FINAL SCORE (Hi Mr. Petrella!)
5-0 Wings
THE RUNDOWN
Second meeting between the Wings and The Buff. Same result as last time. We got huge efforts tonight from almost every forward line and Jimmah gets the shutout. This thing was over after 20 minutes and it was well into happy hour by the time the second intermission started.
BULLETS OF IMPORTANCE
- Five goals. Five damn goals pouring in from every angle. Nick cashing in a loose puck on the backside, Franzen cashing it in on a madman breakaway feed from Pavel, Helm busting through and tipping in a Drew Miller feed on the break…it was all working tonight.
- It’s easy to focus on the “5″ but take a minute here to appreciate what Jimmy did tonight. Shutouts are ALWAYS earned, and tonight was no exception. He wasn’t tested the way he was against Chicago, but there were a handful of times he had to man up. His play with the puck was down low…with guys jamming him…looked especially sharp tonight. Well done, Jimmy.
- Is anyone else tired of the “Zetterberg needs to get on track” talk? He’s averaging a shade under a point per game over the past twenty, he’s doing his typical Hank “understated genius” thing playing smart defensive hockey, and he had that STUNNER against PHX last week to close out the shootout. Tonight he puts that line firmly to sleep by netting one…his first in regulation in 13 games…but really, does anyone give a rat’s ass? Was anyone that worried? I hope not. I can hear it from Hank now…I can hear it clearly…and the words echo those from another bearded gentleman I know quite well. He’s saying “I got this.”
BULLETS OF LESS IMPORTANCE
Ville Leino back at the Joe…and not in the Lounge…carrying a -7 into the game. Not really a “bullet of importance”…but still, you know, entertaining.
BONUS “BOLI”
As someone who always enjoys drawing parallel lines between seemingly unassociated happenings, I relished the opportunity to watch tonights HOT HOT MILLER ON MILLER BROTHERLY ACTION with my own brother, Johnny. Twenty minutes into this game we were well on our way to wearing out our welcome with his wife, screaming at the television and killing off the better part of a bottle of Bullet. Below are the relevant audio snippets, which may or may not make sense to anyone not still in Johnny’s living room right now:
- Bertuzzi Goal: “The wraparound backhand?….SKEEEEERT! OOOAAAAOAOAOAHHH!”
- After Mick’s Pro-Pavel Second Period Rant: “It sounds like he’s talking about his dick.”
- Following Helm’s Tap-In “I figure it’s been four goals since our last shot…I think its about time”
“HORSECOP” OF THE GAME
I’m going with Franzen here. I’m a firm believer that as Franzen goes, so go the Wings. With him, we’re a dominant 2-line squad that no team is going to match up against. Without him playing like he did tonight, we’re a decent collection of well-dressed gigolos that goes out in the second round. Franzen going to the net, playing like a 300 lb gorilla with soft…supple…gentle-but-firm hands…that puts us into a different stratosphere. It changes things. We got a glimpse of that tonight.
THE RIGGY “SHITBOX” OF THE GAME
Drew Miller – For helping make his brother feel like an asshole on his lap back through his home state.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Wings head to The City That Forgot Understatement (Dallas) tomorrow night for a matchup with the Stars.
Photo Credit: AP
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