Feb. 13 :: I hope their first child be a masculine child…
I PLEDGE MY EVER-ENDING LOYALTY
What a great movie. Did you know that the line referred to in the title and just above were botched somethin’ fierce because the actor playing Luca Brasi was petrified to be in the room with Marlon Brando? Coppola liked the authenticity of his nervousness so much… he kept them in the final cut. MOVIES!
Anyway, this is game #2 for the pledge period. We’ve already raised a shade under $2,000 and another six goal performance would be pretty damn awesome. The kids at Children’s Hospital of Michigan think so, too. If you haven’t already made a pledge for the H2H2 Pledge Drive, shoot us a comment or an e-mail and we’ll be happy to add you to the ever-growing list of generous, handsome, well-endowed Wings fans.
GAME-SPECIFIC PLEDGES
:: Each goal tonight is worth a minimum of $20, and as much as $200.
:: A win is worth an extra $70 (minimum) in addition to the goals scored and other props met.
:: There’s still $15 on the board if Jonathan Ericsson fights Zdeno Chara.
WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN?
Matinee time! The Wings play their second of back-to-back games against the Bruins — Sunday afternoon, 12:30pm Eastern, at the Joe.
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
After cruising to a 6-1 victory on Friday night, we all hope that Detroit can continue to start on time and earn some dough for the kiddies.
OH, HI AGAIN / MEMBA ME?! / BEST NAME NOMINEE
No former Wings, Brad Stuart & Joey MacDonald spent time in Boston, and the BNN belongs to Johnny Boychuk.
EXPECTED LINEUP
By special request, the TPL Glossary is ready to jailsex your eyes.
Mulo — Zetterberg — Thunderchief
Scuttles — Datsyuk — Cleary
Draper — Helm — Eaves
Miller — Abdelkader — Holmstrom
Lidstrom — Kronwall
Rafalski — Ericsson
Cirque — Kindl
Tiberius
McGillicutty
Injuries
Mike “I Believe in America” Modano [wrist/March]
Brad “This One Time I’ll Let You Ask Me About My Affairs” Stuart [jaw/March]
Chris “Never Tell Anyone Outside the Family What You Are Thinking Again” Osgood [groin/March]
Jan “He’s a Good Godson” Mursak [foot/day-to-day]
Valtteri “You’re Beautiful, Beautiful, Just Beautiful” Filppula [knee/week-to-week]
Honorable Mentions
Todd “Don’t Tell Me That You’re Innocent Because It Insults My Intelligence and It Makes Me Very Angry” Bertuzzi
Jiri “Women Are More Dangerous Than Shotguns” Hudler
Patrick “No I Buy You Out, You Don’t Buy Me Out” Eaves
Ken “I Got a Business to Run” Holland
Mike “I Gotta Kick Asses Sometimes to Make it Run Right” Babcock
Marian “I Need a Million Dollars in Cash” Hossa
*If there are any that you think I missed, throw them in the comments — the best one will be shared for all to enjoy on the TPL Facebook Page*
THE FIVE HOLE
1. In the Net: Tuukka Rask didn’t have a strong showing on Friday, and was pulled after two periods. Tim Thomas was expected to start today anyway, and I’m sure playing twenty minutes two days ago won’t contribute to fatigue, but it isn’t an ideal situation and it’s something that the Wings could exploit if they take advantage of some opportunities.
2. Break Coming Up: Detroit’s been playing every other day (approximately) for the first two weeks of February, so having three full days off following this afternoon’s tilt might go a long way in getting back on track. You have to wonder if they’ll show up like they did on Friday to avoid the dreaded bag skate on one of those days…
3. Bettertuzzi: He started the season on fire, and then kind of slumped a bit. He’d only gone 7 games without scoring (which, really, isn’t all that many), but his production has certainly slowed from October and November — so it was awesome to see him net a pair. Let’s hope he keeps that up.
4. From the Point: Six goals from the Red Wings — and zero of them came from the blueline. The Wings found ways to exploit down low and something tells me a good Bruins team will have plugged those holes since Friday. They may have to find new and exciting ways to put pucks in the net. But if the same tricks work, great. I’ll take those, too.
5. Corleone Red Wings: I think it’s pretty clear that Nick Lidstrom is the Michael of this team… is Justin Abdelkader the Sonny (hot shot with a bit of a temper)? Fredo? No brainer… Jonathan Ericsson (OHMIGOD WHAT DO I DO?!). Draper is quintessential Clemenza, Chelios is Tessio. Dan Cleary is Tom Haden. Luca Brasi is nowhere to be found.
WHAT WE LEARNED AGAINST THE BRUINS
Striking early and striking often makes for solid wins.
Oh, plenty of fun to be had with this one….
Who’s gonna be a free agent this summer? Perfect candidate for “I’m gonna make him an offer he won’t refuse”.
And then there’s Kyle “Leave the gun, take the cannoli” Wellwood. Not that he has anything to do with this game.
And for the coach, I might have gone: Mike “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already” Babcock
Funny what you said about Bettertuzzi there. You know, that bit about him netting a pair and how you hope he keeps that up. How prescient of you.
Hey there, long time reader but newbie commenter. Put me down for 5$ for every Darren Helm goal, 10$ if it’s shorthanded, and 15$ if it’s an overtime winner!
Welcome! It’s a safe place here, and we hope to have you commenting often.
Is your pledge for all of the remaining pledge games or just for this game? If you don’t mind sending us an e-mail (contact@theproductionline.us), we need to add your contact info to our files so that we can get you an accurate count as soon as the 12 games come to an end!
Actually, now that I see the time stamp on your comment, I think it’s pretty clear you mean for the rest of the games. Duh.
Send us an e-mail anyway, we will need your e-mail address to send you a total! Thanks again!