40#1Fan

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Darren McCarty will be in the lineup tonight with Aaron Downey a healthy scratch. Mikael Samuelsson and Brad Stuart will both be in the lineup. Detroit's lines look like they will be ... Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Filppula-Franzen-Cleary Hudler-Draper-Samuelsson Drake-Hartigan-McCarty Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lilja-Chelios Hasek (starts) Osgood Healthy scratches ... Downey Abdelkader Helm Lebda Meech Injuries ... Maltby (hamstring) Kopecky (knee)

from MLIVE, Babs hasn't decided on Mac or Downey yet. Update from the morning skate: Coach Mike Babcock said right wing Mikael Samuelsson will be in the lineup tonight in Game 1 vs. Nashville, after missing five games with a sore groin. Babcock said the only decision he still has to make is whether to use Darren McCarty or Aaron Downey at right wing on the fourth line. Defenseman Brad Stuart will return after missing eight games with a broken finger. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20..._lineup_la.html

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/04/of..._ready_for.html The Free Press's Helene St. James checked in with Red Wings GM Ken Holland as to the status of several of the Wings' injured players on Monday night as the Wings had an off-day on Monday, and the news regarding Brad Stuart isn't good: April 8, Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings should have a better handle after today's practice whom they'll have available Thursday when their playoff series with Nashville begins. General manager Ken Holland said Monday that defenseman Brad Stuart, out since March 19 with a broken finger, remains questionable. "It's how he feels," Holland said. "Can he shoot, can he pass, can he only do things with one hand... conditioning-wise, he's in great shape." Forward Mikael Samuelsson has been sidelined by a groin injury, and even if skating today goes well, the Wings prefer to have players go through three or four practices before returning. Kris Draper, also nursing a groin injury, is doing so well he'll be ready when the Wings host Nashville in Game 1. Kirk Maltby (hamstring) might play if the first round goes deep. Holland also said extension talks for coach Mike Babcock haven't progressed, and thus, negotiations will not resume again until after the playoffs. MLive.com's own Ansar Khan says that Holland isn't concerned about Babcock's contract status.

Update from the Detroit News: http://info.detnews.com/redesign/blogs/win...FTOKEN=66389892 Posted by Ted Kulfan on Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 1:33 PM Tuesday morning update Mikael Samuelsson hasn't ruled out playing in Game 1 Thursday against Nashville. "Me, in my mind, no," said Samuelsson, who missed the last couple weeks of the regular season with a sore groin. Samuelsson skated after practice Tuesday and was optimistic with his progress. "I felt pretty good," said Samuelsson, who wasn't expected to be ready until later in the series. "I'll skate again tomorrow and see how I feel." Kris Draper (groin) and Brad Stuart (broken finger) will both be in the line up, but Kirk Maltby (hamnstring) will miss the opener, if not, the first several games. There was a definite feel of the playoff hockey Tuesday as preparations began for the series. "The weather should be nicer," said Dominik Hasek, who was eagerly anticipating Al Sobotka's barbecue, another playoff opener staple. "But it's the best time of the year."

from MLIVE: The move was made because the team is short on forwards, as Kirk Maltby is out with an injury. Maltby was hurt blocking a shot last night in Chicago. No word yet on the specifics of the injury.

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ The Red Wings are bringing former Michigan State star Justin Abdelkader in for the game against Columbus tonight after finding out that forward Kirk Maltby is unavailable because of an injury (details to follow). Abdelkader was the Red Wings' second-round draft pick in 2005 and by coming to Detroit on a one-game amateur tryout, he's foregoing the rest of his eligibility at Michigan State. Detroit assistant general manager Jim Nill said that the Red Wings are "real close" to signing Abdelkader to a three-year entry-level contract. If the sides agree by Saturday, Abdelkader will stay with the team through the playoffs. He must sign by Saturday to be eligible. Nill also said that the Red Wings are negotiating with junior defenseman Logan Pyett on an entry-level contract.

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ From the morning skate in Chicago, Tomas Holmstrom is skating and Henrik Zetterberg is not on the ice. It looks like Homer might be ready to go with Z being given the night off.

Update from MLIVE: http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...rom_draper.html Update from the morning skate in Chicago: Tomas Holmstrom is not playing tonight and coach Mike Babcock didn't sound too optimistic that he would play Thursday at home against Columbus. "He might be playing on Sunday,'' Babcock said. "He's not 100 percent comfortable. It looks to me that's the way he's going to have to be. It doesn't look like he's going to clear up, he's committed to playing so we go to do what we got to do.'' Holmstrom disagreed, saying he expects to be 100 percent when he returns to the lineup. "I know my body,'' Holmstrom said. "It feels realy good today. We'll see (about Thursday). For sure Sunday.'' Tests on Kris Draper's sore groin revealed no damage, Babcock said. But Draper is not likely to play until Game 1 of the playoffs. Mikael Samuelsson skated before practice, but he won't return until the playoff opener, at the soonest, or so it appears. "He skated and stretched and said he feels pretty good, but the way the groin thing has been for us, it hasn't gone very good,'' Babcock said. Babcock said Brad Stuart (broken finger) will definitely be back for the playoff opener.

Further update.... Scratch that last post by me. Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) isn't going to play tonight and likely won't play tomorrow night in Detroit either. Coach Mike Babcock said that the team is still, however, counting on Homer being ready for the start of the playoffs. Zetterberg is fine. He and Babcock were the only two to take the morning skate off, which was listed as optional. Mikael Samuelsson (groin) skated early, but did not practice. Brad Stuart (broken finger) practiced. Babcock said that Stuart will definitely be ready to play the first game of the post-season.

More bad news on the injury front. Kris Draper has tightness in his groin (something like Mikael Samuelsson) and left the ice right after the start of today's practice. Draper will not play in the next two games and likely won't return to the lineup until the playoffs begin next Thursday. Coach Mike Babcock said that Draper felt the tightness before and got on the ice today to check his status. Draper missed five games with a strained groin from March 13-20. He also was sidelined for nine games with a knee injury, Nov. 27-Dec. 17. Also from today's practice, Holmstrom probably won't play in Chicago tomorrow. The discussion is now whether he's going to be ready for Thursday's home game. Samuelsson is still on the shelf with a groin injury and not skating.

First of all, would like to apologize to those who thought it was an April Fools joke. Here's a further update, and I'm posting the link: http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20..._out_until.html Update from Tuesday's practice: Kris Draper left practice almost at the start after feeling some tightness in his groin and went for testing. Coach Mike Babcock said Draper is likely to miss the last three games of the season. "Not hurt, not pulled, nothing like that, but just didn't like the feel today,'' Babcock said. "I can't imagine him playing until the start of the playoffs. Maybe Sunday, but I don't even see that. Why would we (take a chance), that makes no sense.'' Draper missed five games with a groin pull from March 13-20. It's something that bothered him throughout the playoffs last year, forcing him to have off-season surgery. "He came in (Monday) and didn't like the way he felt,'' Babcock said. "So he went out there today and didn't like the way he felt so he got off right away, which is good.'' Tomas Holmstrom practiced and continued to report improvement. He won't play Wednesday in Chicago but said he expects to play Thursday or Sunday. Mikael Samuelsson (groin) didn't practice, so he won't be back until Sunday, at the earliest. Tuesday's lines looked like this for the most part, though they did mix it up a lot: Cleary-Datsyuk-Filppula Franzen-Zetterberg-Hudler Kopecky-Hartigan-Maltby McCarty-Drake-Downey Babcock might end up playing Datsyuk and Zetterberg apart on the road, where opponents can't focus their top checkers against both, and together at home, where it's easier for the Wings to get favorable matchups. Also, when Draper left early, Maltby took it upon himself to assume the role as the birthday shaving cream pie bandit. He surprised McCarty with a towel full of the stuff during a TV interview. McCarty turned 36 today.

We're at the midway point in today's practice. Both Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) and Brad Stuart (finger) were taking part in drills. Holmstrom is doing battle drills as well. Stuart is on the bench for the five-on-five work. We'll find out after practice if Holmstrom is on track for returning in the next two days. Mikael Samuelsson is not on the ice, a bad sign. He's not near returning from his groin injury. Kris Draper is also not on the ice, but his health hasn't been a problem of late. We'll see if he just has the day off or if there is a problem. The line combinations being used are ... Filppula-Datsyuk-Cleary Hudler-Zetterberg-Franzen Kopecky-Hartigan-Maltby Downey-Drake-McCarty Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Chelios Lebda-Lilja Note that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are centering their own lines.

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) said that he felt much better today and could return as early as Wednesday although Thursday is more likely. Holmstrom felt positive that he'd be back on the ice for Thursday's home game. Holmstrom said his straight-line skating is the most problematic thing with this injury. -- Dominik Hasek will start in net Wednesday and Sunday. Chris Osgood will get Thursday's game. -- Mikael Samuelsson didn't skate and spent his morning on the training table. Coach Mike Babcock said that Samuelsson was feeling better, but there is no date set for his return. -- Brad Stuart went through the whole practice. He could pass fine. He could a little, but not with any authority. Stuart said that he's expecting to return sometime next week. There's not much that can be done for his broken finger other than taping it. Among them is defenseman Brad Stuart, who is passing and shooting the puck -- a good sign for a player with a broken finger. Stuart is slated to return for the first round of the playoffs, perhaps even as early as the post-season opener.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=232955&hubname= Brendan Morrison is done for the season and the playoffs after suffering a torn ACL. The 32-year-old has battled injuries this season and missed significant time (38 games) after having wrist surgery in mid-December. He has nine goals and 16 assists over his 38 games. All-Star netminder Roberto Luongo has left the team to be with his wife in Florida for the birth of their first child. Even if the baby is born on Thursday, the Canucks are not certain Luongo will be able to make Friday's important game against the Minnesota Wild. The club will call up either Cory Schneider or Drew MacIntyre just in case Luongo does not make it back to face the Wild. The Canucks sit in the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They have 86 points and are two back of the Colorado Avalanche in 7th spot and two points up on the 9th place Nashville Predators and three points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers in 10th

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/03/wi...ld_an_open.html The Detroit Red Wings held an open practice before the beginning of the 2007-2008 season...And that was that. In an NHL where some teams make every practice an "open" one, and others attempt to make open practices at least a semi-regular event, the Wings shut the doors in October. The organization is at least opening the doors in the name of both charity and creating playoff buzz on Saturday, March 29th: March 25, DetroitRedWings.com: The Red Wings will hold an open practice for fans Saturday, March 29. Fans are asked to bring new or gently worn hockey equipment or provide a donation of $5 per person - all of which will be donated to local inner-city youth hockey programs. Doors will open at 11 a.m. EDT with practice scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. Prior to the start of practice, fans will have the chance to participate in fun contests and question and answer sessions with Red Wings personalities. During practice, fans will watch the players go through various drills and prepare for the team's game against the Nashville Predators on Sunday, March 30. For more information, log on to DetroitRedWings.com. The practice will also feature a "fire sale" of autographed memorabilia from current and former Red Wings players and coaches. This is a unique opportunity for fans to purchase signed items at great, low prices. Proceeds from the fire sale will benefit The Detroit Red Wings Foundation. I cannot recommend attending this event highly enough. Watching the players both participate in Mike Babcock's drills at breakneck speed, showcasing the ridiculously high skill level and tempo at which the Wings play, and seeing the players goof around and have a tremendous amount of fun while working hard is a delightful experience that seasoned fans, new fans, and would-be fans connect with their players and team. I hope to see you there on Saturday! The Wings are plugging their newly-opened official forum as well, and it's at least worth a gander.

From Bruce MacLeon, Macomb Daily: Yes, Mikael Samuelsson didn't skate in the practice. I should have addressed that with the initial post, but I wanted to find out why. Sammy has tightness in his groin. Feel free to begin worrying now. They say that they're being cautious, but obviously there's always concern. His status for tomorrow's game is unknown. -- Dominik Hasek is still a maybe for Friday. He's still sick, but if he skates in the morning, he might dress tomorrow night. Jimmy Howard, incidentally, traveled back to Grand Rapids yesterday morning, got in the morning skate, played last night for the Griffins, got up early this morning and drove across state to make it to JLA for the morning skate. -- Darren McCarty will play Friday. He skated on a line with Mark Hartigan and Dallas Drake. Aaron Downey will be a healthy scratch. -- Drake (chest) said that he's fine to play, but coach Mike Babcock said that he still has to talk to the trainers. -- Valtteri Filppula (groin) has the green light to play Friday. He practiced with the second power-play unit with Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler on his wings. -- Brad Stuart (broken finger) is with the team and will resume skating tomorrow. -- Tomas Holmstrom (abdomen) skated on his own before practice. His return isn't going to come this week.

From the Free Press: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...BLOG09/80326055 I just spoke to general manager Ken Holland this Wednesday afternoon, and he told me Darren McCarty will play this Friday against the St. Louis Blues. Holland hadn't yet heard the results on Tomas Holmstrom, who underwent testing today for a groin injury that has sidelined him since March 5. McCarty joined the Wings earlier this month after a stint with Grand Rapids, but his return had been delayed by sore ribs. Now he's healthy, and the Wings are anxious to see what he can contribute. McCarty played for the Wings from 1993-94 to 2003-04, and the team bought out his contract in the summer of 2005. “From my perspective, I’m excited for him, and I’m hopeful for our team,” Holland said. “We’ve got two weeks to find out if we got someone who can give us some ingredients, who can make us a little deeper headed into the playoffs.” Holland also said Filppula (groin, knee), "felt great today, and if he skates again tomorrow and doesn't have a setback, I anticipate we'll see him Friday." Dallas Drake (sternum) is also feeling better, and is a maybe for Friday. Dominik Hasek has so serious a case of flu he's on antibiotics, Holland said, and if Hasek doesn't feel better by tomorrow, Holland anticipates having Jimmy Howard back up Chris Osgood on Friday

here's the latest updates from MLIVE - and it all seems to be good news, especially on Homer and Flip: There's finally good news on the Red Wings' injury front--regarding Valtteri Filppula and Tomas Holmstrom, anyway: March 27, Detroit News: [C]oach Mike Babcock said Valtteri Filppula (groin) will return to the line up but Dominik Hasek (flu) is still home, and his status for Friday is uncertain. Brad Stuart (broken finger) is back in town after being in Los Angeles over the weekend visiting his pregnant wife. Mikael Samuelsson (groin) left practice early Thursday but it isn't considered a serious injury. The Wings are awaiting results on tests Tomas Holmstrom (abdominal strain) took Wednesday, but are optimistic there's nothing serious. In fact, Holmstrom was on the ice for approximately 30 minutes Thursday skating. As for Darren McCarty, who's scheduled to make his second-time-around Red Wings debut on Friday, Mac admittedly has a case of the jitters: "I'm excited to be back, and trying to leave it there. I'm not focusing on it," said McCarty, one of the most popular Red Wings during the organization's renaissance over the last 10-15 years. "I'll be nervous. I haven't played at this level for over a year. I'll be nervous hockey-wise. But whatever emotion there will be, it'll be genuine."

Duckies injuries are also mounting up: Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf did not play against the Kings because of injuries as they join forwards Corey Perry and Ryan Carter and defenseman Chris Pronger on the sidelines. Giguere is still bothered by back spasms that flared up Friday night in San Jose before their loss to the Sharks, and Getzlaf strained his shoulder during the third period when he hit San Jose center Joe Pavelski. - LA Times

more from MLIVE: http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/03/ha...g_from_flu.html March 27, RedWingsCorner: Dominik Hasek is not on the ice for practice today, so it looks as though he'll miss another game with the flu. Jimmy Howard is on the ice and will presumably back up Chris Osgood Friday night. Darren McCarty is skating and looks good for his debut Friday. Tomas Holmstrom took a quick twirl on the, but didn't participate in practice drills. Valtteri Filppula took part in the entire practice and might be back in the lineup soon. Hopefully, Hasek will make a speedy recovery and play on Friday...and the fact that Holmstrom's skating at all is great news...But Ken Holland suggests that Hasek has the blogger flu pretty badly (so do I, again; it takes quite a bit for Snapshots to "go dark" for a day!):

more on today's practice from MLIVE: Update from Thursday's practice: Dominik Hasek was not around, still bothered by the flu, and won't dress Friday against St. Louis. Chris Osgood will start, and Jimmy Howard was recalled from Grand Rapids to serve as the back-up. Tomas Holmstrom (strained abdominal muscles) skated for about a half-hour before practice but was scheduled to have more tests later in the afternoon. He had a second set of tests (MRI, ultrasound) on Wednesday. Coach Mike Babcock said he didn't know the results but that everything looked positive. Mikael Samuelsson left practice early with a groin problem that's been bothering him for a week or so and Babcock listed him as questionable. Valtteri Filppula (sore knee, groin) said he's ready to play. Dallas Drake (bruised sternum) said he's ready to play, too, but Babcock wasn't sure about Drake. Brad Stuart (broken finger) is back from San Jose and will start practicing Friday. He said he's optimistic he'll be ready for the start of the playoffs. Babcock said Darren McCarty will play Friday, replacing Aaron Downey in the lineup.

http://info.detnews.com/redesign/blogs/win...FTOKEN=66389892 It's beginning to get to the point where the Red Wings are wondering whether Tomas Holmstrom will be ready for the start of the playoffs. Holmstrom will have further tests Wednesday to determine the extent of his abdominal injury. Holmstrom missed his ninth consecutive game (hasn't played since March 5) Tuesday in St. Louis and a setback Monday in practice had him frustrated and concerned. "I felt maybe I could play today (Tuesday) or, at least, Friday and now it's a real setback, it's really tough," said Holmstrom, who got treatment Tuesday but didn't go on the ice. He was visibly frustrated Monday during practice at Joe Louis Arena, slamming his stick against the boards as he walked off the ice. "It hurts, and you're concerned about it when it crops up like that. It's frustrating," Holmstrom said. "I did some battling drills and something happened. It became more and more sore, and I skated, but I felt it was better to come off. "It was beginning to feel good. Now, (it feels) I pulled it again." "You're always concerned when you have an injured player and you're two weeks out (until the playoffs," said general manger Ken Holland said. "We'll wait and see." Coach Mike Babcock said he expects Valtteri Filppula (groin) to play Friday and there's a chance Darren McCarty (ribs) will get his first opportunity to play in his comeback with the Wings

The NHL channel showed the Yzerman top goals show about a month ago and I have it on my DVR. They also showed around the same time, hour long specials (on each series) on our 2001/2002 Cup Run, breaking down each series - Vancouver, Colorado and our win over Carolina. For some reason they did not show the St. Louis series. It's great, it breaks down each game of each series. Have them all on my DVR too. My husband laughs, his DVR is all Law & Order and mine is 100% Red Wings.

Sorry, just checked on the Comcast website, and here's what I could find about FSN Plus With the shutdown of the Comcast Local channel on Comcast systems across Michigan, viewers of FSN Plus will need digital service to receive the programming on either Channel 900 or 901. FSN Plus Channel Locations The list of current channel numbers for FSN PLUS, as assigned by satellite and cable providers (as of February 29, 2008): DIRECTV: 669 Dish Network: 444 to 453 (varies by date) Comcast: Throughout Michigan 900 or 901 (requires digital service) Bright House Networks: Western Detroit suburbs 77 Wide Open West (WOW!) Detroit suburbs: 14 Charter Throughout Michigan: 88 (requires digital service) Buckeye Toledo: 8 (with converter) or 13 Wyandotte Cable Wyandotte: 17 Allendale Communications Allendale: 20 Millennium-- Bath / Perry / Laingsburg: 97 Bellevue / Olivet: 97 Charlotte 97: Concord / Hanover: 19 Grass Lake: 19 Hastings: 18 Lake Odessa / Sunfield / Mulliken: 18 Leslie / Stockbridge: 97 Marshall / Albion / Homer: 19 Mason / Dansville: 97 Portland: 18 Potterville / Dimondale: 97 Saranac / Clarksville: 18 South Lyon: 97 Williamston / Webberville / Fowlerville: 97 City of Negaunee Negaunee: 49 D&P Communications St. Petersburg: 21 Correctional Cable TV-- Adrian: 58 Coldwater: 44 Detroit: 45 Jackson: 51

I believe the local Comcast FSN Plus is Channel 8.