I'll Take It! (Wings 3, Coyotes 2)

I admit, this might be the least confident I've ever been going into a Wings/Coyotes game. Especially since the arrival of Ilya Bryzgalov, the Coyotes have been a much more intimidating team - but then again, it's tough to shake the confidence of any Wings fan given their current performances.

Henrik Zetterberg (who going into this game had an average of 2.7 goals per night against Phoenix) was back tonight - and he made his presence known, scoring about four minutes into the game from a ridiculous angle, nearly past the goal line, as for the second night in a row, Bryzgalov lets in a goal off of the first shot of the game. The big line of Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Holmstrom was reunited at the start of the game and made their presence known, following this goal up with several other good scoring chances.

Chris Osgood had a great night once again, making a slew of timely saves (including one brilliant reach-around effort to keep a puck that got behind him out of the net) to keep the Wings in the game through the first two periods in which the Coyotes excelled at getting pucks to the net. Both he and Bryzgalov fended off a bit of jostling in front of the net - Osgood was knocked over by Fredrik Sjostrom and even lost his helmet, and Bryz took offense to a bit of roughing at the hands of Dan Cleary, whom he then took a couple jabs at with his blocker, which was hilarious, I promise.

Martin Hanzal tied it up late in the first on a giveaway by Nicklas Kronwall, and Ed Jovanavski had the other goal for Phoenix shortly into the second - a one-timer that Osgood never saw - but then the tides seemed to turn.

Through the first period and the start of the second, the Wings weren't in control of the puck nearly enough, but that turned around toward the end of the second. Zetterberg at one point had about a million chances to score, and even though he didn't cash in, it seemed to instill a new sense of confidence in the Wings, but that particular rush seemed to make a serious difference in the game.

Tomas Holmstrom scored the evener in the third period, deflecting in a Nick Lidstrom shot that, in a show of just how great a player Lidstrom is, was timed perfectly for exactly that. He scored again with 7:28 left in the period to put the Wings up 3-2, which would be the final score - his first goal on home ice this season. The last few minutes of play were littered with chances from both teams, including a great stop by Osgood on a Shane Doan breakaway with 30 seconds left in the game. In the last minute of play, Chris Chelios got some time on the pp - Ken and Mickey speculated it was Babcock's way to get him off his back. Maybe a late birthday present?

Nicklas Kronwall unfortunately left the game in the third with a shoulder injury and didn't return - word is that he hurt his clavicle and may have separated his shoulder. He'll miss at least one week, and with Brett Lebda out as well, the Wings will call up a Griffins defenseman for the coming games.

The next Wings game is February 1st against the Avalanche, and with luck the team can extend their winning streak to six.

Random stat:

Of the top 9 players in the league in +/-, 6 are Red Wings. Lidstrom leads the league as a +43 and Datsyuk is second, while Zetterberg, Cleary, Filppula, and Kronwall also make the list.

Um. Awesome.

The Way a Road Trip Should Be (Wings 5, Coyotes 2)

Edit 7:56pm est: Tracy has chronicled the game from a 'yotes point of view over at HLOG, complete with a lovely shot of yours truly looking like an idiot. Thanks Tracy!

As mentioned, I was working both Bronco football (a pitiful loss) and Bronco hockey (a brilliant win) yesterday evening and didn't get home until halfway through the second period of the Wings/Coyotes game, so this post will be a little on the sparse side. Fortunately for me, what it is sounds like I missed was the shakier first period play on the Wings' part, and by the time I got home they settled in nicely and pulled out the victory.

Tomas Holmstrom was the victim of what everyone I've heard from is calling a horrible penalty call that robbed Henrik Zetterberg of a goal in the first period. I mention this because even though I didn't see it, it seems like the pinnacle of the trashy calls we've been getting lately and I can only hope it goes downhill from here. Fortunately, even though the game could have been 6-2 instead of 5-2, we still won it in the end, and Zetterberg came back with a late goal (you guessed it, a gorgeous Datsyuk to Holmstrom to Zetterberg hammer-in)to make up for this one. His point streak and phenomenal play continue through nine games now.

My rookie Jiri Hudler notched his first goal of the year in the first period as well playing now, with Mikael Samuelsson back and Dallas Drake being sent home to rest after the nasty McLaren hit that broke his cheekbone, on a line with Aaron Downey and Matt Ellis (both of whom also looked good tonight trying to seal spots on the lineup). The other goals came from blissfully unlikely sources - Kirk Maltby with two and Chris Chelios with the third. It's always great to see the Eurotwins put on a show like they have been, but games like this that prove our scoring depth are a big relief and will prove to be a big asset to the team.

Coyotes blogger Tracy was texting me from the game, which she attended despite the Coyotes jacking up prices for Wings games, the last of which was "Now I cower at your team's feet." That's what I like to hear.

There are whispers of Igor Grigorenko getting the call up for the Wings soon, and the belief is that Downey would be the one sent back to Grand Rapids, especially after the way Ellis has been playing so far this season. I have to agree with Matt from On the Wings on this one:

"Quite frankly, I’d rather the Wings keep him. Downey, along with Ellis, brings an energy to this team that Grigorenko seems incapable of providing."

I'll hold judgment until I see Grigorenko's play of late (I was hoping to catch a Griffins game before this call-up, but I don't think I'll be able to make until November 1st), but it seems like a shame to continue putting so much energy into Grigorenko, who is starting to feel like the guy given way too many chances because the team really wants him to work out.

The Wings' next game is Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks - bring it, Hannah!

For other, likely more in depth recaps, check out:

• On the Wings
• Gorilla Crouch
• Winging it in Motown

Other Notes:

• Charter Cable seems to have Center Ice functioning now, at least in my area. I called yesterday (why no, I haven't been calling every day for the past few weeks) and was met with an "Oh! We do have that now!". Not only are they carrying it, but so long as you ask, they're crediting subscribers' accounts with $20 for the discount that Center Ice was giving if you ordered the programming early enough in the season. I even managed to talk my way into prorating so the three weeks of games we missed don't end up costing me anything. Good luck to anyone else still trying to get it! I watched the Oilers/Flames yesterday and was treated to a spectacular shot of Ales Hemsky looking around after getting, well, smushed. It was worth all that pain.

• The WMU Bronco Hockey Team swept Bentley College this weekend, winning 5-2 Friday and 3-2 yesterday evening. Sophomore goalie Riley Gill looked outstanding and had the whole crowd bowing to him more than a few times. The kid is hot. Next weekend the boys are off to Niagara for a series there - let's hope this keeps up, as we're now 2-0 on the season and undefeated including the exhibition game against Windsor.