More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Pavel Datsyuk has started to get going.

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Actually, do look now. Things are starting to return to normal for this team as the season progresses. Following a 3-4-2 start, the Red Wings have turned it around by going 4-0-1 in their last five games contests. Four of the five teams they've played in those games were playoff teams last year, including knocking off last year's regular season conference champions in both the East and West. In fact, Detroit has earned points in 8 of its last 10 games--totaling 13 of a possible 20 points. What's behind the reason for the recent winning ways? Let's take a look at a few things:

• Coaching: You had to know that Mike Babcock could only tolerate the poor performance for so long before whippin' the boys into shape. To me, the biggest sign of this was yanking Chris Osgood from the net against Vancouver after surrendering two quick goals. Babcock showed that it doesn't matter how Cups you have; if you don't play well enough to be in there, you won't be. Same has been true as line-ups have been juggled very often to accommodate the up and downs of the players.
• Better execution: The first half of the season so far was filled with sloppy passing and ineffective chances in the offensive zone. The stars have stepped up following the loss of guys like Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen to injury and others to illness. In the past five games, Pavel Datsyuk has 8 points and is really finding his stride while carrying the team. That Henrik Zetterberg guy isn't that bad either...
• Just a matter of time: The least statistically tangible of the bunch, this is more for our own personal sanity. This team is too good to sit under .500 for too long so it's good to see that indeed the team is more on track than the beginning. A lot of new guys-so maybe the old saying that chemistry has to be built before you can win is ringing true. Bertuzzi's starting to factor into the equation and so is Williams. Datsyuk/Zetterberg can get the puck to these guys or benefit from their passing so it's good to see them getting going.
• Tightening of defensive/goaltending: Don't know if I have to go further than saying the defense is playing much much better and so is Chris Osgood. Being pulled like that in Vancouver will do a lot for motivation and drive any sort of complacency out the window. Nick Lidstrom is solid as always and the other guys are starting to come around in his footsteps.
  
• Hopefully it lasts is all I have left to say

What do you think about it?

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

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Pavel Datsyuk is sitting for tonight's game against the Kings as a result of an undisclosed body injury. This means lines will be shuffled a bit in order to fill the spot.

Here's a look at the lines for tonight's game, thanks to Ansar Khan of MLive.com:

Bertuzzi-Zetterberg-Cleary

Leino-Filppula-Williams

Helm-Abdelkader-Eaves

Holmstrom-Draper-Maltby

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Lebda

Osgood

As you can see, Brett Lebda, Kris Draper, and Kirk Maltby all return to the ice tonight after being out for different periods of time. I particularly like the idea of putting Filppula's line back together, I think they've worked particularly well together.

More photos » by Gary Malerba - AP

27 days ago: The Detroit Red Wings' Jason Williams, right, is congratulated by teammates Niklas Kronwall (55) center, and Valtteri Filppula (51), left, after scoring a goal on the Washington Capitals during the second period at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Gary Malerba)

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On a night in which all eyes were looking for Johan Franzen, the Red Wings got great help from the powerplay and two secondary scorers. Chris Osgood played a sharp game in net for the second straight night to allow his teammates to stay in this game against the high powered Caps offense.

Matt Bradley opened the game's scoring early in the first period with a hard slap shot from  the face-off circle that squirted underneath Chris Osgood's left arm and gave the Capitals the lead with only 3:58 played. Detroit played better defensively and was able to draw two consecutive powerplays. Although unable to convert on the two chances, the Wings eventually scored soon afterwards. Ville Leino buried a puck in the crease at 15:49 after several chances by other Wings players were stopped by Jose Theodore. Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula were credited with the assists on the Leino goal, his second of the season. 

Osgood stonewalled Alex Ovechkin in the low slot on a give-and-go as the Capitals had a powerplay following a bad penalty to Niklas Kronwall. With under a minute to play, Osgood's toe save was huge in getting the Wings to the locker room with a tie after one period. The Caps were unable to score on the remainder of the powerplay to start the second period following some good defensive play by the Wings in the defensive zone. 

Alexander Semin took his second penalty of the second period to put the Red Wings on the powerplay. If you've wondered why Jason Williams is on the point for the powerplay, cue the video replay of the goal he scored at 16:26 of the second period. Williams received a pass from Kronwall and absolutely ripped a shot over Theodore's and under the crossbar for a 2-1 Detroit lead. Nicklas Lidstrom took a hooking call as the second period came to a close as Osgood over pursued a pass to Semin and Lidstrom had no choice but to hook him to prevent a wrap-around goal. The Capitals took advantage of the powerplay in the third period as Brendan Morrison fired a slapshot past Osgood for a tied game, 1:25 into the fresh period. 

Washington defenseman Mike Green took a hooking call to put the Wings on the man advantage again. Tomas Holmstrom scored about 30 seconds into the powerplay on a one-time shot in the slot from a Pavel Datsyuk pass for a 3-2 Detroit lead at 13:07. With the game winding down, Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Bertuzzi put on a clinic in puck possession and offensive pressure--limiting the ability for the Capitals to get anything going offensively as the seconds ticked off the clock. Following a brief, high intensity flurry at the end of the game, the Red Wings were able to give the home crowd something to smile about as they closed the game out with a 3-2 victory. 

The Red Wings scored twice on five powerplay chances and used the bad penalties by the Caps to keep the pressure in the offensive zone. Detroit outshot Washington 37-24 including an 11-4 third period count. The next game is on Tuesday, October 13 at Buffalo. 

MrNorrisTrophy's Player of the Game: Pavel Datsyuk. Could pick Fil (2 A) or Ozzie (22 saves) but Datsyuk was the key to this game. He won 50% of face-offs, had 3 takeaways, 5 shots on goal, primary assist on the winning goal, 22 minutes of ice-time and was a nightmare to defend for the Caps. 

Pavel Datsyuk

#13 / Center / Detroit Red Wings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 194

Born: Jul 20, 1978

More photos » by NIKLAS LARSSON - AP

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Hey folks, I'm sure some of you are wondering how the line-up might shake out with Johan Franzen out of the picture. Well it seems that for now at least Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have been reunited on the top unit. Here's a quick look at the Red Wings line-up (thanks to Ansar Khan as usual)

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Zetterberg
Leino-Filppula-Cleary
Bertuzzi-Abdelkader-Williams
May-Draper-Eaves

The defensive pairings are the same as Chicago, with Meech in for Lebda. Osgood will be in net as expected. As you can see, there have been quite a few changes. I think Filppula with Leino and Cleary is an excellent second line and the Abdelkader line could find some unexpected chemistry. Also of note, is the debut of Patrick Eaves. Maltby will be a healthy scratch for Eaves to appear tonight. 

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Johan Franzen, who scored the game winning goal against the Blackhawks last night, will be out for at least four months. According to mlive.com's Ansar Khan, Franzen tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The Red Wings lose one of their most talented and most clutch scorers for a good portion of the season and will be forced to call up Justin Abdelkader. Abdelkader was just sent down to Grand Rapids following the signing of Brad May but will likely find himself playing nightly in the absence of Franzen. This will also mean that Patrick Eaves is likely to see more and more time to relieve Abdelkader, May, and Maltby in the line-up

Detroit has roster depth but finding a replacement within the system that can fill the void of Franzen is going to be unlikely. The team has stated that they will not seek a trade for a temporary replacement. The offensive production will now fall on guys like Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, and Valtteri Filppula. These three guys will be need to step up in the offense at this time and now the defense will be called on even more as the team has lost 122 goals from last year. As if defense and goaltending wasn't stressed enough coming into this season, the Red Wings will have to rely on this even more than anticipated. 

Is it time to freak out? No, I don't think so but it just might not be a pretty run for a few months and things won't be nearly the same without "The Mule" in the line-up.

Justin Abdelkader was assigned to the AHL following the signing of Brad May by the Red Wings. The move is one that I'm sure will create some head scratching because of many people calling for a "youth movement" within the team.

Personally, I'm on the fence on this one because each player brings something great to the table. Abdelkader is a good face-off guy, skates and passes well, and has a good mind for the game. May on the other hand, is a tough, hard checking, big body that will drop the gloves. There has been an emphasis on protecting the star players recently and why not? Anaheim showed last year that they could push the Wings around because who was going to stop them? With Andreas Lilja out of the line-up, there were only one or two guys that would drop the gloves and we needed them defensively so they abstained. May and Bertuzzi add some physicality to the team but I hope it doesn't turn into goonery.

I definitely think Abdelkader will be back up sometime soon so those who are a big fan of him shouldn't be all that disappointed. I think he and May will flip-flop often throughout the year (assuming May's contract allows him to be sent to the AHL).

UPDATE: Babcock says that May will play tonight if the paperwork is completed in time. If it isn't, Eaves will make his debut.

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Hoping to jumpstart the defense, Mike Babcock has replaced Brett Lebda on the third defensive pairing with Derek Meech. A move welcomed by many, including me, could pay off for the Wings against the Blackhawks. Meech is slightly bigger than Lebda and is more of a defensive defenseman than Lebda. This should prove to be beneficial against the potent Blackhawks offense that has speed and good passing. 

Chris Osgood is expected to start in net for Thursday's game and hopefully he'll be able to bounce back from the opening game loss. Darren Helm is listed as questionable for the game but it's unlikely that he will be rushed back to the line-up. 

Link to mlive.com article. 

Taking a look at the starting line-ups today, here's the Blues line-up first (thanks to NHL.com)

BLUES

Paul Kariya-Keith Tkachuk-Brad Boyes
Andy McDonald-David Backes-David Perron
Brad Winchester-Patrik Berglund-T.J. Oshie
Alex Steen-Jay McClement-B.J. Crombeen

Barret Jackman-Roman Polak
Darryl Sydor-Erik Johnson
Carlo Colaiacovo-Mike Weaver

Chris Mason

And a look at the starting line-ups for your Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS

Tomas Holmstrom-Pavel Datsyuk-Johan Franzen
Todd Bertuzzi-Henrik Zetterberg-Dan Cleary
Ville Leino-Valtteri Filppula-Jason Williams
Kris Draper-Justin Abdelkader-Kirk Maltby

Nicklas Lidstrom-Brian Rafalski
Niklas Kronwall-Brad Stuart
Brett Lebda-Jonathan Ericsson

Chris Osgood

As you can see, Justin Abdelkader is in the line-up which doesn't really come as a surprise with Darren Helm's injury.