Post-game Dallas
I would be surprised if the Wings weren't given an explanation and perhaps an apology (worthless as it would be) for the officiating debacle Wednesday night.
Even if they hadn't mysteriously waived off Brad May's tying goal in the third period, referees Stephane Auger and Dennis LaRue were brutal. They called 11 minor penalties on the night, six to the Wings, and at least five of them were completely befuddling. They called a hold on Jonathan Ericsson in the third period on a play where I truly believe Ericsson wanted to hold I believe it was Mike Ribeiro but couldn't catch him. They called a high stick on Kris Draper when the replays showed his stick nowhere near the Dallas player, who threw his head back in a perfect imitation of a guy who got sticked.
But waiving off Brad May's goal -- wow. There was talk afterward that they waived the goal off because LaRue intended to blow the whistle. Now, come on. That cannot be a rule. If refs can refuse video replay on grounds that they "intended" to blow the whistle, then we might as well scrap video replay. Referees can dodge video replay on all calls around the net by just citing intent to blow the whistle.
It was a horrible call and LaRue and Auger showed some arrogance, too, steadfastly refusing to budge when it appeared even the bosses in Toronto were imploring them to do so. It's very off that Toronto will call back on a play they weren't asked to review. But they did Wednesday night.
So, expect to hear more about this today.
Here's some more from Brad May on the play: "These refs work many, many games and I am not going to call them out, but that call was a difference-maker. There's not a chance he blew the whistle on a shot from the slot. I am sure when he sees it he will realize it was a blown call.
"Too bad, too, because it was the first goal I actually scored with my stick in over a year. I had one last year but it went off my shin pad."
May also had his 149th NHL fight (counting playoffs), and it was a doozy. He squared off with Stars Krystofer Barch at 7:21 of the second and gave him a pretty good lesson. He landed a couple right hands and then knocked Barch's helmet off with a left.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 2:02 AMPower rankings, week 7
All the Russian stars who have been out with injuries are coming back -- Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Washington's Alex Ovechkin. They've all made a difference.
1. (1) San Jose Sharks (14-5-4): The Sharks keep scoring and for the most part, keep winning. They are second to the Washington Capitals with 76 goals to the Capitals' 79.
2. (2) Washington Capitals (13-4-4-): The aforementioned Capitals welcomed back Alex Ovechkin, who promptly scored. However, Alexander Semin might miss time with a wrist injury.
3. (3) New Jersey Devils (14-5-0): The Devils may have seen their road win streak end at nine games but they have allowed the fewest goals in the league with just 40.
4. (4) Colorado Avalanche (13-6-3): Backup goaltender Peter Budaj and the Avalanche gave up six goals to Edmonton Wednesday night but they still lead the Northwest Division.
5. (8) Pittsburgh Penguins (14-7-0): Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup last Saturday and the Penguins have won two straight. Coincidence? I think not.
6. (5) Buffalo Sabres (12-5-1): It was an odd night Wednesday for the Sabres, who allowed six goals to the Florida Panthers. But they are second to the Devils in fewest goals allowed with 43.
7. (9) Los Angeles Kings (13-7-2): The Kings have won two in a row but now they've lost Ryan Smyth for up to a month with an "upper-body injury."
8. (7) Chicago Blackhawks (12-5-2): The Blackhawks have won four in a row and are set to sign Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith to extensions. Oh, and Marian Hossa is due back next week.
9. (11) Philadelphia Flyers (12-5-1): Probably the most impressive thing about the Flyers is they have scored 20 more goals than they have allowed.
10. (6) Calgary Flames (12-5-2): They've improved defensively but still can't manage to beat division rival Colorado at home.
11. (12) Atlanta Thrashers (10-6-1): The Thrashers are riding a four-game winning streak and they welcomed back star Ilya Kovalchuk this past week. Good week for them.
12. (14) Detroit Red Wings (10-6-3): The Wings lost their first game at home in regulation and are a point behind Columbus, but they've scored more (63) than they've allowed (57), a figure probably skewed by their 9-1 blowout at Columbus last week.
13. (15) Columbus Blue Jackets (11-6-2): Coach Ken Hitchcock didn't dwell on that blowout loss to the Wings in his 1,000th game. The Blue Jackets have responded with two straight victories over the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.
14. (10) Dallas Stars (9-5-6): The Stars became the first team to win in regulation at Detroit Wednesday night, improving to 6-3-3 on the road.
15. (16) Phoenix Coyotes (12-9-0): Radim Vrbata had his third multi-point game of the season against Minnesota Wednesday, but his first since the first two games of the season.
16. (13) New York Rangers (11-9-1): Marian Gaborik is scoring -- he's tied with Washington's Alex Ovechkin for the league lead in goals with 15 but no one else seems to be scoring.
17. (20) New York Islanders (8-6-7): The Islanders have come a long way, baby. But they're still last in the Atlantic Division. But they seem to be headed in the right direction.
18. (17) Tampa Bay Lightning (8-4-6): The Lightning are a team on the rise, as their 4-1 victory in Phoenix demonstrated. Goalie Antero Niittymaki is 5-1-3 with a 1.93 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.
19. (21) Vancouver Canucks (11-10-0): Things may be on the upswing for the Canucks as Daniel Sedin (broken foot) is hoping to return to the lineup this Sunday against Chicago.
20. (19) Ottawa Senators (9-6-3): The Senators are kind of doing what a team hopes to do to get in the playoffs -- win at home (6-3-3) and split on the road (3-3-0).
21. (24) Nashville Predators (10-8-1): The Predators have won three in a row but they'll get a real test tonight when the New Jersey Devils come to town.
22. (18) Boston Bruins (8-8-4): The up-and-down season of the Bruins continues. They're 2-3-2 on the road and will try to improve on that at Atlanta tonight.
23. (22) Edmonton Oilers (9-10-3): The Oilers are struggling on the road but they improved to 7-3-1 at home by beating Colorado Wednesday night.
24. (23) Montreal Canadiens (10-11-0): The Canadiens got a boost from their shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes but it'll be a tough go when they visit the Capitals Friday.
25. (25) St. Louis Blues (6-8-4): The Blues have to start scoring some goals. They have a league-worst 41. Winning at home would help, too, as they are 3-7-1 there.
26. (26) Anaheim Ducks (6-10-3): The Ducks had four losses -- one in overtime -- in a four-game road trip. They have their next seven games at home to try to right their sinking ship.
27. (28) Florida Panthers (8-9-2): Scoring six goals against a team like Buffalo is definitely something the Panthers can build on. The Panthers are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
28. (27) Minnesota Wild (7-12-2): Coach Todd Richards called the Wild's 3-2 loss to Phoenix probably their "poorest performance of the year." That's saying something for the Wild.
29. (29) Toronto Maple Leafs (3-11-5): It's going to be a battle of the baddies when the Maple Leafs travel to Carolina to face the Hurricanes. Don't expect any shutouts.
30. (30) Carolina Hurricanes (3-12-5): The Hurricanes ended their long, long losing streak but remain 0-7-3 on the toad and have allowed a ridiculous 75 goals while scoring 44.
Category: Brendan Shanahan
Posted by Mike Wilkinson (The Detroit News) on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 11:05 AMShanahan's Detroit career
A quick look at the career of Brendan Shanahan, who retired on Tuesday after 21 NHL seasons, reveals a surprising consistency as a Wing.
Shanahan came to Detroit in 1996 in a trade with Hartford that sent Paul Coffey and Keith Primeau to Connecticut. Shanahan would then spend nine seasons in Detroit, playing 716 regular season games.
Here's the odd part: that's 47 percent of his career. His 309 goals for the Wings accounts for 47.1 percent of his career total. Assists? The 698 account for 46.4 percent. The only substantial departure is in penalty minutes; he played a lot rougher game earlier in his career in New Jersey; his Wings total of 1,037 minutes accounts for just 41.7 percent of his career.
The upshot: Detroit caught Shanahan for much of his prime. It didn't get him at his absolute peak, like when he scored 51 and 52 goals in conseuctive seasons in St. Louis, nor did it get the 7 and 6 goal seasons that began and ended his career.
Over his nine seasons in red and white, Shanahan averaged 34 goals a season, hitting a high of 46 (in his first year in Detroit) and a low of 25 (in 2003-2004).
Shanahan helped the Wings to three Stanley Cups, scoring 33 times in 106 playoff games. That's over half of his career playoff goals, which makes sense because he missed the playoffs four times with his other teams.
Category: Red Wings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 12:59 AMBring some new toys to the Joe for Toys for Tots
Detroit -- For today's game against Dallas and Friday's game against Florida, the Wings are asking fans to bring new, unwrapped toys (but no stuffed animals, please). There will be collection bins and the toys will then be distributed to needy children in the Metro Detroit area during the holiday season.
Also, if you needed another incentive to go to tonight's game, it's dollar hot dog night! You can't beat that.
Category: NHL power rankings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 2:45 AMPower rankings, week 6
The power rankings are a little late this week because of a quick trip to Columbus to watch the Red Wings smash the Blue Jackets. Injuries have caused trouble for the Pittsburgh Penguins but the San Jose Sharks have found their mojo. Last week's rankings are in parentheses after this week's.
1. (3) San Jose Sharks (13-4-3): The Sharks are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games and have scored 67 goals, second in the league to Washington.
2. (5) Washington Capitals (12-3-4): The Capitals have an astounding 73 goals in just 19 games. It's even more amazing when you consider Alex Oveckin has been out since Nov. 1.
3. (8) New Jersey Devils (13-4-0): The Devils have taken advantage of the Pittsburgh Penguins' little slump and they're back on top of the Atlantic Division. Oh, yeah, they've won all nine of their road games so far.
4. (2) Colorado Avalanche (12-4-3): The Avalanche -- and goaltender Craig Anderson -- continue to play well and still have a three-point lead in the Northwest Division.
5. (4) Buffalo Sabres (11-4-1): The Sabres are tied with the Devils for fewest goals allowed with 35, in large part due to goaltender Ryan Miller (MSU), who has a league-leading 1.75 goals-against average.
6. (12) Calgary Flames (11-4-2): The Flames lost to the Sabres in a shootout but they're still right behind Colorado in the Northwest Division.
7. (11) Chicago Blackhawks (11-5-2): The Blackhawks have won three in a row, including a victory over the improved Toronto Maple Leafs. But they're only 2-3-1 away from home.
8. (1) Pittsburgh Penguins (12-7-0): Since Evgeni Malkin went down, the power play has gone south and the Penguins have lost four in a row. They'll be better when they get healthy.
9. (6) Los Angeles Kings (11-7-2): The Kings suffered a 7-0 beat-down at the hands of Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers but they're still one of the top teams in the West.
10. (13) Dallas Stars (8-4-6): The Stars are behind the Sharks in the standings but they bet them in a shootout Thursday night in San Jose, a good sign for them.
11. (15) Philadelphia Flyers (10-4-1): The Flyers may finally be on the rise, having won five straight games. They also have an impressive goal differential, scoring 19 more than they've allowed.
12. (21) Atlanta Thrashers (9-6-1): The Thrashers have their star Ilya Kovalchuk back and they have won three straight games. They also didn't lose too much ground when Kovalchuk was out.
13. (7) New York Rangers (10-8-1): The Rangers have dropped two straight and have fallen to a tie for third in the Atlantic Division.
14. (16) Detroit Red Wings (9-5-3): The Red Wings have beaten some good teams but they have had a few stinkers, which is understandable considering the players they've lost to injury. Jimmy Howard has looked good in allowing two goals in two games.
15. (14) Columbus Blue Jackets (10-6-2): The Blue Jackets aren't behind the Red Wings just because they lost 9-1 at home to them. They've allowed 10 more goals than they've scored.
16. (9) Phoenix Coyotes (10-8-0): It's getting tougher and tougher in the Pacific Division with the Sharks on cruise control, but the Coyotes are hanging in there.
17. (23) Tampa Bay Lightning (7-4-5): The Lightning have been getting better. They're still a lot better at home with a 5-0-3 record as opposed to 2-4-2 on the road.
18. (24) Boston Bruins (8-7-3): The Bruins still haven't found their footing but they're second in the Northeast Division to the Sabres.
19. (18) Ottawa Senators (8-6-2): The Senators have been up and down lately, kind of like the Bruins were earlier when they alternated wins and losses.
20. (19) New York Islanders (7-6-6): They might still be last in the Atlantic Division, but this is a team on the rise. No. 1 pick John Tavares had two goals against Carolina Friday.
21. (10) Vancouver Canucks (10-10-0): The Canucks have lost three straight and they're a lot better at home (7-2-0) than on the road (3-8-0).
22. (17) Edmonton Oilers (8-9-2): As Joe Namath might say, the Oilers have been struggling in their last 10 games, going 2-7-1.
23. (22) Montreal Canadiens (9-10-0): Despite selling out their building every night, the Canadiens are just kind of 'eh.' They're 5-5 at home, 4-5 on the road, 5-5 in their last 10.
24. (20) Nashville Predators (8-8-1): The Wings thought they were going to have trouble scoring goals but the Predators are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes with the fewest goals with just 37 in 17 games.
25. (26) St. Louis Blues (6-7-4): The Blues now occupy the bottom spot in the Central Division. Welcoming San Jose in Saturday night probably won't help matters.
26. (28) Anaheim Ducks (6-8-3): Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have 10-game point streaks but their power play is powerless of late, 0-for-11 in the last two games.
27. (27) Minnesota Wild (7-11-1): The Wild can't win on the road, which they proved again Friday night against the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals. They're 2-9-1 away from home.
28. (25) Florida Panthers (6-9-1): Here's the mystery for the Panthers: why are they better on the road (4-4-1) than at home (2-5-0)?
29. (30) Toronto Maple Leafs (3-9-5): Phil Kessel has definitely helped out in the scoring department but the Leafs have still given up 20 more goals than they've scored.
30. (29) Carolina Hurricanes (2-12-4): Since beating the Florida Panthers 7-2 on October 9, the Hurricanes have gone 0-10-4, which ties the franchise record for longest winless streak. That streak was set in 1992 when the team was known as the Hartford Whalers.
Holland picks TB's pocket
It may not amount to anything. If Drew Miller doesn't work out with the Wings, then nobody is going to remember what Ken Holland did on Wednesday. But if Miller, who is only 25, finds his niche here and becomes a regular contributor, then Holland pulled a rabbit out of Tampa Bay's back pocket.
Tampa Bay didn't want to lose Miller. They traded Evegny Artyukhin, a big forward with still unmet potential, to the Ducks to get him. It was their intention to send Miller to the American Hockey League for a spell, to create some roster space to bring Ryan Craig back. Because Miller has played 67 regular season games in the NHL, the Lightning had to subject him to the waiver wire before sending him down. The last thing they expected was the Wings to claim him.
But Holland doesn't sleep on these things. Even though he was fully involved in the general managers' meeting in Toronto, Holland kept his eyes on the transaction wire. When Miller's name showed up, he grabbed him. A 25-year-old defensive-minded winger. A hard skater, good on the penalty kill. A guy who despite limited regular season action, has played in the Stanley Cup finals and was taking a regular shift in 13 playoff games for the Ducks last season. And to get him for $525,000 (he will be a restricted free agent this summer) and a two-way contract, Holland couldn't pass it up.
So, again, maybe it's a shot in the dark and nothing good comes of it. Or, maybe it's another steal similar to the Kris Draper for a dollar deal back in the day, or a Danny Cleary-type pick-up. Either way, though, the Wings can't lose.
Category: Red Wings
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 6:48 PMCoach Babcock sounds a cautionary note
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Coach Mike Babcock is wary of tonight's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets not just because the Wings are looking up at the Blue Jackets in the standings, but because he saw the 6-1 beatdown that the St. Louis Blues put on the Vancouver Canucks last night.
"Did you watch St. Louis last night?" Babcock asked. "You know who swept them in the first round of the playoffs? Do you know who swept this team in the first round of the playoffs? You know what the score was after seven minutes? I might remind our guys of that. The second thing I would say, they've been in a growth process here for a long time. They're getting better and better, bringing in more players and coming of age, so they're a better team. So you're going to have to play better, be more efficient. The other thing about it is it's no big surprise how Hitch wants his team to play, he wants them to forecheck. So there's two things that are going to happen. We're either going to be on top of their 'D' or they're going to be on top of our 'D'. We've got to decide which one we'd like to be."
The Blue Jackets are also aware that tonight is coach Ken Hitchcock's 1,00th NHL game and they definitely want to get him a win.
Category: Hockey Hall of Fame inductions
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:56 PMSteve Yzerman's induction speech
Of course, I had to save the best for last. He'll always be known as the Captain, No. 19 and one of the greatest players in Detroit Red Wings history. The thing I'll always remember most about him is how he made use of every ounce of talent he had by working harder than anyone to become the player he was. Here is his speech:
Category: Hockey Hall of Fame inductions
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:47 PMLuc Robitaille's induction speech
It truly was a special moment to see Luc Robitaille lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2002. Although he's known far more for being a member of the Los Angeles Kings, he'll always be one of my favorite players. Here is his induction speech, some of which is in French (to his parents):
Category: Hockey Hall of Fame inductions
Posted by Dana Wakiji (The Detroit News) on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:42 PMBrett Hull's induction speech
Although he spent more time on other teams than he did on the Red Wings, he was part of the 2002 Stanley Cup winning team. Here is his speech:
