BlueMonk

Pav and Bert!!

Not crazy about the officiating. Helm was being held right before the last Dallas goal and Newbury's stick was being held just now and no call.

Babs didn't pull any punches about Z leaving himself open for that hit. Hopefully nothing too serious. I was worried it was a concussion.

The Finnish Fail strikes again. Ugh.

Discouraging that the Finnish Fail didn't even manage to register a shot on goal in 15 minutes of ice time. I'm not ready to give up on him and I'm sure the injuries have led to him being put in an unfamiliar position, which isn't helping. But he isn't helping the team right now and the team needs help right now.

Is the backwards score a good luck thing, like the "4rd"? Great win, but could have done without the Ericsson injury. Imagine what people here would have said if told at the beginning of the season that the 3 stars in a mid-December game would be Howard, Stuart and Eaves? Hehe.

Seeing every single Red Wing skip the Olympics and rest up for the stretch run would be just fine with me.

I still think Bertuzzi had a lot to do with Detroit getting to the WCF in 2007. That team had been pushed around by the tougher teams in the league prior to that season and Bertuzzi gave them a bit of a spine for the first time. His body slam of Dion Phaneuf during the Calgary series was a watershed moment for them. I really like what he brings. The recent hot streak leads me to believe that he hasn't lost the scoring touch. He was already doing everything else right, but he was snakebit pretty bad. Now, I think he's got a chance to really keep it rolling. The team could really use it, and it does my heart good to see him rewarded for all the hard work through it all when things weren't going well.

Awesome!!! BERT!!!! Bertuzzi is finishing now and it's a beautiful thing. The guy has so many tools and if he's got his scoring touch back, look out. Very encouraging. So happy to see him getting things going his way now.

What a shot by Bert! You can't roof a shot any better than that, and what an acute angle he put that in from. AWESOME WIN!

Dats had no time to do anything with the puck there, it would have been a miraculous shot if it had gone in. 4 on 3. Gotta put one in, fellas.

Cripes.

I think Bertuzzi and Leino look alike. Very happy for Bert getting that goal. He's been doing everything else right besides potting one so it's fitting he caught a break there.

Yeah!!!!!!

If the Wings do score here and tie it up, I wonder how many make-up calls the Ducks will get immediately thereafter.

Z, get yourself a new stick. Jesus.

Ericsson makes me nervous in his own zone. Yeesh.

Bad goal but the story continues to be the lack of offense. Not even getting good scoring chances now.

Abbie got all of Perry on that payback hit. Nice.

JUST SCORE A GOAL.

Down 1-0 feels like a huge hole these days. But I can't see the boys getting shut out at home again.

The first period was a great example of where the lack of skill has hurt the team. It's not always a great finish they need, sometimes it's the little things they aren't getting. Players are making passes that are a little off or they can't gather a stray pass without breaking stride and giving the defender those extra split seconds to adjust and get in position. Also, even Mickey mentioned that Lidstrom can't get a shot through from the point during the last Detroit power play. It really is one of the more confounding aspects of this season. He's really having a rough night tonight. He let a puck skip out of the zone that he should have handled no problem and has whiffed on a few clearing attempts.

Are you from the area? Because if you're not, you need to know he doesn't live in Detroit, he lives in a posh suburb north of the city. I'm not sure exactly where his home is, but I've seen him in and around Birmingham, which is where many Red Wings call home. It's one of the wealthier areas in the country, anything but miserable. I'm not sure what, "for a person who likes life" means, exactly.

The good news is, I didn't pay money to go see this game live! Good defensive effort, terrible offensive showing. I'd really like to see an actual W-L stat for teams that fail to convert on a 5-3 PP.