On the Wings

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

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

Tonight is the fourth and final match between the Wings and Phoenix this season. It is also the start of a five-game, eight-day, West trip for the Wings, taking them to Phoenix, LA, Anaheim, San Jose, and Colorado. Hey, maybe on the Wings’ downtime, Sergei can invite the guys to his not-making-the-playoffs party?

January 16, the teams tied 3-3 at the Joe. Cujo was in net and Henrik Zetterberg tied the game up with 1:44 left in the third. January 24, the Wings lost 5-2 at Glendale Arena. It was the Brian Boucher Show, as the record-breaking goaltender had 44 saves on 46 shots. February 18, the Wings turned the table on the Coyotes with a 5-2 win at the Joe. Legace got the start and Draper had two goals in the last 1:50. In that game, Hull tied Dave Andreychuk’s NHL record for most career power-play goals with his 263rd. So the season series is tied at 1-1-1, with this final matchup at Phoenix deciding the bragging rights between the teams.

The Coyotes have been out of the playoff picture for awhile, with their current 62 points to eighth seed Nashville’s 80. As a result, the organization fired Coach Bob Francis on February 24th, and promoted assistant Rick Bowness as an interim coach. The Coyotes are struggling big time, winless in their last thirteen decisions at 0-8-2-3. This could be due to the revolving-door of a roster down in Phoenix. The following addresses changes in the second half of the season. They traded away Jan Hrdina, Sean Burke, Branko Radivojevic, Mike Sillinger, Chris Gratton, Ossi Vaananen, and Brian Savage. They acquired Derek Morris, Brent Johnson, and Mike Comrie. The deficit of players traded to players acquired reflects the salary-dumping mindset of a team that has realized it will not make the playoffs and is preparing itself for post-CBA madness. They have been shuffling players in and out of their AHL affiliation in Springfield, which is, by the way, set to expire at the end of this season.

The Wings have been shuffling players in and out of their AHL affiliation in Grand Rapids, but not for the same reasons as Phoenix. Yesterday, the Wings recalled defenseman Anders Myrvold from the Griffins. The Wings are poised to make a serious playoff run, but injuries have forced them to dip into their depth of talent and call on the young guys of the organization to fill in for the regulars. As it stands, the Wings are at first place in the NHL with 96 points, with Tampa Bay flanking with 95. But the Wings need to zoom in to the Western Conference picture before they get their eyes on winning a Presidents Trophy, since the Avs have awoken from relative mediocrity and are 5-3-1-1 in their last ten. The Wings lead the Avs by only three points. The race for the Western Conference title will most likely come down to the away-home series versus the Avs, March 25th and 27th. These are the final meetings between the Wings and Avs this season, with the series tied at 1-1.

Coach Dave Lewis has indicated that Curtis Joseph probably will not play tonight. He had an appointment with an ankle specialist recently, and has complained of soreness. Manny Legace is expected to get the start tonight.

Injury Updates:

The Wings’ parade of injuries continues with the recent shoulder injury of Derian Hatcher in his fifth game back with the Wings. The extent of the injury appears minor, as Hatcher is listed as day-to-day with a bruised shoulder. The injury came as a result of a third period collision with 6″ 3′, 232 lb Flame Chris Simon.

Some good news is that Pavel Datsyuk has been lobbying Coach Lewis to play, and might play tonight versus the Coyotes. I don’t expect the Wings to rush Pavel into the mix though, since our depth has allowed us to get along fine without him. Pavel skated with the Wings for the first time Tuesday morning. Lewis on Pavel’s status: “I’d hope (he’d play) by the end of the road trip.”

Kris Draper, who hasn’t played since suffering a partially torn left rotator cuff March 3 in practice, also skated with the team Tuesday morning. Drapes on how the shoulder feels: “I did a little bit of passing. Today was probably the first day that I could do that. Each time I tried to pass a little bit harder, just to kind of see where I can go with it. It felt good. The way it looks, I think every day (trainer Piet Van Zant) is going to kind of give me a little bit more rope to kind of try to push it.” Coach Lewis has his status as “week to week.�

New Wing Robert Lang hopes to skate today. He is hopeful, yet patient: “You never know. A miracle could happen, and it would be perfect. But I think at this point I’ll just take it nice and easy. There’s no sense in rushing it to play the last four games or last two games.”

Award Winning FSN?

FSN is not exactly award winning, coming from a Wings fan who is often boisterously critical of the network’s coverage. But the voice of the Wings’ play-by-play and the endless pool of Red Wings knowledge and trivia, Ken Daniels, is, as he was named Michigan Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Through the satellite blips and pixelation issues, I couldn’t agree more that Ken Daniels is a top notch sportscaster. His partner in crime, Mickey Redmond, also has gotten some recognition for his work as color commentator in the past. He was named the Best Color Commentator in the Detroit News’ “The Best of Michigan for 2003.”

Playoff Picture:

Clubs officially eliminated from playoff contention include Phoenix, Chicago, and Columbus in the West, and Washington and Pittsburgh in the East. Soon to be eliminated are Minnesota and Anaheim in the West, and the Rangers, Carolina, Atlanta, and Florida in the East. Clubs that are fighting for playoff contention outside the current eight seeds are LA and Edmonton in the West, and Buffalo in the East. Currently, five of six Canadian clubs are set to make the playoffs, with Edmonton on the bubble in the West. And right now, Toronto and Ottawa are fourth and fifth seeds, respectively, in the East, which would set the stage for a first round battle between the rivals.