Winging It In Motown - All Posts

Things I have Read This Week Which Make me Laugh: Knowing the Rules Edition

2013-05-21T17:19:36Z

Did you know there was a goal last night that shouldn't have counted for the team that scored it?

Of course you did. However, if you're a Blackhawks fan who doesn't know the rules of hockey, then you have the wrong goal in mind. Let's get to the Twitter:

@yahoopuckdaddy @cheertheanthem @laurencewholmes @marklazerusFranzen was CLEARLY offside on Datsyuks goal. twitter.com/HawkeyTown_USA…
— HawkeyTown, USA (@HawkeyTown_USA) May 21, 2013

Hahahaha fantastic.

Let's do what anybody who thought this was a bad goal should have done and consult the rulebook

83.1 Off-side - Players of the attacking team must not precede the puck into the attacking zone.

The position of the player’s skates and not that of his stick shall be the determining factor in all instances in deciding an off-side. A player is off-side when both skates are completely over the leadingedge of the blue line involved in the play.

A player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leadingedge of the blueline regardless of the position of his stick. However, a player actually controlling the puck who shall cross the line ahead of the puck shall not be considered "off-side," provided he had possession and control of the puck prior to his skates crossing the blue line.

Now, here is where Franzen gains possession of the puck:

You'll notice that this takes place juuuuuuuust slightly before Franzen reaches the Chicago blue line.

+1 for knowing the rules, geniuses.

In fairness though, even Brian Hedger, who writes for NHL.com took up the mantle here before coming around to the right side. He already deleted the one where he called somebody else wrong for knowing the rule, but at least he owned up to it.

Just to be clear ... always was under presumption puck had to cross first. You learn something new every day. Rule 83.
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) May 21, 2013

Yep. So the guy who writes for NHL.com is now better-aware of how the league's rules work.

(To wrap up this learning experience, @HawkeyTown_USA has also since come to understand how wrong he was when he was spamming everybody who would listen with links to his picture "proving" Franzen should have been whistled. Still, it makes me laugh that stuff this rudimentary can gain so much traction.)

Quick Hits: Bask In The Glory Boys

2013-05-21T10:00:06Z

Red Wings News

Datsyuk, Miller, Nyquist score to help Red Wings beat Blackhawks 3-1 to take 2-1 series lead - The Hockey News
Just soak in the glory boys. Soak it in.

Discuss: Detroit takes 2-1 series lead vs. Chicago | ProHockeyTalk
Great game. Now on to game 4.

Wings beat Blackhawks to take 2-1 series lead - Sportsnet.ca
Taking back what is rightfully ours.

Rapid Reaction: Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 1 - Chicago Blackhawks Blog - ESPN Chicago
Referees. No goal. Wings are dirty. Detroit sucks. Blah blah blah blah blah...

Red Wings ride Motor City mayhem to victory over Blackhawks - The Globe and Mail

This is Hockeytown, and this is what we do!

Swede-est Day: Ericsson, Kronwall play together - The Macomb Daily

I keep telling you, the Swedes are the best.

Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk a longshot to win Selke Trophy for fifth time, says online gaming site | MLive.com

I have a hunch that he wins it this year. Just a hunch.

Big E energizes the Wings' defense - Detroit Red Wings

He's been solid every game.

Move to wing has been good for Wings' Abdelkader | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Sun

No player has changed more this season than Justin Abdelkader. Maybe Kindl, but you get the point.

Did You See That? Gustav Nyquist's patience pays off | Hockey | CBC Sports

Did you see that? The guy in the purpleish shirt is going bonkers.

NHL News

NHL 14 cover vote: Datsyuk, Brodeur, Tavares and Bobrovsky are final four | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
If Datsyuk beats Brodeur he will be on the cover. I doubt Tavares and Bob have enough fan support.

Buffalo Sabres re-sign rugged fourth-line forward John Scott to 1-year contract - The Hockey News
Just the man the Sabres need.

Report: Predators part ways with assistant coach | ProHockeyTalk
Peter Horachek had been with the team since 2003.

NHL Tooth Watch: Cataloging all the lost fangs in the 2013 playoffs | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
John Moore lost 6 teeth after taking a puck to the face! That's a real hockey face.

Darnell Nurse – The Next Ones: NHL 2013 Draft Prospect Profile
Did you know that Nurse is Donovan McNabb's nephew?

Iginla: Stanley Cup or no, I’m not retiring | ProHockeyTalk
Not that anyone realistically thought that he was going to.

2013 NHL Draft Rankings – War Room May Edition Top 30 (Round 1) | The Hockey Writers

Draft info.

Sharks look to build on dramatic Game 3 win to tie series | TSN

Not trying to get ahead of myself here but if the Wings advance, I would much rather face the Sharks than the Kings.

Bettman: ‘we probably do better than the Dow’ | ProHockeyTalk
He is preparing himself for another lockout next season. It's all apart of the plan.

Ducks D Beauchemin to be ready for season after knee surgery | TSN
Will be ready to lose to the Wings yet again.

Rangers coach John Tortorella thinks that goal was pretty huge - SBNation.com

Haha. Pierre's quick "thank you" is amazing.

Ducks sign Swedish League rookie of the year Karlsson | ProHockeyTalk

This guy is really good. I have seen him play a few times for Sweden and he looks like a very good player.

Mark Messier Leadership Award Finalists: Alfredsson vs. Brown vs. Toews | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
Dustin Brown and Patrick Kane: the greatest leaders to walk this earth.

Lecavalier says he wants to stick with Lightning | ProHockeyTalk
I don't see him being moved. He is a good leader for a rebuilding club.

Let's Go Red Wings!

CSSI Analysis: Western Conference Semifinals Game 3: Red Wings 3 - Blackhawks 1

2013-05-21T10:00:06Z

The Red Wings have a lead in a series that isn't over yet after taking a 3-1 win in Detroit on Monday night. This one was a back-and-forth affair that could have gone any number of ways. Thankfully, it went the way I wanted it to.

People are going to complain about penalties for the next seven weeks after this one and they're all going to be right, no matter which side they're arguing. The refs made any number of mistakes. Neither team scored on the power play in nine combined opportunities (Detroit 5/4 Chicago). Overall, the Hawks put 40 shots on net compared to the Wings' 30.

CSSI Methodology Explanation here

Goalie Ratings

Jimmy Howard may have had his best game of the playoffs here. He was very good at rebound control for most shots and scrambled exceptionally well when the puck came back off him. Howard will win the head-to-head battle. Overall, I'm going to hand him a +2 rating and I'm very much fighting the urge to bust out the rare +3. I think his teammates did him a few favors in net-front scrums, but damn was I impressed.

The Goals

2nd Period 07:49 - Detroit Goal: Gustav Nyquist (wrist shot) from Damien Brunner and Joakim Andersson
The Wings get on the boards first with a great hustle to turn into a great zone entry and then a great move across the middle and then a great job outwaiting Crawford before Nyquist pots it home. Overall...great. Brunner will net an extra half-plus for the hustle to get to the puck that he flips over Leddy. Nyquist will get a bonus plus for his hustle and great work to score this.

2nd Period 08:20 - Detroit Goal: Andrew Miller (tip in) from Patrick Eaves and Cory Emmerton
The Wings score again 31 seconds later as the fourth line creates a turnover high in the zone. Eaves wastes no time putting a shot on goal that Crawford can't corral. Eaves puts the rebound back on and it gets through. The puck is sitting behind Crawford when Miller pokes it home. I'm going to give Eaves a bonus assist and a bonus plus for all of his work here. He does most of the legwork moving the puck around the zone and is the reason for the Rozsival turnover. Colaiacovo was in good position and will earn half an assist on the work to keep the puck in. Kindl will also earn an assist for a clever move at his own blue line to move the puck up ice on the faceoff win and also a well-timed pinch to prevent a clear.

3rd Period 04:35 - Chicago Goal: Patrick Kane (wrist shot) from Duncan Keith
Chicago breaks the shutout on a bit of a controversial call. Johan Franzen gets hit in the numbers in the corner of the Chicago zone, allowing the Hawks to break the forecheck. Keith dumps it high over the Wings' defense to break Kane in all alone for the finish between Howard's legs. The no-call aside, Quincey and Smith have to have this play covered better. This is a desperation move by the Hawks that pays off because Q misses a jump and Smith isn't back far enough to deny Kane the break. Both Quincey and Smith will pick up coverage minuses. Datsyuk, Franzen, and Filppula will be cleared.

3rd Period 06:46 - Detroit Goal: Pavel Datsyuk (wrist shot) from Johan Franzen Brendan Smith
The Wings reclaim the two-goal lead on a transition play just over two minutes (and one waved-off goal) later which leads a puck to the very end of Datsyuk's reach as he crosses into the zone. Pavel collects it and slings the puck on net. Crawford watches helplessly as the puck is in and out faster than Andrew Shaw on prom night. Datsyuk will get a self-assist for starting this play in his own end while Abdelkader gets the third assist for helping make sure the Wings make it out of the zone. Smith will get a bonus half-plus on this play for good body positioning and a quick turn to hit Franzen in stride out of the zone. Franzen for his work will also get a half-plus.

Penalty Adjustments (pluses and minuses only)

1st Period 16:12 - Justin Abdelkader (holding the stick): The only obvious penalty of the first period which wasn't also let go at some other time of the period will earn Abdelkader a minus.

2nd Period 00:54 - Brendan Smith (holding): Smith gets a minus for grabbing Patrick Sharp on the rush. Obvious call.
2nd Period 17:39 - Brendan Smith (interference): Smith gets another minus later in the 2nd. He's trying to make room for Datsyuk to come out from behind the Detroit net, but doesn't have the timing to establish the ice before Bolland gets there. Since this makes it a moving pick, it also makes it an illegal interference.

The Entire 3rd Period - The Blackhawks (childishness, lack of composure): I just want to mention how off their game Chicago was by the third here. None of the penalties were directly "drawn", but I kind of want to give everybody on the team a plus for driving them to this level of madness. I think Cleary actually will get a plus here that's a gametime achievement award for driving Hawks players bonkers which kind of works as an overall plus, but deserves to be in this category.

Bonus Ratings

+1 to Drew Miller, +0.5 to Cory Emmerton: Detroit's two best PKing forwards got a lot of chances to show their mettle, as Miller played more than 5:30 while Emmerton played more than 3:30 of perfect PK. The way they get in shooting and passing lanes has been just great.
+1 to Kyle Quincey: The little nastiness he showed which got him penalties in the regular season have turned into good defensive work around his own crease. I liked Quincey's play in this one.

Honorable Mentions:

The Filppula-Z-Cleary-Kronwall-Ericsson grouping got killed on possession and bailed out by Howard a few times. The D-men there each spent more than five minutes PKing, but overall, I think even ratings for everybody but Cleary works out for them.

Season Totals Chart

Red Wings vs. Blackhawks Game 3 Highlights

2013-05-21T03:25:53Z

Haven't even watched these because I'm still dancing. Somebody tell me if all the brutal things are in here. I'm guessing they missed some.

Oh Man. Red Wings 3-1 Blackhawks

2013-05-21T03:14:12Z

I came to the realization earlier today that I'm watching a series in which the Red Wings are huge underdogs. I knew this going in, but the realization was more about how I have never had to do this before. Never. Neither have you, if you're my age. Isn't that completely stupid? That's 20 years of being spoiled unlike any other fanbase in North American sports. Not just the success, but the incomparable level of consistency of always being either the favorite or at worst, being an even match. It's 10-month-old-milk level of spoiled. It's the forgotten-tenderloin-in-the-back-of-the-fridge-from-last-summer spoiled. We are a smelly generation of sports fans.

Watching from this end is new and exciting. The team is winning when they aren't really supposed to. They upended the 2-seeded Ducks and now have a series lead against the mighty Blackhawks. FAR from over, very far, I know. But I wasn't expecting to associate the word "fun" as much as I am with this run and I'm loving it.

" :(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((" -- Jonathan Toews. Bullets:

One of the pregame stories from the Blackhawks' perspective was Viktor Stalberg finally being unscratched by Joel Quenneville. This came after Dan Carcillo accidentally burned those incriminating pictures of his head coach while setting ants on fire. Stalberg's impact was immediately felt and I mean literally because he nearly died flying shoulders-first into the boards (Courtesy @worldofisaac.) If you are suspicious of Chicago's medical staff clearing Stalberg to come back out after that hit just remember that it's impossible to have a concussion when you no longer have a head.
A brief list of things I care less about than the "booing Marian Hossa" discussion:
This game was mad as hell. It was a California roll of angry, intense playoff hockey. It was hot wasabi mustard into an open wound. It was a tempura-ary moment of great hockey action. It was soy exciting. Whoa! What's with all the sushi jokes you're probably thinking. Well gang after 27 years of thinking I didn't like sushi, it turns out that I just don't like eating un-fried white rice and grass. And I just wanna yell from the rooftops about the joys of sushi now. Eat sushi guys, don't watch hockey.
On the day that he retires from hockey, Dan Cleary is going to get hit by a car while walking across the street.
NYQUIST (again courtesy @worldofisaac. Follow him)
It's apparent now that the development of Gustav Nyquist was handled with perfection. I made jokes, you made jokes, I made some more jokes, but alas: Holland and Babcock chained him down for what felt like years longer than he needed to be and now that he has been unleashed, he's deking the balls off of guys like Brent Seabrook to make up for lost time. This goal was so great. After the 1st period (shots were 15-9 Chicago) it felt like it was going to turn into another game where Jimmy Howard had to be invincible for Detroit to even have a chance. Nyquist's goal changed that feeling, and the fact that we got the next one helped too.
Miller, Eaves and Emmerton teamed up for that second goal. Not sure how Babcock can change the lineup around anymore, if he's even thinking about it (of course he is). Their PK work was huge too, which came in handy considering that Brendan Smith has an ass rash that only subsides when the cooling touch of the penalty box bench caresses it.
Johan Franzen was boarded and then right after that Patrick Kane scored a goal instead of a penalty being called but then the Hawks appeared to score another and the refs said no-goal for some reason so things evened up I guess and this is the only sentence I will say about refs.
Pavel Datsyuk. PAVEL DATSYUK. pvllllllll
Sort of bizarre but here it goes: I don't dislike Pierre McGuire. Sure he looks like a penis and isn't very good at his job and has perfected the Name That Squirt game to a disturbing degree, but at least he does a good job of balancing his impossibly awkward analysis between the two teams. Olczyk? I hope that guy does the mechanical pencil thing I talked about that one time.
Dan Cleary on Bryan Bickell after the game: "I don't think we'll be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon." Cleary was then hit by a car.
Ho hum Jimmy stopped 39 of 40 shots no biggie. He's pretty good, deal with it.
Niklas Kronwall played 26 minutes. Not doing a ton of complaining about the guy over the last several weeks has felt awesome.
Drew Miller's beard being completely black is the biggest disappointment of the playoffs so far.
This was the first time that the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks in regulation at home since October 8th, 2009, a span of 10 games. For one night, at least, it was not Joel Louis Arena.
Toews is this series' Corey Perry. Doesn't have a goal in the playoffs, is getting a ton of shots on net, and probably wants to kill Jimmy Howard.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Go Wings.

Blackhawks at Red Wings Game 3: Third Period Thread

2013-05-21T01:19:42Z

Ed Olczyk sucks.

Yes, we all know this, but what's important is that the Wings are not, in fact, sucking at the moment.

There's no way to overstate this: the third period of this game is literally the most important period of hockey the Red Wings have played since 2009. Win this period and you put the Hawks behind in a series for the first time and create even more doubt. Lose and the Wings are in trouble.

It's the third period. 20 minutes to victory.

Blackhawks at Red Wings Game 3: Second Period Thread

2013-05-21T00:21:41Z

After the game on Saturday I went grocery shopping proudly wearing my Pavel Datsyuk jersey. Do you know it took 30 minutes before someone had the nerve to say something to me? And all I got was "Booooooooo........hey who won today?"

Scoreless through 1 but not from lack of chances. Wings were out-shot 15-9 but one extra PP might have something to do with that. Overall the play was pretty even and things are starting to get chippy.

Game 3 Wings vs Hawks Game Day Updates

2013-05-20T19:00:07Z

The Dirt

No lineup changes from game 2 for the Wings tonight. Players and lines will remain the same.
Drew Miller said his hand was a little achy after game 2, but he felt fine and is good to go. He has some extra padding in his glove to help minimize the impact of anything that might hit it.
On the Blackhawks front, Stalberg will be back in the lineup and Carcillo will sit out. This moves Bolland up to 2C from 3C, Shaw moves from 3RW to 3C, Stalberg slots in at 3RW, Handzus moves to 4C with Frolik and Kruger as wingers. (Full lineup chart below).
If you'd like something to read while you wait for this never ending work day to end, so we can get on with what's REALLY important.. Mike Babcock did an interview with NHL writer Corey Masisak and it's a good read. It also validates much of what I, and many of you, have been saying throughout the season in regards to the team's identity and struggles. The full article is here.

A few highlights include:

"I don't know what Chicago started and Anaheim started -- I think it was like 20-2 or something ridiculous," Babcock said Sunday at Joe Louis Arena. "A good month for us was one over [.500]. We tried to do that each month and keep hanging in there to give us a chance to get better. Our guys have gotten better. You have to give them credit.

"We've had great growth from within -- I think the most since I've been in the National Hockey League, for sure. That might just be because we've got a different type of team. We've got a whole bunch of kids, so there is a chance for growth."

"That Andersson line has been key for us," Babcock said. "We got worked in the 3-hole for the first two months and we couldn't handle it."

Goalie Jimmy Howard said, "That third line has been really good for us, definitely taking some pressure off our top two lines. That's what you need in the playoffs. … [Andersson] is the worker. [Nyquist] has the skill. And Brunner is a natural goal scorer."

"The growth of Smith and Kindl has been huge for us," Babcock said. "Ericsson has gotten much better. We seem to have people rounded into playing in spots that suit them better.

"It took us a long time to figure out where everybody fit best. There were lots of changes, new guys that we brought in that didn't fit the way we thought they were, or were better than we thought they were. We've just kind of watched it happen."

Kronwall said:

"Going down the stretch, when we really had to win to make the playoffs in the first case -- that is when I really felt like the team was getting together and pulling together and all working the same direction," Kronwall said. "I think that's something we've learned over the latter part of the season -- how we have to play to have success. I think that's proven in the playoffs, too. It is pretty easy to see what we're doing right when we win and what we're not doing right when we don't."

Babcock finished with one of his analogies:

"I've said it before, but when I used to coach junior hockey I'd always say that a playoff game development-wise to a regular-season game is like two-to-one," he said. "In the playoffs, the players get better and better. I think with our kids, that is what's happening right now. We're playing a good team right now in Chicago. They know how to play, so it pushes you.

"I thought our guys played real well [Saturday]. … For the first while we weren't good enough to play that way. I agree, you start believing that it is the blue print after you have some success. In order to have some success, you have to be good enough to do it. We've worked on it since Day One. We were a work in progress, because we didn't know what we were going to be early."

Damien Brunner bet against the Swedes... never bet against the Swedes. Brunner bet some of the Swedes on the team, that Switzerland would beat Sweden in the IIHF World Championship. Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson both have brothers on the Swedish Championship team. Brunner will have to pay for his indiscretions.

TSN did a short feature video on "Kronwalling".
And here are a couple quotes from Bill Roose's article on Jimmy Howard that are perfect.

"Nothing really bothers him," said captain Henrik Zetterberg, of the Red Wings’ goaltender. "If he lets in a goal, he just flushes it and moves on. He's a fierce competitor. It's tough to score on him in practice. He gets mad if you score on him in practice. So it's a challenge for us to do that, so it's a consistent battle."

"Howie, he’s been stellar for us for three years now," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "He just seems to get better and better. He’s been stealing games for us all season long and in the playoffs. He’s got confidence in a good way. He knows he’s a great goalie and obviously, believing in himself helps him prepare for each night and he goes out there and proves it each night."

Pre game comments from Babcock:

Regarding Abdelkader:

As you go higher and higher in hockey, there's less space and you have to make plays in tighter quarters. Last year when I watched Abby play in the World Championship, I thought he played great in the middle. When he played for us and we moved him up in the regular season, during the NHL, I didn't think he could get the puck in and get the puck out and make the plays he could make in the middle. So when I saw him there, I thought jeeze, we'll give him another go and it just so happened with the injuries we had, we needed some meat in our top group, so we moved him there and he's been great.

Regarding our rookies:

When we signed (Brunner) last summer we didn't know what he was going to do, Nyquist, I thought, made our team last year in training camp and then we didn't have room for him and it took him a while to get back this year. When I went down to watch Andy, every time this year I thought he was great; everyone always told me he was too slow, he looks great to me. Kindl's obviously found some confidence and come along way and Smith has all the skills. He's ultra competitive, sometimes he gets in his own way a little bit, but that's all part of growing up. We talked about Jonathan Ericsson earlier, it took him a number of years to become what's he's capable of being. Only stars step right in and grab the league. The rest of us have to work at it and get better each and every day, and then the superstars work as hard as the regular guys, they just have that much passion and they become Zetterberg and Datstyuk.

A reporter asked Babcock a couple questions that sounded like there was some hidden meaning behind them, and Babcock's body language and responses leave me curious.

Q: Do you teach your young players any differently this year? Are you any more positive with them, do more teaching with them, considering the roster you have?

Perception and reality are sometimes different things. Young guys need a lot of work, you spend a lot of time with them, you share as much as you can with them, ideally they're coachable and you can help them. What we do with our veterans here is still try to help them but we try not to have as many meetings, give them more space, and when we need to show them something we show them something; but when we don't have to, we leave them alone. I think we're positive with all our people. I think the word "positive" and "accountability" and "feedback" sometimes are in how it's received, not in how it's given. To me, the whole key in life is, when someone has an issue with me, I like them to tell me so I can fix it and I can get better at it. Some people when you give them feedback, they take that in a negative way; whereas I think when people are trying to help you, that's a positive thing. Take that for whatever, write whatever you want, you can just put my name on it and say I quoted that.

Follow up from the same reporter:

Q: The more positive perception isn't mine, it's your players. That's what they told me. Do you think that's because they're older? More mature?

Steve Yzerman told me one time that when Scotty coached him here, he hardly ever talked to him; then when he was working with me for two years, Scotty was talking to players all the time. Scotty Bowman loved the players, absolutely loved them, but he had a job to do. I'm here to tell you Paul McLean loves the players, Mike Babcock loves the players. Sometimes when you're pushing people who don't want to be pushed, sometimes they don't like it. I'm here to tell you, when you look at the group of coaches that are still playing right now, they're pushing their people. That's just the reality. In my world, that's positive.

One final thought: Marrian Hossa was asked (again) how he felt about being boo'd in Detroit, and said this:

“There’s going to be boos, you know, that’s how it is but it was funny because Patrick Kane told me he hopes he can experience something like that (the massive boos) once.”

Lineup

Forwards
Johan Franzen	Pavel Datsyuk	Justin Abdelkader
Valtteri Filppula	Henrik Zetterberg	Daniel Cleary
Gustav Nyquist	Joakim Andersson	Damien Brunner
Drew Miller	Cory Emmerton	Patrick Eaves

Defense
Niklas Kronwall	Jonathan Ericsson
Kyle Quincey	Brendan Smith
Jakub Kindl	Carlo Colaiacovo

Goalies

Jimmy Howard

Jonas Gustavsson

Jordan Pearce

Healthy Scratches

Todd Bertuzzi

Jordin Tootoo

Ian White

Injured

Danny DeKeyser (Broken Thumb)- Out for the season

Darren Helm (Back)- Out for the season

Mikael Samuelsson (sore boob)

Blackhawks Lineup

Forwards
Brandon Saad	Jonathan Toews	Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp	Dave Bolland	Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell	Andrew Shaw	Viktor Stalberg
Michael Frolik	Michal Handzus	Marcus Kruger

Defense
Duncan Keith	Niklas Hjalmarsson
Brent Seabrook	Nick Leddy
Michal Rozsival	Johnny Oduya