The rivalry’s back and people are losing fingers. Okay so when the versus announcer shouted about a finger getting ripped off by Zetterberg, he was talking about a beautiful steal off of Jeff Finger, but we can dream, right? So for those of you who didn’t see the most bittersweet game of the year, you’ve undoubtedly now heard about the Nicklas Lidstrom crisis. Barely six minutes into the first, Ian Laperrierre took our prized captain into the boards in what appeared to be a relatively clean hit, except for a rising elbow. Lids crumpled and then struggled to return to play. He was helped off the ice and I’m pretty sure everyone watching was thinking concussion with how dazed he looked. Shockingly, it was announced later in the game that he passed the concussion test with flying colors. When Chris Chelios came on for an interview in the intermission, he looked like he’d just been to a funeral. It appears, however, that the attack on Nick was just what this team needed to come together and kick some butt. Aaron Downey did his best Darren McCarty impression, chasing down Laperrierre not once, but twice, to deal out justice. I don’t know about you, but I loved seeing Babs get all huffy with Granato. Why don’t they ever put mikes on the coaches? I would have loved to know what words were being exchanged there. Though it was pretty fun trying to guess. Oh and for anyone who was wondering about our defensive depth going into the deadline – we pitched a shutout yesterday without our top 3 defensemen. Youngsters Derek Meech and Kyle Quincey stepped up and showed they can be counted on to carry the big minutes if necessary. Sure it was only one game, but it still left me feeling a lot more comfortable about our depth chart.
Honestly if it weren’t for the whole Lidstrom debacle, this game would have been more comforting than a warm cup of cocoa on a cold winter day. The Wings ended their losing streak, righted their powerplay, and wrestled a win from the jaws of the injury bug. All at the same time, they revived a treasured rivalry. Though the animosity may have dwindled away over the years, the cup of hate has just been refilled. The Wings do not like it when you hurt their captain. Period. If we see the Avs in the playoffs, I expect the mood to be testy at best. I can’t wait. I wonder if the sales of Downey jerseys just skyrocketed…