Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: Detroit-Red-Wings

Afternoon Line

by Paul on 02/07/12 at 12:51 PM ET
Comments (1)

Ken Holland’s reality is that he needs Conklin and MacDonald to piece together six solid outings on home ice and hold the Red Wings’ position in the standings. Both have won in the NHL before, and with no real upgrade available, this is their time. And it will be manageable if indeed Howard returns in two weeks as he predicted.

-Darren Eliot of Sports Illustrated where you can read more on Detroit’s goaltending picture.

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Dirty Wings

by Paul on 02/05/12 at 03:48 PM ET
Comments (40)

from Open Ice Hitter at the StarPhoenix, -     

Interesting how the sports news crews and broadcasters refer vaguely to Patrick Sharp’s wrist injury …. Avoiding the mention of Jiri Hudler’s name, or the fact the Detroit Red Wing worm smashed Sharp’s wrist with a vicious slash …. Where is this going ? Yup. TO Brendan Shanahan … ex Detroit Red Wing …. Hudler should have been set down for about 5 games for that slash. It says right in the NHL rules that you can’t be swinging your stick at people. Or in the rules for most teams, anyway. I am beginning to suspect that the Detroit Red Wings, and the refs, have a separate book for calling Detroit penalties …. You watch a Wings game, and how much stick work they are allowed to get away with, it looks pretty bad …. Is it because they don’t dress a goon, because they have such a heavy European flavor, with big name European superstars ? Sure looks that way …. This isn’t to detract from the fact that the Wings are a premier team. Mike Babcock is as good a coach as you will find, but he is maybe overlooked for his contribution because he stepped in and kept the Wings amongst the top teams in the league. It is what is expected in Detroit. Nik Lidstrom is a quiet and classy player, squeaky clean, Hall of Fame bound. But ….. you watch that team play. Watch close, and even Wing fans, be honest about what you see. A lot of worms and a lot of stickwork. Zetterberg is given a lot of leeway with his stick. Hudler was allowed to bust a guy’s wrist with a blatant slash viewed by two zebras. When he was still playing, Kris Draper had an episode of spearing and stick swinging in Phoenix that would have gotten the likes of Dan Carcillo or Andy Sutton banned for life ….. As for Nik Kronwall, he goes airborne a lot, targeting players heads, and is never held accountable by the league.

more plus other hockey topics…

FYI, Open Ice Hitter actually sent me the heads-up on this, guess he wanted some opinions on the piece…

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Holland Discusses Howard’s Injury

by Paul on 02/03/12 at 01:59 PM ET
Comments (4)

via Ansar Khan of Mlive,

“The good news is it’s his stick hand and it’s the tip of the finger,’’ general manager Ken Holland said. “We won’t have to wait until it’s totally healed for him to play. He just needs a little time. He wants to stay with the team. He feels he won’t be out too long.’‘

Howard will miss at least the next two games, Saturday at Edmonton and Monday at Phoenix, while Joey MacDonald, recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins, serves as Ty Conklin’s back-up.

“Jimmy will stay with us (on the trip),’’ Holland said. “When we get back to Detroit on Tuesday he’ll see a doctor and we’ll get a little better read on when he can play.

“Does he need a week? I don’t know. We want to give him a little bit of time.’‘

The injury happened in the third period of Thursday’s 4-3 shootout victory in Vancouver, when Howard was hit by a shot from Max Lapierre. Howard skated over to the bench to see trainer Piet Van Zant but stayed in the game.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jimmy+Howard,

Do The Wings Need A ‘Fighter’?

by Paul on 01/30/12 at 11:38 AM ET
Comments (19)

from Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News,

But the Red Wings rarely fight.

They are dead last in the NHL. The Rangers, who lead the league, fight 543 percent more often than the Wings — 38-7. The next lowest-ranked teams, the Canadiens (11) and Coyotes (11), fight 57 percent more than the Wings.

Two of the biggest criticisms of the Red Wings’ roster over the years are their comparative smallness and lack of combatants. Some critics even assert that the lack of fighting stands between the Red Wings and a Stanley Cup.

But from players, to coaches to management, the Wings say they are little concerned. They believe they can play anyone and win, including the top fighting teams and physical teams in the league.

So do not look for the acquisition of an enforcer in the coming weeks, as the Wings seek to improve their shot at a 12th championship.

more

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Datsyuk In The All-Star Spotlight

by Paul on 01/28/12 at 10:05 AM ET
Comments (13)

from Tim Wharnsby of CBC,

Datsyuk does not possess the determination of a healthy Sidney Crosby, nor the goal-scoring touch of a Steven Stamkos, nor the physical game of an Alex Ovechkin, but Datsyuk is considered the best two-way player in the game.

“He’s a great competitor and a guy who always plays hard,” Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. “He’s extremely skilled. He’s not dirty, yet he’s a fierce competitor.

“He’s one of the hardest guys to knock off the puck or knock off his skates. You wouldn’t know it when you see him in the dressing room. But he’s strong, and with all that skill, that combination makes him one of the best players.”

Another attribute his fellow all-stars admire is Datsyuk’s ability to steal the puck and his eye-hand coordination to knock down passes. When current Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa, also considered one of the game’s best two-way players, was a teammate of Datsyuk’s in Detroit, the two would often play a must-see game of keep away against one another.

“He’s just one of those players who is special, especially he is sick defensively,” Hossa said. “I think he’s the best in the world at stealing the puck. To watch him is fun. Sometimes when you have the puck and he steals it from you, you just have to laugh because of how easy he made it look.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Pavel+Datsyuk,

Detroit vs. Montreal

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 07:00 PM ET
Comments (10)

Every year I dream of a Detroit/Montreal SCF.

Hopefully in my lifetime, I was just a kid when the last met, and yes, Henri Richard did direct the puck in to the net, I hope to witness at least one more series.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Detroit vs. Montreal

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 04:04 PM ET
Comments (0)

Oh yes, that Carey Price is pretty good too.

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 Tags: Carey+Price,

Detroit vs. Montreal

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 03:05 PM ET
Comments (1)

Montreal, be very aware of the Pavel Datsyuk backhand.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Pavel+Datsyuk,

Afternoon Line

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 02:32 PM ET
Comments (3)

“We realize the scope of what we’re up against tonight. This is the best team in the NHL right now and they’re definitely playing like it. They’re a group of veterans that all play very intelligently.  They control the puck a lot of the time and they really make you fight for possession. We’re going to have to be at our best and try to push our style of game.

“We have to be ready to go for 60 or 65 minutes if need be to come out of this with two points.  We’ll have all the time we need to rest up after tonight, but right now we need to set our sights on winning this game.”

-Montreal Canadiens assistant captain Josh Gorges.  More on the game from Justin Fragapane at the Canadiens website.

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Detroit vs. Montreal

by Paul on 01/25/12 at 02:06 PM ET
Comments (3)

The way it was!

You will see some hockey action from the 1954 Stanley Cup Final between the Wings and Canadiens, and then it gets real good.

Host Curt Gowdy (needs some help with pronouncing Vezina) with some of the great stars from both teams plus play by play man Budd Lynch.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, NHL Talk, Old School | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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