End of the Pre-Season...

I had a great time watching the Wings' final exhibition game today. I lucked out in that my afternoon class was canceled, so I got to hang out at home and enjoy some hockey. This, of course, didn't stop my mom from sending me a message on Twitter accusing me of skipping class to watch hockey. She either knows me far too well, or thinks far too little of me.

Game notes:

• The NHL feed was piggybacking off of a Swedish language broadcast, and for some reason decided to air it without the play by play. I'm not sure why they did it that way, but I was perfectly fine just listening to the sounds of the game. The crowd was fantastic, and really picked up after the first period, spending most of the rest of the game singing and clapping.
• The Wings got off to a bit of a slow start, but quickly turned things on in the first. It's always reassuring to see them look like they're actually interested in playing games.
• The powerplay was great, and the PK, while not needed much, looked good as well. I know it's not quite the same as a real NHL game, but it made me feel better nonetheless.
• Jimmy Howard looked spot on again. With any luck, he'll continue to make me eat my words for calling him the team's biggest weak link this season.
• It was fantastic to see Zetterberg in the lineup finally. He looked good. He made some sharp plays and it was nice to see him score a goal in his first game.
• I know I did a lot of complaining in response to the signings of Bertuzzi and Williams, and thus far, they're making me look like a fool. And I couldn't be happier about it. While I'm still not 100% sold, I'm feeling much, much better about the whole deal. We'll see how they follow through in the regular season, but so far Kenny Holland's looking like a genius. Again.
• During the game, we got to listen to what has to be the most random collection of arena music ever assembled. They played everything from a techno version of "Pirates of the Caribbean" to that "Detroit '67" song.
• Call me crazy, but are the refs wearing different jerseys this year? They look goofy. Maybe it's just because I've been watching online this whole time.
  
• Finally, props to Farjestads. They played the Wings hard all game, despite the fact that the score looks a bit lopsided. They fought right to the end of the third period.
  

One last player profile going up tomorrow morning, and then it's on to the regular season. I don't know about any of you, but I sure can't wait.