Injury Riddled Avs Visit Detroit; Game Preview

The Red Wings thought it was bad last year.

Colorado sits tied for the League-lead with 10 players listed on IR putting team depth to the test. Coach Joe Sacco would be pleased however, as the Avalanche have stood strong so far, going without names like Peter Mueller, #1 goalie Craig Anderson and captain, Adam Foote.

The blueline had been stretched so far that Avs' GM, Greg Sherman was forced to make a trade to get Ryan O'Byrne in to help with the rash of injuries to the defensive corps. O'Byrne will be in for his first game as an Avalanche tonight, and another boost could come with the possible return of Adam Foote from his concussion.

The misfortune of the visitors should not be taken for granted however, last night the Avs easily accounted for the Blue Jackets 5-1, a team that had just knocked off the League-leading St. Louis Blues by a record 8-1 scoreline.

Even with all the exclusions, Colorado has some talent that needs to be guarded closely. Youngsters David Jones, Brandon Yip, Matt Duchene are just a few of the names that can leave an opponent in regret.

Detriot on the other hand, has more. If the Wings approach this game seriously and don't underestimate their short-handed rivals, they'll surely use the superior roster to their advantage and take the two points.

I haven't got too much time to get into the Wings, besides it'll just be repetition at this point. One thing I do feel obligated to note is the captain, Nick Lidstrom. Right now he is by far Detroit's best player and easily the best defenseman in the NHL so far. If his season continues this way, I guarantee he'll win his 7th Norris Trophy. This man is a freak.

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.

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.