Wings 2, Blue Jackets 1: Post Game Snipes...

• I got to go to the game tonight. I was pretty excited that we were able to get student rush tickets. We didn’t get to sit next to each other, but we were right behind one another.
• I braved the People Mover for the first time since the Auto Show Incident of ’05. Every time we slowed down to stop in a station, I became paranoid that we were getting stuck. I had no intention of sprinting through the streets of Detroit with no coat on again.
• We got there early, and there were a lot of seats open in the row my ticket was in, so we thought we might get to sit side-by-side for a while. Other people showed up, though, with tickets in that row. My friend went to climb up into the row behind us where her ticket was, and somehow managed to have the chair collapse around her leg. She got her foot stuck in the seat and couldn’t get it out for literally 4 minutes. Other people around us were trying to give her suggestions for what she should do to free herself, but I was laughing too hard to even breathe. I did manage to snap a couple of pictures during the incident. I’m pretty sure she’ll never forgive me for not doing more to help (in addition to my hysterical laughter and photography, I also elected to climb up into the seat she had been attempting to reach so the other people could have theirs and almost knocked her down in the process…which only led to more laughter). I’m also pretty sure that the people around us thought I was the world’s worst friend for standing there and laughing at her (I’m not going to fight that accusation). It was one of the best moments of our friendship…that’s probably over now because I wrote about this on my blog. I also want to apologize to all of Section 222 for the ruckus that we caused.
• I was swiping free programs left and right. They have pictures of my dad and me inside, and I collected a stack to take home and show people to make them jealous. Because I am that petty. Then we went to eat at Pizza Papalis and the waitress dropped pizza sauce on them and I was sad.
• The first period was nothing to write home about. I was pretty disappointed with the Wings’ effort and I figured we’d be in for a long game. Fortunately, though, they were able to turn things around and played quite well for the rest of the game. Although, I have to confess that my ability to intelligently watch the game was hampered by my frequent bursts of laughter every time I thought about my friend getting her foot stuck in the seat. Kind of the same way I’m having a hard time typing this now because I’m laughing again. Maybe you just had to be there.
• I don't know why I never noticed this before, but I was pretty amused to see that Henrik Zetterberg is guarding the entrance to the women's bathroom here on the concourse. It just...seems fitting somehow.
  
• The PK looked pretty good tonight. Although, at one point I did wonder if it was just that Columbus’ powerplay looked really bad. Either way, they did a great job limiting the Blue Jackets’ opportunities.
• The Wings scored a powerplay goal. This really caught me off guard and I can’t even muster a witty comment about it.
• That non-goal that was reviewed was really strange. When I first saw it, I was sure it was in. When they showed a replay on the scoreboard, I was even more sure that it was in. So was everyone else in the stands. I was in disbelief that they called it a no-goal. I thought we had just seen another incident as bad as Brad May’s non-goal last month. I had to call home and find someone who was watching the game on TV so I could figure out what the explanation was. Now that I’ve seen the replay, it’s pretty obvious. I was completely baffled for a few minutes there, though. (My one complaint is about how lousy the replays that get shown on the scoreboard are. They invented slo-mo for a reason.)
• During the last couple minutes of the game, people in the stands were chanting for Babcock to put Bertuzzi on the ice with the empty net. It was kind of a funny moment.
• The people sitting behind us in section 222 were incredibly annoying. Seriously. Nobody cares what you think.
• The offsetting minors for interference and diving kind of bother me. I’m one of those folks who thinks that a play is either interference or a dive.
• Am I the only one who barely noticed Rick Nash tonight?
• There are few things more fun than singing the Hockey Song at the Joe.
• I’ve uploaded all of my pictures (including some of the ones from our Detroit adventure during the afternoon) here. Revel in the glory of my new camera that I got yesterday. 12-power zoom=fantastic pictures even from the nosebleed seats.
  

GP Answers:
1. How will Fabio Filppula look in his glorious return to the Wings’ lineup? Being able to welcome an injured Wing back to the lineup feels kind of strange. I’ve forgotten how to be happy about hockey-related matters.
I thought he looked pretty good. There were a couple of plays on which he looked a little rusty, but he played well on the PK and the powerplay and had a couple of good chances. He consistently looked like a guy who could create offense…and at this point, that’s all I ask.

2. I haven’t seen the Wings score a goal in 12 days. While I realize that I may have missed a few while I was out living it up in the hockey wasteland that is Florida (Seriously, ESPN, it would kill you to show a game highlight here or there?), it’s still been an awful long time since the Wings put a puck in the net. By the end of the game on Wednesday, I had stopped caring if they won, I was just hoping for a goal. And that makes me sad. So, will the boys find the back of the net tonight?
It took them until the second period, but yes, they did score. Twice, in fact.

3. I’m told that Datsyuk put on quite a show while I was out of contact with reality. Will we get to see some more of his magic tonight?
Yes. He set up Bert’s first goal, and did a bunch of other nifty things that are beyond my ability to describe.

4. When is Nick Lidstrom going to score a goal again? It’s been the better part of a decade since he put one in the net, and I’m going to copy/paste this into every GP until he does. (As promised, copy/pasted from the last GP I wrote, which I’m pretty sure was right around the same time Lidstrom scored.)
Not tonight. He picked up an assist, but still no goal.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Todd Bertuzzi
Another two-goal game? He must’ve known that Petrella was in attendance. My favorite part was the nonchalant way in which he deposited the puck into the net on his second goal. I don’t know why, but it amused me.

An Extra Stick Tap for Patrick Eaves and Darren Helm
Eaves was my nominee for the baked goods after the first period. He was all over the place on those first to PKs. He had a bunch of interceptions and just all-around solid plays. He didn’t have anything to show for it, but I kept noticing the #17 over and over again throughout the whole first period. Darren Helm is obviously on here for that save of the week candidate that he made. When I saw that, I fully expected them to look at it in Toronto and announce that it had gone into the net. Again, they never showed a good replay of it on the scoreboard, so I had no idea what happened until I got home and watched the replay online.

Derek Meech gets the Golden Facepalm
Turnover city on the Jackets’ goal. Ugh.

What I learned:
Darren Helm used to be a goalie when he was a kid.*

*I made this up in my head. Unless it’s actually true, in which case I want full credit for being smart.

Interesting Quotes:
Me: *by the Riverwalk* "Don't fall in. I'm not going in after you to save you."
G: *with hockey tickets in her back pocket* "Oh, you know you'd go in after me...Just to get the tickets."
Me: "Nnnnnnno...Yeah. Okay."