While they would much rather be playing for a chance in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Red Wings that are participating in Finland and Sweden are playing great hockey at the moment.  The United States is represented by Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, as well as forward Justin Abdelkader.  Howard has started each game for the USA, stopping 79 of the 80 shots he has faced en route to wins in two of the three games.

The Red Wings are represented on Team Sweden by Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, and Jonathan Ericsson.  Zetterberg has four assists in three games, while Johan Franzen has tallied a goal to go along with his three helpers.  Nicklas Kronwall also added a goal for Team Sweden.

Kyle Quincey is the lone Red Wing representing Team Canada, Valterri Filppula is playing for team Finland, and Thomas Tatar, currently on the roster for the Grand Rapids Griffins is skating for Team Slovakia.

I would love to know at what point it becomes weird playing against line mates and other teammates while playing for country.  The Red Wings fan in me is rooting for Team Sweden simply by the numbers.  The American in me won’t root against the red, white, and blue.

Whatever the outcome, it is good to see Red Wings continuing to play well.  Hopefully they can turn World Championship success into playoff success in 2013.

Cleary registered zero points and a -1 overall +/- in the five game playoff series against the Nashville Predators.  He also had only 33 points this season, his lowest season total since his first season in Hockeytown.  I would imagine that his ailing knee had something to do with the lower output.

Cleary says he wishes he had performed the surgery earlier.  Hindsight may be 20/20, but in this case it makes some sense.  Cleary spend most of the season hoping the knee would get better, and placed bandaids on it rather than fixing the actual issues.  The knee drainage took away the square footage, but not the immense pain, especially when making sharp cuts on the ice.  At one point during the season, Cleary had to get his knee drained every 10 days or so.

Some of Cleary’s quotes make it seem like a minor miracle he was on the ice at all.  “I have some significant issues going on,” Cleary said. “They’ll know more when they get in there. There are a lot of different things in there, there are some tears in there, loose cartilage, some bone on bone, a lot of fluid – the build-up of fluid was a major issue – so hoping that we can get it resolved.”

Umm.  Yeah.  That doesn’t sound like fun.

Cleary seems optimistic going forward, and should be ready to go when training camp opens up.

Godspeed Danny, we need you.

Me?  I’m somewhere in the middle.

I might be riding the fence a little, but in what aspect of anything can you put the entirety of the blame on one portion?

This team was really good.  You don’t win 21 consecutive home games in the National Hockey League without that trait.  This team was also flawed, albiet their biggest flaw was simply when most of the players were born.  Or was their biggest flaw that Pekka Rinne is really, really good?

The Red Wings outshot the Preds in their series, controlled play more often than not, yet found themselves as the first team eliminated from this years playoffs.  That doesn’t sound like a team who wasn’t good.  This the NHL, where the Presidents’ Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks lasted only six games against the 8-seed Los Angeles Kings and their fantastic goaltender.  Jonas Hiller nearly took the 8-seed Anaheim Ducks to the conference finals in 2009.  Hot goalies happen.  Hot goalie happened to the Red Wings.  But was that it?

I’ve seen many people pointing at the Darren Helm injury as the reason the Wings are playing golf right now.  Helm is a very good player, but his best work is usually performed on the penalty kill, something that the Wings were proficient in during the series.  He certainly would have helped, but was there really a drop off with Gustav Nyquist?

There are a myriad of things that can be said about this team.  And they are probably all true.

Yes injuries hurt.  Yes the Wings are getting old.  Yes Pekka Rinne is really good.

They all may contribute, or it is the NHL playoffs, and these things happen.  The Red Wings’ fan base is so accustomed to success, that any taste of the contrary is a little more bitter than most.  This was the first season in the last six the Wings’ failed to get out of the first round.  Sometimes perspective is needed, but fans of traditionally successful teams don’t want to hear that.

This team isn’t going anywhere.  They will be good again next year.  I just hope Pekka Rinne finds himself on the other half of the playoff bracket.  And Darren Helm’s arm doesn’t get split open.  And the Red Wings can find some of those shots in the back of the net.

Sometimes even really good teams just need to catch a break.

It truly is that simple.

The Nashville Predators took care of business to a tune of 2-1 against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, closing out their opening round series in five games.  Pekka Rinne, who was easily the best player in the series, stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced to continue his torrid play.  Rinne was beaten only nine times in the five game series, stopping 151 of the 160 shots he faced.

The Red Wings saved their poorest performance for last, as they looked lost and confused throughout most of the evening.  Detroit tied the game late in the second period, and appeared to have taken control of momentum heading into the final frame.  That feeling only lasted 13 seconds in the third period, as David Legwand wasted no time breaking the tie before most Nashvillians were back in their seats.

The Red Wings were unable to mount an attack of any substance, and bowed out of this years playoffs with little more than a hearty whimper (think Simba being chased by hyenas, without Mufasa to save the day).  This performance was unlike Detroit playoff runs of years past, a performance unlike their captain.

The immediate question on the mind of most Wings’ fans, is whether or not the C will remain attached to the number 5 sweater.  Is this the end for the captain?  Is this the end of an era?  Is this the end for Nicklas Lidstrom?

Fans of the winged wheel certainly hope not.

Mike Babcock said earlier this week that he would be surprised if Lidstrom retires after this season.  But is that coach-speak, or is that the truth?  Lidstrom is 41-years-old, and isn’t exactly getting any younger.  The Captain has nothing left to prove in the National Hockey League, so at this point it all comes down to his desire.  Can he handle ending his career with a loss in Nashville?  Is he content with his four Stanley Cups, and seven Norris Trophies?  Is he okay with his swan song being completely out of tune?

Only time will tell, and based on his lengthy NHL career, time is usually on his side.

Come back Nick.  Give us one more season.  Give us one more year of picturesque passes and puck-cycling on the power play.  Give us one more year to worship you.

Please.

We all wish we could have done things when we were younger.  Yeah I get it, I’m only 22, what do I wish that I could have done that I cannot do not?  Well, more than you think, but this isn’t about me.

This story is about a woman who loves hockey, and won’t stop playing.  Diane Pieknik is 65 years young, and continues to play hockey on a regular basis.  Most athletic achievements after the age of 65 require a golf cart and a caddy (unless of course you are Jamie Moyer), but I guess that’s why this lady isn’t most people.  Admittedly that may be because she is a lifelong Detroit Red Wings fan; we are a pretty special group.

Pieknik currently lives in the Fox Run Retirement Community in a relatively unknown (at least to yours truly) small town of Novi, Michigan.  In Novi, Diane plays left wing for her squad in the Novi Women’s Beginners Adult Developmental Hockey League.  At the beginning of her career, Diane mostly kept her game along the boards, but as her confidence grew, so did her repertoire.  The more she plays, the more time she spends in the middle portions of the ice.  I guess you could say she has transformed from Drew Miller into Tomas Holmstrom.

Thankfully she still has all of her teeth.

If you ever needed any source of motivation, you know have it.  Diane plays her games on Sunday afternoons, so next time you sit on your couch, feeling like you should be doing something, give this story another read.

We spend our Sundays on the couch.  Diane spends hers deking left, deking right, and going backhand to the stick side for another beautiful goal.  If only we could teach her to celebrate that goal by leaping up into the boards.

Probably not, though.  She is too busy preparing to skydive, another accomplishment she hopes to add to her already incredible life.

This is currently what is going on in Hockeytown.  The Detroit Red Wings do not look like the Detroit Red Wings, and are one game away from playing golf.

The Nashville Predators strolled into Joe Louis Arena like they owned the place, and walked out with a commanding 3-1 series lead.  The Predators obviously do not own JLA, but I’m not convinced that Pekka Renne doesn’t have at least minority ownership.

Rinne stood on his head again for the Preds, stopping 40 of the 41 shots, and made many of them look entirely too easy.  The Red Wings have outshot Nashville in each of their three losses so far in this series.  Nashville, on the other hand, beat Jimmy Howard thrice (well actually frice (quadrice?), but only three counted) on only 17 shots.  The Preds have been the model of efficiency, while the Red Wings’ efficiency has rivaled that of a Kim Kardashian tweet (just pick one).  Detroit had as many shots in the second period as Nashville did throughout the entire game, and lost by two goals.

Beyond the results, beyond the goals, this team just doesn’t look the Detroit Red Wings.  The winged wheel still looks great, unrivaled in the NHL, but the performance beg to differ.  This team looks hesitant, and even lost at times.  Kevin Klein had literally the ENTIRE net to aim at for his game winner, as three defensemen and goaltender Jimmy Howard all went after the puck-carrier as he went to the corner.  The Detroit Red Wings don’t play defense like that.

The Red Wings need to find themselves before Game 5 on Friday night, or they will be eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2006.

For the third consecutive time in the series, the team with less shots on goal, scored more goals, as the Nashville Predators took Game 3 from the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.  The Predators managed only 22 shots, but were able to beat Jimmy Howard thrice en route to their 3-2 victory.

Pekka Rinne was awesome again for Nashville, stopping 41 of the 43 Detroit attempts.  Rinne was beaten only by the two Detroit superstars, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, including Z’s no-look shot attempt to bring the Wings within one in the final minute.

A continued issue for the Red Wings in this series has been their inability to stay out of the penalty box.  As good as the penalty kill had been coming into this game (12 for 12), the NHL’s best power play can only be contained for so long.  Shea Weber finally found the crack in the Wings’ penalty killing armor when he put home a rebound to give the Predators their initial 1-0 lead.

Weber was greeted by the Joe Louis Arena crowd rather hostilely, as the home crowd showered him with boos each time he touched the puck.  The home fans still haven’t forgotten what Weber did to Zetterberg in Game 1.

The Red Wings put together a strong final push in search of the equalizer, but could not unleash their inner Chicago Blackhawks.

Someone could justifiable say that the best team has lost each game of this series.  So hopefully, you know, the Red Wings play like crap in Game 4.

The Red Wings penalty kill has found a way to stymie the top-ranked power play of the Predators throughout the first two games of the series.  Which is seemingly very helpful, considering Detroit can’t seem to stay out of the box.  After forcing the Preds to go zero-for-six on the power play last night, the Red Wings’ penalty killers again held serve.  Detroit killed off all six penalties tonight, including 30 seconds of a 5-on-3 situation.

Todd Bertuzzi set the tone for Detroit tonight when he dropped the gloves against Preds’ defenseman Shea Weber early in the first period.  Bertuzzi, perhaps the only “grinder” on the Detroit roster, wasn’t going to put up with Weber attacking his teammate at the end of game 1.

The key to this series so far has been to get less shots on goal than your opponent.  Nashville won game one despite being outshot 37-26.  Not to be outdone, Detroit went ahead and won game two while being outshot 26-17.  Efficiency may be the name of the game in the playoffs, but you’d still like to see more than 17 shots on the road.

Jimmy Howard was awesome again between the pipes for Detroit, stopping 24 of the 26 shots, with a little help from the post.  The game winner for Detroit came in a rather unconventional way.  Brad Stuart drove the puck into the corner and simply threw one in front of the net that bounced off Johan Franzen‘s unsuspecting calf and into the back of the net.  The Red Wings sat on the subsequent 3-1 lead, and with a little luck, hung on to tie the series.

This series will resume at the Joe on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Wings were beaten by the Nashville Predators 3-2 in the first game of what promises to be a great series in their first round matchup.  Two of the three goals for Nashville came via deflection, including one that was deflected in by Gabriel Bourque when Matthew Halischuk appeared to be simply shooting the puck into the offensive zone.  Despite the hard luck, the Red Wings had their chances that including multiple sprawling saves from Predators’ goaltender Pekka Rinne.  Multiple times the puck was sitting in the crease, yet multiple times the Wings were not able to get their stick to it.

The Red Wings outshot the Predators 37 to 26, and completely dominated play at times.  Detroit completely turned the game around after a lethargic first period, and looked like the better team everywhere except the scoreboard.

Nashville came into this series with the top-ranked power play in the NHL, but Detroit was able to keep the Preds off the score in all six of their power play chances.  The Red Wings must continue their stellar play on the penalty kill in order to win the series.

The biggest loss for Detroit was not the final score, but losing Darren Helm for the remainder of the playoffs.  Helm was playing in his first game back from a knee injury that sidelined him for the last month of the regular season, and played only 8 minutes before having to leave for good.  Helm took a skate to the arm in an awkward sequence with Preds’ forward Alexander Radulov.  The skate cut a ligament in Helm’s arm, and had to be surgically repaired.

The Predators’ win was completely marred by a dirty, uncalled for cheapshot from defenseman Shea Weber.  In the dying seconds of the game, Weber sucked-punched Henrik Zetterberg in the back of the head before grabbing Zetterberg by the head and slamming his head into the glass.  How this offense was not suspension-worthy is beyond me.

The Red Wings will look to even the series on Friday night in Nashville.  The puck drops at 7:30 Eastern.

1.  Get healthy.  The Red Wings were arguably the best team in the NHL for a two month stretch earlier this season before the injury bug set in.  Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Danny Cleary, Darren Helm, and Jonathan Ericsson (among others) all missed significant time due to injuries.  Of the aforementioned group, Danny Cleary and Darren Helm are still uncertain as to their status to play in this opening round series.  Darren Helm being on the ice is especially crucial for the Red Wings considering the Predators maintained the best power play in the NHL this season.

2.  Jimmy Howard Needs To Return To His All-Star Self.  Howard had his best NHL season to date in 2012, and he must recover his midseason form if the Red Wings plan on advancing.  Howard has the second best goaltender winning percentage in the NHL (behind only Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins) with 35 wins in his 57 starts.  His form has struggled of late, partly due to his injuries, and partly due to the injuries around him, and he must be better for the Wings to advance.

3.  Superstars Gotta Superstar.  You can argue specifics all you want, but you cannot argue that Pavel Datsyuk is one of the best, if not the best, players in the NHL.  When Datsyuk plays well, the rest of the Red Wings usually follow suit.  Datsyuk finished the season with 67 points in 70 games, while teammate (and possible linemate) Henrik Zetterberg led the team with 69 points.  Both of these guys need to be on top of their respective games for the Red Wings to advance.

4.  Special Teams Must Hold Their Own.  The Predators have statistically the best power play in the NHL, in large part due to their great defensemen Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.  The Red Wings must improve on their 18th ranked penalty kill in order to stop these guys.  The Predators also have a better penalty kill than the Red Wings have a power play.  The special teams don’t need to be special for Detroit, but they do need to play well.  As long as special teams don’t lose the series for the Red Wings, they should be fine.

5.  Must Stay Out Of The Penalty Box.  The Red Wings were the third best 5 on 5 team in the NHL for both goals for, and goals against.  The Red Wings scored 55 more goals in 5 on 5 hockey than their opponents, while the  Predators were only plus 8.  The Red Wings would be wise to try and keep all ten skaters on the ice.

This may sound like a bit of a tall task for the Red Wings considering their run of play as of late, but the Predators haven’t exactly been on top of their game either.  Both of these teams are more than capable of winning this series and potentially hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup.  If the Red Wings take care of these five aspects of the series, I believe they can, and will win and advance.