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.
Monthly Archive for November, 2007Page 2 of 5
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.
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.
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!
Bruce MacLeod reports that the initial diagnosis on Tomas Kopecky’s injury is that it’s muscular and will require only a short rest. That’s just a preliminary take, however, so it could turn out to be worse than that. In the meantime, Matt Ellis or Aaron Downey will be able to step in.
More on the Wings’ 3-0 win over St. Louis tomorrow.
I thought about it yesterday and meant to mention it earlier, but it slipped my mind: two years ago today, Jiri Fischer collapsed on the Wings’ bench and nearly died because of a racing heart beat. Ansar Khan has a nice update on Jiri, who is now the Wings’ director of player development. Note to Detroit media: it’s always good to hear more about Fischer.
Update (9:49 PM): Tomas Kopecky has left the game due to a shoulder injury. He won’t return, which leaves the Wings short a forward. - Matt
Update (7:36 PM): If you’re trying to watch the game online, try the broadcast on Yahoo! If you’re in the blackout area, try watching it on NHL TV here. - Matt
Update (7:05 PM): As usual, there’ll be a liveblog of sorts going on over at Abel to Yzerman. - Matt
Update (6:22 PM): Red Wings TV has some game day comments from Mike Babcock here. - Matt
Update (6:03 PM): HockeyTownTodd has his preview of the game posted. Also, be sure to check out Baroque’s latest post over there. - Matt
Update (12:56 PM): Bruce MacLeod has the “probable lines” over at Red Wings Corner. Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey are both healthy scratches. - Matt
Tonight is the second of eight games between these two teams this season. The Blues won the first meeting, 4-3 in St. Louis on the 13th. The remaining six games in the series will be played in December (3) and March (3).
The Blues are 3-0-0 since beating the Wings a week ago. They first beat the Blue Jackets, 3-2 on the 16th and followed that up with a 3-2 shootout win in Nashville the next night. Two days later, they beat the Predators at home, 2-1. That win put them at 5-3-0 in November.
Brad Boyes leads the team with 12 goals, but Paul Kariya leads in points with 20. Barrett Jackman has one point through 18 games and is now minus-9.
Former Red Wing Manny Legace should be in net for the Blues tonight. Since the last time we saw him, Manny has improved to a 2.22 GAA (from 2.27) and a .918 save-percentage (from .914).
For the Blues perspective, check out Note Speak, St. Louis Game Time, The Hockey Chick, and The Checking Line.
The Wings have gone 1-2-0 since losing to the Blues last week. On Sunday in Columbus, they snapped a three-game losing streak in which they lost to the Blackhawks twice, once before the Blues game, and once after it. In a stretch of games in which they have exclusively played Central Division teams, the team is 3-3-0. They play in Nashville tomorrow night and will face Columbus on Saturday.
Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals, assists, and points with 14, 16, and 30, respectively. Pavel Datsyuk and Nick Lidstrom also have 16 assists.
It looks like Aaron Downey will sit again after a strong performance Sunday night. Expect Dallas Drake and Tomas Kopecky to fill out the fourth line with, it looks like, Jiri Hudler.
Chris Osgood will start tonight.
For more of the Detroit perspective, be sure to stop by Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch (though Dave is traveling), Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, and Winging It In Motown today.
The Wings just need to come out and play their game. If they run into penalty trouble, hopefully their having focused on that in practice yesterday will help. With a confident Chris Osgood in net, they should be in better shape than they were last time, when Hasek’s shaky play resulted in his getting yanked.
NHL.com’s Karl Samuelson has a nice piece up on the Wings’ Swedish players, mostly from the perspective of Daniel Alfredsson on the outside looking in. (link)
Bruce MacLeod reports that Chris Osgood will start in net tomorrow night versus the Blues. Why? To Mike Babcock (and most other people paying attention), it’s simple: “To me, he’s earned the right.” It’s looking more and more like IwoCPO’s right.
Dominik Hasek will start Thursday in Nashville after getting another day of practice with Jim Bedard, the goaltending coach.
Also, it looks like Aaron Downey will sit out after having a strong game Sunday. In practice today, he and Matt Ellis were the extra men on the fourth and second lines, respectively.
And some good news: the team practiced 5-on-3 defense today. As HockeyTownTodd has been pointing out, there seem to be more of those lately, so they might as well be prepared.
Lastly, I apologize for the dearth in posting over the past few days. School tasks have made it difficult to find time to attend to the blog, but I should be able to return to regular posting now. For a while, anyway.
I’m sorry, but I’m working on a major paper all this weekend and can’t take the time. I hope to have it done in time to watch tomorrow night’s game, but I can’t make any promises. Be sure to stop by Gorilla Crouch and Snapshots for game day stuff.
I will say this, the roster situation is going to be interesting if Chris Osgood is not able to back up Hasek. To call up Jimmy Howard, the team will either need to demote Aaron Downey or put Ozzie on 7-day IR. Neither of those are ideal. Let’s hope he’s no longer sick.
Oh, and be sure to read this piece by a blogaholic named Bruce.
