Weekly Preview: February 26th - March 3rd, 2012

Weekly Preview: February 26th - March 3rd, 2012

The are only 2 games on the schedule for Detroit this week. A divisional matchup against the league worst Columbus Blue Jackets and against the "12th-in-the-West" Minnesota Wild. Pavel Datsyuk will again miss this week while he recovers from knee surgery he underwent last Tuesday. Playing these teams should be a good "pick-me-up" for the Wings who faltered at the end of last week losing 3 straight.

Game 1: @Columbus

Detroit travels to Columbus to face the league's worst team. Under-performing centre Jeff Carter was dealt away for defensemen Jack Johnson and Columbus All-Star winger Rick Nash was failed to be dealt. There was controversy around Rick Nash as it was revealed he was the one who asked to be moved. Perhaps this awkward relegation could sow some bad chemistry upon the already troubled Bluejackets. Detroit should play hard in this one to get back to their winning ways.

Game 2: Minnesota @ Home

Hopefully the Red Wings can reignite their prowess at home with a win here against the Wild. The Wild surprised everyone by leading the league for the first month of the year but have since fallen far to 12th place in the Western Conference. The Wild have recently bested the road tired San Jose Sharks but in the 

Trade Deadline from Detroit's Point of View

Trade Deadline from Detroit's Point of View

Kyle Quincey returns to Detroit

This year's Trade Deadline was another quiet one with only 16 trades being completed today, and no real "blockbuster" deals. Detroit however did manage to make one deal today and another a few days ago. Last week Detroit was involved in a 3-way trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning. Firstly, Colorado sent Defensemen Kyle Quincey to Tampa Bay for Steve Downie, and then Tampa Bay flipped Quincey to the Red Wings for a 1st Round Pick and prospect Sebastien Piche. Kyle Quincey was originally drafted by the Red Wings in 2003 but failed to crack through the line-up and was picked up of waivers by the LA Kings in 2008. Quincey showed his defensive prowess filling in for an injured Jack Johnson that year. He was then traded to Colorado where he continued solid defensive play. Quincey has had a history of injuries, but when he's healthy he is capable of logging a lot of minutes and putting up 30 points a year. He could become a key part of the Red Wing's if he remains healthy.

The other move the Detroit Red Wings managed to make was trading Mike Commodore to Tampa Bay for a conditional 7th round pick. Detroit has a history of good scouting and perhaps could make use of this late round draft pick, but the real reason for the move was Commodore was buried in Detroit's depth charts and was blocking rosters spots for prospects like Brendan Smith. Now that Commodore is gone the Wings have called up Smith who was Detroit's 1st round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Smith is billed as a physical defensemen and has played 2 seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. In 110 games he has amassed 64 points and 198 PIM.

Kyle Quincey and Brendan Smith both have a great opportunity to make a real impact on Detroit's blueline as the Wings have recently lost Brian Rafalski to retirement and are rumoured to lose Nicklas Lidstrom (also to retirement) and Brad Stuart (to the UFA market) this summer.

In speculation leading up to the Trade Deadline, Detroit's name was linked with Buffalo's gritty Centre Paul Gaustad. However, Gaustad was dealt to the Nashville Predators for a first round pick. Gaustad would have added some much needed grit, and supplied the Wings with another reliable face-off winner. Perhaps the Red Wings over paid for Quincey by sending their 1st round pick to Tampa Bay. If they were able to get Quincey for a bit cheaper, perhaps a 2nd round pick and maybe a slightly better prospect, they could have saved their 1st round pick to acquire Gaustad.

All things considered this Trade Deadline proved to be fruitful for the Red Wings as they managed to add some depth and good potential to their blueline. Kyle Quincey has already contributed a few points to the Red Wings and it seems like the right time to call up a highly touted prospect like Brendan Smith.

Weekly Review: February 19-25th

Weekly Review: February 19-25th

Though the week started off nicely for the Wings with a hard fought win over the San Jose Sharks to get their 23rd straight home win but things quickly faltered as they proceeded to lose the next three games. The good news of ace goaltender Jimmy Howard making his return from injury was marred by the fact Pavel Datsyuk will miss 2 weeks getting knee surgery.

Game 1: San Jose Sharks @ Home (Win: 3-2)

Detroit grew their Home Winning streak in this match by besting the San Jose Sharks. Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring with a trademark backhand over Antti Niemi in the first. Drew Miller would add another goal thanks to some hard work by Justin Adbelkader. Adbelkader would grab a rebound from Joey MacDonald and skate down the ice passing to Drew Miller, who then passed it back to Adbelkader. Adelkader shot on net and Miller picked up the rebound netting his 12th of the year. A weird bounce of the puck off the top of the net on a Sharks power play would lead to Logan Couture cutting the lead in half. In the 3rd period Darren Helm would restore the insurance marker with a slap shot set up by Drew Miller. Joey MacDonald made a number of key saves in the period however a rebound he left out let Patrick Marleau score his 23rd of the year to bring the game to within one goal, but it would be too little too late as the Wings were able to hold the Sharks off to get the win.

Drew Miller has really showed he can step up when needed in this game and as always its nice to see him clicking with the likes of Adbelkader and Helm.

Game 2: @Chicago Blackhawks (Loss: 2-1)

Jimmy Howard made his return from his broken finger in this game, but it was announced that Pavel Datsyuk would miss 2 weeks with knee surgery. Detroit also continued to slump on the road as they failed to get the win and end Chicago's resurgence in the Central Division. Things started out well as Valtteri Filppula scored five-hole on Corey Crawford on the power play. However that would be the only goal the Wings would score and Chicago rookie Jimmy Hayes would lead the comeback scoring on a wrist shot in the 2nd period and getting an assist on Marcus Kruger's goal as he tried to jam in a wrap around which lead to a rebound for Kruger to net the game winning goal. Corey Crawford had a bunch of key saves late in the game which kept this one away from the Wings. 

Game 3: Vancouver Canucks @ Home (Loss: 4-3 SO)

The Home Winning Streak was ended as the league's hottest road team came to town. This was a disappointing game not only because the streak was ended but because Western Conference Powerhouse Vancouver Canucks were able to march in to the Joe and come out with a win, something the Wings will have to stop if they want to go deep into the playoffs. The speedster, Darren Helm would open the scoring by blocking a Kevin Bieksa point shot and breaking down the ice and wresting it past Roberto Luongo. The lead would be erased in the 2nd as Alexander Elder's point shot would be redirected by Henrik Sedin to brother Daniel who put the puck past Jimmy Howard. New-comer to Detroit, Kyle Quincey would get his first goal as a Red Wing in the 3rd. Left alone in the slot Adbelkader would feed Quincey who roofed the puck for his 6th goal of the year. Cody Hodgson would get a lucky break as he shot the puck on net and it bounced in off of Niklas Kronwall's skate evening the game at 3 a piece. Detroit would regain the lead though as Darren Helm hit the post with a great shot and Justin Adbelkader would bang the puck in. Though the game would get sent to OT and later Shoot Out as Vancouver would pull their goal and score with their big guns on the ice, a nice slapshot from Daniel Sedin set up by brother Daniel and Ryan Kesler. In Shoot Out all 3 Detroit shooters were held scoreless and Alexander Burrows would put the puck past Howard give Detroit their first home loss in 112 days.

Game 4: Colorado Avalanche @ Home (Loss: 4-3)

Detroit would loss again at home after winning 23 in a row. Colorado came out fast and hard and had some superb goaltending by J.S. Giguere en route to their 4-3 win. Gabriel Landeskog would open the scoring as a beneficiary to some grinding down low by Ryan O'Reilly and Steve Downie for his first goal of the night. A turnover on a Detroit power play would lead to David Jones snapping in his 15th of the year sending the Wings to the dressing room down 2-0. In the 2nd period Gabriel Landeskog would score his 2nd of the game by sneaking into the slot and snapping the puck in the net, once again set up by Ryan O'Reilly and Steve Downie. It wouldn't be until the 3rd, on a Red Wings power play that the Detroit would get their first goal. Hudler hid on the left side wing and accepted a Fippula pass to snap in his 19th goal of the season. Detroit's momentum would be quenched as Steve Downie would bounce in a rebound off of Ryan Wilson shot. Now down 4-1 the Wings would not give up as Jiri Hudler would net his 2nd of the night by simultaneously screening J.S. Giguere and redirecting a Zetterberg shot into the net. Valtteri Filppula would bring the Wings within 1 goal by wresting in a rebound off of a Hudler shot, however that would be as close as the Wings would come in this one, losing 4-3.

In a game where hot goaltending held Detroit from a win its clear they miss superstar Centre Pavel Datsyuk.

***

Despite the win against San Jose this week was ultimately a disappointment for the Red Wings. Three losses, including the end of their Home Win Streak and loss of Pavel Datsyuk. Next week they only have two games against bottom dwellers Columbus Bluejackets and Minnesota Wild so hopefully they can use that time to regroup.

Weekly Preview: February 19-25th

Weekly Preview: February 19-25th

Detroit has a busy week with 4 games against some big name opponents. The 3rd place in the West San Jose Sharks, divisional rivals Chicago Blackhawks, 2nd place in the West Vancouver Canucks, and historical rivals Colorado Avalanche. Joey MacDonald has been playing stellar for the Wings but Jimmy Howard is expected to return to the lineup from his broken finger.

Game 1: San Jose Sharks @ Home

The Sharks are currently leading the tight race for the Pacific Division crown and sit 3rd in the Western Conference. Sharks' Captain Joe Thornton has been on a scoring streak getting 9 points in his last five games. Brent Burns has also awoken, the former Minnesota Wild Defenceman had a slow start but managed 3 assists in his last game. The Sharks are on a long road trip and could potentially be fatigued against the Wings who have played their last 3 games at the Joe Louis arena. 

Game 2: @Chicago Blackhawks

After playing 4 games at home, the Wings will travel to the other side of Lake Michigan to face the rebounding Chicago Blackhawks. After losing 8 straight the Hawks have fell from 2nd place in the Central Division to 4th, but they have snapped out of the skid winning 2 games in a row. They play a tough game against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday and if they can muster up a win against the Blues they will has some serious momentum and could be tough to beat.

Game 3: Vancouver Canucks @ Home

Detroit managed a Shoot Out victory against the Canucks a few weeks ago and since then the Canucks have been on fire going 8-0-2 in their last 10 and are clipping close on the heels of the Wings for top spot in the league. Detroit's big guns have been firing on all cylinders but so has Vancouver's top line of the Sedins and Burrows. This game should be a real match of 2 juggernauts, luckily for the Wings this contest will be at the Joe Louis arena and in the middle of a long road trip for the Canucks.

Game 4: Colorado Avalanche @ Home

Colorado sits 11th place in the West and 3 points out of the final playoff spot. They've been lukewarm 3-5-2 in their last 10 games. The bright light for this slumping team has been up-and-comer Ryan O'Reilly who has already set career highs in goals and assists. Detroit has had trouble against subpar teams this year, but if their winning streak is still intact when their historical rivals come in to town look for the Wings to be fired up in this contest.

Weekly Review: February 12-18th, 2012

Weekly Review: February 12-18th, 2012
The Red Wings set, and broke history this week as they tied the 1929-30 Bruins and 1975-76 Flyers for 20 consecutive Home Wins with their first win and extended the streak to 22 wins as they closed out the week.

Game 1: Philadelphia Flyers @ Home (Win: 4-3)
Detroit tied the Home Win streak record with a win against the Flyers in this game. Niklas Kronwall opened the scoring for the home team with a riveting slapshot set up from Zetterberg and Bertuzzi on the power play. However, Brayden Schenn would score two goals to give the Flyers the lead early in the 2nd period. Another penalty for the Flyers sent the Wings back to the Power Play and Pavel Datsyuk would put the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky to even things up. Philadelphia's grind line would give them the lead again as Max Talbot tipped in a shot from Hartnel. Late in the 2nd period Valtteri Filppula would set up Henrik Zetterberg who slapped the puck past Bobrovsky to even things up. Detroit managed to get a goal from Johan Franzen just 52 seconds in to the 3rd period and held off the attacking Flyers for the rest of the game to secure the win.

Game 2: Dallas Stars @ Home (Win: 3-1)
Detroit claimed the Home Win Streak record all to themselves with a win in this game. Lidstrom and Datsyuk would set up Zetterberg on the Power Play and Darren Helm would set up Brad Stuart for a goal of his own against Kari Lethonen. The 2nd period was scoreless despite 6 minutes on the Power Play for the Wings, and 4 minutes on the Power Play for the Stars. In the 3rd Jiri Hudler restarted the scoring with a snap shot set up from Filppula. Joey MacDonald played stellar this game and looked as if he would get the Shut Out in this game, but on the last shot of the game Adam Burish tipped in a shot from Ryder to give the Stars their only goal.

Game 3: Nashville Predators @ Home (Win: 2-1)
Detroit again added to their streak with a nail bitter against the Preds. Pekka Rinne kept this one close as the Wings out shot the Preds 31 to 21. Johan Franzen would open the scoring midway through the first period to give Detroit the lead. Nashville's Nick Spalding would even the game in the 2nd period by wristing the puck past Joey MacDonald. The game looked like it was heading to OT as the game remained tied with 15 seconds left in the third period and a faceoff to the left of Pekka Rinne. Detroit would win the faceoff but the puck would get knocked out of the zone. Niklas Lidstrom would pick the puck up at centre ice and quickly pass it to Henrik Zetterberg who centred the puck to Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk took the puck in and deked out Ryan Suter before putting the puck past Rinne with only 5 seconds left to give the Wings the win.

***

Detroit had a big week setting and breaking the Home Win Streak record getting wins in all 3 of their games. Joey MacDonald has played some solid goaltending filling in for the injured Jimmy Howard.

Weekly Preview: February 12-18th, 2012

Week: February 12-18th, 2012

There are three home games this week for the Red Wings and this could be a big opportunity for them to increase their home win streak. They play big games against the Nashville Predators and a game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Game 1: Philadelphia Flyers @ Home

Despite being 4th place in the Eastern Conference the Flyers have been kinda mediocre in their last 10 games going 4-3-3, but the Flyers do sit in 4th place in the Eastern Conference and could break out of their slump at any time. The Flyers have given up lots of points on the Penalty Kill so if they continue to play undisciplined look for Detroit to capitalize. Its good to see that Joey MacDonald has been playing well as strong goaltending for the Wings will be key. Also Todd Bertuzzi and Justin Adbelkader have been pretty hot recently so look for their gritty play to help counteract the toughness of the Flyers.

Game 2: Dallas Stars @ Home

The once hot Dallas Stars now sit 11th in the Western Conference and have gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. The Stars are battling some injury woes with Brenden Morrow currently on the IR and Sheldon Souray listed as questionable. Jamie Benn has been a bright light for the Stars with some consistent scoring, and goaltender Kari Lehtonen has been making a lot of saves. The Wings will need to get a lot of shots to beat Lehtonen and will need another big game from Joey MacDonald if Howard is still out.

Game 3: Nashville Predators @ Home

The Predators are hot on the heels of the St. Louis Blues and are looking to climb the standings in the Central Division. This will be a big game for Detroit as beating Nashville will keep the surging Predators from making a real dent in the Central Division race. Pekka Rinne has been stellar for the Preadators and stopped 38 of 41 shots against the Bruins. Detroit will have to get lots of shots if they want to get a win against the Predators.

Weekly Review: February 5-11th

Week: February 5-11th

Well I missed this week's preview due to computer issues, but here is the week in review. Coming off a tough Shoot Out loss to the Oilers last week the Red Wings had a lot to prove, especially when the Oilers came to town on Wednesday putting Detroit's Home Streak in jeopardy.

Game 1: @Phoenix (Loss: 3-1)

Another Road Loss for Detroit who has been struggling to pick up wins away from the Joe Louis Arena. Joey MacDonald got the start in this game due to Jimmy Howard's finger injury and despite getting a loss in this game he played will stopping 20 of 22 shots. Phoenix's Boyd Gordon opened the scoring with an unassisted wrister. Martin Hanzal would score in the 2nd on a the power play to increase Phoenix's lead. The Wings would cut the lead in half when they went on the power play thanks to Johan Franzen with assists from Zetterberg and Datsyuk. Despite the lack of scoring in this game from the Wings it was good to see the Wings Top Guns start scoring again. Despite this push Detroit would have to pull Joey MacDonald in the 3rd and Martin Hanzal would finish the game with an empty netter goal. The Wings need to pick up their road play, and perhaps after 4 games on the road they were a bit worn out. It was good to see some solid play by MacDonald and the top line connecting for goals.

Game 2: Edmonton @ Home (Win: 4-2)

Being beaten by Edmonton last week made this game tense as Detroit's home win streak was put in jeopardy. However, Detroit came out swinging in this one, Johan Franzen started the scoring on the Power Play with a tip in via an Ian White point shot. In the 2nd period Cory Emmerton would backhand a goal in via a Justin Abdelkader pass. Its always good to see this line connecting for points. The Oiler's would climb back in to this game thanks to Sam Ganger who scored once at the end of the 2nd, and on the Power Play early in the 3rd. Drew Miller would get the game winner with a backhander goal past Khabibulin. Henrik Zetterberg would put get the insurance marker a few minutes later to put this game away. Justin Abdelkader had 2 assists in this game and 9 penalty minutes, its good to see he can contribute on the scoreboard and shake things up as well. Joey MacDonald had a solid game again stopping 15-17 shots.

Game 3: Anaheim @ Home (Win: 2-1 SO)

This game was a real nail bitter but Detroit ended up getting the win in Shoot Out extending their home win streak to 19 wins in a row. Anaheim Tough Guy, George Parros ended his goal scoring drought by tipping in a Rod Pelley point shot, but Justin Adbelkader would tip in a Jakub Kindl shot evening up the game. Niklas Lidstrom would hit the post a few times in the game but the score would remain 1-1 throughout the rest of the game sending it to Over Time and later a Shoot Out. Todd Bertuzzi would again be the Shoot Out hero, taking the puck slowly up the middle of the ice before quickly deke to his back hand and lifting the puck over Jonas Hiller. Joey MacDonald made some key saves in this game and if he keeps up playing this way while Jimmy Howard is out this will be great for the Red Wings

***

Despite losing their first game of the week the Wings won both of their home games extending their streak to 19 games. The big news this week was Joey MacDonald's excellent play in net and Justin Adbelkader's effectiveness in scoring and adding grit to the Wings line up.

Week: January 29 - February 4, 2012

The Wings finished the week 2-0-1 getting 5 points in the standings on their Western Canadian road-trip. More importantly the Wings showed they could be effective on the road, possibly the only weakness they have showed so far this season.

Game 1: @Calgary (Win: 3-1)

There were a lot of questions about how the Wings would play after the All-Star break, especially with that huge loss against the basement-dwelling Montreal Canadiens. However the Wings returned to form against Calgary Flames en route to a 3-1 win. Cory Emmerton would open the scoring for the Wings in the first with a nice snap shot fed by an Adbelkader rebound, it's always a good sign when the 4th line can contribute to the scoring like these guys can. However the lead was erased when Todd Bertuzzi took an interference penalty and on the ensuing power-play Mike Cammalleri backhanded the puck passed Jimmy Howard. The lead was restored half way through the 3rd period on a great effort by Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula. Filppula took the puck down the wing and skated behind the net centring the puck to a trailing Hudler who put the puck in the wide open net. People always talk about the "potential" of Hudler and Filppula so seeing them take off like this and develop a chemistry is nice to see. Drew Miller would add the insurance marker on a nice one-timer from Dan Cleary to secure the 3-1 victory. This game was a great win because Jimmy Howard bounced back from the loss to the Habs stopping 28 of 29 shots and lots of scoring was supplied by the Wing's supporting cast.

Game 2: @Vancouver (Win: 4-3 SO)

This was a huge win for the Red Wings, despite it being a Shoot-Out win getting points over other top teams in the Western Conference is really important. The scary news in this game was that Goaltender Jimmy Howard broke his finger and will miss at least 2 weeks of play. The Wings opened the scoring in the first with a Dan Cleary wrist shot, but Ryan Kesler would answer back with a wrist shot of his own bringing the game to a 1-1 tie at the end of the first. Hudler and Filppula would connect once a gain as Hudler beat Luongo with a nice snap shot to give the wings a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd. Alexandre Burrows would tie the game for the Canucks with a Slap shot that beat Jimmy Howard. Drew Miller gave the Wings the lead again but this was erased by Mason Raymond who would send the game into Over-time and eventually a Shoot out. The Wings have been really hot in the Shoot out this year and Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler would both put the puck stick side on Luongo to give Detroit the win in this game.

Game 3: @Edmonton (Loss: 5-4 SO)

Once again it seems that Detroit's kryptonite this year seems to be teams having below 0.500 records. But despite Edmonton's record they have a had a roller coaster season which has had a lot of highs, including Sam Gagner's 8 point night in the previous game. Gagner wasted no time in this game scoring just 2:42 into the first period on the power play to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. Ganger would then set up Eberle for a 2 goal lead. Tomas Holmstrom would take a hooking penalty late in the first period sending the Oilers to the power play once again. However it was Valtteri Filpulla who would get the short handed goal, after the puck bounced off Sam Gagner's skate, Filpulla shot the puck on net and it bounced off of Oiler's Defenceman Ladislav Smid's stick and into the net. However Gagner was still on fire and would tip-in a Ryan Smyth shot with 1 second left in the first period giving the Oiler's a 3-1 lead. This would end Ty Conklin's night and Detroit would send in Joey MacDonald to finish the game. The game would stay that way until the 3rd period before Todd Bertuzzi's wrist shot beat Dubnyk. Drew Miller would then tie the game with a wrist shot of his own, before Todd Bertuzzi would then give the Wing's the lead after being set up for the second time by Henrik Zetterberg. The Oiler's pulled Dubnyk and with 39 second's left Jordan Eberle would tie the game up sending it to Over time and eventually shoot out.

Sam Gagner was first to score with some fantastic dekes and it looked like the Oilers would take it as both Datsyuk and Hudler were unable to beat Dubnyk. However, Shoot out ace Todd Bertuzzi answered the call, skating wide to the right as he often does before doing his spin-o-rama moves, Bertuzzi unleashed a wicked Slap shot, surprising Dubnyk and sending the game to extra shooters. Unfortunately for the Red Wings young gun Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would beat Joey MacDonald for the Oiler's victory.

***

Finishing 2-0-1, this was a pretty good week for the Red Wings. Joey MacDonald looked really good replacing Ty Conklin in the loss against the Oiler's. With Howard out for 2 weeks Conklin will definitely need to step up his game or perhaps MacDonald could end up being Detroit's number 2 goaltender. It was also good to see Detroit's 3rd and 4th lines chipping in to get points and a Hudler and Filpulla connecting for multiple points bodes well for Detroit's future.