Pre-Game Skate: The sad thing about all of this is that in spite of the fact that these two teams have played 642 times (Detroit leads the all-time series against Toronto 274-272-93-3), this is the first time the Wings and Leafs have played since the fall of 2009. Back when I was a boy, Toronto would come to town, to The Olympia, 7 times a season. When the NHL moved the Leafs out of the Western Conference all they did was to destroy one of the greatest rivalries in sports. It's like the Red Sox coming to Yankee Stadium once every other year. That's how it is now. Toronto comes to Detroit every other year only. This their first visit here since October of 2008 and the first meeting between the teams since November of 2009. The Leafs, for the record, won both of those games and thus take a 2-game win streak against Detroit into tonight's game. Toronto--having not won a Cup since the last year of the Original Six, 1967, and having been simply awful for about that long--are making a strong bid for the playoffs right now. The Leafs have the third-best record in the NHL since the All-Star break. They've won their last 3 and are 5-2-0 in their last 7. Their goalie, rookie James Reimer, who made his first NHL start on New Years Day, is one of the best stories in the league right now. From nhl.com: Reimer has won four in a row, allowing just six goals in the process. He's been particularly special on the road, where he is 8-0-1 in his last nine starts and hasn't lost a road game since Feb. 5 at Buffalo.
The Wings, winless in 3 (0-2-1) and winners just four times in their last eleven games (4-4-3) are hurting again tonight. Pavel Datsyuk, injured a week ago tonight in Columbus, misses his third game in a row. Johan Franzen is out again and so too is Ruslan Salei. Todd Bertuzzi is back after missing Wednesday night's Vancouver game, but my guess is that he's playing hurt. How badly Datsyuk and Franzen are hurt remains unknown, but it sure sounds like it's worse than the Wings are letting on.
Time for the face-off....
7:19pm: The atmosphere in here tonight is just great. As we are just across the river from Canada, a few thousand Leafs fans are here and, although they are way outnumbered, they are trying to outshout the Detroit fans. They've got their "Go, Leafs, Go" chant going and the Wings fans are responding with their "Let's Go Red Wings." The Detroit fans, by dint of their numerical advantage, are winning but Toronto fans are giving a good account of themselves. We are 3:23 in and the Wings are on the power play---AND THEY SCORE! At 5:05, a shot by Henrik Zetterberg hit the skate of Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn and came right back to Zetterberg (I thought it had rebounded off the goalie Reimer back to him but the replay showed otherwise) and he made good on the second chance with a backhand from the low rim of the left circle. It is Zetterberg's 22nd goal of the year. Nicklas Lidstrom and Jiri Hudler get assists. The goal has quieted the Toronto fans, a lot. FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 0.
7:40pm: I just saw Leafs coach Ron Wilson yelling at his players and while I don't know what he was saying, I'll bet it was interesting. Wilson is as cerebral as they come in this game. I remember listening to him talk about ice for about 15 minutes one morning after a skate--it seems to me he was coaching Anaheim at the time--and I'm telling you, it was fascinating. I could talk about ice and hold your attention for about a minute. Ninety seconds, tops. He went on for fifteen minutes and it was not boring. For the record, the ice is better is the northern climes of the National Hockey League, places like Edmonton, for example, on account of permafrost. Tortonto's going on the power play at 15:23 as Brad Stewart got caught tripping some guy. FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 0.
7:47pm: Nazim Kadri (not a household name) has just tied the game 1-1at 17:56. He beat Jimmy Howard high on the short (glove) side with a wrister from low in the right circle. Howard was totally screened by Toronto's Darryl Boyce and that's why the puck went in. Howard--who didn't leave much of a hole for the shooter to hit--never saw the puck and the shooter found that little hole as they sometimes do at this level. It is the second goal of the season for Kadri and Boyce, the man responsible for the goal as I saw it, doesn't even get an assist on the play. There's no justice in this game. Detroit outplayed Toronto in the first--outshooting the Leafs 15-9--but we're tied after one. There's no justice in this game, as I said. AFTER ONE PERIOD: DETROIT 1, TORONTO 1.
8:22pm: We've played almost eight minutes of the second period and nothing's changed. Detroit is on the power play--AND AGAIN THEY SCORE! The time is 9:17 and the goal scorer is Tomas Holmstrom. He was right in front of the net, which is where he is every time Detroit's on the power play and the puck is in the zone. He scored his 15th of the year by deflecting a shot from the line. The assists go to Nicklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski and to tell you the truth, in all the excitement, I didn't notice which of the two had the shot which was redirected by Holmstrom past Reimer. As soon as we get a look at a replay, we will pass the information along to you. (We saw the replay and it was Rafalski shooting from the line). There's a chance the puck never got to Holmstrom. It may have been touched in mid-air by Kronwall and was never was touched by Holmstrom. If they change the scoring, we'll let you know. SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 2, TORONTO 1.
8:39pm: Ohhh, a fight and the crowd goes crazy. Toronto's Boyce ran Rafalski into the wall (it looked like Charging or Boarding or both to me but, hey, no call so whatever) and as Rafalski limped to the Detroit bench unable to put much weight on his right lef, Justin Abdelkader lit out after Boyce. It was a pretty good fight as far as these things go. Rafalski went to the room but has since returned to the Detroit bench. Meanwhile, at 17:03, Darren Helm goes for tripping and the Leafs go on the power play. SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 2, TORONTO 1.
8:44pm The second period is over, sort of. With 2:03 left in the period, a pane of plexiglass was jarred loose and The Crew had to be called in to effect a repair. The teams are going to the rooms now and the extra two minutes will be played post-intermission. The Zamboni's own the ice, now. END (SORT OF) OF THE SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 2, TORONTO 1.
9:06pm: The second period is now over, officially. We had a total of nine shots on goal in the middle twenty tonight, five by Toronto, four by Detroit. The Wings have held the Leafs to 14 shots through two periods. Toronto is right back on the power play as Hudler was called for high-sticking Phil Kessel at 19:56 of the second. The teams have switched ends and the third is underway. THIRD PERIOD : DETROIT 2, TORONTO 1.
9:15pm: Joffery Lupal has just scored a most unusual goal. Lupal fell on top of Detroit goalie Howard and while lying prone on his stomach, slid the rebound of a Kessel shot past Howard to tie the game 2-2 at 6:11. Howard had to leave the game (injured?) and has been replaced by Joey MacDonald who, just as an aside, played half a dozen games in net for Toronto last year. The goal was reviewed and was called a good goal. If it wasn't Goaltender Interference though, then there is no such thing. THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 2, TORONTO 2.
9:18pm: Just like that, the Wings re-take the lead. Hudler whistled a shot past Reimer at 6:49 (:38 after the game-tying goal). Hudler fired from the top rim of the left circle and, no screen, no deflection, no nothing watched as the hard shot fooled the Toronto goal high on the blocker side. The Toronto faithful are quieted, once more. The only assist on the go-ahead goal went to Zetterberg. THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, TORONTO 2.
9:26pm: Here's something (else) I don't know about hockey. What happens if MacDonald gets hurt and Howard is unable to return? Who plays goal for Detroit? We still have 9:39 left here--maybe tonight's the night I finally get my shot. I want you to know that if it comes to that, I'm ready. Back in the old days the trainer would go iN. One night in the 50's, Wings trainer Lefty Wilson had to go in and play an entire period plus part of another against Detroit. Against his own team because the opponents goalie (and I'm 90% sure it was Toronto) was injured and could not return and the teams only dressed one goalie in those days until they changed the rule in the 1960's and made teams dress two. Wilson said later the Wings were shooting at his head which is a pretty good strategy considering that--it being the 50's and all--he wasn't wearing a mask. They had yet to be invented. Crazy bastards....
STILL THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, TORONTO 2.
9:43pm: An empty-netter by Bertuzzi ends this one with :52 left. Schenn had the puck for Toronto for the longest time at the Detroit line but when he finally fired, Kronwall was there to block it and send Bertuzzi the other way. Bertuzzi took his time, gained the Toronto line and slid it into the empty Leafs net. The final seconds wind down in what has been a good one. The Wings win and are 44-22-9 for 97 points. The Leafs playoff chances take a severe hit. They are seven points out of playoff spot and they have only six games to play. Meanwhile, we'll have to see how badly Howard is hurt. Can he play Monday when Chicago--battling themselves for a playoff spot even if they are the incumbent Cup holders--come to town? If he can't, Joey MacDonald will have gone from 3rd on the Wings goalie depth chart to being Detroit's starting netminder in the course of a few short months. We shall see. And we will see you again on Monday night. FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 4, TORONTO 2.
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