He's got the stick, why not just PLAY for Dallas already?

What is it with this team about completely falling apart when they have a chance to make that 8th seed to 9th seed jump? As of right now they're out by a point, because as of these words Boston blew a lead against one of the coldest teams in the league, Los Angeles, guaranteeing the Kings at least a one point lead. Probably two by the time I'm done writing this (called it). Or three if the NHL just feels like dumping all over Detroit some more. Who knows?

That game was a win. Detroit didn't even play well and controlled the play for most of the game. Dallas is not good this year. Sure, they keep passing us in the standings, but that just doesn't mean anything to me. With Mike Ribeiro out, who's sensationally overrated in his own right, Detroit got beat by Loui Eriksson, James Neal, Brad Richards, and a dozen grinders. Sorry, that's just how I feel -- Dallas is like a congregation of players I've felt should be out of the league at one point or another. Their defense is just terrifying to watch move the puck out of their own zone, and Alex Auld was mentored by Dan Cloutier, which says quite a bit out where his career is. Sorry Dallas fans -- take solace in the fact that you're owning Detroit for once in your lives, but before you disagree just realize you're basically a lottery team without the NHL's swell loser point. I'm looking forward to seeing if that team ends up with more overtime losses than regular wins. It's going to be a tight race.

Also, as I had to listen to part of the third on the radio, official voice of my childhood Paul uh Woods raised the point that while people don't like Steve Ott, you'd love to have him on your team. False. Ott is on the very short list of players I would hate to see in a Detroit jersey, with the likes of Scott Hartnell and Sean Avery. I don't believe Ott has any respect for the game. I understand agitation, but there's a line that Ott often crosses. I see him more as a liability than anything else. I'm sure Dallas fans don't care -- they're probably happy to have him. I'm just curious if Dallas ever gets back to the Finals, and you're up a goal heading into the 3rd, do you even want Steve Ott to see a shift? I thought so.

I don't care that no one fought him. I don't want Todd Bertuzzi in the box over someone like Ott, he'll find his way there eventually (ZING ha ha ha ha ha ha how do I come up with this overwhelmingly original material?, more on that later). I'd prefer to see Ville Leino in the lineup coasting his way around the ice like a small child in a charity game than Brad May, who fights to pad his stats instead of To relate it to his namesake, if Jay Leno can bump Conan out by being absolutely useless and extremely predictable, can't Leino edge out May? Even the most steadfast Leino-haters know he's capable of doing amazing things. What is the absolute best thing that you think May can do for this team? Either way, I never thought I'd be so excited that we have Jason Williams coming back, presumably soon.

Before I get into the real officiating issue, there' something seriously wrong when Dallas plays a game like that and Detroit only ends up with one powerplay. Ott basically took a penalty every time he was on the ice. I was under the impression that you really only had two strides or so to finish a check on someone. I was also under the apparent delusion that you couldn't hit somebody who didn't touch the puck. That's why I don't make the big bucks, apparently. And I know they'd never call it because they only call these in the last five minutes of a game, but wasn't what Ott was doing to Brad Stuart pretty much the definition of "instigating?" Not as the penalty so much I suppose, but just think about the word instigating. I think the NHL should stop calling it in the final five minutes of a game and start calling it when a player takes five to ten seconds every shift to ignore everything around him and try to fight players that don't fight, or that don't fight scrubs anyway. That seems to be a description better fitting of the penalty.

Okay, real issue time. As I mentioned earlier, I was in the car for the end of the 3rd because I had my own hockey game (champs!) but I did catch overtime and beyond at the rink before my game. Basically what happened was Rob Martell waived off Ott's shootout attempt on Jimmy Howard, who kept the puck out after it started to trickle across the line. Mike Leggo who was presumably around the red line or at  best Detroit's blueline, but could have been out grabbing Starbucks for all we know, immediately approached Martell and encouraged a review. After hours of review, the Toronto War Room ruled that there was no replay showing the puck clearly over the line: inconclusive. Apparently, Leggo overruled both the NHL and the referee standing on top of the net from his comfortable position in the stands making his way back to the ice with a Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. This raises two questions... Why did the review take so long if he had that overrule card the whole time, and what is the point of an NHL War Room?

Other than incompetence and idiocy, the NHL's problem here is two things: accountability and accessibility.

• Accountability: There is absolutely nothing preventing referees from making game-changing (maybe even season-changing) decisions on a hunch and nothing else. I can probably picture something close to what Leggo saw. The puck was nearly on the line, and Howard swiped at it. He missed. A second later, he swiped it again, after it had traveled several centimeters. I can picture standing around center ice and feeling pretty confident it probably went in. I thought it probably went in to from the live view, but thought there was definitely a great chance it didn't go completely across the line. There is no consequence for Leggo to take a firm stand that he's right. If officiating were like any other job, a controversial decision made wrong like that could be ground for termination. Same thing for the War Room. I don't think they're the issue since they said it was inconclusive, but based on the number of screw-ups this season, why isn't anyone getting canned? It's ruining the image of the league, one that doesn't have much leg to stand on to begin with.
• Accessibility: To say the NHL sucks at providing explanations for controversial calls would be paying them a compliment. I have no idea where the explanation for this call is except for what others say on Twitter. I don't expect they'll make anything more than the same blanket statements they always do. Why don't you ever hear a ref speak? The perfect non-Detroit example to draw on is the drama between Vancouver's Alex Burrows and quality NHL employee Stephane Auger. Burrows accused Auger of telling him he would be a target, and even though I'm not a huge Burrows fan, his comments were sincere -- he was nearly in tears, I felt. Despite solid video evidence showing that Burrows' claim that they had a long pre-game on-ice discussion, the NHL fined Burrows, backed the company man, and no explanation was given from Auger. Awesome.

This is the part where I make an ironic zinger like "keep up the fine work, NHL" but there's no points. This season has been littered with controversial calls at least 4-5 times a week, and nothing's going to change.

Speaking of zingers though, let's talk a little Bert, shall we? Specifically, Bertuzzi and the ever-growing problem of the distraction that is Twitter. I think the Bert-bashing has officially gone a little too far. I'm feeling that too many fans are really excited about all these great Bert jokes that flood my Twitter feed every day that they just blindly follow the trend without actually watching him play. Really watching him. There's two issues really that I see.

First, why is it that the gauge on whether or not he's playing well is if he's scoring goals? Seemingly nobody will ever say that Todd Bertuzzi had a good game if he didn't find the scoresheet, just as nobody will ever say he had a bad game, if he picked up a goal. There were all kinds of terrible things being said about him after he missed the net, but not so much as a peep after his beautiful goal. The guy can play bad even if he scores -- I didn't think he was too great today. Just the same as he can play well without registering a point, through backchecking, dominating along the boards, creating a handful of scoring chances on his own, and just committing to change his game to play in the Red Wings' system, as he has for over 80% of the games he's been in this season.

That miss sucked, and it sucked hard. But how many times have we seen Henrik Zetterberg fly down the wing this year and put the puck into the protective netting. How come there were no hilarious tweets when Pavel Datsyuk flubbed a shot early in the third that almost stopped moving before it got to the net (still nearly fooling Auld in what would have been straight out of the Cloutier files). These guys have been slumping like crazy. Bertuzzi takes the puck to the net, he doesn't pass off an opportunity to shoot (whether on net or into the crowd) and he's by far getting the most scoring chances. I realize his finish isn't the greatest, and his play off the puck is not to the standard of Zetterberg and Datsyuk, but on a team with embarrassingly low goal totals, does it make any sense at all to be so negative to a guy who has factored in on 22.5% of Detroit's goals? That's nearly a quarter for all you mathletes out there. Alongside the scoring thing though, I don't have to look it up to tell you he's still Detroit's hottest scorer over the past month save for Darren Helm's miraculous road trip.

Second, a thought that occurred to me: how can you be so sure Bertuzzi isn't playing well when you're tweeting constantly about it? I understand Twitter during games, it's not impossible. There are a bunch of whistles, I like to get a thought or two out if I have my laptop. When I check Twitter at intermissions, I'm just flooded with small talk and Bertuzzi-bashing, causing me to wonder if these people are actually watching the games. It's become way too fashionable to bash him, in my opinion. To answer the question I posed earlier, about why there were no hilarious tweets about Datsyuk's miss. It's either because people weren't watching that, or because he's a professional hockey player and those things happen. Why is Bertuzzi held to such an impossibly high standard, to where that isn't a valid excuse for him?

That's all I wanted to say. Shockingly, although everyone instinctively thinks of Petrella when Bertuzzi does something good or bad, I'm not targeting him here, as I usually am with Bertuzzi rants. I didn't really see much from him on Bert. Plus, he does get flooded with comments from everyone when Bertuzzi scores, so I can imagine his stress level at those moments. But I think there is a group that is honestly rooting against the guy, shocked to see him score and ashamed to give him praise. I'm not targeting people in particular, but I am starting to lose respect for people's knowledge on the game because I have no idea how they're watching. Just think about it. Maybe tomorrow if you find yourself typing away, you'll realize my point and think to yourself that you should probably be watching the game. Who knows, maybe it'll open up more opportunities to bash Bertuzzi. Or maybe it's just me, because I'm incapable of multi-tasking during a game. Even though multi-tasking doesn't really exist.

Good enough. Chicago tomorrow. The FSN broadcast says Cristobal Huet broke his stick over the post today, so hopefully he can carry some of that momentum in Detroit tomorrow. And hopefully Brad Watson, Denis LaRue, Don VanMassenhoven, Stephane Auger, and Mike Leggo are nowhere near either team, because I have a feeling I know who would win a game like that.

Are you kidding me?

I'm really tempted to just leave this post with that sentence, but clearly I can't.

It's just unbelievable. This team of professionals. This team of veterans. This team of the been-there-done-thats. Jekyll and Hyde looks at this team and says, "wow, these guys are schizos." What a joke.

Recap: Saturday, Detroit dismantles the best team in hockey right now: San Jose. Sorry Chicago, it's cute, but San Jose's been where you are -- the new hotness with all their young talent and impressive carefree demeanor. They're past it. They're becoming the perennial playoff choker. They're realizing now they need to take the regular season seriously to have any success in the playoffs. And Detroit embarrassed them, on their ice. Some red hot team with unparalleled scoring depth managed one goal on an easy rebound and proceeded to turn the puck over all night to a team featuring Brad May.

Sunday and Monday, team's arriving back in Detroit, satisfied with a fairly successful road trip that saw a 4-1 junker the only lowlight, in a trip that typically gives Detroit trouble. Maybe some practice, but also some rest for the weary after the long trip. Job well done. Tuesday, for reason's unknown, Detroit's got to head to the other side of the country and take on the Islanders. Whatever. They're coming off the biggest win of the season, the biggest statement to the rest of the league: we're ready to take this season seriously, as late as it may be.

Who didn't see this coming? They talked about it on the podcast. Most blogs mentioned it. That's just the pace of the season. Detroit shows up to slap around their rivals, and take nights off against teams that'll be in the hunt for the draft lottery. When people said it, when people wrote it, they just didn't take it seriously. There was no way this team could really unravel against New York. Really, it's part of the road trip, but it should have been energetic to take that win against San Jose and spend a day at home. Instead...

Loss. Out shot. Blown out. Shut out. Goalie chased.

Dwayne Roloson joins the exclusive clubs of goalies to shut Detroit out this season. Ondrej Pavelec, Miikka Kiprusoff, Ty Conklin, Cristobal Huet, Antti Niemi, and Steve Mason. Half those goalies weren't even locks to be in the league this year. Kipper's understandable, he'll take a game or two away from you. Mason is a Calder winner currently falling apart. And I can't even think of anything mean to say about Huet that really captures how bad the guy actually is.

The praise this team gets thrown when they're winning is just utterly gone to me. I can understand slumps, I can understand getting blanked when you have so many injuries. But when you're getting healthy, and coming off a win like that, a game like this is absolutely unacceptable. Where's the leadership? Not Nick, necessarily, but it would help if he was doing anything right now. Where's the leadership by example? You get Danger Helm, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, etc., putting out great shifts every once in a while but the rest of the team just yawns on the bench, slugs some Gatorade, and gets to coast around the ice for 45 seconds a time.

Mike Babcock for Jack Adams? I'm a fan, no doubt. He's done miraculous things with such a lazy club. But what's to be said about inspiration on a team that gets blanked seven times in 45 games? Who just cannot get over that hump and win that game that puts them back into the playoff picture? Who cannot get his best players to be his best players evey night? Who refuses to break up line combinations that so obviously are falling on their faces? Who cannot for the life of him light a fire under someone who can be an elite goaltender? I'm just saying. I raved about Babcock's coaching abilities as well, last week. He's racking up too many of these throw-away garbage games to truly be the Jack Adams frontrunner. People are only bringing up that stuff after a big win. The next time that starts to happen -- think about this game. And think about the next time Detroit gets blanked by some cellar-dweller (no offense Isles, they brought it tonight, but sorry -- no Cup this year). Please someone tell me I'm overreacting. This is seven shutouts now, and there have been a few games where the team should have been shut out. I'm far more concerned with these trash losses over how badly this team can beat San Jose.

Don't get me wrong -- Chris Osgood was not at fault tonight. Wasn't great once he came in, but it wasn't the plan for him to come in. He's been sulking and moping recently, waiting for his chance. He was likely told, or probably figured out himself, that he wasn't going to start until at least the weekend. If you're gonna rile him up and get him psyched for whenever he gets a chance to prove himself, he needs time to mentally ready himself for it. Focus on the date, and nothing but that date. Not come in after Howard gets lit up. Seriously though, after each surrendered three -- is there any doubt who's in better shape mentally? Howard still made a few big saves, huge saves. Goals were the fault of the guys in front of him. Osgood didn't lose it for the team, but nothing deflates like that fourth goal. He's crushed right now, he couldn't even stop the bleeding. Howard's still the guy in my mind, but who knows what happens after they get blown out by Carolina too.

Is there even any doubt what happens from here on out? Team's going to lose to Carolina, maybe 4-1, probably drop an overtime game to Dallas on Saturday that gets people talking about how their effort level is better, and cap off the week with a 4-2 win over Chicago. Is that acceptable? Recently, to most, yes. I'm numb to it now. I'm not going to look for "turning points" or signs of optimism. Not until we crush Carolina 8-0 like we should, and come back on the Islanders to win 5-4 in overtime after falling behind 4-0. That's the thing... when the team takes a couple shots early, they completely mentally shut down. When turnovers and bad bounces happen, they just regress into "it's just not our night" crap and run out the clock. Don't care how many goals they've scored this year -- they've turned it on offensively a few times this year and they are more than capable of scoring goals in bunches.

On the bright side, if we get to the playoffs as an 8th seed I think we might be mathematically unbeatable. God willing, if we get there.

Absolute garbage. Whatever. At least Conan was funny.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believed I heard on the broadcast that Darren Helm's nickname is Danger. I know his line was on the ice, but I was talking so I didn't hear if it was Helm or Patrick Eaves. Makes much more sense to be Helm, and with that, the name Darren will never again be uttered on this blog.

I'm going bullet points on tonight's recap:

• There's just so much I can say about so many players, and I will for some of them, but I'd like to mention that the following players had their best games in a month or so, some of them for the season: Pavel Datsyuk, Valtteri Filppula, Danger Helm, Kris Draper, Patrick Eaves, Dan Cleary, Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, Doug Janik, Brad Stuart, and Mebdeech.
• I'm not sure if everyone picked up on this, but did anyone else notice they were unusually comfortable throughout the 3rd period? I think I know why that is... and I think it's called Jimmy Howard. I don't think with the Sharks' offense as lethal as it is I would have had the same feelings with Chris Osgood in net. For as much as the "luck" term was thrown around about his last game, I thought he looked super-composed tonight, hardly a terrifying moment. He's just has a few games this season where Detroit's gotten out to a lead and I've known that Howard wouldn't be giving it up, and it's been a while since I've had that feeling with a Detroit goaltender. Even Ken Daniels was talking the entire 3rd period as if Detroit was just going to coast their way to an easy win.
• I'm not sure why Abdelkader didn't play more after the first period he had, but I have two theories and their names are Brad May and Kirk Maltby. He was on the second line for a few shifts, but there just wasn't anyone playing poorly enough to get Abdelkader moved up.
  
• I know not everyone is with me that Datsyuk needs to be bringing it a little more. For the record, that's what I'm looking for from Pavel Datsyuk. Every. Night. Can you honestly say he has been?
• Henrik Zetterberg isn't on my list up there, but was definitely better in his second game back, which wasn't bad to begin with.
• Cleary shouldn't have gotten a five for that fight, he dropped one glove and just held on... Devin Setoguchi wouldn't have done that if the score wasn't 4-1, and Cleary knew it. He just let Setoguchi get his shots and and made sure that he came out on top, so he didn't get slammed on his shoulder I'd figure.
• Everyone's an optimist, everyone knows this team is going to turn it around.. so I've noticed a lot of people trying to pick games and say "this could be a turning point." Well, it's my turn this time, but I'm going to be more assertive: this game is a turning point. The best sixty-minute effort of the season. Against a red hot San Jose team. On their ice. After trailing in the first, a situation in which the Sharks had only lost once in regulation. This is going to be a huge shot of confidence for the team as injuries start to become less and less of an excuse. You could feel it on the bench, you could feel it in Dan Cleary's words after the game -- they are proud of this one.
  
• That said, there's two huge games coming up. Without actually looking up numbers, I can say pretty confidently that Detroit has a better record against teams ahead of them in the standings over teams behind them. We've got NY Islanders and Carolina this week, and things will go right back to depressing if Detroit doesn't take this effort into Long Island on Tuesday.
• Second best moment of the game (after Danger Helm) was Keating's interview with Jonathan Ericsson, which I'll describe since I know not everyone watches the Detroit broadcast, and those who do don't always watch Keating. Keating asks Ericsson about the progress of his knee, and Babcock is heard off camera saying "he's ready" as he walks past. Then a few questions later, the Wings are apparently gathered and ready to come out on the ice, someone (if I had to guess, Draper) says "woo, what a good lookin' kid" among other things I'm sure. Ericsson didn't look amused. Just thought that kind of light-heartedness on a struggling team is good to see, hope this helps the team to come together when it counts.
• On a strange note, I have to mention that for all the prospects I read about, San Jose snuck one by me with the John McCarthy that debuted for them today. I had no idea who that guy was, even though he played for Boston University. last year and I watched them at least a half-dozen times. San Jose is good at that -- finding players I've never heard of. It doesn't happen often, maybe a handful of times a year. Philadelphia and Los Angeles do it too.

I promised a few people I'd do something like this while I had time over Christmas break. Other blogs have done it already, but hey.. why not? This would have been nice to do right at midseason, but BDS is fashionably late like that, we're doing it with 43 games played instead. Check out Nightmare on Helm Street for grades on Detroit's forwards, and Gorilla Crouch for a really creative spin on what Michigan landmark best fits with each Wing. Most of them are really quite accurate, it's a great read.

I'm just going to run down the roster and try to explain a grade within two to three sentences. I know... that's a big challenge to me. Highly encourage debate/disagreement over this, really let me have it. I'm feeling argumentative today.

#3 Andreas Lilja -- INC
Whoever would have thought that people would miss Lilja so much?

#5 Nicklas Lidstrom -- B
The Perfect Human has malfunctioned at times. Noticeable changes in his play include a slower first few strides as well as a reluctance to shoot the puck. Hasn't scored in something like 636 games. Yet, when a star player comes to town, their stats at the end of the night usually read something like: 0 points, 0 shots, -3, and that's usually because of Nick Lidstrom. Best defensive defenseman in the league.

#8 Justin Abdelkader -- C+
He wasn't even supposed to be on this team this season, but he hasn't played a game outside of the NHL. He's showing great promise and has many fans excited for the future. He's had a handful of really great games where he's showing his abilities as an agitator, and he's throwing his weight around every game. He should have more offensive ability though, so his grade reflects not being able to make anything of his opportunities on the second line and powerplay.

#11 Danny Cleary -- B-
Most significant change in his game is that he's now going by the more Newfoundlandish Danny, instead of Dan. He's been disappointing in that I thought being at the Canadian Olympic camp would really help him take his game to the next level and fill the scoring void. Instead, he started the season very quietly and started coming on before he got hurt. Either way, still a great two-way player who doesn't cheat you on effort.

#13 Pavel Datsyuk -- B
I thought about going lower -- he has not lived up to Hart Trophy expectations. Has not consistently been the team's best player, troublesome in the absence of Henrik Zetterberg. It's still really hard to knock a guy who's taking the puck away from everyone whenever he feels like it, on pace to defend his reign of Selkes. Also, he's been hurt by his linemates going in and out of the lineup. But this is Pavel Datsyuk and he's capable of creating offense on his own. Some nights, it's just not there.

#14 Derek Meech -- D+
At times, he still makes you wonder why he's in the NHL. Mistakes have been few and far between, so overall there's no burning desire to just trade him away for a bag of pucks. Guy's been on the powerplay for close to a month and he has two points on the season. Meech either doesn't have the confidence or the ability to contribute, and more often than not he makes you yearn for Niklas Kronwall or Jonathan Ericsson.

#17 Patrick Eaves -- B+
No one was sure exactly what Detroit was getting with Eaves. I knew him more of a scorer from his Ottawa days, and wasn't sure what he'd have to offer in an energy role. He worked his way out of the 13th forward role and is now a regular on Detroit's 3rd line. He's quickly become one of the top penalty killers on one of the hottest PKs in the league. He's useful in the offensive zone, but the laser of a shot he shows at times leaves a desire to see it more.

#18 Kirk Maltby -- D
There was a ton of talk when Maltby quickly scored two goals to start off the year that everyone was premature in thinking Maltby should have hung them up in the offseason. Thirty-some games and one goal later, those people are nowhere to be found. The highlight of Maltby's season was how easily he was able to get under the skin of Chicago's stars, but between whistles Maltby isn't achieving much. His role in the lineup as an agitator is being filled by Justin Abdelkader, and as a penalty killer by Patrick Eaves and Darren Helm. It's hard to make a case for why he should be a regular once everyone is healthy.

#20 Drew Miller -- B+
Greeted with a chorus of "mehs" and "really?s" when he was picked off of waivers from Tampa Bay, Miller's often been a bright spot in a season that's seen more than a few trash games. Miller offers a nice blend of size, skating, and effort -- with flashes of good hands, making him the ideal fourth liner. Making his case to not be AHL fodder as was originally assumed to be the plan for him, certainly seems to be a versatile fit among the team's top 12.

#21 Ville Leino -- F
Sorry Ville, you're re-taking the class. He was on the wing of the hottest line through the pre-season, coming off a late-season stint last year that had Wings fans buzzing. He was considered to be the consolation in Detroit losing Jiri Hudler as most fans assumed he could do something similar, but that has not been the case. Leino has had a handful games where he looks like he's starting to "get it," but overall, there's been a hesitance to take the puck to the net, a Lang-esque knack for not moving his feet, and absolutely no signs of being anything close to the player who did this in his first game.

#22 Brett Lebda -- D+
Lebda gets a D+ because Derek Meech got a D+, and to me they're the exact same player -- one shape-shifting entity called Mebdeech. Lebda is a few years more experienced, but it doesn't show. Despite the rash of injuries, he still hasn't earned enough faith from Babcock to be anything but an even strength player. Like Meech, not too many terrible giveaways, but continues to struggle against bigger forwards in his own end. And when you're 5'9, just about everyone's bigger than you.

#23 Brad Stuart -- A
Stuart has been the defensive MVP of the club for being the only player to truly step up on a team that so sorely needs it. Always prone to the occasional mistake or missed coverage, Stuart has really tightened up in his own end. Only thing holding him from a 'plus' is that he's also been ineffective on the powerplay, though he hasn't looked entirely out of place.

#24 Brad May -- D-
An impressive pre-season showed a player who wanted to make the most out of every shift, protect his teammates, and throw his weight around. Then the regular season started and Brad May laughed during the middle of a fight.

#26 Jiri Hudler --

#28 Brian Rafalski -- B-
Sometime last season, likely around the time he was completely exposed by Rick Nash in an 8-2 loss, the Hockeytown faithful started to turn again Rafalski as a weak link in his own end. I believe he's really minimized his mistakes and he's again able to contain bigger forwards one-on-one. His struggles echo Lidstrom's -- he can't find the back of the net. I believe that can be fixed with just getting the puck on net instead of always looking for the "intentional miss" pass the Joe is famous for.

#30 Chris Osgoo--- WAIT!

#29 Jason Williams -- C?
It says here we brought back Jason Williams? Hm. Seriously though, Williams was alright before he shattered his leg. He didn't put up breath-taking offensive numbers, but nobody really did early on in the year. The big question was how he'd fare on the point of the powerplay, and I thought he looked pretty comfortable. Hopefully though, the emergence of Brad Stuart in this area will move Williams to the wing where he belongs.

#30 Chris Osgood -- C+
I don't believe Osgood's been as bad this season as he was at this time last year, but we're still not seeing his A-game. In the meanwhile, Osgood's lost his job as the starter and he's not getting a chance to win it back yet. Babcock's insistence on riding Jimmy Howard should say two things -- Osgood is not the definite playoff starter, and he better make the most of the opportunity to win his job back whenever he gets it. Should he turn his game around, there's no doubt he has what it takes to take Detroit deep. But unlike last year, Detroit has another option.

#32 Kris Newbury -- C-
Newbury's first game won't soon be forgotten. A penalty on the first shift, a goal coming out of the box, and a penalty on the third shift. Unfortunately, he did nothing else in his time up in Detroit. Most likely, he'll be a Griffin for the rest of the season.

#33 Kris Draper -- A-
Draper has been absolutely rejuvenated playing alongside Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves. He's found a way to become offensively relevant again, though he's cooled down recently. It looked last year like he was on his way downhill, but he's adjusted his game to the wing and provided the savvy veteran presence on Detroit's speedy checking line.

#35 Jimmy Howard -- A-
After four years of coddling in Grand Rapids, Howard was finally ready (due to being out of options) for the NHL. After a rocky first couple games where about 75% of Wings fans were ready to ship him down the river, Howard slowly began to turn around his game before catching fire in the past month. There's no doubt he's Detroit's starting goalie right now, as he states his case to be a large part of Detroit's future. The occasional weak goal, a little slow going post-to-post, and spotty rebound control, but Howard's mental game is really underrated and he finds ways to look unbeatable.

#37 Doug Janik -- C-
He's only been in 11 games, but it feels like so much more. Janik's been fine, just very unspectacular. He hasn't earned a lot of trust from Babcock, but he does kill penalties (something that's been pretty good over the span that he's been up). He just looked a little shaky sometimes when under pressure, very AHL-esque. Not the worst player that Detroit's ever had to call up from Grand Rapids though... Garrett Stafford.

#40 Henrik Zetterberg -- B+
Zetterberg is Zetterberg, and he's been very good. He's slumped, but he still finds a way to hover around that point-per-game pace. He had a streak mid-November where it looked like he was putting the team on his back, but he sort of came back down to reality after that, then got injured. Detroit's going to need to make a serious push to secure their playoff spot, and that push can be a lot easier if Z can quickly find his game.

#42 Mattias Ritola -- B-
Despite struggling in Grand Rapids, Ritola's NHL call up was relatively successful. He didn't put up any points, but he showed flashes of his high-skill level and an overall style of play that fits in with Detroit's puck possession style. It's back to Grand Rapids because of roster space, but if you asked me who I'd want in the playoffs between him and Leino, the choice is obvious.

#43 Darren Helm -- A-
The realization everyone had in the offseason was that there would be no way Darren Helm could be in playoff form for the regular season. However, through 36 games for him, he's been pretty darn close. He still hits everything he can catch (which is to say: everything), provides Detroit with timely goals, and has occasional freakishly dominant shifts. Helm is shaping up to be an impact player and a Wing for life. The only thing that needs work is that finish of his.

#44 Todd Bertuzzi -- A-
Ah yes, the ever popular Bertuzzi. He struggled mightily (understatement) at finishing early on in the season, seemingly stuck at that three goal mark forever. Overnight, he rocketed up to 12 goals with a dominant December performance -- showing shades of a Bertuzzi in his mid-20s. He hasn't quite found a way to bring it every night, but he's won a handful of games by himself. He's not eating up a lot of cap room and he's producing offense. He's still racking up about a half-dozen scoring chances each game, some from Datsyuk, some on his own doing. The finish is still a work in progress, but if December Bertuzzi is truly a sign of things to come, Detroit's got themselves a steal of a top six winger. I'm still convinced anyone who's not happy with his play is someone who had a personal problem with him going into it, which is understandable... but if I had the choice, I'd take those half-dozen scoring chances over none at all. Didn't think we could be picky when we're tied for last in the conference in goals for.

#46 Jakub Kindl -- C+
Kindl finally got his taste of the NHL level this season, and he looked pretty good doing it. He was a -2 through no fault of his own really, and even got some time across from Nicklas Lidstrom on the top powerplay unit. He looked a bit nervous in his stint, but he does move the puck extremely well. He'll be on the team next year full-time, and, if he had an opportunity to do it, I'm confident he could force his way into the lineup as Detroit's #6 for the playoffs.

#51 Valtteri Filppula -- B+
Another player who's missed a large chunk of time. I felt that he was Detroit's most consistent forward through the early going. He always seemed to be around the net getting all kinds of chances, just not scoring, although he was playing with Ville Leino. To me, Filppula still has the tools, and the smarts, to take his game to the next level, and it's just a matter of waiting for him to get there.

#52 Jonathan Ericsson -- C
The only player who disappointed more than Leino in the early going was Ericsson, who just couldn't seem to do anything right in the first 15 games or so. The wise-beyond-his years rookie that we saw in the playoffs was somehow gone, and what was left was a turnover machine who was easily beatable to the outside. I thought he really started to bring it together after that, but then Shane Doan happened. I still think he should be seeing less PK minutes and more PP minutes (he can shoot, if you haven't noticed) would fit him a little bit better. Certainly, I think many fans are looking forward to his return.

#55 Niklas Kronwall -- A-
It's a pretty sorry thing that Kronwall hasn't played for a month but still leads Detroit's defensemen in goals. He really looked like he was taking his game to the next level, and was even playing really well in his own end. Many still think of Lidstrom and Rafalski as the top defensemen on this team, but Kronwall and Stuart are just entering the primes of their careers. Once Kronwall gets healthy, big minutes will be in store.

#93 Johan Franzen -- A+++++++++++
I miss him so much.

#96 Tomas Holmstrom -- A
Inexplicably, Holmstrom was nearly useless in the playoffs. This was another big offseason question -- was that just the product of being way too banged up, or was he really losing his gift. Many were wondering just how long he could play, as his game is much more physically demanding than anyone else's on the team. He put that talk to rest quickly, scoring pretty consistently over the course of the season. A big loss for Detroit over the next month.

Coaching -- A
How this team isn't miles out of a playoff spot right now is beyond me -- the Jack Adams is Mike Babcock's to lose if he can get Detroit in the 3-5 range through the second half. Even Brad McCrimmon, who was under fire last year as the guy who took over the PK and defense (Paul MacLean moved up to coach the forwards when Todd McLellan left -- I still see people thinking that McLellan coached the defense) now has one of the hottest PKs in the league. The powerplay has sputtered some, but given the firepower missing through free agency and injuries, Detroit's 111 goals are somewhat acceptable, so long as the defense is holding ground.

Being part of the Bloguin network is great, because I get ACCESS. Not access in the way certain Wild bloggers have paraded around with in the past few weeks, but access to other bloggers. Particularly, very knowledgable and passionate bloggers from all over the country. So far I've dropped the ball in organizing collaborations with other Bloguinites, but I forget how fun these are to do. Let me know what you think of this feature, and you'll likely see more of it in the feature.

The Wings are in Los Angeles tonight, so, conveniently, I'm sitting down with the resident Kings blogger, Chris from The Royal Half. Chris is a diehard Kings fan -- having held half season tickets for the past seven years -- seven years that have not been kind to Los Angeles. In my eyes, the Kings are the most overlooked franchise in the NHL. Even being in the Western Conference, I just don't feel like we play Los Angeles as much as we do other times, though in fact we do. The Kings have been one of the major surprises in the NHL in the first half, and, being the investigative journalist that I am, I wanted to find out why. Here's my half of the interview located at The Royal Half, and here's what I found out through my intensive questioning:

1) Anze Kopitar. In my mind, the best player that nobody's talking about. A hot start this season, but cooled down a bit since then. He's still young, but talk about where his game is at right now and whether you think he should start being named alongside the NHL's elite.

I watched the Wings tonight. I'm not impressed. I'm not mad either. I'll write about that tomorrow, but right now I wanted to take some time to dedicate a proper acknowledgement of 22 American men who did their country proud tonight.

Of course, I'm talking about the World Junior Championship. I've talked about this, and I can tell by the reception it got in the comments that's clearly not why people come to this blog. I tried my best to convert as many people as I could as I raved about the quality of the tournament and the excitement it guarantees, but again, I'm not sure how I did. I hope that anyone who watched tonight, by my recommendation or not (American or Canadian, for that matter) was able to appreciate the spectacle we witnessed.

To put my own spin on it, I've watched this tournament a while. Before the days of internet streaming video, I was able to catch the 2004 tournament on ESPN. I think they actually aired the gold medal game after they found out the US won. They aired the tournament the following year, when it was held in North Dakota, but the US was pretty disappointing, and the tournament went the way of hockey as a whole in 2005. I suffered through choppy online streams and sometimes days late torrents to get my fix for the few tournaments after that, before the NHL Network picked up the tournament last season.

Meanwhile, while I've gone through what I consider to be a lot of work (I'm a lazy person) just for a tournament, Canada has absolutely dominated. Since the US beat them that one year, Canada has lost exactly one tournament game, taking five straight gold medals along the way. Surely, it's deserved. Despite always having their best players unavailable due to being in the NHL, they find a way to stack their lineup. Most of all, they find a way to really step up in the national spotlight. Canada views this tournament more as a rite of passage than just a tournament, and, evident through the kind of crowds they get when they host the tournament, they're very passionate. I really think that having the whole nation behind them has allowed them to play at a level that no other country can attain.

But the Americans have put out some quality teams as well. The problem, in my eyes, has always been motivation. The United States has played Canada tight, putting out some legendary games. But usually once they lose to Canada, in heart-breaking fashion, they're totally mentally out of it and lose to some country they have no business losing to. After last year's disaster, when I first saw the evaluation roster for the United States I wasn't feeling too confident. They lacked a lot of high end talent, and I felt Canada, Russia, and Sweden to be teams they would have a hard time dealing with.

This year was a different story. The team worked hard all tournament, and didn't take their foot of the gas of any opponent. They met Canada on New Year's Eve, in a game that I was too thrilled with to even care about the outcome. All that was at stake was a first round bye. The United States had to meet Finland and Sweden to get to the gold medal game, while Canada only had to dispatch the upset-loving Swiss, who had taken out the Russians. Most of all I knew it would light a fire under the Americans. I can't even imagine where we'd be right now had America won that game, with the Canadians the ones coming out with something to prove.

As great as that game was, this was better. The pace of the entire game was insane, to the point where you were constantly thinking neither team would be able to manage for a full sixty minutes (and then some, as it turned out). The story of the first two periods was goaltending, though, as neither team could figure out what their goalies were doing in net. For the Americans, Mike Lee lasted three goals, two along the ice and one up and over his back, before coach Dean Blais decided he'd seen enough. For the Canadians, Jake Allen was beat up high twice in two shots, on an untipped screened slapshot from the point, another no-faulter on a two-one-one capitalized by Jerry D'Amigo, and the blooper of the tournament as he misplayed a high flip shot into the hands of American captain Derek Stepan, who quickly put a backhand shot into an empty net. Canadian coach Willie Desjardins (former junior coach of Darren Helm) replaced him as well, midway through the third period.

The change wasn't the demise of either. Jack Campbell, who has Michigan ties as a Port Huron-native, but also as another in the growing list of players to spurn the University of Michigan for major junior hockey, came in cold during a 3-3 game and was instantly under duress. He didn't look completely composed out there at all times, but you have to admire the mental game of a 17-year-old (in a tournament for 19-year-olds) to come in and play like he did, in front of the largest crowd he's likely ever played against (who are jeering him constantly), just six days after having played against Canada as they mounted their first amazing comeback of the tournament. Campbell faced a barrage of shots to close the second period and open the third, but found himself sitting on a 5-3 lead with under three minutes left.

And then, Jordan Eberle happened. Eberle was Canada's top player this tournament, but he isn't of the same caliber as the Sidney Crosbys and John Tavareses who have led Canada in the past. Eberle is certainly a talented sniper, and he established himself in this tournament as possibly being the most clutch player of all time. Last year, Eberle brought Canada out of the depths of elimination, tying up a game against the Russians with just five seconds left in regulation to eventually send Canada to the gold medal game. Eberle scored the first of the two goals to tie up the game against the Americans on New Year's Eve (giving him two on the game) as well as one of the shootout goals. Tonight, Eberle tallied not one, but two goals in something like a minute and a half -- in the last three minutes of the game -- to send 15,000-something rabid Saskatoonians into a frenzy. Campbell buried his face in his gloves, and you just knew there was no way the States could come out with the gold. The "right spot, right time" of this guy honestly can just make you sick. If you saw this stuff in a movie you'd turn it off for being so outlandishly ridiculous.

Overtime. In Canada. Winners of five straight championships. Having blown a two-goal third period lead. For the second time in a week. Having changed your goalie already. Having three players who played in this tournament last year. Looking absolutely lifeless on the bench coming out for overtime. You've seen this script before, no? It's just not possible in sports to not just emotionally shut down after witnessing a finish like regulation had in this one.

I'd like to embed full highlights, but they're not available yet unless you like people filming their TVs with camera phones while talking over the audio. For quality's sake, sit through the ad and check out the six minutes of highlights on TSN.ca.

It's games like these that continue to amaze me about the state of the game in this country. I don't know how you couldn't sit down the "casual American" with even the shortest of attention spans and not have them entertained. Without even needing to know anything about the players, the stakes, the history, or anything like that, you could appreciate the back and forth war that this game was. We're five days in, but I guarantee you when the intersphere or whatever it'll be called then looks back on this decade, this will be among the decade's best.

Junior hockey is clearly something native to Canada. It's got little hotbeds in different areas of the country -- having gone to so many Plymouth Whalers games as a kid is likely a big reason why I care about this tournament -- but it will never be anything compared to Canada. As this is a junior hockey tournament, it's understandable that it just isn't certain people's forte. It's a strange feeling knowing that 22 Americans have worked their tails off for their whole life to be involved in something like this, and then pushed themselves even more for two weeks to get over the final hurdle, and 99.9% of the country will have no idea. Tomorrow in every paper in Canada, this game will get front page news. In America, nothing. It's already been established on Twitter that the headline did make the front page of ESPN.com for about two hours, but was down by 2 AM. I'd wager that the Detroit Free Press might mention the game (in the "other notes" section after the out-of-town NHL scores), but still, it's recognition that doesn't fit the magnitude of the accomplishment.

And that's just the way it is. Since my grasp of the inner-workings of the tournament was not as detailed in 2004, I am absolutely thrilled to have seen the US capture gold again. Even if Canada's going to win the next five again, I'm thrilled that at least one time, the underdogs came out on top. I just wanted to say my piece before resuming regular posting patterns tomorrow. For all the work these 22 put on, I figure they deserve some kind of thanks.

Only 354 more days until the tournament kicks off again. This year, on home soil in Buffalo, New York. I hear it's nice this time of year, maybe I should fly out and experience the tournament live.

Two quick notes before the game tonight just because I can. Well, first I suppose it's worth noting that Ville Leino did indeed play his way out of the lineup and Rad Bray May is in again. As much as I dislike Leino's disappearing act, I give the decision a thumbs down. Leino needs to be sent the message, so I suppose it's ok that he comes out again. But if I had the choice of giving eight minutes of ice time per game to someone who might have a slim (we're talking super-slim) chance of being a useful NHL player, or someone who has not been a useful NHL player for about five years, it's an easy decision. If the press box doesn't wake up Leino, I really think the only thing you can do with him (until others get healthy) is just throw him in the lineup and let him know that if he doesn't get it together within two weeks he's done in the NHL.

However, we're talking prospects today. Brian Lashoff, who's struggled in his past two games after looking so composed in his first three, is going for gold tonight, as the United States is getting another shot at taking down Canada. Canada has won five straight gold medals, last beaten in 2004 when the United States took them down in the gold medal game. The US usually has a talented team, but seem to have major problems getting motivated for teams that aren't located in Canada. This year, while they lack true top end talent, they have a great blend of solid players who will populate the third and fourth lines of tomorrow. They work hard, and they're going to come out flying against Canada. Should be a great game. That starts at 8PM on NHL Network. I highly recommend that if you have a DVR you put the Wings on hold. Even if you don't have a DVR... it might be worth missing ten minutes of the first. You'll probably only miss one or two Corey Perry cheapshots.

Keep in mind, the two teams are just six days removed from this epic showdown:

Also, there was a pretty major blockbuster trade today in the OHL between Belleville and the defending Memorial Cup champions, Windsor. In the seven player trade, Detroit prospect Stephen Johnston was moved to Windsor, in a move that's likely going to make or break his professional career. Windsor is again the favorite from the OHL to represent the league in the Memorial Cup. Johnston, ranked 26 in the last prospect rankings (where I also predicted the trade to a contender, score), had been limited this season because of some major injury issues, but shouldn't be out too much longer.

Johnston gives Windsor a bit of veteran leadership, as he was in the Memorial Cup alongside then teammate Jan Mursak in 2007-08 with Belleville. He was just 17 then, so he didn't play a big role but he looked very comfortable as a checker. That may be the role he gets in Windsor as well, but with their excessively talented offense, he's going to pick up points anyway. It's a great move for him as he just didn't break out the way Detroit expected him to in Belleville. He is the lone Detroit prospect that needs an NHL contract this summer for Detroit to hold his rights, and he likely was not on pace for that in Belleville. A change of scenery might be all he needs, as his speed, hands, and size really should be leading to more success in the OHL.

That's it. More later after the Wings game.

I thought of that one in the theatre. I was really proud of it. Then I thought about how nerdy I am.

First:

I've gotta get my necessary WJC promotion out of the way. I've stated my case for why this tournament is some of the best hockey you've ever seen. The NHL Network actually does a decent job covering the tournament and even not always stealing TSN's feeds, so I'm sure most that actually care have been watching. But if you still "meh" this tournament, just watch that video. All the "end of decade" lists out there are now out of date, because December 31, 2009 between Canada and the United States was easily one of the ten best games I've seen all decade. A second straight legendary New Year's Eve clash between the two countries, great stuff. I'm not even upset with the outcome. Best part is the only thing at stake for this game was a bye for tomorrow's quarterfinal games. Can't imagine what happens when a medal is on the line.

To gradually segue that into Wings-talk, prospect Brian Lashoff is on the USA roster. He started with a really limited role, and this game really vaulted him into the top US shutdown defender role. He had the task of going head to head with Canada's most explosive offensive threat (not that they don't have a full roster of explosive offensive threats) in Taylor Hall, who he was able to keep off the scoresheet. He made several really nice defensive plays in the first two periods. I didn't notice him as much in the third, but I wasn't really looking for him since I was so busy trying to keep my organs from exploding out of my body. The game was that good.

The States take on Finland in quarterfinal action tomorrow. Tomas Tatar and his band of Slovakians haven't nearly had the success of last year, when they finished 4th. Slovakia will take on Austria tomorrow to stay out of the relegation pool. Slovakia is a big favorite there, it'd be embarrassing if they were relegated over Austria. Andrej Nestrasil and the Czech Republic also play in the relegation game, against Latvia. That's probably even more unlikely to be an upset.

Speaking of the States (two for two on the segues tonight), the Winter Classic occurred and that was another fairly epic game. After the match, Team USA was announced via a group of confused looking children wearing defective jerseys. Brian Rafalski made the team as expected, but Jonathan Quick beat out Jimmy Howard for the third string goalie spot. Jimmy certainly did his part making the decision hard -- I don't think anybody felt he'd get considered for that spot at the beginning of the year. After the game, Brian Burke commented that goaltending was the easiest spot to pick for the team, except for the 3rd string. Hopefully that's a nod that he at least acknowledged that Jimmy exists. The final count is seven Olympians, plus a random obscure prospect. Not bad for a team supposedly lacking depth.

Onto the game, I'll keep it short. It was easily the best game of the year for two Wings: Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk.

Helm actually finally finished. Way overdue for how many chances he generates for himself. It's pretty obvious that Helm's never going to be a sniper, but learning two or three breakaway moves isn't going to hurt him. In an ideal world, he ends up as something between a Kris Draper and Dan Cleary in terms of that category. While he does have two 15 goal seasons (and two more 14 goal seasons), Draper's never been known for his silky hands and is pretty famous for hitting goalies right in the chest regularly on breakaways. Helm has definitely showed some signs of that. Cleary also really had no finish in his first season as a Wing, when he was just a 4th liner, despite the chances he was able to consistently generate for himself. I'm still holding out hope that maybe Helm will just "get it" once he gets more ice time, and goals like his first one solidify that hope. But who knows? Draper certainly scored some big goals in his career, so that would be more than suitable as well.

And Datsyuk finally delivered like I knew he could. On the last podcast, I called Datsyuk out for just not being that "Hart Trophy" quality player we saw last year, despite the fact that he was still really good (and has probably been better in December than November). He was just lacking in the offensive zone over the past few weeks. He just wasn't making anyone look really silly, he was passing up shots he'd been taking the past few years, and he was uncharacteristically turning over too many pucks at the blueline. But I felt like he was out there every other shift last night, doin' that Datsyuk thing he does. The goal was as much a sigh of relief as Helm's, which says something for the Todd Bertuzzi dominated times we live in. A quick double hesitation before launching a laser past Craig Anderson. That's definitely a shot he hadn't been taking recently.

I suppose the last thing worth noting is new blogosphere whipping boy Ville Leino has had enough of that moniker. Even before his goal, he was much less invisible. He seems refreshed and the benching did him well. Noticed him actually moving his feet with the puck and even driving hard to the net a few times. A few people gave him some groans for his comments after being benched, how just "working hard" isn't a payoff for him, and he needs to score goals. I don't think he meant as much by those comments as people interpret. Because he's not a fourth liner player. He's going to be a top six forward in the next two years, whether that's in Detroit or Europe is for him to decide. As long as he plays smart and is willing to pay the price, he can do that in Detroit. But the moment he slips out of that and starts coasting around the ice for 15 minutes a night... well, let's just say I'll live up to my New Year's resolution.

Phoenix is tomorrow to kick off a road trip. While Detroit usually prefers to lose a few games on the trip in dramatic fashion, this one has all the makings of a season-turning event, with so many players ready to come back from injury during it. The news heading into tomorrow is Patrick Eaves will step in for Brad May (but who will carefully stage a fight with Paul Bissonnette?). On the injury front, it doesn't look like Jason Williams will return on the trip, and just because everyone was feeling so optimistic, it's out today that Niklas Kronwall might be out an extra couple of days as well. So think about that the next time you want to feel hopeful or so much as smile about hockey.

That's just 2009 kicking the city of Detroit one more time in the junk before it leaves uncooperatively. Twenty-ten, in addition to being much more fun to say, promises new beginnings. Good karma. Good hockey gods. Good energy. Writing that reminded me of this clip. I think this should be Detroit's official mantra for 2010. All good things.