Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I didn’t have time this morning before work, or last night after the game.

Scattered thoughts:

… It was good to see the Wings come through with the win against a team as desperate as the Sabres. Two games, two teams’ playoff hopes virtually crushed. That’s not a bad sequence, especially since it means some practice for the relatively similar scenario we can hope they’ll face in the playoffs: having to win over a team fighting to save its season.

… As John pointed out in the comments, they came out a bit flat in the first, and had to be bailed out by Chris Osgood. It’s too early to say for sure, but it looks like Osgood may be warming up now that he’s the named starter. He was really strong last night and would have had a shutout had either Dan Cleary or Chris Chelios cleared the puck on a flurry in the third.

I’m with John in liking our chances in the playoffs if Osgood keeps this up.

… Marian Hossa’s name is in the headlines today, and deservedly so. He had a great game, and looks to be comfortable in his reunion with Pavel Datsyuk. For a while, it seemed like he was floundering on other lines, which is disapointing, but at least we have a proven combination with those two.

… Anyway, Hossa’s production and role in the game cannot be diminished, but those numbers will overshadow what I thought was a real strong night by Henrik Zetterberg. He only got two one assist (one of which came on the late empty-netter Update: this was later credited to Datsyuk), but he was noticeably the best player on the ice during his shifts, and had he not been saddled with Dan “Dead Weight” Cleary and Johan “My Cold Nights Are Really Cold” Franzen, he might have outdone Hossa in the offense category.

Of course, I’m a Zetterberg partisan, so my opinion is no doubt skewed.

… I really like the Ericsson/Lidstrom pairing. Jonny gets to learn from the best, and any mistakes he makes are generally covered by Nick. I think Ericsson looks even more confident than usual in this arrangement.

… Franzen took a high stick to the face on a flurry at the center of play, and both referees somehow managed to miss it. Not sure what they were looking at since the puck was right there.

… The Sabres were really good at taking away the middle, which made the game frustrating to watch in stretches.

… I don’t know about you, but I thought the Wings looked scattered after the Sabres’ goal. It brought back memories of that fun first round series last year when it seemed like the Preds’ goals always came in pairs. I hope it’s not a trend that will return. The other team is going to score occassionally, and the Wings need to be able to rebound. Not every team is going to be as lightweight as the Sabres in followups.

… It was good to see Brad Stuart score. It reminded me of how infrequently we see that from him. Homer’s screen was, as usual, impeccable.

… Mikael Samuelsson is lucky he’s not facing an automatic suspension today. During a scrum in the second period, he grabbed a linesman around the shoulders from behind and given the League’s intolerance of touching officials, it’s surprising he’s not facing punishment.

… All in all, another strong effort. As with Osgood’s apparent turnaround, it’s probably too early to let our guard down, but it looks like they may have actually gotten the message, and are in fact getting it going before the playoffs. They’ll face a stiff test on Thursday against the Predators as well as this weekend against Chicago, but they seem to be on the right track.

… The Sharks play Colorado at home tonight. It’s probably a safe bet that they’ll be just a point from clinching the West after that one.