Three in a Row: More distance added between the six-game losing streak—enough that we’re about to the point where I can stop mentioning that.
The Oilers: Stuck with the Wings in the first pretty well. They lost their grip in the second and never got back to where they’d been in competitiveness. Probably a 3:1 mix of fatigue and inexperience, I’d say. There’s no doubt their long road trip and playing the night before were factors, but also think running into the immovable object that the Wings can be when they want to cost them their edge.
Jimmy: Continues to impress. His second shutout of the season and it wasn’t one of those powder puff things where the defense does all the work. The Oilers were dangerous enough to make him earn it.
So whether you think the All Star Game is about getting the League’s big names together or about awarding excellence in the first half, Jimmy by rights should be on his way to fulfilling either requirement. He’s looking on track for a big season, maybe a name-making one.
Khabibulin: Played very well. If giving up three goals and losing in regulation for the first time this season don’t derail him, and if he can keep his 38-year-old body healthy, he’s going to have a heck of a season for the Oilers. And could make a playoff series unsettling, if not outright scary.
Nugent-Hopkins: Just one comment on him: what’s with young players choosing birth year numbers? It seems to me, players used to go the “if it was good enough for Gordie/Wayne/Steve/Modano/Whoever, it’s good enough for me” route, or something like that. But it seems a little self-centered to pick a number that’s just about you. Unless Nugent-Hopkins is honoring Crosby’s theory of number picking, which would also be weird.
Miller: Lucky goal. But way to finish.
Kronwall: Awesome cannon blast for his goal. Let’s make it official policy to make sure Nik gets that much time to step into the puck on every shot, shall we?
Lennart Petrell: Dumb first name. Dumber player. Abdelkader laid a perfectly clean hit on a guy and had to answer the bell just because this donkey decided he had to. I do not exaggerate when I say this is probably my biggest pet peeve about the League today: misguided teammates swooping in to fight guys who laid on a lean hit. I get that it may be hard to determine if a hit was clean in the moment, but unless your guy is on the ice obviously injured, you’ve got no business dropping the gloves. If you want, take the hitters number and try to return the favor next time you’re both out there. It’s that simple.
But if you insist on being a jackass, take off your visored helmet. Good work by the refs to nail Petrell with double minors and a misconduct. Idiot deserved it.
Bad Refs: Lest you think I approve of the full library of referee decisions last night, I should say that they otherwise sucked. The Oilers got away with a ridiculous number of stick infractions last night, the most serious of which were a large number of high sticks. It’s one thing to take us back to pre-Lockout days and ignore hooking or whatever, but I like to think calling high sticking should be a priority.
Maybe the refs were thinking the Oilers as a group are still new to this whole NHL hockey think and deserved a break. I say no.
Best Moment: Zetterberg’s angelic pass across to Filppula for the Wings’ 3rd goal. And this is why I love hockey fans: this video, with that title, exists. We love goals, but it’s the pass that’s the highlight on that play.
Next: The Wings get to face off against another hot team, the Dallas Stars. Their heat was somewhat diminished last night by a loss to Pittsburgh, but they’ve still won four of their last five and are second in the West with 22 points. Should be a hard-fought game.