From some passive watching of the game tonight, looking up at the tv when Ken and Mick got excited, here are some brief notes. The Wings dominated Chicago tonight. Shanahan got his 17th career hat trick, bringing his goal total to 39 this season, and the Wings got their NHL record 11th straight road win. Zetterberg added two goals, to make for 38 goals on the season. Lidstrom had a goal and three assists. Holmstrom tallied the other goal. The Wings led in shots 40-31. Khabibulin allowed 5 goals on 17 shots, and was pulled in the second.
The Wings dressed only 16 skaters tonight. Datsyuk, Yzerman, Schneider, and Williams all sat out. Manny was in net.
The Chicago crowd wasn’t very into the game, and didn’t even bother booing Chelios. Also, Don MacLean added an assist on one of Shanahan’s goals, his second point in as many games. He centered it out in front, and Shanny picked up the loose puck for the goal.
There were many scary moments. Draper took a puck to the foot and went to the locker room before returning later in the game. Chelios also took a beating. Dan Cleary was caught with his head down and elbowed in the head by Tuomo Ruutu, who was given a game misconduct for “kneeing” on the play. Cleary caught a bit of a knee, but what really got him was the elbow to his nose/forehead. He was very slow to get up, and appeared dizzy on the bench. Thankfully, he returned after missing a few shifts. Not such great luck for Jason Woolley, who left during the second with an undisclosed injury.
Kronwall had a physical game, and the game got really chippy near the end with some roughing calls and scrums after the whistle.
Playoff Update:
Since Vancouver lost tonight and is out of the playoff run, the Wings will play either Edmonton or Colorado. Edmonton has one game left, against Colorado at home on Monday, and 93 points. Colorado has two games left, both on the road, and 94 points. Edmonton must beat Colorado and hope the Avs lose their game in Vancouver in regulation, as Colorado would win the tie-breaker in the standings with more wins than Edmonton.