Wings 3, Rangers 1: Post Game Snipes...

• The first period was quite frustrating. It was one of the better opening periods the Wings have played this season, but they came out of it down 1-0. Luckily they were able to turn things around.
• The second and third periods seemed to go in slow motion. For those of you who think the Wings should move out to play at the Palace: watch the game tape from tonight and ask yourself if you’re really okay with the Wings having to play on ice like that at home on a regular basis. The second period seemed like it lasted for three years.
• Leino finally got benched again. Lo and behold, the Wings won. I’m pretty sure the Wings won last time he had to sit out too, but I’m not willing to go actually look it up. I prefer to make up facts that support my points. I don’t actually think he’s the reason the Wings have been losing, but he sure wasn’t helping either.
• Mickey Redmond actually agreed with the refs on the penalty shot call against the Wings. I’m taking that as a sign of the impending apocalypse. It turns out that we don’t have to wait until 2012 for the world to end.
• During the second intermission, John Keating tried to sing a line of “Pinball Wizard.” I had to blast my classic rock playlist on my laptop to keep from vomiting.
• Fortunately, Shanny’s interview salvaged that intermission. I miss the guy. He was always one of my favorites and as my friend-assigned alter-ego, he’ll always have a special place in my heart. He looked right at the camera and thanked the city of Detroit. It was a nice little moment.
• There was a second there when we thought the Wings had benefited from a bizarre intent to blow call. It turned out that the puck was never actually in the net, so maybe that will counteract Mickey’s support of the referees and keep the world from ending tomorrow.
• Cleary’s goal was a great little lucky bounce. It’s nice to see the Wings get one of those for a change. Especially in light of that puck that trickled through the Rangers’ crease in the first period and somehow managed to not hit a skate and bounce in.
• Draper’s empty netter made me laugh. The Rangers won the faceoff in the Wings’ zone, but it went right out to center ice. A few seconds later, Draper buried it to seal the win.
• Zetterberg’s tripping penalty on Avery was ridiculous. But not as ridiculous as Avery’s dramatic performance to sell the call. He surprised exactly no one by not missing a single shift. Later in the game, he missed a wide-open net and I laughed. Karma?
• I’m not used to getting this excited about regular season wins.
  

GP Answers:
1. There’s no word on the Wings’ starter as of now. Regardless of who is in net, will he be able to make enough saves for the Wings to win the game? That’s all we ask around these parts.
Absolutely. He stopped a penalty shot and kept the Wings in the game during their second third-period penalty kill. I’m still trying to catch my breath from watching the flurry of shots the Rangers had. He had a great game and it was a nice rebound from his previous outing.

2. There’s also no word on Brian Rafalski and his old-man back. Kindl’s been filling in admirably, so will he be able to keep it up if he’s called on again tonight? As I said in yesterday’s GP, I’m not entirely opposed to resting Rafalski as long a Kindl’s keeping things together.
Rafalski in. Kindl out. This question is irrelevant. Rafalski had a pretty darn good game, though. It didn't look like his back was bothering him. You know it's a rough season when you're excited about a Wing only suffering a short-term injury as opposed to a long-term one.

3. Will Datsyuk and Lidstrom decide to wake up and join the scoresheet today? Please.
Datsyuk scored a goal which Nick Lidstrom assisted on, and Lidstrom added another assist on the game-winner, so I guess the answer to this one is yes. Perhaps they sensed that the natives were getting restless because of their lack of production. Now they just need to keep it going.

4. How many saves will Brad Stuart make today? I kid, I kid…
None that I noticed, but he had another great game. And an awesome check on Anisimov. Mickey kept laughing at him for not having his head up.

5. Will the Wings actually show up to play for a change? This is a really depressing question to have to keep asking.
They actually looked awake during the first, which was a fantastic change of pace. They still found themselves down by a goal at the end of the period, but it wasn’t nearly as soul-crushingly depressing as a lot of the first periods they’ve played have been.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Jimmy Howard
See GP answer #1. I still can’t believe the Rangers didn’t score on that powerplay in the third.

Jonathan Ericsson gets the Golden Facepalm
Blown coverage led to the Rangers’ goal, and a hook that led to a penalty shot? Big Rig had a pretty rough game.

What I learned:
Basketball is the worst sport in the world.