The Rundown: Pride.

Well, that's the season.

Disappointed? A little. But only because the season is over.
Disappointed in the Wings? No, not at all.

The Wings showed us their passion for the game, their determination, and their pride. When they were down 3 games to none in this last series, Jimmy Howard stepped up and said "Why not us?" Those three simple words were just what we needed to hear. Three simple words that made all of us believe in the magic and passion of this team. Three simple words that made the Wings believe and come back to win 3 straight games. There is nothing to be disappointed about. The Wings fought hard. They played hard. To the very last second last night, they did all they could to keep the season alive not only for themselves, but for us as well.

Though things didn't end in our favor, there is still a lot to be happy about. This team gave us one hell of a season full of milestones and memories. Let's reflect a little. Instead of focusing on last night's loss, let's focus on the season as a whole. Let's put things in perspective. Here's some of the best moments this season...

Mike Modano Comes Home- Last summer there was a lot of speculation and rumors about Ken Holland bringing Mike Modano to Detroit. Many were weary at first, but Mikey-Mo signed a 1 year contract with the Wings. Even though Modano's season was cut in half due to that horrific wrist injury, It was still nice to see the hometown hero sporting the winged wheel. Not to mention, he'll probably end up retiring. Modano has come full circle. Starting his hockey playing here in Detroit and coming back to end it. (someone give me a tissue)

Pavel fights- Our Mr. Lady Bing found himself in a fight this season against Corey Perry of the Ducks. Something that we all talked about for days. And let's not forget, in that same game Datsyuk scored a goal and got an assist. (Better known in Hockeytown as the Gordie Howe Hat Trick) Datsyuk joked after the game about being able to open his mind a little more and not having to worry about trying to win the Lady Bing this season.

Chris Osgood's 400th Win- Yeah, we all waited a L O N G time for it to happen. But when that moment came, goosebumps were sent all over my body. Chris Osgood won his 400th career game, an accomplishment that only 9 other goaltenders in the history of the game were able to do. Osgood, who hasn't always had the respect of media and fans, showed everyone that he is hall of fame worthy. Numbers don't lie.

Lidstrom's Hat Trick- Nick Lidstrom is arguably they best defenseman the NHL has ever seen. We're lucky to be able to call him our own. With 4 Stanley Cups, 6 Norris Trophies, and a number of other career achievements (heck, the guy even has a street named after him!) , it's crazy to think that in 18 1/2 seasons, Lidstrom never had a hat trick. That all ended on December 15th. Perfect human, perfect curly fries.

Franzen's Five Goal Game- When he shoots, he scores... and he does it often. On February 2nd, Johan Franzen beat the Ottawa Senators all by himself, scoring 5 goals. Mule gave Hockeytown free curly fries... he even enjoyed some himself.

Bertuzzi's 1000th Career Game- Todd Bertuzzi made it to 1,000 games this year. Through out his career, Bert has experienced a lot of ups and downs and has been one of the most controversial players in the league. Bertuzzi's 1,000 game was well deserved and earned. He even scored the game winning goal in game 1,000. As my Bertuzzi Kuzzi says, Bertuzzi is "#44 in your program, #1 in your heart"

20 Straight Playoff Appearances- We're spoiled. Year in and year out the Wings spoil us with playoff hockey. 20 years in a row, the Wings have found themselves in the playoffs. 4 of those years they went all the way to win the Cup. No other current team in any pro sport has been able to accomplish such a thing. I have a feeling that this streak will continue to grow for years to come.

Other Things That Made Me Smile This Season-

Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader -
These two are really starting to come into their prime. Abby has been able to step up, get in fights, score a few goals, and really make great plays happen. Helm has been able to use his speed to make plays happen, he's been great on the PK, and he's also been able to provide great entertainment every time I see a quote from him in the paper. Example: "With that comes responsibility. I was quoting Spider-Man to you there -- with great power comes great responsibility. I'm excited about it."

Jimmy Howard-
Today, while listening to the radio, one of the DJ's was talking about how for once in Detroit, fans are actually standing behind their goalie with pride. Jimmy's earned it. He's OUR GOALIE. He's our man. He knows that in this town, his job is not so easy. But night in and night out, Jimmy provided us with great saves, great wins, and great chances to win. He was pretty solid through out the entire season and earns all the praise in the world for his efforts.

The Fans-
There is nothing like being a Detroit Red Wing Fan. And I've come to learn that you don't quite understand it from the outside looking in. But once you're in, once you're a fan, you quickly become attached to this team and become proud of what they do every night out on that ice.
There is no better feeling than walking into Joe Louis Arena and realizing that you aren't the only obsessed fan... There is nothing cooler than the Wings having the lead in the 3rd period and hearing everyone in the building sing Don't Stop Believing. There are so many great traditions here in Detroit and we make sure every single one of those traditions live on. There's a reason why Detroit is called Hockeytown, and the fans have a lot to do with it.

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The Future- It's going to be an interesting summer. I want to see what will happen next for the wings, I wish I knew the roster for next season already. I'm hoping and praying that last night wasn't the last time that we all get to see Lidstrom and Draper in the Red Wings jersey.

_______________________

On a personal note, I would like to thank all of you guys for reading. Stef and I wanted to do this for fun and for our love of the Wings and we appreciate you're support more than we could probably say. We'll be updating through out the summer to let you all know about trades, signings, and all the other fun stuff Red Wings related.

Until next time, 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: 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!

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

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!
  

The Rundown: NOT THE JIMMY!

First Period-

• LOL Brett Lebda.

• What an atmosphere. Gotta love the original six match ups. such a loud crowd. octopus thrown before the game even starts.. .you know its going to be a good game.

• "lets go red wings" "go leafs go" "lets go red wings" "go leafs go" GOD! I LOVE match ups like this because of the crowd alone.
  

• GOAL! Hank scored a great goal with helpers from Hudler and Lidstrom. 

Darren Helm waiting to make a play.

• "Helm can go from zero to 60 in 4.3 seconds" ... Just like a Mercedes Benz, right Mickey?

• Blue 43 has nothing on red 43. anyways, blue 43 Kadri scored, 1-1.

• First Period ends with everyone tied up, 1-1. 

Filppula getting smashed against the boards for going after the puck.

• Turned on CBC during the first intermission. Don Cherry never fails to show us the perfect suit. Then he provided us with this great line... "Fillapov or whatever his name is." Apparently, Don Cherry thinks that Finland is a part of Russia?

• Coaches Corner finished just in time for me to listen to Larry Murphy! yesss! win! HOT DOG JOKE! ....this game just has "win" written all over it.
  

Second Period-

Kronwall's shot from the blue line

• Kronwall made a great shot from the blue line and Holmstrom tapped it in for the goal. It was a pretty goal, but what got me was Homer's reaction to it. Immediately after it went in he checked all around to make sure that the ref wasn't going to call it back. Hilarious... sort of... actually, it kind of sucks that Homer has to do that now... BUT! Wings up 2-1.

• Abdelkader went after Daryl Boyce after Boyce laid a hit on Rafalski. Rafalski left the game to go get medical attention in the locker room. So anyways, Abby saw the hit at center ice then went after Boyce and dropped the gloves. Abby got a few good hits in. I liked it. 

Abdelkader and Miller checking Leaf's into the boards.

• So that was weird. A shot at the glass.. glass cracks... second period ends early. Which means that the third will be 22:01 long.

• Now, the only time I remember something like this happening, where time or something was changed was during the Winter Classic where the Caps and Pens had to change sides halfway through the third because of poor ice conditions.

• Do you guys know of any other time when there is some change like this to the game? Does this happen more often than I think it does?

• By the way... those Red Wing Commercials with Huds and Z playing chess STILL crack me up.

Third Period-

Jimmy Howard ready to make a save.

• Scary incident where Jimmy ended up on the ice, injured. One of the Leafs, Lupul, put the puck in the net to tie everything at 2-2 while lying on top of Jimmy. Jimmy left the game and looked like he was pretty shaken up.

• Joey MacDonald came in immediately. Lets all hope that Jimmy is alright. 

Dog pile on Joey Mac.

• Hudler scored a goal quick to regain momentum. 3-2, Wings.

• Bert scored an empty netter to make the final 4-2, Wings. Because of this win, the Leafs probably ended any hopes of going on to the playoffs.
• JoeyMac brought in a great effort to end the game.
  

Next up for the Wings: The Chicago Blackhawks, Monday night.

Go Wings!

Jiri Hudler wins first star of the night with a goal and an assist.

{Photo Credit belongs to Stefanie Mullins}

The Rundown: Someone buy the refs new whistles please...

Thank you, Nicklas Lidstrom for keeping us alive!!

The Rundown-

Need I say more? I'm pretty sure this explains most of the game:

• There were wayyy to many instances tonight where the refs should have blown the whistles but didn't. I don't know what was going on, but it was just ridiculous.
  

• Wings were down by one for pretty much the entire game. Jimmy made some AMAZING SAVES. The guy was on top of his game all night long. I was surprised he wasn't one of the top 3 stars of the night.

• Tonight was also another night to add to the list of games where the Wings can't score on a 5 on 3. Someone needs to put an end to this soon. The power play needs to get their act together. I'm not expecting a goal on every power play, but there is no reason why a team like the Detroit Red Wings shouldn't score on every 5 on 3 opportunity they get.

• I'm not going to even touch that disallowed goal by Lidstrom that went off Bertuzzi's hand...

• I love though, that Lidstrom was the one to score the goal late in the third to keep the Wings in the game. He is perfection. Everything he does, he does well.

• OT- DATSYUKIAN GOAAAAAAL! WOOT!

Up next- Wings @ Blues, Tomorrow.

Go Wings!

Warm-Up: Edmonton @ Detroit

Warm-Up:

So first things first, the first 2500 kids at the Joe tonight get a Red Wings lunch box. The things I would do to be able to carry that lunch box to work everyday... sigh....

Edmonton Oilers are coming into the Joe tonight to face off the Wings in their 4th and final match up of the season. The Wings have won all three previous games against the Oilers and are looking for the series sweep tonight. Which I'm praying will happen. The Wings need a win... bad.

Injuries/Scratches:

Brad Stuart thought it would be funny to pretend that he had a sprained ankle... JUST KIDDING! Stuart is back in the line up tonight and Doug Janik is going back to Grand Rapids.

Eaves is still out with his groin injury, Rafaski still out with a sore back. It was reported today though that Rafalski should be back next week.

Other Notes:
I've got nothing. I just want a Red Wings lunch box. I got my silly bands, now I need the lunch box.


Predictions:

Player of the Game-
Stef- 5-2, Wings
Danielle- 5-2, Wings

Final Score-
Stef- Danny Cleary
Danielle- Todd Bertuzzi

The Rundown: NBC announcers can't pronounce.

Happy Hockey Day In America, America!

The Wings played in Minnesota this afternoon and got the win in overtime. The broadcast was on NBC. But before we get to the Rundown, let me tell you about how my game watching experience started today. I came home from work, in fact I left a little early so that I could make it home before the puck dropped. I sat down on the couch and put on NBC and watched their coverage on hockey day in America. Then the scariest thing in the world happened. At 12:30 PM, instead of the Wings coming up on my TV screen, I saw the Buffalo Sabres. My heart stopped. It was scary. I was scared. I stomped into my room and pouted. I wanted my Red Wings... I wanted the right then and there at 12:30. But nope, the lovely folks at NBC had other plans. THANKFULLY, it was just a quick scare. The Wings game was on at 12:43. Life was good again.

Onto the Rundown....
First Period-

I said it before, I'll say it again. I REALLY don't like NBC coverage of hockey games. Today was no exception. The announcers mispronounced 3 players names. THREE. Franzen, Rafalski, and Hudler. I can't even begin to explain how much stuff like that annoys me, especially since theses announcers are "professionals." Also, I've been told that the announcers are even given pronounciation keys on how properly say these names. And its not like those three names are even that difficult to pronounce. UGH.

The first period was scoreless but the Wings came out strong and played pretty well. Danny Cleary was completely killing it out on the ice. I feel like he had all of the Wing's first period shots. They guy kept firing and firing. Way to go Danny, hopefully one of those shots will go in later in the game. Franzen also had a penalty. The penalty kill was pretty good and there was a pretty solid effort made by Mr. Jimmy Howard. After that PK I had regrets not picking Jimmy for player of the game.

Towards the end of the first their was a "Let's Go Red Wings" chant. It made me smile. That makes me proud to be a Red Wings fan.

Second Period-

I wonder what it's like to be Martin Havlat. I think the guy has nightmares about the Red Wings. First that awesome hit from Kronwall back in the playoffs where he just got killed.
(See Right)
THEN, there was that collision with Hudler. Havlat probably pisses his pants just thinking about the Wings. That must be a rough life, constantly living in fear.

NBC did one of those coaches interviews with Babcock. Babcock smiled. I laughed so hard. That guy never looks happy.

Once again, another scoreless period.

Third Period-

Still through the third period... NBC announcers are pronouncing Franzen and Hudler incorrectly. I'm ready to write NBC an angry letter.

Mr. Perfect himself, Nicklas Lidstrom made the game 1-0 Wings with a perfect goal. Hudler and Stuart with the help.

Havlat scored on a breakaway to tie the game up just minutes after Lidstrom scored. Way to ruin the fun, Havlat. There's probably another hit coming your way.

There was a Minnesota shot on goal at 7:55 in the third. Jimmy blocked it, but the he seemed to freeze in that position for like 2 seconds. I don't know what happened to him but it literally seemed like he was in a video game and someone hit "pause" and he just stopped moving. I thought for sure it was danger time and Minnesota was going to score. Weird.

The Third ended with a 1-1 score. To OT we go.

Overtime-

Not much excitement here except Cleary didn't shoot the puck when he was supposed too.

Shoot Out-
There was a lovely Datsyukian goal, followed by a lovely Todd Bertuzzi goal. Again. On his 1,000 game. Way to go, Tuzzi. You're simply awesome. Congratulations.

Broadcaster Quote of the Game-
I didn't really write down a quote because the announcers made me so angry. But, there was about 5 minutes during the third period where they worshiped Detroit and just how awesome we are at hockey. Not only as a team, but as an organization, and as a city commonly referred to as Hockeytown. Loved it.

I'm also going to say that I won the player of the game prediction for today since Lidstrom scored. Hooray!

Tuesday the Wings take on the Sharks of San Jose.

Go Wings!

Warm-Up: Detroit @ Minnesota

Todd Bertuzzi will play his 1,000 career game today when the Wings take on the Minnesota Wild. This is the 3rd road game for the Wings in 4 days. Hopefully the Wings can continue their winning ways and Bertuzzi can continue this awesome 2 goals a game thing he has going on. I'm also pretty excited to watch the Hudler-Datsyuk-Cleary line again. These three have something special going on here. Personally, I'm surprised that Cleary works so well with the other two. You can barely understand them when they speak. I would assume that Jimmy is getting the start in the net today after that nail-biter of a game that Joey Mac put us through.

Predictions-

Player of the Game-
Stef- Henrik Zetterberg
Danielle- Nicklas Lidstrom

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


Go Wings!

Run-Down: The Tuzzi!

So after watching last nights game... or some of it at least, I must say, I am in love with Todd Bertuzzi. The guy is on fire. He's always out on the ice playing hard and putting fear into the eyes of every player not wearing the red and white. And, he has a great dentist too.

I can't do my normal recap for this game because I missed a lot of it. But, I'll give it a shot anyways.

Here's the rundown...

First Period-
So Todd Bertuzzi decided that this game was going to be won by the Wings. And when the Tuzzi decides something, it happens. Tuzzi scored a goal pretty quick into the game, automatically setting the tone for the rest of the game. Then my man, my prediction for player of the game, Mr. Danny Cleary scored a nice goal, putting the Wings 2 goals up.

Second Period-
The only thing I saw during the 2nd was Darren Helm having a "scare" and skating off the ice into the locker room. No joke, I whined. I was worried. I was scared. I was concerned. I don't want to see what would happen if he got injured. I would probably have tears coming out of my eyes.

Third Period-
I saw nothing of this period. Wait, that's a lie. I saw Joey MacDonald make the biggest save of his career with less than 30 seconds left in the third. Wait to go kid. I'm glad we didn't have to witness an overtime. If that happened, I think it would have ended bad for the good guys.

I'm not sure who won the Player of the Game prediction for this game. Cleary had a goal but Zetterberg had 2 assists.

Wings take on Minnesota tomorrow at 12:30.

GO WINGS!