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So did Justin Abdelkader play baseball in the off season, or what? Man, that kid sure can hit them out of the air! Soon as he is done on the ice, maybe Ilitch will trade him to the Tigers and he can slug some for them, too!
Zetterberg did pretty good in that fight. Detroit's depth is killing the Pens. They haven't even played their best game yet and all without Dats! The Pens won't take 4 of 5 games from them. No way, no how!
It has to have been done before, but in case in hasn't, I am proud to start a thread dedicated to the NHL's royal family, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings!
Fresh off the Winter Classic bulldozing of Chicago, we head into Minnesota tonight for an 8 p.m. (EST) faceoff. The Wild have come crashing back to earth after exploding out of the gate, and as of today sit 10th in the Western Conference, 2 points out of the eighth playoff spot.
Personally, I don't like Minnesota's approach to the game of hockey. With Marian Gaborik constantly injured (out ANOTHER 10 weeks with hip surgery), the Wild are always offensively challenged, and have few players capable of lighting the lamp on a consistent basis. This can almost be completey attributed to coach Jacques Lemaire's famous (or infamous depending on your point of view) defensive trapping approach to the game. Sure enough, Minnesota is among a handful of teams yet to accumulate 100 goals scored this season. That doesn't bode well when facing a skilled machine such as Detroit.
Seeing as he's been the Wild's head coach since their inception in 2000, I would think Lemaire's act has to be wearing thin in hockey crazed Minnesota, where fans routinely pack the Xcel Energy Center with capacity crowds. Lemaire did win a Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 1995 (defeating Detroit, ironically), but that team was much more capable offensively, and also featured arguably the greatest goaltender in NHL history in Martin Brodeur. One has to wonder how long Wild fans are willing to buy into Lemaire's philosiphy, as other teams such as Pittsburgh and Chicago race past them by building more balanced teams driven by young, offensive talent and firepower. Minnesota has certainly had some moderate success in their brief history, but if I were a Wild fan I'd be quite sick of spending my hard earned money to watch more neutral zone trap shifts than goals scored from my team by now, especially knowing that Gaborik may not ever play for this team again (he will become an unrestricted free agent this July).
The Wings, who were uncharacteristically lax with their defense and goaltending early on, have righted the ship somewhat with more "Detroit-like" efforts recently against the likes of San Jose, St. Louis, and especially Chicago, who they solidly swept in a home & home series that concluded with the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on New Years Day. Goalie Ty Conklin continues to shoulder the load in net, as incumbent Chris Osgood recovers from a groin injury. Star winger Henrik Zetterberg also has a groin issue, although he is likely to play through it in tonight's game in St. Paul. It was good to see captain Nick Lidstrom back on the #1 defensive pairing New Years day after suffering a recent ankle injury. Winger Juri Hudler continued what is becoming his breakout season on Thursday, scoring 2 goals and assisting on another against the Hawks. Hudler has already equaled his career high in goals with 15, and his stellar play has earned him a frequent spot on the power play unit, which continues to be tops in the league. This is what makes the Red Wings so great........last year it was Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary (before his broken jaw) that stepped up and revealed themselves as elite NHLers, and this year Hudler appears to be emerging as the latest in a long line of tremendous talents brought into the Detroit organization by renowned front office gurus Ken Holland (GM) and Jimmy Devellano ( senior VP). It's almost funny........all you hear about is how teams like Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Jose and Boston are primed to ovetake Detroit, largely by way of their young talent, but if one was really paying attention, they'd see that the Wings machine is more than set up to continue rolling well into the future, with formidable up & comers such as Hudler, Tomas Kopecky, Derek Meech, Darren Helm, Jonathan Ericsson, Ville Leino, Jakub Kindl, Justin Abdelkader, and Thomas McCollum.
Speaking of McCollum, had a chance to watch him a bit in the World Junior Championships up in Ottawa the past week. He had a bad game in a 5-3 loss to Slovakia, allowing 4 goals on just 18 shots (5th goal was an empty netter), and a couple of the goals could have certainly been classified as "soft". Still, McCollum continues to play well for the OHL's Guelph Storm, where he is 16-10-4 this season, with 2.13 GA and an impressive 0.92 save percentage. I have a particular interest in this guys development, as Wings fans wait to see who the next home grown goalie to grace the nets at Joe Louis Arena will be. I'm still waiting for Jimmy Howard to get his shot, but once the team signed Conklin last year I knew he was likely not going to see much time this year, barring any injuries to Ty or Ozzie. Both McCollum and Howard hail from New York state.
On a more personal note, I ordered a white Bob Probert jersey with the alternate captains "A" on it from eBay yesterday, and can't wait 'till it gets here! Yes, Probert was an alternate captain for a time in the early 90's during his heyday as one of the leagues greatest enforcers. What many people don't know or remember is that he was a pretty damn good hockey player as well, especially during his Detroit years.
On to Minnesota! LET'S GO WINGS!!
Northman
I agree 100%. The style of hockey the Wild play is incredibly boring. I am glad Lemaire is gone.
I hear Draper is ready to play. Any word on if he'll be used in the lineup tonight?
I heard there was a controversy, could Draper play and get Social Security at the same time. How old is he , 111? I swear he was on the Montreal Maroons Stanley Cup Champion in the 1920's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Location: I currently exist only in a state of mind. one too complex for geographic location.
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these officials are a disgrace. jesus. the NHL should be ashamed for their behavior during this series thus far no matter the outcome. I wonder if they would have started the series a week early if sid the kid had a hurt foot. doubtful.
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