Wings 2 Sharks 1 (SO)

SUPER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. I would like to welcome the entire Detroit Red Wings team to the 2009/2010 season. Sure we’ve all been here for awhile, but we’ve missed you. It certainly wasn’t the same without your smiling faces. So welcome. Now just don’t leave us again, or we may shit a brick…whatever that means.

Alright, yes that came off more patronizing than the time your mom told you “of course honey you can be an astronaut if you want. A ‘D’ in math hardly means you’re unqualified. Whatever you put your mind to…” But in all seriousness that was the best the Wings have played all season. Which will leave people asking, what took so long? It goes back to the various challenges or as the corporate world likes to say ‘opportunities’ they received so far this season. Bringing in multiple new players, injuries during training camp which initially slowed down Zetterberg, Cleary, and Helm, fatigue from another long season, and of course the injuries to Franzen and Filppula. It seems as though they have started to work through those issues and are playing closer level they should. A team with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Lidstrom can hardly be considered on the decline.

As always, below are my random thoughts about the game:

· Larry Murphy interviewed Kronwall before the start of the game. I couldn’t decided if Kronwall was pissed, tired, confused, or merely drunk from the fumes on Larry’s breathe….I’m going to go with the safest option, secondhand drunkness….that shit can kill

· Tonight we were able to witness the amazing Danny Heatly…. Apparently he is on pace to score 70 goals this season….yes you would have to be Larry Murphy drunk to agree with that math

· Bertuzzi’s signature play is starting to become the blind backhand passes he makes to the middle of the Wings zone. During this moment he makes Lebda look Scotty Bowman smart…..sometimes I really hate Bertuzzi…

· While Bert was making himself look like a jackass, Zetterberg was more concerned with proving why he is the future captain just entering his prime. He picks off Thornton, drives to the net, makes Boyle look like a complete ass with some Datsyuk inspired dangles, and just misses the net. Beautiful play. On that shift alone he had 3 great scoring chances.

· Leino got rocked again. He needs to watch his positioning and be more aware of what’s going on around him. He’s learning quickly how fast and physical the NHL is. However, overall he had a much better game than he did against Boston. He was driving hard to the net and creating a lot of chances. Now he just needs to finish. After rewatching the hit he took in the first against Boston, I’m beginning to wonder if that is what affected his game more than the benching….

· Halfway into the second I began to wonder if it was going to become “one of those games” where the Wings out play the other team, have good pressure, puck possession, and many chances, yet can’t score….

· At one point they cut to Bertuzzi on the bench yawning, yes yawning. He is attempting to compete with Lebda to the become the team’s whipping boy.

· Not long after, San Jose scores 1-0. Now if you missed the game, give your best educated guess….come on, which defensive pairing do you think was on the ice for San Jose’s goal? Why of course Ericsson and Lebda. But this one rests on Ericssons 7’9’’ shoulders. Somehow during the transition of play he got tangled up in his own feet, landed on his ass and left Ozzie out to dry. While the goal certainly was not Osgood’s fault, it would help if he could close his 5 hole…seriously with him changing his pads between practice and games, he seems to have a harder time closing his legs than a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard.

· A one point I wrote down a note about a Homer breakaway. I had to rethink about that and make sure I wasn’t drunk or otherwise incapacitated….but no, I was correct, Homer did have a breakaway even if writing that seems as wrong as writing Lebda is a top 4 defensemen….

· Helm and Eaves seem to becoming another dynamic duo for the Wings. And since dynamic duo is a phrase more likely to be used by my grandmother, I think it’s time a nickname is created…

· I’m not attempting to jinx anything…but something seems to be clicking with the penalty kill….

· Stuart had a Kronwallesque hit on Heatly….one of the highlights of the game.

· The Wings did something we haven’t seen in quite some time. They pushed and pressured for an entire 60 minutes. The final minutes of the game included Draper, yes Draper who is apparently 32 again, stealing the puck in the Sharks zone and nearly scoring. The jump was there and they avoided their habit of sitting back and waiting it out.

· Too bad it wasn’t quite enough. They still went to overtime and possibly a shootout.

· Luckily Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Osgood all showed up and helped Detroit get the 2 points they deserved.

Who knew it would take this long have a 3 game winning streak. But like Mickey said “keep going to the bar and your gonna get served sooner or later.”