According to Ansar, Mikael Samuelsson worked himself into another couple weeks of recuperation time after hearing a pop during practice Monday morning. That’s good news for Josh Langfeld, who’ll get more time at the NHL level (unless the Wings bring someone else up and send him back down), but bad news for the Wings, who could use Samuelsson back in the lineup.
Also, Dominik Hasek will be in net tomorrow night against Phoenix, but Joey MacDonald will start Thursday in St. Louis. Another instance of Babcock starting Dom against the lesser team while the backup gets the nod against the tougher team (which the Blues, as a team fighting for a playoff spot, are).
… Helene St. James has an interesting piece on Jimmy Howard in today’s edition. Howard, who has been out most of January with an ankle injury, is slated to return Wednesday and will be facing high expectations from management in Detroit. He has a 12-12-1 record when healthy, but the Wings are looking to see how he performs down the stretch as the eight-place Griffins fight for a playoff spot.
St. James touches on an issue that I don’t think has gotten a lot of press here in Detroit: the question of the condition of the team’s goaltending after this season. She writes that the Wings have not ruled out extending Dominik Hasek’s 1-year contract, noting that it depends on his health, his interest in playing, and the team’s performance in the playoffs. However, there’s a good chance Hasek won’t be back next season, and, pending Howard’s performance in the coming months, the Wings may decide he’s ready for the NHL.
Chris Osgood has one year remaining on his contract and would be a good mentor for Howard, so it’s at least possible that the Wings will go with a two-goalie system, with neither goalie having the declared starting job. They would probably like to get a bona fide starter, but given the fact that much of their cap space will be taken up by signing skaters this off-season, that may not be possible.
… Funny story: Chris Chelios badly wanted to fly to Miami to watch his hometown Chicago Bears play the Indianpolis Colts in the Super Bowl, but he didn’t have the nerve to ask Mike Babcock for permission. He considered going through Nick Lidstrom, but decided not to. Considering the Bears haven’t been to the Super Bowl in 21 years (i.e. when Cheli was a Hab), it says a lot that he’s sticking with the team and not looking for special treatment.
The Freep has the team’s picks for the game here. The concensus seems to be that the Colts will win, though Brett Lebda is pretty confident his hometeam, the Bears, will emerge victorious (whereas Chelios seems pretty fatalistic). Gotta love Hasek’s reason fore picking Indy:
“Colts. I have Colts, so I cheer for them to win. I think Colts by 10. I think their quarterback will be the difference.”
When I first read that, I thought he meant he has horses, but I guess he means he has the Colts in some kind of fantasy league.
… Ansar Khan wrote yesterday that Mikael Samuelsson (broken right foot) is about a week away from returning. He skated through the whole practice yesterday and felt pretty good, though he still has trouble stopping and starting.
That warm and fuzzy feeling you’re getting comes from seeing Scott Hartnell get owned (in the crowd). Of course, the focus of the video is the shot in the dark by Moen, which is also heartwarming if you’re a Wings fan.
For old time’s sake, here’s another fight involving Scott Hartnell. It’s one of my favorites.
Update (7:40 PM): … Ansar Khan, easily the most accessible Wings writer, has published a blog post in response to a claim by a certain St. Louis hockey media personality that the Red Wing lockerrom is at the point of revolt against Mike Babcock (see A2Y for details). Read the whole thing. - Matt
… The Wings beat the Avs yesterday, 3-1, and ended their losing streak. I wasn’t able to watch the game, so I can’t do a write-up on it, though it sounds like it was a bit more lopsided than the score indicates. Though the Wings outshot Colorado 41-12, they only led by a goal until Kirk Maltby scored at 18:54. It was a good thing Kirk put one in the net, though, as one of the Wings’ goals was disputed, a Tomas Holmstrom marker at 14:02. There wasn’t conclusive evidence to turn it over so the goal stood and the Avs aren’t happy, though Joe Sakic was sober enough to realize it didn’t matter in the end because his team lost the game for themselves.
Anyway, the Wings can now go to Long Island with a win behind them and perhaps build up some momentum for the stretch run.
… A big thank-you to the Avs for being so lethargic yesterday. It meant Dominik Hasek didn’t have to exert himself too much in his return to the lineup after getting over the flu. 12 shots? I know the Wings have one of the best defenses in the league, but 12?
… That’s all for now. I feel completely out of it since I missed the game. I’ll probably update this post throughout the day, but I have to go to class in a few.
… Chris Osgood broke a finger on his right hand during warmups last night and played through it. Apparently, it’s not serious, but it could keep him out of the action for a while.
… Fortunately, both Joey MacDonald and Dominik Hasek, who were down with the flu, are expected to dress tomorrow for the Colorado game. Megan points out that if MacDonald, Hasek, and Osgood end up not being capable of playing tomorrow, the best goalie the Wings have available is Stefan Liv, who will have played two games in a row after tonight (Jimmy Howard is out with an ankle injury). Not a good situation, though I’m sure Dom and Joey will be able to suit up, since they did practice today.
… Kris Draper, Valtteri Filppula and Robert Lang are also expected to be ready to go tomorrow after practicing today. Khan, though, is right to say that Matt Ellis and Matt Hussey should keep their cell phones on because they very well may have to drive out to Detroit tomorrow before the game.
… Apparently, Mathieu Schneider feels “great” and could possibly return tomorrow. Khan says that he’s more likely to sit out one more and return Tuesday, but says Chris Chelios hurt his shoulder in practice and if he can’t go, the Wings might insert Schneider earlier than planned. Chelios finished practice, though, and should play tomorrow.
… Mikael Samuelsson hopes to begin skating in a week, but there’s no further news about when he’ll be back in the lineup.
Scott Burnside takes a look back at the Hasek signing and discusses the success of Dom’s third tour with the Wings to the mid-point of the season. Thus far, the Wings have handled Dom very carefully and it’s paid off, making my diatribe against the signing look foolish.
Of course, there’s still a chance he could get hurt, but I’m much more confident now than I was in August that he’ll make it, based on how careful the team has been thus far.
… I didn’t catch the game, but the Wings won last night, 6-3 over Chicago on goals from Jason Williams (2), Tomas Holmstrom, Danny Markov, Kris Draper, and Robert Lang. Chris Osgood had 33 saves and looked good apparently, though he allowed two weak goals. They play Montreal on Monday.
“Win the Division” - She’d like to see the Wings avoid playing San Jose or Anaheim in the first round and this is the surest way to do that.
“Play Dominik Hasek Less” - I’ve been saying this for a while now.
Play Chris Osgood more - She thinks it’s a good idea for Osgood to get more playing so he can get in a rhythm. I agree.
“Improve on special teams” - A no-brainer, though the Wings seem to be doing that with every game.
Lastly, “Get Peter Forsberg” - Um, what? I would be shocked if this happened. I don’t even know who the Wings would trade for Forsberg, let alone why they’d go after someone so injury-prone, no matter how good he is when healthy. It’s been a Red Wings fan fantasy for years and may be more likely than ever now, but I still have trouble seeing it happen. Maybe if it were a Williams-and-Lilja trade, but otherwise, I can’t see them disrupting the roster just to get a player who could be gone this summer. Forsberg would fulfill their need for a big, strong forward on paper, but how it’d translate to the ice is a big unknown.
… Henrik Zetterberg was the only other Red Wing named to the Western Conference All-Star team. Mathieu Schneider got snubbed again. I’m glad Dominik Hasek didn’t make it because the last thing the Wings need is for him to pull his groin in a fake game. Congratulations to Hank, though!
… Ansar Khan reported last night that Chris Osgood is likely to be the starter on Monday against the Blue Jackets. Osgood has been out since November 13th with a broken hand, which was diagnosed on the 21st. He had a setback on December 4th when his wrist did not heal as quickly as expected, and then again a week later, when a rash following the removal of his cast kept him from playing immediately.
It will be good to have Osgood back since it will take some pressure of Hasek and allow the Wings to rest him more often.
… There’s an interesting quote from Mike Babcock in the Detroit News today. Referring to Dominik Hasek’s tirade following being assessed a delay-of-game penalty yesterday, Babcock said,
“He snapped. He just wanted to get face a few shots and get his save percentage up. He wasn’t happy and didn’t react the right way. But I told the guys after the second period Dom will shut the door and to keep plugging away.”
Wait a second. Is Babcock implying that Dom is unhappy with how few shots he’s facing? Wow.
Most people are saying it was a bad call, but the immediate reaction of the FSN crew was that it was a good one, since Dom did have contact with the puck behind the line and outside the trapezoid, despite having legally initiated contact outside that area. What mattered there is where the puck left his stick and it did so outside the trapezoid and behind the goalline.
… Dominik Hasek stole one for the Wings last night: 29 saves, many of which were big time stops.
… Pavel Datsyuk’s pass to Henrik Zetterberg for the first goal was amazing. I had just started yelling at Mikael Samuelsson for turning over the puck at center when Pavel stole it right back and beat two defensemen as he made that behind the back pass to a wide open Zetterberg. I forgot all about the turnover.
… Samuelsson’s goal later in the game was a sniper’s goal. Keep that up and you can be our canon, Sammy.
… Tomas Kopecky has a broken collar bone after going into the boards shoulder first on a rush in the third period. I only saw the replay once but it looked bad enough. He’ll be out for 10-12 weeks. Since the Wings can just insert Jiri Hudler into the lineup, they don’t need to call anyone up, though they might anyway, just in case.
… Derek Meech has been sent back to GR since Niklas Kronwall has finally been cleared to play.
Update (3:50 PM):Ansar Khan reports that Johan Franzen (knee) and Niklas Kronwall (groin) should be ready to return on Thursday against the Hawks in Chicago. So, Kronwall is behind schedule, based on reports from last week, and Franzen will be returning when expected.
Khan also says Chris Osgood (broken wrist) has had his cast removed and has faced some shots before practice. He’s a week away from returning, however, because of a rash. - Matt
… John Niyo of the Detroit News has a long piece about Dominik Hasek in today’s edition. Niyo recaps Dom’s time here up to this point in the season, pointing out that it’s worked out pretty well so far. The possibility of an injury remains as a concern, but Dom and the Wings are definitely doing all they can to avoid it. Hasek sounds as competive as ever and it’s showing on the ice.
… The next Wings game is tomorrow against the Senators, but there’s still hockey worth watching tonight. Versus is broadcasting the Pens/Caps game, or the Crosby/Ovechkin game, if you will. The NHL is really trying to push this game and get viewers, so if you can, tune in at 7:00 ET. You know you want to see those two play.
Unfortunately, I have two big finals tomorrow and won’t be able to watch, myself.
… Speaking of finals, I need to study some more. So, that’s all for now.
Busy day ahead school- and work-wise so I’m going to defer to two fellow Wings bloggers, Dave of Gorilla Crouch and IwoCPO of Abel to Yzerman. They both discuss the success of the reunion of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg last night in St. Louis.
Another quick comment: Dominik Hasek looked great last night. He scared us all in the third period, though, by seemingly getting hurt on a harmless play. He got up, though, and seemed to be none the worse for wear.
My confidence in the Wings goaltending continues to grow, but fears of injury still linger. Stay healthy, Dom!
