[NB: Most of my hockey blogs will now appear at Hockey Recon, but not the rambling insomnia driven error ridden juju you're getting here...]
Who gets insomnia on a Friday night? At least I have the Wings-Oilers game on DVR, and what a fun game it was. Sleepless observations follow:
Jimmy Howard's save at the 9:35 mark (ish) -Holy shizzurp. Jimmy MF Howard. BTW Jimmy Howard has 22 regulation wins in a row. 1.82 GAA.. 93.3 Save %. Helluva a start kid.
BTW, anyone still think the Bulin Wall has been felled? Watch this game- Nicolai was phenomenal. The Bulin Wall not only took 30 SOGs, but a bucketful of PP shots and really great scoring chances by all four winged wheel lines all three periods.
The Soupy Shuffle: Helm, Huds, Abs, Eaves, Miller, Modano. Oh the pain of having to roll these guys on 3rd and 4th lines…. Love seeing Abs on a streak, but I miss seeing Darren with Draper. More ice time for Helm, Please Mr. Babcock. (I know I know, its selfish. I can’t help it, I love the kid.)
Ericsson- Thought I might be dreaming when I realized that he went 35 minutes without any noticeable mistakes, that he looked fantastic with Nic Lids and then he one ups me, taking the five for fighting for the hit on Dats, and Mick getting pissed at the linesmen for how stupidly they handled the break up. Almost makes me forgive 52 for the goal the oilers scored on the PP.
“Holmstrom Again, 3 for a Dollar!” Ah Kenny- loved it. Why does a Homer in the crease PP set up with D and Z on the wing bring me such joy? Seconded only by Pasha with Helm breakaway on the kill. Loved that No. 13 felt confident enough with 43’s speed to run for a shortie rather than ice it.
Pavel doing what he does. Seven straight games of points. Bingo bango. Three oilers clogging the arteries? Datsyuk’s triple bypass is perfection. No one cuts through like Pavel: Hot knife through butte- hydrogenated oil. Le Sigh.
Wings appear to have finally fixed their starts. All last year Wings most vulnerable point was the first 5 – 10 minutes. I haven’t checked the numbers, but I bet more than 50% of the first goals scored against the Wings came in the first 5-10 minutes of the game. And the league quickly figured it out, especially if Ozzie was in net. Tonight the Oilers came out guns blazing, hoping to capitalize on this weakness, but got no where. Jimmy Howard was in it from the get go and it made a huge difference. The Oilers all but fell apart by the 9 minute point and didn’t even seem to follow the wings into the Red Zone in the last minute of the first period.
Comparisons to 2002. Over the last 2 weeks I have been hearing random statistical comparisons of this year’s start to the 2002 Wings. Tonight we got a Nic Lids comparison: Nic has 12 points this year so far, the most he’s had this early in the season since 2002. Suck it Ageists.
Sad to learn the Sharks cut Andreas, worried about him being in Anaheim. Watch the head Lils.
Oilers may be young, but I see a marked difference between this young team, and say the LA Kings a year or 2 ago. The work ethic is not there. These Oilers don’t finish their shifts, or their periods. Not sure if its inexperience or exhaustion. They would be a helluva lot worse if they didn’t have the Bulin Wall. When they do press, they would be more successful if they would drive to the net and communicate and never give up.
Tonight’s Wings really do seem to be looking more like the 2008 Playoff Wings, and this early in the season …
Final note at 5:30 am: 22 Gun Salute to Dino Ciccarelli for his induction into the HHOF. Nothing but the best for the man who taught Homer everything he knows about the crease. Think he’s a controversial choice? Two points: 608 goals and a career spent deflecting Al Iafrate’s slapshots. Suck it naysayers.
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