Charlie Gillis of macleans.ca had a sit-down with the captain of all captains, Steve Yzerman to talk about the upcoming Olympics.  In the interview, Stevie goes into surprising details about many different topics.

Why did the aging hipster get the "C"?

Why don't you allow faux-hawks on the team? (Mike Green was cut)

But the most pressing question if you're a Red Wings fan was, in fact, the last question asked:

Q: Are we going to see Steve Yzerman managing an NHL team someday?
A: [Laughs] That depends on how the Olympics go. You may never see me again!

It's not something that we have to worry about now, but maybe somewhere down the road...would Stevie leave us for another organ-i-zation?  You can't let Kenny Holland go.  He's done more for this team during his tenure than anybody could have possibly imagined.

We were lucky enough that Jim Nill has stuck around as a supporting role for so long.  Nilly needs to talk to Yzerman...he needs to tell him reasons for staying, over and over and over again.

Stevie-Y, even as a GM, working for another team is just unthinkable.

Anyway...back to stressing about tonight.

Give me back that filet-o-fish...give me that fish!

The Sharks got beat 3-0 last night in Columbus.  Back to back games after getting your butt handed to you?  Hmmm...they must LOVE the idea of playing Detroit in that scenario.

...isn't that depressing?

F**k you, dolphin!  F**k you, whale!  And F**k you, Shark!

Although I was wrong by telling you yesterday that if Anaheim beat Edmonton last night that they would move past us in the Western Conference Standings, they did indeed pull even with us in points.  They have more wins than we do, but remain in 10th place because they have played one additional game.

Guess what?  We need four out of our next possible four points before the Olympic Break...period.  We.Need.These.Points.

The race in the West in definitely tightening up, and Detroit is going to find teams starting to breathe down their neck.  That doesn't bode well for a team that has been showing a glaring lack of killer instinct.

If we head into the Olympic break with 69 points, we'll be alright...probably back in the top 8.  If we head to Vancouver with anything less, then prepare yourselves for a wild March (it will be regardless, but at least we'll feel a little better going into it).

The Sharks are hungry.  Even though they're running away with the Pacific Division and well on their way to yet another President's Trophy, they are hungry.  Hungry because they haven't beaten the Wings all regular season, and they need to prove that they can beat us.  Because if the regular season ends and Detroit is sitting in 8th, that President's Trophy is going to look a lot less glamorous heading into Cow Palace for Game 1 knowing that got swept by a team plagued with Free Agent Exodus in the off-season and high-profile, long-term injuries all season.

The Wings need to be hungrier.  We need to see some play-off-like desperation.  We need two points and the game plan should be simple: just do whatever it takes.

Let's go Red Wings.

The word getting around is that Holmstrom may have to miss the Olympics with his banged-up knee.  There is also word that Franzen (with his banged-up knee) might be Holmer's replacement...

So which would you rather have playing in the Olympics?

Neither.

If Holmstrom has a bruised/sprained/whatever kind of problem with his knee, then it's only going to get better with time.  So why put yourself at risk of making it worse?  If Holmer plans on playing his game (gritty, in front of the blue paint), he puts himself at an increased risk of getting hurt again (obviously).  If Sweden's strategy is to use him in any different manner, then why bother using him at all?  That'd be like Yzerman telling Crosby to toughen up and be the enforcer (groins, beware!)

And Franzen just needs to chill.  Seriously, dude.  You're already pushing it by coming back so soon.  We were all so pleased when you told Team Sweden that you were coming back for the Wings, and not for them.  Don't let them guilt you into putting yourself and our big play-off push at risk.

Let's be smart here.

We come to it at last, the final issue.  And who better to unveil at the end than the pair that serves at the Save-the-Play-offs Super Team's last defense.  Ladies and gentlemen, the goalies...

Chris Osgood as The Comedian...

A warrior battle tested, hardened, and perhaps a little cynical.  But when it's crunch time, he usually gets the last laugh.

Jimmy Howard as Harry Potter...

He possess unmeasurable potential.  The boy may stumble along the way of his journey, but the man he will become is destined for greatness.

So there you have it, all of the major players (for now).  Perhaps more issues are in order as time goes on, but paint needs a break and so do I.

Now we know why Jimmy doesn't wear glasses...yikes.

We've seen the glamour and gritty out of the defensive core, but unfortunately if the Red Wings are going to save the 2010 Post-Season, they may need to rely on this unlikely pair down the stretch...

Brett Lebda as The Green Hornet...

A smaller and fairly powerless hero, he usually depends on his more theatrical partner to get the job done.

 Jonny Ericsson as The Juggernaut...

He's 6'5, you know.  This tower of power is still trying to figure out to fully utilize his sheer mass, and until he does, friend and foe beware of his destructive path.

You want to know what the sad(dest) part about all of this is?  I spent the most time out of all of these on Brett Lebda.  I had to use his Notre Dame class photo.  He was a tough one to think of too, but I thought I came up with a pretty perfect one in the end...everybody knows that show stuck around for so long because of Bruce Lee as Kato and not because of...um...whoever played the actual Green Hornet.

From the Free Press early this morning...

Mike Babcock walked into the visitors' room at Scottrade Center, looked over at Jimmy Howard and asked him if he was tired.  When Howard said no, Babcock laughed, and asked him if he was ready to play the next game. Howard, naturally, said yes.

And thus, Mike's will be done.  Babcock has never pulled any punches on the subject.  He certainly wasn't going to start now...

"I'm committed to finding a way to win.  We have a group of people in our organization that actually have been around hockey a little bit, and we talk about what we think is best to help our team. Then we make the decision accordingly."

That group he's referring to includes Kenny Holland, Steve Yzerman, Jim Bedard, and his assistant coaches (one with bad hair and one with a sweet 'stache).

When Babcock was asked about getting Osgood in to avoid the "rust buildup"...

"I want to go into the playoffs -- how's that?" he said. "I mean, that's great to have this fantasy thing, if everything ... no. We've got to get in. So we've got to win today.  It's different than other years, in the fact that you could have a five-game rotation planned -- that just hasn't been the case. And we think Howie has played real well for us. The other thing is, this thing that he might be tired or something like that -- he's 25 years old. He's not tired. Not mentally. He wants to play. ... We think he's given us the best opportunity."

Why don't you tell us what you really think, Babbles?  Oh wait, you do...always.

Thankfully, Ozzie refrained from complaining:

Well, we recorded OTL number eleven last night.  Only one other team has dropped more games in extra innings than the Detroit Red Wings.  And they just happen to be one point behind us in the standings.  Speaking of the Western Conference Standings, have you looked at them lately?

That's right...the Ducks are one win away from passing us.  If they beat Edmonton tonight, we'll be hitting the double digits...ouch.

If Detroit had just closed out 5 out of those 11 OTL's, we'd be sitting in 7 place right now with a three point cushion.  I don't want to be sitting here typing "if" scenarios come spring because the Wings didn't make the post-season.

We all wondered how they would respond to the desperate situation of being on the outside looking in (in terms of the top 8).  Well, it hasn't been good thus far.

At least Ottawa had the decency to oust Calgary in regulation.

Get it going, boys.

As Drew Sharp once told the Chief, "I don't care what fans or bloggers think."  That's why I disabled the comment section, so you people wouldn't dirty up my site with your mundane drivel...

Just kidding.

Apparently, other Bloguin sites were having the same problem with commenting today...I blame the logo.  Regardless, the administration sent out instructions on how to help get the commenting back on track and I think it worked.  So comment away, people.

I've missed your input, Twig, Eats, and everyone esle.

Our top two are the glory and glamour of the defensive corps, but the two that follow them have a much darker and mysterious way about them.  They might not be Norris material, but more often then not, they make sure the job gets done...

Brad Stuart as Severus Snape...

Friend or foe?  This man has considerable power no doubt, but his actions at times can almost be interpreted as acts of treachery, but deep down...we know he has good intentions.

Nicklas Kronwall as The Punisher...

His justice comes swift and without mercy, this man is on a quest for reckless vigilantism, and will stop at nothing to see the wicked get what's coming to them.

We're down to the last two issues...