Detroit Red Wings Updated: March 25, 2003

Team      GP  W  L  T OTL  GF  GA PTS 
DETROIT   75 44 19  9   3 243 187 100 
ST LOUIS  75 39 21  9   6 235 197  93 
NASHVILLE 75 27 30 12   6 178 190  72 
CHICAGO   75 27 32 11   5 182 199  70 
COLUMBUS  75 26 39  7   3 194 241  62 

Team News

by Andrew Loughrey, Detroit Correspondent

Sunday's loss was the Wings' first loss in seven games, and their only loss since the last time we chatted. Still, the Wings have won 14 of their past 16 games to remain atop the Western Conference with 100 points. Also, Detroit holds a convincing seven-point lead on division-rival St Louis, maintaining a perfect 4-0 record over the soon-to-be Central Division runner-up Blues. Even St Louis' acquisition of former Wings netminder Chris Osgood at the trading deadline could not combat Detroit's voodoo magic over the Blues. On Saturday, the Red Wings handed the Blues and Osgood a 4-2 loss. Heck, Steve Yzerman even recorded his first goal of the season after returning from knee realignment surgery. Granted, Stevie Y's goal was an empty-netter, but hey - a goal is a goal for any player returning from a long layoff.

Of course, Detroit's dominance over St Louis likely will not matter in this year's playoffs. The Blues are currently positioned to lose to Colorado in the first round of the playoffs. Instead, Detroit will end up playing Anaheim, Minnesota or Edmonton, depending on how each of those teams (and the Wings themselves) finish up the regular season. The real question, though, is not if Detroit will make it past the first round of the playoffs, but how will the Wings fare against the other elite teams in the West (i.e. Dallas and Colorado)?

Razzle Dazzle
This season's Red Wings squad is not all that different from last year's squad. Insert one hungry, veteran goaltender (CuJo) in the place of last year's hungry, veteran goaltender (Hasek). Allow for some younger players to gain experience playing defense (Bykov) while acquiring a couple of experienced blueliners to carry you into and through the playoffs (Woolley and Schneider). And finally, one of the major reasons Detroit has experienced so much success lately; put Brett Hull on a line with a couple of extremely talented youngsters, sit back, and watch the magic happen.

Last year's successful Two Kids and a Goat line of Hull, Pavel Datsyuk and Boyd Devereaux has been upgraded this year. Swedish rookie sensation Henrik Zetterberg has replaced Devereaux on the wing this season, and this line has exploded since the All-Star Break, piling up offensive numbers that would "shock and awe" any hockey fan living in Baghdad (or anywhere else in the world). In the past 19 games, this one line has garnered 73 points, helping propel Detroit to 16 wins and 33 points - out of a possible 38 - during this span. Not only can this line put up monster numbers in a hurry, but many of the goals scored are highlight reel-quality. With Datsyuk's amazing vision, Zetterberg's deft puck control, and Hull's one-time finisher, this line has the ability to put pucks in the net while the opposition seemingly stands around and admires the skillz.

Some may argue that this kind of skill, put together on one line, simply isn't fair. To them I say, "Muahahahahaaaaa..."

I Can't Do It Alone
Another fine reason for Detroit's recent success is the resurgent play of Curtis Joseph. Maybe CuJo was finally sick of hearing the Hasek comparisons. Maybe it really did take time for CuJo to adjust to the Red Wings' system and the expectations of not having to stop 40 shots a game. Maybe substituting a couple of veteran defensemen for the young guys that started out the season along the blue line has made CuJo's job a bit easier. Whatever the reason, Joseph is starting to compile the numbers that Wings management, coaches, players and fans were looking for when CuJo signed with Detroit last summer.

Over Detroit's past 16 games, Joseph has slapped together an impressive 10-1-0-0 record. In the 12 games in which CuJo played, he stopped 293 shots while facing 317 shots total, giving him a .924 save percentage and a goals-against average just over 2.00 (he was chased out of the net after two periods in Anaheim). Remarkably, CuJo gave up more than two goals in only two of his past 12 starts. Throughout his career, Joseph's rap has been that he can get it done during the regular season, but come playoff time, CuJo tends to fold faster than Superman on laundry day. This year, however, CuJo finds himself surrounded by a better supporting cast than the Blues, Oilers and Maple Leafs could ever provide. Now that Joseph seems to be adjusting to the lighter workload, he may finally be building the confidence he needs to excel through an entire playoff run. Scary stuff for Detroit's opponents; a good proposition for Red Wings fans like you and me.

Cell Block Tango
The addition of Mathieu Schneider at the trading deadline has been virtually seamless. Schneider has stepped into the lineup and transitioned into Detroit's system without a hitch. In my last report, I offered up my suggestion as to how Dave Lewis could configure his lineup after the trade. With only two exceptions, it seems Lewis and I are on the same wavelength. Hmm...I wonder if Lewis has a great fondness for bacon cheese fries and Scruffy Duffy's wings, too...

Regardless, the aforementioned Hull-Datsyuk-Zetterberg line has remained intact (only an enormous fool would break up this line right now). The Grind Line of Kris Draper centering Darren McCarty and Kirk Maltby has been reunited and is playing well together again. Steve Yzerman has returned to play the wing for Sergei Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan. And finally, the line of Igor Larionov, Luc Robitaille and Tomas Holmstrom is starting to generate some good offensive chances lately (thanks, in large part, to Holmstrom's best offensive output ever).

Along the blue line, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mathieu Dandenault are back on the top line. Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider are paired up as a ridiculously potent second line, leaving rookie Dmitri Bykov and Jason Woolley together as a respectable third defensive pairing. Seriously, almost any other team in the league would salivate at the chance to have Bykov and Woolley as their second D-line. Does anyone remember when Detroit's defensemen were considered questionable due to their inexperience? Me neither. Hey! What are you doing? No, don't go back and read my previous team reports...

Fun with numbers
0 - Number of losses Detroit has suffered with Steve Yzerman in the lineup this season (10 games)
1 - Combined number of goals Detroit scored during their two losses over the past 16 games
67 - Combined number of goals Detroit scored during their 14 wins over the past 16 games
37 - Combined number of goals opponents have scored on Detroit over the past 16 games

I Move On
Seven games left in the regular season. Four on the road. Three against playoff-bound teams. The Wings want home-ice throughout the playoffs but may not be willing to sacrifice rest time for top players. Only Dave Lewis knows how he wants to handle this situation, but I'm leaning towards resting the veterans during the last week of the season.

3/25 vs Minnesota (39-25-10-1)
3/27 at San Jose (27-35-6-8)
3/29 at St Louis (39-21-9-6)
3/31 vs Nashville (27-30-12-6)
4/3 vs NY Islanders (33-30-10-2)
4/4 at Columbus (26-39-7-3)
4/6 at Chicago (27-32-11-5)

Grand Finale
So here we are. One final regular season report left. Two weeks to go. Seven games remaining. The top three spots in the West are still too close to call. As of right now, division leaders Detroit, Dallas and Vancouver are all within one point of each other. Detroit, though, has one game in hand on the other two. Everything seems to be angling towards a Detroit-Dallas Western Conference Finals matchup. That means my sister and I will have some sort of cheesy bet going, once the playoffs start. You see, my little sister is a big Mikey Mo fan, so anytime the Stars and Red Wings play each other in the playoffs, we get a little non-monetary wager going. Maybe this year we will wager on the name of her first-born son (due right after the Stanley Cup finals). Please feel free to submit your suggestions for names to give to a son of a Stars fan by e-mailing me: motown@moonwaffle.com

I will print the best submissions in my final regular-season team report in two weeks (assuming I get any submissions - otherwise, I will just make something up). Don't miss it!