So I won't be around for the end of the game because I have to take my daughters to a birthday party, which is awful because I'm nursing a pretty wicked hangover after playing poker last night.

You can imagine, then, that the first period of this game did not help with either the pounding headache or extreme sleepiness that I'm dealing with right now. I think I'm going to need about 25 espresso shots in my Starbucks just to last another period.

The early start must have thrown off the Wings, but it's still 0-0 thanks to some quality goaltending by Jimmy Howard and solid defense in front of him. Can the Wings actually, you know, spend some time in the Hawks' zone next period? We'll see.