Jan 12 :: Wings to the Island to face The Others

On By mpetrella

Trust the Gorton’s Fisherman!



WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN?

The Red Wings head to beautiful, not-at-all annoying Long Island to take on the Islanders. Tuesday, 7pm. For more information about Long Island, visit this website.
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
1. The Red Wings wrap up their road trip. I was hoping for 7 out of a possible 10 points. They’ve got six. Now I want 8. I’m selfish like that.
2. Jimmy Howard finally gets a break after starting eight games in a row. It feels like, after these Jimmah performances, that Chris Osgood is on parole. Allowing three goals to the Islanders would be akin to moonwalking into a bank, with a name tag on, punching the teller, falling to your knees to await the police, and forgetting the money. On your first day out of jail. That was written under the (false) assumption that Osgood would get a turn after eight Tiberius starts in a row. NO SIR! Jimmah is back in. Make it nine.
3. This could be (coooooulllld be) the final game without Jonathan Ericsson. The sound you just heard was the combined excitement of my mother and Mrs. Chief, both of whom are madly in love with the hardly mobile Swede.
4. IT’S WINGS WINGS TUESDAY! Every Tuesday at Buffalo Wild Wings, you can get discounted chicken wings — they go perfect with Red Wings hockey, and there’s one right by my apartment.*
*Note, this is a continuing effort to take advantage of my extremely meager following to score some free chicken. It means endless love and devotion to BW-3. Get readin’, BW-3.
NOW WHERE WERE WE?
The last time the Wings and Isles played was March 27, 2009. The Islanders were 2-0 winners (lolwut?) on their way to drafting John Tavares first overall. Osgood was in net, and the only player that was injured was Andreas Lilja.

OH, HI AGAIN 
There are no former Wings on Long Island. Last season, Mike Sillinger and Joey MacDonald were Islanders, but this season they’ve retired and committed career suicide, respectively.

MEMBA ME?! 
Chris Osgood was an Islander for a season and a half the first time Detroit rid themselves of him. Todd Bertuzzi was an Isles first round draft pick in 1993. Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon was an assistant coach with the Islanders in the late 90’s.
BEST NAME NOMINEE
Bruno Gervais.
THEIR LAST GAMES
–Detroit defeated the Sharks 4-1 on Saturday.
–New York beat Phoenix 5-4, also on Saturday.
RECORDS
–Detroit Red Wings :: 23-15-6 (3rd in Central, 9th in West) :: 10-8-4 on the road.
–New York Improvedlanders :: 19-19-8 (5th in Atlantic, 10th in East) :: 10-8-2 at home.
ISLANDERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Kyle Okposo :: John Tavares :: Hurley Reyes :: Mark Streit :: Brendan Witt :: Dwayne Roloson

EXPECTED LINEUP
Zetterberg — Datsyuk — Bertuzzi
Miller — Filppula — Cleary
Draper — Helm — Eaves
Leino — Abdelkader — Maltby
Lidstrom — Rafalski
Stuart — Meech
Lebda — Janik
Howard (starts)
Osgood






*Nicknames were a collaborative effort this time, once again featuring the humor of @jennyquarx and her brilliant beau.* 


Scratch
Brad “I Was the Only Guy to Take My Skate Off and Try to Stab Someone With It” May







Injuries




Andreas “I Hear That Asteroids Machine Calling Me From the Game Room” Lilja

Johan “Did That Go In? I Wasn’t Watching. Did it Go In?” Franzen
Jason “Talk About Your All-Time Backfires” Williams
Niklas “You’re Gonna Die, Clown!” Kronwall
Jonathan “Friends Listen to Endless Love in the Dark” Ericsson
Tomas “What? You No Want Breakfast?” Holmstrom
Honorable Mention




Ville “Is That Goal Regulation Size of What?!” Leino

QUICK THOUGHTS
1. Will Jimmah start to suffer from exhaustion with all these starts – or is he a potential workhorse?
2. The Red Wings seem to be playing better against the better teams, and the Islanders can’t really be considered a strong opponent. Will the Wings put forth a strong effort – like the Sharks game – or will they put up a terrible effort – like the Ducks game?
3. Have you heard? Darren Helm has five goals in five games. And many of the Eastern Conference teams are unaware of The Helm, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him light it up again.
4. This game is Zetterberg’s. Book it.
WHAT WE LEARNED vs. the Sharks
This team is capable of playing sixty full minutes.
ISLANDER WE COVET (JJ Special)
I mean, the obvious answer is John Tavares, but since we don’t live in NHL2k9, and I’m forced to make a real selection, I’ll go with Matt Moulson because he comes with the best story you’ve never heard.