The Language of Numbers, Part Deux

The continuing stoooooooooory of my personal and judgmental views on what the sweater you wear says about you as a human being. And more importantly, as a Wings fan...

• #23 - Stuart - "Solid" is your idea of a high compliment. You admire the men who do their jobs, who don't whine, and who don't feel a need to blow their own horns.
• #24 - Probert - You've got a soft squishy place inside reserved for a tough guy. You're as loyal as a bulldog, and you know how to forgive. And you know that sometimes a bad boy is the nicest guy in the room.
  
• #25 - McCarty - March 26, 1997. Do you really need to explain this?
• #26 - Hudler - You really like hookers.
• #30 - Osgood - The haters can go fuck themselves. The man's 10th all time in wins by an NH goalie. He's got 400 wins to his name,  3 Stanley Cup rings, 2 Jennings tropheys... Aw, fuck it. You know what? YOU know why you wear it, and any Wings fan knows why you wear it, and everyone else can see the beginning of this description.
• #33 - Draper - Grinders rule. Grit, hard work, determination, and dedication are the qualities you admire most. You want to give props to a man who sacrificed his face for his team and is still one of the hardest workers on the ice every single night. You're glad to have the world's best mentor for new players, and you love how much the man loves the game.
• # 35 - Howard - You're ready to give credit where credit is due, and you prefer to look toward the future rather than living in the past. You appreciate tradition, but you want the cup again. Bad.
• #40 - Zetterberg -The most underrated forward in the league, the man who manages to rack up 69 points without having scored a goal since 1937... seriously, what was the question?
• #43 - Helm - You have an eye on the future, and on a player with mind-boggling speed, a work ethic learned at the feet of Draper, and motor-oil coated feathers in his blood.
• #44 - Bertuzzi - You believe in second chances, and you appreciate a man who has shown he can grow as both a player and a person. And you can probably take the punches that might be thrown at you.

The plane to Hockeytown leaves in less than 12 hours, the jerseys are hanging in preparation for being packed, and the Wings had better be fucking hungry for a win.

Let's Go Red WIngs!!!

The Language of Numbers

H2H2 is almost upon us (SQUEE!!!!!!), and in honor of that momentous occasion, I've been planning my game wardrobe. Translation: I've been trying to decide which of my jerseys to wear for the party and the subsequent riot at the Joe. I'm still torn, so it's not like I can reveal my decision yet, but the quandary has gotten me thinking.

Wearing a player's number makes a statement. Who you choose to honor says something about what's important to you, about what you value and whom you admire. For instance, we all know that if you wear a Pens87 jersey, you're saying you're a pussy who cries a lot. But what does it mean if you wear a Wings jersey (Other than that you've got the good taste to support the greatest hockey franchise in history)?

Let's take a look:

• #1 - Sawchuk - You rock it old school, baby, and you don't mind carrying a few scars if it gets the job done.
• #5 - Lidstrom - Perfection leaves you in awe. You don't expect it, but you're smart enough to appreciate it. The combination of skill, smarts, and class gives you a secret little thrill. Well, okay, it's probably not much of a secret.
• #7 - Lindsay - Old time hockey turns you on. You like it rough, tough, and terrible, and you'll always stand up for your beliefs, just like Ted did for the players
• #9 - Howe - You don't just love Mr. Hockey, you love hockey itself. You love a player who could, and did, do it all. And did it well, but you also just love the game, every goal-scoring, puck-stopping, glove-dropping, punch-throwing minute of it.
• #10 - Delvecchio - You admire the combination of skill and class. You remember the Production Line with awe and fondness. You also have a thing for unsung heroes, since arguably few of Detroit's legends get less props than Mr. Delvecchio.
• #11 - Cleary - You admire hard work. You live in the now and you appreciate that someone can come from outside and embrace the Wings philosophy down to the ground, becoming better than ever behind the Winged Wheel.
• #12 - Abel - Versatility, leadership, and tradition mean a lot to you, and you're happy to show respect for those who deserve it.
• #13 - Datsyuk - You'll never mind standing around with your jaw hanging open, because the man in this number is so good, your puny human mind can't wrap itself around the truth of it.
• #14 - Shanahan - Good times never go out of style.  You admire drive, talent, toughness, and a sense of humor. Oh, and you also like a good Irish jig.
• #16 - Konstantinov - You believe, and you don't intend to ever forget. You're loyal and you know that real talent should be commemorated and celebrated.
• #19 - Yzerman - You bleed Detroit. You recognize greatness, and you're proud to represent it. Loyalty, skill, leadership, and class are your bywords, and you defy anyone to tell you there was ever anyone greater. Gretzky be damned. He was a one-trick pony compared to Stevie.

That takes care of the rafters and the first bunch. More in a day or two.

Let's Go Red Wings!!!

Take That, Dallas! (Or, Neener, Neener, Neener: A Blogpost)

As it turns out, I was neither dead, nor kidnapped by aliens, jihadists, or skinheads (of which we have an over-abundance here in the PacNW). I was just annoyed, behind deadline, and basically lazy. Sorry about that.

Over the holidays, I was also subject to the Irish-Italian Catholic guilt of my childhood, which forced me to travel back east to Tennessee to spend Christmas with my family (and before you ask, NO, I am NOT from TN; it's just where my parents and assorted relatives live at present). Since they get about 3 TV channels at the ol' homestead and none of them carry hockey--EVER--I missed every Wings game between 12/22 and 12/29. The withdrawal sucked.

Happily, I got back to civilization in time to see last night's game against the Stars and strap myself in to the rollercoaster of elation and despair that is Red Wings hockey.

The despair:

• The 3-goals in 1:14 flurry from Dallas in the 2nd period. What the hell was up with that?
• The reality finally sinking in that in addition to the attempted involuntary manslaughter that left Modano out until at least March, we're down Datsyuk AND Cleary for at least a month.
• Having to look at Steve Ott's ugly, asshole, thug-scumbag face.

The elation:

• Seeing Useless Jiri finally do something worthwhile, although frankly I think most of the Credit goes to Bertuzzi for the truly awesome pass that set up Hudler's shot.
• Kris Draper reminding us that every time people start to say there's no room left for him on this team, he makes those bastards eat their words.
• The 4th line kids continuing to grind it out, hustle, battle, and basically make life miserable for the other team, even if Darren Helm continues to have the hands of an epileptic, three-legged donkey.
• Watching Patrick "Hat trick" Eaves rack up a 4-pt night, including personally potting 2 past Kari Let-em-in and topping it all off with a curly fry-making empty netter. It almost gives the idea of getting "Eavesed" a whole new meaning.

Though speaking of elation, I have to add that although it was not part of last night's game, the highlight of the year has to be the x-mas gift given to me by the best friend in the history of friendship, who presented me with a SIGNED 1997-1998 Lidstrom jersey, complete with the "A" and the "Believe" patch. It is made of awesome and might have to make an appearance at H2H2 in March.

Now excuse me while I go bask in its reflected glory.

Let's Go Red Wings!

11/3/10 Detroit 2 - Calgary 1

I finally managed to pack my 'rents off to my brother's house for the southern half of their west coast sojourn, so I actually have a chance to recap a game. I watched the last 2 (secretly, furtively) and can sum those up even after the passage of time with one word each:

Phoenix = Abyssmal 

(even my father, who doesn't watch hockey, noted our lack of defense), and 

Nashville = Better.

Tonight's game against Calgary was better still. I think we got nearly a full 60 minutes out of our guys, which is a nice thing to see. Hopefully it's a sign that we had a slow start but we're now planning to take hockey seriously for another 72 games.

So, things I noted:

• Jimmy was fantastic. And it was good to have him back. While Ozzie was better than he could have been, I still feel more confident when Jimmy's between the pipes. Not only does he play better in net than Ozzie, but the team seems to play better in front of him.
• Danny Cleary was on fire. He worked like a demon, created chances, had an awesome chance at a shorty, and basically made himself a top pick for player of the game. Unfortunately, he couldn't get no love from Miikka Kipprusoff and was repeatedly robbed at the net. Still, nice work, Danny. Keep it up.
• Abby seemed to bring the 3rd line alive tonight. He played like the grinder he is, assisting on Mike Modano's first goal since the first game of the season and even (turns out Abby didn't get credited for this, but I could have sworn he was in the mix there) scoring one himself. Not to mention he did his damned job over and over, every shift, creating chances, blocking shots, pissing off Flames and generally reminding me of how much I like having him on the team. Jiri Who?
• The officiating sucked. There were like 97 penalties called in the 1st period and the 2nd ended with an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Brad Stuart for... I don't know. I literally have no idea. I rewound and watched the damned thing like 4 times, and I still don't know what the call was for. But whatever. We killed the penalty, and that was what counted.
• Our PK was a bigger scoring threat than the PP. We might want to ponder that for a minute or two and maybe try and fix that, kay? Thanks.
• Alex Tanguay went to the box for the last minute of play on an absolutely dirty hit with his knee that was called as tripping. Odds against the league reviewing at are currently running 7942 to 1.

I'll take the win and the day off before back to backs in Edmonton and Vancouver. Let's Go Red Wings!!!

A Win's A Win

This one wasn't pretty, but you know what? I'll take it, especially after the dismal game in Dallas on Thursday. I ended up having to turn that one off just a few minutes into the 2nd. It had been a bad day around here, and we just didn't have the emotional bandwidth to cope. Tonight, I stuck it out and we got the win. So good for us. But I'd like to mention a few things:

• After the loss in Dallas, Babcock said, "The big thing for me, in all four games we're not dangerous enough offensively...I'm not talking about hitting people, I'm talking about hanging onto pucks and grinding and working with the puck in the o-zone." He was totally right, but we still didn't bring the danger tonight. We're trying to get too fancy, passing when we should be shooting, trying to set up the perfect shot when we ought to just take it to the net and bang it in. Remember, guys, a goal doesn't have to be pretty to count. In fact, sometimes the dirty ones count more.
• We have GOT to address the turnover situation. It's just unacceptable. Part of it comes from the fancy-schmancy plays we've trying to make, but some of it is laziness and/or lack of focus, and we need to change that. Stat.
• What the FUCK has happened to our Power Play? Seriously, where did it go? I know we used to have one, but I sure haven't seen it this season. It's been bad for all 5 games, but against Phoenix, we're talking abyssmal. 1-in-8? ONE-in EIGHT???!!! That's insane. That's pathetic. That's completely unacceptable.
• I don't know if Hank is having a crisis of confidence or if he'd wasting too much energy knocking his newly-wed boots with Emma, but he does not look like himself. I'm used to Pasha being a slow starter, but Pasha looks better than Z at the moment. So Hank needs to step it up.
• Kindl looks like a rookie sometimes, but even then I'm still thinking he looks better than Ericsson. I'm not in a hurry to see Big Rig step out of the press box.

Those are the night's observations. Now I'm going to celebrate with a nice big bottle glass of wine. Night, all!

Homer's in His Office, All's Right with the World

Because if there had been Red Wings in Browning's time, I swear he'd have been a fan.

Ah, October! That most glorious on months. The month where the weather cools, the leaves turn, and men start leaving their teeth on sheets of polished ice (fortunately for Kopitar the tooth was fake; fortunately for the fans, the blood was real). And all I have to say is...

IT'S ABOUT DAMNED TIME!!!

The Wings played their first two games, winning 4-0 over Anaheim and 3-2 over Chicago, leaving me with a warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment. Though I got to see both games, I unfortunately have yet to be reunited with Ken and Mickey, since I had to put up with the Anaheim feed on Friday and the NHLN coverage on Saturday. Still a win's a win, and I'll take both of these and summarize my thoughts here:

• 1 game = 1 shutout for James Tiberius. How awesome is that? Keep it up, pal, and the media will be eating the word "slump" along with a great big side of "too old."
• Pasha is the man. No only can he deke and score and humiliate opponents on the ice, but he can kick their asses when it's called for. Good going, Pasha. Now don't ever do that again.
• Franzen made it through the Chicago game, and in a week or so, I expect my nightmares to fade as the relief sinks in.
• Modano scored his first goal as a Wing and looked like a solid presence on the 3rd line. I like Mike. So far.
• On Saturday, Bambi was the man. With his big doe eyes fixed on the net and his luxurious locks flowing in the wind (well, their would be if he hadn't been wearing a helmet), Filppula sank 2 around Turco. I love it. This is his year. I can feel it.
• Ozzie looked good. He gave me a moment or two of nail-biting anxiety, but over all, he got the job done. 1 of the 2 goals he let in was entirely not his fault but rests on the shoulders of Dan Cleary and the defense for hanging him out to dry while the puck was banged out of the corner. The other goal, maybe he should have had, but he came up with the save he needed to when we needed them. So, go Oz!
• I like Jakob Kindl 100 times more than Ericsson. He might not be as pretty (by like a factor of 100) but he was solid and steady out there in a way Big Rig hasn't been in a year. He gets my vote for the 6th D-spot.

So next game is tomorrow v. Colorado. Since I'm both a traditionalist and a sentimental fool, I'm looking forward to a couple of hours of  vitriol and hate in my living room.

Ah, hockey! How I've missed you...

Let's Go Red Wings!

All I Want For Michaelmas...

Some people make Christmas lists, but that's just way too far away. I want what I want, and I want it now. And since today is technically Michaelmas (which I found out by googling for current holidays) and marks the beginning of autumn, aka the beginning of HOCKEY SEASON, I figured it was the perfect time to make my wish list for 2010-2011 and present it to the hockey gods for their consideration.

And so, with no further ado, here goes:

Ahem.

1. A healthy roster that manages to make it to the post season without missing 307 man games. Less than 100 would be preferred. Less than 50 even better.
2. A 100+ point season. I know, it's become almost de rigeur for the Wings to manage this, but last year we had to struggle for it and it came right down to the wire. This year, I'd like to coast into it without breaking a sweat.
3. 90+ pts for Pavel Datsyuk with 30+ goals. I know, I know, he's more than capable of a 100 pt season, but this is still the beginning of the list, so I'm trying not to be greedy.
4. 80+ pts for Henrik Zetterberg. Again, an easy one. More would be good, but since he just scraped 70 last season, I'm restraining myself. See what a good girl I am?
5. A strong sophomore season for Jimmy Howard. If he can match his .924 percentage from last year, I'll do a happy dance and sing praises to your names, but if we can avoid the term "slump," I will consider myself content.
6. A comeback year for Chris Osgood. I love Ozzie. I want him to shut up the naysayers.
7. A healthy Mule. Pretty, pretty please.
8. 30 goals for Johan Franzen. I know he's appearing on this list twice, but since he missed more than 2/3 of the season last year, he deserves special attention. I don't like to be blunt, but you owe him.
9. Another 20 goal year from Dan Cleary. We all know he can do it, providing he's healthy. (hint, hint)
10. Valteri Filppula's breakout year. We know it's coming. It's been coming for a couple of years now. Let's just stop wasting time and make it happen, okay?
11. For Mike Modano to move me out of the Meh-dano camp and onto the side of the Prodanos. I think he can do it, don't you?
12. A year that illustrates clearly that Jiri Hudler is suitably grateful to be back in Detroit. Mike Babcock has already put in his request for 70 points, so I'll just ditto him. He's been a good boy, too.
13. A finishing touch for Darren Helm. He has so much potential! And admit it, even you want to see him score on more of those awesome breakaways. You know you do!
14. Someone to give the referees a lesson on calling Goalie Interference. We fans know that the rule about being in the crease no longer applies, so can someone please remind the refs about it? If not for me, do it for Homer. He deserves a fair shot.
15. I'd really, really love for some sense to get knocked into the head of Jonathan Ericcson. He has the talent and we all know it, but if he doesn't crawl out of his own head soon, Kindl's gonna yank his spot away, which would be a shame. I like Kindl, but he'll be along soon enough. I don't really want to see Big Rig fail, do you?
16. Some Kronwalling. 'Nuff said.
17. Can I ask to NOT have something? Because if so, I'd like to take a pass on Bertuzzi spin-o-ramas, please. Thanks.
18. A season to make Nicklas Lidstrom glad he signed for one more year.
19. The Stanley Cup.

That's it. That's all I want for this season, hockey gods. Can I have it? Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top? I've been a very good girl, you know. Now give me reason to be even better. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Christine