Vancouver Canucks at Detroit Red Wings: March 23, 2011. The Live-Blog!

5:35pm:  Pre-Game Skate.  Once again we file the pregame skate early.  We like to write it whille the boys are actually out there pregame skating, but logistics again tonight prevent us from doing so.  Nonetheless, copious research has resulted in the following Items of Interest:

• With a win tonight, the Canucks will equal their team record for Best Record Ever.  It's true.  The Canucks amassed 105 points in 2006-07, the current team record.  The Canucks enter the game tonight with 103 points (Detroit, for the record, have 95 and are second to Vancouver in the Western Conference) and so, if they come out of this one with 2 points, they will be able to call themselves Tied for the Best Vancouver Team Of All Time.
• All-Time started for Vancouver 40 years ago.  The Canucks began play in the National League in the fall of 1970.  Ah, the memories.  I remember some of those guys from so long ago.  Andre Boudrias led Vancouver in scoring with 66 points in that debut season.  Rosaire Paimont led the first Vancouver team with 34 goals.  (The Canucks would later have a Wilf Paimont in their employ who would be involved in one of the most storied hockey fights in Red Wings history--the stick-swinging brawl that left Dennis Polonich next to dead--but he's a totally different guy.)  I remember I liked their goalie's name: Dunc Wilson.  
• Do you know who the Canuck's first coach was?  Read your Media Guides, people.  It was Hal Laycoe. I saw that and it got me thinking, "Hey, wasn't Hal Laycoe the guy who got into that fight with Rocket Richard which led to the "Richard Riot" in Montreal?"  (We include a pronouncer here because we know some of you are young and/or American.  It's "Ree-SHARD and he is to Canada, or at least to Quebec, what Babe Ruth is to the US.)  As for Laycoe, he is indeed the one and the same guy.  It was March, 1955 and Laycoe, a Boston defenseman famous for wearing glasses while he played which we mention just as an aside, got into a fight with Richard.  Stick swinging was involved.  Linesman Cliff Thompson grabbed Richard and Richard reacted by punching him.  The punching of linesmen by players has always been frowned upon in the National League.  So, a couple of days later NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended Richard for the balance of the regular season and for the entire playoffs.  The announcment came down March 17, 1955--St. Patrick's Day--and and wouldn't you know it, Canadiens were home that night to the Red Wings at the Forum.  You know the rest.  Fans began rioting during the first intermission and the Wings--already ahead 4-0--were awarded the game on a forfeit.  Fans set cars and buildings on fire near the Forum and Richard had to go on the radio to appeal for peace.  The Wings beat the Richard-less Canadiens for the Cup the following month--the last Stanley Cup for Detroit until 1997.   
• Finally, Detroit is, if anything, even worse off injury-wise tonight than they were the night before last when they were down to 10 forwards against Pittsburgh.  Pavel Datsyuk (indeterminate, ubiquitous lower-body injury), Johan Franzen (groin) Todd Bertuzzi (stiff back) and Jiri Hudler (we can't remember) are all out.  Additionally, goalie Chris Osgood, who said a couple of days ago he might be ready to return to active duty tonight--he's been out since Jan. 4 after having hernia surgery--instead was today put back on Injured Reserve due to complications from the operation which puts into question whether he'll be ready for playoffs with Wings GM Ken Holland today quoted as saying that Ozzie is "nowhere near ready" to return. 

We'll see you at gametime, everybody.... 


7:45pm  We are underway and it's Detroit 1 (crossbar), Vancouver 0. Jan Mursak, up from Grand Raids due to all of the aforementioned Detroit injuries, walked to the bottom of the left circle and whipped a wrister over the shoulder of Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and that thing hit the crossbar as clean and as hard as can be.  We've a little over 5 minutes in. 1ST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, VANCOUVER 0.


8:05pm:  Darren Helm just had a shorthanded breakaway and it took a terrific save by Luongo and a late hook by Daniel Sedin to deny him with about five-and-a-half left in the period.  Sedin took the call--it wasn't quite enough of a Hook to merit a penalty shot--and it evened the sides at 4 skaters a side (Detroit's Patrick Eaves was off for Interference at the time).  The Wings, although getting chances, failed to cash in on their first power play chance of the game.  And now, the period ends.  Detroit outshot the Canucks 11-5.  It was a well-played, entertaining period of hockey.  END OF 1ST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, VANCOUVER 0.


8:38pm:  Daniel Sedin scores the games first goal at 6:31.  He was all alone in behind the Detroit net then came off to the side and--in something you don't exactly see every night--he banked a little shot past Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard off the skate of sure-to-be Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.  Sedin was all alone behind the net for so long I was sure they'd call it an unassisted goal, but the maximuM, TWO, were handed out, including one to Henrik Sedin.  For Daniel, it is goal #39 this season which ties him with Corey Perry of Anaheim for 2nd in the league.  For those of you scoring at home, Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay leads the NHL with 43.  12:00 left in the 2nd Period: DETROIT 0, VANCOUVER 1.


8:50pm:  Here's a disturbing statistic.  Vancouver, when scoring first this season, which they have done now 46 times, has lost only twice!  They are 37-2-6 (.889) in 45 games so far this year in which they have opened the scoring.  Detroit meanwhile is a sub-.500 team when allowing the first goal, 15-17-3 (.471).  Jimmy Howard just kept the Wings in this one, making two of the best saves we've seen in this building all year long to deny the Canucks who came in on a 2-on-1.  Under 5 to go in the period now.  2ND Period: DETROIT 0, VANCOUVER 1.


9:05pm:  The Wings will be on the power play for the first 1:05 of the 3rd after the Canucks, which outshot Detroit 20-10 in the period, took a call late in the second.  The Wings are 7-19-3 (.293) when trailing after 2 this season, the Canucks are 33-0-3 (.958) when leading after 40 minutes. AFTER TWO PERIODS: DETROIT 0, VANCOUVER 1.  


9:35pm: Eaves goes for high sticking at 8:47 of the 3rd.  Detroit has had 3 penalties called against them tonight, and 2 have been on Eaves.  And while he's off--:42 seconds after he goes off to be precise--Daniel Sedin scores his second goal of the night and his 40th of the season.  He fired into what amounted to an empty Detroit net from the circle to the left of Howard who had been forced out of position after making two or three fine saves before the puck caromed to Sedin who fired it by.  The Wings are in real trouble now, down 2 and under 10:00 left in the game.  3RD PERIOD: DETROIT 0, VANCOUVER 2.


9:43pm:  Jiri Hudler bangs in a rebound on the power play at 11:38 to put the Wings back in the game.  it's his 9th.  Assists awarded to Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski although it sure looked like Dan Cleary took the shot which created the rebound which Hudler scooped into the net.  7:26 left, now.  3RD PERIOD: DETROIT 1, VANCOUVER 2.


9:58pm:  It's over and the Wings lose 2-1.  I got to pick the 3 Stars tonight and I went with the 2 goalies (Luongo the #2 Star, Howard #3) and Daniel Sedin.  It was not a difficult decision.  The two goalies were great tonight.  Detroit had 40 shots on Luongo and Vancouver 33 on Howard and each made HUGE (ALLCAPS) saves.  Sedin scored both the Canucks' goals and when you do that, you usually get the 1st Star.  Vancouver--as if they hadn't already--has pretty much ended Detroit's chance to catch them for first in the West.  The Canucks are 10 points up on second-place Detroit now, and the Wings are down to 8 games left to play.  The first of those comes up Saturday night when the seldom-seen Toronto Maple Leafs come to town.  We'll talk then...
FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 1, VANCOUVER 2.

Pittsburgh Penguins (at) Detroit Red Wings, March 21, 2011: The Live-Blog

Pre-Game Skate:  Normally I'd be writing this as the players were out on the ice for warm-ups but I've got a logistical issue tonight which will mean I'll be arriving at the rink only a few minutes before face-off and so for now, instead of the Press Box, we greet you from the (wi-fi enabled) Macdonald's in lovely Novi, MI.  One of them, anyway.  Novi's big enough for more than one McDonald's.  


The Wings--after overcoming a rash of injuries in December and January--are hurting again tonight as they skate into this rematch of the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Final.  In fact, Detroit may be down to 10 healthy forwards and could as a result be forced to put d-man Ruslan Salei up front in this one.  The injuries?  What can we say?  We can only tell you what they tell us, and what they tell us these days isn't much.  Pavel Datsyuk is out with the catch-all "lower body injury" suffered in the third period at Columbus last Thursday night when he went hard into the boards.  The Wings--and Datsyuk himself--are keeping mum after Datsyuk was quoted after the Columbus game as saying he thought he'd be able to play in Nashville two nights later.  He couldn't, though, and he's a scratch again tonight.  Johan Franzen with a groin and Jiri Hudler with a sore neck and fever are also scratches.  Todd Bertuzzi did not take the morning skate today due to an aching back.  He told the Detroit Free Press he'd take warm-ups tonight and decide if he can go.  Coach Mike Babcock meanwhile said this morning that he was "certain" Bertuzzi would be in the lineup.


Matt Cooke did not come with the Penguins from New York to Detroit, taking a side trip to Toronto to talk to NHL officials about his latest viscous hit: an elbow to the head of Ryan McDonagh of the Rangers Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.  Cooke has been suspended three times in the last three seasons for illegal hits.  His fourth is expected to be announced prior to puck-drop here tonight.


This is the second and final meeting of these two teams this season.  The Penguins beat Detroit 4-1 in Pittsburgh on January 18th.  The Pens are 4th in the East with 90 points.  Detroit is 2nd in the West with 94.


We gotta get to the rink.  We'll talk to you from there in a little while....

Edmonton Oilers (at) Detroit Red Wings: Friday, March 11, 2011

Pre-Game Skate:  I can't believe it's been as long as it has been since last we met this way, but I've been medically cleared to watch hockey again after my little heart procedure so let's go, shall we?


The Wings (39-20-8, .642) are winless in their last 4 (0-2-2) but remain in second place in the Western Conference.  San Jose is closing fast though.  They've pulled to within a single point of the Wings (86-85).  Chicago--honored today at the White House by President Obama for winning the Cup last spring--have caught fire: (8-1-1, .850) in their last 10 and now a mere 5 points back of the Wings in the race for the Central Division lead.  Detroit has 3 yet to play against the Blackhawks, including a home-and-home on the final weekend of the regular season which, as it turns out, is not that far off, now.  After tonight, Detroit has only 8 home games remaining.


The Wings are 3-0-0 against the Oilers this season and go for the sweep here tonight.  The crowd is into it early and we are now underway here in Detroit...


7:50pm:  The crowd is quieted when, at 6:40, Jimmy Howard gives up a goal that would have upset me if I had been the goaltender who let it in.  Ryan Jones flipped this little wrister at the net from outside the top of the left wing circle and it sneaked in under Howard's left pad.  It's a bad goal, a very bad goal, for Howard to allow and the Oilers, 16-8-3 (.648) when they score first, have scored first in this one.  Detroit is 13-17-2 (.438) when scored upon first this season.  The goal was unassisted which seems about right.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, EDMONTON 1.


8:15pm:  The period ends and the Wings, outshot 6-8, are fortunate to be down only 1.  In the final minute, Detroit turned it over with goalie Howard trapped behind his own net.  Alexandre Giroux had an empty net to shoot at from 20 feet and fire he did, but Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall got in front of it.  If he doesn't, Detroit's down 2, for sure.  AFTER ONE PERIOD: DETROIT 0, EDMONTON 1.


8:52pm:  No change, still 1-0 Oilers as we are a little past the halfway point of the period and the game.  The Wings are on the power play for the 3rd time in the period.  They didn't generate much on the first two.  Dan Petry--a starting pitcher for the Tigers when they won it all in '84 (my second-favorite season ever, trailing only 1968 when the Tigers also won it all but I was just a little boy so it was better) is here tonight.  We believe it's because his son is here.  Jeff Petry wears #58 and plays defense for the Oilers.  There cannot be many father-son, MLB-NHL connections, can there? I can't think of any.  Meanwhile, Michigan State smoked Purdue like a trout tonight in the Big Ten tournament.  Beat 'em by 18, which--I'm not going to lie to you--I did not see coming.  State's now 19-13 and that win tonight ought to be enough to get them into the NCAA tournament after all.  There were many (me, for example) who believed the Spartans would not make it in this year, which would have ended a run of 13-straight NCAA appearances.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 0, EDMONTON 1.


9:09pm:  The Wings tie it with 21.1 seconds left in the period--or at least it looks like they do as the play is under review.  A wrist shot from the left point by Nicklas Lidstrom is deflected past Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk to tie the game at 1.  It looks like a good goal from where I sit, which is right in front of a hi-def monitor here in the Press Box.  THEY RULE NO GOAL!  Really?  It didn't even look like a particularly close call to me.  The TV review people in Toronto say the puck was batted in by a Detroit players hand (Todd Bertuzzi).  The period is over. Detroit outshot the Oilers 17-10 in the period and have outshot the Oilers 23-18 in the game, but still trail.  I can't get over that call in the final minute.  I also can't get over the save Howard made with 2-and-a-half left in the second.  He came out of nowhere to make a left pad stop good enough to earn a standing ovation, which I can assure you the fans here don't hand out for just any save.  Too bad Howard gave up that weak one in the first.  I suppose you could say he's even now.  The Wings however, are not.  Detroit is 6-19-2 (.259) when trailing after 2 periods this year.  Edmonton is 13-2-2 (.824) when leading after 2.  END OF 2 PERIODS: DETROIT 0, EDMONTON 1.


9:30pm:  I just got a text from ESPN saying Detroit scored at 19:38 of the second to tie the game 1-1.  They must have thought it was a good goal, too.


9:40pm:  The key moment of the game comes with 14:00 to play.  The Wings--0-3 on the power play tonight--get a 5-3 advantage for 1:26. Can they cash in and tie this thing?


9:47pm:  No, they cannot.  They didn't get many good chances at all and are now 0-5 on the PP. Most importantly, with 11:38 to go, they still trail.  THIRD PERIOD:  DETROIT 0, EDMONTON 1.


10:10pm:  The Wings tie it 1-1 with 24.8 left to go!  It was a slapshot from the left point by Lidstrom which hit the skate of an Edmonton defender out in front and caromed past Dubnyk to send this one into OT.  It's #14 for Lidstrom.  The Wings outshot Edmonton 19-7 in the 3rd and have outshot them 41-25 through regulation time.  It was that 41st Detroit shot that made all the difference.  On to OT!  END OF 3 PERIODS: DETROIT 1, EDMONTON 1.


10:17pm:  THE WINGS WIN ON A GOAL BY PAVEL DATSYUK AT 4:18 OF OVERTIME!  It was a beautiful play all the way around.  Johan Franzen had the puck out near the line and handed it to Datsyuk cutting to the net.  Datsyuk held on to it FOREVER, got an Edmonton d-man to go down and stepped around him to the high slot where he had plenty of time to wind up and blaze a 20-foot slapper home blocker side high on Dubnyk for his 21st goal of the season and for a 2-1 Detroit win.  It wasn't such a good game for 59 minutes, but you couldn't beat the last 5 here tonight.  FINAL IN OVERTIME: DETROIT 2, EDMONTON 1.

Boston Bruins (at) Detroit Red Wings, February 13, 2001: The Live Blog

Pre-Game Skate:  The Wings and Bruins play for the second time in 3 days here this afternoon.  It's a 12:30pm start and as a result, we are all out of synch.  The pre-game meal in the press room was eggs.  What's up with that?  We'll try our best to adjust and to get it together.  It's just a hockey game, after all.  The Wings drubbed the Bruins Friday night at whatever it is they are calling the Boston Gardens these days, 6-1.  Detroit, however, is just 5-5 in their last 10 games.  They are undefeated against the Northeast Division this year (3-0-0) but, oddly, are winless (0-3-1) against the rest of the Eastern Conference.  Detroit is 2nd in the Western Conference with 72 points, the Bruins are 3rd in the East with 69.

Oh, this is interesting.  The Wings and Bruins have combined to score 3,467 goals against one another in 578 all-time meetings to date.  The goal differential between these teams is 11.  Detroit has scored 1,739 goals, Boston 1,728.  See what you can glean by merely taking the time to read the game notes they give you, for free?

12:41pm:  We have a goal, early too.  It goes to Boston at 1:29.  Blake Wheeler had it behind the net, was stopped by Jimmy Howard on a wraparound, but backhanded his rebound into the net.  It is his 11th goal of the season, and it puts Detroit in a bad spot.  Boston has failed to get a point only twice in the 36 games this season in which they have held the lead at any point: 30-2-4 (.889).  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, BOSTON 1.


12:49pm:  And we're tied--thanks to perhaps the ugliest giveaway I've ever seen given away at the National Hockey League level.  Boston's Brad Marchand, a center, was last man back for the Bruins and from the left of netminder Tim Thomas, Marchand backhanded a weak, pass right out in front of his own net.  A blind pass.  Todd Bertuzzi was right there to say thank you very much and score the unassisted goal off a nice deke of Thomas at 6:09.  Bertuzzi had two goals against the Bruins Friday night (the second accounting for his 700th career NHL point) and the easy one he is gifted here gives him 11 goals for the season. FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, BOSTON 1.


1:02pm:  Brad Marchand giveth and Brad Marchand taketh.  Martchand, a few minutes after his terrible turnover, redirected a centering pass from Michael Ryder between Howard's legs to put the Bruins back on top at 12:17.  It was a power play goal, and it was way too easy.  Ruslan Salei let Marchand get open out in front of the Detroit net and the pass from the right wing halfwall from Ryder was right on the tape and in.  Goal #16 for Marchand who does not get a plus on the play to cancel out the minus he got on the Bertuzzi goal because, as we say, it was a Boston power play goal.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, BOSTON 2.


1:15pm: The first period ends with Boston still up a goal.  Boston is a remarkable 19-1-1 (.929) when leading after one.  Detroit is 6-13-3 (.341) when trailing after 1.  We'd be tied in this one but the Wings had an apparent goal waved off when Boston was ahead 1-0.  Thomas appeared to have the puck covered in the crease (the referee thought so and blew the whistle) but one of the Wings--it might have been Holmstrom but don't quote me--dug it free and fired it in.  The whistle preceded the puck's crossing of the goal line by a millisecond or so, negating the goal.  The play was not reviewable.  END OF THE FIRST PERIOD:  DETROIT 1, BOSTON 2.



1:30pm:  There's been a change on Boston's first goal.  It goes to the former Plymouth Whaler who was selected #2 overall in the NHL draft last June, Tyler Seguin.  It appeared on the replay that Seguin and Blake Wheeler, originally credited with the goal, had a sort of dual possession as the puck was shot.  Each appeared to have the blade of his stick in contact with the puck.  Super slo-mo gives the goal to Seguin instead of Wheeler.  Seguin wears #19 and he just turned 19 a couple of weeks ago on the last day of January.  On to the second period...

1:40pm:  Tied.  Pavel Datsyuk, alone just to the right of Thomas, dumped the rebound of a shot fired from the right point by Brian Rafalski into the Boston net.  This is Datsyuk's 4th game back after missing a month and a half due to a broken wrist and it is his 2nd goal and 5th point in those 3 game plus the first 24 minutes of this one.  Overall, it is goal #14 for Datsyuk and it comes at the 3:54 mark of the 2nd.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 2, BOSTON 2.


1:55pm:  The Wings have taken the lead 3-2 at 12:44 on Kris Draper's 6th goal of the season.  He got in behind the defense and took a pass from Patrick Eaves that sent him in alone.  Draper went high to give Detroit their first lead of the afternoon.  It took the Wings five seconds to move the puck from deep in their own zone all the way into the Boston net.  Niklas Lidstrom made a stretch pass to Darren Helm who found Eaves who found Draper who found the net. 180 feet in five seconds and a Detroit lead. SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, BOSTON 2.


2:10pm:  We've spent a lot of time this blog talking about Boston's record in various situations, but now the statistics auger in favor of the Red Wings.  The second period is over with Detroit leading, and when Detroit leads after two this season, Detroit is 19-0-2 (.952).  In other words, the Wings have never failed to record a point in 2010-11 when leading after two periods.  END OF THE SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, BOSTON 2.


2:40pm:  We are midway through the 3rd period, 9:54 left, and there is no change in the score.  The Wings just had a power play and as a result of not scoring, are 0-3 on the pp today.  Boston, pressing for the tying goal, was very aggressive on the kill looking for the equalizer.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, BOSTON 2.


2:47pm:  For the second game in a row, Todd Berteuzzi has scored two goals and the Wings are looking good here with under 6 minutes to play.  Johan Franzen waited and waited and waited as he and Bertuzzi were in on a 2-on-1 and when Franzen finally slid the pass across, Bertuzzi finished perfectly.  He now has a dozen goals this season and, as we say, four in his last 2 games now. The Wings have put 4 past Thomas this afternoon.  He entered today's game leading the league in goals-against average and save percentage. THIRD PEREIOD: DETROIT 4, BOSTON 2.


2:57pm:  That's it.  The Wings are now 20-0-2 when leading after two periods as they come from behind to defeat Boston 4-2.  The Bruins led 2-1 after one, but the goals in the second period by Datsyuk and Draper gave the Wings the lead for good.  Bertuzzi capped it with his goal in the 3rd.  The Wings sweep the home-and-home series.  FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 4, BOSTON 2.

Nashville Predators (at) Detroit Red Wings: The Live-Blog

Pre-Game Skate:  All I can tell you is that they are all important, even these less-than-sexy matchups involving Detroit and Nashville.  That's because right now the difference between 3rd place in the Western Conference and 14th-place in the Western Conference is 9 points.  Nine.  And that's all.

7:43pm:  And we have a goal.  Martin Erat skated inside the rim of the circle to the right of Jimmy Howard and beat the Detroit goalie with a wrister over the left shoulder.  No screen.  No tip.  Nothing at all and Howard--with plenty of time to set himself and get square to his shooter gets beat glove side high. One does not like to see that.  It's early. Erat's 8th of the season comes at 3:09.  Here are the obligatory "when scoring first" numbers:  Nashville is 19-3-5 (.611) when the get the first goal of the game this season, Detroit--playing .660 overall so far--is 10-13-2 (.440) when scored upon first.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, NASHVILLE 1.  


8:01pm:  2-0, Nashville.  David Legwand stole the puck deep in the Detroit zone and dropped it back to the Detroit line then headed for the net.  Because of that, he was right there in front to slam the tasty rebound left by Howard into a wide-open Wings net.  Legwand's 8th comes at 14:13, and no, I do not have stats for what happens when Detroit gives up not just the first goal of a game, but the first two and I do not have the time while the game is going on to review each of the 53 box scores generated by the Wings so far this season to get the answer to that question.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, NASHVILLE 2.


8:31pm:  And it's 3-0, Nashville.  We're just into the second period and the Wings elected to leave Nashville's Colin Wilson all alone out in front.  When he got the puck, as you knew he inevitably would, Howard stopped his first shot but not his second and the Preds are one the board again just 1:03 into the second period.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 0, NASHVILLE 3.


8:35pm:  Well, let's see.  What else is going on?  I had lunch with Tigers President Dave Dombrowski today.  (Actually, I sat next to him while he ate prior to addressing the crowd as our guest speaker at the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association luncheon but it still counts, right?)  Dombrowski believes the Tigers will win them all this year, and who's to argue.  Everybody's team looks good in February!  A 162-0 season coming up for Detroit in 2011.  It should be a hell of a year.

8:38pm  It's hard to figure sports, you know?  Take Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.  He shuts out Detroit 3-0 Saturday, get's lit up by a bad Edmonton team Monday--pulled in the second period, in fact--and now tonight he's back to shutting the Wings out again.  We're almost halfway through this one, 11:04 left in the middle twenty, and Detroit has not scored on him.  The weird thing is this:  we're halfway through this game and the Wings have a grand total of 12 shots on goal.  That is something like unheard of for this team.  We just had our first penalty of the game, speaking of not a lot going on.  Jakub Kindl goes off and the Preds are on the power play.  They are 1-13 (7.7%) on the power play against Detroit this season which, for those of you new to the game, is not very good.  Ooops.  Make it 2-14.  Nashville gets a power play goal from Sergei Kostitsyn at 10:26 and Howard is excused from further participation as Joey MacDonald comes into the game to play goal for Detroit.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 0, NASHVILLE 4.  




9:00pm:  Take that Pekka Rinne, you and your shutout.  Ruslan Salei followed his own shot to whack his rebound into the net and the Wings are, at long last, on the board.  It's Salei's 1st goal of the season and it comes at 16:02.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 1, NASHVILLE 4.


9:08pm:  The period is over and we have lost all interest in this one.  The Wings, no doubt stung when I pointed out that they had had only a dozen shots in the first half of the game, rallied to record 14 in the second period but I don't think its going to be enough.  Detroit is down by 3 as we head to the 3rd....SECOND INTERMISSION: DETROIT 1, NASHVILLE 4.


9:29pm:  Sorry, I've been reading about that idiot congressman from New York, Chris Lee (R-Of Course), who was trying to pick up women on Cragslist by posting a shirtless picture of himself and by saying he was a divorced 39-year-old.  He's married and 46.  Oooops.  The story broke on Wonkette.com at 3:34 EST and by 7:18 Lee had resigned (to spend more time with his family, no doubt).  In hockey if you are stupid they call you a donkey.  We will apply it to Chris Lee here:  What a donkey.  There is been no change in the game, in case you were wondering.  Still 4-1, Predators and it all looks pretty hopeless tonight.  The best moment came a moment ago when the Wings had a shot at a wide-open net.  So wide-open in fact that Todd Bertuzzi raised his stick in exultation before the shot was taken.  He would have been sooo ready if the puck had actually gone in the net, but the shot, sad to say, was too high and poor Todd was just sort of stuck standing there with his stick raised over his head for no good reason at all.  Such is this night for Deteroit.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 1, NASHVILLE 4.


9:45pm:  Okay, normally I wouldn't do this but I'm having a slight health issue tonight and I think I shall depart the proceedings prematurely this evening.  As I depart, there are 7:00 left in the game and the Wings are still down 3 and I don't think they are coming back.  If they do, I will miss it, sorry.  This is the worst I've seen Detroit play this season.  I'm not that worried about it.  In an 82-game season, you will have the occasional clunker.  Best to not make it a habit, though.  Good night, all.

New York Rangers (at) Detroit Red Wings: The Live-Blog

Pre-Game Skate:  (We stole the italicized portions from ESPN.com just so you don't think I've been working hard up here or anything...)


Detroit hopes to avoid being shut out in three straight games for the first time in its storied history Monday night when it hosts New York, which has lost four in a row.


In their last game, a 2-0 loss at Montreal, the Rangers went 0 for 4 on the power play and are just 1 for 35 with the man advantage in their last 11 road games.


Meanwhile, Detroit went 0 for 4 on the power play against the Predators and is now 2 for 28 with the man advantage over the last nine games. 


Detroit lost 3-0 at Nashville Saturday after losing by the same score in in Detroit Friday.  The back-to-back shutouts came after the Wings tied their season high for goals in a game with a 7-5 win at Ottawa Wednesday.  


PAVEL DATSYUK is back tonight!  He missed 19 games with a broken hand.  Detroit was 10-7-2 (.579) without him.  As he is their best player and all, this is HUGE for the Red Wings.


8:00pm:  We are just about exactly halfway through the first period (9:53 left) and Detroit's been outshot by NY 12-3. This is unusual.  Detroit typically pours it on at the outset and makes the visitors weather the storm.  Not tonight, however.  


The Rangers are sporting a old-school look tonight for this Original Six game, wearing dark navy jerseys with laces at the collar.  I'm pretty sure they replicate the sweaters (that's what they used to call hockey jerseys, sweaters) the Rangers wore in the 1940's and '50's.  All in all, it's pretty good stuff.  


8:12pm:  Speaking of pretty good stuff, that was an entertaining Super Bowl yesterday, didn't you think?  I had it all wrong.  Pittsburgh was my pick.  I did say so on the air, but not in this space because I've got friends who are Packers fans and I didn't want to upset them (although, truth be told when it comes to the Super Bowl I am almost always wrong).  I didn't think Green Bay would be able to run the ball on Pittsburgh so I thought the Steelers would win.  I was right about the can't run on the Steelers thing.  Did you notice how many yards the Packers ran for yesterday?  50. Five-zero.  Usually the team that wins the rushing battle wins the game.  Of course, at the same time, the team that wins the turnover battle usually wins, too and in this case it was all Green Bay.  Three takeaways and a touchdown for the Packers off each one.  And that's why the Packers are World Champs once again tonight.  That and the fact that their quarterback Aaron Rodgers outplayed the other teams QB, Ben Roethlisberger.  When your QB is better than the other guys QB, you almost always win.  Football--it's not that complicated.


Meanwhile, the period here has come to an end.  Detroit rallied during the second half of the first and outshot the Rangers 6-1 since we pointed out NY's big early edge in shots on goal, but for their 7th period in a row, the Wings have zip, nada, nothing to show for it.  NY will be on the power play for the first 1:16 of the second.  Detroit had 1 power play in the first and I noticed--because I was counting them out loud--that in one stretch Detroit completed 10 passes in a row in the offensive zone before even attempting a shot.  That coach played by Gene Hackman in Hoosiers, Norman Dale?  He would have been so proud.  "Four passes before you shoot!"  Remember?  It was amazing puck control by Detroit.  The got no goal to show for it, but I have to tell you, it was quite a show nonetheless.  (The Wings, I mean.  Not Hoosiers.  But, now that we think of it, who don't like Hoosiers?  I, myself, was especially taken with Miss Fleener.)  AFTER ONE PERIOD:  DETROIT 0, RANGERS 0.


8:38pm:  We can report to you that we have a goal and a 1-0 Detroit lead.  Datsyuk--who last season led the NHL in Steals (they are called "Takeaways", officially)--stole the puck clean away (he stole it I tell you; he did not merely take it away) from a Ranger defenseman in the corner to the right of NY goalie Martin Biron and worked a give -and-go pass which saw Datsyuk head for the front of the net and take a pass a get off a shot which Biron stopped.  But Martin, he didn't get to Datsyuk's second shot as Pavel buried his own rebound to inaugurate the night's scoring here.  It's his 13th goal of the year, and his first since December 19th.  Two assists were awarded on the play but there should have only been one since only one Detroit player touched the puck after Datsyuk stole it from that NY player in the corner, at least as I saw it.  Juri Hudler and Dan Cleary got those assists on the goal at 2:52.  SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 1, RANGERS 0.


8:55pm: I'm frustrated because I can't find last season's NHL Takeaway statistics anywhere.  I remember looking at that particular stat late last season and Datsyuk2010-11 Detroit Red Wings Media Guide--is that Datsyuk had 132 takeaways last year: tops in the National League.  I cannot tell you by how many takeaways he led the league, what his final margin of victory was in other words, because the 2009-10 Final Regular Season Takeaway tally is not be found on the NHL Media website (you need a password just to access that site so it really doesn't get any more official than that, for crying out loud) and it is not in the current edition, the 2010-11 edition, of The NHL Guide and Record Book and if its not in either of those places I have no idea where to find it.  A little under 4:00 to go here in the period as I fume. 


9:05pm:  The 2nd period ends.  We had 22 shots on goal in the first period (NYR 13, Det 9) and 37 shots on goal in the second (Det 21, NYR 16) but only that one goal by Datsyuk. AFTER 2 PERIODS: DETROIT 1, RANGERS 0.


9:23pm:  The 3rd period begins.  For those of you scoring at home, the goal by Datsyuk in the second ended a Detroit team scoreless streak of 143:26, and means, of course, the Wings will not be shut out in a 3rd consecutive game tonight--something which, as noted in the "Pre-Game Skate" section earlier, heretofore has never occurred in franchise history.  We now have 61 shots on goal tonight (NYR 31-30) and still only 1 goal to show for all that offense.


9:30pm:  Tied.  I think it was Jimmy Howard's fault.  The Detroit tender had the chance to freeze the puck against the post to his right but elected to dump it into the corner instead.  The Wings never got it out.  Darren Helm was checked at the half-wall across the way, the Rangers got the puck because of it and Derek Stepan was there to fire a short shot past Howard at 3:09.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 1, RANGERS 1.


9:34pm:  Untied.  On a nice 3-way passing play, Datsyuk dropped it back to Jonathan Ericsson who sent it cross-ice to Juri Hudler who one timed it high from the low rim of the circle to the left of Rangers goal to defeat Biron's two-pad stack and find the back of the net.  Datsyuk gets his second point of the night and Hudler gets his 5th goal of the season, his first goal in 8 games and only his second in his last 15.  The go-ahead goal comes at 5:04, only 1:55 after New York had tied it up.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 2, RANGERS 1.


9:45pm:  The Wings and Rangers--who back in the day when it really was the Original Six used to play each other 14 times a year, 7 here and 7 there--now only meet once a season.  It's sad.  It means the Blueshirts only come to town every other year.  Still, it feels strange to look it up and learn that that Rangers have not won a game in Detroit in 12 years and a week, dating to a 3-2 NY win here on January 30, 1999.


9:50pm:  3-1 and it looks like it's going to be a couple more years, at least, before the Rangers win again in Detroit.  Drew Miller went to the net as Justin Abdelkader stole the puck and held it in just inside the line and because he did, he was there to bang Abdelkader's rebound into the net at 14:37.  It's his 4th goal of the year.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, RANGERS 1.


9:55pm:  Did we speak too soon?  The Rangers just scored and they are back to within 1 and, to make matters more dramatic, are going on the power play with 3:40 to go in the game.  NY is 0/2 tonight and 1/37 (2.7%) in their last 11 road games when a man to the good.  The goal that got NY back to within a goal came at 15:55, only 1:18 after Miller had made it 3-1, Detroit.  Brandon Dubinsky scored it.  And now, with 0:44 left in the first Detroit penalty, the Wings are whistled again:  Abdelkader got his stick up and gets a double-minor for it.  With 2:24 to go, Detroit will finish this one shorthanded.  THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, RANGERS 2.


10:02pm:  The Wings win.  They killed off that 44-second two-man disadvantage by clearing the puck the length a couple of time and then Miller, with under half a minute on the clock, did a great job while sliding along the ice to sweep the puck over the Wings blue line to the neutral zone and that pretty much did it.  The Wings losing streak (not to mention their goal-less streak) is over. It was an entertaining evening here.  We had 82 shots on goal!  NY had 47 of them, but Howard had 45 saves.  You might think that 47 were the most shots allowed by Detroit this year (I did) but its not.  Colorado had 49 on December 27.  It is only the third time this year (in 53 games) the Wings have allowed 40+ shots.  They are 3-0-0 in those games.  I got to pick the 3 Stars tonight on behalf of the Michigan Talk Network and I went with: #3 Howard (I should have made him #2), #2 Hudler and #1 Datsyuk.  There won't be any arguing over the #1 star, at least.  And the crowd, naturally, loved it.  Pavel got the biggest roar of the three when he skated out.  Which he should have.  He was the difference-maker in this one and it was great to see him out there again.  Like any great player, he is fun to watch.  Nashville will be here on Wednesday night, and so will we.  Good night from Detroit!  FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 3, RANGERS 2.


  

Columbus Blue Jackets 3 (at) Detroit Red Wings 0: The Live-Blog

Pre-Game Skate:  I can't believe that this is the first time I've been with you since Januray 15, but it is.  I've been to a grand total of one (1) Wings game since--that 4-1 loss to the Blackhawks on January 22 which, truth be told, wasn't much to blog about anyway--and so we find ourselves once again watching the Wings host the Columbus Blue Jackets.

There had been some talk that Pavel Datsyuk would be back in uniform for Detroit tonight but he's not.  Datsyuk, pound-for-pound the best player in the National League in my book, broke his hand in a game here a couple of nights before Christmas (Dec. 22) and has not been seen since.  He was one in a long, long line of Detroit injuries (in that loss to Chicago, for example, the Wings played without 6 injured skaters and both their first and second-string goalies) but the Wings have played over and/or through those injuries amazingly well.  This is the 17th game missed by Datsyuk and the Wings have gone 10-5-2 (.647) without him.  When he got hurt, Detroit was 21-8-4 (.697) so you can see that while his loss has hurt Detroit, it hasn't hurt them all that much.

Heading into the game tonight, their 53rd of the season, Detroit leads their division by 7 points and trails conference-leading Vancouver by the same margin (although the Wings have two games in hand on the Canucks).

7:58pm:  The Blue Jackets get the first goal.  Antoine Vermette came off the Columbus bench at the far blue line unnoticed and skated to the high slot between the circles and, with the help of a perfect blind backhand pass from Matt Calvert along the far left wing boards, fired a long one past Jimmy Howard.  The pass made the play.  It was right on the tape and Vermette fired it by in one motion.  He really stepped into it.  The mistake was not Howard's but instead the Detroit defense's for failing to notice Vermette coming late.  12:29 OF THE FIRST: DETROIT 0, COLUMBUS 1.

8:03pm:  A break and a big one for the Wings.  A Columbus goal is waved off at 13:21 when it is ruled that the Blue Jackets Derick Brassard was in the crease and interfered with Howard just before the puck went into the net.  Replays showed it was not Brassard but rather Howard's teammate Henrik Zetterberg who was tangled up with the Wings goalie and, as such, it was (or should have been) a good goal.  Instead, it's a goalie interference call on Brassard and a Detroit power play.  Most importantly, it's still only a 1-0 Columbus lead.

8:05pm:  And the period ends.  The Wings are down a goal but it could have--should have--been worse.  Columbus outshoots Detroit 9-8 in the period.  END OF THE FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 0, COLUMBUS 1.


8:26pm:  I'm glad to be here tonight as the plan when the week began was to have me missing this one at home while I recuperated from a heart procedure.  The procedure, a radio frequency ablation designed to correct an annoying abnormal heartbeat, was pushed back a couple of weeks and so here we are.  I'll be out of action for 2-3 weeks once they do to procedure.  Unless they kill me while doing it, in which case I'll be out of action a few games longer.

8:30pm  The second period begins.  During the bread I read the blog I wrote the last time Columbus was here and that night the Jackets led early 2-0 before Detroit came back to win in overtime 6-5.  Johan Franzen--he of the 5-goal game in Ottawa the night before last in a 7-5 Wings win--got that gamer in that one.  So buck up, you Detroit fans out there.

8:34pm:  Franzen, looking for his 6th goal in his last 5 periods of play, just hit the post.  A real clanger, too.  We could hear it up here in the press box and we are not exactly what you would call close to the Columbus net way off to our right.  Poor Johan.  Can't buy a break, nothings going in for him, etc...

8:51pm:  Andrew Murray outworks Detroit's Ruslan Salei off to the side of the Wings net and slips a pass out in front to Jared Boll who is all alone below the hash marks and who makes no mistake getting off a quick shot on goal, beating the helpless Howard high.  The goal came just a few moments after Jonathan Ericsson missed a wide open Columbus net.  So, instead of a 1-1 tie the Wings are--just as they were the last time the Blue Jackets were here--down 2-0.  The goal at 13:11 OF THE SECOND PERIOD.  DETROIT 0, COLUMBUS 0.


9:07pm:  The period ends as Detroit misfires repeatedly during a 5-on-3 power play.  They really could have used one at that point but Steve Mason--the Columbus goalie--went post-to-post to stop a Nicklas Lidstrom drive from between the rings.  Other than that, Detroit did not threaten with the two-man.  Columbus just missed finishing off a 2-on-1 breakaway when R.J. Umberger shot wide a split second before the horn.  Detroit outshot the Jackets 14-7 in the period and have outshot them 22-16 in the game so far, but have nothing, no thing, to show for it.  AFTER 2 PERIODS: DETROIT 0, COLUMBUS 2.


9:20pm:  This is the 5th of 6 regular-season meetings between these teams and while Detroit has points in each of the previous four (3-0-1) they've all been close.  Two have gone to overtime/shootout and three have been decided by one goal.  The margin in the other was 2.

9:36pm:  We are better than halfway through the third period and the Wings continue to trail by a pair.  Detroit has outshot 'em 30-19 (8-3 in the period) and still have not been able to solve Mason.  Franzen--after hitting the post in the second period--had another great chance a couple of minutes ago, alone off to the side of an open Columbus net, but he couldn't handle the pass.  What are you gonna do?  Franzen has 9 goals in his last 9 games.  It's hard to complain about a guy who has that going for him.  MID-THIRD: DETROIT 0, COLUMBUS 2.


954pm:  Andrew Murray, the guy who made the play on Columbus' second goal tonight back in the second period, has just fired one into an empty Detroit net at 18:48 and that is going to do it.  You just knew it was a bad sign when you looked down there and saw the Wings net empty, Howard apparently having quit tonight's game.  They count it down to zero on the scoreboard and for the first time this season, the Wings fail to get a point in a game against the Blue Jackets.  It's the second time this season (0-5 v. Los Angeles on Dec. 13) that the Wings have been shut out this season.  FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 0, COLUMBUS 3.