| Michael Sonday. 31st December, 2007 - 5:40 pm
 In the ever changing NHL some things tend to stay the same. Nearing the halfway point of the 2007-08 season the Detroit Red Wings are tearing up the NHL appear to be the team to beat.
The Red Wings, who have a comfortable lead for first place in the Western Conference, are powered by their first line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Holmstrom. This line has contributed nearly 41% of the Red Wings goal scoring this season. Zetterberg, who is among the league leaders in points with 50, is the spark plug that keeps the motor running for the Wings. Hank, nickname given to Zetterberg by his Red Wing teammates, has been a force on the ice scoring at least one point in each of the first 17 Red Wing games and has notched a league leading eleven power play goals this season.
For the Red Wings to have continued success, they must find alternative ways of scoring other than the first line. Valtteri Filppula could be that extra goal scorer whom they are looking for. Filppula, who was drafted 95th overall in the 2002 NHL Draft, has scored 13 goals so far this season with 9 of them coming in the month of December. If Filppula can continue to score, the Red Wings' offense should be at the top of the NHL at season’s end.
Defense has always been the coaching key for Mike Babcock. Since his days in Anaheim, which he led to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, he has stressed the importance of solid defense. To Coach Babcock’s delight, Detroit’s defense has been the leagues stingiest so far this season, allowing only 2.13 goals a game. The Red Wings also allow only 23.4 shots a game, the fewest in the league, making some nights a bit boring for goalies Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood.
The defensive catalyst for the Wings is five-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, who The Hockey News has referred to as the greatest European ever to play in the NHL. This season he is showing why he is one of the league’s superstars. Lidstrom leads all defensemen with 36 points and has a plus/minus rating of plus-29, also tops among defensemen.
"If every player in the league was an unrestricted free agent and I had the first pick in the draft and my mandate was to compete for the Stanley Cup in one year, hands down my first pick is Nick Lidstrom," stated Red Wings' GM Ken Holland.
Holland made sure that the Red Wings would not lose Lidstrom to free agency by signing him to a two year extension last week that will keep him in the Motor City 'till 2009-10 season.
"Lidstrom has been the best defenseman for several years, " Holland said in a statement. "He’s a great captain and role model who does everything right on and off the ice."
In addition to Lidstrom, the Red Wings have a talented group of blue-liners. Brain Rafalski, an offensive minded defenseman, has made a nice transition after coming over via free agency this past summer from the New Jersey Devils. Niklas Kronwall is steadily improving, and veteran Chris Chelios offers vetern leadership and grit to the NHL’s top defensive unit.
Dominik Hasek, who turns 43 on January 29th, has played well but not spectacularly this season. If the often injured Hasek happens to go down again, as he did earlier this season, the Red Wings would not skip a beat with Chris Osgood in between the pipes. Osgood has posted outstanding numbers so far this season with a 1.75 goals against average and a .930 saves percentage. If he continues to play this well, Mike Babcock might have a tough time trying to decide who to play in the post season.
Something that is not going well for the Red Wings is attendance. The typically full Joe Louis Arena has seen its fair share of empty seats this season, something that has not been common in the past dozen years. Many blame Michigan’s sluggish economy and the price of tickets to be the main reason that "The Joe" is not packed to the rafters night after night.
So what is in store for the Red Wings? Barring some sort of disaster, the Wings are on their way to the playoffs for the 17th straight year, the longest playoff streak in the four major sports. Detroit will be trying to capture their eleventh Stanley Cup in franchise history and first since 2001-02. |
