11/14 GDT: Hartford Wolf Pack @ Grand Rapids Griffins

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Hartford Wolf Pack (6-5-0-1) @ Grand Rapids Griffins (6-2-2-1)

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The Hartford Wolf Pack are in town to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins. Ironically, this is the first ever meeting between the two teams and one of only 5 Eastern Conference teams the Griffins will face. Hartford are a big, bruising team and have one of the highest penalty minute totals in the league whereas the Griffins are the least penalized team.

The highly touted Bob Sanguinetti, the Rangers first round pick in the 2006 draft, is off to a good start with 7 points for the season. Leino made a somewhat sluggish return against the Aeros and should be back to his best tonight. James Howard is hoping to return and is expected to get the start. Recalled defenseman P.J. Atherton might also be back in the line-up, probably at the expense of Sergei Kolosov.

Probable line-up:

Wilson - Abdelkader - Haydar
Ritola - Helm - Leino
Pare - McGrath - Emmerton
Lemieux - Oulahen - Mursak

Kindl - Galvin
Ericsson - Pyett
Stafford - P.J. Atherton

Howard
Larsson

Team Leaders:

Goals: Abdelkader (7)
Assists: Leino (9)
Points: Leino (13)
Penalty Minutes: Wilson, Abdelkader (21)

Notes:

• Jimmy Howard is expected to get the start after recovering from a bruised calf.
• Darren Helm is showing there’s more to his game than energy and hustle as he has 10 points in 9 games.

[ArcticWing 0]

Probable line-up:

Wilson - Abdelkader - Haydar

Ritola - Helm - Leino

Pare - McGrath - Emmerton

Lemieux - Oulahen - Mursak

Very interesting looking second line, more skillful than an average NHL third line . Wish that I could see the game.

[uk_redwing 495]

I want Downey.

[Coyote0106 2]

I wish we had Downey for this game. Hartford is a very physical team. Look at their amount of fighting majors, and well just PIM in general. 366 PIM in 12 games means 30.5 PIM/game. That is a ton. We better be prepared to play a physical game.

[uk_redwing 495]

If Downey and Tardif both play, I think we could expect a couple of fights.

[Johnny Law 15]

Very interesting looking second line, more skillful than an average NHL third line . Wish that I could see the game.

Very interesting... Anyone know if DET. could have any influence on the lines ? For example could Holland call up GR and say "Hey I want to see players A,B, and C in a line so put them together for a few games" ?

I'm not saying that is what is going on, just curios.

[skacore 2]

Very interesting... Anyone know if DET. could have any influence on the lines ? For example could Holland call up GR and say "Hey I want to see players A,B, and C in a line so put them together for a few games" ?

I'm not saying that is what is going on, just curios.

I'm sure they talk about things like that all the time, but in the end, the GR coach usually has the final decision

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Downey and Tardif in the line-up. No Ritola? Surely not a healthy scratch? Must be his turn for some minor injury.

Griffins down 1-0 just over midway through the first. Howard in net.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Griffins up 3-2 with 8 mins remaining in the third.

1. GR Galvin, (2) (Helm, Leino), 18:28

2. GR Helm, (3) (Kindl, Wilson), 6:31 (PP)

3. GR Kindl, (3) (Leino, Stafford), 12:00 (PP)

Shots 30-20 in favour of the Griffins.

Kindl, Leino and Helm with multiple point games!

[Coyote0106 2]

The ref was horrible! Hartford took a couple shots that were ugly, the ref let it go. Then we get a phantom hooking call. The ref blows the whistle for a penalty, a Hartford player goes to the box. He doesn't *****, or moan. Just straight to the box, the ref skates over, and kicks him out, and brings in a Griffin. WTF?

But as for our players:

Ericsson phoned in the first 2 periods. He wasn't skating, he wasn't making the passes. He was just lazy. He had 2 bad turnovers in one shift, and that led to the 2nd Hartford goal. He needs to play a full 60 minutes, period. You can't do that if you want to be in the NHL.

Helm had another big night. He made at least 2 BIG hits, and was involved in almost every shift. He was creating plays, and killing penalties. It was a good effort from him

Kindl also played a great game. He was really working the PP tonight, which is a good thing. He could still shoot a little more from the point, but that is alright. Good game for him.

Galvin had a tough night on D as well, but he's only a Griffin contract, so I wont say too much about him.

Haydar is day-to-day with a minor injury. It was good seeing Downey back on the ice. He hit a couple people, and Tardiff sacrificed the body alot to make the play. It was a great game by some, good game by most, and horrible game for a few. It was nice to see a win with the ref blowing the game.

Edited November 15, 2008 by Coyote0106

[dobbles 252]

hey everyone, no game day thread for tonight yet. wanted to post here....

i am a season ticket holder in qc. front row seats in the corner by the griffins entrance. i am going to try and take some pictures and will definitely let you guys know how the game looks.

[Coyote0106 2]

hey everyone, no game day thread for tonight yet. wanted to post here....

i am a season ticket holder in qc. front row seats in the corner by the griffins entrance. i am going to try and take some pictures and will definitely let you guys know how the game looks.

Awesome! Thank you. I can't wait.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Great recapCoyote. I swear I must have been out of it yesterday because I honestly thought Ritola wasn't playing, and yet he was.

And that would be great dobbles!

Score is 0-0 at the end of 1. Larsson in net, captain Haydar is back too.

Edited November 16, 2008 by Aussie_Wing

[Coyote0106 2]

Great recapCoyote. I swear I must have been out of it yesterday because I honestly thought Ritola wasn't playing, and yet he was.

You had me second guessing myself, too. I was driving home thinking "Ritola had a good game"...then after your comment I was like "Maybe we got a new #18"...

Good to know it was just us.

[dobbles 252]

don't have my pics uploaded yet, but my general thoughts after the game:

larsson looked pretty good. howard got lit up here last year a couple times, so it was nice to see larsson do well.

abdelkader looked good from what i saw. moved around very well and was always in good position for offense. i didn't notice anything great from the blueline. was really excited to see kindl and ericsson, but saw nothing of note.

lots of other great forward play. i noticed that the team would enter the zone with lots of speed, which caused the defense to play back some, and then get nice wristers off. it seemed to be a good strategy for generating chances.

helm i thought looked good though i didn't notice leino out there much.

the flames have had an awful PP, and a decent PK, so i am not surprised that there were no special teams goals. the grifs moved the puck on the PP pretty decent.