commentary...

Pavel Datsyuk,Danny Cleary,Tomas Holmstrom,and even Mike Modano will be back sooner than later... the first three named plan on being back early after the All-Star break(all three suffered broken bones,Datsyuk,and Holmstrom,suffered broken hands,in basically back to back games,and Cleary suffered a fractured ankle,after getting hit by a puck shot,by,i believe,Brad Stuart,trying to literally jump out of the way of the puck),and Modano suffered a lacerated tendon,and nerve damage,to his wrist,when a Columbus Blue Jackets' player fell awkwardly,raising his leg,and skate,in a backwards ballerina kick,and cut Modano,just above the glove... he is scheduled to return in mid-March,but he says that it may be late February... even though Detroit is 5-4-1,in last ten games,not playing "Red Wings' hockey",as i put it,with four players,from their AHL (Grand Rapids Griffiths)team scoring their first NHL goals,(Jan Mursak,Tomas Tatar,Jacub Kindl,and Cory Emmerton),in their careers,in last three weeks,they have picked up much of the slack in scoring,and their efforts make Mike Babcock,and coaching staff happy... i honestly pity the NHL,because the Red Wings have been injured,basically for last six,or seven weeks,and only Vancouver,and Dallas,have been able to keep track of the Red Wings,in points race,for top spot,in Western Conference... funny thing is that both Dallas,and Vancouver lead their own divisions... Chicago,and Nashville have improved in Central Division... as of today,Nashville is four points behind Detroit,but has played one more game,and Detroit has two more wins... even with their 4-1 win Saturday morning(afternoon,in Chicago),Blackhawks are eight points behind(they have played one more game,too,and Detroit has three more wins than the Blackhawks)... Nashville plays Vancouver,tomorrow,while Detroit plays New Jersey tomorrow,and Chicago is fighting in the battle for eighth seed right now(being seventh seed,but Colorado,San Jose,Minnesota,and Los Angeles,are either tied,in case of Colorado,or are within three points of Chicago,and the Calgary Flames(right now,the 12th seed)are only four points,behind Chicago,so Chicago is not a lock for the playoffs,but should get there,but i will tell you this,they do not have enough grit in the third and fourth line,right now,to go far,and their goaltending,overall,is spotty,as in their backup(Marty Turco)who was brought in to shore up their goaltending,and has been a disappointment,in Chicago... for Chicago to be in the playoffs,they have to catch Nashville,because being third,in Central Division means that they may not make playoffs,and for a defending Stanley Cup champion,not to make playoffs,is an embarrassment... the last defending Stanley Cup Champions not to make the playoffs the next playing season,was the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning,who were the champions,when NHL strike hit in 2005... they were not in playoffs in 2006...