Wings Stand Firm in Oiltown, Edge Edmonton 3-2

Well, that was a harrowing evening!

Drew Miller came through for the Red Wings in the final frame and once again scored the game-winning goal against the Edmonton Oilers, holding on for a 3-2 win.  Danny Cleary and Jiri Hudler also scored for Detroit in a game that, in some instances, the Wings could have let slip away.

I say this because there have been similar games played by Detroit that they HAVE let slip away from them.  It's nice to see that Detroit is learning to better adapt when things don't go as planned, like against Los Angeles.  Jimmy Howard was solid again tonight, helping keep the Wings on top with his 20th win of the season, making him the 1st goalie to hit that mark this year.

Couple of thoughts on the game: As I already mentioned, this was a game that the Wings could have let get away from them, what with the speed and raw talent of the youthful Oilers squad.  Thankfully, hard work and experience proved the determining factor in this contest.

The bottom 2 forward lines have just been stellar of late, and it just proves again that a team with depth is a force to be reckoned with.  Coach Babcock has to be grinning inside when he can roll all 4 lines and get production from each one, without having to worry about leaning on the superstars to generate offense.

Now, the Red Wings will head to Vancouver for a date with the Canucks, and a chance to start moving above .500 on the road!

Class dismissed

Oh, and also: Apologies to the Jonny fans, but Ericsson was garbage [again] tonight, my ire is further risen.

Wings Focused on Flipping Fortunes, Face Phoenix

Detroit (16-9-1) VS Phoenix (15-9-3)

Holy F.

The Red Wings have looked sub-par in their previous 2 games, and their record has suffered for it accordingly.  Now it's time for Detroit to jump back on the win wagon with a match-up tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes. The good news coming into tonight's game is that Valtteri Filppula will be back in the lineup after being cut by a skate and sidelined.

Since Flip's absence, Detroit has looked off.  More bad passing, more miscommunication, and a general increase in inconsistency.  Hopefully with Val back in the lineup, things will shift back to normal.

My money is on Flip to come back and make an immediate impact again, picking up where he left off before his injury.

That's it from me.  Now I must prep for a sparring session for fencing, then return to cheer on the Wings!

Class dismissed.

The Times, They Are A'Changing

It's pretty much official now: We will once again be looking at a new NHL come next season.

The NHL Board of Governors have approved a re-alignment format for the 2012-2013 season that looks to be ready to bring about much change to the way teams get to Lord Stanley's Cup.  The NHL will now consist of 4 Conferences, for now simply denoted as Conference 'A' through 'D'.  At the end of the regular season, each Conference's Top 4 will play quarterfinal and semifinal series to determine the winner of each Conference, leaving the Final 4.  Those four will then be paired off--likely Conference A vs B, C vs D--and the winners will meet for a shot at the Stanley Cup.

What does this mean in the long run for the Red Wings?  Well, the first thing that comes to mind after looking the format over is the change in scheduling.  Detroit will no longer be forced into multiple marathon west-coast road trips like recent years.  Every team will play the majority of their games against the other teams in their Conference.  Each team will now only play 1 away game against non-Conference opponents.

Though at this time the Commish still needs to bring the proposed format to the NHLPA, it's likely that this will be passed, and we will again see a new era of Detroit Red Wings hockey.