Red Wings Blog

The biggest news is that Johan Franzen is definitely going to be in the lineup for tomorrow night’s game. Woo hoo! He’s been out for most of the season with a torn ACL and he’s been sorely missed. Hopefully, his presence will provide some much needed offense.

In other good news, Drew Miller, who hurt his ankle blocking a shot, is expected to play tomorrow. His injury must not have been too severe.

The bad news is that Kronwall won’t play, but only because he’s waiting for a new knee brace. I guess that means that once he gets the brace he’ll be ready to go. All things considered that news could have been a lot worse.

In other bad news, Holmstrom might play but they won’t decide for sure in until tomorrow, and Patrick Eaves most likely will not play because of a sprained ankle.

For this afternoon’s game the Red Wings were on the road in Los Angeles to face the Kings. This game featured two red hot young goalies in Jimmy Howard and Jonathan Quick.

There’s been some trade news to report today. To make cap space for Franzen the Red Wings traded Ville Leino to Philadelphia for defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a 5th round draft pick in 2011. Tollefsen had to be put on waivers immediately and is being sent straight to Grand Rapids. He’s had some concussion and knee problems lately so hopefully he’ll be able to stay healthy.

The Red Wings drew first blood in this one. Nearing the halfway point of the first period Datsyuk brought the puck into the zone and took it to the corner. Holmstrom was in front causing a distraction. Zetterberg snuck in the back door and was left wide open. Datsyuk made a great pass through middle and Zetterberg tapped it in easily for the first goal making it one to nothing Wings.

Just 16 seconds later Cleary brought the puck into the zone and tried to pass it to Filppula but he didn’t connect. The puck bounced down in the slot and Filppula circled around and fired it towards the net as Cleary continued to the goal. It hit the skate of a Kings player in front of the net and went in. Just like that the Wings had a two goal lead early in the game.

Near the end of the first period the Red Wings went on the power play when Doughty was called for a cross check. The Kings had a shorthanded scoring chance and Williams was forced to take a hooking penalty to prevent a possible goal. That made it 4 on 4 for the rest of the period. There was a face off in the Kings end with about 11 seconds to go. Detroit won the face and Lidstrom fired the puck off the back boards. It bounced to the front where Rafalski shot it. Quick stopped it but the rebound was just sitting there in front of the open net and Zetterberg popped it home. That gave the Red Wings a three nothing lead with fewer than 5 seconds to go in the first period.

About halfway through the second period Brad Stuart turned the puck over in his own end. Parse ended up with it and took it behind the net. He centered it to Frolov who one-timed it right in front of the net. Jimmy Howard stopped it but the rebound came right back to Frolov who put it in the net on his second try. That made it three to one Red Wings.

It was announced during the second period that Holmstrom had left with left leg injury. I’m not sure when it happened or exactly what caused the injury.

Later in the second period Howard came out to play a dump in. Somehow he put it towards his own skates and then lost it. As Howard was trying regain control Handzus came in and poked it away from him. Handzus then gathered it in and put it in the net. That was big flub by Howard and I’m sure he wasn’t too happy about it. That made it three to two Detroit.

Just a few minutes later the Kings tied the game. Simmonds was working the puck down low and threw it towards the front of the net. Smyth and Stoll were both right there on the doorstep. Smyth managed to smack it into the back of the net to even the score with under four minutes left in the second period.

At some point earlier in the game Eaves had blocked a shot and must have injured his foot. He left the bench and didn’t return.

Then, late in the second period Miller was also injured blocking a shot and left the game. With Holmstrom, Eaves and Miller all out of the game, Babcock had to do a lot of line juggling.

Zetterberg and Helm both came close to scoring. They hit the same post within a few seconds of each other.

Late in the third period the Kings had a shot on goal that Howard stopped but the rebound was bouncing around. Handzus grabbed it and put it in the net for the Kings’ fourth unanswered goal. After being up three to nothing, Detroit was now trailing by one.

The Red Wings pulled the goalie at the end but weren’t able to score.

This was just about the worst outcome imaginable for the Red Wings. Playing against a team that they’re trailing in the standings they ended up losing after having a three goal lead. To make matters worse they also lost three players to injury. If they Wings had won the game they would have been seven points behind L.A. in the standings. Since they lost they’re now 11 points behind. That’s a four point swing and a lost opportunity.

Losing the three forwards was probably a big factor in why the Wings lost the game. The rest of the team had to pick up the slack and by the end I think they were just plain worn out. They didn’t play badly. They hit a lot of posts and gave up some fluky goals. This is just a day that I’m sure they’d rather forget.

This 3-4 loss brings us to:
27-21-10
64 points

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Here’s some great news for Red Wings fans. After battling concussion symptoms for nearly a year, Andreas Lilja has returned to active duty. He’s starting in Grand Rapids for about three games and then he should be ready to re-join the Wings. Now Ken Holland has unenviable task of figuring out how to clear cap space for him which will be all the more difficult with Franzen also returning soon. They will most likely have to shed a few players.

Franzen is set to return Tuesday. That’s really good news for the injury riddled Red Wings. Hopefully, he can re-gain his scoring touch quickly and help the team secure a playoff berth.

Kronwall’s knee injury doesn’t appear to be too serious. He’s expected to be a game time decision for Saturday afternoon’s game in Los Angeles.

So it looks like things are finally starting to turn around for the Red Wings health-wise. Let’s hope they stay healthy for the rest of the season.

The Red Wings continued their west coast road trip tonight with a game in Anaheim. Jonas Hiller was the goalie for the Ducks and Jimmy Howard was in for the Wings. Ericsson was back in the lineup tonight after being told to sit out last night due to poor performance. This was the second night of back to back games. The Red Wings played very well last night in San Jose and got a big win and an important two points.

There was some bad news from the San Jose game however. Kronwall was out of the lineup tonight. It seems last night’s tweak reinjured his knee injury. There was no word as to how long he’d be out this time.

Anaheim scored just passed the one minute mark of the game. Whitney fired the puck from the blue line and it hit a skate on the way and changed direction. It was a fluky goal but it put the Ducks up one to nothing early in the game.

Later Ericsson threw a big check on Bodie and then they had a fight. I think Ericsson was on a mission to show that he really does want to be in the lineup. It wasn’t much of a fight but it’s the thought that counts, right?

Nearing the end of the first period Eminger shot the puck from the point. It hit Chipchura in the hand and went into the net. Howard immediately claimed that it was batted in and the officials discussed it. They went to video review for the ruling. It clearly went off his hand but you couldn’t really tell if it was batted or not. Therefore the call on the ice was upheld and the Ducks had the two to nothing lead. It was another fluky goal that Howard had no chance of stopping.

About halfway through the second period Perry had the puck down low and centered it to Ryan who whiffed on the shot. The puck went through to Getzlaf who sent it back to Ryan. He was still being left alone in front of the net. He shot again and didn’t whiff this time. He put the puck in the back of the net. Datsyuk was the closest player but Ryan managed to get a few feet of separation on him. It wasn’t that much but it was enough. The Red Wings were down three to nothing.

Near the end of the second period Koivu was called for hooking and the Wings went on the power play. Rafalski found a seam and hit Datsyuk in the high slot. Datsyuk took it to the net and fired one that beat Hiller up high to get the Red Wings on the board. The goal came with just 10 seconds left in the period. It was then three to one Ducks.

Near the end of the game Howard went to the bench for the extra skater. The Red Wings had a few top quality chances but they weren’t able to beat Hiller who was just amazing.

One good thing to take away from this game is that the Red Wings had a ton of shots on goal; 46 of them in fact. They just didn’t seem to have the legs to keep up defensively. Offensively, they looked great though. If not for those two fluky goals this game might have been completely different. Jimmy Howard was superb once again, and the Red Wings had 29 quality scoring chances. On paper they should have won. Hiller was just too good.

This 1-3 loss brings us to:
27-20-10
64 points

The Red Wings were out west tonight for a game against the San Jose Sharks. The Goalies were Jimmy Howard and Evgeni Nabokov. Thankfully, Kronwall was not seriously hurt on the dangerous looking play in the previous game so he was still in the lineup. Holmstrom returned tonight as well. He was still the leading goal scorer even after missing 13 games so it’s really huge to get him back. Ericsson was a healthy scratch tonight after not performing up to expectations so far this season. They decided to let him watch the game from the press box and put Meech in on defense to replace him.

In the first period, Heatley brought the puck into the Red Wings’ end and fired one that hit Howard up high. Howard had trouble controlling it and the rebound dropped to the ice right next to him. Joe Thornton was driving the net and shoved it across the line to give the Sharks the early one to nothing lead.

A few minutes later there was another situation where Howard wasn’t able to corral a rebound after a shot by Heatley. Again Thornton was on the doorstep and put the puck around Howard and into the net. At that point it wasn’t even halfway through the first period and the Sharks were up two to nothing.

Not long after that the Red Wings got the puck in deep and Filppula dug it out of the corner and got control of it. He moved towards the side of the net and made a sweet pass to Cleary who was pretty much wide open in front of the net. Cleary tapped it in to put the Red Wings on the board.

Nearing the end of the first period the Red Wings had a two man advantage for about a minute and a half after a tripping call and a delay of game. Datsyuk threw it to the net and the rebound came to Holmstrom right in front. He whacked at it and Nabokov blocked that one, too. However, the second rebound came to Zetterberg at the side of the net and he banged it home. It was a great power play goal and the second point of the night for Holmstrom in his first game back. That goal tied the game at two.

There was no scoring in the second period.

In the third period the Red Wings were on the power play. The Wings were pressuring and the puck ended up down low near the goal line. Meech fired it and bounced it off of Nabokov’s back and into the net. That gave the Red Wings the lead three to two.

A few minutes later the Wings took a two goal lead when Rafalski spotted Eaves down low all by himself. Rafalski made a beautiful pass and Eaves put in the net easily. That was the fourth unanswered goal for the Red Wings.

During the third period Ken Daniels announced that Kronwall had left the game because of a “slight tweak”. He said it was nothing serious and I certainly hope that’s true.

The Sharks pulled their goalie but the scored held and the Red Wings won it four to two. What a great road win for the Wings, especially after being down two to nothing. They really showed some heart tonight. It sure was a much needed two points! Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come for the remaining games before the Olympic break. The Red Wings really need a big push for these last few games to go into the break in decent shape.

This 4-2 win brings us to:
27-19-10
64 points

The Red Wings were on the road this afternoon to play the Penguins at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Contrary to the rumors from a few days ago Holmstrom was not ready to play yet for this game. Now he’s expected to return on Tuesday and Franzen should be back a week later. Marc-Andre Fleury was in net for the Penguins and it was Jimmy Howard for the Red Wings.

There was no scoring in the first period but it wasn’t for lack of chances on the part of the Penguins. The Red Wings allowed 16 shots on goal in the first period so they were on pace again for a pretty poor defensive showing. Luckily, Jimmy Howard continued to be red hot and stopped every shot. As for offense, the Red Wings only had 6 shots on goal. It was not a good first period but fortunately no damage was done.

In the second period the Red Wings started playing a litte better. They were putting some good pressure on Pittsburgh and not giving up quite as many shots.

Late in the second period Detroit had just finished a power play so all their top line guys were on the bench. Bylsma put his top line out there to take advantage of the situation. Goligoski rifled the puck across the ice to a wide open Crosby. Howard quickly moved over to get into position but when he did Crosby went forehand to backhand around him and put it in the net. That gave the Penguins the one to nothing lead with about three minutes to go in the second period.

There were no other goals in the second. Although they seemed to have a little more energy in the second period the Red Wings still gave up 13 shots on goal and only had 5 themselves. It’s possible that the stats may have had a bit of a hometown skew.

In the third period the Red Wings stepped it up even more. They had some really good shifts and some extended pressure. With just under 9 minutes left in the game Brad Stuart got the puck at the point and nobody came after him. He had all day so he wound up and blasted one with Cleary in front of Fleury and Zetterberg right on the doorstep as well. Cleary made it hard for Fleury to see the puck and then he tipped it, redirecting it into the net for the game tying goal.

The tie held through the end of regulation time.

The pace of the overtime period was excellent. Both teams were playing really well.

During the overtime Kronwall collided with Staal and left the ice in pain and limping badly. It was hard to tell how serious it was. He didn’t leave the bench area so I’m hoping it was just a Charlie horse but it looked like it could be something serious. He never returned to the game but it was nearly over so that doesn’t necessarily mean much.

The Red Wings had a power play at the end of the OT but couldn’t score so the game went to the shootout.

The first shooter in the shootout was Letang. He made a good move but Howard stayed with him and stopped the puck. Datsyuk went next and he missed the net. Then Crosby was up and he roofed it over Howard’s outstretched pad for the goal. Jason Williams was up next for the Wings. He came in with speed and shot it but Fleury got it with the glove. Then it was Malkin. He came in slowly and put it around Howard’s skate and into the net. That gave the Penguins the win.

It took a while for the Red Wings to get going in this game. Once they did they looked pretty good. If they can start playing a full 60 minutes like they did in the third period and the overtime they’ll be doing alright.

This 1-2 overtime loss brings us to:
26-19-10
62 points

The Nashville Predators were in Detroit tonight to face the Red Wings. The goalies for this game were Jimmy Howard and Dan Ellis. Abdelkader was out of the lineup after being sent back to Grand Rapids thanks to the return of Jason Williams. Abdelkader played really well for the most part but still it was great to have Jason Williams back. Holmstrom is expected back on Sunday which it also wonderful news. Lebda was in the lineup tonight as Meech and Leino were both healthy scratches. Brad Stuart was apparently injured the other night in the game against Minnesota but he was okay to go tonight so it must not have been anything serious.

The first period was characterized by giveaways and sloppy defense on the part of the Red Wings and fantastic saves by Jimmy Howard.

As frustrating as the game had been through most of the first, the Red Wings had a chance to turn it around when they went on the power play late in the period. They had a few good chances including one where Miller shot at a mostly open net, but Filppula was in the way and it hit him instead. Later on the same shift Filppula shot and Miller tipped it. It continued through to Williams who was parked in front of the net and he tipped it in back door on Ellis. That made it one to nothing Red Wings which was really lucky considering they were being outplayed by the Predators.

About a minute later Zetterberg lost his stick in the defensive end and the Predators took full advantage. Dumont passed across the ice to Bouillon who one timed it into the net before Howard could get over. That tied it up at one each.

Surprisingly, the stats for shots and chances were fairly even. It certainly seemed quite a bit worse than the stats indicated. Mickey Redmond seemed skeptical of their accuracy.

In the second period the Red Wings took control a little bit and got the momentum swinging their way. They were on the power play and moving the puck really well. Lidstrom made a great to play to keep the puck in the zone and then circled back around to the slot. Zetterberg chipped it ahead to Datsyuk who made a perfect pass to Lidstrom. He one-timed it and scored to take the lead two to one on the power play goal.

A few minutes later the Wings were on the power play again. Just a few seconds after it had expired Stuart sent the puck from the point to the front of the net. Miller was there and redirected it but it ended up under Ellis. He moved a little bit and puck slid out from under his pads. Miller was still there and smacked it into the net to give the Red Wings a two goal lead three to one.

By the end of the second period the shots and chances stats were much more skewed in Nashville’s favor. Even though Detroit outscored the Predators two to nothing in the second period they were still being outplayed at least on paper. The most glaring stat was the 12 giveaways that Detroit had through two periods.

In the third period Weber had the puck along the boards and he just chucked it towards the net. It looked like it hit Stuart’s stick and deflected into the top corner of the net to pull the Predators to within a goal of tying it.

Later in the third Zetterberg shot from an angle that was so bad that he was actually below the goal line. The puck went under Ellis’ arm and into the net. Ellis pushed the net back when he moved into position so it was reviewed to see if the net was out of position when the puck crossed the line. The call on the ice was determined to be correct so it was a good goal.

With a 1:35 left in the game Nashville had pulled their goalie and then Rafalski was called for interference so it became a six on four advantage. Nashville had a lot of chances but the Wings kept them off the board for the rest of the game.

This was a big and lucky win for the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard faced 48 shots thanks to all the giveaways. He stopped 46 of them which was just incredible. It was a heck of a performance by him. I hate to think where the Wings would be this year if they’d had mediocre goaltending. With all the injuries, excellent goaltending has been a necessity and Jimmy Howard has been giving it to them on a routine basis.

This 2-4 win brings us to:
26-19-9
61 points

Not even 24 hours after Detroit’s latest in a string of disappointing losses, they were in Minnesota to face the Wild. The Wild’s goalie was Josh Harding and Chris Osgood was in for the Wings.

Early in the first period the Wild went on the power play. Koivu got the puck next to the net and held it like he was waiting for a shot to open. Osgood was totally focused on him but instead of shooting he passed it to Miettinen in the slot who had no trouble hitting the mostly wide open net to take the quick lead one to nothing.

The Red Wings scored a few minutes later when Lidstrom fired from close to the point. It hit something, possibly Zetterberg, in front of Harding and changed direction. The puck bounced down and Datsyuk corralled it and put it in the net. That made it a one to one tie.

Approaching the end of the first period Miettinen scored again. It was a bad angle shot that beat Osgood cleanly.

Just a few seconds later Datsyuk answered again. This time Lidstrom shot from the other point and Datsyuk deflected it in front of the net. It was pretty crazy the way Miettinen and Datsyuk were trading goals.

A few seconds after that Zanon ripped one from the blue line and Ebbett deflected it into the net. The first period still had over two minutes left and the game was already three to two Wild.

After one period Detroit was outshooting the Wild but the Wild were out chancing Detroit. It was a strange game. It seemed that Detroit spent most of the period on their heels so I’d say they were lucky to only be down by a goal.

After the crazy first period there was no scoring in the second period.

In the third period Belanger made a nice move to ditch Bertuzzi then he passed diagonally to Latendresse who one-timed it by Osgood for the four to two lead.

Just a few seconds later Koivu passed through the crease to Havlat who had snuck in back door. Havlat released a sharp angle shot and put it in the net. That made it five to two Wild.

That was the end of the scoring as the Wild beat the Red Wings five to two.

This was another depressing game. I don’t know if the team feels as confident when Osgood is in the net, but maybe that’s just me. Most of the goals against weren’t Osgood’s fault in my opinion. He was just getting all turned around because the Wild had such an easy time moving the puck. I’d put this loss on poor defensive play in general more than goaltending. I’m sure that fatigue was another factor being on the second half of back to back games. Things have to start improving soon or they might end up watching the playoffs.

This 2-5 loss brings us to:
25-19-9
59 points

Tonight the Red Wings faced the Phoenix Coyotes at Joe Louis Arena. Bryzgalov was in net for the Coyotes and for the Red Wings it was Jimmy Howard. In what can only be described as extremely fantastic news, Kronwall returned to the lineup tonight. That should really help things for the Red Wings. I’ve also heard rumors that Lilja may be close to returning from his concussion problem which started last season. This was another huge game for the Wings as the Coyotes were five points ahead in the standings.

Kronwall made his presence felt right off the bat. He was very active, hitting people and making plays. He looked pretty good for somebody who hasn’t played in so long.

Detroit got on the board first when Rafalski activated offensively to pick up a loose puck and pass it across to Zetterberg who then hit Datsyuk in the slot. Datsyuk buried it for the first goal of the game.

About halfway through the second period, the Coyotes were on the power play. The Red Wings had just about killed it off when Lombardi shot the puck. Howard stopped the initial shot but he was sprawled on the ice and Upshall found the rebound and poked it into the corner of the net to tie the game at one.

A few minutes later Vrbata got the puck down low and both defensemen went over to his side of the ice. He spotted Yandle all alone as he had separated from Filppula. Vrbata passed it to Yandle who one-timed it perfectly into the net giving the Coyotes the two to one lead. It was a beautifully set up goal.

Just 11 seconds later the grinders came out and tied it up. It was kind of a sloppy looking play but it worked! Helm passed ahead to Draper who had trouble handling it. He chipped it toward the net and it went up high on Bryzgalov. He knocked it down with his glove and Eaves came flying in to bang it home and re-tie the game.

In the third period the Coyotes went on the power play and the Wings had trouble clearing for an extended period. Jimmy Howard made one incredible save after another, even without his goal stick for while. He looked like a real superstar.

Then Lidstrom got the puck at the point and dished it ahead to Zetterberg. Zetterberg gave it back to him and he walked it towards the slot and fired a backhander with Cleary in front of the net causing trouble. The puck found its way through and into the net. That gave the Red Wings the three to two lead.

A few minutes later there was a big pile up in front of the Red Wings’ net and a bit of a scrum ensued after the whistle. Upshall was roughing it up with Datsyuk of all people. When it was all sorted out the Red Wings had a power play thanks to a roughing call on Shane Doan.

During the power play Filppula passed to Bertuzzi down low. He tried to pass it back but the puck hit a skate and bounced out to where Lidstrom was waiting all by himself. He popped it into the empty side of the net and gave Detroit a two goal cushion.

Later in the third Phoenix was on the power play and Yandle shot from the blue line. It looked like the puck hit Stuart or Maltby and deflected into the net. That made it a one goal game with about a minute and a half to go.

Soon after that the Coyotes pulled their goalie and turned up the pressure.

With 21.6 second left Stuart tried to clear and couldn’t. The Coyotes got the puck low and then it came to the front of the net where it hit Jovanovski in the skates. He swept it between Howard’s legs and tied the game sending it to overtime.

In the overtime Shane Doan took the puck to the net. Howard stretched out and Doan patiently held it until Howard was down. Then he chipped it up and over Howard’s glove for the win.

This was another example of the Red Wings playing a really good game and then collapsing at the end. It’s getting old. I just don’t understand it. They looked great through almost the entire game and then all of the sudden everything just evaporates.

This 5-4 overtime loss brings us to:
25-18-9
59 points