March to the Playoffs!!!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post fellow Hockey Nuts! A lot has transpired since my post on March 1st. We've had two weeks of 8th seed, not 8th seed. The boys are currently enjoying 3 days off in Alberta after a huge 2-1 victory in Calgary (Cal-gary) on Monday night. Since the game with The Avs on March 1st The Wings are 6-2. A convincing defensive win vs. Colorado (3-2), an unfortunate shelling by Vancouver (3-6), followed by an offensive outburst vs. Nashville (5-2), a huge win in Chicago (5-4), heart breaking loss to Calgary (2-4) which Dad and I witnessed in person :-( , then a pounding of The Wild (5-1), OT winner vs. Buffalo (3-2), and the thrilling last minute deflection goal by Holmer to defeat Calgary 2-1 on Monday. What can we take away from the last two weeks. The Wings are back and they are resilient. After being clearly outhustled by Calgary last week they bounced back and dished it right back in The Saddle Dome. They are going to the playoffs, and while a Stanley Cup may seem far fetched they are going to ruin a lucky number 1 or number 2 seed in the first 1st Round. That is my prediction. And here are the reasons for my belief:

The victory over The Avs. March 1st was a momentous occasion not only because the players all returned from The Olympics, but because this was the first game all season that the 2009-10 Red Wings roster made an appearance. That's right, by March we finally get to see what this years lineup really looks like. Holmer, Franzen, Williams, Cleary, Kronwall and Zetterberg all finally were in the lineup together, with one amazing surprise addition. Andreas Lilja.

After missing a years worth of hockey from the infamous Shea Weber punch last season, Lilja has returned. Maltby's unfortunate season ending surgery has made this acquisition possible. I think Lilja's return has done more for this team any trade deadline deal could have accomplished. He is a valuable dressing room presence and is calming down Ericcson a bit. That's right Lilja is calming our defense down. Nobody knows more about dealing with bad giveaways and defensive breakdowns the Lilja. He gets a lot of flack for the famous Teemu Selanne giveaway in 07, but he has been a hitting machine and clearing the front of the net for 3 years now. He is a calming, veteran presence with massive playoff experience. Giveaways in our zone has been the obvious flaw in our team all season. This is still an issue but Lilja's presence is tightening The Wings D and is at least making Jimmy Howard's life so much easier.

On that subject:

Jimmy is not a fluke. He is still posting a .924 Save Pct. and 2.32 GAA. The team owes him their playoff seeding at this point. The games of 40+ shots per game seem to be behind us though, so Jimmy could be gearing up as a playoff story. This will be his first Stanley Cup action, so we will soon find out just how he handles the pressure. Having Ozzie as a backup is quite a luxury. Some of his rebounds have been easy tap ins to the net, but in spite of these juicy rebounds it is very difficult for opposing teams to get more than 2 past Jimmy right now. He has a talent for eating up the clock.

Johan!!! We all knew the return of Johan Franzen was going to wake up the offense.
The line of Datsyuk (finally returning to form as well), Holmstrom, and Franzen has accounted for half of our scoring in the last 2 weeks. The concept is great. Holmer blocks the goalie while Datsyuk skates through both defenders and finds The Mule stalking the net. There have been some shifts where Datsyuk's passes are just coming at these slower skaters a little fast but when they are on it is giving the other teams fits. The success of the next few weeks will hinge on Cleary, Filpulla and Kronner all elevating their offensive game to a level we have seen from them before. Only two lines will not overcome the speedy skaters of The Western Conference. We need a third line. Overall, the team resembles last year's squad more than at any point this season. It would seem that The Wings are peaking at the right time!

The targets are now Calgary and Nashville. The last 2 playoff spots in The West will be battled for by these 3 teams most likely. We are currently 3 pts ahead of The Flames after Monday's victory, 3 pts behind Nashville, who just refuses to lose unless they play The Wings. Both teams play before the Friday night Wings game in Edmonton. The Wings are looking at more home games than Calgary in their remaining 4, and will have 2 shots at Nashville. We see Edmonton, Minnesota, and Columbus 3 times before the final game vs. Chicago, so the schedule favors a strong Wings finish. For now The Wings enjoy a few days at the resort town of Kelowna, Alberta, some Osgood home cooking, and gear up for Edmonton on Friday night. Saturday night is The Wings last appearance on Hockey Night in Canada. Very exciting!