Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 4 (SO): Post Game Snipes...

• The Wings took four penalties during the first period. Four. One was a joke, but all that time on the PK really took the life out of the team.
• They actually started pretty well considering that they had played less than 24 hours previously.
• Nick Lidstrom’s last-minute goal in the first period was almost identical to that chance he had in the final seconds of Game 7 of the Finals last season. All things considered, I would’ve rather he buried that other one.
• The Wings had a 10-minute stretch in the first without a shot on net. I realize that they were on the PK for most of the time, but that’s still kind of pathetic.
• Patrick Eaves got into a fight late in the first. I was surprised. I think that was kind of the general consensus amongst Wings fans on Twitter too. Even Babcock said that he didn't know Eaves could fight. He did a pretty good job handling himself. He got taken down, but I thought he got better swings in than Versteeg did.
• During the first intermission, Mike Milbury said that the trailing ref and linesmen had “courage” to make the call on the Ott goal yesterday. Apparently he’s confused courage with incompetence. We have a different definition of courage here in Detroit, sunshine.
• The Wings scored another powerplay goal. One more game with a conversion, and I’ll be willing to pronounce it functional again. The play was absolutely vintage Eurotwins hockey. Datsyuk mad a strong play bringing it into the zone and fighting through what seemed like the entire Blackhawks team to dish it to Zetterberg. He took the pass awkwardly, fought to control it, and buried a great shot. Let’s see more of that, please.
• Patrick Sharp’s goal in the second period came off of a pretty play that had the NBC guys gushing. It looked great, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if the Wings had bothered playing defense on that play. The look Brad Stuart gave Brett Lebda after the puck went in the net kind of said it all.
• Datsyuk was all over the place this afternoon. Now that Lidstrom looks like he's gotten going offensively, if the Wings can get Pav to start putting pucks in the net, things will be looking pretty good.
• We missed seeing the live view of Eaves’ tying goal because NBC was showing needless replays. What a joke broadcast. Everybody was confused because we were hearing the live call from the PBP guys, but it didn’t match up with the replays on the screen or anything that had happened so far today. Way to go, guys, way to go.
• The five minutes of overtime were insane. If that can’t sell hockey to a national audience, I don’t know what will.
• Both of the Eurotwins had glorious chances during OT, but neither one of them could finish.
• Datsyuk’s shootout goal was ridiculous. There’s not really any way to accurately capture it in words, but I think ridiculous comes closest.
• Bertuzzi’s goal was pretty awesome too. It was a good thing that he scored on it because otherwise he would’ve looked kind of silly. It was especially awesome because of his use of Brian Campbell’s patented spin move.
• After Hossa scored to send the shootout into extra rounds, I knew the Wings were done. I just don’t think Cleary has the moves to get it done in a situation like that. I’m not sure why Filppula doesn’t get a shot in the shootouts when they go to extra rounds. He’s got some hands.
• Even though this game had the same result as yesterday’s did, I feel much better about it. Instead of blowing a two-goal lead, the Wings fought back from a two-goal deficit. Plus, there weren’t any moments that had me yelling at my TV and considering if I had the willpower to walk away from the NHL once and for all.
• Patrick Eaves’ post-game interview was pretty good. I liked his description of his fight. “We hit each other in the face.” Awesome. On the other hand, I don’t understand how he can talk with all of that hair in front of his face. I got side bangs a week ago for the first time in almost 10 years, and it took all of two minutes for me to realize that I couldn’t stand it. They’ve been bobby pinned out of the way ever since. Eaves could use a few of those.
  

GP Answers:
1. It’s been less than 24 hours since the start of the Dallas game (Oh, NHL, your wonders never cease), and while I’ve never been a professional hockey player, I can’t imagine that the quick turnaround—combined with flying home from Dallas—is easy on the guys. Chicago also has a short turnaround, so we should be in for a spectacular, fast-paced treat for the national TV audience. What are the odds that the Wings will be awake for the start of the game today?
They came out looking pretty good in the first halves of each of the periods, but seemed to fade toward the end. They looked much better as the third period came to an end, so maybe they found their second wind.

2. The last time the Wings got screwed on a goal call against Dallas, they fell into a pathetic spiral of hopelessness. According to HNIC last night, the organization is “irate.” Will the team come out looking like they’ve got some fire, or let Chicago walk all over them like they did in their last two meetings?
They didn’t exactly look angry or seem like they were playing to make a statement, but they at least put up a fight.

3. I haven’t heard if Leino or May will be in the lineup today, but it probably doesn’t matter much. Either way, I have to ask: what new level of uselessness will they accomplish today?
I’m told that May spent one commercial break jawing with one of the Hawks. I was shocked that he did anything. Patrick Eaves had to fight today.

4. Is there any chance that the Wings can actually score a goal against the Blackhawks this time around? The last two games against them didn’t really work out too well.
Hey look at that, the Wings actually scored three goals, plus two in the shootout.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Patrick Eaves
He had a good fight and scored the Wings’ tying goal…even though NBC didn’t see fit to televise it live. Today was yet another solid effort from Eaves, who I’ve liked more and more as the season has worn on.

An Extra Stick Tap for Pavel Datsyuk
I can't say enough about that shootout goal.



Brett Lebda gets the Golden Facepalm
I’m about 90% sure that he should’ve been the one covering Patrick Sharp when he scored the Hawks’ third goal.

What I Learned:
I like the shootout less and less every day. That game deserved a better ending.

Off-Season Brilliance?...

So I got to thinking the other day about Ken Holland’s off-season work. And I came to a conclusion that I wouldn’t have expected a few months ago: Thank goodness the Wings didn’t re-sign Marian Hossa.

Now, I liked Hossa when he was here. I certainly wasn’t happy with his performance in the payoffs, but I liked him and I liked what he brought to the team. I kind of figured he’d be gone this summer and my only real problem with his departure was that he ended up in Chicago. I was kind of ambivalent about the possibility of re-signing him because while I liked the thought of another year of the kind of offensive firepower he brought, I knew it would be tricky to fill out a full roster with the kind of money it would take to keep him. And you know what? In the pre-lockout world, he would’ve been a Wing for life. And I would’ve been okay with that.

I also wasn’t thrilled with some of the free agent signings this summer, although that had a lot to do with my personal dislike of Bertuzzi and Williams. I questioned why Holland signed three bargain-priced guys instead of going after a bigger name with some scoring touch to replace what had been lost. While I still can’t say that I’ve entirely warmed to all of the new arrivals (Yes, Todd Bertuzzi, I’m looking at you.), we’re lucky that Ken Holland played his hand the way he did.

So far this season, the Wings have been dropping like flies (not to mention the fact that Hossa has yet to play a game), as the injury bug that began in the playoffs last season has blossomed into a full-on epidemic. The Wings’ depth has been tested as much as any point in recent memory, and it’s been an issue of having enough healthy bodies to field a lineup every night. Before picking Drew Miller up off of waivers, the Wings were dressing every healthy NHL forward they had. That includes Justin Abdelkader, who everyone expected to spend the majority of the season developing in Grand Rapids.

If the Wings had gone ahead and signed Hossa, it would’ve prevented them from making those additional signings (whose necessity I admittedly questioned back in August). Even with his salary coming off the books while he’s been on IR, the Wings would’ve had to have made more call-ups from Grand Rapids (none of the options are particularly appealing) or it would’ve forced Holland to make a move that probably wouldn’t have been beneficial to the Wings in the long run.

Anyway, whatever ambivalence I might have had at one time about Hossa’s departure has gone, and I’m just thankful that the Wings were able to sign three bodies with their precious salary-capped dollars. Even though Williams is one of the guys down with a long-term injury and Bertuzzi still makes me want to bang my head on a wall on a regular basis, I think it’s safe to say that Ken Holland made some wise decisions over the summer. I know there’s no way he could’ve foreseen the injury situation, but it’s just another example of why we Wings fans continue to subscribe to the motto “In Kenny We Trust.”

Little Brother Comes to Town...

Remember back in the playoffs last season when I compared Chicago to the Wings’ little brother? Well, over the summer little brother went through a huge growth spurt, and he’s looking a whole lot scarier now, although it would seem that he hasn’t gotten a whole lot smarter. I absolutely believe that the Hawks are going to give the Wings a run for their money in the Central this season, but I haven't bought into the whole changing of the guard thing quite yet. Chicago still has a long way to go before they're ready to do anything meaningful, as evidenced by their oftentimes embarrassing elimination by the Wings in the Western Conference Finals last season.

In other news, the Wings open the Joe tonight, and I’m choosing to ignore the fact that the previous two games occurred. It would be super fantastic if the Wings could see fit to eke out a win. Especially since I’ll be missing The Office wedding episode. Oh how I miss my DVR. What I’m looking for from them today:

--Kill off more than 50% of the penalties that they take. 2 for 5 just isn’t going to cut it.
--Brett Lebda Derek Meech to play some defense.
--Brad Stuart to not screen our goalie or deflect shots past him.
--The team to play a whole 60 minutes of hockey (Lofty expectations, I know).
--Let’s try to hold the goals against to three or fewer. That’s scientifically proven to increase your chances of winning.
-- 2 points.

Mostly, I just want to celebrate a meaningful victory for the first time in what feels like forever. It'd also be nice to put the Blackhawks back in their place and show them that the Wings are still in charge of the division. Plus, there's the chance that it would give us a brief respite from all of those "end of an era" articles that people seem to be tripping over themselves to write these days. The bottom line is that I need a rollicking good time to take my mind off of the Tigers' loss on Tuesday. I'm still not prepared to discuss that.

2009-2010 Player Profiles: Henrik Zetterberg...

OK, it’s that time of year. Hockey’s so close that you can almost taste it. By my count, there IS ONLY 1 DAY remaining before the Wings kick off their season in Sweden (which is still entirely too many, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel). In order to pass the time, I’ll be posting a player profile every day until then (in alphabetical order, because I’m one of those people). I want to make it very clear that these are not predictions, because I do not, under any circumstance, make predictions. They’re simply my thoughts on each player’s performances last season, and my hopes and expectations for them this time around. Today’s subject:

Henrik Zetterberg


2008-2009 Regular Season: 77 GP, 31-42-73, +/- 13, 36 PIM
2009 Playoffs: 23 GP, 11-13-24, +/- 13, 13 PIM

Season Highlight: Owning Crosby in the Finals. Again.
Season Lowlight: Probably his “fight” with Malkin.

Who better to conclude this series with than Zetterberg? His regular season numbers were down a little from the year before, but critics overlooked the fact that Marian Hossa took a lot of ice time on the top line. There were rumblings about him having a below average season for much of the regular season, largely due to the fact that his performance was being compared to his Conn Smythe winning playoff run the year before. Whether or not you feel that he lived up to his lofty standards during the regular season, there’s no doubt that he turned things up a notch in the playoffs. He was nothing short of spectacular in the Finals, as he once again managed to shut Sidney Crosby down, this time without the aid of Pavel Datsyuk for much of the series. There were times when I felt like he was one of the few Wings who actually looked like they had any desire to win the Cup.

So far this pre-season, he’s been hampered by a groin injury that held him out of the lineup until yesterday. I’d be lying if I said that this didn’t worry me on some level. Those are the kinds of injuries that nag and nag and just won’t go away. It’s only October 1st and the fact that I’m already finding myself stressing over Z’s groin has me nervous. The Wings need Zetterberg to be healthy and in top form this season. At present, he’s slated to center his own line with Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see a EuroTwin reunion when the Wings need a spark from time to time. We haven’t seen much of the line in action thus far, thanks to the injury bug (it’s about 5 man-games lost away from being officially upgraded to curse), but the concept definitely intrigues me. Hank looked pretty good in his pre-season debut on Wednesday, and I feel a little bit better now. With any luck, it won't take long for that line to gel now that everyone's in the lineup.

Really though, I don’t know what to say about what to expect from him. Basically, he’ll continue to be Henrik Zetterberg, which is another way of saying that night in and night out, he’s going to be one of the two best all-around players in the world (any guesses as to who the other is?). He does it all, and in one game he’ll be working magic in the offensive zone and the next he’ll devote himself to shutting down the other team’s top line. He’s already been anointed as future Captain by many Wings fans, and this season, he just needs to continue doing what he does best: leading by example with his performance on the ice. Also, trying to bring old-man cardigans back into style.

What he needs to do to make me happy: Find more excuses to wear eye black. Just saying.

2009-2010 Player Profiles: Jason Williams...

OK, it’s that time of year. Hockey’s so close that you can almost taste it. By my count, there are 2 days remaining before the Wings kick off their season in Sweden (which is still entirely too many, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel). In order to pass the time, I’ll be posting a player profile every day until then (in alphabetical order, because I’m one of those people). I want to make it very clear that these are not predictions, because I do not, under any circumstance, make predictions. They’re simply my thoughts on each player’s performances last season, and my hopes and expectations for them this time around. Today’s subject:

Jason Williams


2008-2009 Regular Season: 80 GP, 19-28-47, +/- -4, 24 PIM
2009 Playoffs: 4 GP, 0-1-1, +/- -2, 2 PIM

Season Highlight: Probably getting traded from Atlanta to a real live playoff team. I guess.
Season Lowlight: Getting swept in the first round by the Big Red Machine.

Williams split time between the Thrashers and the Blue Jackets last season. His production improved once he arrived in Columbus, which I’m going to go ahead and attribute to the fact that the BJs were a playoff team and Atlanta…not so much. His playoff numbers were dismal, but you have to take into account the fact that he was up against the Wings. Beyond that, I can’t really offer a lot of insight into the kind of season he had.

I’m on the record as being strongly against his signing this summer. But, as the wise Mick Jagger once said, “You can’t always get what you want.” Babcock has Williams slotted in to replace Mikael Samuelsson on the point on the powerplay, and though that makes me nervous, I’m willing to give it a shot. It’s a role that Williams has filled before, and it’s not like Sammy wasn’t turnover prone as well. I’m starting to feel a whole lo better about his signing after watching his performance on Sunday. He really did look good, and he made a few good plays on the powerplay. In my tendency to hold grudges, I often overlook the fact that he posted 58 points one year with the Wings in his previous stint, which is perfectly respectable. The beauty of the Wings’ situation (and what I believe will be their saving grace) is the fact that none of the new signees or guys promoted from Grand Rapids will be asked to put up those kind of numbers. The team hasn’t put all of its eggs in one basket in terms of finding someone to replace Hossa, Hudler, and Samuelsson. Williams and the like are simply expected to go out and play the Wings’ game. And from past experience, that style, defensively focused though it is, tends to lend itself to offense.

Some folks made a big deal about Williams saying that he wanted to stay in Columbus, but I really don’t have a problem with that (except that for the life of me, I can’t figure out why someone would want to live in such close proximity to Ohio State, but that’s another issue altogether). As long as he comes in, works hard, and refrains from whining, I’ll be okay. The Wings need him to fill the role that he’s signed for, and I think he understands what his job is here. Pointwise, I’d look for numbers about the same or slightly higher than he put up last year. I’m told that his line with Filppula and Leino has looked good together so far, and sharing ice time with those two guys, there’s no excuse to not have a decent year.

What he needs to do to make me happy: Not play his ipod.

Hockeyfest 2009...

I just got back from Hockeyfest at the Joe. I went with my little sister, and my dad and brother joined us later on in the evening. We had a fantastic time, and I wish I could go back tomorrow. I think I may have managed to reignite her semi-dormant love for the game. Back in the day, when she was 6 or 7, she knew all of the Wings and their jersey numbers by heart. I took entirely too many pictures, and I think my brother drank a gallon of Coke, but all in all it was a good day, even though my dog just chewed up the foam puck I won at Scor-O. I uploaded a whole album of pictures to photobucket. Unfortunately, the Joe is quite possibly the worst place I’ve ever taken pictures before, and the shots that I got of the players didn’t turn out very well.

Anyway, we arrived just in time for the Q&A with Nick Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom. Some of the more interesting points:

--Lidstrom was asked who he thought the Wings’ biggest rivals in the West were. He said Anaheim, followed by San Jose and Chicago.
--They were also asked about Jiri Hudler, and the IIHF situation. Lidstrom apparently hadn’t heard about the transfer card issue, but he said, “he’ll be missed,” regarding Hudler.
--Then someone asked Lidstrom about the way he tapes his stick and the size of the knob on the end. After he finished talking about how he’d experimented with the amount of tape, but felt most comfortable with a big knob, Homer said, “Yeah, yours has gotten smaller though.” Double entendres ensued. They involved water bottles and sausages. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.
--Holmstrom also guaranteed a Stanley Cup this season. That little clip made it onto the recap video on the Wings’ website (worth watching just to see Homer try to figure out what the event was called).
--Someone asked Lidstrom if he’d sign a contract for less money to free up cap space to bring in more talent. He gave the same answer he’s given before, about playing out the season and working something out. He finished by saying that he’d definitely sign a contract like Zetterberg’s, to which Homer added, “Maybe then Nick would be bald.”
--Another fan asked what Babcock was like as a coach. Holmstrom answered, “He yells at me every day. Skate Homer, skate Homer, skate Homer!”
--Apparently Lidstrom studied to be an engineer in Sweden, and would have gone into telecommunications if hockey hadn’t worked out. On the other hand, Holmstrom said he’d be a fireman.
--When someone asked if it was frustrating to have goals called back because of goalie interference, Lidstrom cited an example from the ’08 playoffs against Dallas. Holmstrom said, “You still mad at that?” Lidstrom replied, “Now that you mention it, yes.”
--Fan: “I saw that on NHL.com Sidney Crosby was voted the NHL’s biggest wuss. Do you agree?” Homer: “Yah.” Then everyone laughed. It’s also possible that he was joking. But I like to think he wasn’t.
--Then a full grown man got the microphone and asked Nick Lidstrom if one of the goals from this upcoming season was to win the Stanley Cup. I would have answered that it absolutely was not one of my goals, but it turns out that Lidstrom is a little bit nicer than I am.
--Probably my favorite fan question though was the guy who got up and introduced his wife, toddler, and newborn baby. Apparently his baby was named Nicklas too, and he wanted Nick to autograph his forehead. Lidstrom: “Hopefully not with a permanent marker.”

A little while later, Kris Draper and Jason Williams did a Q&A as well. Highlights:

--Ken Daniels moderated this one, and there was some awkward seat shuffling when the three of them tried to take their seats. One of the chairs was bar stool height, and Draper said, “I think Ken Daniels should sit in the highchair.” I was amused.
--When Williams was telling a story about having his dog in a hotel and having to take it out to go to the bathroom repeatedly throughout the night, Draper chimed in, “That sounds like my old roommate, Kirk Maltby.”
--When all of the injuries were disclosed at the end of the playoffs, I seem to remember reading that Draper had torn cartilage in his neck. Apparently he fractured his thyroid, which is a common injury from strangulation. The injury happened in a game against Buffalo, and he was supposed to be out 6-8 weeks. However, he said that after the Wings lost Game 6 to Anaheim, he pushed to get back in the lineup even though it had only been 5 weeks.
--He also told an interesting story that I don’t recall hearing before. During the playoffs, they put together a 16 piece Stanley Cup puzzle. At the end of each victory, one player stood out puts a piece in. Apparently this was thought up by Draper and Marty Lapointe back in the day, and I’m almost shocked that I’ve never heard about it before. Last year the whole team signed the completed puzzle and auctioned it off for charity.
--Someone asked both of them how they chose their numbers and Draper said that 33 was hanging in his locker when he got called up to the NHL and he just never changed it out of superstition. Williams said his story was pretty much the same.
--A kid asked them why the Wings got picked on by the referees so much. Draper said, “How old are you, Joe?” Joe said he was 7, to which Draper asked, “You know how to ref?” The kid was really cute. That’s pretty much the only reason I included this.
--Another fan asked Draper what goes through his head when he’s lining up for a faceoff. He said, “What goes through my head is how I can cheat and get away with it.” Later on, he added, “When I get tossed out, it’s usually because of my wingers.”
--After that, he was asked what the mood on the bench had been like at the end of Game 7. He responded, “I really thought we were going to score,” and that they really felt like they were taking over during those last few minutes. He said that, “We were believing right till the end.”
--Naturally, someone asked him about the Handshake Incident (And yes, anonymous chastiser, I’m talking about it again.). It’s clear that Draper still isn’t over it, and he actually seemed annoyed when Ken Daniels tried to explain what might have delayed Crosby. Draper said, “Don’t justify it. It is what it is.” As much as I would like to move on, I appreciate the fact that he’s at least standing by his original statement instead of trying to write it off as a heat of the moment thing. If nothing else, maybe it’ll be motivation. I would also like to point out that I won the bet with my sister that someone would bring it up.
--For what it’s worth, someone asked Williams who he thought would win the East, and he predicted Philly.
--They were also asked who they rooted for when they were growing up, and Williams said that he would watch games with his dad. He said, “He made me watch the Leafs all the time. It was painful.”

Favorite pictures:

--The quote inside the Wings' locker room has always bothered me. "To whom much is given, much is expected." I like the sentiment, but there's something not quite right about it. And since I'm a grammar snob, it annoys me. I'm not entirely sure how it should be rephrased, but I do know that it needs a "from" somewhere in there. I have issues.
--The jersey Steve Yzerman wore the night he scored his 600th goal was on display. I was pretty excited because I was in the stands that night. After we looked at the displays, I showed my sister where I was sitting then. She could not have cared less.
--Up on the concourse, we discovered that people had taken it upon themselves to rip Hossa's picture off of the pillar. I was kind of unhappy. I thought it was pretty clear that he was a one-year rental, and I really have no hard feelings about his departure. If anything, I was much more annoyed by Hudler's leaving, as it was completely unexpected and he was a Wings draft pick who was basically lost without compensation.
--There was a joke made about Ozzie, ATMs, and savings, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. It was pretty good though. I promise. Feel free to come up with your own. There was just something priceless about a goalie, who makes saves, and a bank, where people...you get the idea.
--Right before we left, I was attempting to take a picture of this fake Zetterberg locker. Instead I got a shot of this kid mid-nosepick. Priceless. Also, I really hope his dad does not read this blog.

At any rate, it was a great day, and I’m really glad I got the chance to go. Walking into the locker room felt like entering hallowed ground. Also, I was a little ashamed at how much I wanted to play mini sticks. And it turns out that I’m a Scor-O all star. So that made me happy.

More Inanity...

As I struggle to get through the summer, I find myself spending more and more of my life on youtube and assorted NHL blogs in order to get my hockey fix. It’s sad. I realize that. But on those slow news days of summer, I’m forced to scrounge around the internet for whatever Wings stuff I can get. As a result, I stumbled across this collection of scans from the Wings yearbook. I’d never seen it before, and I’m not sure how one would go about acquiring a copy, but they’re pretty awesome. Some of the pictures are downright hilarious. Especially Maltby. I don’t really even know what to make of his picture.

I also found myself browsing the NHL online store. As usual, there was nothing worth buying in women’s sizes, but that’s another rant for another time. On the other hand, if I were a man, I would totally need to buy these. Why is there no female equivalent?

In other news, it finally came out that Hossa was hurt during the playoffs. I suspected that there was something wrong with him all along, but this doesn’t sound like it was serious enough to have caused his complete disappearance. Some people are reveling in the irony of Chicago spurning the notoriously fragile Martin Havlat to sign an injured Hossa to a twelve-year deal. Ironic? Maybe. But worthy of revelry? I don’t think so. As much as I would’ve liked to have Hossa in a Wings uniform come October, I still can’t begrudge his decision to take Chicago’s offer.

There was a really nice article in the News about Jiri Fischer the other day. It’s such a shame that he can’t play any more. It sounds like he’s doing a great job with player development, and it’s good to see that he’s still able to play a role in the organization.

And for one final bit of randomness, the New York Daily News confirmed what we've known all along: The Wings have the "all-time coolest uniforms. Not that there's any doubt in my mind about that, but I was a little surprised to see a hockey team on top of the list, let alone two in the top five (the Blackhawks were ranked fifth).

What is This?...

I definitely didn't see this coming. Seriously?

I hope this is just a negotiating tactic on his part. Otherwise...I don't even know.

UPDATE (7/9/09 12:50 AM):
Listen up, folks. The Wings’ off-season just got a whole lot worse. I fully expected Hossa, Kopecky, and Samuelsson to leave, but I figured they’d at least be able to hold on to Hudler. I’m not entirely sure what he’s going for here since he says that he still plans on going to arbitration with the Wings. On one hand, there’s a part of me that hopes this is all just a negotiating tactic to get more money out of Ken Holland, but on the other hand Happy Huds is quickly plummeting off of my list of favorite players. Holland sounds pretty convinced that he won't be back with the Wings. To think that part of my excitement at Sammy’s departure was due to the fact that it made keeping Hudler much more likely…

UPDATE (7/9/09 2:27 AM):
So anyway...I guess it's time to move onto the discussion of which free agent the Wings can afford to fill Hudler's spot. At this point, I don't even know what to think. I'm pretty sure that instead of randomly giggling when I see Hudler's face, I'm going to sneer now, even if he somehow ends up back in a Wings uniform. These are all natural reactions. I can't control them. Ask people who knew me back then about the Sergei Fedorov holdout debacle. I'm starting to practice using this picture. Oh the hair, the hair. He and Filppula should join forces travel the globe spreading their bad haircut voodoo. I can't help but think that this would make the world a better place.

Honestly, my favorite part of this is the quote in the Russian article about the Gagarin Cup being more "honorable" than the Stanley Cup. Because, clearly, every little kid who ever laced up hockey skates dreamed of one day hoisting the Gagarin Cup.

Free Agency and the Salary Cap...

Well, July 1st wasn’t exactly a banner day for the Wings. I spent the better part of the day on Puck Daddy’s live “chatterbox,” a realization which has caused me to reevaluate my life a little bit. (I swear I was doing other things during those fourteen hours too. Things like being in class and writing papers and eating food. I swear.) It was hard to watch at times, as team after team nailed down free agents while the Wings just stood there and held the door open as Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky, and Ty Conklin left for other teams. I felt like everyone else was improving their rosters while the Wings were just sliding backward. It’s not that I didn’t see this coming (I’m not that far out of touch with reality.), but there was a little part of me that was still hoping that things would work out better. By the end of the day, I wasn’t feeling particularly good about next season. But then I took a step back and remembered that the Wings are still going to be fielding a roster that includes the likes of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Dan Cleary, and, yes, Darren Helm. And I don’t think there are a lot of fans in this league who wouldn’t be thrilled to have those guys as the core of their team. So I don’t think the Wings are in the dire straits that some would say. I also don’t think they’re going to be able to get away with cakewalking their way through the majority of the regular season the way they did last year, but that might not be the worst thing in the world. A little bit of a challenge is sometimes what you need to get your head in the game and go to work.

Also, I spent more time cursing the salary cap yesterday than at any other point in its existence. Of all the things Gary Bettman has done over the years, this is the one that I hate most. Of course I realize that it’s not entirely his fault, but let’s face it, he’s the fall-guy for anything and everything that displeases me about the NHL. Seriously, yesterday someone asked me to hand them their water bottle cap that had fallen on the floor by me and I might have let out an involuntary growl at the mention of the word “cap.”

First off: Hossa. Am I disappointed that he went to Chicago? You bet. It’s possible that that’s the last place I would’ve wanted him to go to. Seriously though, you know the line in the Most Interesting Man in the World commercials about how he, “once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels?” I think Hossa heard that and decided to make it his philosophy in life. But I can’t find it within my heart to begrudge his decision. He got the cash the Wings couldn’t offer, and actually has a legitimate chance at a Cup. It’s not a bad career move at least the way it looks right now. We’ll see how things go next summer when all of Chicago’s young guns are asking for raises. I was a little surprised that he got twelve years, but I would expect him to get bought out after his big money years are done. I’m still not entirely sure what to make of the guy. I respect him for the risk he took in coming to Detroit and all of the money he passed up, but…I don’t know. It’s possible that he’s the Slovak answer Dominik Hasek’s Czech crazy train. Not in the “what was he thinking signing there?” sense, but because his decision process is as inexplicable as the one used to dole out NHL “justice.” Although I’m disappointed to see him go, I still haven’t decided if I even wanted him to stay. A while back when I heard that he’d been floated a 10-year offer from the Wings, I was pretty excited, but I knew that the team would have to give up a lot to keep him. After spending several hours mulling it over, I just reverted to my default stance, which has become sort of a Wings fan mantra over the last little while: In Kenny We Trust. It was much easier to just sit back and let him go to work. I did find it interesting that Holland gave him permission to talk to other teams last week instead of trying to trade his rights as a kind of 'thank you' for taking a chance on Detroit last year. If you're looking for some Hossa-related brilliance, head on over to The Triple Deke. It'll be worth your while.

The upside of all of this? We’re much more likely to see Hudler wearing the Winged Wheel next season, which is good if for no other reason than that we might get another super-awkward intermission report on that creepy tongue thing he does with Ozzie after victories.

In other Chicago news, Kopecky followed his apparent BFF to the Blackhawks. I don’t have a lot to say about that move. Mostly because I don’t really care. Except for those few games when we though he might be the second coming of Tomas Holmstrom because he did a better than average job fronting on the powerplay, his time with the Wings has been entirely forgettable. Unless you count the fact that his tragic orbital bone injury during the playoffs this year inspired the now-legendary quote, “Don’t break your face!” which will be repeated every time a Wing is involved in a fight from now to eternity in my house. So thanks for that. And maybe try to avoid those pesky season-ending injuries in the future… (Okay, this sounds overly hostile. I really don’t dislike Kopecky. I just don’t have any particular reason to like him either.)

The Wings other free-agent loss thus far was Ty Conklin. This is the one I can’t wrap my head around. How can the Winter Classic go on this year sans Conklin? Someone needs to orchestrate a deal in which he’s leased to either Philly or Boston just for that one day. Or maybe the NHL will have a sudden change of heart and have the Blues play instead of the Flyers. Right now he’s slated to back up Chris Mason, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he was the starter there by the end of the season. With Conks gone, it falls to Jimmy Howard to be Ozzie's backup this year. That has to frighten all but the most steely-nerved Wings fans out there. Seriously, I just shuddered while I typed that sentence.

Other random free agent notes:
-Donald Brashear to the Rangers? Seriously? Are they planning on putting his locker next to Blair Betts’ too? Maybe they can room together on the road. Toss in Sean Avery, and their locker room is going to be like the set of a bad reality show.
-Rob Scuderi signed in LA. I have to say that I’m not unhappy to see him leave the Penguins. His plays at the end of Game 6 are going to haunt Wings fans for decades to come. It’s much better to tuck him away on an irrelevant team where he can’t do much damage to the Wings, even if he’s in the same conference now. Pittsburgh also lost Hal Gill, the human obstruction machine, so they’ve got some holes to fill too.
-No news on Sammy as of yet. I'm waiting for some foolish team to throw a few million bucks at him in the hopes that his aim magically improves over the summer.
-How did Marian Gaborik talk his way into that contract? Seriously. No way I’d be comfortable with that if I were a Rangers fan. His injury history is too ugly to merit that type of commitment.
-I’m eagerly anticipating hearing what the “real story” of what went down between Martin Havlat and Chicago is. There’s nothing like good NHL gossip to keep me entertained over a long holiday weekend.
-In the league’s other soap opera, I have to wonder what is going on inside Dany Heatley’s head. Seriously. Let’s recount his career: He started in Atlanta where he killed a teammate in a car accident. Then he asked to be traded so he could get out of there. Now that he’s in Ottawa, he wants to be traded again. Edmonton is doing everything they can to persuade him to allow himself to be traded there, but he won’t waive his NTC. Plus he just picked up a $4 million bonus from the Sens. My question at this point is: Why on earth would anybody want this man on their team? He’s a perennial malcontent and he has to be the equivalent of locker room poison. How can his fans or teammates in Ottawa support him after he publicly stated that he wanted out of there? And if he does end up in Edmonton, how are his new teammates/fans going to feel about the extraordinary lengths management had to go to just to convince him to come there. Not to mention the fact that now that Ottawa’s paid him his bonus, they’re going to want more in a trade, so whatever foolish team ends up with him is going to be weaker than they would’ve been if he’d made up his mind beforehand. There aren’t a whole lot of guys in the hockey world who I can’t respect under any circumstances, and Heatley’s proving once again why he’s one of them.

More Tuesday Announcements...

It wasn't an oversight that I didn't mention Stevie Y's stellar collection of HoF "classmates" in my last entry. I just felt like Yzerman deserved his own post. After all, as Puck Daddy said

Impact: Good lord, where do you start? How about here: The sight of a pristine red Detroit sweater with "Yzerman 19" on the back is known to bring grown men to tears.

That pretty much says it all, even if it's vaguely echoic of something I wrote in my last post.

Remember way back in 2002 when the Wings won with their who's-who of future Hall of Famers? Well, adding Yzerman, Brett Hull, and Luc Robitaille this year puts five members of that team into the HoF, if you count Scotty Bowman. Not bad, eh?

While I never developed a particularly deep affection for Robitaille as a Wings player, he always seemed like a stand-up guy. By the time he made it to Detroit, he was well past his prime, so my expectations were always set unfairly high for him, but unlike Marian Hossa, he chose wisely when seeking to win the Cup. (Please insert your own Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade joke here.)

Brett Hull, on the other hand, never ceased to amuse me with his various antics. Not everybody approved of his outspokenness and candor at times, but I always thought, even before he came to the Wings, that he was exactly the type of personality that the league needed. Plus, I don't think I could ever tire of watching the TV announcers marvel over the bend in his stick as they showed replays of shots in slo-mo. Not to mention that his self-titled "Two Kids and an Old Goat" line was my first introduction to Pavel Datsyuk, the only player to ever surpass Hull in terms of amusing me.

Every year it seems like the HoF inductions are more and more interesting to me on a personal level. When I visited the hall when I was younger, it always seemed somehow abstract and foreign to me (and I'm not even going to discuss how awful that "be a goalie" game was). It was like a shrine to a past generation, full of the names of players of whom I had heard or seen pictures, but I was never quite able to connect with them. Now, as each induction class brings in more players that I have seen first-hand, I feel like there is more meaning for me personally.

It's easy to discuss Gordie Howe and his legacy and impact on the game, but it's an entirely different thing to have watched him play game in and game out over the course of his career. It's not to say that I don't value Mr. Hockey as a player and ambassador of the game, but it's difficult to fully appreciate his greatness from a few grainy highlight reel clips and a biography or two.

On the other hand, seeing guys like The Captain, Hull, Robitaille, and Leech (although to a lesser extent) get named to the Hall feels much more concrete. It allows me to put their accomplishments into context and draw on my own memories. I can reminisce about spectacular plays or championships, and it almost becomes personal to me, as if those are shared memories that I can draw on because they were a part of my life. I have no doubt in my mind that someday in the future, I'm going to be leading my kids around the HoF recounting the defining moments in the careers of guys like Yzerman, Lidstrom, Shanny, and so many others until said children develop a nervous disorder manifested by beginning to convulse at the mere mention of the word, "hockey," or the phrase, "I remember this one time..."

In other news, it's sounding more and more likely that Mike Babcock is going to be Team Canada's coach at the upcoming Olympics. (Speaking of the Olympics, I'm pretty sure the entire Wings roster is going to be suiting up in Vancouver.) This should be fantastically fun to watch. Mostly, I can't wait until the Canada/Sweden game during which, in an ironic twist of fate, Babs is forced to watch Henrik Zetterberg render Sidney Crosby useless (again), but from the opposite viewpoint. Seriously, congrats to Babcock, though. If I was Canadian, he's the guy I'd want behind the bench. Actually, I think he should volunteer to coach Team USA just to prove, once and for all, that he's not anti-American. Someone should run that idea by him. I only want credit if he doesn't laugh in your face.

2009 Unofficial NHL Awards...

I hope nobody was expecting actual predictions or analysis of the NHL Awards show. If you did, clearly you missed the purpose of this blog. The truth is, I've never really cared all that much about them. While I'm sure they're fun to win, they're not really the trophies I'm after, and I think most of the players would agree with me. That being said, the thought that Mike Green is probably going to be taking home Nick Lidstrom's trophy makes me gag a little. I'm pretty sure they should re-open voting for the Norris just to take into consideration the testicle incident. (Once again, I find myself discussing this. I really did not anticipate ever having Lidstrom's genitalia as a conversation topic in my life.) The Unofficial Awards are a tradition started in 2002. They're very much Red Wing-centric, and I refuse to apologize for this. Also, a lot of the awards were stolen from my high school yearbook. You've been warned.

So, without further ado, I bring you the 7th annual Unofficial NHL Awards...

The Class Couple Award goes to...Gary Bettman and Sidney Crosby. Previous winners include Gary Bettman and Sidney Crosby. In fact, it should really be re-named after them, what with all of the discussion of renaming the real NHL awards to honor more modern players. It's fairly obvious why the commish and his Little Buddy won, so I won't go into depth.
Runners up: Tyler Kennedy and his stick, and my brother and Johan Franzen.

The Hatfield-McCoy Enemies Award goes to Mike Ilitch and Gary Bettman. Kudos to Mr. Ilitch for snubbing Bettman the same way the commish's Little Buddy snubbed Lidstrom. It's nice to see that at least one NHL owner has the guts to stand up to Bettman.
Runners up: Crosby and Ovechkin--this one isn't going away anytime soon, and me and Brad Watson.

Most Likely to Start a Revolution: Alex Ovechkin. Because, seriously, would you dream of giving this award to anyone else? Also, during my freshman year of high school, there was actually a crazy Russian kid who won this award. So there's some historical basis for my selection. Like his celebrations or not, his kind of personality is exactly what the NHL needs. Whether he's trying (and scoring on) absurd plays that nobody else would even attempt, pissing off Don Cherry, or stealing golf karts and almost decapitating himself, he is without question, the NHL's resident lunatic.
Runners up: Sean Avery and T.J. Oshie, mostly because I couldn't think of anyone else.

The Invisibility Cloak Award goes to Henrik Zetterberg for rendering Sidney Crosby absolutely useless for the second consecutive Finals. Crosby is going to be having nightmares about Hank shadowing his every move for the rest of the summer. Every time he sets foot near the Stanley Cup, he's going to be glancing over his shoulder just to make sure Z and his beard aren't there to take it away from him.
Runners up: Nick Lidstrom because he pretty much does that to anyone he faces, and Colin Campbell for shrouding the NHL's disciplinary process in a cloud of mystery.

The Golden Pretzel Award for Epic Choking goes to the San Jose Sharks. Remember when we thought they were going to be the Wings' biggest obstacle to repeating as champs? Yeah, neither do I. It was that long ago. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I was rooting for Anaheim to upset them, just so I could laugh. It was probably the only time I've ever wanted the Ducks to win a hockey game that didn't involve Charlie Conway.
Runners up: Marty Brodeur in the last 1:20 of Game 7 against Carolina and the Wings for failing to rise to the occasion during either of their two chances to clinch the Stanley Cup.

The Brainiac Award goes to the Wings' very own Ken Holland. I can't help but think that if he had gone into scientific research instead of hockey, cancer would've been cured, I'd have a flying car, and robots would run the Taco Bell drive through so my order would be made correctly.
Runners up: Mike Babcock and Rocky Wirtz.

The List Award (as in, "You're on my list.") is presented to the Freep's very own Drew Sharp. There's something utterly condescending in his tone when he writes about the Wings (and possibly anything else. I wouldn't know. The only time I bother to read his work is when it involves hockey.). You get the feeling that he really doesn't like hockey at all. Sometimes I'm sure he wants the Wings to lose. Like when he wrote this article. To be fair though, there were a lot of qualified candidates who could've won this award, and it was a pretty tough choice.
Runners up: PYG, Gary Bettman, Sidney Crosby, and the writers of the Pens Blog.

Mr. Invisible goes to Marian Hossa for completely disappearing in the Finals (and all but the preceding Game 4s). I was waiting to pass judgment on him because I had been saying that he looked injured since early on in the playoffs, but he claims to be healthy and thus lacks an excuse for his lousy production. You'd think that a guy on the verge of being an NHL punch-line for the rest of his career would've been able to muster a bit more of an effort when he was within reach of both the Stanley Cup and complete validation for his decision.
Runners up: Jiri Hudler because for the life of me, I don't remember seeing him on the ice at all during the last two rounds. The only reason he didn't win the award was because Hossa had much higher stakes. I almost went with Crosby for the second runner up, but I figured I pick on him enough, so I'll go with Patrick Kane. Aside from that time Franzen stole his mouthguard, Kane had an entirely forgettable Western Conference Finals series.

Speaking of the mouthguard incident, I'll go ahead and give the Mule the Class Clown Award. I've probably watched this video three dozen times, and it never fails to make me laugh.
Runners up: I'll go with Pavel Datsyuk for being an all around funny guy and that guy who plays Zetterberg in the fake NHL commercials.

The Apple Polisher Award goes to Sidney Crosby. We can all be pretty certain that apples aren't the only thing he's polishing for Gary Bettman.
Runners up: Pierre McGuire, who coincidentally appears to also spend a good deal of time polishing his own head, and Scott Walker because he had to do some epic sucking up to avoid getting suspended for his little sucker-punch.

In our first shocking upset of the night, I'm awarding the Golden Elbow Award to Scott Niedermayer. Believe me, wresting this one from the clutches of his teammate and 6-time winner, Chris Pronger.You.Goon, was quite a feat. Pretty much going after a Lady Byng winner/nominee who clearly didn't want to fight after a game that his team won was the only way anyone was going to defeat Pronger. Lo and behold, that's exactly what Niedermayer did after the Ducks won Game 6 against the Wings. He even threw in furtive peek at the referees before he landed his elbow. It was classic form.
Runners up: PYG just for being himself and Evgeni Malkin for his elbow that "kind of rode up" all the way into Franzen's face.

The Master Thespian Award goes to Sidney Crosby, just for that epic dive he took when Maltby tapped him in the back of the leg. Seriously, I stopped watching the game and replayed it on my DVR three times trying to figure out what he was doing. The fact that I skipped back from the live game for even a second is saying something because it's entirely possible that I would let my own mother die if she happened to choke during a Wings playoff game.
Runners up: Gary Bettman for coming this close to concealing his utter glee when he presented the Cup to Crosby and Chris Osgood for sparking the scrum that led to the Zetterberg/Malkin fight.

And finally, the Unsung Hero Award goes to Darren Helm. On a team highlighted by superstars, this kid who spent the majority of the season in the minors not only looked like he belonged, but oftentimes like he was the best player wearing a Winged Wheel. His epic penalty kill during Game 5 of the Chicago series was one of the highlights of the season. There were games during which I'm pretty sure he never left the ice because it seemed like he was hitting someone or beating them to a loose puck every 10 seconds. Surrounded by Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Rafalski, Franzen, Hossa and the rest of the bunch, it's easy to overlook him, but man he had a hell of a playoff run.
Runners up: Chris Osgood for never getting one tenth of the credit he deserves and Justin Abdelkader for knocking in twice as many goals as Sidney Crosby during the Finals.

Pain: Emotional and Physical...

This is something that I thought of at the beginning of the series, and I hoped upon hope that I wouldn't have to use. But here it is.

Regarding Marian Hossa:



Not only did he not come home with the Cup, but after his lackluster performance in the playoffs this year, his value as a free agent has to drop. Which sucks for him, because after last year he finally managed to shake the label of playoff-underachiever with his spectacular Finals, and now that label will probably follow him around for the rest of his career.

I actually took notes for a recap tonight. I don't think I want to put myself through that. Not that you want to read it either... So I'm just going to start typing, and see where it takes me.

This is all very disappointing. Pittsburgh already won the Super Bowl. I just thought it'd be nice for us Michiganians (I refuse to refer to myself as a Michigander. It sounds like a male goose.) to have something happy in our lives for a change.

It's possible that I will never forgive Brad Stuart. I realize that it's not all his fault, but I need a scapegoat right now, and he pretty much volunteered himself for that role.

And since his last-minute tying goal during Game 5 last year wasn't cruel enough, Max Talbot decided to play hero and score not one, but two goals tonight. So, good on him, I guess. That's the stuff that playoff legends are made of. I guess he got the childhood "pond hockey moment" he's been dreaming of his whole life.

All things considered, I'm handling things pretty well. I'm currently icing my foot down. It's possible that I sprained my toe while flailing around on the floor in front of my TV during the final minute. It probably wasn't my best moment, but things happen during the playoffs. I stayed to watch the Cup presentation, and I made it through most of the Pens' turns with it before I had to shut it off. (Random side note: Why did it take so long for it to get to Malkin? I'm just saying. It was weird, what with him being the MVP and all.) Then I took my dog for a long walk around the park. I realize that going for a walk alone in the middle of the night with only the world's most cowardly puppy to accompany you probably isn't the best thing for a female to do, but I needed to be alone and outdoors. And at that point, if someone wanted to stab me and hide my body in the bushes, well, I wouldn't have put up much of a fight anyway. It was only when I got home and took my shoes off that I realized I had done serious damage to my foot, and couldn't walk without shoes. So that was fun. Then I pulverized an entire package of Oreos with a meat tenderizer. This sounds irrationally aggressive, but I had reasons, and it would've happened win or lose. It's actually not a bad way to relieve stress. If you have some spare Oreos laying around, I recommend trying this.

My dog began the game gnawing on her squeaky penguin chew toy. I thought it might be a good omen. Even more promising was Darren Helm speeding into Pittsburgh's zone to negate an icing early on. For a while, it seemed like that set the tone. The Wings pressed early, but then the Pens took over around the 10-minute mark and never let up for the next 20 minutes. I spent a significant portion of the first period jumping up and down on my couch and screaming. The PK scared the living daylights out of me. I thought for sure that the puck was going to end up behind Ozzie when the Pens had possession for such a long time. They managed to kill it off, and I started to wonder if maybe it was a statement kill like in Game 5. It turned out to be more like a carbon copy of Game 6, though.

The Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Cleary line looked particularly good early on. They were really the only bright spot for the Wings. Even Darren Helm looked like he was dragging a little. Lidstrom made a bunch of straight-up solid defensive plays that, of course, flew under the radar.

Does anybody know why the icing was negated right before the first goal? I would go back and look at my DVR recording, but I'm not in a place where I'm ready to look at any of it.

The Wings gave up three goals on ugly 2-on-1s during this series. Just when they figured out their PK woes, that issue reared its ugly head. In the Stanley Cup Finals, no less. Honestly, for the first 40 minutes, it looked like they were playing a game in mid-November.

On a side note, did anyone else fully expect Crosby to not miss a single shift after his injury? I seriously thought he was just putting on a show to sell it to the refs, just like so many other times. I have to say, though, there was actually a moment when I respected him just a smidge when he came and sat on the bench with his team and even attempted to take a shift. That all evaporated when I realized that I'll be spending at least the next three seasons being inundated with marketing featuring his smug face with the Stanley Cup. On the other hand, maybe next year, the NHL marketing team will make an ad featuring a guy in a Lidstrom jersey cheering to all of the Wings highlights. Wait, who am I kidding?

It was also really nice of Homer to negate their first powerplay by taking a stupid penalty. I know the man puts up with a lot in front of the net (and was apparently playing hurt), but Game 7 of the SCF is no time to be screwing around.

After they went down 2-0, I sat back and relaxed. I'll admit that I lost the faith. Deep down, I knew it after the first goal, but after they were down by two, I started cutting my losses emotionally. I began to feel nauseous. I sniped at the players. I criticized their every move. I yelled frantic instructions as if they could actually hear me or would listen to me if they did hear. I predicted that they were going to get shut out in their own building in Game 7. The only thing keeping me from going absolutely crazy-nutso and dropping language like I was in a Quentin Tarantino film was the fact that I was watching with my little brother.

I knew that the Wings needed a goal by the end of the period if they were going to make a game of it. Datsyuk looked like he was trying to do everything himself. This spawned an instantly legendary quote from yours truly when I screamed, "Pavel, assists are yummy!" in an attempt to get him to pass the puck. When the Wings were still scoreless after two, I knew it was over. I just did. Maybe some will say that that makes me less of a fan, but hidden beneath my obsessive Wings fandom is a fairly rational mind. Also joining the ranks of legendary hockey quotes was my brother's response to my screaming, "How was that NOT a penalty?! How do you not call that?" He said, "He can't call those penalties. Gary Bettman has his children." So you pretty much know that that one's going to be tossed around for a long while.

When the third period started, I said that they needed to score within the first three minutes if they wanted to have a chance. I found myself wishing for that which I dread most: overtime. They got a couple of powerplay opportunities, but they didn't even look good. I'm not sure what that's about, but you had better believe that I'm going to drive myself to Hasek-like levels of insanity trying to figure it out over the summer.

Then, like in Game 6, the Wings scored. My brother and I shared an awkward moment where we actually hugged each other. We're still not sure what was going through our minds at that moment, but I suspect it wasn't much at all. It was just enough to give us hope, but it was too little, too late.

The last few minutes of the game nearly killed me, as evidenced by my tragic toe injury. There was actually a moment when I thought that maybe it would be the Wings' own little form of payback for Game 5 last year. I prefer not to speak of the post. Or that moment when Lidstrom swooped in on the loose puck sitting just to the right of MAF as time wound down. Those images will haunt my memory for the rest of my life, I assume in the same way that Pens fans are tormented by the picture of the puck sliding through Ozzie's crease as the last seconds ticked off of the clock in Game 6 last year.

Right now all I want to do is rip on the Wings. There are any number of points of criticism which I could detail right now, but what really hurts the most is that they once again failed to show up for the first half of a game. I realize that I should be jaded to this problem at this point in the season, given that it's been a major plot line since October, but I honestly expected better from my boys in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. When they finally release the full injury list, it had better be longer than Santa's if they want to use that as an excuse.

The Wings had the Pens down and out. They had 2-0 and 3-2 series leads, and each time, they failed to seal the deal. It came down to the simple fact that the Pens wanted it more. And that depresses me more than a loss following a stellar effort by the Wings ever would have. Going into the game, I had a terrible paranoia that the Cup would be decided by some fluky bounce that bounced off of three skates, the post and someone's pants or a bad call or a poorly-timed broken stick. I was wrong. It was decided by a team that came out and played its game in our building and left everything it had on the ice.

Am I proud of the boys? Maybe after a few days of reflection, I'll find some positive things to say. Objectively speaking, two consecutive trips to the SCF in the salary cap era is something most fans would be ecstatic about. I just can't shake the feeling that they let us down. When things were on the line, it just seemed like they couldn't be bothered to show up. Maybe it was partially due to injuries, maybe they ran out of gas, maybe it was just fate. But the bottom line is, the guys who rise above all of that and find a way to get the job done are the ones who get to spend the summer partying. If you can't get up for Game 7 of the Finals, then you don't deserve to win anyway.

I'll have more in the future. I'm going camping tomorrow, so I'll be offline for a while, which might not be the worst thing in the world. But I've got some stuff planned, and I'll be right here for the summer. Here's to a hell of a run. I needed this, even if it almost killed me. More importantly, here's to next season. May the Hockey Gods be with you.

Night of A Thousand Heart Attacks...

I know I said I was done until the game was, but it turns out that I just can't stay away.

2.5 hours until game time. How's your day been? So far, my biggest accomplishment has been forming coherent sentences. I lost count of my near-death heart stoppages once I hit triple digits at approximately noon.

There was a moment earlier in the day when I felt a tinge of jealousy for those "fans of the sport" who had no vested interest in the outcome of Game 7 and just wanted to see a good game. I thought how nice it would be to casually tune in and enjoy it with a blissful sense of detachment, sans life threatening blood pressure issues. Then I snapped out of it faster than a Nick Lidstrom slapper from the point. I realized that this is what I live for. This is how I get my kicks. It's like my own special version of the runner's high. So what if it's literally melting years off of my life expectancy as I type this very sentence? Without days like these, moments like running down Woodward in an early June rainstorm wearing my brand new Cup t-shirt, my hair still shedding confetti from the Joe, screaming at the top of my lungs last year would have no meaning. (It's also important to note that while I was doing this, I was stone-cold sober. I think it provides a better perspective on the effect that the Wings have on my emotional state.)

What really strikes me the most is the finality of it all. I've never been in a situation where I know that it's the absolute last game of the season. There have been games when I expected the season to be over, but it was never a sure thing. Even in the Game 7s I've lived through in the past, there was always wondering when the next round would start if the Wings won or clearing my schedule for the next game a couple of days down the road. I'm not sure I like finality. I'm one of those people who likes to keep my options open and make plans on the fly. This is an entirely new experience for me. May the Hockey Gods help us all.

Going into Game 7, there's very little that I know for sure. And I don't just mean related to hockey. I don't think I could even tell you my home address at this point. I am, however, 100% positive about these things:
-The Joe will be absolutely crazy-nutso tonight, if it isn't already. I wouldn't be surprised if banners start falling from the rafters before the opening faceoff, like some kind of red and white rain of triumph.
-At the end of the game I will be crying, regardless of the outcome. They'll either be tears of joy or sadness, plus a little relief from having survived the ordeal at all. I'm not the slightest bit ashamed to admit this.
-Careers will be defined tonight, one way or another. There are guys on both sides who stand to cement their legacies with a victory tonight, and some who may be made eternal goats if they fail to show up to play.
-My puppy is going to be cowering in a corner before the first intermission. If she can escape the headlock I'm going to have her in, that is.
-The neighbors (if they don't already) are going to question my sanity thanks to my tendency to scream at the top of my lungs. A lot. If they thought Game 7 against Anaheim was obnoxious, they have no idea what's in store for them now.
-These guys will decide which city gets to party: Henrik Zetterberg, Chris Osgood, Nick Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen, Darren Helm, Evegeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Rob Scuderi, Marc-Andre Fleury, Paul Devorski, and Bill McCreary.

Yeah, I literally have nothing else to say. Somewhere, Dan Bylsma is finishing off his imported lucky burrito. I hope the man enjoys it, because it's been my experience that burritos are not meant to be reheated. I'm too nervous to eat dinner, so I'm going to go commence my traditional fetal position/nausea/bartering with the Hockey Gods routine until it's time for my pre-game Slurpee run. If I never post again, it's fairly safe to assume that the game killed me.

We'll Know Soon Enough...

There isn't really much to say today. Everything meaningful's been covered by the players and other bloggers. I really have very little of consequence to add.

If you read nothing else today, read this. The Chief sums it up better than I ever could. And if the part about Dominik Hasek doesn't make you laugh, then you either have no sense of humor or you're a good-for-nothing bandwagon fan. Either way, please leave.

It sounds as though everyone on the Wings is good to go tonight. As important as it was to get Datsyuk back for Game 5, it means so much more heading into a road game. Even though he and Z are playing on the same line, his presence has a trickle down effect that makes every line combo better top to bottom. This is especially important with the Pens getting the last change. On a side note, I don't think I've ever heard so much about the importance of getting the last line change as I have in this series. Ditto on the JLA boards. Can we please find something else to talk about? Or just sit in pleasant silence and let the players do the talking?

The key to the game, other than the standard platitude about getting off to a good start is going to be special teams, special teams, special teams. Why? All you need to do is look at Games 4 and 5. If you can't figure it out, please join those who didn't laugh at the Chief's bit on Hasek and leave. One of the big moments in Game 5, although it flew under the radar what with the Wings' offensive show and Pittsburgh's penalty "troubles," was that first PK when Kronwall (once again) got whistled for an early penalty (seriously, he's turning into this year's Jiri Hudler). Naturally, I was terrified, sure that it spelled doom for my boys, but they put together a wonderful kill and kept the Pens off the board. Not long after that, Cleary put the Wings ahead for good. Those are the little things that win championships. The things that have been sadly missing for much of the season this year. If we're lucky, the boys will show up for Game 6 with the determination and drive that they need to win.

This is major gut-check time for Marian Hossa. He needs to come out and play like a man possessed. I can guarantee you that he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life second-guessing his decision to come to Detroit. Two assists in Game 5 were nice, but I want more. I want the boos to rain down on him as he holds his hands up in celebration. I want his name called over their PA system multiple times, again to a chorus of boos. But most of all, I want him holding a shiny silver trophy over his head at the end of the night as a deafening round of boos rain down again. And if he plays like he did in last year's finals, his chances are going to be a hole lot better.

My anxiety level is increasing exponentially as game time gets closer and closer. I'm heading down to Hockeytown to watch the game tonight, and all day I've been replaying memories of filing out of the City Theater in the middle of the night after Game 5 last year. It's silly, because I've been there a handful of times since, but it was a traumatic incident in my life and it's going to stay with me for a while.

Speaking of Game 5 last year, rumor has it that Petr Sykora might be suiting up for the Pens tonight. While we all still shudder at the mention of Maxime Talbot's name or the number 34.7, it's often overlooked that Sykora was the one who scored the OT goal. And not only that, but he called his shot to Pierre McGuire. This still makes me nauseous. I'm not saying that he's in for a repeat performance, but dragging myself through those memories is not something I need to be doing at this particular moment.

The bottom line is that if the Wings want it, it's theirs to take. If they show up and play their game to the best of their ability, there's not a team in the world who can stop them. On the other hand, if they play like they did in Games 3 and 4 (and, really, stretches of 1 and 2), then it's going to be ugly.

PS. Dear Hockey Gods,
I've already promised you my first-born child, so now I'm offering up the second-born. Screw it, take 'em all. I just want Stanley.

Hey, I Recognize Those Guys...

Good lord, where to start? These are the kinds of games that you want to relish and relive in your memory. Which is good, because I sometimes still have nightmares replaying last year's Game 5. Not that this will ever relieve the sting from that loss, it goes a long way toward removing the unpleasant aura that still hangs around it. (Interesting to note, the Wings have won all three of their Game 5s during this playoff run, which is nice since it tends to be an important one in a 2-2 series like two of them have been.) For the first time in this series, the Wings actually showed up and played Red Wings hockey. It was quite a pleasant experience, and I can only hope that they realize that they need to bring the same stuff for Game 6.

I'll start off by stating the obvious: Dangle Dangle's return was epic. I wanted nothing more than for him to score, but I'll settle for two assists any day. He looked good out there. He was making plays and backchecking and doing the little things that nobody outside of Detroit appreciates. There were a few moments where he looked a little slow, but having him back in the lineup was a huge boost.

The other player of note tonight? Chris Osgood. The man has now posted three Stanley Cup Finals shutouts in the last two years. Take that, Ozzie bashers. Tonight was a big game, and nobody shows up for big games better than #30.

The first period was fairly typical of Wings games this season. Except for the part where I'm pretty sure the first whistle didn't come until the first commercial break. I'm not going to lie, that was pretty fun to watch, from the standpoint of a pure hockey fan. No other sport can compete with that.

The Wings didn't start out too well. During the first few minutes, I was majorly anxious. I even had to put my traditional playoff game Slurpee down because I kept choking on it/nearly poking my eye out on the straw. This says a lot about my emotional state, because nothing keeps me from a good Slurpee. It's an addiction surpassed only by my allegiance to the Red Wings, and possibly roller coasters.

Then the Wings seemed to figure things out. They started carrying the play. They were taking it to Pittsburgh. But then Kronwall was called for a penalty. And I was devastated. At that point, I decided that they were going to lose and that I would be forced to spend all of next season watching clips of Crosby carrying the Cup during commercial breaks.

We all know that the PK has been pathetic all season, so my fears were at least partially justified. Needless to say, I was thrilled when the Wings managed to kill it off. Sammy, who I semi-unfairly criticize a lot, turned in a nice defensive play that took away a scoring chance. After the kill, I started wondering to myself if that PK might have been a statement. I didn't dare say that out loud, and immediately turned my thoughts back to other things, but I was thinking it.

Not long after they killed off the penalty, Datsyuk set Cleary up for what ended up being the game winner. I don't know what the injury was that made his status questionable, but thank goodness it wasn't serious enough to keep him out. And for Datsyuk, talk about making an immediate impact after missing seven games. Welcome back, Pav. We missed you.

Going into the second period, I was feeling cautiously optomistic. I liked what I was seeing from the boys, but a one-goal lead doesn't mean a whole lot in the NHL. So I returned to my spot on the couch (Yes, I have a spot. Nobody is willing to sit within arm-flailing distance of me during hockey games.) and re-assumed my semi-fetal position. Little did I know what was in store for me.

In the second, the Wings did what they do best: they scored a lot of goals and really pissed their opponents off while managing to not take a single penalty. And the result was beautiful.

During the Finals, the powerplay, much like the PK, has been a bit of a trouble spot. Troubled enough that it allowed a shorthanded goal during Game 4. The boys chose a heck of a time to break out of their slump. They scored three goals in less than ten minutes, all on the powerplay. It looked just like the second period on Thursday, but happier. The Pens pretty much unraveled, and it had shades of Game 4 of the Chicago series. Somehow, this was much more fun, though.

Filppula is another guy who I rip on a lot. Especially for his hair. And I know that it's sometimes unfair, but it's important to understand that I do it because I care. Anyway, Flipper, as I like to call him, has now come up with two huge backhand goals in the Finals, and that's a contribution that's worth recognizing. Accordingly, I'll lay off the haircut jokes next time they show his team picture on TV. But only once. You have to earn your free passes 'round these parts.

It was also nice to see Hossa get an assist on the goal. Aside from Datsyuk, there is nobody I wanted to see score more than #81. I don't think he could buy a goal at this point. Not even when Datsyuk set him up for that beautiful scoring chance right in the paint. But an assist is something. It's more than Crosby and Malkin combined for tonight. So there.

I didn't have to wait long for the Wings to strike again. This time it was Kronwall looking like a forward and bringing the puck from the corner through three Pittsburgh players and firing past MAF. I had a moment of confusion because I couldn't figure out how he ended up down there, a point which also seemed to baffle Mickey, but I decided that I didn't care all that much how he ended up in that corner, just so long as the puck ended up in the Penguins' net.

A little more than two minutes later, Brian Rafalski added the Wings' fourth goal. It was at this point that I was finally able to release my dog from the chokehold I'd had her in since the start of the game. Datsyuk picked up his second assist of the night, and it was nice to see Homer right up in Marc-Andre Fleury's face where he belongs.

It was right around this time that they showed a close-up of Pierre McGuire on the screen. My father, being an ever-lovable man-child, dropped this quote, which will forever live in our family's quotation lore: "You know, with all the money they spend powdering that guy's head so it doesn't shine, you'd think they could afford to buy him a hairpiece. Or a really nice hat." This has nothing to do with the game itself, but I had to share.

Not long after that, the Wings added their fifth and final goal of the night, courtesy of Henrik Zetterberg. There really isn't enough that I can say about this man. He does it all. Night after night after night. It's really a credit to him that I barely even noticed Sidney Crosby until he took a slashing penalty late in the period. Z wasn't just a blanket tonight. He was an invisibility cloak. (Yes, I realize that any street cred I had built up before is gone now that I've made a Harry Potter reference in my hockey blog. It's okay; it was bound to happen sooner or later.) Crosby looked quite upset that he wasn't getting his way. So much for being more mature this time around. The fact that he's nominated for a leadership award is an absolute joke. He has the same air of entitlement that made me hate the rich kids I went to high school with. It's like he expects the Cup to just be given to him because he's special, whereas a guy like Hank knows that he's going to have to work his ass off to get it. And that is the essence of why I hate Crosby so much.

It was also nice to see Jiri Hudler pick up an assist on Z's goal, since I'd been commenting on how invisible he'd been up until this point. Seeing MAF get yanked (to be "rested") was not unpleasant either.

The boys looked a little shaky to start the third period, but they seemed to get it in gear after the first few minutes. I'm still not sure what Hossa was doing when he took that goalie interference penalty right at the start, but it ended up not mattering, so I'm willing to let it go.

My family couldn't understand why I was just as anxious during the third as I had been at the start of the game. All through Pittsburgh's powerplay, I was on edge hoping against all hope that the Wings would kill it off for Ozzie's sake. I wanted this shutout. I wanted it so badly that I could taste it. I wanted it for the Wings and for the fans, but mostly I wanted it for Ozzie. I wanted it so that he could take it and wave it in the face of each and every one of his critics. And I got it. A lot will depend on the outcome of Game 6, and possibly (please, Hockey Gods, no) Game 7. But if, if, if the Wings win, you had better believe there'll be a queue of Osgood-naysayers in the locker room waiting their turn for his retribution.

There's not a whole lot left to say. The third period was pretty much what I expected it to be. Some random notes:

-The crowd was amazubg toward the end of the game. They sang almost the whole chorus of "I Wanna Rock'n'Roll All Night" after they stopped the music over the PA.
-I had no idea Lebda got a game misconduct until I looked at the box score. I don't even know what he did. Now I'm going to have to go back and check it out on my DVR.
-Z turned in an easy 20:55 of ice time tonight. It's good to see his minutes down a little, even though I don't buy the whole tired-from-chasing-Crosby-around thing. There's no doubt that Datsyuk's return helped a little in that regard.
-Dangle Dangle played 17:38, which I have to admit is a little more than I expected from him. It's interesting to note that he didn't play at all on either PK. Hopefully he doesn't have any set-backs with his foot, and will be good to go on Tuesday.
-Babcock's response (via Snapshots) to a question about using the Penguins' players' comments about the Wings looking tired as psychological fuel to get up for Game 5: "I don't know. When we play well do our guys talk about their team like that?" I hate to keep harping on it, but it always seems to come down to classiness. It doesn't help on the scoreboard, but it sure makes me feel all warm and fuzzy as a fan.
-Did anyone else notice how sad Gary Bettman looked when they showed him on TV? He looked like he was on the verge of tears. Impartial? I think not. Now, Bettman defenders (are there actually any out there?) might say that he was disappointed that the game had gotten out of hand and wasn't more compelling for a national TV audience, but I choose to believe otherwise.
-At one point (I can't remember if it was during the second or third period) Franzen and Hossa made a Malkin sandwich along the boards. This made me smile, just like Datsyuk's hit on him did earlier in the game.

What a turn-around from Game 4. Thursday night and most of Friday, I was miserable. You would've thought that the world was ending. Now, for a few brief moments that I'm going to allow myself to enjoy for the first time in a long time, everything seems right in the world. That's not to say that tomorrow morning I won't wake up right back in super-stress mode, but on this evening, I'll go to bed smiling. I won't allow myself to think too far ahead, because there's no surer way to jinx things than to assume that they are going to go your way. This furthers the thesis of this blog (Can a blog have a thesis? I don't care. This one does. I'm a grad student. My text messages have thesis statements.), which is that Red Wings hockey is like crack. You go through epic highs and downright miserable lows, but nothing deters you from coming back for more. No matter how awful you felt after Game 4, you couldn't not watch Game 5. There is a need, a compulsion that sucks you in every time. And the bad news for friends and family? There's no 12-step program for Wings addicts.

Hossa to Stay?...

This isn't something I would normally post on a game day during the Stanley Cup Finals, but it brought a smile to my face. From Si.com via 97.1 The Ticket:

"While nothing will be announced during the Stanley Cup final, unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa likely will be signing a long-term deal, believed to be seven years, to stay with the Red Wings . . ."

Obviously we won't hear anything official for a while, and I haven't seen this posted anywhere else, but it could be a beautiful thing. Or go spectacularly wrong if it costs the Wings all of their vaunted depth. One thing I know for sure, though, is that I trust Kenny Holland. If he thinks it's a good idea, I'll get behind it and make posters.

In actual playoff related news, it sounds like Mikael Samuelsson might miss tonight's game. Swapping him for Draper wouldn't be the worst thing just for faceoffs, but Sammy's got a little bit more of a scoring touch. We'll see what happens. I'm a little ambivalent at this point, but mostly I'm just upset about having to miss the last half of the game to play softball with a team that I never wanted to join in the first place. I don't know who these people think they are scheduling softball games during the Stanley Cup Finals, but I'm of the opinion that the entire region should be shut down during Wings playoff games. I've never missed so much as a second of Finals action in my life up until this point, and I've already missed more of the playoffs this year than ever before due mostly to softball. Not even last year when we didn't have cable. You would've thought I was an alcoholic if you looked at my credit card receipts from all of the hours I spent at bars watching hockey games.

Exoneration for Hossa...

It's kind of amusing to think about in the few rational, objective moments that I suffer through, but I'm still hovering in a state of near-panic despite the fact that my boys are leading the series 2-0. I have my reasons (they haven't played particularly well, Datsyuk's still out and not likely to return, and Malkin continues to terrify me), but I just can't imagine a lot of other fans still wallowing in fear when their team was leading a series like that. It's okay, though. It's how I know that I'm hard core.

I wanted to post this, which I stole from A2Y, which apparently received it from someone else. I'm not 100% on the chain of custody, but here it is:


This clearly shows Hossa slashing Dupuis' stick in half Dupuis breaking his own stick on Hossa's foot. That dirty, no-good Hossa! How dare he allow Dupuis to break his stick over his foot before stealing the puck? I tell ya, it's guys like him who are really ruining the game of hockey.

Most of what I'm getting from the Pens fans has sounded a lot like whining. It's perfectly understandable when you consider who their Captain is, so I'll let it slide.

The media is still giving plenty of "lip service" to Crosby and his band of merry flightless birds. This, of all of the things the NHL does, is the one that will never cease to amaze me. I'll write about this more later. I'm going to hold off on it until somebody takes home a trophy that means something.

All of a sudden, people are paying a lot of attention to the Wings' rookies. Normally when your minor-leaguers are called on to substitute for injured stars in the playoffs, that doesn't bode well for your team. Instead, they're driving point production. Why? The top two lines are pretty much cancelling each other out with good defensive plays. That leaves the kids to run wild and work their magic. I said it in my series preview: "Even if the Wings have to "cancel out" their top two lines defending Crosby and Malkin, I like their odds in a battle of third and fourth lines. I've said it ten million times over the course of my fandom, but the Wings bottom lines just can't be matched by anyone else in the league." It looks like I was right. Also, you know, the part about Zetterberg owning Crosby again.

You Have to Be Good to Be Lucky, but You Have to Be Lucky to Be Good...

Before I get to post-game "analysis," I have to post this quote from ESPN. I was at work at the time, so I don't know which commentator said it, and I had to get it off of the CC, but here goes: "Here's what I remember from last year's finals: Marc-Andre Fleury fell on his face prior to Game 1 and Chris Osgood didn't give up a single goal." I'm always complaining about how ESPN should cover hockey, and then their "experts" go and drop that on me. Still though, I like the sentiment. And there really is no limit to the amount of times I can watch the video of Fleury tripping off of the bench on youtube. I especially like the ones that include the kids laughing hysterically as they crouch on the ice. Oh to have been in their skates...

The first period looked fairly good. I was quite excited to see that the Wings decided to show up to play on time. My biggest pet peeve of the period (other than the turnovers) was the excessive number of times the NBC guy used the phrase, "knocked him into next week," to describe checks both past and present. Seriously. Expand your vocabulary. I'm sorry; I can't help it. I'm a grammar snob. You can tell this by the fact that I use semicolons in my hockey blog.

It looks like Z's getting revved up for another ownage of Sidney Crosby. Except for that one time Sid knocked him down at center ice, Z was all over him. I can only assume that Gary's Little Buddy is going to wake up having night-terrors remembering Z's absolute domination of him in the Finals last year. It's a shame that nobody nationally is willing to recognize just how good Zetterberg is. Oh well, he doesn't need Bettman's adoration. He's got that smokin' hot Swedish pop star girlfriend waiting for him at home.

Helm was, of course, everywhere. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he never left the ice in the first period. He's definitely earned his ice time this playoff run. Also, he's officially replaced Sammy as Mike Babcock's player-crush of the moment. Maltby also had a couple of pretty good shifts out with the fourth line. I seem to remember him generating a scoring chance off of a really good play.

And then, a little more than thirteen minutes into the first period, the unthinkable happened. Marc-Andre Fleury scored another goal with his ass. We all remember Zetterberg's Cup-clinching game-winner last year. MAF's derriere is like the Penguins' version of Brian Campbell. It's liable to go down as the series MVP for the Wings. At first I thought it was Hossa's goal, which would've made me giggle like a school girl. And just like that, the Wings were up 1-0. All was right in the world for the approximately thirty seconds before the puck was dropped again. Then, it was right back into the fetal position for me.

Five minutes later, I was back in heart attack mode when the Pens tied it up. It was off of another defensive zone turnover. You know, the kind of turnovers that have been making me pull my hair out all season. (I'm not joking. I'm almost as bald as Darren Pang at this point.) As soon as I saw the turnover happen, I yelled at the TV, "No! Those kind of turnovers always end up in the back of the net!" Then, sure enough, I was proven right. It was also nice of the Wings to stand around staring at each other after the turnover was made instead of attempting to play defense. It made for a much more interesting game from that point on.

The second period was another story entirely. Again, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the puck didn't leave the Wings' defensive end until approximately the 18-minute mark. At least that's what it seemed like to me. The boys even managed to kill off two power plays, thus extending their streak of not giving up powerplay goals to two whole games. Bravo, sunshines. Keep up the good work. There was one moment during the first PK (I think) where I still can't figure out how the puck stayed out of the net. I went over it several times on my DVR recording, but thanks to NBC not bothering to replay it, I guess it'll remain one of the great mysteries of the world, much like the Kennedy assassination and the secret lair of the Yeti (read: not Henrik Zetterberg. The white, fluffy one who eats sno-cones. [If you get this reference, please be my friend.])

It was also during the second period when our lack of elite goaltending became a huge problem. Chris Osgood made the play of the game. Evgeni Malkin walked in on a full-fledged breakaway, and Ozzie absolutely stoned him. Seriously, kids, Geno's going to be downing bottles of vodka over that one for years. During the post-game, Mickey Redmond said it was the play of the game. I'd be hard-pressed to disagree. What's good enough for Mick is good enough for me.

Marian Hossa, for his part, played like a man who didn't want to look like a fool during the handshake line. He didn't get any points for his efforts, but he was backchecking like a beast. This is probably the most emotionally agonizing playoff series he will ever be involved in, and I have to say, it looks like he rose to the challenge. I just hope he keeps it up. Or, preferably, goes on a scoring streak of epic proportions.

Then my brother's man-crush, Johan Franzen scored what would turn out to be the game-winner. Amazingly, this one was kicked in by Fleury as he sprawled in the crease on his "tummy." Remember what I said about Brian Campbell? Someone should ask Fleury if he's secretly red-headed. It had to really sting the Pens to give up that late goal after they pretty much owned the second period. Strangely, though, I don't really feel all that bad for them.

Coming out of the second intermission, the Wings showed a lot more jump. They were rewarded with another goal when Justin Abdelkader swatted a loose puck out of the air, dropped it in front of himself, and rifled it just inside the far post for his first career NHL goal. This was the first and only time I've ever been proud to be an MSU alumnus. Then the Verizon Sounds of the Game captured his girlish squeal after he scored and ruined the moment a little. Sorry, kid. Your friends are going to be giving you crap about that one for a while. Don't worry, though. You can just remind them that you scored a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals, and they'll have no choice but to shut up. Unless, for some strange reason, you hang out with Sidney Crosby, in which case he'll probably cry and/or try to slash your foot.

I don't remember much from the rest of the game on account of spending most of my time pacing nervously, nearly choking on pizza, and scaring my poor puppy.

Some notes on the post-game coverage:
-First and foremost, Channel 4's Katrina Hancock needs to be banned from the locker room. I wonder how many of the Wings have fantasized about cross-checking her "into next week." She's always cutting other reporters off and seems to have a knack for asking inane questions.
-The best post-game comment was from Franzen when Katrina asked him about getting rested up for the game tomorrow. He responded with something to the effect of, "If you stop asking me stupid questions, maybe I can go home and get some rest."
-Jonathan Ericsson looks like a pirate. I'm just saying.
-Sidney Crosby's quote from his post-game presser, via Snapshots: "Yeah, he was doing what he always does. You know, he was giving guys lip service and things like that. And you know, I two handed him on top of the foot there as we were skating by. So he felt like it was necessary to keep talking after the game, and I thought I'd whack him and that was it." This is the Captain of your team? I'm sorry for sounding incredulous, it's just that my boys have always been blessed with stellar leadership and I hold Captains to a slightly higher standard than your run-of-the-mill hockey fan might. It sounds like the Little Buddy's unhappy because he didn't get his way tonight. Looks like somebody's going to be on the phone to Daddy Bettman complaining about the big, mean Wings not letting him score any goals. For all of the talk about Crosby and Malkin maturing since the Finals last year, Crosby sure doesn't look like he's figured out how to respond to being contained by the opposition. It's like he can't handle someone standing up to him. NHL.com even posted a news story celebrating this, saying that, "Crosby showed that sort of grit and scrappiness throughout the contest." Yes, slashing at an opponent's foot as he is skating over to congratulate his goaltender after a victory is worthy of commendation. Also, Crosby would know a little something about lip service, what with all of the practice he gets whenever Bettman's in town.
-He also, once again, failed to give Z any credit for pretty much anything he's ever done in his life. When asked to describe Zetterberg's faceoff win which led directly to the Wings' second goal, he had this to say: "Yeah, the puck bounced right over both of our sticks and ended up behind him." I guess Z didn't win the faceoff. The puck just magically bounced back to his teammates. Perhaps the Joe's faceoff circles are also super bouncy. You can understand his need for rationalization, though. He was 5 for 16 in faceoffs against Z. That's got to be driving him crazy. It looks like Hank's gotten in his head, just like last year. Contrast that to Chris Osgood's quote about his save on Malkin's breakaway: "He's got a great shot and he can make great moves. I was fortunate to get my hand on it." His self-effacement and positive attitude are common themes in quotes from all of the Wings players, and those are the reasons why so many fans here think that Crosby's nothing more than a whiny little child.
-Ozzie still looks like he's 17. Someone on Puck Daddy's Live Blog called him the Benjamin Button of hockey. I would have to disagree with that due to the fact that when he was a rookie, all those years ago, he looked like he was approximately 14. So maybe more Dorian Gray than Benjamin Button.
-I'm pretty sure Mike Babcock has lazer vision that could melt a hole right through your soul if you really pissed him off. In which case, Brad Watson's soul probably looks like Swiss cheese right now.
-I also really enjoyed Al Sobotka driving the zamboni right behind Mickey and Bernie while they were doing their post-game. Especially the look on his face. I can't really describe it, but if you Tivo'd the post-game, check it out.

And finally, it never ceases to amaze me how little respect my boys get. The sub-headline on NHL.com reads, "Lively boards played a big role in Red Wings' 3-1 win." I'm so sick of hearing people talk about the "lively boards" at the Joe. They're like that at both ends. Deal with it. And I can't help but figure that if Crosby had scored Franzen's goal, they would've described it as a great innovative play by one of the true superstars of the game. Instead, it's just a fluke goal off of a lucky bounce off of the boards. Spare me.

Stuart's goal was for sure a lucky bounce, but I firmly believe that you need those kinds of bounces to win the Cup. The Wings were getting those same bounces against Columbus in the first round. Do you remember the goal that went in off of a BJs player's glove as he tried to knock down the shot? Those are the bounces, or, as Mickey Redmond likes to say, "puck luck," that you need going your way if you want to be successful on hockey's greatest stage. I like to think of it as the Hockey Gods' subtle way of intervening. Other than the victory itself, the puck luck that went the Wings' way tonight was probably the most reassuring thing I took out of the game. It's really the only thing that will enable me to sleep tonight.

Tomorrow, the Wings will have to start out strong again. Z will have to continue his absolute ownage of Baby Boy, and Ozzie will probably need to make a couple of "elite" saves. I've got my fingers crossed for the return of Dangle Dangle, but it doesn't seem likely. The Wings survived without him again tonight, but at some point, they're going to need him to play a role in the series. Maybe all of the puck luck apparently bouncing around the Joe Louis endboards will rub off on him and he'll finally break out.