Leelanau Sports Guy at sportspig.com

Grandson, Bill McIntire says his Nana still square dances!

Keep your eyes peeled on the Joe Louis Jumbotron and be sure to give Nana a big hand at the game!

Happy birthday and cheers Nana Kaiser!!!

Photos from past bday games.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings scored the first goal tonight against the Minnesota Wild and never gave the Wild a chance to get back into the game.

Johan Franzen broke open the sheet tonight and was then followed by Tomas Holmstrom, Jonathan Ericsson, and Pavel Datsyuk before Andrew Brunette stopped the goal run by scoring for the Wild on the powerplay. Detroit had killed off the previous 29 penalties before allowing the goal. A weird bounce put the Wild within two early in the third, but then Franzen and Drew Miller drove the game home.

Detroit had a slow start but took control of the game halfway through the first. Detroit’s special teams have been rolling which was big tonight with the game’s 30 penalty minutes. Minnesota amassed 20 of those minutes. The top line for the Wings (Franzen, Datsyuk, Holmstrom) had four of the six goals with the number two line (Todd Bertuzzi, Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula) seeing their point steak of 20 points in three games come to an end as no one on that line recorded a point tonight.

In Play! Man of the Game: Johan Franzen. Franzen was on fire tonight, recording a career high four points (2-2).

ADDED BONUS: Post game audio from tonight’s game with Lidstrom, Howard, Franzen, Babcock

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Despite giving up a quick goal to St. Louis, the Detroit Red Wings came back and took control of the game, beating the St. Louis Blues 4-2.

Paul Kariya scored first tonight with a breakaway. Then in the second, Henrik Zetterberg scored just 26 seconds into the period, followed four minutes later by Todd Bertuzzi. Jay McClement tied the game early in the third, but Valtteri Filppula came back with a pair of goals to give the Wings the win.

Detroit easily could have been down by five goals after the first period because the Blues kept feeding breakaway after breakaway. Jimmy Howard has huge tonight in net, making 30 saves to record win number 30 of the season. Howard is still making his case for the Calder Trophy. Last year Steve Mason, another goalie, won the trophy and recorded 33 wins and 10 shutouts. While Howard only has one shutout, he is one of the players in the running. Detroit hasn’t seen a Calder Trophy since the 1950’s.

In Play! Men of the Game: Zetterberg, Filppula, and Bertuzzi. This line has combined for 20 points in the last three games including several multi-goal nights from Zetterberg and Filppula.

ADDED BONUS:
AJ Petronzi talks with RED HOT Henrik Zetterberg and Mike Babcock in post game inteview.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings scored first in this game and never looked back, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1.

Valtteri Filppula was the first one to score a goal tonight with a minute left in the first period. Henrik Zetterberg then netted a goal to give Detroit the two goal lead. Pascal Dupuis closed Detroit’s lead back to one until Zetterberg scored early in the third to put Detroit up by two.

The Red Wings played a better game than Pittsburgh. It was obvious in the way the two teams played that the Penguins are battling for a top three seed in the playoffs and didn’t come out with the same desperation that Detroit, who is simply battling for the playoffs, came with. Zetterberg continued to play at a level that befits a player of his caliber, and Jimmy Howard, with 26 saves and a tangle with Sydney Crosby after the game, showed he wishes to remain the starter in net for Detroit. Crosby called Howard out to the media after the game, “I don’t know what he was doing…if he thought he could get a free shot in. He didn’t belong there.”

Photo by Jack Rosenberg/In Play! Magazine

In Play! Man of the Game: Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg hasn’t played great this season, but the last five or six games have been different. Zetterberg scored twice tonight and had an assist on Filppula’s goal.

Sidney Crosby - Post game audio from the dressing room after last nights game.

Cover story features interviews with Olympic Gold Medalist Roberto Luongo and Silver Medalist Brian Rafalski. Plus article on the infamous Tail of the Tiger Golf Balls, The Hanson Brothers and a whole lot more! Detroit’s ONLY sports magazine is In Play!

DIRECT LINK

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings gave up a two goal lead, but still managed a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabers in overtime.

Pavel Datsyuk scored only two minutes into the game tonight and Patrick Eaves followed suit less than two minutes later. Before the halfway point of the first period, Buffalo’s Jochen Hecht scored to make it a one goal game. In the second, Hecht tied the game. Nothing changed until 31 seconds into overtime when Brian Rafalski scored the game winner on the powerplay.

Detroit’s powerplay has goals in nine consecutive games, which ties them for the season best with Washington, and Detroit’s penalty kill hasn’t allowed a goal in five games, allowing only five goals in the last 46 times the Wings have been shorthanded. Detroit seems to be getting everything back in line after a season long struggle with injuries. Tonight’s win leaves Detroit in eighth in the conference behind Calgary, who has a tough game against Vancouver tomorrow before meeting the Wings on Monday.

In Play! Man of the Game: Brian Rafalski. Rafalski lead all players in minutes played, with just short of 26, and netted the game winning goal. He also had 6 attempted shots, four of which were on net.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings spent their entire first shift tonight in the Minnesota Wild’s zone, something that never really changed in this crushing 5-1 victory in Detroit.

It didn’t take long for Johan Franzen to crack tonight’s score sheet open, scoring a goal less than two and a half minutes into the game. Later in the first period, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg scored goals, both less than a minute apart. Minnesota then scored with only seconds left. In the second, Drew Miller netted his first career short-handed goal, followed in the third by Franzen’s second goal of the night.

Detroit had a lot of questions to answer after Tuesday, no one facing more than Zetterberg who played possibly the worst game of his career. The Wings came back and answered those questions tonight. Other than the top line, the bottom three lines got shuffled and that seemed to have solved quite a few problems.

Photo by Jack Rosenberg / In Play! Magazine

In Play! Man of the Game: Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg played an excellent game, seeing time tonight on all four lines and scoring a goal and two assists.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

In a goal scoring affair, the Detroit Red Wings have defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in Chicago.

Chicago broke out to an early lead with goals from Duncan Keith and Andrew Ladd. Then, after a Chicago goal was called back, the Red Wings scored five goals from Brian Rafalski, Nicklas Lidstrom, Jason Williams, Valtteri Filppula, and Pavel Datsyuk. Chicago came storming back with a pair of goals from Ladd to give him a hat-trick, but they couldn’t catch the Wings.
This game was all Detroit after the goal by Dustin Byfuglien was called back because of incidental contact (A bad call that was almost identical to the goal called back on Detroit on Monday against Colorado). Detroit played a great game in the last 40 minutes, but the first 20 were terrible. Todd Bertuzzi left the game with a lower body injury in the second after an odd, but clean, check from Ben Eager.

In Play! Man of the Game: Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi, although leaving with an injury, was the only Red Wing who played well in the first. He was also very active offensively, setting up three goals although he only was credited with two assists.

A list of the top 10 players in the NHL from the 2000s written by Yahoo! Sports Greg Wyshynski. Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom tops the list edging out New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur. Here’s a quick peek at what he said about Lidstrom…

Simply put, he was the total package. An offensive player who tallied 574 points, his four best point-scoring seasons all coming in the 2000s. A defensive player who was a plus-232 for the decade, frequently logging more than 28 minutes a night for the Wings. A leader who won the Conn Smythe for the Wings’ 2001-02 Stanley Cup champions, and who then captained a second Detroit team to the Cup in 2007-08. And he made it look frequently effortless.

I can’t argue with that!

Read The 10 best NHL players of the last decade at Yahoo! Sports

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

I know Darren Helm had the game-winning goal in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals to help the Detroit Red Wings to a 2-1 OT win and a 4 games to 1 series win over the Chicago Blackhawks. But after reading about this play, I had to see it for myself and it was a very impressive shift for Helm.

Helm is a perfect example of why the Red Wings are the class of the NHL. Young guys who know their roles and are taught how to play the right way. Now let’s bring that Cup back to Hockeytown!

Yahoo! Sports Ross McKeon is previewing each team for the upcoming 2008-09 NHL season. Today it’s the Detroit Red Wings. Here’s McKeon’s three keys to the Red Wings season…

The reincarnation of goaltender Chris Osgood is inspiring, but there is no plan to have a 1A/1B goaltending tandem like last season. The Red Wings went out and signed a competent backup in Ty Conklin, who saved Pittsburgh’s bacon when Marc-Andre Fleury missed extended time in the second half last season, but it’s clear this is Osgood’s net. The 35-year-old has to prove his leading the league in save percentage during both the regular season and playoffs was no fluke.

Second, and you really have to nitpick to find something wrong with Detroit last season, but the Red Wings want to have more success against the teams in their division. Detroit ran away with a 24-point edge in the Central Division, but it was on the strength of its record against nondivision rivals. Inside the division, the Red Wings had only the third-best point total, and they were just four points better than last place-finishing St. Louis.

Third, Detroit’s best players have to continue to be its best players. Nicklas Lidstrom is 38, and his defense partner Brian Rafalski will be 35 when the season starts. It all starts on defense with Detroit, and the top pair set the bar high. The physical duo of Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart need to hit, and that should give Detroit a top-four on the blue line that possibly only Anaheim can rival.

They’re basically not changing anything and should be one of the favorites. As always is the case with the Red Wings, goaltending will be the biggest issue as we see if Chris Osgood can repeat his amazing success of last year.

Read Wings poised for another title run at Yahoo! Sports

Dates have been announced for the 2008 Prospects Tourney and Detroit Red Wings Training Camp at Centre ICE in Traverse City. The Propects Tourney runs from September 13-17 and Red Wings Training Camp from September 20-23.

Read Prospect tourney & Red Wings Camp schedule in the Record Eagle
Visit the official site at Detroit Red Wings Training Camp 2008 for more info

Visitors will also see many new additions to the exterior of Center ICE including a familiar face…

Read Image at Centre ICE honors Drake in the Record Eagle

Detroit Red Wings forward Dallas Drake will be bringing the Stanley Cup to the Open Space in Traverse City on Labor Day, September 1, 2008. The event is being called “Stanley by the Bay” and will help support the Grand Traverse Hockey Association.

Here’s a sampling of what to expect…

It will include an opportunity to have photos taken with the Cup, autographed pictures and T-shirt of Drake and raffle prizes that include autographed Red Wings jerseys and sticks and regular-season tickets.

Food will be provided by the U&I Lounge, and hockey-related activities for children will be available.

Read Stanley Cup visit slated in the Record Eagle
Learn more about the Grand Traverse Hockey Association at TCHockey.com

It wasn’t easy, but the Detroit Red Wings have captured the Stanley Cup with a 3-2 win in game 6 to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2. It’s not easy being the best team all year and having that target on your back, but the Red Wings managed to pull it off. Coach Mike Babcock earned every bit of that contract extension he’s going to get and I look for the Wings to stay near the top with their solid nucleus.

Absolute Michigan has compiled some great links, photos and video about the Stanley Cup Finals and the Wings terrific season, go check it out!

Read 2008 Detroit Red Wings bring the Stanley Cup to Hockeytown! at Absolute Michigan.

After losses in Games 4 & 5, the Detroit Red Wings started fast and cruised to a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals versus Pittsburgh Penguins. Game 1 is Saturday at Joe Louis Arena. Of all the people to step it up for the Wings tonight, it was Dallas Drake who led the way with a goal and an assist. He’s taken his share of hits from the fans and media all year, but tonight he was the one delivering them.

Read Red Wings headed back to Stanley Cup finals at Yahoo! Sports

My Pick: Wings win the Cup in 5 games!