Monthly Archive for October, 2007Page 2 of 5

Wings 3, Canucks 2

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 25, 2007
in Links
. 5 Comments

Update (8:01): Justin left a great comment below, one I thought deserved more exposure:

I finally got to watch a whole Red Wings game, so I’ll provide a few comments:

The Red Wings didn’t play their best game, but against a weak Vancouver offense, it was still good enough to win. This stat sums up the performance by either side nicely:

The Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom line managed 16 shots on Luongo.
The Canucks team as a whole managed 15 shots on Hasek.

Luongo was the sole reason the Red Wings didn’t score 2 or 3 more goals. He made quite a few brilliant saves, the best one being a right kick save on a Dan Cleary tip early in the game.

At the other end, Hasek was OK. Granted he didn’t face a lot of shots and wasn’t really able to “get in the zone”. He couldn’t be blamed for the first goal, as Cooke’s shot deflected up off Draper’s stick. The second goal by Daniel Sedin was a bit weak; Hasek should’ve been able to make the save.

There was some controversy on whether Ellis’s goal should’ve counted, but 1) Luongo was out of the crease, and 2) a Vancouver player was responsible for Roberto getting bumped into anyway. Valid goal, and nice to see hard working Matt Ellis get his second career goal. Both of his goals have been scored with a backhand and him facing away from the net. Maybe he should try that more often?

Early on, Datsyuk tended to hang onto the puck too much and not shoot when he should have. But he got better as the game progressed and started taking a lot of shots. IIRC he ended up with 7 SOG to lead the team. But more importantly, he drew some penalties and was a big part of the game winning goal by Holmstrom. He was behind the net with the puck and drew two defensemen to him, leaving only one Vancouver player to watch both Zetterberg and Holmstrom. Dats got the puck over to Hank who was on one side of the net, Hank made an easy pass over to a wide open Homer on the other side, and Homer slammed the puck into the yawning cage for possibly the easiest goal of his career. The play was beautiful and made the Vancouver defense look like a bunch of amateurs.

Zetterberg was great on the penalty kill. The one powerplay goal Vancouver scored went in when Hank was in the box. Overall, I think the Wings actually had more scoring chances during Vancouver powerplays than the Canucks themselves.

Holmstrom was called for a BS goalie interference penalty early in the game. Yes Tomas bumped into Luongo, but Mattias Ohlund very clearly pushed Holmstrom into Luongo and prevented Holmstrom from being able to get away from the crease. How that can be called a penalty is beyond me. Holmstrom would later get revenge though, scoring two goals with one being the GWG.

Late in the game, Maltby turned some Vancouver scrub inside out then shot the puck into Luongo’s chest. For a second it looked like #18 and #13 had switched jerseys.

Hudler only got about 5 minutes of ice time, and it seems like Ellis has replaced him on the second line. Meanwhile, Filppula remains snake bitten. With the Vancouver net empty at the end of the game, Filppula brought the puck into the Vancouver zone but couldn’t maintain control of the puck to get a shot off. He can’t score even with the net empty…

That’s about all I remember to comment on. Hope this helped.

A very good take on the game, that’s for sure. - Matt

Sorry, no game recap today (unless work is very slow tonight). Dave has a great one over at Gorilla Crouch you should check out, though. And an advanced warning: I may not have one for the Sharks game Friday, either. Just too busy on this end…

GameDay: vs. Vancouver (4-5-0, 8 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 24, 2007
in 2007-2008, Canucks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Big test today so this will be short:

This is the first of four games between these two teams this season. The Canucks won the series last year, 3-1. They play once more this month before wrapping things up in January and February.

The Canucks have lost three of their last four, including their most recent game, a 3-1 decision in Carolina on Monday. Their last win the game before, in Columbus, 4-1. Tonight is the second-to-last game in a four-stop road trip for the Canucks, who will fly to Washington to face the Capitals on Friday.

Daniel Sedin leads the team in assists and points with 6 and 9 respectively. Brendan Morrison leads in goals with 4.

Roberto Luongo will be in net tonight for the Canucks.

The Wings have won three out of their last four, including their two most recent, both of which came on the road, first in San Jose, then in Phoenix. Their last loss came in Anaheim last on the 15th. Tonight’s game is one of two homegames the Wings have before they embark on their second long road trip of the month next week.

The Wings will be without Dallas Drake (cheekbone) and Johan Franzen (knee). It’s unlikely that Igor Grigorenko will dress tonight, as he has had little time to impress the team enough to insert him over guys like Matt Ellis or Aaron Downey.

Dominik Hasek will be in net tonight.

The Wings made a good showing on their road trip and they need to translate that into success at home. Tonight’s a good place to start.

10/23 Grigorenko Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 23, 2007
in Igor Grigorenko and Links
. 0 Comments

Update (7:25 PM): … Bob Roose’s article on the Wings’ official site has a great Mike Babcock quote about how Grigorenko will have to earn a spot:

“If someone has a bad game and someone is working their butt off, they’re the first one in – absolutely. Ellis has gone from a guy who played very little to not dressing to playing to playing well to having three or four points and being a plus-four. It’s called a work ethic.”

This is the time for Grigorenko to show that he has the the necessary work ethic. He certainly has the talent, but that’s not all that matters. - Matt

… Bruce MacLeod reports that Igor Grigorenko participated in drills with the fourth line in today’s practice. However, because the majority of practice was spent working on the power play, Igor did not see a lot of ice. It doesn’t look like he’ll play this week after all, because he’ll need time to prove he’s one of the 20 best players with the team, that he’s a “winner.”

… George Malik has a take on Grigorenko from Ken Holland, in he states the obvious: like every Red Wing, he is going to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Because of that, Malik says, it’s “premature” to speculate where Grigorenko will end up two weeks from now. Whatever demands Grigorenko appears to be making, the Wings are not just going along, at least according to Holland’s reaction to the accusation.

… Ken Holland told Helene St. James that this is Igor’s last shot, as he does not “anticipate … heading down this path a year from now.” I’m not going to be too heartbroken if Grigorenko blows his last chance at playing in the NHL. If he burns bridges with the Wings, who will, barring a transfer agreement between Russia and the NHL, remain the only team that will have his rights from now until he retires, he’ll be stuck in Europe.

Aaron Downey’s value

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 23, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Igor Grigorenko and Links
. 1 Comment

Dave at Gorilla Crouch has a great post on the Igor Grigorenko situation up. In it, he makes a good case for keeping Aaron Downey on the roster over Grigorenko: Downey’s presence will help deter goons like Jordin Tootoo from taking a cheapshot on one of the team’s stars.

As for Igor himself, Dave believes his days as a Red Wing are nearing an end and I can’t disagree. It’s going to take a major turnaround in that kid’s attitude for the team to keep him around beyond Franzen’s return.

10/22 Drake Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 22, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, Igor Grigorenko, Injuries and Links
. 0 Comments

Helene St. James reports that Dallas Drake will miss at least the next two games with a broken cheekbone. He’ll be checked out again on Friday, but it looks like he’ll be available for the road trip next week. It looks, then, like this will be the week for Igor Grigorenko to find a way into the lineup, probably over Aaron Downey. As soon as Drake returns, there’ll only be one open spot and Matt Ellis has that one pretty well locked down. Personally, I’d rather Downey continue to dress until Drake returns, but that’s just me.

Wings call up Grigorenko

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 22, 2007
in Aaron Downey, Igor Grigorenko, Johan Franzen and Matt Ellis
. 0 Comments

Update (23. Oct, 10:10 AM): Johan Franzen is slated to return in two weeks, so, barring another injury, Grigorenko has until then to impress the Wings enough to stay. - Matt

Update (4:15 PM): Christy Hammond has posted her response to Grigorenko’s promotion here. Is anyone excited about it or are we all in agreement that he doesn’t deserve it? Also, George Malik has another post up on the topic. - Matt

Update (3:30 PM): See George Malik’s take here. He asks a great question: why didn’t the Wings hire a “minder” to help Igor adjust to life in the States? - Matt

Bruce MacLeod reports that the Wings have promoted Igor Grigorenko to Detroit. Apparently, he was unhappy in Grand Rapids and refused to stay beyond the three weeks allowed by his contract with his Russian team. So, rather than putting him in his place for being a punk or letting him go, the team has given him what he wants. This is in spite of the fact that Grigorenko is pointless and minus-1 through five games with the Griffins. It seems he is being given one last chance to show he’s worthwhile.

To make room, Johan Franzen (knee) has been placed on the IR, though he practiced with the team today. Obviously, that buys time for Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey, one of whom will likely suffer demotion because of Grigorenko’s selfishness as soon as Franzen returns.

In his time in Grand Rapids, Grigorenko has done nothing to show he deserves a spot on the team, while over the same span Downey and Ellis have developed quite strong cases. That’s what’s unfair about this whole thing. While others have paid their dues, Grigorenko has assumed he’d get a free ride, and to some extent, the Wings are cooperating.

Of course, Grigorenko could suddenly impress the Red Wings brass and become the standout everyone’s been hoping for, thereby winning everyone over. Perhaps being around his countryman Pavel Datsyukk will help the kid. Part of his troubles in Grand Rapids no doubt stemmed from the lack of another Russian in the lockerroom. That excuse only covers him so far, however, as he’s supposed to be fluent in hockey, whatever his actual linguistic skills, and he still did not perform as expected.

If being around Datsyuk and being in an NHL lockerroom aren’t enough, he’ll continue to be a flop. If that’s the case, he’ll likely be on a plane to Russia before too long because he obviously is not going back to Grand Rapids. The team would be foolish to keep him around on the odd chance that he’d suddenly wake and be a team player, especially when they have guys like Ellis and Downey ready and willing to contribute.

I don’t know what to expect. Grigorenko’s obvious attitude problems lead me to be pessimistic, but part of me wants to remain hopeful that he’ll succeed. I really don’t like that he’s stepping on Ellis and Downey’s toes to get in the Winged Wheel, but all we can do is hope those two continue to demonstrate their value, whatever happens with Grigorenko.

Wings 5, Coyotes 2

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 21, 2007
in 2007-2008, Coyotes and Game Reports
. 4 Comments

The Wings wrapped up their four-game West Coast road trip with a convincing 5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes last night. They began a little shaky, but gradually took command of the game and put the finishing touch on one of their better recent road trips. They passed the first big test of the season with a 3-1 record, and though there are still concerns about their ability to stay out of the box, things are looking pretty good at this stage.

Some thoughts on the game:

… Dominik Hasek was in net last night and, like his teammates, started out a bit shaky. He did get stronger as the game went on, but he’s still somewhere in his “B” game. He was hung out to dry on the Coyotes first goal and was beaten by a straight-up shot by Steve Reinprecht. You’d kind of like to see Dominik Hasek make that save. On the second goal, he had to deal with Mike York virtually on top of him while a Derek Morris shot came through. I don’t blame him for that one at all. The official should have called York for interference there, especially since Hasek was not out of the crease. Later in the game, Dom made some really great saves, so his confidence seems to be building.

… I updated the GameDay post with a comment on the waived off goal and only have a little more to say about it. I do not understand the official’s reasoning on that one, because Tellqvist did not even act like he’d been bumped. Holmstrom never touched him and there was no dive on Tellqvist’s part, so why did the ref call interference? I wish I had a replay of it so I could demonstrate the guy’s complete incompetence.

… While the Wings were in the middle of their warming-up stage last night, one player that stood out as having a rough start was Pavel Datsyuk. He turned the puck over at center at least 3 times, with one leading directly to a goal. His turnovers weren’t 100% his fault, though, as they came as a result of less-than-stellar outlet passes from the defense, but it was still unusual. Pavel got it together in the second and third periods, though, and finished strong.

… Brett Lebda had a strong game. He nearly had two goals, but had his shot cleared away from the empty net by a Phoenix player. He scored on a nice set-up by Matt Ellis a few minutes later, however. Hopefully that’ll get him going offensively.

… Ellis, by the way, had a heck of a game. He stood out a lot in the third period and just looked great. He was a major reason the fourth line caused the Coyotes so many problems and his actions behind the net led directly to two goals. He nearly scored himself a couple times and showed incredible hustle. Dave at Gorilla Crouch believes he’s solidified his spot on the team and I completely agree. There’s no way he’ll get sent down after his performance over the whole road trip.

… Aaron Downey looked good last night as well. I like what he brings to the team, both on the ice and off it. He has a good work ethic and a great attitude on top of bringing that element of toughness the Wings need. He’s gradually earned more ice time, topping out at nearly 6:30 last night, which is good to see. Unfortunately, if the Wings are serious about bringing up Igor Grigorenko soon, he’ll be headed to Grand Rapids. Quite frankly, I’d rather the Wings keep him. Downey, along with Ellis, brings an energy to this team that Grigorenko seems incapable of providing.

… For all those Kirk Maltby haters out there: what now? The man had two goals last night. I think he’s still valuable to the team.

… Jiri Hudler had a decent game. He was johnny-on-the-spot for the first goal and though he finished with only one shot on goal, he remained dangerous.

… Valtteri Filppula also had a strong game, but he needs to find a way to bury the puck. He had two separate breakaways but couldn’t put it in the net. He seems close to breaking out, though, so I’m not anywhere near giving up on him.

… The play that led to Henrik Zetterberg’s goal in the third period was beautiful. Pavel Datsyuk drew two defenders to himself and then dished the puck off to Holmstrom to Tellqvist’s right. Zetterberg, on the other side, called for the puck, and got it. An easy slam-dunk goal. Typical for that line.

… One thing I noticed last night was the Wings had some trouble getting set up on the power play. They went 0-for-7 with the man advantage, which is surprising considering the Coyotes went into the game 26th in the League on the PK at 75%.

… All in all, a good game. It was definitely a relief to see them perform so well on the road. Now, they get two home games in a row, beginning with the Canucks on Wednesday. The big game of the week is against the Sharks on Friday, however.

… Be sure to check out the highlight reel.

GameDay: @ Phoenix (2-4-0, 4 Pts) 10:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 20, 2007
in 2007-2008, Coyotes and GameDay
. 3 Comments

Update (10:45 PM): I don’t want to make this into a diatribe against the officials, but this is too much: Coyotes take 2-1 lead on a goal by Derek Morris, with a Phoenix forward in Hasek’s face. No call. The inconsistency there is staggering. - Matt

Update (10:30 PM): I’ve officially lost all faith in the officiating of the National Hockey League. The goaltender interference* call on Tomas Holmstrom at 9:13 of the first period was perhaps the worst call I’ve ever seen. Not only did it send Holmstrom to the box for doing absolutely nothing wrong, it robbed the Wings of a goal by Henrik Zetterberg. What a load of BS. I’m completely disgusted.

*It’s listed in the boxscore as “interference,” but that makes even less sense. - Matt

Tonight is the first of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings swept the series last year, 4-0. They’ll wrap things up with two games in December and one in January.

After winning their opener, a 3-2 decision over St. Louis, the Coyotes dropped two in a row. The first was to Boston, 3-1, and then they were shut out by Columbus, 3-0. They came back after losing to the Jackets with a 6-3 win over the Predators in Nashville on the 11th. In the two games since, they’ve lost both times. Both were at home and both were to Northwest Division opponents, the Wild (3-2) and Oilers (4-2). Tonight is the last of a four-game homestand, but they’ll only hit the road for one game, a match-up with the Ducks on Thursday, before returning to Phoenix.

The team has five players with four points, of which Fredrik Sjostrom has the most goals with three. Their 14 goals-for is less than half of the league leader, Toronto (29). They can take some solace in the fact that they are not too near the bottom in goals allowed, with 18 (Atlanta has allowed 30).

The Coyotes have divided goaltending duties between three men this year: David Aebischer (1 game), Alex Auld (3 games), and Mikael Tellqvist (2 games). Tellqvist has not played since the 6th, so it does not seem likely he’ll get the start tonight. Aebischer played in the team’s loss to Columbus, but Auld has been the guy since, with three games in a row. It looks like he’ll be the one tonight.

Tonight’s game is the last of a four-game road trip in which the Wings have posted a 2-1 record thus far. They kicked things off with a 4-1 win over LA on Sunday and followed that up with a penalty-filled 6-3 loss to Anaheim the next night. They were able to rebound with a solid 4-2 win over San Jose Thursday night, however, and because of that, have already had a more successful trip than usual. They get two home games this week (Canucks and Sharks) before embarking on a three-game Western Canada trip next week.

The team’s leading scorer remains Henrik Zetterberg, whose 15 points leads the league. Hank leads the team in goals, as well, with 6. The Wings have put up 27 goals this season, which is good for second in the league, but have allowed 22, which just shows they have holes to plug defensively.

The Wings will be without Dallas Drake tonight as he was sent home to be with his family and rest up after having his face planted into a stanchion Thursday night by Kyle McLaren. Mikael Samuelsson will be returning to the lineup to give the Wings 12 forwards. Because of the Drake injury and the fact that Johan Franzen is still recovering from a knee sprain, the team’s two injury reserves, Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey, will remain in the lineup.

It is possible that Brian Rafalski may sit out tonight, despite reports that he is okay after receiving a knee-on-knee hit from Joe Thornton in San Jose. He did not practice yesterday and if his knee is not 100% today, Babcock may insert Derek Meech.

Dominik Hasek should get the start tonight after sitting out in San Jose following a bad showing against the Ducks.

The Wings need to be careful tonight not to take the Coyotes for granted. Sure, they’re struggling and already look to be headed for another bad season, but they’d love to catch Detroit napping at the end of a long road trip. The Wings need to have a better start than they had in San Jose and just play their game.

A reminder: the Coyotes jacked up their ticket prices (scroll down) just for this game (and their other home game against the Wings). The price change ranges from $75 to $8. They do this for no other games this season.

10/19 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 19, 2007
in Brian Rafalski, Dallas Drake, Injuries and Links
. 1 Comment

Update (4:55 PM): This isn’t an injury per se, but Helene St. James, in her post about Drake and Rafalski, mentions that Henrik Zetterberg took a puck to the eye during warmups. Apparently, one of his shots rebounded off Osgood into his face. So, if you’re wondering why he has a black eye and stitches, that’s the reason. - Matt

Update (4:45 PM): Bruce MacLeod’s post on the subject has an important corrective to Khan’s in it: he reports that Drake’s cheekbone is broken. Evidently, the checkup on Monday will be to determine his playing status, not whether or not he has a fracture. - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that Dallas Drake has been sent back to Detroit, where he’ll rest up for the weekend before undergoing tests on Monday to determine the status of his cheekbone, which may be broken. Mikael Samuelsson (groin) will return to the lineup Saturday in Phoenix to fill in the gap left by Drake.

Khan also says that Rafalski is “fine.” Apparently, he sat out the end of the game because of a knee-on-knee hit by Joe Thornton. If he really is fine, he’s fortunate, as is the team.

Wings 4, Sharks 2

Published
by
Matt Saler
on October 19, 2007
in 2007-2008, Game Reports and Sharks
. 7 Comments

Update (4:00 PM): Steph at No Pun Intended has her game reaction posted. - Matt

Unfortunately, I don’t have much of any free time today so this is going to be briefer than usual.

…. The game did not look promising in the first period. It was one of the most boring periods of hockey I’ve watched in a long time. The Wings looked like they were sleepwalking and the Sharks, for all the hype, are not that exciting. Given that I was already tired, I was less than excited at the prospect of staying up until 1:00 to watch that particular brand of hockey.

… It was a frustrating period for the fact that the officials called a couple stinker penalties on the Wings, but missed some obvious calls on the Sharks. The worst penalty was probably Kronwall’s second hooking, which was effectively a penalty for playing defense.

… The worst non-call was a nasty play by Kyle McLaren. With Dallas Drake chasing the puck down in the Sharks’ end, McLaren initiated contact just before the goalline. That was interference. McLaren then rode Drake into the endboards, laying on a heavy hit that left Drake woozy. Drake’s head bounced off a stanchion and as soon as he got up, he skated straight to the bench. At the next stoppage in play, he was taken to the dressing room and he did not return. He said after the game that he had a headache. He’ll be tested to determine the extent of the injury today, according to the Free Press.

… Chris Osgood had zero chance on the Sharks’ first goal. A V-bounce off the backboards on an intentional shot wide left him miles out of position and Mike Grier had an easy slam dunk goal. Osgood looked great for the majority of the night. He made some huge saves at key points and kept the Wings in it when they weren’t on top of their game.

… It feels weird to say it, but Andreas Lilja had a good game. Perhaps he got psyched up to play hard at the news that Nick Lidstrom might not be able to. In any case, he made a couple defensive plays that narrowly averted disaster. The one that stood out the most was the perfectly-timed shot block in the first period when the net was momentarily vacated.

… Henrik Zetterberg continued his statistical dominance, scoring a goal on a great shot in the second to tie the game at two and setting up Pavel Datsyuk on the Wings’ fourth goal. He leads the league in points at the moment with 15.

… Aaron Downey is on his way to being a fan favorite after he came to Drake’s defense with a fight in the third period. He only got 2:42 in ice time, but he made the most of it with a pretty decisive win over Kyle McLaren, who has 20 pounds on him. You can see the fight over at HockeyFights.com. Unfortunately, it’s the San Jose feed and doesn’t pick up the whole thing.

… Matt Ellis scored his first NHL goal on a bit of a surprise play. He skated in down the left wing, pulled up and wheeled, throwing the puck at the net off the backhand. It deflected slightly off the skate of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and somehow beat Nabokov. Jiri Hudler retrieved the puck for Ellis, who was busy being congratulated by his teammates.

… Brian Rafalski did not play after the 5:48 mark due to some kind of injury. Babcock evidently wouldn’t talk about it after the game, but the speculation is that he hurt either his knee or his groin.

… It was good to see the Wings further validate their playoff series win over the Sharks with a pretty decisive showing. San Jose spent the summer in denial about what really happened in the Semifinals so maybe now they’ll start to understand. I’m not going to hold my breath, however. I’m sure last night will be counted by their players and fans as another game the Sharks lost rather than one the Wings won.

… Be sure to check out: