So congratulations to James Howard on his first ever goose egg.  That game got a little boring at times didn't it?  Maybe the secret to winning for Detroit is to only get 22 shots a night?

How good do you think Drew Miller felt about scoring that first one?  The depth players keep contributing in the stead of our injured stars.  Speaking of injuries...I don't wear my red #43 jersey because The Namesake is hurt.  So I wear my Zetterberg jersey (1 of 2 that I possess) and then he gets hurt.  WTF mate?  He drove himself to the hospital, which I guess is a good sign.

Bertuzzi keeps rolling and Patrick Eaves chips in another one.  There should be two nice contract extensions waiting for these two if they don't go all "Mikael Samuelsson" on us, get their dollars up and bolt. (You see what I did there, with the quotation marks?)

I'm heading down to the Joe in a couple minutes to play some puck, regular posting will re-commence once I get to the office.

Pray for Hank.  Our very Friday depends on it...the amount of which we can enjoy it, anyway.

From detnews.com ...

"I'm not sure what my role will be.  I've just got to go out there whenever they use me, try to the best job I can, keep my game simple and help the team.  I played a couple years there in Tampa.  It's pretty much a new team now from when I was there but I know a few guys, so it'll be exciting."--Doug Janik

So Drew Miller won't be the only ex-Bolt out there this evening.  However, Miller was waived early on in the season.  Janik, on the other hand, chose to leave Tampa and signed elsewhere as a free agent after the 2007-2008 season.  Think Drew Miller wants a crack at the team that waived him?  I bet he's growing more pre-mature gray hair today just thinking about it.

But anyway, back D.J... apparently making the transition from Grand Rapids to Detroit isn't the Herculian task some might have though it to be:

"Everyone here is so nice, they're very welcoming.  We play a similar system there in Grand Rapids so it's a pretty easy transition. I just try to play steady, take care of defense first and move the puck out. That's what I've been doing down there and that's what I'll try to do here."

King Lidas has another idea on how to use D.J.  We'll call it Operation Human Shield:

"I think he can help us defensively, especially on the PK (penalty kill).  He can be out there killing penalties and being in shooting lanes. We need guys that can play steady defense, too, back there."

That's it Doug get in that shooting lane.  Good.  Great work, Doug.  Now get back up.  Skate that one off, Doug.  Here comes another one...quick slide head first if you have to,  Doug.

From Khan(!) at mLive...

Well...The Namesake is missing another game tonight.  That certainly settles my inner-turmoil about whether to wear my Zetterberg "white A" Winter Classic Jersey or my new red #43.

*Sigh...oh well.  Here are the lines/pairings that skated together this morning:

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Leino-Zetterberg-Eaves
Draper-Abdelkader-Miller
May-Newbury-Maltby

Lidstrom-Meech
Janik-Rafalski
Lebda-Stuart

Howard (starting)
Osgood

Now remember that D-pairings almost never stay that way throughout the whole game, so don't throw anything at the computer when you see that Meech is paired with King Lidas.

Chris Osgood is 17-0-0 against Tampa Bay in his career so I'm a little puzzled as to why he isn't starting.  Howie has been good, but it isn't as if Osgood has been bad.  My guess is that Babcock is using the "Holmstrom motivation technique" in which you poke and prod one of your better players until he's frothing at the mouth.  Maybe that's what it's going to take to get STFU Ozzie to come out and play earlier this year.

Round 2 is history and The Nightmare on Helm Street is still alive...

We're getting down to the nitty gritty, people.

Get over to NHL Arena and help decide who will be their "official representitive" for the Detroit Red Wings.

5 remain...

Abel to Yzerman

Nightmare on Helm Street

Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle

The Production Line

The Triple Deke

3 move on.

Here's the link... http://thenhlarena.com/index.php?showtopic=120219

Category #1: Your Put Your Nickname on Your Jersey?

 Tampa Bay:  Took a page out of the Ottawa “Sens” playbook and came out this…

Detroit:  Once again takes the high road.  And because putting “Greatest Team in All of Professional Sports” wouldn’t really fit on a jersey.

Winner: Detroit

Category # 2:  We Employed Barry Melrose

Tampa Bay:  On June 23, ESPN reported that Barry Melrose had been chosen to be the next head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning for 2008-2009 season which was confirmed by club next officially the following day.  After getting off to 5-7-4 start, Melrose was fired after losing to the Red Wings (a game that Chris and I watched in a bar across from Fenway Park in Boston).  Melrose went on to say that he hoped the team didn’t win another game all season after getting the boot.  They would, but only 19 of their final 66 games.

Detroit: Melrose played 35 games for the Red Wings between the 1983-1984 and 1985-1986 season he managed to register 1 assist in those games.  It was rumored that Melrose wanted the coaching gig in Detroit in 1993…we decided to go with Scotty Bowman instead.

Winner: Detroit…canning any new coach after 16 games is ludicrous, even if it is Barry Melrose

Category #3: I’d Like to buy a Vowel, Please

 Tampa Bay: Paul Szczechura

 Sizza-shoora?   Siz-check-hura?  What the hell?

Detroit: Andreas Lilja 

 You know…the j that sounds like a y.

 Winner: Tampa Bay

 Category #4: Drew Miller in 2009

Tampa Bay: 14 Games Played, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts, -3

Detroit: 17 Games Played, 3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, +5

Winner: Detroit

 Prediction: It’s really not a prediction, more of a desperate plea.  Please, please win this game.  I’m not used to seeing you guys lose.  I suffered through the farce against Dallas, the Florida frustration fest, and the shutouts of Calgary and St. Louis.  Please win this one for me.  I don’t care what the score is…really.

Poor Buddha.  He just simply did not know what was coming to him by posting an un-provoked call-out of the Chief at A2Y yesterday.  I'm guessing that our poor, misguided, pinky ring brandishing, Molson drinking, Judge Smails hat-wearing friend was going to have yet another post that flew under the radar like most of his substandard writing. 

What he got was an epic comment driven beatdown.

I think it’s quite telling of just how badly we got to this guy by his next post.  Apparently, it's getting quite chilly in the Hockey Wilderness.

He has resorted to this:

“Again, never said I was unhappy with your readers, nor your fans. I did say they are conspiracy theorists, but your readers seem to be proud of that. It likely comes from all of those years working at the Ford plant. Oh wait, that closed? Sad. Maybe the GM plant, then. That closed too? Oh. Well maybe it is from the fumes of dead bodies laying around in parking ramps for weeks at a time.”

This was posted just days after claiming that someone else was dragging down the accolades of “professional bloggers” like he claimed to be.  Pathetic.  That has to be one of the most un-professional things to joke about in economic situation that many of us have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. 

If he does have credentials, if he does have access, I seriously am considering submitting that quote to someone in the Wild organ-i-zation to see that they get revoked post haste.

I know we usually don't support boosting hit counts for such things, but I again encourage all of you to go over there and give him what for.

Make fun of the Red Wings?  Fine.  Make fun of the Chief?  Not cool.  Resort to Pittsburgh troll-like insults when you're up against the ropes and make light of the hardship facing the place of my birth?  It's on now, mother-effer.

Sweet Carolina

<oh, oh, oh>

8th place never felt so good...

<so good, so good, so f***-ing good!>

Thanks to the Hurricanes 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars last night, Detroit still clings to that coveted final spot in the Western Conference play-off race.  Sure, it's still too early to be excited about being in the top 8, but maybe, just maybe, the Red Wings can find a way to stay there for the next 40+ games and let us get off of these pins and needles.

When is the last time you paid attention to how the Leastern Conference teams were doing against the Bestern Conference?  I have a co-worker who is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, and he and I can now agree that we won Toronto to win every game for the rest of the year, especially against Western Conference teams because Detroit is through playing them.

So whenever an East Team plays a West Team, it's "go, East, go!"

I'm still happy about the "Triage Trio" getting on the ice yesterday.  Early stages, maybe, but it's a sign of good things to come.

From the Free Press ...

“I feel pretty good.  It could have been worse, a lot worse.  I felt my leg go in the other direction, so I felt something was wrong right away. I was just glad that it wasn’t worse. I was in here and they took a look at it right away, and the things that worried me the most, they were pretty stable right away. So that kind of got my hopes up a little bit more. Then the MRI showed there was nothing wrong with my ACL, so I’m happy.”--Jonathan Ericsson

We won't really know how long the Big Rig will be out until the swelling in his leg goes down a bit.  So while we wait, let's see what Ericsson had to say about his assailant, Shane Doan...

"It was a clean hit, it’s just he hit my leg first and just hit the inside of my knee. That was where the big impact was. I don’t feel it was a dirty hit at all.”

I suppose I agree with that, even though Ericsson doesn't do a very good job of explaining it.  Unlike the Laraque hit on Kronwall, Doan did appear to lead with his shoulder...it was just an awkward collision.  Doan is a classy guy too, from what I can tell.  Apparently, Doan went to a trainer to see how Ericsson was doing, and expressed his sympathies for the result of their encounter.

“I appreciate those kinds of things.  Even though it wasn’t a dirty hit, he was still worried. I kind of respect him more as a player right now -- he’s concerned about me after what happened, and it’s nice.”

Very nice.  But you should still line him up next time you play against the 'Yotes.  Hell, I might just gripe about it being a dirty hit when I'm at the game in Glendale.  I don't have credentials.  No access coming my way.  What have I got to lose?

From Khan(!)at mLive...

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Leino-Zetterberg-Eaves
Draper-Abdelkader-Miller
May-Newbury-Maltby

Defensive Pairings are the usual mystery:

Jimmy Howard (starting)
Chris Osgood

Kris Newbury will remain in the lineup only if The Namesake is not ready to go...

“I felt a lot better than I did on Monday.  There’s no point in pushing it and making it worse. Another day of rest and not using it, hopefully build it up and ready to go tomorrow.  I’ll probably get on the ice and see how it feels tomorrow. If it feels good I’ll play, if not then get some more rest."--Darren Helm

News on the walking wounded:

Center Valtteri Filppula skated with the team for the first time since his injury but did not participate in the drills. He practiced his shot for the first time and said he felt good and is hoping to return shortly after Christmas.

Defenseman Niklas Kronwall (sprained MCL) and forward Johan Franzen (torn ACL) skated briefly after practice, the first time either has been on the ice since their injuries. Kronwall is due back sooner -- early to mid-January -- than Franzen, who still isn't expected back until after the Olympic break.

Excellent news to hear the three of them are all skating.  Franzen has been working his tail off.  I hope that's for his return to the Winged Wheel and not the blue and yellow of Sweden.

Come to think of it...has Franzen officially been ruled out for playing in Vancouver?

Hey not much news going around...maybe I'll just start prattling on about how stupid...oh...I don't know...the Carlina Hurricanes fans and bloggers are.  Wait, no.  Nevermind...I'll stick to my own team.

From the Big Bad Blog's power rankings...

13. (16) 17-11-5   The Red Wings have won 3-of-4 and are getting in gear. But the loss of defenseman Jonathan Ericsson in Monday’s win over the Coyotes could limit their climb.

I have two problems with this.  Teams ranked 10 and 11 are Nashville and Phoenix, whom we just beat.  Would we have beaten them without the Big Rig?  Probably.  Some people might even say with the say Ericsson has been playing at times this year that Doug Janik, in some circumstances, is an uprgade.