Monthly Archive for January, 2007Page 4 of 5

GameDay: vs. Montreal (25-15-5, 55 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 15, 2007
in 2006-2007, Canadiens and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Tonight is the only meeting between these two Original Six teams this season.

The Habs have not had a great month of January thus far. After posting a 8-4-1 record in December, they’ve skidded a bit with a 3-4-0 record to start 2007. They ended a three-game losing streak on the 9th by beating the Thrashers and proceeded to win their next game, over the Flyers. Then, they lost in spectacular fashion to Ottawa on Saturday, a 8-3 drubbing in the first game of the Hockey Day in Canada tripleheader. Canadiens captain Saku Koivu called it a “punch in the face.”

Despite their recent trouble, the Habs are still a dangerous team. They have the league’s second best power play at 23.2% and their fourth best (86.6%) penalty kill make it difficult for teams to be productive with the man-advantage.

The Wings have had only a slightly better month of January following a strong December (11-3-1). They’ve posted a 4-3-0 record, with a three-game losing streak countered by their current three-game winning streak. Since losing to the Ducks last Sunday, they’ve rebounded with wins over Colorado, Phoenix and, most recently, Chicago. They are in the middle of a three-game homestand and will host the Predators on Wednesday before leaving on a road trip.

Dominik Hasek will be in net tonight for the Wings after sitting out their 6-3 win over Chicago.

Mathieu Schneider (knee sprain) will not be in the lineup, despite positive reports last week about him coming back soon after the road trip. Apparently, he’s not confident he’ll be back before the All-Star Break next week.

Both Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk did not practice yesterday, but they’re expected to dress, according to the Freep. Lidstrom was still sore from taking a shoot-in off an unprotected part of his knee in Phoenix, and Datsyuk was feeling the effects of a hard hit that briefly took him out of the Chicago game in the first period.

Although I didn’t see the Hawks game, I’ve heard that the Wings came out flat and sort of took their time getting going. Well, that worked against a struggling Chicago team, but it won’t work against the Habs, even if they’re been having trouble lately. The Wings will need to perform like they did in Colorado or Phoenix if they want to be able to beat one of the East’s top teams.

1/14 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 14, 2007
in Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Henrik Zetterberg, Mathieu Schneider and Peter Forsberg
. 2 Comments

… I didn’t catch the game, but the Wings won last night, 6-3 over Chicago on goals from Jason Williams (2), Tomas Holmstrom, Danny Markov, Kris Draper, and Robert Lang. Chris Osgood had 33 saves and looked good apparently, though he allowed two weak goals. They play Montreal on Monday.

… Helene St. James has suggestions for the Wings over the second half of the season:

  • “Win the Division” - She’d like to see the Wings avoid playing San Jose or Anaheim in the first round and this is the surest way to do that.
  • “Play Dominik Hasek Less” - I’ve been saying this for a while now.
  • Play Chris Osgood more - She thinks it’s a good idea for Osgood to get more playing so he can get in a rhythm. I agree.
  • “Improve on special teams” - A no-brainer, though the Wings seem to be doing that with every game.
  • Lastly, “Get Peter Forsberg” - Um, what? I would be shocked if this happened. I don’t even know who the Wings would trade for Forsberg, let alone why they’d go after someone so injury-prone, no matter how good he is when healthy. It’s been a Red Wings fan fantasy for years and may be more likely than ever now, but I still have trouble seeing it happen. Maybe if it were a Williams-and-Lilja trade, but otherwise, I can’t see them disrupting the roster just to get a player who could be gone this summer. Forsberg would fulfill their need for a big, strong forward on paper, but how it’d translate to the ice is a big unknown.

… Henrik Zetterberg was the only other Red Wing named to the Western Conference All-Star team. Mathieu Schneider got snubbed again. I’m glad Dominik Hasek didn’t make it because the last thing the Wings need is for him to pull his groin in a fake game. Congratulations to Hank, though!

GameDay: vs. Chicago (17-21-5, 39 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 13, 2007
in 2006-2007, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (6:35 PM): Looks like Schneider’s out, but Lidstrom’s in, according to Helene St. James. No one has been called up, so unless the Wings are planning on going short a defenseman, Lidstrom must be ready to go. - Matt

Tonight is the third of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings lead the series 2-0 with wins November 2nd, 2006 (2-1) and December 14, 2006 (3-2). The remainder of the games are spread over the last months of the season, with a game in February and March, and the last two in April.

The last time the Wings played the Hawks, Chicago seemed to be on a bit of an upswing. They were 5-0-3 over their previous eight games and had a good thing going. After their loss to the Wings, they kept some momentum, winning four of their next six games (9-3-3).

Since then, however, they’ve hit a skid, losing six of their last seven. During that stretch, they’ve dropped games to Boston, Columbus, St. Louis, Nashville, Phoenix, and Buffalo. Their lone win came against the Blues on January 2nd, a 4-1 effort they followed up by being shut out 2-0 two days later. In the last four games alone, they’ve been outscored 16-6. It’s not from lack of trying, however, as they managed to put 35 shots on net in their most recent loss, 2-1 to Buffalo.

One reason for their recent misfortune has been the loss of Martin Havlat to injury. Havlat has missed the last three games with a groin pull, though he could be back tonight, according to the AP. The Hawks are 6-12-4 when Havlat is not in the lineup.

The Wings are finally home after a five-game road trip in which they went 2-3-0, winning the last two games, first over Colororado and then over Phoenix. Since beating the Hawks on December 14, they’ve gone 9-4-1, so they’ve had a better month, even with the three-game skid to start the road trip. They are kicking off a three-game homestand tonight and will host the Canadiens and Predators next week before leaving on a road trip to Columbus, Colorado and St. Louis.

Chris Osgood is slated to start tonight. Dominik Hasek will be the backup as Joey MacDonald is in Grand Rapids on a two-week conditioning stint.

The Free Press reports that Nick Lidstrom may sit out tonight after suffering a knee injury at the start of the second period of their win over Phoenix Thursday night. He took an Owen Nolan shoot-in off his left knee and had to be helped off the ice, but he returned to finish the game. Apparently, he’s “feeling a little banged up,” and might miss just the 21st game in his career, most of which were for rest purposes at the end of the season.

Mathieu Schneider (knee sprain) is listed as doubtful for tonight, so the Wings will be short a defenseman if both he and Nick sit out. No one has yet been callled up from Grand Rapids (as of 12:30 PM), though Ken Holland was there scouting last night and told the Freep he’d make a decision after the morning skate.

The Wings have a good opportunity here to take advantage of a struggling team. Given their knack for waking teams up, however, I suspect it won’t be as easy as it should be, especially since it’s their first game back from a long road trip. Still, if they can continue to play like they played Tuesday night in Colorado and Thursday night in Phoenix, they should be able to pull off a win in spite of the Hawks’ efforts, much like they did against the Avs and Coyotes. Unfortunately, I probably won’t catch the game tonight because it’s my last night at home before the semester and watching hockey probably won’t be on the family agenda.

It’s definitely a good day to watch hockey, between Hockey Day in Canada, and Sidney and the Pens on NBC this afternoon. Be sure to tune in, especially since the NHL’s current scheduling system won’t allow the six Canadian teams to play each other next year.

Wings 5, Coyotes 1

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 12, 2007
in 2006-2007, Coyotes and Game Reports
. 7 Comments

The Wings wrapped up their five-game road trip with a commanding 5-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes last night at Jobing.com Arena. They outshot the Coyotes 45-16, but didn’t pull ahead until the third period, when they scored four goals. Mikael Tellqvist, starting instead of Curtis Joseph, kept the Coyotes in it until that third period explosion, and deserves a lot of credit for it. The win salvaged the Wings’ trip, giving them a 2-3 record with which to be thankful after blowing the first two games.

Dominik Hasek was in net for the Wings and looked pretty good the few times he was actually tested. He looked a little foolish on the Coyotes’ lone goal, but it was a bit of a broken play and not necessarily his fault. He got an easy win as the Wings controlled the play for most of the game.

Both teams had penalty trouble all night. There was a stretch in the first period in which the Coyotes had a power play and then it changed to a brief 5-on-3 when the Wings got another penalty. After the first penalty expired, Phoenix continued on the power play until they got a penalty themselves. After a brief period of 4-on-4 hockey, Detroit went on the power play and soon the Coyotes had another penalty and the Wings were on a 5-on-3 themselves. Neither team could score, however. Penalties came often for the rest of the game, and the Wings made Phoenix pay by scoring on three of their power play opportunities.

The Wings looked to have taken a 1-goal lead at 14:29 after a shot by Johan Franzen went in the net off Kris Draper’s skate. Replays showed that Draper had moved his foot forward to propel the puck on net, and the play was overturned after review. It was a “subtle yet distinctive” movement, according to FSN road color man, Larry Murphy.

The Wings did get on the board nearly five minutes later while on the power play. On their second set up, Henrik Zetterberg took a shot from Tellqvist’s left. The puck glanced off the side of the goalie’s mask, right on one of the straps and Tellqvist’s helmet began to fall off. The puck fell at Tomas Holmstrom’s feet and knocked it in as the mask hit Tellqvist’s glove hand. The Coyotes immediately protested the play, saying the whistle was supposed to go as soon as the helmet fell off. The officials talked it over and awarded the Wings the goal, much to Wayne Gretzky’s displeasure. Apparently, the rule is that the whistle goes if the mask falls off only if the puck is not in a scoring position. So, 1-0 Wings at 19:11.

The Wings had a scare at the start of the second period. Just eight seconds in, Owen Nolan shot the puck into the Wings’ end and caught Nick Lidstrom on the knee with it. Lidstrom immediately fell to the ice in pain and laid there until the trainer came out. He was helped off the ice and made it back to finish the game, but it was about as scary as they come. Lidstrom remains the team’s most important player and they can’t afford to have him get injured.

During the Wings’ first power play of the period, Pavel Datsyuk got involved in a scrum after a play. It was the second time he’d done so last night, and was definitely good to see. He’s not just getting involved offensively, he’s evidentally trying to build a tougher reputation.

The Wings caught a bad break at the end of the period when a fight for the puck between Derek Morris and Robert Lang resulted in a high sticking double minor for Lang. As they were going for it, Morris knocked Lang over and Robert understably threw his arms up. His stick went with them and caught Morris in the face. Morris did a great job of throwing his head back and may have gotten the extra time because due to whiplash rather than blood. Anyway, the Wings had to start the third period on the penalty kill and paid for it right off the bat.

While still on Lang’s first minor, Yanic Perrault dished the puck to Zbynek Michalek, whose shot went wide of the net off the backboards. Perrault picked up the puck and sent it into the net just as Hasek, who had been caught with his pants down when Michalek’s shot went wide, dove across. 1-1 at :28. The Wings killed off the second minor.

Holmstrom put the Wings ahead with his second goal of the night at 6:57 following a faceoff. Henrik Zetterberg won the draw to Pavel Datsyuk, who threw the puck out front from the right wing. Holmstrom took the pass, spun a bit and got off a close-range backhand shot that was stopped. The rebound trickled out to Tellqvist’s right, however, and Homer got his stick on it, knocking it in and putting his team up by one.

Valtteri Filppula drew his second penalty of the night at 8:27 and the Wings went back on the power play. On their third set up, they capitalized. Zetterberg made a great tip pass over the stick of Morris along the right wing boards to Holmstrom, who centered it to Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk had all kinds of time to walk in on net and he used it well, moving backhand to forehand and beating Tellqvist inside the left post to make it 3-1. A great goal, coming at 10:11.

Holmstrom completed his hat trick at 14:52 when he tipped in a Nick Lidstrom blast from the point. Not much else to say about this goal, except that a few members of the large Red Wings fan contingent at the arena honored Homer by throwing their hats on the ice.

The Wings went back on the power play at 16:12 and Babcock sent out a bit of a secondary unit, with Andreas Lilja, Jiri Hudler, Jason Williams, Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall. The Coyotes took another penalty at 17:14, however, and Babcock sent out more of a top unit again. They made the Coyotes pay on a 5-on-3 power play at 17:54, when Pavel Datsyuk got his second goal and fifth point of the night. Kronwall took a shot from the top of the right circle and it was stopped, but the rebound was fought over by Dan Cleary and Datsyuk at the side of the net. Pavel got his stick on it and knocked it in to make it 5-1.

The Coyotes had a shorthanded 2-on-1 following the goal, but blew it and couldn’t connect.

By the end of the game, the arena was largely empty except for Wings fans, who paid double to see their team play in the desert. According to a Wings fan that was there (from an email list), the arena was filled to only 55-60% capacity, with large swaths of the lower bowl, seats on the glass included, empty. Wings fans are still the best hockey fans in the Phoenix area, apparently, even with the discrimminatory pricing the Coyotes have. Dave at Gorilla Crouch has more.

… The Wings have sent Joey MacDonald to Grand Rapids for a two-week conditioning stint. … The Wings have scored at least two power play goals in three consecutive games. … Holmstrom’s hat trick was the second of his career. The first took place on March 18, 2001 against the Sharks. … Box score … Play-by-play … Shift chart … Gorilla Crouch …

Overall, a good game by the Wings. The Coyotes had it rough coming off a long road trip, but their goaltender kept them in it for two periods and they weren’t able to take advantage of it. They didn’t have a terrible game, but they definitely don’t have the kind of weapons the Wings do and for all their talk about being a playoff team, they’ll find hard to win if they put out many 16 shot efforts. The Wings will face a similar problem when they host the Blackhawks on Saturday. It’s definitely difficult to come off a long road trip and since the Wings seem to fall into many of those historical hockey stererotypes, I don’t expect them to dominate like they have the past two games.

GameDay: @ Phoenix (20-20-2, 42 Pts) 9:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 11, 2007
in 2006-2007, Coyotes and GameDay
. 1 Comment

Update (3:55 PM): It looks like Josh Langfeld never made it back to Grand Rapids after being sent down on Tuesday. After the flu hit the roster, the Wings must have canceled the transfer (it’s no longer listed under the 9th), because they kept Langfeld around until sending him down for real today, as Ansar Khan reports. Apparently, they don’t need him any more because Kris Draper is over the flu and able to play tonight. - Matt

Tonight is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first meeting 9-2 on October 11, 2006 in Detroit. Mathieu Schneider had a hat trick and Dominik Hasek got the win. The teams will finish up the season series in February, trading home games on the 7th and 17th.

The Coyotes are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the league, having won seven straight and eight of their last nine. Five of those wins came on the road as they travelled to Washington, Carolina, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas. Now, they’re home for the first time this month, with a three-game homestand in front of them. The last time they were home, they rolled over the San Jose Sharks, 8-0.

Their recent run of success has head coach Wayne Gretzky saying “playoffs” but they’ll have to keep this up for a while if they want that to be a reality. It does look, though, like this isn’t an aberration, as they’ve been able to keep it up for a while now and against some very good teams.

One reason for their turnaround has been goaltending. They acquired goalie Mikael Tellqvist on November 28 and since they have been able to rotate starting duties between the Swede and Curtis Joseph, with positive results. Having two effective goalies has made the skaters more confident, as the Arizona Republic points out. Tellqvist has started the last two games for Phoenix, leading me to believe Joseph will be in net tonight on rotation.

The Wings have had a long January road trip of their own, but it has gone almost entirely opposite of the Coyotes’. They dropped the first three games to San Jose (9-4), LA (4-2), and Anaheim (4-2), before finally getting a win Tuesday night in Colorado (4-3 SO). It was one of their better wins this season, despite the fact that they needed a shootout to get it due to somewhat iffy goaltending and a couple bad breaks. They will close out the trip tonight.

Dominik Hasek will be in net, despite a so-so (in my opinion) game on Tuesday. Babcock must want the extra umph Dom can bring to the table against the Coyotes, since they’ve been so hot lately.

Apparently, the Wings will soon make good on their word and stop over-playing Hasek, as Chris Osgood will reportedly get more starts for the rest of January. That’s good to hear, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Osgood is slated to be in net Saturday against Chicago, so that’s a start.

The only player with a short-term injury at the moment is Mathieu Schnedier (knee sprain). He’s out tonight, but expected back Saturday, according to Helene St. James.

It looks like Kris Draper has the flu, and though he’s listed as “probable” by the Freep, I wouldn’t be shocked if he sat out.

The Wings need to pick up where they left off Tuesday night and come out flying again. The Eurotwins have to be as effective as they were against the Avs and the other lines will need to bring their own brands of pressure. Should be a good game, if the Wings are warming up themselves and Tuesday night wasn’t an anomaly.

Wings 4, Avs 3 (SO)

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 10, 2007
in 2006-2007, Avalanche and Game Reports
. 8 Comments

The Wings finally halted their skid last night, beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 last night in Denver and winning in a shootout for the first time this season (1-3). It was one of the most exciting offensive performances of the year by the Wings, who peppered sophomore goalie Peter Budaj with 43 shots through three periods and overtime. Budaj was forced to make a number of spectacular saves as Detroit’s creative juices were flowing in overdrive last night, rendering the Colorado defense helpless spectators more often than not as the Wings put on passing clinics.

The team defense was strong overall, with the exception of three plays, each of which led, unfortunately, directly to a goal. Given the nature of those plays, it is probably unfair to hold the result against the goalie asked to come up big, but when that goalie is Dominik Hasek, it doesn’t seem too far out of line to expect more. Hasek was just average last night, not spectacular, making largely routine saves on 22 of the Avs’ 25 shots. Three shots got by him on fast breaks and rendered the Wings’ hard offensive work moot, as they lost two leads and had to come from behind in the end. That’s not to say the defense gets a free pass on the plays. Dom did come through in the shootout, though, and that counts for a lot.

Overall, in my opinion, it was one of the team’s best performances all season. They didn’t quite get the goaltending they pay for, but they were excellant on offense. They skated harder than they have been, making for beautiful replays even when a goal isn’t scored. They hit harder than the Avs and laid out a couple bone-crushers throughout the night. I got the impression that they would not be denied.

Althought the Wings began the game exhibiting good puck movement, the Avs were able to generate some solid pressure in the Detroit end for a good minute and a half until 4:00 or so. The Wings weathered that storm, however, and were soon getting chances of their own. Around 5:20, Pavel Datsyuk took the puck down the left wing and then dished it ahead to Henrik Zetterberg for a 2-on-1 down low. Hank slid the puck across the goalmouth to Tomas Holmstrom, who one-timed it toward the upper left corner, but it was knocked away with an acrobatic stick save by Budaj.

A shift or two later, a Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, and Jason Williams line generated a lot of pressure in the Colorado end. Hudler drew a hooking penalty at 6:29 and sent the Wings to their first power play of the game.

It didn’t take long for them to capitalize. On their second attempt at setting up, they scored almost immediately to take a one-goal lead. Datstyuk carried the puck over the line and dished it to Zetterberg, who dropped it back to Niklas Kronwall on the right point. Kronwall sent it across to Nick Lidstrom, who sent a wrister at the side of the net, where it was deflected to the backboards. Datsyuk picked it up behind the net, took a step or two our front and backhanded it across the crease to Zetterberg, who went down on one knee to slam it into the net on a one-timer. Budaj had no chance. 1-0 Wings at 7:20.

Continue reading ‘Wings 4, Avs 3 (SO)’

GameDay: @ Colorado (21-18-2, 44 Pts) 9:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 9, 2007
in 2006-2007, Avalanche and GameDay
. 1 Comment

Update (4:55 PM): According to Ansar Khan, Jason Williams is not happy with being slapped on the wrist Sunday: Babcock’s pet whined to the media today, and Khan has the quotes if you want to read them. Apparently, Babcock has kept Williams out of the loop on the fact that he’s supposed to be playing tonight, since the media knew before he did.

Also, it looks like there may be a scratch or two tonight since a couple of the guys have been fighting the flu. Babcock hasn’t yet decided whether or not they’ll sit, however. - Matt

Update (3:15 PM): Helene St. James confirms that Dominik Hasek will start tonight and that Jason Williams will return. - Matt

Tonight is the first of four meetings between these old rivals this season. The Wings won the 2005-2007 series 4-0, with wins November 23, 2005 (7-3), January 21, 2006 (4-3), February 4, 2006 (3-0), and February 12, 2006 (6-3). The teams will meet twice more in January (the 20th and 28th) before finishing up the season series on March 4 in Detroit.

The Avs are riding a three-game winning streak, with wins over Nashville, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota. The run matches a season high and comes after a three-game skid to end the month of December. In that stretch, they lost once to Dallas before dropping back-to-back games to St. Louis. Colorado is 11-9-1 at home so far this season.

Over the previous five games, the starting goaltender for the Avs has been second-year-player Peter Budaj, whose 2.41 GAA and 12-8-0 record are better than Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Jose Theodore’s numbers. Theodore is 9-10-1 this season, with a 3.10 GAA.

The Avs will be without defenseman John-Michael Liles tonight. Liles broke his foot in the team’s win over Minnesota on Saturday and will miss four weeks. It’s definitely a blow to the Colorado defense, as head coach Joel Quenneville told Terry Frei of the Denver Post:

“Johnny was playing well for us. He brings a lot to the table, and not just on the power play, but coming up on the attack. He’s a threat on the point offensively and was logging a lot of important minutes.”

Other current Avs injuries: Brett McLean (back), Patrice Briesebois (back), Jordon Leopold (groin), Brad May (shoulder).
Frei today focuses on the fact that tonight will be the first time in the history of the Wings/Avs rivalry that Steve Yzerman will not be in the lineup or wearing the C opposite Joe Sakic.

In contrast to the Avs, the Wings are riding a three-game losing streak that began last Thursday in San Jose. They then lost in LA and Anaheim, leaving them pointless thus far in their five-game road trip. This skid follows a four-game winning streak in which they beat two of the teams they’ve lost to lately (the Kings and Ducks). They’ll finish up the road trip on Thursday, in Phoenix.

Dominik Hasek started Sunday in Anaheim, the night after Chris Osgood got the nod in LA. Given Babcock’s seeming interest to play Hasek as often as possible rather than utilizing his capable backup, I expect to see Dom in net rather than Ozzie.

The Wings will be without defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who sprained his MCL Sunday night. He won’t be back until after the trip is over.

Chris Chelios will return to the lineup tonight after missing six games due to having to deal with a double homicide at his downtown restaurant.

Jason Williams should be back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Sunday. I made the mistake of uncritically regurgitating something Ansar Khan wrote last night, saying Jason’s return to the lineup would mean Jiri Hudler would have to sit. That’s not true. The only way Hudler will sit is if he’s in the doghouse (which may be what Khan meant - he’s just not very clear there).

Josh Langfeld was returned to the Griffins today. With Pavel Datsyuk healthy and Williams likely out of the doghouse, Langfeld had no spot in the lineup, so rather than keep him around, they sent him back to Grand Rapids, where he’ll get the playing time he’s accustomed to. The Wings now have twelve forwards and six defensemen and no injury insurance in the form of a called-up player.

With the Avs riding a three-game streak in which they’ve beaten tough opponents, the Wings will have a hard time reversing their fortunes tonight if they don’t come out strong. If they can play like they did for much of the Ducks game and not have bounces go Colorado’s way, they stand a good chance. In spite of the fact that the rivalry has cooled almost to death, these games are more emotional than most. It’ll be a good time for the Wings to get those three consecutive losses out of their mind and play some good hockey.

The game is on Versus tonight, not Fox Sports, so be aware of that when you’re trying to find it.

Schneider out at least two games

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 9, 2007
in Chris Chelios, Hockey Bloggers, Injuries and Mathieu Schneider
. 1 Comment

Ansar Khan reports that Mathieu Schneider will sit out at least the remainder of the road trip with a strained MCL. Apparently, his knee will be looked at again when the team gets back to Detroit on Friday.

To help fill in the gap, Chris Chelios will be rushed back into the lineup after missing six games. He did hook up with the team today in Denver and will play tonight against the Avs.

It’ll be great to have Cheli back in the lineup, but the Wings are going to miss Schneider at both ends of the ice. Their power play will suffer from not having his shot from the point and from being without his strong defensive play, which will make them a little more vulnerable in their own end. Chelios will certainly help with the latter, however.

Khan believes Jason Williams will be back in the lineup tonight, which means Jiri Hudler is a likely candidate to join Josh Langfeld wherever healthy scratches go during road games.

Also, a big congratulations to Christy for her great week. I will admit I was very jealous when I read her latest post, but she certainly deserves recognition for her work on Steve Yzerman Retirement Night. If we bloggers had an awards mechanism, that post would be up for Best of the Year.

Wings 2, Ducks 4

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 8, 2007
in 2006-2007, Ducks and Game Reports
. 3 Comments

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.

Continue reading ‘Wings 2, Ducks 4′

GameDay: @ Anaheim (28-9-6, 62 Pts) 8:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on January 7, 2007
in 2006-2007, Ducks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Tonight is the third of four games between these two teams this season. The series is tied 1-1, with the Wings winning the most recent meeting 2-1 on January 2nd in Detroit. The Ducks won the first game, 4-1 on October 18 in Anaheim. The fourth and final game will be on March 26 in Detroit.

Like the Kings going into last night’s game, Anaheim has played only one game since losing to the Wings on the 2nd, a 4-3 loss to Columbus on Friday. The win extended a three-game skid to four, but the Ducks still lead the Western Conference with 62 points.

They’ve run into some injury trouble, with key players such as Chris Pronger (broken foot) and JS Giguere (groin) out as well as Todd Marchant (abdomin) and Franchois Beauchemin (spleen). They remain a dangerous team, however, with 24-goal-scoring star Teemu Selanne and defensemen Scott Niedermeyer remaining in the lineup, not to mention goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Wings have a loss streak of their own going, having dropped their last two. The first was a supremely embarrassing 9-4 loss to the Sharks on Thursday, a game in which the Wings gave up 9 unanswered goals after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first. They also set a team record for most power play goals allowed in a game with 6. It was the most goals the Wings have given up since 1993.

Last night in LA, they scored a quick goal in both the first and second periods before losing their 2-0 lead by the 10:31 mark of the latter. They would go on to lose 4-2. It was their first loss to the Kings since October 12, 2002. It’s as though they’re set on setting bad records and snapping good streaks on this road trip.

Since Chris Osgood started last night, Dominik Hasek will be in net tonight.

Pavel Datsyuk (groin) shouldn’t be back until Tuesday night in Colorado.

Mikael Samuelsson should in the lineup tonight, though he had to leave the game early last night after taking a Nick Lidstrom shot off the knee in the third period.

A West Coast trip is usually a recipe for disaster with the Wings and playing the day after a loss is likely to just add to the mixture. They do have something going for them in that the Ducks are playing without a couple of their stars. However, I still can’t say that makes me very confident, not after watching them blow leads in two straight games.

Remember, the game is at 8:00 PM ET tonight, not 10:00 PM or 10:30 PM, thankfully.

Off topic: I’ve been meaning to do this for a few days now, but I keep forgetting: Welcome to the 21st century, Freep.com! I like the snazzy new look, but I like the RSS feeds even better. I love being able to get the headlines in Google Reader rather than having to go to the site and wait for it to load (especially since I’m at home and on dialup … for another week). The same goes for DetNews.com, though the site design could use an update.

(If both sites have had feeds for a while, I apologize, but I only noticed this week.)