The win was the Wings' fourth in a row and, despite Edmonton's third period near-comeback, it constituted another sign that the team is returning to form after a somewhat hungover start. The team's formerly lackluster defensive efforts are being replaced by much better outings, though the third period last night was less tight than it should have been.
Detroit is now 13-2-3 and, at 29 points, is just four behind Conference-leading San Jose.
The Surprise: Tomas Kopecky won the lottery last night. With Tomas Holmstrom a late scratch due to back spasms, the young Slovak was promoted from third line checker to first line winger, skating with Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa.
Mike Babcock's decision to bump Kopecky up paid off as he played a role in the Wings' second and third goals. He acted as a screen for Pavel Datsyuk's 6th of the season at 8:00 of the first and made a skilled redirect on a Nick Lidstrom shot at 10:11 to score his first of the season. Both goals came on the power play.
It was easily his best game as a Red Wing and a nice reward for his hard work. He's been in and out of the lineup with season-ending injuries the past two years and is still in the process of articulating his role on the team. To see Kopecky playing such a big offensive role was a surprise as he's been a checker for the majority of his time in the NHL. The same was true for Johan Franzen, though, and look were he is now. Kopecky probably doesn't have it in him to become as clutch as #93, but if he can contribute something like he did last night, he'll have an NHL job for years.Injuries: The Holmstrom injury was not the only game-time revelation last night. Just before the puck drop, the FSN Detroit crew of Ken Daniels and stand-in Craig Simpson announced that Niklas Kronwall was out with a "lower body injury" that was later revealed to be a sore ankle. Kronwall was just picking up steam after a rough start to the season, so the hope is this doesn't derail him again.
Derek Meech came in for Kronwall and played a competant game, as he generally does.
The injured list stands at four now, with Chris Chelios (broken leg), Dan Cleary (eye infection), Holmstrom (back), and Kronwall (ankle) taking up space in the trainer's room. The latter two are listed as day-to-day, but Chelios and Cleary likely won't be back this month.
George Malik suggests Cleary may be placed on the long-term injury list to allow for a call-up from Grand Rapids until Holmstrom is able to return. With the Wings short a forward, that seems like a likely outcome.
Hot Hand: Tomas Kopecky wasn't the only Red Wing to make an impression. Another former Grand Rapids Griffin, Jiri Hudler, netted two goals and brought his points total this season to 16, with 14 of those coming in the last 12 games.
Hossa Watch: Marian Hossa was held pointless for the second game in a row (and only the third game this season), but finished as NHL.com's third star of the game apparently because he had eight shots on goal. I didn't think it was his best game as a Red Wing, but he's set the bar so high it's easy to be disappointed.
Fight Watch: Before last night's game, the Wings were 30th in the league in total major penalties assessed with four. After the fight between Andreas "Lilypads" Lilja and Sheldon "Slashy" Souray, they are tied with Florida.
Key Stat: The Wings' power play is clicking along at a league-best 34.2% through 18 games. You don't want to take a penalty against Detroit. Edmonton learned that the hard way last night as the Wings went 3-for-5 with the man-advantage.
Back Home: The Wings put $9 tickets on sale today at noon. They come as a continuation of a policy instituted last year and are released every month for the upcoming two. With Michigan's economy on the brink of complete disaster due to the imminent collapse of the domestic automobile industry, $9 tickets are a nice gesture. Still, you can expect the Joe to continue to have plenty of empty seats as people prioritize bills, food, and gas over hockey games.
