This, That, or the Other: Potential Playoff Matchups

I've been theorizing, as I often do, ever since last night's game ended. The Wings reached 100 points for the 10th consecutive season, a feat though highly unlikely mere months ago, and are set to brace themselves for a long Playoff run. But one question still remains: Who will Detroit see in the 1st Round? Unfortunately, we may have to wait till the last few games of the season play themselves out to know for sure. Even our game on Sunday, when the Red Wings travel to Chicago to end their regular season against the Blackhawks, will have some potential implication as to who plays who. So through all these numbers, let's take a look at how things could possibly shape up:

As it Stands: Above

- Currently, Detroit is holding on to a slim grasp of 5th seed in the Western Conference. With a six point deficit behind the Coyotes, Detroit cannot go any higher than 5th.

- Because of the Division leaders, we know Phoenix is not going to be moving, so they're stuck at 4th.

- The 3rd seed, Vancouver, has no chance to catch 1st or 2nd, so 3rd is the home of the Canucks for this postseason.

- The 1st and 2nd seeds however (San Jose and Chicago) are tied for points at 111. The tie-breaker would go to Chicago as both teams have only one game remaining and the Blackhawks are holding two extra wins over the Sharks' heads

As it Stands: Below

- Again, remember that Detroit currently sits as high as they ever will: 5th seed.

- With Detroit's win over Columbus to bring them to 100 points, the 8th seeded Avalanche can now no longer catch the Red Wings. They are no longer a threat to the Wings.

- 7th seeded Nashville has a game left with 98 points and will play St. Louis. Nashville is leading that season series 4-1.

- The 6th seed, Los Angeles, also sits at 98 points, but hold a game in hand over the Wings as they play Edmonton today and Colorado tomorrow.

So what does it all mean? Well, that's what you came to the Geek for, obviously!! From here, I'll break down the scenarios per each potential team Detroit might play and how they get to that point.

Detroit @ Phoenix if:

- Detroit wins their last game, LA gets 3 points or less by season's end.

- Detroit loses in OT, LA gets 2 or less points by season's end.

- Detroit loses in Reg., LA and NSH both get no more than 1 point by season's end.

Detroit @ Vancouver if:

- Detroit loses in OT, LA gets 3 or more points by season's end.

- Detroit loses in Reg., LA gets 2 or more points, NSH gets 1 or less by season's end.

- Detroit loses in Reg., NSH gets 2 points, LA gets 1 or less by season's end.

Detroit @ San Jose if:

- Detroit loses in Reg., both NSH and LA get at least 2 points by season's end.

Detroit @Chicago if:

- Both teams make at least round 2, because they're not meeting in the first round as it stands. Because of the fact that Detroit plays Chicago in the last game for both teams, Detroit will have too many points to be knocked to 7th if San Jose overtakes the Blackhawks for 1st. Detroit already knows they can't fall to 8th, so even if they lose and get nothing against Chicago, they can't be pushed to the bottom seed. That combined with the aforementioned tie-breaker going to the Hawks if both Chicago and San Jose lose their last games, and we've got a guaranteed pass on the Blackhawks for Round 1.

So that's pretty much it. If you have a favorite team to face in Round 1 (if you can call it that), here's a guide as to how the Wings would get there. Pretty sure my math is solid here, but lemme know if I've missed something.

Till tomorrow, Wingnuts!! Let's Go Red Wings!!!

BJ's Get the Shaft in Regular Season Finale, Red Wings Take SO Win.

It took the full 65 minutes of real hockey, and four rounds of the shootout, but Big Todd Bertuzzi finally told the Columbus Bluejackets to take a seat and ended their season with a game-winning Shootout goal to end a scoreless tie and bring the Red Wings up to 100 points, a benchmark they have now held for a remarkable 10 consecutive seasons.

Normally, I would be more loathe to give the Wings praise for having to go the distance with a team as low in the standings as Columbus, but I give credit where it is due: the Bluejackets ran us hard the whole game, and Steve Mason made life miserable for our boys tonight. Luckily our Calder candidate Jimmy Howard was equally up to the task of shutting the door on BJ scoring chances, and thankfully Columbus's PP was as anemic as our own.

Now that the festivities are dying down a bit on Twitter, let's go over The Geek's Winning Formula:

1.) Apply Pressure to Wound - Although it didn't produce goals, it produced results. I definitely felt the Red Wings pressured much better tonight than in recent games. Guys were pressing hard, not letting up on Bluejacket players on the boards and hindered cycling. It was wonderful. The pressure Detroit used in the offensive zone was obvious as well, as the Wings outshot the BJ's 45-22, a differential that is much more Wing-like in my mind. The only reason a shootout was needed has got to be Steve Mason. He showed tonight why he was the Calder winner last year, but was shown one shot too many in the end.

2.) Keep the Energy Up! - Very good showing in this regard tonight, a lot of guys moving their feet and skating hard to the puck. The hitting was by no means prevalent, but considering it's the Red Wings, that's how we like it. Detroit played just physical enough to back the Bluejackets off, and that allowed us to play our game. The boys were a little sleepy in the face-off circle, going 21 for 36, but to their credit, it was not a factor for the Wings.

3.) No 3rd Period Heroics, Please - What'd I tell ya? Play a good game, and you're likely not going to be staring down the barrel of a loss. They may not have scored in regulation, but Detroit never trailed in the game, did they? This is the important part: It takes one moment going your way to break a tie, but you have to work to come back from a deficit. If the Wings can keep this intensity and prevent themselves from fighting a losing battle, we'll have little to worry about come post-season.

Overall, it was a fun game to watch, very entertaining on both sides of the ice, and VERY entertaining following all the Tweeps on Twitter. Wow, do I feel dirty after this game!! Was a ton of fun though. If you guys are reading, you're good people and I'm glad to have shared a few (dozen) laughs with you tonight. May we share lots more through the Playoffs!!

Well, my powers of premonition apparently need some work, as Big Bert ended up being the hero of the night. So to start, I'm 0 for 1. Need to sharpen my skills for the game on Sunday against the Blackhawks, I guess...

Till then, Wingnuts!! Let's Go Red Wings!!!

Preview: Wings @ Bluejackets

"Friday night, I think we need to stick to our game plan a little bit better, start playing playoff hockey..." - Goaltender Jimmy Howard

Detroit (42-24-14) @ Columbus (32-35-14)

Howie said it pretty well, as the Wings prepare to finish their season series with the Columbus Bluejackets tonight and move one step closer to taking 5th spot in the West for themselves. Los Angeles got the points they needed to make a run at the same seed, so now it's not just Nashville we need to worry about, we're under siege from two fronts. Of the two games Detroit has remaining, pretty much anyone would tell you that tonight's is the easy one, in contrast to the season finale against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. These are two points the Red Wings can't afford to pass up.

So with this firmly in mind, let's recalculate The Geek's Winning Formula:

1.) Apply Pressure to Wound - Detroit really needs to keep focusing on this aspect of the game: gaining the offensive zone and putting pressure on defensemen, grinding it out on the boards and winning those battles for puck possession. Also in the other end while defending, apply pressure to the forwards as the defensive zone is breached, not allowing puck movement and forcing turnovers. Detroit has a penchant for sitting back and just trying to block passing lanes, which hasn't been the best solution thus far, and is leading to higher scoring games than are really necessary. Sure, you stick your composite in the lane, you might stop a guy from passing, but you know what also works? Pinning him to the damn boards. Hard to make a cross-ice pass with your arms splayed across the glass. If the Wings would apply more pressure to their opponents, they would more often find themselves playing their brand of hockey, and we already know how lethal Detroit can be when they play their brand of hockey. No more being scared of moving out of position to force the opponent, we've not been defensively sound recently anyway, may as well try and force a giveaway or two while we're at it.

2.) Keep the Energy Up! - Remember Patrick Eaves in the last game? More of that, please. I love the fact that Brad May was announced as one of the Black Aces because I honestly think keeping an enforcer-type, even if it has to be an older May, will be beneficial down the stretch. All four lines need to run full-tilt and make Columbus give chase. This will naturally create rhythm and momentum for the Wings in a game that they should not lose, not after the wake-up call they received in the previous meeting. Again I feel the third and fourth lines will be crucial, so hopefully they can remain healthy through the next pair of games and into the post-season.

3.) No 3rd Period Heroics, Please - Mike Babcock said in an interview: "They did the [relax] for the first 40 minutes. But they've got enough pride and leadership to get them win." That may be the case, Babs, but it's not a good gameplan to put yourself behind the 8-ball game in and game out. This is the one bad habit that has been the hardest to kick. Detroit's drug-of-choice is complacency: Letting control of the play slip from them and, before you know it, the opponent has full control of the flow and (usually) the game, while the Wings find themselves down a goal, two goals, or worse. Then the boys have to play The Avengers and rush to battle back and save the day with a miraculous comeback. Guess what, guys? Even superheroes lose, and if you wanna play that style of complacent hockey for 2/3 of a game, you'll be doing it a lot.

As a bonus, should the Wings walk out of Columbus with the W, the Wings will have sole possession of 5th for at least a day, forcing LA and Nashville's hands to get a win in their respective games, but Nashville only has one game left. Alternatively, Los Angeles's next game is against the Oilers, so if ever we needed heroes, we need them tomorrow in Oil town.

Just for fun, I'm going to start predicting the "hero" of the game in the previews just to add a little more content, and to maybe expand it a bit if it works. Feel free to do the same in the comment section below, but be sure to give your pick a superhero (or even supervillain is fine) nickname, canon or original.

So for tonight's game, I'm gonna go with Johan "Mr. Freeze" Franzen as the game-breaker. We'll see if I have any ESP, though I'd prefer ESPN.

"Nice ice, baby."

Till tonight, Wingnuts!! Let's Go Red Wings!!!

Wings Bring Home W One Last Time in Regular Season

It took a three-goal barrage to get the job done, but the Detroit Red Wings recovered from blowing an early lead and blasted past the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 3rd period to win 4-3.

The bad news through all of this is that Detroit needed the explosion of offense to compensate for their sub-par play through the first two periods. Even coach Mike Babcock noted this before heading out for the 3rd period. Luckily the Wings finally found some success with the man-advantage and pocketed two powerplay goals in the midst of the frenzy of scoring through the game's last frame.

Unfortunately even though the game was at home, I couldn't catch any interview clips, as I was watching the game from a friend's place, but I did get to watch all but the first half of the 1st period. So with that, let's go over The Geek's Winning Formula:

1.) Play with Passion - The Wings showed great passion...for a period. The last period. With a one-goal deficit. Maybe we should have let more youngsters play tonight, at least the flow of the game would be justified. I know it's late in the season, but c'mon boys, can we PLEASE try and stay in playoff form here? We don't want you losing your hunger before the big dance even gets here...!!

2.) PP Must Improve - I said it didn't I? I've been saying it for weeks! When Detroit gets their PP going, it's going to make the difference between wins and losses, and that was exemplified here tonight, as the two goals that brought the Wings even 3-3 with Columbus were on the PP, and helped create the momentum for the go-ahead goal shortly thereafter. This is what I'm talking about, and Babs would be a genius to go over this with the boys very heavily.

3.) Checking/Energy Lines Critical - You wanna talk about the role players stepping up? How about Patty Eaves!? From levelling a guy on the boards to dropping the gloves and tussling with another, this is how you help show the other team that you are no pushover. This sort of intensity is going to help keep the Red Wings alive in the post-season, through what could be some long playoff matchups. This was a perfect response to the game against Philadelphia, because if the Wings can hold this posture, it'll keep teams from trying to emulate the style of play the Flyers used, and help the Wings keep control of the flow of the game.

As long as the Wings can draw from their play in the 3rd and drop the bad habits, we're looking at a lethal contender for the Cup. Still a couple games left, so Detroit has lots of time to fine-tune. I'm getting excited for the playoffs. Are you?

Next on the docket is the game in Columbus to round out the season series on Friday. Till then Wingnuts!! Let's Go Red Wings!!!