The Rundown: Wings Burn Out the Flames

Although I went to the game last night, I decided I would still do a rundown.

On a couple of personal notes: I have noticed that there has been an increase in Hudler fans as I saw 3 people wearing Hudler jerseys. I also found what to appears to be the male versions of Danielle and I or they are our Red Wing soul mates.

The Rundown:

Before the puck drop, the Red Wings honored Mark Howe for his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Howe was also the Red Wing alumni of the game.

The first period started with a quiet few minutes before the Flames ended up with Smith in the box for cross checking. It didn’t take long for the Wings to make that horn sound as Holmstrom picked up a power play goal assisted by Lidstrom and Hudler. Helm and Smith had a check against the boards that crushed one of the referees, but he was not seriously injured. The period ended with shots on goal even at 8 and Wings up 1 – 0. 

 44 seconds into the second period Iginla scores the first goal for the Flames, assisted by Tanguay and Butler. Moments later Morrison is one on one with Kindl racing towards the net and scores, the assist went to Jackman. Calgary’s first two shots of the period resulted in goals, an indication the Wings needed to turn up the heat. The Wings put some pressure on the Flames until Hudler went to the box for hooking, putting Calgary at an unfortunate advantage. On the penalty kill, Giordano shot the puck and nailed Miller in the face. He was immediately rushed off the ice, but he later returned to the game.
The Wings escaped the power kill with no additional damage. 

Wings back on the offense and White takes a shot from the top of the circle for a goal. Datsyuk and Franzen pick up the assists on this one and the game is tied up at 2 apiece. The Wings start stepping up their game as they dominate the rest of the period. Many Wings with many great chances but Kiprusoff is definitely on his toes. As the clock struck 3:00, Emmerton gets a penalty for delay of game. Wings were again successful at killing of the penalty kill. The period ended with shots on goal Wings 24 – Flames 15, and the game tied at 2.

Not a dull moment in the third period. The action starts with a power play for the Wings as Butler gets a penalty for hooking. A great pass from Datsyuk put the puck in front of the net for Holmstrom to swat in behind Kiprusoff. This goal was also assisted by White. Not even a minute later, the Wings find themselves down a man as Abdlekader is sent to the box for holding. With 4 seconds left of the power kill,  Jokinen scores their first power play goal for Calgary.  This goal was assisted by Brodie and Bouwmeester and tied the game up at 3.

A double penalty is called, Kindl for hooking and Morrison for diving putting the teams on 4 on 4. The game turns into a 4 on 3 for 22 seconds as Cleary is called for hooking. Then with 43 seconds left in Cleary’s penalty, Giordano is sent to the box for tripping Helm. The whistle blows again and there is a slashing penalty on Glencross, there is still 10 seconds left on the Cleary penalty and 1:27 left on Giordano’s. Wings go on a 5 on 3 for about a minute until Datysuk scores a goal assisted by Lidstrom and Zetterberg, giving them a much needed lead as the clock counts down. After all the penalties are said and done, Filppula flips the puck up and over Kiprusoff and into the net for Wings goal number 5. Hudler and White with the assists on this one. The game ends with a 5-3 win for the Wings!

The next game is the Thanksgiving Showdown against the Bruins. The game will take place Friday, November 25 at 1 pm.

Rundown: Bobby Ryan, please stop acting like a 12 year old.

Game Notes:

• The Wings played a pretty solid game tonight considering they played yesterday too. However, it's a bit of a concern seeing Howard playing the second game of a back-to-back. Where's Conklin? Has all faith in him been lost?
• The Wings played the Ducks tonight in an apparently, very rainy Anaheim? The Wings came out strong and scored quickly with a nice shot from Zetterberg. This was Z’s first goal since November 5^th. Which was nice to see especially since Z and his Eurotwin haven’t exactly been on point as of late. 1-0, Wings.
• Then all of a sudden… THE POWER GOES OUT. I guess they don’t pay their electric bill over at the Honda Center. Either that or Anaheim was trying to find a quick way out of another disappointing loss.
• After a long 27 minutes without hockey… the game comes back and Fox Sports provides us viewers with more technical difficulties. The FSD feed went out for a bit then switched over to the Anaheim announcers. Then! Ken and Larry are suddenly calling the game from their cell phones. I’m surprised Murph even knows what a cell phone is. For all we know, he was just holding a hot dog up to his head and speaking into it.
• Did anyone else notice the lack of Bobby Ryan tonight. No talk of the kid what-so-ever… he probably asked coach if he could sit on the bench for the game so he could finish the last few chapters of Twilight: Breaking Dawn.
• … if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Bobby Ryan recently gave a review of the latest installment of the Twilight films. What a hard-ass. That’s the kind of guy I want on my hockey team…
• 2^nd period opened up with a beauty from Mule. Then the Wings got another goal courtesy of Brad Stuart that was screened perfectly by Bertuzzi. Wings up 3-0.
• Our defensemen have been nothing short of awesome when it comes to scoring. The Wings blue liners have been very impressive so far this season, scoring goals left and right. (With the exception of Ericsson, of course.)
• Holy.Shit.Jimmy.Howard. Jimmy had an AMAZING save in the second off of the stick of Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf had his hands up and started celebrating. The ref said no goal and the play continued. Hilarious. Anyways, the play was review and the no goal ruling on the ice was confirmed. This moment also made me realize that Getzlaf has more hair on his face than he does on his head. Thank you, Movember.
• So Bobby Ryan had a nice shot on goal, the puck went in but his teammate, Smith-Pelly cross checked Kronwall. The whistle blew before the puck went in so the goal didn’t count. Bobby Ryan got his panties in a twist and started yelling at the refs. Obviously he was yelling about the fact that Bella picked Edward over Jacob. Come on Bobby, grow a pair and play hockey.
  
• In true Ericsson fashion, the moron took a penalty with just over 2 minutes left in the game. Can we just trade him? I can think of so many other ways the Red Wings could spend 3 million dollars... THANKFULLY, Brad Stuart saved Ericssons ass and scored an empty netter, pretty much taking away any chance the Ducks may have had to tie the game. 4-2, Wings.
  
• Oh yeah, at some point during the game, the Ducks managed to score 2 goals on Jimmy.
• I miss Ian White. A little piece of me dies every time I see Ericsson playing opposite Lidstrom. Jonathan Ericsson still sucks. You would think that his contract would help him produce a little more out on the ice. Or you know, actually play hockey?
• Also.. this Brendan Smith kid... he's good.
  

Warm-Up Detroit @ Anaheim

The Warm-Up:

After a 4-1 victory over the Kings yesterday, the Wings will take on the (mighty) Ducks tonight in Anaheim. Pavel Datsyuk finally lit up the lamp with two goals yesterday after going through a scoring dry-spell (12 games) that was extremely uncharacteristic of him.

The Ducks have been a struggling team so far this season, so they'll be playing hard to get the W.

Injuries/Scratches:

Ian White - his face is broke.

Scratches- still unknown...


Predictions:

Final Score:
Stef- 3-2, Wings
Danielle- 4-0, Wings

Player of the Game:
Stef- Darren Helm
Danielle- Nicklas Lidstrom

Wings Vs Sharks Rundown

Wings continue their road trip with a late night game at San Jose. 

The first period was one of the quietest periods I have seen in a while. The first penalty of the game came with 4 minutes left and it went to Demers for holding. Kronwall was able to put one past Niemi picking up a power play goal, the first of the game. The goal was assisted by Datsyuk and Lidstrom. Then there was a delayed penalty on Demers for interference. They didn’t touch the puck until there was 25 seconds left in the first. Just 12 seconds after the Wings went on power play, Pavelski scores a shorthanded goal on Howard. The goal was assisted by Thorton. The period closed Wings 1 – Sharks 1.

Wings finish off the power play to start the second. This time no goals – power play or shorthanded. The liveliness in the second period definitely dialed up compared to the first. Maybe a little too much liveliness for the Sharks as Thorton scores a goal.  This goal was assisted by Couture and Vlasic. Sharks continue to put the pressure on Howard. Their efforts pay off as Vlasic scores another Sharks goal. This goal was assisted by Desjardins and Winchester.
I thought this period would end quietly, but much to my dismay I was wrong. The Sharks take a shot that just passed Howard and missed the goal. As Howard chases the puck off to the side, the Sharks come around with the rebound hitting the post and scoring their third goal of the period. Mitchell is responsible for this one, assisted by Vlassic (who has been a part of every goal, 4 point night for him) and McGinn.  Leaving me with one question – where is our defense? The second period ends Wings 1 – Sharks 4.

Conklin replaced Howard for the third period. The Wings slaughtering continues… Winchester scores number 5 for the Sharks, assisted by Murray. I don’t expect the Wings come back here, but I do expect them to at least try. That request was granted pretty quick… Murray put the Sharks on a penalty kill for holding and Cleary knocked one in! Filppula and Zetterberg get the assists. This one ends Wings 2 – Sharks 5.

The next game will be on Saturday, November 19^th at LA against the Kings. Game starts at 4 and will be showing on Fox Sports Detroit.

Red Wing Appearances

Pull out that jersey because the Wings are doing appearances and autographs!

The Wings will be appearing at different Meijer locations throughout Metro-Detroit. Currently the player schedule is to be determined. I will update it when I have the information.

Unfortunately for Eaves fans, this comes a little too late. He was scheduled today from 2-3. My apologies.


2012 Appearances:

Wednesday, January 4 (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.) – 5150 Coolidge Highway, Royal Oak, MI 48073

Thursday, February 16 (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.) – 3175 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48037

Sunday, February 26 (1:00 – 3:00 p.m.) – 30800 Little Mack Road, Roseville, MI 48066

Wednesday, March 7 (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.) – 1703 Haggerty Rd, Commerce Twp, MI 48390

Thursday, March 8 (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.) – 13000 Middlebelt Road, Livonia, MI 48150

A drunken rundown

Alright kids. Here it is. My first Rundown of the season. Enjoy it all as I write in a drunken stupor. Here's a breakdown of things, as I saw it:

chicken nugget hopkins.

The night started off with a discussion about who Karen Newman is and why she sang both the Canadian National Anthem and our National Anthem. Conclusion: Karen Newman is the best anthem singer.

Those kids are fast on that Oilers team! It's like a buncha Darren Helms on the ice all at once. Holy Mackerel!

This conversation happened: "Larry Murphy should always be holding a hot dog." "Larry Murphy is the hot dog!"

MILLER TIME! I hope everyone enjoyed a nice beer. Miller scored his first goal of the season. Later, during the first intermission interview, Miller said he IS a goal scorer. LIES. Apparently, if you lie, your hair turns grey.

Filppula on the power play "why do they keep passing it to filppula he loses it or jacks off with it." ... yeah roomie, you're right. Khabibulin blows.

Niklas Kronwall with an absolute LASER after chicken nugget messed up. 2-0 wings.

Abby with a "fight" against a twelve year old. That was more like watching a bully holding a kid upside down in the school yard and taking away his lunch money. By the end of the 2nd, Abdelkader started exchanging words. I think he might be a hitman. Probably not, but its still cool to imagine.

I'm sorry Stefanie. This is absolutely terrible.

Edmonton @ Detroit

Warm-Up:

It's chicken wings and Red Wings night here at the lovely Hockeytown Rundown household!

Uh-oh. The newest hockey prodigy, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, or as I like to call him, Chicken Nugget - Hopkins and the Oilers make their way into the Joe tonight. Chicken Nugget has been turning a lot of heads and impressing a lot in the hockey world. It seems like every time I turn on Hockey Night in Canada a new broadcaster is displaying his boner for this kid. It's kinda gross. And disturbing.

Anyways,
Unlike years past, the Oilers have started off pretty well and are quickly becoming a team to watch. No one saw that coming. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has been playing VERY well (insert drunk joke here) and MIGHT pose a challenge for our lovely Wings.

Khabibulin blows. 10 points to those of you who get that reference...


Injuries/Scratches:

Todd Bertuzzi - ill
Henrik Zetterberg - has what some call a "middle body injury" whatever that means... he's a game time decision.

Mike Commodore is your scratch.

Other Notes-

Happy 11-11-11. Danny Cleary should score today. Just sayin...

Also, Happy Veterans Day and thank you to all of our service men and women for all that they do. I'm looking at you Jon Cugini!

Predictions-

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

Player of the Game:
Stef - Tomas Holmstrom
Danielle- Danny Cleary


As always, GO WINGS!

Wings Vs Avs Rundown

What I miss about Wings/Avs games is the intensity that the rivalry used to have. Am I the only one who is still holding onto it? Every time they play each other, I have some hope that the fire between them will ignite. 

Much to my dismay, it was a pretty quiet first period. Lidstrom scored an unassisted goal, proving he still had another season left in him. Zetterberg took a nasty hit at center ice. Only two penalties were issued, neither resulted in power play goals. The first penalty went to Ericsson for holding and the second went to Quincey for interference.  Shots on goal for the period: Wings 8, Avs 10.

Wings go back on the power play to start off the second period as Stastny went to the box for cross checking on Filppula. Filppula got his revenge by scoring a power play goal assisted by Zetterberg and Hudler. Wings take on a 2-0 lead.

Only minutes later McClement is takes a penalty for boarding and only 15 seconds into the penalty, Franzen scores!!! The goal is assisted by Kronwall and Filppula. The Avs make a goaltender change taking out Varlamov and putting in Giguere. Just moments later Ericsson picks up his second penalty of the day for hooking. The Avs were able to keep Howard from a shut out with Landeskog scoring a power play goal.  The goal was assisted by Duchene and Quincey. Second period wraps up with the Wings still ahead 3-1. 

At the start of the third, they announced that the earlier Filppula goal was actually tipped in by Franzen. So he got the goal and Filppula and Hudler got the assists. Not long after, the Wings go to their fourth power play on behalf of O'Reilly hooking. After several long minutes, Cleary scores ‘1,2,3,4’! The goal is assisted by Datsyuk and Kindl. Shortly thereafter, Datsyuk ends up in the box for the holding…. They weren’t even finished announcing the penalty before Hejduk scores a power play goal for the Avs. Franzen picks up his second career hat trick with an empty net goal! (And according to Murphy, he doesn’t even know it yet!) Not that anyone cares… but McLeod took a penalty for boarding as the period came to a close.

The Red Wings win 5 – Avs 2.

Belle Tire Power Play Contest

If you are looking for another opportunity to win some Wings tickets, look no further!


Belle Tire Power Play Contest

Warm-Up: Anaheim @ Detroit. Something's Gotta Give

Warm-Up:

Well, We're not used to this.

The Wings have lost their last 6 games. Is it time to hit the panic button? Has the panic button already been hit? Is this just some sort of terrible dream in some alternate universe? Is anyone even listening to me?

Oh the frustration!

I've thought about this way too much lately. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Maybe I need to pull out some of the playoff superstitions? Maybe I need to stop watching hockey for a week, take a step back and actually breathe. Maybe I've just lost my mind.

ANYWAYS -

The Ducks (5-5-3) are coming to the Joe tonight to try to extend the Wing's losing streak. Our boys in the red and white have a lot to prove though and should come out strong. We need a good showing from guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk to get the rest of the team going. Or maybe we even need an unsung hero like a Helm or Abdelkader to make some good plays and get some pucks in the net. (Because, after all, according to Larry Murphy, "the net is where all the cookies are.")


Or.. maybe Datsyuk can just beat Corey Perry's ass again tonight. That should get the Wings pumped up. It gets me pumped up.

Things just need to go our way tonight. (I'm looking at you, refs)

Injuries/Scratches:

Kindl is the healthy scratch.
Eaves is out with a back injury.
Bertuzzi is out with an illness.

Other notes-

If the Wings somehow come out of this game with a loss, I'm arranging a prayer circle or something for tomorrow. Or at least I'll start going to see a shrink.


Predictions:

Final Score-
Stef 3-2, Wings
Danielle 4-1, Wings

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


GO WINGS!

Warm-Up: Calgary @ Detroit

Put the puck in the net.