Red Wings Limp Home After Getting Spanked Out West
October 22, 2006
By
James Meyerriecks
As your blogger/columnist throughout the NHL season, I'm coming to realize that following the NHL throughout the year is even more fun and exciting when I'm getting the chance to write about it on a daily basis. I'll be continuing to load us up with content daily both at NZT and FIC all year.
However, as this is the first season that we're covering hockey all season long (well... err.... at all?) at FIC, this is something that I'm hopeful will evolve throughout the year. Starting next week, rather than running the traditional gameday threads that I've been running throughout the first couple of weeks during the season, we're going to be running divisional content, spotlighting one division a night throughout the week. We'll also be adding a "Plus Play" each night which will note a skater and/or goaltender that has a favorable matchup coming up!
After winning the President's Trophy last season, many figured that the window was still a long way from closing on the Detroit Red Wings. However, after they earned seven points in four games following their opening night loss to the Canucks, the Wings were absolutely pummeled by three of the better teams in the Western Conference.
Detroit opened their four-game road trip out west with a 3-1 win over the Kings, but have struggled to get much of anything going since. After getting pounded by Anaheim (4-1) and San Jose (5-1) on Wednesday and Thursday, they took a trip up north to face the team that sent them spiraling out of the playoffs Saturday night. They would leave Rexall Place with the same hollow feeling that they left with last April.
In what was a battle of goaltenders for much of the game, Dwayne Roloson outdueled Dominik Hasek 3-1 as the Oilers took home the win. Though the teams combined for just one goal in the first 51 minutes, a late flurry gave the fans in Edmonton quite a jolt. After Danny Markov made a vicious hit midway through the third period, Pavel Datsyuk broke in alone on Roloson and nearly deked him out of his skates, burying a wrister underneath Rolo's left pad to knot the game at one. However, Detroit's momentum would not last.
The Oilers answered quickly, re-claiming the lead just two minutes later when rookie Ladislav Smid (currently known as that other guy the Oilers received in the Chris Pronger trade) showcased the skills that made him a top ten overall pick just a few years ago. Smid split a pair of Red Wings' defensemen with a beautiful breakout pass to Petr Sykora, who moved in alone on Dominik Hasek and beat him over his left pad. Joffrey Lupul (the key piece of the Pronger trade) would add his third goal of the season just two minutes later, taking a nice flip pass from Daniel Tjarnqvist to earn a breakaway of his own. Lupul went the embarassing route, beating Hasek five-hole to essentially put the game away.
All in all, Detroit was outscored 13-6 in going 1-3 on the road trip, with the only win coming against a team that probably won't figure in the playoff mix. The Wings now face a crucial early-season stretch, as they'll come home to face the Sharks again before heading back out on the road to face the red-hot Dallas Stars. Two games later, they'll be hosting Calgary, another one of the favorites to win the conference. Even rival St. Louis seems to be playing fairly well early on, and isn't a gimme in the middle of those three.
Could we be staring at a 3-8-1 Red Wings team before they've even faced the team that figures to be their main competition in the Central (Nashville)? It's doubtful, but they're definitely going to have to take advantage of the home cooking to get the ball rolling. Six goals in four games simply doesn't get it done in this league anymore.
Around the League
- Brendan Shanahan notched his eighth goal of the year and later scored the only goal of the shootout in the Rangers' 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Michael Nylander scored and added two assists for the Rangers, while Jaromir Jagr had two helpers. Darcy Tucker scored twice for the Leafs.
- Jose Theodore probably never wants to return home again, as he was lit up for 8 goals on 36 shots in Colorado's 8-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Sheldon Souray finished with a four point night, scoring two goals in the Habs' victory, while Saku Koivu and Andrei Markov each had three assists. Michael Ryder, Sergei Samsonov, and Mike Johnson finished with a goal and an assist apiece. Andrew Brunette lit the lamp twice for the Avs, but they simply couldn't overcome a shoddy homecoming performance by Theo.
- The Sabres continued to tear up the league with a 6-2 thrashing of the Boston Bruins. Buffalo, now 8-0, got a pair of goals from Chris Drury, while they also saw Maxim Afinogenov (1G-1A) and Thomas Vanek (1-2) extend their multi-point game streaks to four and three, respectively. Brian Campbell tossed in three assists from the blue line, while Boston rookie Phil Kessel scored his first NHL goal in the loss. Martin Biron spelled Ryan Miller for Buffalo, and stopped 24 shots as he improved to 2-0 on the year.
- Marian Hossa scored twice to claim the NHL scoring lead with nine as the Atlanta Thrashers beat the Florida Panthers 4-2. Hossa mixed it up a bit, scoring a pair of non-traditional goals. He started the scoring early in the second, burying a penalty shot against Florida goalie Alexander Auld, and added an empty-net tally to seal the deal with just three seconds to play. Ilya Kovalchuk added his second of the year, netting the game-winner early in the third for Atlanta. Old man Joe Nieuwendyk scored his third of the year on the Power Play for Florida.
- The Ottawa Senators finally showed some life (and then some), spanking the New Jersey Devils so badly that the Devils had to pull the best goaltender in the world. The scary part is that it wasn't the usual suspects who were doing the damage for the Sens, as they'd switched their lines a bit the other day. Antoine Vermette and Dean McCammond scored twice each as the Sens pasted the Devils 8-1. Jason Spezza added a goal and two assists, temporarily relieving some concerns about his balky back, while Dany Heatley and Joe Corvo each added a goal and a helper. Brian Gionta remained red hot, scoring New Jersey's lone goal to tie the game at 1 midway through the first. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur stopped just 20 of 26 shots before getting pulled late in the second. Ray Emery was brilliant on the other end of the ice, turning away 34 of 35 shots.
- Tom Poti scored 23 seconds into overtime as the New York Islanders beat John Grahame and the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. The fifteen-year man, Rick DiPietro, did his best to silence the critics with a strong big-game performance, turning away 37 of 40 shots he faced from the defending champs. Speaking of ridonculous contracts, Alexei Yashin had a pretty big game himself, assisting on all four Islander goals. Poti complemented his goal with a pair of assists in regulation. Justin Williams scored twice for the 'Canes, while captain Rod Brind'amour added a goal and two assists. Eric Staal and Ray Whitney saw their point-scoring streaks halted at four games for Carolina.
- Roberto Luongo made 37 saves and Lukas Krajicek scored 2:32 into overtime as the Vancouver Canucks downed the Nashville Predators 4-3. Brendan Morrison completed the Canucks' second third-period comeback in a row with his second goal of the season at 18:20 of the third. Jan Bulis had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, while Preds' rookie Alexander Radulov made his NHL debut in the loss. Rookie defenseman Shea Weber had a pair of assists for Nashville.
- Lee Stempniak had a pair of goals and an assist in Chicago as the St. Louis Blues beat the Blackhawks 4-3. Stempniak scored for the second straight night, continuing his hot start, and seems like a legit breakout candidate playing on a powerful line with Peter Cajanek and Keith Tkachuk. Curtis Sanford started for the second straight night for St. Louis, and may start pushing Manny Legace for some more playing time after consecutive quality starts. Michal Handzus gave one of his former teams fits, scoring and adding a helper for Chicago. Radim Vrbata also got on the scoresheet with an early goal. Vrbata has now scored at least one point in seven of eight games this season. The 'Hawks were without Martin Havlat Saturday, who will be out for the next two to three weeks after spraining his right ankle Friday night.
- The rookies were on display in Pittsburgh as the Penguins defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3. Evgeni Malkin scored his third goal in as many games, netting his first career game-winner seven minutes into the third period. Jordan Staal scored his second of the game and third of the season on a penalty shot just 45 seconds later to ice the game for the Pens. Jackets' rookie Gilbert Brule notched his first of the season to get Columbus on the board late in the first. Nikolai Zherdev finished with a goal and an assist for the Jackets, while Sergei Gonchar and Michel Ouellet did likewise for the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury continued to look strong, stopping 36 of 39 shots to improve to 4-3 with a 2.76 GAA.
- Stars' rookie Mark Smith stopped all 22 shots he faced and Dallas used a balanced scoring attack for the second straight night as they shut out the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0. Mike Modano, Mike Ribeiro, and Phillipe Boucher each scored for the second straight night for Dallas, who will return home to start a four game homestand Monday.
- Though star winger Marian Gaborik was out with a strained groin, the Wild didn't need him in San Jose. Minnesota took it to the Sharks 4-1 Saturday night as they beat Evgeni Nabokov four times on just eighteen shots. Though San Jose heavily outshot Minnesota, the Wild controlled the game from the outset, striking almost immediately in the first period when Mark Parrish buried a slapper from the slot 2:31 in. Though the style of the NHL has changed, the Wild still find ways to lull you to sleep a bit when they have the lead, and did so throughout. Manny Fernandez made sure that the lead would stand, stopping 31 of the 32 shots he faced. He lost his shutout with just over six minutes to go, and the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt. Brian Rolston scored his team-leading sixth goal of the year in the victory, while Stephane Veilleux added a goal and an assist. Patrick Marleau scored the Sharks' lone goal late in the third. Gaborik is expected to be re-evaluated Sunday in the Twin Cities.
James Meyerriecks has been actively involved at FIC since its inception in 2001, and has been writing The Hook throughout the MLB season since 2002. This season, he'll be tackling a weekly hockey column, The Blue Line, as well as a semi-weekly blog called Neutral Zone Trap. He's also represented FIC in a handful of Experts Leagues over the past three seasons and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.
Feature Articles 
Also, more major props on benching Theodore for last night's game...that, along with Nabby's poor showing probably swung most of the goaltender categories your way :-(