Hockeytown, No Limits

Leafs, Wings & the 2013 Winter Classic: Big House, big crowd, big fun - NHL - Yahoo! Sports
Great write-up by Cotsonika. He's a former Wings beat writer and it's great to see the media just excited for this event as the fans are. It's really going to be a special week for Detroit.

When the NHL takes it outside, everyone wins | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Everyone is a winner in this event. It's going to be awesome all the great press that the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan get for this. Literally for a week or so the spotlight of the hockey world is going to be pointed directly at us and there is no doubt that we'll put on the greatest show for everyone.

Low-key Red Wings not ideal for HBO's 24/7, but some will enjoy pre-Winter Classic experience | MLive.com
Pavel Datsyuk said following him will be like watching a silent movie. He's got potential to be one of the stars if he's not too shy. I think Jimmy Howard will be a big character (but not in the ridiculous way that Ilya Bryzgalov was this past season). The Wings should re-sign Hudler just so we can see how many hookers he has.

Winter Classic: Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay recalls battles with Maple Leafs | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
A nice write-up about Terrible Ted and Mickey Redmond. Lindsay said he won't be playing next year in the alumni game due to his knees. Understandable. Let's hope he's part of the coaching staff. I'd love to see Mickey play.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : No Yzerman, no how for Red Wings-Leafs Winter Classic alumni game
No Steve Yzerman...for now. He reportedly has only skated once since his retirement. If it's a healthy issue with his knee and he doesn't play, I get that. But he has to show up. He can coach with Lindsay, Gordie Howe, and Scotty Bowman if need be. He has to be there. He IS the Red Wings.

Mike Babcock convinced Nicklas Lidstrom will return to Detroit Red Wings next year - macombdaily.com
I'm starting to think he'll be back. Not just to play in the Winter Classic, but he really wants to play with Brendan Smith. Babcock hasn't been wrong yet.

Red Wings will be without Cleary, Howard this weekend | ProHockeyTalk
In case you missed it with all the Winter Classic news, but Danny Cleary is going to have his knee drained and will be out the next two games and possibly up to a week. He should get it done sooner rather than later so he can be 100% recovered for the stretch run to the playoffs.

Around the NHL

It’s over: Montreal’s Scott Gomez finally ends goalless streak (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
369 days later...he finally did it.

Scott Hartnell will take nothing less than a Gordie Howe hat trick and kills two birds with one stone | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
First time I've ever seen anyone celebrate a goal by fighting.

Gretzky likes what he sees with franchises he played for - NHL.com - NHL Insider
The Great One speaks out on the direction of his former clubs. All of which -- except the Oilers -- would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

KuklasKorner : KK Hockey : Garth Snow Has No Intention Of Moving Nabokov
Sorry to burst the bubble of those Wings fans who wanted to trade for the netminder.

Discussion: What's your dream line for the Winter Classic Alumni Game? If you could pick any five skaters plus a goalie to be on the ice all at once, who would you choose?

Let's Go Red Wings.

Hockeytown, No Limits

Wings Beat Oilers: Sketchy Migraine Postgame " The Production Line - TP:60
An artistic recap from Stevie over at TPL.

Wings win 18th in a row at home - macombdaily.com
18 home wins-in-a-row. Unreal.

Red Wings' Danny Cleary to miss a few games after getting knee treated | MLive.com
Buckets will miss the next game or two and could be out for up to a week. He's been putting off having his knee drained and with the way his line with Helm and Miller clicking I can't blame him. Hopefully he won't be out too long, but if there is a time to get his knee fixed before the playoffs start it's now. A long home streak and plenty of time to regain his form before the stretch run.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : Red Wings-Oilers wrap-up and overnight report: Miller, Zetterberg help Wings in Homer’s 999th game
Malik has his usual awesome roundup of all things recap related to the game last night.

Jamie Samuelsen's blog: Red Wings' backup goalie doesn't mean much | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Does Jimmy's backup matter? Jamie Samuelsen doesn't think so. I agree with him. I've said it in the past and I'll say it again. If this team wins the Stanley Cup, Jimmy Howard is going to be the main reason why.

Tomas Holmstrom's pain is Red Wings' gain | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
An awesome write up on Tomas Holmstrom. The Demolition Man will be playing in his 1,000th game on Friday night.

Ken Holland's Draft Success - The Copper & Blue
Ken Holland built his empire on draft day success, but not lottery success through intentional tanking. What a fantastic read.

Zetterberg looks for answers to his goal drought - NHL.com - NHL Insider
We've been all over Henrik Zetterberg for his lack of scoring. Think it bothers us? Read this article and understand that nothing we feel compares to how much he wants to score. This article was also a nice reverse jinx for Hank. Let's hope it continues to be a reverse jinx too.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : Talking about the Red Wings-Maple Leafs Winter Classic announcement to come
A complete round up of all the latest Winter Classic news. Turns out one former Wing has already said he's playing in next year's alumni game and he's trying to get some former teammates to do the same.

Around the NHL

Detroit Wins 18th Straight Home Game: 4-2 Over Oilers - The Copper & Blue
The view from the enemy.

Laces can bite, too, Flyers are learning
Unfortunately for players, the remedies are few. The only true fix is to stay off your skates, something that doesn't happen until the offseason. Luckily, the pain dissipates as soon as the skates are untied and removed. Since sneakers and shoes are worn lower than skate boots, lace bite is not a factor outside of the rink.

Grinds My Gears 2/8 - Second City Hockey
Stan Bowman is under the microscope in Chicago for his work as GM.

The Devin Setoguchi Conundrum - Hockey Wilderness
There is no conundrum. He sucks.

Worst blown call of season? Corey Perry scores OT goal after tripping Jokinen | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
Corey Perry would trip someone and get away with right before scoring a game winning goal.

Does the Columbus, Vinny Prospal ‘gentleman’s agreement’ violate NHL CBA? | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
The BJs can't even re-sign their own players correctly. Good grief.

The chaos continues: Tim Thomas once again took to Facebook to get political | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
Is there any athletic in hockey that was so beloved and has come under such scrutiny so quickly?

Let's Go Red Wings.

Hockeytown, No Limits

Source: Comerica hockey events would accompany Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Thursday is the big announcement. Word will probably leak out some time today if the U of M Board of Regents approves the use of Michigan Stadium for the Winter Classic. The alumni game along with the Great Lake Invitational, an OHL game, and most likely a Griffins game will all be held at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit. Get your popcorn ready.

Red Wings return for six straight at Joe Louis Arena, where they haven't lost since Nov. 3 | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Home sweet home. Hopefully a return to the Joe means a return of the good Red Wings team, no the crappy road team. The home win streak is at 17 games and will be on the line tonight against the Oilers.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : St. James: Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard might return ‘early,’ Cleary may have knee issues addressed
The Wings could lose Danny Cleary for a up to a week if he gets his knee drained. That's a storm this team can weather. Getting Jimmy Howard back sooner rather than later would be, in the words of Ilya Bryzgalov, Humangous.

Smith No. 1 with Jarnkrok charging hard | Red Wings Central
Matthew Wuest over at Red Wings Central as prospects update with his latest rankings. Of course, Brendan Smith is number one. As the article's title says though, The Iron Hook is charging up the rankings.

Around the NHL

Question Time For Mr. Quenneville: Hawks 2 - Avs 5 - Second City Hockey
Panic time in Chicago? The Blackhawks have lost 6-in-a-row and have fallen to 6th in the West.

Tribute to Owen Nolan: 10 moments that best celebrate his hockey legacy (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
Owen Nolan finally retired. Puck Daddy has his ten best moments.

Sabres with the most trade value | Sabres Hockey Central
A look at some of the Sabres best trade assets. Maybe a future Red Wing on this list? If the Wings are going for depth and a bottom six forward who can play the PK, take faceoffs and has size...well...I'm still all-in on Paul Gaustad.

Islanders 1*, Flyers 0 (*SO): Evgeni Nabokov Provides the Salvation, $11M Man Nielsen Delivers the Judgment - Lighthouse Hockey
Remember that goalie Kenny Holland tried to sign but lost to the Islanders on waivers? That Nabokov guy? Yeah...he's given up six goals in his last six games. Not too shabby. Maybe Holland should give Garth Snow a call.

Let's Go Red Wings.

Hockeytown, No Limits

Like Vin Diesel, that effort was U-G-L-Y and only Howard has an alibi. " The Production Line - TP:60
Some loss candy to help your morning start the right way.

Red Wings vs Coyotes Recap 2.6.2012 | February
Your game recap from the gang at Nightmare on Helm Street.

Red Wings falter to end trip, but in excellent shape with toughest part of schedule done | MLive.com
Kronwall says the shorthanded goal cost the team the game. I can't really argue with that. But I also think sucking dick on the power play cost them the game and letting the worst power play (statistically) in the league score with the man advantage helped lose the game too. Special teams fail.

Drew Miller, Darren Helm, Danny Cleary provide scoring depth, solid defense on Red Wings' 3rd line | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
If there is any consolation, the 3rd line has been excellent. Now Kenny should go get someone to add to the 4th line and the depth on this team will be even better.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : Red Wings-Coyotes wrap-up and overnight report: not meeting justifiably high expectations
Anything and everything you need and wanted to know about last night game.

Around the NHL

Phoenix Coyotes' Special Teams Beat The Red Wings - Five For Howling
View from the enemy.

McKenzie: Ruutu trade could be going down this week | ProHockeyTalk
As much as I'd like to see Ruutu in a Wings sweater...I don't think it's going to happen.

Evaluating Paul Gaustad’s trade value " Two in the Box
Now this is the guy I want Holland to go after. He'd be huge upgrade to the 4th line.

Howard Baldwin, ex-Whalers owner, offers critical look at ‘marginal’ NHL markets | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
St. Louis has been a marginal hockey market since the day they entered the league? You don't say. Blues jokes aside, check out this quick take from a former NHL owner and check out he entire article at Hockey Prospectus.

College Connections on NHL Teams | College Hockey, Inc.
This is awesome. If you had any questions about which players on every team played college hockey...well...it's all right here.

Don't forget to check out the latest episode of WIIM Radio. We look at the srtuggles of Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk as well as what the hell the team is going to do without Jimmy Howard. We also play a fun game of FMK Rosanne style. You can check us out on iTunes and download the podcast to your iPod or iPhone. You can also download the episode here.

Let's Go Red Wings.

Hockeytown, No Limits

Wings need shootout despite breaking shot clock in regulation " The Production Line - TP:60
Your TPL recap with a "Riggy 'Shitbox' Of the Game" that wasn't Jonathan Ericsson or Todd Bertuzzi.

Detroit Red Wings 4, Edmonton 3 (SO): Danny Cleary scores, assists in Red Wings win after health scare | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
The third line has been nothing but impressive lately. Drew Miller is having a career year, Danny Cleary is re-finding his bottom six grinding game, and Darren Helm is just doing what Darren Helm does. You want to win the Cup? You constant play from your third line and they're providing it right now.

Red Wings improve to 6-0 in shootouts after beating fellow Western Conference power Vancouver | MLive.com
I hate the shootout a whole hell of a lot less when the Wings win all time. In the past, Detroit was awful at the skills competition. This year the Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Hudler, and Todd Bertuzzi lineup as been pretty damn good (with some Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg mixed in). At the end of the day, points are points, and the Wings got two last night.

Miller's redemption in Wings' win - Detroit Red Wings - News
J.J. squealed like a little girl when Miller scored last night. I hear he's going to the hair salon today to get grey highlights.

Notebook: Wings' Danny Cleary to undergo cyst procedure after trip ends | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
The way Cleary is playing, I hope he can hold off a little longer on getting his knee drained. He would only miss a week or so, but the third line is clicked. Hopefully he can gut it out until after the Wings make a move at the deadline and bring in a little forward help.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : Wings fans, prepare to say something which rhymes with, "Slow ship" regarding Patrick Eaves
In the not so cool news department, Patrick Eaves is reportedly recovered from his broken jaw, but is experiencing concussion-like symptoms. At this point, no way in hell he should come back until he's 150% better. The team is playing well and a concussion can really screw up someone's career e.g. Crosby, Savard, etc. Yesterday I told J.J., I didn't think we'd see Eaves return until rosters expanded come playoff time, now I'm thinking we might not see him for a long time.

Around the NHL

Wings At Canucks Recap ; Take It Easy ( 4-3Ls/o) - Nucks Misconduct
View from the enemy.

Sam Gagner Scores Four and Assists on Four More, Beats Blackhawks 8-4 - The Copper & Blue
Sam freakin' Gagner, ladies and gentlemen. Tied Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey for the Oilers franchise record for points in a single game. He had four goals and four assists. Hell of a night for the kid.

Compassion Is Broken Now, My Will Is Eroded Now: Hawks 4 - Oilers 39773889308 - Second City Hockey
It should also be mentioned that the Hawks were the team that gave up eight points to Gagner. The Oilers are to the Blackhawks what the Islanders are to the Red Wings.

Patrik Elias checks Michael Blunden from behind | ProHockeyTalk
He definitely pushed him from behind, no doubt. It was a very hard push and was malicious or anything. Not 100% sure how I feel about this. It clearly could have been avoided though.

Thursday’s Three Stars: Gagner’s great 8; Subban destroys Larsson; Dan Boyle’s embarrassing gaffe | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
Hahaha Boyle scored on his own team.

J.S. Giguere’s ridiculous glove save after Wild player crashes net (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
Hell. Of. A. Save.

Let's Go Red Wings.

Hockeytown, no limits

Commie Has Earned His Spot In The Lineup | Nightmare on Helm Street
Chris at NOHS is, like most of us, very impressed with the play by Mike Commodore of late.

Mike Babcock answers a few questions | The Province
Babs answers some questions thrown his way about how he views the Canucks as a team. I don't believe he's lying one bit, but I do appreciate him making sure not to give them any bulletin board material.

Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom will return for Thursday's game against Vancouver | MLive.com
Homer says he's back after the reaction to the Synvisc injection in his knee has subsided. You're welcome Luongo.

Red Wings-Canucks set-up and overnight report: situational awareness is a must against Vancouver | The Malik Report
George has all of the various collected storylines for the gameday.

Kesler avoids revenge angle regarding Kronwall | ProHockeyTalk
The good news is that Ryan Kesler only whines and cries immediately after the game. The bad news is I bet he's lying about not wanting revenge on Kronwall.

Marty, Murray Howe confirm that Mr. Hockey is suffering from dementia | The Malik Report
Sad news about Gordie Howe from Malik.

Around the league

Don Cherry and Brian Burke are feuding; please let this end in a barn | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
Like watching an intra-division rivalry game not involving the Red Wings, I'm hoping this feud ends with both sides losing badly.

Ruutu on trade talk: "I’ve heard rumors I’m going to every team in the NHL" | ProHockeyTalk
It can't be easy on the guy who is linked to just about every trade rumor going right now, but Tuomo Ruutu has a pretty level head about things.

TSN analyst pokes fun at Dion Phaneuf during Toronto Maple Leafs game | Sports | National Post
In a clip that has already been making the rounds, TSN colour analyst Ray Ferraro is caught speaking, erm, frankly, during Tuesday night’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Pittsburgh Penguins

Fraser: Dispelling the conspiracy theory of Senators fans | TSN
Fraser does everything here but explain what ACTUALLY happens when a referee is found to have done a shitty job reffing the game, a question that all three of his participants asked him before he jumped on the cross both for and against his referee brethren before essentially telling Sens fans to suck it up.

Hey, Lay Off Varlamov - Mile High Hockey
When I read the headline, I figured it was a plea for the Avalanche to put Varlamov out of a job.

Wednesdays With Hildy: Fan Participation - Does It Even Send A Message? - St. Louis Game Time
I get a two-fer with the rest of the Central here as Hildy from SLGT (The one who has figured out that you can breathe through your nose) asks a pertinent question about the recent Blue Jackets fan protests.

Not Finding The Droids I'm Looking For - Second City Hockey
This is a fantastic rant by SamFels, several parts which could be ported over to discuss the Wings. I really like the part about meatheads complaining about the Hawks being "soft".

Extra Bonus OTF Video Caption Contest: Psycho Radulov - On the Forecheck
What in the hell?

Late Entry: Kuklas Korner (Via Aaron Portzline at Puck-Rakers)
Check out this video of last night's Kings/Blue Jackets game. The contest is tied 2-2 late in the game when the Kings get a flurry of chances in front of the Columbus net. Drew Doughty scores the game-winner with 0.4 seconds left on the clock, but the replay shows that the clock at the Staples Center "mysteriously" pauses at 1.8 seconds. The amount of time it pauses certainly looks like more than 0.4 seconds, meaning this goal should never have counted and the hapless Jackets should have gotten a point. I've embedded the video below.

Also, the guys over at The Cannon are just as understandably pissed off about this as I would be. Hell, I AM pissed about this.

Hockeytown, No Limits

A special tribute for a special friend - Detroit Red Wings - News
The Flames organization did a wonderful job honoring the life of Brad McCrimmon. It was cool to see all the Calgary players wearing McCrimmon sweaters and the standing obvation was a very nice touch. Well done, Calgary.

Red Wings trip starts well on third-period rally | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
The road trip has started well. It's nice to be at .500 on the road now. Time to get that number above .500 though.

Red Wings shake off rust, grind out victory against Flames to begin four-game road trip | MLive.com
It was good to see Hudler continue to score goals. Happy won't be going anywhere at the trade deadline and the Wings need him to continue to play well the rest of the way.

Red Wings' Mike Commodore has chance to earn sixth defenseman spot | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Count me on the list of pro-Commdore. It's not that I am against Kindl or anything, but Ericsson just plays much better with Commie by his side and, as we saw last night, Commodore can bring that edge to the game that the Wings don't have. He's there to step in during the scrums.

KuklasKorner : The Malik Report : Red Wings-Flames wrap-up and overnight report: Wings earn a Mccrimmon-style win
Malik with the wrap-up and everything and anything you needed to know about last night's game.

Around the NHL

Hockey prodigy Oliver Wahlstrom strikes again with incredible lacrosse goal in Boston (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports
True story: I helped put together this video (and the entire mini 1-on-1 series) at work.

Is Seattle the new favorite to get the Coyotes? | ProHockeyTalk
Bring back the Mets!

Craig Anderson allows center ice game-winner | ProHockeyTalk
Holy Dan Cloutier sighting!

Islanders To Play Preseason Game in Brooklyn; Ironic Glasses Optional - Lighthouse Hockey
The Brooklyn Islanders, eh? I think they might need a new name if they're going to move.

Journalism and the ethics of hockey blogging | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
An interesting take on blogging and the ethics behind it.

Stat-Mining: 10 fun stats from the 2011-2012 season | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
Which Red Wings stat made the list? (Hint: It's not the home win streak).

Here's some of the crap that's gone on today:

After a day of speculation about a press conference which never happened, the Penguins released an update on Sidney Crosby:

An independent specialist contacted to review recent medical tests taken on Sidney Crosby found no evidence of a past or present neck fracture but verified that Crosby is suffering from a soft-tissue injury of the neck, that could be causing neurological symptoms.

Apparently, this is not in line with what team doctors say. I don't know anything about Dr. Vaccarro outside of what a quick Google search of his name has turned up, but at this point, I'm pretty sure I trust Dr. Nick more than I trust the Penguins team physicians.

* * *

If you haven't seen this already, it's awesome news.

CALGARY, AB -- Prior to their game against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Calgary Flames will pay tribute to former Flames defenceman Brad McCrimmon.

All Flames players will warm up in #4 Calgary Flames jerseys with the name McCrimmon on the back. After the game, the warmup jerseys (which will have the individual players' numbers on the sleeves) will be signed and auctioned off, with the proceeds going to benefit Love for Lokomotiv.

The former Red Wings assistant coach played 231 games for Calgary during his NHL career as a defenseman.

* * *

Finally, as Greg pointed out in his fanshot, you can cross Zach Parise off your short-term wish list.

Sources say inquiring general managers are getting the word Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is not dealing unrestricted free agent-to-be Zach Parise before the NHL’s Feb. 27 trade deadline.

Instead, it is thought if the Devils do not want to re-sign Parise in June, they’ll trade his rights to a team that wants an advance shot at negotiations before he becomes free July 1.

Parise told NHL.com on Tuesday that he'd like to remain in New Jersey and he's willing to begin negotiations on a new contract, but he doesn't expect Devils GM Lou Lamoriello to initiate talks during the season.

Game's at 9:00 tonight. Rest up; it's going to be a late one.