Quick recap since it's late. But it's important anyway.

I used to dislike the Ken/Mick duo. I still yearn for the days of Dave Strader, but Ken Daniels has grown on me. Sure, he insists on using really specific "I heard someone else say it so I'm saying it too" hockey terminology like "kickplate" all the time, and every Wings fan knows that there is no "Ryan Kesler" or "James Wisniewski" in the league, but there is"Livonia-native Ryan Kesler" and "Canton-native James Wisniewski" (alternatively, former Plymouth Whaler James Wisniewski).

But as much as those little things wear on me over a season, once the playoffs start and there's a heated series (Detroit/Anaheim for example), I appreciate the Wings homers holding me telling me that everything's going to be alright. Versus was a nightmare in that series. Also, CBC is a nightmare with any Detroit series involving a Canadian team. So they have their flaws, but I appreciate them.

However, man they kill me when they start with the composite sticks. They've been around for nearly a full decade now and neither of these guys understand just how they break. Every time a stick just snaps in half, they talk for the next five minutes about how ridiculous these sticks are. Really though, then numbers are out there, the average player doesn't go through that many more composites than they did with wood. But they don't just snap, that's not how it happens. There are two breaks on composite sticks. The stick really breaks under heavy contact (a slash, sometimes a big shot), but they don't always snap in half. They'll crack, and if they crack in the right spot, pretty much any contact after that is going to break it. Sometimes that's a pass, sometimes it's just receiving a pass, so yeah, it looks a lot worse than a wood stick. I don't know if Ken and Mick know this. Maybe they do and just don't mention it, but when something happens like yesterday when Datsyuk broke his stick basically doing nothing, you just hear the groans.

They make a big deal about guys like Jason Spezza going back to wood sticks. Here's the thing though, Spezza's the only guy who is. Wood stick guys are just down to a handful.. ever think that's because they work? Even Sidney Crosby switched to composite this year and all everyone's talking about is how he's taking slapshots and looks like he's going to shatter his personal goal totals.

Here's the thing: Mickey Redmond uses a composite stick. Maybe. Back when I worked at a hockey rink about three years ago, we had the Wings' alumni team in to play the Oakland County Police or something. Redmond was using an old broken Easton Synergy stick that he rigged with a wooden blade (they're one-pieces, but if you cut the blade off you can take the plug out of the other end and play that way. He's never mentioned that. Of course, I saw pictures of another alumni game more recently where he had the wood. So maybe it was just one time. But for the sake of a better story, it wasn't.

Anyway, there's my rant on that. I get it, it's frustrating. I've fallen on my face taking a slapshot when my $200 RBK 9K snapped right at the blade. And I'm not a pro NHLer that goes to the bench and gets one of a dozen backup sticks of equal or greater value. But I wouldn't use them if I was confident my shot wasn't better with them. It's been so long since they've been around -- everyone's seen a dozen embarrassing and inopportune stick breaks. But it's been nearly a decade, so Ken/Mick, I think it's time to can the wood stick lectures because that day has passed.

Now, onto the game:

• There's nothing more satisfying as a blogger than taking a shot at a player before a big game and not having it come back to bite you. I was so hesitant to write anything about Turco in my preview because I don't like eating my words and he's beaten Detroit before. It doesn't make him any less overrated, it just means that everyone has their day once in a while. Luckily, Turco is pretty consistent, so it's a lot easier and more fun to take shots at him without fear of consequences. Thanks, Marty. And thanks Marc Crawford for not starting Alex Auld -- he's much scarier.
  
• Loved the stat FSN had with career winning percentages against Detroit. Guy Hebert had the lowest of all time. I don't remember second place, but Turco was 6th. The active goalies beating him: Evgeni Nabokov and Tomas Vokoun. Vokoun was the goalie for most of the years that Nashville was really awful and has since been moved out of conference so it's difficult for him to improve on that. What's your excuse, Evgeni?
• That goal couldn't have come at a better time for Darren Helm, given the dozen or so goals he should have had against St. Louis. Good to bust that slump right away, even if he had a whole net open and still shot it right into Turco. Thanks, Marty.
• That goal couldn't have come at a better time for Todd Bertuzzi, given that he's wildly inconsistent. I was happy he got the SO winner against St. Louis, but I was worried that since it came off a nice move he was going to try to dangle even more against Dallas. Luckily, I thought his game was actually simpler, and he was rewarded for doing what he should have been doing all season -- throwing the puck at the net. Thanks, Marty. His accuracy is quite good despite what a lot of people think. This one was a deflection goal but I hope it'll lead to a little more of that and a little less spinny dangling stuff. He'll be so much more effective that way.
• I don't say enough that Kris Draper is playing his best hockey post-lockout. Loving the boost he's found playing with Eaves/Miller and Helm. Virtually no finish at all between the four of them, but they're proving game in and game out that if you suck enough at finishing, you'll eventually get a lucky goal. And I love that.
• Mike Babcock reads this blog and loves to confuse me. The Wings get shut out back to back and he doesn't change lines. I suggest swapping Leino and Holmstrom. The Wings get offense against St. Louis, and in the Dallas game, but mid-second period Leino and Holmstrom are randomly swapped. I appreciate you listening to me, Mike, but why did you wait until the team was winning?
• Howard's won six of his past eight starts, and his WGI (Weak Goal Index -- a stat I made up, and don't actually keep track of, but I use to make my assertions sound more impressive) is five full points above Chris Osgood's. I don't think we have a goaltending controversy, because Osgood isn't letting in too many goals like last year, but the Wings just aren't winning in front of him. The Wings have another busy month with 15 games in December -- I say why not ride Howard? Keep Osgood fresh for the playoffs, see what Howard's made of. I'll admit, even coming from a big defender he's exceeding my own expectations. His RRP (Ridiculous Rebound Percentage -- see above) has fallen 650% since October, which makes everyone a little more comfortable. He's still not looking like starter material, yet, but I'm wavering on whether or not he's a career backup, or maybe, just maybe, a solid and cheap 1B guy.

That should suffice for now. It was nice to have end November on a high note. An ugly month towards the end, but overall much improved on October. I think we can all take a deep breath, enjoy the beautiful Michigan weather, and ritualistically sacrifice something to the hockey gods so we don't have any more injuries.

Edmonton on Thursday. More than a day off in between games? No way.