Red Wings 7, Coyotes 4 (1-1): Post Game Snipes...

• Overall, this was a much, much better effort from the boys. Obviously, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I’m in the midst of a free-curly-fry-induced good mood, and have no desire to be overly critical right now.
• Poor Mickey Redmond sounded like he was in rough shape last night. I wanted to make him chicken noodle soup and tea. I’ve always wanted him to be my adopted grandpa, since both of mine have been gone for at least twenty years.
• Justin Abdelkader came out and threw some hits on his very first shift. It was beautiful, and exactly what the Wings had been lacking in Game One.
• Dan Cleary made a brilliant play early in the game that prevented a sure Coyotes goal. It was incredible. You could see the gaping net and the Phoenix player with the puck on his stick, and there was absolutely no way it wasn’t ending up in the back of the net…and then Dan Cleary was there.
• The ice was ridiculous all night.
• The second period was absurd. There’s really no other way to describe it. That’s kind of what I imagine the 1980s looked like in the NHL. I was okay with the back and forth, though, because I felt like the Wings’ chances were better in an open, run-and-gun style game than trying to get past the trap.
• I don’t remember whose goal I was celebrating (probably because of brain damage), but I managed to hit my head on the ceiling while jumping on my bed. This really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, because I only have about a half inch of clearance when I’m just standing on it, but I guess that’s why adults aren’t supposed to do things like that.
• The Wings had one shift during the second during which I could swear they took 50 shots. It was absolutely ridiculous. They didn’t end up scoring on it, but boy, was it fun to watch.
• FSD came up with a technical difficulties screen a couple of times during the broadcast. The first time it happened, the last thing I saw was Todd Bertuzzi’s elbow filling up my entire screen. I’m pretty sure he killed the cameraman.
• How perfect was it that Abdelkader scored that beautiful goal? I felt like all of our calls for him to be in the lineup were validated in that moment. And of course, Babcock looked like a genius.
• Williams who?
• Shane Doan’s face after scoring his goal was terrifying. As soon as I saw it, I thought “Puck Daddy photoshop contest,” and sure enough, one has been launched. Seriously though, that’s the stuff of nightmares.
• Henrik Zetterberg has now bought me lunch twice this season. If he keeps this up, people are going to start to gossip.
• Random, but the Wings had 13 shots in each period. Now that’s consistency. It’s also my favorite number. But I digress…
• Word on the street that the octopus-throwing Wings fan got arrested last night. That’s just lame.
  

GP Review:
16. Shane Doan. Someone’s got to step up and start dishing it back to him. It’s only a matter of time until he knocks one of the Wings out of the series with an injury.
Aside from his late interference hit on Lidstrom, he was much less noticeable than he was in Game One. This is good.

15. We get to see the long-awaited and much called-for return of Justin Abdelkader. Here’s hoping he lives up to the expectations we’ve all set for him.
I think it’s safe to say that he far exceeded our expectations for his play last night.

14. Lidstrom’s not happy about getting high-sticked and then lied to. This is probably the closest to angry that we’ll ever see him.
He just kind of did his same old Lidstrom thing. Not that I’m surprised…

13. Look for the big guns to make more of an impact tomorrow.
Take a look at that boxscore. Three goals from Zetterberg, one from Datsyuk, and a pair from Filppula. The only one missing from the scoring fest last night? Franzen. Sure, he picked up an assist, but he has yet to wake up for his playoff tear this season.

12. The PK needs to be fixed like woah. I don’t really think another three-goal failure is likely, but something needs to get done.
They were 100% on the penalty kill last night. It doesn’t get much better than that.

11. On a similar note, the powerplay needs to come through. That should be the Wings’ bread and butter.
They scored two goals on three powerplays. That’s more like it.

10. What are the odds that the Wings show up to play a full game?
They weren’t perfect, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m not looking for perfection. I’m just after wins.

9. Jimmy Howard needs to keep up his good work in playoff game #2. He also needs a lot more support from the guys skating in front of him.
He let in four goals, which is a concern, but with the crazy, back-and-forth style that was being played last night, I don’t think it’s a huge issue.

8. Where was my Playoff Zetterberg? Come to think of it, what about Playoff Franzen?
Zetterberg certainly delivered. Franzen, not so much. It’s not that he was bad, it’s just that I’m looking for that crazy Franzen that we all know and love.

7. The Wings need to make Bryzgalov’s life a lot more difficult. They had plenty of shots, but most of them were routine saves. He gave up a softie to open the scoring and needs to get tested more.
He was definitely tested more, and didn’t exactly rise to the challenge. None of the Wings’ goals were softies, per se, but he didn’t exactly steal the game either.

6. Helm needs to keep his head up.
The Coyotes as a whole were less physical last night than in the first game. This isn’t really related to the point above it, but I didn’t want to leave one without a comment.

5. What tin-foil-hat-validating events will transpire tomorrow?
I actually felt pretty good about the game. Sure there were some chintzy penalty calls, but there was nothing egregiously bad.

4. The Wings need to be better on faceoffs. There’s no reason for them not to be.
The faceoffs seemed better, but there’s still a long way to go.

3. The excuses about injuries and the like are gone. The Wings can’t afford to let another game slip away from them.
Wheras Game One resembled a game from November, this one looked more like the real Red Wings that we know and love. Tighten up that defense a little, and they’ll be in business.

2. I’d really like to not be the crazy girl screaming at her TV in the middle of the night again. Let’s please make this game stress-free and painless.
Ummmmm…not so much. There was more than enough stress to go around last night, particularly during the second period.

1. I want to see more Homer.
You know who doesn’t want to see more Homer? Ilya Bryzgalov.

Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
That one’s pretty obvious.

Villain: Shane Doan
Seriously, his face is going to keep little Michigan children up at night for years to come.

Final Thought:
Don’t disappoint the home crowd tomorrow, boys.