Wings 4, Avs 2 (as it keeps snowing here in Denver)
Sure Detroit has snowstorms, but Denver, as I've seen over the course of today, now Denver can produce snowstorms. This is a doozy. And, of course this will further hamper travel Friday morning I'm sure. Amid the 10 inches of snow, the Wings won again: 1) Hmmm, Babcock must be serious about not playing Chelios on back to backs. Cheli was a scratch. Good for Babcock for sticking to his plans. 2) Okay, we're seeing what the fuss has been all about regarding Filppula. I didn't see it last season. He was a good young player but I didn't see what the Wings were pushing. Specifically, I didn't see the offensive prowess. We're seeing it the past few weeks. He could be another special player, sort of like a Lehtinen from Dallas. 3) All the Hasek critics have been silenced over Hasek's 7 or 8 games. Hasek said after the game he's never felt so tired this season. Maybe it was the Christmas break or maybe it was the mile high altitude in Denver. But at age 42, he pulled through with some timely saves late. 4) On Hudler's goal, I don't think I've ever seen him shoot a puck so hard. He said he likes to shoot from there, near the dot, and likes to go shortside on the goalie because the goalie doesn't expect it in that spot. It sure worked this time. 5) The Avs paid a lot of money for LW Ryan Smyth and D Scott Hannan over the summer and in their first appearance vs. the Wings this season, neither really stood out. The young kids the Avs have were their best players. And losing Joe Sakic for 2 to 3 months, that'll sting. 6) For you U-M fans out there, T.J. Hensick was a healthy scratch for the Avs.
