SB Nation - Johan Franzen

Cleary out for up to four weeks...great

MrNorrisTrophy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:43:05 -0000

8 months ago: Detroit Red Wings' Dan Cleary celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period of a first-round NHL hockey playoff game Thursday, April 23, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

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As if those players already sitting in the stands weren't enough, add forward Dan Cleary to that group. Cleary will join Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams, Valtteri Filppula, and Andreas Lilja on the injured list. Cleary separated his shoulder in last night's 1-0 loss to the Blues and is expected to miss a month at the most of the season.

Here's pretty much what this will mean for the Red Wings until either Cleary or Filppula returns:

1. No call ups will be made (according to Babcock) so everyone available will play
1a. An injury to a forward within that time span will likely result in a call up but don't expect one for insurance
1b. If there is another injury not only will I assuredly curse, we could POSSIBLY see Tomas Tatar called up. Unlikely but he has shown in a short amount of time that he is an explosive scorer. Don't bank on it but don't be surprised either.

2. Dan Cleary is invaluable to this team. Sure he doesn't put up the offensive numbers to warrant the same respect of a Marian Gaborik or Evgeni Malkin but he's a huge part of this offense by positioning himself very well, passing at the right times, and having a pretty good shot. Along with the offense, he is a crucial defender and is probably the third best defending forward that the Wings have.

3. Cleary's 7 goals and 16 points will surely be missed but it may mean that Ville Leino will have to produce in the absence and can improve his game while playing on the second line in Cleary's spot.

Hopefully Cleary will be back sooner rather than later but that void is going to be hard to fill with the lack of production from a lot of guys that were expected to be big time secondary players on this team.

Niklas Kronwall out 4-8 weeks

MrNorrisTrophy — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:27:40 -0000

More photos » by Carlos Osorio - ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Following a leg to leg collision with Georges Laraque, a Montreal enforcer, Niklas Kronwall is expected to be out of the line up anywhere from four to eight weeks. The official word is that it is a strained ligament in his left knee. Detroit has already seen two leg injuries this year as Johan Franzen tore his ACL and Jason Williams broke his fibula.

The injury likely means that Derek Meech will come into the line up and play alongside Brett Lebda, with Jonathan Ericsson moving to Brad Stuart's side. My guess is Doug Janik will be called up again to serve as a 7th defenseman.

Kronwall, who usually dishes out the pain, went to the ice immediately following the collision. Earlier in the shift Laraque had high-sticked Darren Helm on a careless swing of his stick and then continued to play recklessly at the other end of the ice when he stuck his leg out in front of Kronwall.

To me, this is a dirty play by Laraque and he should be punished by the league for it. Before others argue that Kronwall constantly has questionable hits, his hits are legal and aren't with the intention of injuring another player. Laraque, however, has a history of gooning it up on the ice and hitting players high, high-sticking, or just flat out playing dirty. What makes this a dirty play in my mind is that Laraque makes NO ATTEMPT at using his stick to play the puck but just goes for a knee on knee.

I've posted the video below for your own viewing in case you missed it

Poll

Was Laraque's hit on Kronwall dirty and does he deserve a suspension?

Definitely! He deserves a suspension!

193 votes

Yes, but that's just hockey-no suspension

19 votes

No, a hockey play and that's it

5 votes

On the fence

4 votes

221 votes | Poll has closed

Jason Williams breaks right fibula

MrNorrisTrophy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:21:14 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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As if a 5-1 loss wasn't bad enough, the Wings will now be without Jason Williams for at least two months. Williams had his right leg buckle underneath him in the second period and it was caught underneath the weight of his body as he fell. The injury is apparently to the lower part of the fibula which probably means the "at least two months" part will be closer to 4 months before he can fully recover. Here's what Babcock had to say following the game:

"Losing Willy was a blow to us," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "He's playing more minutes and in more situations than we anticipated. But that's just the way it's gone."

Williams was indeed playing more minutes and starting to adjust to the system again during his second stint with the team and was on one of the power-play units with his rocket of a shot. Detroit has already lost Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula to injury and the depth that was the strong point of the team last year is starting to show as the weakness in this season's team. When the Red Wings announce a call-up replacement for Willy, we'll be sure to fill you in.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jason Williams	15	2	5	7	-5	4	2	0	1	0	36	5.6

Don't Look Now...

MrNorrisTrophy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:39 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Pavel Datsyuk has started to get going.

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Actually, do look now. Things are starting to return to normal for this team as the season progresses. Following a 3-4-2 start, the Red Wings have turned it around by going 4-0-1 in their last five games contests. Four of the five teams they've played in those games were playoff teams last year, including knocking off last year's regular season conference champions in both the East and West. In fact, Detroit has earned points in 8 of its last 10 games--totaling 13 of a possible 20 points. What's behind the reason for the recent winning ways? Let's take a look at a few things:

Coaching: You had to know that Mike Babcock could only tolerate the poor performance for so long before whippin' the boys into shape. To me, the biggest sign of this was yanking Chris Osgood from the net against Vancouver after surrendering two quick goals. Babcock showed that it doesn't matter how Cups you have; if you don't play well enough to be in there, you won't be. Same has been true as line-ups have been juggled very often to accommodate the up and downs of the players.
Better execution: The first half of the season so far was filled with sloppy passing and ineffective chances in the offensive zone. The stars have stepped up following the loss of guys like Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen to injury and others to illness. In the past five games, Pavel Datsyuk has 8 points and is really finding his stride while carrying the team. That Henrik Zetterberg guy isn't that bad either...
Just a matter of time: The least statistically tangible of the bunch, this is more for our own personal sanity. This team is too good to sit under .500 for too long so it's good to see that indeed the team is more on track than the beginning. A lot of new guys-so maybe the old saying that chemistry has to be built before you can win is ringing true. Bertuzzi's starting to factor into the equation and so is Williams. Datsyuk/Zetterberg can get the puck to these guys or benefit from their passing so it's good to see them getting going.
Tightening of defensive/goaltending: Don't know if I have to go further than saying the defense is playing much much better and so is Chris Osgood. Being pulled like that in Vancouver will do a lot for motivation and drive any sort of complacency out the window. Nick Lidstrom is solid as always and the other guys are starting to come around in his footsteps.
Hopefully it lasts is all I have left to say

What do you think about it?

Poll

What has been the reason for the turnaround?

Coaching

11 votes

Better execution

31 votes

Just a matter of time

50 votes

Tightened defensive/goalie play

85 votes

Other (comment below)

3 votes

180 votes | Poll has closed

Wings & Things

Yankee Canuck — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:16:13 -0000

More photos » by David Guralnick - AP

Two thumbs up. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, David Guralnick)

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4:10 PM ET Update: More good news from the injury front as Salo skated 60 minutes pain free yesterday and could be back as early as this weekend. Rypien could actually be back tonight but I doubt they'll rush him back if they don't have too. Daniel gets his cast off this Friday too and is also reported to be pain free at the moment.

Tonight is Burrows' 300th NHL game.

************************

What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday Vancouver was fresh off a 2-1 loss to Edmonton and about to head into Chicago with a thunderstorm of question marks following them.

A week later, they're winners of three straight with some of the kids (Michael Grabner? Meet relevancy) helping lead the charge while their captain seems to have shaken the rust off his slow start. Now, with the news that both Salo and Sedin are perhaps close to returning, the early season mobs have dispersed and returned to their nice condos.

Can't say the same with Detroit. Eight points in nine games leaves them barely hanging on to 12th place in the West. Tonight starts a three game Northwest Canadian tour for the Wings where they'll be looking to end a three game losing skid (two of which at the hands of Colorado, damn it all). Just like with Toronto, there's no reason Vancouver should allow a team to kick the losing habit on home ice.

Do you think Samuelsson had tonight's game circled on the calendar? Probably. For the record, he has more points (10) than anyone on Detroit right now.

Do you think Bertuzzi had it circled? Probably not. Can't blame him either.

Speaking of Mr. Bertuzzi, MacIntyre has a piece on him in the Sun where he talks about almost packing it in:

"I didn’t want to play anymore," Bertuzzi admitted after practising for tonight’s game against the Canucks. "For a while. The trade to Florida ... there have been some weird situations. But I’m quite happy here. I love playing with this team. For how much longer, I don’t know. I’m having fun this year.

And part of that fun means doing what we saw him fail to do (much to our happiness) in Calgary: play defensively.

"I’ve got to be — it’s tough to even say it — a very defensively responsible player now. They need that from me. It’s something I’ve had to work on and they’ve worked hard with me."

The Wings are looking to Bert to pick up the scoring after Johan Franzen was knocked out for half a season. Babcock mixed up his lines yesterday at practice (sound familiar?), putting Bert alongside Filppula and Cleary on the second line and creating a third line of Leino - Draper - Williams.

No word on Rypien's health so expect the same lines as who against Edmonton. Schneider played 14:51 in his first game, so watch to see if AV slowly increases that as the game unfolds. The huge X factor remains Sergei Shirokov who should be up with Sammy and Hank on the first line. Just as with Grabner, Shirok needs that timely goal to get that monkey off his back. Confidence young lad, confidence.

If Vancouver needs a cure for their ES woes, it may come in the form of Ericsson and/or Lebda who have been on the ice for a combined 21 ES goals. It would be nice to get the speed line out against one of them, force them on their heels and see what they can generate.

The special teams: Van PP (5th, 27.4%), DET PP (11th, 22.7%). VAN PK (14th, 80.8%), DET PK (19th, 77.1%).

If you need some Detroit news in the meantime, check out Winging It In Motown or A2Y.

Game 4 Preview: Red Wings vs. Sabres

Zachary Zielonka — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

8 months ago: Detroit Red Wings left winger Tomas Holmstrom, of Sweden, right, tries to re-direct the puck in front of Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller and Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman, of Finland, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y. on Monday, April 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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For a team that has only scored four goals in three games, this team is inspiring many a fan. The inspiration has come from a defensive minded team that has allowed three goals in those three games. Ryan Miller has been red hot in goal where in three games Miller has a .98 GAA and .955 SV%. The offense also has had their fair share of chances in the first three games, they lead the league in shots/game with 38.7. This team is inspiring the fanbase and giving hope for a possibly good season by taking five out of a possible six points.

In terms of the team, the Sabres still will not face roster issues with Andrej Sekera leaving Saturday's game with a rib injury that looks to keep him out of the lineup for a few weeks. Replacing Sekera in the lineup will be Toni Lydman who makes his first start of the season. Sekera had struggled a little in his first three games and Lydman should be able to easily replace him in the lineup.

The Red Wings are suffering their fair share of issues to start the season as well. After dropping their first two games in Sweden, the Wings came back and won their next two. In the process, they lost one of their top players in Johan Franzen for four months with a torn ACL. They are also injuring themselves in practice with Kirk Maltby and Justin Abdelkader running into each other with Maltby suffering a deep thigh bruise.

This game should be a true test for the Sabres. The Red Wings are high class team that can create chances at any moment and are fair more dangerous than the last three teams the Sabres have played. If this team cannot find the back of the net, they will run into serious trouble against this high powered offense.

Keys To The Game

Sabres: Keep creating chances. While the Red Wings are good at creating chances and can find the back of the net, if this Sabres team keeps taking shots at the net they eventually have to find the back of the net more than once right?

Red Wings: Outchance the Sabres. The Sabres still can't be this hot on defense and forechecking and backchecking. They will have to falter at some point and the Red Wings have to capitalize on those chances if they are going to be able to win this game.

Detroit Powerplay Fuels 3-2 Win Over Capitals

MrNorrisTrophy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:57:00 -0000

More photos » by Gary Malerba - AP

2 months ago: The Detroit Red Wings' Jason Williams, right, is congratulated by teammates Niklas Kronwall (55) center, and Valtteri Filppula (51), left, after scoring a goal on the Washington Capitals during the second period at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

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On a night in which all eyes were looking for Johan Franzen, the Red Wings got great help from the powerplay and two secondary scorers. Chris Osgood played a sharp game in net for the second straight night to allow his teammates to stay in this game against the high powered Caps offense.

Matt Bradley opened the game's scoring early in the first period with a hard slap shot from the face-off circle that squirted underneath Chris Osgood's left arm and gave the Capitals the lead with only 3:58 played. Detroit played better defensively and was able to draw two consecutive powerplays. Although unable to convert on the two chances, the Wings eventually scored soon afterwards. Ville Leino buried a puck in the crease at 15:49 after several chances by other Wings players were stopped by Jose Theodore. Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula were credited with the assists on the Leino goal, his second of the season.

Osgood stonewalled Alex Ovechkin in the low slot on a give-and-go as the Capitals had a powerplay following a bad penalty to Niklas Kronwall. With under a minute to play, Osgood's toe save was huge in getting the Wings to the locker room with a tie after one period. The Caps were unable to score on the remainder of the powerplay to start the second period following some good defensive play by the Wings in the defensive zone.

Alexander Semin took his second penalty of the second period to put the Red Wings on the powerplay. If you've wondered why Jason Williams is on the point for the powerplay, cue the video replay of the goal he scored at 16:26 of the second period. Williams received a pass from Kronwall and absolutely ripped a shot over Theodore's and under the crossbar for a 2-1 Detroit lead. Nicklas Lidstrom took a hooking call as the second period came to a close as Osgood over pursued a pass to Semin and Lidstrom had no choice but to hook him to prevent a wrap-around goal. The Capitals took advantage of the powerplay in the third period as Brendan Morrison fired a slapshot past Osgood for a tied game, 1:25 into the fresh period.

Washington defenseman Mike Green took a hooking call to put the Wings on the man advantage again. Tomas Holmstrom scored about 30 seconds into the powerplay on a one-time shot in the slot from a Pavel Datsyuk pass for a 3-2 Detroit lead at 13:07. With the game winding down, Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Bertuzzi put on a clinic in puck possession and offensive pressure--limiting the ability for the Capitals to get anything going offensively as the seconds ticked off the clock. Following a brief, high intensity flurry at the end of the game, the Red Wings were able to give the home crowd something to smile about as they closed the game out with a 3-2 victory.

The Red Wings scored twice on five powerplay chances and used the bad penalties by the Caps to keep the pressure in the offensive zone. Detroit outshot Washington 37-24 including an 11-4 third period count. The next game is on Tuesday, October 13 at Buffalo.

MrNorrisTrophy's Player of the Game: Pavel Datsyuk. Could pick Fil (2 A) or Ozzie (22 saves) but Datsyuk was the key to this game. He won 50% of face-offs, had 3 takeaways, 5 shots on goal, primary assist on the winning goal, 22 minutes of ice-time and was a nightmare to defend for the Caps.

Pavel Datsyuk

#13 / Center / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 194

Born: Jul 20, 1978

Tonight's Line-up: Eaves debuts, Abdelkader returns

MrNorrisTrophy — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:35:11 -0000

More photos » by NIKLAS LARSSON - AP

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Hey folks, I'm sure some of you are wondering how the line-up might shake out with Johan Franzen out of the picture. Well it seems that for now at least Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have been reunited on the top unit. Here's a quick look at the Red Wings line-up (thanks to Ansar Khan as usual)

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Zetterberg
Leino-Filppula-Cleary
Bertuzzi-Abdelkader-Williams
May-Draper-Eaves

The defensive pairings are the same as Chicago, with Meech in for Lebda. Osgood will be in net as expected. As you can see, there have been quite a few changes. I think Filppula with Leino and Cleary is an excellent second line and the Abdelkader line could find some unexpected chemistry. Also of note, is the debut of Patrick Eaves. Maltby will be a healthy scratch for Eaves to appear tonight.

Red Wings to Lose Franzen for 4 Months

MrNorrisTrophy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:20:32 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Johan Franzen, who scored the game winning goal against the Blackhawks last night, will be out for at least four months. According to mlive.com's Ansar Khan, Franzen tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The Red Wings lose one of their most talented and most clutch scorers for a good portion of the season and will be forced to call up Justin Abdelkader. Abdelkader was just sent down to Grand Rapids following the signing of Brad May but will likely find himself playing nightly in the absence of Franzen. This will also mean that Patrick Eaves is likely to see more and more time to relieve Abdelkader, May, and Maltby in the line-up

Detroit has roster depth but finding a replacement within the system that can fill the void of Franzen is going to be unlikely. The team has stated that they will not seek a trade for a temporary replacement. The offensive production will now fall on guys like Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, and Valtteri Filppula. These three guys will be need to step up in the offense at this time and now the defense will be called on even more as the team has lost 122 goals from last year. As if defense and goaltending wasn't stressed enough coming into this season, the Red Wings will have to rely on this even more than anticipated.

Is it time to freak out? No, I don't think so but it just might not be a pretty run for a few months and things won't be nearly the same without "The Mule" in the line-up.

Red Wings grind out 3-2 win over Blackhawks

MrNorrisTrophy — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:25:22 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

2 months ago: Detroit Red Wings' Johan Franzen (93), of Sweden, scores a goal against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet (39), of France, on a rebound in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Detroit, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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For the Detroit Red Wings, it must be good to be home. The Wings traded The Globe for The Joe and the home ice was a welcome sight. Detroit played much better defensively and got some great play out of the special teams to help earn the first points of the season.

Brand new Red Wing Brad May made some quick noise with a fight against Radek Smolenak at the midpoint of the first period. That was about all of the excitement that the opening frame offered as there were few real chances on net. The best for the Blackhawks came off the stick of Patrick Kane but Osgood was square and gave very little space for the puck to go through. The best chance for the Red Wings came from Valtteri Filppula's line as Jason Williams made a great pass to Ville Leino in the low slot, right in front of Huet, but Leino couldn't get his stick on it.

Patrick Sharp opened the scoring for the game at 1:32 of the second period on a beautiful passing play from Kris Versteeg. The Red Wings killed off a difficult 1:52 of a 5-on-3 powerplay for the Chicago Blackhawks soon after the goal and were able to get a some confidence back. Nicklas Lidstrom tied the game up on a powerplay goal at 10:36 of the second. Lidstrom was looking to pass the puck from the faceoff circle across to Henrik Zetterberg but instead the pass found John Madden's skate and then the back of the net.

Did I mention there was a confidence boost from that long penalty kill? Kris Draper skated into the zone and ripped a shot just under the crossbar and above Cristobal Huet's shoulder for a 2-1 Detroit lead. Ville Leino drew a penalty and the Red Wings scored a powerplay goal 1:34 after the Draper goal. Detroit scored on a shot from outside the faceoff circle from Pavel Datsyuk that somehow made it past a Tomas Holmstrom and Cristobal Huet. Huet (or Holmstrom) got a piece of the puck and as it rolled towards the goal line, Johan Franzen tapped it past for his first goal of the year and 3-1 Detroit lead with under two minutes to play in the second period.

Jason Williams took a slashing penalty towards the middle of the third period and Chicago capitalized. Johnathan Ericsson blocked a shot with his leg and was unable to reach the bench during the attack, practically leading to a 5-on-3. Osgood stopped a shot but left a rebound that Kris Versteeg buried with ease to bring the lead down to one for Detroit. Both teams had decent chances during the remainder of the period but the best came on a late (and lazy) penalty to Niklas Kronwall. With 1:38 left in the game, the Blackhawks had a 6-on-4 powerplay as Huet was pulled but the two man advantage wasn't enough as Osgood and the rest of the Wings held on for the first win of the season.

The Red Wings were outshot 34-23 but were able to play better defense and force a lot of shots from the perimeter and the blue line, limiting quality chances to a handful. Detroit also blocked 15 shots in the contest and Lidstrom is credited with five of those. The next game is on Saturday against the Washington Capitals at Joe Louis Arena.

MrNorrisTrophy's player of the game: Chris Osgood. Despite the 2 goals allowed, Osgood was the difference in this game as he came out sharp and looked nothing like the Osgood that we saw in Sweden. Osgood stopped 32 of 34 shots to keep the Wings in this one.

Chris Osgood

#30 / Goalie / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 5-10

Weight: 180

Born: Nov 26, 1972