The Wings were outplayed for the third straight game this season against the Avalanche, but managed to win 3-1. The Wings scored early and hung on as the Avalanche dominated the Wings on offense. Manny Legace got the start, and kept the Wings in it when they were outskated and outhustled. Even though the Wings got the win and lead the season series 2-1, I am disappointed to see the Wings on their heels against our Western Conference foe in Denver. The Wings can’t expect to be outshot by the Avs and play in a 60-minute penalty kill mode and win many games against the Avalanche. It’s hard for me to say that the Wings have been the better team in the three season meetings, just that the Wings have managed to hold on and win with an Avalanche onslaught of offense.

In the first period, the Avs’ stifling defense limited the Wings to 5 shots to the Avs’ 12. But Legace was able to make the critical saves and keep the score tight. Tomas Holmstrom opened the scoring on the power play at 9:52, assisted by Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan. On the play, Holmstrom carried the puck out of the corner, went to the right circle, and beat Aebischer farside corner. It was a weird goal, since Aebischer was surprised that Homer let off a shot from where he did, and no Wings were even close to the crease area to cause traffic, so it was a clean goal. 1-0 Wings. Midway through the period, Darren McCarty and Matthew Barnaby got into a fight. It was a brief bout, since Barnaby got sliced over his right eye on a jab from McCarty. Darren stopped throwing punches after he saw Barnaby’s entire face covered in blood, literally. Avs forward Jim Cummins had two penalties on back-to-back shifts: at 5:56 for interference and 9:19 for high-sticking. The second penalty gave the Wings the power play chance which they capitalized on. The Wings had one power play goal in their past five games previous to tonight.

In the second period, there was no scoring. At times, it seemed like the Avs were on a power play when both teams were at even strength. The Wings didn’t get as many quality scoring chances as the Avs, and the ‘Lanche controlled the pace. It was a strange moment when Mathieu Schneider’s stick became stuck in between the glass on the nearside boards. ESPN showed a fan trying to work it loose between the panes, but I think it took arena custodians to get it out. The Wings’ best chance came on a Hull shot that was deflected and hit the post. At the end of the period, Nick Lidstrom mugged Peter Forseberg, but the play went uncalled, likely because it was the three-time Norris Trophy winner. Shots were 11-8 Avs.

In the third period, the Avs came out of the blocks with energy, and outskated the Wings. Luckily, Manny Legace was up for the game tonight. He made an incredible save on Avs center Riku Hahl point blank, definitely the save of the game. On the play, the puck was passed to Hahl in front, and Manny did the splits on the save. The ESPN commentator billed him “Manny ‘The Difference’ Legace.” And there was nothing truer than that in tonight’s game. The Wings held on as the Avs pressed, and Pavel Datsyuk got an important insurance goal at 17:28, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg and Darren McCarty. On the play, Zetterberg shot on Aebischer, who thought he had the puck between his pads and the play was stopped. Unfortunately for him, both his thoughts were wrong. The puck was lying near the left post, and Pavel Datsyuk picked it up and stuffed it for his 28th of the season. 2-0 Wings. We got another fight at 18:39, between Jim Cummins, still frustrated from his costly first period penalties, and Brendan Shanahan, not cracking the boxscores with offense so might as well go at it. Initially, Cummins pushed Shanny and #14 tried to avoid the fight. But Cummins persisted so much that Shanny answered the call and dropped the gloves. It was a longer fight than the McCarty/Barnaby bout, and Shanny bloodied Cummins enough that there was a bit of red decoration above the Winged-Wheel. The Avs pulled Aebischer at a bad time, and Henrik Zetterberg scored on the empty net before the Avs’ goaltender even made it to the bench. Maltby got the assist on the goal, scored at 18:28. 3-0 Wings. With the game essentially over, the Avs still played hard and finally scored at 19:28 from Steve Konowalchuk on a broken play, assisted by Paul Kariya and Darby Hendrickson. The goal ruined Manny’s shutout bid, definitely a disappointment considering he’s coming off some bad starts in San Jose and Anaheim. 3-1 Wings. Shots in the period were 12-8 Avs.

Throughout the game, Peter Forseberg was stifled by the Wings. By the end of the game, he nearly had a fit when Schneider mugged him in the third. Forseberg has spoken out about how the league needs to make sure that skilled players aren’t interfered with by the opposition to the extent that their skills are watered down. I agree to some extent, but Peter is no Martin Havlat. He’s a big guy, and should be able to hold his own out there.

With television ratings for NHL hockey at the arena football level or worse, ESPN feels like they have to play up the Wings / Avs rivalry to the fullest. They mentioned it on every single check, scrum, and battle. And the referees let the play go on a few occasions like they wanted something to brew up. I’m not saying the rivalry doesn’t exist anymore, but it’s not the same as it was back when. ESPN loves the rivalry, billing it as “Thursday Night Hockey…The Red Wings and Avalanche renew their rivalry on ESPN’s Thursday Night Hockey.” They even replayed the Lemieux hit on Draper during third, maybe trying to rub salt into an old wound. I’m sorry, but I don’t think anyone needs to be reminded about what happened on May 29, 1996 at McNichols Arena.

Notables:

Avalanche defenseman Karlis Skrastins, 29, has 346 consecutive games played…..Tampa Bay is the first team to notch 100 points: with their win tonight over New Jersey they have 101 points….Jeremy Roenick returned to the ice after a six-week absence, as he recovered from a shattered jaw and concussion….Forseberg also returned Tuesday night after missing 17-games with a groin injury….Teemu Selanne has 0 points in 18 games, the longest drought of his career….the Wings lead the league with 15 short handed goals….Nick Lidstrom has had one roughing call in 1000+ games played….The Wings have allowed 14 goals in their last 3 games….This is the 5th consecutive 100 point season for the Wings, who are currently tied for league lead with the Lightning at 101 points….The Avs owned face offs tonight, winning 34 to the Wings’ 21. Total Shots 35-23 Avs.

(Editor: Here are the lines from the game, courtesy GWB)
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Hull
Shanahan-Yzerman-Whitney
Maltby-Mowers-McCarty
Thomas-Williams-Holmstrom

Lidstrom-Schneider
Hatcher-Chelios
Fischer-Rivers
Fischer-Chelios

PP-
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Hull
Shanahan-Yzerman-Holmstrom

Lidstrom-Schneider

PK-
Shanahan-Yzerman
Zetterberg-McCarty
Whitney-Mowers
Zetterberg Maltby

Lidstrom-Chelios
Fischer-Rivers

Net-
Manny Legace

Tonight is the third of four meetings between the Wings and Avs this season. The season series is tied at one win apiece. February 5, the Wings beat the Avs 3-2 OT in the Pepsi Center. Curtis Joseph got the start and gave up two goals on the Avs’ first three shots. Brett Hull notched the game winner on the power play in overtime. As you recall, this was the controversial ending where the Avs were called for two high-sticks in the last minute of play. Steve Konowalchuk got four minutes for drawing blood on a high-stick on Kris Draper, and Adam Foote caught the Captain in the mouth with a high-stick off the final regulation faceoff, giving the Wings a 5-on-3 in overtime and rearranging a few of Yzeman’s chicklets. Avs fans were frustrated that the referees let most anything go in the third period up until those calls. They had something to argue on the Draper high-stick, which seemed pretty weak, but the shot on Yzerman clearly warranted a penalty. As the Wings exited the ice victorious, Avs fans littered the ice with garbage in their frustration. February 14, the Wings lost to the Avs 5-2 in the Joe. Manny Legace got the start, and the Avs got four unanswered goals from the end of the second through the third. Jiri Fischer and Steve Yzerman scored the Wings’ only goals.

The Wings are 1-2-1 on this road trip, and 8-3-2 in their last thirteen decisions. They are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Sharks Tuesday night. In the game, Manny Legace got the start after Cujo tweaked his already-sore ankle in pregame warmups. Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Fischer had the Wings’ only goals, and rising start Jonathan Cheechoo had two goals for the Sharks. The Wings are tied for league lead with Tampa Bay at 99 points, and lead Avs/San Jose by five points in the West. This away-home series with the Avs is extremely important in the Wings’ efforts to clinch the Western Conference title. It is a possible eight-point swing going to Denver or Detroit. The Wings have had the Central Division locked up since their 1-1 tie at Phoenix March 18.

The Avs are 5-4-1-0 in their last ten decisions, and have clinched a playoff spot, with a three point lead over the floundering Canucks (3-4-2-1 in their last ten) in the Northwest Division. They are coming off a 2-2 tie with Chicago. It was Tommy Salo’s second start with the Avs since the deal that brought him to the mile-high city. In the game, Blackhawk Tyler Arnason tied the game at 2 with a late goal at 18:20. This made the Avs 0-3-1 in their last four games, the Avs having lost three straight away games in Canada (Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto). The Avs are looking to lock up their division and then catch the Wings. With back-to-back games against the Wings, the Avs have their chance this weekend.

Kirk Maltby should be back with the team for tonight’s game in Denver. He was in Detroit to attend the birth of his first child, daughter Ella, Monday night. Mathieu Schneider is still out with a groin/hip injury. He will take a light skate today and is unlikely to make the start tonight. Things have taken a turn for the worst with Cujo. After tweaking his already-sore ankle in warmups Tuesday night, Coach Dave Lewis sounds concerned about his number one’s status:

“He (Joseph) can’t play. His ankle is not strong enough to play. Before he can play, his ankle has to be more stable. … I don’t think it’s fair to him, or the team (to jump into the playoffs). You have to get practice, and games, and right now we’re running out of games. If Curtis is injured, Manny will be the guy.”

He will have an MRI on his right ankle tomorrow, and it is possible that he will be unavailabe come the start of the playoffs. Joseph weighed in on his nagging ankle injury:

“Usually, when I feel it, it’s just like a 30-second thing and then it goes away. This didn’t go away for a little bit. But eventually it did.”

Manny Legace will make the start tonight, with Marc Lamothe recalled as his backup.

The Wings never had much of a chance last night in San Jose and lost 5-2. They never had a lead in the game and were down by at least one goal for the majority of the time.

Curtis Joseph was supposed to get the start game but because he tweaked his ankle in the pre-game warmup, Manny Legace played instead.

1st Period
The first nine minutes of the period were marked by numerous stoppages of play due to offsides and icings, making for some pretty choppy and boring hockey. The Wings had more chances than the Sharks but they were fairly second-rate overall.

San Jose opened the scoring with sort of a fluke goal at 7:42. A centering pass from the corner bounced off Derian Hatcher’s skate, right to Scott Hannan who shot it past a helpless Manny Legace. Sloppy defensive coverage on the Wings part, especially since Hannan is a defenseman who walked up to 10 feet or so in front of the net. The game opened up a little after that and the Sharks got their second goal two minutes later from Jonathan Cheechoo at 9:40. Manny made a great save on the initial shot but the puck trickled out to Cheechoo who took it around the back of the net and roofed it over Legace, who made one or two more saves before it finally went in. More sloppy defense by the Wings.

The Wings continued to play stand-around-and-watch-until-the-last-second defense and pass-the-puck-at-all-costs offense until Pavel Datsyuk got the Wings on the board at 18:27. He took the feed from Brett Hull, who had stolen the puck along the boards, stepped around a falling Sharks player and proceeded to deke the heck out of Nabokov before stuffing the puck in the open net. It was his 50th career goal and yet another result of a “Datsyukian Deke,” as Ken Daniels says. The Wings got a couple more good chances before the end of the period, most notably the glorious chance Yzerman had all alone in front of the net off a great pass from Hull. He was hooked just as he got the shot off, though, and did not score. Shots were 17-9 Wings.

Second Period
The Wings came out with more jump this period, getting good chances and keeping the flow going for much of the time. They got a power play early on but couldn’t convert even though they had a good setup and some quality chances for most of it.

Boyd Devereaux couldn’t capitalize on a glorious chance off a Holmstrom steal at around 13:00. Boyd had a strong game through two periods, though.

Jonathan Cheechoo scored his second of the game when I blinked so I missed how exactly it developed (the replay showed nothing but the actual goal, from a crappy angle too). Apparently, it came off the boards somehow and came right to Cheechoo who has been red-hot lately. He sent it over Manny’s shoulder in the only puck-sized slot available right into the net. The kind of goal guys who are on fire score. That was at 7:12 and the Wings finally responded about five minutes later.

Tomas Holmstrom, another Wing who had a strong game through two, took the puck in by himself along the boards, pivoted and centered it right to Jiri Fischer who ripped it right past Nabokov through Mark Mowers’ screen to make the score 3-2. Solid goal by the Wings and I began to hope that they’d keep it up. Unfortunately, Evgeni Nabokov had other ideas.

Shots were 15-4.

Third Period
San Jose made it 4-2 at 6:10 of the third when Manny was knocked down behind the net as Anders Myrvold pushed his man towards the end boards. From what I could tell on the replay, the Sharks player looked to maneuver himself so his rear-end would slam into Legace. It wasn’t completely accidental, in my opinion, and the Wings had a legitimate gripe when the actual goal was scored. The puck came out front and bounced off Alex Korolyuk’s skate into the completely empty net. Myrvold was upset about the whole thing but mistakes like that happen to everyone. I don’t fault him for it.

At about 7:15, Nabokov stoned Hull right in front of the net after Brett received the pass from Datsyuk. That set the tone for the rest of the Wings’ chances all night as they could get nothing past Nabokov even though they had many glorious chances. There were at least two separate occasions where Datsyuk and Devereaux were denied in the final 20 minutes.

At 15:51, Vincent Damphousse ended the scoring after he stuffed in the rebound off the initial shot from Patrick Marleau. Manny made a great stop close in but the puck trickled over his shoulder to where Damphousse was able to get it. Another result of poor defensive coverage.

Shots were 7-7 and 39-20 overall.

Notes
Derian Hatcher looked sloppy in his return after missing three games with a bruised/separated shoulder … I continue to be impressed with Anders Myrvold’s strong play and physical style … Henrik Zetterberg looks like he is about to break out with some big games. He has been playing very well offensively lately, though he was minus-3 last night … Manny is still playing well but is nowhere near the form he was in a week to ten days ago … Colorado tied Chicago 2-2 last night and is just five points back of Detroit for the Conference lead … The win last night put the Sharks five points behind the Wings as well and they clinched a playoff spot … The Wings are 1-2-1 so far in this five-game road trip. The next game is Thursday in Colorado … Joseph is questionable for that game after he tweaked his ankle in the pre-game warmup. Tests will be conducted on Friday when the Wings return home but they will see how he responds today before deciding who will play tomorrow night … Kirk Maltby had a daughter, Ella, Monday night and he may join up with the Wings in Denver for tomorrow’s game … Schneider missed his second consecutive game with a groin injury but may return tomorrow night. “The way it’s progressed the last couple days, I’m hoping to play Thursday.” …

Tonight is the fourth and final meeting between the Wings and Sharks. The Wings lead the season series 2-1. December 17, the Wings beat the Sharks 3-2 OT in the Joe. Curtis Joseph got the start and Henrik Zetterberg got a goal and two assists. Pavel Datsyuk tied the game up on the power play and with an empty net at 19:41. Brendan Shanahan got the game-winning goal in overtime. January 19, the Wings lost to the Sharks 2-1 in HP Pavilion Arena (“The Shark Tank”). Evgeni Nabokov had 34 saves for the Sharks, and Steve Yzerman scored the Wings’ only goal at 10:00 in the third. Curtis Joseph got the start. February 11, the Wings beat the Sharks 4-2 in the Joe. Steve Yzerman had two goals and Manny Legace got the start. The Wings have lost their last two games in San Jose, and three of their last four there.

The Wings are 8-2-2 in their last twelve decisions. They are coming off a tough 8-6 loss to the Mighty Ducks Sunday night. In the game, the Wings dressed only five defenseman, two of which were Griffins. The entire team blew coverage, and left Manny Legace, then Curtis Joseph out to dry on several occasions. While many goaltender-haters surfaced in Hockeytown the next morning, that loss really came down to poor defensive coverage, especially near the crease. It was the first time Manny has been pulled this season: “It was just a pond hockey game. That’s all it was. No defense, just strictly offense.” The Wings are leading the league with 99 points, and can become the first team to notch 100 points tonight, which would be the fifth straight 100-point season in Hockeytown. The Wings hold a six point lead on the Avs, whom we are facing in an away-home series March 25 and March 27.

The San Jose Sharks are 9-4-1-1 in their last fifteen decisions. They are coming off a tough 5-2 loss to the hungry Edmonton Oilers Sunday night. In the game, Edmonton scored three unanswered goals after the game was at a 2-2 tie midway through the second. The Sharks are currently the third seed in the West at 92 points, leading the Pacific Division by one point over Dallas. They hope to secure home ice advantage for at least the first round by keeping their division lead.

Kirk Maltby should be back with the team for Thursday’s game in Denver. He’s in Detroit to attend the birth of his first child. Ryan Barnes played a 14-second shift versus Anaheim, and may get in there tonight. Derian Hatcher and Mathieu Schneider are both questionable for tonight. Curtis Joseph will likely get the start tonight, as he’s beaten (27-7) the Sharks more than any other goaltender in the league.

In a 1980′s style game, the Ducks beat the Wings 8-6 in Arrowhead Pond. Manny Legace got the start, but was pulled and replaced by Curtis Joseph in the second period after the Ducks scored four goals in 8:42. The Wings were worried that, with three games in four nights, they would have a sluggish effort tonight. But they came out flying, scoring three goals in the first 6:31 of the game. Unfortunately, the Wings weren’t the only team psyched for the game. The Ducks scored 5 goals in 10:04, something that will surely be in Dave Lewis’ nightmares tonight.

The Wings felt the pain of two notable absences. Schneider was out day-to-day with a groin injury, and Kirk Maltby was back in Detroit for family reasons, his wife having a baby. So the Wings only dressed five defensemen tonight: Chelios, Fischer, Lidstrom, Myrvold, and Rivers. And that’s what ultimately got the Wings, I believe.

In the first period, Pavel Datsyuk scored his 25th goal of the season at 2:59, assisted by Steve Thomas and Jamie Rivers. On the play, Datsyuk scored on a wrist shot from the right circle, with Jean-Sebastien Giguere partially screened by a passing Wings player. 1-0 Wings. Then Brett Hull scored his 24th goal of the season at 5:27, assisted by Pavel Datsyuk and Ray Whitney. It was a power play goal, and came off a Hull tap in, fed by a backhand pass from Datsyuk. 2-0 Wings. Then Steve Yzerman scored his 17th of the seasom at 6:31, assisted by Jason Williams and Jiri. Fischer. On the play, Yzerman fired a shot from the left side, beating Giguere. 3-0 Wings. Then the tide came in, and brought with it five Anaheim goals over the next 10:04, spanning the remainder of the first and the start of the second. The first goal came at 13:54 from Anaheim Joffrey Lupul on the power play (courtesy of Boyd Devereaux, obstruction hooking), assisted by Sergei Fedorov and Rob Niedermayer. On the play, Fedorov passed the puck across the crease to a waiting Lupol. 3-1 Wings. Shortly thereafter, Steve Rucchin got in on the scoring at 15:18, assisted by Vitaly Vishnevski and Vaclav Prospal. 3-2 Wings. And at 19:58, Jason Williams committed what proved to be a costly penalty, with a four minute double minor for high sticking. Shots in the period were 23-10 Wings.

In the second period, with the first intermission acting as the eye of the storm, the hurricane of Ducks offense blasted the Wings. Samuel Pahlsson continued the scoring at 2:10, assisted by Martin Skoula and Andy McDonald. 3-3 tie. And as the red light was just turning off, the Ducks scored again, 26 seconds later. It came from Sergei Fedorov at 2:36, assisted by Rob Niedermayer and Ruslan Salei. 4-3 Ducks. At this point, Manny Legace was pulled, and Cujo scrambled to get his mask on and get out there. He couldn’t have been too excited to jump into this kind of game. The Ducks capitalized on the next powerplay, courtesy of a boarding call on Jamie Rivers that made it a 5-on-3, with a goal from Petr Sykora at 3:58, assisted by Vaclav Prospal and Martin Skoula. 5-3 Ducks. Lucky for the Wings, Nicklas Lidstrom scored at 5:56, assisted by Henrik Zetterberg. On the play, Henrik found Lidstrom cutting up through the middle, between the circles, and Nick roofed it on Jiggy. 5-4 Wings. If the Wings had won the game, this would’ve been the turning point for sure. It marked the end of the Ducks’ five unanswered goals, and gave the Wings some momentum. Jamie Rivers scored at 16:53, assisted by Steve Thomas and Brett Hull. On the play, Thomas got the puck across to the weak side through traffic, and Rivers jumped up and rocketed it in. 5-5 tie. With a minute left, Cujo made a huge save on Joffrey Lupul, who took a pass from Samuel Pahlsson at the mouth of the goal. After such a terrible first half of the period, the Wings had to be pleased with where they were going into the locker room for the second intermission. Shots in the period were 18-10 Wings.

In the third period, Ray Whitney scored at 1:41, assisted by Jamie Rivers and Steve Yzerman. On the play, Giguere was caught out of the net and Whitney scored with Ducks defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh acting as goaltender. 6-5 Wings. But the Wings’ first lead since 13:54 of the first was short-lived, 36 seconds to be exact. Vitaly Vishnevski scored at 2:17, assisted by Samuel Pahlsson. On the play, the Wings were caught on a bad change, and Cujo was beat top shelf. 6-6 tie. Sergei Fedorov scored at 7:01, assisted by Rob Niedermayer and Keith Carney. On the play, Fedorov got the puck in on Cujo backdoor, as Henrik Zetterberg’s holding penalty just expired. 7-6 Ducks. With a minute left in the game, the Wings pulled Cujo, but Steve Rucchin scored an empty net goal at 19:46, assisted by Rob Niedermayer and Jason Krog. 8-6 Ducks. Shots in the period were 16-10 Wings; final shots 57-30 Wings.

Notables:

Calgary Flames coach-general manager Darryl Sutter was suspended two games for sending thug Krzysztof Oliwa onto the ice to start a fight with only 2.5 seconds left in the game and the score 3-1 Nashville. Oliwa was suspended three games. It’s nice to see the NHL coming down hard on both the coach and the player in a situation like that, since they obviously didn’t do that with Marc Crawford in the Bertuzzi incident.

Assistant Coach Joey Kocur in the second intermission interview: “it’s like the eighty’s relived,” “a lot of fun out there,” and “Manny wasn’t as sharp as he has been.”

Steve Yzerman, with his assist tonight, has 1041 assists, putting him past Marcel Dionne for 8th all time…. Fedorov has 29 goals, and is one away from his 10th 30-goal season….It was the highest scoring game in Mighty Duck history with 14 goals (previous record was 12)….The Wings had a season-high 57 shots….Anaheim scored five goals in a franchise-record 10:04 in the first and second periods….Ray Whitney has thirteen goals in 60 games-played this season.

Sergei Fedorov was booed all night, most likely by Wings fans transplanted or living in Anaheim. It had to be pretty embarrassing for Fedorov to be booed in

Tonight is the fourth and final matchup between the Wings and Ducks. Previous decisions include a 7-2 trouncing of Anaheim December 3 in the Joe, in Sergei Fedorov’s first game against his former club. In the game, Pavel Datsyuk had 2 goals, 2 assists, and Manny Legace got the start. There were five goals in the second period, four of which were from the Wings. January 3, the Wings beat Anaheim 3-1 in the Joe. Manny Legace got the start, and the Wings scored two third-period goals to notch the win. Most recently, the clubs skated to a 2-2 tie in Arrowhead Pond. Manny Legace got the start, and Vaclav Prospal tied the game at 19:00 of the third period.

The Wings are 8-1-2 in their last eleven decisions. They are coming off a hard-fought 4-2 win over the hungry Los Angeles Kings last night. In the game, two goals from Jason Williams and solid play by Curtis Joseph led the Wings to victory. It moved the Wings to first place in the league at 99 points, with Tampa Bay trailing with 97 points but with one less game remaining. The Wings are looking to lock up the Western Conference title, with the Central Division clinched after the Wings’ 1-1 tie at Phoenix Thursday. But it will ultimately come down to the away-home series versus the Avs, March 25 and March 27. The Avs have been floundering a bit as of late, and are 5-4-1-0 in their last ten decisions with 93 points. That series is an eight-point swing, with a maximum of four points going to either Denver or Detroit. Coach Dave Lewis is right when he says “this road trip will define our season,” because the Wings may have a trip out West in the first round of the playoffs.

The Mighty Ducks have been pretty much .500 all season, as they have a 26-31-10-8 record and are 4-5-1-0 in their last ten decisions. While they aren’t officially eliminated from the playoff picture, they are 11 points back from eighth seed St Louis and only have 7 games remaining. So it would basically take 7 wins and Edmonton, Los Angeles, and St Louis taking a goose-egg win count for the rest of the season. The Ducks will play hungry tonight, not only because Coach Mike Babcock will get them fired up but because Sergei Fedorov will be playing for his pride. Fedorov has never missed the playoffs, as the Wings have had 14 consecutive playoff appearances with this season included. That streak runs back to his first season with the Wings, when we lost 4-3 to St Louis in the 1991 Norris Division semifinals. Fedorov leads the Ducks with 59 points (27 G, 32 A), but could end the season minus for the first time in his career (-5 this season, +271 on his career). Those numbers are way down from his last season with the Wings, in which he had 83 points (36 G, 47 A), and was +15. He might not have picked the Ducks for more money, but he sure has picked no playoffs and less offensive output, with no support from his teammates

Ducks Coach Mike Babcock is certainly wise when he says “Our chances of catching Detroit are pretty slim -but we have a game left with them. And if we can get some help from some other teams here in Southern California, you never know.”

Manny Legace is expected to get the start tonight, since Cujo played last night. Derian Hatcher isn’t expected to play tonight, still sore with a bruised left shoulder.

The Wings swept the season series against the Los Angeles Kings, beating them 4-2 in the Staples Center. It was the second game of a five game road trip. Coach Dave Lewis said that “this road trip will define our season.” Cujo got the start, despite some doubt with his sore ankle and Manny’s great play as of late. But it was a good move by the Wings, since we might face LA in the first round. There was a buzz in the arena the whole night, and the Kings played desperation hockey as the final seconds ticked away. It was a chippy game, and both teams played hard for 60 minutes.

In the first period, the Wings just couldn’t buy a goal. Early in, Fischer took a long dump-in shot on Kings’ goaltender Cristobal Huet. The puck was deflected 60 feet out by a Kings defenseman and hit the post. Later, Henrik Zetterberg found Brett Hull on top of the left circle, but a Hull one-timer hit iron. And with 20 seconds left in the period, Zetterberg hit the crossbar as he broke in on Huet. That’s two posts and crossbar in the first. Kirk Maltby and Zetterberg went on a 2-on-1 four minutes in, and the Kings recovered after a failed attempt and got a power play goal from Alexander Frolov at 4:25, assisted by Derek Armstrong and Luc Robitaille. On the play, Frolov got a pass from Armstrong and tapped the puck in five-hole on Cujo. 1-0 Kings. At 8:58, Mark Mowers broke in on Huet, similar to his ESPN Sportscenter #1 goal March 3rd, but failed to convert. It was a pretty physical period. After Luc Robitaille gave Hull a cheapshot elbow into his gut, there was some chirping between the ex-teammates. They even had to be separated by the linesmen. Despite the Wings’ three shots off the post, the Kings really had the extra jump in the first. They clogged up the neutral zone, in a style that ex-King Mathieu Schneider calls an “aggressive trap.” The Kings outshot the Wings 7-4.

In the second period, the game broke wide open. Yzerman gave Ray Whitney a beautiful feed up the middle, and Whitney got off a decent shot on Huet. After the puck went out into the neutral zone, the Wings’ persistence paid off with a goal by Jason Williams, assisted by Steve Yzerman and Jiri Fischer, at 1:30. It was his fifth of the season, and came after Yzerman shot the puck, fought for it behind the net, and gave Williams the chance to pick the puck up and slip it under Huet’s pads. 1-1 Wings. Soon after, Williams got his second of the night at 5:24, assisted by Steve Yzerman. On the play, more hard work behind the net paid off as Williams got off a flutter-ball screen shot that beat Huet upstairs and in slow motion style. 2-1 Wings. At 17:06, the Williams / Whitney / Yzerman line continued their hot streak with a tic-tac-toe play, culminating in a Whitney goal. On the play, Williams fed Yzerman, who passed it to Whitney at the mouth of the net. Whitney scored second chance on a rebound from his initial shot. 3-1 Wings. Aaron Miller got a bloody nose after the puck rode up the shaft of his stick off a Shanahan shot. It’s always a dangerous move to plant your stick in front of a shot. Recently, Flyers defenseman Vladimir Malakhov suffered a fractured jaw on a similar play. Don Cherry even addressed the issue in the March 20 Coach’s Corner. After a lot of chirping and jawing, we finally got a fight. It was between Armstrong and Jamie Rivers, after Armstrong ran over Cujo. It was a good bout, and I’d give Rivers the nod. Shots in the period were 12-10 Wings.

In the third period, the Kings played hungry as they tried to earn at least one point. Around 12:00, Cujo made a huge save on Armstrong, as Sean Avery passed the puck across the crease to Armstrong. Yzerman can also be credited with making the save, since he got a piece of Armstrong’s stick to keep him from getting good wood on the shot. It was a scary moment as Anson Carter caught a high stick from Schneider across his right eye. Carter doesn’t wear a visor, and was checking the eye for a few minutes on the bench. With the score still at 3-1, Andy Murray decided to pull Huet at the 4-minute mark, giving the Kings a rare 6-on-3 opportunity. They were unable to convert, and LA pulled Huet three more times, as faceoffs forced him back in net. With the King’s net empty, Luc Robitaille scored a power play goal at 17:09, assisted by Trent Klatt. On the play, there was a ton of traffic in front of Cujo, and Klatt managed to pass the puck across the crease to Luc, who found a wide open net. 3-2 Wings. Luckily, at 19:48, Nicklas Lidstrom scored his ninth of the season on an empty net goal, assisted by Darren McCarty and Henrik Zetterberg. 4-2 Wings. I was beginning to worry that this was Game 4, 2001 Playoffs all over again. In that game, the Kings tied the game up with three goals in only 5:14.

Sean Avery certainly made his presence known tonight. In the first, he drew a cross-checking penalty from Jiri Fischer and embellished a tripping call from Anders Myrvold. He also mixed it up with Schneider, whom he was traded for. McCarty and Avery wanted to fight in the third, but linesman Vaughan Rody split it up. I would’ve loved to see a fight between those two, but the sissy linesmen had to break it up since it’s just not right for two hard-nose guys to go at it anymore. Avery also jawed at the Wings’ bench during line changes all night.

Notables:

The Kings have lost six straight to the Wings….Luc Robitaille respectfully declined a first intermission interview, possibly since he was fired up after the scrum with Hull….Ken Daniels and Pat Verbeek called the game….Ex-King Manny Legace, whom the Wings signed as a free agent on 7/16/99, had to be disappointed not to get the start….Anson Carter has 1 assist in 7 games since the deal that landed him in LA….The Kings have suffered a record 585 man games lost, including 10 regulars. They have used 42 players this season, 3rd most in the league….Sean Avery leads the league with 238 penalty minutes….Multi-point getters on the night: Robitaille (2), Yzerman (3), Williams (3)….LA has pulled their goaltender 26 times this season, with 4 tonight.

Luc Robitaille tied John Bucyk at 1369 points for all time lead in points for a left winger. Luc also leads the Kings in points this season, with 50 points (22 G, 28 A). This is his third tour of duty in LA, and he has 1000+ games as a King.

In the pregame segment, John Keating talked with Robert Lang. Lang talked about how it was his first road trip with the Wings and how he was trying to get to know the team better. And he practically said “you know” 100 times. I caught five in a sentence at one point. You know?

The Wings are two-up on Tampa Bay with 99 pts, and had clinched the Central Division with the 1-1 tie at Phoenix Thursday. It is the 14th consecutive season that the Wings are going to the playoffs

Must-See TV:

Don’t miss Chris Chelios’ “Beyond the Glory” segment on FSN, airing Sunday 6:30 PM and 11:00 PM.

(Editor: Here are the lines from the game, courtesy GWB)
Shanahan-Zetterberg-McCarty
Thomas-Datsyuk-Hull
Whitney-Yzerman-Williams
Maltby-Mowers-Holmstrom
Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Hull

Lidstrom-Schneider
Fischer-Chelios
Rivers-Myrvold

4 on 4-
Datsyuk-Hull
Zetterberg-Maltby

Lidstrom-Schneider
Fischer-Chelios

PP-
Shanahan-Yzerman-Holmstrom
Thomas-Datysuk-Hull
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Hull

Lidstrom-Schneider
Fischer-chelios
Lidstrom-Whitney

PK-
Zetterberg-Maltby
Shanahan-Yzerman

Lidstrom-Schneider
Lidstrom-Chelios
Fischer-Schneider

5(6 on 3-Huet pulled) on 3PK-
Yzerman

Lidstrom-Chelios

Net-
Curtis Joseph