Archive for November, 2007

GameDay: vs. Calgary (10-11-3, 23 Pts) 7:00 ET

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Update (6:35 PM): You can watch the game online on NHL TV here. It’s the Sportsnet feed if you’d rather not watch the Versus one.  - Matt

Update (2:25 PM): The Calgary Herald’s Steve Cruickshank, writing for the paper’s Flames Insider blog, has a pre-game update of his own.

First, he relates a run-in Chris Osgood had with Kris Draper in the lockerroom (birthday shaving cream pie + Ozzie’s face = ensuing hilarity).

On a more serious note, he writes that Owen Nolan is expected to dress tonight, while Marcus Nilson is not. Nolan, by the way, has just 4 goals and 8 points through 23 games.

The Flames evidently did not skate today, choosing instead to have meetings.

Also, Red Wings TV now has an interview with Nick Lidstrom on the game tonight. - Matt

Update (2:05 PM): Helene St. James’ post-practice update has little to add except that “Dominik Hasek has flu-like symptoms,” though it appears he’ll be capable of sitting half-in-uniform on the bench to “back up” Chris Osgood, who had the flu a week and a half ago. Let’s hope Dom is the last player to come down with it.

There’s also this post-practice interview from Mike Babcock on Red Wings TV. Again, the network’s to slow to actually allow me to watch it, but I’m sure it’s very profound. - Matt

Update (11:52 AM): Bruce MacLeod reports that neither Tomas Kopecky (shoulder) nor Matt Ellis (headaches) has been cleared to play tonight. Kopecky seems to be okay, however, as he participated in practice, but Ellis only worked out off the ice. So, the lineup will be the same as it was Saturday.

MacLeod’s practice lines also show that Jiri Hudler’s banishment to the fourth line continues, despite the fact that Johan Franzen is a much better fit with Dallas Drake and Aaron Downey. I have nothing at all against Drake or Downey, but they aren’t offensively-minded players like Jiri, whose talent is completely wasted on that line. Hudler does not have the size or physicality to make that unit cohesive. Franzen, on the other hand is both large and physical. I’m a big fan of Johan and believe he has a decent offensive upside, but I also believe he should have to earn a second line spot, which he hasn’t quite done. In the meantime, he and his size should be put to use on the energy line.

Jiri hasn’t scored a goal since the 11th, but he has two assists in the past three games, which is more than can be said about Franzen and his one goal in thirteen games played. – Matt

Update (11:40 AM): The Calgary Herald has a couple nice pieces on two Red Wings today: Brian Rafalski and Chris Osgood. It’s good to see the opposition paper write about the Wings. It’d be even better if the Detroit media did the same for the Wings’ opposition. - Matt

Update (10:00 AM): HockeyTownTodd has his preview posted. - Matt

Tonight is the third of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first two meetings, beginning with a 4-2 decision on October 10th and finishing with a 4-1 decision on November 1st. The fourth and final game in the series will be played on February 22nd in Calgary.

After a decent a 6-3-3 start in the first month, the Flames have had a bit of a rough November, posting a 4-8-0 record thus far. The loss to the Wings on the first kicked off a skid that lasted five games that only ended on the 13th with a 3-2 win over Minnesota. Since then, they’ve alternated wins and losses. They’ve managed two wins over Colorado and a win over Edmonton, but have lost to Vancouver, Chicago, and St. Louis over their past six. The loss to St. Louis, a 3-0 decision, came on Sunday in their most recent game. Tonight is the last night in a three-stop road trip for the Flames, who have a four-game homestand to look forward to. They’re 4-5-1 on the road, but 6-6-2 at home.

Jarome Iginla leads the team in the three major offensive statistical categories: goals (13), assists (17) and points (30). Daymond Langkow and Alex Tanguay are next with 21 points.

According to the Calgary Sun, Rhett Warrener (leg) and Wayne Primeau (ankle) are out, but Marcus Nilson (concussion) and Owen Nolan (hip) are day-to-day and could possibly play. The Calgary Herald reported yesterday that Nolan is ready to go, at least according to Mike Keenan, the head coach.

Miikka Kiprusoff will be in net tonight.

For the Flames perspective, check out Battle of Alberta, Completely Hammered, Five Hole Fanatics, and Open Ice Hits.

The Wings haven’t exactly had a stellar November themselves, having posted a 5-4-1 record thus far. They played nine straight against Central Division opponents and finished that stretch with a measly 4-4-1 record. They are coming off a shootout loss to Columbus on Saturday and, before that, a regulation loss to Nashville on Thursday. They aren’t playing their best hockey at the moment.

Henrik Zetterberg still leads the team in goals (16) and points (32) and Pavel Datsyuk is the assist leader with 18.

Tomas Kopecky (shoulder) and Matt Ellis (headaches) are both listed as “questionable.” Ellis did not practice yesterday and Kopecky only participated in non-contact drills, so it’s highly unlikely either of them will suit up tonight. Thus, it’ll be Aaron Downey and Dallas Drake on the fourth line, probably with Jiri Hudler.

Chris Osgood will get his second consecutive start tonight. The team has more confidence in his ability to earn them at least a point than they did in Hasek’s, at the moment.

Be sure to stop by Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, and Winging It In Motown today.

Mike Babcock called the team out after the loss to Columbus Saturday:

“It was the first time in a long, long time that we didn’t have enough people ready to play and ready to compete. That’s unacceptable and that’s un-Red Wing like.”

Hopefully the players got the message. They’ll need to be on top of things tonight.

Unfortunately, my evening class conflicts with the game, so I’m definitely missing the beginning, and possibly the end. We’ll see.

11/26 Post-Practice Interviews

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Update (4:51 PM): A link to an interview with Kris Draper has been added. - Matt

Red Wings TV has four post-practice interviews up today. I’d break them down, but the school network is even more mind-numbingly sluggish than usual and it’d probably be faster to read The Lord of the Rings or War and Peace in one sitting than to wait for the videos to load. So, I leave it to those of you with decent internet access to watch them and maybe let me know if anything interesting is said.

Perhaps later, the network will surpass 14k dial-up in speed, and I’ll be able to watch them myself.

Khan: Osgood to start versus Calgary

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Update (4:10 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more on the situation. Basically, Osgood is getting the team points, while Hasek is not. So, the “backup” gets the start while the “starter” sits. - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that Chris Osgood will get a second consecutive start Tuesday night versus the Flames. Something’s obviously going on behind the scenes here. Sure, Ozzie’s earned it, but Hasek is still nominally the starter and you’d think he’d be in net again after a strong showing Thursday night.

Khan also says that Matt Ellis did not skate today, as his headaches continue. Sounds like it could be a concussion, though Babcock professes to know nothing about it. Tomas Kopecky (shoulder) skated, but mostly by himself.

11/25 Quick Links

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Because I couldn’t watch the game last night, I’m deferring to IwoCPO of Abel to Yzerman and Baroque of HockeyTownTodd. Iwo’s got a great post on the situation following the Wings’ sixth (regulation plus overtime/shootout) loss  to a Central Division team. Baroque’s piece complements Iwo’s with some nice statistical analysis. It’s still too early in the season to be too concerned, but the Wings’ trouble with Central Division opponents has to end eventually or it’s going to be a bumpy season. Let’s be thankful the team is done with that nine-game intradivisional stretch.

GameDay: @ Columbus (10-8-4, 24 Pts) 7:00 ET

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Update (3:15 PM): Bruce MacLeod confirms that both Tomas Kopecy and Matt Ellis will sit out tonight. Ellis, apparently, did not make the trip to Columbus, while Kopecky is with the team, but not skating. According to Mike Babcock, both may be available for the game against Calgary on Tuesday night.

The fourth line will consist of Aaron Downey and Dallas Drake flanking Jiri Hudler, who MacLeod says, “will play center for the first time since coming to North America.” I don’t know about that. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Jiri has played center before, both in the AHL and in the NHL. - Matt

Tonight is the third of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first two meetings, 4-1 on the 9th and 5-4 in a shootout on the 18th. The remaining games are in February, March, and April.

November has been a bit of a rough month for the Blue Jackets, who have posted a 3-5-3 record thus far. Last night in Minnesota, they snapped a 0-2-1 streak with a 4-0 shutout win. They are 0-1-1 on the second night of a back-to-back this season.

Rick Nash leads the team with 16 goals and 26 points, while Nikolai Zherdev leads in assists with 11.

Michael Peca, who had missed six games with a groin injury, returned last night and finished with a goal and an assist.

Despite having played last night because of Fredrik Norrena’s sudden contraction of the stomach flu, it looks as though Pascal Leclaire will be in net again tonight.

For the Columbus perspective, head to Better on Ice, The Jacket Times, Army of the Ohio, End of the Bench, Neutral Zone Trap, The Jacket Times, and Bethany’s Hockey Rants.

The Wings are 5-4-0 in November, which has been a bit of a rough month for them as well. Their win over Columbus on the 18th halted a three-game skid and since then, they’re 1-1-0. They’re coming off a 3-2 loss in Nashville on Thanksgiving, a game that came a day after beating St. Louis at home. They are 2-0-0 in the game after a back-to-back series this season.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team with 16 goals and 32 points. Pavel Datsyuk leads in assists with 17.

Matt Ellis (headache) and Tomas Kopecky (shoulder) are questionable for tonight, which should mean Aaron Downey and Dallas Drake will be in the lineup.

Mike Babcock announced after the Nashville game that Chris Osgood would be the starter tonight. It looks like, for now at least, there’s a goalie rotation.

For more of the Detroit perspective, check out Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, and Winging It In Motown.

The Jackets are coming off a strong performance last night in Minnesota and will be looking to upstage the Wings tonight as well. Hopefully the Wings will be able to catch Columbus tired, much like the Predators caught them Thursday night. Still, the Jackets have already lost to Detroit twice this season and obviously aren’t interested in losing again.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the game tonight, so I won’t have a recap or anything tomorrow.

Wings 2, Predators 3

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The Wings fell to 4-5-1 versus the Central Division with last night’s 3-2 loss to Nashville. It was a game they should have had well in hand by the end of the first period, as the Predators took six penalties in the first 20 minutes. The Wings couldn’t convert on two 5-on-3s, though they did score on their first power play. By and large, the Wings dictated the game until the Predators scored and gained their legs. The rest of the game consisted of the Wings gradually losing steam as the well-rested Predators took over.

… Dominik Hasek looked good, for the most part. He had no chance on at least two of the goals, though I thought the Preds’ second was a little weak.

On the first, Dan Cleary gave no support to Nick Lidstrom, who was covering JP Dumont, allowing Jason Arnott to skate into the low slot unmolested and knock the puck home on an easy slam-dunk play.

On the second, there was all kinds of traffic in front, but it would have been nice to have seen Hasek handle the rebound better off the shot from the blueline. Martin Erat had an easy time of it flipping the puck over a down-and-out Dom.

On the third, the Preds got a bit of a lucky bounce off the initial shot, which allowed Bonk to pick it up and snipe the top corner over Dom’s glove from 18 feet out. No real chance there.

Dom definitely gave the Wings a chance to win the game, especially after making 15 saves on 16 shots in the second. The loss cannot be pinned on him.

By the way, Chris Osgood will be the starter Saturday against Columbus.

… Johan Franzen finally got a goal last night, not long after he scored on a shot taken after the whistle. It came on the Wings’ first power play, not long after a great effort by Niklas Kronwall to keep it in. Johan put a nice backhander between Mason’s arm and his body as he went to cover the post. I thought Franzen played well last night overall, though he took two penalties in a row in the second.

… Henrik Zetterberg’s goal in the second period was a beauty. Pavel Datsyuk carried the puck in down the right wing and quickly dropped it off to Zetterberg in the slot. Hank deked Zanon out of his jock strap and beat a startled-looking Mason top corner.

… Matt Ellis had to leave the game after taking a hit from Jordin Tootoo in the second period. It was a heavy hit, but not particularly dirty. Apparently, Ellis’ head was hurting afterwards and the team decided not to take any chances. Hopefully it’s not a concussion.

Tootoo, by the way, was much more noticeable last night than he was the first time around. Still quiet according to his own standard, but more noticeable.

… The Wings’ top line was ground down by the Preds, who really took it to them physically. As the game wore on, the physical toll started to tell, as the Wings as a whole looked slower and more tentative.

… The story of the game was the blown power play chances, particularly the two 5-on-3s in the first period. The first was just 19 seconds long, but the second was 1:12. They did not generate much pressure on either of them and did not come particularly close to scoring. Definitely not the results you want to see.

So, despite the fact that the Predators’ penalty trouble was virtually handing the Wings the game early on, they went into the lockerrooms at the end of the first tied at one. The Wings do a lot of talking about “killer instinct,” but until they start doing something about it, they’ll continue to have games likes this. Of course, they did play the night before and were up against a team that hadn’t played since Monday. The way I see it, though, is that if they’d pushed harder in the first when they seemed to have energy, they may not have had so much trouble later in the game as fatigue became more of a factor.

… One more thing about the penalties: I hate it when referees micromanage a game like that. When they call every little thing, it takes the flow out of the game and drains some of the top players, who are forced to kill penalties and play in higher stress situations. When refs start whistling everything, you start to think they’ve forgotten the game isn’t about them, it’s about the players. It got to the point where I didn’t want to see another penalty, even if it was deserved.

… Anyway, the Wings are home today having a late Thanksgiving with their families. Evidently, they’ll head out tonight for the game in Columbus tomorrow.

GameDay: @ Nashville (10-8-2, 22 Pts) 8:00 ET

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Update (7:50 PM): You can watch the game live online on NHL TV here. - Matt

Update (5:50 PM): HockeyTownTodd has his preview posted. - Matt

Update (2:20 PM): Over at Snapshots, George Malik has a nice roundup of all the post-game media from the win over the Blues. - Matt

Tonight is the second of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first meeting, 3-2 in a shootout on the 7th. They’ll meet again in December (1), February (1), and March (4).

Since losing to the Wings on the 7th, the Predators have posted a 3-1-1 record. The three wins came in a row after leaving Detroit and included two games over the Blue Jackets. Since beating the Blackhawks on the 15th, however, the Preds have dropped two in a row. First, they lost 3-2 to the Blues in a shootout on the 17th, and then they lost 2-1 to St. Louis again, in regulation, two nights later. Nashville has been playing Central Division opponents since November 4, but they’ll finish that stretch up tonight.

Radek Bonk leads the team in goals with 8, but David Legwand leads in points and assists with 18 and 12.

It looks as though Chris Mason will be the starter tonight.

For the Nashville perspective, see Pred-Joe, On the Forecheck, and the official Predators blog.

The Wings are 3-3-0 since beating the Predators earlier this month. They dropped three consecutive games, but have since won two in a row, including last night’s game in St. Louis, a 3-0 decision. Chris Osgood was in net and only needed to make 12 saves to post his 44th career shutout. He was great when needed, though, and continues to exude confidence. Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring just 22 seconds into the game with a nice powerplay goal and the Blues never got back in the game. They took two penalties, including a couple double minors, and could never find their rhythm. The Wings, on the other hand, were pretty dominant. Mikael Samuelsson and Dan Cleary scored the Wings’ other goals. Cleary’s was a particularly nice breakaway effort.

See post-game comments from Mike Babcock here, from Chris Osgood and Dan Cleary here, and see the highlight reel here.

Tomas Kopecky left the game with a shoulder injury that they’re saying is minor. Apparently, he wouldn’t have played tonight anyway, as he and Dallas Drake were slated to sit in exchange for Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey.

Dominik Hasek is slated to start tonight.

The Wings will need to try to pick up where they left off last night. The Predators are rested, which will make things difficult, especially given their speed, but if the Wings are smart defensively, they should be in good shape. If the Wings can’t limit the shots like they usually do, it may not be a bad thing, as Hasek apparently prefers to face a lot of shots rather than, say, 12. Given that the Wings will keep their opponents to under 20 shots on most nights, you have to wonder if a goalie that can’t thrive in that system is the best for the team. Chris Osgood has no problem with facing 12 shots. Just sayin’.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving!