The Detroit Red Wings got off to a fast start and nearly saw a three a goal lead disappear as they beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 Sunday Night.  Henrik Zetterberg, who scored his first career goal against the Ducks in 2002, led off the scoring in the game with a goal just 1:26 into regulation.  Zetterberg now has 4 goals in his last 7 games.  Johan Franzen scored his tenth goal of the season fourteen seconds into the second period, and Brad Stuart added his second goal of the season 7:10 into the second period to give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead.  The Ducks would not go down without a fight however, as Saku Koivu’s third goal of the year at 11:24 and Teemu Selanne’s seventh goal of the year on a power play at 16:21 cut Detroit’s lead to 3-2 at the end of the third period.  Brad Stuart’s third goal of the year on an empty net (shorthanded) with just 48 seconds left in the contest gave Detroit a two goal lead and sealed Anaheim’s fate.

The penalty killing units in the game were impressive as the two teams combined to score one goal on eleven power play opportunities.  The Red Wings allowed the only shorthanded goal of the game on Teemu Selanne’s late score in the second period.  Detroit helped make up for its short handed goal allowed by notching its fourth and final goal while nursing Jonathan Ericsson’s two minute penalty for hooking.   Jimmie Howard recorded 32 saves for the Red Wings as he improved his record to 10-5-1 on the season.  Jonas Hiller took the loss for the Ducks as he fell to 5-7-4 on the year.  Pavel Datsyuk notched two assists to help extend Anaheim’s drought to just two wins in their last fifteen games.  For the second straight game at the Honda Center there was a delay for a power outage; this time occurring in a stretch of lights behind the Detroit net at the 6:13 mark of the first period.  Both teams retreated to their dressing rooms for the delay which lasted a total of 27 minutes.  Red Wing’s coach Mike Babcock improved to 17-9 against his former team with the win.

**Rating system for “Plus/Minus” Series**
+3 = Major Upgrade
+2 = Upgrade
+1 = Slight Upgrade
0 = Same as prior year
-1 = Slight Dowgrade
-2 = Downgrade
-3 = Major Downgrade

Team: Detroit Red Wings
2010-11: 104 points, #3 in Western Conference

GOALIES

Returning: Jimmy Howard

Arrivals: Ty Conklin
Departures: Chris Osgood

Grade: 0

I’m giving the Wings a goalie grade of 0 because I see replacing Osgood for Conklin as a push. Too bad they couldn’t land Vokoun.

DEFENSE

Returning: Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl

Arrivals: Ian White, Mike Commodore
Departures: Brian Rafalski, Ruslan Salei

Grade: -2

The Ian White signing was a great value pickup for Detroit, but it just doesn’t come close to replacing Brian Rafalski. The Commodore signing may have been a good one, but switching out a steady veteran in Salei for a guy who spent last season in the AHL is a questionable move.

FORWARDS

Returning: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller

Arrivals: Jan Mursak, Cory Emmerton
Departures: Kris Draper, Mike Modano

Grade: 0

It’s a positive that the Red Wings are starting to replace some aging veterans with some promising young players, but for the upcoming season, replacing Draper and Modano with Mursak and Emmerton is a push, given the likelihood of limited minutes in the bottom 6.

OVERALL RATING: -2
2011-12 Prediction: #1-#3 in Western Conference

Detroit will probably win their division again, although it won’t be easy. The forwards are getting older, their defense is changing and Jimmy Howard remains unproven. GM Ken Holland does have cap space to use if he chooses to add a piece or two to his lineup.

As per usual, the Detroit Red Wings made the playoffs in 2010-11, and they even took the San Jose Sharks to 7 games in the Western Conference Semifinal. Hit with the unexpected retirement of Brian Rafalski, as well as the likely retirement of both Kris Draper and Chris Osgood, the Red Wings will look to get a bit younger heading into 2011-12 and beyond.

The Red Wings will need to decide quickly if they want to bank on Jimmy Howard as their #1, or if they want to spend a bit more money on a backup to have some insurance in the event that he proves to be inconsistent. On the backend; with Lidstrom coming back for another season, the expected re-signing of Jonathan Ericsson and the arrival of top prospect Brendan Smith, the loss of Rafalski should not be too detrimental to the Wings. Up front, the roster will pretty much look the same, with a few tweaks here and there. Cory Emmerton and Jan Mursak will be the beneficiaries of the departures of Kris Draper and Drew Miller. There is, however, a hole that needs to be filled on the top 3 lines.

GM Ken Holland has a little over $13M in cap space to use on a backup goalie for Jimmy Howard, a defenseman to play the right side on the top pair with Lidstrom, and either Jaromir Jagr, Patrick Eaves or some other RW to play on the second or third line. The #1 priority is on D, and I’m sure that they will be looking at Wisniewski or Ehrhoff  on July 1. If neither works out, they could also go the trade route.

DETROIT RED WINGS 2011-12 ROSTER (using CAPGEEK CAP CALCULATOR)

FORWARDS
Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)
Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)
Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / 3RD LINE RW ($0.000m)
Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)
Cory Emmerton ($0.533m)

DEFENSEMEN
Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / TOP 4 D-MAN ($0.000m)
Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)
Jonathan Ericsson ($2.250m EST) / Brendan Smith ($0.875m)
Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)

GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / BACKUP GOALIE ($0.000m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000
CAP PAYROLL: $51,217,044
CAP SPACE: $13,082,956

Once again, the Detroit Red Wings can expect to be a playoff team in 2011-12. They will be well coached by Mike Babcock and an exciting team to watch for sure. Hopefully, whoever replaces Rafalski can have just as much of an impact as he did, because that will go a long way in determining whether Detroit will be good or great.

It may have taken 3 more games than they would have wanted but the Sharks finally knocked off the Wings in a great Game 7 last night. Before I continue I just wanted to thank the Wings and Sharks for providing us the with entertaining hockey in a second round that clearly lacked it. The Sharks and Wings played to 6 one goal games and if it hadn’t of been for Drew Miller’s empty netter at the end of game 6 it would have been a clean sweep. The hockey was fast paced, highly energetic, skilled and still physical; I can only hope that the rest of the playoffs can live up this standard.

The Sharks had Ryan Clowe back in the line-up however Johan Franzen wasn’t able to suit up for the game. The injury problems only got worse for Detroit as this game progressed as Todd Bertuzzi had to leave only 10 minutes into the game after hitting Dany Heatley and Bertuzzi did not return. Only 3 minutes later the Sharks found the back of the net with Jonathan Ericsson sitting in the penalty box for holding. Joe Thornton completed a perfect no look pass from the corner to a wide open Devin Setogouchi who did not miss from the far wing. With only 1 minute left in the first Logan Coture helped the Sharks open a 2-0 lead as a rare turnover from Henirk Zetterberg landed on Coture’s stick and he rifled one high glove side past Jimmy Howard.

The second period saw the Wings cut the deficit to one as Henrik Zetterberg put home a backhand from the slot after a pass from Valterri Fillpula. The goal came on an odd man rush for the Wings and although Pavel Datsyuk did not get an assist on the play he deserved one. Datsyuk started the play off by lifting the stick of Heatley right before he was going to fire the puck at Howard.

With a 2-1 score heading into the third you had to expect the Wings to come out firing but it was actually the Sharks that beat them to the punch as they widened their lead to 3-1 with about 8 minutes left in the third. Although it was a tap in that even Tiger Woods could have finished off Patrick Marleau drove the net hard and cleaned up the garbage to find the score sheet for the first time in this series. The goal would be the eventual winner and although it wasn’t flashy he did manage to the monkey off his back for the time being. The remainder of the period of saw constant pressure by the Wings who did manage to close the gap to 1 off a beautiful backhand goal from Pavel Datsyuk who beat Niemi high blocker side.. it was a perfect shot and not even Greg Millen and Glen Healey playing nets at the same time would stopped it.

Prediction Review: Sharks in 7

Although my prediction was spot on I can’t take all of the credit. The Wings deserve a tremendous amount of credit for fighting back in this series after falling behind 3-0 and the character and heart they displayed should be admired by hockey fans alike. This game and this series was everything that hockey fans dream of and we all should thank the Wings and Sharks for entertaining us for 7 great games.

Although I predicted a Sharks victory in 7 games even I didn’t think the Wings had enough left in the tank or the talent to mount a comeback after falling behind 3-0 to the Sharks. However last night that is exactly what they did. For the first time in the series the Wings managed to outplay the Sharks for a full 60 minutes and again when they needed a last minute comeback they managed to do just that.

Although the game had 4 tallies non came in the first two periods and in a role reversal the Wings managed to drastically out shoot the Sharks 45-25. Both teams had a significant line-up change prior to Game 6: Johan Franzen couldn’t go due to a sore ankle and Mike Mondano got his second start of the postseason.. while the Sharks lost Ryan Clowe to an undisclosed upper body injury and as a result Jamie McGinn started in his place.

The first period hero was Anti Niemi no questions asked. He faced a total 18 shots and turned them all aside to keep the Sharks in it. The play of the period had to go to Pavel Datysuk a noted soccer nut and he attempted to put those skills to work by attempting to “head” in the puck off a high rebound from Niemi. Although he didn’t connect the idea itself shows his creativity and attitude to do whatever it takes.

The second period was dominated by the Wings yet again however they still couldn’t find a way to beat Niemi or the post. The best scoring opportunity of the game came in this period as Daniel Cleary jumped out of the box and was hit immediately with a pass sending him in all alone on Niemi. Cleary completed an excellent deke during which Niemi actually turned the wrong way and all Cleary had to do was slide the puck into an empty net however he someone managed to hit the post.

Finally we got to see some scoring in the 3rd period and the first blow came from the Sharks off the stick of Logan Coture. Coture whacked at a rebound from a Heatley shot and yet again it managed to sneak through Howard and just over the line. It was a weak goal that Howard should have had in a game where he really wasn’t tested that often. With only 10 minutes left in the 3rd Henrik Zetterberg finally tied the game up when he tipped a Nicklas Kronwall shot past Niemi.

After tieing the game up the Wings only waited 2 minutes before jumping ahead when Pavel Datsyuk used a backhand pass to find a wide open Valtteri Filppula in the slot who finished the play off breaking a personal playoff slump. The Wings managed to add an empty netter off the stick of Darren Helm bringing the final score of 3-1.

The game ended with a major scrum in front of Jimmy Howards net and the passion both teams displayed at the end of this game tells me that Game 7 should be a beauty. So I wanted to personally thank the Wings and Sharks for providing us hockey fans with an entertaining series to watch in a second round that has lacked excitement. Buckle up and enjoy what should be another epic Game 7.

Despite dropping the first 3 games of this series the Wings have somehow managed to make it a series as they have forced a Game 6 back in Detroit on Tuesday night. Despite being drastically out shot 42-22, outplayed for most of the game and having to kill off several undisciplined penalties the Wings managed to do complete their first comeback of the series erasing a 2 goal deficit in the 3rd period to prevail 4-3 for the second straight game. The trend continued as these teams played their 5 straight 1 goal difference however unlike the PP was not a factor in this game as both teams failed to find the back of the net.

The Sharks were the only team to find the back of the net in a first period where they managed 17 shots on Howard thanks in large part to two PP opportunities. The Wings did however have the best scoring opportunity of the period as Niemi absolutely robbed Jonathan Ericsson with the glove hand. Not long after Dan Boyle fired a puck on net from the point and Game 3 hero Devin Setogouchi tipped a waist high puck through the legs of Howard who had no chance on the play.

The scoring picked up a little in the second with both teams putting a 1 spot on the board in the final five minutes. Joe Pavelski managed to finish off a 2 on 1 with Ryan Clowe and beat a sprawling Howard to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead. Less than a minute later the magician Pavel Datsyuk did what he does best… as he found Niklas Kronwall sneaking in from the point and hit him with another beauty pass and Kronwall finished the play off.

The third period started with a band as Logan Coture managed to break free after Dany Heatley hit him with a pass and with just Howard to deal with Coture squeaked the puck through Howards legs to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead at home. It seemed like an insurmountable lead however the comeback began off a bit of a lucky play as Zetterberg fanned on a shot from the slot and the puck squirted to a wide open Ericsson and this time Ericsson managed to put the puck in the empty cage.

Down by 1 the Wings managed to tie the game up as a Kronwall shot was tipped wide and Dan Cleary worked hard to pick up the loose puck behind the net and then bank it in from behind the net of Setogouchi who had fallen in the crease. It wasn’t pretty but it didn’t matter to Cleary as his first goal of the series was a huge one for the Wings giving them new life. The game remained tied until Datsyuk hit Lidstrom with a pass at the point and Lidstrom fired a rocket that was tipped by Tomas Holmstrom who was doing what only Holmstrom can do in front of the net; Niemi didn’t stand a chance.

With 2 games down and 2 to go the Wings will look to do what the Blackhawks couldn’t earlier in this postseason; complete the ultimate comeback in professional sports. If they continue to get out shot and outworked as drastically as they have in this series it will require 2 more performances from Jimmy Howard like the Wings got in game 5.

With their backs against the wall the Wings managed to extend their series with the Sharks to a game 5 back in San Jose on Sunday. It was almost dejavu all over again; the Wings jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and it looked like it may be a repeat of last years game 4 but San Jose pushed back making a game of it with the Wings prevailing 4-3. This series has been fast paced and entertaining that’s for sure as all four games have been decided by a single goal.

The first period belonged to Detroit and Nicklas Lidstrom; they carried the pace and managed to find the back of the net 3 times on 17 first period shots. Todd Berttuzi  got the scoring started as he did his best Denis Savard impression and then fired a backhand over the shoulder of Niemi. After further reviewing the play it was clear that Dan Cleary had entered the zone before Bertuzzi so the goal should not have counted and I can’t imagine the Sharks bench was impressed as they had a front row seat for the missed call. No more than 5 minutes later Niemi kicked a long rebound out to the high slot and Nicklas Lidstrom fired home a slap shot over Niemi to make it a 2-0 lead for the Red Wings.

With already one goal to his credit Lidstrom decided to give hometown fans one more look at his incredible talent as he increased the lead to 3 for the Wings on a PP goal with less than 2 minutes left in the first. Lidstrom streaking in from the point received the pass from Zetterberg on his foot and when the puck bounced on him he managed to rifle a knee high puck to the top corner. However just 13 seconds later Ryan Clowe threw an innocent looking puck towards the net which was tipped by Logan Coture as he drove the net and it sneaked by Howard giving the Sharks some life.

With 4 goals in the first the second period produced only 1 goal as the Sharks managed to cut their defecit in half as Dan Boyle sneaking in from the point again found the top of the net and beat a sprawling Howard on a goal that was almost identical to his game 3 snipe.

Detroit’s lead officially vanished only 1 minute into the third as Dany Heatley was left all alone in front of Howard and Clowe managed to find him for his third assist of the game. The game remained tied for the next 16 minutes with both teams missing on opportunities to jump ahead. That was until Darren Helm, with only 1:30 left on the clock found open space on a scrambled play and after receiving a pass from Patrick Eaves he found the back of the net with a beauty of a wrist shot.

While the Wings managed to draw their first blood of the series they will need a lot more of what they managed to produce during an entertaining game 4; and if they do manage to open up a big lead in game 5 they should focus on doing a much better job of protecting that lead.

The series may have shifted to Detroit however the outcome did not; as the Red Wings fell just short again to the San Jose Sharks to fall behind 3-0. Both teams had the powerplay firing on all cylinders as both teams managed to go 2-4 on PP and Devin Setogouchi provided hockey fans the first hat-trick of the postseason.. in dramatic style. The Sharks managed to come out on top 4-3 in OT for the second time in this series and with the win they managed their 3rd straight 1 goal win over the Red Wings. The Sharks dominated the play in the first 2 games however Detroit did a better job of controlling the tempo and using the body in this 3rd game and for the first time in this series they probably deserved a better outcome.

The Sharks got the scoring underway at the 13 minute mark of the first with Setogouchi potting his first of the night on the PP as he batted in a lose puck in front of the net as Howard scrambled to get back into position after Pavelski missed high and wide from the slot. The Red Wings countered on a PP of their own with just 20 seconds left in the first as Zetterberg jumped on a lose puck in front of the net with Niemi down and out. Zetterberg’s  slight window of opportunity closed too quickly so he decided to show everyone in Detroit that although his legs may not be 100 percent his creativity hadn’t lost a step at all; he completed a beauty drop pass between the legs to Lidstrom who had no problem firing the puck into the empty net.

The trend of players jumping all over loose pucks in front of the net continued in the second with Patrick Eaves putting scoring the first goal of the period after a Darren Helm wrap around attempt failed. The Sharks countered quickly on the PP though as Setogouchi attempted a one-timer from the left circle however he only managed to get a piece of the puck and the change-up fooled Howard finding the far side of the net. All the two teams had managed to reach a series high 4 goals before the end of the second period the Wings would manage yet another late PP goal as Datsyuk sniped a beauty top shelf with only 1:43 remaining in the period to give them lead heading into the third.

The Sharks came out flying in the 3rd as they needed a goal to tie things up and much like the Wings in game 2 they put everything they could on the net managing 16 shots in the period’; and with 4:30 remaining in the 3rd Dan Boyle snuck in from the point and tied the game up with his first goal of the postseason beating Howard high glove side. We would for the second time in this series be treated to overtime.

Unlike most OT’s this post season it only took 5 minutes for the zebras to call their first penalty and unfortunately for Sharks fans a former Canuck stole a trick from a current Canuck as Bertuzzi did an amazing job duping the officials into calling Setogouchi for holding. I can honestly say it’s the first time I have ever seen the guy that was supposed to be the holder fly through the air as the guy being held fell to the ground. It was so obvious that Bertuzzi had grabbed Setogouchi’s hand and fell in an attempt to get the call. Unfortunately for Red Wings fans the hockey gods must have tuned into this game (unlike Game 3 in Nashville) as Setogouchi would score the game winner only a few minutes after being released from the sin bin. It was a wrist shot from the top of the circle that managed to find it’s way through Jimmy Howard; a goal he really should have had.

Well although personally I believe this series is over it will officially be do or die time for the Wings Friday night as they host the Sharks for game 4 of this series and potentially what could be Niclas Lidstrom’s last game in the NHL.

The second game of the Western Conference 2 vs 3 match-up got underway early on the west coast with a noon local start. The Red Wings entered the game desperately needing a split and hoping to bring more energy as any lingering rust from the long layoff between rounds should have fallen off during game 1. Franzen and Zetterberg both started the game despite not being at or near to 100% as coach Babcock stated prior to the game.

The first period got off to a sluggish start with the officials exerting their dominance. Eight minutes in minor penalties were called within the first 7 minutes of the game. Detroit only had one of the minor penalties and the Sharks were able to capitalize on their only opportunity after another undisciplined, careless and reckless high sticking penalty by Abdelkader. Ian White teed up a pass from Dany Heatley and put the puck past a well screened Jimmy Howard who never had a chance on the shot.

Shortly after the Sharks go-ahead goal the Wings were reward a 4 minute penalty after a high stick by the OT hero from game 1 Ben Ferriero. On this PP Datsyuk did manage to ring one of the post but technically the Wings didn’t even register a shot on net. When the teams returned to 5 on 5 play the Sharks seemed to dominate the tempo and play for the remainder of period. Upon my initial assessment it appeared that the Sharks out shot the Red Wings but after reviewing the NHL’s website the drunken monkey in charge of counting shots concluded the final tally was 12-7 in favor of the Red Wings.

When the second period started the Red Wings managed to control the play for the first portion of the period until Holmstrom got caught putting Douglas Murray in a headlock. The best scoring opportunity of the shortened PP actually came on a breakaway by the Wings Darren Helm but Niemi was able to stand tall and shut him down. The endless stream of players being ushered to the penalty box continued for the the rest of the period and as a result both teams had numerous scoring opportunities and Jimmy Howard’s coming out party in this series continued as he made numerous great saves to keep the Red Wings in this game. The Sharks drastically out shot the Wings in the second period 18-7 and were lucky to enter the second intermission down only 1 goal.

The Sharks came out in the third and continued to pressure what appeared to be a fatigued Red Wings team; Howard was forced to make several early saves. Seconds later an unlikely Shark gave them a 2-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the third as Niclas Wallin let a wrist shot go from the right wing. The shot handcuffed Howard as he got a piece of it; but not enough as the puck bounced off his glove and over his right shoulder into the net.

The Wings finally cut the deficit to 1 on a PP after a weak slashing call to Devin Setoguchi. Yet again a beauty of a pass from Datsyuk found Zetterberg in the slot and he fired it past Niemi for his first point of this post season. The Wings continued to pressure with Lidstrom ringing one off the post in the final minutes of the game but in the end Niemi and the Sharks managed to hold on take both games on home ice to begin this series.

Game 3 goes Wednesday night and against a Sharks team that has been dominate through the first two games it will be critical that the Wings win the next one.

The round 2 match-up between the Wings and Sharks got underway last night in an exciting fast paced game. The Wings had Franzen and Zetterberg back in the line-up just in time to take on a front loaded Sharks team. The 4 game sweep of the Coyotes was exactly what the doctor ordered for this Wings team as both injured players are big time players and will be needed at full capacity if the Red Wings intend on revenging last years 4-1 series loss to the Sharks.

The Red Wings got out to a quick lead against the Sharks as Lidstrom’s clapper from the high slot beat Niemi glove side at the 10:30 mark of the 1st period; yet again Datsyuk made it all happen with a beauty of a backhand pass. This lead would last quite some time for the Red Wings.

The next 40 minutes were dominated by the two tenders as both men answered the toll numerous times to keep their team in it. Jimmy Howard in particular stepped up to keep his team in the game as the Sharks really pressured in an attempt to tie up the game as they outshot the Red Wings 18-9 in the second period

The Sharks finally did tie the game up at the 13:00 minute mark of the 3rd period. Bertuzzi headed to the penalty box on a weak boarding call and the Sharks took advantage. Little Joe Pavelski displayed his excellent hand eye coordination as he knocked in a hip high rebound from Howard off a shot from the point by Big Joe Thornton.

With both teams only able to tally one goal in regulation OT was required to decide a winner in the exciting opener of this series. As everyone made their picks for the OT winner I doubt anyone thought that sparcley used rookie Ben Ferriero would come up big in OT…. But that is exactly what happened. Playing in his first playoff game and on his 24th birthday Ferrerio threw the puck to the net from the left hash mark and the puck deflected off Kronwall’s stick and past Howard who never had a chance on the shot.

With game 2 scheduled for Sunday afternoon it will be critical for the Red Wings to match the tempo of the Sharks who outshot the Red Wings 46-25. There is still a little rust for the Red Wings to shake of before game 2 and it will be critical that do so; falling back 2-0 to this Sharks team might prove to be an insurmountable lead.