Morning Skate: 'Nuck if you Buck

by Casey Richey on Nov 6, 2010 8:30 AM CDT in Game Preview

Detroit finished off a semi-sloppy game in Edmonton last night with a 3-1 win. It wasn't the exact outcome you'd hope for against one of the lower teams in the league but 2 points is 2 points. Right? Yeah. Right? Yeah. Right? Yeah. Right? Yeah. (Bonus points for anyone that knows that reference) Anyway, this will be a pretty short post since the Wings played last night. It will focus mainly on the Vancouver side of things instead of Detroit.

Last night's game was "meh" in the entertainment department but tonight the Wings take on the Vancouver ~~Fanassualters~~ Cancuks and it will be a much tougher test. In fact, it might be the toughest test that the Wings have come across thus far this season.
The biggest question on my mind is how the Wings adjust after playing last night and having to travel again. Vancouver played on Thursday so it's not like they've been resting for a long time. Will Detroit come out with active play or be sluggish at the start?
Vancouver started off pretty poorly, going 2-3-2 in the first 7 games before winning 5 in a row. So the big question is which Vancouver team will show up? The one from the first 7 or the one from the last 5?
Vancouver's averaging about 30 shots on goal both for and against. Detroit put up 30 shots last night on Edmonton but I think it will be tougher to get shots on net against Vancouver.
In three of Luongo's five losses (OT&SO included), he's allowed 4 goals. His GAA is at 2.61 right now
The Sedin Twins are looking as scary as ever--both on the score sheet and in the photography department. Daniel has 8 goals and 7 assists while Henrik has 2 goals and 12 assists. Even though they're capable of Detroit's ass all night long, they're still incredibly fun to watch.
Face-off man Manny Malhotra is now in Vancouver as one of the changes from the team last year. Malhotra's 64.5% is second best in the league. Dan Hamhuis also joined the team but Kyle ~~Wellfed~~ Wellwood and Willie Mitchell are both gone.
Vancouver has the best power play in the league at 28.3%. With Detroit's PK being one of the best in the league it should be an interesting battle to watch. In addition to their good PP, Vancouver has a strong PK--boasting the 9th best in the league. Special teams might be the key factor in tonight's game as both teams match-up pretty well at even strength and on the man advantage.
It's Brad Stuart's birthday. Woop woop.
Nucks Misconduct is the SBN affiliate for the Canucks.

That's it for now.

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Comments

Jimmy's still playing, right?

Dont wanna see him get babied, and dont wanna see Joey Mac either…

And happy birthday, Mr. Stuart

Go for it

by DetroitSports on Nov 6, 2010 11:01 AM CDT reply actions

Reference

It’s similar to something from a Simpsons episode guest starring Mel Gibson.

by Brion on Nov 6, 2010 11:37 AM CDT reply actions

i was thinking a little more recent but that may be true

Winging It In Motown

by Casey Richey on Nov 6, 2010 12:26 PM CDT up reply actions

Also,

I don’t expect a win tonight. Back to back games on the road out west is brutal, especially facing the tougher of those teams on the 2nd night. I’d love 2 points, but I’m going in with low expectations. PROVE ME WRONG!

by Brion on Nov 6, 2010 11:41 AM CDT reply actions

I've been hanging out at nucks misconduct a fair bit

Working long (late) hours and inconvenient social life means I’ve actually listened to more Canucks game that Red Wings games this season. Those guys did start out slow, but after the Rypien incident, the Canucks have been on fire. Don’t know if it fired them up, or if Luongo just got his head screwed on right, or what, but they’ve been winning and with relative ease, too, with their toughest game in that stretch coming from, of all teams, the Oilers (4-3 on Monday).

Here’s the thing, they’re getting scoring from unlikely places – Raffi Torres got a game winner last weekend, and then backed it up with a hat trick against the Oilers. And when he takes a breather, the usual suspects step up, i’m pretty sure it was Henrik Sedin with the game winning goal on Thursday against the Nordilanche.

One more thing, they just got Alex Burrows back from injury, he played his first game against the Oilers, so he should be getting back into the groove now. It’ll be a tough game for the Wings, I think.

I'm expecting 100% improvement from the Lions this season.

by ahtrap on Nov 6, 2010 1:00 PM CDT reply actions