All this chaos and panic, and Detroit's a point back of the Central Division lead with a game in hand. And that game is tomorrow against the Leafs, so it's basically an assured win (note: if the Leafs win I'll take full responsibility).

This review is late.. obviously. I had to DVR the game, and of course it cut off with a minute left in OT. Luckily FSN re-ran the game, so I turned it on at 2 to catch the shootout. Talk about suspense.

I thought this was one of Detroit's best efforts of the season so far, definitely a statement game that they're still the best in the West, since they knocked off the Sharks and

Since this is so late and everyone's basically done discussing it, I'll be brief. Osgood was good, Ericsson was shaky.. blah blah. Here are my three big points.

- Zetterberg was absolutely possessed. Best player on either team. That shootout goal was nasty, nice to see him mix it up for a change. But his defensive play was top notch. There's a reason you barely noticed Jumbo Joe Thornton last night, and his name is Henrik Zetterberg.

- Kris Draper. Helm was stellar, I'm amazed he's able to turn playoff mode on so quickly. But with this talk about how good Eaves and Helm was, it wasn't until this game that Draper proved his worth to me. He didn't look bad on this line before, but in my mind he cemented his place here permanently. I had a problem with him and Maltby just going through the motions in the regular season, but this was Draper's best game in years. He was all over, he was causing problems, he even had scoring chances. Look like a new man, hopefully he doesn't lose it.

- Todd Bertuzzi. I'm almost done defending him. I think he's playing well, but until he starts finishing there's nothing I can do to defend all these other fans who act like he's doing nothing out there. He's had too many glorious chances -- most that he creates, but it's time he starts capitalizing.

Lastly, I need to touch on the news that Brad May is my hero. Just when I'm getting equally fed up with both Ericsson and Lebda, Brad May apparently hooks Andreas Lilja up with a chiropractor in Vancouver. Chiropractor works his magic and bam -- Lilja has been headache free for three days (as of like two days ago). What happens next? This guy's been out since March. He's skated lately, but hasn't participated in contact drills. Sounds like he was going to within the coming days, so I'm interested to hear what happens. I don't know anything about head injuries other than that I know I don't want one.

But the big problem with Lilja was the recurring headaches. Now that they're gone, who thinks he might be a week or two away from returning. That's kind of where I'm leaning. He won't be the same, but I think he can still be strong and steady. Lebda's been better lately, but Ericsson's getting worse. Lebda just isn't a guy who's going to bail Ericsson out when he trips over his own skates. Lilja can do that.. Since Babcock refuses to break up that pairing, I do like the idea of the two giant Swedes on the same pairing.

Here's to hoping for more good news.

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