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12/21 Holmstrom Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 21, 2007
in Injuries and Tomas Holmstrom
. 0 Comments

Bruce MacLeod reports that Tomas Holmstrom has returned to Detroit in order to undergo a MRI tomorrow. Although Homer’s right knee had swollen and was causing him pain, Ken Holland told the media, “We don’t think it’s significant.” That’s the spin they’re putting on it now, but they won’t really know one way or the other until later in the day tomorrow.

The Free Press’ George Sipple, by the way, has a better quote from Holland:

“After the game we didn’t think it was anything significant. He woke up this morning and it’s a little swollen and tender in some areas. He’s not playing tomorrow night.”

Because Holmstrom won’t be available for the game against Minnesota, Aaron Downey will return to the lineup.

According to Ansar Khan, it’s not the same knee that Holmstrom injured in the Carolina game, which means last week’s mystery is solved: it was his left knee that kept him out of two games. The Wings’ press release gets more specific.   Khan also has the name of the Blue whose knee did the damage: Jay McClement.

An inconsistency between MacLeod and Khan’s reports: Bruce  says Holmstrom flew back to Detroit instead of making the trip to Minnesota.  Ansar says he flew back after making the trip. Not that it matters, but which story is right? Looks like it’s Khan, as Sipple says the same thing in his post.

Khan has one more note that is unrelated to the Holmstrom story: evidently there is another Red Wing that may be unable to  play against the Wild. The team wouldn’t say who it is, but it’s probably a forward, because Holland said he’d recall someone from Grand Rapids if this player can’t suit up. As Khan points out, they have an extra defenseman in the person of Derek Meech, but they don’t have any extra forwards with two (Maltby and Holmstrom) injured. So, keep an eye out for Mark Hartigan’s name on the AHL transaction wire.

12/14 Holmstrom Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 14, 2007
in Injuries, Links and Tomas Holmstrom
. 0 Comments

Update (10:27 PM): According to the team’s official site, Homer skated on his own today. - Matt

Update (5:30 PM): George Sipple has actual quotes from Mike Babcock on the Holmstrom situation, and Red Wings TV has video of those comments.  - Matt

Ansar Khan reports that Tomas Holmstrom (knee) will sit out tomorrow when the Wings face the Florida Panthers. The team expects him back Monday against Washington.

12/12 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 12, 2007
in Dan Hamhuis, Injuries, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper, Mark Hartigan, Mike Babcock, Tomas Holmstrom and Video
. 1 Comment

… I apologize for not posting on the Predators game. Finals came first and now I’m done. I don’t have much to say about the game, though, except that the Wings were fortunate they had a fresh Chris Osgood in net, as they totally ran out of gas and barely weathered the storm.

Also, I think Dan Hamhuis should be added to the Enemies of Hockeytown list. Why? Because  he tried to take out Nick Lidstrom’s knee from behind when he came out of the penalty box late in the second period. That’s pure bush league.

… Speaking of knees, Tomas Holmstrom evidently hurt his against Carolina on  Sunday and missed practice today after playing through pain in Nashville. It’s all but certain he won’t play tomorrow against Edmonton. Apparently, he has not undergone any tests and does not know how he injured it.  The team has called up Mark Hartigan to take up the vacant spot on the roster.

Losing Homer is a big deal, but it could be worse. It may even turn out to be a positive of sorts, as Mikael Samuelsson skated with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in practice today. Although Babcock wouldn’t commit to that unit for the Edmonton game, it’s possible he’ll stick with it. If anyone on this team needs the boost the Eurotwins can provide, it’s Samuelsson. He doesn’t have a goal in nine games (1G on November 21st vs. St. Louis) and only has two points over that span.

…  The remaining practice lines:

Hudler-Filppula-Kopecky
Cleary-Franzen-Drake
Draper-Ellis-Downey

… Red Wings TV has a post-practice interview with Mike Babcock here.  You may find his his pronunciation of “Filppula” humorous.

… Bruce MacLeod reports that Domink Hasek will start tomorrow, which is in keeping with the official goalie rotation policy for the month.

… According to Ansar Khan, Kris Draper practiced with the team today for the first time since he went down with his knee injury (November 227th). He’s not due back for another two weeks or so. Red Wings TV has a post-practice interview with Drapes, as well.

… Kirk Maltby has not skated since his back became inflamed, though he has been  told he does not have any major injury and has been given a shot to reduce the swelling. I’ll believe it’s a minor thing when he’s back in the lineup.

… It’s a couple days old now, but be sure to read this excellent post by George Malik at Kukla’s Korner on the current debate about goaltender pad size, if you haven’t already. Also, IwoCPO’s post on unscrupulous post editing/deletion on the part of the Detroit hockey media is well worth a read.

… The NHL held a brief phone conference with Mike Babcock this afternoon. Abel to Yzerman has the audio here. If you’d rather read it, I have the transcript after the jump.
Continue reading ‘12/12 Notes’

Pronger to Face Hearing

Published
by
Megan Hirdes
on May 16, 2007
in 2006-2007, Chris Pronger and Tomas Holmstrom
. 3 Comments

Update 4:20: Via TSN, Chris Pronger has been suspended for one game. Justice? Not quite. But a heck of a lot closer than I expected. Had Homer been more seriously injured, it probably would have been a longer suspension. Hey, Wings fans will take what they can get. As Sarah says, it is more important to have a healthy Holmstrom than a long suspension. -Megan

As reported by Kuklas and TSN, Pronger is scheduled for a disciplinary hearing this afternoon for his cheapshot on Tomas Holmstrom. This in no way means he will be suspended. In fact, I will still be surprised if he is. Even the hearing is a total surprise for me, as the NHL has proven incapable of handing out justice in the past. The hearing is a step in the right direction, though. At least it implies to Pronger that what he did is not okay. If the league does what we all know it should, it would go a long way in restoring some credibility. Ideally, this hearing will result in a suspension for maybe three games. I’d settle for one. Realistically, the hearing is probably the extent to which the league is willing to go with one of its superstars, especially the media’s favorite. I’m not saying a suspension is a total impossibility. But I’m not getting my hopes up.

4/27 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 27, 2007
in Henrik Zetterberg, Injuries, Jiri Hudler, Johan Franzen, Lines, Mikael Samuelsson, Todd Bertuzzi and Tomas Holmstrom
. 2 Comments

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?

4/25 Injury Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 25, 2007
in Brett Lebda, Hockey Bloggers, Injuries and Tomas Holmstrom
. 4 Comments

Update (6:55 PM): Ansar Khan responded to my email about the report on the Calder/Samuelsson injuries, saying, “The Wings are denying it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true.” He goes on to remind us that the team is not exactly going to be free with information on these types of injuries (no kidding, but how did some guy from Columbus find out about it when no one in Detroit mentioned it?). Both are expected to play tomorrow, apparently.

Khan also suggests we be more concerned with the fact that Zetterberg sat out practice today. Duly noted, Ansar. Still, I wonder if Hank isn’t just sitting out practices the same way Steve Yzerman did in 2002 during their Cup run. The Captain always played, though obviously in great pain, which is the key thing. As long as Hank is playing, I’m not so concerned that he’s not practicing. That said, while Babcock asserts that he’s ready to go in Game 1, it sounds like there’s a possibility he’ll sit. We’ll just have to wait and see. - Matt

Update (6:40 PM): James Mirtle relates a radio report out of Toronto that both Kyle Calder and Mikael Samuelsson are dealing with a broken bone in their hand. James doesn’t say whether or not the report included speculation on the status of the two for Game 1. Given that none of the Detroit media outlets have picked this up, I’m viewing it with skepticism, at least until I read it in one of the papers.

If they are dealing with that type of injury, it can’t be very serious because we know from Bruce MacLeod that Samuelsson and Calder practiced today. I’m therefore inclined to believe there’s little or nothing to that report, especially given the fact that the AHL wire is silent about a call-up, which would be a certainty if either Calder or Sammy (or both) were unable to play tomorrow. - Matt

Update (3:40 PM): Ansar Khan has checked in with his report from practice. After reporting things we already knew about Homer and Lebda, he says that Babcock told him he has not decided who will fill in that winger spot on the top line. Apparently, Khan didn’t notice that Kyle Calder skated with Pavel today because he sticks to his suggestion that Mikael Samuelsson is the most “likely candidate.”

Maybe he knows something Bruce MacLeod doesn’t, because MacLeod’s evidence below seems to suggest that Calder would be the most likely guy. - Matt

Update (2:50 PM): You may have noticed below that Bruce MacLeod wrote Henrik Zetterberg did not skate today, though he didn’t say much about it beyond that. Well, Helene St. James has more. Basically, Mike Babcock told her that Hank didn’t skate because he’s old enough to need breaks now, but she points out that he’s only 26 and suggests that he must be hurt, since he hasn’t skated since Sunday. She goes so far as to say it could be his back again. Could be, yes, but I don’t think we need to be too concerned yet. If he doesn’t skate tomorrow, that’s different. - Matt

Update (2:30 PM): Bruce MacLeod reports now that both Lebda and Holmstrom are out for Game 1. He also provides a list of the lines from practice today:

EVEN STRENGTH
Calder-Datsyuk-Kopecky
Franzen-Lang-Bertuzzi
Cleary-Draper-Maltby
Hudler-Filppula-Samuelsson
Lidstrom-Markov
Schneider-Lilja
Quincey-Chelios
Keep in mind that Zetterberg isn’t on the ice, but is slated to play Thursday, which would obviously bump Kopecky off the top line.

POWER PLAY
Calder-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi
Cleary-Lang-Hudler
Lidstrom-Schneider
Samuelsson-

Nothing all that surprising there, except for the placement of Calder on the top line. Hmm. I really thought we’d see Fil get some big minutes in this situation. Still, I think his role will increase as the Wings’ fourth line will become more important in this series than in the last. As for Calder, playing with Datsyuk and Zetterberg will certainly be good for getting him going offensively again. - Matt

Ted Kulfan reports that Tomas Holmstrom has been “ruled out” for Game 1 because he still has blood in his eye after taking an errant Craig Conroy stick to the face Sunday.

Obviously, that means Jiri Hudler will be back in the lineup, and the situation raises questions about the Wings’ top line. I still believe a Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Filppula line is possible, because Hudler is capable of centering the fourth line at the minutes he’s likely to get.

Kulfan says that it’s looking like Brett Lebda will not be ready to play, either.

Also, Dave has an update on our Wings Blogger Playoff Pick’em Contest

4/23 Injury Update, Second Round Schedule

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 23, 2007
in Brett Lebda, Injuries, Playoffs, Scheduling and Tomas Holmstrom
. 3 Comments

Ansar Khan reports that both Tomas Holmstrom (bleeding eye) and Brett Lebda (concussion, sprained ankle) are day-to-day. Apparently, Homer saw an eye doctor in Calgary before the team returned to Detroit and will see an eye specialist tomorrow. His eye is swollen shut, so, like Khan says, it doesn’t seem all that likely that he’ll be ready to go for Game 1 of the second round.

As for Lebda, he wasn’t feeling great after skating yesterday, but will try again tomorrow or Wednesday. It sounds like he’s more likely to play in the opener.

The NHL has released the official schedule for the second round and the Wings’ games will take place as follows:

Date/Time (ET) #1 Detroit vs. Dallas/San Jose Network
Thursday, April 26 7:30 p.m. Dallas/San Jose at Detroit VERSUS
Saturday, April 28 3:00 p.m. Dallas/San Jose at Detroit NBC
Monday, April 30 9/10:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas/San Jose VERSUS
Wednesday, May 2 9/10:00 p.m. Detroit at Dallas/San Jose VERSUS
* Saturday, May 5 2:00 p.m. Dallas/San Jose at Detroit NBC
* Monday, May 7 TBD Detroit at Dallas/San Jose VERSUS
* Wednesday, May 9 TBD Dallas/San Jose at Detroit VERSUS

I can’t say I’m overly thrilled with the start time on Game 2 since I have to go to a long-time friend’s college graduation that day at 3:00 PM. Not sure what’ll happen for the game report. I’ll get back to you on that.

3/10 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 10, 2007
in Danny Markov, Injuries, Joey MacDonald, Johan Franzen, Matt Ellis, Notes and Tomas Holmstrom
. 0 Comments

… Helene St. James reports that Johan Franzen is day-to-day with the upper body injury that forced him to leave the game last night. Either no one has been called up to replace him in the lineup, or the AHL transaction page hasn’t been updated (as of 9:37 AM). I suppose that they’re waiting to see if Tomas Holmstrom really will be able to return tomorrow. If not, they’ll need another body.

… Both Ted Kulfan and St. James elaborate on the reason Danny Markov sat out last night: he had upper body soreness that hadn’t gone away and needed to rest. According to Kulfan, the team isn’t sure when he’ll be back.

… According to the Boston Globe, Former Red Wing goalie Joey MacDonald will play today, but will sit tomorrow when the Bruins come to visit the Wings. Joey has assumed the role of the #2 man in Boston and has been getting regular starts. (via. Snapshots)

… Both Detroit papers (Freep and News) have pieces on the Wings’ reaction to the Chris Simon incident of the other night.

All I’ll say about it is Simon should have thrown off his gloves if he thought Hollweg’s hit was questionable (which I think it was, honestly). There’s no excuse for what he did, I don’t care how fuzzy his head was after having it planted into the glass. It was an impulsive attack and one instantly regretted, I’m sure, but he ought to have the book thrown at him.

… Lastly, a correction: apparently, Matt Ellis’ son is named Haeden Matthew Ellis, not Matthew Hayden. (via Kulfan and St. James)

St. James: Holmstrom may return Sunday

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 9, 2007
in Injuries, Links and Tomas Holmstrom
. 0 Comments

According to Helene St. James, Tomas Holmstrom is hoping to return from an undisclosed upper body injury on Sunday against Boston. He missed Tuesday’s game against Nashville and will sit out tonight in LA.

So what was the injury? Homer told St. James,

“I thought maybe it was a bruise, but it wasn’t. Because I played two-and-a-half games, it didn’t heal up during that time.”

Not sure what he means by “two-and-a-half games,” since the injury supposedly happened a week ago against Chicago, a game he left early, and then he played on Sunday against Colorado. So, closer to a game-and-a-half. But anyway, the point is he should have sat out immediately after suffering the injury, and that he didn’t just shows he’s a pretty tough guy.

3/3 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 3, 2007
in Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek, Game Reports, Hockey Bloggers, Injuries, Jason Williams, Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson, Nick Lidstrom, Robert Lang and Tomas Holmstrom
. 4 Comments

Update (10:43 PM): Just a clarification on my last update: Holmstrom’s last shift ended around the 14 minute mark of the third period. I apologize for wording it so ambiguously before. Thanks to Justin for pointing that out.

Also, Ansar Khan informed me via email that neither Robert Lang nor Tomas Holmstrom practiced today. Mike Babcock told him there were no injuries during the game against the Hawks, however. - Matt

Update (6:35 PM): I just remembered something I’d meant to mention earlier: Tomas Holmstrom left the game around the 14 minute mark and didn’t return, as pointed out by the FSN crew, who had noticed he wasn’t on the bench.

I haven’t seen anything indicating he has an injury, so it may have just been a case of Mike Babcock resting his top line, as neither Pavel Datsyuk nor Valtteri Filppula took any shifts from about 16:00 on, after they had helped kill of a penalty with Danny Markov and Nicklas Lidstrom. (via the shift chart) - Matt

So, I got home on the Detroit side of the state last night (for “Spring Break”) at around 2:30 AM after watching the game in Holland, thanks to terrible weather until around Lansing. Then I slept about four hours longer than I meant to, and now I’m way behind the eightball on the day. So, some links to people more on top of things than me, with a little commentary:

… The Wings won last night, 6-2 over Chicago. I watched the game but don’t have a heck of a lot to say about it, except that it’s nice to see the Wings can produce offense without Henrik Zetterberg in the lineup. However, as Dave at Gorilla Crouch has pointed out today, the Blackhawks aren’t exactly a Grade “A” opponent, so the jury’s still out.

For a reaction to the game from someone who was there, see Steph’s report at No Pun Intended.

… Jason Williams scored twice on his former team, prompting Mike Babcock to give the quote of the year:

“It’s good to see him score, too. What the heck.”

(via. Abel to Yzerman)

… It looks like the Wings having taken such a vested interest in rejuvenating the second line has awakened Robert Lang, who had four-point night and was as involved in the offense as he’s been all season. The Free Press wins the award for most lame headline today, with their story on the game: “Lang time coming: Center leads Wings past Hawks.”

… Nicklas Lidstrom scored his 200th career goal (finally) in the third period, and Christy Hammond of Behind the Jersey was there to cheer him for it.

… The FSN crew made a big deal out of the fact that Jiri Hudler came out for warmups wearing his red helmet last night. Apparently, he was thrown off by the fact that the Wings usually wear red at home, but were wearing white so that the Hawks could use their black jerseys. Ansar Khan reports that Robert Lang finally told him, after the whole team had a good laugh. Jiri scored a nice breakaway goal later in the game, making that the most memorable thing he did last night, rather than than the helmet thing.

… It looks like Chris Osgood will get another start, as Dominik Hasek will not be able to return tomorrow against the Avalanche, according to Ansar Khan. The Wings, needless to say, are taking every precaution with Dom and will not be rushing him back. Khan also says that Chris Chelios will be a game-time decision tomorrow.

… The Free Press reports that Mikael Samuelsson skated yesterday, though not with the team. He’ll still take some time to get back into game-shape so don’t expect to see him too soon.

… Lastly, non-Wings related: James Mirtle has been blogging about the Cam Janssen elbow on Tomas Kaberle last night, a vicious hit which knocked Kaberle unconscious and out of the game. Janssen has been suspended for three games, a verdict with which I wholly agree, as those kinds of hits should have no place in the game. However, it’d be nice if the League were more consistent in dealing out such penalties for those types of hits. A shoulder to the head is about as bad as an elbow, NHL.