Oct. 25 :: Tell Me, Mirror, What is Wrong?

On By mpetrella

BREAKADAWN
The Red Wings get back to business after the game that shall not be named. Puck drops on the seventh game of the season at 7pm in Columbus.

STAKES IS HIGH
The Wings will be without starting goaltender Jimmy Howard who welcomed James Howard IV to the family. Joey MacDonald has been called up to backup Ty Conklin — making his second start in a row, and he’ll certainly be hoping to improve on Saturday night’s display in the crease. Pro-tip: 50% of Ty Conklin’s starts this year ended in a shutout. Of course, the other 50% were  a total disaster of a nightmare, so… there’s that.

EGO TRIPPIN’
:: Detroit got straight-up smoked in the nation’s capital, 7-1, on Saturday night. Twasn’t pretty. On the plus side, Irina Shayk made her TPL debut, so…
:: Columbus fell to Ottawa in a Battle of the Shittiest, 4-3, also on Saturday night.
:: The Wings and Jackets just played one another on Friday. It was a 5-2 win that spurred one of the greatest things ever to grace these pages: an overview from Tyler of the Triple Deke. Your goal scorers were Nick Lidstrom, Valtteri Filppula, Pavel Datsyuk, and a pair from Johan Franzen. Flip and Mulo had four points each.

LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
One year ago tomorrow, Disch’s mom started the DATE MY MOM posts. Maybe she’ll finish on the anniversary?

RING RING RING HA HA HEY
Henrik Zetterberg :: Pavel Datsyuk :: Buckets Cleary
Jiri Scuttles :: Valtteri Filppula :: Johan Franzen
Justin Abdelkader :: Danger Helm :: Todd Thunderchief
Tomas Holmstrom :: Salt N Pepper Miller :: Patrick Eaves

Nicklas Lidstrom :: Ian White
Brad Stuart :: Niklas Kaboom
Jakub Kindl :: Johnny Shitbox

Ty Conkblock
Joey MacDonald

ME MYSELF AND I (alternatively: SAY NO GO)
Jan Mursak [left ankle]
Mike Commodore [knee]
Jimmy Howard [baby daddying]
Fabian Brunnstrom
Cory Emmerton

The TPL Name Game “Three Stars”
Just like last season, submit your nickname suggestions (follow the theme!), and we’ll use our Facebook page to allow people to vote for the best… the winner gets a free TPL t-shirt!
PETRELLA: Fabian “Right is Wrong When Hype Is Written” Brunnstrom
DISCH: Pavel “What I Do Ain’t Make Believe” Datsyuk
HOLLIS: Tomas “Grinning and Laughing, Laughing and Grinning” Holmstrom

KEEPIN’ THE FAITH
:: Ty Conklin’s going to be looking to play really strong after the stinkfest on Saturday. He can’t be allowing the weak ones to squeak by, and he’s really gotta stop those last-second floaters as the periods wind down.
:: Despite having a fantastic start to the season, both of the third pairing defensemen (Kindl and Ericsson) incurred a -3 on Saturday (so did Franzen). Obviously, no one was exempt from blame of a blowout, but the blueliners are going to need to look alive, as well. For what it’s worth, Ian White was the only defenseman not to be on the ice for a goal against (or three).
:: The spread-out scoring is impressive, even after six games. But there are a couple of guys that will look to get off their respective schneids. Tomas Holmstrom, Drew Miller and Dan Cleary are the only forwards to have played in four or more games and are without a goal. Brad Stuart and Patrick Eaves are the only players in the lineup without a point on the season (Stuart is also the only regular in the minus column).
:: At the same time, the big guns have to be big guns. Expect some flash from Henrik Zetterberg (who has only potted one this season) and Pavel Datsyuk.
:: Patrick Eaves in the lineup two games in a row for the first time this season. Rookie center Cory Emmerton comes out after a fairly poor game for the youngster. Since opening night (when he scored and added an assist), he has been held point-less and is losing nearly 60% of the faceoffs he’s taking. Those are rookie things that I’m confident he’ll fix, but it gives Eaves — and Tomas Holmstrom — another shot to prove they might not belong in the rotation.

MUSICAL INSPIRATION