commentary...

simply said,once the Red Wings got a two goal lead,in the first period,the Wild did not have enough firepower to combat the Red Wings,in Detroit,on this day... Jimmy Howard played solidly,and Pavel Datsyuk got a point,with an assist... Henrik Zetterberg,and Brian Ralfalski,both had two assists... Nicklas Lidstrom,Darren Helm,Johan Franzen,and Tomas Holmstrom scored goals... when the whole Red Wings team fired on all cylinders,like today,and Minnesota being a defense-minded team,they were in trouble,after first period,down 2-0... taking nothing away from Minnesota,but they are not a offensive juggernaut... as a team,if you can put enough pucks past their goaltenders early in games,you can disturb their rhythm,and game plan,so they have to speed up their offense,and they make mistakes(turnovers),so you can take advantage of them... it is the Red Wings' ninth Central Division title,in last ten years,and 14th,in last 20 years... right now,they are second,in Western Conference,with 102 points... for your information,San Jose play the Los Angeles Kings,the Anaheim Ducks,and a home and home series,against the Phoenix Coyotes... the Red Wings play the Carolina Hurricanes,and a home and home series,against the Chicago Blackhawks... Sharks are in for a tough series of games,but so are the Red Wings,so the last week of the season is going to be very,very hard for both teams...