commentary...

i have to give credit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for beating the Red Wings... for most of the series,the Red Wings were the better team,but in the last two games,Tampa Bay finally woke up their team offense,and the Red Wings' offense scored two goals... the better goaltender in this series was Petr Mrazek,period,but when you stop scoring goals,no one is going to win a 0-0 game... i am not making excuses that two defensemen were not playing(one by suspension;Niklas Kronwall)for the Red Wings... the Red Wings just got beat,period... so,onto next season...

comments...

simply,folks,i will comment on the Red Wings' game,tomorrow morning...

Red Wings' game score,and comment...

Lightning 2,Red Wings 0... Red Wings did a lot of things right,except score a goal,tonight... have to give credit to Tampa Bay...

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings/Lightning,tonight... game seven...

Red Wings' news...

Niklas Kronwall has been suspended for his hit on Nikita Kucherov,late in second period,against Tampa Bay,for game seven of the Red Wings' series,with the Lightning... Kucherov got "Kronwalled",by Kronwall,and remained in the game...

commentary...

i could get very upset about last night's game between the Red Wings,and the Tampa Bay Lightning... the Red Wings had all the momentum before the game,and then they laid the biggest egg of a game,at home,nonetheless... with a great chance to end the series in,first,five games,after a meltdown over eight and a half minutes of game time,in game four(including overtime),and then,now,six games,when they had momentum,and laying an egg,it appears that the Red Wings have had a hard time ending a series,and make it easy,for them,and for the fans... well,they have to beat the Lightning,now,three times,in Tampa,which is very,very difficult,to beat a team three times at their home arena,and to boot,this season's best team at home with a record second to no one,period... Petr Mrazek became the fifth goaltender in NHL history,with two shutouts in his debut series,in the Stanley Cup playoffs... however,the Red Wings are on the brink of absolutely wasting Mrazek's effort,and that is a real shame,but folks,that is Stanley Cup playoff hockey,so i have to respect Tampa Bay's effort in a possible seven game win... this is a series to remember and a very,very good series,and that is the best of Stanley Cup playoff hockey,period... when this series is over,i will applaud heartily,for the winner,but honestly,i will not be as happy,if the Lightning wins the series,but folks,i love Stanley Cup playoff hockey,because the Stanley Cup is the toughest professional sports trophy to win,period,and it is fascinating just to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs,because they are very unpredictable,and that is simply great...

Red Wings' game score,and commentary...

Lightning 5,Red Wings 2... Red Wings were simply out-played and,basically,out bullied tonight... they came out flatter than a crepe,and even though,the Red Wings got within one goal,at 3-2,midway into the third period,the Lightning had an answer to every Red Wings' big play,at least,tonight... Red Wings' overall bad team defense led to all four important goals(fifth goal was an empty net goal),and Tampa Bay took advantage of great stretch passes and shoddy defense to out-play the Red Wings,tonight... Red Wings have alternated wins with Lightning(Detroit winning games 1,3,and 5,with the Tampa Bay winning games 2,4,and 6);each team winning twice in the other team's home arena... game seven,Wednesday,in Tampa... simply,who knows who will win...

Red Wings' news...

Lightning/Red Wings,tonight...

under-18 IIHF World Hockey Championships...

U.S. 2,Finland 1... United States IIHF under 18(u-18)World Champions...

blog statement...

"Idaho Spud" time...

Red Wings' game score,and commentary...

Red Wings 4,Lightning 0... Domination,by the Red Wings,from opening puck drop,and Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots,for his second career NHL Stanley Cup playoff shutout... the Lightning tried to bully the Red Wings from opening puck drop,and did absolutely nothing on team offense... except for game two(won by the Lightning 5-1),and an Red Wings' injury-aided eight and a half minutes(including overtime)of game time,in game four,the Lightning are very lucky to be in this series,and not packing for an early tee time,today... the Lightning came into this Stanley Cup playoff series,against the Red Wings,touting the highest scoring team in the NHL,and have scored only two power play goals(both in game two),and their leading scorer (Steven Stamkos-43 goals in regular season)has not scored a goal,in this series,and the Lightning have been shut out twice,in this series,doubling their number of being shut out,in the entire season,and Mrazek has all three shutouts,against the Lightning,this season... simply said,the Lightning stunk up their own home arena,today,and the Red Wings have been the better team in this series,so far... back to HOCKEYTOWN,and a raucous,crazy home crowd,at Joe Louis Arena,for game six...

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings/Lightning,today... game five,do i have to say more???

commentary...

i could talk about the game last night,between the Red Wings,and the Lightning,moan and complain about the bad luck of an injured player(Luke Glendening),who cut his hand,with about six minutes left,in the game... the defensive line he was on was never the same,after he left game,because all three goals,of the Lightning,came from the line that he was defending...  i look at the bright side of things... i have seen enough NHL hockey over the past fourteen years,to see most anything that could happen,so what happened last night will happen again,and so i will suck it up,and go on... it was a very good game,and it was just another Stanley Cup playoff game,and not always does the best team win,because hockey is a game of weird puck bounces,great plays off those bounces,and strange things do happen in sixty minutes of game play,and sometimes in overtime,or in multiple overtimes... so that is Stanley Cup playoff hockey,and i love it this time of year,because you never know what could happen,in a hockey game..

Red Wings' game score,and commentary...

Lightning 3,Red Wings 2,overtime... a simply great hockey game... series tied at two games apiece... note:you have to give much credit to the Lightning for staring down a 2-1 lead,for the Red Wings,in games,and a 2-0 deficit,with less than six minutes left,and not giving up to tie series,at two games apiece...

Red Wings' news...

Lightning/Red Wings,tonight,game four of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs... Red Wings up,2-1,in games...

blog statement...

been busy,and watching hockey... "Idaho Spud" time...

Red Wings' game score,and comments...

Red Wings 3,Lightning 0... Petr Mrazek 4-0-1,this season,after being pulled,in a Red Wings' loss... second shutout,for the Lightning,this season... both shutouts by Petr Mrazek,and the Red Wings... Red Wings up 2-1,in games... enough said...

Detroit City Council,and Red Wings' news...

Detroit City Council approve zoning change,and pave way for the Red Wings' new arena... apparently the zoning change will be the fact that Olympia Development will renovate the Hotel Eddystone,near the new arena,as part of building the new arena,in Detroit...

Red Wings' news...

Lightning/Red Wings,tonight...

NHL news,and commentary...

Todd McLellan and the San Jose Sharks has "mutually agreed to part ways"... so the Sharks will have a new head coach,next season... they should have axed the general manager,too... until they clean house,they do not have the front office to even get near the Stanley Cup(as to win it),because they had a good team and yet nothing happened,as for the Stanley Cup playoffs go,because their team playoff history has a legacy of failure,period,and that is squarely on the backs of a putrid team front office,over the past decade... my opinion:the team will not get better until the front office improves,and i honestly feel very sorry for their rabid fan base that really deserves a Stanley Cup,and finally,team owner Hasso Plattner(what a name)is a joke,as an owner...

blog statement...

i took yesterday off... actually,i totally forget about the blog yesterday,basically until just before bedtime,and since i was very tired,i just went to bed... note:Tampa Bay plays the Red Wings,tomorrow...

Red Wings' game score,and comments...

Lightning 5,Red Wings 1... Lightning tie series at one game apiece,and,in process,mowed down the Red Wings,in the second period,scoring three goals,in the period,increasing lead from 1-0,after one period,to 4-0,after two periods... basically,at that point,game over...

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings/Lightning,today...

trivia...

the Tampa Bay Lightning got shut out only once this season... they got shut out March 28th,4-0... what team,and goaltender shut out the Lightning??? answer:being the highest scoring NHL team,they got beat,by the Red Wings,and guess who??? Petr Mrazek,that night... note:Tampa Bay beat the Red Wings,three of the four games that they played this season...

Red Wings' game score,and commentary...

Red Wings 3,Lightning 2... Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals,and Luke Glendening scored the game winning goal(GWG),with a short-handed goal,early in the third period,and rookie goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped 44 of 46 shots,as the Red Wings were out-shot 46-14,in entire game... what a defensive game for the Red Wings... Red Wings steal game one,literally,with a great defensive game,and a stonewall,in goal... both teams had a short-handed goal,but the Lightning did very little offensively,throughout the game,even though the shots they had were great in number,but scoring chances were very rare,for the Lightning...

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings/Tampa Bay Lightning,tonight...

commentary...

San Jose Sharks' general manager Doug Wilson(what a real miserable choice,for general manager)did not fire head coach Todd McLellan,today... actually,not a bad choice,but folks,something has to give,in San Jose,because they have gone from a Stanley Cup contender,to an also ran pretender,in just over a year,and nothing has changed there in years,from personnel,to a front office,that is compared to the Maple Leafs,in futility,period... the Maple Leafs had their worst year,points-wide,in a very long time,and the Maple Leafs fired everyone,from their general manager to coaches,and said that changes are coming up,in Toronto,meaning,simply,the roster of players will change,big time... the Red Wings made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 24th straight season... why,folks,when they had injuries,and their stars are getting older(a little long in the tooth)??? simply,because the front office,team drafting,and farm system is probably the best in the NHL,year after year... the Grand Rapids Griffiths won the American Hockey League title a couple of years ago,and the ECHL's Toledo Walleye(shared with the Chicago Blackhawks(BOO!!!!),this season,was the regular season points leader... when was the last time that you heard that the Sharks made significant changes??? if you look at the core players on the Sharks,and then look at a roster from,let us say,2009-2010,you find very little turnover of core players,on the Sharks' roster... if you looked at playoff teams from this year and compare them to,let us say,2009-2010,you simply find that the quality of team play,in San Jose,has slipped badly,and even though the Red Wings had some very tough seasons,after Nicklas Lidstrom retired,three years ago,the Red Wings had their first 100 point season,since Lidstrom retired,this season... so,expect nothing to happen,in San Jose until they clean house,because team owner Hasso Plattner seems not to want to win,because,simply NOTHING has changed,in many a season,in San Jose...

comments...

the Stanley Cup playoffs start today... the Red Wings play the Tampa Bay Lightning,tomorrow,in Tampa... GO RED WINGS GO!!!!!!!!!

blog statement...

day off..."Idaho Spud" time... have to do some things later on...

Red Wings' news...

in a surprise,Red Wings will have goaltender Petr Mrazek,starting game one,against the Tampa Bay Lightning...

blog statement...

day off... "Idaho Spud" time...

blog statement...

since the Stanley Cup playoffs start on Wednesday,and the Red Wings do not play,until Thursday,against the Tampa Bay Lightning,in Tampa Bay,i am taking a few days off to reboot my engine to pump up for the Stanley Cup playoffs... note:i will post every Red Wings' game,and every game in Western Conference,and Eastern Conference Finals,by detailing every highlight in those series,at that time...

Red Wings' game score,and commentary...

Red Wings 2,Hurricanes 0... a 100 point season,and a team that was rested for the Stanley Cup playoffs,shut down the Hurricanes... Landon Ferraro scored his first NHL career goal,48 seconds into game,and it stood up for the game winning goal(GWG),as the Red Wings rested most of their starters going into the Stanley Cup playoffs... they will play the Tampa Bay Lightning,in the first round... a very very tough matchup,period...

commentary...

of the 82 games this season,of the Red Wings(am watching today game 82,of course),i have watched,or listened,to all of them,and this season has basically been a very good season... the last six weeks has been tough to watch,because the Red Wings have not played well... in fact,i have called their team play,at times,this season,"manure",but being fair,they have had injuries that could have spoiled their season,one being Pavel Datsyuk's leg injury,about the same time as their team slump(being kind)... the Red Wings have scratched,clawed,and simply refused to buckle under a slump that could cost them their entire season... where they finish in the playoff seeding,is still up in the air,because all thirty teams are playing today... even a bad Red Wings' game is much better than most things that i watch... GO RED WINGS GO!!!!!!!

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings/Carolina Hurricanes,tonight... note:many Red Wings' starters will rest,including Pavel Datsyuk,and captain Henrik Zetterberg... Red Wings need a point for third place,in the Atlantic Division,and two points for a 100 point season...

trivia...

name the only person in both the Hockey Hall of Fame,and the College Football Hall of Fame??? answer:Hobart "Hobey" Baker,for whom the award for the best college hockey player of the year,is named for... he was one of the first nine inductees in the Hockey Hall of Fame,in 1945,and was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame,in 1975... he died in 1918,in France,test piloting an airplane...

commentary...

to clinch third place in the Atlantic Division(and automatic Stanley Cup playoff berth),the Red Wings need a point,against the Carolina Hurricanes,tomorrow... they have the first tiebreaker(regulation/overtime wins-ROW's),over the Ottawa Senators,if they tie in points... the Red Wings are in the Stanley Cup playoffs,but until tomorrow night,will not know who they will play,in first round... if they lose in regulation,against Carolina,and Ottawa beats the Philadelphia Flyers,early tomorrow morning,the Red Wings will be a wild card(depending on what the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins do),they will be seventh or eighth seed... the Tampa Bay Lightning are second,and they play Boston,and the Montreal Canadiens are first in the Atlantic Division,and they play the Toronto Maple Leafs,tomorrow... if they tie in points(and Montreal is up by two points),Tampa Bay wins the Atlantic Division... in other words,both Montreal and Detroit need a point to clinch their Stanley Cup playoff seeding... by the way,the Pittsburgh Penguins need two points to clinch,and beat the New York Islanders**,today,to make the Stanley Cup playoffs,and the Islanders need a point to cement third place in the Metropolitan Division,and Boston needs to beat Tampa Bay,and get major help*... *last night's 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers was almost the final nail in their Stanley Cup playoff chances,or in other words,their coffin... **the Islanders have another game,against the Columbus Blue Jackets,tomorrow,to close their arena... they are moving to the Barclays Center,in Brooklyn,next season...

NHL news...

there will be a new Stanley Cup champion,because the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs,by losing to the Calgary Flames,3-1... all Western Conference Stanley Cup playoffs have been decided...

Red Wings' game score,and Stanley Cup playoff berth....

Canadiens 4,Red Wings 3,overtime... even with the overtime loss,Red Wings get a critical point,and coupled with the Florida Panthers' 4-2 regulation win,over the Boston Bruins,the Red Wings clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth for the 24th straight season...

Red Wings' news...

Red Wings/Montreal Canadiens,tonight...

correction...

i erroneously noted that in the second game of the last three games,for the Boston Bruins was,oops,against the Ottawa Senators... i had brainfreeze ... the game is,tomorrow,against the Florida Panthers,not the Senators... i corrected the previous post...

amazing,and dubious Boston Bruins' history...

in the ninety one year history of the Boston Bruins,no team had shut out the Bruins,in a season series(more than two games),until tonight... the Washington Capitals beat the Bruins in their three games,this season,4-0(first game),2-0(second game),and 3-0(tonight)... note:Braden Holtby has an ongoing scoreless streak,against the Bruins,of 186 minutes and 23 seconds...

Red Wings' news...

Erik Cole,of the Red Wings,is out for the remainder of the season,and Stanley Cup playoffs,with a spine contusion... he had three goals,in eleven games,for the Red Wings,since coming over,at the trade deadline... in 2006,he broke his neck,and so doctors made decision to bench him for the rest of the season... hope he recovers fully and has a good life,no matter what he does,period... prayers go out to him...

commentary...

last night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes was strange... the first period was scoreless,and for the fourteen minutes of the second period,the Red Wings led 1-0,but again these are the Red Wings,and recently,strange bounces happen... two rebounds,and puck bounces off players led to two Hurricanes' goals basically from point blank range(less than six feet away),for a Hurricanes' 2-1 lead,after two periods(and my anger over lousy play went off like a stick of dynamite)... i was pissed,because the overall play of the Red Wings,over the last month pushed me to the thought of turning off the television(it has been manure)... i just could not believe it... for a team who has beaten Carolina Hurricanes seventeen times,of the last nineteen games(17-1-1),at home,the Red Wings looked like the Keystone Kops,through that horrid six minute stretch of game time... i calmed down,when the Red Wings scored in the first two minutes of the third period,to tie game,at two,and then a beautiful pass to Pavel Datsyuk,from Henrik Zetterberg ended my anxiety,when Datsyuk scored the game winning goal(GWG),but honestly,i still had no idea if the Red Wings could hold the 3-2 lead to the end of the game... they did,but the way that Red Wings have played the last month,it still turned my stomach a few times,before the buzzer sounded to end the game... note:only a blown 3-0 lead by the Pittsburgh Penguins(a 4-3 overtime win by the Ottawa Senators) ruined my night,because a Ottawa loss in regulation would have clinched a Red Wings' Stanley Cup playoff berth...

flip a coin...

Red Wings did beat the Hurricanes 3-2,and are two points ahead of the Boston Bruins,for third place in the Atlantic Division,and have the tiebreaker(regulation/overtime wins-ROW's),right now... the Bruins play the Washington Capitals,the Florida Panthers,and the Tampa Bay Lightning,in the last three games to close out their season... if the Bruins,and the Red Wings tie,in total points,the amount of ROW's will come into focus,and if they have the same number of ROW's,the Bruins get the automatic Stanley Cup berth,and third place(second tiebreaker is total wins,and the third tiebreaker is head to head between the teams,and the Bruins have that tie breaker over the Red Wings)... the Red Wings play the Montreal Canadiens,and the Carolina Hurricanes,who they beat 3-2,tonight,to close out their season... the fly in the ointment,are the Ottawa Senators,also two points,behind the Red Wings,and tied with the Bruins,but the Red Wings have the tiebreaker over the Senators(ROW's),so to make the Stanley Cup playoffs,they have to beat the Red Wings outright,in total points,because if they tie in points,they lose tiebreaker,with Red Wings... the Senators play the 2015 President's Cup winner(regular season best record in the NHL)New York Rangers,and the Philadelphia Flyers to close out their season... my opinion:basically flip a coin for the Stanley Cup playoff teams... note:the Red Wings need two points to clinch their 24th straight Stanley Cup playoff berth...

a major shock,and who knows???

the Edmonton Oilers beat the defending Stanley Cup Champions Los Angeles Kings 4-2... the Kings are two points behind the Calgary Flames,for third place,in the Pacific Division... a major shock,unless they beat the Flames outright,in total points,it appears that the Kings will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs... the only other way they make it is if they win both in regulation,and the Winnipeg Jets lose both games in regulation,and the Flames also lose in regulation,in both games... the Kings play the Flames,and the San Jose Sharks,in the last two games... the Flames play the Kings,and Jets,in the last two games... the Jets play the Colorado Avalanche,and the Flames,in the last two games... my opinion:who knows who makes the Stanley Cup playoffs??? i would not like to be in the Kings' position,but who knows???

Red Wings' game score...

Red Wings 3,Hurricanes 2...

Red Wings' news...

Carolina Hurricanes/Red Wings,tonight...

put a nail in the coffin...

with the Winnipeg Jets winning,2-0,over the Minnesota Wild,the San Jose Sharks have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs...

blog statement...

day off... not in mood today to do blogging... "Idaho Spud" time...

Red Wings' game score,and comment...

Washington Capitals 2,Red Wings 1... good game,but not enough team offense for the Red Wings...

Red Wings' game score,and comment......

Red Wings 3,Wild 2,shootout... Red Wings win an eight round shootout...

battle for third place in Atlantic Division,and automatic Stanley Cup playoff berth...

Red Wings/Minnesota Wild,tonight... Pavel Datsyuk is expected to play,after missing seven of the last nine games,because of a leg injury... note:at the same time,the Boston Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs...

commentary...

the NHL player safety department has no guts... Alex Burrows,of the Vancouver Canucks,should have suspended for elbowing Paul Gaustad,of the Nashville Predators,in the head... he did get a five minute major,and a game misconduct,but Gaustad has a possible concussion,when his head hit the ice,and did not move for minutes... my opinion:the NHL is absolutely gutless,period!!!!!!!

commentary...

yesterday's loss to the Boston Bruins,as a Red Wings' fan was really hard to stomach... i know that after seeing over 1,100 games,over 14 years,i have seen most everything,but the last month rooting for the Red Wings has been like a terrible walk into mediocrity,because the Red Wings can not seem to win if their lives depended on it,and yesterday,losing to the Boston Bruins the way that they did,dominating for most of the game,having great defense,and then the puck bounces do not go their way... it reminded me of the Los Angeles Kings/Red Wings playoff series,in the early 2000's,in which the Red Wings lost:let me re-rack it for you:Red Wings up 2-1,in games,and up 3-0,in game four,with 3:10,left,in game four... three minutes plus away from a commanding 3-1 game lead for the Red Wings... well,as i am watching game,the Kings score three quick goals,on absolutely weird bounces,to tie game,and send game into overtime,and then the Red Wings lose very early,in overtime... from that moment on,the Kings got every call and puck bounce,to beat the Red Wings,four games to two... to this day,i have never watched a replay of that game,and series... well,yesterday,i got the same feeling,as that night against the Kings,in that lost playoff series... what a pity!!!!!

blog statement...

day off... need some "Idaho Spud" time,badly... right now,being a Red Wings' fan is like "walking the plank" slowly... horrible!!!!!!!!

commentary...

in the last fifteen games,the Red Wings are 4-9-2(10 points out of a possible 30 points),and they have played rather badly,period... even with tonight's loss to the Bruins,they are still in third place in the Atlantic Division,only because of games played(have a game in hand,on the Bruins),but honestly,they have sucked big time,and injuries recently,have put them at a disadvantage... they have missed Erik Cole,and especially Pavel Datsyuk,who has missed six of the last eight games with a leg injury,but should be back(he says that)Saturday,against the Minnesota Wild,and goaltender Devan Dubnyk,who has been very good lately... goaltenderJimmy Howard has been downright bad,since his return from his groin injury... until tonight,Petr Mrazek has been very good,in relief of Howard... goaltending,and team play in the NHL comes down to confidence,and nobody is confident right now,in Hockeytown... honestly,the Red Wings should get into the Stanley Cup playoffs,but you do not want to fight,claw,and scratch,until the last day of the season to get there... however,the Red Wings may have to do it again,this season...

Red Wings' game score,and comments...

Bruins 3,Red Wings 2... Red Wings blow a 2-0 lead,with fifteen minutes left,losing lead,with 2:08 left,in game,when goaltender Petr Mrazek let in a soft goal through his pads,under his left arm(goal went in at a bad angle;should have been stopped)...

Red Wings' news...

Boston Bruins/Red Wings,tonight... Red Wings are two points up,for third place,in Atlantic Division,and automatic Stanley Cup playoff berth,on Bruins... Red Wings have to lose in regulation to change places,because Red Wings have 37 regulation/overtime wins(ROW's),and the Bruins have 36 ROW's,which is first tiebreaker for playoff seeding... Red Wings have also a game in hand on Bruins...

Red Wings' news,and comments...

injured Drew Miller,who suffered two scary nasty skate cuts to his right side of his face(one above his right eye and one below the eye on the cheek),when Mark Stone lost his balance,and his skate came up,and sliced Miller quite deeply... well,in practice,Miller stepped onto the ice,wearing a plastic mask,and got hockey stick taps on the ice from his teammates... class act from his teammates,and a tough as nails veteran... a hat tip to Miller...