On the Wings

Update (1:10 PM): George Malik has a slick roundup of media and player comments on the game over at Snapshots. - Matt

… So the Wings beat the Flames 5-3 last night. From the little that I saw online (while in class), it looked like a fast-paced game, though that impression may be due to the stop-and-go nature of the video feed. Since I didn’t get to watch the whole thing and therefore cannot comment on it much at all, I have some links for you:

• The highlight reel
  • Judging by his two goals, it looks like Pavel Datsyuk is tired of just racking up assists
• Post-game video interview with
  • Chris Osgood
  • Nick Lidstrom
  • Pavel Datsyuk
  • Mike Babcock
• WingsCast post-game (mp3)
  • some overlap with the above interviews, but conveniently in one file
• Baroque’s recap at HockeyTownTodd
  • she goes over a couple other games first
• Scott Cruickshank’s thoughts on the game over at Flames Insider

… Aside from the win, the big news coming out of the game is the injury to Kris Draper at 18:40 of the first period. Evidently, he twisted his left knee while behind the net with Owen Nolan. He was able to drive himself to the DMC for an MRI, but Mike Babcock told the media “”We’re a little concerned right now,” though the hope is obviously that it’s nothing major. We’ll probably find out more today.

As the Freep points out, Johan Franzen, the last Red Wing to sprain his knee, missed 10 games. Let’s hope Drapes can make it back sooner than that.

… If you’re looking for the Dion Phaneuf hit on Jiri Hudler, look no further:

Fortunately for him, Jiri gets his head up at the last second there, so he wasn’t totally unprepared. A bit of a high one, but Hudler is one of the shorter guys in the league, so that isn’t so surprising. A spectacular hit, to be sure, though I’m not a fan of the elbow-on-head contact.

… In response to Ian’s question on the gameday post, the “A” is on rotation between Zetterberg, Draper, and Datsyuk.

Also, yes, we’d be screwed if one of the top three goes down. More so if one of the Eurotwins does, but losing Homer would decimate the power play.