Kings Wings Recap and Preds Preview

Kirk Maltby got a win in his 1000th game in the NHL. Both goalies played pretty well. Quick had some impressive saves. At times Ozzie looked out of position but that's kind of expected after any time out of action. He did make some good saves though. Derek Meech scored the first goal of the game on a rebound/flurry of rebounds in front of the net. Leino got an assist which made me happy since he's becoming one of my favorite players to watch. Meech is looking like he's going to be a big part of the future of the Wings too. Another guy that will be pretty big in the future plans also scored, Tomas Kopecky. He's a bigger guy than most of the other Wings but has a lot of raw talent that could make him one of the better players in the league in a few years.

Tonight's game is a big one...not that any game is insignificant...its just that this comes against a division rival. The Predators come into tonight's game with 3 straight wins. I think if we can control the puck we can win. Nashville has a tendency to get a little aggressive (in a bad way) when they are not controlling the puck. They take bad penalties which leads to powerplays for the Wings...which can be devastating. Earlier in the year the Preds surrendered 5 powerplay goals against us. However, they are a good PK team despite that last number so a Wings powerplay won't necessarily bury them.
I think the key to today's game is the goalies. I know thats pretty easy to say for any game but if Osgood/Conklin has a bad game, the Preds can win. Rinne has the better record of the two Nashville goalies and I think its not by chance but rather his skill. He's a quick mover and has a good glovehand. I say Wings 3 Preds 2

Preview for Kings Game 2/27

Some notes about tonight's game vs. the Kings (26-25-9, 61 pts):
Ozzie is scheduled to return tonight. I don't know whether he'll start or not, considering Conklin's 12 game home winning streak. Jonathan Quick will likely get the start in net for the Kings. Former Red Wing Kyle Quincey comes back to the Joe tonight. Look for Leino to continue to contribute to the offensive production, and also to see how Brad Stuart does in his 2nd game back from his injury. One guy on the Kings I'll be watching is Anze Kopitar. Kopitar has immense talent but doesn't get the deserved respect.

I'm thinking this should be another W for the Wings, but by no means should they be overlooked. The Kings have talent but are just streaky and have questions in net. Wings 4 Kings 2

Other notes: Kirk Maltby will play in his 1000th career game. Maltby won't go into the Hall of Fame most likely but he has been a fixture on the Red Wings roster since '95 and has 4 cups to show for it. He's a huge part of the team even though his stats might not show it. He's a good defensive forward and one of the better penalty killers. The way he plays really wears down the opposing team and he's a big part of the reason for the success of the Wings over the past 11+ years.

Everyone Should See This

I forgot about this until about five minutes ago. Another reason Datsyuk is the man.

Last Night's Games Wrap-up

Brodeur got a shut-out in his return to the Devils, which is good for him. I've always liked the way he's played so I was glad to see he was able to come back strong. Parise got 3 points (1 G, 2 A) in the Devils 4-0 win over the Avs.

Somebody tell the Bruins to stop, please. They whooped up on the Ducks 6-0. Now, clearly Jiggy isn't what he used to be for the Ducks but he's still an elite goaltender. Wonder how long it is though before they either trade Jonas Hiller or Giguere, both could bring in someone of high value. Maybe the Ducks are suffering from the trade of Chris Kunitz to the Penguins for Ryan Whitney, who knows, but the Bruins look in top form heading down the stretch.

The Caps benefited from 3 powerplay goals in their 4-3 win over the Thrashers. Nashville beat Phoenix 4-1 to put itself within one point of the playoffs. In the Western Conference playoff race, 5 teams are separated by 1 point. Should make for an interesting finish to the season.

Sharks Wings recap

You'd think that teams would learn by now, dont take penalties when you play the Wings.

Hossa put a puck in between Evgeni Nabakov's legs on the Wings first powerplay. Nabokov made a partial stop but it still squirted through. Ville Leino got his 5th goal on a baseball style swing on an airborne puck to put the wings up 2-0 going into the first intermission. I couldn't help but think, how were we out shot 12-7 and still winning? We normally get dominated when we're being outshot but this is different. Our awful penalty killing also pulled through for us and didn't allow any goals in the first period.

Zetterberg's spin-o-rama breakaway shorthanded goal...not much I can say other than just wow. Yay for 12 more years of Zetters!
Ehrhoff got a powerplay goal to bring the Sharks within two.
Zetterberg got another goal on the powerplay as he faked a move behind the net but ended up stuffing the puck in off of Nabokov on a 5-on-3 powerplay and gave the Wings a 4-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Conklin played out of his mind again. Hope this stays the same for the rest of the season.
One of the best parts of the night? Datsyuk, yes Datsyuk, was taking the body all game long. Which is awesome. He's a dwarf compared to the Sharks players but still threw around his body and didnt back down from any physical play. He even drew a penalty on Dan Boyle for slashing after he knocked Boyle down.

Other game notes:
I have found a new player to watch. Well, players.
1st, Ville Leino. Holy crap this guy is just a rookie and he's incredible. He's shown several times his ability to find the net at the right time and can read the play before it happens, something often hard to do in hockey with all of the caroms and deflections. 2nd, Nick Kronwall. Kronwall's becoming one of the better defensemen in the league yet is still relatively unknown. He's known for his big hits in the playoffs last year but he's also become a big time skilled defender for the Red Wings. He's a strong and balanced skater and has displayed his vast knowledge of the game on several occasions throughout the season. No wonder they call him Nick Jr.

Dear Rest of the NHL,

I'm tired of hearing how the Central Division is a weak division. If its truly such a "weak" division, how does it have 3 of its teams in playoff spots and one within striking distance of the playoffs?
Simply put, its a division full of young talent and i think that's why its not getting the respect it deserves. As a Wings fan, I'm terrified about the upside that the Blackhawks have. Or the Blue Jackets' ability to win games that they shouldn't even be a thought for winning. That's whats scary about the division. Everyone knows about the Wings, but not that many people know and respect the talent in the rest of the division. I would not be surprised if any of the teams make it to the West Conference Finals.

Something has been bothering me...

So is it just me or has the NHL become over protective of its stars? And by stars I mean Sidney Crosby.

Example: Last weekend's Caps-Pens game, Ovechkin barely bumps Crosby. Crosby throws a hissy fit and pushes Ovechkin back. Ovy pulls off Crosby's helmet and all you hear for the next few days is how Ovechkin "roughed up Crosby". What is this pre-school? If that's considered rough, its gotta just be because of who was involved.

So I thought about it a little more.

And a little more.

Then I realized the reason that the NHL makes such drastic measures to protect Crosby is because he can't do it himself. He's a dirty fighter. Check the video of him vs. McLean of the Panthers...yeah it totally looks like both are willing. Or the video of him using another player's family jewels as a speed-bag. At least Ovechkin knows how to check people and can put up a decent fight (and he doesn't look like he's constantly crapping himself)

Look Sidney, I know you're good but come on. I can think of 5 players that are within 3 years of his age and are comparable in talent. Hear me out now, I mean that they're comparable considering what they have around them in terms of other stars. Anze Kopitar, Thomas Vanek, Zach Parise, Jeff Carter, and Jonathan Toews are those 5. All 5 are within that 3 year cushion and all five are the best offensive players on their respective team, but the best part about them all? They all keep their freaking mouths shut and simply go back to the bench when something doesn't go their way, instead of crying for a penalty.

I will give you credit for being able to fight better than Alexander Semin though...but then again who can't?

Quick Intro

Alright so I'll do a quick little intro.

First off, no, I am not a bandwagon Red Wings fan. I didn't just start liking them in the past few years. Ever since I started watching hockey I've been a Wings fan. I can still name about 75% of the 95 roster...I was like 7 then so thats pretty good.

Second, I will write about the NHL in general too. Although most of it will be on the Red Wings. I'll still talk about other stuff as it comes to my attention. Hockey's by far my favorite sport so it's not like this a chore.

Third, don't argue with the name. Lidstrom was the best defender when I started watching hockey (sorry aging Ray Bourque) and is the best still (the notion that Dion Phaneuf is the best defender makes me want to puke). If you can name a defenseman that has been as good as Lidstrom over the past five years (excluding lock-out) then I'll...well I probably won't give you anything. You get the point.

Fourth, when you read about something, leave a comment.

CR