Sharks 4 Red Wings 2

OWNED. San Jose was faster, sharper, more physical (and more rested). They also looked like the Western Conference favorite last night. I'm going to give Samuelsson a vacation from being called useless and point my focus to Darren McCarty. Can we please send him down to the minors!? Bring up Darren Helm or someone else that can skate faster than a paraplegic. That is all I ask.

Ducks 5 Red Wings 4 (OT)

Well, the Red Wings are doing a good job of scoring clutch game-tying goals late in the game this season, but it's also not good that they've been in that situation a few times already. Still a little concerned about the defense. Is the loss of Chelios really that significant?

Red Wings 4 Kings 3 (SO)

Perhaps I'm losing it and getting spoiled, but for most of the third period I thought the Wings were getting outplayed and outmanned. Then I saw the shots on goal were 16-3 in favor of Detroit! I still think they need to step it up against Anaheim and San Jose later this week or we'll start to see some increasing numbers in the loss column.

Also, apparently the report of the Wings playing Ville Leino was a false one.

Monster Hit

Doug Weight teaches a youngster a lesson on keeping his head up.

INJURY!

The first big injury of the year award goes to Johan Franzen. Looks like he's gonna be out for at least a month. The Wings have called up highly-regarded forward Ville Leino for tomorrow nights game against the Kings. I can't wait to see how this guy plays. I've heard great things.

Red Wings 6 Blackhawks 5 (SO)

Got a little busy and forgot to comment on the last two Wings games, but to sum it up: MARIAN HOSSA! Fantastic to see him contributing offensively on a game by game basis. Now on to tonight's game.....

I am a little concerned with the amount of goals the Wings have been giving up this season thus far. I know, it's hard to worry much when your team has a 6-1-1 record, but I've just noticed more frequent breakdowns than I'm used to seeing. On the other hand, there always seems to be someone putting the puck in the net to make up for it. Thank god they got off to a good start against the Blackhawks this year. I'm tired of these assholes beating us in their house every year.

Big trip out west coming up. Let's get 6 out of 8 points and call it a successful October.

Red Wings 5 Rangers 4 (OT)

This matchup lived up to the hype surrounding it. God, it's great seeing so many east/west matchups to start the season. I almost forgot the Wings signed Hossa until this evening, as he nets his first of hopefully many goals in a winged-wheel uniform. The Wings did catch a break getting a too many men power-play to get the game tying goal. Did anyone notice the Blues are one point better than the Wings right now? Let's settle it on Wednesday. Wings/Blues.

Canucks 4 Red Wings 3 (OT)

0-2 at home? 2-0 on the road? Hopefully typical fans who expected a cakewalk through the season now realize how competitive the NHL is and that every game is gonna be like this. The Wings did look sloppy in their own end many times tonight, and they turned the puck over in the defensive zone frequently as well. Looking forward to the Wings/Rangers on Saturday. The Rangers will have played in Toronto the night before so they may be slightly less than sharp.

Red Wings 3 Hurricanes 1

Great game by Ty Conklin today! Not that he was the key reason they won, but he did make some great saves down the stretch and hopefully gained the confidence of Red Wings fans. Niklas Lidstrom continues to reassure that he is the best defenseman to ever play the game. He single-handedly was responsible for the 5 on 3 kill, and it reminded me of Zetterberg's kill against the Penguins in the finals last year. Great bounce back on the road after the loss to the Leafs! It's three games into the season and I still haven't gotten furious with Lilja or Samuelsson yet? Plenty of season to go for that...................

Michigan 2-0

No, not the eye-sore of a football team we have this year. But college hockey is underway and Michigan is off to a 2-0 start with a pair of victories over St. Lawrence. I'm not sure what to expect from this team this season as far as who is going to emerge to be the "Kevin Porter" of last season, but I'm sure they will have a solid season and find a way to lose in the tourney again.

Red Wings 3 Senators 2

Now this is the Red Wings we know! Little bit of a break on the game winner by Franzen, but Gerber's mishap is the Wings' gain. I know it's a long season, but starting 0-2 would have been pretty disappointing. Carolina's next. I love this new schedule format. Three games against the east already!

Maple Leafs 3 Red Wings 2

You could tell that Ron Wilson and the Leafs' coaching staff had their eye on this game since the schedule was released. Wilson is taking over a young, inexperienced team in rebuild mode and a win on the road against the heavily favored Stanley Cup champions would get the season off to the ideal start. They had a gameplan, executed it well, and caught the sluggish Red Wings completely off guard.