Detroit Red Wings

We all saw that coming, right? I mean, I know we all wanted the Wings to win, but the Blackhawks had the type of regular season that shows that they're, you know, kind of good. And tonight, for the first time all season, they had to play with the kind of desperation that the Wings have experienced for a month but the Hawks had been able to avoid. At home, facing elimination, against their biggest rival and the lowest remaining seed in the playoffs, the Hawks came out with the kind of effort we all expected. But what we didn't expect was the Wings to pretty much just roll over about halfway through the game and start prepping for Game 6 so early. Clark said it best: Backs against the wall, playing at home... If the Hawks hadn't played like this they'd have been the jokes we wish they were — Clark Rasmussen (@detroithockey96) May 26, 2013 I know the narratives are coming, but tonight was about the Wings not matching the Hawks' desperation and looking like they were skating in quicksand all night. It was very reminiscent of Game 1, only without the Jimmy Howard heroics (although he did make 41 saves). Everything that the Wings did right in the last 3 games they did horribly wrong tonight, including failing to make life difficult for Corey Crawford. Coming in to the game, the big worry was whether the Wings could handle the Hawks over the first 10 minutes of the game. While the Wings were on their heels for most of the first period, they were able to escape without giving up too many quality chances. It was the start we all expected, but the Wings looked a step behind through most of the first period. We've said a lot of good things about a lot of players on the Wings this series, but I haven't been super impressed with Johan Franzen. He hasn't been bad at all (his goal in Game 2 was a beauty) but I'm waiting for him to do.......something. In a series that has been this contentious and physical, Mule should be a force because it's the playoffs and he likes that stuff. Yet outside of the one goal he's just kind of been "there" and he could be the difference in Game 6. You know who has been having a good series? Dan Cleary. Goals in consecutive games have him tied with Pavel Datsyuk in points in the playoffs with 8, which is only 7 less than he had all season. How's that for a scary stat? I have never seen a team struggle to clear the puck out of their own zone on the PK like the 2013 Red Wings. Twice the Wings had open opportunities to get the puck down the ice and both times it led to Blackhawk power play goals. It's not like this is a new thing, either. this year's slogan could be "Detroit Red Wings hockey: GET IT OUT MOTHER FUCKERS!!!" Oh Justin Abdelkader. This was not a game to remember for him. He negated a Wings' PP when the Wings were only down 1 early in the second period, then took a terrible cross-checking penalty that led to the Hawks' third goal. Abby's been effective at getting in the face of the Hawks, but tonight showed that sometimes he can cross the line and play stupid. Get ready for the narratives, because they're coming, and they're not going to be pretty. Jonathan Toews scored a goal, so the pressure is off him and he's going to light the Wings up. The Hawks finally got a PP goal so it's going to be amazing in Game 6. The Hawks have all the momentum and have "re-discovered" how to beat the Red Wings. The Wings are in serious trouble and they might as well just forfeit the next couple of games because the Hawks are too good and powerful and will steamroll the Wings in Games 6 and 7. Here's the thing: the next game is in Detroit, and Quenneville isn't smart enough to figure out how to keep Toews away from Zetterberg. The Blackhawks were better tonight, no question, but it was because they played with a desperation that hadn't been required in any game up to this point. And to my eye, Chicago looked as good tonight as they did in Game 1, and we all remember how the Wings respon

If you're Mike Babcock, what do you say after that period? Skate harder? Shoot the puck? Stay out of the penalty box? All of the above? Of course the right answer is all of the above. Dumb penalties are killing the Wings, and 2 PP goals for the Blackhawks have them up 3-1 heading into the third period. The Wings are in tough against a desperate opponent, but will have a little bit of PP time to start the third.

The Wings are down 1-0 after one period but all things considered it could have been a lot worse. The Wings "weathered" the storm but a defensive breakdown cost them. The Wings ended the first period by killing off a Hawk power play in nice fashion and hope to build off that in what has been their best period of the series. Next goal is a big one.

The Dirt As expected there are no lineup changes for the Wings. The comments coming from the Wings is that they know Chicago's going to be playing desperate hockey and is going to come at them with everything they have. They know they have to stay focused and that it's not going to be an easy win. Quenneville has one last desperate attempt to change his lineup and try to win. If the practice lines hole true in the game he'll try to load up his top line and reunite Sharp, Toews, and Kane, while Bolland gets bumped down to fourth line center. Quenneville's practice lines weren't the lines he went with in game 4. Maybe he'll do it in a last ditch effort to get some scoring, or maybe he's trying to fool Babcock (hahaha). Bickell, Handzus, Hossa is no slouch of a line either though, and it sounds like Babcock is assuming that Datsyuk will go against one of those lines, and Zetterberg the other. Babcock on Zetterberg/Datsyuk matchups: "I assume Toews has to play against one of them, and I assume Handzus has to play against another."— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 25, 2013 Babcock: "I don't know how they can be any more desperate or scared than we are. A little fear is a wonderful thing." Blackhawks">#Blackhawks #PawsUp— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 25, 2013 Comments coming from the Hawks players are full of desperation and frustration. According to Chuck Pleiness, Patrick Kane wants to get into Jimmy Howard's head a little bit. "I would be nice to play with the lead, we haven't done that the last couple of games," Kane said. "It would be nice to do that. Maybe get in (Jimmy) Howard’s head at least a little bit, he's playing great right now, but they’ve gotten some big breaks as far as hitting posts, but he's made some great saves for them too. We want to control the tempo of the game and get that first one." "Everyone is frustrated a little bit right now," Kane added. "We just have to forget what happened in the past and try and play a hockey game and try and play it one game at a time. It's easy to say, but just worry about one game." Since we can expect the Hawks to start the game pushing hard, I wonder if Babcock will choose to start with Datsyuk's line, or if he'll go with Andersson's line and look to create some energy and pressure of our own. Hey, it worked in game 7 against Anaheim. Hold on to your butts fellow Wingnuts, the shit is about to hit the fan. The Hawks are going to be desperate, play like there's no tomorrow, and I fully expect things to get rough. The ref's may call more penalties early int he game in an attempt to send a message and keep things under control, but I think they're going to have their hands full. If we have a several goal lead, I hope Babcock puts the big boys out there because Chicago will lose their shit, come fully unglued, and I don't want our players getting injured. Lineup Forwards Johan Franzen Pavel Datsyuk Justin Abdelkader Valtteri Filppula Henrik Zetterberg Daniel Cleary Gustav Nyquist Joakim Andersson Damien Brunner Drew Miller Cory Emmerton Patrick Eaves Defense Niklas Kronwall Jonathan Ericsson Kyle Quincey Brendan Smith Jakub Kindl Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies Jimmy Howard Jonas Gustavsson Jordan Pearce Healthy Scratches Todd Bertuzzi Jordin Tootoo Ian White Injured Danny DeKeyser (Broken Thumb) Darren Helm (Back)- Out for the season Mikael Samuelsson (sore boob) Blackhawks Lineup Forwards Patrick Sharp Jonathan Toews Patrick Kane Bryan Bickell Michal Handzus Marian Hossa Brandon Saad Andrew Shaw Viktor Stalberg Marcus Kruger Dave Bolland

4-3, 3-2,1-4, 4-1, 3-1, 2-0; DET's record in the past six games (5 wins, 1 loss), Un-freaking-believable. 17 GF, 11 GA. The Wings lose TPH, and Disco Stu, and manage to win with defense? STFU. Jimmy "brickwall" Howard: 0.50, .985 in last 2 GPI. From the Peloton of Suck to the doorstep of the WCF - - skate to throat, bitches. Continue reading "GDT - WCSF Game 5: Red Wings (3-1) host Hawks (1-3) 8:00"

This will be quick. It's May 25th in Michigan, which means the weather should be simply stunning. Judging by the jackets at last night's Tiger game, that may not be the case. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters. Go about your day. Frolic. Bounce and swim. Grill. Develop and teach your children (well). Because when all that's over?Continue reading "A Throat Is Perfect Place To Put A Skate, Especially Near A Big Bonfire"

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is putting stars Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp on the same line for Game 5 tonight.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Griffins game last night. It was two tons of fun, we got to meet some awesome Griffins/Wings fans (Thanks LilyFox and crew), and the Griffins won. Petr Mrazek stopped 27 shots and only allowed 1 goal in the Griffins 2-1 win over the Barons. Petr said he was happy he faced more shots this game because when he gets more shots, he feels more comfortable. Mrazek is very strong down low, stopping low shots easily and using his strength and agility. One of the areas he's needed to improve on is being stronger and better at stopping higher shots. Last night the Barons were taking higher shots, and Mrazek was making a lot of glove saves. He's improved noticeably even in the last couple months. Brennen Evans scored his first goal of the season. It was a harmless looking shot that went in from the blue line and was his first goal since February 21, 2012 when he was with the Peoria Rivermen. Tomas Jurco continues to improve and watching him last night gave me funny feelings inside. The game winning goal came as a result of great work by Jurco and he was everywhere doing everything again last night. I can't wait to see him play a few games with the Wings next year. Speaking of funny feelings, Teemu Pulkkinen made my insides feel wibbly wobbly. While we didn't get to see a Holy Slapper, it was still exciting to watch him play. When he started in Grand Rapids, he would get to open areas of the ice and call for the puck a lot, to take a slapper at the net; however last night he was going to the net, creating traffic and trying to tip the puck in and score from close range in traffic. He didn't register a point last night, but he was second on the team in shots on goal with 4- Landon Ferraro led with 5. It will be interesting to see how his game evolves and what his role becomes on the team. Game Highlights Hockey people are the best people. There's something about Hockey that attracts the kindest, most generous people. There's a sense of comradery I've experienced in the hockey world that I've never seen in any other sport, hobby, or lifestyle and I'm proud to be a part of the collective hockey family. So to my hockey friends, both new and already cherished, THANK YOU! I hope to have another meet up later in this round, if it goes long enough, or possibly in the finals. I'll keep y'all posted and hope to see everyone again soon. Thank you to everyone who came out to the Griffins game last night. It was two tons of fun, we got to meet some awesome Griffins/Wings fans (Thanks LilyFox and crew), and the Griffins won. Petr Mrazek stopped 27 shots and only allowed 1 goal in the Griffins 2-1 win over the Barons. Petr said he was happy he faced more shots this game because when he gets more shots, he feels more comfortable. Mrazek is very strong down low, stopping low shots easily and using his strength and agility. One of the areas he's needed to improve on is being stronger and better at stopping higher shots. Last night the Barons were taking higher shots, and Mrazek was making a lot of glove saves. He's improved noticeably even in the last couple months. Brennen Evans scored his first goal of the season. It was a harmless looking shot that went in from the blue line and was his first goal since February 21, 2012 when he was with the Peoria Rivermen. Tomas Jurco continues to improve and watching him last night gave me funny feelings inside. The game winning goal came as a result of great work by Jurco and he was everywhere doing everything again last night. I can't wait to see him play a few games with the Wings next year. Speaking of funny feelings, Teemu Pulkkinen made my insides feel wibbly wobbly. While we didn't get to see a Holy Slapper, it was still exciting to watch him play. When he started in Grand Rapids, he would get to open areas of the ice and call for the puck a lot, to take a slapper at the net; however last night he was going to the net, creating traf

Toronto has some good young talent down on the farm. Find out more about a few of them.   The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The Toronto Marlies season ended in a strikingly similar fashion as their parent club's. Just one week after the Maple Leafs suffered a heart breaking loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarter Final, blowing a 4-1 lead late in the third period, the baby buds took a 3-1 lead into the third period of game 6 of the American League’s Western Conference Semi Final against Detroit Red Wings affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. Like the Leafs, the Marlies surrendered three goals late in the third period, eventually losing the game. Amidst the disappointment is a strong sense of hope for the future, though. The surprising success of the 2013 Maple Leafs can be attributed to a group of 2011-2012 Marlies alumni. Marlies call-ups Mike Kostka, Mark Fraser and Nazim Kadri among others, were instrumental in ending the NHL’s longest playoff drought.  The strong performance off several Maple Leafs prospects in the AHL playoffs this season gives further hope that like this season, the Marlies will continue to breed talent capable of producing at the NHL level for years to come.

CHICAGO – The Detroit Red Wings as a whole know they’re going to face a very, very desperate Chicago Blackhawks team in Game 5 tonight at the United Center. “Your backs are against the wall, you can’t afford to lose a game,” forward Justin Abdelkader said Saturday after the Wings’ morning skate. “We know they’re going to come out with their best effort and they’re going to work hard. We have to match their intensity.” The Wings can close out their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series with the Blackhawks with a win tonight. From the looks of the Blackhawks’ morning skate, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will be reunited, along with Patrick Sharp to form their top line. “They had Toews, Hossa and Sharp in Games 2 and 3 for a little bit,” forward Daniel Cleary said. “They’re great players, you just try to compete with them, play as hard as you can on them.” Kane has two of Chicago’s six goals in the series. “I think Kane is one of the most talented players in the world,” Cleary said. “Johnny’s got such work ethic and determination, Sharp’s a great shooter, a smart guy. It’s a talented line. You’re looking at three All-Stars on a line. You play hard, you match their skating, their intensity, have good body positioning on them, take away their speed and you have a chance.” Toews has yet to score this postseason. “It’s their top two offensive players so we just have to play them hard and smart,” Abdelkader said. “They’re two highly skilled forwards. They’re probably going to try and mix and match all game. We’ll be ready for whatever they do. “They’ve played separate a lot, but at the same time we’ll ready for it,” Abdelkader continued. “They’re going to try to move things and shuffle things around so we’ll be prepared for whatever they throw at us.” Wings coach Mike Babcock wasn’t sure what line of his would matchup against Chicago’s new top line, but it’s a safe bet they’ll do everything possible to have Henrik Zetterberg on the ice. Zetterberg has shadowed Toews the entire series. “Well I think if you mention those two on the second line they have two pretty good players there too, so you kind of pick your poison there,” Zetterberg said. “They’re such a deep team. They can put guys together on the first line and still have great guys on the second line, so for us we just try to focus on playing god defense and not focus so much on who you’re playing against.” Michal Handzus will center the second line between Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell. “You know he’s good on faceoffs, he’s strong on his stick,” Zetterberg said of Handzus. “You have to try to move a lot, skate a lot and try to find open spots. He’s been around the league for many, many years. He’s a good player and if that’s the case it will be a little different look for our line, but we’ll handle that in our way.” “If we do anything different, Hossa and other guys will burn us,” defenseman Kyle Quincey said. “It’s status quo for us. Obviously, they’re all great players and we have to respect them and keep their time and space to a minimum.” Babcock made a similar move prior to Game 7 against the Anaheim Ducks in the last round, but this time it was to separate his top two offensive forwards, Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. “We’re going to be ready and be prepared,” Babcock said. “We’ve got Datsyuk on one unit and Zetterberg on another and I assume Toews has to play against one of them and I assume Handzus has to play against another.”