Update (9:50 PM): Via Gorilla Crouch: Bertuzzi is in, Hudler is out. That’s a shame for Jiri. He’s had a heck of a series so far. I don’t agree with Babcock’s judgment here, as the team is going to miss what Jiri can bring to the game. Mikael Samuelsson has shown little thus far and I think he had better have a whale of a game tonight or else he ought to be riding the pine instead of Huds on Thursday. I’d hate to see Jiri have to sit for the rest of the playoffs, so hopefully they’ll institute some kind of rotation. - Matt
Update (6:00 PM): IwoCPO says Ken Kal suggested earlier today that Bertuzzi might play on a line with Filppula and Franzen. I have to say that sounds like a barn-burner. Fil would have very little worry about with those two guys flying wingman.
Also, some wishful thinking from a Flames fan? I hope so. - Matt
Update (4:36 PM): Helene St. James has more from Babcock: “He told me he was great. I’ve said all along, as soon as he’s ready, he’s playing.”
Then he’s playing, right? No? Yes? This is getting ridiculous.
And she’s got this from Bertuzzi: “I think everyone is going to take warm-up and we’ll go from there.”
So, what’s the deal? Is Babcock going to watch and see who doesn’t have their sock tape on straight and make a decision about who sits based on that?
Then there’s the rest of that quote: “Obviously I’m not going to be 100% at all for the rest of the year so it’s just a matter of working as hard as I can.”
Excuse me. What? “Not going to be at 100% at all“? Was the concussion that bad or is his back still an issue? Will we ever know? It must be the back and maybe it’s not surprising, but he’s not supposed to talk like that. You’ve got fans’ sensibilities to consider now, Todd. - Matt
Update (3:30 PM): According to Ted Kulfan, Mike Babcock said today that Bertuzzi is still a game time decision, even after Todd participated in today’s morning skate. Kulfan says Bertuzzi looked “fit” out there today, so it seems like he’s ready. Still, the Wings are playing things close to the vest, which means we have to wait until we get it from FSN in the pre-game. - Matt
Update (2:40 PM): Some good news for the Wings as they get ready to play in a very hostile environment: Bruce MacLeod reports that Robyn Regehr did not skate this morning. Like he says, that probably means Regehr will not play tonight. - Matt
Update (12:30 PM): IwoCPO’s got a good list of reminders for Wings fans everywhere as we get ready for the first late game of the postseason. - Matt
Update (11:55 AM): Over at his snazzy new blog (same name, new location/look), George Malik has a great roundup of quotes from the Wings relating to the game, from both Detroit and Calgary media sources. - Matt
Tonight is Game 3 of the Quarterfinal Series between Detroit and Calgary, a series the Wings lead 2-0.
The Flames just need to be better, in all areas of the game. First and foremost, they need to be more disciplined and find a way to be physical without taking penalties. If they do that, they’ll be better able to defend against the Wings’ attack. They also need to find a way to get their top players going. Overall, the most important thing is giving Miikka Kiprusoff some support. The guy can win games for them, but they have to actually play in front of him if he’s going to do that.
This game is huge for the Flames. If they win it, they’ll gain loads of confidence and we’ll have a series. If they lose, in front of their home crowd, they might as well start scheduling their tee-times.
All the Wings need to do is play like they’ve been playing. The only improvement I can see is they need to be better on the power play. If the Flames are going to take dumb penalties, it’d be great if they could capitalize on them more. Overall, though, if they play their newfound physical game and their standard puck possession offense/defense with as much confidence as they have in Games 1 and 2, they should be able to match anything the Flames might throw at them. And if the Flames don’t show up, no amount of atmosphere at the Saddledome will keep the Wings from a win.
For the Wings, this game is important because they need a win on the road to end this series quickly. The last thing they want is to start a habit of losing on the road to Calgary because that would mean a 7-game series and you can bet they’re hoping for a longer break between series than that.
The Flames are promising that they’ll be a different team tonight. They also promised that for Game 2 and it got them about a period of B-grade hockey. For now, I’ll assume they’ll be better, but in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, “Show me the money.” While the Wings have been showing all along that they’re capable of winning this series, the Flames have shown little or nothing. Tonight’s their time to demonstrate whether they want it or not. I said at the beginning of the series that they’d win Game 3, but every period of this series that I watch is convincing me that Calgary isn’t capable of even that. That’s fine with me. I know the Wings want it and that’s all that matters.