Ten More...

Who would have thought before this season began that the Wings would be fighting for the top spot in the league with only ten games left to go? They're performing very well and, thankfully, their recent injury problems will mostly be resolved before the playoffs. This week expect a few guys to come back...

On another note, I can't figure out if I despise or secretly like Jordin Tootoo. If you haven't seen this guy play, he's on the Nashville Predators (currently the #1 team in the league), he's pesky, very tough, and is constantly harassing opponents. Definitey a guy you'd like to have on your team. He managed to take Darryl Bootland with just one or two punches last week, and he got himself in some trouble with a bit of a sucker punch against Dallas's Stephane Robidas. It will likely cost him a brief suspension... hopefully that will weaken the Predators enough to let the Wings slip back into first. If they don't they may end up against San Jose in the first round... I'd prefer seeing them up against Calgary.

Leading the League

With an impressive win Wednesday night over the Nashvillle Predators, the Wings secured the top spot in the NHL. With a dozen or so games left in the regular season, the Wings were finally able to rise to the top of the standings, despite the rash of recent injuries that have plagued the team, including missing top goal scorer Henrik Zetterberg.

While Nashville was also without one of their best players, recently acquired Peter Forsberg, the Wings' two wins over Nashville this week were perhaps most impressive because of the depth they showed. Guys like Hudler, Calder (yes, again, I was totally wrong about this guy), Lang, and Schneider have been able to regularly contribute to points to those accrued by leading-scorers such as Datsuyk and Lidstrom. The team's ability to weather injuries and still secure the top spot is a very hopeful sign as we head into the playoffs.

The Countdown Begins...

What an outstanding effort the Red Wings showed against the Predators earlier this week, albeit with each team's best players out due to injury. It's a very healthy sign when guys like Lang, Franzen, Osgood and Filpula can up their game when the superstars are out. Datsuyk, to his credit, showed that he can rule the roost if given the chance. If he plays well during the playoffs, he might just get the $5-6 mil he's asking for to stay.

Only about 15 games left until the post-season! The Wings are still in a hunt to be the best, and are now within one point of Nashville and have one more game remaining than Nashville.

Injuries cause adversity

As you might remember, last year's regular season was a remarkable one for the Wings... they won the President's Trophy with the league's best record, had an unusually high ability to win on the road, and in many ways, blew through the regular season to the playoffs... where they seriously stalled and got knocked out in the first round by eighth-seeded Oilers. Coach Babcock pinpointed the issue immediately - they hadn't faced any adversity during the season and now that push came to shove, they weren't able to be tested.

This season... well, not exactly the same. There have been many issues. Losing streaks... Losing Yzerman and Shannahan... and now, facing injuries to many of their top players. Zetterberg, Hasek, and Samuelsson are injured, and it shows. The line that Hank centers has been responsible for 40% of the Wing's goals of late and having him out hurts. Despite these problems, the Wings are still just a few points away from being on top of the Western Conference, have played strongly lately, and should have most players back before the playoffs. Perhaps the testing that these injuries have provided, combined with the new level of physical play that Bertuzzi will bring, will ultimately serve the Wings nicely come playoffs (only a month away!).

Best Hockey Names

Even a slow hockey game can be enjoyable when the players have cool names. Here are my sixteen favorites. Why sixteen? Because cutting them down is hard work, it's late, and I want to go to bed. Enjoy... boo-DYE!

16. Bates Battaglia
15. Peter Bondra (Bondra... Peter Bondra)
14. Zdenek Blatny
13. Peter Budaj (BOO-dye!)
12. Zdeno Chara
11. Antero Niittymaki
10. Yutaka Fukufuji (FOOKU-fuji - yep, there's Japanese hockey players)
9. Jaroslav Spacek (yaro-slav SPAH-check)
8. Sandis Ozolinsh
7. Olli Jokinen (ollie YOKE-an-in)
6. Radek Dvorak (Ra-deck de-VOR-ack)
5. Zigmund (Ziggy) Palffy
4. Dion Phaneuf
3. Tuomo Ruutu (two-OH-mo ROO-too)
2. Teemu Selanne (TEE-mu sel-anny)
1. Saku Koivu (sa-KOO KOI-vu)