Howdy, partners. Cheers to the Atlantic Division leaders, eh?
Big win for the Red Wings last night at home, led by Detroit’s top line and rookies. What more could you ask for? Nate Danielson picked up his first-career goal, and had a BEAUTY for his second-career goal called back due to an offsides challenge. Emmitt Finnie picked up the game-winning goal (assist to Danielson!), his firsts in quite a bit, and Dylan Larkin earned his 600th NHL point on an empty-net goal. Lots of warm-and-fuzzies watching last night’s game, no doubt.
So, a 4-2 win over Seattle puts Detroit first in the Atlantic Division, narrowly ahead of the Bruins. Detroit will meet Boston at the end of the month on a back-to-back with Tampa. With six games left in November, the opportunity to gain ground in the playoff picture (yes, I know the playoffs are still a LONG ways away) is there for the taking. Win these games now so you don’t have another horse race to the finish like the last couple of years. Sound good? Cool, it’s a plan.
Meanwhile in Grand Rapids, the Griffins have four games left in November, and still have yet to be handed a regulation loss. At 10-0-0-1, the Griffins lead the AHL’s Central Division. John Leonard, a free-agent signing over the summer, is leading the scoring for his club, with 14 points (10 goals, 4 assists) in NINE games. Amadeus Lombardi is right on Leonard’s tail with 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists) in 11 games. Michal Postava is having a breakout rookie season in the AHL and looks to be a nice pickup for Steve Yzerman. Postava has logged over 251 minutes through five appearances, allowing just nine goals. Sebastian Cossa is healthy once again, so that tandem can get back to terrorizing AHL offenses. The Griffins are back in action Friday night at Van Andel Arena.
It’s early in the season, but the state of the Red Wings franchise hasn’t looked this good in quite some time. I haven’t been able to keep up with the Toledo Walleye, so maybe some of our friends to the south can give us an update in the comments!
I should also mention that Trey Augustine earned the honor of being named the Big Ten’s First Star of the Week on Tuesday. Augustine was a key factor in MSU’s weekend sweep over Notre Dame, and is 8-1-0 on the season with a ridiculous .948 save percentage and 1.32 GAA. The Spartans are currently the number-one ranked D1 program in the nation, and appear poised to hopefully follow up last year’s disappointing postseason with another deep run to a national title. Would be a nice notch in Augustine’s belt before he makes the jump to pro hockey next year.
I realize there hasn’t been much going on this site as of late. It’s been a tough balance, but I’m still here! I’m glad you’re still here. Thanks for the support. Have yourself a GREAT Wednesday, my friends.
