We didn't know it right away this season.  In fact, many people called for the Wings' downfall this season, like they do most seasons. Most of us knew better, but it still was hard to get really excited for the season.  

Of course now, those folks are eating their words. The Wings are good, real good. 22 times in a row at home good. And they've got a lot of games at home left. 

But this season is more than that, this team is something special. 

Our defense is an offensive juggernaught...and great defensively too.   It's better than 2007-08.

Every damn one of our defense is good this season.  All the way down to #7.  We've never had a defense quite this good before.  07-08 you say? That season we had Lilja and Lebda as our #6 & 7.  This year we have Commie and Kindl.  I'll take Commie and Kindl any day of the week.  Ian White is damn near as good as Rafalski; Lidstrom is 99.8% as perfect; Stuart is better than 45 year old Chelios and today's Kronwall is ten times the player that 2008 Kronwall was. 

Detroit's D has scored 35 goals.  Kronwall is second in the league with 12 goals from the blue.  Ian White leads the league in defensive plus/minus.  Lidstrom is third.  You can't ask for anything more. 


Our offense is the most balanced as it's ever been.

The Wings have the most 10 goal scorers in the league right now with 10.  That's the same amount that they finished the 07-08 season with.  Sure, the big guns are down,but guys like Miller are way up.  Filppula is now legitimate scoring threat.  Any team can win in the regular season with just big guys scoring, but keeping line 3 and 4 scoring is going to be huge.  

Plus, this scoring from everywhere allows the team to play like they should.  No longer do we have to count on Abby to run the third line.  Rather, we can have him where he belongs, on the fourth line, performing like the Dallas Drake he is. 

And the depth.  Jesus, the depth. 

Jimmy F'ing Howard.

Do I have write anything on this?  We've never had this luxury as a team, not with Osgood, not with Hasek, definitely not with Legace.   Further, I think we've found our backup...he's been with us the whole time.  He's not too bad himself.  

The team plays like it cares. 

From 2008 to 2011, asking for a full sixty minutes seemed like a pipe-dream from Detroit.  Sure they could turn it on and win a lot of games with just a good 20-30 minutes, but that sloppy play carried over to the playoffs and boom, no Cup.  This year, we can count on the team playing like it cares full near a full 60 minutes for a majority of games.   There's that jump that simply hasn't been there yet. 


And we have money to spend at the deadline...lots of it(!)...

That should be enough to scare other teams more than a hippie at gun range.  Our biggest issue is that we don't know what to spend it on, as everything seems to be working pretty freaking well..

This seems to be pretty special, so much so that I have a feeling that yesterday might not be the only histroy that they make this year.  12 in '12.

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One of the more awkward exchanges for a player is the rare occurance where he is traded, says good bye to his former mates, then walks down the hall and meets his new team in the other locker room. [tonightshealthyscratches]

With most general managers still hibernating through a moderately temperate winter in the weeks leading up to this year's trade deadline, the Sharks and Lightning struck a deal just minutes before the opening faceoff at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The Lightning sent pesky defensive forward Dominic Moore roughly 35 feet away to San Jose in exchange for a second round pick in this year's draft that originally belonged to Minnesota.

The Sharks also sent a 2012 seventh-round selection to Tampa Bay as well.

As for the game, Moore's old buddies bested the Sharks in a wild 6-5 overtime affair that saw five lead changes on Martin St. Louis' second goal of the evening.

St. Louis gave Tampa Bay the lead with just under 12 minutes remaining on a bit of a fluky goal. The Lightning held the lead until Logan Couture set up Tommy Wingels with a beautiful 2-on-1 head fake and pass. Wingels buried it for his second goal of the season to force overtime before St. Louis struck again:

Obviously, Dominic Moore may not be the household name that's going to shake up the rest of the league and create a domino effect in the trade market. But with the addition of Moore, the Sharks addressed a glaring need that has become their annual Achillies heel in the postseason, grittiness.

Moore's offensive stats have never impressed anyone, but he's shown over the course of his career that he can be a valuable asset to a team looking to make a playoff run. He scored 11 points (3 G, 8 A) in 18 postseason games with the Lightning, as they came within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals.

This year, he averaged over two minutes of penalty kill time per game in Tampa Bay and won 55 percent of faceoffs. With the depth the Sharks already have at center, between Joe Thornton, Couture and Michal Handzus, Moore will certainly take a back seat for offensive zone draws.

San Jose wasted no time getting their man, as more and more players, such as P.A. Parenteau, Frans Nielsen and Tuomo Ruutu, seem to be destined to stay put.

Don't expect Moore to be the remedy for San Jose's all-but annual playoff letdowns, but in a few months time he could turn out to be an underrated piece to a championship puzzle.

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Mineola, NY -- “Time is of the essence,” that’s the message New York Islanders Senior Vice President and Alternate Governor Michael Picker tried to convey at Tuesday's Nassau Legislature Economic and Community Development and Labor meeting.

“We cannot be talking anymore about what’s, if’s, can’s, should, etcetera,” He said while addressing legislators at the Tuesday meeting. “Unfortunately at this point in time, since the Lighthouse Project was discussed in 2003, we’re at the end of that road… We have to make a decision on the Coliseum itself because the Islanders have to make a decision on their home.”

Both Picker and Deputy County Executive Rob Walker stressed the need for action and the need for a decision on the Nassau Hub’s future sooner rather than later. The Islanders lease runs out in 2015

“I would say by the end of 2012, the Islanders are going to make a decision,” Walker told legislatures. “They’re looking at their options. They have every right to and if I was the owner I’d be doing the same thing. Time is of the essence. Something’s happening in 2012. A decision has to be made by all parties involved.”

The Islanders will play an exhibition game in Brooklyn in October against the New Jersey Devils. The New York City borough has openly discussed their desire to lure the Islanders and ABC 7 confirmed that the Barclays Center has had discussions with the Islanders about moving the team there.

“The Brooklyn game is an exhibition game into a market that allows us to be the first NHL game ever to be played in Brooklyn,” Picker told Islanders Hockey Blog when asked if exhibition game was a way to test the waters. “In a brand new facility that we can expose, not only the Brooklyn community, but the surrounding community to NHL hockey.”

Though Picker did confirm that the Islanders have had discussions with several people about possible venue locations.

“We have spoken to many different people in many different locations,” he said following his address to legislatures. “About options that they have for a new venue and a home for the New York Islanders. We believe there are many options and if it requires us to look at something other than Nassau County, then we’ll do that.”

Deputy County Executive Walker did say that County Executive Ed Mangano is still committed to keeping the team in Nassau, sayin that “keeping the Islanders here is on the forefront.” Newsday reported Tuesday night that Mangano had offered Islander owner Charles Wang an exclusive window to draw up plans for a privately funded plan to redevelop the Coliseum and the 77-acre surrounding area.

However, the county and developers are exploring life without the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Monday a CBS New York article quoted Vince Polimeni of the ABLI as saying, “Make the assumption [the Islanders] are leaving. Their lease is up in two years.” Polimeni also mentioned exploring bring other teams in to replace the Islanders. Deputy County Executive Walker also addressed that briefly on Tuesday suggesting a new arena could be used for basketball or as a concert venue only. Some plans suggested development without an arena all together.

“A development at that site without the New York Islanders and a new venue is not realistic,” Picker responded when asked about such plans. “It sets us back from where we are today and I don’t even believe, what ever is suggested is developed there if it’s without the team and a new venue, it could approach what the economics are to the county and its’ workforce today.”

He added later, “we’ve seen comments about bringing teams to the area, where we know commissioner Bettman has publically stated that if the Islanders depart Long Island there will not be a new NHL team. We know from commissioner Stern that said that there’s not going to be a third New York team in the NBA. I’m not sure what teams they’re talking about or how they see an approach of development of the site without the Islanders and a new venue.”

Talks of a possible request for proposal on the site were discussed as well, but Picker said that Wang would not likely submit anything if an RFP was sent out. “If there’s an RFP we would have to evaluate that at that time, but I don’t think so,” he said.

Deputy County Executive Walker said that the county has heard from multiple people, who want to play a hand in helping develop the Nassau Hub.

“The one good thing that has come from the referendum not passing, has been the overwhelming support from people to now have come forward and say what they would like to see built,” he said during his address at the meeting.

A group of several large developers announced plans last week for a joint proposal for the area with or without the Islanders. Though the thought may be scary to fans, Picker still seemed optimistic something will be worked out, even with people thinking about development with out the Islanders.

“That’s a decision that the county would have to make,” Picker said when asked about it. “They control the land and they will have to make a decision that when the Islanders lease expires in 2015. It’s up to them to make that decision. It’s not up to us. We’ve put forth exactly what we want and what we’re hoping and we still remain confident today that something can be worked out.”

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The 20,066 on hand inside Joe Louis Arena indulged in their favorite Journey song after seeing their Red Wings win for the 21st time in a row on Tuesday night, as Detroit set the NHL franchise record for consecutive home wins with a 3-1 victory over the Stars. [tonightshealthyscratches]

They surpassed the 1929-'30 Boston Bruins and 1975-76 Flyers, who had each won 20 straight on home ice, a level of dominance that was once thought extinct in today's NHL, what with the parity of having a 30-team league with a salary cap.

But they did it. They got hot, and they stayed hot.

Their all-star goaltender broke his finger 10 days ago. It didn't phase them. In fact, Joey MacDonald has excelled in his short stint with the Wings since being recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL.

It was MacDonald manning the pipes tonight in the record-breaking victory at JLA. He posted 20 saves, and nearly had a shutout if not for Adam Burish's goal with 32.8 remaining in regulation. But by then it didn't matter, the party had all-but started for the Red Wings and their fans, who were counting down until they could scream "BORN AND RAISED IN SOUTH DETROOOOIT" for the 21st straight game.

Henrik Zetterberg and Brad Stuart, who got the game-winning goal for all you trivia buffs, got the scoring started early, giving Detroit a 2-0 cushion. Jiri Hudler added a third goal five minutes into the third and the countdown to Journey was on.

Watch the final seconds tick away and the players salute the home fans after their 55th consecutive sellout:

For those of you that couldn't watch the game live, Kevin Allen of USA Today was running a live-blog, recording the action on the ice as well as the atmosphere in the stands as the night went on.

As time ran down, a playoff-like atmosphere inside Joe Louis Arena celebrated being in attendance for this landmark event. Chants of "Twenty-one" and "Joey! Joey!" filled the arena. Detroit kept pace with the LUNDsane Rangers, who blanked the Bruins in Boston, 3-0, to take a one-point lead in the Presidents Trophy race.

The Red Wings will go for number 22 on Friday night, when they host the Nashville Predators. Though they've obviously been fairly strong on home ice lately, they sit just four points ahead of Vancouver for the Western Conference lead and have played two more games.

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This afternoon the NHL revealed the roster for the 2012 All-Star Game in Ottawa and there are more than a few things that are noteworthy:

1) In addition to the four Senators players who were voted into the starting lineup by the fans, forward Colin Greening was selected as one of twelve rookies to participate in the event's festivities.

2) Teemu Selanne and Niklas Lidstrom were not selected for the game. Cue the hysteria. (Note: Pierre Lebrun confirmed that Selanne informed his GM that he would politely decline the invitation if selected.)

3) Three former Senators -- Chara, Hossa, and Brian Elliott -- were selected for the game. Sorry fans, with Mikko Koivu representing the Minnesota Wild, there will be no Dany Heatley. Playing in an All-Star Game shouldn't be a big adjustment for Elliott. I'm pretty sure that he's used to giving up a lot of goals while playing behind a group that's playing some terrible defensive hockey. I just hope for his sake that these stimuli don't cause him breakdown and relapse. If anything,  the Bruce Garrioch and Elliott reunion could prove to be the most entertaining subplot of the entire All-Star Game weekend.

4) Some influential hockey internet personalities like Greg Wyshynski were pushing for Alfredsson and Selanne to be the respective captains for the game. With Selanne declining to participate, finding an alternative should be interesting. For unintentional comedy purposes and to further the mystique of the Battle of Ontario, I hope that the league elects to name Kessel or Phaneuf instead.

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If you’ve ever been flipping through the channels, then you may have come across the prank show Scare Tactics. A show that puts prank victims in the middle of their worst nightmares only to have the actors reveal the prank by asking them, “are you scared?” Then going on to say, “well you shouldn’t be, cause you’re on Scare Tactics!”

It was seven years ago that hockey fans were in the middle of their worst nightmare when the league locked out its’ players and eventually cancelled the 2004-05 season. Now, with the CBA set to expire on September 15 and the league ready to begin negations with the NHLPA soon, an interesting turn of events has taken place that could impact negotiations between the league and the players association.

That turn of events, the NHLPA’s decision to reject plans for conference realignment.

NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr cited several concerns about the realignment plan and the lack of transparency. Through a press release, Fehr stated that the concerns centered around whether the new conference realignment would increase and create more onerous travel. He also raised concern regarding the disparity of playoff chances between the small and larger divisions.

According to Fehr, the league was not too accommodating when the players association requested more information. no comments

The fans in Philadelphia may need to come up with a new chant for tomorrow. From the Pittsburgh Penguins official website:

Sidney Crosby did not accompany the Pittsburgh Penguins on their road trip to Philadelphia today and will sit out the next two games as a precaution.

"Sidney took a hard hit during our game against Boston Monday night and wasn't feeling 100 percent," Penguins General Manager Ray Shero said. "He saw Dr. Micky Collins of UPMC today and took an ImPACT test, which showed no problems. However, we all think it's best that he sits out the next two games as a precaution."

Obviously the Penguins have been successful without Sidney Crosby before, but this still isn't great news. Hopefully he's missing time due to his banged up knee and not anything else. Flyers fans will inevitably say that he's skipping the game because he's scared of their team.

The fact that he took an ImPACT test is concerning, but it didn't show any problems, which is good news. The Penguins are probably going to take every precaution possible with Sidney Crosby, and rightfully so. Even if you look at this from a pure investment standpoint and ignore the human side (which is pretty difficult to do) it makes sense to sit Crosby when the possibility for serious injury exists. The Penguins have too much invested in Sidney Crosby. Why would they risk putting him in danger for the sake of a couple of games (any games)? It doesn't make sense from a human standpoint either.

Earlier today the Penguins website had Crosby quoted as saying "I feel good" in regards to his health. He skated with the team today, but he didn't take part in the full practice.

This could just be a knee issue and we're all freaking out over nothing. Breathe.

This is the darkest, most terrible timeline...

 

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Call it lucky, call it too early to tell, call it whatever you want, but there’s simply no denying the changing of the guard so far this season in the NHL. Whether it’s on an individual basis or in the standings, things are certainly looking different. [helloniceblog]

The struggles of Alexander Ovechkin, Eric Staal and Jarome Iginla to name a few, have been well documented but they aren’t the only ones that have failed to continue their pace from last season. Of the top 10-point getters from 2010-11, only 2 of them are in that same company this year (D. Sedin & S. Stamkos), while 5 of them have fallen outside the top 40 and 2 outside the top 100 (Jarome Iginla and Henrik Zetterberg).  The same goes for the top 10 goal scorers from last season, with only 4 of them in the top 50. On the flip side, most of the players that ARE doing well this year would be considered somewhat of a surprise, 4 of the top 10 weren’t even in the top 85 in scoring last year. Every hockey expert at the beginning of the year would have predicted Claude Giroux, Daniel Sedin and Steven Stamkos to be near the top of the points list, and to their credit they are, but who would have predicted Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul to be 1, 3 in scoring at this point of the season (let’s be honest Leafs fans).  Who would have thought Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the 18-year old, baby faced kid that wasn’t even supposed to make the roster past the 9 game mark would be 5^th in scoring after 26 games.  Hindsight may be 20/20 but you just can’t predict things like that. He’s not the only youngster ripping it up though. Of the top 30-point getters at the moment, 15 of them are under 25 years old.  A lot has been made of the ridiculous money being handed out to young guys on their second contracts (ie Drew Doughty, Tyler Myers etc.) but with the current state of the game and the emphasis on speed, size and conditioning, the young guns are getting it done better then anyone else in the league right now and GM’s are well aware of this. Hell, 3 of the top 25 in the league right now aren’t even of legal drinking age in the U.S. (RNH, Seguin, Skinner). Imagine Canada’s world junior squad if the NHL released those guys for the tournament. WOW. Obviously that won’t happen, but it’s a nice thought. no comments

Bruce Boudreau, the most successful regular season coach in Washington Capitals history, has been fired.  Dale Hunter is the much anticipated new head coach of the Caps.  He comes in with the resume of a champion, ready to win, and he is the right man for this team, not least because he used to play here and has already coached three of the team's players.  Dale Hunter knows how to develop players, he knows how to get teams of stars to work together, and he has the hunger for the one thing that has eluded him in his illustrious career, the Stanley Cup.

Hunter is the right man for this job for many reasons.  In looking at his coaching resume, Hunter has already spent ten years behind the bench of the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights, the team he co-owns with his brother, Mark.  Hunter took over the team midway through the 2001-02 season, he won the 2003-04 CHL coach of the year award, and became the fastest coach in OHL history to 300 wins and 400 wins.  In 688 games behind the bench, Hunter's record is 451-189-17-31, and he has the best winning percentage in league history.  Hunter's teams have made the playoffs every season, and they win, too.  Under Hunter, the Knights have won 17 of 26 playoff series and the 2005 Memorial Cup.  Now that his two sons have graduated from the Knights system and with nothing left to accomplish in the OHL, Hunter is ready for a new challenge. no comments

Over the last few months, I think it is safe to say that I haven't exactly been a huge fan of Ryan Miller. No, I'm not going to state that Ryan Miller is overrated. No, I'm not going to say that Enroth should play. No, I'm not going to try and playback his interview after the Flyers game like it's the Mark Fuhrman tapes. No, I'm not going to figure out what is or isn't a soft goal like figuring out what side JFK's fatal bullet came from. That sh#t is played out on my part and everyone else's.

For the record, I don't think there is a goalie controversy because it is too early in the season to have one. I also think that we are only 11 games into the season. It is way too early to fire people. Let us not forget that this team almost beat Philly with a bunch of injured players in the playoffs and made a great run just to get in. Yes, I think the Millermaniacs are crazy and always find excuses for Miller's shoddy play. However, Miller and the Sabres deserve at least 30-40 games to figure out what the problem is between them.

Miller's also a Montreal game away from everything going back to normal. I mean, we are talking about 11 games here. It's the same stuff. Fans/media overreacting to one game. It's the norm in the sports world.

(On a sidenote, some people in the media have a lot of gall to tell the fans that they were out of line for booing/going after Miller two nights ago. Really? We are the ones jumping to conclusions and being irrational about a player? He who has not sinned, cast the first stone....Still waiting on that stone)

Talk to me in January about a panic attack.

As for the 650 lb. gorilla in the room lately, Ryan Miller's problems go beyond the ice. no comments