You might as well go ahead and let your jaw drop to the floor before you even click play. It's gonna happen anyway:
I don't know who made this video, but if they had looped it to play for 90 minutes and put it out in theaters only, I'm probably going to pay $20 for the IMAX showing, and I'm dropping another $20 on popcorn and Reese's Pieces.
Then, I'm probably cutting a hole in the bottom of my bucket so I can manually butter my kernels.
no commentsThis cannot be shown, masturbated to enough:
Pavel Datsyuk goes through an entire team for a coast-to-coast goal. You usually only see that shit in SEGA NHL.
Ah, playoff gamesmanship. There's nothing better.
Today, Predators players were using the ping pong tables in the hallway outside of the locker rooms. Todd Bertuzzi saw this and then...
— Will Posthumus (@Will_Posthumus) April 17, 2012
...told them if they wanted to play they needed their own table, then folded up the table, and rolled it into the Wings locker room. #boom
— Will Posthumus (@Will_Posthumus) April 17, 2012
Clearly, Bertuzzi was in no mood for games. Hopefully he is tomorrow night.
Where the hell is Spartan Bob when you need him? His ...err, expertise would have been helpful in the final moments of the 2nd period of today's Red Wings-Predators Game 3 showdown. The Red Wings scored what would have been a game-tying goal just after time expired. How close was it? If this were any other sport, it would have counted.
The Predators and Wings both scored once during the 3rd period, making the final score 3-2. With the win, Nashville takes a 2-1 series lead into a pivotal Game 4 on Tuesday. The Wings need to win to avoid going back to Tennessee in a 3-1 hole. Hopefully Pavel Datsyuk can repeat some of the magic that he had on his goal today to even the series at 2.
no comments
The Red Wings lost a closely fought Game 1 of their first round series to the Nashville Predators tonight, 3-2. However, this isn't what fans will be talking about for the next couple days. With just seconds remaining, Shea Weber did his best Jeremy Roenick impression and slammed Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass multiple times. Our good buddy @WorldofIsaac has all the footage you'll need of this ugly incident.
Last season, I would have fully expected to see Weber suit up for Game 2. However, with Brendan Shanahan throwing out suspensions like Halloween candy at times this season, I think we'll see Weber miss a game or two.
As for the game itself, it could have gone either way. Two of Nashville's three goals were on freak bounces, with the third coming as a result of a collossal lapse in responsibility from the Wings defensively. Nashville dominated the faceoff circle late in the game though (the name Paul Gaustad will haunt my dreams), and the Wings weren't able to mount enough of an attack to tie the game in the final seconds.
no commentsWith the Red Wings sitting at the top of the Western conference (along with the Vancouver Canucks), they have the right mix of health and hunger to get deep into the postseason. Couple that with their league-best home record -- including an NHL record 23-game home winning streak -- and a favorable first round matchup, I think that this is the year that the Wings return to the Stanley Cup Finals.
...
Unfortunately, that was the storylline near the end of February, when the Wings were on top of a brutal Central Division race and staring at the likes of the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks in the first round. Fast forward one month -- a stretch in which the Wings went 5-9-3 -- and they are now heading to Nashville to face the solid if unspectacular Predators in the first round.
The Wings' skid to the regular season finish line has many fans concerned about whether they are ready to ramp up for yet another playoff run (their 21st consecutive, for the record). After two consecutive 2nd round exits against the San Jose Sharks, there is always the nagging pressure to get back to the Western Conference Finals and beyond.
There are detractors that say that the Wings are... well, pick your excuse. Too old, too banged up, not tough enough, you've heard all the reasons. Are they right? That remains to be seen (and these playoffs still might not even answer those questions).
And then, there are the fans that believe solely in this principle. Peg me into this category.
Admittedly, I have not watched a lot of hockey over the past month and a half. Living out of town + life + excuses, etc. However, I was able to watch the Wings' final regular season game (against the aforementioned Blackhawks), and came away with the impression that this team is simply biding its time, waiting until the playoffs to make their big move.
I'm not saying that the Wings dawdled their way through the final month of the season. First, I don't believe that professional athletes are wired in a way that allows them to simply say "Eh, this game doesn't matter." These guys are hypercompetitive nearly all of the time. It's why they are where they are. That being said, I don't think that there has been a lot of pressure in the Wings' locker room to tighten everything up until now.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the 3rd period of their last game and with a trip to Los Angeles looming, the Wings stepped their game up in a major way. A game-tying goal just felt inevitable, and it was. Once again, the Wings turned it on when it counted and did what they had to do in order to avoid a cross-continent playoff series.
Does this mean that I think that the Wings will win the Stanley Cup? They sure as hell have an uphill battle against them. Nashville is now more skilled than they have been in playoff series past, and those train whistles are annoying as shit. The Western conference, like usual, is absolutely loaded. The Canucks are no doubt looking to get back to the Finals after losing Game 7 in their own building last season. The New York Rangers look like they will blaze through the Eastern conference and have plenty left in the tank for whoever escapes the gauntlet that is the West.
Still, despite all these obstacles, the Wings are one of the few teams in this league with the skill to beat everyone I have just mentioned. There is a reason that they were once the scenario I laid out at the top of this post: because they were there. They could very well be the team we've seen slop through the past month, or they could be the team that made Joe Louis Arena a living hell for opposing teams for the four months prior to that point. We won't know for at least another couple weeks which team the Red Wings are, but the answers will start to come tomorrow night at 8.
no commentsHighlight of the video: always the professional, Ken Daniels sneaks in the Belle Tire sponsorship mention. Oh, and some guy named Niklas Kronwall makes an appearance too. Kronwall's latest victim is the completely unsuspecting Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers.
While, it looks ugly at first glance, this is a legal hit. Kronwall didn't leave his feet (which is better than a lot of his other hits) and isn't targeting Voracek's head, though it does get popped in the process. Voracek has his head down, which is a bad idea in any sport, let alone the NHL. As such, Kronwall won't be suspended for the hit, which is the right move by the league.
One thing that surprised me about this situation is the lack of uproar from Philadelphia fans over this incident. Maybe I don't keep in contact with the stupid ones (either that, or they're still mad at Andy Reid), but everything I've read from them and the national media has been pretty level-headed so far. A prime example comes from SB Nation Philadelphia's David Strehle, who points the blame at the NHL for a lack of clear-cut ruling on hits to the head.
There is a multitude of grey areas associated with the laws surrounding "illegal checks to the head", and it seems a rare situation where any player will not have been deemed to have placed himself in a vulnerable position when injured. The Letang and Voracek hits are proof-positive of that fact.
The entire piece is worth a read, so click on over. Just keep your head up in the meantime.
no commentsIt looks like there was more behind the trade that brought Kyle Quincey to Detroit than we first thought. According to Hakan Andersson, the Red Wings' director of European scouting and the man who is largely responsible for bringing guys like Nick Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk to the NHL, Brad Stuart will not be returning to Detroit next season.
“Brad’s wife is from the West Coast, and he wants to move back there. We’ve tried hard [to re-sign Stuart], but in vain.”
While Quincey will probably be able to fill Stuart's shoes (skates?) adequately, there's always the possibility that Lidstrom rides off into the sunset after winning his 5th Stanley Cup this June.
If this happens, the Wings could be in some serious trouble on the blue line next season.
no commentsWow, I missed this one. Earlier today, the Red Wings traded prospect Sebastien Piche and a first round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had just traded for Quincey 30 minutes before that. Giving up a first round pick is a steep price to pay, but Quincey is a solid defenseman in the prime of his career who adds some much-needed depth to the Red Wings' blue line.
D4L friend4lyfe Michael Petrella (from The Production Line) has more info on Quincey's history:
Quincey was originally drafted by the Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2003 Draft. He played in 13 games for the Red Wings before being waived (to keep Chris Chelios on the roster) in 2008. The Los Angeles Kings claimed him and he spent the rest of the year in Hollywood. He was traded to Colorado, where he’s been playing since 2009-10.
Statistics aside, Quincey is probably best known for eating cereal out of the Stanley Cup after the Red Wings won it all in 2008.
