Take a deep breath
Posted in Red Wings with tags Babcock, Howard, Kronwall on March 28, 2010 by Steve Klein
A good defense is the best offense.
Breathing room. And, no room to breath: 3 points separate 5th through 8th place in the Western Conference. But Calgary has flamed out (knock on wood), and the Wings have a solid shot at finishing fifth.
Worth noting: San Jose, Chicago and Phoenix have certainly separated themselves from the rest in the West. Vancouver, with 94 points, suddenly isn’t out of sight.
Score: Wings 1, Preds 0, 11-round SO
Game #75 (7 games to play, 14 points), 91 points, 6th place. Wings are 11-2-1 since the Olympic break, 8 up on 9th-place Calgary (can we stop worrying about the Flames now?), and 1 point behind 5th-place Nashville with a game in hand.
Team Games Points Place
Preds 76 92 5th
Wings 75 91 6th
Kings 74 90 7th
Avs 74 89 8th
Flames 75 83 9th
Upcoming: Edmonton on Tuesday, Columbus on Thursday in Hockeytown. Then Nashville again on Saturday in Hockeytown.
What I liked about the game: Jimmy Howard, the Wings’ MVP this season as a rookie. Calder Trophy? The defense. And Niklas Kronwall‘s shootout winner.
What I didn’t like about the game: Boy is Nashville ever tough. What a great rivalry.
The BIG question: Can the Wings keep it up with 7 games to go? Still too early to worry about the first round of the playoffs. The remaining question has to be how high can the Wings go. Suddenly, 4th place isn’t unrealistic.
Quote: “Shootouts haven’t been our friend this year. Howie did a great job, save after save after save. His confidence has got to be growing, that’s a good thing for him and it’s a good thing for us.” — Mike Babcock
Mood meter: Fourth the goal?
