Finally, some Revenge!!

Quote of the game: "MFMNDFNDF FUNNUFMMMD!!" - Sidney Crosby to Jimmy Howard's Glove.

March 22 - Final Score: Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 1

Can I just stop for a moment...and say how beautiful that was? Please? I just want to revel in it. I unfortunately didn't get to watch all of the game tonight, as I was working till 8:30 EST, but the parts I did see...well, let's just say it's nice to see MY Red Wings back on the ice, the Wings I love to watch play hockey.

Let's go to my three keys. I'll review with what bits of the game I did catch:

1.) 60 Minutes - Well gee, can't really cover this one can I? Here's a thought, I'm turning this into a discussion: Comment below as to whether you felt Detroit played a full game of hockey or not and why, let's see what the consensus is.

2.) Building Blocks - Man, from what I saw, the Wings definitely carried momentum into this game!! I'm glad to see Detroit finally moving with the speed we all know they possess, and not just guys like Helmer and Drapes.

3.) Hone the D - Again, from what I saw, the Red Wings seemed to really fine tune their defense and make life a lot easier on Jimmy Howard than they have in recent weeks. A strong Howie and a strong defensive showing from the skaters and guess what? We're gonna see a lot more games end with a score like tonight's.

Now...I have to go back to this, you know I do, and you want me to! Don't hide it! Crosby. What...the...hell...was that gross display of poor sportsmanship at the end of the game?? I can understand if Matt Cooke had pulled that garbage, but guess what Crysbaby: Whether you like being a poster boy for the NHL or not, you've been made one, so act like one!! I may not like your scuzzy ugly ass, but it's your face and your actions that are supposed to promote this game to the new demographic, and you're doing a shit job of it!!! All you've proven thus far this year is that you can be an Olympic hero, and once that's done revert into a cheap opportunist who expects that he can do as he pleases with no consequence to his actions!!

But I'm not going to dwell on Crosby, he's not worth my time or yours, I'll just remember the sweet image of Jimmy Howard's catcher swallowing Sid's head like a baseball. Till next time, Wingnuts!! Go Red Wings!!!

Preview: Wings VS Penguins

“If we play good, we’re going to get into the playoffs, so that’s what we try to do,” - Mike Babcock

Detroit (35-23-13) VS Pittsburgh (42-24-6)

Well...here we are again. Another rematch of the last two Stanley Cup Finals matchups. Detroit has already played the Pens this season, the most recent meeting ending in a shootout loss. One thing, however, is different about the Wings this time around: The Penguins will be facing a (mostly) healthy Detroit squad tonight, and if an injury-ridden Wings lineup took Pittsburgh to a shootout...? Let's just review my three keys to victory, shall we?

1.) 60 Minutes - No, not the TV show, this is how long the Wings need to play serious if they really wanna win this game. Even if we have a much healthier squad now, we can't afford to give the Pens any high-percentage chance off of turnovers or bad plays on the boards. Look at the last two games: two goal leads given up two consecutive nights. This cannot happen tonight.

Ick, gonna be late for work, gotta go fast...:

2.) Building Blocks - Real simple: Lots of momentum from the last game, carry it over and come out strong!

3.) Hone the D - The Wings skaters can't be caught standing around if we're to win tonight. If we let the Pens possess the puck, we're doomed, straight up.

Okay, gotta jet, I'll be on Twitter tonight! Go Red Wings!!!

A Moment to Recover...

...Okay, we're good. Just had to swallow my heart and get it back in the right place again.

Honestly, how are we Wings fans supposed to make it into the postseason with all this excitement?? We'll all have heart failure before the end of 82 games!! But I digress, for those of you Wingnuts who are still with me, the Red Wings pulled off what they couldn't quite muster last night in Edmonton, downing the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in Overtime, getting another astonishing buzzer-beater, this time from Henrik Zetterberg.

Let's quickly review my three keys in the preview for tonight's game:

1.) Shake it Off! - Well, the Wings certainly had an easy time forgetting about their lack-luster showing in Oil-town, just not in the way you would expect (or hope). The Wings gave up a two goal lead in the first period for the second time in 48 hours, giving the 'Nucks what seemed for a while a good stranglehold on the game. Detroit turned it around though, and made Wings history in the process, by getting two goals - the first by Todd Bertuzzi and the second from Pavel Datsyuk - in the span of five (5) seconds to lock the game 2-2. Detroit did tonight what they should've done much, much sooner against the Oilers, shake off the embarrassment and move on.

2.) Hit 'em Hard! - Well, it wasn't as much as I'd have liked to see, but for most of the game, the Wings kept pace with Vancouver in the hits department. I saw numerous times where Franzen, Stuart, even Bertuzzi were throwing their weight around. Good to see on a team that lets their stars get thrashed far too much for my liking. Guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk shouldn't need to worry about protecting themselves, all they should have to think about is getting the pucks in the net.

3.) Hit 'em Fast! - You want my example of the Wings meeting this prerequisite? Look back to key number one: Scoring two goals in five seconds is a real good way of taking a team's spirit and stomping it flat. It definitely slowed the Canucks offense for a bit, even though they did retake the lead thereafter, but the fact remains that the Wings' explosion of offense had to be haunting Vancouver's thoughts for the rest of the game.

Well, pretty good showing tonight all in all! That's it for now, feel free to leave comments with your thoughts in the section below. Until next time, Wingnuts! Let's go Red Wings!!!

P.S.: Also, a special congratulations to the wonderful folks overseeing Herm 2 Hockeytown (H2H) for meeting their goal of $2000.00 to bring Brazilian Wingnut Guilherme Calciolari to Detroit to watch the Red Wings live on March 26 when they host the Minnesota Wild!!!

Preview: Wings @ Canucks

Detroit (34-23-13), Vancouver (44-24-3)

Well, after a terrible effort last night, the Red Wings hope to get a fresh start this evening when they invade the home of the 2010 Olympics to faceoff against the Canucks, whose own version of the Eurotwins have helped their team garner a comfortable pile of points in the West.

Pre-Game Three Keys:

1.) Shake it Off! - The Wings cannot dwell on the disappointing loss last night. Detroit needs to come out fresh if they want to give the Canucks, who are a much better team than Edmonton, a run for their money.

2.) Hit 'em Hard - The big boys in D-Town need to throw the body!! It's been the story of too many games that Detroit simply gets muscled off the puck and loses possession before mounting any offense, and that's fatal to a "puck possession team".

3.) Hit 'em Fast - Detroit should look to its opponent last night for one thing: Edmonton took it to the Wings early and it rewarded them with two goals within five minutes. Those five minutes made the game for the Oilers, can could make the game for the Red Wings, should they mount the same kind of early charge.

I'll be at work today, but I'll likely be on Twitter tonight for the game. Till then, Go Red Wings!!