Game 3: Detroit-3 Carolina-1

Play-off hockey in October. That's what last night's tilt between the Wings and 'Canes was. I was on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire game. There were bone-crunching hits, tic-tac-toe passing, and acrobatic saves. Come to think of it, every game so far has been like this. Even the Washington-Vancouver game, which I caught part of this afternoon, had intensity that was rarely seen in the regular season before the lockout. But now we have parity in this league. Gone are the days when rich organizations can load up on all-stars and steamroll everyone else on their way to the Finals. Now every team has a chance to win, which makes the game so much more exciting. Now if we could just get rid of that instigator rule.

Reed's Rundown

• Ty Conklin absolutely stood on his head last night. Babcock says he expects to play Osgood and Conklin at a 2-1 ratio. I don't know if there's another team in the league who has a goaltending tandem this solid (not to mention Jimmy Howard securing the 3rd string position). If Ozzie plays like Ozzie, and Conklin plays this well consistently, Detroit will easily have the powest GAA this season.
• Franzen had another strong game, hitting a post and playing strong defensively. Just waiting for the Mule to catch fire again.
• The Wings put on a clinic in the passing department last night. Holmstrom's goal was a result of the prettiest tic-tac-toe passing I have ever seen. It happened so fast I missed it. I had to rewind the game and play it over to catch it. Then I watched it a few more times. It was that pretty.
• What's up with those Carolina cheerleaders? Is that really necessary at a hockey game? I mean, your team scores a goal against the defending Stanley Cup champs, horns blare, lights flash... and yet that's not enough to get the fans excited? Do they really need a bleach blond bimbo shaking pom-poms to get the fans pumped? If that's the case, then why not put cheerleaders at NASCAR races? It would make more sense: The cars go speeding by at 200 mph, and the gust of wind makes those skirts go flying up... Just a thought.

Game 2: Detroit-3 Ottawa-2

I used to love my DVR. I could record an entire hockey game while I worked, and then when my work was out of the way, I could play the game, fast-forwarding through the commercials and intermissions, finishing the game not far behind the conclusion of the actual game. It worked out beautifully. Until last night.

I set the DVR to record the game, then went out with some friends. When I got back, I put on the game and everything was fine. Franzen scored on a wicked shot from the circle to tie the game at 2-2. The Wings were flying, the Sens were on their heels, and it looked like it was going to be an exciting finish. Then, with the final minutes ticking down, the picture froze and this little blue box popped up informing me that the recording had finished. I was stunned. Never had this happened before. I looked at the clock on my microwave only to see that it was after 10 o'clock; the game, which had started at 7 was long over. I immediately went on the Red Wings Web site and found out that they had beaten Ottawa 3-2 on a Franzen goal. So I went on You'Tude to see if I could locate video footage, but came up empty.

Now none of this would have happened if I'd gone the traditional route and used a VHS tape to record the game. I've never had a VHS tape shut off halfway through the 3rd period of a game and tell me, "That's it. Sorry." And with the DVR, I can't take something I recorded on one TV and watch it on another. VHS wins in this regard, too. In fact, I still have taped games from the late 90s in my closet. Sure, the picture isn't all that great, and there might be a few squiggly lines running through Scotty Bowman's forehead, but I have a complete game that I can take with me and watch anywhere anytime. But, alas, the VHS tape, just like the casette tape, is now obsolete. And what we're left with sucks.

Reed's Rundown

• Is Franzen a freak or what? I don't think last year's streak of 27 goals in 27 games was a fluke. This guy is going to win the Rocket Richard trophy this year, mark my words.
• I'm glad Babcock reunited Zetterberg and Datsyuk on the same line. Considering the way they played together last season, I was actually shocked that he separated them in the first place. There are no two players in the league who have the kind of chemistry Pav and Hank share. Now I just hope Babcock keeps them together.
• Speaking of Zetterberg, I could not believe the abuse he took last night. Actually, I can. You know why? Because Detroit doesn't have an enforcer. I just wonder how long they're going to let their skill players get beat up before they go out and pick up someone who can put a stop to it. At least bring Downey back up.
• From what I saw before my DVR took a dump, Ozzie looked pretty solid. As long as he continues to keep the Wings in the game, the offense will eventually catch fire.

Game 1: Toronto-3 Detroit-2

Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin decided to stay in the locker room while the 2007-08 Championship banner was being raised. Maybe the rest of the team should have done the same. On a night when the Detroit Red Wings were to begin their defense of the Stanley Cup by putting arguably the best team they've ever had on the ice, they came up flat. Was it the pre-game fanfare that took them off their focus? Or was it simply that the Leafs outplayed them? However you look at it, no one can argue that tonight the Maple Leafs were the better team. The scoreboard doesn't lie. Most fans, including myself, will point out that now that the banner has been hung and the rings have been dispensed, the Wings can get down to the business of playing good hockey. But with all the veterans on this team, it's hard to believe that tonight's upset was due to a lack of focus. I think the Leafs won this game because they came into it knowing they were the underdog and that Detroit is, by far, the team to beat this year. They used the Wings as a measuring stick, which is what other teams will do, too. When you're going up against the best, you elevate your game. You get up for it. It's something the Wings will have to deal with all year, and it's something they better learn how to handle really quick. This Toronto team that outplayed them tonight is, on paper, arguably one of the worst teams in the league. Detroit, on paper, ranks the best. Which goes to show, sometimes what's on paper and what you actually get are two totally different things. Just ask the Tigers.

Reed's Rundown

• Chris Osgood looked solid until his terrible clearing attempt that cost the Wings the first goal of the game. From then on, the Leafs were pumped and they never let up. I'm sure Ozzie wishes he could have that one back.
• Holmstrom was Holmstrom. The two goals he scored from the top of the crease were perfect examples of why he's the best at what he does.
• I thought Johan Franzen also looked good. He rang a shot off the post, and played well on both ends of the ice. He'll get his chances this year, and he'll bury a lot of them.
• Hossa had an assist, but ultimately, was a non-factor. Nerves? I doubt it. Not used to his linemates yet? Probably.
• Lilja had a chance to absolutely flatten a Leaf, but he passed up the hit. WHY??? A player as big as Lilja has got to be a physical force on the ice. With Dallas Drake gone, Detroit has a total of one big hitter: Niklas Kronwall. Okay, two if you count Kopecky. Lilja needs to step it up and use his size to make up for all those horrible turn-overs he commits.

October 6, 2008

The Wings beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 last night in what turned out to be a real snoozer, even for a pre-season tilt. There was potential for some fireworks, which I'll get to in a moment, but first I'd like to present a brief (okay, very brief) recap of the pre-season.

Wings ended up with a 6-2-1 record. Now, I'm not sure if this is the best record for this year's exhibition season, but it does indicate that the Wings are ready to defend their championship. The veterans looked good. The young guys looked good. The defense was solid. The players who are supposed to score were scoring. Bring on the Leafs.

Reed's Rundown (Observations from last night's game.)

• Johan Franzen continued his phenominal play with 2 goals, including an empty-netter. He came close to a hat trick when he had Ryan Miller beaten only to ring the puck off the post.
• Ty Conklin looked good. He has me rethinking my stance on giving Jimmy Howard the back-up job. Howard looked a little nervous during the games he played, while Conklin looked very confident and loose. Right now if Chris Osgood got hurt, I'd have to take Ty over Jimmy.
• As I mentioned earlier, there was potential for fireworks. Buffalo tough guy, Andrew Peters, gave Aaron Downey a cross-check that sent him flying into the boards. Downey got up, turned around ... and did nothing. (Okay, he cross-checked him back, but he may as well have done nothing.) Peters taunted Downey, practically daring him to drop the gloves, but Downey skated away. Now I realize there wasn't much to gain in fighting Peters at that point in the game. The Wings were up 2-0 in the third, and had the game pretty much on lock-down. What I DO have a problem with is Downey's refusal to give the fans some excitement. Would he have accepted Peters' challenge if this had been a regular-season game? Who knows. Maybe a better question is this: Would McCarty have dropped his gloves in this situation? I doubt it. Which leads me to believe this may be the only weakness in this team's armor. With all the offensive weaponry Detroit has, they need an enforcer who will not hesitate to kick some butt if someone takes liberties with our skill players. Aaron Downey is not the biggest or the toughest guy in the NHL, and Mac is definately past his prime. I would love to see the Wings trade for a real sheriff, but it probably won't happen. Not as long as they can counter roughness with a potent power-play.
• The way things are going in the toughness department, the Wings may as well go ahead and play Ville Leino. Why have an enforcer on the ice who's afraid to fight when you can have a guy with some skills out there instead.

October 1, 2008

The Wings and Canadiens faced off last night for their second meeting of the pre-season. Montreal won it 2-1 in a shoot-out. I'm not sure how many regulars were missing from the Montreal squad, but Detroit was minus Lidstrom (the best defensive player in the league), Zetterberg (last year's Conn Smythe trophy winner), Datsyuk (arguably the best two-way player in the game), Franzen (hottest player at the end of last season with 27 goals in 27 games), and Osgood (their All-Star goalie). Sounds to me like the core of the Detroit squad last night was little more than a ragtag gang of up-and-comers trying to land a job. And they nearly pulled off a win against the mighty Canadiens, the team predicted to dominate the Eastern Conference this year. Doesn't say much for their chances if they make it to the Finals against Detroit's regular players, does it?

Some observations from last night's game:

• Jimmy Howard looked solid, playing just as well as Carey Price, Montreal's starting goaltender. I thought he could have been a little stronger in the shoot-out, but there's a lot of pressure on this kid. If he doesn't outshine Ty Conklin, it's another year in Grand Rapids for him.
• Kopecky had a pretty good hit laid on him by one of the Canadiens. Now maybe the You'Tuders can stop crying about the hit Kopecky laid on Carle.
• Aaron Downey on the bench looked like a rabid dog eager to get out there and bite someone's ass. That wide-eyed, maniacal stare is enough for me to give him the job over Darren McCarty. Mac looks like he's half asleep most of the time.
• You can tell the Canadiens fans are pumped about their team; the Bell Centre was packed to the gills last night. Compare it to the half-empty Joe where you could practically hear a pin drop. I think there's more excitement in my livingroom most game nights. And I know for sure the beer's cheaper.

September 27, 2008

So I finally managed to go over to You'Tude and check out that Kopecky hit from the first pre-season game against Montreal, and DAAAAAAAAAMN!!! Kopecky absolutely destroyed Mathieu Carle! And he did it cleanly, too. No elbow, no leaving his feet, just a good, solid, well-placed shoulder to the noggin. But of course You'Tude being You'Tude, there are a whole gang of Montreal fans lamenting the hit as a dirty cheap shot, even though the coach of the Canadiens admitted the hit was clean. Actually, one of my favorite comments was from HolyHellPreacher who said, "This is hockey. Not nice hockey." Okay, let's pause here for a minute. While this seems like a simple statement, even an OBVIOUS statement, I think it speaks volumes when comparing hockey to other pro sports. Because other sports ARE nice. Look at football. After nearly every play you have these so-called "warriors of the gridiron" bending down and helping their opponents up off the turf. Basketball, too. "Oh, you fell down! And even though you guys are destroying us by 40 points, here, let me help you up and then pat you on the butt." Not hockey. After Kopecky dropped the shoulder bomb on Carle, what did he do? He skated back down the ice and crashed the net for a scoring chance while Carle lay face-down, unconscious, bleeding all over the ice. Maybe that's what separates hockey from other sports. The passion to win, no matter what. You give 100 percent all the time, even during pre-season. And you definately don't pass up a hit.

Spetember 26, 2008

So I see in the paper today that tonight's Wings game against the Bruins will be aired on the radio, and I'm pumped. I mean, it's the next best thing to watching the game on TV, right? So a few minutes before the puck drop, I get out my trusty CD player/radio and tune i to 1270 AM. Well, I TRY to tune in, but all I get is static. So I think, "No problem, I'll just dial it in on the car radio and have a couple of beers while I listen to the game." But when I turn the knob to the station, the signal is so weak I can barely hear the announcer's voice. Not to mention I'm getting coverage of a high school football game coming in OVER the 1270 signal. So I turn off the ignition, head back into the house and open up my laptop, thinking surely there must be a way to listen to the game on the Internet. After a little snooping around I discover 16 Detroit radio stations, all airing coverage of... the TIGERS! Need I say more? Probably not, but I'm going to anyway. Okay, we have the Red Wings, a championship team embarking on the defense of their 4th title in 11 years, and we have the Tigers, a last-place, underachieving, cellar-dwelling, collossal FLOP of a franchise going absolutley nowhere (except maybe a little deeper into the proverbial hole), and every last one of these pathetic stations decides their game is more important. Huh? I mean, I know the Tigers game is a regular season game, and the Wings game is just an exhibition tilt, but HUH??? Sorry for the repetition, but that's the only expression that comes to my mind when I try to make sense of this. When something defies logic, my brain tends to get a little scrambled.

So I'll either check out NHL.com later on for the final score, or wait until tomorrow and read about it in the paper. IF I can find it anywhere. The good news is the September 30th game against the Canadiens is scheduled to air on Versus, and after that two more against the Leafs and Sabres. Then the regular season starts. 82 games, all on TV. No dialing through static on the radio, no surfing the Net for updates, no scanning newspapers the next day only to find that word that screams poor journalism, inconclusive. Just me, my cozy chair, an ice cold beer, and the Red Wings. God, I love October.