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.

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.

Red Wing Players Excel, Front Office Struggle

With the knockout portion of the Olympic Men's Hockey tournament to begin today, many Red Wings representing their home countries are in a great spot for a medal. Every full-time Red Wing at the Olympics will get the bye in the first-round of the knockout stages and await their quarter-final opponents.

The four teams earning the bye after the preliminary round, U.S.A., Sweden, Russia and Finland, all have Red Wings on their roster.

Lead by Wings' D-man, Brian Rafalski with 4 goals and an assist, Team U.S.A. sit atop the standings after an undefeated group stage with an unexpectedly good shot at the Gold. After their shock 5-3 win over the heavily favored Canada, the American will next see the victor between the Switzerland vs. Belarus clash.

As usual, Team Sweden is littered with talent out of Hockeytown in the form of captain Nicklas Lidstrom, defenseman Niklas Kronwall, and forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen. Sweden is also undefeated thusfar in the competition and await the winner of Slovakia and Norway in the quarters.

Valtteri Filppula and Team Finland had been very strong until they met arch-rivals, Sweden. Despite the 0-3 shutout loss to the Swedes, they still earnt a bye through the first-round and will see either Latvia or the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.

Russia and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk are probably in the most unenviable position of the top-four seeds. After winning two games with a surprise shootout loss to Slovakia in game 2, they finished as the #3 seed and will play Canada or Germany in the round of eight.

Meanwhile, members from the Red Wings' front office that are involved with Team Canada's Olympic bid, find themselves in a much less auspicious position.

Despite the slow start Team Canada has had in the tournament, they are definitely a team no-one wants to face and the current draw means that if Canada beats Germany tonight, only one of these teams favored to face-off in the Gold-medal game, Canada and Russia, can get a medal.

Sunday's loss to their southern neighbors puts Stevie Y.'s squad in a tough spot. While Gold is still within reach, having to beat Russia and Sweden en route to the Final is never a comfortable situation. Still, the trio from Detroit, GM; Steve Yzerman, Associate Director; Ken Holland and Head Coach; Mike Babcock, are still optimistic of their Gold-medal chances.

They still run a team that undoubtedly has the deepest talent in all positions. After Brodeur's shakey game against the U.S., Canuck Roberto Luongo will start against Germany and has the chance to hold that mantle for the rest of the tourney. All Canadian eyes will be on them tonight at 7.30pm EST as they try to turn momentum in their favor.

The knockout stage begins today:
3.00pm EST - Belarus vs. Switzerland, with Grand Rapids Griffin, Sergei Kolosov for Belarus;
~winner to play U.S.A.
7.30pm EST - Germany vs. Canada;
~winner to play Russia
10.00pm EST - Latvia vs. Czech Republic;
~winner to play Finland
Midnight EST - Norway vs. Slovakia, with Griffin, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen playing for Norway.
~winner to play Sweden