Warm-Up: Round 2, Game 1 Detroit @ San Jose

The Warm-Up:

After what seemed like months without Red Wings hockey, our boys in red and white will hit the ice and take on the San Jose Sharks tonight. As we all know, the Sharks were responsible for knocking the Wings out of the playoffs last season and the Wings will be sure to fight as hard as they can to make sure history doesn't repeat itself this time around.

The Sharks won 3 of the 4 regular season match-ups between these two teams. It will be interesting to see how they match up tonight, both teams have strong lines, lots of goal scorers. Special teams will also be important through out the series.


Injuries/Scratches:

Kris Draper, Mike Modano, and Jakub Kindl should be the healthy scratches this evening.

What To Look For:


Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm. These two guys made themselves known in the first round, I can only see them getting better from here.


Other Notes:

Happy Birthday to the one and only, Mike Babcock!

Predictions-

Series Prediction:
Stef- Wings in 5
Danielle - Wings in 6

Player of the Series:
Stef- Pavel Datsyuk
Danielle- Darren Helm

Final Score:
Stef- 4-2, Wings
Danielle- 4-3, Wings

Player of the Game:
Stef- Pavel Datsyuk
Danielle- Danny Cleary


Go Wings!

Warm-Up: Round 1, Game 4

Warm-Up:

Well, here it is. Game 4. What some call the toughest game to win. The Wings have everything lined up perfectly for them to sweep the series tonight against the Coyotes and send them back home to Winnipeg. Tonight's game is sure to be physical right from the start.

Reckless Shane Doan showed us in game 3 that he's more than willing to try and take out our Captain... The Wings better not put up with that tonight... unleash the power of the Tuzzi and Abby.

And hopefully the Wings will continue to take advantage of the poor play of Ilya Bryzgalov... Bryzgalov looked like he was on a different planet Monday night, not even moving or attempting to block shots that came his way.


Injuries/Scratches:

Henrik Zetterberg - Lower Body Injury
Chris Osgood- groin

Jakub Kindl and "32 year old" Mike Modano are the healthy scratches tonight.



Other Notes:

Hopefully our Wings learned a few lessons from the Canucks last night on what NOT to do in game 4.

Predictions:

Final Score-
Stef- 5-3, Wings
Danielle- 4-1, Wings

Player of the Game-
Stef- Danny Cleary
Danielle- Pavel Datsyuk


Here's to hoping we get to bring out the brooms tonight. Go Wings!

Warm-Up: Round 1, Game 3 Detroit @ Phoenix

Warm-Up:

Tonight (and by tonight I mean a half hour before my bed time) the Wings will be skating on the ice in Phoenix for game 3 against the Coyotes. (What? They have ice in Phoenix? Weird. They might as well be playing in Winnipeg at this point.) Not to mention, it's almost a home game for the Wings considering the amount of transplanted Wings fans out in the desert.

The Wings have won the first 2 games of the series at home and look to continue their success. And, according to Detroitredwings.com, Inthe 20 straight years the Wings have gone to the playoffs, they have a 19-4 record in series in where they have won the first two games.

Also, I managed to screw myself over today by walking into the kitchen, making cookies, and doing the dishes. If the Wings win tonight... hello new playoff superstition.

Injuries/Scratches:

Henrik Zetterberg- Lower Body Injury
Chris Osgood- Not even worth noting anymore...

Jakub Kindl and Mike Modano are the healthy scratches tonight.

Other Notes:
In case you haven't noticed by now, the Octopus count and Playoff Challenge stats are now on the side bar

What To Look For:

FRANZENSTIEN!!!!!!

Ed Jovanovski is expected to play tonight after leaving game 2 early. Jovanovski was hit hard into the board by Darren Helm and was in rough shape afterwards. It should be interesting to see if he has any retaliation planned...


Predictions:

Final Score:
Stef- 3-2, Wings
Danielle- 4-2, Wings

Player of the Game:
Stef- Tomas Holmstrom
Danielle- Darren Helm

The Rundown: Two Down!

Well, that was a wild one! The Wings started early (what?!) today and ended up beating the Dogs 4-3 this afternoon at the Joe. Onto the Rundown!

• A dangle over here, a dangle over there, a deke on this side, a shot through the legs on that side. This was Pavel's game. Datsyuk was all over the ice today skating circles around the Coyotes. He ended the game with a playoff career high of 4 points with 1 goal and 3 assists.
  
• Johan Franzen. WHAT. A. BEAST. Franzen had a nasty visit with the boards in the first period after being hit by Doan. Mule ended up with a bloody nose and a few...and by a few I mean 21 stitches. But, being the beast that he is, Franzen came back in the second ready to go. Probably the most entertaining part of the game was Babcock asking Mule why he wasn't wearing a visor after he had returned to the bench. Franzen's face clearly read "hell no, I am not wearing one of those."
• A note on the NBC announcers: Phoenix has a 5-3. They didn't score until there was 2 seconds left on the 5-3. NBC announcers praise Phoenix coach Dave Tippet for his brilliance on calling the play that took almost 2 whole minutes for Phoenix to properly carry out. ..Now.. I don't quite understand this... Phoenix almost didn't score on a 5-3 and NBC is giving all the praise in the world for Tippet? Yep, coach of the year material right there. I'm pretty sure by that point in the power play for Phoenix, they were just kind of trying to get a shot in however they could.
  
• Since when is choking allowed in the NHL? After Helm "boarded" Ed Jovanovski, Jovanovski went after Helm in what seemed to look like an attempt to choke Helm. I mean, what's the point? First of all Helm obviously isn't going to fight back. Jovanovski is twice his size, he's wearing a cage, and Helm just isn't much of a fighter. Just grow a pair Jovanovski and deal with it. You're going to get hit. It's the playoffs.
• The Wings also sent down 5 of the Black Aces after the game today... which means my hopes and dreams of seeing two Filppula's on the ice this season are over.
  
• Off to the desert we go. Game 3 Monday. Go Wings.
  

Warm-Up: Round 1, Game 2. Phoenix @ Detroit

Warm-Up:

After going up 1-o in the series, the Wings host the Dogs from Phoenix one more time at the Joe this afternoon. After Game 1, there are a few things that we learned:
1. Special teams, special teams, special teams. Our special teams need to continue to dominate, especially in power play situations. Wings should take full advantage of Phoenix's not so great play when they're faced with a penalty.
2. Start on time. No more of this waiting til the 2nd period to start playing.
3. Keeping the penalties to a minimum. This will be tough to do considering the ref's will call just about anything and everything possible on the Wings.


Injuries/Scratches:
Henrik Zetterberg- Lower Body Injury
It would seem that Kindl is a for sure scratch... not sure if Babs plans on rotating forwards. If not, Modano will be sitting.

What To Look For:
Octopi. Boy do I hope I see lots of them.
Apparently, the NHL is doing all they can to stop the octopus throwing traditon for Red Wings fans. LAME. Completely LAME. The NHL now plans on making fans who throw "objects" on the ice pay a fine. First they take away Al's privilege of twirling the octopus on the ice and force him to twirl it in the zamboni entrance...okay,fine, we'll deal with it. But now this? If fans can't throw octopi on the ice, then they shouldn't be able to throw hats for hat tricks. Taking away our octopus tradition is completely ridiculous.

Octopus Count: 6


Predictions:

Final Score:
Stef- 5-2, Wings
Danielle- 4-2, Wings

Player of the Game:
Stef- Johan Franzen
Danielle- Pavel Datsyuk


Go Wings!

The Rundown: One Down!

Everything fell into place.


Special teams were on top of things.
Franzen showed us that the playoffs are his time to shine.
Jimmy was GREAT.
...oh, and the Tuzzi got in a fight.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, it's only the first game.

The Rundown:

So, let me start by saying... I sadly missed the first half of the game due to work commitments... but, when I got home and put on my green shirt... the magic started to happen. I was a bit weary when I came home and saw the Wings were trailing by one.

Let's talk about the goals that the Wings scored tonight....

-How the hell did Datsyuk make that happen? A wrap around goal? He really does know magic tricks.
-Then one from the Mule. I can only pray that he can play the same way he's played in playoffs past...
-Did anyone else think that Rafalski's shot from the blue line went STRAIGHT THROUGH anyone? Like literally through someone... there were tons of players in front of the net.
-And Hudler? That was one BEAUTIFUL goal!




Octopus Count:
Word on the street from someone at the game... 6 octopi.

Broadcaster Quote of the Game:
(In a Arnold Schwarzenegger voice) "Johan Franzen wants to PUCK YOU UP IN THE PLAYOFFFFFS!" -Mickey York


Next Game: Saturday 1PM.

20 Consecutive Years Commemoration

To commemorate the Wings for making their 20th consecutive year in the playoffs, the Joe got a makeover!

{Photo credit  belongs to Stefanie Mullins}

Warm-Up: Round 1, Game 1: Phoenix @ Detroit

Warm Up:

I woke up this morning feeling like it was Christmas Day! Playoff hockey is here folks, it's a brand new season and a brand new game. As we all know by now our beloved Red Wings will be playing their first round against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Wings had the same match up last year and beat the Coyotes in 7 games.

The Wings and Coyotes met 4 times during the regular season. They split the series, each winning 2 games.

This is a pretty tight match up. The final season records for each team looked like this:

Red Wings : 47-25-10
Coyotes : 43-26-13

Injuries/Scratches:
Henrik Zetterberg out with a lower body injury. Day-to-day. (SURPRISE!!!!!)

Mike Modano and Jakub Kindl are the healthy scratches tonight... which means Kronwall is back! He will be ready to scare every Phoenix player who dares to cross his path.


Who To Look For:
Shane Doan - Doan was on top of the Coyotes stats for the season. He ended with 20 goals and 60 points. Doan has been talking some trash too. He's not going to be afraid to play a little dirty either.

Ilya Bryzgalov - One of the biggest goalies in the league. Bryzgalov is going to be tough for the Wings to get the puck past. He went 36-20-10 this season.

The Entire Detroit Red Wing Team... if they show up - If the Wings can get out of this slump that they've been lately (which I think they very well will do) They have to be the team to beat. Examples:

Franzen has always been HUGE for us in the playoffs. He's a playoff player. As long as he can forget about his second half of the season, Mule should be force to be reckoned with.

If you look at our depth, its unbelievable. Valtteri Filppula is great on the ice whether he's setting up goals or scoring them. Then we have the speed of Darren Helm. Helm can skate circles around the Coyote team, and I fully expect him to do so... hopefully he'll get that scoring touch that he's been waiting for for so long. Let's not forget Drew Miller and Patrick Eaves as well, those two have been great on the ice and can really step up when they need too.

Then there is the magic of Pavel. Dangle, Dangle, Score. Need I say more about that man?

If all the pieces of the puzzle come together, there is no doubt that the Wings will be the team to beat. The Wings need to step it up. After all, they choose their own destiny.

Octopus Count:
A new addition to THR. Look for The Octopus Count before and after every game where we will keep track of just how many Octopi we see thrown onto the ice during every playoff game...

Hockeytown Rundown Hockey Challenge:
The Challenge kicks off tonight. We'll be giving updates on standings through out the playoffs.


Predictions:

Series Predictions:
Stef- Wings in 6
Danielle- Wings in 5

Player of the Series:
Stef- Tomas Holmstrom
Danielle- Johan Franzen

Final Score, Game One:
Stef- 5-3, Wings
Danielle- 3-1, Wings

Player of the Game:
Stef- Pavel Datsyuk
Danielle- Justin Abdelkader


Go Wings!


Keep checking in with us at The Hockeytown Rundown. Each Warm-Up for the series will offer new and interesting insight into the series.

Stef's Playoff Superstition Rundown

It’s that time of the year, PLAYOFFS! So here is a rundown of my playoff superstitions:

1.· Playoff shots! Playoff shots are taken while watching the game for each goal the Red Wings score and for a game win. I cannot have any other alcoholic beverage during the game. Shots taken at home (not at the bar) must be taken out of my Red Wing shot glass. *Danielle has came up with a Red Wing shot list with a specific shot for each Red Wing; I may be tailoring my shots according to the list. 

 2.   Facebook profile picture must be one related to the Red Wings.

3.  I must fly my Red Wing flag from my car. It can only be flown after the regular season is over and only for the duration of time the Wings remain in the playoffs.  

4.  On occasion, musical chairs have been played to change the luck if the game is not going well.

5.  I now have Red Wing pajamas that I must where throughout the playoffs.

6.    If the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup, I must go to the parade. *Good luck for future years.

Other Superstitions:

·                    1.  My winter classic jersey is to be worn at every original 6 game that I attend. 

·                     2.  Apparently I cannot where my Hudler jersey if he will be playing the game because it gives   
            him bad luck.

The Playoff Routine

The Playoffs. They come with hopes and dreams of Lord's Stanley Cup. They also come with the anxiety and frustration of yelling at the TV, celebrating goals by screaming at the top of your lungs, and many "superstitions." Over the next few posts, Stef and I will be sharing our playoff superstitions... some may seem over the top... some may seem outright foolish... but anyway you think about it, there is no way that what we do in our own personal life have anything to do with how the Wings perform on the ice... right?

Here's just a rundown on some of my superstitions for game day:

1. Must change my facebook status every game day to something Red Wings related. Said status must end with a list of 3 or 4 of my favorite Red Wings numbers. Kind of like the lottery. Example status:
LET'S GO RED WINGS!!! <3 43 <3 55 <3 51 <3 44 <3
(yes, hearts are included)

2. Facebook picture is changed to a picture of one of the Wings scoring a goal, saving a puck, starting a fight.

3. Wear the hideous, old, torn, lime green Hockeytown Cafe shirt. This shirt is probably about 9 years old now but, I wear it EVERY playoff game day. (and yes, I wash it after every wear)

4. The Playoff Bracelet. My Aunt used to make charm bracelets. One year she made red and white Red Wings themed bracelets with a little goalie charm on it. I call it my "Osgood Bracelet" ... looks like I can't call it that anymore.

5. The Car Flag. This tradition started last season. I put up the black "Hockeytown" car flag up on the back seat drivers side window. Any other window is a fail.

6. Red Nail Polish. Red Nail Polish is necessary during the playoffs. Not only do I support my team with my choice of color. It also stops nervous habits... such as biting my nails.

...That's it... for now... until one of my roommates tries to convince me that I have to wash dishes every game day...

Go Wings!

Time Is Running Out... Join Our ESPN Hockey Challenge Group!

Alright Readers!! You have until 3:30 tomorrow to pick your playoff team and compete against us here at The Hockeytown Rundown and our fellow readers.

All you have to do is this-

Go to this link:
http://games.espn.go.com/playoff-hockey-challenge/en/frontpage

Create your team. You can pick any current NHL Players. 1 goalie, 4 defensemen, and 6 forwards.
Name your team. Then join our group.

The group is called Hockeytown Rundown. The password is lidstrom (all lower case).

Round One: Wings Vs Coyotes

Here is the schedule for round one!

GAME 1 - April 13th - Joe Louis Arena - 7:00 P.M.  (HOME GAME 1)

GAME 2 - April 16th - Joe Louis Arena - 1:00 P.M.  (HOME GAME 2)

GAME 3 - April 18th - at Phoenix - 10:30 P.M.

GAME 4 - April 20th - at Phoenix - 10:30 P.M.

GAME 5 - April 22nd - Joe Louis Arena - 7:00 P.M. (HOME GAME 3)  - If necessary

GAME 6 - April 24th - at Phoenix - TBD - If necessary

GAME 7 - April 27th - Joe Louis Arena - TBD (HOME GAME 4)  - If necessary

The Rundown: And That Folks, Is How You Do It...

The Rundown-

That's how you end the season. The Wings fought hard and came out on top beating the Blackhawks 4-3. Now the Blackhawk's fate is in the hands on the Dallas Stars. The Wings did what they needed to do today and proved to everyone that they are indeed ready for the playoffs. Datsyuk was sick on the ice dangling everyone left and right. Abby made sure to get the hits in. The momentum was high, the team was prepared, and they fought to the very last second. Jimmy made some great saves and Homer even scored a goal more than 2 feet away from the net.

This is it.

This is Red Wing Hockey.

Let's prepare for all that they playoffs will have to offer.

Fellas, start growing your beards. Ladies, paint those nails red.

LET'S GO RED WINGS.

Warm-Up: Detroit @ Chicago

The Warm-Up:

It's here. The last game of the regular season. I can only pray that we will be able to see our boys win 16 more games after tonight. Every game and win the Wings get after tonight is a blessing. (yes, I realize I'm making hockey sound like a religion right now.) The Blackhawks need this win to keep their playoff run alive. With everything locked up in the Eastern Conference, the battle between the Hawks and the Dallas Stars is still alive in the West. Along with the battle for 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th place...

Today's match-up between the Hawks and Wings is the last of 6 meetings between these two teams. The Hawks have dominated this series winning 4 of the 5 games already played and it's no secret that they will be coming out and ready to battle for the win tonight. The Wings on the other hand haven't been playing to their potential as of late. In their last ten games, the Wings have gone 3-5-2. Not exactly a record to be proud of.

Injuries/Scratches:

Henrick Zetterberg- Lower Body Injury
Niklas Kronwall- Upper Body Injury

Drew Miller should be the healthy scratch today.


Predictions-

Final Score-
Stef- 4-3, Hawks
Danielle- 4-2, Wings

Player of the Game-
Stef- Johan Franzen
Danielle- Todd Bertuzzi

Go Wings!

ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge

If any of you out there are interested... join the Hockeytown Rundown Group in the ESPN Playoff Hockey Challenge!! The Playoff Hockey Challenge allows you to create your own team of players throughout the league. You get to pick 1 goalie, 4 defensemen, and 6 forwards.

After the first and second rounds of the playoffs you have the opportunity to change your roster around.

All you have to do is...

http://games.espn.go.com/playoff-hockey-challenge/en/frontpage

click that link, create a team, and join our group. Search for Hockeytown Rundown on the groups page. The password for our group is lidstrom. (lidstrom is all lowercase)

It's free and should be fun to see what everyone comes up with!

The Rundown: Hmm..

You know things aren't going well when I would rather spend my time watching a baseball game.

Something's gotta give.
The Wings need to get their act together if they want a long play-off run.

At least Miller scored so I could enjoy a beverage that shares his name.

Last game of the season is Sunday against Chicago.

Go Wings!


P.S. Hossa still blows.

Warm-Up: Chicago @ Detroit

Warm Up:

The Wings will play their last regular season home game tonight against Chicago. It's going to be a tough game tonight for both teams as they look to secure their spots in the play-offs. The Wings, who already have a play-off spot locked, are still looking to finish in 2nd place in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Chicago is going to do whatever it takes to keep 8th place.

Maybe we should ask Marty Turco what the outcome will be tonight... I'm sure he's taking bets.


Injuries/Scratches:

Henrik Zetterberg - Lower Body Injury. Out for the weekend, day to day once the play-offs begin.
Niklas Kronwall- Upper Body Injury. Out for the weekend, will be ready to start for the play-offs.

Chris Osgood- ...

Draper should be the healthy scratch tonight

Other Notes-

Congratulations to the Farmington Hills Firefighters for winning their division in the Metro Detroit Fire/Police Ice Hockey Championships! The team went 3-1 and brought back, my friend and Hockeytown Rundown Reader, Michael Haase out of his hockey retirement. It's Haase's 4th championship. He says he would like to thank Kevin Hodson and Dominic Hasek for the old school tutoring.


Predictions:

Final Score-
Stef- 3-2, Wings
Danielle- 3-1, Blackhawks

Player of the Game-
Stef- Pavel Datsyuk
Danielle- Brian Rafalski


Go Wings!

Warm-Up: Detroit @ Carolina

Warm Up:

Well folks, we're one week away from playoff hockey!
Tonight the Wings face off against the Carolina Hurricanes. These two teams haven't faced off against each other since January of last year where the Wings won 3-1. The Hurricanes are currently sitting in 9th place in the East and are looking for a win if they want to continue their season into the playoffs. The Wings on the other hand need the win if they want to fight for 2nd place in the West.

Injuries/Scratches:

Niklas Kronwall- not a shoulder problem...but an upper-body injury... which means he probably has a boo-boo on his knee from falling off a bike...or he has a cut on his chin from shaving... or his tummy hurts. (yes, a bit dramatic here, but what else am I supposed to think if we can't know the truth?)

Chris Osgood- ... yep... I really have nothing to say about this 'injury' of his anymore. And for someone who is and always has been a HUGE Osgood fan... I'm thinking Ozzie is at the end of the road. (I hope you all realize how much it took for me to come to terms with that.)

Drew Miller and Jiri Hudler are the scratches as of yesterday... but we all know these things can change.

Other Notes:

ESPN has a pretty cool thing for the playoffs. It's a sort of fantasy hockey where you pick a line-up for the first round of the playoffs... then each round you can change your team around. I literally spent 2 hours the other night trying to put together what I think is "the perfect team." Check it out, its under the "Fantasy" tab on the ESPN website.

Stay tuned for a post about my feelings on Osgood, the upcoming playoffs, and more...

Predictions:

Final Score-
Stef- 4-1, Wings
Danielle- 5-2, Wings

Player of the Game-
Stef- Darren Helm
Danielle- Pavel Datsyuk

The Rundown - "It's Like Shooting Ducks at a Circus"

Yes, Mickey Redmond said that. I think he was going for "Like shooting ducks at a carnival." Either way, you can always count on Mickey to bring some afternoon entertainment.... and for the sports announcer quote of the game.

The Wings won their second straight tonight by defeating the Minnesota Wild 4-2.... ALSO... with the win comes another Central Division Title. The Wings won their 9th Division Title in 10 years, way to go boys.

Onto the Rundown...

It was nice to see Pavel Datsyuk back in the line up tonight after missing 8 games. It was also quite obvious that Pav was happy to be back in too. Pav had one assist tonight and his presence on the ice was a great addition to the team.

Darren Helm started the scoring for the Wings with helpers from Eaves and Rafalski. Helm now has 12 goals this season... building off of his career best.

Lidstrom added another one towards the end of the first, which looked like it was tipped in by Datsyuk... but wasn't.

In the second Tomas Holmstrom scored what he would consider a long shot. Homer's goal was outside of the crease, facing the goalie. I couldn't believe my eyes. Homer scored a big boy goal. (Don't get me wrong. I LOVE that Homer gets goal after goal after goal right in front of the net... it's just odd to see him get a goal the way he did tonight. Way to go Homer.)

FINALLY Franzen scored a goal in the third. Franzen hasn't been too hot on the goals lately, so its nice to see the Mule net one.

Also, in the third, big boy Johnathan Ericsson took a puck to the face. Goodbye pretty boy looks.


Let's keep the W's coming our way. Up next - The Hurricanes, Wednesday. (Where I hope my favorite Swede, Nik Kronwall will make his return... pleasepleaseplease!)

Side Note- I WANT THE PLAYOFFS TO START! Getting that itch for some play off hockey... so close!

Go Wings!

Warm-Up: Minnesota @ Detroit

The Warm Up:

The rumor is... Detroit will have some Dangle Dangle back in the line-up tonight when they face off against the Minnesota Wild. This is the 4th game between these two teams this season, the Wings have won 2 of the 3 previous games... both in Minnesota. It's no secret that the Wings haven't had the greatest record at home so let's hope they bring the same momentum and force that they had against Nashville last night.


Injuries/Scratches:

Niklas Kronwall - shoulder
Chris Osgood - ...
(maybe) Pavel Datsyuk - Lower Body Injury

Kris Draper should be the healthy scratch tonight.
Mike Modano is also a healthy scratch.

Other Notes:

Don't mess with the Tuzzi.

Predictions:

Final Score-
Stef - 4-1, Wings
Danielle - 3-1, Wings

Player of the Game-
Stef- Valterri Filppula
Danielle- Darren Helm

20th Consecutive Playoff Berth

Per a press release sent out by the Detroit Red Wings:

"The Detroit Red Wings officially clinched their 20^th consecutive post-season berth in northern Tennessee earlier today, earning two points in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Nashville Predators. Along with the San Jose Sharks, Detroit is now one of only two NHL teams to have qualified for the playoffs every year since the league negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the player’s association in 2005.

Today’s road win also secures the Red Wings their 11^th straight 100-point season, a streak which extends their own NHL record. The previous mark of eight seasons was set by the Montreal Canadiens from 1974-75 through 1981-82.

TOP ACTIVE POST-SEASON APPEARANCE STREAKS:

NHL – Detroit Red Wings, 20 seasons

NBA – San Antonio Spurs, 14 seasons

NFL – Indianapolis Colts, 9 seasons

MLB – Philadelphia Phillies, 4 seasons

MOST CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF APPEARANCES:

29 Boston Bruins, 1968-96

28 Chicago Blackhawks, 1970-97

25 St. Louis Blues, 1980-2004

24 Montreal Canadiens, 1971-94

21 Montreal Canadiens, 1949-69

20 Detroit Red Wings, 1991-present

20 Detroit Red Wings, 1939-58"

The Rundown: Abdelkader.

With the win today, the Wings clinched their spot in the playoffs. 20 years.... simply amazing. It's also the 11th straight season where the Wings have reached the 100 point mark.


After today's game I can tell you:

-Shane O'Brien is a little bitch.
-Abdelkader is hot, hot, hot.
-We needed that win, terribly.

Anyways, onto the Rundown.

• This game was intense.

• The Wings came out ready to play. It's nice to see that they realize the predicament they're in.

• So right off the bat, Shane O'Brien thought it would be cute to start a fight. Abby wanted to go after him but was pulled off by the refs. Not to worry though because Todd Bertuzzi gave the fans not one, but two fights with Mr. O'Brien.

• The name of the game today was, "How Many Bad Calls Will Be Made On Homer?"

(answer: too many)

• After going down by three... Babcock called a time out, rallied the troops, and hey, it worked. After that time out... all the magic happened.

• It was all about the young guns today...Kindl got the Wings on the board with a beautiful goal from the blue line. Shortly after, Abdelkader closed the gap a little more to make the game 3-2, Nashville.
  

• Justin Abdelkader was by far the best man out on the ice today. 2 goals, many hits, and great plays... Abby definitely showed his team mates and everyone else what he is made of.

• Jimmy Howard played exceptionally well today too. Howard made some HUGE saves in the third to keep the Wings in it.

• That overtime goal celebration by Cleary was priceless. You could just tell that a ton of weight was lifted off his (and the team's) shoulders.

• The Wings needed this win bad and hopefully only good things are to come from it.

• Tomorrow the Wings play Minnesota. Go Wings!
  

Warm-Up: Detroit @ Nashville

Warm-Up:

After that horrendous game on Wednesday night, the Wings look to find their dignity and win today against Nashville. Nashville has been a tough competitor all season long so it should be interesting how things play out.

Tonight is the 6th and final regular season match-up for these two teams. Nashville has won 4 of the 5 games in the series.


Injuries/Scratches:

Pavel Datsyuk - Lower Body Injury
Chris Osgood - ...
Niklas Kronwall- Sore Shoulder

Drew Miller is the scratch

Other Notes:

If the Wings win today or get the game to over time, they will clinch a playoff spot.

Jimmy Howard is back between the pipes.

Predictions:

Final Score:
Stef: 5-2, Nashville
Danielle: 3-2, Wings (please win, please win, please win!!)

Player of the Game:
Stef- Danny Cleary
Danielle- Johan Franzen


Go Wings!