Red Wings 2, Stars 3 (SO): Post Game Snipes...

I’m not feeling particularly motivated to write a recap right now, so this is what you’re going to have to live with.

• I hate Steve Ott.
• I hate the NHL.
• Dallas’ tying goal was a textbook case of interference that would’ve been called in a heartbeat if Tomas Holmstrom had been the one preventing the goalie from moving.
• The Wings looked good during the first period, and then decided that they didn’t really want to play the rest of the game. They were probably lucky to get a point out of it, but they sure didn’t deserve to get the second point taken away from them the way that they did.
• At one point, Ken Daniels said, “In quickly goes Helm…that’s redundant.” Never have truer words been spoken by a broadcaster.
• Brett Lebda actually made a really good defensive play when he dove across in front of the net and prevented a sure goal. I felt like I should mention this since it’s not something we see very often.
• Speaking of broadcasters, I think Mickey Redmond is going to have a hemorrhage about that shootout.
• At one point in the third, Ott attempted to check Datsyuk and bounced right off of him. The same thing happened to my little brother when he was a kid and tried to tackle my dad. I laughed then too.
• The fact that Dallas only took one penalty the entire game is an absolute joke. They should’ve racked up at least six minutes in high-sticking calls alone. That’s without even including the way the Stars were running Wings the whole game. Not to mention the fact that the linesmen seemed determined to keep Ott out of the penalty box all game.
• Seriously, what purpose does Brad May serve on this team? If ever there was a game he should’ve dropped the gloves with somebody, this was it. If he’s not going to act like an enforcer, you might as well put Leino back in. At least he might accidentally do something good. Or call up Ritola again. Or something.
• And finally, the reviewed shootout goal: The ref on the goal line had his eyes about a foot away from the puck and signaled no goal. He almost ran headfirst into the goalpoast because he was getting such a close look at it. However, the other referee and a linesman (no way that linesman had a good enough view to call it) outvoted the guy right on the spot and said it was in. That’s the ruling they went with when they contacted the War Room in Toronto, and they ruled that they didn’t have conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the ice. Since when are goals awarded by a show of hands from the officials? Seriously. Could this league be any more of a joke? I really shouldn’t ask that because it’s just begging for yet another display of incompetence. Watch this video. If you can honestly say that the trailing referee and linesman had a better view than the guy on the goal line...I'm still going to call you a liar anyway.
  
• Of all the Stars, it had to be Ott who was gifted that goal.
• After the game, FSN interviewed Alex Auld. He was asked why he’d had so much success against the Wings this season. He said he couldn’t really explain it. I’ve got a couple of ideas for him.
  

GP Answers:
1. The Wings are once again sniffing at a playoff spot tonight and they also have a chance to put some distance between themselves and a team that’s coming up behind them in the standings. They’ll need some things to fall into place for them, since both LA and Vancouver are also playing today, but by night’s end, the Wings could potentially be tied for 7th place in the conference. You’d like to think that this would be the kind of game the boys could get motivated for, so which version of the Wings will we get treated to this afternoon?
They started out pretty strong, but seemed to get progressively worse as the game went on. It was like they were confused and thought that the game was only 20 minutes long today instead of the usual 60. It actually was like a reverse of the usual Wings game in which they sleepwalk through the first period and then wake up as the game proceeds. LA won against Boston, so they’re officially two points ahead of the Wings. Just keep your fingers crossed that Vancouver loses tonight so that they stay within striking distance.

2. The Wings’ powerplay actually served its purpose a couple of times on Thursday night. This was quite an exciting change of pace for us Wings fans. Is there any chance that we’ll get to see a little more of that today?
It converted on its only attempt. The fact that the Wings only got one powerplay today was, as noted above, a joke.

3. Now that Lidstrom’s little scoring drought has been ended, I’ve decided to pick on Pav. He looked better last game than he has of late, but he’s had a tendency to fade away for a couple of games at a time before roaring back to life. Can he follow up Thursday’s effort with an even better one, or will we be wondering if he even played a shift by the end of the game?
Datsyuk was definitely more noticeable today, but he didn’t have much to show for it. His shootout attempt just looked lazy though.

4. Drew Miller had an amazing game Thursday night. If he keeps it up, he’s going to enter the realm of the unbenchable. Is he going to be able to follow that up with another remarkable effort?
Miller kept doing good things, even though he didn’t end up on the scoresheet. All he needs to do is keep working hard, and he’s just fine in my book.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Todd Bertuzzi
His goal to open the scoring was a thing of beauty, and he gets extra kudos for not killing Steve Ott. Not that I’m an Ott fan, but I figured the penalty minutes for homicide would probably put the Wings in a bad spot.

Brad Stuart gets the Golden Facepalm
He made another horrendous Game-Seven-esque turnover right in front of Jimmy Howard. It was…terrible even though LA didn’t score on it. He needs to reign it in. He played too well during the first half of the season to have a meltdown now.

What I Learned:
It is, in fact, possible for the NHL to be more of a joke than we thought it was.