Pre-All Star break report

Convincingly win the final game before the All-Star break.  What a great way to finish the first half of 2010 -- 2011.  Now the whole team can get rest and the injured players can do so without having to watch their team suffer through games in their absence. We can all look forward to the return of our sidelined players whose services have been so badly needed

First game back after the break is on February 2nd, 2011 against the Sens. Will Pav be back? I'd give him about a 75% chance of starting that game. How about Dan? There's a chance he could return on the 2nd as well. His chances? I'll give him a 40%. Regardless, we'll get them both back very soon and that will obviously be a great thing for the team.

Next will be Homer (a week or so after the end of the break), then Stuey (a few weeks after the break) and then Modano (Maybe a week or so after Stuey's return). That takes care of the skaters. We'll have to wait on Ozzy -- maybe for the rest of the regular season. Even so, getting all of our skaters back will (obviously) be big. This is a very well assembled team with mature and intelligent players and it has a great chance to go deep. A much better chance to make it all the way than last year -- especially if we can get (and stay) healthy for the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.

So, then.  No hockey for a week. I'm already itching for a game! Aren't you? Maybe in the mean time, try to find joy in the knowledge that your guys are getting some very well deserved rest which will help us out in a big way during the home stretch. Until later, GO WINGS!!!

Red Wings vs. Devils -- January 26, 2011 -- DET: 3 NJD: 1 -- FINAL

Very nice game for The Wings. Especially for the last game before the break! They now go into the ASB on a positive note. Nice goal by Darren. No mistakes. Very pretty goal by Fil from Huds and Ruslan and then FINLLY, The Mule catches a break and lights the lamp. He had about 20 scoring chances in the game before that goal. Very nice win for Howey. He made some great stops. The Devils goal was garbage and should not have been counted.  Still, Howey held them to one goal which ought to help silence his "fair weather friend" critics.  Go Howey GO!

Full game highlights:



First Red Wings goal of the game.  Great cutoff. Puts on the wheels. No mistake. Goal. Darren is definitely stepping into a scorers role as of late. Very cool.



Tic-Tac-Toe: Ruslan to Huds to Fil for the lamp-lighter -- What a pretty one.



I dig Johan's gestures and facial expression just after the goal. They say: "Finally!" He had so many scoring chances throughout the game and he just couldn't buy a break. Then, with 45 seconds left in the game, he was rewarded for his efforts. Justice. A nice cap-off for the game and for the the pre-break season!



Again, what a way to end the pre All-Star break season.  Great game.  GO WINGS!!!

Pav practices, speaks

Our dear little Pashushka participated in his first full practice with his teammates today since succumbing to a wrist injury in December.  This is what he had to say:

 
"It's a little bit stiff, but I feel every day better and stronger and more stretchable.  It's first priority, first game after All-Star break.  We'll see.  I hope and I wish."  Datsyuk (along with Danny Cleary) continues to target February 2 (against Ottawa) for his return to action.  How nice will it be to have Pasha back on the ice?  Very nice, I say.

Nabby snubbing his new club

Nabby wanted to play for Detroit so bad that he won't even speak to his new manager.  Nor will he make use of the airplane tickets which the Isles, as GM Garth Snow put it, "have waiting for him."

"Snow said when he identified himself on the phone, Nabokov immediately hung up. Snow finally talked to Nabokov on [the following day] and was told that Nabokov didn't realize who he was speaking to when abruptly ending the call.

Nabokov failed to report to the Islanders, clearly disappointed that he won't be joining the Stanley Cup-contending Red Wings. Instead he is now under contract with the Islanders, who are far out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. He was officially listed among the scratches for Sunday's game. Whether Nabokov will ever join the Islanders remains to be seen.

Islanders owner Charles Wang hinted that the Islanders aren't likely to just cut ties with Nabokov and allow him to go back on the waiver wire.

Nabokov told ESPN.com on Sunday that his decision to spurn the Islanders is not personal. He merely intended to hook on with a title-contending team and not an also-ran club such as the Islanders, who own the third-fewest points in the NHL.

'I think I'm going to stay home for now, I'm sticking with my decision,' Nabokov said Sunday. 'It's nothing against the Islanders and their organization. It's nothing to do with that. It's just that I'm at the point in my career where I want to help a team win in the playoffs. I don't see how I could help the Islanders or what I could do for them. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And I hope they understand that. I was surprised they picked me up. I was like, 'Wow, what's the point?'

'I understand the rules,' Nabokov told ESPN.com. 'We're not stupid. We knew what was going on before we made the decision. But I made this decision because the goal was to play with Detroit.'

Snow insists he isn't angry and would still welcome Nabokov into the organization.

'It might be his anniversary, it could be his birthday, maybe he has dinner plans tonight,' Snow said. 'So if it takes until tomorrow to get him here, that's fine, too." -- from Yahoo! Sports, courtesy of The AP

I can't see how Nabby could end up in Detroit any time soon, myself.  We have a goaltending situation which needs to be taken care of relatively quickly and this Nabby/Isles situation seems to be a pretty complicated affair.  Too bad for Nabby, but we're going to have to move on.  Thomas Mccollum was just sent back to GR with a healing finger and Joey MacDonald is now backing up Howey who returned from injury against The Blues on Jan. 20th.  Ozzy is gone for the season.  Are we really going to stick with MacDonald as backup?  I somehow doubt it.  I'm going to look over our possible goaltending options and will re-post with my projections.  'Till then, snub on Nabby!

A Little Bit of Good News

Just a little piece of news that I picked up that I thought I'd share.  Makes one feel a little warmer inside:

"The Wings saw an encouraging sign Friday when injured forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Mike Modano and Dan Cleary were on the ice for the first 20 minutes of practice, the first time they have skated with the team since they were injured. It was Cleary’s first time on skates since he fractured his ankle on Dec. 26. He hopes to get in a full practice on Monday. He and Datsyuk hope to return on Feb. 2 in Ottawa. Modano is targeting early March for his return." -- from Yahoo! Sports

Pav had already been skating for a few practices before last Friday but it is great news that Dan is up and skating again and is nearly ready for a full practice.  I wouldn't hold my breath on the Feb. 2nd return date for either of them -- very soon after, though.  It'll be interesting to see exactly what Modano's role will be upon his return from the wrist laceration.  Anyway, thank God for the All-Star break.  We sure can use this rest.  Get well everybody!

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