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Waiting On The Red Wings

Detroit's fall from grace has been attributed to a lot of things-- the increasing age of their roster (compounded by two straight Stanley Cup Finals appearances and a trip overseas to start the year), the loss of 40-goal scorer Marian Hossa to Chicago, Jiri Hudler's flight to the KHL, Bertuzzi's black mark (who, admittedly, may have revived his career this season), and the lack of depth in a minor league system that has been hurt by low draft picks due to the success of the big club on an annual basis.

Then there are the injuries, vast and expansive as fallout from the botched Copenhagen talks.


Detroit Red Wings Injuries

Player Pos. Injury Type Return
Valtteri Filppula
F
Wrist Late December
Jason Williams
F
Broken Leg Mid-January
Dan Cleary
F Shoulder Mid-January
Niklas Kronwall D
Sprained MCL January
Johan Franzen
F Torn ACL Mid-February
Andreas Lilja
D
Concussion Indefinite
Jonathan Ericsson
D Knee Indefinite
Henrik Zetterberg
F Shoulder Indefinite

To put that in perspective, it would be akin to playing without Malhotra, McGinn, Ortmeyer, Blake, Setoguchi, Murray, Huskins, and Marleau.

All at the same time.

And yet, despite the absence of those key cogs in the wheels of the, well, Winged Wheel, Detroit sits one point out of a playoff spot heading into tonight's matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks. Jimmy Howard has managed to wrestle the starting spot between the pipes from mainstay Chris Osgood and, if the Red Wings manage to squeeze their way into the top eight by season's end, will be set with a one-two punch ripe with current results (Howard) and experience in high-pressure situations (Osgood).

Babcock's done a helluva job keeping this team above water for the first half of the season, and it's not out of the question to expect the Red Wings to make a run once the majority of their team begins to return in January. They're definitely a playoff team, likely in the 4-5 slot, and a dangerous one at that considering the top-end performers on the roster.

Something tells me it's going to be at least another year until the Ewoks can safely cheer from the rebel moons of Endor.

The Empire hasn't fallen quite yet.

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It’s scary how deep Detroit is, even with all of the roster shuffling and defections. Never like playing those guys, and that’s probably the best compliment of all.

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

by ElvisVF101 on Dec 23, 2009 5:08 PM PST reply actions  

If Detroit ends up as the 8 seed, and the Sharks the 1 seed…I will cry.

Sometimes the impossible can become possible if you're AWESOME!

by ZeroIndulgence on Dec 23, 2009 5:14 PM PST reply actions  

don’t even say that!!!

Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality? (boycott Hollywood!)

by ang6666 on Dec 23, 2009 5:40 PM PST up reply actions  

No kidding.

There’s no crying in hockey.

Jon Casey fan since '84

by stufflife on Dec 23, 2009 6:28 PM PST up reply actions  

On a sidenote, please stop buying Little Caesar’s pizza. You’d be indirectly helping the Red Wings!

Puck Daddy: You would definitely hate the Ducks more than you'd hate the Kings, right?
Joe Pavelski: Yeah, definitely.

by DownRUpLYB on Dec 23, 2009 5:27 PM PST reply actions  

Also

You’ll be buying really crappy pizza

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

by ElvisVF101 on Dec 23, 2009 5:34 PM PST up reply actions  

I like Little Caesar's.

Am I the only one? When I tell people everyone says “gross.”

by idunno723 on Dec 23, 2009 5:35 PM PST up reply actions  

I wouldn't call it gross

But it’s barely average, if that. There are many many other better Pizza’s.

The only thing they have going for them is you can walk in and buy a 5$ pizza (well, 6$ for deep dish, which is what I always go with their pizza) and not have to wait.

by Evilducks on Dec 24, 2009 1:17 AM PST up reply actions  

no one shoot me … but I’m sorta hoping they win tonight … only cause the Hawks fans pissed me off and I want to see them bitch some more when they lose … :)

Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality? (boycott Hollywood!)

by ang6666 on Dec 23, 2009 5:41 PM PST reply actions  

We won't shoot you

We’ll buy you an adult beverage of your choice for the sentiment

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

by ElvisVF101 on Dec 23, 2009 5:51 PM PST up reply actions  

I agree with u 100%

I hate blackhawk fans- And I am surrounded by them(I live in IL). I hate when I get so much shit from school when the hawks beat the the sharks, but when I give them shit when the sharks win they bring up something that doesn’t even have to do with the game for a come back. what pusses!

by SharksFan91 on Dec 23, 2009 9:02 PM PST up reply actions  

To be fair...

I was at the Sharks game when they visited Chicago in November, and I was there in full Sharks garb, and Chciago won in OT, and I really didn’t get any shit for it. So while I’ve seen and read them being rather annoying, at least everything seemed civil when I was out there.

Sometimes the impossible can become possible if you're AWESOME!

by ZeroIndulgence on Dec 23, 2009 9:28 PM PST up reply actions  

Merry Second Place Christmas

Just ball busting there, sorta. The douchbaggery of a winning team’s fan base knows no bounds, we’ve dealt with it for years from Detroit fans as they are in our division. You gotta take that shit in stride. Every time we lose to Detroit, their mouthbreathers show up in droves to rub it in and are then nowhere to be found when it is reversed. I would expect no less grief if I lived in California.

Don’t confuse being a arsehole with chest thumping in a fan base that has had nothing to cheer about for a decade or so. Lighten up Frances.

by NKLHD on Dec 24, 2009 10:36 PM PST up reply actions  

Go RW

I was rooting for the Wings last night, which felt odd but I’m not fond of Chicago these days (7-2 trubbing). I’ve never liked Hossa and that’s about as far as it goes as far as my current disdain for the Hawks. I watched some of the the DET/CHI game and as depleted as the RW are; they were still finding scoring chances and were aggressive to the puckl. If the RW get back their key ingredients in time for the playoffs, this added playing time for the younger crew will only help them. I was impressed with Helm’s skating and puck handling abilities last night; at one point I thought it was Datsyuk bringing the puck into the zone; this guy has some kick to his game. I guess I never noticed him much before if you consider players like Zetterberg and Franzen kind of distract my focus. Playoffs are still quite a ways off and I feel the Sharks have to beat EVERYONE or they’ll be disappointed.

I'll drink that! oh...I'll drink TO that.

by theneverman on Dec 24, 2009 11:24 AM PST reply actions  

I agree

No doubt Detroit will make the playoffs. Let’s not forget that there is that Olympic break when the team will rest up and get healthy – well, at least their 3rd-4th liners, and I can see Detroit going on a tear to finish the season and get themselves to seed no. 4. They know how to turn it on when needed.

On the other hand, I don’t think they’re deep enough to make a long playoffs run, especially with upper half of their roster going on long Olympics run. But who the hell knows – that’s what everyone was saying last year too.

Either way we look at it, there is no easy road to SCF in the West, unlike in the East where there are only three good teams.

by Ivano M on Dec 24, 2009 1:24 PM PST reply actions  

give the East some credit

The East is just as competitive as the West.
Everyone expected the Bruins to make it to the SCF last year, instead they bowed out in 7 to the Hurricanes; who barely registered on anyone’s radar. Those same Canes beat the Devils, even down 3-1 in the series.
And just before the trade deadline, the Pens were mired close to the bottom of the standings, before going on a 13 game winning streak to finish in the 4th spot. No sane man in Vegas would’ve put good odds on the Pens winning the Cup in the shape they were in.

Sure the Devils have been a perennial powerhouse. And just recently, the Pens and Caps. But give some respect. The Bruins have a healthy Savard and are getting production from that second line centered by Bergeron. They’ll pick it up next month— no doubt.
Buffalo has gotten great goaltending from Miller. They’re sure to be in the thick of things come April. They have 3 lines that are capable of putting the puck in the net.
The Rangers are mired in a scoring slump, but they certainly have the roster capable of pulling off a run. Not to mention, they have one of the best goaltenders in the league who is capable of winning games by himself.

Detroit’s lost a lot of players to injury. But on the bright side, there’s a lot of youngsters who will fill up the top PP units, defensive pairings, and the top 6 forward positions and are going to be that more experienced come the playoffs when scoring from all 4 lines is a requisite to a deep playoff run.

Where hockey injuries in San Diego are thumb blisters from playing too much NHL 09

by Will Bulldozer on Dec 24, 2009 2:15 PM PST reply actions  

As a Devils fan I see more Eastern conference teams play (Sharks have been my favorite western team since they cam into the league). The Devils and Red Wings are the two best run organizations in the NHL over the past 20-25 years period. The records and championships speak for themselves (to note last season, Carolina was down 3-2 to the Devils not 3-1). San Jose has done a great job builiding a fan base and successful team, they have consistently made the playoffs (save for one or two exceptions) the last 10-12 seasons.

The last few seasons however the West has been the harder conference to play in. The Sharks, Wings, and Ducks (not this year though) have been dominant teams. Only Pittsburgh could reasonably match up with any of them on paper. There are some downright terrible teams in the East, with Tornoto and Carolina coming most readily to mind this year (Islanders and Lightning last year). Right now there is a solid top 3 (NJ, Pitt, Wsh) and a large pack behind them. I think Buffalo has the potential to be a contender, over Boston and certainly over the Rangers (they are a one-line team). Miller is an amazing goaltender and their roster has more talent top to bottom than the Rangers. Boston is solid but the expectations were too high, as I think last season was a bit of a fluke, and they are where they should be. The biggest surprise is the Flyers play, they are too talented to be so low in the standings.

by drhgzang on Dec 26, 2009 12:20 PM PST up reply actions  

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