by true Citizens of Hockeytown
Here’s a hilarious video of Kris Draper doing his usual birthday thing to Jiri Hudler. Gotta love Draper’s strategy of hiding behind the biggest player on the team.
I’d embed it here, but, for whatever reason, it wrecks havoc with the page. Sorry about that.
Kind of a non-news item, but Ansar Khan reports that Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow night. He may or may not be backed up by Chris Osgood, who had to skip practice today because of the flu. If Osgood isn’t better, the team will have to call up Jimmy Howard.
Also, it looks like Jiri Hudler is being rewarded for his production of late, as he skated with the second line today while Johan Franzen was relegated to the fourth.
I apologize for not posting yesterday. A slow day new-wise and a school/work responsibilities sort of dictated that.
… Bruce MacLeod, Ansar Khan, Helene St. James, and Ted Kulfan all report that Chris Osgood will be the starter tomorrow night against the Predators while Dominik Hasek will make his return from an aggravated hip Friday versus the Blue Jackets.
… MacLeod is the only one of the beat writers to go beyond the goalie story and report on other items of interest from practice. First of all, he reaffirms that Niklas Kronwall won’t be back Wednesday. Good to know (and to be reminded yet again of how injury prone Nik is).
He then suggests that Jiri Hudler could be a healthy scratch tomorrow, given that he’s been working with the first and second lines all week and hasn’t had reps with the fourth line, to which he was supposedly demoted Sunday. MacLeod’s suggestion is given added weight by the fact that Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, and Matt Ellis have been the first group of forwards to represent the fourth line in drills lately, and that at the expense of Tomas Kopecky.
Assuming MacLeod’s speculation is correct, it looks like Babcock is gearing up for a physical showdown with the Predators by dumping some offense in exchange for toughness. I still think Hudler’s getting the shaft because he’s shown himself capable of playing against physical teams, but it does make sense to put the biggest and grittiest guys in there against a Nashville team that no doubt will be running and gunning for the Wings’ top line.
If Babcock does make these changes, it’ll be one of those rare instances in which the Wings throw down the gauntlet on physicality. I like it, despite the fact that I think it’s grossly unfair to Hudler.
Mike Babcock has bumped Jiri Hudler off the second line in favor of Johan Franzen, despite having scored twice in the last three games, including the game-winner in Vancouver. So, he’s getting going and that earns him a demotion?
Over the two games since his return from a knee injury, Franzen has zero points and only two shots. So, at this moment in time, Hudler is out-performing him. Why is Johan the one moving up, then?
This quote from Babcock tells it all: “I like his skill and his shot. I like him, period.” It boils down to who Babcock likes and who he doesn’t, and it’s obvious that he doesn’t like Hudler. I’m a Franzen fan myself. I like his shot and his skill, too, but I thought this team was about earning spots. I guess not.
Jiri will evidently get power play time, which is pretty fair compensation, but he’ll spend his even strength minutes with Tomas Kopecky and Dallas Drake. Is there any Red Wing less suited to a fourth-line checker role?
Sorry for the lack of posting this week. I’ve been otherwise occupied and haven’t been able to put a post together. I missed the game Monday night, but based on what I’ve read about it, that was probably good for my blood pressure. I know the officiating has been wildly inconsistent, so I don’t what the Wings have to do to stop getting called, but they have to find some way to keep the penalties to a minimum as they prepare to face the Sharks tomorrow. It’s going to be interesting.
Anyway, a few odds and ends:
… The Wings have mentioned to Kris Draper’s agent that they’re looking at extending his contract 2 or 3 years, though no actual talks have begun quite yet. Drapes is 36 now, so that timeframe works pretty well, especially given the longevity of other Red Wings. He still brings a lot to the team and is invaluable in the lockerroom. He’s certainly making a case for another contract with the start he’s had!
… The Detroit News reports that Matt Ellis could surpass Jiri Hudler in the depth chart. Apparently, Babcock has been less-than-impressed with Jiri and Ellis has stood out enough to warrant the speculation. The problem with that is Ellis isn’t a replacement for Hudler. He does not have the same offensive upside and wouldn’t necessarily be able to fill the void Hudler is expected to fill in the scoring. I would think that the Wings’ goal would be to get Jiri going, not to demote him. Ellis has looked strong out there and has helped make the fourth line tough to play against, but I don’t see him moving up on the depth chart at Hudler’s expense.
… In that same News article, Ted Kulfan mentions that the November $9 tickets will go on sale Saturday at 10:00 AM. Remember, you can only get them at the JLA box office.
… The League is looking at a revolutionary idea: heated skate blades. The heat reduces the friction between the blade and the ice and will increase gliding speed and make it easier to start skating. The most obvious benefit of these skates would be the reduction in fatigue, which would mean players would have more energy later in games and would be able to play longer shifts.
I’m not really sure I like this idea much. Changes in blade design? Yes. Changes in skate weight? Good. Innovation in arena cooling? Great. Little gadgets attached to skates boosting skating ability? Not a big fan. What’ll be next? HUDs in visors?
For now, only a few players will be given the skates for use in practice. If they work out, they’ll apparently begin to be used in actual games.
… The Detroit News site has been redesigned. It looks pretty good. Their Wings Blog now has permalinks, but still doesn’t have an RSS feed.
… If you’re in to graphs and numbers, check out this excellent post by James Mirtle on NHL attendence.
… Over at Gorilla Crouch, Dave projects the final Central Division standings.
… Finally, some consolation for those of us who are fed up with Andreas Lilja.
And if you thought all that was bad, read this. And for the video evidence:
Update (8:45 PM): Word has come down from the front office that Hudler just has to work on getting “a half-step quicker” and he’ll be second power play material. - Matt
Two years, $2.03 million. He’ll make $880,000 this season and $1.15 the second year. I wonder if that contract includes a clause that will force Babcock to give him half-decent ice time. It’s not like he hasn’t proven he deserves it over and over again. (thanks Tim)
Dave at Gorilla Crouch has a good post up on Hudler’s situation here.
Yesterday I wrote that the Wings have about $8 million to use to bring back to Dominik Hasek, Todd Bertuzzi and Danny Markov. That was only partially true at the time. I forgot that Jiri Hudler is a RFA this summer, so if the Wings want him back, they’ll need to fit him in that $8 million limit too. With Todd Bertuzzi’s departure, that job has probably gotten a little easier, though Holland will no doubt look to sign a second-line forward to replace #44 and that, coupled with the team’s apparent desire to sign a “depth defenseman” will make it tough to fit everyone in. Hopefully Jiri doesn’t become the odd man out.
There was a lot of talk before this game about the importance of getting a good start to the game, coming out with energy right away. We were expecting the Wings to do just that. Instead they came out completely flat. I don’t think you could come out any flatter if you tried. The Wings gave up a goal only 36 seconds into the game. I’m not entirely sure what happened here, as I hadn’t even settled down in my seat before the horn was blaring. It looked like a deflection, so I don’t blame Dom. The Sharks clearly had more jump. The Wings then followed up with a seemingly endless stretch of stale, listless play.
At least Hasek looked sharp…well until about 4:17, when he apparently decided that San Jose needed another goal. He went behind the net for the puck and passed it directly to the stick of a waiting Shark, Milan Michalek. He passed to his buddy Big Joe, who, using his magnificent skill, lobbed it into the open net. Aside from that single lapse in judgment however, Hasek was playing great and kept the Wings from sinking any farther behind.
Bit by bit, the Wings regained their composure, starting with the PK. At 5:29, Draper took an inexcusable offensive zone holding penalty, and the Sharks were on their first power play, which is always scary. The first unit out was Zetterberg, Franzen, Lidstrom and Chelios. All four worked really hard to contain the powerplay. Chelios, in particular, was impressive. They successfully killed it off and, in doing so, gained a little bit of confidence. However, they still failed to generate any offensive pressure. About 11 minutes into the first, the announcers shared a depressing stat - the Wings had no shots. Zero. Zip. Nada. Not one single save for Nabokov to make. The Wings were losing and their prospects of a comeback were looking extremely dim. At that point, we realized that if the Wings could not get it together, and fast, they were gonna get swept.
Slowly, they started putting their game back together. Patrick Marleau took a hooking penalty at 11:35, but the Wings could not capitalize on the powerplay. Thornton took a slashing penalty at 13:59, and the Wings powerplay was once again fruitless. They had some chances, but no goal. Around 17:30, Zetterberg passed the puck to Datsyuk, who was just inside the blueline. He turned around and passed it back to Zetter, who was racing down the boards. Hank threw a bad-angle shot on net, and it somehow ended up in the net. Nabokov was in a horrible position to make the save. It almost looked like he expected Hank to take it behind the net. It was a weak goal for him to give up.
San Jose has only one player under 6 feet (backup goaltender Vesa Toskala), but Jiri Hudler’s not scared of a single one of them. He had a really impressive effort in this game. Hopefully Mike Babcock noticed too… He was dealing hits, fighting for the puck, and backchecking. It was a very good game for Jiri. At 17:46, our littlest forward took a boarding penalty. Who knew Jiri even had the strength to knock somebody over? After this impressive and unexpected hit, we noticed little Jiri’s ice time go up (once again diminishing in the third). Watch out Sharks, you may have big scary guys, but we have Jiri Hudler!!!
The Wings came out with a lot more energy in the second period. They had another good penalty kill at 3:08 after Bertuzzi was slapped with an interference penalty. We saw a lot of good things out of the Wings in this period. The defense was joining the rush, with both Chelios and Lidstrom joining the action on separate occasions. Hasek made a number of key saves including one huge one on a 3 on 2. Hudler continued to make the most of his limited ice time, bringing energy to every shift.
The Wings kept up their play in the third and were rewarded with a goal at 1:23. Dan Cleary pounced on a turnover by Christian Erhoff (a turnover which was caused by the aggressive play of Kirk Maltby) to even up the score at 2-2. The Joe Louis Arena crowd came alive, with octupi flying onto the ice. At this point it felt like the Wings had taken control of the game. The momentum was in their favor. They were playing exactly the way they needed to be. They played a very agressive PK when Bertuzzi took a hooking penalty at 12:50. Basically the entire third period from the point at which the Wings tied it was an intense waiting game. For awhile it looked like we might be suffering through an overtime or two. It was a huge relief when Pavel Datsyuk scored the game winning goal with 1:24 left in the period. Zetterberg made another great play on this goal. He took the puck around the back of the net, and then passed it up to Samuelsson. Sammy took a good, hard shot, but Nabokov was there. Datsyuk picked up the rebound (something they had trouble doing all game) and took it to the other side of the net, where he roofed it.
The first 15 minutes aside, the Wings played much better than game 1. Once they settled down, played a sound defensive game and put on a lot of offensive pressure. It would really help offensively if they could work on getting the rebounds. Nabokov isn’t often beaten on the first shot, but he doesn’t suck up the puck like a lot of other goaltenders do. If the Wings can drive the net and start taking advantage of those rebounds, they should be able to score with ease. Hasek continues to be solid, he just needs to be careful not to have any more momentarily lapses like he did on the Sharks’ second goal. Chelios plays like he’s 30 and Hudler plays like he’s 7 feet tall -now if we could only get the whole team on board. Lang’s effortless and careless play continues, which resulted in only two shifts during the third for the Czech. So much for Babs’ denial of his being demoted. Also, what happend to first-round Lilja? I was starting to like that guy.
For game three, the Wings need to come out with some energy. I know, it’s starting to sound an awful lot like a broken record, but it’s two games in a row that they’ve given up two goals in the first five minutes of play. With a team like San Jose, that just isn’t going to work. We came back once, we didn’t the other. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take every game. Also, keep Lang on the fourth line, but move Jiri up. He brings energy that the team desperately needs, and he’s proven that his size is not a liability. The Wings have the ability and the talent to beat this team…they just have to use it.
Update (7:20 PM): I just remembered that a Franzen-Filppula-Bertuzzi line was tried in Game 3 of the first round. It was Todd Bertuzzi’s return from a concussion, and it was classified as the fourth line at the time, so I wonder now if the media wasn’t off base when they called it a second unit (and the positioning of Lang between Hudler and Samuelsson a demotion). It does sound like Fil’s been promoted, since he and Lang basically swapped wingers, but that could be a misreading of the situation. I guess we won’t know until we see where and how much he plays tomorrow.
As I recall now, that particular Filppula-centered line was not all that successful as there didn’t seem to be much chemistry. If they try it again, at least they’d have had some more practices in which to develop some, though, so that’s something. - Matt
Update (3:35 PM): Well, it looks like we were wrong to doubt the Wings’ word: Ted Kulfan and Bruce MacLeod both report visual and audible confirmation on at least the tail-end of Henrik Zetterberg’s flu.
So, does that mean his back is okay and that it had nothing to do with his sitting out of practice? Perhaps not, since the fact that they were telling the truth about the flu doesn’t mean they didn’t “forget” to mention other reasons, in spite of what Babcock said according to MacLeod. Still, maybe it’s a little melodramatic of me to be reminded of The Captain’s habit of skipping practice is 2002. His back may very well actually be okay. - Matt
… Helene St. James reports that Henrik Zetterberg still has the “flu,” as he did not practice. The party line there seems even more laughable now that Hank has played in a game and looked good doing it. So, he can play games, but not practice? Am I the only one thinking of the situation with Steve Yzerman in 2002 here?
… St. James also notes that Robert Lang skated with Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson today, while Valtteri Filppula centered Johan Franzen and Todd Bertuzzi. If you’re keeping score at home, that would be a demotion for Lang and I say it’s about time, though I feel bad for Hudler and Samuelsson. Of course, Babcock told the media not to read too much into these lines, but, like St. James writes, “let’s do it anyways,” especially since it was a bona fide line for a stretch of play last night, according to John Niyo. I think a Filppula-centered second line would be great.
… An update on Brett Lebda and Tomas Holmstrom will not be in the lineup for Game 2, according to Bruce MacLeod. Ansar Khan writes that Tomas Holmstrom skated by himself with a helmet, but Brett Lebda did nothing, as his ankle is still bothering him and until it heals, he won’t be able to play his game. So, inactivity is best for him.
… Khan relates an interesting anecdote relating to Holmstrom: apparently, the team was surprised by the comments he made in a Swedish newspaper that indicated his return would come in Game 4 at the earliest. According to Khan, Homer was even more surprised than the organization when he found out they’d seen his comments. Khan quotes someone from the front office:
“Hasn’t he ever heard of the Internet?”
Ha. How ironic it is that someone from the Detroit Red Wings organization would ask a question like that. This is the same team that daily ignores the rising importance of the internet community (unless you shell out the $$$ for an account on Red Wings World) and remains stuck in old-fashioned ideas about media (bloggers do not exist). When will they get it like say, the Caps, have gotten it?
