Well that was not quite what I expected. I had 3-0 Wings and a Jimmy Howard PotG. Shortly into the second, I thought was negatively right, with a 3-0 (for 10 seconds anyway) Pens lead and Brent Johnson headed to PotG status. Thankfully, the team woke up and made the third period entertaining.
So, follow me after the jump for your X Reasons, Or How Matt Cooke Learned To Stop Injuring And Love The Rules.
I – Well, let me get this out of the way first. I think Campbell went a bit light on the suspension, but it’s not bad. Certainly better than the 5-6 game rest I expected to hear about. But I’ll wait until about 2015 to say that Cooke has changed his game.
II – Modano is getting better with each game. With 10 games left, he should be hitting his stride in the Wings system right about the time the playoffs start.
III – If Joey Mac keeps playing like this when he’s called upon, we won’t need to go find a backup via free agency.
IIII – Is it me, or has the Joe been getting louder lately? It seems the last few games, the crowds are really getting into the game, which is good.
IV – Brent Johnson looked unbeatable tonight. At least until Al sprinkled what I can only imagine was Kryptonite around his crease during the last TV timeout of the second period.
V – Really glad to hear Justin Abdelkader made it back in the game last night. At least this dirty hit was called by the officials.
VI – Dear VS Color Analyst, I know that “turnbuckle” is the latest buzz word that you’ve learned in the 2 weeks you’ve actually been following hockey, but the ledge on top of the boards is the “dasher”. Sincerely, Actual Fans.
VII – I can completely understand Kris Letang being upset about the crosschecking call. Afterall, he had just watched Tyler Kennedy do the exact same thing moments earlier, and that took away a scoring chance.
VIII – This team has been inconsistent all year long. Let’s hope they can get themselves playing a consistent 60 minutes for 16 games this spring.
IX – If you are chosen for the shootout, at least grab a stick that hasn’t spent the last 60 minutes getting slashed repeatedly and structurally weakened.
X – Up Next: Vancouver on Wednesday at 7:30PM. Another VS monstrosity.
UPDATE: Wednesday’s game is also on FSD. All hope is not lost.
