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Wings 5, Blue Jackets 2

Published
by
Brian List
on January 1, 2006
in 2005-2006, Blue Jackets and Game Reports
. 2 Comments

The Wings ended 2005 on a high note, beating the Blue Jackets 5-2 on the traditional New Year’s Eve game in Joe Louis Arena. It extended their win streak to five games. Chris Osgood got the start for the Wings, and only faced 15 shots total on the night. The Wings started slow in the first 20 minutes, falling to 2-0 deficit before an offensive surge in the second period.

Sergei Fedorov had an awful game for the Blue Jackets, in the penalty box for two of the Wings’ goals and on the ice for two others. Even though he ended the night -2, I think it should be -4 to reflect his actual performance. Literally hurting his own team, he hooked Johan Franzen into Jackets goaltender Leclaire, who left the game with a neck injury early in the second period on that play. He even redirected a shot into his own net on the Schneider goal that made it 2-2. Fedorov was booed every time he touched the puck, and just didn’t have that Sergei step. Only recognizable because he wore his trademark “91.”

The Wings started out the first period sluggish. With three nights off, and the Jackets coming off a game last night, it was somewhat understandable. It didn’t help with Draper getting a hooking call a minute into the game, either. The Blue Jackets scored at 9:27 on a 4-on-4, with a goal from Nash, assist to former Wing Jamie Pushor. On the play, Shanahan failed to clear the puck along the near boards, and Pushor passed from the blue line to Nash in front of Ozzie for a quick tip-in. 1-0 Blue Jackets.

The Jackets continued to pressure, with a great chance from Zherdev a few minutes later. Even though shots were 13-7 Wings in the first, the story was scoring chances even at 5-5 and the Wings gliding around. Says Lidstrom:

“We came out flat. We weren’t really skating at all. They played last night and seemed to carry that momentum over.”

Even after what I’m sure was an animated Mike Babcock during intermission, the Jackets continued their momentum into the second period, scoring just 36 seconds in. Chimera at 0:36, assists to Letowski and Hulse. On the play, Ledba got beat along the left wing on a breaking Chimera, whose reach on the puck was too long for a sprawling Lebda to disrupt the play. Chimera broke in alone and beat Ozzie. 2-0 Blue Jackets.

The Wings’ luck turned at 1:53 when the Blue Jackets’ goalie Pascal Leclaire left with a neck injury after getting ran over by Franzen. Marc Denis, who has been played a lot recently and was meant to be given the night off, came in to replace his backup. He ended up giving up the next five goals in the game. Fedorov was called for hooking on the play which sent Franzen into Leclaire.

At 3:07, the Wings capitalized on the power play on a blue line shot from Nicklas Lidstrom, with Holmstrom and Zetterberg screening Denis in front. Assists to Datsyuk and Holmstrom - but extra credit to Tomas for holding the puck in the zone twenty seconds earlier to keep the pressure building in the Jackets zone. 2-1 Blue Jackets.

The Wings got the equalizer with another defenseman blast. At 7:57, Mathieu Schneider scored an even-strength goal, assists to Franzen and Lilja. On the play, Franzen did good work along the near boards in the Jackets zone, and fed the puck to a streaking Schneider up the middle. Mathieu must have blasted that puck 90+ mph, and it didn’t help Denis that it deflected off a sprawling Fedorov, who tried to block it. 2-2 Wings.

The Wings snuck in a third goal at 19:07 from Samuelsson, assists to Lang and Zetterberg. On the play, Lang threw the puck at the net from the near boards along the goal line, hitting defenseman Mike Rupp. Denis fell down searching for the puck, and Samuelsson was Johnny-on-the-spot to punch it in. 3-2 Wings. The only goal Fedorov wasn’t on the ice or in the penalty box for. Shots in the period were 16-5 Wings.

The third period was a good continuation of the majority of the second for the Wings - domination of the Blue Jackets on the backcheck, limiting them to only 3 shots in the final 20 minutes.

The Wings scored at 4:19 on a goal from Lidstrom, his 2nd of the night, assists to Lang and Draper. On the play, the Jackets got caught down low, and Lidstrom blasted it in from the left wing. It knuckle-balled by Denis, beating him on the short side. Fedorov was on the ice. 4-2 Wings.

At 14:26, the Wings scored a power play goal from Samuelsson, also his 2nd of the night, assists to Lang and Woolley. On the play, a Fedorov hooking call gave the Wings a power play chance, and they scored in the final four seconds of the man advantage. Samuelsson scored down low on the left side, threading the puck in a tiny open space above Denis’ shoulder. 5-2 Wings. Shots in the period were 14-3 Wings, for a final 43-15 advantage. Says Fedorov:

“It was great to have a 2-0 lead. Then we made some mistakes and they capitalized on them. We had a few chances. Not as many as they, but we didn’t score. It was a tough break. I don’t think we played as well in the second as the first.”

The Wings, though they started out slow, came through in the final 40 minutes and really dominated the Blue Jackets defensively. I can barely remember Osgood getting tested at all during the second or third period. Some positives on the night include Lang adding three assists, Franzen getting his first NHL assist on Schneider’s goal, and Lidstrom scoring two goals to add to his always stellar defensive play.

The Wings are now 4-0 against Columbus this season; 11-1-0 against the Central. Samuelsson’s goals made for 26 points total this season, the most in his career. The Wings have now won their last five New Year’s Eve games, and lead Nashville in the Central 55-51 .

Lines
Datsyuk-Shanahan-Lang
Shanahan-Lang-Samuelsson
Mowers-Zetterberg-Cleary
Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Williams
Zetterberg-Samuelsson-Lang
Franzen-Draper-Maltby
Datsyuk-Shanahan-Williams
Mowers-Holmstrom-Cleary
Draper-Zetterberg
Maltby-Zetterberg

D-parings
Schneider - Chelios
Chelios-Lidstrom
Woolley-Schneider
Lilja-Lidstrom
Schneider-Lilja
Chelios-Lebda
Schneider-Lebda

GameDay: vs. Columbus (12-25-1, 25 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 31, 2005
in Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Tonight is the fourth of eight games between these two Central Division teams this season. The Wings have won three in a row against the Blue Jackets, starting with a 6-0 shutout October 20th and a 6-2 win on the 24th. They beat the Jackets in the first shootout in franchise history on December 20th, 4-3.

The Wings are on a four-game winning streak, beating Tampa Bay, Columbus, Chicago and Dallas over that span. The Wings were greatly out-played in their wins over the Jackets and Hawks but they controlled the Stars game much more, beating a more worthy opponent 4-1. Tonight will be the 60th New Year’s Eve game, one that has become essentially a yearly tradition since 1950. Detroit is 30-21-8 on December 31st and are on a four-game winning streak in those games as well.

After the Wings beat them in the shootout, the Jackets went on to drop two more games, to the Stars and to Nashville. On Monday, they hosted the Blackhawks and won 4-3 in overtime. It was the beginning of a three-game win-streak, which includes victories over Anaheim and another over Chicago last night. Not exactly wins over the cream of the crop but they do have momentum, as do the Wings. It’s the longest win streak of the season for the Jackets.

Chris Osgood will get another start in net for the Wings, with Manny Legace headed down to GR for a conditioning stint and Joey MacDonald backing him up.

The paper reports that Steve Yzerman is expected to take part in the pre-game skate tonight.

Hopefully, the Wings can pick up where they left off against the Stars and continue playing well tonight against the Jackets. Columbus will play hard, like the last time they were in Detroit, so it won’t be easy but the Wings should be able to win one for the home crowd. Last season’s game against the Thrashers on New Year’s Eve was one of the most exciting games of the year. I doubt we’ll have that this time around but it probably won’t be boring either.

Wings 4, Jackets 3 (SO)

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 21, 2005
in 2005-2006, Blue Jackets and Game Reports
. 5 Comments

Well, in the rush to get out the door last night, I forgot my notebook so I wasn’t able to take notes on the game. So, this won’t be a summary as much as a list of observations.

When we first got to our seats, the arena was nowhere near full. Once the game started, the upper bowl was pretty well filled but the lower bowl still had a lot of empty seats. Eventually, most of those seats were filled, peaking sometime during the second period, I think.

Regardless of how full the arena was, it got pretty loud when the Wings scored and there were definitely the expected collective gasps of excitement on scoring chances or cries of anger at the officiating. Still, the atmosphere was fairly tame for most of the game, until the end.

Pavel Datsyuk looked a little out of synch to start the game but got better as the game went on. Robert Lang scored in his first game back but seemed to me to be a step behind the play almost the whole night.

Sergei Fedorov was booed every time he touched the puck, something I found to be a bit ridiculous. Maybe it was appropriate the first season after he left but now it’s just stupid. It sure didn’t stop him from assisting on two of the Columbus goals.

The fans in my section liked to rag on Rick Nash all night, though they were silenced for a bit when he scored in the first. They also liked to yell “Fire Millen!” occasionally, something I found humorous. One guy tried to get the chant going but it didn’t spread.

I didn’t quite see it when Lidstrom was hit in the face by the puck but that was a scary couple minutes. I was glad to see him back later in the game.

With the game tied going into the middle of the third period, we started thinking “overtime.” But then, Shanahan scored sort of a surprise goal and we hoped the Wings could hold them off for the rest of the game. When they didn’t, I started getting a bit nervous, given the Wings’ record in overtime this season.

I flinched on every Columbus shot in overtime but fortunately, Osgood was steady. The Wings came close a few times but, as we got closer to the end of overtime, I think most fans at the Joe had the attitude that they didn’t want either team to score. We wanted a shootout.

As the final seconds of overtime ticked away, the Joe got louder with anticipation. The rules were explained over the PA system but I wasn’t able to hear them very well because of all the cheering. At this point, we were mostly sitting down but just before the shootout actually began, we all stood up and started cheering for Ozzie, who had to face the first shooter. The atmosphere was electric.

When Balastik scored on that first shot, we were deflated a little but then we saw that Babcock had gone with Pavel Datsyuk as his first shooter. Pavel made a beautiful deke on Leclaire and beat him high. The crowd went wild. Then, Rick Nash came out for Columbus. Osgood stoned him and we all went crazy.

Williams put the Wings ahead with a beautiful goal after that and then it was Sergei Fedorov’s turn.

The booing he had been forced to endure all game was nothing compared to what he got then, standing alone at center ice. I think every fan in the place was letting him have it at the top of their lungs. He skated in on Osgood and took his shot, trying to beat his old teammate on the blocker side but Ozzie made the save, winning the game for the Wings.

Of course, the fans went nuts and the Wings celebrated to the sound of “Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie!” being chanted from the stands.

Sergei was named one of the stars of the game for his two assists and as we filed out, he was soundly booed one last time.

Getting out of the Joe took forever but it had its light moments. The tunnel to the JLA parking garage, was completely packed, wall to wall, and moving very slowly, prompting the comic geniuses among us to “Moo” like the cattle we all felt like.

There was also the occasional cry of “Fedorov sucks!” by the odd drunk fan though I’m not sure who they were talking to. I didn’t see a single Columbus fan the whole night.

Overall, it was a great experience and a very exciting finish to the game, for sure. My thoughts on the shootout have been altered somewhat but while it may be an exciting way to win a game, it would still be an awfully sucky way to lose one. I hope it doesn’t become commonplace for the Wings to be involved in one because part of the excitement was its rarity.

The pictures are coming but I don’t know that they’ll be very good. When I go to the Blues game next month, I should have my sister’s Rebel 2000, which should produce some quality images for your viewing pleasure.

Update (24. Dec): Links to the pictures are at the top of the sidebar now.

GameDay: vs. Columbus (9-23-0, 18 Pts) 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 20, 2005
in 2005-2006, Blue Jackets and GameDay
. 0 Comments

Tonight is the third of eight meetings between these to supposed Central Division rivals. The Wings lead the season series 2-0 with wins October 22nd (6-0) and 24th (6-2). On the 22nd, Jason Williams scored a hat trick while Pavel Datsyuk netted two goals on the 24th.

The Wings are coming off a three-game road trip in which they went 1-1-1, wrapping up their Eastern Conference play for the season. They began the trip in Atlanta, losing 7-6 despite coming back from a four-goal deficit in the third period. They then headed to Florida where they lost 3-2 in overtime after tying the score a couple times. Finally, they got a win in in the final game after their offense exploded with three goal in the third against the Lightning to give them a 6-3 victory. The Wings are 0-2-0 following thee-game road trips so far this season, losing once even when coming off a win as well as when not.

The Blue Jackets are having an awful season and it hasn’t helped that Rick Nash has only played four games due to injury. He was activated off the IR list last week and played against the Predators, logging 14 and a half minutes and getting one shot. This is depressing: no player has better than an even +/- rating with the majority currently in the negatives. You know it’s bad when your best defenseman (and most offensively-oriented) is minus-21 (Bryan Berard). Adam Foote isn’t a whole lot better at minus-12. They have the lowest scoring offense (62) in the NHL but their defense is only fifth-worst, allowing 115 goals. They managed to beat two Eastern Conference opponents during their inter-conference series (the Islanders and Devils) but are currently on a three-game slide, losing most recently to Nashville, 7-3, Saturday.

Chris Osgood should get the start tonight. The News reports that the Wings have sent Jimmy Howard back to Grand Rapids and called up goalie Joey MacDonald in his place. They want Howard to get playing time and he isn’t likely to get much of that here.

Valterri Filppula was also sent down to the Griffins. Filppula played two games for the Wings and notched one assist, playing a total of 5:35.

Mathieu Schneider will be out of the lineup for this game. He had to leave the Lightning game due to a leg cramp and has not practiced, according to the papers.

Robert Lang could make his return from a groin injury tonight.

We’ll get to see former-Wing Sergei Fedorov for the first time this season tonight. Sergei was traded to Columbus last month but has just one goal and four assists over 14 games for the Jackets, a deficiency that can be attributed in part to a lingering groin injury. He announced last week that he would skip the Olympics, saying his focus needed to be on playing for Columbus. Given his performance so far, it’s hard to disagree with him. Kris Draper, who’s offensive production has been similarly dry, can identify with him.

Despite the Wings’ two previous encounters with Columbus this season, I don’t expect the Jackets to be push-overs. They do have some skill and would surely like to pull off an upset at the Joe.

I was able to obtain a couple tickets for this game from someone a while back (thanks Terry!) so I’ll actually be at the game. I’m definitely looking forward to it and I’ll be sure to get a lot of pictures to go along with my thoughts on the night.

Also, our condolences to the Gretzky family on the death of your matriarch, Phyllis Gretzky, last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.