Red Wings 5, Canucks 4 (OT): Post Game Snipes...

• I was planning on going to the Joe tonight with student rush tickets, but when we got there, we discovered that it was already sold out. We ended up at a freezing cold bar in Greektown instead.
• Pav's been the Wings' best player this season, and losing him for a month is killer. Luckily, I was at Astoria when I got the bad news, so delicious baked goods were within reach. What had begun as a victory celebration at the bakery turned into the ever-so-rare celebratory/eat-your-feelings pastry excursion.  Thank god for carrot cake.
• I already miss Pav...the most.
• We were quite amused (after it was over, of course) by the play when Jimmy Howard was way out of the net and Rig was left to play goalie. It was terrifying at the time, but we got a good laugh out of it.
• Except for that one play with Rig as a goalie, the beginning of the game was all Wings.
• Look, it's a Homerfly!

• You know what's awesome about being a Red Wings fan? Sitting back after an exciting overtime victory and picking apart all of the things your team did poorly during the game.
• Our reaction to Fil's goal went something along the lines of, “Wait, he shot the puck? Are you sure that was Flippy?”
• Dan Cleary continues to amaze everyone.
• Luongo should've made the save on Z's overtime goal. I would've been pretty upset with Jimmy if that shot had gone in at the other end of the ice.

Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
Two goals on the night are usually enough to earn a guy hero status.

Villain: Mikael Samuelsson
He's on my list now for sure. As if tripping Pav when he broke his hand/wrist wasn't enough, Sammy had to go and add a goal later.

Final Thought:
Fil, Mule, and Hudler all need to do more to make up for missing Pav for the next few weeks. Zetterberg needs to be as dominant as he was tonight for the rest of his fellow Eurotwin's absence.

Red Wings vs. Coyotes Game Four GP...

I'm heading down to the game tomorrow with high hopes of running into some of my favorite tweeps during warmups. My seats are way up in the rafters, which is awesome because I'm pretty sure my little sister got a free ticket to sit way down in the lower bowl with her friends' parents. Regardless, I'll be there to take in my second ever playoff game at the Joe. My first was the overtime victory in Game Two of the Chicago series last season. The one with the Campbell turnover and Samuelsson goal to end the game. I've got some fond memories of that night. Let's add to them tomorrow.

15. This entire team needs to wake up and start taking this series seriously.
14. Jimmy Howard needs to tighten things down and start looking like his regular season self again.
13. Defense, sunshines. Defense. It’s kind of important.
12. Rafalski sat out practice with his old man back. Is he going to be able to go tomorrow? Are we going to wish he wasn’t?
11. I want to see the Eurotwins in full flight. There are few things more spectacular than seeing Datsyuk doing those crazy things he does in person.
10. I’m hoping that his goal late in the game was the spark Franzen needed to get going. The Wings need him to start acting like playoff Franzen.
9. Can we avoid any octopus-fumbling to start the game? I really had a terrible feeling when I saw that octopus slip out of Al’s hands on Sunday. It’s just bad karma.
8. Are the Wings going to have to deal with Shane Doan? I would not be unhappy if he had to sit out tomorrow.
7. Make Bryzgalov work. His life hasn’t been difficult enough so far this series, and he’s already demonstrated that he’s beatable.
6. How many times are whistles going to go a split second before the Wings put the puck over the goal line? I think I remember a quick whistle preventing a goal against the Wings once ever. Usually these things even out.
5. All I’m really asking is for a sixty-minute effort tomorrow. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
4. Special teams could be the key again. It’s no coincidence that the game when the powerplay and PK were clicking was the one that the Wings won.
3. Where is Playoff Helm?
2. I’m 1-0 in my playoff viewing career at the Joe. Please don’t drag me down to .500 with another lackadaisical effort.
1. Mike Babcock said it best. What this game comes down to 99% of the time is deciding that you’re going to work harder than the guy on the other side of the ice. Every guy in the lineup could use an attitude like that.

Wings vs. Coyotes GP...

Wings vs. Coyotes @7:30 PM

1. The Wings have had trouble with consistency so far this season. They’re coming off of a couple strong performances over the weekend. This is a good chance to string some wins together and start climbing the conference standings. Will they show up to play tonight, or will we all be banging our heads on the wall by the end of the game?
2. Jimmy Howard’s getting the start tonight. With the exception of that one goal against Anaheim, he had a good week. He would’ve skated away with two wins if the offense had done anything worthwhile against the Blues. Who would’ve thought at the beginning of the season that his play would be the least of our worries right now? I think we were all pretty pleased with the way he bounced back from that tough loss to St. Louis and the softie against Anaheim. His confidence has to be at an all-time high. Will he continue to create a “goalie controversy” here in Detroit?
3. When is Nick Lidstrom going to score a goal again? It’s been the better part of a decade since he put one in the net, and I’m going to copy/paste this into every GP until he does.
4. How many sticks is Pavel Datsyuk going to break tonight? Any takers on a prediction on his average number of broken sticks per shift?
5. How many glorious scoring opportunities is Zetterberg going to send wide? It’s time for him to stop drinking the Mikael Samuelsson Kool-Aid.

Wow, this turned into a crazy mess of passive aggressiveness. It’s finals week though, and I have no problem using that as an excuse. All that stands between me and my vacation is approximately 15 pages of writing…that all needs to get done by the end of the night. This is going to be a good day.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about The Obstructed View by now. If not...where have you been for the last 12 hours? If you’re interested in reading about its evolution and the list of bloggers who are involved, check out Chris’ post at Motown Wings. I’m already looking forward to next week’s episode, which I’ll be able to listen to without cringing every few minutes when I have to hear my own voice.

Wings vs. Predators GP...

Wings vs. Predators @8 PM

1. Ville Leino finally picked up a point last night, and Todd Bertuzzi came through with two goals. They’ve been the focus of much of the criticism for underproduction this season. Can the two of them build on the Anaheim game and keep putting up points?
2. I haven’t seen the Wings’ starter announced anywhere, but I haven’t exactly had a lot of time to go looking for it. Based on the back-to-back rotation thingy Babcock likes to do, I’m assuming we’ll see Osgood in net tonight. Will we get treated to playoff Ozzie or regular season Ozzie tonight?
3. During the post-game last night, Mickey Redmond was already getting feisty about those stupid train whistles the Nashville fans seem to enjoy using all the time. Keep in mind that this is also the same franchise that used to do the ridiculous screechy air-quote fangs. No team has the right to be that obnoxious, especially one that’s never won a playoff series. How long will I last before I have to mute the TV to keep from throwing things at it?
4. Datsyuk and Zetterberg have been missing an absurd amount of shots that they should be putting on net and/or burying. The Eurotwins need to collectively recalibrate their targeting computers or something. Datsyuk had the game on his stick during the final minute of the Ducks game, and hit the side of the net. Zetterberg had a great scoring opportunity in close at one point and sent his shot about 300 feet wide of the net (Go ahead, challenge my measurements if you want. I dare you.). It’s like the two of them have caught Mikael Samuelsson cooties or something. Will they be able to figure out their issues tonight, or will I spend another game pulling my hair out?

I may or may not be watching the game tonight. We’ll see how this whole cookie-baking party goes down.

Wings vs. Maple Leafs GP...

Wings vs. Leafs @7 PM

1. Despite all of the Wings’ early-season struggles, we can still be thankful that we’re not Leafs fans. They have exactly 2 victories. Two. In 14 games. They actually doubled their win total last night by beating the lowly Hurricanes. The Wings, on the other hand have put together three solid games in a row. They’re in Toronto with all kinds of autograph sessions and media fanfare for Steve Yzerman to play against a weak, Eastern Conference opponent. In other words, this is exactly the kind of game the Wings like to sleepwalk through. Will they decide to show up and not embarrass themselves with a loss to the Leafs? Please, Hockey Gods, make it so.
2. Will Phil Kessel come into his own in his role as savior of the Leafs tonight?
3. With any luck, the Wings have taken their off-day to recalibrate their collective aim. The last game looked like the team dressed 18 versions of Mikael Samuelsson with all of the missed shots they took. How many shots are they going to send wide this game?
4. Every once in a while, Todd Bertuzzi does things that make me smile. Sometimes I even feel like I’m starting to like him. Then he does things like make behind-the-back passes right onto the tape of opposing players in the Wings’ defensive zone that inevitably lead to heart-attack-inducing scoring chances. Is he going to finally set himself on a course that will earn him my good graces, or is he going to continue to be the guy who keeps making me scare my housemates by yelling at the TV all the time?
5. With a win tonight, the Wings can overtake Chicago and Columbus for the Central Division lead (although, the BJs are playing Carolina, so there’s a pretty good chance they’ll walk away with 2 points to stay ahead of the Wings). Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the Central, who pretty much everyone agreed was the best division in the league at the start of the season actually has the lowest first place point total of any one in the league? There’s no way that will stay like that for the whole season, but I thought it was worth pointing out.

On a side note, I really like the look of the Leafs’ official website. I’m a sucker for old-timey photos like the one they use as the background. I probably won’t get to see the game tonight, which is disappointing because I always love a good Original 6 match-up.

Now, it’s off to the Big House for some football and glorious fall weather. Go Blue!

Wings vs. Canucks GP...

Since I’ve been neglecting blogging lately thanks to school-related responsibilities, I’ve decided to try a couple new things for pre- and post-game. I’m going to make every effort to put up a game-day preview post. I’ll creatively call it the Game Plan, but we’ll call it the GP for short in honor of my previous life as a Splash Trasher. In it, I’m going to list a few specific things that I’ll be watching for during the game. I’ve also got a new post-game wrap-up thing, but I can’t decide what to call it. I figure I’ve got 4 or 5 hours before I have to decide, so I’m going to buy as much time as possible for myself. I’m not going to promise that I’ll manage to scrape these together for every game, but I’m practically an Olympic medalist at procrastination, so it should be fairly regular. So, I bring you the inaugural GP:

Wings @ Canucks 10 PM Eastern

1. Darren Helm will be scratched tonight. He’s gotten off to a pretty slow start since coming back from his training camp injury, but I was just writing it off as trying to get readjusted to the tempo of the games.
2. Will tonight be the night that Pavel Datsyuk finally nets his elusive first goal?
3. The lines have been shaken up a bit, and it looks like the successful Two Finns and Jason Williams line has been broken up. What I’d really like to see is a mix up of the defensive pairings, but like Mick Jagger says…
4. Can the Wings pretty please finally pick up a road win tonight?
5. It will also be interesting to see how much of the game I can make it through. I’ve been rocking out since 5:30 AM Eastern with about 4.5 hours of sleep, so at this point I’m just hoping to keep my eyes open. I plan to be on Twitter again during the game, but if I randomly disappear halfway through, it’s pretty safe to assume that I finally dozed off and am drooling on my laptop (or that my internet has once again gone down…I’m looking at you, Comcast.).
6. Will Mikael Samuelsson finally realize that he's really Mikael Samuelsson and go back to whistling shots six feet high and wide of the net?

In other randomness, this is from Mike Stone today:

The Red Wings will probably qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it will not be easy. They lost way too much with Hossa, Hudler, and Samuelsson's departures. Couple that with the injury to Johan Franzen and I have to wonder where will all the goals come from. Plus, the defense and goaltending is not what it was. Hard to say this, but the Wings are not one of the best teams in the league anymore.

That's great and all, but it overlooks the fact that they still are one of the best teams in the league. The losses this season haven't had the slightest thing to do with skill level. There isn't a single problem this team has that doesn't stem directly from mental mistakes and lack of effort. If the team could just find it within itself to give 100% effort for 100% of a game, things would look just fine. A ten game stretch of that, and the standings would get back to normal in a hurry. There is no doubt in my mind that this team is hands down one of the most talented teams in the league, and if they ever decide to apply themselves, all will be right with the world.

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.

Thinking Happy Thoughts...

OK, it’s official. I really thought the Wings were done with signings after the Jason Williams deal, but the rumblings have been around for a couple of days now so I’m not all that surprised. It’s no secret that I’m not a big Bertuzzi fan. (And for the record, I hated him long before the Steve Moore incident. I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but I’m pretty sure that dates back to the 2002 playoffs.) I’m having a hard time getting behind Kenny on this one, but I'm going to try really hard to talk myself into liking it. So here we go…

Aside from my general dislike for Bertuzzi, my biggest issue is his injury problem. (The Wings already got hit with the injury bug at the worst possible time last season so maybe the Hockey Gods will grant them all a reprieve.) And the fact that he’s washed up. (So was Dan Cleary when he first showed up. Plus, that was one of the things that I liked about the Eaves deal. Even though Eaves is young, hasn’t peaked yet, and has never made me angry in the past. No, no, no, I’m going to stay positive here.) And takes too many stupid penalties (Exhibits '08 and '09.) Then there’s the fact that he’s kind of a defensive liability/slacker who, according to The Triple Deke, never managed to endear himself to fans in Anaheim or Calgary. (Seriously? Fans of the team that until recently employed Chris Pronger and his elbows never warmed to Bertuzzi? And we’re supposed to like him? No, there’s really no way I can put a positive spin on that one.) Then there’s the question of what his addition does to the lineup. Who gets benched? What happens to Helm’s ice time? Am I really going to be subjected to seeing Williams and Bertuzzi playing on he third line together? (Objectively speaking, having guys battle for ice time might not be the worst thing in the world. Maybe it’ll keep them from sleepwalking through a lot of the regular season like they did last year. Every player on the team has something to prove this season, and maybe fighting for their ice time every night will make them better.)

Plus, back in July, I was thinking to myself, “Now that Sammy’s gone, who am I going to complain about? And mock?” Well apparently Kenny Holland was listening because he went out and signed me not one, but two, potential definite replacements. So maybe it’s not such a bad thing. I kind of believe that every group needs one person to hate on. It’s a community building thing. I’ve seen it work time and time again in various roommate and work situations over the years. Disliking that one person gives us something in common and helps us bond. Someone has to be the go-to punchline. (Tonight I was playing a game, and we each had to write down something that was useless. I wrote ‘Todd Bertuzzi.’ Everyone laughed when it was read aloud, so see, he’s already serving an important purpose in my life.)

While I’m still not sold on this deal, between the posts at Abel to Yzerman and Babcock’s Death Stare and forcing myself to think happy thoughts, I’ve realized that it’s not the end of the world. I kind of wish I hadn’t burned all of my stuff out on the front lawn when I heard the news. I kid, but you get the idea. I’m definitely not happy, but if you stretch, there are positives. Who knows, maybe this time next year, we’ll all be writing about Holland’s brilliance and nominating him for governor.

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.

Back to Civilization...

Well, I went away for four days without internet access. It was a little bit liberating, in a way, because I wasn’t tied to my computer obsessively following Twitter feeds, blogs, or Puck Daddy’s free agent “chatterboxes.” Then I got home yesterday and promptly spent four hours catching up on all of my hockey reading that I had missed. I’m not sure exactly what that says about the state of my life, but I’m sure it’s nothing good.

I’ve also decided to office-space the salary cap. Seriously. Some might say that you cannot destroy a concept like the salary cap with a baseball bat while blasting rap music in a field with crazy coworkers, but I’m a pretty resourceful girl. I’ll find a way. So if you’re interested, pick a date and time. I’ll bring a bat if you provide the rap music. I only have classic rock and show tunes, neither of which is going to cut it. Really though, the salary cap isn't all that different from that fax machine. They're both ineffective and cause everyone involved excessive amounts of frustration. I'd be doing a favor to hockey fans everywhere. Especially Wings fans.

Anyway, I came back from my wilderness sabbatical to discover that Mikael Samuelsson had departed for the Canucks. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little bit happy to see him go. I mean, if he had been willing to stay for the salary he was making last year, I would’ve welcomed him back, especially in light of the Wings’ other free agent departures, but in a salary cap world, it’s hard to justify paying him as much as he’s getting. Personally, I would’ve negotiated a contract with him that correlated his salary to the percentage of his shots that actually hit the net. At least the good folks in Windsor won’t find themselves ducking every time Sammy winds up for a slap shot. It’s important to note that I don’t hate Sammy. It’s just that he’s so easy to mock. Sometimes it’s like he’s asking for it. Truth be told, he was directly responsible for one of my greatest moments as a Wings fan when his OT winner against Chicago brought a happy ending to my first playoff game. That’s not to say that I haven’t spent hours complaining about him manning the point on the powerplay or whizzing lasers over the goalie’s head into the glass. Sometimes I wondered if they had to install extra-strength glass behind the goals when Sammy joined the team. There might even be moments when I miss yelling, “duck!” at the TV when he winds up or laughing at him when he’s jawing with other players. But mostly I resigned myself a while ago to the fact that he was leaving and, upon that realization, discovered that I wasn’t really all that broken up about his departure. This off-season is actually a little bit weird, as I’m usually disappointed to see guys leave, but I haven’t found myself particularly sad about any of the free agent losses.

Upon my return, I was also informed that the Wings had re-signed Ville Leino. This was probably the first good hockey-related news I’d heard in a month. Literally. Game 5 was on June 6th. Hopefully Leino can step up and pick up some of the slack left by the other free agent losses. His first goal as a Wing still blows my mind. The one thing I do find troubling is the fact that, according to Ken Holland, Leino “lost interest” in playing in Grand Rapids halfway through the season. I understand that everyone would much rather be playing in the NHL, but it just doesn’t sound very Wing-like. With any luck he’ll be more enthusiastic now that he’s going to be a regular.

The other big event of the weekend was that Jiri Hudler has filed for arbitration. This is both good and bad news. If nothing else, it prevents anyone else from tossing a lucrative offer sheet at him and luring him away. On the other hand, from what I’ve heard, arbitration is a nasty process and I can’t imagine it’s a good thing to go to. Kenny Holland mentioned that he’s never gone to arbitration with a player since he’s been GM, so hopefully he and Hudler can work something else out before it comes to that. It’s no secret that I’m quite fond of Huds. Seriously, just looking at his face makes me laugh. There’s something about his anime-esque features that just causes me to giggle. I’d be very, very sad to have that joy taken out of my life.

In other news, the Wings have once again parted ways with Darren McCarty. It was great to see the guy back in the Winged Wheel the last couple of years. I always had a soft spot for him. In his honor, I leave you with this:

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Five! Look, I Could Be an NHL Referee!...

I missed the second half of the game tonight, so I don't have much to say about that. By the time I got around to watching it on my DVR, the bleak reality of the loss had already sunk in, and I found it a little hard to care. I forced myself to watch the whole thing, because I felt some strange, irrational obligation. Or maybe it's just the inherent masochistic tendency that is a mandatory part of being a Red Wings fan.

Anyway, the Wings didn't get off to a particularly good start. If I were a rational, objective person, I might find it amusing how often I recap games this way. But I'm not. And it pisses me off. I understand that every once and a while a team might have an off-game where it takes a little longer to get rolling. It happens. But this consistently, and in the Stanley Cup Finals? Come one. I've been banging my head against walls over this for the better part of eight months now.

Then...Talbot. That name still sends chills down my spine. It just so happens that this was the one-year anniversary of Game 5, aka one of the most horrific nights of my life. And it's fairly obvious that Maxime Talbot was determined to drive another spike through my heart. I don't want to talk any more about the goal, except to once again point out that the Wings' PK absolutely sucks. Like the slow start issue, there's no plausible explanation for this. I like to think I'm a pretty smart girl, and for the life of me, I can't wrap my head around it.

And then there was Zetterberg tying it up with a beautiful shot. There's nothing more to say about this guy. He looks like he's determined to win the Cup all by himself. He didn't have a spectacular regular season, but man is he on a roll now. You just know that every single one of the Penguins is waking up covered in cold sweat and their own urine thanks to the night terrors they're having about Hank and his "will tank."

After the man-love of my brother's life gave the Wings the lead, I was feeling much better than I had all day. I knew it didn't mean much, but it's always more fun to watch when your boys are leading.

The Too Many Men on the Ice Incident really riled me up. I figured that the Wings would be fighting an extra man tonight thanks to all of Pittsburgh's whining about non-calls and Gary Bettman's obvious affection for Sidney Crosby, but I didn't think that would literally mean an extra man. Somewhere, every single Columbus Blue Jackets player and fan is crying in their beer thinking about Franzen's series-clinching powerplay goal at the end of Game 4. I don't want to hear any more complaining from Pittsburgh fans about how the referees are handing the series to the Wings.

Things like this are why the NHL is a joke to most Americans. And it's not a conspiracy. It's incompetence. Incompetence that is allowed to fester by the NHL's refusal to hold its officials accountable for their performance. And far too frequently, that incompetence, like herpes I presume, rears its ugly head and exposes the NHL for the second-rate organization that it is.

I'm not a big football fan, most likely due to growing up with the Lions, but I seem to remember an incident in the fall where a referee blew a call. And it was obvious. And it cost a team a game. And it could have impacted their playoff chances. What did he do afterward? He admitted that he made a mistake and apologized to the team and fans who had been slighted. The NFL said that it grades each official on every play of every game and uses those rankings to determine eligibility to work the playoffs or keep their job. Accordingly, this referee was downgraded. He was held responsible for his mistake, but I had to respect him for his class.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a controversial call in an NBA playoff game. Apparently one team was trying to foul the other near the end of the game, and the foul didn't get called (I've never understood the logic of a sport in which you sometimes want to be called for a foul, but I'm not really a basketball person either.). This non-call cost a team the game because the game-winning three-pointer was scored after the foul should've been called. The NBA came out and publicly admitted that there had been a mistake, and that the mistake had influenced the outcome of the game. While it didn't change the score, at least they at least acknowledged that an error had been made.

Contrast that to the NHL's reaction to things like The Goal That Wasn't. When faced with an obvious travesty of a call, what did the NHL do? It closed ranks and defended Brad Watson, stubbornly refusing to hold him accountable for his poor job-performance. And it's not just calls that have gone against the Wings. It's been happening in almost every game during the playoffs, league-wide. The worst part, other than taking the game out of the players' hands, is that it makes the league, the sport, and the rabid fans like myself look like complete jokes. It's been going on for a long time, and Gary Bettman's ignorance of the problem, refusal to implement changes, and/or complete and utter disregard for its effects on the game is almost criminal.

OK, back to the game.

Shortly after Pittsburgh's free mini-powerplay, they got a real one. It was during this powerplay that I almost screamed at the bartender because she leaned in and stuck her face right in front of mine to ask if I wanted anything to drink right as Crosby was breaking toward Ozzie with the puck. From the look on my face and the fact that I was literally sitting in a vertical fetal position in my chair, she clearly should've been able to tell that I was not in need of a beverage. Medical attention, perhaps, but not a beverage. She never came back after that. It's possible that I frightened her.

The Wings looked much better during the second period. They really carried the play for most of the time, but didn't seem to get the kind of traffic in front of the net that they usually do. I noticed this a lot more while I was watching it on my DVR because I wasn't completely losing my mind in the heat of the moment. There were several instances where loose pucks and rebounds were cleared from in front of the net because the Wings hadn't driven to the net.

Sammy had a breakaway. He hit the post. What else would you expect from a Mikael Samuelsson breakaway, though? At least he put it sort of on net...sort of.

Helm had a little bit of a rough night today. I think the Pens were tired of him running around them in circles and decided to teach him a lesson. He almost got his face sliced open with a skate after getting knocked down, so at least we know the kid has some luck around him.

Kunitz had a nice little cross-check to Franzen's head. What can I say? Once a Duck, always a Duck. Seems like Pronger.You.Goon has taught him well. On the other hand, it was nice to see the national announcers calling the Penguins out for a change. They seemed as incredulous as I was that the Too Many Men Incident wasn't called, and outright said that Kunitz was lucky to have gotten away with that.

The Ericsson penalty was pretty cheap, especially in light of the way things have been called all series. My softball team officially thinks I'm nuts thanks to the goal scored on the ensuing powerplay. I had a friend texting me score updates, and I pulled my phone out in between plays, saw that the Pens had taken the lead, and immediately began to cuss while standing in the middle of the infield. Mostly they were confused because one of our outfielders had just made a really good catch and everyone else was clapping and congratulating him.

(I realize at this point that I've spent a significant amount of time complaining about the officiating. That isn't entirely fair. The Wings couldn't find a way to score in the second period when they dominated, and then they let the Pens have their way with them for most of the third. Still, I demand excellence from myself at school and work, and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the same level of performance from professional referees who have been chosen, presumably for their expertise [although in the NHL, that has to be considered a relative term], to work in the championship series. Sure, my standards are a little high, but I don't think that's unreasonable.)

Babcock sounded pretty riled up at his presser. It wasn't so much what he said as the way he said it. He wouldn't take the bait when the reporter asked him about the Too Many Men Incident, and just walked away. I also have to say that at this point, the Pens' coach hasn't managed to make me angry yet. In fact, it seems like he's actually...a decent guy. I suspect that it's because he's from Michigan. We're a little better class of folks up here in the Mitten.

That's all I have for now. This loss hurts a lot and I'm not in much of a mood to relive it. I didn't really think they were going to sweep, but it would've felt so nice. Plus, now I have to find someone to cover my shift Saturday night so I can watch Game 5.

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.

Hockey Assassins and the Greatest Night of My Life...

Dear Mikael Samuelsson,
I'm sorry for all of the times I've yelled at you on TV. I'm sorry for all of the times I complained about you playing point on the power play. I'm sorry for all of the times I made fun of your shooting abilities. All is forgiven tonight.
PS. I really hate apologizing, so consider yourself twice blessed on this particular evening.

Tonight I fulfilled my lifelong dream and FINALLY attended a playoff game. It was, of course, everything I'd ever dreamed of, and then some. Even though the boys nearly gave me a heart attack by going to OT, things worked out in the end, and I went home happy.

It was a fairly typical game in the sense that the Wings, for the 95th straight time, didn't bother to show up for the beginning of the game. I seriously think that somebody should secretly tell them that the game starts half and hour earlier than it really does so that they'll be ready to go at gametime. For a bunch of such seasoned veterans, they sure have a lot of trouble getting their heads into the game early on. On the other hand, this should frighten opposing fans. I would imagine that if I were a Chicago or Hurricanes/Pens fan, I would have nightmares that involved the Wings actually bringing their A-game for a change. It would be a massacre. Puck Daddy called them "unflappable hockey assassins" today. I like that a lot.

I almost cried when the Hawks scored first. I had horrible visions of my childhood dream turning into an epic failure and never being able to attend a playoff game again for fear of jinxing the boys. At the same time, I knew the Wings weren't out of the game yet. A one-goal lead against any team in the NHL doesn't mean much, but against the Wings, it's equivalent to the random syllables that come out of PYG's mouth when he tries to form sentences--that is to say, completely devoid of meaning.

Danny Cleary once again came through with a big goal. I think playing against the team that drafted him has somehow stirred a memory of when he was a hot whiz-kid prospect in juniors and how much fun it was to score boatloads of goals. Or maybe one of the Hawks went to Newfoundland and spit on it. Either way, it's really fun to watch.

Nick Lidstrom was, as always, incredible. I really feel bad about how rarely I give him credit. Especially since I have his empty beer bottle on a shelf in my room, making us practically BFFs. Overlooking Nick seems to be pretty common. All you need to do is look at how long it took him to win his first Norris. It's hard to believe that Mike Green, he of the epic playoff under-performance, is most likely going to steal his trophy this year. At one point during the game, Patrick Kane broke into the Wings zone pretty much one-on-one with Lidstrom. My brother, who attended the game with me, said, "Look out, he's really good!" Then Lidstrom coolly and efficiently stripped him of the puck and cleared the zone. I leaned over and said, "Yeah, but Lidstrom's better." The man has somehow managed to turn defensive positioning into an artform. And that says a lot because I always hated playing defense when I used to play soccer and mini-sticks.

Jonathan Ericsson stood out like a rookie again this game. He made a couple more shaky plays, and, in general, I was extremely uncomfortable when he and Lebda were out on the ice. I like Ericsson with Lidstrom a lot better because Captain Nick can make up for some of the mistakes Big E might make. That being said, Ericsson wasn't nearly as bad as Chicago's D-men who made turnovers that lead to not one, but two Wings goals, including Sammy's in OT.

Datsyuk still hasn't scored. I'd be more panicked if everyone else wasn't picking up the slack. Boy oh boy was he evert on fire defensively, though. Even without points, he's worth keeping around just to see him ninja the puck away from unsuspecting Hawks. I would not want to run into this man in a dark alley. He'd swipe my phone, my keys, my wallet, my chapstick, and probably my pocket lint before I even knew what happened.

Even though he wasn't named one of the players of the game at the Joe, Ozzie played incredibly tonight. What I said in an earlier post still stands: anyone who I was forced to defend Ozzie to over the course of the season should line up now for a ceremonial slap. That man can bring it when he's called upon. I could be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure this was the first time during the playoffs that the Wings were out-shot. Ozzie made some stellar saves at key moments. Anyone who argues that this man isn't Hall of Fame-worthy can join the aforementioned lineup. I experienced one of the greatest moments of my life when my brother and I started an "Ozzie, Ozzie!" chant at the start of OT.

Speaking of chants, I was sitting in 225B, and I have to say that section 226 was the loudest group of fans that I have ever seen at a sporting event. I loved it. They were starting cheers all night long. Kudos to anyone in that area. Notice how it's always the cheap seats who have the most team spirit.

I was also struck by how few Chicago fans there were at the Joe. Since Chicago's so close, I figured there would have been more of an enemy presence in the stands. Looking around after Chicago's goals, there were only a few scattered here and there. Way to go Wings fans. The Joe is our building!

I'm not ready to talk about OT yet. I'm still recovering from it. Right at the start, I had a moment when I thought that I'd be more comfortable curled up in a fetal position on my couch at home, but I wouldn't have traded being at the Joe for anything. I'll never forget everybody rising to their feet as the Wings broke into the zone and then jumping up and down for what seemed like five minutes after Sammy scored. I even hugged my brother. That's how excited I was. Long story short: I will never forget this game. Ever. Even though it was far from the best the boys have played and they tried to kill me with OT.

Epic, Epic, Epic...

I had a near-death experience tonight. This may sound dramatic, but I'm not lying. The stress nearly killed me. I'm still having trouble forming coherent sentences. I imagine this is something that PYG struggles with on a daily basis. This game was epic in many ways. (I'm going to use this word a lot in this post because I recently discovered that my friend dislikes it.)

I turned down an offer to head down to the Hockeytown Cafe to watch the game with some people from work today. I was afraid of being seen in public during the game. I was much more comfortable curled up on my couch in a fetal position clutching my rally rag like a security blanket. I feel like I talk about said rally rag a lot. I'm not entirely sure how I obtained it. I think the story has something to do with my dad and a Burger King last year, but that couldn't matter less. In previous playoff runs, I had Free Press voodoo dolls to relieve my stress, but last year, it was the rally rag. Quite frankly, I'm surprised it survived the Finals last year. Any ordinary piece of cloth would have been torn to shreds by me wringing it pretty much every time a puck was shot at either goalie. I picked up right where I left off last year. I know this sounds pathetic, but it's what gets me through the games. That and eating popcorn in a robotic, trance-like state.

As usual, I'll start with a little complaining. Game 7 was a fitting conclusion to a series that was dominated by poor officiating. I believe that refs should be anonymous. I mean that in the sense that if you know their names at the end of the game, it's probably because they screwed up. All series it has felt like the refs were doing everything within their power to influence the outcomes of the games. Both sides have legitimate complaints. The "holding" call that led to the Wings first goal was so chintzy that I have to believe it was a make-up call. (Perhaps for that hit on Helm in front of the Ducks net that was clearly interference. Or charging. Or something. But I can't imagine a universe in which that's not a penalty. Except for, apparently, the one the refs were living in tonight.) Let's not even talk about that goalie interference call on Hudler. I don't remember a game during which I spent this much time yelling at the TV. At one point, I thought Mickey Redmond was going to grab a stick and go all Bingo Bango on the referees. It would have been an epic moment in NHL history. Have I mentioned that I love Mickey Redmond? I want him to be my Grandpa. Seriously.

That's all the complaining I really have tonight. I guess I'm just in a good mood because things worked out in the end. Although, I do have to say that the Ducks tying goal is exactly why I hate Game 7s, OTs, and really just the playoffs in general.

While I didn't quite get the offensive outbursts that I was hoping for from Homer and Datsyuk, I have to love Pav's assist on Sammy's goal. He got smoked along the boards, but he didn't care once he saw the puck in the back of the net. It reminded me of one of my first games at the Joe when my dad was teaching me the game. Slava Fetisov took a hit to make a pass, and some drunk guy was yelling at him for not getting out of the way. My dad leaned over to me and quietly explained that said drunk guy clearly knew nothing about hockey. This is when I discovered how much fun it was to be a smarter fan than everyone else around you. Also, this is completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Here's hoping that Datsyuk finally breaks out in the Conference Finals in epic fashion and that Homer finds a way to get his big Swedish rear all up in Khabibulin's face.

On to Chris Osgood. All I have to say is that every person who I had to defend Ozzie to over the course of the season should line up now to receive a ceremonial slap. All the man does is win playoff games. And boy oh boy did he step up big-time tonight.

I've also never loved Dan Cleary this much. Somebody needs to kiss this man. He may have saved my life by preventing OT. Although there was a terrible, horrible, gut-wrenching moment when I was afraid that the ref had intended to blow the whistle, or he decided to call interference, or he had been distracted by a bumble bee and didn't realize that the puck was in the net. (While we're on the subject, does anyone else think that if Homer had been the one sitting on top of Chris Osgood during that Ducks goal, it would've been called no-goal?) But it all worked out in the end. Versus' replay kind of makes me think that Hiller kicked it in himself, but I'm perfectly happy to let Clear Bear bask in the glory.

And what about little Helmet's breakaway goal? That's exactly why Babcock loves him so much. It never ceases to amaze me that this guy spent the whole season in the minors. Only the Wings can boast that kind of depth. Speaking of depth, it was nice to see Drapes back in the lineup, even though we didn't see a lot of him. Too bad it was at the expense of Maltby, though.

I also have to mention Rafalski's play in the final minute. Good lord, that man was on fire (epic!). I could've kissed his little balding head (apparently I'm in a really kissy mood tonight). Also, what on earth did Corey Perry do to him in that fight at the end of Game 6? He looked like he'd been in a catfight. I knew Perry was a little girl, but seriously? If you're going to goon it up with a guy who clearly has no interest in fighting, at least be a man and throw real punches. Don't just gouge at his eyes.

And finally, Henrik Zetterberg. Snipe Snipe turned in another epic penalty kill that had shades of Game 4 of the Finals last year. Because, clearly, I needed another reason to love this man.

That's all I have for tonight. I'll take look at Chicago tomorrow, assuming I have time. Unfortunately, I don't hate the Hawks with nearly the same passion as I do the Ducks, so I probably won't get nearly as riled up. There's plenty of potential there, though, over the course of a playoff series. Bonus points for being Original Six.