Update (1:51 PM): I’ve been distracted enough so far this season that it slipped my mind: Mac was waived last month as well. So, yeah, this is just an administrative move and one that is likely to keep happening throughout the season. - Matt

TSN reports that the Wings have put Darren McCarty on waivers.

With two players (Chris Chelios and Dan Cleary) still out with injuries and McCarty playing well over the past few games, it’s unlikely Mac will actually head to Grand Rapids if he goes unclaimed. This is a move to allow for flexibility once Cleary and Chelios do return. If he clears, McCarty can be sent down in the coming weeks without any hassle.

The most recent post has the team asking fans how it can better connect to them through online social media. That they’re asking is a good sign for an organization that has not been very open over the years.

Another good sign is their long-awaited acknowledgement of blogs as illustrated by the inclusion of links to some Wings bloggers in the sidebar. 

It’ll be interesting to see where they take the blog this season.

Update (1:10 PM): Bill’s post-mortem at Abel to Yzerman is well worth your time. - Matt

I don’t know about you, but I got cocky last night when the Wings were up 5-2 in the third. I loved that the Wings were ahead and looked poised to reemphasize their dominance over the Pens. When Evgeni Malkin scored, my smile faded a little, and when Jordan Staal kicked off this third period hattrick, it faded even more. Jiri Hudler’s goal, however, had me smiling again. Then Jordan Staal scored two more times and forced overtime with 23 seconds left. My outlook on the game changed completely as a result. I knew what was going to happen. 

The always-astute Bruce MacLeod notes that last night’s was “[s]]uch an unusual game that you have to forget about it,” citing the blown third-period lead, Pavel Datsyuk’s getting schooled by Jordan Staal (more on that to come), and Nick Lidstrom’s losing the puck in his feet as reasons to let it go. A good point, except that these things are more common this season than they have been since maybe 1999. So it’s not a simple matter of letting it go. This team simply hasn’t got it together yet and the one reason it’s only mildy alarming is that it’s still just November.

On the other hand, if only it were a simple matter of just forgetting this happened and moving on. You know that Pittsburgh fans and the hockey media at large won’t let that happen, and maybe that’s the real loss to come out of this game. Still, Wings fans, we have the Cup, which is why I titled this post as I did. A November loss means nothing in light of that.

And now for a random assortment of thoughts on the game:

… Jiri Hudler had one of his best games in the Winged Wheel, I thought. His assists on the Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg goals were perfect, and his goal was a classic example of powering a shot through a goalie. 

… As pointed out by Bruce MacLeod, Pavel Datsyuk did not have his best game. One obvious exception was his schooling of Sidney Crosby just prior to his second period goal. It looked to me like Crosby didn’t know which way to turn and second later, Datsyuk was calling for the puck and sending a rocket inside the post. 

As shocking as it was to see Datsyuk stripped of the puck in overtime by Jordan Staal, it was even more shocking to see no call on the play. After Staal had the puck, he tripped Datsyuk as he turned around. It doesn’t matter if it was accidental or not, that play is called all the time. Just not last night. No comment as to why not, but you know. 

… Bruce MacLeod has an interesting section on Henrik Zetterberg in this post. I still think it would be a good idea if Babcock threw Hossa on a line with Zetterberg at some point. 

… Speaking of Hossa, he was slightly disappointing last night. Is it just me or did it seem like the Pens were in his head somewhat?

… Johan Franzen is an angry, angry man. And I love what that means for his play. He looked good in his first game back, I thought. 

… Call be a biased, whiny Wings fan all you want, but if the officials are going to call Brian Rafalski for not getting out of the way when Jordan Staal decides to cut across his body, they should call the Pens for tripping Henrik Zetterberg in the slot in overtime. 

… Al in all, a good game for the average hockey fan, but definitely a disappointing one for this Red Wings zealot. Give me a relatively drama-less regulation Detroit win over an “exciting” overtime loss any day, obviously.

Good thing there’s a rematch February 8th in Pittsburgh.

Random thought…I feel sorry for Zetterberg.  Hossa has made Datsyuk better just by being on the ice, and Z is relegated to the second line which now pales by comparison whereas last year they were more equal.

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One of the more unfortunate results of the Johan Franzen injury  is that Hank is now stuck with two of the prime underachievers on the team, Mikael Samuelsson and Dan Cleary. The guy still plays his heart out, but with Samuelsson in “scoring: off” mode and Dan Cleary still figuring out how to play with a shield, he can only do so much. 

I’m starting to wonder what a whole season of watching Pavel work magic with Hossa from the bench will do to Zetterberg’s mindset come contract negotiation time. I’ve been a fan of Hank since before he came over and so I’d like to think I can say with confidence that he’s not “that guy,” but I think it’d be good if Babock gives him and Marian some time to develop on-ice chemistry. 

Even without my irrational paranoia, it would make sense to give the two playing time together in order to shore against possible injury down the line. Wouldn’t it be better to switch things up a bit when it’s optional rather than when the situation forces it?

Of course, a healthy competition between the first and second lines when Franzen returns would be a good thing. Hank’s been acquitting himself quite well without #13 and #81 on his wing, so maybe that will be fulfilling enough for him.

If you’re like me and you watched the Wings lose to the Ducks last night, you’re probably not looking forward to this one. That’s for a couple reasons.

It’s not much of a stretch to say that as well as the Wings have played offensively, they’ve played at the opposite end of the spectrum defensively so far this season. For whatever reason, what looked like the best defensive corps in hockey on paper prior to the season has not produced on the ice. The forward units also aren’t contributing defensively like they were last year and it’s led to some unnecessarily close games.

Some theories as to the cause of this are bouncing around online Hockeytown, and I tend to lean toward blaming Brad McCrimmon (and by extension Todd McClellan for leaving) when I’m at my most pessimistic. Other times, I mark it down to early season rustiness. Time will tell which it is, or whether it’s some combination of the two. The defensive issues make going up against Joe Thornton and Company less than appealing.

Compounding that out-standing issue will be the fatigue the team has to feel today after what looked like a very tiring match with a very rough Anaheim team. The game would have been hard enough to follow up had it not turned into a penalty fest, with the Wings acting as the pinata. So, because of the ridiculous NHL schedule, the Wings have to go up against their only real rival in the West with less than a day’s rest from playing the roughest team in the conference and having to kill off penalties seemingly all game.

It will be a nice test of their stamina, but don’t be too surprised if it goes badly. And don’t read too much into it if it does.  However unpleasant it may get tonight, it doesn’t matter.

If they win handily (or otherwise), the Sharks will simply get more early validation of their own inflated sense of self and the hockey world will once again be all a-flutter for the Sharks (”This year, the Sharks are the team to beat!”), as it has been every season for about a decade now. Come May, the headlines will read: “What went wrong in San Jose.”

Meanwhile, regardless of the outcome, the Wings will go on to finish their trip, return home, and right the defensive ship before going on to do what they do best: win when it counts.

Meanwhile, Leino posted three assists today in Grand Rapids’ second home game. Two of those assists helped Justin Abdelkader complete a hattrick. 

Update (2:11 PM): The Griffins’ press release on the recall is here. - Matt

Looks like we may see Ville Leino for the first time in meaningful NHL action tomorrow night in LA. The AHL transaction wire lists the Finn as being recalled by the parent club.

He wouldn’t get the call if they weren’t going to play him, so the question is: where will he get inserted? Don’t expect him to start out on the second line in Johan Franzen’s place, but if he’s in town for a while, he could move up.

He has four goals and two assists in four games at the AHL level and had a solid pre-season. If he can adjust to regular season NHL hockey quickly, Dan Cleary will be under more pressure to produce at his new spot on Henrik Zetterberg’s wing.

The news from TSN comes as a relief, however. A month is a fair result when it could have been six or more. What’s unfortunate is Franzen had been picking up where he left off in the post-season. With Henrik Zetterberg feeding him the puck, I wouldn’t think he’ll have any trouble continuing to put the puck in the net when he returns, but you never know.

* On the Griffins: they looked pretty good in the first period last night, putting up four goals on the Bulldogs before letting the Montreal affiliate come within one over the course of the rest of the game. They may actually put up a decent record this year. 

On some of the Wings’ main prospects: Justin Abdelkader looked good in his “hometown debut,” though a boarding penalty tarnished that a bit. He stood up for himself in a fight just after that hit, and I thought he was solid in both ends when he wasn’t getting jumped. Ville Leino looked good as well, as did Jonathan Ericsson. Jimmy Howard wasn’t bad, but will have to be better. Matthias Ritola was the rink’s #1 star of the game.

OtW favorite Aaron Downey wouldn’t have been too noticeable except for the fact that there was one donkey in the crowd near us who took it upon himself to scream insults at Downey every time he was on the ice. This went on for a while early on until the “fan” got a couple beers in him and quieted down.

From Saturday’s game in Chicago:

I’m not sure which play excites me more: Hossa’s owning Mathieu Schneider and Kari Lehtonen, or the visual evidence of a developing chemistry between Hossa and his linemates. They’re both good signs, that’s for sure.

#81 is warming up offensively while not sacrificing his responsibilities when without the puck and in his own end. You come to appreciate his size and skating ability when he’s backchecking just as much as you do when he’s scything through three defenders with the puck on a string.

I get the feeling he’s just getting started.

I’m very busy today, so I don’t have time to say more, but believe me I want to.