Outta My Way Teemu, I'm Back on Vacation!

You're seriously on the wrong team if you want to whine about getting hit, Mr. Selanne.

As the Red Wings endure their 2nd fall vacation early in this NHL regular season, the Anaheim Ducks seem less than sunny about one of their star players getting hit. Niklas Kronwall delivered a brutal--but very much legal--hit to the Finnish Flash which left him seeing Swedish stars. Selanne, along with basically all of the Anaheim organization is up in arms about the travesty of letting the hit go unpunished. What exactly they think the league could punish Kronner for is far beyond me. Any rational hockey fan, Wingnut or not, who looks at all the angles of this hit has to know it was clean. The hit was not lateral or blindside, so it is well within the guidelines of a legal hit. Kronwall also explained perfectly the reason why his feet left the ice after contact. Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said that Kronwall "jumped" which is completely false. Kronwall explained that Selanne gave the look that he was going to finish his check heading toward the puck. Kronwall then braced and prepared to add extra thrust with his legs on impact so as to not be knocked over by the force of the hit. When Selanne then decided not to finish the check, all of Kronner's wound up energy had to go somewhere, and as he pushed toward Selanne, the forward motion mixed with the force of his collision brought him off the ice momentarily.

It's called physics, Randy. Learn some.

I also loved how the other complaint out of Anaheim was the supposed lop-sidedness of penalties--not just during the game on Saturday, but apparently every time the Ducks play in Detroit. Talk about comedic gold. How many times has that line passed by a Wings fan's lips about every other team in the league? I've done it a couple times, on extreme occasions where it might be warranted, but I think most of it is simply chalked up to the overall ineptitude of league officials. They all suck equally, we just see it more when it's hurting our team's chances of winning.

Speaking of winning, Detroit's been doing a decent job of it recently, and I have to say I'm happy with our start record-wise. I just hate that we're waiting another week and losing all our momentum again. I haven't looked too far ahead on the skid, but I bet we have a number of back-to-back games to make up for this later. Really looking forward to it. Honest.

At least everyone will be thinking of Kronwall.

Wondering if Wings are as Bored as I am

No clever pic to go with this quick update, as my provider is doing maintenance.

I remember being frustrated when this happened last year, and guess what? I'm just as pissed off this season about it. Can someone give me a LEGITIMATE reason why the Wings have to go almost a week before their next game? Is this really necessary? You ask anyone around and 9 times out of 10 they will agree that a break this long is bad for ANY team, let alone a Detroit team that has been having problems sustaining momentum after wins. Who plans this schedule? Are there other teams that have a hiatus in the midst of their season also? Are their fanbases as cranky about this as I am? I would love to know, because I'm getting tired of this.

As a result, I'm going to be cautiously optimistic going into our next game. I'm not going to mention much about the next match--I'll leave that for the pre-game. The only silver lining that I can see t this is it gives our injured players more time to heal before man-games lost start to pile up. Franzen should be fine for Thursday, which is great news considering we need someone to help dictate the pace. Mule has the skillset to do just that.

I just hope the rest of the team is able to focus after another half-a-year between games...

Preview: Reeling Red Wings must Refocus in Arizona

Last time Detroit played Phoenix, they eliminated the Coyotes from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Tonight, though not as momentous as the last game, is still pretty important.

The Wings are on their heels after only pulling 1 point from their last two games, and face the dreary thought of an early season winless streak if things don't improve in the desert.

Detroit (2-1-1) will look to start bringing in the W's again against the Coyotes (1-1-0), one of the few teams still only a pair of games into the season. From the sounds of the reports coming in, Detroit will be challenging the Desert Dogs short one forward, as Johan Franzen and Justin Abdelkader are both scratched for tonight's affair. Drew Miller will be matched on the second line, with Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves playing subs on the 3-line squad.

Let's look at The Geek's Winning Formula for tonight's matchup:

1.) Stay Fresh - Being short a player on your bench is not fun and will tire a team out that much faster. The Wings need to get on the ice, skate hard, do their jobs, then get back off the ice and let another group take over. Detroit can NOT afford to let Phoenix pin them in their own end, this will only end in tears, unnecessary icings, and--eventually--goals against.

2.) Keep it Clean - If Detroit can stay out of the penalty box and get lucky with some penalties on Phoenix's side, it's going to be much easier to keep the lines rested and get a more complete game from all the skaters. It's going to be bad enough playing down one roster spot, it's going to be inexcusable for the Wings to take sloppy penalties tonight.

3.) Depth Charges - Guys, we need some secondary support here, stat!! The bottom half of Detroit's lineup really needs to step up and contribute in tonight's game, if only to help ease the pressure on the top half of the lineup. The whole squad needs to improve defensively, top to bottom, as many of our top guys--including my beloved Dats--are in the minus category. Let's see some stronger shifts defensively, boys!!

Alright, I have tonight off, so I'll be watching along at home. Should be entertaining!

See you on Twitter, Wingnuts! Let's Go Red Wings!!

Preview: Mo Come Home, Wings Visit Dallas

It's okay Mike, you're on our side now!

All joking aside, tonight's matchup is going to be another game with at least someone bringing some emotional baggage to the ice. It's likely going to be difficult for Mike Modano to skate on Dallas ice for the first time and not be playing for the home team, but it's also something that he knew was coming and needed to prepare for.

Also, other veterans on the team probably have #18 in the back of their minds as Kirk Maltby's retirement continues to sink in. Watching the press conference, my only thought was how odd it seemed to see Malts having such a hard time to say something. Kirk never had a lack of things to say on the ice, and his absence could potentially weigh on some of his former teammates.

Through all of this, the Red Wings look to get back to their winning ways and keep getting points, having started strong (2-0-1) and taking an early lead in the division standings. Let's check The Geek's Winning Formula to see how they can do that:

1.) Drop the Baggage - This is such a key point. I know the Wings are professional players, but stepping on the ice knowing that a 16-year comrade on the roster is gone and not coming back can be haunting. Also, for Modano, I think the best cure for any jitters he might get coming back to the big D would be to get on the scoresheet early. In booth cases, the Wings cannot lose focus if they want the 2 points tonight.

2.) Tighten the Gaps - I watched video from the Colorado game, and there were some bad defensive botches on many of those goals. We need to get back to the smart play we saw in the first two games and keep opposing chances to a minimum. This team is too deep to be getting outshot, which we have been the last 2 games.

3.) Oz Needs to be Good - By the sounds of things, Ozzie is getting the nod. This is a perfect time for him to show whether or not his head is back in it: help the team get the W after a disappointing SO loss the game before. I like that Osgood and Howard are a tandem this early on, there's no excuses now. Both goalies are getting their starts, and both should keep rested enough to win consistently.

I'm afraid I'm going to miss this match due to work again. I need to switch to days...

Enjoy the game, Wingnuts! Let's Go Red Wings!!