Zetterberg: First off, the hit was clean. I haven’t seen anyone say otherwise, but thought I should be sure to say that. Hank put himself in a bad position, which sucks, but Ohlund pasted him well within the rules and in a clean way. Shoulder-to-shoulder and everything. Unfortunate decision by Hank to extend himself out like that, but at least it’s not a really bad injury. That’s something.
Eaves: I was already becoming a big fan of the guy but his defense of Hank added to the list of great things about him. I normally hate it when teams get all pissed about clean hits, but I’ll make exceptions for defending top tier stars. Kudos, Patrick.
He had some great patience on the goal, too. It was funny after the game to watch him talk about Nick’s play on that one. Still in awe of the guy, which is just what you want to see.
Howard: I’m not there yet, but I have to admit Jimmy’s becoming a real NHL goaltender. Every game he plays like that is adding another wrinkle to the goaltending situation in Detroit. I’m not convinced he’ll beat out Osgood for a playoff role, but that’s assuming Osgood’s given a chance. Thus far, Howard’s kind of made it hard for Babcock to justify giving Oz that chance.
A great first shutout for Jimmy. Harder than you’d think with all the talent the Lightning have up front.
Effort: The whole team really stepped it up last night after the Hank injury. They looked a bit shell-shocked in the second, but managed to hang on and ended up with a strong third effort that should have led to mixed feelings on the game. On one hand, you have the Zetterberg injury. On the other, you have a team that found a way to win in spite of that.
It wasn’t a mistake when they said something about “Henrik Zetterberg and the Wings” before the game. Sure, Nick’s got the C and is the top leader, but Zetterberg’s not far behind. To have him go down and then see the team react like that is a great sign of what could be when everyone’s healthy. If they maintain that drive and desire to win even when they’re restocked, they’ll be freaking hard to beat.
If they get back to taking things for granted, not so much. But the effect brought on by the adversity through the first half of the season and beyond may have some staying power.
Miller: Rafalski deserves a lot of credit for the pass, but Miller should get even more for knocking it down and making the play. Sheer awesome.
Bertuzzi: The confidence is there and the goals are coming. Here’s hoping he can keep scoring so that the confidence remains. That’ll be huge for the wings over the coming weeks.
Big weekend: They’ve got a chance to pull away from the Stars tomorrow and a shot at gaining some ground on the Hawks Sunday. It’s a huge weekend for this team and without Zetterberg and the 8 other regulars, it’s going to be tough. Should be interesting to watch their focus level.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see it against Dallas since we’ll be Up North through Saturday night. Should be able to catch the Chicago game, though. For that one, I’m looking for Stuart to introduce a certain Slovak to his shoulder.
Near the end of the game, Abdelkader had a Lightning player lined up for a hit. When he realized that player was Ohlund, he put a little extra mustard on the hit and drove Ohlund into the boards. Was nice to see.
Someone should tell Holland that the once “finesse game” is over. Actually, it’s been over. The “Bowman System” has left Detroit for Chicago. Too many Wings players banged-up due to basically a small-sized team as opposed to other larger sized opponents. Got away with it under Bowman but not with Babcock. He’s not as clever.
Seriously STFU. They win 4 straight and not a peep out of you. Then they lose 1 games and here you go again. You know nothing about hockey, so go away moron.
Agreed! Only intelligent hockey fans here.
Good to see it wasn’t a serious injury to Zetterberg. Being a Leaf fan, it’s hard to care about other teams players, but Detroit is going to miss Hank. I can’t believe, with all the injuries they’ve had, they are still as good as they are. On the subject of Helm, I really wish this guy would get a clear chance to prove he can play, because watching him in the playoffs and then watching him in the regular season, it’s night and day. As for Howard or Osgood. I’ll still put Osgood in the net come the playoffs and let him go until he can’t, at least for this year. I imagine the team is Howards next year anyway.