Game night eve and all the kiddies are ripping the heads off their friggin' teddy bears waiting for the puck to drop on a game about which they actually give a crap. Have sweet dreams tonight, kiddieyotes, because tomorrow the Wings are coming to stomp you all a new gumdrop-hole.
Red Wings News & Notes:
The Dirty Half-Dozen: Mom Runs Down a Ranking of Icy Men [Day 1 of 6]: Rob has narrowed down the list of potential Red Wings players suitors for his mother. She tells you herself why our favorite Newfie doesn't make the cut. Additional joke about Rob Discher's mother: [redacted] [The Production Line]
My interview with Brendan Smith: Jeff lands an interview with his own blog's namesake. I like the kid a lot and hope he makes the team sooner rather than later. Brendan, not Jeff. No, it's not that I have a problem with Jeff, just that I think Brendan Smith is better at hockey. You know what? Nevermind. [Brendan Smithsonian Institution]
The Atlantic Talks Hockey, Gets it Wrong: Matt Saler finds that you don't have to just look at Associated Content to find people who know nothing about hockey writing about the sport, as he deftly picks apart some pretty backward reasoning by a cultural commentator who almost touches on some good points before dropping down the rabbit hole of stupidity. [On The Wings]
Red Wings continue to improve on penalty kill behind strong fourth line: Ansar Khan digs deep into last season's mid-year turnaround of the penalty kill, which has continued into this year and made Detroit the number one PK unit in the league currently. Quality organizational depth, the Red Wings has it. [MLive]
Random Flashback: The Birth of Detroit's Russian 5: Adam Gretz takes a look back 15 years ago today to the first time in NHL history a team iced five Russian skaters together on the same five-man unit. Follow the link and watch the video, you won't be disappointed. [Fanhouse]
Around the League:
NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Attempting To Find Some Clarity: The bloggers of the mothership are at it again. This time, the madness has Nashville as the team to beat in the west. Don't blame Casey, he's a non-voting felon. [SB Nation]
Video - You Make the Call Leafs/Panthers: There is absolutely no question Colton Orr interfered with Clemmensen on the Leafs' game-winning goal, but if you want to argue anyway, here's your chance. Even Leafs fans aren't arguing it was a bad call, instead deflecting it into an argument about how the Panthers' goal shouldn't have counted either. I'm legally obligated to mention Holmstrom in a discussion about goaltender interference, so there you go. I think the better team won last night's game. (as a follow up, NHL's Colin Campbell also agrees it should have been a penalty on Orr) [Kuklas Korner / Pension Plan Puppets]
Best And Worst At The 1/10th Pole: Interesting look around the league at a bunch of things likely to change in the next few months [From The Rink]
Stephane Robidas Suspended One Game For Hit On Belesky: Of all the dirty cheaters on the Stars, Robidas is not a name that jumps to mind. Still, this is his second boarding major in a 41-game span, so his suspension is automatic. Maybe if his eyes weren't creepy and tiny, Robidas could see that he's hitting numbers. [Defending Big D]