Michigan Wins The GLI

I was excited to watch this game yesterday until I realized that it was being re-run at 12:30 am because the Wings were on at 9:00. On top of that, there is no good website that keeps up to date scores. Must have been a great game to witness....1-0 in double OT! Congrats to UM for finally winning one of these despite being down their top players, who are playing at the World Junior Championships. Also, congrats to Billy Sauer for an amazing two games in net, with two shutout victories.

Great Lakes Invitational (Friday)

I was really hoping for a UM vs MSU final in the annual pointless GLI tourney at the Joe, and MSU had to go lose to Michigan Tech..............disappointing.

Red Wings 4 Avalanche 2

The Wings had the Avs completely locked down in the third period until that ridiculous penalty call on Lidstrom with about 5 minutes to go in the game. The guy loses his balance in front of him and the ref makes the call on someone who spends about 6 minutes a season in the penalty box. Anyway, nice job winning tough back to back road games without 40, 96 and 18.

Red Wings 5 Blues 0

What a great way to win in St. Louis after the loss there last week. The Blues didn't even look like they came to play, and Manny didn't look sharp at all. The greatest thing is that the Blues sold so many tickets to this game, that they had standing room only tickets sold for the first time in years, and their team couldn't even put the puck in the net. Ha!

Holidays

Taking the weekend and holiday off of blogging

Blues 3 Red Wings 2

DAH! Another loss to the Central, despite outshooting them (36-24). Manny Legace was brilliant. I'm not so worried about the fact that all but one loss is to the central. Don't forgot that about every third game is against a central opponent. I guess the Wings just need to step it up a bit more against the division, because you can tell that their division opponents are brining more physical play than any other opponents. Can't wait for the next meeting on the 26th. Hopefully some of the frustration carries over and we see some throwin' down!

Red Wings 6 Kings 2

The Kings are the worst team in the league, it's now being revealed that Marc Crawford's whiny ass ordered the Bertuzzi hit on Steve Moore, and poor Dave Lewis is an assistant coach on this joke of a squad. Nice 4 assist game for Kronwall, the most underappreciated and least talked about Red Wing.

Leafs Blow It

With 1:25 left in the third period, the Leafs led Carolina 2-0. Final score, 3-2.
Wow...............

Things Of Note

Calgary's 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets tonight made them only the 3rd team in NHL history to win 6 straight road games on one road trip

Speaking of Central teams, the division has tapered off a bit, and Nashville's loss to Minnesota tonight put a central team under .500 for the first time since the opening weeks of the season

Now, other divisions are stepping up. The northwest, northeast and atlantic teams are all .500 or more

Red Wings 4 Capitals 3 (SO)

Around 4:30 yesterday, my buddy Tim gives me a call and lets me know he has a free lower bowl ticket to the game. Hours later, I get to see one of the best regular season games I've seen in a while in person.
Watching Ovechkin up close is a treat, despite my comments over the last few months about his ridiculous goal celebrations (which I also got to see up close and personal). However, there was a one-on-one play in the first where Zetterberg put on a beautiful move and skated right around him entering the Caps' zone.
The game was intense and fast. Washington kept up with the Wings in speed and shots on goal. I gotta give it to Hasek, he played great and made some huge saves, especially in the third. He needs a few more games like that to get off my shit list.

Saturday 12/15

In case you haven't noticed.....I like hockey on Saturday, even though lately I've been catching all the replay highlights because of work.

Phoenix 4 New Jersey 1: Brodeur took the day off apparently, stopping 18 of 22.

Dallas 4 San Jose 2: I was excited for this one. Two of the current top teams in the west. Always tough to win in San Jose. The difference in this game was power plays. Both teams took a lot of penalties, but Dallas was able to convert to tie the game at 2 and then go up 3-2.

Boston 2 Columbus 0: How about Alex Auld in net for the Bruins. Columbus outshot Boston 15-2 in the 3rd and Auld denied them 15 times. Boston is quietly off to a nice start this season. They have 39 points with an 18-11-3 record.

Buffalo 3 Chicago 1: Kane gets a nice early goal and then Chicago falls asleep. Actually, I almost fell asleep watching this one......

Montreal 4 Toronto 1: Toronto's fans must be so pissed these days. The Leafs just don't consistently come to play in games against rivals or tough teams. Highlights of this game have a theme: Koivu gets goal 1 and two, followed by Kostsitsyn and Kovalev.....oh and Kubina had a nice hit on Kostsitsyn as well in the 2nd

Ottawa 7 Atlanta 3: Atlanta has been outscored 11-3 in their last two. They're one point away from being the worst team in the east...when's the next time Atlanta plays Washington for the basement? Wait....after looking at the East standings, the bottom four teams are all from the Southeast division (everyone but Carolina). I'm pulling for Washington to rise to second in the southeast, and for Tampa to trade Vinny to Detroit.

Pittsburgh 3 Islanders 2: Nice job by DiPietro giving the puck to Crosby for an easy empty netter to make it 1-0. He recovered nicely and played well to make the game look closer than it was. On a side note, the FSN Pittsburgh play by play guy has gotta be the most lame, monotone presence I've ever heard. I'm glad I'm not a Penguin fan.

Carolina 6 Philadelphia 5 (SO): Hands down the game of the night. This was a fun one to watch. In fact, my favorite non-Red Wing game of the year. It wasn't just the high scoring. It was the great saves on top of all the goals, the tons of made scrambles in front of the net, and the finish; which involved former Flyer Rod Brindamor needing a goal to win, being booed by his former fans, and getting the goal via hitting the goaltender, the crowd cheering as they thought the save was made, and the puck flyer over Biron's head and into the net.

Washington 3 Tampa Bay 2: The Caps have a positive record in their last ten, which by their standards is an improvement, and the Lightning are fading hard. Did I mention Vinny Lecavalier would look great with a winged wheel on his chest?

Colorado 3 Nashville 1: Every Central team that played but the Wings fell tonight, which is good for the Wings. Goaltending was the difference....the Preds outshot the Avs 32-16 but fell, as Budaj steals one with a nice performance. Other than that, this game was a snoozer.

Edmonton 2 Vancouver 1 (SO): Not Luongo vs Roloson, but Sanford vs Garon, who both had shutouts going deep into the third until the ice was broken. This would've been a fun game to watch live. I like the games that are scoreless/1-1 deep into the third. Edmonton's been playing well after a rough start, and the Northwest Division, top to bottom, is separated by 5 points

Minnesota 2 Los Angeles 1: Excellent game for Harding who stopped 35 of 36. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Red Wings 5 Panthers 2

The point streak continues.....

What's with all the penalty shots these days? The Red Wings never have penalty shots, but now have had 3 in 3 games (two successful ones by Flip). Osgood continues to prove why he should be the Wings' go to guy in net, stopping 33 of 35. Caps on Monday. Nice to see some Eastern teams come to the Joe.

Cold War 2

Well....

According to the Detroit News, there are preliminary plans in place to have a "Cold War 2" game between Michigan and Michigan State, likely next year at Ford Field. There are also talks of making this part of a doubleheader, including a Wings/Leafs game. If this is true and happens, this would be unbelievable! The college hockey Frozen Four is coming to Ford Field in 2010, and this is going to be used as a "test run" if it happened. If that doubleheader occurred, I'd pay BIG BUCKS to be there (only if my seats were good).


Click Here To Read The Article

Oilers 4 Red Wings 3 (SO)

So it takes a shootout to beat the Wings these days. Wings outshot em 42-27, what can ya do? Nice job getting outscored 2-1 in the first when you outshot Edmonton 16-7. Dom?

Mark Recchi

And they thought he had nothing left. Recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with Mark Recchi in their continuing attempt to make their team younger, with now less leadership and still an average win loss line.
Tonight, Mark Recchi scores 2 goals in 1:01, albeit in a losing effort to the Boston Bruins. At the time, it brought Atlanta down from 2-0 to tie the game.
I hope he gets a hat trick in his next game against Pittsburgh.
Go get 'em, Mark.

Red Wings 2 Rednecks...Er...Predators 1

The first period was the difference. Wings outshot the hell out them in the first and got the penalty shot by Flips. Second and Third period were fairly even in shots and Osgood was brilliant as usual. He needs to be the starter come playoff time, damn it. Nice win down in Nashville, where the fans hate the Wings and we continue to outlast them when it counts. Preds Suck!

Red Wings 5 Hurricanes 2

Another solid win against a top team in another division. Have to give my whipping boy Lilja credit for a +3 night and a nice game winning goal. I still don't like two goals allowed on less than 20 shots, but thats vintage Dom these days. I'm assuming Ozzie will get the nod tonight on the road in Nashville. Let's keep this streak going and not fall to a division opponent again.

NHL Schedule Fails Again

Although the schedule is going back to it's old format next season (thank goodness), it's ironic that the two divisions in which all of their teams are currently over .500, Central and Atlantic, ARE NOT playing each other this year. Would've been fun to track their record against each other.

Boo........

Move Over Redhawks

......but I can't go to bed yet. I have to post on Michigan!

Two game sweep of the BGSU Falcons + Miami splits with Alaska = Michigan in first in the CCHA by 2 points over Miami and Notre Dame. Defending National Champ Michigan State (I ralph every time I think about it) is right in the mix but have played 2 less games so don't have as many points. I can't wait to see UM/MSU play this year.

Saturday 12/8

Late night at work.....but not stopping me from catching Saturday's game highlights on Center Ice Online!

Boston 2 Toronto 1: Always extra special when Original 6ers clash. Alex Auld was outstanding after his team went up 2-1 to win his debut as a Bruin. Did you know Auld has won every debut start with every team he has been on (6 maybe?)

Carolina 5 Montreal 1: Canadiens get rocked at home again. The fans continue to boo. Carolina is catching Ottawa. Big game against the Wings tomorrow! I'm working :(
Carolina's announcer has a good "They Score!" voice. Probably the best in the game.

Washington 6 Atlanta 3: Washington seems to be playing with a little more step since changing coaches. Still 2 points behind LA to get out of the NHL basement. I like this rookie Nicklas Backstrom (not the Minnesota goalie) that they have. He skates fast and shoots hard.

Minnesota 2 Columbus 1: Nice recovery by the Wild after being owned by Detroit last night. Zherdev's goal for Columbus puts him past last year's total already. He's one of the big reasons they are and will be in playoff contention at the end. Entertaining goaltending from two young stars Backstrom and Leclaire (must be Backstrom shoutout night)

Islanders 3 Tampa Bay 2 (OT): Islanders owned the OT session, outshooting TB 7-1. Brad Richards with 2 power play goals but no help from his teammates. I haven't really payed close attention, but the Isles actually have some decent looking white jerseys this year. Tampa is struggling. There are rumors of moving a big name this year. How bout Vinny in a Wings uniform. Won't happen, but I'd shit myself if it did.

Nashville 4 Anaheim 2: Preds came to play, outshooting Anaheim 19-6 in the first period. Ducks aren't playing like the defending champs of late. They need to get Scott Niedermeyer back in the lineup. The lack of Selanne has left a big hole.

Pittsburgh 2 Vancouver 1 (SO): I still haven't decided if I like Vancouver's new jerseys yet.
This was the game of the night and a long entertaining shootout. Sabourin made an outstanding save on Kesler to start the shootout, and then followed up with an amazing blocker save on Morrison. OK, after having plenty of time to analyze the jerseys during the shootout, I've decided I'd only like them if that stupid greenish stripe wasn't on the arm. Shame on Vancouver. Another interesting note: Pittsburgh vs Vancouver was the finals in my last NHL season on X-Box. Vancouver swept 'em. The Penguins sweep their Western trip.

Pheonix 4 Los Angeles 2: YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN. The bottom two teams in the conference. The only thing that gets me excited for Coyote games is Strader and Pang.

Buffalo 7 San Jose 1: I just don't understand Buffalo. They beat Carolina 8-1 last week. They get shelled 8-2 by the shitty Kings last night, then shell one of the tougher teams in the West. Good for them. I like the Sabres. Buffalo is a great hockey city. And since I've been babbling about jerseys tonight (and Backstroms)...I think Buffalo has the best in the NHL. Which means they'll change it next year.



Man it's late.....I should go to bed...............

Red Wings 5 Wild 0

Great night tonight. Got to go to the game with thanks to my wonderful lady and witness my first hat trick in person via Hank Zetterberg. The Wings looked like a well oiled machine tonight against a defensive minded Wild team out to attempt to prove themselves on the road against the top team in the west. It's becoming more and more fun to watch Downey deliver punishing checks and get in a fight now and then. Downey is becoming one of my favorite Wings quickly. He's like Darren McCarty with less goals and more sugar.

Whatever happened to....

.....Dave Strader?

Well...

I noticed is that Dave Strader, former Red Wings and ESPN announcer, is now doing the same job for the Coyotes with Darren Pang as his color commentator. At least the Coyote fans get some high quality play by play while their team misses the playoffs every year.

Great Games Tonight

There were some great games in the NHL tonight that I had the pleasure of watching highlight reels of on Center Ice Online after work late this evening!

- Devils, who are on fire right now, rally from 3-0 to win 4-3
- Atlanta, in their hideous home uniforms, take out Islanders in a shootout
- Jackets score 4 in the 3rd to take down the Avs 5-4 (Central Power!)
- Penguins score 4 in the 3rd to take out Edmonton 4-2 in a rare west appearance by Crosby and his fellow underachievers (poor Recchi, Pittsburgh released him today)

Red Wings 4 Canadiens 1

The Wings are rolling and the Canadians are reeling. Hasek needed a win to get back in to the swing of things and he got one. Nice tackle-from-behind by Dandenault in the third. What a little pussy. I was also hoping this would be the night that Datsyuk gets his first career hat trick, but it wasn't to be. It's always excellent to watch to original 6 teams battle it out with the great voice of Mike Emrick calling the game. Montreal is definitely struggling. I've never heard their fans boo them before!

Down and Out

I've been breaking bones and having fevers the last few days. It sucks typing with a broken finger!

C'Mon Phoenix

How do you give up 5 goals in the first period to Chicago.