Rematch!

Well sort of. The Red Wings and Penguins aren't quite the same teams from last spring's Stanley Cup Finals, but they'll battle tonight for the first time since the Wings skated out of Mellon Arena with the Stanley Cup.

The Red Wings signed former Penguins star player, Marion Hossa, as well as their backup goalie, Ty Conklin, and kept the rest of the team in tact, while the Penguins lost their best player (Hossa) and a number of other players to free agency.

However, the core of the team is still there. Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury will all be in the lineup tonight when the Pens visit the Joe. It's a 7:00 start on Versus.

Dan Cleary will miss the game as he continues to battle problems with his left eye. But back in the lineup is Johan Franzen, who missed 5 games with a sprained MCL. Chris Osgood is expected to start in the net.

Other injury news: Chris Chelios had a set back at practice yesterday after experiencing pain in the same leg that he fractured in the pre season. He was originally hoping to be back in the lineup next week.

Lord Stanley is Back in the D

Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings on winning the Stanley Cup!

Giant Octopus Thrown on Ice

This picture comes to us courtesy of The Onion....

This Just In: The Red Wings Are About to Win the Stanley Cup, Again!

Fact check: The Wings hold a commanding and dominant 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Chris Osgood is yet to allow a goal in these finals. Oh, and his Finals record has improved to 6-0.

In the past four trips to the Finals (97, 98, 02, 08) the Wings have lost only one game. They swept the Flyers in 97. Then another sweep of the Caps in 98. They let the Hurricanes steal a game in 02. How many games will the talented Pens get? If this keeps up, it will be another sweep.

If it happens, it will be the fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. That's as close to a dynasty as you can get in a salary cap, parity-laden league.

The NHL Hates Fun and Home Ice Advantage

So much for the home ice advantage. In it's latest attempt to purge the fun from a traditional hockey city and organization, the NHL has decided it will impose its might by fining the Red Wings $10,000 the next time JLA Building Manager, Al Sobotka, twirls the octopus over his head before a playoff game (reason #53 the NHL office hates the Red Wings). Not only that, but he is not to go out and pick the creature up. That duty will now fall to the officials.

Are you kidding me? A fine...for that? Their reasoning: the twirling of the eight-legged creature creates a distribution of 'material' which lands on the ice and creates a danger to the players and officials. So Octopus juice is now what concerns the NHL office. Wow.

Sobotka, who keeps the second best ice in the league (Edmonton is first), said himself that if there was a risk of damage to the ice surface, there is no way he would do it. As I believe Mickey Redmond said yesterday, "in 80 years of Red Wing hockey, I've never seen anyone hurt by an octopus."

In all seriousness though, the NHL has far bigger fish to fry (no pun intended). How about looking at the unbalanced schedule and fixing it once and for all. It might be nice to see the Wings host and play in Toronto or Montreal more than once every Presidential administration. Or, maybe, just maybe, the league should spend its spare time addressing chronic offenders of the rules. Perhaps some more time dedicated to guys like Chris Simon or Chris Pronger would benefit the game. That way, opposing players wouldn't have to worry about being stepped on and cut, or run from behind causing a concussion, or swinging sticks to the face.

We'll have to wait and see if Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell are in attendance later to preside and enforce for the start of the second round. I sure hope Al is on his best behavior.

March 26, 1997

Can you believe it's been 11 years already? The day lives on in infamy. Happy Anniversary!

(click title of this post for accompanying video)

Red Wings are Playoff-bound....again

For the 17th time in a row, the Detroit Red Wings are going to the NHL playoffs. And for the 8th straight year, the team has amassed 100 points during the regular season. The "17" number is by far the longest streak in any sport. And the "8" number is tied for the longest streak in NHL history. In addition to that the Wings clinched their 7th straight Central division title. All of those numbers tell you how special this team and this organization truly are. For those of you who aren't big hockey fans or don't follow the Wings regularly, think about those accomplishments for a minute. It's truly amazing.

The Wings polished off the Dallas Stars last night to win their fifth straight game last night. They got a couple of goals from Pavel Datsyuk and another goal from Johan Franzen, who has been hot the past four games.

There are still a few weeks left in the regular season and it remains to be seen who the #1 seeded Wings will take on. There are four teams that are possible #8 seeds and first round opponents. Minnesota, Calgary, Vancouver, and Nashville are all separated by four points and are among the teams that in the #6 to #9 seeds as of today.

Let's ride out the rest of this regular season against our division foes and watch this team start up an amazing run come playoff time.

#25 is Back

What's old is new again in Hockeytown. Darren McCarty is supposed to be officially called up to the Red Wings this weekend. He could see action as soon as Sunday when the Wings host the Nashville Predators. If that's the case, that will be the most excitement Joe Louis Arena has seen in quite a while. It will be a great moment for Darren as he's worked his way back to the NHL, and it will be a great moment for the fans to once again cheer one of Detroit's favorite sons. Yes, it will be quite a moment when #25 takes his first shift.

The question of course is should McCarty have been brought back? Is this a sound hockey move in preparation of the playoffs or a PR stunt in order to attempt to sell out the Joe, which has had numerous empty seats all season long? Two months ago McCarty was out of hockey. Not a single NHL team had interest in him. He's been riddled with injuries the past two seasons in Calgary. He's never been a great skater or goal scorer. So what is the answer? Most likely, all of the above.

Certainly Darren's arrival will draw great fan interest. We long to have our heroes play for the home team. However, McCarty may simply have been added to provide some grit, toughness, and experience as the team winds down the season and will most likely see some combination of San Jose and Anaheim (big teams) in the playoffs. Let's remember that this acquisition didn't cost the team anything. No players, no prospects, and no draft picks. A nothing to lose kind of move. It's hard to question Ken Holland who is the most respected GM in the NHL, and oh by the way, the guy who brought 3 Stanley Cups to Detroit in the past decade.

For the fans who are at both end of this debate: Let's wait and see how it all plays out. For now, it's a nice story.