Yes.

It's a new season now. For as stressed and strung out as Wings' fans made themselves this season, it was a pretty pleasant end to it all. Two wins over Columbus and a nice reminder to Chicago that we are their better. Not too bad.

Overall, we just have a whole lot of things to amuse us. Observe:

• We finished 5th after spending the majority of the year in 9th and 10th.
• Hottest team since the Olympics.
• Jimmy Howard is 15-0-2 in his last 17 starts.
• After hearing trash talk from the West all year (Chicago), we beat them in the season series and finished much closer to them in the Central than even I thought we would at midseason.
• After hearing trash talk from the East all year (Pittsburgh), we finished a point ahead of them. Must be tough to be in a division that allows you to take 19 of 24 games against your "rivals."
• We had the top four seeds in the West stressing about about having to play us.

The unlucky opponent? Phoenix.

Which puts me in quite a dilemma, because they've been my favorite new band lately. I will not allow myself to listen to them if Detroit does not have a comfortable lead in the series. You're welcome.

Let's break down this wonderful series.

Keys to the series: Intensity. Phoenix as a club hasn't been to the playoffs since 2001-02, and as a whole, even the veterans on their roster don't possess too much playoff experience. If you believe the idea that you have to lose before you can win, Phoenix hasn't been to the playoffs since 2001-02, and they haven't won a playoff series since moving to the desert. Chicago proved last year that there is such a thing as a team being too inexperienced to even care that they're "supposed" to lose, and it's very possible for Phoenix to replicate this model.

Start strong. I know a sad story from the year 2005-06. There was a team that wore red who comfortably soared to the top of the Western Conference standings, and found very little to play for in the last few months of the season. Further out West, a team in either Alberta or Saskatchewan needed to win 80% of their games to even get to the playoffs, so they played the last two months of the season like every game was Game 7. This team playing Game 7s for two months ended up coming out with much more fire and intensity than the team who wore red, and defeated them in six games.

I don't know if something like this could ever happen to Detroit, but they could certainly learn from it. Detroit is now the team who had to win every night as the only way to ensure a good playoff position. Phoenix has been comfortably in the top five of the conference all season, and they've been almost locked into fourth for about a month.

Shoooooot. Phoenix employs a goalie who very much dislikes vowels -- Ilya Bryzgalov. He has been right in the thick of talk for both the Vezina and the Hart Trophy all season long. Detroit's had a long and stressful relationship with goalies looking to make a name for themselves in the playoffs. Of late, it hasn't been as big of an issue, but Bryzgalov has been solid for a number of years now and is just looking for a place to shine. I cannot think of anything I'd like to see more than 40+ shots in Game 1, just to let him know that we're aware of him.

Hockey gods. Real religious affiliations aside, one thing all Red Wings fans believe in are the hockey gods. We know not to upset them. Seeing as how Phoenix has not been to the playoffs in some time, they are apparently unaware of this fact, looking at the quality of post put out by Coyotes' blog Five for Howling shows a surplus of confidence, a call to harass Wings fans, and a not-so-subtle underlying message that Phoenix fans are really, really concerned about the amount of Wings fans that are going to ruin their white outs. I appreciate the fire and pretty much every other Wings blog out there has covered it, but the one thing I did want to respond to is the idea of "know-it-all" Wings fans. Seeing as Phoenix is not known for their excellent attendance, I just wonder who this blogger thinks might have more first-time fans at the game -- fans of the team whose team has been to the Finals two years in a row, or fans of the team who drew like 34 people at a rally in the summer to keep the team in Phoenix. The only thing working against Detroit in this department is the fact that Ken Daniels said a week ago that the Wings will win in the first round regardless of who they play. Oh, Ken, why?

I'm going to use the knowledge I've gained from the few months I spent writing at Hockey's Future, covering Coyotes prospects (now Anaheim) to break down the Coyotes roster as best I can. This is the best I can make of what their lines might be:

Wojtek Wolski | Matthew Lombardi | Shane Doan
No doubt the team's top line. The trio leads the team in scoring, with Wolski's 65 points (many with Colorado, where he came from in a mutually beneficial trade that sent Peter Mueller to Colorado) leading the way -- 18 of which came in the 18 games he has played thus far in Phoenix. Wolski offers a very slick set of hands that make one glad there is no shootout in the playoffs (also beneficial because Phoenix was dynamite in the shootout). Lombardi lacks the flash of a true number one center, but was my pick for fastest player in the league before I saw Darren Helm. His speed and work ethic make him a nice complement to two more offensive players. And Doan, obviously, is the face of the franchise, a player who has always stepped up in big situations and probably the leading candidate to take over the series for Phoenix. If you hadn't guessed that this line will be seeing a lot of #40 and #5, well, I'm disappointed.

Petr Prucha | Martin Hanzal | Radim Vrbata
An interesting line comprised of three players hailing from the Czech Republic. Prucha is one of more than a few players who have come through the pipeline to the desert from Broadway. Current general manager Don Maloney formerly worked with the NY Rangers and has plucked away more than enough ex-Rangers in his short time with Phoenix. Prucha is streaky and hasn't seen much ice time of late, but he's got a quick shot and good touch around the net. Hanzal, in my mind, is one of the most underrated defensive players in the league -- I think there is a Selke in his future. This alone makes me wonder if this line might be broken up to make this the shutdown line for Phoenix. However, Hanzal is big and can produce offense as well, so there's always the option of leaving him here for chemistry with his fellow countrymen. Vrbata is back in Phoenix this season after a disastrous year in Tampa Bay that saw him leave for the Czech Republic. He is the team's top goal scorer (excluding Wolski and Stempniak, who scored more goals in other uniforms this year) and his shot will make him necessary to contain every shift.

Taylor Pyatt | Vernon Fiddler | Lee Stempniak
The Doan unit definitely plays the most, but these three players get quite a bit of ice time for a "third line" and have been very productive for the team since being re-united. Pyatt is a big body who, while a little slow, is good in front of the net. Fiddler serves as a two-way player who plays with some edge. He put up 30 points and really caught my eye this season a few games for how much he likes to chirp -- but definitely not in the same mold as the Otts, Averys, etc. type player. He's likely the team's top faceoff guy too, but a 52.4% mark in that category indicates that Detroit could control the series in this department, potentially. Stempniak was acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline. Wings fans should be familiar with him from his time in St. Louis, but he was considered to be a failure in Toronto. He's been a blessing in Phoenix though, matching the 14 goals he put up in 62 games with Toronto with 14 in 18 in Phoenix.

Daniel Winnik | Petteri Nokelainen | Lauri Korpikoski
The team's energy line, boasting three players who are all capable of taking a regular shift (aka, no goons -- players that work hard). Winnik was somewhat on the outside looking into a crowded Coyotes top 12 this season, but managed to appear in 74 games. He was a successful player in college who's found a niche as a bottom six player in the NHL. Nokelainen is a new face, acquired from Anaheim at the deadline, but could potentially be moved around depending on the team's injury situation. Korpikoski is another ex-Ranger with a ton of speed to burn, who fills out one of the team's regular penalty kill units. Winnik, Hanzal, Fiddler, and Korpikoski are the top four penalty killing forwards.

Depth: Everyone's favorite Bobby Lang is banged up, but could be counted on for more offense. Scottie Upshall was having a tremendous season before getting hurt in January. Paul Bissonnette is the team's fighter, and seems unlikely to see the ice in a series like this. Also on the roster is Viktor Tikhonov, a player that bolted to the KHL but came back after the Coyotes sent him to the AHL. They did this because they wanted a more veteran roster capable of winning -- reasons why Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker are also not on the roster, despite having promising rookie seasons.

And now to the defense, where I craft together makeshift pairings based on who was on the ice together in recent 'Yotes games.

Zbynek Michalek | Ed Jovanovski
The likely shutdown tandem -- at least with Michalek. Michalek is continually among league leaders in shot blocks and just general good hustle, but doesn't get much recognition. He's a big part of the penalty kill and could potentially be playing about half the game. Jovanovski is a fella who I've never liked -- you'll see him delivering cross checks to Holmstrom's back and whining to the officials. However, he's fairly useful at both ends of the ice despite being tremendously overpaid.

Keith Yandle | Adrian Aucoin
The youngest and oldest defensemen in the regular lineup. Aucoin has had a resurgence of sorts after being fairly mediocre for most of this season. A lot of Wings fans will remember the two goals he scored in a single game against Detroit early in the season, but he's also come through with several more big goals, including some shootout winners. Yandle is a great puck-moving defenseman who I thought should have gotten more consideration for the American Olympic team. His 12 goals and 41 points led all Coyotes.

Derek Morris | Sami Lepisto
Morris is in his second go-around with Phoenix, being re-acquired at the trade deadline for additional depth. Morris really never stands out for me, but I suppose he can be looked upon favorably for his steady but not necessarily superb play at both ends of the ice. Lepisto is a former prospect of the Washington organization that finally got his NHL break in Phoenix. He is quick and good with the puck, but has only one goal to show for his ability.

Depth: Another hilarious former Wing in this department: Mathieu Schneider. He was picked up after being a failure in Vancouver, but hasn't cracked the regular lineup in Phoenix either. The only chance of seeing him will come if the powerplay suffers, but Yandle is the key player on the blueline there. Jim Vandermeer is another third pairing type with experience, who could potentially be shuffled in for Lepisto for more solid play in the defensive zone.

Ilya Bryzgalov | Jason LaBarbera
There's no doubt in anybody's mind that we're going to see Bryzgalov. He's got the numbers, experience, and confidence. However, it's worth noting that LaBarbera's numbers are actually better than Bryzgalov's, mostly due to his small sample of just 18 games. The point being: he's reliable if something were to happen to the #1 guy.

Around the league: I don't like to predict for Detroit, but we'll close this preview post with a brief thought on the other matchups.

San Jose over Colorado in 5 -- A lot of people like to harp on San Jose for choking, but Colorado is no Anaheim '09. This team has struggled to get in the playoffs and the Sharks will have no problem taking care of them. If they don't, I'd expect some major, major changes coming.

Nashville over Chicago in 7 -- This is my big upset. I don't like the cockiness of Chicago, this is a team who has had no experience with failure against a Nashville team who is now seasoned, boasting a great blueline and capable goaltender, and ready to finally get out of the first round. It looks like Antti Niemi is the guy for Chicago in net, but they still don't overwhelm me as a team poised for a long playoff run.

Vancouver over Los Angeles in 6 -- It'll be a long series, but Los Angeles has cooled down, and like Phoenix, don't have too much playoff experience. Roberto Luongo has struggled, but I do not trust Jonathan Quick.

Washington over Montreal in 5 -- Jaroslav Halak might steal a game or two, but Washington is deeper than Montreal in too many areas.

New Jersey over Philadelphia in 6 -- The Devils are just clicking this season and I've seen what Ilya Kovalchuk can do when there's pressure on him. The Devils might be the only team that scare me from the East.

Buffalo over Boston in 4 -- I love me some Ryan Miller, and Boston only scraped into the playoffs after losing Marc Savard. He's definitely not their entire team, but his presence would certainly make this series a long one.

Ottawa over Pittsburgh in 7 -- After hearing all year from Pens fans how the Wings won't go deep (or make it at all), it's my turn. I think Ottawa has what it takes to oust the defending Cup champs. They're much deeper than they've been in the past and they've been quite good in the past few months. The only major issue is goaltending, but I worry about a young Penguins team feeling overconfident facing either of Ottawa's goalies.

Playoffs. Bring it.

I've got an hour or so of downtime, so I've decided to stop being so neglecting. Just for now, though. I'm sure I'll go back to neglecting this place over the weekend. Actually I'm pretty sure of it, since I'm going to miss the next Columbus game in favor of the Griffins' final home game of the season. Expect a recap on that though.

Let's do bullets:

• Jimmy Howard was supposed to play about 25 games this season, but he just won game #35. It's an absolute joke to me that the cool topic with him right now is whether or not he's too old to win the Calder. What is the rule for (which, for the record, says that a player has to be younger than 28, and Howard is 25 in terms of hockey years) if it's going to be an ultimate factor in the decision? The rule says nothing about professional experience. Why take it out on Jimmy that Buffalo does not have defensive depth and is forced to play a 20-year-old 20+ minutes a night? It should be about impact, and Howard has made more of an impact than both Ty Myers and Matt Duchene. I'm awarding him the Calder right now.
• Since I didn't write anything about the Philadelphia game, it's worth noting that we should be glad Howard is racking up the W's because Chris Osgood is predictably far away from top form. That makes sense considering he hasn't played in two months, but I do like Osgood. I wouldn't say he's strong mentally, but I think he's proved over the past few years he's not weak either. Usually he shines when there's no pressure on him. I'm starting to worry about him for next year, how will he respond to a summer off after so few games down the stretch?
• He might have been the McDonald's Player of the Game, but I'm still waiting for Niklas Kronwall to wake up. He took two nasty looking hits that probably could have been avoided. Hopefully the increase in offensive production will lead to an increase of awareness on the ice.
• He may have gotten walked by RJ Umberger, but for all the people who used stats against me to argue against Nick Lidstrom at midseason, he has 29 points in the 37 games since recording his second goal of the year. I'm not into numbers, but now that the anti-Nicks don't have that on their side, where have they been? I've been here all along, quietly (well, loudly, I guess) enjoying another Norris-caliber season. But the media's already awarded that to Mike Green, since they can't give it to Crosby or Ovechkin.
• I don't know what it is about Dan Cleary that makes him ultra-productive on the bottom two lines and invisible on the top two, but I sure hope Mike Babcock is taking notes for playoff lines.
• I feel like I haven't mentioned Jason Williams for a while, and that's because I just don't know what to say. He split the fanbase in the summer with this who were convinced he was just going to screw up on the powerplay, and those convinced he could contribute (me). Well, neither party has been right. He's been solid on the powerplay point -- I can't remember a recent shorthanded goal against that was his fault or any real mishandling of the puck. But if he's not screwing up, what is he doing out there? He's got a great shot but I rarely see him using it. He was a useful playmaker back in the day of playing on the 4th line with Igor Larionov and Luc Robitaille, but I've yet to see him make a highlight reel setup all season. Is there any question that Justin Abdelkader (21 points in 31 games since being sent down) should be on the 4th line instead of him in the playoffs?
• Pavel Datsyuk has been red hot and I think it's because he's realized he can explore the top of the net. Seems like every shot he takes is going top corner now. I'm putting this thought in the file of "things we better see in the playoffs."
• I was worried about that shift where Chad Kolarik, Greg Moore, Tom Sestito, and Grant Clitsome pinned Detroit in their own zone. Between them? Twenty-four games of NHL experience.
• As of right now, we're in 5th, tied with Nashville but technically ahead since we still have two games to play. That gives us Phoenix. I see people worrying about this, but I don't see it. Ilya Bryzgalov definitely has some game-stealing ability, but I like the matchup. The Coyotes have no experience. I'm thrilled to be in the playoffs more than anything. I can find good and bad about playing anyone, I really have no preference. Also, refer to the new poll on the right.
• Final note, something I wanted to pass along. Nicole Yelland, the Wings' social media coordinator who I had a chance to meet at H2H, has sent out an e-mail that's being passed around to all the bloggers. She'd like you to know that you have an opportunity to appear on the scoreboard before each of the Wings' playoff games. All you need to do is send in a video following the formula "I am (name), I am (location), I am Hockeytown." That's no longer than ten seconds. But if you're taking ten seconds to say that, you're probably really drawing it out and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't pick you. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

This is the part of the post where I talk about how busy I've been. It's April, so no guarantees of every game recaps because my schedule gets considerably more busy around finals time. I know. Don't my professors know who I am? This is the playoff drive -- I have no time for projects and exams.

Moving on right to the insults, Nashville is horrendously boring. Fluke goals, then stack the blueline and hope that giant Finnish whatever gets in the way of everything else. I feel like struggling markets shouldn't be allowed to play in this fashion. Other teams have to chip in financially to help them stay afloat, and they thank us by trapping for 40 minutes? Eugh. I hope their fan (see what I did there? I left the word singular to make it more insulting.) is entertained because I'm certainly not. And I'm kidding of course, I appreciate good defense. I've just found most of the games against Nashville particularly void of any energy or emotion. Hard to look forward to.

That said, they took it to Detroit, particularly in the second. Granted there was a lot of sloppy play and just general stand-around-ness by Detroit, but Nashville is a chipper energetic punch, nearly bearable to watch when they want to play like that.

I didn't think the winner was the best goal Jimmy Howard's ever given up. But he's been absolutely insane since the Olympic break, so I'm not really worried about it. However, Chris Osgood gets the start tomorrow, his first in two months. Since we all know goalies can't win cold, we probably shouldn't expect much. Really though, I want to see him do well. To say that rookie goalies are wild cards in the playoffs is an understatement. Some of them fold under pressure. Some are just impervious to it. Some have one miracle run, then realize how insane it is to be great the first time you're ever in the playoffs, and never get back to that level again. It's a crazy little thing. Having Osgood get a little more action than just faceoff charting is good. I think Babcock handled this one right. Get comfortable in the playoffs first, then worry about giving Ozzie something to do. That's the order.

Yes, that's right, I said playoffs.

Jim?

Cool.

I am no longer afraid to talk about the playoffs like they're a possibility. I missed a few game recaps here and there, so overall I haven't had much of a chance to talk about this seven game win streak. I wanted to. After the Columbus game, I just wanted to make a post that just said "hahahahaha" and nothing else (but I really didn't have time for even that). Because I think that's how most Red Wings fans feel right now. All this "if" Detroit gets there talk, all this talk about problems scoring, and just the overall end of days and blah blah. One great month and now nobody feels that way anymore. Nobody wants to play us.

Petrella called it too. On the last TOV I was on, we talked for a second about the standings, around the same time that both Nashville and Phoenix were rattling off seven and nine game win streaks. He said "if Detroit could just do this, we wouldn't even be having this discussion." And they did, so we aren't. Good call, but if we would have known that's all it would take, I probably would have said it back in November.

I'm not surprised, at all. Why? Because we had excuses, and nobody listened. Excuses are lame crutches, but the thing is, sometimes they're valid. Having like 70% of your lineup miss significant time is significant. You cannot win in this league with the talent that Detroit had missing. People just looked at the standings and assumed the team was just too defeated to make a run. Detroit would be one point back of second if they were in the East. And they'd have a cushy travel schedule too.

It's also worth mentioning that Todd Bertuzzi had eight shots today after his awesome spike and kick goal(s) Thursday. He also looked like he was fired up about something. His penalty wasn't particularly smart, but it could have, and would have were he not wearing #44, easily gone both ways, and I'll take a passion penalty a million times over the lazy trips and hooks that he's guilty of most of the time. Overall, I got the sense that Bertuzzi is going to be a guy who will step up in the playoffs. He's near the end of his career and a Cup is all he wants. He's shockingly healthy and he's doing well in the role he's in. He seems to play better when someone is under his skin (until he starts marching to the box at least) like they were today. I'm just wondering if I'm not the only person who was rather inspired by his energy level, even though he ultimately didn't really accomplish much.

Four more games? How did that happen? As aggravating as this season has been, it's sure flown by. I cannot wait to see how this unfolds.

You're right, this has nothing to do with hockey. But it is one of the first images that pops up when you search for "Brazil" on PicApp.

Whew. Sorry for the lack of updates but I've been all over the place this weekend. Grand Rapids to Novi to Detroit back to Grand Rapids, couple deadlines to meet in that span, the real NCAA tournament going on in the meantime. All of this means there was not a ton of free time. But I'm all situated now, so let's have fun talking about hockey.

H2H

What an experience. I knew it would be an interesting day as soon as I walked in to see Herm getting off the elevator with a mob of people, then seeing him minutes later with cameras shoved in his face. It was really interesting to get to meet the people behind some of the names that frequent this blog and the others out there whose names I recognized. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello, sorry to anyone who I missed because it was pretty packed, nothing personal. There were just so many people and I was pretty bad at checking out name tags. Several times already I've seen on Twitter or something that so and so was at H2H, and I thought to myself, really? how did I miss them?

From a personal standpoint I'd like to thank everyone who gave me words of encouragement, whether it was about my writing, (attempted) humor, or even the banner. I'm not trying to sit here and be like "everyone thought I was awesome!!" because that definitely isn't the case, but it was new for me so it was equally flattering and inspiring. I wouldn't be doing this if I was just talking to myself all the time, so I really wanted to make sure everyone knew that it did mean something to me, and it'll hopefully result in even more cool things in the near future.

On a side note, Casey Richey does one of the best celebrity impressions I've ever heard and we absolutely need to dedicate an entire podcast to hearing this particular celebrity talk about the Red Wings. I don't want to spoil the surprise as to who it is, though.

Minnesota

Fittingly, Detroit capped off a perfect even with arguably one of the most perfect efforts of the season. After the team was really carried by Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula, and Todd Bertuzzi for the past three games, it was the other top line of Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Holmstrom that stole the show. If Franzen and Filppula can play in the playoffs anything close to how they've been playing recently, Detroit has themselves two more elite level players that they did not have for most of this season (injuries for Mule, injuries and inconsistency from Filppula).

I sat next to Casey for the game and he said near the end of the 3rd period, "I don't think there's a team in the NHL scarier than Detroit right now." I absolutely agree. As positive as I like to be, I had doubts this season as to how a team with so many inconsistent offensive pieces in place and a complete inability to hold onto a lead could possibly make a run deep into the playoffs. Well, over the past ten games the team has really worked out those bad habits and are playing some really complete, convincing efforts.

Even if Detroit cools down before the end of the year, when you think about the overall composition of the West, anyone can take it. Chicago's goaltending is bad and it's only getting worse. Evgeni Nabokov isn't exactly stellar in San Jose right now, a team that is a little too shaky in the opening rounds to deal with a bipolar goaltender. Vancouver is actually pretty solid this season, but Roberto Luongo has had a rough month and a half, and the team does have Mikael Samuelsson. There isn't a top seed I would be uncomfortable with Detroit playing.

And beyond that, there's an unwritten universal sports law that you have to lose before you can win. And this season, it's youth that's been driving the West. Phoenix and Los Angeles haven't sniffed the playoffs in a long time, and although Colorado was there in 2008 (ending in a series they'd probably like to forget), I'm sure any fan would tell you it's a way different team with a way different nucleus. I would be surprised if any of these teams went deep. Chicago made a deep run last year despite having very little playoff experience, but overall it takes a year or two of going out early before you've got the focus enough to really knock off the experienced teams, like, let's say, Detroit.

Nashville

I could say a ton of things about this game, or I could save everyone a bunch of time and just say that it was a highly entertaining goaltending battle between Pekka Rinne and Jimmy Howard. The best part of it was for once, Detroit won the battle. That isn't a slight towards Chris Osgood either, because Jimmy has lost his fair share of 2-1, 1-0 games and the blame doesn't usually fall on the goalie in situations like that.

Perhaps the most interesting note was the shootout. On the last episode of The Obstructed View, we talked about why Detroit is terrible in the shootout and who we should be using to break the team's slump in a skill where they should have some success. Luckily for us, almost every player that was brought up in that discussion got their chance. And here's what we know:

Datsyuk -- Tried the move that he can sometimes cut to the backhand, but didn't really sell it and just snapped one into Rinne's pads. It's worked for him before, but it hasn't worked recently, and the 6'5 Rinne barely had to move. You've got to get him moving and that move just didn't cut it.

Williams -- Pretty much always does the fake forehand to backhand shelf move, which usually works despite its predictability. I didn't think he got all of it that he could.

Zetterberg -- Finally tried an actual deke after just shooting randomly his past few tries. He really sold the move but had no angle when he was done, so it was another failed attempt.

Franzen -- Just tried to pick a corner and missed pretty badly. I was in support of him shooting when we talked about TOV, but I was hoping he would use that reach to draw the goalie to one side and quickly snap it high to the other side. This attempt just looked lazy.

Bertuzzi -- Took him a few minutes but he did about 17 dekes and beat Rinne. I know people don't like to call Bert smart but he got Rinne backing into his net (aka getting smaller) and had him moving all over. Brilliant move.

Filppula -- Looked like he was trying to go fivehole. Maybe it's because Rinne's pads are tall, but I think he wants you to think there's room there. There just isn't if you're going in straight on.

Miller -- Pretty standard Miller behavior, straight on and a strong shot that just stopped short of the line. I'd like to see him a little earlier in the shootout since he's technically beaten the goalie on both of his attempts. Nice to have a guy who can disguise a shot and pick a side with using some reach.

Holmstrom -- A couple nice moves but he was in way too close. Would have been hard for him to score even if he was able to elevate it. Homer does have solid stickhandling skills for how ugly of a skater he is.

Eaves -- Never again.

Draper -- I was really expecting a patented breakaway special where he puts a shot into the goalie's chest. I like that he went wide but I felt like he shot too early. Gotta get Rinne moving.

Kronwall -- This isn't just a thing I'm talking about in here, I was yelling at the TV about you need to get Rinne moving. Kronwall, a defenseman (the first ever to shoot for Detroit, I believe?) did and the five hole was wide open. Beautiful.

So what did we learn? Well, as pretty as it is to watch our team pass there is not a whole lot of creativity. I'd like to see more of Datsyuk and Bertuzzi, and some Franzen if he'll look a little more interested next time. Maybe if we go to extended rounds just go right to Miller and see what he can do. I wouldn't count on seeing Kronwall again, but maybe next time he'll get the nod over Draper and Eaves. Hopefully Brad May will get the nod over Eaves as well. Kidding of course, Eaves has a really great shot, but people are going to remember this attempt.

This week

Edmonton. Columbus. Nashville. Philadelphia. If Detroit wants a shot at 5th those first two games need to be wins. Detroit needs to play bad teams like they're good ones. No more getting embarrassed by Edmonton, please.

I went out to eat last night so I only caught pieces of the first two periods here and there before I got home to catch most of the third. I didn't see enough to do a real, full recap.

But I did want to talk about one fellow in particular, Valtteri Filppula, because I had nearly given up on him.

I think all offseason I predicted that he would really come through for Detroit with 60-70 points. I remember a few people telling me he didn't have the hands or the finish to pull it off, but I always felt he looked like a player who was right on the edge of being a legitimate top scoring threat every night.

It wasn't until about a week ago that I started to doubt him too. He's a really smart player so he tends to generate a lot of chances by himself, a lot more than a lot of good players in this league. I found myself groaning more and more recently with how easily he tends to just miss the net completely on glorious, glorious chances. I think it was the Edmonton game where I was planning on going on a rant about how I don't think he'll ever be more than a 40-50 point player. I didn't end up writing about that game, but, surprise, he's had eight points since then.

I don't know if it's confidence, just a threshold he hit when he turned 26, or his new fantastic linemates, but Filppula finally looks like he's found it. He looks like a brand new player out there and I'm really digging it.

Do I expect him to keep scoring eight points in three games? No, but I think it's more than reasonable to suggest this new confidence and new environment should be enough to where we can count on him for a timely goal every once in a while.

I wasn't planning on linking all my WIM recaps on this page, but this was a big game so I figured I would let you know that I've written another game recap for Winging it in Motown. Needless to say, the recap is very supportive of the leadership demonstrated by Pittsburgh "captain" Sidney Crosby at the end of the game.

Also, BAM.

Go Jimmy, go Wings.

The nature of watching hockey is highly involved in opinion. Especially for those who blog, those who frequent blogs, or those who like tweet during games, you've probably had a problem similar to this. You're convinced that Player A had a terrible game, but you go online and 85% of the stuff you read says Player A played well. Or, going the other way, you think Player B had his best game of the season, and your favorite blog (in this instance, BDS) says absolutely nothing about them. Well I've had enough of that, so I'm introducing The Definitive Guide for Talent Assessment (TDGTA).

Please note that nothing specifically happened to inspired this, it's to be taken lightly and for humorous purposes.

Instructions: Print one out before every game. Periodically, run through the list. If you can answer yes to all of these questions, that player had a good game. Additions to the list are always welcome.

Pavel Datsyuk

• Did he make a reasonable attempt to shoot the puck?
• Did he embarrass at least two defensive players?
• Did he embarrass at least two offensive players?
• Did he do something to make you giggle?

Henrik Zetterberg

• Did he play like the guy who wore the #40 jersey for any of the past four seasons?
• Did he carry the team on his back for any length of time?
• Did he at least look like he was trying?

Johan Franzen

• Did he make you say/think at least once "man, if he were just healthy..." ?
• Did he take a shot that made you wonder how bad that would hurt based on the last time you were hit with a puck?
• Did he absolutely manhandle another grown man at least once?
• Did he not get injured?

Nick Lidstrom

• Was he perfect?

Brian Rafalski

• Did you notice how awkwardly he skates (meaning you noticed him skating)?
• Was he playing a team that did not have Rick Nash?
• Can you watch the highlights and not see him on the wrong end of a spectacular goal?

Danny Cleary

• Did you even notice him out there?

Valtteri Filppula

• Did he screw up less than five glorious chances?
• Did he trick you into thinking that he's due for a breakout year?
• Did he look like he knew which net he was supposed to score on when he had the puck?

Jimmy Howard

• Did he stay in his net all game and make no attempt to play the puck?
• Did he control at least two rebounds properly?
• Did his voice freak you out when you heard him yelling to his defensemen?

Niklas Kronwall

• Did he try to kill somebody?
• Did he have at least one glorious scoring chance?
• Did he limit the amount of times Brad Stuart had to bail him out?

Brad Stuart

• Did the Wings win?

Tomas Holmstrom

• Did he not get injured?
• Did somebody try to kill him?
• Did the refs call him for goaltender interference or waive off a goal?

Todd Bertuzzi

• Did he stay out of the box?
• Did you see him in the defensive zone?
• Did he connect at least 25% of his passes?

Drew Miller

• Do you want to sign him to a long-term contract?
• Does he look any better than when he played for Michigan State?

Jason Williams

• Trick question, Williams did not play well.

Darren Helm

• Was he totally ridiculous on the penalty kill?
• Did he overskate the puck fewer than five times?
• Did he shoot directly into the crowd fewer than five times?

Patrick Eaves

• Were his locks flowing in the wind?
• Did he block at least one shot in an extremely awkward position?
• Did he get hurt? (Trust me, it needs to be worded that way.)

Jonathan Ericsson

• Did he not trip over his skates?

Andreas Lilja

• Did he not fight?
• Did he not ruin the game?
• Have you forgiven him for costing the Wings the Cup in 2007?

Brett Lebda

• Did he take a shift?

Derek Meech

• Could you tell what position he was playing?
• Did he make you think he's capable of staying in the lineup for more than one game?

Chris Osgood

• Was his handwriting legible?
• Did the Wings not take a too many men on the ice penalty?

For all you fans of The Obstructed View, episode 13 is on the intersphere for your listening pleasure. I'm on it alongside George Malik from Red Wings Snapshots, Michael Petrella from The Production Line, and our nationally renowned host, Chris Hollis from Motown Wings. This one is especially important, as TOV announced this morning a site change which also involves finding a new way to download the show every week as the iTunes link has changed. Needless to say, you should probably check it out.

Lot of talk about the road trip, the shootout, a random 15 minute rant on the Vancouver Canucks, and H2H. Good stuff, give it a listen.

On the note of H2H, I wanted to get a rough count of the regulars here who will be attending. I'll be at the H2H pre-game party and the game but I've done a terrible job at keeping up with the progress of this thing so I'm not entirely sure who will be going. Drop me a comment here if you are, and don't be shy at all about coming up to say hello at any point during the game. I know I may sound really cool and intimidating on TOV, and I am, but I'd still like to meet most of the folks who make this place so interesting to keep writing for on a daily basis. And of course I'm kidding. Not only am I probably the least intimidating person ever, but I'd like to meet all of you there -- especially the folks who want to trade Nick Lidstrom.

Not a typo. It's a combination between great and good. Start using it.

Quick note tonight -- I wrote a game recap over at Winging it in Motown. Feel free to head over there as I have little interest in re-writing the same things for a second time tonight.

For those who didn't know, I am a contributing author over at WIM. I had been doing a weekly prospect feature (which has led to all those neat interviews I did a few months ago), but because of being a "competing" network, they felt I should just stick to that. However, recently they decided it was alright for me to do the regular stuff as well, so expect some occasional game recaps of mine to appear over there. The competition stuff isn't really my thing. BDS is my child, but it's nice to able to contribute to different communities every once in a while.

Is that an understatement?

Apologies for the general slowness around here recently. Getting busy at school, still nursing a broken clavicle (real original, Brian Campbell), etc. But that's not really an excuse because if anything I've had more time recently. Time I've spent staring at the stuff I'm supposed to study. But I promised myself if I read half the stuff I needed to read tonight, I could take a writing break. You guys are lucky. Because I've come to care about you. A lot. And also not in that way. Well yeah, in that way a little.

Anyone who understands that reference would be very good friends with me.

Without further adieu, here are some bullets over the past two games. Sidenote, I could use some bullet-shaped bullet points.

• When's the last time that Detroit won seven out of their past ten games? And those wins? Ottawa, Smashville, Colorado, Chicago, Minnesota, Calgary, and Buffalo. And the one OTL in that span was to San Jose, who Detroit is 3-0-1 against on the year. Remind me again why Detroit isn't being lumped in with the other contenders?
• That said, perhaps my confidence is bad luck. It does seem like every time I get up on my Detroit pedestal they fall into a trap. And this weekend is the perfect trap scenario. Four days off on a west coast trip, for some strange reason. I can't even begin to tell you if that's good or bad because I've never seen it before. But apparently they're going to Kelowna (hello, Mitchell Callahan) and hopefully doing some team building exercises or something.
• Even worse than that, they've got a game against and Edmonton team with absolutely nothing to play for, and a backup goalie with absolutely no career wins. Wings fans are all too familiar with how Detroit performs in these "easy win" games, and it doesn't make anyone feel good with the prospect of a flat effort in that game leading to a game with Vancouver on Saturday.
• But optimism is the way to go. If the Wings can pull it together, they can really start to give themselves a bit of a cushion. Hopefully the team knows this.
• Mike Babcock's coaching ability has come into question a couple of times (not by anyone with any sense, I'd argue), even in the Olympics because the super-team choked a couple of times. But he got an absolutely depleted lineup to the brink of the playoffs, and now he's pushing a completely unmotivated lineup over the hump. He calls Zetterberg out, Zetterberg shows up. He calls the team out for thinking they're in the playoffs, and they rattle off three straight, huge wins. He shows faith in Howard, and Howard plays lights out when we need him to. If the media hadn't already awarded the Jack Adams to Dave Tippett (because it's not like Phoenix was loading up on good young players since the last time they made the playoffs, or anything), I'd say your candidate is right in Detroit.
• Onto players, one guy I've been hoping to see more out of is Drew Miller. As predicted, he showed up against Buffalo, hoping to get a goal on his brother. I don't know if anyone else caught it, but there was one point in the game where Drew slashed Ryan right on the back of the thigh as he was chasing a puck around the net. Apparently, there's another Miller on Calgary or something, because Miller was the team's best player in the first 40 minutes. Never thought I'd type that.
• Tomas Holmstrom scores goals, Tomas Holmstrom gets a new contract. Sounds fair to me.
• In defense of the recent Todd Bertuzzi hate, while I acknowledge he needs to pick it up again, he's not doing the spinning stuff, he's not throwing blind passes to the middle of the ice, and he's only taken three penalties in the past ten games. He's not doing anything well to make up for any of that, but I find it funny that he's back in the doghouse as if he isn't on a line with Miller (who I just gave respect to, but he doesn't have the Datsyuk-like vision to get Bert his chances) and Jason Williams.
• The team winning games doesn't make up for the fact that any time something bad happened, Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja were on the ice. Lebda isn't playing nearly well enough to justify keeping Jonathan Ericsson out of the lineup. One's an impending UFA on a team with a couple too many defensemen slated for next season. The other's a youngster with big potential who might be able to prove himself in these big games that we're playing every game. But yeah, he hasn't yet..
• Rafalski, clutch.
• Franzen/Homer, clutch.
• 8th place and loving it.