Monthly Archive for November, 2007Page 3 of 5

Hasek to start versus Chicago

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 16, 2007
in Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Jimmy Howard, Jiri Hudler, Johan Franzen and Links
. 6 Comments

Kind of a non-news item, but Ansar Khan reports that Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow night. He may or may not be backed up by Chris Osgood, who had to skip practice today because of the flu. If Osgood isn’t better, the team will have to call up Jimmy Howard.

Also, it looks like Jiri Hudler is being rewarded for his production of late, as he skated with the second line today while Johan Franzen was relegated to the fourth.

I apologize for not posting yesterday. A slow day new-wise and a school/work responsibilities sort of dictated that.

Wings stuck in St. Louis

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 14, 2007
in Links and The Team
. 0 Comments

While taxiing to the runway last night, the right wing wheel of the Wings’ plan got stuck in the mud. The team got off the plane safely and went back to their hotel, but it remained stuck through the night. George Malik has been following the story closely over at Snapshots.

Wings 3, Blues 4

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 14, 2007
in 2007-2008, Blues and Game Reports
. 9 Comments

Update (3:48 PM): HockeyTownTodd has some great stuff in the comment he left below. The stats he gives are not encouraging. - Matt

The Wings dropped their second straight intra-divisional game last night, losing 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues. Their 40 minutes of decent hockey bookended a second period in which the Blues not only stormed back from a two-goal deficit, but took a two-goal lead of their own. Detroit controlled the play in the first, for the most part, but allowed the Blues to get back into the game in the second. By the third, both teams were playing pretty well, with the Blues just beating back the Wings efforts at a comeback.

… Jiri Hudler stood out again as having a good game. He finished with two assists and was heavily involved in the offense. His helper on Valtteri Filppula’s goal was particularly nice. His confidence is way up and you get the feeling something’s going to happen when he has the puck.

… Dan Cleary also continues to play well. His goal in the first period was a great one and he caused trouble the rest of the night.

… I thought Niklas Kronwall had one of the best games of his career. He finished with 25:07 in ice time and two assists. He looked extremely confident in both ends of the ice. Perhaps it was a relief to be cut loose a bit without Andreas Lilja as his partner.

… Henrik Zetterberg’s point streak ended at 17 games. The last time he was shut out? February 8, 2007 against the Blues. Manny Legace was the goalie that night, too. He did have six shots, which is something, I guess.

… I didn’t think Pavel Datsyuk had a particularly good night. He scored a bit of a fluke goal, but wasn’t much of a factor aside from that. The Blues did a good job of silencing him.

… Derek Meech filled in ably tonight. He’s a steady young defenseman. I like the idea of Babcock using him every once in a while. I think Lilja plays better hockey when he gets the idea his job isn’t guaranteed.

… Manny Legace recovered rather nicely from the Wings first two goals. Good for him, if it was bad for the Wings.

… The loss does not rest entirely on the shoulders of Dominik Hasek, but he gets a hefty share of the blame. He had no chance on the first goal and was interfered with on the third, but he should have stopped the 2nd and 3rd. You can blame the second on a defensive breakdown (it was really just a nice breakout by the Blues), but Dom has to make that save. That’s why he’s in Detroit. I don’t know what the heck happened on the fourth goal, but that should have been a routine save, heavy shot or not.

Dom wasn’t on top of his game last night and Babcock made the right decision to pull him. When the Wings skaters are being outplayed by their opponents, the goaltender is supposed to give them a lift, particularly when that goaltender is Domink Hasek. Didn’t happen last night.

… The Wings kept the Blues away from Chris Osgood for the most part, but Ozzie looked sharp when needed.

… The team has until Saturday to get back on track and I hope they can because they’re facing Chicago again that night.

Zetterberg named Carhartt’s “Hardest Working” Player for October

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 13, 2007
in Henrik Zetterberg and Links
. 1 Comment

Apparently, he was given the award, which included “Carhartt merchandise,” before the game Friday night. The Dearborn, MI, company will give the award to a deserving Red Wing every month this season.  (link)

GameDay: @ St. Louis (7-7-0, 14 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 13, 2007
in 2007-2008, Blues and GameDay
. 2 Comments

Update (8:00 PM): Noticed a few minutes ago that Derek Meech is playing at the expense of Andreas Lilja. Bruce MacLeod reports that Lilja is a healthy scratch, so it looks like Babcock is sending a message to the big Swede. - Matt

Update (7:40 PM): Catch the game live (okay, delayed 30-40 seconds) on NHL TV here. Already, the lines are different than reported today, as Kris Draper started between Dallas Drake and Kirk Maltby. - Matt

Update (5:39 PM): More from MacLeod. This time it’s a quote form Mike Babcock on the practice before the Chicago game:

“Zetterberg calls it the joy factor. … There’s a lot of fun. Our guys are laughing and abusing each other and fooling around. The day before in practice, we went out and no one was bugging each other. They were paying attention and we weren’t executing. I know right away when they’re attentive that something’s going on. Usually, they’re goofing off, having fun. There was no energy. Just because the schedule says we should be all right, we’re not.”

I guess that sort of explains the Wings’ sloppiness Sunday. Sort of. Despite the fact that we don’t know why the players weren’t in their usual mood, it’s always good to hear details like that. We know so little about practice dynamics way out here behind the wall.

Anyway, the team did not skate yesterday, but went bowling instead. Let’s hope they got the right amount of goofing off and abuse in. They did skate today, however, though MacLeod doesn’t offer any observations on the mood among the players.

By the way, Jiri Hudler has the hot hand in bowling as well as hockey at the moment. He won with four strikes in a row and a score of 183. - Matt

Update (1:56 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Mikael Samuelsson has flown home to Detroit to be with his wife and their newborn daughter. As a result, Matt Ellis will enter the lineup as the center of the fourth line with Tomas Kopecky and Dallas Drake. Jiri Hudler will move up from the fourth line to skate on the second with Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen.

Ellis will make the fourth line tougher to play against, which is a good thing going into a rebound game. Hudler has earned a spot on the second line, so it’s good to see him get it.

Congratulations to the Samuelssons! - Matt

Tonight is the first of eight games between these two teams this season. The 2006-2007 series ended in a 4-4 tie. They play once more this month, three times in December, and three times in March.

The Blues have had a bit of a bipolar season. They lost their opener to Phoenix, but won their next four. Then, they hit a 3-3-0 stretch where they alternated losses and win. Their last win came November 1st in Minnesota and since then, they are 0-3, having lost to the Blackhawks twice and Columbus once in that span. The Blues’ 7-7-0 record is good for fifth in the Central Division, five points back of the 4th-place team, Nashville.

Brad Boyes leads the team with 9 goals, but free agent acquisition Paul Kariya leads in points with 16. Keith Tkachuk isn’t far behind, with 13. 2003 Calder Trophy winner Barrett Jackman has one point through 14 games and is minus-7.

Former Red Wing Manny Legace has posted a 6-5 record this season, with a 2.27 GAA and a .914 save percentage. He should be the starter tonight for the Blues.

For the Blues perspective, check out St. Louis Game Time, The Hockey Chick, and The Checking Line.

The Wings had won nine in a row going into Chicago Sunday night, but couldn’t win a tenth as the Blackhawks outplayed them just about the whole game. They are now 0-2-1 against the Hawks this season and have lost to just one other team, the Ducks. Tonight is the fourth in a nine-game stretch in which they play only Central Division teams.

2003 Calder Trophy runner-up Henrik Zetterberg is tied with Sidney Crosby for the league lead in points with 27. He leads the team in both goals (13) and is tied for the team lead in assists with Pavel Datsyuk (14).

There are no Red Wing injuries and it’s not likely there will be any lineup changes, as Tomas Kopecky and Dallas Drake have been playing well.

Dominik Hasek should get the start tonight after backing up Chris Osgood Sunday in Chicago. He is 5-2-1 with a 2.47 GAA and a .883 save-percentage.

For more of the Detroit perspective, be sure to stop by Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, yzerman is god, and Winging It In Motown today.

The Wings were as flat as I’ve seen them all season Sunday night and can’t expect to get away with that again tonight. The Blues are a well-coached team, as pointed out by HockeyTownTodd in the comments yesterday, and have plenty of talent, as well. Paul Kariya, in particular, will make the Wings pay if they don’t bring their “A” game. That said, with the exception of Chicago, the Wings have looked fairly good against the Central this year and hopefully that will continue tonight as they play the Blues for the first time.

Wings 2, Blackhawks 3

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 12, 2007
in 2007-2008, Blackhawks and Game Reports
. 8 Comments

The Wings lost to the Blackhawks for the third time this season and deservedly so. With the exception of brief periods of play in the beginning and toward the end, they were outclassed by Chicago and looked completely out of sync. The Hawks, on the other hand, earned the win with hard work and hustle, pretty much from the first puck drop to the final horn.

I don’t have a lot more to say about this one, but here’s what I’ve got:

… Tomas Kopecky had a decent night. He had a nice assist on Hudler’s goal and just after that, put on a good show in a fight with Patrick Sharp. Although Sharp took Kopecky to the ice, I’d say the Blackhawk lost the fight, as he was cut badly by one of Kopey’s upper cuts.

… Hudler was one of the few Wings that looked sharp. He finished with a goal and an assist.

… Henrik Zetterberg extended his point streak to 17 games with a secondary assist on Hudler’s goal. He didn’t stand out too much.

… Chris Osgood’s unbeaten-in-regulation streak ended at 20 games. He didn’t look bad, though.

… Some real chintzy calls on both sides last night. It’s times like these that I really, really hate the new standards. It’d be nice if the officials could tell the difference between a hook that is consequential and one that’s not. Too many calls these days leave even long-time fans like myself mystified.

… I didn’t mention it for fear of jinxing things, but, like so many times in the past, the Wings had a chance to set a team record for consecutive wins with a tenth. I wonder if I’ll live to see them do it.

… I don’t like the idea of seeing the Wings face the Blues Tuesday if they’re going to come out like they did last night.

GameDay: @ Chicago (9-7-0, 18 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 11, 2007
in 2007-2008, Blackhawks and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Update (7:50 PM): You can watch the game in progress here on NHL TV, via the Chicago feed. - Matt

Tonight is the third of eight games between these two Original Six teams this season. The Blackhawks lead the series 2-0, with wins October 6th (4-3 SO) and October 12th (3-2). They’ll meet once more this month, on the 17th, before wrapping things up with games in January, March, and April (2).

Since beating the Wings on the 12th, the Hawks have posted a 7-5-0 record. Their wins have come in pairs over that stretch, with losses preventing longer streaks. They dropped three in a row from October 23rd to October 27th, two of which came to Eastern Conference opponents (Boston and Atlanta). They have won their last two games, beginning with a 5-2 win over Columbus on Wednesday and then continuing with a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Friday. It was the third time in 12 games they’ve played St. Louis and their second win over the Blues. Tonight’s game ends a four-game homestand that will be followed by a six-game roadtrip beginning Wednesday.

Rookie Patrick Kane leads the Hawks in the three major offensive categories: goals (6), assists (13), and points (19). Any one of five Blackhawks could be said to lead the goals category, as former Red Wings Robert Lang and Jason Williams, as well as rookie Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp have six goals as well. Lang isn’t far behind Kane in points with 15.

It looks as though Martin Havlat may return today after going down in the first game with a shoulder injury.

Patrick Lalime has backstopped the Hawks to their last two wins at the expense of Nikolai Khabibulin, who last played in the team’s November 4th loss to Nashville. Nonetheless, Lalime will be on the bench, as Khabibulin has been named the starter for tonight. The Russian is 2-0 against the Wings this season.

The big story tonight is that the game will be locally televised in the Chicago area for the first time in decades. It’s a landmark day for the Blackhawks and hopefully the start of a healing of the fanbase that was ravaged during the Bill Wirtz years.

Be sure to check out The Third Man In, Second City Hockey, and The Blackhawk Experience.

The Wings have posted a 10-1-0 record since losing to the Hawks last month. Their only loss came October 15th to Anaheim on the road. Since then, they’ve won nine in a row. They are coming off a solid 4-1 win over Columbus Friday night, a game which followed a shaky 3-2 shootout win over Nashville two nights before. The Wings are now three games in to a nine-game stretch against Central Division opponents.

Despite the fact that Sidney Crosby played last night, Henrik Zetterberg remains the NHL point leader, if only by one point, with 26. He is the only Red Wing to crack the double-digit mark in goals with 13. Tomas Holmstrom is second, with nine.

The Wings have no injuries, but it is possible there could be a lineup change or two. Tomas Kopecky is coming off what Mike Babcock called his best game of the season, so it’s unlikely he’ll sit. However, Dallas Drake may get the night off in favor of Matt Ellis or Aaron Downey.

Chris Osgood will get the start tonight and Dominik Hasek will back him up, though it’s highly unlikely he’ll relieve Osgood for anything less than an emergency.

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

The Wings haven’t been at all successful against the rejuvenated Blackhawks this season and that needs to change tonight. If they pick up where they left off Friday night, they should be in good shape. They’ll need to keep out of the box, which is easier said than done, and find ways to shut down the dynamic duo of Toews and Kane. It’ll have to be one of their tighter defensive efforts. Expect the Hawks to put on a strong performance for the fans on TV. If the Wings don’t come out flat, we should have a good game.

Wings 4, Blue Jackets 1

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 10, 2007
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets and Game Reports
. 4 Comments

Just have time for a few comments:

… The shot totals and the final score indicate a more lopsided game than it really was. I thought the Jackets played very well. They carried the play early the game and held their own throughout much of the rest of it. The Wings are great at shutting down the end of plays, which explains the Jackets’ 16 shots. What is surprising is that they only managed 8 shots with the man advantage, which isn’t much over one shot per power play on average. I’ll put that down to the Red Wing penalty killers.

… Niklas Kronwall laid a nice hit on Sergei Fedorov at the Columbus blue line in the first period, drawing a lot of cheers from the crowd. Sergei had just taken a pass and had time to get his head up before getting stopped in his tracks by a hit that connected all the way from his shoulder to his hip.

… Speaking of Sergei and the crowd, fans at the Joe continued their classless tradition of booing Fedorov every time he touched the puck. Apparently, that’s what three Cups are worth these days.

… Scary moment in the second period: Rick Nash on a carry-out backhanded the puck right in to Dan Cleary’s face. I’m not claiming it was intentional because the puck is harder to control on the backhand, but you’d like to see Nash be a little more careful there. Cleary was about six feet in front of him and Nash could have done any number of things with the puck beside put it in Dan’s face. Cleary went straight to the lockerroom and came back with a patched up face and a shield.

… Pascal Leclaire is a great goalie who is very likely to make the initial save. He doesn’t give up big rebounds, but he doesn’t always control the puck off a shot and that’s how two of the Wings’ four goals were scored: digging up rebounds around the net. On both plays, Leclaire did not hold the post. On Homer’s goal, he was able to flip it over Leclaire’s pad, while Cleary was able to put it past his skate on his second. I don’t know if that’s how he’s generally scored on, but the Wings should be able to recreate those conditions in future games given the fact that they have the best around-the-net guy in the league and several understudies of his on the roster.

… Hasek looked good in his return. The Jackets’ goal was essentially a foregone conclusion, so I’m not blaming him for it. He made a number of key saves at various points in the game and definitely did his job. In the post-game, you could hear it in his voice that he wished he’d had more work, but he gave credit to his teammates for their tight defensive play. Dom had the best quote of the broadcast during a brief feature on his daily practice routine:

“… then I warm up my butt …”

I don’t know, maybe I was just tired, but the way he said it made it sound hilarious. Anyway.

… I had a feeling Henrik Zetterberg’s point streak would end last night. Well, his teammates, particularly Pavel Datsyuk, must have sensed my doubt, because they essentially forced the Jackets to give up a point to Zetterberg late in the third period. They went on the power play at 16:02 and after an ineffectual second unit went off, the first unit came out and, with the exception of Tomas Holmstrom (lost his stick and returned to the bench in exchange for Kirk Maltby) they did not leave the ice until 18:32, when Hank scored. Heck, they didn’t even leave the Jackets’ zone. It got to the point where I almost felt bad for Columbus because they could not get the puck cleared no matter how hard they tried. They had to be dead by the time Hank beat Leclaire 5-hole.

It was reminiscent of the power play on which the Wings scored their 7th goal on Colorado in the 2002 Conference Finals Game 7. That time, the Wings put on a clinic for about the whole power play until Pavel Datsyuk scored on a one-timer from the halfboards that blew past a diving Aebischer. Last night’s performance leading up to the final goal was a fine demonstration of what this team can do if it sets its mind on it.

… A good game for both teams, really. The Wings didn’t disappoint and the Jackets have been chastened a bit. I’m sure they’ll be ready for the rematch on the 18th.

Be sure to watch the highlight reel.

MacLeod: Downey clears waivers

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 9, 2007
in Aaron Downey and Links
. 2 Comments

Update (1:30 PM): Just to clarify, it’s 10 games for Downey, not for the team, according to the CBA (big PDF). - Matt 

Just like last time, he won’t actually go to Grand Rapids, but will stay with the team and allow them some flexibility to make moves in case of an injury too minor to involve the IR. He can be sent down any time in the next 30 days or 10 games without a hitch. (link)

GameDay: vs. Columbus (8-4-2, 18 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 9, 2007
in 2007-2008, Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 4 Comments

Update (2:15 PM): Bethany of Bethany’s Hockey Rants has her pre-game post up. She says it’s a must-win game for the Blue Jackets and you can bet there’s a similar attitude in the lockerroom. If the Wings don’t come out flat, we should have a great game tonight, because you know the Jackets will be playing their best. - Matt

Update (11:05 AM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Tomas Kopecky and Dallas Drake will return to the lineup tonight after one game off. Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey will be healthy scratches. Derek Meech, not Andreas Lilja (obviously that was wishful thinking), will be the other healthy scratch, as the defensive corps will return to how it was before Niklas Kronwall’s groin injury. - Matt

Tonight is the first of eight games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the series last year 5-3. They’ll face each other two more times this month and will finish with games in February, March (3), and April.

Like the Wings, Columbus kicked off the season with a win over Anaheim, a 4-0 decision that came two nights after opening night in Detroit. They lost the next night in Minnesota, 3-2, and then dropped three of their next five games. Then, beginning with a 7-4 win over Chicago on October 23rd, Columbus won their next four. That stretch ended November 1st with a 2-1 shootout loss in Anaheim, a game in which former Red Wing defenseman Mathieu Schneider scored the game winner in his first regular season game as a Duck. In their two games since then, the Jackets are 1-1-0. Tonight’s game is the second of a three-city road trip for Columbus, who lost 5-2 in Chicago on their first stop. After tonight, they’ll head to Nashville to play Sunday.

The Jackets’ 8-4-2 record is good for second in the division, two points ahead of Chicago and only four ahead of the last place team, St. Louis.

Rick Nash leads the Jackets with 16 points (10G, 6A). Nash is the only Jacket so far to score 10 or more goals. Nikolai Zherdev is second on the team with 10 points (4G, 6A). Former Red Wing Sergei Fedorov has a rather pedestrian 8 points, only 3 of which are goals. It looks like Fedorov will be on the second line, while Michael Peca was evidently demoted to the fourth line after the loss Wednesday. Jiri Novotny will take his place on the top line with Nash and Zherdev.

Pascal Leclaire has been nothing short of a revelation for the Blue Jackets this season. His 1.12 GAA, .957 save percentage, and 5 shutouts are best in the league. The Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist has 4 shutouts, but the remainder of the top five only have 2. Needless to say, Leclaire has been playing some great hockey and will be tough to beat.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Fredrik Modin (back) is the only Jacket injury, though the Freep also lists Alexandre Picard (knee) and Duvie Wescott (concussion). Apparently, Westcott has been sent to Syracuse on a conditioning stint, having recovered from his concussion.

There are a number of great Columbus blogs out there. Be sure to check out Army of the Ohio, End of the Bench, Neutral Zone Trap, The Jacket Times, and Bethany’s Hockey Rants for their perspective.

The Wings have won their last eight games and can tie the team record with a ninth. Their last loss came October 15th in Anaheim and their other two losses were to Chicago. They’re coming off an unsatisfying 3-2 shootout win over Nashville Wednesday night in a game that kicked off a stretch in which they’ll face Central Division team nine times in a row. Calgary is their next non-Central opponent and that game isn’t until November 27th.

Henrik Zetterberg extended his point streak to 15 games when he noticed his 13th assist Wednesday night. It was his league-leading 25th point. Pavel Datsyuk is second on the team with 16 points.

Niklas Kronwall (groin) is slated to make his return to the lineup after missing four games. Derek Meech will return to the luxury suite as a result. That is, unless Babcock has been impressed enough with Meech to keep him in and sit someone else.

Don’t expect to see Aaron Downey tonight, since he was waived yesterday. Either Dallas Drake or Tomas Kopecky will return to the lineup after a game off in order to fill out the fourth line with Matt Ellis and Jiri Hudler. There is a chance that both Drake and Kopecky will dress, in which case Ellis would be a healthy scratch. We should find out any changes sometime later today.

Dominik Hasek (hip) will be the starter tonight after missing five game.

Be sure to check out the various Wings blogs, too: Snapshots, Gorilla Crouch, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Gloveside, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, and Winging It In Motown.

You can bet Ken Hitchcock has his team ready to play after a lackluster performance Wednesday. You can also bet Mike Babcock has his guys ready too, as their performance wasn’t exactly top notch the other day, either. Columbus has something to prove, though, and will come out strong. The Wings will have to play a full game if they want to pull out a win. The Jackets aren’t a team to mess around with any more.