 World Championships.

Detroit 4, Ottawa 1

The Sens were Red Hot... that is, until they met a determined Detroit team.

The recent form of each team had been at almost polar opposite, with Ottawa winning 13 of their past 14 and Detroit riding a 4-game losing streak. One the ice however, it seemed the reverse was true. From the opening face-off, the Wings looked like a driven team, unwavering in their quest to snap a costly losing skid.

Kirk Maltby got the scoring underway just over nine minutes into the first period, and Pavel Datsyuk consolidated the lead, making it 2-0 exactly seven minutes later. Ottawa outshot Detroit 10-8 in the period, despite the deficit on the scoreboard.

About a third of the way through the second frame, the Senators looked to be building momentum with a goal from Peter Regin, by virtue of a nice play by Alexei Kovalev, and looked to be close to tying it up. A familiar nervousness seemed to come over the crowd at the Joe Louis Arena until Daniel Cleary tipped in a powerplay goal to restore the two-goal lead for Detroit.

The third period was the seal of a steadfast squad as Detroit gave Ottawa almost no chance to get back into the game, outshooting them 16-7 and topping off the win with an empty-net goal from Johan Franzen giving them the 4-1 final result.

The open-netter gave Franzen his 2nd goal since his return totalling three points in the three games. Jimmy Howard was exceptional with 29 saves while his teammates amassed 40 shots in total.

This game was the last before the Olympic break for the Red Wings.