On the Wings

… The Wings’ shootout loss to Chicago last night gave them the necessary point to clinch the Central Division. I guess that’s why it doesn’t feel like they lost.

If you look at the boxscore and see that they had 58 shots, don’t be too impressed. They didn’t play all that great and most of those shots were of the low-percentage long-distance or bad-angle variety. They still haven’t hit their A-game stride and they only have one game left to do so.

Another point (or a Ducks loss) and they’re Western Conference champs, by the way.

… <gloating id=”snark”>I wonder if the Predators Central Division championship banner will show up on eBay now. And I almost regret the fact that we won’t get to see just how low the turnout would have been for the parade. Oh well. </gloating>

… Bad news of the night: Todd Bertuzzi strained his neck, probably in a big collision with Chris Osgood as he tried to get back and prevent the Blackhawks’ first goal. He took off his helmet and I got a bad feeling, but he finished the period and was involved in some physical play.

During the second period, just as I noticed I hadn’t seen him in a while, Ken Daniels observed he hadn’t had the opportunity to say Todd’s name in a while and Mickey Redmond did a head count. Later on, they were told he had strained his neck and would not return.

Helene St. James reports today that he is day-to-day. I’m sure this is the Wings being cautious, as they want to be careful with any injury that comes up.

… The Hasek story continues. I would swear this blog post has been changed from its original iteration, because I definitely would remember this part:

Babcock at first laughed and joked (presumably) Hasek was out because, “he’s got a huge groin pull and might not play again” - a reference to the fact Hasek hasn’t finished his previous two NHL seasons because of groin injuries.

That’s a heck of a way to talk, Babcock. If St. James added that in response to worrying Wings fans, it doesn’t help. “Presumably”?!

Oh, and apparently, he is out because of an injury, as she writes in a run-down of the various “known” Wings injuries. It’s that same thigh problem that kept him out of three games in March.

… Possible good news: Pavel Datsyuk may be close to signing. Still, I’m not getting my hopes up yet. (via Gorilla Crouch).