Wings Hand Victory to Ducks

The spirit of giving is alive and well in Detroit.  Many in Hockeytown last night would say it is too much so.

The Red Wings relinquished all control of what was an entertaining hockey game during the match's final period and absolutely handed over the game to the Anaheim Ducks.  It was Anaheim's first win in the Joe Louis Arena since 2008, and by the play the Wings exhibited in the final frame, it couldn't have come much easier.  In an instant, Detroit went from a 2-2 tie heading into the 3rd to being down 4-2 not even 2 minutes into the period.  As the final insult, Andrew Cogliano deposited an empty-netter and the final horn signalled a 5-2 defeat for Detroit.

This game proved a microcosm of sorts for the Red Wings' entire season thus far.  Just when it looks as though Detroit have got themselves figured out and are rolling, an entirely different team seems to take the ice and play as though they'd have trouble playing in the AHL, let alone in the NHL.  Such was the case yesterday, when that 3rd period rolled around and everything the Red Wings seemed to be doing right just...disappeared.

The Wings are still battling injuries, of course, but that's no excuse for a total meltdown after playing 2 pretty good periods of hockey.  Teams cannot just cease to function properly for the last 20 minutes and expect to come out with a W and the end of the night.  Sloppy passing, poor decision-making, and the turnovers...well, it seemed in the 3rd like Detroit passed the puck more to Anaheim players than they did themselves.

And so it begs the question: Who do you blame for such an epic falling off of the wheels? Whose position do you question?  Is Zetterberg not able to rally the troops like the captains before him?  Is Nik Kronwall not stepping up enough and keeping the defensive corps honest?  Is Mike Babcock running out of tricks with the amount of injuries coupled with the recent departures of guys like Lidstrom and Holmstrom?  It feels odd to voice concern for a hockey club only 14 games in, but 14 of 48 is a whole lot closer to the end than 14 of 82.  The Red Wings don't have time to iron out the wrinkles, and contrary to what Coach Babcock might say or think, Detroit is not "doing good things out there" as much as he claims.  What the Wings are doing is losing games that they have every chance of winning, and are just not getting it done.

With the loss, Detroit sits 4th in the division.  As if that's not bad enough, anything short of  half the Chicago Blackhawks roster vanishing into thin air doesn't seem like it'll be enough to leave top spot in the Central up for grabs.  So, with spots 1-3 in the Western Conference inching ever closer to being out of reach, Detroit appears like they will be mired in that dirty 4th-8th grind for a playoff spot.  With all the players the Wings are missing from injury, that is not where they want to be, but it is where they are.  Detroit must make the best of a bad situation and dig in their heels to keep from slipping back out of the playoff picture again before the season draws to a close.

For that to happen, the Red Wings need to play harder.  Save that spirit of giving for Christmas.

Pre-Game: Can Wings Keep Oil Slipping?

Detroit (5-3-1) VS Edmonton (4-3-3)

In their first afternoon game of the year, the Detroit Red Wings will play host to the similarly banged-up Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers can definitely sympathize with Detroit's injury woes, having lost their last four games while having lost three of their four top centers.  The Wings also got some bad news heading into this match in the form of losing Todd Bertuzzi for a least a few days with back issues.

Joakim Andersson has been called up from the Griffins in light of Bertuzzi's injury, but there has been speculation that coach Mike Babcock might give Dan Cleary some time on the top 2 lines after getting his first goal of the season last game against St. Louis.

Goaltender Jimmy Howard should be back between the pipes after getting a well-deserved rest as Petr Mrazek made his NHL debut in St. Louis.  Howard's play had not been necessarily bad, but it had been obvious that he needed the time off, as Detroit's defense is still in flux between injuries and the loss of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brad Stuart before the start of this season.

The Red Wings have defeated Edmonton in the last five appearances the Oilers have made at Joe Louis Arena, and hope to continue that streak today, as a win this afternoon would move Detroit one point past the Blues, who currently sit in 7th in the West and have the day off.

Will the Wings keep Edmonton on their slippery slope, or will the Oilers get slick and pull one over on Detroit?

Pre-Game: The Return of Hudler, Wings Host Flames

Detroit (4-3-1) VS Calgary (1-3-2)

In a season rife with woes for the Detroit Red Wings to frown on, they can at least say they're off to a better start than this evening's opponents: the Calgary Flames.  The Wings hope to get back into the win column tonight, but doing so will require them to hand a defeat to one of their most recently departed former teammates, forward Jiri Hudler.

Hudler, who signed a 4-year deal with the Flames, has found some personal success thus far in his first year away from the Wings, but that so far has not translated into a lot of team success.  Sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference, Calgary looks like a prime target for a whooping, but it would be very naive for the Red Wings to mail this one in.

Inconsistency has been the norm in Hockeytown in this abbreviated season.  On one night, they look like the best team in the league, and on other nights they look as though the run of playoff appearances has no way of extending one more year.  Much of this is due to injury of course, and with the recent loss of Brendan Smith on the back end, it's only getting worse.  Detroit may get Ian White back for tonight's game, however, which would be a huge bonus after just losing Smith.

Can the Wings put a damper on Hudler's return to Joe Louis Arena, or will he and his new teammates burn Detroit?

Pre-Game: Detroit Hopes to Keep Rolling in Columbus

Detroit (4-2-1) @ Columbus (2-5-1)

The Red Wings should be caught between fatigue and satisfaction after avenging their home opening loss last night against the St. Louis Blues, so this evening's matchup against the Columbus BlueJackets could be very interesting.  With Detroit sitting in the middle of the conference, another win tonight would be extremely uplifting, bringing the Wings within 2 points of the Blues for 2nd in the Central.  Can the Red Wings stave off exhaustion in the tail-end of this back-to-back, or will the BlueJackets seize on a rare opportunity to hand Detroit a defeat?

The Red Wings will be looking for another great outing from its top lines tonight.  Henrik Zetterberg notched a hat trick against the Blues and Pavel Datsyuk scored the game-winning goal, while teammate Damien Brunner has been on a 5-game point streak.  Now that the big guns are firing, the defense has had a lot of weight lifted from its shoulders and has been able to get into more of a rhythm--nothing perfect, mind you, but it's a start.

There are no surprises in the lineup tonight, thought thankfully we will see Kent Huskins play tonight.  After a nasty hit from David Backes, Huskins confirmed that he feels fine and should be more than able to play this evening.  Jimmy Howard, who has been better than his stat lines would suggest, will start again tonight for the Wings.