Monthly Archive for February, 2008

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GameDay: @ Edmonton (28-30-5, 61 Pts) 9:00 ET

Published by Matt Saler on February 26, 2008 at 9:44 am in 2007-2008 and GameDay. 6 Comments Tags: Oilers.

Update (3:45 PM): According to the official blog, Kris Draper will play tonight after all, thus sparing us the misfortune of having to watch Mark Hartigan play for at least one more game (assuming Aaron Downey dresses). - Matt

Update (3:42 PM): Bruce MacLeod confirms that Jimmy Howard has been returned to Grand Rapids, which in turn confirms that Dominik Hasek will sit on the bench tonight in just his skates, leg pads and jersey over a T-shirt. - Matt

Update (12:25 PM): The official blog reports that it’s a sore groin that will keep Kris Draper out tonight. - Matt

Update (11:49 AM): Ansar Khan reports that Kris Draper will sit out tonight with an undisclosed injury. Mark Hartigan will play instead. Khan also says Dominik Hasek will back up Chris Osgood. As he points out, that means Jimmy Howard has been returned to the Griffins. - Matt

Update (10:06 AM): The Oilers’ official site has their usual excellent preview posted here. Compare it to the Wings’ cookie-cutter AP preview. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth and final meeting between the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers this season. The Wings lead the series 2-1 with wins wins October 8th (4-2) and October 30th (2-1). The Oilers won the December 13th meeting, 4-3 in a shootout.

Edmonton is 5-5-0 in February. They began the month with a loss at home to Dallas, 4-1, but shutout the Flames 5-0 on the 4th. Two nights later, they defeated the Blawkhawks on home ice, 4-1. The Flames got some revenge for their earlier loss by beating the Oilers in Calgary on the 9th, 4-1. The Oilers rebounded with a 4-2 win over Minnesota and a 3-2 win over San Jose on the 12th and 14th. They then dropped three straight, beginning in Vancouver (4-2), continuing in Nashville (5-4), and finishing in Dallas (5-2). On Sunday, they halted that skid with a 3-2 win over Colorado at home.

The Oilers’ 61 points are good for last in the Northwest Division and 14th in the Western Conference. They are all but out of the playoffs.

According to the Freep, Edmonton will be without Ethan Moreau (tibia), Shawn Horcoff (shoulder), Sheldon Souray (labrum, biceps), Tyler Spurgeon (undisclosed), Raffi Torres (knee), and Ladislav Smid (ankle).

Horcoff is the Oilers’ leading goal-scorer with 21. Dustin Penner is the active leader with 18. Ales Hemsky (15), Andrew Cogliano (10), Jarret Stoll (10), and Kyle Brodziak (10) are the only other Edmonton players to hit double digits in goals-scored. Hemsky is the points leader with 52.

It looks like the expected starter tonight is Mathieu Garon.

For the Oilers’ perspective, see The Battle of Alberta, Covered in Oil, Lowetide, mc79hockey, always on the road, Black Dog Hates Skunks, Irreverent Oiler Fans, Nothing 2 See Here, Oil Country, Ontario, the real deal hockey, SportsGuru, and Talkin’ Hockey.

The Wings fell to 4-7-1 in the month of February with a 4-1 loss to Vancouver Saturday night. The loss was a continuation of a skid that began February 7th against LA and continued with losses to Toronto (OT), Anaheim, Nashville, Columbus, Dallas, and Calgary. The one bright spot over the past nine games was their 4-0 win over Colorado on the 18th, though the game had plenty of negativity to it as Nick Lidstrom went down with a knee sprain in the first period.

The easy explanation for the skid is the injury-depleted blueline, but the fact is the young defensemen called upon to fill in have played quite well. The Wings’ real problem has been up front. With the exception of the Avs game, they have not been getting the necessary scoring from their forwards.

Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals against Colorado, but has just two other goals over the course of the Wings’ skid (both against LA).

Mikael Samuelsson has not scored a goal since February 9th in Toronto.

Jiri Hudler is goalless in 17. His last goal game during the Wings’ 3-game skid last month.

Tomas Holmstrom is goalless in 12.

Johan Franzen has two goals in the last nine games and has not scored in five.

Valtteri Filppula scored a goal against Colorado, but it was his only goal in his last 13 games.

Pavel Datsyuk has four goals over the course of the skid, but just four assists. His usual ratio is a little over twice as many assists as goals.

Of the five remaining regular Wings forwards not necessarily expected to score, Tomas Kopecky, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Dallas Drake, and Aaron Downey, only Tomas Kopecky has a goal over the course of the skid (against LA).

Needless to say, the team offense that carried the Wings to 200 goals-for has not been getting the job done for most of this month. You can bet that Ken Holland will look to address the scoring problem before today’s trade deadline.

It’s easy to point to the young defense as the source of the problem, given the fact that they aren’t as smooth on the breakouts as Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, or Niklas Kronwall are. However, guys like Meech and Ericsson are fine puck-moving defensemen, so the drop-off isn’t what it might have been. That excuse only goes so far and by this point it seems somewhat empty.

The Wings will be without Chris Chelios (leg, chipped bone) for the second full game . Garrett Stafford will get his second game in the NHL.

Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) will sit out once more. Derek Meech will continue to fill in.

Brian Rafalski (groin) also will not return. Kyle Quincey will cover for him.

Nick Lidstrom (knee sprain) is out as well. Jonathan Ericsson will play in just his third NHL game.

Dan Cleary (broken jaw) will miss his seventh straight. I expect Aaron Downey to remain in the lineup.

Projected lines (via Khan):

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hudler-Draper-Kopecky
Maltby-Drake-Downey

It’ll be interesting to see if those are more than practice lines. There isn’t a natural center on the fourth line, which is a bit of a problem.

Projected pairings:

Meech-Lebda
Ericsson-Lilja
Quincey-Stafford

We can expect better gelling between the young blueline and the forward corps tonight as the team was able to practice with everyone for the first time yesterday. According to Helene St. James, they spent time working on breakouts. That should help the offensive situation somewhat.

Chris Osgood will get the start tonight for Detroit. It’s possible that Dominik Hasek (hip flexor) will be the backup.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, Red Wings Brasil, and Winging It In Motown. OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

The Wings could really use a win tonight. The Oilers are injury depleted themselves and are vulnerable on paper. That said, they remain a young and speedy team that could cause the Wings fits if they aren’t on top of their game. The forwards are flat out going to have to have a better game tonight than they’ve had lately. The young defensemen have proven to be reliable and it’s time for guys like Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson to back them up.

Jeff Cowan suspended for hit on Derek Meech

Published by Matt Saler on February 26, 2008 at 12:02 am in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: Canucks, Derek Meech, Suspensions.

According to TSN, the NHL has seen fit to suspend the Vancouver Canucks’ Jeff Cowan for his hit on Derek Meech at 11:45 of the first period of Saturday’s game. Cowan received a charging penalty on the play. The hit had Meech in pain until well after he returned to the bench. He turned out to be okay before long, however, and returned to play a strong game.

Cowan will miss the Canucks’ home game against Colorado on Wednesday and will forfeit about $3,815.79 of his $725,00 yearly salary.

FSN didn’t show the hit from a very good angle, even on replay. So I can’t say whether I think it was really a suspendable offense, though when the NHL does hand out a suspension, it’s usually warranted. I just wish the League saw fit to suspend Dion Phaneuf for his reckless and vicious hit on Tomas Kopecky the night before.

Anyway, TSN must have Meech confused with Garrett Stafford, as the current version of the article on this story says, “The game was Meech’s first in the NHL.” (see this screenshot for verification if a correction is made) Actually, it was his27th and 23rd this season. That night was Stafford’s first appearance in the NHL.

On a semi-unrelated note, the Wings are fortunate Aaron Downey did not face League discipline after he instigated a pre-game exchange of pleasantries at center ice Saturday night. His jab of ~~Cowan’s~~ Alex Burrows’ shoulder with the blade of his stick should have been good for a game, I would have thought. ~~Maybe Downey owes Meech one for having ticked the Canuck off.~~

(via LetsGoWings)

2/25 Post-practice Update

Published by Matt Saler on February 25, 2008 at 5:29 pm in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Lines, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Trade Rumors.

… Ansar Khan reports that Nick Lidstrom (knee sprain) could skate as soon as later this week and could return 10-14 days from today. 14 days would put him at three weeks from the injury, while 10 would be closer to the original estimate. Khan makes sure to address the “Internet rumors” about a possible Lidstrom concussion by assuring us Ken Holland and Mike Babcock are denying any such claim.

… Contrary to reports last week, Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) is not expected to play tomorrow night in Edmonton. The

… Dominik Hasek (hip flexor) may be healed enough to perform backup duties for Chris Osgood tomorrow night. If so, the team will send Jimmy Howard back to Grand Rapids.

… Chris Chelios (right leg, chipped fibula) has not skated since going down with his injury and is day-to-day. It looks like he may not be back until after the San Jose and Buffalo games this weekend.

… Brian Rafalski (groin) hasn’t been on the ice since the 21st and remains day-to-day, though he told Khan he’s feeling better.

… Khan provides the lines from practice today:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hudler-Draper-Kopecky
Maltby-Drake-Downey
Hartigan

… Lastly, Holland said he’s looking to address the secondary scoring problem by acquiring a second line forward. He also is looking to add a depth defenseman. As I said earlier today, I’m now convinced that the Wings are pretty well set on defense, so hopefully Kenny won’t spend too much time looking for a veteran blueliner when he could be on the phone for a forward.

McCarty accepts offer

Published by Matt Saler on February 25, 2008 at 1:41 pm in Links. 2 Comments Tags: Darren McCarty, Roster Moves.

Ryan Doherty reports that Darren McCarty has accepted the Wings’ contract offer. The official site reports that he’ll stay in Grand Rapids for two weeks on a conditioning stint, after which “he’ll likely rejoin the Red Wings with the hopes of winning a roster spot.” So, it looks like earlier reports that had Mac in GR for the rest of the regular season were wrong.

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A “Deadline Manifesto”

Published by Matt Saler on February 25, 2008 at 7:14 am in Links. 1 Comment Tags: Trade Rumors.

Pete at yzerman is god has an epic post on the deadline situation that’s worth a read if you’ve got the time. My stance? I’ve been convinced that the defensive depth is fine after all, but they probably could use a scoring forward. I kinda like the Antropov idea, but like Pete says, it’s hard to see it happening.

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Wings 1, Canucks 4

Published by Matt Saler on February 24, 2008 at 1:41 pm in 2007-2008 and Game Reports. 0 Comments Tags: Canucks.

The Detroit Red Wings lost their second in a row and eighth in nine games last night as they were defeated by the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. The loss, together with the Dallas Stars’ 6-3 win over Nashville, cut the Wings’ League and Conference lead to just six points.

The game looked promising before it even started, as a scrum around center ice instigated by Jeff Cowan and Aaron Downey seemed to indicate a spirited contest was coming. It remains to be seen whether the two teams will face disciplinary measures for the incident, however. Downey, in particular, may find himself in trouble as he jabbed Cowan with his stickblade at one point.

Both Roberto Luongo and Jimmy Howard were called upon to make big saves early on. Henrik Zetterberg was robbed by the Canucks goalie at 1:06 following a centering pass from Mikael Samuelsson. Seconds later, Luongo made another key save on rookie Ericsson. At the other end, Howard stoned Mason Raymond at 1:49. It was Howard who got the most work early in the game. He look very strong.

Despite determined efforts, the Canucks did not get on the board until 14:26 of the first. The goal came just after an offensive zone faceoff. Daniel Sedin won it back to Mattias Ohlund, who slid it across to Alexander Edler. His shot deflected off Jonathan Ericsson out front and beat Howard to put the Canucks up 1-0.

The Wings’ efforts at making a comeback were hampered by an awful turnover by Andreas Lilja in the defensive zone. Somehow Howard managed to make the save on Ryan Shannon at 15:17. Not long after that, the Canucks had a nice break into the Detroit zone, with Henrik Sedin ripping a shot that was just deflected high and wide by his #33 counterpart, Kris Draper.

Johan Franzen injected some excitement when he stole the puck in the Vancouver end and turned it into a nice scoring chance. Mike Weaver’s diving attempt to knock the puck away resulted in the big Swede going down and a Detroit power play. Franzen still managed to get a shot off, but he sent it wide.

On the subsequent power play, the Wings took a criticism of their passing crispness in Calgary to heart: they sent the puck rocketing around the zone as they cycled it. The puck ended up on Tomas Holmstrom’s stick below the goalline and he sent it out to Derek Meech at the point. Meech pump faked for a second and then released a blast that tricked through Luongo and into the net. At first it looked like Meech’s first NHL goal, but it was later determined that Pavel Datsyuk had gotten his stick on it. The goal came at 16:54.

Meech, who was already having a strong game, looked particularly good in the minutes following his apparent goal. He had a great shift with the top line in the final minute of the period and continued to look like he belonged out there.

Some end of the first festivities resulted in the teams skating four a side to start the second. Both teams got some good chances in this time, but neither converted.

During five-on-five play, a nice breakout started by Andreas Lilja and Derek Meech resulted in a power play when Tomas Kopecky was tripped up at center as he tried to get around Henrik Sedin.

Brett Lebda had a great chance at putting the Wings up 2-1 early in the power play, but he took too long to shoot and Luongo had an easy save. At 6:07, the Canucks took another penalty and gave the Wings 59 seconds of 5-on-3. They put on a good show, but they couldn’t convert. One of the more obvious reasons for this was Pavel Datsyuk’s overly hard passes that even Henrik Zetterberg couldn’t handle. Meech looked like a solid power play quarterback here. When Sedin came out of the box and the Wings had a regular power play, they could barely get set up. A definite wasted opportunity.

At 10:09, the referees made it up to the Canucks for having given the Wings a 5-on-3 by calling an atrocious roughing penalty on Kyle Quincey. They may as well have called it “2:00 for playing defense” because that’s all Quincey did. Unfortunately for the Wings, they were unable to hold the Canucks off on the power play. They scored and took the lead at 10:39 off a beautiful set up to Sami Salo. Howard had no chance of stopping it.

Not long after the goal, Derek Meech rang a shot off the post for a brief moment of excitement.

Pavel Datsyuk drew a penalty at 14:33 that had the Canucks fans crying “dive!” The Wings put their “pass first” mentality to good use on this power play, as that was about all they did: pass. Their best chance came late in the power play as Jonathan Ericsson unleashed a monster of a shot. It resulted in nothing, however.

The Wings returned to the power play at 18:01 and did somewhat better to start. Ericsson had a great chance as he jumped up in the play, but Burrows lifted his stick just in time. After that, the Canucks mostly controlled the puck. Not the best power play, overall.

The Canucks came out strong in the third period and countered any Detroit chances with offensive opportunities of their own. They extended their lead at 3:31 following a horrible Brett Lebda turnover at the Vancouver blueline. Ryan Kesler broke in to the Detroit end down the left side with Henrik Zetterberg trailing. Kesler cut across the net and put the puck under Howard to make it 3-1. It was a bad turnover and a fairly clear breakaway, but that’s one you’d like to see Howard stop.

The Wings looked out of it after that as the Canucks refused to let off the gas. Howard really had to work to keep the score as it was. When the Wings managed to get an offensive chance, Luongo hardly ever gave up a rebound. This made a comeback unlikely as the best Detroit was able to do was shoot the puck at Luongo’s chest, with no hope for a follow-up.

Tomas Kopecky took a weak penalty at 11:24, but the Wings fortunately killed it off. There was a bit of an injury scare as Andreas Lilja took a shot off the leg and limped around for a while. Fortunately, he shook it off and finished the game.

The Canucks finalized the scoring at 17:00 on a play similar to their third goal. This time it was Lilja who was beaten at the blueline and Pavel Datsyuk who was desperately trying to get back. Kesler cut across the net again, but this time he drop-shot it and beat Howard under his right leg.

The game wound down after that, with the Wings making only feeble attempts to cut the lead.

There was a bit of an injury scare at 11:45 of the first, as Derek Meech found himself on the wrong end of a Jeff Cowan hit. Meech hunched over and seemed to be favoring his ribs, though it looked like it was his shoulder that received the brunt of it on the replay. Fortunately, he returned and whatever it was did not seem to be bothering him. He played yet another strong game with 22:17 in TOI.

Jonathan Ericsson looked good again, though perhaps not so good as he had in his first game. I’ve noticed that he’s a little casual with the puck in his own end. Hopefully that’ll get corrected soon. He played 20:39.

Kyle Quincey was solid, though not spectacular, and played only 13:39. Garrett Stafford did not stick out much, but he only played 8:29, so you might say he was underutilized.

It was not Brett Lebda’s best game, but the reason for that is simple: he played a heck of a lot. 28:17, to be exact. That’s far more than another other skater.

Andreas Lilja played 20:42 and was himself.

I’d like to see Mike Babcock utilize Aaron Downey more often. 4:47 seems kind of low when the team could really use the spark he provides.

Pavel Datsyuk had an off night, despite scoring the Wings’ only goal. He was trying too hard, as his passing indicated. He was rifling the puck around and made it very difficult for this teammates to take his passes. With the offensive already out of sync, having the team’s best forward passer ripping the puck around doesn’t improve the situation.

I think my confidence in the team’s ability to overcome fatigue was a little misplaced. They were obviously tired, from the veterans down to the rookie defensemen. Hopefully they’ll be able to rest up sufficiently for their game Tuesday night in Edmonton.

Although the young defensemen are playing well, there is an obvious disconnect between them and the forwards on breakouts and in-zone setups. The team will have today off, but will practice together Monday and that will hopefully solve at least some of the problems.

Links

GameDay: @ Vancouver (31-22-8, 70 Pts) 10:00 ET

Published by Matt Saler on February 23, 2008 at 2:29 pm in 2007-2008 and GameDay. 4 Comments Tags: Canucks.

Update (6:22 PM): The official blog reports that Garrett Stafford will wear #36, though the author appears to leave the defenseman’s status for tonight in doubt: they write Stafford “may play in his first NHL game tonight.” (my emphasis).

Not sure what that’s about, since neither Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Nick Lidstrom, nor Chris Chelios are set to return and the Wings are thus short a defenseman. Must be a typo. - Matt

Update (5:24 PM): If Garrett Stafford’s name sounds familiar, this is why. (via the comments at Abel to Yzerman) - Matt

Update (5:17 PM): Helene St. James reports that Chris Chelios (right leg) could miss up to a week with what the team is calling a “chip on the fibula.” Chelios told the media that his leg is swollen:

It’s mostly the swelling that’s basically prohibiting me from using the muscle in that leg.

Piet Van Zant said that the nature of the injury is such that the team cannot be sure how long he’ll be out (meaning he’s technically day-to-day), but it does not seem likely he’ll return before the ~~March 1st~~ February 29th game against San Jose.

Also, it looks like Aaron Downey is okay after all, as Ansar Khan reports that Garrett Stafford and Jimmy Howard will constitute the only lineup changes tonight.

Both beat writers report that the team has officially offered Darren McCarty a contract for the league-minimum. If he accepts, he’d earn about $100,000 for the rest of the season. Khan says he’d stay in Grand Rapids on a two-week conditioning stint. After that, presumably, the team would waive him to keep him in GR, as they appear to have no intention of bringing him to Detroit during the regular season. - Matt

Update (4:02 PM): George Malik’s scouts the Canucks here.

News to me: Markus Naslund (groin) missed practice yesterday and may not be able to go tonight. That would be a definite plus for the Wings. - Matt

Update (3:02 PM): George Malik has a great roundup of the Flames game here. - Matt

Update (2:44 PM): The guys at Red Wings Brasil have captured the spirit of the moment. I can’t read Portuguese, but the headline speaks for itself.

This is reminiscent of the 03-04 season, where the Wings were without nine regulars at one point. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth and final meeting between the Detroit Red Wings and the Vancouver Canucks this season. The Wings lead the series 3-0, with wins October 24th (3-2), October 28th (3-2), and January 17th (3-2 SO).

The Canucks improved to 5-1-3 in February with a 3-2 shootout win over Nashville on Thursday night. They began the month with a pair of shootout losses, 4-3 in Florida on the 1st and 3-2 in Dallas on the 5th. They won their February 7th meeting in Atlanta, 2-1, but lost two nights later to the Avalanche at home, 6-2. They beat the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout the night after losing to the Avs, and lost to Northwest Division rival Minnesota, 5-4 in a shootout, on the 14th. Since then, they’ve won three straight, including a 4-2 decision over Edmonton and a 3-2 OT decision over the Wild on Tuesday.

The Canucks’ 70 points are good for third in the Northwest Division and 8th in the Conference. They are just three points behind Minnesota for the Division lead, however, and would vault to third place in the West if they take that lead. This is a possible first round matchup.

The Sedin brother leads the team in points, with Henrik’s 62 putting him in first and Daniel’s 60 putting him in second. Daniel’s 26 goals are team-leading, while Markus Naslund is not far behind with 22. Ryan Kesler (14), Taylor Pyatt (13) and Henrik Sedin (12) are the only other Canucks to crack the 10-goal mark.

Vancouver will be without Aaron Miller (foot), Lukas Krajicek (shoulder), and Brendan Morrison (wrist).

Roberto Luongo should get the start tonight.

For the Canucks’ perspective, see Canucks and Beyond, Canucks Fangirl, The Canucks Genome Project Blog, Canucks Hockey Blog, Orland Kurtenblog, Stick in Rink, Waiting for Stanley, and Yet Another Canucks Blog.

Detroit fell to 4-6-1 in February with a 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames last night in Alberta. Despite the loss and their offensive troubles, overall it was an impressive game for the Wings, who played most of it with only five defensemen, three of whom were rookies. Chris Chelios went down in the first period after blocking a shot with the back of his right leg and, despite an incredible pain threshold, he was unable to return.

The Wings’ young blueline performed admirably, however, with the only hiccup coming when Kyle Quincey turned the puck over the Alex Tanguay behind the Detroit end. Tanguay threw the puck out front and it rode up Pavel Datsyuk’s stick, hit Brett Lebda’s shoulder, and found its way into the net for the only goal of the game.

The Wings spent the first and second periods looking like they just wanted to survive the game with no more injuries, but in the third period, they really took it to the Flames offensively. Were it not for about three shots ringing off the post at various points in the game, the Wings would have won.

The Flames did their best Anaheim impression as they played as rough a game as any the Wings have been in all season. Dion Phaneuf’s vicious hit to Tomas Kopecky’s head was the pinnacle of the night’s nasty physicality, but Jarome Iginla made a nice showing of classlessness with a childish crosscheck/two-handed slash on Mikael Samuelsson late in the second period. I hear all the vaunted language of respect that is constantly used to describe Iginla and I’d like to believe it. It’s just that every time I see him play, I find reason to respect him less.

Aside from Chelios’ injury, there were at least three other injury scares last night: just as Megan, Sarah, and I were talking about how the injuries seemed exclusive to the defense, Kopecky went down on the Phaneuf hit. Impossibly, he came back seemingly none the worse for the wear. Chris Osgood appeared to hurt his shoulder while diving across the net at one point and favored it for quite a while. Aaron Downey took an elbow the face while chasing a Flames defender around the back of their net. He looked pretty out of it as he got up and skated to the bench. I believe he only played one shift after that.

The Wings will be young again tonight, as Chris Chelios (leg) will not play. Garrett Stafford has been called up from Grand Rapids to take his place in the lineup. Stafford has 18 assists and 25 points through 47 games this season. Don’t let his -2 status put you off: only a couple Griffins are in the positives this season due to poor team defense. He wears #7 in GR, but he obviously cannot wear that in Detroit. Maybe he’ll go for #77. Bruce MacLeod points out that Stafford will be making his NHL debut.

Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) is close to returning, but the Wings aren’t taking any chances. Derek Meech will fill in for the 12th time since Kronwall’s injury.

Brian Rafalski (groin) will not be back this trip. Kyle Quincey will fill in for the third game in a row.

Nick Lidstrom (knee sprain), of course, remains out. They’re now saying he could be back as early as two weeks. I’ll believe it when I see it. With no injured defensemen returning, Jonathan Ericsson will get his second NHL game under his belt. He looked like a veteran last night and will hopefully continue to do so tonight.

Dan Cleary (broken jaw) will miss his sixth consecutive game. I suspect we’ll see Mark Hartigan tonight, as Aaron Downey was evidently not capable of finishing the game last night. Five shifts and 3:14 in TOI is low even for him.

Projected lines:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Filppula-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Drake-Draper-Maltby
Hartigan-Hudler-Kopecky

Projected pairings:

Ericsson-Lebda
Meech-Lilja
Quincey-Stafford

Jimmy Howard will start tonight.

The Wings weathered the storm pretty well last night, but they face a tough task in Vancouver. The Canucks are on a roll and as much trouble as the Wings had with Miikka Kiprusoff last night, they’re likely to have more with Roberto Luongo. I would say that this will be a stiff test of the endurance of the young defensemen, but Quincey, Ericsson, and Stafford are used to the AHL practice of playing three games in three night, so it may not be as big a deal as you’d think. Obviously this is an entirely different level of play, but my confidence in the blueline is pretty high after last night and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on that.

The offense is going to have to find a way to be more productive tonight. They looked somewhat disjointed last night and that’s not going to fly against Luongo.

The Wings can do this.

Another one down…

Published by Matt Saler on February 23, 2008 at 12:58 am in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: Chris Chelios, Derek Meech, Dion Phaneuf, Flames, Injuries, Jonathan Ericsson.

I don’t know what the Wings did to deserve this, but it’s getting ridiculous: Chris Chelios left the game in the first period not long after blocking a shot with the unprotected back of his right leg. Mike Babcock told the media after the game that it might be something of a fracture, though he’s not sure if it’s the kind Cheli could play on (non-displaced).

The Wings played the remainder of the game with five defensemen, three of whom are effectively rookies. The defense came up big, though, with first time NHLer Jonathan Ericsson looking like a veteran together with a similarly poised Derek Meech. Ericsson is the real deal, folks, and Meech is more impressive every time I see him play.

After that performance, it’s hard to be worried about the defense in the playoffs, to be honest. I say that in spite of the fact that the Wings still lost 1-0. They called it a moral victory on the radio and it’s hard to disagree. Still, I can do without the moral victories. That’s what Monday’s win was as well, and the team lost Nick Lidstrom. Tonight it was Chelios. Any more moral victories like that and there won’t be much of a team left.

Anyway, I’m sure there will be more on Chelios in the morning. It seems a safe bet that he won’t be in the lineup against the Canucks, which would mean the very, very green (i.e. not NHL-ready) Jakub Kindl or the fairly steady Garrett Stafford could get the call.

Oh yeah. Anyone else think Dion Phaneuf should be facing league discipline for that vicious-but-somehow-unpenalized hit on Tomas Kopecky? Five games, please. Maybe more.

Globe and Mail NHL Salary Database

Published by Matt Saler on February 22, 2008 at 4:30 pm in Links. 2 Comments

I have no idea how long it’s been around, but I discovered the Globe and Mail‘s NHL Salary Database today. It’s a list of the salaries of all 30 NHL teams through the 2013-2014 season, together with cap space calculations, in table form.It’s quite handy, if you’re into that sort of thing.

It’s up-to-date enough that Matt Ellis is already on the Kings’ page and the source doesn’t get much more reputable.

The Wings’ page is here, if you’re interested.

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GameDay: @ Calgary (31-22-8, 70 Pts) 9:00 ET

Published by Matt Saler on February 22, 2008 at 12:02 pm in 2007-2008 and GameDay. 2 Comments Tags: Flames.

Update (4:35 PM): Flames blogger MetroGnome has posted a preview at Five Hole Fanatics. - Matt

Update (12:33 PM): George Malik scouts the Flames here. - Matt

Tonight is the fourth and final meeting between the Detroit Red Wings and the Calgary Flames this season. The Detroit leads the series 3-0 with wins October 10th (4-2), November 1st (4-1) and November 27th (5-3).

The Flames are 5-5-0 in February thus far. They began the month with a pair of losses: 2-1 to Dallas on the 2nd and 5-0 to the Oilers on the 4th. The rebounded on the 5th with a 4-3 SO win over Phoenix, but lost again two nights later, 3-1 to Chicago. The followed the loss to the Hawks with wins over Edmonton on the 9th (4-1) and San Jose on the 12th (4-3 OT). A pair of losses cut any hope for a win streak short, as they dropped games in LA (6-3) and Anaheim (4-2) on the 15th and 17th. They are 2-0 since then, however, having pulled out wins in Phoenix (4-1) and Dallas (3-2) on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Calgary’s 70 points are good for third in the Northwest Division and 8th in the Western Conference. This is a potential first round matchup.

Jarome Iginla leads the Flames in goals with 38 and points with 74. Daymond Langkow (24), Kristian Huselius (21), Owen Nolan (15), Alex Tanguay (13), Dion Phaneuf (13), and Matthew Lombardi (10) have all cracked the double-digit goal barrier.

David Moss (ankle) is listed as questionable.

It looks like we can expect to see Miikka Kiprusoff in net tonight, though it’s not outside the realm of possibility that former Red Wing Curtis Joseph could get the nod. Kiprusoff has posted a 2.79 GAA and .899 save-percentage this season. Joseph has appeared in just three games (one in relief) and has a 3.00 GAA and .899 save-percentage. If Joseph plays, he will look to pass Detroit great Terry Sawchuk in wins. He moved into a tie fourth-place tie with Sawchuck with his 447th career win on Wednesday.

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

The Wings improved to 4-5-1 in February with an emotional 4-0 win over Colorado on Monday. The win snapped a six-game losing streak that included losses to LA, Toronto, Anaheim, Nashville, Columbus, and Dallas. Tonight is the third of a five-game stretch of road games. The team earned a reprieve from the stress of travel by returning to Detroit following their win over Colorado, but they will travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks tomorrow night and to Edmonton to face the Oilers on Tuesday.

Despite their recent skid, the Wings retain their lead over the rest of the League, though it has dwindled to just ten points.

Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in goals with 35 and points with 73. Pavel Datsyuk is not far behind with 72 points. Datsyuk (21), Tomas Holmstrom (20), Valtteri Filppula (16), Johan Franzen (12), and Jiri Hudler (11) are the active Wings who have cracked the 10-goal mark.

The team will be without Nick Lidstrom (sprained knee) for a full game for the first time this season. He is scheduled to sit out the next three weeks or so after spraining his knee as the result of a hit by Ian Laperriere Monday night. Big Jonathan Ericsson was called up from Grand Rapids to fill in as a result of Nick’s injury. He will make his NHL debut tonight.

Brian Rafalski (groin) will sit out his fourth straight. Kyle Quincey will fill in for the second time this season.

Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) will miss his 11th in a row. Derek Meech will play his 11th consecutive game as a result.

Dan Cleary (broken jaw) is out for the fifth straight game.

Expect Aaron Downey to remain in the lineup tonight.

Projected lines:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Filppula-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Drake-Draper-Maltby
Downey-Hudler-Kopecky

Projected pairings (based on Khan):

Meech-Lilja
Chelios-Quincey
Ericsson-Lebda

Those will probably be mixed up throughout the game.

Chris Osgood will get the start tonight.

For more of the Wings’ perspective, see Snapshots, Abel to Yzerman, HockeyTownTodd, Behind the Jersey, No Pun Intended, Red Wings Nation, yzerman is god, Detroit Hockey, LetsGoWings, and Winging It In Motown. OklahomaWingNut’s GDT is here.

Tonight’s game is new territory for the Wings, who don’t have to play without Nick Lidstrom very often. They will have a very young defense going up against a speedy and physical Calgary team that carries the threat of Jarome Iginla. Chris Osgood is going to be on top of his game and the Wings’ offense is going to need to click at a high level. I have confidence in the youngsters and I’m looking forward to seeing Ericsson play in the NHL, but this will be an interesting test.