Red Wings Get Big Win in Detroit

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco continued his career trend of loosing in Joe Louis Arena as the Wings topped the Stars 4-1 on Monday night.

Drew Miller was first to tally a goal after beating out a Dallas defenseman for an iced puck. Then with 15 seconds left in the period Brenden Morrow tied the game. In the second, Darren Helm and Dan Cleary netted goals to push the Wings to a two goal lead, then in the third Todd Bertuzzi scored to cap off the night.

The Wings played a dominating game despite almost being matched in shots by the Stars. Most of the shots Dallas got on net were not clean shots, but Jimmy Howard managed to make several huge saves throughout the night. The Wings also saw big games from Kris Draper and Darren Helm, plus Miller had a good night and was rewarded with a goal. The Wings didn’t play any different than they have in their last few games, it was just that their “puck luck,” as Wings coach Mike Babcock calls it, improved as most of the bounces seemed to go their way tonight. The only sour note for the Wings was that they went 0-4 on the powerplay, but contrasting did go 4-0 on the penalty kill.

In Play! Man of the Game: Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi, coming off of his shootout winner, scored a nice goal off of a shot from the boards. Bertuzzi, who was also the Man of the Game on Saturday, has looked good in most of his games this season but seems to be finding the back of the net lately.

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Detroit Red Wings Rematch Dallas Stars

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

After a 3-2 loss to Dallas less than two weeks ago in Detroit, the Red Wings are looking for a win tonight against Dallas.

Dallas recently got two forwards back from injuries and is now healthy; the Wings are two to three months away from being healthy. The Wings have struggled as of late with scoring, having been shut out in its last two games at home. However, coming off a last minute goal and a shootout win in St. Louis, the Wings hope that scoring momentum will swing their way.

One of the issues facing Detroit has been the play of backup goalies. Starting with Dallas two weeks ago, Detroit has been beaten by backups, all of which registered higher than a 92% save percentage in the games they played. Wings’ forward Brad May scored his first goal of the season in the last game against Dallas, but it was called back. With May’s birthday being yesterday, he’ll be looking for a goal as a gift to himself tonight.

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Wings End Blues in St. Louis

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

After going down by two goals, the Wings battled back for a 4-3 shootout win, their first win against St. Louis this season.

David Backes cracked open the score sheet and four minutes later the Blues followed up with a goal by Roman Polak. Early in the second, Tomas Holmstrom scored a goal to put him only one short of 200 in his career. Early in the third, Kris Draper tied the game up a two goals, but Brad Boyes put St. Louis in the lead again. Going into the last minute of the game, Henrik Zetterberg bounced the puck of a defender and into the net to tie the game.

In a shootout it came down to four shooters after Datsyuk and Andy McDonald scored. T. J. Oshie, the Blues forth shooter, beat Jimmy Howard but lost control of the puck. The Red Wings questioningly put Todd Bertuzzi up as their forth shooter, but Bertuzzi slowly skated into the zone and dumped a backhander over Steve Mason for the win.

The Red Wings didn’t play as dominating of a game as they had in their last two, but the main difference came in that tonight the Wings looked like they were shooting to score goals rather than for deflections. They also got huge games from Zetterberg, Draper, Darren Helm, Patrick Eves and Todd Bertuzzi. The result was the Wings first victory in three games.

In Play! Man of the Game: Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi tied for a team high nine attempted shots and scored his first shootout goal of the season, it was his first attempt too. He was credited for three shots on goal, but one of his missed shots rang off the post and he also had a shot on a wide open net blocked by a teammate.

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Wings vs. Blues: Round Three

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

After being shut out twice at home, the Detroit Red Wings will travel into St. Louis tonight for their third game of the season with the Blues. It’s their first meeting in the States.

St. Louis is looking to expand their current win streak to three and, after beating the Wings twice in Stockholm, are hopeful about tonight’s game. The Wings, however, are just hoping the puck will end up in the net tonight. The Wings were shut out by Florida on Wednesday and by Calgary on Friday.

Despite the two shutouts, Detroit has actually played well lately, but needs to take better shots. They spend way too much time passing the puck or trying for deflections. Most of the 40 shots on goal in the last two games have ended up hitting a goaltender that couldn’t even see the puck. The Wings aren’t shooting for the back of the net, but rather for the front of it. That strategy just doesn’t work.

A big question for the Wings is the officiating in Friday’s game. Dan Cleary had two goals called back, both of which the referee had no justification for taking the goal away. This has been a theme for Detroit this season, having lost four games now because of good goals taken away by referees.

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Wings Shut-out by Atlanta

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

After coming off a loss Monday in Nashville, the Detroit Red Wings were shut-out 2-0 by the Atlanta Thrashers Wednesday in Detroit.

Atlanta opened the score sheet only five minutes into the game with a goal by Nik Antropov. Then in the second, Vyacheslav Kozlov added a breakaway goal on the powerplay.

Detroit outplayed the Thrashers in the box score, but on the ice the Wings looked lethargic and gave the puck away many more times than they were credited for. Although they amassed 40 shots on net, most of the Wings' shots hit Ondrej Pavelec directly in the logo of his jersey. In fact, Pavelec made less than five good saves the whole night, most of the time the puck simply just hit him. If the Wings play like this again on Friday, they’ll be blown out by Calgary.

In Play! Man of the Game: Kris Draper. Draper forced Pavelec to make two glove saves on close range slap shots in the third, but also looked good all game long. He also finished the night winning 75% of his face-offs.

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Detroit Unable to Stop Predators

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Coming off several good performances, the Red Wings just couldn’t muster the same effort against Nashville and lost 3-1 on Monday.
Jason Arnott and Martin Erat scored goals for Nashville, both on the powerplay to open the first two periods. Drew Miller would net his first goal for the season, and as a Red Wing, to get the Wings on the board. In the closing minutes of the game, Erat would score his second goal of the game.

The Wings were shut down by Nashville for the first two periods while the Predators were averaging 10 shots a period. While they did manage to put on a clinic in the third, it was too little too late and Pekka Rinne played a great third period. The Red Wings have struggled lately as it seems that every goalie they face has an outstanding game. Detroit did seem to struggle without Niklas Kronwall, who has been the best player on the Wings' defense for the last two weeks. Detroit will need to win both its remaining games this week or they will be burying themselves deeper in the standings than they might be able to get out of.

In an update on the Kronwall situation, Montreal enforcer Georges Laraque, who kneed Kronwall and injured Kronwall's knee for the next four to eight weeks, was suspended today for five games.

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Detroit vs. Nashville November 23

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will play the Predators in Nashville tonight. Neither of these teams has played each other yet this season. Last season, Nashville bested the Wings in the season series.

The Red Wings are coming off a shootout win in Montreal on Saturday while the Predators are coming off five straight wins, the last two being in a shootout. In its last three games, the Red Wings have played well despite a pair of losses.

The biggest issue facing the Wings is the loss of Niklas Kronwall, who will miss four to eight weeks after being kneed on Saturday. While this is bad, originally is sounded like Detroit was expecting Kronwall to miss as much time as Johan Franzen, so the news that Kronwall could be back around Christmas is good. Detroit will need its top defensive line to step up tonight. While the offense has looked good, both Brian Rafalski and Nicklas Lidstrom have struggled in the last three games. With Kronwall out, look for Rafalski to see some time with Brad Stuart and Lidstrom to play with Jonathan Ericsson.

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Wings top Canadiens on Road

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Red Wings’ 3-2 shootout victory in Montreal was overshadowed by the injury sustained by Niklas Kronwall in the first period.

Brad Stuart scored the Wings first goal during the second leg of an unusual triple minor given to Georges Laraque (four minutes for high sticking and two for tripping). Later in the first, Pavel Datsyuk would score, again on the powerplay, on a shot-pass from Brian Rafalski. The game remained 2-0 until Montreal's Mike Cammalleri tallied a pair in the third, the first of which came only nine seconds into the period. Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the shootout.

The big news of the game was the injury sustained by Kronwall, which is likely going to be the talk in the NHL for the next several days. After recklessly drilling Darren Helm in the mouth with his stick, Laraque skated down the ice and maliciously kneed Kronwall, who did not return to the game. Laraque was only given two minutes for tripping Kronwall, but should be suspended sometime in the next 48 hours for the play.
In Play! Man of the Game: Brad Stuart. Stuart netted his second goal of the season and recorded 10 shots in the game, eight of which came in the first period. Stuart played a great game, but will likely feel it in his arms tomorrow.

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Detroit vs. Montreal

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Tonight, in Montreal, the Red Wings will play the Canadiens for the only time this season.

Montreal is coming off a 3-2 win in Washington, last night, where they were outplayed by the Capitals but managed to steal a win. Detroit is coming off a loss, also last night, where they outplayed the Panthers in Detroit but were stopped in overtime. Even though this game is being played in Montreal, Detroit actually traveled a shorter distance than Montreal last night to get to the Bell Centre.

With Carry Price having been in net last night, it is possible that Montreal’s backup Jaroslav Halak could be in net tonight. Detroit has played backups in both of its last games and lost. “It was just a case where they put in their backup and he had his best night of the season,” Wings’ coach Mike Babcock told media last night.

Montreal has struggled this season and is not known for their goaltending. If the Wings play like they did last night and can get another 40 shots on goal, they will likely walk away with a win today.

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Panthers Grind Out Wings in Detroit

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Despite completely outplaying Florida, the Detroit Red Wings lost to the Panthers Friday in overtime.

After a goalless first, Pavel Datsyuk scored his fifth goal of the year on a short powerplay opportunity. In the third, Florida scored off a pass that redirected off of Chris Osgood to the stick of Stephen Weiss in the crease. Only 40 seconds into overtime, Bryan McCabe blasted a one timer by Osgood.

Detroit simply dominated this game and shouldn’t be happy with the fact that they only will walk away with one point. Darren Helm, who played a great game, came up with nothing despite two breakaways. Including blocked and missed shots, Detroit fired 75 pucks at Scott Clemmensen. Including blocks and misses, Florida only managed 39 shots. This should have been a blowout for the Wings, who play again Saturday in Montreal.

In Play! Man of the Game: Scott Clemmensen. Clemmensen posted a .975 save percentage and made 39 saves. Clemmensen also psyched Darren Helm into loosing the puck on his first breakaway, and made the quick save on Helm’s second opportunity.

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Red Wings and Stars November 18

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Tonight the Dallas Stars come into Detroit to play the Red Wings. It is the first meeting of these teams this season.

Detroit comes into tonight on a three game win streak, coming off a 7-4 victory Saturday against Anaheim. Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg has four goals and nine points in his last three games. Jimmy Howard will be starting for the Wings in goal. Howard has been in goal for all three of the Wings victories in this streak. Wings goalie Chris Osgood is still suffering from the flu. Marty Turco will start in goal for Dallas.

Detroit will need to continue with their offensive dominance that has been the characteristic of their recent success. Against Columbus and Anaheim the Wings looked as they did last season. With Howard struggling like he did against Anaheim, Detroit will need to have their offensive game going if they are going to continue their win streak to four.

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ZETTERBERG, KOVALCHUK, MILLER NAMED NHL 'THREE STARS' OF THE WEEK

In Play Magazine

NEW YORK (November 16, 2009) -- Detroit Red Wings left wing Henrik Zetterberg, Atlanta Thrashers left wing Ilya Kovalchuk and Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Nov. 15.

FIRST STAR -- HENRIK ZETTERBERG, LW, DETROIT RED WINGS
Zetterberg led all scorers with nine points (four goals, five assists), tallied two game-winning goals and recorded a +5 rating, helping the Red Wings (10-5-3) post three consecutive victories. Zetterberg notched a pair of assists and a +2 rating in a 9-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Nov. 11 and tallied the game-winning goal, an assist and a +2 rating in a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks Nov. 12. Zetterberg completed the week by posting a career-high five points (three goals, two assists), including the game-winning goal, in a 7-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks Nov. 14. Zetterberg scored all three goals in the third period in notching his fourth career hat trick. The 29-year-old Njurunda, Sweden native leads the Red Wings in scoring with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 18 games.

SECOND STAR -- ILYA KOVALCHUK, LW, ATLANTA THRASHERS
Returning to action after missing six games with a foot injury, Kovalchuk ranked second among NHL scorers with eight points (three goals, five assists) as the Thrashers (10-6-1) won three consecutive games. Kovalchuk recorded a goal and two assists in a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers Nov. 12, notched four points (two goals, two assists) in a 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings Nov. 13 and tallied an assist in a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 15. Kovalchuk is off to the fastest start of his eight-year NHL career with a club-leading 12 goals in his first 11 games.

THIRD STAR -- RYAN MILLER, G, BUFFALO SABRES
Miller posted a 3-0-0 record with a 1.30 goals-against average and .953 save percentage, helping the Sabres (12-4-1) open a five-point lead in the Northeast Division. Miller stopped 28 shots in a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 11, turned aside 25 shots and three of four shootout attempts in a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames Nov. 13 and made 29 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Nov. 14. Miller improved to 12-2-1 with a League-leading 1.77 goals-against average, a .939 save percentage and two shutouts in 15 appearances.

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Red Wings Top Ducks in 7-4 Night

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings came out fast and hard in an attempt to take advantage of the fact Anaheim played last night. Despite walking all over the Ducks for the first two periods, it was the third period that really marked the game.

Dan Cleary broke the score sheet in the first period. Brian Rafalski put another goal up for Detroit with only seconds left in the first. Corey Perry scored the only goal of the second period. Bobby Ryan tied the game up in the third and from that point forward it just wasn’t good to be a goalie. After Ryan, the goals in the third were Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit (D)), Joffrey Lupul (Anaheim (A), Henrik Zetterberg (D), Ryan Getzlaf (A), Zetterberg (D), Darren Helm (D), and Zetterberg (D).

It was a bad night to be a goalie, but a good night to be a shooter or to be in the stands at Joe Louis Arena. The third period was so exciting that “the wave” made its first appearance of the year in Detroit. The Wings succeeded in getting lots of shots at Jonas Hiller, many of the shots were redirected helping them find a way behind him.

Jimmy Howard did not look great in net for the Wings, but managed to grind through, not allowing Anaheim to score any unanswered goals in the third. For the second time in three games the total goals scored made double digits, again Detroit came out on top and is now on a three game win streak.

In Play! Man of the Game: Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg had three goals and two assists including the Game Winning Goal. Zetterberg also took his second penalty of the year in the game.

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Red Wings Welcome Ducks to the Joe

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will play the Anaheim Ducks today at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings are coming off of back to back wins. In those two games the Wings have scored 12 goals. Niklas Kronwall has three goals and an assist in his last two games. On Thursday, Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg scored goals, both had been held goalless in Detroit’s 9-1 win on Wednesday.

Anaheim comes into Detroit off of a shootout loss in Columbus on Friday. The Ducks are 2-2-2 since loosing four games of a six game home stretch in the end of October.

This is the first meeting between the Wings and Ducks this season. The Ducks have struggled without Chris Pronger, who was traded over the summer to the Flyers. Detroit will need to get pucks on net if they plan on winning. The Ducks are hurting defensively and are involved with a goalie crisis with Jean-Sebastien Giguere threatening to walk out if he’s not the starter, putting Jonas Hiller under a lot of pressure to maintain his starting position. It is likely Hiller will start as Giguere played Friday. Anaheim is also not well rested having played to a shootout Friday.

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Steve Yzerman Ceromonial Puck Drop + Wings Post Game Interviews

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

November 12, 2009 Post game interviews with Red Wings Nick Lidstrom, Jimmy Howard, Head Caoch Mike Babcock and newly aquired Drew Miller. In the 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, Wings goalie Howard recorded his first NHL point.



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Red Wings Win Back to Back Games

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings stole a 3-1 win from the Vancouver Canucks only 24 hours after topping Columbus 9-1.
Tomas Holmstrom broke onto the score sheet late in the first to put him only two goals short of 200 in his career. In the second period, Mason Raymond scored on the powerplay to tie the game up. Midway through the third Henrik Zetterberg shoveled a backhander over the shoulder of Roberto Luongo for the game winner. Niklas Kronwall would add an empty-netter with an assist by Jimmy Howard, Howard’s first NHL career point.

The Wings were simply out played, out matched, and out worked by the Canucks. Luongo, who had his first start back from a broken rib, did not look outstanding in net. Howard, on the other hand, played an excellent game. The one positive note on Detroit’s defense was that they managed to avoid allowing the Canucks second chance opportunities. They also held Vancouver to only 6 shots in the third period.

In Play! Man of the Game: Jimmy Howard. Howard made 31 saves tonight, having come off of a 25 save night yesterday giving him 56 saves in the last 24 hours. He also got his first NHL career point and looked great all round in net tonight.

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Red Wings Almost Net 10 in Columbus

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Detroit came into tonight trying to recover from a horrendous loss in Toronto and managed a 9-1 victory against Columbus. Every Red Wing that scored tonight netted their third goal of the season.

Dan Cleary opened scoring for Detroit in the first period. Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, and Niklas Kronwall would soon follow. Rick Nash scored Columbus’ only goal to make the game 4-1 halfway though the second, but Todd Bertuzzi and Ville Leino would both score within a minute of each other before the period ended. Kronwall added a second goal in the third and Justin Abdelkader scored twice in the third.

The Wings came out and simply just took advantage of a Blue Jackets team that didn’t want to play defense. Columbus let the Red Wings free wheel the puck and do whatever they wanted.

The real victim of the night was Steve Mason. He let a few weak goals in, but on half the Wings tally’s he needed the support of his team, but never got it.

On the other side of the ice, Jimmy Howard looked uncomfortable in net and had problems setting himself up early but was always bailed out by his team. He did find his game by the end of the third.

In Play! Man of the Game: Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall recorded his third and forth goals of the season and an assist. Kronwall also rang the post and crossbar in the game and was robbed by Mason late in the third.

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RED WINGS CLAIM DREW MILLER OFF WAIVERS

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

...Former Michigan State Spartan To Join Team In Detroit On Thursday…

Detroit... The Detroit Red Wings announced today that the club has claimed forward Drew Miller off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 14 games with Tampa Bay this season he registered no points and two PIM.

Miller, 25, was originally a sixth round pick (186th overall) of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played in parts of three seasons with the Ducks before joining Tampa Bay for the 2008-09 season. In 67 career NHL games he has registered 15 points (6-9-15) and 25 PIM. He also appeared in 16 postseason games for Anaheim from 2006-2009.

Miller played three seasons at Michigan State University before joining the NHL. In 2005-06, he was named Michigan State’s Most Valuable Player and was selected as the CCHA’s best defensive forward. Drew’s older brother, Ryan, is the current starting goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres, while his cousins Kip, Kevin and Kelly have also played in the NHL. Kevin played with the Red Wings from 1990-91 to 1991-92 and again in 2003-04.


Drew Miller, Forward
Born Feb 17 1984 -- Dover, NJ
Height 6.02 -- Weight 178 -- Shoots L
Selected by Anaheim Mighty Ducks round 6 #186 overall 2003 NHL Entry Draft

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2003-04 Michigan State University NCAA 41 4 6 10 39

2004-05 Michigan State University NCAA 40 17 16 33 20

2005-06 Michigan State University NCAA 44 18 25 43 30

2005-06 Portland Pirates AHL -- -- -- -- -- 1 0 0 0 0

2006-07 Portland Pirates AHL 79 16 20 36 51 -- -- -- -- --

2006-07 Anaheim Ducks NHL -- -- -- -- -- 3 0 0 0 2

2007-08 Portland Pirates AHL 31 16 20 36 12 16 1 7 8 12

2007-08 Anaheim Ducks NHL 26 2 3 5 6 -- -- -- -- --

2008-09 Iowa Chops AHL 53 23 15 38 10 -- -- -- -- --

2008-09 Anaheim Ducks NHL 27 4 6 10 17 13 2 1 3 2

2008-09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 14 0 0 0 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL Totals 67 6 9 15 25 16 2 1 3 4

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Hall of Fame Induction

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Four of the greatest players to have played hockey were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9. Three of the 4 players at one point in their careers, wore the winged wheel for Detroit.

Brett Hall, third in the NHL for career goals scored, two time Stanley Cup Champion, and former Detroit Red Wings player was an easy choice for his first year of eligibility. In fact, all four players were first ballot inductees. Hull was one of the greatest snipers to ever play the game.

Brian Leetch, long time New York Ranger and the only American born player being inducted this year, is arguably one of the best defensemen to ever play the game. In 1992, Leetch became the fifth, and last, defenseman to amass 100 points in a single season. He finished his career with over 1000 points. He won his only cup in 1994.

Luc Robitaille, another magical goal scorer and one of the NHL’s greatest ninth round draft picks ever, was the only inductee to split his speech between English and French. Robitaille only hoisted the cup once in his career, that being with the 2001-2002 Detroit Red Wings, but played with the poise that should have earned him many more.

Steve Yzerman, sixth all time in points (1755) scored, over 1000 career assists, and a three time Stanley Cup Winner. Steve was the crown jewel of the induction. Yzerman currently holds the record for most NHL seasons as a single team’s captain. On November 9, he captained the 2009 induction class.

A reoccurring theme through the weekend and induction night itself was the Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings of 2001-2002. Only eight years ago that group graced the ice surfaces of the NHL, but already it is considered to be the greatest single team ever assembled. A team that held anywhere from 5-15 future hall of fame players, only time will tell exactly how great of a team it truly was.

Many people thanked the Wings and the Illitchs, or at least referenced to the dynasty that they created in Detroit. Some year there may be a whole hall dedicated to the 2001-2002 Red Wings, but for today we must only look back to November 9, the night that many people have said was the 2001-2002 Red Wings Hockey Hall of Fame Induction.

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Red Wings Blown Out by Toronto

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Detroit saw their three game win streak snapped in Toronto on Saturday in a 5-1 loss against the Leafs.

Toronto stuck first with a snapshot from Wayne Primeau that beat Chris Osgood. Then with less than 30 seconds left in the first period, Phil Kessel scored on a redirecting puck that bounced off multiple players before rolling through Osgood’s five-hole. Toronto’s Jeff Finger scored in the second. Primeau, Kessel and Finger’s goals were their first of the season. Dan Cleary put Detroit on the board with his 100th career goal on a breakaway before Toronto scored two more goals.

Toronto did a good job of blocking shooting and passing lanes. Detroit left lanes open and allowed Toronto full access to Osgood. The result was a game they never had a chance to win. The worst part of the game for the Wings came when forward Jason Williams suffered a broken leg when his skate caught a grove in the ice while he was falling and was trapped underneath him when one of the Leafs fell on top of him.

In Play! Man of the Game: Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson made 35 saves on 36 shots. Recording a save percentage of .972.

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Budd Lynch Celebrates 60 Years with the Red Wings - The Interview

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

In Play! Magazine sits down for an exclusive one on one interview with Red Wings PA announcer and hockey historian Mr. Budd Lynch.

The interview is in depth and broken up into three segments.

In part one, Mr.Lynch drops the ceremonial puck to celebrate his 60 years with the Wings, then the interview begins.

Watch and listen as Mr. Lynch talks about WWII and how he came to work for the Wings.

Old time hockey fans will absolutely love this candid interview.

Budd Lynch Interview Part 1 of 3



In part two, Mr.Lynch talks about Clarence Campbell's suspension of "The Rocket" Richard and the ensuing riot in Montreal, the atmosphere at the old Olympia and his friendship with Ernie Harwell.

Original Six fans, you have to listen to this segment.
Budd Lynch Interview Part 2 of 3



In part three, Mr.Lynch talks about Steve Yzerman, the Production Line, NHL expansion into Europe and Mr. Lynch's view on fighting in the game.

Classic hockey at its best.
Budd Lynch Interview Part 3 of 3


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Red Wings Stop Sharks at 6 Wins

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Bobbleheads, Bud Lynch drops the face-off, a Wings third period comeback, and a 2-1 shootout win, there wasn’t much that tonight’s game lacked.

Budd Lynch ceremonial puck drop. Photo by AJ Petronzi/In Play! Magazine

San Jose opened scoring with a goal by Logan Couture, his first NHL career goal. That tally came in the late second period. Early in the third period Henrik Zetterberg stuffed a goal through Evgeni Nabokov off a Nicklas Lidstrom blast from the point. Chris Osgood would stand on his head throughout the rest of the third to force overtime.

Nabokov would return the favor in overtime by coming up huge on several multi-chance opportunities for the Wings. In the shootout, Osgood put up his best effort of the year stopping both San Jose’s chances. Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg pulled great dekes out of their bag of tricks and recorded goals in the shootout. Jason Williams was stopped by Nabokov who slid to the boards searching for the puck which he’d though had gone into the net.

Pavel Datsyuk Scores in the Shootout. Photo by Jack Rosenberg

The Wings played well in the latter stages of the game, but effectively stole a point from San Jose who played better throughout the game. The Sharks had won their last 6 games coming into tonight. The Wings did play the body tonight recording a team total of 32 hits, but only blocked 8 shots. Osgood stopped 34 of San Jose’s 35 shots on goal.

Henrik Zetterberg shootout game winner. Photo by Jack Rosenberg

In Play! Man of the Game: Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg recorded 3 shots on goal, one of which found its way to twine. He also gave the Wings a goal in the shootout with a great deke.
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Sharks visit Red Wings

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Tonight’s game will be between the San Jose Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings. Every fan in attendance will receive a Budd Lynch bobblehead at the game as the Wings will be celebrating the 60 years Lynch has worked for the organization.



San Jose has won their last six games coming into tonight. The Wings have only won their last two, but goalie Chris Osgood only allowed 1 goal in those two games. San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov was named the NHL’s third star for last week. Dany Heatley, who demanded to be traded from Ottawa in the summer, has seemed much more at home in San Jose and has 2 goals and an assist in his last 3 games.

Detroit will need the goaltending of Chris Osgood to be as good as it has the last two games if they are going to stand a chance against San Jose. While the Sharks gave away some offense in the Heatley trade, they have no shortages of goals and Nabokov will make scoring difficult. The Wings will also need to play the body like they did against Boston on Tuesday and block shots if they want to have their first three game win streak of the season.

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Red Wings Overcome Bruins, Osgood Earns 50th Shutout.

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Chris Osgood established a wall in front of the Wings' goal with a flurry of great saves while lying on his stomach in the first period. Boston never cracked that wall despite taking 29 shots, giving Osgood his first shutout of the year and the Wings a 2-0 victory.

The Wings opened scoring in the first with a power play goal by Henrik Zetterberg only two seconds into the man advantage. Tomas Holmstrom then added his, team leading, eighth goal on a drop pass from Pavel Datsyuk only two minutes before the first intermission. Before tonight, the Bruins had been the only team Holmstrom did not have a goal against.

Boston was sluggish on defense and seemed to give the flu ravaged Red Wings their space on the ice. Detroit did not return the favor, playing the body most of the night and frustrating the Bruins in their offensive zone by blocking shots. Goalless Bruins captain Zdeno Chara could have had several chances tonight on the powerplay, but lumbered around at the blueline and never stepped into a scoring position.

In Play! Man of the Game: Chris Osgood. Osgood made 29 saves, many of them in waves and highlight reel capable, for his 50th career shutout. He was helped out by the rest of the team which blocked 20 shots before they could reach Osgood.

Head Coach Mike Babcock talks to In Play! Magazine after a 2-0 shutout over the Boston Bruins Nov 3,2009


Tomas Holmstrom talks to In Play! Magazine after a 2-0 shutout over the Boston Bruins Nov 3,2009


Chris Osgood talks to In Play! Magazine after his 2-0 shutout over the Boston Bruins Nov 3,2009

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Bruins Visit Red Wings November 3

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

The Detroit Red Wings will play the Boston Bruins tonight in an original six match-up. It is the only time the two teams meet this season.

The Red Wings returned home Sunday from a five game road trip having improved their record to 5-4-3. Unfortunately the Wings did not return with Valtteri Filppula and Brad May. Despite the best efforts of the team, Jonathan Ericsson also caught the flu, but will likely play tonight.

Bruin’s goalie Tim Thomas, who is a Davison, Mich. native, will look to make a strong hometown appearance. Thomas, winner of last season’s Vezina and Jennings Trophies, won 6-3 last time he played in Detroit.

The Bruins have failed to win two games in a row this season; they also haven’t lost two games in a row either. They lost their last game. The Wings are looking to win a second straight game to start a two game home stretch before going to Toronto on Saturday for the Hall of Fame Weekend. Detroit’s trick to success will be to pommel Thomas with pucks all night.

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Red Wings Win to End Road Trip

By AJ Petronzi
In Play Magazine

Calgary held the Detroit Red Wings to only 30 shots, but the Wings were able to walk away with a 3-1 win to finish their longest road trip of the year 2-1-2.

Daymond Langkow opened the scoring in the second period for the Flames, but the Wings quickly answered with goals from Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom within a minute and a half. Other than an empty net goal by Kirk Maltby, all the game’s offensive action came in that minute and a half of play.

Halloween was a scary day in the NHL with several players going headfirst into the boards in multiple games. At the Saddledome in Calgary, Todd Bertuzzi was kicked in the face early in the third period and Brad May was hit by Jason Williams’ stick in the eye while on the bench. While Bertuzzi returned to the ice, Brad May was taken to the hospital, where he will stay overnight for observation and will not fly back to Detroit with the Wings tonight.

There were not a lot of things Calgary could have done to change tonight’s outcome. After two periods, they had blocked 15 shots and had not spent a lot of time in their own zone. In fact, for much of the game the puck was stuck in the neutral zone. The Wings played a good game but could not get anything done on the powerplay.

In Play! Man of the Game: Chris Osgood. While not a highlight outing, Osgood finished with 20 saves and many of them came off multiple shot chances. The only goal he let in was batted out of the air and just missed Osgood’s shoulder.

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