Game Night – Red Wings vs Panthers, 11/20

I guess this won’t be the year that the Red Wings fall off of the map. Suddenly, Detroit is winning games again, in every possible way. We’re watching our team outscore opponents in games like November 14th’s, a 7-4 win over Anaheim; or seeing a defensive game come out in the Wings’ favor, such as November 12th’s 3-1 win over Vancouver. The only recent losses were a bad game against Toronto, and a Texas-sized screwjob against Dallas.

The Red Wings are on a roll again, with all of Wings fans’ ‘if’ questions answered with ‘yes’s. If Jimmy Howard plays well, if last year’s Griffins can be this year’s Red Wings, if star players start playing like stars…the Red Wings can play like we expected. Remarkably enough, all of those things have come to pass.

With Chris Osgood down with the flu, Jimmy Howard has played better than anticipated. Howard has earned a solid spot on the team, with his position given to him with his wins on the ice instead of his contract situation. His play has filled another hole that opened up on the roster, giving the Wings a big boost.

Meanwhile, more young players are stepping up. Ville Leino is up on the second line, alongside Zata and Danny Cleary. Darren Helm is centering the third line so well that Kris Draper has been moved to the left wing. Five players who were in the minors in 2007-08 are playing big roles for the Wings, which is a remarkable statistic considering how much we already expected out of this group.

With all of the chaos on the lines below him, Henrik Zetterberg has played better than anyone else in the league. Zata is the reigning NHL First Star Of The Week, after scoring four goals (two of them game winners), collecting five assists, going +5, and winning three straight games with the Red Wings. That last game included Hank’s fourth career hat trick, with three in the 3rd period of the 7-4 win against Anaheim.

The Wings have found their stride and are playing their best. Luckily, this is coming during a month with mostly home games. Tonight’s game against Florida is fourth straight home contest, and the sixth home game out of eight November games so far. After tonight, the Wings will still play three more at home, with two on the days preceding and following Thanksgiving.

DETROIT RED WINGS

The sun is shining a little brighter today, for Chris Osgood is back! Ozzie makes his return to the lineup tonight, for the first time since getting shelled in Toronto on November 7th. He’ll be starting in net tonight, with Jimmy Howard backing him up.

Kirk Maltby, another player who has been scratched for the flu, is also coming back tonight. He has missed three straight games, and will be replacing Brad May. Tonight’s line combinations:

Bertuzzi-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary
Draper-Helm-Eaves
Miller-Abdelkader-Maltby

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lebda
Meech

Osgood
Howard

FLORIDA PANTHERS

The Panthers have been playing very well lately, as they come into Detroit with a 6-2-1 streak in the last nine games. Their last game was against a big win over a first-place Buffalo team on the road, which is a good sign for them tonight. Still, despite the winning streak, Florida is stuck at fourth place in the Southeast Division.

Honestly, I don’t know that much about Florida, because they’re Florida. The Panthers are in that Southeast Division, they rarely play in Detroit or on Hockey Night In Canada, and the team has not even made the playoffs since 2000 (a sweep to New Jersey). Just at this may be the first time you see Florida, it’s the first time in a long time for me.

GAMEDAY FOOD

Tomorrow is the big Michigan-Ohio State football game in Ann Arbor. For my tastes, one traditional food at either Michigan Stadium or Yost Ice Arena is a bag of roasted cinnamon almonds. They are made up in the stadium, and are a delicious tradition. Go get some almonds, some hot cider, and curl up for tonight and tomorrow’s games.

PREDICTION

Since Sonny Eliot didn’t call a score, it’s all left up to me. Chris Osgood will give up some goals in his returning game, but the Wings will be firing a lot of pucks in too. The Wings will win tonight, 6-4.