This from the Free Press...

The Red Wings beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2, Monday night at Joe Louis Arena, picking up two points.  However, they lost another key player, as defenseman Jonathan Ericsson left late in the first period after suffering an injured left knee when he was hit by Phoenix's Shane Doan.

Ericsson will have further tests today, but general manager Ken Holland said, "He's out a minimum of two weeks."

Well, from the look of it, I'd say if he's out less than a month we should be counting our lucky stars.  Doan lead with his shoulder, but that knee on knee collision had something-CL written all over it.

"We saw him in here, and I don't know -- he had ice bags and he was going to get tests.  Shane, he's a big fellow himself, so even when it doesn't look like a real heavy hit, when you've got two big bodies like that, something's got to give. Hopefully, worst case, it's just like a slight sprain or bruise or something."--Kirk Maltby

Another day, another injury right?

"It's a tough loss for us, because Johnny's been getting a lot more minutes now with other guys out, and I think he's been playing really well, too.  We'll see how severe it is. But I thought we really battled hard and carried the game at times."

On a happier note, thank God our big salary guys like Kris Newbury, Patrick Eaves, and Derek Meech were scoring last night...

Anyone else absolutely loving the Patrick Eaves signing? 

That guy looks like he's having the time of his life out there.  He's working hard, playing smart, finishing checks and having fun.  I haven't been this impressed with a no-name Free Agent signing since...Dan Cleary.  Weird, huh?

Khan(!) finally woke up today and posted something about Helm's injury:

Detroit Red Wings center Darren Helm is out for tonight's game against Phoenix due to what the club said is a minor left wrist injury. Kris Newbury was recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL) and will make his Red Wings debut tonight.

Helm, who was having tests done on the wrist, is listed as day-to-day. He hurt the wrist during Saturday's game in Nashville but finished the game. He tried to skate this morning and thought he could play through it but wasn't able to.

Would you like define "minor left wrist injury" for us, please?  This is how I have been feeling all day...

*Sigh

I altered this movie poster in paint...

We are cursed.

Just when things started to look all bright and shiny (not oustide, mind you), this from the Free Press...

The Red Wings will be without the services of forward Darren Helm tonight against Phoenix, as he recovers from a wrist injury.

Awesome.

"He’s just being evaluated. We thought he was going to be OK today, he thought he was going to be OK, that’s what he told us. When he got out on the ice today, he couldn’t go. He hurt his wrist.”

Wings re-called Kris Newbury from Grand Rapids.

Awesome.

It's Monday, so as usual, here's the next Wings player to be out with an injury.  This one, however, hits close to home, as it is our namesake here at NOHS. Per St. James...

Here we go again: The Red Wings will be without the services of forward Darren Helm tonight against Phoenix, as he recovers from a wrist injury.

In response, the Wings have called up Kris Newbury from Grand Rapids, and he’ll be in the lineup against Phoenix. Newbury, 27, has seven goals among 19 points and 95 penalty minutes in 27 games with the Griffins this season.

I guess the positive is that we get to see what we have in Newbury.  And the all men's league players in Detroit are one step closer to playing in the NHL when the Wings simply run out of players and start having an open tryout.  Get on that bike boys, the call is coming soon.

Category #1: Our Very Existence is a Conflict of Interest

 Phoenix: The NHL actually owns the franchise right now after Gary won his dispute with hated rival Jim Balsillie wherein Balsillie tried to move the team to where it would actually make money.  A team that plays in the very league that owns it, hmmm… 

 Detroit: Gary Bettman hate us, everyone knows that.

 Winner: Phoenix 

Category #2:  Attendance

According to ESPN’s numbers…

 Phoenix: Average attendance: 9,825 (30^th in the NHL) 56.1% capacity.

 Pathetic.

 Detroit: Average attendance: 19,127 (6^th in the NHL) 95.3% capacity. 

 What many would like to call a “half empty house” is actually quite misleading.  Though the team’s struggles along with an even more struggling economy has taken its toll, the Wings are still in the top ten as far as attendance.

 Winner: Detroit 

Category #3: We’ve Won a Play-off Series in the 2K Decade 

Phoenix: Ask the people of Winnipeg the last time this team won a series in the Stanley Cup Play-offs. 

Detroit:  Let’s see: 

2000: Beat Los Angeles

2001: Who cares?

2002: Beat Vancouver, St. Louis, Colorado, and Carolina (won the Stanley Cup)

2003: Who cares?

2004: Beat Nashville

2005: Ask Gary how this season went

2006: Who cares?

2007: Beat Calgary, beat San Jose

2008: Beat Nashville, Colorado, Dallas, and Pittsburgh (won the Stanley Cup)

2009: Beat Columbus, Anaheim, and Chicago

Winner: Detroit (the real losers are the good people of Manitoba and my heart goes out to them)

 Category #4: Google Image Search [Team Name] + #1 Fan

 Phoenix:

 Aww…well at least he used to be.

 Detroit:

Kid motherf***ing Rock

 Winner: Detroit

 Prediction: Wings win by the same score as the last game I gave away my tickets (DAL) 4-1.  Keep it simple.  Keep it stupid.

The NHL-owned Phoenix Coyotes (19-11-2), are currently three points ahead of us in the Western Conference.  A win tonight would leap-frog us over Dallas who remains idle tonight for the last spot in the play-off race.

Phoenix has been known for its young and inexperienced offense and 32 games into this season and it’s pretty much business as usual. They have a less than impressive 2.41 G/G average...only good enough to 27th in the league. Detroit's offense has not been overpowering, but has managed to get the job done in the last two games. They currently have a 2.69 G/G which is has them sitting at 19th in the NHL. Advantage: Detroit

Phoenix’s defense, and more importantly, goaltending is what has propelled them to such a great start this regular season. Their goalie, Ilya Bryzagalov is most certainly the glue that is holding this team together. The ‘Yotes have a 4th best 2.22 GA/G average. Detroit has improved defensively over the past month, and has slowly climbed all the way to 8^th place in the NHL with a stellar 2.62 GA/G average. Advantage: Phoenix

Phoenix’s power-play, much like its offense, has been mediocre at best.  Even the enigmatic Robert Lang hasn’t really bolstered the Coyotes’ PP as they are currently ranked 20th in the league, brandishing an 18.0% conversion rate. Detroit’s power-play is not what they would like it to be as far as effectiveness.  With the loss of the ENTIRE 2^ndunit (Clear, Filppula, Franzen, Kronwall, and Williams), the Red Wings currently have a 20.0% conversion rate on the PP, ranking them 12th overall in the NHL. Advantage: Detroit

As I said the first time these two squads met; the old adage goes “your goalie has to be your best penalty killer”. Bryzgalof is certainly living up to that, as the Coyotes PK ability is one of their few saving graces. Phoenix has the 8th ranked penalty kill in terms of percentage at 83.8% (only a 0.2% drop from the second week of the season when we first met). Detroit’s has continued to perform well.  Who knows where they would be in the Standings if they had played this well all season.  Despite their dreadful start to the season when a man short, Detroit is currently ranked 17th in the league, killing off 79.8% of penalties taken. Advantage: Phoenix

So if we pull ranks and take the average for GA/G and G/G...

Phoenix: 15(.5)th
Detroit: 13(.5)th

If you combine PK and PP percentages to get an overall effectiveness rating:

Phoenix: 101.8%
Detroit: 99.8%

Key to this game: goaltending and special teams. If Detroit can convert on its power-play opportunities, they will win this game.  The PK has been excellent and shouldn’t have trouble with what the ‘Yotes have to offer.  Also, with Howie in net, Adrian Aucoin’s hopes for a floating blocker on a wrist shot from the point go out the freakin’ window…

From the Free Press early this morning...

"I couldn't ask for a better partner here in the NHL.  He's been awesome since we met. He's always backed me. He's always good with a joke if he thinks I'm too tense. I believe it's a healthy competition because we both want each other to win. I want to push Chris and get as many starts as I can, and we're happy for each other when we win."--Jimmy Howard

Howard will start tonight against the Phoenix Puppy Dogs.  I had tickets to this game, but offered them up as a birthday present to my mother...plus I have a game myself and haven't had much luck attending Wings games recently.  Anyway, back to matter at hand, Ozzie had this to add:

"It always seemed like it didn't matter what you did in the regular season until you played in the playoffs, which can be unfair.  From when I first saw Howie when he was 20 to now, it's like night and day. He's ready to be here. I tell him every day just keep getting better. Don't listen to anything, and just play."

We won a game on Friday.  We won a game on Saturday; that's two in a row.  We win one tonight, that's called a winning streak.  It has happened before.

Can't blame Babcock for throwing Howie in tonight.  Osgood let in a real softy to Phoenix last time that we played them to lose the game in OT.  Yet another team that is currently ahead of us in the standings.  Here's hoping we can take two points tonight without letting them get that dreadful "lost, but didn't lose in regulation point".

And the slumbering giant has awoken...

In less than 48 hours, Todd Bertuzzi made every Detroit Red Wing fan's weekend by netting four goals including two overtime game winners, and in stunning fashion.

Okay, the first goal was extremely lucky.  In fact, Bert admitted that it was a pass attempt that happened to carom off of Giguere's skate and into the Anaheim net.  But the OT winner on Friday was a near impossible shot, where Bert saw a puck sized hole over Giggy's shoulders and tickled the twine catching everyone in Joe Louis off-guard, including the Ducks' net-minder, and probably himself.

The two goals in Nashville were both beauties.  How many others are able to admit that they were already screaming at the TV when Bert started that spin as we swooped in down the left wing?  I know that I was.  And did Todd ever turn my jeers to cheers as he put a perfectly placed backhander past the far side of Pekka Rinne for the goal.

Did you see him put the distance between himself and the defender in OT?  Did you freakin' see that?  I've said it since the beginning of this year, Todd Bertuzzi has never been quicker on his feet than he is right now.  A lot of pundits were actually criticizing him for dropping the weight over the summer, claiming that it would make him even less efficient as a power forward.  Well guess what?  Both goals against Nashville were only created by Bertuzzi's speed (how many times could we say that in Vancouver, when he tipped the scale at 240+ lbs?).  Bert swooped the puck under Rinne's poke check and slid the puck into the net...awesome.

Here's what Bertuzzi had to say afterwards, according to Khan(!)...

"Just getting some puck luck.  I could easily be at 15 goals this year if I had puck luck earlier. I know the way it goes. You can't get frustrated, just got to stick with it and hope that it rides the storm and goes in like that.  It's fun to contribute -- and contribute to wins, that's the most important thing.  With Dan going down, that's another guy who contributes offensively, so we need other guys to step up. I know I'm capable of doing it. It would just be nice to do it more on a consistent basis. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.''

Hopefully indeed, Todd.

Todd is back on pace for what I had originally expected him to produce.  If he plays in the remaining 50 games, he should have 20+ goals and a 60+ point season.  Not bad for $1.5 mil.  Keep it up, Todd and there will be a nice big extension waiting for you after this season.