Archive for the 'Brian Rafalski' Category

Filppula returns; top two pairings adjusted

Published
by
Matt Saler
on May 7, 2008
in Brad Stuart, Brian Rafalski, Injuries, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Playoffs and Valtteri Filppula
. 11 Comments

Update (1:30 PM): Helene St. James has more from Babcock on the pairing mixing:

“We did it during different times of the year, and we did it during the Nashville series. We have two real physical guys on the back end who hunt down guys, and we like players we play against to be a little bit nervous. We’re just making sure we’ve got everything covered.”

Okay, but I’m with George Malik in hoping this is just to throw the Stars off. - Matt

Update (12:48 PM): MacLeod has added a post-practice update to the same post:

Filppula was off the ice before special-teams drills as a precaution. Coach Mike Babcock said: “We’re going to find out tomorrow. That was the first time he’s skated in a while. We didn’t want to push it.”

- Matt

Bruce MacLeod reports that Valtteri Filppula has returned to the ice after missing two practices with a twisted leg. That should mean he’s in for Game 1, barring a setback today or tomorrow.

As a result of Fil’s return, the lines have reverted to their second round look. Kirk Maltby is the odd man out again.

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Samulesson
Cleary-Draper-Drake
Hudler-Helm-McCarty

Also, MacLeod notes that Babcock has mixed up the top two pairings, putting Brad Stuart with Nick Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski with Niklas Kronwall.

Lidstrom-Stuart
Kronwall-Rafalski
Lebda-Chelios

I’m not a fan of that idea. It didn’t work so well in the first round, if you recall. It’s certainly an odd decision going in to Game 1, as the Wings have home ice advantage and the last change. They should be able to get the matchups they want without splitting up the pairings that have worked so well throughout the run. Here’s hoping it’s just a practice experiment.

4/7 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 7, 2008
in 2007-2008, Blackhawks, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dallas Drake, Darren McCarty, Dominik Hasek and Justin Abdelkader
. 0 Comments

… The Wings wrapped up the 2007-2008 regular season with a 4-1 win over Chicago yesterday afternoon. There isn’t much to say about the game. The Hawks put up a fair fight, but were too shorthanded to do much, and the Wings were too businesslike to let the game get out of hand.

… We can hope that Jiri Hudler’s goal is a sign of more to come in the post-season. Darren McCarty’s feed on the goal may not become a regular event, but it looks like he’s rounding into form. Dominik Hasek’s performance also helped put to rest some doubts about his readiness for the playoffs.

… Two defensemen with minor injuries, Brian Rafalski (neck) and Chris Chelios (groin), sat out the game for rest purposes. Derek Meech filled in for Rafalski and Jonathan Ericsson was called up late to fill in for Chelios.

… Dallas Drake also had the game off, though apparenly not because of an injury. Justin Abdelkader subbed for the elder Wings forward.

… Tomas Holmstrom returned from a groin injury but wasn’t overwhelming.

… The Wings won the Jennings Trophy for fewest team goals-against, though not without some controversy. George Malik covers that here.

… Pavel Datsyuk finished with the best plus-minus in the NHL at +41. He still wasn’t mentioned during the NBC broadcast as a possible Selke candidate. The old stereotype of Pavel Datsyuk, the typically offensive Russian forward, persists.

Nick Lidstrom finished +40, by the way.

… NHL.com is launching a re-design this week. It sounds like it’ll be pretty good

4/5 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 5, 2008
in Brian Rafalski, Darren Helm, Injuries, Justin Abdelkader, Kris Draper, Lines, Mikael Samuelsson and Playoffs
. 0 Comments

Update (2:12 PM): Helene St. James notes that the playoff schedule given below is not yet official. It’s just what the team is anticipating.

Also, I’ve added a sidebar section with first round info and links. For some reason, it’s not showing up on the main page, but it’s there in the post pages. I hope to get that fixed, but because it’s tied to a conflict between the new version of Wordpress and the k2 theme I use, I can’t do much aside from wait for a fix to be posted. - Matt

Update (2:06 PM): For those wondering why the Wings signed Abdelkader when they could have just called up a Griffin or two, here’s my thinking (posted as a comment over at Abel to Yzerman in response to IwoCPO calling it a panic signing):

I think it’s a matter of timing. Abdelkader decided just this past week that he was going to forgo his senior year at MSU. When he told the Wings, they had two routes they could take: 1) sign him by the Saturday deadline and have him available for the playoffs, or 2) let him hang out for a summer and sign him by the August deadline so that he could join the organization next season.

The benefits of Option 1 are obvious: you can bring in a highly-touted prospect who would be idle otherwise. He brings a fast, physical style as well as buckets of motivation to play for his home team. If nothing else, he can join the group of young guys the team will be calling up at the end of the Griffins’ season and give the Wings a heck of a practice squad.

So, they signed him to an amateur tryout in order to whet his appetite. He then signed the entry level contract and now has the chance to play hockey in real life this summer instead of on his Xbox.

Not a panic signing at all. Just a realization that an idle Justin Abdelkader is a waste of talent.

- Matt

Ansar Khan has an update from practice:

… Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen/groin) is definitely going to play tomorrow. He’ll skate on Henrik Zetterberg’s wing with Pavel Datsyuk.

… Kris Draper (groin) is out tomorrow, but claimed he’ll be back for Game 1. So, the 10-14 days claim from the FSN broadcast Thursday night was incorrect. Draper implied that he’d be playing through pain by telling Khan he would play tomorrow if it were the playoffs.

… Mikael Samuelsson (groin) was on the ice but not for long. No return date has been set yet.

… The team recalled Darren Helm from the Griffins, apparently to give Babcock more options.

… The practice lines:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom
Filppula-Franzen-Cleary
Drake-Hartigan-Downey
Hudler-Helm-McCarty

… Justin Abdelkader was the odd man out in practice, but Babcock told Khan he’d dress 13 forwards prior to the game and decide who sits after warmups.

… Brian Rafalski will be rested tomorrow, which means Derek Meech will be on the blueline.

… Lastly, Khan provides the first round schedule. Not times yet, but Game 2 will be an evening game, apparently:

Game 1 — Thursday in Detroit
Game 2 — Saturday in Detroit
Game 3 — April 14 in Nashville
Game 4 — April 16 in Nashville
x-Game 5 — April 18 in Detroit
x-Game 6 — April 20 in Nashville
x-Game 7 — April 22 in Detroit

x-if necessary

3/6 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 6, 2008
in 2007-2008, Aaron Downey, Andreas Lilja, Blues, Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Coyotes, Derek Meech, Jonathan Ericsson, Manny Legace, Stars and Tomas Kopecky
. 6 Comments

… I only caught the first period of the Wings’ 4-1 win over the Blues last night. I was reasonably impressed with what I saw, though it’s obvious they aren’t quite firing on all cylinders yet. Still, it’s a marked improvement over their February play, that’s for sure.

I have to say something about the phantom Pavel Datsyuk call that led to the Blues’ late first period power play. What the heck was that? I’d like to think that the official who called the penalty knows the difference between a trip and a player falling on his own. Apparently not.

In the end, it doesn’t matter, but my confidence in the officiating is waning. What with the missed call in the Sharks game Friday night, the play that was not stopped in Buffalo Sunday, and various phantom calls, how are we expected to trust in the referees? It’s not as though it’s just a problem in Wings games either. Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers.  I hate to complain about the officiating, but to me this is a League-wide quality issue, not a Wings fan-specific gripe.

… I’ve been trying to cut Andreas Lilja some slack lately. I figure there’s a reason he remains in the lineup, despite his more visible blunders. With that change in mindset, I’ve been able to appreciate big #3 more.

On the Blues’ goal, however, I thought his attempt to knock the puck down was a little on the boneheaded side. It turned out to be a perfect redirect. I thought the conventional wisdom was that defensemen leave the puck alone if they can’t outright block it. With Stempniak  right there, I can understand what Andreas was trying to do, but it just didn’t turn out so well.

… It wasn’t  Brett Lebda that Mike Babcock sat in favor of Jonathan Ericsson  last night. It was Derek Meech. I admit it, I was surprised. Meech apparently hit a high point against Edmonton last week, but his play since was still quite good, I thought. I assume Babcock was just demonstrating to Meech that his spot on the roster is not a given. Hopefully it won’t backfire, somewhat like we saw with Quincey.

… Giving Ericsson another game paid off, if only because of a little drop pass  that kicked off the cycle leading to Pavel Datsyuk’s first goal. If Nick Lidstrom does return Sunday, however, last night was probably Ericsson’s last game in the Winged Wheel this season as he’ll be returned to Grand Rapids.

… Since I missed the second and third periods, I didn’t see the hit on Tomas Kopecky or the aftermath.  It didn’t make the cut on the highlight reel, and neither did the Rafalski throwdown or Downey’s coming off the bench. Too bad. IwoCPO says he’ll have video later.

I’m glad to read that Kopecky’s okay. He looked good in the first period and I assume played a strong game in the second and third, as well.

… I don’t know what he looked like in the second and third, obviously, but you get the feeling that Jiri Hudler is finally going to break out of this horrendous slump. I thought he looked strong in the first.

… Where was Manny Legace’s head on Brian Rafalski’s goal? It just blew by him.

… The Dallas Stars lost at home to the Coyotes last night. That’s two home losses in a row for the second-ranked team in the Conference. Much ballyhooed trade deadline acquisition Brad Richards has zero points in both games since posting five in his debut with the Stars. That’s called being brought back to earth.

The Wings’ two consecutive wins have put them 7 points ahead of Dallas and they retain two games in hand.

3/4 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 4, 2008
in Brett Lebda, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dan Cleary, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jonathan Ericsson and Nick Lidstrom
. 0 Comments

Update (5:40 PM): Bruce MacLeod has more now that practice is over.

It looks like Lidstrom could be back as soon as Sunday against Nashville.

Chris Chelios is feeling better and could be returning soon as well.

Brian Rafalski will play tomorrow barring a setback at the morning skate.

Now for the surprise: Jonathan Ericsson will play tomorrow, even if Rafalski does, Babcock told MacLeod. No word on who will sit in Ericsson’s place, but my guess is Brett Lebda. He could use a kick in the pants and I wouldn’t be surprised if Babcock gives him one here. I don’t see Andreas Lilja getting scratched because he looked strong Sunday in Buffalo, in my opinion.

Lastly, Dominik Hasek will start tomorrow night against the Blues. It’ll be his third consecutive start. - Matt

Bruce MacLeod has an update from practice posted.

He says Nick Lidstrom (sprained knee) skated for the first time since sustaining his injury. Nick and Chris Chelios participated in non-contact drills and then left the ice. As MacLeod points out, it’s good news that they’re skating, even if they can’t participate in the whole practice.

With today marking his first time back on the ice, Lidstrom is a little behind schedule, as reports early last week had him skating by the weekend. However, there’s no indication that he won’t be back in a week or so. That’s a little over the original estimate, but pretty good considering what his recovery time might have been.

Also, Brian Rafalski (groin) is still scheduled to return tomorrow and participated in practice. In case he has a setback, though, the team has kept Jonathan Ericsson in town.

Lastly, Dan Cleary (broken jaw) skated again, with a full mask protecting his face. In other news, he and the Wings have agreed on contract length: five years. Still no agreement on amount.

Hasek to start tomorrow

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 1, 2008
in Brian Rafalski, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Links and Sabres
. 0 Comments

So says Ansar Khan, who also reports Brian Rafalski (groin) may be able to return Wednesday against the Blues.

MacLeod updates from practice

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 1, 2008
in Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dan Cleary, Injuries and Links
. 0 Comments

Bruce MacLeod has a few updates from practice today. Nothing earth shattering: Brian Rafalski (groin) participated in drills, Dan Cleary (broken jaw) made an appearance on the ice with facial protection, Chris Chelios (chipped bone, right leg) did not skate, and the lines are the same as they were last night.

2/28 Post-practice Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 28, 2008
in Brad Stuart, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dan Cleary, Injuries, Kyle Quincey, Nick Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall
. 3 Comments

Update (7:00 PM): Red Wings TV has video of Dan Cleary’s talk with the media here. - Matt

Update (6:56 PM): The official blog confirms that Niklas Kronwall has been activated off the injured reserve list and that Kyle Quincey has been returned to Grand Rapids. - Matt

Update (5:27 PM): … Ansar Khan has more on Dan Cleary here.

… Khan also says Stuart will be on the first power play tomorrow and with Andreas Lilja on the penalty kill.

… Unsurprisingly, Chelios was favoring his right leg in practice today, though he soldiered through it. Babcock told Khan he’s not sure if Chelios will be ready to go Sunday in Buffalo. My guess is no.

… Babcock’s also not sure about Rafalski’s status for Sunday. - Matt

… Bruce MacLeod reports that Brad Stuart was at practice today and led the stretching “to hoots and hollers from his new teammates.”

Stuart did drills with Niklas Kronwall, who will return tomorrow night, according to MacLeod’s other update.

During the extended special teams portion of the practice, MacLeod says Stuart got reps on the penalty kill side.

According to an email I got from the NHL Store today, Stuarts new number is 23. I know some people who aren’t going to be happy about that.

… According to MacLeod, Brian Rafalski (groin) stayed as long as the stretches, but left once the team started drills. Obviously he’s still in full-on recovery mode.

… MacLeod also reports that Chris Chelios (bone chip, right leg) took part in practice. That’s a little surprising given the fact that he was described yesterday as barely being able to walk. Apparently, even Babcock was surprised.

… Nick Lidstrom (knee sprain) was not there today. Reports earlier this week suggested he could be ready to skate by later this week. Looks like that means Friday or Saturday. He did work out in the weight room, however.

… MacLeod says Kyle Quincey was sent back to Grand Rapids today.

… The pairings from practice, as provided by MacLeod:

Kronwall-Stuart
Meech-Lilja
Ericsson-Lebda
Quincey-Chelios (practice only)

… MacLeod says Dan Cleary (broken jaw) made an appearance at the rink for the first time since taking a Mikael Samuelsson shot off the face. He’s looking to make it back for the last three games of the season. Before then, he’ll have to regain the 15 pounds he’s lost due to only being able to eat pasta and soups. He’s targeting Sunday or Monday as the day to start skating again.

… Dominik Hasek will start against the Sharks.

(via Bruce MacLeod’s update #1 and update #2)

2/27 Post-Practice Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 27, 2008
in Brad Stuart, Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Jiri Fischer and Niklas Kronwall
. 0 Comments

Update (9:31 PM): In a piece meant for Thursday’s edition, Helene St. James suggests again that Niklas Kronwall will be back Friday night.

I still think the Wings aren’t 100% sure on that, as evidenced by Kyle Quincey’s continued presence on the roster, but that must only be a precautionary measure in case of a setback. Given that the Griffins could badly use their defensemen back, you have to think Quincey will be headed to GR soon.

I should also say that it’s possible Jonathan Ericsson will be the next to follow Stafford to GR, but I’d be surprised if the team doesn’t want to continue to get a look at the big Swede in the NHL.

Also, St. James  characterizes the battle for the bottom end of the defensive corps as a four-way affair between Derek Meech, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda, and Chris Chelios. However, I have a hard time seeing Chelios get knocked off the playing roster, so it’s more of a battle between the other three. - Matt

… George Sipple reports that Dominik Hasek has completely recovered from the hip flexor that has kept him out since the Wings’ February 9 loss in Toronto. Sipple quotes Hasek as saying,

“I don’t know what the coach’s decision is going to be like, but I’d like to play twice a week. There are not even six weeks before the playoffs, so now it’s very important for me to get into good rhythm.”

I’m sure the brain trust is thinking the same thing, so don’t worry Dom. You’ll see the ice plenty in the coming weeks.

A better Hasek quote comes via Ted Kulfan:

“I feel healthy.”

Let’s hope so.

… Sipple also reports on Chris Chelios’ situation. Evidently, he’s undergone treatment on his right fibula, but still feels what Chelios calls “discomfort.” For us normal people, that’s “pain, significant pain.”

For those of us hoping for a speedy recovery for #24, HockeyTownTodd set the record straight in the comments Monday:

Anyone that has ever chipped a bone does not expect Cheli back very soon.

Here’s hoping Chelios bucks the odds and makes it back faster than expected, as he did with his recovery from knee surgery a few years back.

… It looks like Brian Rafalski (groin) isn’t close to returning. Sipple says he “skated briefly” today, but Mike Babcock doesn’t sound very optimistic:

“Obviously things haven’t progressed like we anticipated early with him. So we’ll have to re-look at it and go from there.”

Despite the fact that the Wings are hemorrhaging points because their four most important defensemen are out, I can’t advocate rushing Rafalski (or any of them, for that matter) back. They need him (and them) too much in the playoffs to do anything but let him (and them) recover fully now. It sucks, but it’ll pay off.

… Bruce MacLeod reports that Garrett Stafford has been sent back to Grand Rapids. I forgot him altogether in my speculation yesterday (3:50 update) on who would get sent down as a result of the trade, but with Brad Stuart now on the roster, Stafford became extraneous.

Because Kyle Quincey also did not get demoted today, it’s probably safe to assume the status of Niklas Kronwall for Friday is still undetermined, today’s Helene St. James piece notwithstanding. If the team were certain Kronwall would be back for the Sharks game, Quincey would be on his way to GR, too. That doesn’t mean he won’t play, but we probably won’t know for sure until Friday sometime.

… Lastly, some links via Abel to Yzerman:

2/25 Post-practice Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 25, 2008
in Brian Rafalski, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, Injuries, Lines, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Trade Rumors
. 2 Comments

… Ansar Khan reports that Nick Lidstrom (knee sprain) could skate as soon as later this week and could return 10-14 days from today. 14 days would put him at three weeks from the injury, while 10 would be closer to the original estimate. Khan makes sure to address the “Internet rumors” about a possible Lidstrom concussion by assuring us Ken Holland and Mike Babcock are denying any such claim.

… Contrary to reports last week, Niklas Kronwall (clavicle) is not expected to play tomorrow night in Edmonton. The

… Dominik Hasek (hip flexor) may be healed enough to perform backup duties for Chris Osgood tomorrow night. If so, the team will send Jimmy Howard back to Grand Rapids.

… Chris Chelios (right leg, chipped fibula) has not skated since going down with his injury and is day-to-day. It looks like he may not be back until after the San Jose and Buffalo games this weekend.

… Brian Rafalski (groin) hasn’t been on the ice since the 21st and remains day-to-day, though he told Khan he’s feeling better.

… Khan provides the lines from practice today:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
Hudler-Draper-Kopecky
Maltby-Drake-Downey
Hartigan

… Lastly, Holland said he’s looking to address the secondary scoring problem by acquiring a second line forward. He also is looking to add a depth defenseman. As I said earlier today, I’m now convinced that the Wings are pretty well set on defense, so hopefully Kenny won’t spend too much time looking for a veteran blueliner when he could be on the phone for a forward.