Just a few quick thoughts on the game while the Lions are incompetent on the screen in front of me.

When the Wings were struggling, Zetterberg and Datsyuk were not Detroit's best players. After a few games, Zetterberg turned on the gas and he hasn't really slowed down. Datsyuk has been spotty, but more consistent of late. Both have been the best two players on the ice in the past two games. And when you've got two of the best in the league every night, it doesn't really matter how many 2nd line players you've lost in the past five months.

Since he's had three starts in a row, I think Jimmy Howard has shown more of his true colors. He probably won't ever be a starter, but he's reliable. He was sensational against Vancouver. I swear that half the shots he saw were deflections, and I was pleased to see that even the biggest Howard haters didn't find some way to fault him on the off-the-skate deflection goal. A little shakier last night -- the Lupul goal was very weak and I don't think it hit a skate like Mickey Redmond said it did.

Other than that, he got beat on a huge Ericsson mistake, a cross-ice pass, and a Getzlaf blast. I think people seem to think he's at fault for the Getzlaf goal because it went under his arm, but there's no way that's true. It's five-on-three and that's one of the best shooters in the league just teeing off on the puck from the top of the circle. Whether or not that one went in, there's no way Getzlaf isn't going to score if he's given enough room to take that shot a few times.

Drew Miller looks pretty good out there. He's a much better two-way player than I gave him credit for. He's making all kinds of smart plays in every zone, actually had a few decent scoring chances in his time too. I'm interested to see if he'll keep it up, but I think he's a better fit on the 4th line than May and Maltby. Abdelkader has too much offensive upside to be stuck between those two, Miller is great on the cycle and has good hands, I wouldn't be shocked to see that line get a goal soon.

Ericsson got tremendously unlucky that his pass hit Getzlaf's stick, but still, I'm not sure where he wanted to go with that puck. The boards are the better option there, I think. He's starting to improve, but has to minimize those types of mistakes. He's been throwing his weight around a little more, but he's still too big to just be poking at everybody like he does.

That's about it for this one. 10-3-3 since coming back from Sweden, 19 goals in the past three games -- not too bad. We're, gasp, sixth in the conference now and only one point back of the division. Suddenly, all this garbage about the Wings not being elite looks funny, again.

Comments (15)

felix said:

	... love that title, only wish i was still in michigan to capitalize on it. free food sounds delicious right now.
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November 15, 2009 | url
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Rob R said:

	... I'm impressed with Miller so far too. I don't want to speak too soon, but I'd like to see the Wings keep him and Eaves next year (and beyond) if they keep playing like they have recently.
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November 15, 2009 | url
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Trumballstickney said:

... Obviously, my comment a week ago really had an impact on Cleary and Leino: both have been playing much better since then. What do people think of a Homer-Abby-Miller 4th line once Mule returns? It seems to me they could get the cycle going and really put in some quality minutes and actually create good scoring chances. That would leave 1st line of Dats-Bert-Mule; 2nd line of Z-Buckets-Flip, and 3rd line of Eaves-Helm-Drapes. The "extras" would be Leino, Malts, May, and Williams. That's a pretty deep bench.

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November 15, 2009
Votes: +1

Michael Smith said:

... I was at the game last night. Here's what I observed: Every time Anaheim took a shot everyone around me cringed. When Howard made a stop, you could almost hear a collective "Whew!". I'd agree that Howard had no chance on the first Anaheim goal. Ericsson practically served it up on a silver platter. Beyond that, Howard did seem a little wobbly. The team did a great job picking him up though. What was with Ericsson trying to clear the puck by shoveling it in front of the net anyway? I think he panicked when he saw an Anaheim player bearing down on him. Everyone sitting around me got really excited when Ericsson almost got into a fight. They were a bit disappointed when it didn't turn into anything. I would agree that Drew Miller looked pretty good. He seems to be fitting right in with the Red Wings system. From my perspective, Dan Cleary had a heck of a game last night. Not sure how much they talked about him on TV, but he really looked good. And Datsyuk, well, he was just himself. What a treat to see him live. The first period was great. The Wings came out flying. The second period was a bit blah. The third period was more fun than we should be allowed to have at a hockey game with both teams scoring often.

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November 15, 2009 | url
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NicholsThe6thSens said:

	... Hey Kyle, I sent you an email regarding a piece I did detailing the Yzerman trade that never happened. (Maybe you haven't checked your email?) Anyways, I'd love some perspective from a Red Wings point of view.
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November 15, 2009 | url
Votes: -2

Keith B said:

	... Does anyone know where I can see this game? I was taping 2 games (U of M hockey and basketball) and I was hoping FSN would do the normal 1 am replay game but instead they showed the Pistons game.
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November 15, 2009
Votes: +3

KyleKujawa said:

... Rob, I agree. I think both of them make excellent short-term fixes to the next wave of the Grind Line until some of the players they drafted are ready. Helm definitely looks to be the centerman on that line going forward, and Abdelkader's a good bet too, but it's also important to let these guys continue to develop and get chances in other roles as well. Until then, a couple of 25-year-olds for cheap is not a bad deal. I'm already sold on Eaves, hoping Miller will be able to keep it up as well. Trumball, I like the idea of that 4th line, but Detroit will need to make roster moves to get under the 23 man limit. It's likely guys on two-way deals (Miller, Abdelkader, and May) would get sent to the AHL, at least until the playoffs, or else Detroit will have to make a few small trades. It'll be interesting to see what happens when, and more importantly IF, everyone's healthy, as if you count everyone on IR right now, we have 26 players. Michael, thanks for the thoughts on the game. Doesn't surprise me to hear that people still aren't comfortable with Howard. Big thing is rebounds, he even has pucks bounce out of his glove semi-regularly. I believe he'll get more comfortable and that'll get better, but for now, fans just need to be patient and let him go through the process of being a rookie goalie. And I agree, Cleary was much better last night, he's really turned it on since he got his 100th goal. He still doesn't get enough credit for what he does for this team. Nichols, I never got that e-mail, where did you send it? Not sure how that could have slipped past me. I just read that article though, great read. Raises all kinds of "what ifs?" Looks bad for Detroit on paper, but you've got to consider the circumstances. Would Scotty Bowman have tolerated Yashin's style of play? Would Yzerman have needed to play a two-way game on a (no offense) pretty bad Ottawa team at the time? Osgood is very close personal friends with Ken Holland and the Ilitches, but he was not very well liked in the late-90s here, how would his career have turned out if he didn't win Cups here, he went to Ottawa, and got booed out of there? Tough to think about -- I for one am glad that deal never went through. Keith, try torrents. Google that if you don't know what it is. Basically, you pick up a client program (I use uTorrent) and find the game at a site (5minsforfighting.com) and download the torrent file of the game. That site has every game and even European games and other interesting things. It might take a while to download the game (usually like 3-4 hours for me and I'm on a fast connection), but it's the best way I know -- and the quality is perfect.

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November 15, 2009 | url
Votes: +2

Eric L. said:

	... It's nice to see Howard playing well right now. Maybe he'll be like Legace was a few years ago, a solid back up.
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November 15, 2009 | url
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Baroque said:

	... A few shaky games doesn't really worry me that much, unless they begin to predominate. Every goaltender has bad games sometimes - heck, that's why Osgood's ability to bounce back after a poor effort is so important. If there were never any bad games, there would be no need to bounce back.
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November 15, 2009
Votes: +1

Simon said:

... Hi Guys, been reading the blog for a few months now (I'm in Europe for the season and definitely missing the Wings!). Just wanted to say that I had a chance to see Eaves (not live, unfortunately) play a lot while I was in Eastern Canada, since all they played were Sens games. I always liked him and thought he was better than anything he did in Ottawa (and even more so in Carolina!) and I was really happy to see Detroit pick him up this season. He's an excellent role-player, and role-players always do well in Detroit because, well, they get to play their proper roles! That said, I'm really interested in this 5minsforfighting website, but you need an invite to register. Any advice on how to go about getting one? Thanks for the excellent blogging, keep up the good work. You mentioned you write on another site, but I forget which it is. I'd be interested to check that out as well! Simon Go Wings!

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November 16, 2009
Votes: +1

KyleKujawa said:

... Hey Simon, thanks for the kind words. I actually write for Winging it in Motown as well, a weekly feature called Friday Prospects, which profiles different prospects and serves as an easy place to keep tabs on the future Wings. I also cover Ducks' prospects at Hockey's Future, and thus far I've been able to refrain from taking any cheap shots at Corey Perry . My bad on the 5mins thing, they didn't always have it like that. I believe you'd get an invite by registering at their forums, which is actually over at http://www.cifnation.com/forum/ . I don't remember my log in for that at the moment, but I think there's a section for requesting an invitation. Baroque -- exactly! I'm shocked at times to see how short of a leash Howard is kept on when the other goalie here is Osgood. I'm a definite fan of Osgood, but the guy isn't exactly stellar. I don't see the point in harping on Howard for weak goals when you're getting the same thing from the other guy. Osgood is proven, and that's a big part of it. But Howard's not going to get to that point unless he takes his lumps -- just like Ozzie. I don't think I need to say much more than "center ice" and Wings' fans from the late '90s will probably see a few horrific images in their heads.

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November 16, 2009 | url
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junkyarddog said:

	... WOW! What a shot at Osgood. WOW Center ice? He put alot of money in Mr. I pockets by going seven games in the playoffs. For what he is getting paid can anyone tell me a better value for a tender in the NHL?
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November 16, 2009
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KyleKujawa said:

	... Don't get me wrong, I'm an Osgood fan. Letting in weak goals is part of the growing process. If Osgood could get it out of his system, so can Howard.
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November 16, 2009 | url
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Michael Overton said:

... I have to agree, Datsyuk and Zetterberg are clearly taking a more active leadership role, and pushing everyone as a result. I also agree about Miller and Abdelkader. I've been an MSU hockey season ticket holder for a while, and followed the team since the late '80's, and I've always known both are great players that will go far. They probably won't be the kind of stars folks like Ovechkin manage, but they're solid, hard-working smart players who'll get the job done. I expect good things from this team, they're finding their pace and everyone better look out!

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November 16, 2009 | url
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Coffey said:

	... Hey Wings fans, don't get to excited over that game. You beat a tried Ducks team in the 3rd period when the Ducks stopped skating. And no more hat tricks please. I got sick eating those grease-filled fries.
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November 16, 2009
Votes: -4

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