SB Nation - Nicklas Lidstrom

December 8 :: Numbers and Awards

mpetrella — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:25:56 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

Even in a draft-centric team re-creation, here's your backup goaltender. (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

Much is made of the Red Wings' ability to built a championship team while never selecting very high in the draft (**cough**Pittsburgh**cough**). People point to Jonathan Ericsson (the 291st and final selection of the 2002 Draft), Henrik Zetterberg (210th in 1999), and Tomas Holmstrom (257th in 1994) are glowing examples of a draft science that has been perfected by the organization. Sometimes, they pick up guys that haven't lived up to their draft pick, like Dan Cleary and Patrick Eaves, but have you ever wondered what the Red Wings would look like if the team was formed -- and the line combinations were made -- based solely on their draft selection? Well, it would look like this:

Cleary (13) -- May (14) -- Bertuzzi (23)
Eaves (29) -- Ferraro (32) -- Emmerton (41)
Abdelkader (42) -- Tatar (60) -- Draper (62)
D. Axelsson (62) -- Maltby (65) -- Nestrasil (75)
TOP CALL-UPS: Joakim Andersson (88), Valtteri Filppula (95), Johan Franzen (97)

Stuart (3) -- Kindl (19)
B. Smith (27) -- Kronwall (29)
Lidstrom (53) -- Lilja (54)
TOP CALL-UPS: Doug Janik (55), Gleason Fournier (90), Max Nicastro (91)

McCollum (30)
Osgood (54)
TOP CALL-UPS: Jimmy Howard (64), Daniel Larsson (92)

AFTER THE JUMP, some more numbers and award updates

Justin Abdelkader is going to get the opportunity to center the second line against the Blues, but he's the only Red Wing faceoff-taker with a percentage below 50 (minimum 100 faceoffs). He's currently winning only 42.8% of his draws.

The Red Wings have only scored the first goal of a game ten times this season, with Tomas Holmstrom and Dan Cleary each netting that goal twice. Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Brad Stuart, Drew Miller, and Justin Abdelkader each have the distinction once.

Kris Draper and Niklas Kronwall co-lead the team in goals against division opponents (3 each). Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom co-lead in goals against opponents from other divisions (9 each). Henrik Zetterberg leads the team in points at home (16) and on the road (14).

The only players to have negative +/- both at home and on the road are Dan Cleary, Derek Meech, Brett Lebda, and Todd Bertuzzi. On the contrary, the only players to be positive both at home and on the road are Kris Draper, Patrick Eaves, Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidstrom.

Kirk Maltby is the only Red Wing with a point while shorthanded -- an unassisted goal.

Justin Abdelkader leads the way with 78 hits, followed by Brad Stuart (75), Darren Helm (73), Dan Cleary (50) and Patrick Eaves (50).

CHRIS CHELIOS AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings defensemen with the fewest goals scored in the most games played. The player must have played in at least 3/4 of the team's games. The award is named for Chris Chelios, who scored 23 goals in his final EXACTLY 600 games as a Red Wing (regular season and playoffs).*
1. Nicklas Lidstrom (1 goal in 29 games)
2. Brett Lebda (1 goal in 26 games)
3. Brad Stuart (2 goals in 29 games)
4. Brian Rafalski (2 goals in 26 games)
5. Jonathan Ericsson (3 goals in 27 games)

DANNY CLEARY "SACRAFICE YOUR FACE" AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings forward with the most blocked shots. Award is named for Dan Cleary, who is used to becoming synonymous with "black eye" and/or "broken jaw."*
1. Darren Helm (20)
2. Danny Cleary (15)
3. Henrik Zetterberg (14)
4. Pavel Datsyuk (13)
5. Justin Abdelkader (9)

DEREK MEECH AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wing with the most games spent in the press box. Award is named for Derek Meech, who was a healthy scratch 35 times last season.*
1. Derek Meech (15)
2. Brad May (8)
3. Patrick Eaves (7)
4. Kirk Maltby (5)
5. Brett Lebda (3)

GREG STEFAN AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings goaltender that makes you question how they're in the NHL and you aren't. Award is named for Greg Stefan, who played nine seasons for the Red Wings, but only three that had a goals against average under 4.*
1. Chris Osgood (6-5-4, 2.75, .896)
2. Jimmy Howard (8-5-1, 2.55, .910)

MIKAEL SAMUELSSON AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings forward with the most shots to miss the net. Award is named for Mikael Samuelsson, who literally must have been aiming for the 11th row.*
1. Henrik Zetterberg (52)
2. Todd Bertuzzi (29)
3. Tomas Holmstrom (28)
4. Ville Leino (27)
5. Pavel Datsyuk (21)

PAST AWARD WINNERS
Patrick Eaves Goodfellas Award: Patrick Eaves (last player to be penalized)
Aaron Downey Award: Derek Meech (last player to score a goal)

New Jersey Devils Give Up 2 Goal Lead, Pull Out Win over Detroit Red Wings in Shootout

John Fischer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:09:07 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Patrik Elias showed up in the shootout and scored the shootout winning goal to give the New Jersey Devils the win. Chris Osgood is frozen at this point in time. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Last Saturday, the New Jersey Devils snowballed their way to a huge 6-1 win over the New York Islanders. As the game went on, the Devils played better and went on to dominate on the ice and on the scoreboard. Tonight, the opposite happened as the Devils hosted the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils started off great, slowed down a bit in the second period, and then reverted to how they looked last night in the third period. In the process, the Devils conceded a two goal lead and the game was forced into overtime and followed by a shootout. The Devils won there, the final became 4-3, and so NHL.com has your recap complete with the relevant stats.

The Devils prevailed there, but I can't honestly say I'm pleased with the performance. I know, I know, it's a results-oriented business and the Devils just picked up 4 points in 48 hours. Fine. But the Devils could have and should have done better tonight, especially because they played so well and worked so hard in the first period. Credit the Detroit Red Wings for responding after being beaten on first twenty minutes, they eventually took the game over and made it a game.

Winging it in Motown has their recap up and joehass wonders why Patrick Eaves wasn't used in the shootout for Detroit given that he had a goal and an assist. Read on my extended thoughts on tonight's game.

Let's talk about the goaltenders first. Martin Brodeur and Chris Osgood, I felt, played well. Both goaltenders had to come up huge at various points. Brodeur bailed the Devils out of the third period, whereas Chris Osgood robbed the Devils a few times earlier - most notably Ilkka Pikkarainen's backhand. A bit odd to say given that both gave up 3 goals each. However, only one of the six goals scored in regulation was really a soft - Johnny Oduya's individual effort sliding right through Osgood's legs. The other goals were off rebounds where the goaltender had no chance on (Jamie Langenbrunner, and one deflection by Patrick Eaves. Here's a video of the game's highlights from NHL.com. See for yourself:

Now, you can see where the momentum lied in the shots by period. The Devils' first period was very strong. They bossed the Detroit skaters around, they moved the puck up ice at will, they owned the neutral zone, and outshot the Wings 11-7. They were doing what I said I wanted them to do in the game preview - be aggressive on offense. If you had seen that period, then you became increasingly amazed at how the Devils took their foot off the proverbial pedal. In the second period, Detroit pulled one back (Kris Draper on a rebound), the Devils responded with a goal of their own (Rob Niedermayer on a rebound created by Vladimir Zharkov), and then Detroit capitalized on a power play near the end of the period (Thomas Holmstrom on a tip). Sure, the Devils were leading after the period, 3-2; but the Red Wings clearly made adjustments that the Devils didn't have many answers for and so outshot the Devils 11-9. No longer was Detroit being outworked, no longer was Detroit constantly giving away the puck in the neutral zone.

And then the third period came and it reminded me so much of last night, it was sick in retrospect. It started off well enough. Jay Pandolfo nearly had a goal when his shot from the high slot was stopped by Chris Osgood. The puck bounced up, over Osgood, and was about to slide in only for Brad Stuart to swoop in and clear it off the line. From that point on, Detroit took over in pinning the Devils back, forcing them to clear the puck right back to Detroit, and repeat. Patrick Eaves got the equalizer off a deflection and Martin Brodeur should be thanked for keeping the score tied. After all, the Devils only put 3 shots on Osgood in the third (11-3 Detroit in terms of shots). Where were the Devils of the first period? Where was the aggressive offense? Truthfully, the Devils escaped the third period and were fortunate to earn a point with that kind of "offense."

Overtime saw the Devils actually make an effort to score a goal and came close when a deflected shot by Travis Zajac beat Osgood, but was denied by the post. Alas, this game needed a shootout and the Devils pull out a win. The fans (it was a very good and loud crowd at the Rock) were real happy with the win, nearly everyone standing for every shot and Devils attempt. Exciting stuff, but I can't help but think that most would have liked to have seen the Devils continue to do what they did in the first period and put the game out of doubt. But Detroit responded real well and the Devils wilted. I also can't help but think of the following cliche: good teams know how to win games that they perhaps shouldn't have. The Devils did just that in the last two games. So I guess they are a good team.

A few Devils stuck out tonight, in my opinion. I felt Jay Pandolfo (17:58, 1 A, 2 SOG) and Johnny Oduya (21:01, 1 G, 3 hits) had good games. I was a bit concerned with how they would look after not playing for at least a month, and my concerns were quickly erased. Both hustled pretty well and didn't make too many noticeable mistakes as they played significant minutes. Well, Oduya did jump up on offense, got caught, and didn't really recover well as Darren Helm unloaded a shot that Kris Draper eventually knocked in. But Oduya was just a part of that, the other Devils should have helped out in recovery; so I wouldn't kill him for that one. Rob Niedermayer had a good game, he had 3 shots on net and went right to the net at the right time for the Devils' third goal. He played just over 19 minutes (19:17) and statistically I can only fault him for going 5 for 13 on faceoffs. I also felt Colin White (21:00) and Mike Mottau (24:57) had a solid game on defense. This is especially good news for White as he left Friday's game early due to "lower body soreness." Tonight, he stayed in and feels pretty good afterward according to Gulitti's postgame report.

In terms of Devils who stuck out for not being noticeable (this makes sense, hear me out), I'd have to point the finger to Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. Last week, they were a dynamite duo. Tonight, they weren't really there. Rolston had 3 shots on net and played 14:57. None of those shots were of particular importance and he managed to get blocked twice and miss the net three times. I didn't think he had an impact. Elias got the win-clinching goal in the shootout, but he did little else in the game. He also played far less than I thought, only 14:05, put 1 shot on net, and was thoroughly beaten at the faceoff dot (3 for 11). The offense has a whole suffered as the game went on, and these two really do need to take more initiative to prevent this from happening in future games.

I do have to credit Detroit's defense in part of stifling New Jersey's offense. Nicklas Lidstrom is an absolute joy to watch on the blueline. He knows where to position himself, when to step up on a player, when to drop back, and he is so slick with the puck. A few times in the game, a Devil forward would have the puck and carry it over the blueline only to just dump it away because he knows he can't beat Lidstrom in a one-on-one battle. It's no wonder he's known as a dominant defenseman. Naturally, he played 30:48 for Detroit because he really is that important. Jonathan Ericsson also came back from injury and put in a good (not perfect, but good) effort in playing 28:24 (!!), often along side Lidstrom. Overall, the Red Wings' D cleaned up a lot of rebounds and Lidstrom alone made things difficult for the Devils' offense after the first period. Not that the Devils' offense was particularly interested in attacking them by the third period.

So what's next? The Devils have four games in the coming week and they really need to be more consistently positive on offense. That means putting shots on net through all three periods. That means not allowing the opposition to dictate the play when up with a lead. That means not giving up a two goal lead in a game. I think it'll get better, hopefully by Monday when they go up to Buffalo. Thanks to Steve and commenters in the GameThread, as well as all of the readers. Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, complaints, stats I missed, and anything else you feel about tonight's shootout win in the comments.

Two Fake Award Winners in a Row?! It's like Christmas in...well, almost December.

mpetrella — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:26 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

In his infinite awesomeness, Darren Helm has learned how to control the puck using brainwaves. (Note: does not work on breakaways)

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Well, they were on a bit of a run there for a while. Our boys in red have lost three of four. On the bright side, they've earned points in 13 of their last 17 games played, and Henrik Zetterberg has come alive.

The Red Wings have lost 76 man-games to injury this season. And it's only going to get worse for the next few months. Anyone want a piece of the man-games over/under? If Lilja, Kronwall, and Williams are all out until February, it'll be right around 200 at the Olympic break. Let's call it 200 on Valentine's Day.

A tale of two seasons:
Detroit is 6-3-1 in November. They were 8-2-2 last November.
On November 24, 2009, they are 11-7-4 for 26 points. On November 24, 2008, they were 14-2-4 for 32 points.
They had four losses in only one month last season: January (7-4-2). Reaaaally hoping they win out November...

Of the six players who have taken more than 30 faceoffs, only Justin Abdelkader (40.8) and Henrik Zetterberg (49.2) lose more than they win. The others: Pavel Datsyuk (58.3), Valtteri Filppula (54.5), Darren Helm (50.5), and Kris Draper (50)

Henrik Zetterberg has more than double the amount of points (15) at Joe Louis Arena than his closest competitor (Pavel Datsyuk - 7). He also has the same amount of goals (8) at home as the next three closest players combined.

Only two players have negative +/- ratings at home AND on the road. They are Brett Lebda and Todd Bertuzzi.

After the jump, some more statistical analysis and your Fake Award updates...

93.75% of Brad May's penalty minutes this season have come in the form of majors.

Coming on the heels of last week's dedication of the Patrick Eaves Goodfellas Award, we have a winner of a fake award for the second week in a row!

And the AARON DOWNEY AWARD WINNER is (drumroll, please......) Derek Meech. As a reminder, this honor is reserved for the final Red Wing to score a goal. The award is named for Aaron Downey, who scored his first and only goal as a Red Wing during his 60th and final game. The final three nominees for the 2009-10 version of the Downey Award were Drew Miller, Derek Meech, and Brad May. Drew Miller scored the lone goal against the Predators, and I don't care what LaRue says - Brad May scored, dammit. So, even though Derek Meech has only played six games (by the way, so has Miller), he's the lone guy without a goal.

CHRIS CHELIOS AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings defensemen with the fewest goals scored in the most games played. The player must have played in at least 3/4 of the team's games. The award is named for Chris Chelios, who scored 23 in his EXACTLY 600 games as a Red Wing (regular season and playoffs combined).*
1. Nicklas Lidstrom (1 goal in 22 games)
2. Brett Lebda (1 goal in 19 games)
3. Brad Stuart (2 goals in 22 games)
4. Brian Rafalski (2 goals in 21 games)
5. Jonathan Ericsson (3 goals in 20 games)
6. Niklas Kronwall (5 goals in 21 games)

DANNY CLEARY "SACRAFICE YOUR FACE" AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings forward with the most blocked shots. The award is named for Dan Cleary, who is used to becoming synonymous with "black eye" and/or "broken jaw."*
1. Darren Helm (11)
T2. Dan Cleary (10)
T2. Henrik Zetterberg (10)
4. Pavel Datsyuk (9)
T5. Justin Abdelkader (7)
T5. Ville Leino (7)

DEREK MEECH AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wing with the most games spent in the press box. The award is named for Derek Meech, who was a healthy scratch 35 times in 2008-09.*
1. Derek Meech (15)
T2. Patrick Eaves (6)
T2. Brad May (6)
4. Kirk Maltby (4)
5. Brett Lebda (3)

GREG STEFAN AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings goaltender that makes you question how they're in the NHL and you aren't. The award is named for Greg Stefan, who played nine seasons for the Red Wings, but only three that featured goals against averages under 4.*
1. James Tiberius Howard (5-3-1, 2.76, .898)
2. Christopher Robin Osgood (6-4-3, 2.73, .901)
3. Michael Superfly Petrella (0-0-0, 0.00, 1.000)

MIKAEL SAMUELSSON AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings forward with the most shots to miss the net. The award is named for Mikael Samuelsson, who literally must have been aiming for the 11th row.*
1. Henrik Zetterberg (42)
2. Ville Leino (23)
T3. Todd Bertuzzi (21)
T3. Tomas Holmstrom (21)
5. Pavel Datsyuk (16)

VLADIMIR KONSTANTINOV AWARD Update
*Given at the year's end to the Red Wings player that leads the team in plus/minus. The award is named for the legendary Vladinator, who led the NHL in +/- in 1995-96 with +60, a mark that hasn't been met since.*
1. Nicklas Lidstrom (+7)
2. Patrick Eaves (+6)
T3. Kirk Maltby (+5)
T3. Tomas Holmstrom (+5)
5. Pavel Datsyuk (+4)

HONORARY CHRIS HOLLIS/MOTOWN WINGS AWARD
*This is a new one. Its reserved for a Red Wings related player, coach, or situation that - like Hollis's CSSI statistic - I only KINDA understand. It will be given out when deserved.*
November 24, 2009 :: The premiere Hollis Award goes to the Justin Abdelkader. When Brad May scored that obvious goal on Alex Auld, Abdelkader looked right at the puck for about a second or two before he raised his arms. A little quicker reaction, and things may have turned out different. But, its not all bad - he's the only one who actually knew that was a goal. So, like the CSSI, we was very right, but...wait, what?

Time for Some Encouraging Numbers (and a few depressing ones...)

mpetrella — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:23:42 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

2 months ago: Detroit Red Wings' Valtteri Filppula, right, from Finland, scores against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of their NHL hockey game on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 in Detroit. The Avalanche won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/Jerry S. Mendoza)

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So what if the Red Wings have "3" in the loss column?! So what if Loss #3 didn't come until November 26th last season?! There's some encouraging trends to take note of despite the grim outlook. For one, the Red Wings also started 06-07 with a record of 3-3-1, and all they did was finish with 50 wins and the top spot in the Western Conference.

Some other numbers (warning: many are difficult to stomach) for your Tuesday hangover:

There's a grand total of three Red Wings on the plus side of +/- with Nicklas Lidstrom and Kirk Maltby co-leaders at +3. Brian Rafalski follows with +2. Niklas Kronwall is the low man at -4.

Thirteen different players have taken faceoffs for the Red Wings - and super-stud Kirk Maltby is dialing in at 100% (2-for-2). Valtteri Filppula has taken the most draws (107), while Pavel Datsyuk has the top percentage among actual, full-time centers (58.1%).

Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg are the only skaters to have played in all seven games who have not yet taken a penalty. Brett Lebda (4 GP), Darren Helm (3), and Patrick Eaves (3) have also stayed away from the sin bin. I'll be happy to start the WINGING IT IN MOTOWN PENALTY POOL, taking bets on who will be the last Red Wing to take a penalty. Take a look at the nifty little poll below...feel free to chime in your thoughts in the comments, as well.

Todd Bertuzzi, Val Filppula, and Hank Zetterberg are the blocked shots leader among forwards (4 each), which is a good clip behind the team leader (Kronwall - 13).

Speaking of Bertuzzi, he's the front-runner for the new MIKAEL SAMUELSSON AWARD (given to the player with the most shots missing the net altogether) with eight, including one that was fired about 50 feet over the net from no more than six feet away. Which might take skill. Maybe.

If the current trends continue (and, of course, they won't), Derek Meech and Patrick Eaves will each finish the season with 36 games in the press box as a healthy scratch. By comparison, Meech had 35 last season (which led the team), followed by Chris Chelios (28), Brett Lebda (9), Tomas Kopecky (3), Ville Leino (3), Kirk Maltby (3), Darren McCarty (2), and Kyle Quincey (the first two games of the season, prior to his being waived).

Of the 23 players currently on the roster (which excludes LTIR dwellers Andreas Lilja and Johan Franzen), the average salary is $2,343,193. Chump change.

On Saturday, the Red Wings lost in the shootout to the Avalanche - with only Jason Williams scoring in the post-game circus. Last season, the Wings took part in 10 shootouts, with Pavel Datsyuk converting five times (to lead the team in that category). The only other players to score during the shootout in 2008-09 were Jiri Hudler (3 times), Henrik Zetterberg (3), and Marian Hossa (twice).

Much has been made of Pavel Datsyuk's slow start, thanks to zero goals through seven games (two of which he didn't play in, due to injury), but it mirrors last season's start. His first goal in '08 came in Game #8, which was a 5-4 shootout victory against Chicago. Pasha also scored one of his aforementioned shootout goals.

Mikael Samuelsson is tied for 35th in league scoring. Kyle Quincey is 10th among defensemen. Jiri Hudler is 8th in KHL scoring (with 15 points in 16 games). Much of the rest of the KHL Top Ten reads like the rosters from the 1995 NHL All-Star Game: Alexei Yashin (2nd), Jozef Stumpel (3rd), Jaromir Jagr (6th), and Josef Vasicek (8th). Oh, and former irrelevant New York Islander Mattias Weinhandl (who actually leads the league with 19 points).

Poll

Who will be the final Red Wing to be called for a penalty (minor OR major)?

Brett Lebda

36 votes

Darren Helm

42 votes

Patrick Eaves

70 votes

Henrik Zetterberg

50 votes

Valtteri Filppula

75 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

Friday links: Balloon boy free since 2009

averagejoe — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:01:17 -0000

It's Friday. Let's do this.

Blues news

Here's the PD writeup. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
How bout an AP recap (don't everyone click at once).[Associated Press]
David Backes speaks! He was on NHL radio. [NHL]
Andy Murray has vowed not to over coach. Serious question: Have their been more Murray stories this fall? Is he the "star" of this team? [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
The guy who works at the local funeral parlor explains the Blues/Dish battle. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
For the other sides look at the game, go here. [Five For Howling]

Hockey news

What happened last night. [Yahoo! Sports]
What's happening today. [Yahoo! Sports]
Pavol Demitra is hurt. The sky is blue. [Nucks Misconduct]
A look at giveaways and takeaways. [Die by the Blade]
Nicklas Lidstrom finally got his 1000th point. [TSN]

Other links

The Olympic medals are odd looking. [LA Times blog]
Is there a pink slime underneath the city? [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Can food be racist? Yes. Yes it can. [Guyism]
These are some awesome names. [Buzzfeed]

Video

RFJCC and NatetheGreat. sent me the same video. As a veteran of the Liquor Store work place, I have seen someone ALMOST this drunk. Good times.

Poor College Student returns for the weekend shift. Will he link to a story about bacon? Come back to find out.

gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

Wings beat Kings 5-2; Lidstrom Nets 1,000th Point

joehass — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:24:40 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Chris Osgood stops Justin Williams as Brad Stuart looks on.

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A balanced attack, with five goals from five different players, helped the Red Wings defeat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.

After spotting the Kings an early 1-0 lead on Derek Brown's first goal of the season, Detroit roared back with two goals in the second. Jonathan Ericsson lit the lamp past Jonathan Quick at 3:33. Five minutes later, with Los Angeles a man down for too many men on the ice, Nicklas Lidstrom's shot was tipped off the stick of Tomas Holmstrom to make it 2-1.

In the third period, the Red Wings were down a man when Jarret Stoll pulled down Kris Draper. The official waited a beat to make the call, infuriating Stoll, but off the ensuing faceoff, Lidstrom set up Henrik Zetterberg for his first of the season. It was Lidstrom's 1,000th point, earning him a standing ovation at the TV timeout. After Justin Williams brought Los Angeles back to within one, Kirk Maltby's slapper from Todd Bertuzzi put Detroit back up by two. With Quick pulled for the extra attacker, Brian Rafalski exited the penalty box and put the puck into the empty net for the final goal of the night.

Player of the Game: Nick Lidstrom. Two assists tonight, the second making him the eighth defenseman in NHL history with 1,000 points, gives it to him.

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

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

Friday Prospects -- Class of 2009

KyleKujawa — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:22:33 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

3 months ago: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, of Sweden, knocks Philadelphia Flyers forward Jeff Carter into the boards during the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Hello there. I'm Kyle, and this is my feature.

If anyone's ever read my blog (I don't blame you, I don't read it either), you'll know that my love in life is Detroit prospects. I've always followed the draft, and when I'm not watching the Wings I'm usually trying to catch some random prospects game. I find the idea of knowing future Red Wings before they get there to be thrilling, and I think many others do as well. The only problem is, with so many prospects spread out all over the world, it's really hard to know where to start.

Hence, every Friday I will deliver this feature. Obviously with bigger things on the agenda today, I don't expect people will be fawning all over this. But I figure since the prospects season is well under way, this would be a fine day to make my debut.

Every week, this should be your stop for only the freshest prospects news. I plan to target three or four players every week to profile and provide some background and info on so that anyone looking to follow prospects can start. I'll spread the love, of course -- with 39 prospects headed into the season, I'll be looking at the most well-known to the most obscure. As this is a new feature and I am an indecisive person, I'd love to hear feedback on anything that you might want to see thrown in to this feature.

Today's group -- the graduating class of 2009.

As we are mere hours away from the drop of the puck, I figure the group to start this feature off is obvious. While they may be the most well-known of all Detroit's prospects, I figure there could be some who haven't had a chance to watch these guys at length, and might not know where they all come from. Let's take a look at the four prospects who will wear the Winged Wheel for the first time this season.

Ville Leino, LW, 26, 6'1, 190 lbs, signed by Detroit summer 2008 -- Leino is still one of the newest Detroit prospects, but it didn't take him very long to become one of the best. Leino rose up through the Finnish junior ranks completely undrafted, despite several impressive seasons in the junior clubs of SaPKo and Ilves. This was highlighted by 72 points in 26 games in his final season of Junior A Division-1 hockey (which is the second highest league in the very confusing and multi-tiered Finnish Junior system). He made his SM-Liiga (top professional league in Finland) debut at the age of 19, and was a regular at 20 -- quickly being acclaimed as one of the most offensively gifted prospects in Finland.

Leino's rise through the SM-Liiga was stunted in 2004-05 because of all the NHLers playing due to the lockout. He was poised for a top six role, but was instead relegated to 4th line duty in a crucial season for his development. He transferred to HPK the following season, posting back-to-back average seasons with 43 and 40 points. At the age of 24, Leino finally had the breakout season many anticipated with 77 points in 55 games en route to capturing league MVP honors.

Meanwhile, Detroit was engaged in quite the courtship with a rising Swedish star, Fabian Brunnstrom. Within a week after losing that months-long battle to Dallas, Detroit signed Leino. Since then, Leino has been nothing but impressive. Leino had been accused of Finland of being tough to coach, and a player who felt he was entitled to ice time even if he wasn't producing. Leino showed none of those traits in North America, taking a demotion to Grand Rapids in stride despite the fact that he was clearly NHL-ready. He enjoyed a successful first taste of the NHL late in the regular season on into the playoffs, and now, armed with a two-year, one-way deal, is poised to make Wings fans quickly forget about Jiri Hudler.

Jonathan Ericsson, D, 25, 6'4, 220 lbs, drafted 9th round, 2002 -- Detroit used the final pick of the 2002 draft on a giant center playing third-tier men's league hockey in Sweden. Fast forward a few years, they have an AHL All-Star defenseman touted as one of the best prospects of his position. But let's back up a bit first.

The story on Ericsson is quite well-known. Super-scout Hakan Andersson was present one game where Ericsson's team, Vita Hasten, was short on defenseman, so the team's coach (Ericsson's father), decided to move Jonathan back to defense for a game. Andersson was so impressed that he asked if Ericsson would consider a permanent switch to defense. Two years later, Ericsson was on the blueline for Sodertalje, in the Swedish Elite League, the highest in Sweden. Despite this, Ericsson was still a relative unknown as he only managed one point over three seasons in the SEL, and was sent down to second-tier Sweden several times in his final two seasons.

That one point was enough for Detroit, and they brought him over to Grand Rapids for the 2006-07 season. Ericsson's stock shot up to the top of the Detroit depth chart. What Detroit found was a superb-skating defenseman with a steady and composed defensive game, who can make plays in the defensive zone with his long reach, and in the offensive zone with his 100+ mile per hour slapshot.

Ericsson officially became a Detroit regular late last season, and he played in 22 post-season games, scoring four goals. The AHL is now a thing of the past for Ericsson, as he will start the season on Detroit paired with Brett Lebda. While still a raw player who needs to use his size better in the defensive zone and minimize his mistakes with the puck, Ericsson has the potential to be a large part of the committee that will need to fill in for Nicklas Lidstrom when his days are done.

Jimmy Howard, G, 25, 6'0, 210 lbs, drafted 2nd round, 2003 -- The Wings commitment to finding and grooming a homegrown goalie began in 2003 when they made Jimmy Howard their first pick of the draft. Howard had just completed his freshman season at the University of Maine, and was poised to become the starting goalie after splitting time in his first year.

And start he did, as Howard won the job for the playoffs by leading the nation by a large margin in both save percentage (.956) and goals against average (1.19). He led Maine on a very deep playoff run all the way to the National Championship game, where they fell 1-0 to Denver. The following season, Howard's numbers were not quite that good, but you can hardly be disappointed with a 1.92 GAA for a goalie suffering from mono in front of a slightly weakened lineup.

The Wings' intention for years was to bring Howard along very slowly and give him as much time as possible in the AHL before bringing him up. Howard spent the next four years in the AHL, save for nine games spread out over three years in Detroit. Howard established himself as starting goalie, but he was never able to shake inconsistency to rise to the elite level AHL status.

Now out of AHL options, Howard starts the season as Chris Osgood's backup goalie. He's got his fair share of doubters, but he's finally been given the chance to be a regular he's earned after working closely with Detroit for six seasons following his draft. He's been told that as long as he wins, he'll play, and he'll most likely look a little more consistent playing behind one of the deepest defenses in the league, opposed to a Griffins blueline who's talent and depth fluctuated from year-to-year.

Darren Helm, C, 22, 5'11, 195, drafted 5th round, 2005 -- When the Wings drafted Helm in 2005, they drafted a player who had the speed and work ethic that they like to see on their checking line. Unranked by every major scouting service, Helm was not exactly what you might call a household name.

As a rookie with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers, Helm's 24 points probably had something to do with scouts not lining up to see him. The next season, however, scouting services and teams throughout the league wished they had reconsidered. Helm exploded for 79 points, the most on his team. He took his game even further the following season, leading the Tigers to an appearance at the Memorial Cup as well as playing a checking line role for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

Helm turned pro the following season, but struggled to find a regular spot in a very young and inexperienced lineup. However, a late season NHL callup opened eyes yet again to just how good he was, and Detroit kept him for the Stanley Cup run as the team's 4th line center. Despite being this impressive, because he didn't need to clear waivers to play in the AHL, Helm played most of last season in Grand Rapids.

Helm proved in last year's playoffs that he can be more than just one of the fastest players in the league. He quickly became a fan favorite with a few big playoff goals as well as one legendary penalty kill in the Chicago series. With 41 playoff games to his 23 regular season games, Helm will finally get his chance this year to be an every day player for Detroit. His season debut will be delayed a few weeks as his shoulder heals, but Helm has absolutely forced his way onto a team that brings its youth along very slowly. He will get an opportunity to lead the next generation of Detroit's checking line.

Who's Hot: A 2009 pick, Tomas Tatar came to Detroit's training camp and earned a contract, starting the season in Grand Rapids ... 2009 7th round pick Adam Almqvist, the highest scoring defenseman in the Swedish Junior League last season, has 8 points in 2 games.

Who's Not: Johan Ryno impressed Detroit at training camp and then went back to Sweden instead of playing in Grand Rapids, making it unlikely he gets another contract ... 2009 top pick Landon Ferraro only has one goal in his first five games.

Notes: Brian Lashoff (Kingston, OHL), Brent Raedeke (Edmonton, WHL), and Jamie Tardif (Grand Rapids, AHL) are Detroit prospects who have been named captains of their respective clubs ... Justin Abdelkader made Detroit's opening day lineup, but may go to Grand Rapids when Helm is healthy ... Dick Axelsson, Cory Emmerton, Gleason Fournier, and Ryan Oulahen all start the season on the injury list, though none sound like they will miss extended time.

Blues Fans May Be Bitter, But Don't Say We're Jealous

Brad Lee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:30:14 -0000

Site of the big Red Wings watch party Friday afternoon.

It's become kind of a tradition around this corner of the Internets to hate the Detroit Red Wings. It's an emotional release, a celebration of everything St. Louis Blues. It's also a helluva lot of fun, mainly because a large number of Red Wings fans are humorless and over-sensitive and don't get it.

Often when we post a rant about the Wings, one of the most popular responses from the Detroit faithful goes a little something like this: You're just jealous.

Oh sure, they throw in a "Blues suck!" and "How many Cups have the Blues won?!!" And they often call us Bitter Blues Fans. That's fine. If that's all they can come up with, it illustrates the point about them being unoriginal and uninformed. And that part about being bitter shows how condescending they are.

I do not like how the Wings have dominated the division, helped drive salaries out of control forcing the most recent lockout and for the most part kicked the shit out of the Blues in recent years. Does that make me bitter? Maybe, but not in the way they mean it. The bitter part insinuates that I wish I was a Wings fan or I wished the Blues had the Wings players on their squad. Outside of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and maybe a younger version of Nicklas Lidstrom, there aren't any players I would like to have in St. Louis.

Kris Draper and his husband Kirk Maltby have won a ton of games, their names are on the Cup multiple times and they are beloved in the self-proclaimed Hockeytown. I would rather root for the Blackhawks than see either of those pricks play for St. Louis. No one liked Chris Osgood when he was here. Don't get me started with Tomas Holmstrom.

I yearn for the Blues to thoroughly beat the Red Wings on Friday and Saturday in Sweden for one main reason: it would validate the progress the team has made. It would signify the team turning the page on the past and focuses on being a winning team. Two great games would force the people talking about the two-team race for the Central Division to reconsider their prognostications.

Fans of the Detroit Red Wings expect their team to win every year and look down their noses at the rest of the league. It's time for a reality check, douche bags. Your reign is over. Let's drop the puck already.