On the Wings

Update (5:05 PM): I meant to include this earlier: apparenty, Mathieu Schneider’s “lower body injury” is really a “slight knee sprain.” His status for tomorrow night’s game in Colorado was unknown last night and hasn’t been reported yet today. It seems likely, though, that he’ll sit out a game, at least.

Earlier in the trip, the talk that Chris Chelios would re-join the team in Denver came with the acknowledgement that he’d need a day or two of practice to ensure being in game-shape, meaning his actual return to the lineup wasn’t supposed to be until Thursday. It doesn’t look like Cheli and the Wings will have the luxury of waiting now. - Matt

The Wings lost their third in a row last night, 4-2 to Anaheim, falling to 0-3 thus far on their 5-game road trip. They played a good game, relative to the other two games, but the Ducks played better and had the bounces go their way. Aside from the overall improvement in their play, another positive was that they did not blow a lead this time. They actually fought back once and nearly twice. Still, as with any loss, there was a few negatives.

Dominik Hasek, FSN reported before the game, was 8-0-1 with 3 shutouts since 2000 in the game after being pulled. Images in the lockerroom indicated typicak Dominator derminination and I began to have some confidence in the game. Dom looked very strong throughout the first period, as the teams traded chances and pressure (with the Ducks getting a slight advantage, I think). In the second period, however, it didn’t matter how well Dom was playing because the Ducks got bounces and there was no way he was going to stop them.

Immediately following a carry-over Red Wings power play from the first, the Ducks took the puck the other way. Travis Moen, streaking down the right wing, let loose a shot from 56 feet out with only Danny Markov between him and Hasek. It should have been an easy stop, but it glanced off Markov’s outstretched stick before changing direction once or twice more after bouncing on the ice. It beat Dom to his right and put Anaheim up 1-0 at 1:15 of the second. That’s two games in a row in which a goal has gone in off Markov. I know he was just trying to do his job to the best of his ability, but still.

The Wings came back to tie it two minutes later while on the power play. A wide shot by Niklas Kronwall bounced off the backboards right-to-left and Mikael Samuelsson slam dunked it as Ilya Bryzgalov sprawled across. 1-1 at 3:18.

The tie lasted 7:18. With his teammates needing a change, Markov decided to hold the puck behind his goalie until it was completed. Once the new line was over the boards, he dished the puck to Robert Lang at the blue line. Lang made a brilliant pass to Teemu Selanne, who in turn dished it to Bjorn Melin. Melin streaked down the right wing in a 2-on-1. He passed the puck to the slot and Brett Lebda scored a perfect tip in goal to make it 2-1 Ducks. Hasek had no chance.

Okay, perhaps I’m being unfair to Lang. Selanne is a great player and just made a great anticipatory play on a not-so-smart pass by Robert. I know I’m being unfair to Lebda, who was making the right play in trying to intercept the centering pass. It just went badly and ended up looking like a goal we’d be praising him for had it happened at the other end of the ice. It was one of those unlucky plays. The best thing about it is Brett didn’t let it get in his head.

The Ducks extended their lead two minutes later on the only bad goal Dom allowed, a 51-foot slapper by Ryan Getzlaf that wasn’t tipped at all. Hasek admitted after the game that he should have had that one:

“I had good look at it, I sort of misplayed the puck,’’ Hasek said. “It’s one of those goals you want to take back. If I see that shot 10 more times, I make 10 more saves. It was a good shot, but still a shot I should have saved.” (via A2Y)

Considering the Wings would score again, a save on the Getzlaf shot would have been nice.

Perhaps the biggest negative of the night, however, was the first period loss of Mathieu Schneider to a “lower body injury.”

So, turnovers, an injury to a defenseman second in importance only to Nick Lidstrom, and a penchant for scoring on themselves - negatives.

Positives:

Pavel Datsyuk - he looked great in his first game back, getting a number of chances himself to score and creating a lot of plays for his linemates. He didn’t get a point, but looks to have picked up right where he left off before his groin injury.

Jason Williams - Babcock’s pet was a healthy scratch last night, rather than one of the Young Guns, to make room for Pavel in the lineup. It ws a move by Babcock to motivate Jason, although he has 5 points in 5 games, as well as the team. I like it.

The Young Guns - That’s what I call the line made up of Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, and the current AHL call-up, which happens to be Josh Langfeld lately. All three looked great last night, though Valtteri stood out most in my mind. I’m not sure what it was, but he seemed to have fallen off a bit by the quarter mark of the season after looking so great early on. He’s back now, however, and has been making great plays on the puck. He and Hudler go very well together and their line has been one of the best for the Wings lately. They generate a ton of energy as they wreck havoc in the opposition end and I think it’s only a matter of time before they’ll start putting up numbers.

Brett Lebda - His tip-in notwithstanding, Brett had a good game last night. He was physical, laying on one of the best hits of the game in the second period not long before the Ducks scored off his stick. It was a textbook hip check along the boards on Travis Moen that had Ken Daniels and Larry Murphy raving. I liked seeing him get into a scuffle with Rob Niedermeyer earlier in the second after the latter took a late shot on Hasek as well.

The highlight of the night for Brett, however, was his breakaway following a great long pass by Nick Lidstrom through center in the third. He broke in on Bryzgalov and made a couple of moves before sending a backhander on net. Unfortunately, he was stoned on the play so it wasn’t as great as it could have been, but it was still an exciting play. Lebda has perhaps the best wheels on the team.

A note to Ducks fans: real classy of you to start chanting “Red Wings Suck!” (or was it “Ref you suck!”? - either way…) at the start of the Wings’ second consecutive power play in the third immediately following their second goal. Real, real classy.

I suppose, as a whole, we’re supposed to see last night’s loss as a positive thing. I find that hard to do, considering it was their third-straight loss, regardless of how they improved their play over the losses to San Jose and LA. Still, they play Colorado next and perhaps I should put my pessimism on hold until I see the result of that game.