Update (1:50 PM): Thanks to reader Justin for pointing out in the comments that I forgot to mention Calder’s number. He chose #17, which Brett Hull and Doug Brown have also worn in recent years. - Matt
I didn’t take notes on the game, so this will be brief:
… The obvious place to begin is Kyle Calder. The guy walked off the bench, headed to the net, and one-timed a Johan Franzen pass to score his first goal as a Red Wing on his first shift and first shot, at 1:46. He added an assist in the second and watched as Franzen did the rest, scoring a highlight reel goal on a long rush to the net. Overall, I was impressed with Calder. He showed good hustle, threw his body around some, and sparked the second line to a four-point, +5 night.
The NHL hasn’t split up the highlight reel into individual goals yet, so you’ll have to watch the whole thing if you want to see the goals.
… Dominik Hasek looked strong last night. He was a minute from a shutout, but the Hawks did score a consolation goal. It was disappointing.
… Valtteri Filppula played 19:38, which is far more than I expected him to get. He looked good with Datsyuk and was in on some good offensive chances. Jiri Hudler finally got some respectable ice-time, 14:29.
… Tomas Holmstrom continued his scoring tear, with two goals.
… Brett Lebda had to leave the game in the third period because he got in a fight and his jersey wasn’t strapped down. The fight came as a result of a nasty hit by Mikael Holmqvist, who caught Brett in the face with his elbow along the endboards. Holmqvist came flying in at top speed, left his feet and nailed him with his elbow, knocking Lebda flat on his back and then skated off. Andreas Lilja took a shot at him, but didn’t get very nasty before Brett himself got up and started swinging. It soon developed into a full-fledged fight, and I’m sorry to say Lebda got his butt kicked. Somehow, Brett was given a roughing penalty and a fighting major (how does that work? it basically amounted to an instigator penalty, so why not call it that?) plus the game misconduct for not having his jersey strapped down, while Holmqvist was given a major and a charging penalty.
Another hit to the head and another mere slap on the wrist as punishment.
… Another dangerous play came later in the period, when Duncan Keith nailed Kyle Calder from behind near the boards and sent him head first into them at an awkward angle. He’s fortunate Calder’s okay, because it could have gone very badly. It was an unnecessarily rough hit, with Keith leaving his feet and using all his force. Pretty nasty.
… Anyway, it was a pretty good game by the Wings, but not so much for the Hawks, who looked pretty bad. I imagine they’ll put up a better effort for the rematch on Friday in Detroit. The Wings remain in 4th place, as they have two fewer wins than the Predators.
… Dave at Gorilla Crouch also has a game reaction posted.




Cory Cross also scored a goal on his very first shift and shot as a Red Wing last year. But let’s hope Calder’s stay in Detroit goes better than Cross’s.
I think you meant 2, not 5. It was nice to see him get 2 points, and it would’ve been nice if his goal had stood up to be the GWG. I really hope I’m wrong about him and that he can be a very productive member of the Red Wings. It has only been one game so far though, so let’s wait and see. Hopefully Cleary and Franzen can develop some offensive chemistry.
I was pretty disappointed that we let in a goal with one minute to go in the game. The extra fantasy points from a shutout would’ve helped. It was also somewhat surprising to see such a weak game from the Hawks, especially after they just beat the Blues 5-1. They usually play a good game against the Wings, no matter how bad they’re doing. Part of it was probably due to Havlat missing the game due to the flu though. If he’s back by Friday it should be a better game. Also, we really need a guy who can fight. Someone better than Brad Norton. I wonder if Bertuzzi will be willing to drop the gloves if the need arises once he’s able to play. *Insert Bertuzzi sucker punching joke here*
PS – You didn’t mention it, but Cleary wore #17.
Yeah, let’s hope that scoring on his first shift is his only similarity to Cory Cross.
I meant the second line as a whole had four points, and its members were plus-5 combined.
Thanks for reminding me about Calder‘s number. I did mean to mention it..
I missed this whole game thanks to class, but I’m glad to see Calder step up – let’s hope it stays that way.
Equally glad to see the ice time Filppula and Hudler got so much ice time. As much as I love Pavel and Hank, it’s good to see other players getting relied on a little more lately, especially when we’ve looked like such a one-line team – how were they mixing up the lines with the addition of Calder?
Steph,
I agree. It was a long time coming and is probably only temporary, but it was definitely good to see those two on the ice so much.
The lines were, generally,
Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Filppula
Calder-Lang-Franzen
Maltby-Draper-Hudler
Hussey-Ellis-Langfeld
You would have liked to have seen Hudler defending Kris Draper after James Wisniewski roughed him up. He waded in like some 6’2″ enforcer, looking seriously pissed.
I’m sure once Zetterberg gets back their time will drop again, but it’s so nice to hear they got it and even more that they worked with it, obviously, considering the results. I like the sounds of those lines though. Although I can’t help but laugh at that our Young Guns line is all split up and yet we now have a line full of kids even younger – at least in terms of NHL experience.
I am really sad I missed that though – little 5’9″ Jiri defending Kris Draper of all people would have been quite the sight.
Yeah, they definitely won’t get so much time once Zetterberg’s back, and it’ll go even lower once all the forwards are healthy (if such a time comes). They’re getting valuable experience, though, and will benefit from being with such a deep team, even if kind of sucks for them now. Down the road, they should be be the ones logging the big minutes.
Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how the team does with so many youngsters on the roster.
I think 5’9″ might be stretching it a bit…. It was a sight, though.