Caption Mondays Volume 15...

What could Homer and Helmer possibly be discussing on the bench here?

Weekly Wrap-Up Volume Fourteen...

Caption Mondays: Norm killed me with this week's caption.

"4 out of 5 players agree: this team should be in Winnipeg."

Trivia Tuesdays: One of my real life friends from school, Ryan, won this week's trivia game.

This week's question: Which former Red Wing shares the record for most assists by a player in his first NHL game? How many assists did he have?

The Answer: Dutch Reibel picked up four assists in his first career game, a 4-1 win over the Rangers on Oct. 8, 1953. Roland Eriksson repeated the feat for Minnesota in 1976; oddly enough, it also occurred in a game against the Rangers.

Red Wings 3, Devils 1: Post Game Snipes...

• I love it when I can snag a good feed.
• That chance Mule missed in the dying seconds of the second period was killer. At least he capitalized on his chance at the end.
• The next time a Wing goes down after blocking a shot is more than likely going to send me into cardiac arrest.
• I really dislike playing the Devils.
• Isn't it nice when the Wings manage to not give up boatloads of goals?

Hero: Darren Helm
That kid knows how to kill a penalty. Plus, he found some hands and finished on a nice break.

Villain: Brian Rolston
For tying the game up and making us sweat for the next two periods until the Wings took the lead back.

Final Thought:
The next time the Wings suit up, there lineup will most likely include Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary. I'd say that's an upgrade.

Red Wings vs. Devils GP...

Red Wings: 29-13-6

Devils: 16-29-3

Red Wing Zen:

Pavel Datsyuk

12-27-39, +/- 8, 11 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Johan Hedberg

6-10-1, 2.91 GAA, .896 SV%

Trivia Tuesdays Volume 14...

Which former Red Wing shares the record for most assists by a player in his first NHL game? How many assists did he have?

Caption Mondays Volume 14...

I took this one during the anthem before the game.  Poor Lee Stempniak is all alone.  What did he do to earn his shunning?

Red Wings vs. Blackhawks GP...

Red Wings: 29-12-6

Blackhawks: 25-18-4

Red Wing Zen:

Johan Franzen

20-15-35, +/- 3, 24 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Nick Boynton

0-6-6, +/- 2, 34 PIM

Weekly Wrap-Up Volume Thirteen...

Caption Mondays: Someone with the unusual name “Anonymous” (Is that French?) won this week.

Osgood: Did you drug my Pepsi?
Bert: Don't worry, it will keep you focused.

Trivia Tuesdays: TimFill got the answer this week.

This week's question: Which player has the most all-star game penalty minutes in Wings history?

The Answer: Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe racked up 25 penalty minutes in 23 all-star appearances.

Red Wings vs. Blues GP...

Red Wings: 28-12-6

Blues: 22-17-6

Red Wing Zen:

Valtteri Filppula

11-16-27, +/- 1, 14 PIM

Point and Laugh:

David Backes

14-21-35, +/- 15, 58 PIM

Red Wings 1, Penguins 4: Post Game Snipes...

• I actually got to watch the game tonight, although the choppy feed and the fact that my internet was constantly cutting in and out made it tricky to get a good feel for the game. Still, it was live Red Wings hockey, and it made me happy.
• I ended up with the Pens feed, and at one point in the first period, their announcers described the Wings as a wounded animal that you just want to put out of its misery.
• As soon as the Wings got something going with a Mule goal off of a strong play by Zetterberg, the Pens came back and answered.
• I love Patrick Eaves, but seeing him on the top powerplay unit isn't really what I'd call awesome.
• I didn't get to see the first goal, but Joey MacDonald looked pretty decent.

Hero: Johan Franzen
He got the Wings on the board and gave them hope, albeit briefly. He had a couple of other good chances that he couldn't quite finish on.

Villain: Chris Kunitz
He ended what little momentum the Wings were able to build by scoring almost immediately after Mule cut the lead to one.

Final Thought:
At least half of the Pens' broadcast was devoted to showing clips of their most recent Cup win and talking about stats from it. Can you say, “inferiority complex?”

Red Wings vs. Penguins GP...

Red Wings: 28-11-6

Penguins: 28-14-4

Red Wing Zen:

Tomas Tatar

1-0-1, +/- -1, 0 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Mike Rupp

4-4-8, +/- 1, 72 PIM

Trivia Tuesdays Volume 13...

Which player has the most all-star game penalty minutes in Wings history?

Caption Mondays Volume 13...

What are Bert and Ozzie up to here?

Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets GP...

Red Wings: 27-11-6

Blue Jackets: 21-20-3

Back-to-backs like these make me glad I gave up bothering to write real GPs a while ago.


Red Wing Zen:

Henrik Zetterberg

16-33-49, +/- 9, 22 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Ethan Moreau

1-4-5, +/- -5, 16 PIM

Weekly Wrap-Up Volume Twelve...

Caption Mondays: Vanya wins this week.

Rig: "Oh, dude! Didja see that guy get smoked?"
Kronner: *says nothing, but thinks 'I've done better.' Hmmm. Should remind this guy what a big hit looks like.

Trivia Tuesdays: Petrella takes home this week's non-existent prize.

This week's question: Who is the only player to have worn number 45 for the Wings?

The Answer: Kyle Quincey.

Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets GP...

Red Wings: 27-11-5

Blue Jackets: 20-20-3

Red Wing Zen:

Jimmy Howard

22-7-3, .907 SV%, 2.78 GAA

Point and Laugh:

RJ Umberger

14-15-29, +/- 3, 26 PIM

Trivia Tuesdays Volume 12...

Who is the only player to have worn number 45 for the Wings?

Caption Mondays Volume 12...

What are Kronner and Rig up to here?

Red Wings vs. Avalanche GP...

Red Wings: 27-10-5

Avalanche: 21-15-6

Red Wing Zen:

Darren Helm

4-12-16, +/- 7, 6 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Philippe Dupuis

3-8-11, +/- 6, 19 PIM

Red Wings vs. Canucks GP...

Red Wings: 26-10-5

Canucks: 27-8-5

Red Wing Zen:

Niklas Kronwall

8-13-21, +/- 6, 22 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Ryan Kesler

23-16-39, +/- 17, 38 PIM

Red Wings 5, Flames 4 (SO): Post Game Snipes...

• This one's going to be brief since I have to wake up insanely early to hit the road tomorrow morning.
• Jimmy has me worried.
• When did Darren Helm learn how to finish? I'm liking it.
• I was stunned to find out that Rafalski hadn't scored a goal until tonight. He scored on two long shots that probably should've been saved, but I'll take whatever I can get.
• Ken Daniels credited Helm with a “Datsyukian deke.” Little brother was excited because it had been a long time since he'd heard that. Evidently it made his day.
• How about that backcheck from Tomas Tatar to keep the game tied in the third?
• On the same play, Stuart fell victim to a nasty headshot that only went down as “roughing.” Yeah, right. It was from the blindside, he was vulnerable, the head was targeted, and there was an injury on the play. Am I missing anything? This is the kind of hit the NHL's supposedly trying to crack down on. I would imagine that it'll be looked at by Colin Campbell tomorrow.
• That penalty kill during OT was phenomenal. I'm not normally one to hope for shootouts, but in that case, it was better than the other likely outcome.
• I'm not used to this whole winning shootouts thing. It's a bit confusing.
• Why is Z so BAD at the shootout?  I really feel like he should be better.

Hero: Brian Rafalski
He picked up his first two goals of the season tonight.

Villain: Tom Kostopoulos
He laid a textbook headshot on Stuart and lucked out with only a 2-minute roughing penalty.

Final Thought:
I'm going to be offline for a little while as I get settled into my new digs. I have no idea how often I'm going to be able to watch games for the rest of the season. I'll be keeping up with captions, trivia, and GPs, but recaps may be few and far between. It's hard to tell at this point.

Weekly Wrap-Up Volume Eleven...

Caption Mondays: Crater won this week with a caption that literally made me laugh out loud.

"If you pass to Homer in the Neutral zone one more time I'm going to bench you. He CAN'T Stick Handle!"

Trivia Tuesdays: Rob won this time around.

This week's question: Jimmy Howard was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team last season. Henrik Zetterberg had the honor in 2002-2003. Prior to that, what was the last season in which a Wings rookie was named to the team? Who made the cut?

The Answer: Nick Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov both received the honors in the 1991-92 season.

Red Wings vs. Flames GP...

Red Wings: 25-10-5

Flames: 18-20-3

Red Wing Zen:

Ruslan Salei

0-6-6, +/- 4, 32 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Matt Stajan

2-16-18, +/- 3, 12 PIM

Red Wings 5, Oilers 3: Post Game Snipes...

• The fourth line was buzzing tonight. It paid off with goals from Darren Helm and Kris Draper.
• I barely noticed the top line except for a couple of shifts in the third period.
• Ozzie played great until he gave up that weak tying goal. In other words, you could say that it was a typical Chris Osgood game.
• I had my fingers crossed that Ken Daniels would say, “Petry dishes...,” when describing a pass by the Oilers' Petry. Alas, he did not. I'm a total nerd.
• Franzen did his best Brad Stuart impersonation and scooped a puck off of the goal line on a fluky play when the puck popped up in the air and landed behind Ozzie. How close was it to going in? Close enough to fool the spotlight operator into prematurely starting a celebration.
• I hate the jump-into-the-boards goal celebration. I keep hoping for the day when I get to witness someone go right through the glass live. I don't know about you, but when I'm happy, my first instinct is not to propel myself into walls.
• It was another 3 GAA game for the Wings.  I spent some time looking at goalie stats this afternoon, and they're not looking pretty lately.

Hero: Todd Bertuzzi
He came through with two goals after seemingly going ages since his last tally.

Villain: Ales Hemsky
Because he picked up two assists and I still haven't gotten over 2006.

Final Thought:
I was really hoping for Tuzzifries at the end. What gives, Todd?

Trivia Tuesdays Volume 11...

Jimmy Howard was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team last season. Henrik Zetterberg had the honor in 2002-2003. Prior to that, what was the last season in which a Wings rookie was named to the team? Who made the cut?

Hint: There were two Wings named to the team that year.

Red Wings vs. Oilers GP...

Red Wings: 24-10-5

Oilers: 12-18-7

Red Wing Zen:

Henrik Zetterberg

14-30-44, +/- 10, 18 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Colin Fraser

2-1-3, +/- -1, 47 PIM

Caption Mondays Volume 11...

Uh oh. It looks like Mule's getting the Death Stare up close and personal. What's Babcock scolding him about here?

Red Wings 2, Flyers 3: Post Game Snipes...

• Another year, another “Oh look, the Wings showed up to play one period of hockey” recap.
• Someone yelled at Filppula on the twitters shortly before he scored his goal. I can't remember who it was, but it was excellent work.
• You know who's playing good hockey right now? Henrik Zetterberg. Not that that's unusual, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
• Raise your hand if you were shocked to see Ozzie out there at the start of the third. I was.
• Somewhere partway through that game in Colorado, the Old Man found his mojo and has looked good ever since.
• Ozzie was able to completely relearn his goaltending technique a few years ago, but he seems unable to figure out the trapezoid rule. In his defense, it's a really stupid rule, but it's not like it's new anymore
• The 5-on-3 powerplay the Wings had in the first period was one of the worst 5-on-3s I've ever seen. They barely even got the puck over Philly's blue line.
• Mule couldn't have bought a goal tonight with his entire season's salary.
• I didn't see exactly what happened to Brad Stuart when he went down. At first, I thought he took the puck in the face. While getting nailed in the back of the head isn't great, it's probably better than the face. They never showed a replay at the Joe, so I was left diving for my phone to check my always-reliable Twitter feed to find out what happened.
• Because we bought tickets so late, our seats weren't together, so we “upgraded” during the first intermission. We befriended some Flyers fans who had evidently staked out the same row of seats. Even though they were rooting for the wrong team, they were nice and knew hockey. It was more than I could say for the two obnoxious Wings fans near us who we were secretly hoping would fall down the stairs.

Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
He's been great over the last few games as he took on a much bigger load with Datsyuk's absence. I hope he keeps his roll going and that his wonky back holds up.

Villain: Daniel Carcillo
For scoring a goal and being Daniel Carcillo.

Final Thought:
I miss Pavel Datsyuk...the most.

Red Wings vs. Flyers GP...

Red Wings: 24-9-5

Flyers: 23-10-5

Red Wing Zen:

Nick Lidstrom

11-25-36, +/- 1, 8 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Nikolay Zherdev

13-2-15, +/- 4, 16 PIM

Red Wings 3, Islanders 4 (OT): Post Game Snipes...

• This was a weird game in the sense that I didn't think the Wings played terribly, but they still managed to give up four goals to the lowly Islanders and lose in overtime.
• Nick Lidstrom scored one of the Islanders' goals for them. Though generous, it was a decidedly un-perfect play.
• When I heard that Tatar was getting called up, I thought, “Gee, he seems like the kind of guy who'd score a goal in his first NHL game.” It wasn't a prediction per se, but it was pretty sweet to see him do it.
• You could almost predict that the Wings were going to give up a goal on that OT penalty kill after Franzen had his stick slashed in half with no call. Those kinds of screw-ups always lead to goals.

Hero: Tomas Tatar
He stepped up as a last-minute call-up in his first NHL game. Here's hoping he keeps it up.

Villain: P.A. Parenteau
Thanks for ruining New Year's Eve.

Final Thought:
The Wings still ended 2010 with single digits in their regulation loss column. The only other team that can say that is Vancouver; they've played two fewer games, though.