Series Re-Cap: Wings Win in 7

Wow. I mean, what else can you say? Can you imagine if that had been the Stanley Cup Finals? Shit, even the Western Conference Finals? I'm pretty sure I'd either be dead or have found myself in a Federal "Pound Me in the Ass" prison because I probably would have burned half of my city to the ground and then gotten out early on good behavior for handing out free kittens and teaching disadvantaged convicts to believe in themselves.

 It was a crazy series I think is what I'm going for here.

But in the end, when it mattered most, the boys in the Winged Wheel got the job done. I had tweeted that I was afraid of a specific outcome, and I would not mention it before the conclusion of Game 7. I admit to being superstitious and also acknowledge it to be completely irrational. My fear was if I said it out loud, it would come true. My fear was that after the whole series without a goal and acting like a world class punk, that Douche Canoe would get the game winning goal. It didn't happen.

This picture is the sound track of my summer. Or something. Thanks Kevin

Going to knock out some bullet points for the series and then hand out Series Pucks. They will look suspiciously like game pucks, but they're completely different.

• I will admit that the Ducks are a dangerous team. They have a lot of scoring potential, they're very strong on the puck, they have solid goaltending and they aren't too shabby defensively. I don't mind that they play on the edge, I mind that their leadership and strategy seem to hinge on playing on the edge, then shoving the other team over the edge, flopping on the ground and screaming to the refs for a penalty. It'd be easier to stomach if that behavior wasn't spearheaded by their captain, their alternate captain and beloved 42 year old veteran, and their super star goal scorer. 

• That being said, I'm excited for and scared of Emerson Etem. That kid has some honest to God talent and if he can avoid becoming...well... an Anaheim Duck, he could a very bright future in the NHL. Instead of looking to your team leaders, Etem, look to the leaders of the team who just beat you. They'll show you how to become something special with integrity. 

• How good is the line of Andersson-Nyquist-Brunner? Having played in Grand Rapids together, you'd expect Goose and Andersson to be good, but Brunner has just slid right in there. And it's such an interesting look for a line that traditionally is supposed to be your checking line. Granted the NHL has evolved where that's not really the case, but damn. Two game winning goals in OT, a lot of great puck control and pressure. Andersson had a couple of chances last night that he couldn't quite capitalize on. I don't know what's going to happen to that line next year, especially with Darren Helm hopefully returning.

• Also, I'm curious if that line could handle being the second power play unit. Andersson has been great on the penalty kill, and so the minutes might kill him. But it's an intriguing thought.

• Justin Abdelkader. Like I said on the podcast, had you told me he was going to be a young Tomas Holmstrom only better on the top lines, I'd have given the kid way more slack. He obviously has the drive and the energy and even the skills to play with guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg. He just has to understand his role in that lineup: skate harder and faster than you ever have, hit people really hard, drive to the corners and the front of the net, and heads up because Pavel Datsyuk just dropped you a dime pass. 

• When Zetterberg took the over the glass penalty, I thought we were done. When the puck went in off Ericsson's skate, I knew we were done. Then we weren't, and I was wrong, and I was okay with it.

• A lot of us feel, including myself, that this team accomplished something great this season. Everyone thought that this team's best days were behind them. Sure, maybe. Some of the talent that we've had that has left or is aging will never be replaced. But what is still here, and what is yet to come is pretty damned impressive. This team showed a resiliency that the Red Wings haven't had to show in years. Back against the wall in the regular season? Four straight wins. Back against the wall in the first series? Back to back wins, one of them in over time. Hell, 3 OT wins in a playoff series that went to 7 games.  

We're proud of our boys. We're happy to have shot down the Ducks. We're happy to have made it to the second round. Some of us look at Chicago and go, "Well, good year guys. Let's get ready for next season" and maybe that's the correct perspective to have. But this team is still exceptional, despite it's flaws. I called this team a sleeper pick against any team in the playoffs, so long as they play their game. As long as they play like they did those last four games of the season. Like they played last night.

The last couple weeks the Red Wings had duck for dinner. The table is being set for some Hawk. Stay hungry boys.

Series Awards:

The Bret Lebda Game Series Puck: Brian Lashoff - I have to be honest, the guy did not have a good series. He made a lot of rookie mistakes that cost us goals in the three games he played in the series. Obviously, being put against someone like Bitch Fist in the playoffs was a tall order for Lashoff, and despite all of the good things he did during the season, he was not at his best for the playoffs. I still have a ton of hope and faith in Lashoff. He'll be back and better next year.

The Kris Draper Game Series Puck: Justin Abdelkader - "But Mike! He's been playing on the top line! He's ineligible for this award!" Ah, but you're forgetting about the Tomas Holmstrom Addendum, wherein a player who would normally be slotted in the bottom six is moved up to the top 6 and rises to  the occasion. Also they're my rules, I make 'em up. And if you don't think that Abdelkader has been a crucial player for this team, then you probably also think Jimmy Howard is a bad goalie, and we already know what happens when you think that.

10 Points to Griffins-dor: Gustav Nyquist - OT gaming winning goal? Check. OT game winning assist? Check. Power play time? Got it. Everything that we're hoping Gustav Nyquist to be was on display during this series. He's been stronger with the puck, making good decisions and using his speed to be a problem for the other team. A lot of great rookies doing a lot of good things, but Nyquist was the best.

The Perfect Puck: Pavel Datsyuk - I mean...hold on I just need a moment to... uugggnnnnnn fuuuuuuuck just watch it

  

O' Captain, My Captain Game Series Puck: Henrix Zetterberg - This was a hard choice to make. I could just have easily said one James Tiberius Howard and been able to write all about the big saves that he made, his recovery from adversity and how stellar he has been for us all season long. But so has Zetterberg. He deserves to be the captain of this team, and when we needed our captain to lead by example, to carry his team to victory and score big goals for us, Hank was there with not one, not two, but three goals. I was never really disappointed with him at any point, despite him taking awhile to put the puck in the net. We all agreed in the podcast he needed to step up and score for us. Hank responded perfectly. Also, he has a better beard than Howard.

P.S.

Something weird happened last night that is worth mentioning because it happened twice. I said this...

And then two minutes later, Justin Abdelkader scores a short handed goal. Then later I said something similar, and then 7 minutes later Filppula scored, and we went into the third period with a two goal lead. I've been trying to become psychically linked with the cosmos for years now. Believe me, had I discovered this power earlier, I'd have been using it only for good.

Dollar Hotdog Power Hour Podcast #14

It's time to turn it around, boys!

Wednesday's loss was a tough one to take. So I brought together Michelle, Kevin and Nick so that we could figure out what went wrong and try to come find as much positives as we could. We took a few more questions which gave us to do something very positive: talk shit about Corey "Douche Canoe" Perry. Listen in for some of the other colorful things Michelle called him. We made some suggestions of what could happen in terms of lineup changes with Abby coming back as well as some tactical changes.

Brian Lashoff should sit, Brendan Smith needs a wake up call, and in my endless amounts of rage with the ineptitude of the NHL Disciplinary Department, I stop just shy of saying I want Jordin Tootoo to kill someone.

Kevin's Blog and Michelle's Blog should be checked out and shared, as usual, and Nick can be found viva un van, circe de un rio. We hope you enjoy it and as always, you should share it will your friends, family and complete strangers. They'll appreciate it.

 


Editor's Note: We have a fairly low limit for space on our Podbean account, so I may have to delete/archive older podcasts. If for some reason you want to hear past episodes that aren't working normally, let me know and I can somehow get you the original mp3 file.

Dollar Hotdog Power Hour Podcast #13

First every playoff edition!

We have a special podcast this week. As per usual, I have Kevin and Michelle with me but we're joined by our good friends Nick, Josh Howard and Peter. This edition of the podcast was very much likes the classic "Whose Line is it Anyway?" skit called Scenes From a Hat. We asked you, our readers, to submit questions. I took the good ones, put them on the podcast, and we argued about them for like an hour.

What changes should we expect for tonight's Game 4 matchup? The discussion was plugging along smoothly until I suggested Jordin Tooto on the top line for Abby, and then, as you would expect, a fight broke out. We sing heft praises for the Grand Rapids Griffins and some guy named Yarncock. We lament the Gryba hit and the Abby hit. We also tell you out right who won't be on the team next year and fight over Damien Brunner's contract.

I want to thank Matt Lowry, Sprout, Joe Joey Joe Joe Jr Shabadoo and Sir Todd Argus for their questions (and non-question) - we had a great time answering them.

Kevin's Blog and Michelle's Blog should be checked out and shared, as usual. Josh can be found at Winging it in Motown and Nightmare on Helm Street. Peter can be found at Octopus Thrower and Nick can be found wherever fine sundries are sold. We hope you enjoy it and as always, you should share it will your friends, family and complete strangers. They'll appreciate it.

 


Editor's Note: We have a fairly low limit for space on our Podbean account, so I may have to delete/archive older podcasts. If for some reason you want to hear past episodes that aren't working normally, let me know and I can somehow get you the original mp3 file.

Howard Haters: A Rhetorical Conversation

Our good friend Michelle came to Jimmy Howard's defense on Twitter today. She was right to do so. Howard had a rough game last night and the Howard Hatred Coalition has come out in full force. We aren't exactly hearing anything new: Howard chokes in the playoffs, he's made of Swiss cheese, his contract costs too much money, it's way too long, we shouldn't have resigned him and gone after a big name free agent, bring up Petr Mrazek right now, etc.

A photographic representation of what many Red Wings fans are doing to Jimmy Howard.
Photo Credit: Nhat V. Meyer/San Jose Mercury News

So what I've decided to do is have a rhetorical conversation with members of the Howard Haters Coalition. Effectively using the Socratic method to demonstrate why they're stupid and wrong and need to stop spreading their bile.

HHC: Jimmy Howard is a terrible goalie! Every time he has come into the playoffs, he ends up choking, letting in weak goals and costing the Red Wings games! We were stupid to resign him!

3RDP: Terrible? Don't you think that's a little harsh? He's been one of the better Red Wings for a few years now

HHC: Wrooooong! Didn't you see those goals last night!? They were weak!

3RDP: Oh sure, the second goal that trickled through under his armpit, he should have squeezed it off. And the third goal got ripped past his glove that he had in the right position. He has to snag that.

HHC: Exactly! He totally blew the lea-

3RDP: Except on the Getzlaf goal, DeKeyser didn't play it correctly. He let Getzlaf come out of the corner, in front of the net and let him get that shot off. If DeKeyser can force Getzlaf off the puck, or at least steer him away from the front of the net, that shot never happens.

HHC: Okay, well, maybe that's true but STILL HOWARD HAS TO MAKE THE SAVE!

3RDP: Oh, I agree, but you also acknowledge he's not completely responsible. And what about the big saves he's made in the first couple of games. For every "weak" goal he's allowed, there's been 2 or 3 big saves that he's made to keep pucks out of the net.

HHC: Well. Okay, he does make big saves but...

3RDP: And we're using a couple of weak goals in two playoff games as a barometer for whether or not a goaltender is good. Or just the idea that they're struggling in general during these playoffs. What about Jonathan Quick?

HHC: What do you mean?

3RDP: Well, Quick is making more money than Howard and has a much longer contract. He's let in a couple of weak goals, and a huge misplay by him cost Los Angeles the first game of the series against St. Louis. 

HHC: ...well, so?

3RDP: So by your logic, Jonathan Quick is a horrible goalie who has a stupid contract and should be traded and the Kings should go looking for a replacement. This is the same Jonathan Quick who won the Conn Smythe the same year he won the Stanley Cup during an amazing run. 

HHC: But...

3RDP: Henrik Lundqvist is also struggling a bit in New York in his first game against the Capitals. You know, Vezina winning and Hart nominated Henrik Lundqvist. 

HHC: We were talking about Jimmy Howard though and Howard is awf-

3RDP: We were talking about Jimmy Howard - a goaltender who ended this very rough season with a 2.13 GAA, 92.3% save percentage, 5 shutouts and an assist in 42 games played!

HHC: Well...those are pretty good stats, I'll admit.

3RDP: Not to mention that when the Red Wings' playoff streak was on the line, and they had to be perfect in their last four games, Howard posted four wins, only allowing 3 goals to be scored, and posted two shutouts. 

HHC: Really?

3RDP: Yep. Wouldn't you agree that without that level of performance, the Red Wings would probably miss the playoffs?

HHC: Yeah...I mean if it had been Gustavsson in net, or even Mrazek, there's no guarantee we win those games, especially so decidedly, and make it into the playoffs, let alone with the kind of momentum we need to win hockey games.

3RDP: And if we don't make the playoffs, none of the goals you're complaining about happen because there's no Red Wings in the playoffs for them to happen.

HHC: That's very true. I mean, when you put it that way...

3RDP: Yes?

HHC: ...Jimmy Howard is a necessary and integral piece of the team that will ensure short term and long term success for the Detroit Red Wings

3RDP: Doesn't it feel good to be right?

Game Recap: Red Wings 5, Predators 2

What a game! If you turned the game off after the first period, you missed out on a doozie. It seemed like a typical "Red Wings luck" kind of game, where the bounces just were not going our way and w were were not capitalizing on glorious chances. I was scared that we were going to go into the last game of the season with our playoff hopes literally hanging in the balance - and that could still happen, but at least the Red Wings are taking the fact that we have some control over our playoff destiny very seriously.

That was evident in the 2nd period. What impressed me, more than anything else about this team, is that unlike past games, the Red Wings did not allow the bad bounces, the bad calls and the bad penalties destroy them. They kept their legs under them, they kept the legs moving, and they kept the pressure up. It paid off for them, with a huge tying goal on the power play from Johan Franzen, an even huger go ahead goal from Patrick Eaves, and Pavel Datsyuk went and was all Pavel Datsyuk.

Bullet points, awards and we'll call it a night

• Tonight was a rough night for Gustav Nyquist. Some of those penalties were bad calls and some of them were just bad penalties. But they came from a guy who was trying desperately to do things right. And even after all of those penalties, he never left up on his energy or worth ethic.

• Kyle Quincey really blew his assignment on the first Nashville goal. But he made a huge back check play to help out Howard on a bad line change to keep the lead. I'm still not sold on Kyle Quincey, and I'm not sure how I feel about Lashoff being in Grand Rapids while Quincey is up here.

• Someone tell Pavel to break into Franzen's house and switch all his calenders so that every month is April. Please

• It was good to see Filppula get a goal, but I still don't think I want him on this team next year. He's going to cost us way too much money and I'd rather see it spent on Nyquist, Tatar and Andersson.

• Not going to say this is a Stanley Cup winning team, but if I'm the teams in the NHL, I'm very afraid of facing the Red Wings in the playoffs if we keep playing like this.

• Did anyone see Damien Brunner for the end of the game?

I don't really have anything else to add before I hand out the awards, but I just want to share this tweet from Pavel Datsyuk

#HockeyPorn

The Bret Lebda Game Puck: Brendan Smith - I hate to have to do it, but I have to do what I feel is right. Smith seemed to be struggling tonight. In particular there was one moment where we was walking the line with the puck, trying to get a better shot and then proceeded to shoot it right into the Nashville player. No doubt this was a bad game for Smith, and I have faith in him. But get it together, Brendan. Playoffs are coming.

The Kris Draper Game Puck: Patrick Eaves - I mean come on. And it wasn't even for his goal, although that was sextacular. It's because later on in the game, he was doing fantastic work behind the net. He just refused to be anyone's bitch and that was the attitude I saw from him all game. I don't know what's going to happen with Drew Miller at the end of the season, but Patrick Eaves is making his case. 

10 Points to Griffins-dor: Gustav Nyquist - Like I said earlier, he had a bad night and struggled with the penalties, but he never let that deter him from tryingto help his team and win the hockey game. And that kind of energy is exactly what you want on your bench and can inspire your team mates around you. Might we see an "A" on Nyquist's sweater 4 or 5 years from now?

The Perfect Puck: Some Other Guy - This pass was something to be hold. I have and will always love when bottom line guys put up big points, especially when they have a bit of flash to them. This pass to Patrick Eaves was delicious and the finish made it that better. 

 

O' Captain, My Captain Game Puck: The Team - There was no one guy tonight. This was a team win. Howard was stellar in net, our major players made major plays, we got support from our bottom pairings, and had solid special teams. The team is going to get us into the playoffs, the team is going to win games for us in the playoffs, and the team is who we root for.

Let's get it done, team. Let's go Red Wings!