FINAL SCORE (Hi Mr. P!)
3-2 Red Wings
THE RUNDOWN
It sure as hell wasn’t pretty, which makes the ending even more fitting. The Captain unleashes a blast, Miller re-directs it and Dan Cleary winds up on his ass on the ice. That’s the kind of Red Wings hockey I like to see. I’m willing to look past the slow, sluggish play in the first two periods and realize that the Wings gutted out a tough road win against a team looking to avoid a four game skid, which is most definitely not something to sneeze at. Perhaps more refreshing, though, was to see the Wings really buy in to the coaching system, even when their legs weren’t answering the bell. They stayed patient and trusted the game the coaches called for, and it paid off late in the third with Salt n’ Peppa’s crippling changeup from Lidstrom’s stick. I mentioned it before the game, but playing in Edmonton gets me on edge. Tonight was no different, which is why I’m happy to see the guys get on the bus and take their pair of points straight out of Edmonton.
It’s late, so we’ll eschew the bullets and get right to the good stuff.
HORSECOP OF THE GAME
Drew Miller. He’s been kryptonite to the Oil so far this year, scoring the game winner in each of the first two meetings. Really loving his play and his work ethic right now, and homeboy is earning every dollar the Wings are paying him. Awesome stuff.
RIGGY SHITBOX OF THE GAME
The Rig. Gets caught pinching to spring that hippie Ryan Jones on the first goal, and then takes a penalty that leads to a power play goal for Edmonton right before the end of the second. Just an all around waste of space tonight (SURPRISE!).
perfect. i left the room to move some laundry, came back and saw it was 1-1 instead of 1-0, and asked my hockey novice gf (who still appreciates the shitbox and his struggles) this question: “do i need to rewind it to see what 52 did wrong?”* she admitted she expected edm to score before they did**, but couldn’t be specific as to what he’d done wrong.
she did know he’d been on the ice, however. i quickly pointed out to her that he was caught pinching, then lost any semblance of coverage as he tried to backcheck, we laughed, life went on. then he took that penalty and i almost lost my mind.however, this was a grinding late-december road win that we’re all supposed to forget about later. so let’s do it, 52 included. i’ve seen like 99.6 percent of their season, and i’ve decided that if they can stay healthy, maybe even add a piece***, and not upset the hockey gods, we got a better shot than usual.
* note: i didn’t even know he was on the ice when i walked back into the room. it just smelled like a shitbox.** a quick learner
*** or honestly, maybe not, unless it’s a guy with size (front or back) who can actually play. no dustin penners, etc., please!
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