The Red Hot Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have all but clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference for the coming spring and summer. The NHL point leading Wings boast a 21-6-2 record through their first 29 games, scoring a league best 102 goals. With a 13-2-0 mark at home, Detroit has been hard to contain through the first few months of the season and it doesn’t look like they are slowing down anytime soon.
This week the Red Wings went 3-0 outscoring their opponents 14-3 over the span. With the best goal differential in the NHL, Detroit also has managed to obtain the third best power play and sixth best penalty kill, an incredible mix of special teams that has championship written all over it.
Led by Henrik Zetterberg (21-19-40), Pavel Datsyuk (11-23-34), and Tomas Holmstrom (13-14-27), the dominant offense in Mo-Town has yet to be shutout this season. 18 different players have tallied at least one goal on the team and 11 have achieved double digits in points with 65% of the season left to play.
Nicklas Lidstrom is once again leading the Wings in ice time with an average of 28:12, a trait that Detroit fans have grown accustomed to from their Norris winning defenseman. To go along with his stellar defense, Lidstrom has 21 assists (24 points) and a team leading plus 17.
Brian Rafalski has fit in rather nicely in his first season in Hockeytown coming over from New Jersey. Rafalski trails only Lidstrom in ice time and has added a 1-2 offensive punch from the blue line with Lidstrom with 23 points (3-20) and 13 assists on the power play.
With offense like this you would think that it wouldn’t matter if the Red Wings played with an empty net, but it is goaltending that might be their most outstanding area. Dominik Hasek has posted a 7-5 record with a 2.52 GAA and .878 SV%, but it is Chris Osgood who stepped in for the injured Hasek who has put together quite the campaign. Osgood has a 13-1 mark with a 1.79 GAA and a .924 SV% in his 11th season with Detroit.
The Red Wings haven’t hoisted the Cup since 2001-02, a drought that has left their fans in depression with a first round exit as the top seed in 2005-06, a second round dismissal as the top seed in 2003-04, and being swept in the first round in 2002-03 as the second seed.
The Red Wings should get the top seed once again in 2007-08, but this time it should have a happy ending.
Around the League
New Jersey saw their nine game winning streak end by who else, but the Rangers.
Ottawa continues to fade, winning only three of their last 10. Are the Sens destined for playoff failure once again?
Boston is without their star forward for possibly the rest of the season and now they are playing with their third string goalie, a 20-year old rookie.
San Jose was in ninth place just last week but with the tight race in the West, they have jumped to third in just a matter of days. Five points separate the second place team and the eleventh place team in the West.
Could Anaheim be a playoff bust the season after they were Stanley Cup Champions?
