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GDT - Game #81: Red Wings host Blackhawks (3:00)
by Jeff OKWingnut on 04/11/09 at 09:08 AM ET
Comments (9)
Not much intrigue for either DET or CHI as they each enter their final two games of the regular season with a home and home series. By virtue of CGY’s 5-1 loss at EDM last night, CHI has secured the 4th spot in the W.C. playoffs. DET has been locked in the 2 spot for some time. If you are desparate to find some motiviation for the final two games, and fancy looking way-down the road, DET (112) could surpass E.C. leading BOS (114). DET’s first round playoff opponent is still undetermined. CBJ have 92 pts, ANA and STL have 90 pts. All three have one game remaining. CBJ host MIN tonight at 7:00. ANA is at PHX tonight at 8:00. STL is at COL on Sunday at 5:00. CHI will play CGY in the first round. DET hope to start their Stanley Cup drive on Thursday.
Here are some interesting numbers heading into the home and home series. Nicklas Lidstrom needs three more points to become the 12th active player with at least 1,000 career points. Pavel Datsyuk has matched his career high of 97 pts (32 g, 65 a). DET has won each its last five games against CHI, scoring nine power-play goals in the five games. DET have won the last four home meetings and are 15-2-1 in the past 18 at JLA. CHI has scored only one power-play goal in its last seven games (3.8 percent, 1-for-26). There is some news on Hossa’s injury and contract talks with Franzen, below.
Standings:
DET: 80 g/p 51 19 10 112 pts (2 in Conf, 1 in Central), 293 gf, 237 ga, Last 10 5-4-1, Streak Lost 1
CHI: 80 g/p 44 24 12 100 pts (4 in Conf, 2 in Central), 257 gf, 214 ga, Last 10 7-2-1, Streak Lost 1
Stats (rank):
DET: .700 point% (3), 3.59 g/g (1), 2.91 ga/g (20), 1.22 5-5 f/a (3), 25.7 pp (1), 78.1 pk (26), 36.3 s/g (1), 27.8 sa/g (2), 55.2 fo% (1).
CHI: .625 point% (6), 3.16 g/g (5), 2.59 ga/g (6), 1.16 5-5 f/a (6), 19.4 pp (11), 80.5 pk (19), 32.9 s/g (4), 28.6 sa/g (7), 48.0 fo% (24).
Player Stats:
DET Skaters:
POS Player GP G A PTS +/-
C Pavel Datsyuk 79 32 65 97 37
C Henrik Zetterberg 75 30 42 72 15
RW Marian Hossa 74 40 31 71 27
RW Johan Franzen 69 34 25 59 23
D Nicklas Lidstrom 77 16 43 59 33
D Brian Rafalski 76 10 48 58 20
RW Jiri Hudler 80 23 33 56 7
D Niklas Kronwall 78 6 45 51 3
RW Mikael Samuelsson 79 19 21 40 1
RW Daniel Cleary 72 14 25 39 2
C Valtteri Filppula 78 11 28 39 9
RW Tomas Holmstrom 51 14 23 37 21
RW Tomas Kopecky 77 6 13 19 -7
C Kris Draper 79 7 10 17 -13
D Brett Lebda 63 6 10 16 9
D Brad Stuart 65 2 13 15 -2
D Andreas Lilja 60 2 11 13 13
LW Kirk Maltby 76 5 6 11 -9
LW * Ville Leino 13 5 4 9 5
D Derek Meech 39 2 5 7 -12
D Jonathan Ericsson 17 1 3 4 0
RW Aaron Downey 4 1 1 2 0
C Darren Helm 16 0 1 1 -7
RW Darren McCarty 13 1 0 1 -2
LW Justin Abdelkader 2 0 0 0 0
D Chris Chelios 26 0 0 0
DET Goalies:
Player GPI W L OT GAA PCT
Chris Osgood 45 26 8 8 3.09 .887
Ty Conklin 39 25 10 2 2.50 .910
CHI Skaters:
POS Player GP G A PTS +/-
RW Martin Havlat 79 29 45 74 26
RW Patrick Kane 78 25 44 69 -4
C Jonathan Toews 80 33 35 68 10
LW Kris Versteeg 77 22 30 52 15
D Brian Campbell 80 7 42 49 2
C Dave Bolland 79 18 28 46 19
LW Andrew Ladd 80 13 33 46 23
D Duncan Keith 76 8 36 44 32
C Patrick Sharp 61 26 18 44 6
D Cam Barker 66 6 34 40 -5
RW Dustin Byfuglien 75 14 15 29 5
RW Troy Brouwer 67 10 16 26 8
D Brent Seabrook 80 8 16 24 21
C Samuel Pahlsson 64 7 11 18 -18
C Colin Fraser 79 6 11 17 3
LW Ben Eager 73 10 4 14 1
D Matt Walker 63 1 13 14 8
RW Adam Burish 64 6 3 9 3
D Aaron Johnson 36 3 5 8 18
D Niklas Hjalmarsson 19 0 2 2 1
D Brent Sopel 23 1 1 2 -4
RW Jack Skille 8 1 0 1 -3
C Tim Brent 2 0 0 0 0
D Jordan Hendry 9 0 0 0 -1
LW Pascal Pelletier 7 0 0 0 -4
CHI Goalies:
Player GPI W L OT GAA PCT
Nikolai Khabibulin 41 24 8 7 2.39 .917
Cristobal Huet 40 19 15 4 2.54 .909
Injury Report:
DET:
Andreas Lilja (D) Concussion (Sidelined indefinitely)
Marian Hossa (RW) Groin (Day to day)
CHI:
P. Sharp (C) Undisclosed injury (day-to-day)
B. Sopel (D) Upper-body injury (IR)
HOT and NOT:
UNAVAILABLE
DET: Hot:
DET: Not Hot:
CHI: Hot:
CHI: Not Hot:
Jeff Sagarin NHL Ratings, from USAToday.com:
To make predictions for upcoming games, simply compare the RATINGS of
the teams in question and allow an ADDITIONAL .25 goals for the home
team. Thus, for example, a HOME team with a rating of 4.43 would be
favored by .57 goals over a VISITING team having a rating of 4.11.
Or a VISITING team with a rating of 4.56 would be favored by .42 goals
over a HOME team having a rating of 3.89NOTE: Use whatever home advantage is listed in the output below.
In the example just above, a home edge of .25 was shown for
illustrative purposes. The home edge will vary during the season.
NHL 2008-2009 through 2009 April 10 Friday
HOME ADVANTAGE= 0.35 RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR
3 Detroit Red Wings = 4.72 51 29 3.99( 19) 12 7 | 30 15 | 4.71 2 | 4.74 2
6 Chicago Blackhawks = 4.40 44 36 4.02( 9) 7 13 | 21 24 | 4.29 6 | 4.53 4
The AccuScore Game Forecast from The Sporting News:
Chicago Blackhawks 3
Detroit Red Wings 3.5Team Win Percent Average Score Big Win Close Win
Chicago Blackhawks 43.2% 3 10.7% 22.0%
Detroit Red Wings 56.8% 3.5 20.4% 23.1%Fantasy Spotlight G A PTS
Martin Havlat 0.35 0.51 0.86
Pavel Datsyuk 0.31 0.61 0.93Probability of a Fight: 18.5%
Ted Kulfan, Detroit News, reports that Conklin will be between the pipes today, Osgood will play Sunday.
Khan(!) had a talk with Holland, there is news on Hossa and some contract talk news as well:
Locked into the No. 2 playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Detroit Red Wings’ main concern for the final weekend of the regular season is to stay healthy.
They received good news Friday when an MRI on Marian Hossa’s sore groin revealed no muscle tear. He will not play in either of the Red Wings’ final two games against the Chicago Blackhawks, today at Joe Louis Arena and Sunday in Chicago, but Hossa hopes to be ready for the playoff opener.
“I’m pretty optimistic,” Hossa said. “I’ve had some groin injuries before, but this one doesn’t seem like something that would bother me as much.”
Hossa injured his groin Thursday during the second period of Detroit’s 4-3 shootout loss to Nashville when he fell awkwardly after getting tangled up with Jason Arnott.
“I went the one way and their player took my leg a little bit the other way, so I kind of felt a stretch,” Hossa said. “There is no sense this time of year to push it.”
Hossa leads the team with 40 goals and is third in points with 71.
“Hopefully, everything goes good and he’s ready to go for Game 1,” Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. “We won’t know until Monday or Tuesday, but right now it looks good.”
The Red Wings do not know if they will start the first round on Wednesday or Thursday, but they are lobbying the league for the latter.
“We’re hoping to open Thursday,” Holland said. “We’re the only team in the West that plays three (games) in four (days) to finish, so I’ve expressed that to the league. We’d get Monday off and have Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare.” . . .
Holland said he’ll continue contract talks with the agents for Johan Franzen and Hossa through the weekend. But after Monday, he will postpone negotiations until the playoffs conclude.
He is further along with Franzen. Due to salary-cap rules, he can sign only one before the off-season. So if there is a deal to be made, it likely would be with Franzen.
“I’m closer on Franzen, we’ve been talking off and on since September, October,’’ Holland said. “With Marian, we just started talking in February.’‘
In the Chicago media, Tim Sassone, Chicago Daily Herald reports that “Kris Versteeg is “doubtful” for Saturday’s game at Detroit, according to Coach Q after a freak fall at practice on Friday. Versteeg was all alone nearing the boards during a drill when he got his legs tangled and fell backwards hard into the wall, apparently hitting his head or shoulder.
Quenneville didn’t rule Versteeg out of Sunday’s rematch with the Red Wings.”
Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune says that Huet will start in goal today, and Khabibulin is scheduled for Sunday.
Here is a very interesting item from James Jahnke, Detroit Free Press:
The Red Wings today signed goaltender Jordan Pearce to a two-year entry-level deal, beginning with the 2009-10 season. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Pearce, 22, spent the past four seasons with Notre Dame and was a finalist for CCHA player of the year this season. He finished the year 30-6-3 with a 1.68 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and eight shutouts. He led the nation in wins and shutouts, was second in goals-against average and fifth in save percentage.
Pearce is currently with the Grand Rapids Griffins on an amateur tryout. He is scheduled to back up Jimmy Howard against Hamilton tonight at Van Andel Arena.
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Comments
I think CalGary can still win the Division if Vancouver gets no points and Calgary wins tonight at Edmonton, based on the Flames would have more wins and move back to the #3 seed.
Pearce has flashy numbers but the entire ND squad was a dominant team in front of him, the last 2 years especially. Like Michigan, they lost in the tournament against an opponent they would beat 9 out of 10 games.
I don’t know if I’ve ever expressed that I hate Gary.Ass.NHL.FluctuatingbutHardCeilingSalaryCap.
How can a franchise sign multiyear deals when they don’t even know what the numbers will be even next year and the year after? The NHL is trying to breed chaos and penalize success, and make itself out to look like the savior, just like Socialist regimes always do (this formula is being tried by the U.S. Government at the moment also).
Gary.Ass
“I saw Babcock’s penis on my showercam once, it was THIS big!”
Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 04/11/09 at 09:37 AM ET
And thanks for the link to the Datsyuk article, very compelling rationale why is the best all around player out there today.
Also, interesting linking to SI covers and issues going back 15 years or more. In the year that Bettman took over the NHL there is an article “NHL Hot, NBA Not”. Well he has managed to F that up.
Gary.Ass
Posted by RWBill from the Land of 12 in 12. on 04/11/09 at 10:09 AM ET
so I was watching American Chopper yesterday. aside from the fact that it was the episode where Paul Jr got fired by Paul Sr (for real), it was also the episode where they finished the NHL bike. can’t find a picture online, but it doesn’t matter - the image of Gary.Ass on that show sitting on a chopper trying to look like he’s actually a man is seared into my memory.
I did find this, though…
http://www.orangecountychoppers.com/occ/nhlchopper.html
apparently OCC makes a line of NHL-themed choppers. check out #11.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 04/11/09 at 10:12 AM ET
In the year that Bettman took over the NHL there is an article “NHL Hot, NBA Not”. Well he has managed to F that up.
I’ve always wondered how much severance the NBA paid him to come to the NHL and completely screw it up.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 04/11/09 at 10:13 AM ET
I like the Pearce signing. Yes he had great teams in front of him at Notre Dame, but he also would with the Wings. From what I’ve seen he always steps up his game at big moments for his team.
Posted by Rob on 04/11/09 at 10:32 AM ET
the image of Gary.Ass on that show sitting on a chopper trying to look like he’s actually a man is seared into my memory.
I watched that episode and kept wondering if the little turd would float thru. When he gets on the bike he can’t reach the handlebars with his little commissioner feets on the pegs. Senior’s gonna have to fabricate a booster seat.
Great info Jeff. Appreciate the numbers.
Anybody else catch the BBB’s vs BJ’s last night?? The ref’s sucked BIG time. 6 or 7 penalties in a row to the BBB’s. A cynic might think somebody wanted them in the playoffs.
Thanks Gary. Ass.
Posted by Rumbear from Top O da Hasek, sippin rum & catchin some rays on 04/11/09 at 11:12 AM ET
The ref’s sucked BIG time. 6 or 7 penalties in a row to the BBB’s.
No, that should be PP to the Blues. 3 in the 1st, including a 5 on 3.
BBB’s with a 2 PPG lead going into the 2nd.
How are the ribs Rummy?
Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 04/11/09 at 11:50 AM ET
Great job, Jeff! It’s important to me to keep up with who’s injured for the Wings because it’s like having a broken finger: you can still function but it just doesn’t feel “whole.”
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 04/11/09 at 01:04 PM ET
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For the “in case you missed it” crowd (like myself). Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated has an excellent article on Datsyuk.
Greg Wyshynski, a/k/a Puck Daddy, Yahoo Sports, also posted an extremely dry-humored Pavel Datsyuk article:
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Quest for 12 on 04/11/09 at 09:33 AM ET