Red Wings Blog

The Minnesota Wild faced off tonight against the Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena. This was another hugely important game as they all will be from here on out. Babcock moved Filppula onto Zetterberg’s line to hopefully help Zetterberg score more. He’s been in a bit of a slump lately. Josh Harding was the Wild’s goalie and Jimmy Howard was in net for the Wings. Calgary plays later tonight so if the Wings can win and the Flames lose, Detroit will jump ahead of them into the 8th spot in the standings.

The Red Wings started this game with a lot of jump. Early in the first period they were pressuring hard. Franzen shot from the point with Holmstrom in front of the net and Datsyuk in the middle. Franzen’s shot was so hard that even though Harding got a piece of it with his glove it just powered right on through and dropped down just across that goal line. That gave the Wings the early one to nothing lead.

Later in the first period the Wings entered the offensive zone on a power play and Zetterberg passed it from one point to Holmstrom at the other point. Holmstrom fired the puck and it hit a Wild player and changed direction. Then it hit the knob of the goalie stick. It changed direction again and went into the net making it two to nothing.

Just a few seconds later Eaves passed it from behind the net to Zetterberg right on the doorstep. Zetterberg shot it immediately and burned Harding for another quick goal. The Wings were up three to nothing at the point on only eight shots.

Nearing the end of the period the Wild brought the puck into the Red Wings’ end and threw it towards the net. It hit Brad Stuart’s skate and went in with just 11 seconds left. It was three to one Red Wings.

In the second period the Wild went on a power play after Rafalski accidentally chopped Latendresse in the back of the head with a high stick. While the Wings were shorthanded Filppula and Miller started up the ice after a takeaway. Filppula went to the net and went all the way down past the goal line. He stopped and threw it back toward the crease. It hit Miller in the chest and went in the net making it three to one Red Wings.

With time winding down in the third period Franzen took the puck to the net. He made a nice deke around his defender and put the puck by Harding making it five to one.

That was the final score of the game as the Red Wings won it five to one. The Wings played a very good, complete game tonight. Zetterberg got back on track and the team as a whole played great 60 minute game. This is just what we needed to see from the Wings tonight. Now, if they can just stay consistent…

That put the Wings back into 8th place, at least until we find out how Calgary finishes later tonight.

This 1-5 win brings us to:
32-23-12
76 points

Tonight was another very important game for the Red Wings in their run for the playoffs. The Calgary Flames rolled in to town just one point behind the Wings in the Western Conference standings. Miikka Kiprusoff was in net for the Flames and for the Red Wings it was Jimmy Howard.

There was a really good pace to the first period but no scoring. The stats were pretty even. Both teams looked pretty good and were battling hard. It was shaping up to be a great game.

In the second period the Flames dumped the puck into the corner and it came hard off the boards right to Langkow. He fired a perfect shot that got up and under the crossbar making it one to nothing Calgary. It was a pretty easy goal for the Flames on kind of a lucky bounce.

Later in the second Datsyuk took a pass from Holmstrom as he was flying up the wing and shot a backhander. It looked like Kiprusoff should have had it but somehow it got through him and went in the net. That tied the game at one and gave Datsyuk his 20th goal of the season.

Nearing the end of the second period the Red Wings went on a power play when Calgary was called for too many men on the ice. During the power play Lidstrom fired the puck from the point. It was going well wide of the net but Holmstrom redirected it with the heel of his stick and scored. It was classic Holmstrom and it put the Red Wings up two to one.

The score held until the end of the second period. The hectic pace and playoff atmosphere continued throughout the period.

In the third period Bourque shot the puck and Howard made a nice stop. The rebound came to Iginla though and he quickly put it in the net to tie the game at two.

Just a few seconds later the same line was on the ice for the Flames and they started pressuring hard. Things got a little sloppy in the Red Wings’ end. Iginla fired a shot and it hit Bourque in the shin and went in the net. Just like that the Flames had the lead three to two.

Late in the third period Detroit had about a minute of power play time. They pulled the goalie to make it six on four. Just after the power play ended Higgins threw the puck down the ice and put it in the empty net making it four to two Flames. He must have thought they were still on the penalty kill because if he’d have missed the net it would have been icing.

That was it for this game. The Red Wings looked good up until the third period when it looked like they just rolled over. I don’t know if Calgary stepped up their play or if the Red Wings eased off but either way the third period was much different than the first two. The Wings were outshot 15 to 4 in the third. The Flames had a couple of power plays in that time but that wasn’t really that much of a factor.

It was a bad loss for the Wings. They just keep making it harder on themselves.

This 4-2 loss brings us to:
31-23-12
74 points

The Red Wings were in Chicago today for an early afternoon game against the Blackhawks. Jimmy Howard was in net for the Red Wings and Cristobal Huet was the starter for the Blackhawks.

In the first period the Red Wings came out firing. They had a lot of energy and were getting a lot of scoring chances. Unfortunately they weren’t getting any luck. A few minutes into the game Seabrook took the puck all the way from his own end, through the neutral zone and deep into the Red Wings’ end without anybody bothering him. He shot the puck on net and Howard turned it aside sending the rebound to the other side of the ice. Keith picked it up at about the top of the circle. He fired it from there and the puck hit Rafalski in front of the net. It bounced off his leg into the net giving the Blackhawks the early one to nothing lead.

After the goal Detroit continued playing well. They had some really good scoring chances. Howard gave up another bad rebound which he put right in the slot and it almost turned into a goal. Luckily, they avoided disaster on that play.

Then Filppula charged into the corner to pick up a puck that Lebda had over skated. Filppula tried to tap it ahead just a few feet to Lebda but Lebda was expecting him to send it up the boards and out of the zone so he missed the pass. Ladd didn’t miss it though. He immediately ripped one than burned Jimmy Howard for the Hawks’ second goal of the game.

The first period ended with Chicago up two to nothing. Even though there were no goals I thought the Red Wings looked really good offensively. The problems that I saw were mainly some terrible rebound control by Jimmy Howard, and some bad giveaways and miscommunication in their own end. I thought they were battling hard and had a good energy level. Shots on goal were pretty even. Chicago had a lot more blocked shots and Detroit had a lot more hits.

Early in the second period the Blackhawks had a power play. They got the puck in the net but it was waived off because the referee said Byfuglien bumped Howard. It wasn’t much contact but the ref felt it prevented Howard from doing his job. He also felt that it didn’t warrant a penalty.

Then at the other end Holmstrom bumped Huet and WAS penalized. I don’t understand what the difference was between the two plays except that the Red Wings didn’t score. At the same time Bolland was called for tripping so it was four on four.

During the four on four Franzen was hit in the face with a high stick so the Red Wings had a four on three power play. Lidstrom passed across to Rafalski who one-timed it. The puck hit something, possibly Seabrook. It changed direction and went in the net bringing the Wings to within one.

Then, less than 30 seconds later, Detroit got the puck in deep. Filppula dug it out of the corner and passed it back to Lidstrom who fired it with Bertuzzi in front of the net. Huet didn’t see it very well thanks to Bertuzzi and it went in the net. That goal tied up at two each. The Hawks called a timeout at that point to settle things down.

A few minutes later Rafalski brought the puck into the Chicago end and passed it to Zetterberg. He shot it but it was blocked and then it came right back to him. He passed it to the front of the net where Williams was closing in. As Williams was falling down with two guys on his back he swept the puck into the net giving the Red Wings the lead three to two.

Just a few minutes after THAT, Bertuzzi brought the puck in and passed it to Filppula in the slot. He skated to the net and shot one that beat Huet. That made it four to two Red Wings. That was the end of the game for Huet. Apparently, he was a little bit rattled. Joel Quenneville pulled him and put in Niemi.

Near the end of the second period Bertuzzi was hit by Eager. They both fell awkwardly together and they banged knees on the way down. It took a long time for Bertuzzi to make his way across the ice to the bench and then he went right to the dressing room. He did not return to the game so let’s hope this won’t be a serious knee injury.

As time was expiring in the second period Kane tried to shoot the puck but Datsyuk took it away from him and started up ice all alone. He moved in on Niemi and shot it through the five hole for Detroit’s fifth goal of the game. It came with under three seconds to go in the period and made it five to two Red Wings.

Early in the third period Versteeg was hounding Zetterberg as he tried to get the puck out of his own end. He forced Zetterberg to lose control of it and Madden was able to tip it to Johnsson. He passed it across to Ladd who shot it and beat Howard. It was a great play by the Hawks and it made it five to three Wings.

Later in the third, right off a faceoff win, Keith shot the puck from the point. Ladd redirected it down and it bounced a few times and went between Howard’s legs. It slowly rolled across the goal line bringing the Hawks to within one and making it a hat trick for Ladd.

The Hawks applied a lot of pressure from then until the end of the game. There were several close calls but the Red wings were able to hang on and win the game five to four.

This game was quite a test for the Wings. They played one of the hottest teams in the league and held their own. They were even able to battle back and win after giving up an early two goal lead. The only real downside was losing Bertuzzi. Let’s hope he won’t miss much time, if any.

One unusual note about this game was that all nine goals were scored at one end of the ice. All of Chicago’s goals were in the first and third periods and all of Detroit’s goals were in second. Not even an empty net at the end was enough to get the puck in the net at that side of the ice. Weird!

This 5-4 win brings us to:
31-22-12
74 points

It was put up or shut up time for the Red Wings tonight. They were facing the Nashville Predators at Joe Louis Arena. The Predators were in 7th place coming into the game and the Wings were sitting in 8th. The Red Wings were in need of a dramatic improvement in their win percentage if they’re going to make the playoffs. It’s not being negative to say that if they continue at this rate they will not make the playoffs. We’ve known for a month or two that they need to start winning more in order to get in but so far they haven’t done it. They’re not out of the running yet by any means but there’s a point at which their fate will be out of their own hands no matter how much they win and that point is fast approaching.

This was the old four point swing game. A win for the Red Wings would mean they’d only be three points behind Nashville, and a Predators win meant they’d be up by seven. So it was a four point swing based on this game assuming it ended in regulation.

Tonight Ericsson was a healthy scratch and Lebda was in, paired with Lilja. Jimmy Howard was in net for the Wings and Dan Ellis was in for Nashville.

I thought the Red Wings started the game looking a little bit sloppy. Their passes weren’t connecting and they were turning the puck over. Then they had a nice play where they almost scored after the puck got through Ellis but it was cleared away by Goc before it made it to the goal line.

Before the halfway point of the first period Datsyuk made an am amazing individual play to put the Wings up by one. He was fore checking Klein and just completely picked his pocket right next to the net. Then he turned with the puck and made about four moves in about one second and shot it up and over Ellis into the net. It was an unbelievable goal, just beautiful!

Later in the first, after Nashville had hit a post and looked like they were starting to surge, Detroit got a power play. Datsyuk passed through the slot to Lidstrom who shot it but it was deflected off the stick of a Predators player. The puck ended up right on Holmstrom’s stick in front of the net with Ellis all the way over to the side of the net. Holmstrom popped it in and put the Wings up two to nothing.

After the initial sloppiness in the first period the Red Wings looked really good. They had a lot of energy and they worked hard. They more than doubled the Predators’ shots on goal in the first period so you can’t ask for much more than that.

The Red Wings had an early power play in the second period. They didn’t score but they pretty much had their way with the Predators passing-wise. They moved the puck at will and came really close to scoring. Ellis saved his team’s bacon a few times on the power play.

A few minutes after the power play ended Helm received a pass in the slot. He turned around with it and shot one that hit Ellis in the shoulder and then continued on into the net. It was a great shot by Helm. He had been having a very good night and it was nice to see it pay off. That made it three to nothing Red Wings.

Later in the second period the Predators were on a power play. Kronwall jumped on a loose puck in the Red Wings and sprung Helm on a breakaway. Ryan Suter was back to go one on one with Helm. Helm got a shot away and Ellis stopped it but the rebound came right back out. Suter whacked at it but he didn’t control it and skated right by. Helm didn’t give up and gathered it in again for another shot. By that time Ellis was out of position and deep in his net and Helm beat him easily for the shorthanded goal making it four to nothing Red Wings.

Just a few seconds later Bertuzzi had a great chance after jumping on a loose puck but Ellis stopped him. Then going back the other way Dumont made a nice move to step around Rafalski. Then he passed it to Sullivan in the slot who passed it right back to him. Dumont shot the puck and beat Howard for the Predators’ first goal. There was no chance for Howard on that one. It was a beautiful passing play between Sullivan and Dumont.

Early in the third period Sullivan had a breakaway chance after a Red Wings turnover. Howard came out to challenge him and backed in staying with him as he closed in on the net. He waited him out and when Sullivan shot, Howard snatched it out of the air. It was a top notch save and an important one. If the Predators had scored there they would have had new life in this game.

A few minutes later they did score though. There was a quick pass across the ice to Joel Ward. His one-time shot was so hard and fast that Howard didn’t have time to get all the way over. He just flat out beat him with a great scoring play. That made it four to two Red Wings.

The Predators had a power play a bit later when Franzen was careless with his stick and accidentally smacked Bouillon in the face with it. It was lucky that that there was no blood and he only got two minutes. He really nailed him right in the chops. The Wings killed that off nicely. Then Rafalski was called for high sticking a few minutes later. The Red Wings killed that one off, too.

The Red Wings locked it down from then on and the Predators didn’t really get any more chances for the rest of the game. They pulled the goalie in last few minutes and Zetterberg bagged an empty net goal with about three seconds left. So the Red Wings won it five to two.

This game was just what the Wings needed. They pulled together and everybody played really well. They got contributions from all over the place. Helm played great as did Datsyuk. Zetterberg and Bertuzzi didn’t score (except for the empty netter) but they generated a lot of chances and looked good. Howard was strong in net; the goals allowed were essentially unstoppable. There were a few mistakes but all in all I’d say it was a great game.

This 2-5 win brings us to:
30-22-12
72 points

The Vancouver Canucks came to town tonight to face the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Jimmy Howard was in net once again for the Wings. For the Canucks it was Roberto Luongo fresh from his gold medal winning performance for Team Canada. His head coach was Mike Babcock just a few days prior to this game. I’m sure that made for a strange situation.

Vancouver didn’t waste any time scoring. Kesler took a pass at the blue line and skated through everybody to the net. He made some nifty moves and caught Howard through the five hole. It was a great play by Ryan Kesler and it gave the Canucks the early lead one to nothing.

Later in the first period Zetterberg dug the puck out of the corner and sent it back to Jason Williams. He blasted one and burned Luongo, tying the game at one with five minutes left in the period. It was a beautiful shot by Williams.

Just 90 seconds later Kronwall had another scoring chance but he stepped on the puck and fell down. That caused a turnover that the Canucks started up ice. Daniel Sedin threw it to the net and Burrows tipped it past Howard. The Canucks had the lead right back again.

Early in the second period Zetterberg took the puck into the zone and it looked like he was going to shoot. He hesitated and waited for Luongo to commit. Once he did, Zetterberg released a beautiful shot that beat him for the Wings’ second goal. That was Zetterberg’s 200th NHL goal. It was great for him to score since Babcock had called him out a little bit after Monday night’s game saying that his line wasn’t as effective as they should be.

The tie didn’t last long that time either as the Canucks scored on a breakaway just a few minutes later. Lilja was changing and the Canucks jumped on the opportunity. Wellwood took the pass on the fly, skated it in, hesitated long enough to freeze Howard and burned him for a goal. That made it three to two Canucks.

A bit later the Canucks went on the power play and almost immediately after the faceoff Salo shot from the blue line. Howard was screened and never saw it. It went right by him and into the net making it four to two Vancouver. At that point Howard got the hook and Osgood came in. I don’t think Howard was playing all that badly. This was more of a message to the rest of the team.

A little while later in the second period our old friend Mikael Samuelsson shot the puck from far out near the wall. Samuelsson never looked at the net and Osgood wasn’t ready for it. The shot beat Osgood for the Canucks’ fifth goal of the game and their third unanswered one. It should have never gone in the net but it sure was a smart play by Samuelsson to fool Osgood that way. Things were looking pretty bad heading into the second intermission.

In the third period the Canucks went on the power play again. Daniel Sedin sent the puck from the point to the front of the net. Kesler was there and he redirected it between Osgood’s legs and into the net. Kesler was all alone in front of the net. Babcock did not look happy.

Later in the third the Wings scored a power play goal on a really nice play between Franzen and Datsyuk. Franzen made a nice move and dished it to Datsyuk down low. He continued to the net and Datsyuk sent it back to him. Franzen tipped it by Luongo and made it six to three.

That was pretty much it for this one. The Red Wings looked pretty sloppy defensively. They didn’t seem to have as much energy as they did in Colorado. They looked great on their scoring plays but they didn’t take care of business at their own end very well. Babcock will have some words, I’m sure.

This 6-3 loss brings us to:
29-22-12
70 points

Well, the Olympics are over and it was a quite a show. Congratulations to Mike Babcock and Steve Yzerman for Team Canada’s gold medal performance. Congratulations also to Brian Rafalski for Team USA’s silver medal. Rafalski was awesome in the Olympics including back to back two goal games. Paul Stastny of the Avalanche was also on Team USA. And, congrats to Filppula for his bronze medal with Team Finland. Filppula got one extra day of rest since the bronze medal game was on Saturday. The rest of the Red Wings’ Olympians had multiple days off since they didn’t make it to the final four.

There’s no rest for the weary as Detroit and Colorado jumped right back into their NHL seasons just one day after the gold medal game. Game on!

Tonight’s game was on the road in Denver. Jimmy Howard was in net for the Wings and Craig Anderson was the goalie for the Avs. One big bit of news was that Lilja returned to the net lineup tonight after being out for a full year. Welcome back, Andreas! Maltby decided to go ahead with his shoulder surgery so he went onto long term injured reserve which freed up the cap space needed for Lilja to come back.

The Red Wings didn’t waste much time getting warmed up. In the first period the Wings brought the puck up ice and Stuart dished it back to Datsyuk. Datsyuk passed across to Holmstrom streaking up the left wing. Holmstrom ripped a perfect shot and buried it to take the early lead one to nothing.

A few minutes later the Wings went on the power play. Lidstrom shot the puck and the rebound was turned aside to the corner. Holmstrom went after it and passed it to Franzen. Franzen walked it towards the net and fired it, beating Anderson and giving the Wings the two goal lead.

In the second period the Red Wings had a power play goal waived off because of incidental contact with the goalie. It was a very questionable call. Holmstrom was definitely in the crease but he hardly made any contact with Anderson. Apparently Kerry Fraser felt that he was preventing Anderson from moving freely in the crease.

A few minutes after that, the Avalanche scored. Chris Stewart passed the puck from behind the net to the slot where Stastny whacked at it. Howard stopped it but Galliardi was there to put it right back on net, beating Howard for the Avs’ first goal of the night.

Not long after their first goal Colorado tied it up. Stewart fired it on net and it got between Howard’s legs. This was one that he’d probably want to do over since I’m sure he could stop it nine times out of ten.

Just past the halfway point of the third period the Red Wings were on the power play. Datsyuk worked the puck down low and crossed in front of the net with it. It looked for all the world like he was going to shoot and the longer he held it the farther over Anderson moved. Instead of shooting he put a nice bow on it and dished it back to Lidstrom who was standing in the high slot. He received the pass and shot it into the net, which was wide open. Fantastic play by Datsyuk! That made it three to two Red Wings.

Colorado pressured hard and pulled their goalie at the end but the score held. The Red Wings won it three to two.

It was a great game for the Wings. The Avalanche didn’t play very well for the first half of the game but the Red Wings looked really sharp and had a ton of energy. I’d say the time off (for some) and the extra work (for others) has been beneficial for the Wings. Now they just need to keep it rolling.

This 3-2 win brings us to:
29-21-12
70 points

The Ottawa Senators were in town tonight to face the Red Wings in their final game before the Olympic break. There was a lot of lineup news tonight. First off Filppula was out of the lineup with a sore groin. Eaves was still out with his ankle sprain. Kronwall had his new knee brace so he was in the lineup. Maltby was in but he’s nursing a shoulder problem that may require season ending surgery. Brad May had been put on waivers yesterday as a first step in clearing cap space for Lilja. The goalies for tonight’s game were Brian Elliott and Jimmy Howard.

Before the game started they had a ceremony to honor all of the Olympians in tonight’s game and there a lot of them. Counting Babcock there were 13 Olympians in the game tonight. They had the kids of the Red Wings players and staff come out wearing the Olympic jersey for each country represented and then announced the players from that country. It was pretty cool. The kids did a great job and really seemed to enjoy it. It must have been quite a thrill for them.

The Senators came into this game absolutely on fire. They had won 13 of their last 14 games including a stretch of 11 in a row. They have an overflowing bounty of points and Detroit is in dire need of them. Both teams wanted to finish on a high note heading into the break but for Detroit it was critical.

Halfway through the first period Draper took a faceoff deep in the Senators’ zone. He won it but got tied up so Maltby grabbed it and sent it back to Stuart at the point. He shot it and Elliott looked like he had it covered but Meech slapped at it and knocked it out from under his glove and back to the slot. Maltby chased it down and buried it for the first goal of the game putting the Red Wings up one to nothing.

Later in the first period Detroit was on the power play. Zetterberg made a great play at center ice to get the puck and enter the zone. Datsyuk got the puck and tried to center it for Zetterberg but it squirted all the way through to Lidstrom at the point while Datsyuk circled around behind the net to the same side of the ice as Lidstrom. Lidstrom fired what Elliott expected to be a shot but was really a pass to Datsyuk. He tipped it perfectly into the top corner of the net. It was just an incredible tip; it shouldn’t even be possible.

A few seconds later Howard made a huge save when the Senators had a breakaway chance. That would have been a game changer if Howard hadn’t stopped it.

Nearing the halfway point of the second period the Senators got the puck in deep. Howard came over to the post and Kovalev chipped the puck but not towards Howard. Instead he chipped it towards the slot much like Meech did in the first period. Regin was standing right on the doorstep and when the puck came to him he chipped it in easily making it two to one Red Wings.

In the second period Holmstrom left the game because his bruised left knee was bothering him. I don’t know if he aggravated it during the game or if it was just sore from playing. Not good news though.

Just past the halfway point of the second period Detroit was on the power play. The Senators tried to clear the zone but Miller made a nice play to keep it in and passed it ahead to Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi took it towards the side of the net and made a sweet pass to Cleary through the crease and right between Elliott and Carkner. Cleary tapped it home perfectly to give the Wings the two goal lead once again.

In the third period Datsyuk had a shot that did not score but was so amazing that it deserves mention. As he was skating by the net he put the puck back between his own legs which made it look completely like he was about to make a brilliant pass to somebody behind him. The only thing is he didn’t pass it or drop it off. With his stick between his own legs and the puck behind him he shot the puck on net. It was just incredible. It surprised Elliott but he recovered quickly enough to stop it anyway. I have a feeling we’ll see that move again. It’s bound to work more often than not.

With about a minute and half left Ottawa pulled their goalie. To clear the puck from the Red Wings’ end, Datsyuk chipped it up high through the air to center ice. Chris Neil tried to catch it but he missed and it dropped to the ice right in front of Franzen. He took off towards the empty net and put it in for the insurance goal making it four to one.

The Red Wings played a very complete game tonight. From end to end they worked hard and played like a team. Most importantly, they were able to get the early lead in the game and then hold on to it. They never let up and held the lead the entire game. Things have really been looking up the last few games.

The Wings now head into the Olympic break on a high note and hopefully can continue the trend afterwards. They don’t play again until March 1^st.

Now we get to see our favorite players switch up teams and go at it. Enjoy the Olympics, everybody!

This 1-4 win brings us to:
28-21-12
68 points

The San Jose Sharks came to Detroit for tonight’s game. Holmstrom was back in the lineup. Eaves and Kronwall were both still out. This was Franzen’s second game back. He said he felt really good in the last game so hopefully his energy level isn’t a concern. Nabokov was in net for the Sharks and the Red Wings continued to go with Jimmy Howard who has still been playing very well even when the team loses.

The Sharks are probably the Red Wings favorite opponent this years as they’ve beaten them all three times they’ve played them.

The game had a physical edge right from the start. Helm got leveled along the boards and then Brad Stuart took a big hit. Franzen was also delivering some big hits. Both teams were finishing their checks and playing with a lot of energy.

Clowe elbowed Filppula in the head and was called for it so the Red Wings had the first power play. The Wings had a few good chances but the Sharks were able to kill off the penalty.

A few minutes later Detroit had a good penalty kill of their own thanks in part to an amazing save by Jimmy Howard.

Later in the first period Detroit went on the power play. Zetterberg brought the puck into the zone and dished it back to Franzen without even looking at him. Franzen ripped it and Nabokov got a piece of it with his glove but the shot was so hard that it still got through and into the net giving the Wings the lead.

Just a few seconds after that, Wallin fired the puck from the blue line off the backboards. Howard was out to challenge expecting a shot on net and Thornton moved in behind him. The rebound came right to Thornton who had a wide open net because of how he had positioned himself behind Howard. Just that quickly the Sharks tied the game at one.

The Red Wings had a big push for the last several minutes of the first period. Datsyuk was playing like his hair was on fire; he was just everywhere. He was throwing the body around, getting great chances and just looking awesome. Franzen was also playing really well. In fact it seemed like every line was getting great scoring chances.

Then, at the end of the period, just when the Red Wings really had some momentum going, Helminen was left wide open in front of the Wings’ net. Mitchell got the puck to him and Helminen put it in the net easily because Howard was over at the other side of the net covering the guy with the puck. That gave the Sharks the lead with just 10 seconds to go in the period.

The Red Wings played great in the second period. They had chance after chance and tons of energy. They didn’t score but they did build a lot of momentum that would hopefully carry over to the third period.

In the third period the Red Wings continued to play better than they have in weeks. They had tons of shots and scoring chances and Nabokov had to stand on his head to preserve the lead.

Then with about seven minutes left in the game Jason Williams brought the puck into the zone and made a nice toe drag move around his defender. He released a blistering shot that went into the net and back out so quickly that the referee didn’t notice it and neither did the goal judge. Play continued for a few more seconds and at the next whistle it was reviewed and called a good goal. That tied it up at two with the Wings looking incredible.

A few minutes later Ericsson fought with Clowe. It was a fairly long fight but there weren’t that many punches. That was a big boost to the fans and the team. Not that they needed it. I think Clowe had been aggravating Ericsson all night and he had finally just had enough of it and dropped the gloves.

Datsyuk had a breakaway a few minutes later and was hooked down entering the zone so the Wings had a power play with about five minutes left in the game. The Sharks killed it off but the Red Wings continued the pressure. They weren’t able to score though and the game stayed tied until the end so Detroit secured a point and went to overtime.

In the overtime Datsyuk drew another penalty with 2:21 left. Again Nabokov and the Sharks stopped the Wings’ power play. That was pretty much it for the overtime period as neither team scored. Detroit ended up with 52 shots on goal to the Sharks’ 26. It was just an amazing effort by the Wings.

In the shootout Datsyuk went first. He made some moves and shot it but hit the post. Pavelski was up next. He came in stopped short to try and throw off Howard but he stopped the shot. Williams came up and made a nice move that Nabokov just barely stopped. Nabokov ended up in the net and the puck was right on the goal line. Clowe went next and missed the net. Bertuzzi was last up for the Wings and Nabokov stopped his shot as well. Then it was Marleau for the Sharks. He deked and shot beating Howard for the game winning goal.

This was the most exciting game I’ve seen in a long time. The Red Wings had so much energy and the competition level was playoff quality. Detroit really deserved to get two points tonight but getting one is better than nothing. As well as they played you can’t really complain. This was one of the most complete games I’ve seen from them this season. Let’s hope they can keep this momentum rolling on Saturday when the Senators come to town.

This 3-2 overtime loss brings us to:
27-21-12
66 points

The Red Wings came into St. Louis tonight with something to prove after giving up a three goal lead on Saturday in Los Angeles. Jimmy Howard was in net for the Wings and for the Blues it was Chris Mason. The big news was that Franzen did indeed return to the lineup. That’s huge for the Wings; they really need him. Holmstrom was not able to go tonight so he was out of the lineup.

In the opening seconds of the game Bertuzzi was called for holding. The Red Wings did a good job killing off the penalty to avoid getting into trouble early.

Brad May and Brad Winchester dropped the gloves and went at it in the first period. Winchester had grabbed May’s jersey near the collar and was sort of shaking him and throwing a jab each time. May was throwing haymakers. I think May landed fewer punches but they were higher quality.

Between the early penalty kill and then the fight, the Red Wings had some momentum going.

Later in the first period there was a faceoff deep in the Blues’ end. Helm won it back to Ericsson at the point. He shot the puck as Draper skated through the crease behind Mason. The puck hit a few people along the way and then hit a few skates, the last one being Draper’s. It went into the net and Draper got credit for it. It was a lucky goal and a nice break for the Red Wings. It was later pointed out that the puck was dropped unfairly and should have been done over but that’s the breaks I guess.

The Blues had a power play at the end of the period and then a huge push after the Wings killed it off. The Red Wings weathered the storm and held the Blues off the board. The Blues had almost double the shots on goal as the Red Wings did so they were very lucky to have the lead.

In the second period Detroit had just finished a power play when the Blues took over. Perron came out of the box and got the puck at the point. He made a few moves on his defender and shot the puck. Kariya was in front of the net causing havoc. It looked like it hit Jason Williams and redirected slightly. It was just enough to put it in the back of the net and tie the game at one each.

Late in the second period there was a hooking call coming to Detroit which I felt was very nitpicky. Before the Red Wings could touch the puck the Blues had a couple of shots at it. Kariya had gone to the front of the net and the puck just happened to bounce right to him. He banged it home and gave the Blues the lead late in the period.

In the third period Cleary was called for holding as he was losing his balance and falling down. On the power play Johnson skated into the Red Wings’ end. It looked like he was going to pass all the way across the ice and that’s what Howard was expecting. Howard started to move across the crease but the puck didn’t go very far. Instead of crossing the ice it was deflected into the net by McDonald. That made it three to one St. Louis.

After that the Red Wings amped up the pressure. Jason Williams had an amazing chance at a wide open net and Colaiacovo got his stick in the way. It was a perfect shot but just bad luck for Williams. Then Stuart chipped one up that almost came down behind Mason but it landed on top of the net instead.

The push didn’t last long though as St. Louis went on a power play and then really started playing with a lot of jump. The Red Wings weathered that storm and then pushed back.

Franzen sent the puck across hoping to connect with Datsyuk in the middle. The puck went all the way across the ice where Zetterberg picked it up and centered it again. The puck hit Datsyuk’s skate and redirected into the net. That brought the Wings back to within a goal.

Late in the third period Detroit was pressuring again. Rafalski made a great move to avoid his defender and keep the puck in the zone, and then he got it to Filppula down low. Filppula threw it to the front of the net where Bertuzzi was literally being covered by every single Blues player on the ice. There was a huge scrum in front of Mason and somehow through all of that the puck trickled across the goal line. Filppula got credit for the game tying goal. There was a lot of contact with the goaltender but it wasn’t Bertuzzi’s fault since he was being shoved and hammered by Blues players.

The tie held until the end of regulation so it was time for some four on four action. Unfortunately, although it was wild and crazy, nothing could be decided in the overtime so it was on to another shootout. I’m really starting to get tired of shootouts and three point games.

St. Louis went first in the shootout and McDonald was first up for them. He came in with speed and Howard came way out to challenge and stopped him. Datsyuk was first for Detroit. He went back and forth with it and lost control at the last second. He still got his shot away but missed the net. Oshie was next and he scored through Howard’s five hole. Then Williams came up for the Wings and made a sweet move and scored high on the short side. Boyes was up next and he totally faked out Howard and put the puck around his outstretched pad. Zetterberg was next but he was stopped by Mason so St. Louis won the game.

This game was strange. The Red Wings played well at times and poorly at other times. All of their goals were either ugly or lucky or both. Mason played a great game which made it tough. It was awesome the way the Red Wings fought back to tie the game but frustrating that they were in that position in the first place. Oh well, they got a point and that’s better than nothing.

This 3-4 overtime loss brings us to:
27-21-11
65 points

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.