Red Wings 20591081489, Central Division ZZZZZ

Sorry. It's been a while. It's hard to get excited about Central Division game after Central Division game.

Ozzie wants to know if the end is in sight (I can't see it either, buddy).

(I want to issue a quick thanks to my friend Chapel for providing me with a cap of this shot from the Wings victory over Columbus - after Henrik Zetterberg's hat trick, more than just hats were apparently thrown on the ice, and Ozzie decided to have a little bit of fun with these. Chapel also noted that the glasses make a great pair with the equally 80s style helmet.)

For those of you in the Detroit area, a couple fun promotional things to note as the playoffs are coming up:

• The Wings are jumping on that silly Team Medallion bandwagon. You can get coupons daily between Sunday March 31st and April 20th in the Detroit Free Press and redeem them at participating venues for little tiny relatively useless (but neat!) collectibles. There are 20 featured Red Wings players, plus one "team commemorative" - which begs the question, which three regulars off the 23 man roster got snubbed? I probably won't find out, but if you do, let us know!

• This Saturday, March 29th, the Wings will hold a rare open practice at the Joe. For $5 or a donation of new or slightly used hockey gear, fans will get the chance to participate in "fun contests and question and answer sessions with Red Wings personalities", as well as watch the practice. The practice will also feature a “fire sale” of autographed memorabilia from current and former Red Wings players and coaches. Unfortunately I probably can't make it out thanks to the obscene gas prices lately, making the third straight open practice I've missed.

Also with the playoffs up and coming, the "ARE YOU IN?" slogan is being bandied about quite a bit on the website and all the new graphics - I sincerely hope this doesn't stick as the playoffs actually begin; even Fire on Ice seems bearable by comparison. As a matter of fact, even "Join the Red Wave" seems bearable by comparison.

Finally, the Wings play tomorrow night against the St. Louis Blues. Are you excited? I'm going upstate to watch the Griffins. Regardless, go Wings!

Damn that pesky Central Division.

Just for the record I'm far from an analyst, I've double-checked this but I've not exactly done mounds upon mounds of research and this isn't meant to be anything but an observation - but I find it interesting regardless.

We've been hearing it for years - "Of course the Red Wings are awesome, the way the schedule is they play half their games against the crappy Central Division, etc., etc., etc." And no one ever seems to listen when you, after stopping and thinking, tell them that actually the Wings don't really stomp all over the division like you'd expect. In fact, for whatever reason, it's the "crappy" Central Division teams that the Wings stumble over, whether it be because they're underestimating them, they're putting in less effort, or it's just plain inexplicable.

This season, against the Central Division, the Wings are 10-11-2. That's right, the Red Wings, supposed trampler of lesser peon teams, have a losing record in their division. The one that's supposed to vault them to their lofty playoff position every year. Right now (if shootout losses aren't considered to have any more weight than a regular loss), in this division, they're only winning 44% of their games.

When you factor out the games played against these teams, the Wings are 37-9-4, for a winning percentage of a sparkling 74%. (Overall, the record is 47-20-6 for a win percentage of 64%; still nothing to laugh at.)

The Central Division makes me feel like this.

I'm not worried or anything - but I'm not really excited for the last 9 games of the season, especially looking at the frustrating losses to Nashville and Columbus this weekend. (And how about Dom Hasek kicking that puck in his own net? Johan Franzen, however, has looked spectacular lately, which while not necessarily unexpected, has certainly been surprisingly pleasant and timely.)