Red Wings 4, Canucks 6: Post Game Snipes...

• I had the great pleasure of watching this game with the Commune at Sara's belated Halloween party. Regardless of the outcome of the game, watching the Wings play with the Commune is always infinitely more fun than watching alone. Those of you who haven't had the chance to do so are missing out. I feel sorry for you, really.
• Last night was an awfully sad defensive play from two of the best teams in hockey.
• Vancouver's throwback jerseys were nice and all, but the lack of names on the back was killing me.
• The turnover by Datsyuk that led to Vancouver's shorthanded goal was surprising. We all kind of looked at each other and said, “That was Pav?” It was uncharacteristic for sure, but those things happen sometimes. Hopefully he'll come back fired up on monday.
• The parade to the penalty box at the end of the game was unhelpful, to say the least. It seems like the Wings have a habit of taking a lot of late-game penalties. Or maybe it's my imagination.
• The only three Wings who ended up with positive +/- ratings were Kronwall, Zetterberg, Stuart, and TAWD. Lidstrom was an ugly -3.

1. How will the Wings look playing in the second night of a back-to-back?
They were incredibly sloppy and disorganized in the third period, and it wouldn't surprise me if that had a lot to do with having played the night before. Plus, they were probably pretty confused about not having four days off between games like they've been having. “What do you mean we have to play again already?”

2. The second line has been kind of quiet over the last couple of games. I want to see them have a big night tonight.
Neither one of the top lines looked like their usual dominating selves.

3. Ericsson's looked pretty good in the couple of games he's played since coming back from his injury. I guess he doesn't want to lose his job to Kindl after all. Can he keep it up tonight against a better Vancouver team?
He actually scored a goal and he didn't really look that out of place on the team last night. Then again, the rest of the guys didn't really look that spectacular either, so I guess that made him look comparatively better.

Hero: Niklas Kronwall
He netted two goals last night. That should be enough to stand out on any night.

Villain: Manny Malhotra
He also scored two goals last night, including the shorty that put Vancouver in the lead in the second period and seemed to turn the tide definitively in their favor.

Final Thought:
The Wings didn't look so good, but it happens. Even dominant teams have their off nights.

Red Wings vs. Coyotes GP...

Red Wings: 5-1-1

Coyotes: 2-3-3

Hat Trick:
1. There's been a lot of talk lately about the third line not producing offensively. Will they redeem themselves tonight?
2. The top line stole the show the last time the Wings played seemingly six years ago. Does that mean it's the “second” line's turn tonight? A glitter kittens goal celebration at the Joe with the Commune has the potential to be epic.
3. How many last-minute goals will the Wings allow? That's a sad trend that I've never been able to fully wrap my head around.

Red Wing Zen:

Nick Lidstrom

1-7-8, +/- 4, 0 PIM

Point and Laugh:

Eric Belanger

2-4-6, +/- -3, 2 PIM

Red Wings Training Camp Pictures...

It took almost an entire day of uploading, but I've finally gotten my pictures from training camp uploaded on Photobucket.  I left out the ones of the Commune so that it's strictly hockey.  There are 1,065 images of varying quality to sift through at your leisure.  If you look through them, I'm sure it won't be hard to figure out who my favorite players are, haha.

One of the things I wanted to note about camp that I forgot to put in my post from a few days ago:  One of the coolest things about training camp was getting to see just how much fun the players were having out there.  It seemed like most of them were sporting huge grins all week long.  I don't think Pavel Datsyuk ever stopped smiling.  During one of the scrimmages, Nick Lidstrom was checking Franzen and pushing him toward the boards right where we were standing.  They both had huge goofy smiles on their faces and Lidstrom gave Mule a playful crosscheck.  You could see that they were laughing and having a blast out there.  It was adorable and kind of a fun change from the serious game faces we usually see on the ice.  These guys love what they're doing.  And really, who could blame them?

2010-2011 Player Profiles: Jakub Kindl...

Hey, kids, guess what? Hockey's almost here. That means it's time for me to get back into this whole blogging thing that I've neglected during the off-season. Since I lack the creativity to come up with a new gimmick, I decided to continue the Player Profiles series I did last year leading up to the season. I'll be taking a look at a different player (almost) every day between now and when hockey starts. By my count, there are 14 days until the Wings open the regular season. Get excited. Today's subject:

Jakub Kindl

2009-2010 Regular Season: 3 GP, 0-0-0, +/- -2, 0 PIM

2010 Playoffs: N/A

Season Highlight: N/A

Season Lowlight: N/A

Kindl got called up last season to fill in some gaps due to injuries. He didn't see much playing time, and I don't recall him being particularly impressive. It's impossible to make a judgment about a player based on only a few performances, especially considering what the rest of the team looked like at the time.

This year, I think, is going to be a different story. I was impressed with his play at training camp. He looked good.  The Commune can testify to that.  I'm glad I got to write this profile after having been to TC because I feel a lot better about Kindl now. Of course, playing in real game situations is different than in practices and scrimmages, but I think Kindl's ready to step into the lineup this year. Unless Jonathan Ericsson turns things around in a big way, he's going to find himself battling Kindl for a starting job before the year is over.

What he needs to do to make me smile: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Pre-Training Camp Notes...

I'm heading up to training camp with the Commune tomorrow for five days of non-stop Shanahanigans. We'll be attending all of the ticketed events, and have some other activities planned, as well (ceremonial burning of the Crosby shirt, anyone?). I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing up there, but I've scheduled the player profiles to continue posting almost every morning. I'm taking my laptop up there, but I have a feeling there won't be much getting posted. I can, however, promise that there will be excessive amounts of tweeting going on during the festivities. If you're not interested in training camp and random Commune updates, now would be a good time to unfollow.

Here's a list of the Commune attendees who are staying together:

Me: @SnipeDangle
Liz: @lizzlefoshizzle and @CWGAP_Liz
Sara: @saraneuie
Sara: @thetinnishflash
Amanda: @nursenitz
Dena: @Wings3_26_97
Sarah: @SPintheD
Lauren: @Lolabythebay
Leslie: @mauvaisgardien
Andrea: @silvrbuttrfly
Jenn: @JennHo

And some other tweeters who I know will be up there (Let me know if I missed you and I'll add you to the list.):

George: @georgemalik
Matt: @onthewings
Megan: @MrsOTW
Kat: @Just_Kat1 and @CSI_Kat
Tyler: @TheTripleDeke

I also added everyone you see here to a list on Twitter.  I'm pretty sure the hashtag #RWTCTC has been set as the standard, at least for Commune coverage. I'd also keep a lookout for #shanahanigans and #redwingscommune tags if you really want to follow along. I've never been to Training Camp before, so I don't really know what to expect. We've been looking forward to this for a long time, though, and I can promise that we're going to have a blast. I'm looking at it as a kind of a warm-up for H2H2 which is apparently going to be a month-long extravaganza.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Part One...

The Good

• Let’s start with the obvious. Herm 2 Hockeytown was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of. The extent to which the Red Wings community reaches amazes me. Not only did we bring Herm here to watch a game, but we also raised over $5,000 for Children’s Hospital. Hanging out at Hockeytown, singing Happy Birthday to Jimmy Howard, the tin foil hats, post-gaming at the Town Pump, and visiting Greektown in the middle of the night were just some of the highlights of the night. When I first started blogging, I swore I’d never meet anyone off of the internet. Boy am I glad I broke that promise. There are some truly great people out there in Red Wings Nation.
• One of the best legacies of H2H was the creation of the #redwingscommune a little while later. None of that would have happened without the real life connections we made that weekend. We had Commune gatherings all over the Metro area during the playoffs, and I really think we helped each other survive. We ended up with a whole array of lingo like donut goalies, Drunk Lebda, and Homerbait and there’s nobody I would rather have been with at the end of Game Five.
• At one of our Commune gatherings, we came up with an idea to have a Tin Foil Flashmob at the Joe. Originally, we wanted to rally people to wrap the building with tin foil, but decided that that idea was impractical. Somehow, it evolved into a plan to recruit dancers while passing out tin foil hats outside of the Joe. It was an absolutely absurd idea, but we had a blast. It was crazy and miles away from anything I ever imagined myself doing, but I loved being a part of it.
• Jimmy Howard was a revelation this season. I don’t think many people expected him to perform the way he did. I figured he was a temporary solution until one of the younger goalies was ready for the NHL. He looked awful during the beginning of the season. He managed to turn things around, though, and took over the starter’s job. He was nothing short of brilliant on several occasions. Here’s hoping he can keep it up next season.
• The Olympics were phenomenal. I could’ve done with a different ending, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glued to my TV for the majority of the tournament.
• The fact that Andreas Lilja was able to come back after almost a year on IR was great. I really thought his career was over and that Mickey Redmond was crazy when he started talking about Lils being close to coming back during one of the broadcasts. He provided a much-needed steady influence on the third pairing.
• Game Seven in the first round and Game Four in the second round were amazingly fun. Watching Game Seven at Kukla’s with the commune was a blast, and the Mule’s rampage in Game Four was one for the ages. They were definitely the highlights of the playoffs.
• Brendan Shanahan joining Twitter was one of the best events of the season. That guy makes my life. I expected him to just twitter boring things, but he’s been nothing short of entertaining.
• The Versus announcers once again created another fun new word for us. I’m a big fan of “danglelicious” and feel like a bit of a failure because I don’t use it more often. I’m going to work on that over the summer.
• Another Versus highlight was the addition of Darren McCarty as an intermission commentator. He looked pretty nervous at first, but seems to have settled into the job. It’s nice to have someone on there to make their intermission reports tolerable. If you didn’t already love him, the time they called him a homer and he said that he had four reasons to be a homer surely melted your heart.
• Watching Jimmy Howard go after Sidney Crosby was one of the highlights of the regular season. It even inspired Henrik Zetterberg to deliver one of my favorite quotes of the year: “I saw Jimmy coming in with his glove and Crosby wasn’t there anymore.” Perfect.
• The post-Olympic run that the Wings went on was a blast. We’d been waiting all season for the real Wings to show up, and this stretch catapulted them into the 5th playoff seed. It was the only real display of Red Wing hockey that we got to see all season.
• The NHL’s History Will Be Made commercials were fabulous. Some of the ones toward the end were a little ridiculous, but the initial concept was brilliant. The Datsyuk/Zetterberg one was my personal favorite, though I might be slightly biased in that regard. Other than the fact that it featured my two favorite current players, I liked the fact that it required a little bit of hockey knowledge to understand the “What if” question.
  
• The speechless commercial that debuted during the Finals was pretty awesome, too.
• Johan Franzen didn’t quite live up to his mouthguard-snatching from last season, but I was a big fan of his diving pantomime during a game against Chicago.
  

On a personal note:

• Getting to know you crazy sunshines online and in real life made this season one of the most memorable ever, despite the frustration it induced. It truly was fantastic.
• Meeting Steve Yzerman in November was obviously one of my personal highlights. I still can’t really believe that actually happened.
• My friend getting her foot stuck in one of the seats at the Joe was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. She’s still a little bit bitter about the lack of help that she received from me and the fact that I wrote about it and mentioned the incident on TOV.
• I also managed to make it to more games this season than ever before. This included not one, but two playoff games. Sitting down by the glass with Sara and TPL Mom against San Jose was incredible.
• At one of those games, I got the opportunity to go out on the ice to participate in the turkey bowling game during intermission. I was an incredible failure at it, but my team still managed to win. We got free tickets to another game and got to keep our turkeys. This resulted in my little brother wandering around the Joe carrying a frozen turkey for the next two periods. The pictures we have are priceless.

Social Media Day in Detroit...

I just got home from the Social Media Day party hosted by the Wings. It was an interesting evening. Our group had a great time and you really can’t go wrong hanging out with the Commune. I got to spend time with Liz, Sara, Sara, Sarah, Drew, Norm, Matt, Topher, Greta, Jim, and Jamie. I’m sure I’m missing someone else, too.

Most of the videos played at the arena this season (including the regular season intro and the playoff pre-show) were playing on a loop on all of the TVs in the club. There were also giant cutouts of Franzen and Ozzie that you could pose for pictures with. The Wings had a table set up with all kinds of free stuff, and I added some posters and mouse pads to my growing collection of junk. There were Wings and Tigers giveaways throughout the night, and the Commune took home a couple of Tigers hats if I’m not mistaken. They also had a net with some goalie equipment and jerseys that you could dress up in. I thought it would be funny to pose with the equipment while wearing my nice dress. I’m a lot of fun. (Thanks to Sara for the picture.)

The club was very nice, and we enjoyed taking pictures of the TV mirrors in the bathroom (The Commune was a little out of its element. This isn’t really our scene.) and marveling at the chrome toilets. We had a spectacular view of the skyline, river, and bridge and could see where Tiger Stadium used to be. Motor City was the only casino I’d never been in (and I’ve still never been on the floor), and it was very nice. We had free pizza from Little Caesar’s to snack on, although it wasn’t particularly good. There was also a guy in a Little Caesar costume walking around awkwardly.

All in all, the whole thing was a little strange. We decided that it was like a nerd prom. Or a bad wedding reception. Or an awkward work conference party. The dance floor maxed out with about six people dancing the Cupid Shuffle. There wasn’t a whole lot of mingling going on. I’d do it again next year, but only if it was sponsored by the Wings again. I had a lot of fun thanks to the good company. Commune events are always boatloads of fun. As always, my pictures are up on Photobucket. There aren't many because my camera battery died, but I added some that were twittered by other folks.

Nothing Lost...

Earlier this year, I referred to this as “The Lost Season.” I was wrong. We’re not celebrating another Stanley Cup in Hart Plaza, so you could call this season a failure, but we gained much, much more than we lost. In this season of stress and anxiety and agony, a great big community came together like never before. We’ve made a family that I never would have thought possible. Looking at all of the things gained, it’s hard to use the word “lost” in association with this season.

Sure, the trip to Sweden was a bust.
Sure, the first half of the season was a disaster.
Sure, it seemed like this team was being held together with bubblegum and paperclips for the better part of the year.
Sure, most of us were bald by Christmas from pulling out our hair.
Sure, we got called conspiracy theorists and the Tin Foil Hat Brigade by national media and bloggers.
Sure, we saw some of the most absurd calls and non-calls in recent memory go against the Wings.
Sure, the playoffs didn’t end the way we wanted them to, and today’s a day of mourning in Red Wings nation.

But…
We still brought Herm to Hockeytown.
We still raised over $5,000 for Children’s Hospital.
We still started The Obstructed View, which has been one of the more fun projects I’ve been a part of.
We still created a #redwingscommune and an entire lexicon of “communisms:” DrunkLebda, SoberLebda, donut goalies, RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH, DinosaurLebda, PirateLebda, and Homerbait, just to name a few.
We still organized a flash mob to dance outside of the Joe wearing tin foil hats, and even ended up getting the mob’s headwear of choice banned from the arena.
We still turned a bunch of fake internet friends into a community of real life friends.
We still had a support group to hug and cry with at the Post last night, and there is no group of people I would rather have been with in that moment.
I still got to see and do some amazingly awesome things with some equally awesome people.
And maybe, just maybe, we learned to appreciate how blessed we’ve been here in Hockeytown for the last nineteen years.

I’m a Red Wings fan today, and I’ll be one tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. I’ll be a Red Wings fan in June when we watch another team take home our Cup, and I’ll be a Red Wings fan in July when I’m desperately trolling the internet for a shred of hockey news. I’ll be a Red Wings fan in August when I’m bored out of my mind, and I’ll be a Red Wings fan in September when I’m anxiously gearing up for the season. And I will most definitely be a Red Wings fan in October when the season starts up again. And yeah, you’d better believe I’m proud.

Red Wings vs. Sharks Game Four GP...

12. I’ll start with the obvious: The Wings need to find a way to win this game.
11. Mattias Ritola is making his playoff debut in place of the injured Patrick Eaves and useless Jason Williams (Who?). This is exciting and terrifying all at once. How is that going to work out for the Wings?
10. The Datsyuk line can’t afford to get taken advantage of defensively like they were on Tuesday. That was just ugly.
9. Powerplays have been few and far between this series, but the Wings haven’t done a good enough job capitalizing on them when they do come their way. Special teams have been crucial in every single game all playoffs long.
8. Jimmy needs to settle down and stop trying to do too much. People have been criticizing him, but they’re forgetting that he’s a rookie. It just feels like he's been trying to win the games by himself, and his being too aggressive has led to some goals. Just make the saves as they come, and let the team play defense in front of you, Jimmy.
7. Again, STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!!
6. Capitalize on mistakes when San Jose makes them. It seems like they’ve found a way to put the puck in the net every time the Wings make a mistake. The Wings need to turn the tables if they want to have a shot at crawling out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.
5. This is the equivalent of a Game Seven. Start strong. Finish strong. (And, you know, don’t forget about the middle of the game either...)
4. Win faceoffs. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to play the puck possession game we know and love.
3. Andreas Lilja is back in the lineup on defense. Here’s hoping he can settle Ericsson down.
2. Zetterberg really stepped up his game on Tuesday. He and his line need to keep carrying the play to the Sharks’ top players.
1. Keep testing Nabokov. He hasn’t looked nearly as spectacular as a 3-0 series lead would indicate.

The Wings can still do this. The Sharks said it themselves: if any team can crawl out of a 3-0 hole, it’s the Wings. That being said, the version of the Wings we’ve seen for most of the playoffs won’t be able to do it. The post-Olympic streak Wings? If they start showing up, there’s a slim possibility. The NHL’s playoff slogan is “History will be made” after all. I hope for the sakes of all of the #redwingscommune members in attendance tonight that they don’t have to see a handshake line.

Red Wings 3, Sharks 4 (OT) (0-3): Post Game Snipes...

• I went down to the #tinfoilflashmob with every intention of dancing with the crowd and then heading back to Hockeytown to watch the game with the Commune. Instead, an incredibly generous and as yet anonymous member of the flash mob provided me with an extra ticket for free. I started out in the second to last row of the upper bowl, right in front of the press box. By the first intermission, Sara had located a seat near her in the second row of the lower bowl and I headed down there. Halfway through the third period, the people in the seats next to her and TPL Mom left, so I scooted down into the front row. It was quite an upgrade. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful Red Wings fans.
• Why was Brett Lebda in the lineup? Even better question: why was he ever out on the ice with Jonathan Ericsson?
• You know why I love Detroit fans? From the back of the upper bowl, we saw San Jose commit a hand pass in the offensive zone and all started screaming in unison. I challenge you to find that kind of detailed hockey smarts in Phoenix or Nashville.
• I literally spent most of the game hunched forward, clutching my rally rag like a security blanket. I occasionally put on the tin foil hat that was smuggled into the Joe for me. Why do I even bother going out in public?
• If I’m not mistaken, I have now witnessed five goal reviews in the last four games I’ve attended at the Joe. Zetterberg’s was the first that’s gone against the Wings.
• I made it on the big screen at least three times. This has been a lifelong goal of mine that I finally realized last night.
• How was Pavel Datsyuk’s line that bad defensively last night? Pav should never be -2.
• Oh Jimmy, you broke my heart last night. The Wings needed more from him. I understand that he’s a rookie, but he should want some of those goals back.
• Zetterberg scored his goal right in front of me. If there hadn’t been glass in between us, I could’ve reached out and touched him. I even caught it on film (in pixels?):
  

GP Review:
12. STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!! Even if it means playing no-contact girly hockey.
Six penalties is still way too many for this team to take. It wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as it has been, but the really killer things were the non-calls that should’ve gone the Wings’ way. I don’t know how much of it was on camera on the broadcast, but missed trips, high sticks, cross-checks, and holdings had us reaching for our smuggled in tin foil hats more than once.

11. The Wings need to start better. The beginning of Game Two was a disaster wrapped in a blanket of nightmares.
The first period was actually pretty good. The Wings were all set to head to intermission with a two-goal lead until San Jose got on the board with literally two seconds left in the period.

10. I want to see more production from the second line. If I’m not mistaken, the Zetterberg unit hasn’t tallied a point yet this series.
Early on, I had Z tagged for a goal. It was one of those things where you could just tell by the way he was skating. I was more than a little excited that he was standing within an arm’s reach of me when he scored his goal (that counted).

9. Somebody needs to shut down Pavelski. He’s scored half of San Jose’s goals so far this series.
He still picked up an assist, but the Wings did managed to prevent him from putting the puck in the net himself.

8. On the off chance that the Wings get any powerplays, they need to make them count. Special teams have been make or break all playoffs.
One of their powerplays only lasted seven seconds. The other was unsuccessful. If you look me in the eye and tell me that the Sharks only committed two penalties all night (plus the one that led to the penalty shot), I’ll call you a liar. Go ahead. Try it.

7. San Jose has had too much success at getting traffic to the front of the net. The Wings need to adjust their game and keep them to the perimeter.
No, no, no, no, no. This needs to happen.

6. Home sweet home: They’re back at the Joe where the Hockeytown faithful will be out en masse. Take advantage of the love from the crowd.
They did start strongly, but faded toward the end. By the beginning of overtime, you could feel a sense of dread in the building. People were still chanting and cheering, but I don’t think there was a lot of optimism.

5. What ridiculousness will have you reaching for your tin foil hat tonight?
The tin foil hats themselves were banned, which is awesome for fans of irony. The goal reviews in and of themselves were enough to be diving for the safety of a tin foil hat.

4. Would it kill somebody to win a faceoff here and there?
Abdelkader was actually the only one who lost more faceoffs than he won for the Wings. Somehow, it still seemed like they never won one. Maybe they just kept losing the really important ones.

3. The Wings haven’t done a particularly good job entering the Sharks’ zone. They’re losing too many rushes at the blue line.
Case in point: the overtime winner.

2. Jason Williams (Who?) is in the lineup again in place of Patrick Eaves. What are the chances that he does something useful this time around?
Do not get me started. I’ve gone from general indifference and honestly forgetting about him at several points this season to a strong dislike.

1. The Wings have made a habit of playing best when their backs are against the wall. I know they’re not facing elimination tonight, but they absolutely can’t afford to go down by three games. They can still pull this out if they play like the Wings team we saw in Game Seven. Make it happen, boys.
Well, so much for my pep talk...

Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
He was the best player on the ice for the Wings. That was most definitely Playoff Zetterberg last night.

Villain: Jason Williams (Who?)
During the final two periods, he shot no less than two pucks directly at my face. I’m convinced that he stumbled across SSDD and saw my gentle mocking and wanted to put another puck through the glass and my head. Oh, and his 49-foot wide slapshot in overtime led to San Jose’s break the other way and their goal. We miss you, Patrick Eaves.

Final Thought:
I’m trying to cling to optimism, but it’s not working very well. I really did have a great time at the pre-game festivities and during the game though.

Tin Foil Flash Mob...

For those of you who haven’t heard (and seriously, it’s nice of you to venture out from under your rock now and then), we’re organizing a flash mob to dance the hustle to The Hockey Song outside the Joe this evening. I know it’s short notice by now, but I haven’t had internet access all day. We’re gathering at the Gordie Howe entrance at 6:45 and there will be more than enough tin foil hats to go around. For more information and up to the minute updates, follow Sara, Sara, or me on Twitter. Don’t listen to the haters who are utterly lacking a sense of humor. This is all in good fun. People should really learn to laugh at themselves. The world would be a much better place if everybody just lightened up for a minute or two. After the game, we’re going to be heading out with the #redwingscommune to watch the game downtown, so there’s no need to have tickets to the game. Anyway, please do join us. We’re going to look ridiculous otherwise…

Red Wings 3, Sharks 4 (0-1): Post Game Snipes...

• The general sentiment around Red Wings nation has been quiet optimism. This loss wasn’t nearly as devastating as any of the three in the first round. Sure, I left Hockeytown angry, but my bad mood had more to do with that 5-on-3 than anything else. The Wings are by no means out of this series.
• The back-to-back joke calls were bad enough on their own, but the fact that they led to the game-winning goal makes it that much worse.
• Franzen apparently went to the box for the rarely called “two minutes for being high-sticked” penalty. We did, however, have a good laugh when he was shown on the bench during the third with dried blood still on his face. My brother, who was attending his first ever #redwingscommune meeting, said, “I didn’t think it was possible for Franzen to get any sexier.”
• If I were one of the referees, I would be legitimately angry at that dive Setoguchi took. I mean really, have some self-respect.
• The frustrating thing is that we have to spend the two-day break banging our heads against the wall, haunted by the series of blown calls (which at this point should really just be a regularly scheduled part of your routine). The good new is that except for that minute and a half in the first period, this was not a bad game at all. San Jose did a better job capitalizing on mistakes, but by no means dominated.
• I had a blast with the Commune again. You guys make my life. Even getting evicted from our H2H nostalgia fest was better with you crazies around. Ugly sweaters, sitting IN the TV, collecting free stuff, and hating our waitress together made the night fun despite the loss. And I left with this, thanks to another trivia victory assisted by Commune members with some backup from Twitter. We never did find out if 99 was the right answer to the unofficially retired numbers question, since they didn’t give us the answers.
  

GP Review:
12. The most important thing for Game One is to keep up the momentum from the last round. The Wings played one of the best games we’ve seen them play in a long time, and they need to keep it up.
They didn’t exactly get off to a blazing start. It goes without saying that the first period left a lot to be desired. That being said, they carried the play for most of the game. That’s encouraging.

11. Coming out strong and aggressive is going to be really important. They can’t afford to be tentative and passive at the start of the game.
I should probably just copy/paste the last answer.

10. The Wings’ stars led the team in a big way during Game Seven. They’ll need to keep shining to take the team past the more threatening Sharks.
They really weren’t bad, aside from those breakdowns. This wasn’t one of those games that was lost because the stars disappeared.

9. This is going to be Zetterberg’s first chance at a real shut-down assignment. Watching him frustrate opposing stars is a thing of beauty. Who is Babcock going to assign him to? My money’s on Pavelski.
I’ll admit that I was a little distracted with #redwingscommune festivities so I wasn’t really watching matchups. I do know that Pavelski had way too much room last night.

8. Make no mistake: special teams won Game Seven. The powerplay and PK need to keep clicking and avoid any Game-Six-like disasters.
Yeah, about that…

7. The Wings need to solve Nabokov early and keep him from getting into a groove.
He made some good saves, but he looked beatable.

6. This is a battle between the fresh-from-the-first-round Wings and the well-rested Sharks. Who is going to look better?
The Sharks definitely got off to a better start, although I’m skeptical as to the extent which fatigue impacted the Wings’ play. We’ve seen those kind of starts consistently all season regardless of how much time they had off between games.

5. Now that Jimmy’s got a whole round of playoff experience under his belt, he just needs to settle down and do his thing.
You can’t pin this one on him, but I’m sure there were a couple of goals he’d like back.

4. Here’s hoping that Franzen’s been stockpiling all of his goals for the later rounds. Assists are nice, but he makes the big bucks to score goals.
He ripped a nice shot past Nabokov. Here’s hoping that goal plus anger over the missed high stick are enough to wake him up for real.

3. Don’t let the Sharks carry the physical play.
This didn’t seem like an issue to me.

2. The second defensive pairing needs to get things under control. I want to see fewer turnovers and at least one Kronwalling.
Alas, there were no Kronwallings.

1. Start Round Two off on the right foot, boys. We’re all counting on you.
Well that didn’t happen.

Hero: Pavel Datsyuk
Best player on the ice again. He does things with the puck that just shouldn’t be done every single night.

Villain: Devin Setoguchi
That was just embarrassing. Seriously. Even for a guy whose wikipedia page lists one of his nicknames as Dive-O-Guchi. (Not sure if that's a recent addition or well-established.)

Final Thought:
It should not be this frustrating to love hockey. Thanks, NHL.

Game Seven in the Life of A Hockey Fan...

This was something I hoped to get up earlier, but work, an unplanned trip back to Ann Arbor, and graduation stuff kind of got in the way. Anyway, here’s a semi-blog of Tuesday and Game Seven. Just assume that the times with no specific activity listed involve constant panic attacks and general incoherence:

5:40 am: Alarm goes off. I hit snooze for about a minute until I realize that it’s the morning of Game Seven. This is the last moment of peace I’ll have all day.
6:10 am: I realize that I have no breakfast food in my house. After briefly considering stealing some from my roommates (I promise you, they’ve taken plenty of my stuff.), I settle on a box of Wheat Thins. Head out the door.
7:05 am: Arrive at work. Discover that Gmail and Twitter have suddenly been blocked. Throw a fit in my head.
11:00 am: Go to lunch. Co-workers talk about football and doom and gloom politics. 2:10 pm: Leave work. First fit of road rage occurs while attempting to back out of my parking space.
2:15 pm: Stop for gas and a slurpee at Speedway. Their slurpee machine is out of Coke. Again. This is reminiscent of Friday.
2:17 pm: I really want Taco Bell, but that was my pre-game meal before Game Seven of the Finals. I decide on a quick trip through the Burger King drive through instead.
2:25 pm: Seriously, how long can it take to make a batch of chicken fries?
2:30 pm: I hit up the 7-11 nearby in search of the elusive but essential pre-game Slurpee. While waiting to pour mine, I witness an employee teaching a little old lady to pour her very first Slurpee. It’s pretty adorable. I’m proud to have shared in such an important moment in the life of a stranger.
2:33 pm: I select the 44 ounce cup, since that worked for Game Two. I attempt to pay, only to discover that in my frantic search for Slurpees, I have left my wallet in the car. I look really stupid.
4:00 pm: The second batch of cupcakes is in the oven. Somehow, the recipe that was supposed to yield 24 cupcakes only makes 19. I am not unhappy about this.
4:45 pm: After an eternity of googling, I determine that there is nothing creative that can be done to decorate the cupcakes. I do, however, come up with several ideas for future concoctions. I think I also made Baroque crave dessert. Apologies.
5:30 pm: Nap time. I can’t sleep. I’m pretty sure I was half awake the whole time.
7:00 pm: Time to get up and frost cupcakes. It’s almost commune time.
7:30 pm: There is literally no amount of food coloring in the world that will make this frosting red. I guess we’re going with vaguely reddish pink.
8:00 pm: I’m supposed to be leaving now. Instead, I’m frantically running around my house trying to get things taken care of. My iTunes Hockey playlist is blasting. My roommates are thrilled (again). This features fun classics like I Want Stanley (Arena and Rap versions), Hey, Hey, Hockeytown, Hit Somebody, and Without Stanley.
8:15 pm: My roommate comments on how tasty the cupcakes look. I’m 110% sure she’s trying to get me to offer her one. I’m not willing to break up the perfect set of 19 so I don’t make any kind gestures.
8:20 pm: I’m finally out the door.
8:59 pm: I finally arrive at Kukla’s Kasa for the Commune fieldtrip.
9:15 pm: Game time. The freak out factor is high amongst the Commune residents.
9:20 pm: The first of many attempts to get Operation #redwingscommune: No Limits off the ground fails. It was great to be distracted by trying to get the webcam to work during the whole first period. It kept me from stressing out too much.
9:30 pm: The video chat finally works. Unfortunately, nobody can hear us. Actually, upon reflection, this is probably for the best.
10:00 pm: People are rolling around on the floor of Kukla’s basement, terrified from the stress.
…The next hour is a blur of insanity at the commune. You can fill in the details in your imagination…
11:00 pm: By this point, we have noticed that every time Ellen logs off of the video chat, the Wings score. We develop a theory that she is secretly Pavel Datsyuk video chatting live from the Wings’ bench. The fact that she is drinking beer and eating rice on camera does nothing to dissuade us of this belief. We’re pretty sure we could hear Mike Babcock yelling in the background of her feed.
11:15 pm: We’ve also become convinced that the bottle caps Dan has affixed to his hoodie (aka his nipples) are magical and will prevent the Coyotes from scoring. Dan: “They can’t score. I’m wearing my nipples!” This makes complete sense to everyone in attendance.
11:30 pm: Game over. Celebration ensues.
11:35 pm: We decide that the reason the Coyotes fans were cheering at the end of the game was because they thought their team won. You see, what with the whole white out thing, they assumed that they were supposed to be rooting for the team that was wearing white. They’ve accidentally been rooting for the Wings this whole time. They also appeared to be confused by the fact that the teams were packing up and leaving before they played the fourth quarter.
12:00 am: Time to leave the commune. I force Tyler and Brent to take cupcakes. I’m quite assertive with my baked goods.
1:00 am: I finally make it back to Ann Arbor. This night could be characterized as a poor life decision if I hadn’t had so much fun.

Red Wings 6, Coyotes 1 (4-3): Post Game Snipes...

• After an agonizing first period, the Wings managed to absolutely destroy the Coyotes. I’ll be the first to admit that during the first intermission, I was almost positive that it was going to be “one of those games” where the Wings pump 50 shots at the opposing goalie and he absolutely shuts them down. Luckily, my fears were not justified.
• Datsyuk was, well, Datsyukian last night. And also Danglelicious (thank you, Versus). He and Hank even posed for an awesome goal celebration picture that makes it look like they're dancing.
  
• On top of that, one of his goals led to the creation of this masterpiece:
  
• I really think that Nick Lidstrom spent today staring at his birthday cake with forty candles (plus one for good luck) and laughing at it. He keeps on proving that age is just a number.
• As excited as I was about Stuart’s goal, I was also terrified when I saw Zetterberg go crashing awkwardly into the boards behind the net. I didn’t realize at the time that he had been tripped up (stay classy, Phoenix). I wanted to celebrate, but I was just waiting for the camera to pan over to see if Z was okay. The Wings got lucky on that one.
• How was that hook on Helm’s breakaway not a penalty shot? I was shocked, but not entirely unhappy. I figured the Wings would have a better chance on a powerplay than on a Helm penalty shot. It also negated the Coyotes’ powerplay so the Wings didn’t have to kill any more time.
• By the end of the night, Phoenix fans were throwing beer bottles on the ice during play. Hank was kind enough to try to pick it up off of the ice. I suspect it was so he could give it to Brett Lebda in the locker room, but that's just a guess.
• I watched the game from Kukla's Kasa with the rest of the #redwingscommune. We also launched Operation #redwingscommune: No Limits on a video chat with tweeps from around the country. More on that later.
  

GP Review:
13. The Wings need to stop the bleeding on the penalty kill. Sure, another three-goal performance from Phoenix’s powerplay is unlikely, but then again, that’s what we said after Game One.
The PK was not only functional, but I would argue that the long 5-on-3 kill in the second period was the turning point of the game. If Phoenix had scored there, things would have looked a lot uglier. On top of that, a fresh-from-the-box Brad Stuart scored his breakaway goal immediately after the last of those penalties was killed off.

12. The top two lines need to reappear again. When they’re clicking, good things keep happening for the Wings.
Your three stars for the game were Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom. That pretty much says it all. (Yes, I realize that Lidstrom isn’t on the top two lines, but he’s the leader on defense and is generally part of the top unit out there.)

11. Coming out strong and aggressive is going to be really important. They can’t afford to be tentative and passive at the start of the game.
I was actually worried for the first few minutes of the game. The Coyotes seemed to be carrying the play (although that could’ve been my paranoid imagination), but eventually the Wings righted the ship and took control of the game.

10. Jimmy was far from the reason for the Wings’ loss on Sunday, but he needs to be in top form tomorrow.
The 6-1 score would make some people overlook the fact that Jimmy made a lot of good saves throughout the game. He was sharp. Sure, that goal off of the faceoff shouldn’t have gone in, but you have to look at the fact that it was a bang-bang play.

9. The Wings need to find a way to solve Ilya Bryzgalov. He may very well have stolen the game for the Coyotes during the first few minutes of play.
He looked like a brick wall during the first period again, and I was having nightmares. The Wings eventually solved him six times, which isn’t good for a goalie no matter how many shots he faces.

8. How many times am I going to be flailing around in search of my tin foil hat?
Oh there were ample opportunities for tin foil hattery. There was the quick whistle on a clearly loose puck that negated a powerplay goal for the Wings. There was the ridiculous string of penalties in the second during which the Coyotes seemed destined to tie up the game. There was some yelling going on at the #redwingscommune.

7. Earth to Playoff Franzen. Where are you? The Wings kind of need you to start producing.
I’m about ready to make some lost mule posters and hang them up around my neighborhood. Here’s hoping he was saving it up for the second round.

6. It sure would be nice to see a full sixty-minute effort…
This was as close to it as we’re ever going to see that, probably. I really have no complaints.

5. Can the defense avoid hanging Jimmy out to dry again?
The defense was there when it needed to be. They weathered the early storm, and had Jimmy’s back for the rest of the night.

4. It would be nice if the powerplay came back to life and scored more goals than it allowed. That’s a pretty good target, I think.
Indeed it did.

3. I hope that Justin Abdelkader keeps hitting everything in sight.
Abdelkader was less noticeable than he was the other day, but it didn’t really matter.

2. Capitalizing on mistakes: whoever does a better job of this is probably going to be playing some more hockey this season.
Verdict: Wings. End of story.

1. This is it. Game Seven. It’s all or nothing. Which team wants it more? No fear. No excuses. No mercy. No limits.
They came out strong and didn’t back down. Their top guys were their top guys. They never let up. We’ll see where the No Limits thing takes them.

Hero: Pavel Datsyuk
Best player on the ice. That’s what he needs to do every night.

Villain: Keith Yandle
Stay classy, dude. Enjoy the golf.

Final Thought:
Round two, here we come.

Red Wings 4, Coyotes 1 (3-2): Post Game Snipes...

• I cannot express how much fun I had hanging out with the #redwingscommune on our fieldtrip to Hockeytown. You guys made my day like you wouldn’t believe. I’m so glad that we didn’t have #communefail again. That would’ve been way too much to handle.
• How good does it feel to see the Wings leading the series? Please close them out on Sunday, boys.
  
• During the first period, we answered trivia about the Wings and I tied with a bunch of other people for the most right. We had a bean bag toss to determine who got a Pavel Datsyuk autographed puck. After two rounds in which none of us managed to score (obviously we were intellectuals, not athletes, and they kept letting us move closer), two of us finally scored. We had one more round and my octopus bean bag (How cute are these?) hung right on the edge of the hole and slowly fell in. I was really excited.
• They were also giving away loads of free stuff (spring cleaning for their storage areas?). We got Red Wings bags, No Limits signs, Budd Lynch bobbleheads, ornaments, pom poms, playoff t-shirts, glasses cases, water bottles, car flags, and scrubs.
• I’m sorry, but when did it become legal to stand on the goalie while scoring a goal? There’s no way that flies if Homer does it.
• This is how we celebrate goals at the Commune:
  
  
  
• This game was so similar to Game 4—a close, back-and-forth game until the third period when the Wings score with a couple of quick goals. I like it. Except for the unnecessary stress part.
• Todd Bertuzzi drew a penalty. We were all a little confused.
• We had a good laugh at Homer’s goal since he was cruising behind Bryzgalov in the crease.
• Datsyuk’s goal was just a thing of beauty. Not many goalies are going to stop that shot, but even fewer players are going to be able to make it.
• Z’s empty net goal was about as skillful as they come. A lot of the credit for it has to go to Filppula, though. He’s the one who chased the puck down and stripped the Coyotes player of it.
• The second period was rough. The Wings were on their heels and there was a definite sense of panic going throughout the Commune.
• That was a nasty hit Rafalski took when he drew the boarding penalty.
• What was going on with Phoenix fans beating up Wings fans in the crowd? Stay classy, bandwagoners.
• There was actually one Phoenix fan in the bar. She was sitting right behind us with a group of Wings fans, and we couldn’t understand why they would be willing to hang out with her. They were giving her a really hard time after the game, though, so all was well.
  

GP Review:
14. We need to see more special teams magic tomorrow.
The powerplay did not look too hot. On the other hand, the PK was spot on again. I can live with that, all things being equal.

13. Can the defense hold steady again?
The defense was better again. The second period was a nightmare, but that was more of a team-wide issue than just the defense.

12. I’m still looking for full-fledged Playoff Franzen.
I think he’s starting to emerge. He’s looked better over the last couple of games and picked up an assist on Datsyuk’s goal. That whole top line was going tonight.

11. Shane Doan might be back tomorrow. What is he going to do to make us hate him?
No Shane Doan. No sadface here. Also no Doanface, but that's probably for the best.

10. Which team is going to work harder?
This one was pretty even. I’d say the Wings outplayed the Coyotes, but the also went to sleep for large stretches of the second period. They’ll need to be better in Game Six.

9. Jimmy needs to follow up his shutout and Calder nomination with another strong game. I have high hopes that that game was just what he needed to get his head straight and confidence back.
Oh yes he did. Those two quick saves he made on a rush in the third may very well have saved the game for the Wings.

8. How many goal reviews will we have to endure?
They reviewed Miller’s goal (which, to be fair, wasn’t that unreasonable), and even came up with the right call. The goal that should’ve been waved off was the Coyotes’ lone tally. That was just ridiculous

7. Insert standard sixty-minute effort question:
The second period was not good, but you already know that. The Coyotes got a lot of momentum off of their illegal goal, and I was pretty worried for a while. The Wings don’t tend to respond well to adversity.

6. Faceoffs need to improve.
Where do they post faceoff statistics online? I can never find them because they’re not in the boxscores. At any rate, the Wings should still be better on those than they have been. They’ve got good faceoff men. There’s no reason for us to be talking about this at this point.

5. The Wings need to keep up their physical play. I’m sure the Coyotes will be amped up to be back in their building, and the Wings have to keep dishing it back.
Brad Stuart and Justin Abdelkader had some good hits out there, and Helm was doing his thing too. I think I even witnessed Todd Bertuzzi throw a hit. The Coyotes weren’t running around tonight, and the Wings were actually more dominant physically.

4. They also have to get off to a fast start. The first five minutes of the game will be crucial for setting the tone.
Their pace from the start was pretty good. It would’ve been nice for them to have scored on that early powerplay they got, but the happy outcome of the game makes me not care so much.

3. The Eurotwins need to keep doing their thing. They’re absolutely essential.
Datsyuk: goal. Ztterberg: goal. Keep it up, boys.

2. I’m looking for good things from Drew Miller. He’s looked feisty so far, and I like that.
Did I call that or did I call that? I’m going to start saying something like that about a random Wing in every GP.

1. How many of Hockeytown’s finest are going to be detained by the Coyotes’ arena security?
There was an octopus on the ice near the end of the game. I hope there was a hat being passed around in a bar in Phoenix to bail the thrower out. We were thinking of wiring some money from Hockeytown too.

Hero: Jimmy Howard
Twice in a row for Jimmah. He has really turned things up since getting called out by people who weren’t happy with his Game Three performance.

Villain: Ed Jovanovski
He now leads the playoffs in goals scored while using the opposing goaltender as a stepstool.

Final Thought:
Life really is better in the Red Wings Commune.