Red Wings' goalie Jimmy Howard is a possible candidate to play for Team USA in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Photo by MPR529.

Jimmy Howard and the rest of his Detroit Red Wings’ teammates were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 20, but that hasn’t stopped Howard from continuing his season by representing his country.

Howard is currently the number one man between the pipes as a member of Team USA in the 2012 IIHF World Hockey Championships, which is held in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.  He has back stopped the Americans to five wins (four in regulation, one in overtime) in the tournament and has a 2.16 goals against average and a .918 save percentage, including an 18-save performance in a shutout win against the defending champions, Finland this past Sunday.

Before he missed three weeks with a broken left pinky on February 2, Howard was among the top three goalies in the NHL and was having an all-star season, possibly on his way to a Vezina Trophy nomination (31 wins, 2.03 gaa, .924 save percentage in 44 games). However, his game went a tad south when he returned. Howard still finished the regular season with more than respectable numbers: 35-17-4,  2.12 goals against average, .920 save percentage and six shutouts (five before the finger injury).

Since the US has advanced to the quarter-finals (starting with a rematch with Finland tomorrow morning), Howard’s next games in the tournament will help further his resumé in the international hockey scene. If Howard and the rest of the Americans take home at least a bronze medal this weekend, Howard could better his chances of receiving a ticket to Sochi.

He has looked good during the tournament and is getting a small sample size of what it will be like against the world’s best in the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics, which is only 21 months away and will be held in Sochi, Russia. That is, if there is a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL, NHLPA and the IIHF (the current CBA expires September 15), but I’m going to assume that all parties will work something out, which is why I’m writing this blog.

As of  right now, Los Angeles Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick is making a case as the best goalie in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If he takes the Kings to the Cup Finals and makes life difficult for either the New Jersey Devils or New York Rangers, he could end up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP. As for regular season hardware, he’s my choice for the Vezina Trophy, and he’s got the numbers to show it (35-21-13, 1.95 gaa , .929 sp, 10 shutouts).

Since teams in the Olympics are required to carry three goalies, another name who could also be given a ticket to Sochi is Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks. His spectacular play this past regular season (20-9-1, 1.96 gaa, .937 sp, 3 shutouts) is forcing the hand of the Canucks’ front office to ship Roberto Luongo out of Vancouver.

Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres is another American-born goalie that shouldn’t be counted out. It was over two years ago when he played the best hockey of his career and everyone took notice when he played at the Winter Games in Vancouver. Even though the US lost to Canada in overtime, Miller backstopped his team to a silver medal and was the MVP of the tournament. His numbers in Vancouver were jaw-dropping: 5-0-1, 1.35 gaa, .946 sp.

The downside on Miller is that there were two different players wearing #30 for the Sabres last season. The first #30 was 5-6-0 in 11 games with a 2.86 gaa before suffering a concussion when he had his bell rung by Boston Bruins’ forward Milan Lucic in early November. After he returned to the lineup, he eventually tightened his game and played like the Ryan Miller that we’re accustomed to seeing and finished with a record of 31-21-7 with a 2.54 gaa, .916 sp and six shutouts. Two knocks are against him—his inconsistent play last year and his age (he’ll be on the south side of 33 by the time the 2014 Olympics will start).

Now, I’m not saying that being 33 is old for a hockey player. It’s not, but Howard, Quick and Schneider will be 29, 28, and 27 respectively by the time the Winter Games start. By then, they’ll still be in the prime of their of their careers.

I would expect Howard to return to pre-injury mode for the Red Wings next season. And if he has another all-star season, his stock will soar even higher for making the cut as one of the three goalies headed to Sochi. If USA Hockey decides to select three out of Howard, Schneider, Quick or Miller, they will have an advantage over the rest of the teams (including Canada) when it comes down to goaltending.

Imagine being a fly in the wall inside the room where the selection process will take place. If he returns as general manager of Team USA, Brian Burke will have some very difficult decisions to make. The goaltending situation will be the most tasking.

Red Wing fans, whether he starts or is behind the bench, what do you think of the idea of Jimmy Howard representing the US in 2014?

New Jersey Devils' forward Zach Parise will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Photo by rubyswoon

The first day of NHL free agency begins on July 1, which is just weeks away, and expect the Detroit Red Wings to be in the middle of it all. Without a doubt, this will be the most crucial off-season in some time. The last time that the Red Wings struck it rich was in the summer of 2001 and we all know what happened.

The Red Wings added more talent to their already star-ladened squad when they went “Stanley Cup or Bust,” trading for All-World goalie Dominik Hasek and signing free agents Brett Hull and Luc Robitalle. The end result: the 2001-02 Red Wings, who are among the greatest teams in NHL history, skated their way to their third Cup in six seasons.

Now I’m not saying that they they will go for players that have the talent of Hull and Robitaille, whom are both Hall of Famers (Hasek will be elected in his first year of eligibility). Times have changed since 2001, especially with all 30 teams under the salary cap. The Red Wings have plenty of cap room and are in line to land two or three key free agents.

New Jersey Devils forward and team captain, Zach Parise, should also be on the Red Wings’ radar. Parise will be the head of the 2012 free agent class as he will be on the open market July 1. He would be a more-than welcomed addition to any NHL club.  Besides, imagine Parise playing on a line with Pavel Datsyuk; not a bad one-two punch, eh?

As much as I want to think that Parise will come to Detroit and play for the Red Wings, there is a red flag. The problem is that his Devils are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers. His stock has risen dramatically in the playoffs, especially against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he excelled on both sides of the ice. If he leads the Devils to the Stanley Cup, I see the chances of him signing with the Red Wings between slim and none. Slim will leave the building if Commissioner Gary Bettman tells Parise to come and get the Cup. If the Devils are eliminated by the Rangers, expect the Red Wings’ front office to open up the checkbook and say to Camp Parise, “How much?”.

This will be a crucial off-season for Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland. Team Captain Nicklas Lidstrom remains undecided if he will return for his 21st NHL season and it’s Holland’s job to not start a domino effect if Lidstrom retires. Whenter or not Lidstrom comes back, if Holland signs Parise and makes serious pitches to Ryan Suter and maybe Alexander Semin, the Red Wings are back in business to make a run at another Stanley Cup. What do you think?

Here is the leader-board through the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs:

1) Woodward –> 9-for-12

2) Philp –> 6-for-12

3) Levin –> 2-for-4

4) Muscat –> 6-for-12

5) Cohen –> 5-for-12

Eastern Conference

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Devils’ Record-Breaking Penalty Kill vs. Rangers’ Lifeless Power-Play

Philp– Devils win in 7. X-Factor –> Martin Brodeur

Muscat– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Rangers’ Third Line

Levin– Devils win in 7 . X-Factor –> Adam Henrique

Woodward– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> New York’s Power-Play

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen–  Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Mike Smith vs. Jonathan Quick: Who Cracks First?

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Muscat– Kings win in 5. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Levin– Kings win in 6. X-Factor –> Drew Doughty

Woodward– Kings win in 6. X-Factor –>Mike Richards/Jeff Carter Line

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen (Edit #2)– Rangers Over Kings

Philp (Edit #2)– Devils Over Coyotes

Muscat (Edit #2)– Rangers Over Kings

Levin–                    Devils Over Kings

Woodward (Edit #1)– Kings Over Rangers

Conn Smythe Award

Cohen– Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

Philp– Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils)

Muscat– Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

Levin– Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils)

Woodward– Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)

Pavel Datsyuk will play in his fifth IIHF World Championship tournament. Photo by Patxi64.

The Detroit Red Wings’ season ended a couple of weeks ago, but it won’t stop them from taking a trip to Europe. No, they won’t be taking a Griswold Family Vacation, but they will be lacing up the skates once again in the upcoming  IIHF World Championship to be held in Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland.

Several Red Wing players will play for their respective countries in the tournament, which starts this Friday and concludes with the semifinals and medal round games in Helsinki on May 19-20.

Playing in the tournament is the next best thing for the players who aren’t currently in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For some of the Red Wing players who will take part, the opportunity to play for their country at this time of the year doesn’t come that often.

Valtteri Filppula hopes to continue his play from the regular season as he represents Finland, who are the defending champions. This is the first World Championships for Filppula, who represented his country in the 2002 World Under-18 Championships and is also a two-time participant in the World Junior Championships (2003, 2004).

Pavel Datsyuk is arguably one of the best all-around players in the world. Not only has Datsyuk displayed his skills for the Red Wings, he has also showcased his talents by playing for his home country, Russia. Datsyuk played in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and is a three-time participant of the Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010).  In 29 World Championship games, Datsyuk registered 10 goals and 13 assists and will make his fifth appearance in the tournament.

Even though Tomas Tatar is only 21 years old and a top-five prospect in the Red Wings’ organization, this will be the second time that he will play for Slovakia in the World Championships. He looks to improve his stats from last year’s tournament, where registered two goals in six games.  Tatar has also participated in the World Junior Championships in 2009 and 2010, where he netted a total of 10 goals and seven assists in 13 games played. Tatar is projected to be a top-six forward and his stock could rise over the next few weeks.

As for last year’s runner-up Sweden, the additions of  Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Niklas Kronwall bolster their chances to reach the finals once again. Zetterberg and Kronwall, along with Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and then-Red Wing Mikael Samuelsson, were the team’s version of the Swedish Fab Five that captured the Gold Medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Zetterberg began representing his country in the final European Junior Championships in 1998 and captured the Gold Medal in the process. He also took part in the 1999 and 2000 World Junior Championships as well as the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010. This will be the sixth time that Zetterberg will take part in this tournament. In 44 career games in the World Championships, Zetterberg tallied eight goals and 21 assists.

Like Zetterberg, Kronwall has had his fair share of international experience. The two were teammates in the final European Junior Championship as well as the 2000 World Junior Championships. Kronwall once again represented Sweden the following year for the World Juniors in 2001 and then reunited with Zetterberg at the World Championships in  2003 and 2005. His coming-out party was at the ’06 tournament, where he got two goals and eight assists in eight games, helping Sweden capture the Gold Medal, and raising some eyebrows among the Red Wing brass.

Franzen will participate in the tournament for the third time. During the 2004 and 2005 tournies, he found the net only once and had three assists in 13 games for Sweden.

Since he retired from international competition in 2010, Lidstrom will not take part in the tournament, but another Red Wing will take his spot. Jonathan Ericsson will play in his second international tournament as a member of Team Sweden.

Even though he’s not with the Red Wings just yet, Jarnkrok will get a small sample size of what the pro game will be like when he plays alongside many of the NHL’s best. Jarnkrok, the 51st overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, had a stellar season with Brynas of the Swedish Elite League, scoring 16 goals and adding 23 assists in 50 games. He is no stranger to international competition, representing Sweden in the 2009 Under-18 World Championships and in the 2011 World Junior Championships. Expect Jarnkrok to sign with the Red Wings and start his pro career with the Grand Rapids Griffins this fall.

Jimmy Howard will be between the cage for the U.S  for his first World Championship tournament. Howard played for the U.S. National Team’s Developmental program in the 2000-01 season and also represented the Red, White and Blue in the World Under 18 Tournament in 2002 as well as the World Junior Championships in 2003. Abdelkader will take part in the upcoming competition, but this won’t be the first time that he played for the U.S. as he represented his country in the 2007 World Junior Championships.

For those who are suffering from “Red Wings Withdrawal,” this will be the perfect remedy to see some of the team’s top players in international play over the next two weeks. They may not be playing for the Stanley Cup, but playing for their country is just as good. The tournament starts this Friday as the U.S. plays France at 5:15 am Eastern Time. Note that all of  Team USA’s games will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.

Eastern Conference

(7) Washington Capitals vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Marc Staal

Philp– Capitals win in 7. X-Factor –> Capitals’ Penalty-Kill

Muscat– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Rangers’ Third Line

Levin– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Michael Del Zotto

Woodward– Rangers win in 6. X-Factor –> Dan Girardi

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers

Cohen– Flyers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Philp– Flyers win in 5. X-Factor –> Philadelphia’s Prolific Power-Play

Muscat– Flyers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Levin– Devils win in 7. X-Factor –> Patrik Elias

Woodward– Flyers win in 5. X-Factor –> Martin Brodeur’s Ability To Overcome Father Time

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (2) St. Louis Blues

Cohen–  Blues win in 7. X-Factor –> David Perron

Philp– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> The Blues’ Defense

Muscat– Blues win in 7. X-Factor –> T.J. Oshie

Levin– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> Jamie Langenbrunner

Woodward– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –>Mike Richards

(4) Nashville Predators vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Fisher

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Muscat– Predators win in 5. X-Factor –> Alexander Radulov

Levin– Predators win in 5. X-Factor –>Patric Hornqvist

Woodward– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Phoenix’s Secondary Scoring

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen (Edit)– Rangers Over Predators

Muscat (Edit)– Blues Over Rangers

Philp (Edit)– Capitals Over Coyotes

Woodward (Original)– Rangers Over Predators

Pavel Datsyuk was nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the fifth straight year. Photo by JPowers65.

It’s been a week since the Detroit Red Wings’ season ended with an early playoff exit, but one of the team’s best players is up for an award.

Red Wings’ center Pavel Datsyuk is one of three players nominated for the Frank J. Selke which goes to the NHL’s top defensive forward. The other nominees are Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and David Backes of the St. Louis Blues.

For the fifth straight season, Datsyuk is a finalist for the Selke Trophy and joins Bob Gainey (1978-82) and Guy Carbonneau (1986-90) for the longest streak. The award was first given out in 1978, which Gainey won and took home the award three more times before the Boston Bruins’ Steve Kasper snapped the streak by winning it in 1982. Carbonneau won the award two years in a row from 1988-89.

In the 2011-12 regular season, Datsyuk scored 19 goals and added 48 assists in 70 games, but other parts to his game were instrumental of being one of the top two-way players in the game. He had a plus/minus rating of +21, posted 97 takeaways, which ranked third in the league, and was the team’s top faceoff player with a 56.2 percentage.

Datsyuk had won the Selke Trophy for three straight seasons (2008-10), but the Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Kesler snapped the streak by winning the award last year. If  Datsyk were to win, he would join Gainey as the only other four-time winner of the award.

Backes, who was nominated for the first time, was tied for the Blues’ scoring leader with 54 points (24 goals, 30 assists) and posted a plus/minus rating of +15, but playing for head coach Ken Hitchcock, playing a defensive game is a top priority. He led the team with 72 blocked shots and 226 hits, ranked second with 50 takeaways and even though he led the team in faceoffs, he won 48.6 percent of them.

This will also Bergeron’s first time in the running for the Selke. He was second in team scoring with 64 points (22 goals, 42 assists) and led the NHL with a +36 rating and was second in the league with a 59.3 faceoff percentage. If he were to win, Bergeron would join Kasper as the only other Bruins’ player to win the Selke Trophy.

The winner will be announced June 20 at the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

With the Red Wings out of the playoffs, has Nicklas Lidstrom played his last game? Photo by Bridget Samuels.

The Detroit Red Wings were the first team in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs to get eliminated in the opening round as they lost to the Nashville Predators 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at the Bridgestone Arena.

It was the Red Wings earliest playoff exit since 2006 when they were ousted in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

Jiri Hudler scored the lone goal for the Red Wings and Jimmy Howard kept his team in it, but it wasn’t enough, despite making 23 saves.

It was a repetitive pattern as the Predators scored first once again at 16:10 of the first period when David Legwand went along the boards and stripped the puck away from Kyle Quincey and then fed it to an open Alexander Radulov, who fired a one-timer from the slot and roofed it past Howard to take a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings tied it at 13:45 of the second period when Henrik Zetterberg  started the play by carrying the puck into the Predators’ zone. He shot the puck at the net; Valtteri Filppula tried to deflect Zetterberg’s shot, but Hudler jammed home the rebound past Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne (21 saves) to make it 1-1.

But the dagger that struck the hearts of Red Wings’ fans occurred 13 seconds into the third period when Radulov took the puck from Brad Stuart, who failed to clear the puck in the neutral zone. Radulov passed the puck over to Gabriel Bourque, who drew two Red Wings skaters, then drop-passed it  to Legwand, who fired a high-wrister past Howard.  The Red Wings had their chances, but at the final buzzer, the better team won.

Congratulations to the Nashville Predators, who came in and outplayed the Red Wings. If there was an MVP in this series, it would have to be netminder Pekka Rinne as he posted a 4-1 record with a 1.81 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. He stole Games 3 and 4 from the Red Wings and stopped 81 of 84 shots. Performances like that win playoff series.

There weren’t many highlights for the Red Wings in the five games that they played in the opening round of the playoffs. Only two players on the team were on the plus side as Cory Emmerton and Gustav Nyquist each posted a +1 rating against the Predators with five players ending up on the even side. Henrik Zetterberg and Jiri Hudler led the team with two goals each with Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk leading the team in points with three each. And that’s about it, which doesn’t say much.

Some of the best players didn’t play like the best players. Johan Franzen played his best in Game 5, but where was he in the first four games? Valtteri Filppula was held goal-less, while Todd Bertuzzi did little besides the scrap with Shea Weber in Game 2. Brad Stuart’s time in Detroit could come to an end, and his -5 showing with some turnovers on the side could help push him out the door.

As far as Jimmy Howard is concerned, he didn’t have the greatest of series as his 2.64 goals against average and .888 save percentage speaks for itself. He was hung out to dry on some of the goals that he gave up, but there were a few that he should have stopped. Next year, there will be a bigger bulls-eye placed on the Red Wings’ number one netminder.

As the players head home and ponder what could have been, some could possibly represent their countries in the upcoming 2012 IIHF World Championships in Sweden and Finland. But the most pressing questions will be answered this summer.

The main concern around these parts is regarding the Captain, Nicklas Lidstrom. Has he played his last game for the Red Wings?  As a fan who closely watches this team, I’m going to say it’s 50-50. Lidstrom will turn 42 next week and it would be great to have him back for another season. And yes, it would be awesome for him to take part in the 2013 Winter Classic against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ann Arbor on January 1. At the end of the day, it’s his call and whatever decision he makes, we should all respect it. Hands down, Nicklas Lidstrom the best defenseman to have skated on an NHL rink since Bobby Orr.

Whether or not Lidstrom returns for the 2012-13 season, it’s time for Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland to roll up his sleeves and get to work. He can’t have this same lineup when the Red Wings start the season in October. Several players’ contracts are up such as Lidstrom, Ty Conklin (who won’t be back), Tomas Holmstrom, Jiri Hudler, Brad Stuart (all Unrestricted Free Agents), Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Kyle Quincey (Restricted Free Agents).

With the Red Wings’ cap space over $4 million and depending on who will or won’t re-sign with the team, there will be some star talent that will test the waters. As I’ve said in a couple of blogs this season, Predators’ defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber will both be on the open market on July 1st. Either or both of them would bring a tremendous boost to the Red Wings’ lineup. Speaking of the blueline, Dennis Wideman (Capitals) and Matt Carle (Flyers) also would be viable options. Forwards Alexander Semin (Capitals), Zach Parise (Devils), P.A. Parenteau (Islanders) would also be nice fits on the forward lines.

We can’t forget about the kids down in Grand Rapids, especially defenseman Brendan Smith and forward Gustav Nyquist. Both had a combined 32 NHL games played (Smith-14, Nyquist-18) with each contributing a goal and six assists. It’s just a glimpse of what they can do and the future is bright for both future stars who could enter the 2012-13 NHL season on the Opening Night roster.

Even though the Red Wings were ousted early in the first round, it was a season of milestones for the franchise. We got to see the Red Wings set an NHL home record with 23 straight wins, as well as see Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom play in their 1,500th and 1,oooth games, respectively. Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock was behind the bench for his 400th win against the Phoenix Coyotes. Let’s not forget the Red Wings playing in their 21st straight year in the playoffs, which is the longest active streak in all of the four major sports leagues.

Despite the Red Wings early exit in the first round, my rookie season covering the team at Hockey Independent was fun and entertaining. There will be no Stanley Cup parade, but let’s hope that some free agent signings will be as enjoyable and that the Red Wings can make another run at Lord Stanley. Until next time….

Jiri Hudler scored the Red Wings' lone goal in a 3-1 home loss in Game 4. Photo by JPowers65.

The Detroit Red Wings are on the brink of elimination after their 3-1 loss in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators.  With a 3-1 series lead, the Predators are in the driver’s seat and are one win away from pushing the Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jiri Hudler scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, but Jimmy Howard had a less memorable game by giving up all three goals in the third period (on seven shots) and stopped a total of 14 shots.

It seems like the more shots the Red Wings fire at Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne, the stronger he plays. That was the case again as Rinne made 40 saves with 17 of them in the second period.  Another player on the Predators who has been a thorn on the Red Wings side is Kevin Klein, who scored the deciding goal at 6:25 of the third period. Klein also provided tight defense by blocking some key shots for the Predators.

The game plan for the Red Wings was to take control from the get-go, which they did, but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. They also failed to cash in on the power play and went 1-for-7 with the man-advantage.

After a scoreless 40 minutes, it seemed that the Predators were going to take the lead at 1:28 of the third when David Legwand scored from a bad angle, but the whistle was blown at around the same time, but the goal was disallowed. It was thought to have given the Red Wings some momentum, but the Predators struck back 27 seconds later when Alexander Radulov skated from behind the Red Wings’ net and fired a shot that redirected off of Todd Bertuzzi’s skate, but Gabriel Bourque was there at slot and fired a shot that beat Howard on the glove side.

With a man-advantage, the Red Wings tied it up 79 seconds later when Niklas Kronwall fired a shot from the point which was redirected by Hudler, who was in front of the Predators’ net, making it 1-1.

The Predators regained the lead at 6:25 when Martin Erat skated coast-to-coast and drew the attention of three Red Wings’ skaters and Howard which led to Erat passing the puck to an open Klein and fired the puck into an open net.

With 55.8 seconds left in regulation and Howard pulled for an extra skater, Henrik Zetterberg took a penalty at the wrong time was sent to the box for high sticking which killed any chance of the Red Wings tying it up. That came true 17 seconds later when Legwand scored a power play goal as he stripped Danny Cleary of the puck in front of the Red Wings’ net and tipped it in, sending the Red Wings fans home.

The Red Wings had control for most of the game and after the outcome, it was a game that they deserved to lose. They even held the Predators without a shot for the first 9:44 of the second period.  They had their chances, but at the same time, they shot themselves in the foot, especially with the Klein goal when three skaters (including Nicklas Lidstrom) drew the attention of Erat. Howard overplayed the one-on-three rush by getting out of his crease, which led to an open skater and an open net.

How can the Red Wings solve Pekka Rinne? Besides firing high shots, (which they did in Game 2) they have to create traffic in front of the net just like Hudler’s PP goal early in the third. Despite Hudler’s size, perhaps have Johan Franzen or Todd Bertuzzi (who are bigger and stronger) than Hudler in front of the Predators’ goal. Wouldn’t putting either of them in front of Rinne (who is 6′ 5″ without skates) create a distraction for him?

Jimmy Howard didn’t have a great game and that will draw a bigger bullseye from the critics. In almost every NHL city a goaltender’s fate is decided if he helps bring home a Stanley Cup. Detroit is one of the few cities in the league that has the bar raised even higher and Howard has to raise his “A+ Game” sooner rather than later or he’ll be placed along with Curtis Joseph and Tim Cheveldae as Red Wing goalies who were labeled as scapegoats after not winning the Stanley Cup.

I hate to throw it out there, but have we seen Nicklas Lidstrom play his last game at the Joe Louis Arena? I would like to see the Red Wings return for Game 6 against the Predators, but we’re facing reality and if the Predators wrap up the series in Nashville on Friday, we may have seen the last of Lidstrom, who will turn 42 next week. Will he want to come back to go through another training camp and play another season? It’s premature to think this, but let’s hope that the Red Wings win Game 5 so we can host Game 6 and enjoy watching one of the best defenseman to have played the game.

It’s either win or enjoy tee time, possibly with the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they head back to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday at the Bridgestone Arena.

Pavel Datsyuk scored his first goal of the playoffs, but it didn't matter because the Red Wings drop Game 3 to the Predators. Photo by Dan4th.

The Detroit Red Wings failed to capitalize on their home ice advantage by dropping Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals to the Nashville Predators 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena.

With the loss, the Red Wings now trail the Predators 2-1 in this best-of-seven series. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored the team’s goals and Jimmy Howard stopped 19 of 22 shots and took the loss.

Pekka Rinne was a stone wall as he made 41 saves, with 18 of them in the third period, while Shea Weber, Kevin Klein and Sergei Kostitsyn found the net for the Predators.

After 12 straight Red Wing penalty kills in the series, the streak ended when Howard made a save on Sergei Kostitsyn, but Weber was right at the doorstep to pick up the rebound and put it on the top shelf, giving the Predators a 1-0 lead early in the first period. If it weren’t for Howard making some key saves in the first period, the Predators might have went to the locker room with a 3-goal lead.

Klein gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 3:50 of the second period when he did a nice Bobby Orr impression; he started the rush from his own zone and passed the puck over to Martin Erat. Klein got the puck back and burst himself into the Red Wings’ zone, making Brad Stuart look silly in the process and used a wrist shot to beat Howard on the glove side.

Datsyuk got the Red Wings on the board when he stole the puck from Predators’ defenseman Roman Josi from behind the net and scored on a wrap-around to make it 2-1. It was Datsyuk’s first goal of the playoffs and it was one that the team needed.

The Red Wings threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at Rinne, but they couldn’t find the net. One of their better chances was early in the third period when Drew Miller and Cory Emmerton went in on a two-on-one, but Klein got back to his own zone and blocked the shot.

The Predators regained their two-goal lead when Sergei Kostitsyn went in on an odd-man rush and used a wicked snap shot, beating Howard on the stick side to make it 3-1 with 3:30 left, sending some of the fans home early. But there was still some hockey left and with David Legwand in the penalty box with 97 seconds left in regulation, the Red Wings pulled Howard for an extra skater, making it 6-on-4. The strategy worked when Zetterberg scored from the right face-off circle with 51.9 seconds left, making it a one-goal game, but that’s how it stood.

Maybe it’s just me, but wasn’t today’s game a repeat from Wednesday, but played at a different building and less penalties were called? Oh, and nobody’s head was rammed into the glass… just checking.

The way to beat Pekka Rinne is to shoot high; or perhaps the Red Wings should take a page out of Mr. Fuji’s handbook and throw Fuji Salt at the Predators’ netminder. He was downright clutch for the Predators, especially in the third period. I have to be blunt, especially being a Red Wings fan: goaltending performances like Rinne’s wins playoff series.

Howard played a good game, but he probably should have had the third goal that he gave up. He should know that there’s little room for error in the playoffs. I didn’t like the Klein goal simply because he split through the defense. Stuart put in a little hook, but it didn’t matter.

We need to see more of Johan Franzen on the ice scoring goals rather than spending time in the penalty box. He took two penalties in the middle stanza. One of them was when he reacted to spearing David Legwand (who was on the bench and swiped him first).

Shea Weber got the villain’s reception by receiving the chorus of boos every time he touched the puck at the Joe Louis Arena and will get that for some time… that is unless he decides to sign with the Red Wings this summer. Yes, it could happen because Weber will become an RFA (Restricted Free Agent) on July 1 and if he does sign with the Red Wings (or any other NHL team besides Nashville), it would cost said franchise multiple first-round draft picks, depending how how much he’ll sign for and for how many years.Weber for three or four first-round picks? How about five?

Let me ask a pivotal question: would you accept Shea Weber as a member of the Red Wings? As a fan, I would accept him wearing the winged wheel. He’s only 26 and he’s one of the top blueliners in the NHL, and with Nicklas Lidstrom’s pending retirement (whenever it will be), it would be a great coup for the Red Wings organization. If you think that you’ll still boo him if that were to happen, you’re only fooling yourself (i.e. Chris Chelios in 1999. ‘Nuff said).

Enough of the wishful thinking, because there’s still plenty of hockey yet to be played and the next date between the two teams is this Tuesday at the Joe for Game 4. Let’s hope that the Red Wings play like they did in the second half of today’s game for a full 60 minutes and go back to Nashville with the series tied.

Johan Franzen's first goal of the playoffs was also the game-winner as the Red Wings even the series with the Predators. Photo by Bridget Samuels.

Not only did Nashville Predators’ defenseman Shea Weber go “Rowdy” Roddy Piper by ramming Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the glass at the end of Game One, but he seemed to have awakened a sleeping giant in the Detroit Red Wings.

The Red and White responded in a big way at the Bridgestone Arena as they beat the Predators in Game Two 3-2 to tie the best-of-seven series at 1-1 in the Western Conference Quarterfinal Series.

Ian White, Cory Emmerton and Johan Franzen scored for the Red Wings, while Jimmy Howard held down the fort by making 24 saves.  Todd Bertuzzi stepped up to the plate 96 seconds after the opening faceoff as he dropped the gloves to duke it out with Weber. It was the spark that the Red Wings needed and it potentially has “series changer” written all over it.

White started the scoring for the Red Wings by blasting a wrist shot from the right point, beating Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne midway through the first period, making it 1-0. Minutes later, the Red Wings made it 2-0 as Cory Emmerton blocked a shot by Kevin Klein (not the actor from A Fish Called Wanda) and went to the races by going on a two-on-one with Gustav Nyquist. Instead of passing the puck to Nyquist, Emmerton shot the puck from the left faceoff circle to score his first NHL playoff goal. He’ll remember this one for a very long time.

For almost the first six minutes of the second period, the Red Wings played short-handed with Jiri Hudler, Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall all serving individual penalties; but the team’s penalty-killing unit successfully denied a Predators’ power-play unit from scoring with the man-advantage, especially with two five-on-three opportunities.

The Predators did get on the board at 9:01 of the second period as Andrei Kostitsyn fired a wrist shot from the slot to beat Howard, who didn’t even see the puck, to cut the Red Wings’ lead to one.

Fifty-six seconds after the Kostitsyn goal, the Red Wings regained the two-goal lead when Stuart shot the puck from the top of the slot and it found its way to the net after the puck deflected off of Franzen’s leg to make it 3-1.

At 15:16 of the third period, Weber found his way in front of the net and roofed a backhander to make it 3-2, and that’s how it stood.

What improved in tonight’s Red Wings’ win was the team playing five-on-five hockey; and it showed with them scoring all three goals at even strength.

Give huge credit to the team’s PK (I’m not talking about Pernell Karl of the Canadiens) unit by stopping the Predators’ power play unit, who has now gone 0-12 in the playoffs. Not too shabby against a team that had the best PP unit in the NHL.

Even though Johan Franzen’s first goal of the playoffs was off his leg, let’s hope that this will get him going in the playoffs. If there’s a player on the team that should start to light it up, it’s the “Mule.” Now it’s Pavel Datsyuk’s turn to put the puck in the net (wink, wink).

If someone on the team can convince Brad Stuart to re-sign with the Red Wings this summer, that would be great.

Great performance from Jimmy Howard, who stood on his head to make some key saves, especially stopping Gabriel Bourque midway through the first period. Most of his best saves were when the Red Wings were short-handed early in the second period by stopping Martin Erat, Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn, who was robbed again late in the third period.

With the series tied at 1-1, what better way for the Red Wings to take control of the series by playing the next two games at the Joe Louis Arena starting with Game Three at the Joe on Sunday afternoon.

Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal in the Red Wings 3-2 loss in Nashville, but fell victim to a Shea Weber cheap shot at the end of the game. Photo by Dinur.

The Detroit Red Wings played a strong game, but it wasn’t enough as they fall to the Nashville Predtors 3-2 in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinal Series at the Bridgestone Arena.

Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Homstrom scored for the Red Wings while Paul Gaustad and rookie Gabriel Bourque (two goals) scored for the Predators.

Jimmy Howard kept the Red Wings in it with 23 saves, but Pekka Rinne came out of Game One the winner with 35 saves in which 30 of them were in the last 40 minutes of play. Rinne’s biggest save was on Zetterberg early in the third period when he sprawled out fromm one side of the net to the other without a stick and swatted the puck with his arm.

What happened towards the final buzzer was the bigger story as Shea Weber elbowed Zetterberg, who was trying to get the puck out of the corner, and then slammed his head into the ice. There was plenty of concern for Zetterberg, but he seemed fine and was irate about the cheap shot (as well as he should have been). Weber will get a call from the VP of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan and could be the first player in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs to get the “Shanahammer”. Expect a one to two game suspension for Weber.

Darren Helm saw his first action in almost a month for the Red Wings, but it was short-lived because he suffered a lacerated wrist and was sent to a nearby hospital for surgery. According to Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock, it was “pretty severe”.

The Red Wings looked like they were trying too hard in the first period and it showed with their attempt to play their puck-possession game, but the puck was like a hot potato. They got a bad break on the first goal when Gaustad was skating behind the Red Wings goal and was going to clear the puck out, but the puck went off of defenseman Brad Stuart’s skate and went past Howard, giving the Preds a 1-0 lead.

They did get going in the second period when Zetterberg tied it when he found the loose puck in front of the Predators’ zone, to make it 1-1. The tie was short-lived when the Predators took the lead midway through the period when Matt Halischuk shot the puck from the blueline and Bourque delfected the shot tomake it 2-1. Bourque stretched the home team’s lead when he was wide open in front of the Red Wings net and buried the puck past Howard.

It was a one-goal game as the Red Wings were on a power play when Rinne stopped Kyle Quincey, but Holmstrom picked up the rebound to shovel the puck into the net.

Howard was pulled for an extra skater with 90 seconds left, but with Martin Erat called for holding with 23 seconds left, the Red Wings were back on the power play with having six skaters to the Predators’ four. At the end, they couldn’t get the puck in the net.

One of the things that I liked from the Red Wings was the PK unit. They killed off all six of the Predators’ power-play opportunities. Also, they scored two power play goals out of eight chances. Hey, even though they lost, they scored their goals with the man-advnantage, which was something that they were struggling with during the regular season.

Speaking of special teams, wouldn’t you like to see this series opened up a little more?  Let the players on both teams decide the series, not the officials. They way that the officials were calling penalties, I’m surprised that someone wasn’t sent to the penalty box for breathing the wrong way.

What is a given is that I’ll be listening to the local sports talk radio shows and callers will blame the refs and saying they won the game for the Predators. As a Red Wings fan, I’m so sick of hearing it. I’ve been listening to this crap for years and it’s so 1995. Seriously, that’s how long this has been going on. Here’s something to think about; all of the goals scored by the Predators were even strength.

The Red Wings look to even the series at 1-1 as they are back at the Bridgestone Arena for Game Two Friday night. Let’s not for get that one game does not make a series and there’ s plenty of hockey left.

Nicklas Lidstrom looks to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2008. Photo by Sentrawoods

The Predators made wave at the trade deadline when they acquired Hal Gill, Andrei Kostitsyn and Paul Gaustad as well as getting back Alexander Radulov from the KHL, but making acquisitions at the deadline doesn’t guarantee a Stanley Cup, just ask the Red Wings circa the spring of 1999.

While the Penguins/Flyers matchup will be the most anticipated out of all the opening round matchups, the Red Wings/Predators is going to be a all-out battle. I think it will go seven games with the Red Wings coming out of the first round.  Winning the Stanley Cup is the toughest trophy to win in all of sports and the Red Wings know what it’s like because they’ve been there and done it.

1. The Goaltendng of Jimmy Howard

Winning the Stanley Cup is based on strong goaltending and Howard fits the bill. Howard was one of the top five goalies during the regular season before injuries derailed him and has gotten back his groove. Over his last four starts of the regular season, Howard went 2-1-1 with a  1.92 goals against average and a .927 save percentage and that’s a small sample size of what he can do in the playoffs. Howard almost single-handedly carried the Red Wings past the San Jose Sharks in last year’s playoffs and a repeat of his individual performance this spring will be key. Expect Howard to be a candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

2. A Complete Red Wings Roster

The Red Wings were near the top of the NHL standings, but the injury bug struck several players on the team and each player missed a significant amount of time. The rash of injuries were well known with many key player were out of the lineup such as Pavel Datsyuk (knee surgery) Nicklas Lidstrom (deep bone bruise on his right ankle), Jimmy Howard (right pinky finger, groin injury). Jonathan Ericsson missed a month with a fracutred wrist, but since he returned to the lineup two weeks ago, he stepped up his game by displaying more of a physical presence on the ice. At this point of the hockey season, everyone isn’t 100%, but with everybody back on the team, they’re among the NHL’s best.

3. The Line of Zetterberg, Hudler and Filppula

Zetterberg’s stats have been impressive in the playoffs with 49 goals and 50 assists in 104 career playoff games. He’s among the top five among active players in those categories as well as taking home a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2008.  Zetterberg’s linemates, Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula, have both enjoyed career seasons. After a brutal 2010-11 season, Hudler became the player that he was before he left for the KHL in 2009 by setting a career high in goals (25) and was out of head coach Mike Babcock’s doghouse. Filppula had the breakout season that everyone was waiting for by setting career highs in goals (23) and assists (43). Expect Zetterberg’s leadership and guidance to rub off on his linemates.

4. Scoring Balance

The Red Wings boast four quality lines and when one of their top two lines are targeted by the other team, the bottom six finds a way to score. Johan Franzen led the team with 29 goals with 10 other players in the double-digit range. Overall, the Red Wings ranked seventh in the NHL with 239 goals. Not too bad for a team that lost players like Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Nicklas Lidstrom, who was the quarterback on the power play. We can’t forget the blueline corps as Red Wings defensemen helped out the balancing act by scoring 44 goals this season, which led the NHL. 

5. Rich in Experience

Nicklas Lidstrom leads all active players with 258 playoff games played and would need to play nine more games to pass former teammate Chris Chelios to set the all-time mark in that category. Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom (second on the active list with 175) and have been through all the battles for the last three decades and they know what it takes to win. When Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg entered the league in 2001 and 2002 respectively, they had the best teachers in Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Chelios, Brett Hull and Steve Yzerman, among others because they played with them and experienced the blood, sweat and tears they endured for weeks to reach the pinnacle. Now guys like Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula and Niklas Kronwall are following suit and are on that journey to the holy grail.

It all begins on Wednesday in the Music City, so let the journey begin.

Eastern Conference

(8) Ottawa Senators vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Brandon Dubinsky

Muscat– Rangers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ryan Callahan

Philp– Rangers win in 5 . X-Factor –> Henrik Lundqvist/Rangers’ Physicality

Woodward– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Chris Phillips/Filip Kuba

(7) Washington Capitals vs. (2) Boston Bruins

Cohen– Bruins win in 6. X-Factor –> Nicklas Backstrom

Muscat– Bruins win in 4. X-Factor –> Brad Marchand

Philp– Capitals win in 7. X-Factor –> Alexander Ovechkin

Woodward– Bruins win in 6. X-Factor –> Boston’s Power-Play

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (3) Florida Panthers

Cohen– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> David Clarkson

Muscat– Devils win in 5. X-Factor –> David Clarkson

Philp– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> A Healthy Martin Brodeur

Woodward– Devils win in 6. X-Factor –> Florida’s Secondary Scoring

(5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins

Cohen–  Penguins win in 7. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Muscat– Penguins win in 6. X-Factor –> Marc-Andre Fleury

Philp– Penguins win in 5. X-Factor –> Pittsburgh’s Depth/Matt Cooke

Woodward– Flyers win in 7. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (1) Vancouver Canucks

Cohen–  Canucks win in 6. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Muscat– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Philp– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

Woodward– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –> Jonathan Quick

(7) San Jose Sharks vs. (2) St. Louis Blues

Cohen– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> Andy McDonald

Muscat– Blues win in 5. X-Factor –> Alex Pietrangelo

Philp– Sharks win in 6. X-Factor –> Joe Thornton Exorcising Playoff Demons

Woodward– Blues win in 5. X-Factor –> Antti Niemi

(6) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen– Blackhawks win in 6. X-Factor –> Keith Yandle

Muscat– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith/Phoenix Defense

Woodward– Coyotes win in 7. X-Factor –> Corey Crawford

(5) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Nashville Predators

Cohen– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Alexander Radulov

Muscat– Red Wings win in 7. X-Factor –> Pavel Datsyuk

Philp– Red Wings win in 6. X-Factor –> Detroit’s Special Teams

Woodward– Predators win in 7. X-Factor –> Detroit’s Second Line

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen– Penguins Over Predators

Muscat– Red Wings Over Penguins

Philp– Red Wings Over Penguins

Woodward– Rangers Over Predators

Pavel Datsyuk's goal with 46.4 seconds left helped the Red Wings get a point in the standings and take away fifth place from the Blackhawks in the Western Conference. Photo by JPowers65.

In the final game of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings (48-28-6,102 points) lost in the shootout as Patrick Kane beat Jimmy Howard in the first round, leading the Chicago Blackhawks past the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings did get a point for going into the overtime session and has locked up fifth place in the Western Conference standings. They will face the Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which will start next week. The Predators have secured fourth place in the West and will have home-ice advantage.

Viktor Stalberg and Andrew Shaw scored regulation goals for the Blackhawks while Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk scored for the Red Wings.

Jimmy Howard stood tall in net by making 31 saves for the Red Wings and his biggest one was towards the end of OT when he denied Stalberg from scoring the game-winner. Corey Crawford was as good as Howard and stopped 30 shots for the win.

The Red Wings started to put pressure in front of the Blackhawks net midway through the second period, especially with shots by Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall that hit the posts during a power(less) play. But their hard work started to pay off in the third period when Johan Franzen picked up the puck along the sideboards and fired a shot from the right corner of the right faceoff circle to put his team on the board at 8:11.

With Howard pulled for an extra attacker, Tomas Holmstrom made a pass between his legs in front of the net to Datsyuk, who found an empty net and scored with 46.4 seconds in regulation to tie the game at 2-2.

In the OT session, there was no scoring which led to the shootout. Datsyuk and Patrick Kane were the shooters in the first round, but Kane was the only scorer in the shootout when he made some nifty moves to beat Howard with the puck going through his legs. Jiri Hudler had a chance to tie it in the second round, but shot the puck wide. It was all up to Todd Bertuzzi to keep things going, but his final shot of the regular season hit the post.

A strong showing from the team’s penalty-killing unit by thwarting all of the Blackhawks’ six power-play opportunities, especially the first time on the PK where they killed off a four-minute penalty. On the flip side, their powerless power play continues to shoot blanks by going 0-for-2 with the man advantage. It’s something that has to be addressed before Game One in Nashville.

Howard displayed strong goaltending today and will continue to do that in the playoffs, that is if he remains healthy.

The game marked the NHL debut of  the Red Wings’ first-round pick in 2010 Riley Sheahan, who on Thursday signed a three-year entry level contract with the team. He replaced Jan Mursak in the lineup and what does he do on his first NHL shift? Sheahan received a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Jimmy Hayes in the face. He pretty much spent more time in the sin bin as he did on the ice.

Today’s scratches for the team were Joey MacDonald, Jan Mursak, Jakub Kindl, Darren Helm and Danny Cleary. Cleary (knee) should be ready to go for Game One, while Helm (MCL)  is eyeing a return to the lineup in Game Two.

Thus ends the 2011-12 regular season, but starting next week, it’s all about the Stanley Cup and their first obstacle are the Predators. The two teams split the season series 3-3, but there are no ties or shootouts in the playoffs. The dates and times have not yet been announced.

NIcklas Lidstrom and the Red Wings drop an important home game to the Devils 2-1. Photo by Bridget Samuels.

The Detroit Red Wings mini two-game winning streak came to an end when they fell to the New Jersey Devils 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena. Since the Nashville Predators blanked the Dallas Stars 2-0, the Red Wings and Predators switched places in the Western Conference standings with the Red Wings (101 points) slipping into fifth place while the Predators (102 points) jumped back into fourth place.

The last time the Red Wings lost a home game to the Devils, Bill Clinton was just re-elected as U.S. President. Just like Marty McFly driving Doc Brown’s DeLorean into 1955, Martin Brodeur went into a time machine of his own, because the future hall of fame goaltender played like he did on that night back on November 6, 1996 by making 23 saves to stretch his NHL record wins total to 655.

Alexei Ponikarovsky and Petr Sykora scored for the Devils while Tomas Holmstrom netted the Red Wings’ lone goal.

The Devils drew first blood midway through the first period when Peter Harrold drove to the net and shot the puck which was stopped by Jimmy Howard, but Ponikarovsky jammed home the rebound, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead.

With the Red Wings on their first and only power play opportunity, the Red Wings made some nice passes and it led to a game tying goal when Valtteri Filppula skated down the right wing and made a cross-ice pass to Jiri Hudler, who made east-to-west pass to Tomas Holmstrom, who shot the puck into a wide open net to tie the game at 6:13 of the second period.

Both Brodeur and Howard kept their respective teams in the game, but one of these goalies were eventually going to give up a goal sooner or later. Unfortunately, the game was decided midway through the third period when Patrick Elias came from behind the Red Wings’ net and found an open Sykora, who buried a wrister past Howard, making it 2-1.

The Red Wings were smothered in the first period as they couldn’t get much going and their puck-possession game was limited thanks to the Devils being in their personal space. They did get things going in the second period by firing 14 shots on goal, but couldn’t get much going in the final period by registering only four shots.

A bright spot for the Red Wings was that they went one-for-one on the power play against the Devils, who have one of the better PK units in the league. This was after an abysmal 0-for-4 with the man-advantage last night in St. Louis, with one of their opportunities ended up with them giving up a short-handed goal.

This was a game that they had to win in order to better their chances of securing fourth place and gain home-ice advantage in the first round. The only way that the Red Wings regain the four-spot is if they beat the visiting Chicago Blackhawks (sixth in the West with 99 points) on Saturday and the Predators lose in regulation at Colorado.

Tonight’s scratches for the Red Wings were Danny Cleary, Darren Helm, Jakub Kindl and Joey MacDonald and Riley Sheahan, who was just signed earlier in the day to a three-year entry level contract. Helm started skating this morning for the first time since he sprained his MCL on March 17 and he hopes to be back in either game three or four in the first round. Cleary has had knee issues for much of the season and sat out tonight’s game. Kindl was a healthy scratch and there’s return date set for MacDonald, who has been out since March 14 with a bulging disc in his back.

The Red Wings need to win game number 82 as the Blackhawks, who are just coming off of a shootout loss in Minnesota, come to the Joe Saturday afternoon.

Johan Franzen scored both regualtion goals for the Red Wings in a 3-2 shootout win in St. Louis. Photo by Bridget Samuels

I’m sorry if I have to use a Detroit Tigers reference since it’s Opening Day in the Motor City, but Todd Bertuzzi is the Jose Valverde of the Detroit Red Wings. Just like the Tigers’ closer getting the ball in the ninth inning to shut down the opposition for the save, when you give Bertuzzi a puck and a stick in the shootout, he’s almost a guaranteed lock to score the game-winning goal.

Bertuzzi did just that as he scored the deciding goal in the third round of the shootout, giving the Red Wings their second straight win by rallying to beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 at the Scottrade Center. Bertuzzi now has 10 career game-winning goals that have been decided in the shootout.

With the win, the Red Wings (48-27-5, 101 points) reached the 100-point plateau for the 12th straight season and are one point ahead of the Nashville Predators for fourth place in the Western Conference.

We finally had a “Mule” sighting in St. Louis as Johan Franzen scored both regulation goals for the Red Wings who have now won two in a row via the shootout. For Franzen,  he scored his team-leading 27th and 28th goals of the season and it was his first multi-goal game since November 8, 2011 when he scored a hat trick against Colorado. He should give thanks to his linemates, Bertuzzi and Pavel Datsyuk who each had two assists.

Jimmy Howard made 26 saves for his 35th win of the season and looked sharp doing so. His counterpart, Brian Elliott, was equally as good by making 27 saves. Elliott’s shutout streak of 241:33 was snapped when Franzen scored his first goal of the game at 13:55 of the third period.

It was scoreless through two periods, but the action on the ice is a preview of what’s it’s going to be starting next week when the quest for the Stanley Cup begins.

The game changed early in the third period when Ryan Reaves got a five-minute major and a game-misconduct for boarding Brad Stuart. You’d think that the Red Wings would capitalize on the power play, but it was fool’s gold when Jakub Kindl attempted a pass to Valtteri Filppula, who couldn’t corral the puck. That’s when Blues’ forward David Perron recovered the puck in the neutral zone and went to the races as he beat Howard with a backhand at 7:18 of the third for a 1-0 lead.

The hole got deeper midway through the period when Kindl had the puck and was about to skate out of his own zone, but he had his pocket picked by Andy McDonald, who went in and beat Howard with a wrister to make it 2-0. You could say that it wasn’t a good night for Kindl, who finished with a -2 in a 3:01 span.

There was still plenty of hockey left and the Red Wings kept on plugging away and it paid off at 13:55 when Franzen scored his first goal with a one-timer from the slot and he scored again 2:15 later when he got a nifty cross-ice pass from Datsyuk and blasted another one past Elliott to tie the game. With 3:20 left in the third, Filppula had a chance take the lead as he went in alone, but Elliott stacked the pads to deny him.

It remained tied through the rest of the period and for the five-minute overtime session, which led to the shootout.

Howard stopped TJ Oshie and got revenge by stopping McDonald and Perron in the one-on-one sessions to keep it 0-0. Datsyuk missed his chance in the first round and Jiri Hudler was denied in the second, but Bertuzzi won it in the third round by beating Elliott with a backhand that went top shelf, giving the Red Wings another point in the standings.

The Datsyuk-Franzen-Bertuzzi line were on the top of their game as they combined for six points, with Franzen scoring both regulation goals. This what the Red Wings need from the “Mule”, especially in the playoffs.

Jimmy Howard was sharp in goal against the Blues and this is the kind of goaltending that the team needs from him in the playoffs. I’m confident that he’ll do it. If this was a playoff game and the Red Wings don’t rally, fans would ask for Howard’s head. It’s a sad but true statement since a goalie wearing the winged wheel is the scapegoat if the team is eliminated from the playoffs.

As for Jakub Kindl, being a -2 and played a part of both Blues’ turnovers that resulted in a quick 2-0 lead, it wasn’t a good night for him. As I posted on my twitter account during the game, the Red Wings should make a call to Brendan Smith and bring him back from Grand Rapids.

The Red Wings don’t have time to recover because they head back to the Joe Louis Arena as they host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Jiri Hudler scored both goals in a Red Wings' 2-1 shootout win over the Panthers. Photo by Bridget Samuels.

With the win, the Red Wings have repossession of fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 99 points and are one point ahead of the idle Nashville Predators.  The sixth place Chicago Blackhawks could move into a tie with the Red Wings if they win their home game against the Minnesota Wild later tonight.

Jimmy Howard made 27 saves for his first win since March 2. The only goal he gave up was the one he probably should have stopped when Tomas Fleischmann got a cross-ice pass from Kris Versteeg and ripped a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle. Howard got a piece of it, but the puck trickled in as the Panthers took a 1-0 lead.

The night belonged to the goaltenders as Howard and his counterpart, Scott Clemmensen were stopping pucks along the way. While Howard was protecting the Red Wings net, Clemmensen was equally as good by stopping 31 shots for the Panthers.

Hudler tied the game when he fired a shot from the right circle and it went off a couple of Panthers’ players and past Clemmensen to make it 1-1. It was Hudler’s 25th goal of the season, which is also a career high set in a season.

It looked as if the Panthers were going to re-claim the lead when Kyle Quincey was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for elbowing Tomas Kopecky. The Red Wings’ successfully killed off the penalty as they allowed only one shot on goal. Special thanks to Dmitry Kulikov, who was sent to the penalty box for tripping during Quincey’s penalty.

The Red Wings had their best chances to win the game in third period when they put some pressure on the Panthers defense and Clemmensen, who was up to the task by stopping 15 shots in the final stanza. It remained 1-1 after 60 minutes, but with only three shots between the two clubs in overtime, the game had to be settled in a shootout.

In the first round of the shootout, Clemmensen stuck out his stick, thinking poke check, but Datsyuk shot the puck, beating the Panthers’ goalie. Wojtek Wolski evened it up when he scored to tie it at 1-1.

Hudler scored to make it 2-1 in the second round with a wrist shot from the middle of the slot and Howard shut the door on Mikael Samuelsson. With Todd Bertuzzi failing to clinch the game, Howard faced Versteeg, who failed at his chance, giving the Red Wings a much-needed two points in the standings.

The win should give the Red Wings an extra boost of confidence as they head into the final week of the regular season. Despite the lone goal that he gave up, Jimmy Howard was solid and if there was a person who needed the win, it was him.

After a subpar performance on Friday, Jonathan Ericsson responded with a strong game on defense, but don’t let the -1 rating against the Panthers fool you. Guvstav Nyquist was on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen and showed why he’s got “top-six forward” written all over him. Imagine the duo of Nyquist and Datsyuk on the ice together; they can cause goalies nightmares in the next few years. That is only if head coach Mike Babcock puts them on the ice together.

Speaking of Datsyuk, he showed why he’s arguably the best all-around hockey player in the world. He almost decided the game late in the third period when he showed some wizardly-like moves from behind the Panthers’ net by flipping the puck over the net and into the front of the goal. Nicklas Lidstrom was the first to get to the puck, but was denied by Clemmensen. Imagine if that decided the game?! That would have been an automatic lock for goal of the year.

If there’s a player who needs to step up it is Johan Franzen, who had two shots on goal and has gone scoreless over his last four games. He’s got to remember he’s not shooting pucks on a Dodge Ram, but on NHL goaltenders. If there’s a player who can’t afford to get into a slump, especially at this time of year, it’s the “Mule.”

Speaking of stepping up, Ian White was a healthy scratch, which is a rarity, and was replaced by Kyle Quincey. Let’s hope this is a wake-up call for White, who looked like he was just skating around on Friday night against the Panthers.

The fight for fourth place in the West might not be decided until the final day of the regular season. The Red Wings have three games left and it’s important for them to win each of them, but it won’t be easy. Their final three games are against St. Louis, New Jersey and Chicago with the final two games on home ice.

The Red Wings’ next game is Wednesday night as they head into St. Louis and face the Blues at the Scottrade Center.

Henrik Zetterberg and the Red Wings drop their second consecutive game by losing to the Predators 4-1. Photo by Dinur.

With the loss, the Red Wings (46-27-5, 97 points) relinquished (for now) the fourth place spot in the Western Conference standings to the Predators (98 points), who got tremendous goaltending from Pekka Rinne. The NHL leader in shost against and saves stopped 31 more, including a highlight reel save on Henrik Zetterberg towards the end of the second period.

Congratulations to the only bench boss in Predators’ history as Barry Trotz registered his 500th NHL coaching win.

The Predators got goals from Gabriel Bourque, Francis Boullion, Alexander Radulov and Shea Weber while Jiri Hudler foiled Rinne’s bid for a shutout with 3:03 left in the game.

In his first game in 11 days, Jimmy Howard got the nod in goal, but he didn’t get much support as he gave up three goals on 26 shots. He kept his team in it, but got little support from his teammates.

Howard hasn’t had much luck since returning to the lineup on February 21 from a broken finger as he’s won only once in his last nine appearances (1-5-3). During that time, he has been in-and-out of the lineup with a groin injury.

Both teams played a stellar first period as it resembled a playoff-type atmosphere.  The Predators led the period in shots 9-7, but the Red Wings didn’t get their first shot on goal until 8:18 into the game.

The Red Wings almost took the lead with over five minutes left in the first period when Nicklas Lidstrom blasted a shot from the point, but the puck ricocheted off the left goal post and shot right back out to Rinne, who had to be alert to cover up the puck to keep it scoreless.

The Red Wings outshot the Predators 18-7, but found themselves in a 2-0 hole after 40 minutes with goals by Bourque and Boullion. Bourque opened the scoring at 13:05 in the middle stanza as he blasted a shot from the slot, beating a screened Howard. Boullion scored with 33 seconds left as he picked up the rebound in front of players in a mad scramble and roofed it past Howard, who had Todd Bertuzzi in his personal space.

At the 2:40 mark of the third period, the visitors extended the lead to 3-0 as Andrei Kostitsyn buzzed around the Red Wings’ net and fed a nice pass to a wide-open Radulov, who was right there for the one-timer from the slot. It was Radulov’s second goal in his fifth game since returning from the KHL.

It was too little too late when Hudler cut the Predators lead to 3-1 late in the game when he was alone when he got a pass from Henrik Zetterberg to put the puck past Rinne. Weber put the cherry on top when he scored an empty-net goal with 40 seconds left.

Putting the blame on Howard is ridiculous. He had traffic in front of him for the first two goals that he gave up and on the third goal, having a player like Radulov by himself  isn’t a good idea. Simply put, the Red Wings played sub-par defense.  The Red Wings had plenty of shots on goal, but Rinne was spectacular in net. He’s a good reason why the Predators will give teams fits in the playoffs.

If the season were to end today, the Red Wings and Predators would meet in the first round of the playoffs, with the Predators having  home-ice advantage. On Wednesday, they put in a lackluster performance and threw away two points against the worst team in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets and tonight, they needed this game to better their chances of having home-ice advantage in the first round, but the Predators hard from start to finish.

If the Red Wings want to reclaim the fourth seed, they’d have to win the remaining four games in the regular season schedule but it’s not going to be easy. Their quest for home-ice starts on Sunday as they welcome the surprising Florida Panthers at the Joe Sunday afternoon.

Henrik Zetterberg scored his 22nd goal of the season, but it wasn't enough in Columbus as the Red Wings lose 4-2 to the Blue Jackets. Photo by Bridget Samuels.

Talk about your “trap games”. The writing was on the wall when the Detroit Red Wings (46-26-5) stepped inside the Nationwide Arena for the final game of a home-and-home series with the host Columbus Blue Jackets.

Add up the Red Wings’ torching of the Blue Jackets on Monday night and a goalie, who was brought up from Springfield of the AHL on an emergency basis, making his second NHL start and you’d figure it would be a Red Wings’ blowout, right?

Guess again, because the tables were turned on Wednesday night as the Blue Jackets stunned the Red Wings 4-2 and Allen York was the story as he stopped 29 shots for his first NHL win.

Ty Conklin wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t good either as he stopped 27 shots in his fourth straight start. His teammates, on the other hand, left their game at the Joe Louis Arena because they played flat. Even though the Blue Jackets have the worst record in the NHL, they played like they wanted it.

The onslaught started at 6:26 of the first period that started with a bad pass by Niklas Kronwall was intercepted by Rick Nash, who passed the puck over to Vinny Prospal, beating Conklin for a 1-0 lead.  It was later 2-0 in the first when Brad Stuart whiffed on a shot in the neutral zone and that’s where Ryan Johansen took advantage and passed it over to Derek Dorsett, who went in all alone as he beat Conklin with a backhand.

Henrik Zetterberg scored his 22nd goal on the power play late in the first period when he shot the puck from the top of the left faceoff circle that deflected off of Blue Jackets’ defenseman Jack Johnson.

But after that, the Blue Jackets took over again in the second period by stretching their lead with goals by Derick Brassard and R.J. Umberger, who scored 1:27 apart of each other.

The Red Wings started to get things going in the third period and looked more like a desperate team. Kronwall scored the team’s second power-play goal midway through the final stanza when he got a feed from Nicklas Lidstrom and with a one-timer from the left point, but that’s all the team could muster.

One of the very few bright spots for the Red Wings was the power-play where they went two-for-four with the man-advantage.  The other was the return of Johan Franzen and Jonathan Ericsson, but those were overshadowed by the team’s lackluster performance in Columbus.

Even though Conklin played so-so, his teammates failed him with the lack of continuity and a rash of bad passes, especially with the first two goals given up. Tonight’s game would have made Red Wings’ head coach Mike Babcock pull out his hair.

It was a game that the Red Wings had to have in order to secure the fourth seed in the Western Conference standings. Even though they remain fourth with 97 points, the Nashville Predators are pounding at the door with 96 points and it’s not going to get any easier.

The Red Wings’ next game is Friday night as they host the Predators at the Joe.  If the Red Wings play like they did in Columbus, they might as well hand fourth place over to the Predators.

Tomas Holmstrom scored two power-play goals for the Red Wings in a 7-2 over the Blue Jackets. Photo by jpowers65.

The end result was the Red Wings whipping the Blue Jackets 7-2 at the Joe Louis Arena. After going winless in six straight games, the Red Wings have a new streak of their own by winning two in a row.

Tomas Holmstrom ended a 28-game goalless drought as he led the team with two power play goals. It was vintage “Homer” on Monday night. Wouldn’t it be great to see more of that, especially in the playoffs?

Gustav Nyquist, Jiri Hudler, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brad Stuart and Pavel Datsyuk also found the net for the Red Wings.

Other offensive outputs included Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi with four assists each, while Bertuzzi led all skaters with a +5 rating.

Congratulations to Nyquist as he scored his first NHL goal and is now on a four-game point streak. Nyquist was buzzing around the net and found an opening when he was set up with a sweet blind pass from Datsyuk, which was one for the highlight reel.

Ty Conklin won his second straight games as he made 20 saves. Conklin’s bid for his second shutout of the season ended 19 seconds after Datsyuk finalized the Red Wing’s scoring early in the third period when Mark Lestestu scored. Rick Nash netted the other goal for the Blue Jackets.

Poor Steve Mason. The Blue Jackets netminder had no help in front of him, especially in the first period when Holmstrom scored twice, while Nyquist and Hudler scored before the 10-minute mark of the opening stanza. He showed his frustration by breaking his stick after the Hudler goal. Mason was finally replaced by Allen York after Stuart scored to make it 6-0 at 8:34 of the second period.

With the win, the Red Wings moved back into fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 97 points and are one point ahead of the Nashville Predators have 96 points. If the season were to end today, these two would meet in the first round of the playoffs, with the Red Wings having the home ice advantage.

Also, the Red Wings punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a franchise record 21st straight season. The previous team mark was 20 seasons in a row, which was from 1938-39 to 1957-58. The current incarnation of the team has ways to go in order to match the Boston Bruins who holds the NHL record as they reached the playoffs 29 consecutive seasons who made the postseason from 1967-68 thru 1995-96.

Congratulations to Tomas Holmstrom, who was nominated for the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy by the Detroit media.  A player from each NHL team is nominated for the award, which is handed out each year at the NHL Awards and given to the player for his dedication, sportsmanship and perseverance to the sport of hockey.

Holmstrom has made a career out of taking a beating in front of the opposition’s net since entering the NHL in the 1996. Out of his 242 NHL goals, 121 of them were via the power play, ranking third in franchise history.

Over his last 24 games, Henrik Zetterberg has 12 goals and 19 assists and has been carried the hottest stick for the Red Wings. He stepped his game up when Pavel Datsyuk was recovering from knee surgery and his linemates, Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula are also cashing in.

Nicklas Lidstrom and Jakub Kindl returned to the lineup this past Saturday against Carolina and a couple of teammates might follow suit very soon. Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Ericsson and Johan Franzen could return to the lineup by the end of the week.

The Red Wings look to make it three wins in a row as they have another date with the Blue Jackets, but this time it will be at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

During the ’96 series in a play that sparked the rivalry, Kris Draper was checked from behind and went face first into the boards by Claude Lemieux. As a result from the Lemieux hit, Draper suffered a broken jaw, a concussion, shattered cheek and orbital bone and had to have his jaw wired shut for a month as a result.

No question, Draper’s teammates were irate, to say the least. Dino Ciccarelli was quoted telling reporters after the Red Wings were eliminated in Game Six, “I can’t believe I shook the guy’s freaking hand. That just pisses me right off.”  Too bad Ciccarelli wasn’t around the next season as he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning that following August.

While Red Wing players were fuming, Lemieux showed no remorse. Thus begins one of the most heated rivalries in, not only the NHL, but in all of sports.

Even when Lemieux scored for Team Canada in the following summer’s 1996 World Cup of Hockey, his linemates, Steve Yzerman and Keith Primeau, didn’t even congratulate him.

During the 1996-97 season, the two teams had met on three previous occasions with Colorado winning each time, but this game belonged to the Red Wings.

If you want to relive this moment from March 26, 1997, with Lemieux versus McCarty, I’ll let the video do the talking so just click here.

One of the recent acquisition from that season, Brendan Shanahan, was the missing ingredient to the team. Way before he would give the “Shanahammer” for giving out suspensions and fines to players that gave out illegal hits, Shanahan was one of the premier power forwards in the game and gave the Red Wings the final piece of the puzzle that would help them win the Stanley Cup. Besides the McCarty/Lemieux fight, Shanahan took down Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy, who was going to help out Lemieux.

The Red Wings not only won the war, but they won the game 6-5 with McCarty scoring the game-winning goal 39 seconds into overtime. He used the term “Sweet Revenge” in more ways than one.

This game brought the Red Wing players closer than ever and they marched their way to their first Stanley Cup since 1955 with (guess who?) Darren McCarty scoring the game-winning goal in Game Four of the Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Joe Louis Arena.

Though the rivalry between the two teams have fizzled over the years, Lemieux and McCarty made peace in 2010 when they both appeared in studio on TSN’s Off the Record with Michael Landsberg. You would have thought that hell had froze over, right? In recent months, both have been doing autograph signings at sports card shows with both of them signing the famous photo of Lemieux in the turtle position while McCarty is pummeling him.

I’m not sure if we’ll ever witness a rivalry that intense for quite a while. What do you think?

The team signed defensemen Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul to standard three-year deals. The terms were not disclosed, per team policy.

Ouellet, 18, was the team’s second pick in the second round (48th overall) in last summer’s NHL Draft and has played the last three seasons for the Montreal Juniors/Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In the 2011-12 season, Ouellet was third in the “Q” in scoring among defenseman and second overall on his team with 21 goals and 39 assists in 63 games for the Armada with 67 penalty minutes and a +16 rating.

Here’s the report on him according to The Hockey News Magazine’s 2012 Future Watch: “Smart, skilled player flourishing as point producer. Comparable to Kris Letang.” That’s not a bad compliment, by any means.

Sproul, 19, has played the previous two seasons for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He was one of the few bright spots for the Greyhounds, who were the fourth worst team in the “O,” ranking third in league scoring among defensemen (also third on team) with 23 goals and 31 assists in 61 games with 53 penalty minutes. Probably the best statistic for this future Red Wing was his plus/minus rating. On a team that had a the majority of players on the minus side, Sproul was one of five Greyhounds with the plus side and unanimously led the team with a +16, while the second best on the team sported a +9.

The word on him in The Hockey News Magazine’s 2012 Future Watch: “Skates well for size, good offensive instincts, but all-around game needs work.” There’s always room for improvement, right?

Since the Greyhounds’ season ended and they didn’t make the playoffs, Sproul will report to the Red Wing’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, and will get a small sample size of life in the professional hockey ranks.

Just like most of the Red Wings’ prospects, they won’t be rushed into playing in the NHL for at least  3-5 years tops. These kids are still maturing mentally and physically and another year in the junior ranks and at least a couple of years of seasoning in the minors will help them develop.

Both are at the age where they can still grow. Sproul is 6-3 and 186 lbs and Ouellet is 6-0, 187 lbs and they would have to put on some muscle if they’re going to be legitimate NHLers. Overall, these were good signings and both players are oozing with potential.

Imagine five to seven years down the road, the Red Wings’  top-four defensemen could potentially consist of Niklas Kronwall, Brendan Smith, Ryan Sproul and Xavier Ouellet.  Wouldn’t you say it seems promising?

Nicklas Lidstrom returned to the Red Wings lineup on Saturday night after missing the previous 11 games with a deep bone bruise on his right ankle. Photo by Dan4th.

The Detroit Red Wings (45-25-5) rallied from a 4-1 deficit and stormed their way to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes at the Joe Louis Arena. In the process, they snapped a six-game winless streak and won for the first time since March 9.

They avoided the team’s first seven-game winless streak since the 1990-91 campaign where they didn’t win a game from January 14-30, 1991.  It was the year before a third-round draft pick from the 1989 NHL Draft came into the league and if I remember correctly, his name was Nicklas Lidstrom.

Speaking of Lidstrom, the team Captain returned to the lineup after missing 11 games (longest stretch of his 20-year career) with a deep bone bruise on his right ankle. He played over 20:26 and registered an assist, four shots on goal and blocked two shots.

The Red Wings remain in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 95 points and are one point ahead of the Nashville Predators and three points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Predators and Blackhawks will face each other in Chicago on Sunday night.

Henrik Zetterberg led the way with two goals while Valtteri Filppula had three assists and their linemate Jiri Hudler scored a goal and added two assists. Ty Conklin, who was recalled on an emergency basis this past Tuesday, stopped 20 shots to notch his first win since January 17. It was “Miller Time” once again at the Joe as Drew Miller scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period.

Many fans at the JLA hadn’t gone to their seats when the Hurricanes scored first. Jiri Tlusty scored his first of two goals in the game when he beat Ian White in a race for the puck and shot the puck from the left side of the Red Wing’s goal with a deflection off of White’s stick, past Conklin for a 1-0 ‘Canes lead.

Both teams exchanged three goals apiece in a wild second period and Fraser, Mi native Chad LaRose started the scoring 26 seconds into the middle stanza when he got a feed from Eric Stall and was all alone when he fired a shot from the slot to make it 2-0.

Zetterberg got the Red Wings going with a shot from the right circle and past Hurricanes’ goalie Cam Ward at 5:10 to make it 2-1. Later in the period, Jamie McBain scored at 15:38 to make it 3-1 and Tlusty scored his second of the game 17 seconds later and the fans at the Joe and those who were watching it on TV were restless.

It looked as if the Hurricanes were about to win their first game in Detroit since November 14, 1989 back when the franchise was known as the Hartford Whalers.

Just like their last game in New York on Tuesday, the Red Wings showed plenty of  fight. Sixty-three seconds after the second Tlusty goal, Zetterberg zipped a shot that knocked Ward’s mask off his head and into the net, making it 4-2. Just 18 seconds later, Todd Bertuzzi made it a one-goal game when he was in front of the Hurricanes’ net and swatted the puck past Ward to make it 4-3.

The game was tied at 4-4 at 8:10 of the third period when Brad Stuart picked up a juicy rebound and fired a one-timer from the top of the slot, with the puck deflecting off of Hudler’s leg to make it 4-4. Drew Miller scored the deciding goal right after Danny Cleary won the face off and Miller drove to the net and scored with a backhand shot, beating Ward to make it 5-4 and that’s how it stood.

The Red Wings fans’ cheered loudly when Nicklas Lidstrom was announced as one of the starting defensemen in the game. But, when the ‘Canes scored right off the bat, it looked like it was going to be one of those games thinking another Red Wings loss. The home team did have a strong first period and fired 16 shots on Cam Ward, who faced a lot of shots with 50 of them in the game.

After the Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead, it was getting a little restless, but after the Red Wings were trailing 4-1, it looked like it was going to be a route. The Red Wings showed grit and determination and it’s something that they will have to show on a regular basis if they’re going to go far in the playoffs, which is more than two weeks away.

One of the areas that the Red Wings have to improve on down the road is their penalty killing unit. It was dreadful, especially in the second period when they gave up two power-play goals in a 17-second span while the Hurricanes were on a 5-on-3. The first goal given up on the PK was with one-second left with the two-man adavnatage. That was the only time that the Red Wings’ PK unit were on the ice.

Getting Lidstrom back is a boost for not only the defense corps, but for the entire organization. His presence should help out on the power play which needs all the help it can get. Not only did the Captain return to the lineup, but Jakub Kindl also played and was on the ice for 17:42. Jonathan Ericsson should return to the lineup this week after missing 11 games with a fractured wrist. Goaltender Jimmy Howard should also return within the next few days after missing the previous eight game with a groin injury.

Rookie defenseman Brendan Smith was a healthy scratch and was returned to the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) after the game. In 14 games with the Red Wings, Smith scored a goal and added six assists with a +3 rating and also added a physical presence in the lineup. He will head back to Grand Rapids and log more minutes for the Griffins and it will be a better situation for him rather than sitting in the press box. However once, when the Griffins’ season ends, Smith will return to the team as a reserve for the playoffs. It won’t be much longer until he sticks with the Red Wings for good.

Another rookie with a decent showing was Gustav Nyquist, who played on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi. He drew an assist to Bertuzzi’s goal in the second period and even though he has some playmaking skills, Nyquist has to learn when to shoot the puck. He had a chance to tie it early in the third period, but when Nyquist learns to do that (and he will), he’s going to be a better player for it.

The Red Wings look to win their second straight game as they welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to town on Monday night.

Ty Conklin returned to the Red Wings' lineup and made 32 saves, but lost to the Rangers 2-1 in OT. Photo by Paige Kaitlyn.

The Red Wings did receive a charity point for the regulation tie and are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings (for now) with 93 points and are a point ahead of Central Division rivals Nashville and Chicago.

Henrik Zetterberg scored the lone goal for the Red Wings while Ty Conklin, who was the team’s best player, stopped 32 of 34 shots. Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan scored for the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for the win.

Zetterberg started the scoring at 3:36 of the opening period when he shot the puck from the corner of the right circle and went past Lundqvist to take the early lead.

With Todd Bertuzzi serving a bench minor penalty for too many men on the ice, Richards tied the game later in the period when he went end-to-end and beat Conklin with a shot through the five-hole to make it 1-1.

That’s how it remained until Callahan won it for the Rangers when he ripped a shot from the slot to beat Conklin, sending the Red Wings to their sixth straight loss. The last time that the Rangers beat the Red Wings was back on October 25, 2003 with the Blueshirts winning on home ice 3-1.

Conklin wasn’t even on the Red Wing’ roster at the start of the day. He was recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL) on an emergency basis earlier in the afternoon, and had cleared re-entry waivers. Both Jimmy Howard and Joey MacDonald sat out with injuries and that left the team with Jordan Pearce and that’s when Conklin got the call.

With both Howard and MacDonald out, Conklin is the Red Wings’ netminder by default. Howard could return by the end of the week while MacDonald, who remains listed as day-to-day with back spasms, should remain as the backup once he returns. Even though Conklin was sharp against the Rangers, this is only short-term. Once when both Howard and MacDonald return to the lineup, Conklin, along with Pearce, will be sent back to Grand Rapids.

Howard re-aggravated his groin in practice on Tuesday and is listed as day-to-day, but is eyeing a return to the lineup for Saturday’s game against Carolina. He rejoined a list of fallen Wings’ players that include MacDonald, Nicklas Lidstrom, Johan Franzen, Darren Helm, Jonathan Ericcson and Jakub Kindl (who could return as early as Saturday).

Despite the OT loss, the Red Wings played a strong game and went toe-to-toe with one of the NHL’s best teams. You can’t help think it, but what if some of the injured players were healthy. The Red Wings’ might have left Manhattan with two points instead of one.

One of the players who had a solid game was rookie Gustav Nyquist. He played on the team’s top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula and drew an assist to Zetterberg’s 19th goal of the season early in the first period. But Nyquist folded under pressure late in the game when he was on a two-on-one rush with Filppula late in the third period and didn’t shoot the puck when he had the opportunity. It’s quite certain that he won’t make that mistake again.

Not only do the Red Wings have the Predators breathing down their necks, but the Blackhawks have been on fire by going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. The Red Wings may enter the first round of the playoffs without home ice advantage and ending up in fifth or sixth in the West could be a reality.

The Red Wings are looking for their first win since March 9 as they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Dan Cleary scored his first goal in 15 games, but the Red Wings fall to the Capitals 5-3. Photo by JPowers65.

Kyle Quincey, Todd Bertuzzi and Danny Cleary scored for the Red Wings, who are now winless in their last five games. Jimmy Howard stopped 17 of 21 shots, but don’t let those stats fool you. He didn’t give up a bad goal, but his teammates missed their assignments.

With the Nashville Predators beating the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 last night, the Red Wings failed to take away sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference standings from the Predators as both teams are tied with 92 points.

The Capitals, who were rocking the throwback jerseys, got two goals from Alex Ovechkin while Mike Knuble, Keith Aucoin and Jason Chimera also found the net. Braden Holtby made 30 saves for the win.

The Capitals started off sticks-a-blazing by scoring three goals over a 7:03 span in the first period with two goals by Ovechkin. Knuble, a former Red Wing, also scored in the opening stanza.

There was a Red Wings’ power play goal sighting at 5:15 of the second period when Quincey shot the puck from outside the right circle, beating Holtby. It was their first goal with the man-advantage in nine games, ending an 0-for-33 slump. It was their longest drought without a pp goal  since the 1996-97 season, which was they year they won the Stanley Cup.

Aucoin stretched the Capitals lead to 4-1 with a shot from the slot, beating Howard at 17:24 of the second period.

Bertuzzi scored 36 seconds into the third period when he was in front of the net and picked up the loose puck after it deflected off some skates to put it past Holtby.

We also had a Cleary sighting as he found the net for the first time in 15 games when he scored his 12th goal of the season, making it a one-goal game. The Red Wings had a chance to tie it up late in the game, but Henrik Zetterberg was sent to the penalty box a minute into their power play opportunity.

Chimera scored an empty-net goal with 21 seconds left, sealing a win for the Capitals.

Who could blame Jimmy Howard for being upset?  Howard stormed off the ice and straight to the locker room after the final buzzer. His frustration is justified. His team didn’t play well in front of him, especially in the first period as Ovechkin and Knuble were wide open as they scored for the Capitals in the first period.

The Red Wings were without Nicklas Lidstrom, Joey MacDonald, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl and Johan Franzen and now add Darren Helm to the list. Helm will miss the next 4-6 weeks with an MCL sprain, which he suffered when he collided with Dominic Moore during the Red Wings’ 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks. He’s not quite Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, but he’s an effective third-line player and the team will miss Helm’s speed in the lineup.

The Lidstrom watch continues as he missed his tenth straight game and is out indefinitely with a deep bone bruise on his right ankle.  A good sign is that he is skating, but they could sure use the Captain and the rest of the injured players in the M*A*S*H right about now as the team are 3-8-2 over their last 13 games.

We can say it until we’re blue in the face that the injuries are taking a huge bite out of the team, but the excuses are going to run out at some point. The injuries card can’t be played if they don’t play a full 60-minute game. Fifth place is a reality for the Red Wings right now. While the Nashville Predators are surging, the Red Wings are spiraling down a dangerous circle with their rash of injuries and their recent play.

One of the very few positives to come out of tonight’s game was the play of rookie defenseman, Brendan Smith as registered his first multi-point game in the NHL with two assists. On his second assist, Smith made a veteran move by keeping the puck in play and helped set up Danny Cleary’s goal in the third period.

The Red Wings will limp into Broadway on Wednesday as they have a rare “Original Six” matchup with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden