out of my mind: Red Wings Hockey

Showing posts with label Red Wings Hockey. Show all posts

16 April 2007

Wings 2-0 in Playoffs

After this long hard week, the final hurdle was a brief Q&A with church leadership after NextWorship regarding the events of this week. Everyone was, thankfully, on the same page about what had happened and satisfied with how we'd handled things and were going to be proceeding.

I got home just in time for the start of Game Two of the first round of the playoffs. It was exactly what I needed after the week--a great release (I scared Aryssa half to death when I shouted at the goals!). Of course, I was on fumes when it was over and bailed on the first Waterford on Wheels ride (sorry Sandie Domagalski and all of the other cyclists--see you in two weeks for sure!).

The Red Wings manhandled the Calgary Flames. It was, for much of the game, almost embarassingly painful. A 3-1 victory puts us at 2-0 in very physical games--and all of this without big man Todd Bertuzzi. We outshot them in game one 46-20. In game two, it was 51-15. That adds up to 97-35 over two games for a 7-2 goal differential. If their goalie, Mikka Kiprusoff, hadn't at least shown up to play, it would have been much worse.

Best of all, every part of our game was good. Five Calgary penalties in the first 8:13 of the first period gave our hot power play the opportunity to post two goals. Dominik Hasek was solid in goal when called-on. Emerging star Pavel Datsyuk, criticized for lack of post-season production previously, scored his second goal in as many games (after signing a 7 year $47 million contract with the Wings). Stalwarts like defenseman Lidstrom scored despite playing approximately 30 minutes matched-up against forward Jarome Iginla. And, new unproven players like Valterri Filppula have come up big scoring his second goal in as many games.

I'm excited. This looks like the charmed Wings teams of the last decade. There's absolutely no sign of a collapse or anything other than an appearance in the finals. I'm motivated enough to stay up late and watch game 3 in Calgary at the Saddledome (10 pm Tuesday). Go Wings!

12 April 2007

The Red Wings' Season Begins

The Red Wings ARE the Spirit of Detroit

Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings begin their season. "Yawn." This is the 16th consecutive season that they've made the playoffs--the longest such run for any professional sports league team in America. Three Stanley Cups in the last decade come from this dominance. The so-called "regular season" is just our extended training camp. And this, despite the loss of star forward and team captain ("The Captain") Steve Yzerman and power forward Brendan Shannahan, as well as a salary cap. At the beginning of the year, we were told that we were in a rebuilding year--even making the playoffs was out of the question. But, here we are: first place in the Western Conference and the Central Division. Good things we're playing a team that goes down recorded as "the Flames." Join the red wave as we go for Cup #11!

30 March 2007

Wings News

Last night, the Wings played Nashville (a game I got to see part of) and won 2-1.

AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker writes:

“The Predators has Peter Forsberg, Paul Kariya and Jason Arnott on the ice, the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, and a man advantage on a power play. And still they couldn’t push the puck past Chris Osgood to force overtime. That sums up their struggle to end Detroit’s run atop the Central Division and the Western Conference—only to keep coming up short head-to-head.”

This makes Detroit the winner of the season series, taking five out of seven games and tying one against the Preds. Both teams lead the NHL (as well as Buffalo) with 105 points, but Nashville has played one more game. A much more satisfying and just outcome than the game I watched them lose at Joe Louis Arena Saturday (thanks to Ken & Kellie Rittenhouse—thanks again guys!), which was stolen by bad officiating.

Whether we place first or fourth is still uncertain. To take first, Nashville needs to go undefeated in its last five games and have Detroit lose at least two of its last four. Whatever happens, we are in the playoffs. The “real” season is about to begin. I should mention that this will make seventeen straight years of playing in the “real” season—approaching the legendary twenty year run between 1939-58.

Tonight, they play a game that I’ll relish having lived in Dallas and endured the upstart Stars winning a fluke cup during that stay. A win against them would be a good step toward winning a third consecutive President’s Cup for the most points in the season, as well as making a clean sweep of the four games against them this season. Dallas is tied for fifth place in the West.

15 March 2007

Wings are, in fact, #1

I haven't posted about the Red Wings nearly as much as I'd thought I would. Then again, I haven't caught nearly as many Red Wings games as I'd hoped to. But, this is one of those times that you have to talk about.

Last night, in their second win in back-to-back games against the Nashville Predators, the Wings took first place in the Central Division and in the National Hockey League with 99 points. The playoffs (i.e. "the real season" for Wings' fans) is just a month off, and we're sitting in President's Cup territory once again. This, despite the many new young players on the team and called up occasionally from the Grand Rapids Griffins, not to mention a large number of injuries among key players like Henrik Zetterberg.

I did not see the game (Wednesday night . . . church), but AP Sports Writer Larry Lage described it this way: "Both teams competeed with postseason-like intensity and that led to plenty of checking, shoving, swinging gloves and trash talk." In other words, real old-fashioned hockey as God intended it to be played. Here's to this season turning-out the way God obviously intends it to ends, with Detroit taking home yet another cup.

05 October 2006

Red Wings Opening Night

Okay, if there were any real justice in the universe, would opening night for the Red Wings really coincide with an Elder meeting?

The Wings start their new era tonight against the always troublesome Vancouver Canucks. There's so much to be interested in this year after tuning-out of last year's post-strike season. There's the goalie competition (that could be a drama) between Osgood and Hasek. There's the key young players who represent the Wings future--Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall. There's a host of young players whose contribution is yet to be determined but show a good deal of potential--Cleary, Franzen, Judler, Kopecky, Lebda, Lilja, Markov, Samuelsson, and Williams. And there is a group of older guys who may still wow us yet--Chelios, Holmstrom, Lang, Lidstrom, Maltby, and Schneider.

I assume that they'll be in the #1 or 2 in their division. I just hope we can make it past the second round of the playoffs this year. Bring it!