SB Nation - Brett Lebda

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)

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?

Maple Leafs demolish Red Wings 5-1

MrNorrisTrophy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:37:56 -0000

More photos » by NATHAN DENETTE - AP

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On "Hall of Fame night" in Toronto, in which Brett Hull, Luc Robataille, and Steve Yzerman stepped onto the ice to be acknowledged, not much was Hall of Fame worthy from the Detroit end of things.

Phil Kessel had a big game for the Maple Leafs with a goal and an assist while goalie Jonas Gustavsson stopped 35 of 36 shots for his second consecutive win. Chris Osgood gave up five goals on 28 shots as Detroit's three game win streak came to a close and Toronto won only their third game of the year.

Toronto's Wayne Primeau opened the scoring at 10:34 on a shot from the faceoff circle to the left of Chris Osgood. Primeau gained the zone following a failed pinch by Jonathan Ericsson and Kris Draper lost his edge to give Primeau a two-on-one against Brett Lebda. Colton Orr and Jeff Finger were credited with the assists on Primeau's goal, his first of the season. Phil Kessel added a goal with 26 seconds left to play in the first period to increase the Maple Leafs lead to 2-0. Ian White fired on net from the blue line and Jason Blake's rebound shot had originally beat Chris Osgood before Kessel tapped it in for insurance. Swedish goalie phenom Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson stopped all 13 of the Detroit shots in the first period with several great saves on quality chances.

Jeff Finger put a shot over Chris Osgood's shoulder on a 3-on-2 for a 3-0 Toronto lead 5:21 into the 2nd period. Finger, the trail man on the break out, received a pass from Lee Stempniak and was able to score his first goal of the year. The Wings were caught in a line change at the tail end of their power play and it resulted in the odd-man rush and a goal for Toronto. As if the 3-0 Toronto lead wasn't enough to deal with for Detroit, Jason Williams fell behind the Toronto net and left the game with an injury to his right leg. Early reports indicate a broken right leg.

Detroit finally got on the board in the third period. Although they didn't score on a five-on-three power play chance, they had several great opportunities. Soon after the power play ended, Dan Cleary received a pass from Brian Rafalski as both teams were changing and had only Gustavsson to beat. Cleary did just that as he scored his 100th career goal at 5:59 of the third, providing the only high point of the night for Detroit. The 3-1 Toronto lead quickly ballooned to 5-1 as John Mitchell deflected a Phil Kessel shot past Osgood at 9:22 and Alexei Ponikarovsky beat Osgood with a weak backhand at 12:44. Gustavsson was solid all game and allowed kept the puck out his own net and allowed his teammates to get chances at the other end.

Detroit returns to action on Wednesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

MrNorrisTrophy's Wing of the Game: No question about it, Dan Cleary. Cleary's goal was the lone high point in the game and a huge weight is off his shoulders after finally getting his 100th career goal. Goal 100 below.

Dan Cleary

#11 / Right Wing / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Born: Dec 18, 1978

Red Wings vs Maple Leafs coverage

Two early goals, Osgood shut down Bruins

MrNorrisTrophy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:51:00 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Zetterberg's face. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Must be good to be home for the Red Wings. Two first period goals were all the Red Wings needed in the return to Joe Louis Arena with Chris Osgood in great form in net.

Boston's Marco Sturm went to the box for hooking Brett Lebda in the Bruins' offensive zone, putting Detroit on its first power play of the game. Henrik Zetterberg wasted no time, firing a loose puck off the face off over Tim Thomas' shoulder for a 1-0 Red Wings lead two seconds into the man advantage. Zetterberg's third goal of the season came at 14:21 of the first period from Pavel Datsyuk. Shortly following Zetterberg's goal, Tomas Holmstrom scored his 8th goal of the season on a great drop pass from Datsyuk. Todd Bertuzzi got the puck to Datsyuk with a great outlet pass and Datsyuk dropped the puck to Holmstrom in the slot for an easy shot past Thomas.

The second period was dominated by more physical play and close calls on offensive chances, including a blown 3-on-1 for the Bruins that Chris Osgood stopped. The Bruins also spent the first 1:20 of a power play in their offensive zone, applying constant pressure on Osgood. The Red Wings killed off the remainder of the penalty and got two minutes of their own, creating several chances and most importantly, killing two minutes of game clock.

Osgood stopped all 29 shots in the process of earning his 50th career shut out and the Bruins were shut out for the second consecutive game. Detroit's second consecutive win ties the season streak but more importantly the Red Wings pick up two points against a very talented and physical Bruins team. Boston out shot Detroit 29-26 and had a +11 edge in the faceoff circle. Despite the numbers against them, Detroit was able to maintain the two goal lead throughout the duration of the game.

Detroit takes on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena at 7:30 p.m. while the Bruins face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

MrNorrisTrophy's Wing of the Game: Although tempting to sneak Pavel Datsyuk in there, I have to give credit where credit is due. Chris Osgood played great in net tonight and along with a few posts, his pads were in the right place at the right time.

Chris Osgood

#30 / Goalie / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 5-10

Weight: 180

Born: Nov 26, 1972

Phoenix Coyotes Upend Red Wings 3-2 in Overtime, Win Fourth Straight

OdinMercer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:48:19 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

2 months ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Adrian Aucoin, middle, celebrates his game-winning goal against the Detroit Red Wings with teammates Peter Mueller, left, and Vernon Fiddler (38) during overtime of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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The Detroit Red Wings were dominant for 55 or so minutes of Thursday's game, but it only took the Phoenix Coyotes about 4:30 to snatch victory away and walk out with 2 points in hand.

Early in the game the Coyotes looked like their normal selves, at least how they've looked so far this season. It was a defensive battle through the majority of the 1st period with the Coyotes getting a few more shots than the wings, but up until the last couple of minutes it was a fairly even game. With 3:30 left in the period Matthew Lombardi slapped one out of the air and in on the Power Play to take the lead. That was short lived however, as with just :20 seconds remaining Tomas Homstrom got a tip in to even it up. The goal deflated the play of the Coyotes in the following period as Detroit took control of the game. While the defense and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov held the Wings at bay, it was clear Detroit was dictating the play and weren't allowing the Coyotes much room to do anything. at the 7:45 mark Brett Lebda put a wrister by Bryzgalov off a nice pass by Pavel Datsyuk.

The Third Period was more of the same through the first 15 minutes. The Coyotes kept trying to get going, but Detroit shifted to a heavy forecheck and a defensive style to keep the Coyotes down. but the Coyotes were able to break out of that a bit and late in the period Petr Prucha tied it up on a dirty goal. Both Prucha and Vrbata kept digging away in front of Chris Osgood. Osgood didn't have the puck covered and as the Detroit defense kept checking and pushing the pair into the net Prucha got a stick on it and put it past the goalline. Mike Babcock was not happy about it being called a goal as he thought Osgood was pushed in, but the puck was never fully possessed by Osgood so it stood even after a review. The Coyotes continued to put pressure on a clearly disheartened Red Wings team for the remainder of the period, but the game went to overtime.

In the Extra frame it went back and forth for a short time, but just 1:57 into extra time Adrian Aucoin put a wrister in from the top of the circle that Chris Osgood tipped up and into the net. Osgood opened up his stick side to try and hit it down, but instead it travelled up the blade and into the net.

The Coyotes have now won their last 4 games and are the first this season to defeat both the Penguins and Wings, last year's conference champions. The Coyotes next face the LA Kings on Saturday.

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

Line-up change for Thursday

MrNorrisTrophy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:20:01 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Hoping to jumpstart the defense, Mike Babcock has replaced Brett Lebda on the third defensive pairing with Derek Meech. A move welcomed by many, including me, could pay off for the Wings against the Blackhawks. Meech is slightly bigger than Lebda and is more of a defensive defenseman than Lebda. This should prove to be beneficial against the potent Blackhawks offense that has speed and good passing.

Chris Osgood is expected to start in net for Thursday's game and hopefully he'll be able to bounce back from the opening game loss. Darren Helm is listed as questionable for the game but it's unlikely that he will be rushed back to the line-up.

Link to mlive.com article.

Poll

Is pulling Lebda for Meech the right move?

Yes! About time!

160 votes

Nah, give Brett some slack.

34 votes

194 votes | Poll has closed

Sweden Opener: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

MrNorrisTrophy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:00:45 -0000

More photos » by NIKLAS LARSSON - AP

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Starting the season in Sweden, the home of 8 of the Red Wings players, should have put things on a positive note right? Without a win in either of the two games and losing the lead in both games, the team undoubtedly boarded the flight home to Detroit with a sour taste. So what's there to take away from the trip overseas? There's some good, some bad, and some ugly.

The Good

Offensive production was pretty good in the opening two games. The team scored early and often (twice in both opening periods) and continued to produce great offensive chances. The Wings were +11 in the shooting column for the first game and +1 for the second, registering more than 30 shots in each contest. A lot of these shots were from great spots on the ice in the first one and a half periods of each game but were then limited to the point and to the perimeter as St. Louis adjusted defensively. Another good sign is how well the Wings fared in the face-off circle, winning about 57% of the draws for the weekend with Datsyuk hitting about 70% in the circle. The offense showed that it's still powerful despite the loss of the players from last year but it can't be called upon to do everything to win.

The Bad

The penalty killing units continue the woes from last year, allowing 4 goals in 9 opportunities to the Blues. I know it's early but 56% kill rate will dig a big hole in the goal differential column if it stays this poor. I don't expect it to but there needs to be a rapid adjustment to the scheme for the penalty kill to get the confidence back in this team that it can play with the disadvantage. Another thing that was bothersome was the inability to change the offensive attack when the Blues adapted to the Detroit game plan. The middle of the ice started out fairly open but the Blues clamped down defensively and forced the puck to the perimeter and forced the Wings to try to beat them from the point. Sound familiar? Game 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals fit this description perfectly. The Wings need a new plan of attack when the puck is forced outside and I trust Babcock will come up with something sooner rather than later.

The Ugly

The defense and goaltending was particularly forgettable in these two games. Both games exhibited the definition of complacency following an early lead. Not to take anything away from the Blues on this one but the defense handed these two games to the Blues. I hate to lead the player bashing brigade but Brett Lebda is showing me all the more reason to root for a roster move. He was on the ice for 6 of the 9 goals scored in the two game set. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that one of them came on the powerplay but he was constantly out of position on the remaining 5. I appreciate the aggressiveness of trying to jump up in the attack but when he is at the front of the attack and leaves a forward to play his spot, the line needs to be drawn. The goaltending didn't help that much either this weekend as both Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard let in at least two very soft goals. The difference between Ty Conklin being the backup and Jimmy Howard being the backup is pretty clear. I'm not ready to sell Howard down the river yet, given that it was only his 8th career start he still deserves the chance to prove himself but I think with the soft goals he has given up, that window of opportunity is closing fast.

MrNorrisTrophy's "MVP of Sweden": So who was I most impressed with in the two games to open the season? Although it is tempting to put Kirk Maltby with his shorthanded goal and assist, I picked Niklas Kronwall. He played solid defense while contributing a powerplay goal and assist in about 23 minutes of ice time per game with 6 shots blocked...and because he's from Sweden

Niklas Kronwall

#55 / Defenseman / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 192

Born: Jan 12, 1981

Wings go winless in Sweden

KyleKujawa — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:39:52 -0000

More photos » by NIKLAS LARSSON - AP

2 months ago: Detroit Red Wings Niklas Kronwall (top left), fights for the puck with St Louis Blues Keith Tkatchuk, left and Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard looks on, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct, 3 2009 in Stockholm. (AP Photo/Niklas Larsson)

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Despite playing in front of hundreds of family members and close friends, the Detroit Red Wings dropped their second straight game in Sweden to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 5-3.

Much like yesterday, the Red Wings got off to a very fast start in the first period. Tomas Holmstrom saw a puck graze in off his pants to make it 1-0 just 31 seconds in. A minute and a half later, Dan Cleary beat former Red Wing Ty Conklin to make it 2-0, jamming a puck in off a Henrik Zetterberg pass from the corner. Cleary nearly made it 3-0 minutes later, deflecting a puck past Conklin that was waived off because Cleary's stick was above the crossbar.

The Red Wings were unable to put the Blues away in the first period, despite a 14-1 shot advantage at one point, mostly the result of four straight Blues penalties. With Kirk Maltby off for elbowing, St. Louis cut Detroit's lead in half as Keith Tkachuk found a way to slide a puck through a sprawled Jimmy Howard.

St. Louis started the second period as strong as they finished the first, evening the shots out to 18-15 their advantage despite the margin they were down in the first period. Andy Mcdonald evened the score when he put home a rebound that Howard had deflected out front. Niklas Kronwall helped Detroit regain the lead on the powerplay minutes later, but from there it was all St. Louis.

Brad Boyes slid a shot through Howard's pads that just trickled over the line, and 12 seconds later Patrik Berglund found himself on a partial breakaway as he wired a slapshot through the pads of Howard, giving St. Louis the lead for the first time in the contest. Keith Tkachuk added his second goal in the contest late in the third, tipping a puck over Howard, to give St. Louis the 5-3 victory.

Jonathan Ericsson returned to the lineup today for Detroit after leaving yesterday, but Brett Lebda left the game in the second period after taking a hard hit into the end boards.

Detroit has four days off before they take on the Chicago Blackhawks at home to open up their North American schedule.

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.