Calgary a Fitting Halloween Location for Red Wings

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will play tonight against Calgary, a team that has a reputation for dirty play against Detroit over the last couple seasons. With Calgary Captain Jarome Iginla taking fire for a potentially dirty hit early this week, the Pengrowth Saddledome may prove to be the Red Wings' personal house of horrors.

The Wings will miss the services of Valtteri Filppula who will sit his first game after suffering a broken wrist on Thursday. Calgary forward Dustin Boyd missed practice today with the flu, but skated by himself after the Saddledome had cleared. It is not clear if he will play tonight.

The Flames will be looking to continue with the offensive production that has been the mark of their season. The Wings will be looking to continue their nearly 40 shots on goal average for the last three games. Chris Osgood will get the start tonight and will need to be good if the Wings want a shot making it back to .500.
Post your comments

           CLICK ON COVER!

Red Wings Shot Down in Edmonton

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings just couldn’t cap off a remarkable comeback and lost 6-5 in a shootout to Edmonton.

Edmonton opened the game with goals from Jean-Francois Jacques (0:42), Dustin Penner (9:09), and Ales Hemsky (12:24). Ales Hemsky added a second goal only 58 seconds into the second period on a breakaway.

Darren Helm would net his first career regular season goal to put the Wings on the board, but Shawn Horcoff responded a couple minutes later. Then Henrik Zetterberg played some pinball and sent the Wings to the dressing room only three goals down.

Somewhere during the second intermission someone told Patrick Eaves that his career is on the line this season and he played like it from that point on, recording an assist, his first point as a Red Wing, on Jonathan Ericsson’s goal and netting the tying goal on a misplayed puck off the stick of Darren Helm. Todd Bertuzzi also scored for Detroit.

In overtime Nikolai Khabibulin stood on his head and Jimmy Howard did likewise on the opposite end of the ice. In the shootout, Patrick O’Sullivan beat Howard off the post, but Howard came up big on the first two shooters. The Wings did little in the shootout, just skating in and dumping the puck into Khabibulin without effort.

The Wings dug themselves into a hole and then got out of it. Edmonton looked like the flu began to show its effects as the team just seemed to die off halfway through the third period. Unfortunately for Detroit, Valtteri Filppula suffered a broken wrist during the game and will miss the next six to eight weeks.

In Play! Man of the Game: Patrick Eaves. Finishing the game with a goal and assist and plus-3 on the night, Eaves put to rest some of his naysayers for at least tonight.

Post your comments

           CLICK ON COVER!

Red Wings and Edmonton - October 29

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Coming off their first road win of the season, the Detroit Red Wings will play in Edmonton in an attempt to add another road win.

Edmonton, who had been producing tons of offense this season, has been shut out in their last two games. Detroit has averaged 45 shots on goal in the last two games and is looking to continue to take large numbers of shots Thursday.

Nikolai Khabibulin, who has historically struggled against the Wings, will likely start Thursday’s game for the Oilers. Jimmy Howard, who is coming off two strong performances, will start for Detroit. Detroit coach Mike Babcock stated that it had been his plan to start Howard all along and was not a response to the bad play of Chris Osgood as of late.

If Detroit plays in Edmonton like they did in Vancouver and Colorado, they will have a good shot at winning. However, they will need to make sure that Edmonton cannot break out into the offense that highlighted the beginning of their season and led to their 6-2-1 start.

Post your comments

           CLICK ON COVER!

Red Wings Finally Win 5-4 On The Road

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings started off on the wrong foot tonight in Vancouver. Chris Osgood allowed two bad goals on 4 weak shots and was pulled. Jimmy Howard was left to pick up the pieces. Howard made several great saves and held Vancouver off long enough for Tomas Holmstrom to score a goal off a tap pass from Henrik Zetterberg late in the first period.

The second period started with a freak accident involving Vancouver forward Ryan Johnson, who tripped over himself skating around Nicklas Lidstrom and went head first into the boards. Johnson was attended to on the ice before leaving on a stretcher. Other than a fight between Brad May and Tanner Glass, the second period held a somber tone.

However, early in the third period the offense exploded with goals from Niklas Kronwall, Mathieu Schneider, and two from Pavel Datsyuk, all in the first 10 minutes of the period. On a 5 on 3 powerplay, Henrik Sedin tied the game at 4 a piece, but with 5 minutes left Jason Williams scored on the powerplay to give the Red Wings their first road victory of the season.

The Wings kept lots of pressure on Roberto Luongo who has struggled this season when facing large numbers of shots.

Good news came when it was announced that Ryan Johnson was not as badly injured as he had appeared to be after colliding with the boards.

In Play! Man of the Game: Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk had two goals on 4 shots and an assist. He also finished with a plus-3 on the night.

Post your comments

           CLICK ON COVER!

Detroit Red Wings in Vancouver

by AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will face off against the Vancouver Canucks tonight in an effort to break their winless streak on the road. Vancouver has returned from a rough start and, for the second game in a row, Detroit will face off against a hot goalie.

The key for Detroit is going to be to shut down Vancouver offensively. This shouldn’t be too difficult as they have struggled in that department since losing Daniel Sedin to a broken foot. Bound to have a great game is former Red Wing Mikael Samuelsson, who currently has five goals and five assists for the Canucks, more points than any Red Wing has amassed this season.

Detroit will need to put a lot of pressure on Roberto Luongo, who was pressured heavily in Vancouver’s first two games, giving up 6 goals in each. Applying pressure tonight could give the Wings a big win on the road, and the first of their season.
Post your comments

CLICK ON COVER!

Red Wings Still Winless on the Road

AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings lost another game to move to 0-4-1 on the road.

Detroit opened scoring in the 2nd period when Kris Draper stuffed the puck through Anderson on a backhand; it was Draper’s 150 career goal. Colorado’s Galiardi tied the game with 5 minutes left in the 2nd.

Todd Bertuzzi scored a goal, but the goal was called back by virtue of referee Brad Watson claming he intended to blow the whistle before the puck was in the net. This would have been impossible since Bertuzzi stuffed the puck straight into Anderson who was sitting inside the goal by his own free will. Watson was also involved in the bad goal called against Detroit that cost them the game in Phoenix on Thursday.

Colorado forward Chris Stewart scored a goal on Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard to give Colorado the lead. The goal would prove to be the game winner.

Detroit took the game to Colorado recording 49 shots on goal and only getting two by Anderson; one again was called back. Any other goalie in the NHL, other than Ryan Miller and Roberto Luongo, would have let far more goals in on 48 shots. Detroit failed to score a goal on eight powerplay attempts, the first time the Wings have failed to score a powerplay goal this season.

In Play! Man of the Game: Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi rightfully scored a goal, but had it taken away. He also played a strong offensive and defensive game, recording 3 shots on goal, two of which were quality scoring chances resulting in a goal called back and a post hit, which actually doesn’t count as a shot on goal.

In Play! also feels obliged to acknowledge the play of Craig Anderson, who will walk away with 48 saves and a .979 save percentage.
Comments

CLICK ON COVER!

Red Wings’ Mile High Rematch

AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will meet the Colorado Avalanche in the mile high city to bring revenge for the shootout loss at the hands of the Avalanche last Saturday; only the Wings will be relying on Jimmy Howard to lead them to victory.

Howard will be getting his second start of the season, the first having come in Sweden. He hasn’t seen action since Chris Osgood what routed by the Buffalo Sabers on October 13.

Photo by Jack Rosenberg/In Play! Magazine
If Detroit wants to end this loosing streak, they’re going to have to play 55 minutes in Colorado’s zone and keep Howard from seeing more than 10 shots. Otherwise they’re going to dig themselves a hole they can’t get out of.

Good news for the Wings is that last Saturday’s villain, Cody McLeod, will not play today; it will be the second straight game missed by McLeod after being hit in the eye with a stick on Wednesday.

Red Wings Dead In The Desert

AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk stormed into Phoenix and played like he hadn’t missed the last couple games. Datsyuk dazzled the crowd with several Datsyukian moves including one on Ed Jovanovski that (to borrow a great line from Mickey Redmond) still has Jovanovski fishing his jock-strap out of the rafters.

The Red Wings continued to produce on the power play, giving them at least one in every game played this season. The Datsyuk goal was an answer to a powerplay goal scored by the Phoenix Coyotes, the first that Detroit had allowed in nine chances. A highlight real pass by Datsyuk to the tape of Brett Lebda gave him a wide open cage to hit and the Wings a 2-1 lead.

Phoenix tied the game with two and a half minutes left on a questionable goal that was reviewed. In fact both of Phoenix’s goals were reviewed, but there was no question that the first goal counted. On the second goal, Chris Osgood was pushed into the net along with the puck, but the goal stood anyway.

In overtime, Wings forward Valtteri Filppula was robbed of a breakaway when the linesman failed to get out of the way and interrupted a pass. Almost immediately afterwards, Adrian Aucoin sent a weak wrist shot at Osgood that bounced off Osgood’s right pad and stick and wound up in the net.

In Play! Man of the Game: Pavel Datsyuk! Datsyuk came back from a two missed games from injury to net two assists and a couple takeaways; though in an effort of sportsmanship, Datsyuk should help someone find Jovanovski’s jock.

What's your take?

No More Lester B Pearson Award?

AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

While the Lester B. Pearson award may have a permanent residence in the personal trophy case of Alexander Ovechkin, it may not have a permanent name. There is speculation that the award may be changing names.

The reason? Toronto recently renamed its airport in honor of Pearson, who was a one of Canada’s most popular Prime Ministers. However, the National Hockey League Players Association’s (NHLPA) award may change to honor someone who had more to do with the players union.

In fact, the person who is proposed to be honored by the renaming is none other than Ted Lindsay, Hall of Fame forward for the Detroit Red Wings. Lindsay was very influential in the formation of the NHLPA, putting his career on the line to organize players to vote for its creation. The union was Lindsay’s dream and it would be fitting that its player award be named after him.

So maybe this year Ovechkin will not walk away with the Pearson Award, but very well might get the Ted Lindsay Award.

Red Wings and Avalanche go to Shootout

AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings took an early two goal lead, but in the third relaxed and let the Colorado Avalanche back into the game.

Colorado defensemen and Windsor native Ryan Wilson, or “Willy” as his friends Jason, Kevin, Dawn and Mike call him, made his hometown début, finishing the game +1.

AJ Petronzi talks with Windsor native Avalanche Defenseman Ryan Wilson

Detroit kept to their usual “only play 40 minutes” strategy, unfortunately they chose not to give a full effort in the third period.

Cody McLeod played a great game, scoring twice in the third to force overtime.

Craig Anderson, for Colorado, and Chris Osgood, for Detroit, were stellar in overtime and took the game to a shootout.

Anderson and Osgood both were less than stellar in the shootout. Jason Williams was the only skater for Detroit that put forth an effort. In the shootout, Williams scored for Detroit, but both Marek Svatos and Milan Hejduk made great moves and the Avalanche were rewarded with the win.

Photo by Jack Rosenberg/In Play! magazine

My pick for Player of the game: Cody McLeod, Two Goals and a fight.

Also Ryan Wilson, welcome home kid.

Post game interview with Detroit Red Wings head Coach Mike Babcock after a 4-3 shootout lose to the Colorado Avalanche.



Post game interview with Detroit Red Wings Captain Nicklas lidstrom after a 4-3 shootout lose to the Colorado Avalanche.



Post game interview with Colorado Avalanche Defenseman Ryan Wilson after a 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Red Wings and Avalanche

By AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Colorado Avalanche come to Hockeytown to face the Detroit Red Wings tonight. The Wings will not play Pavel Datsyuk on Saturday because of an upper-body injury.

While the old days of the bench emptying brawls between Colorado and Detroit are gone, the Wings need to get their season back on track and a win against Colorado, who are in 1st place in the conference, would silence a lot of critics.

Photo by Jack Rosenebrg/In Play! Magazine

Detroit, who are 3-3-0 going into tonight, have struggled on the road. With 5 away games in the next two weeks, Detroit will be looking to go into the trip above .500.

Look for Henrik Zetterberg to continue to produce offensively; he currently leads Wings with 6 points but only one goal. Also look for Kirk Maltby to be banging away for another goal; he’s off to a hot start and Kris Draper has been calling Malts “hot hands” since his goal Thursday night.

On local note...
Look for Windsor Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) graduate Ryan Wilson (#44) to suit up for the Colorado Avalanche. Wilson made his NHL debut Tuesday against the Boston Bruins.

FRANZEN UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

Detroit, MI…Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen today underwent successful surgery to repair the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The procedure was performed by Dr. William Clancy in Birmingham, AL.

The injury occurred during the Wings’ 3-2 victory over Chicago on October 8, in which Franzen scored the game-winning goal. He is expected to be out of the lineup a minimum of four months from the date of the injury.

In Play! Magazine

Red Wings King LA

By AJ Petronzi
Blog live from JLA
In Play! Magazine

The Red Wings took out Los Angeles when they walked out to a second period lead. The Joe was rocking but again fans complained about the addition of an organ at the game. Everyone was on their feet to watch, and applaud, a video shown after Nick Lidstrom netted his 1000th career point on a shot-pass deflection from Zetterberg.

The Wings gave up a goal midway through the third, but Kirk Maltby slammed a goal home shortly after to return the goal margin to two goals. The Joe went crazy.

The Wings finished with a full ice, empty net goal by Brian Rafalski in the closing seconds. It was an exciting night at the Joe and the Wings looked more like the team that everyone is familiar with.

In Play! post game audio with Head Coach Mike Babcock




In Play!post game audio with goaltender Chris Osgood




In Play! post game audio with Red Wings Captain Niklas Lidstrom
after registering his 1000th NHL point!

Red Wings See Red In Buffalo

Anthony Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings decided to take a couple days off and dress a little league team to take their place for tonight’s game. Unfortunately, that’s only what it looked like.

Buffalo, who had a season total of 4 goals going into the game tonight, scored 6 against Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard to more than double their season totals.

Osgood, who was chased from net after giving up 5 goals, was not responsible for Detroit’s troubles. The only consistency that the Wings displayed during the game was a total breakdown defensively.

The Wings need to prove themselves on the road; if they can’t, the extended road trip that begins next week is going to be a difficult one.

Detroit’s road game has been three horrifying showings; that is going to have to change if the Wings want to be around come post-season.

Darren Helm Goes Buffalo Hunting Tonight

AJ Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will sit Kris Draper in order for Darren Helm to make his first appearance of the season tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. Also starting tonight is Chris Osgood, who has preformed well in the last two games.

The offensive power of Detroit will be tested against by the Sabers, who have only allowed 3 goals against this season.

Look for Detroit to put pressure on Ryan Miller, Buffalo’s goaltender. The Wings did a good job of putting Jose Theodore under pressure Saturday and it paid off with a big win.

They will likely do the same tonight.

Red Wings Cap Washington Saturday Night

By Anthony Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals were topped by the goaltending of Chris Osgood and the defense of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Capitals, thanks to the Wings, have now lost three straight games, but when asked after the game, Ovechkin said he was not frustrated and that, “It happens.”

Detroit, who was playing their first game since loosing Johan Franzen to a torn ACL, did not look like a team that was concerned about offence.

The Wings are also not suffering from a lack of energy in the Joe Louis Arena. For the second game in a row, the Joe was packed and full of energy. It will be interesting to see if that energy will carry over when the Las Angeles Kings visit Thursday.

Click on links to to go to our facebook page for audio post game interviews with Jose Theodore, Brian Pothier and superstar forward Alexander Ovechkin.

Travel to Toronto With Ted Lindsay for Steve Yzerman HHOF Induction

In Play! Magazine is a proud supporter of the Red Wings Alumni Association.

FRANZEN OUT MINIMUM FOUR MONTHS WITH KNEE INJURY

Detroit, MI…Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee and expected to be out of the lineup a minimum of four months.

The injury occurred during last night’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in which Franzen tallied the eventual game winning goal during the second period.

In Play! Magazine

Red Wings Top Blackhawks

By Anthony Petronzi

The Red Wings took the first game in the season series against the Blackhawks and the Joe Louis Arena rocked all night long.

The game started with a new hockey tradition at the Joe. The Wings are going to have an organ at games where they play original six teams; however, the organ was a bit too much.

The energy in the Joe erupted in the first period when the new Red Wings Brad May and Hawks’ Radek Smolenak had words for half the TV timeout and duked it out as soon as the puck dropped. The energy after May won the fight never died away, even after Chicago scored the first goal early in the second.

The Wings and the Hawks are going to have some good, fun to watch games this season if this game was any indicator.

In Play! Magazine

RED WINGS SIGN VETERAN LW BRAD MAY

Detroit, MI…Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President/General Manager Ken Holland today announced the signing of forward Brad May to a one-year contract. In keeping with club policy, additional terms were not available.
May, 37, was Buffalo’s first round selection (14th overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He has played in 1,001 career NHL games with Buffalo, Vancouver, Phoenix, Colorado, Anaheim and Toronto.

May has scored four goals and 11 assists for a total of 15 points in the last five years.

In Play! Magazine

Red Wings’ Howard…?

By: Anthony Petronzi

Many fans around Michigan are questioning the goaltending of Jimmy Howard and asking whether or not he actually deserves to be in a Red Wings uniform.

Why wouldn’t Howard deserve to play for the Wings? With all the money the Illitchs have spent on his development, he has to be tested. This is the last year of his contract, so if he doesn’t make it, he’ll be gone come the end of the year or maybe at the trade deadline.

If Howard is still struggling at the end of October, then the Wings should look at picking up a free agent like Manny Legace.

In Play! Magazine

Red Wings Fight the Good Fight

By: Anthony Petronzi

A good cause comes to Joe Louis Arena on October 10th. While the Red Wings take on Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, the Wings will also be raising money to fight cancer off the ice.

The night’s events have yet to be released, but Coach Mike Babcock and commentators will wear the famous lavender stripped ties that have come to symbolize the Hockey Fights Cancer movement.

The NHL is hoping for fans to dig deep, and will be releasing a line of clothing in an effort to raise funds for the cause. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Wings will also be auctioning off game worn, and signed, items to support the effort.

To date, the NHL has raised over $10 million dollars to fight cancer.

In Play! Magazine

Red Wings Leave Sweden 0-2

By: Anthony Petronzi

Someone needs to tell the Red Wings that summer is over and that they aren’t playing drop-in hockey, because that’s what both Swedish games looked like.

Like Friday, the Wings came out and dominated the first period, but were nowhere to be seen afterwards.

That’s because St. Louis simply just outworked the Wings, who seemed content to give the Blues the space they needed to stickhandle with the puck and set up plays in the Wings’ zone. St. Louis, rather than let Detroit free wheel the puck, played the body and shut the Wings down inside the Blues’ Zone.

If you can’t set up plays, you won’t score many goals. The wings need to learn how to take the body, both offensively and defensively, or losing will become a theme for the season.

In Play! Magazine

Wings to Try Again in Stockholm

By: Anthony Petronzi

The Red Wings started out great in their season opener, but by the middle of the game, looked almost as shoddy as the ice conditions, which slowed the game down considerably.

There isn’t much the Wings should consider changing going into Saturday’s contest. I think the Wings are going to be in trouble if they let St. Louis control match-ups like they did in Friday’s loss.

The biggest problem for the Wings is that it looks like Derek Meech will play for Jonathan Ericsson (ankle) who left the game early. Though, if that is their biggest problem, the Wings should have high hopes for Saturday.

In Play! Magazine

Wings in Stockholm

By: Anthony Petronzi
In Play! Magazine

The Red Wings are in Stockholm and play the first of the two games with St. Louis Friday. While I do not like these European games, for the Wings or for any NHL team, many of the Red Wings seem to be excited about the opportunity.

Going into Friday’s game, Dan Rosen of NHL.com has made it clear that Andreas Lilja and Darren Helm are definite no-goes for the weekend. Lilja (post-concussion) is already on the IR and Helm (Shoulder) is likely to be joining him. The Red Wings also brought a third goalie, Daniel Larsson, as an emergency call up who will not play unless there is an injury to Chris Osgood or Jimmy Howard. Justin Abdelkader will likely as a healthy scratch.

For the Blues, Alex Pietrangelo, Cam Janssen, Derek Armstrong, and D. J. King look as if they will be scratched. Rosen doesn't give any reasons for the scratch of Janssen and Armstrong; however, Pietrangelo skated with King in practice, who is currently on the IR.