Guest Post By Franklin Steele: 

Brendan Smith's first season as a full-time Detroit Red Wing was not supposed to start like this.

Then again, this entire squad's opening weekend went like something taken from the middle pages of a Disney sports movie script... tragedy befalls our intrepid heroes! How will they respond to the adversity?

After losing Nicklas Lidstrom to retirement and Brad Stuart (thanks for catching this folks!) to his family/the San Jose Sharks, Smith probably figured that his shot at finally making the big team was pretty stellar. Not staring up at guys like Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski doesn't hurt chances, right?

What he didn't count on—what no one in the organization counted on—was an injury bug as contagious as bubonic tearing through Detroit's locker room.

I blame Kyle Quincey for the bug. It would be no surprise that the guy who was traded from the Colorado Avalanche was carrying a bio-engineered defensemen corps melting super virus, would it?

The reports have been steady and staggering, and the only thing more constant than injuries for the Wings this season has been the dwindling of Quincey's plus/minus rating.

It seems like since training camp opened at least one Red Wing has gone down with an injury every day. As irritating it was to lose guys like Darren Helm and Todd Bertuzzi, the (hopefully) short-term loss of these players was stunted a bit by an (alleged) depth of talented forwards up front.  Where Red Wings had next to no wiggle room for injury was on the blueline.

Hit the jump for more on Smith: 

Detroit looked uninspired at times tonight, gassed at others, and the result was a 2-1 loss to the Stars to kick off the home opener. Howard played an outstanding game and prevented another blowout with his performance, but the team gave him no help on offence.

More after the jump:

So tonight’s the night that we lose another member of the Wings family to retirement.  Homer is calling it a career as the last member of the Four Cup Club.  His retirement announcement is at 4:30 and you can watch it here.

Behind the commotion caused by the injuries and random signings of former Blues, I feel that Homer hasn’t really been given his due for his absolutely dedicated fifteen years of service wearing the Red and White in front of the opponents net.  This leaves a void that might be just as hard to fill as the one that #5 left on blue line. 

Homer was special.  Not special like #5.  Only Yzerman and Howe are on that level. Losing Lidstrom is like losing your father to old age.  But losing Homer is like having to put your dog down who has unconditionally loved you and gave his heart and soul to protect you for his entire life.  Losing either is terribly sad, but a different kind of sad.

So for tonight’s game, we honor #96 with our gameday poster. 

This one really hit home for me.  Josh did an excellent job. 

The Wings need to come out and give it their all tonight, if only to honor what #96 did for so many seasons.  

Live blog it for Homer.  

LGRW

So Detroit’s new D man is Kent Huskins.  If you’re like me, you’ve heard of Kent Huskins but couldn’t tell you which sport he even played let alone a fair scouting report on the fellow.  If I was a respectable NHL reporter, I’d find out what a NHL scout has to say about him and analyize his statitics before writing a scouting report on him.  However, since I’m not, I’m going to see what a quick Google search and Twitter has to say.  You know, the right way.  Starting with the Hockey News’ bio:

ASSETS: Plays a safe brand of hockey that keeps the mistakes to a minimum. Is very dependable and will play through injuries.

FLAWS: Lacks the overall skills to contribute on offense consistently. Does not use his good size nearly enough. Is injured a lot. (!?!?!?!?)

CAREER POTENTIAL: Depth defenseman.

Great, so we can expect one game out of him before he goes down too.

Mathew Danambassis ‏@MathewDanam

I've seen Kent Huskins play before; he's like a poor man's Brad Stuart, but a lot more physical and blocks a ton of shots.

Jeremy Pellek ‏@JeremyInToledo

Wings fans being cynical, but Huskins shut down the Wings with both Anaheim and San Jose. He's a good player.

Hit the jump for more on Huskins:

Update:  Kent Huskins is the mystery D-Man.  

Losing Colio yesterday leaves Detroit down to five defensemen and puts Kenny Holland on notice.  Well, according to the Free Press, he’s been busy:

Depleted on defense less than one week into the season, the Detroit Red Wings are bringing in help from the outside.

General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press this morning that he is working on signing a veteran and hopes to be able to use the defenseman in tonight's home opener against the Dallas Stars.

Holland didn't want to name the player until the deal is finalized. The contract has to be cleared by the NHL, and the player has to get to Detroit.

Interesting stuff.  According to the Wheel Deal, it’s already been finalized and will be announced soon.  No idea who he could be.

Also, Sammy is out with a groin injury tonight, so they are bringing up Nyquist to take his place.  That is a great positive from my view.  I haven’t been impressed one iota yet with the return of #37.  He’s dumber, slower, and less accurate with his shot than when he left Detroit.   That’s not saying much considering I’ve always thought he was dumb, slow and had a sh!t shot. 

We’ll keep you updated. 

Last nights win wasn't pretty, but i'll take 2 points however they come. Tonight the Wings open the season at home against Dallas and its anyones guess how it will turn out.

Dallas is one of those teams that never seem to get out of Detroit's hair, but that might all change this season. GM Jumpin' Joe Nieuwendyk has made some questionable moves that will either make him look like a genius or send him packing.

Let's break those down a little bit after the jump

A much better start by the Red Wings tonight, but they fell apart in the 3^rd period and were lucky to get the shootout win. The defense had a better game, but Quincey is still playing like garbage and is relying on Smith to pick up the slack.

Howard was sharp again, but at some point he’s going to have to stop a breakaway. I never blame goalies for giving up breakaway goals, but at some point, he’ll have to make a save. If he stops the first goal against, Columbus never gets back in the game.

More after the jump:

Wings got killed the first night.  Panic has ensued.  But who's fault is it really?  Likely ours.  

We didn't do our job. We failed to post our game day poster and as a result, St. Lose proceded to win scoring a million goals in the process.  

So tonight, we do not make that same mistake again, Josh has provided the goods.  But first, a few notes.  

IT IS DARREN HELM'S BIRTHDAY!  Happy Birthday to the Namesake and a get well soon!

This is the first poster in a long time not to carry the "Eavesdropping" tradition, as the fisty fella is making his first apperence in a game since November 26 of 2011.  Woo hoo, only one of Mursak and Emmerton!

Big Rig stepped on a puck and is a game time decision.  If he's not ready to go, Lashoff will step in.  Wow.  Remember, we passed on paying minimum wage to Redden...

McCollum is up to back up Howie.  Please don't let him have to play.  Gus is out for a game or two with a groin issue.  By the way, don't you get the idea that if he doesn't pick him play up this season, we're probably going to be finished with him?  He's been in the AHL for two years now and this is his third.  He's yet to have SAA over 90%. 

Lines and the amazing poster, after the break: 

The best thing we can do as fans is put game 1 behind us. It wasn't an indication of how this season will play out and it wasn't a result of a Lidstromless defense.

​I would like to clear something up real quick and then I may never speak of it again. Nick Lidstrom was one of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates, and the Red Wings benefited greatly each time he played. I don't want to hear that the Wings will fail without him. There are 29 other teams that don't have Lidstrom, and many have been very successful. We cant put the blame on one mans departure.

On to game 2... 

Hit the jump for more

Griffins won last night 11-6, which is impressive in itself.  But the biggest story is the bench clearing brawl that occured with a few minutes remaining. 

Check it out, which includes a goalie fight!