~Welcome To Hockeytown~ A Detroit Red Wings Dynasty (NHL10)

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Detroit Red Wings Season Preview

Who's In (or back for seconds): Todd Bertuzzi (RW, Calgary Flames), Jason Williams (RW, Columbus Blue Jackets), Patrick Eaves (RW, Carolina Hurricanes)

Who's Out: Chris Chelios (Free Agent), Jiri Hudler (Moscow Dynamo, KHL), Marian Hossa (Chicago Blackhawks), Tomas Kopecky (Chicago Blackhawks), Mikael Samulesson (Vancouver Canucks), Ty Conklin (St. Louis Blues)

Team Strengths:

In net: Chris Osgood showed last season, the season before, and both playoff runs that he still has what it takes to be a top goalie. Yeah, sure he's had his spotty moments but that's the nature of the position. He still has the skills and Howard has shown enough in Grand Rapids to get the chance to split time. We could be witnessing the passing of the torch in the Motown net.

Defense: Chris Chelios is no longer on the team and Andreas Lilja will start the year on the long term injured reserve. But if it wasn't for these two circumstances Jonathan Ericsson wouldn't have gotten the chance to start the season with the Red Wings. Ericsson is an up and coming defenseman who shows too much skill and mental awareness to have just had "fluke success" in his time last year. His big frame is a much needed presence in the defensive end and he should work well with the speedy and energetic puck chaser Brett Lebda. Lidstrom and Rafalski are one of the best pairings in the league and Kronwall and Stuart have a perfect chemistry since both are skilled but physical defensemen. The key to the success of the 09-10 team lies in the defense. If they keep the pressure off of Osgood and feed the playmakers, the Red Wings can continue to play their trademark puck possession hockey.

Offense: The success of this offense lies with two guys-- Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are ferocious forecheckers and create opportunities in the offensive zone that shouldn't be there. By controlling the puck, they are able to feed their linemates or fire on goal themselves. Although we will probably see them paired together at some point, they are both great anchors for the top two lines. They both have similar lines with Holmstrom/Bertuzzi in front of the net and Franzen/Cleary as shooters so their point production should be high again. Johan Franzen will likely continue his high level of play but look for guys like Valtteri Filppula and Ville Leino to break out as secondary scorers in the absence of Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson. Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves could play great roles within the offense but I don't expect incredible seasons out of them just yet. Scoring depth and puck possession have been the main focus of the Red Wings in the past and there's no reason for it to change now.

Team Weaknesses:

In net: Last year, Osgood was backed up by a solid and proven netminder in Ty Conklin. This year, Jimmy Howard finally makes the move from Grand Rapids to Detroit but will it be a good run? The only reason I even speculate on this is because of his limited experience in the NHL. The former college stud waited his turn down in Grand Rapids and proved he was worthy to take the number 2 spot finally in Detroit. This is more of an uncertainty rather than a weakness in my opinion. The difference between the scorers AHL and the NHL is clear as day and it's hard to predict how a goalie will adjust. Hopefully, Howard will find the pace of the game very quickly because he will be called on often to fill in for Osgood to rest.

Defense: Last year's defense was pretty horrid at times and it showed in two 8 goal games and several 6 goal games. There was very uncharacteristically poor play by Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, and Stuart far too often for my taste. Pinching in the offensive zone at the wrong time created breakaways, confusion with assignments created shooting lanes, and sometimes just flat out bad defensive play were common during games last year. With the loss of the a lot of the offense from last year, there has to be a new focus on defense. Ericsson showed his knowledge of the game and skill; hopefully this translates to a cohesive third pairing and the top two lines are more likely than not to return to their former level of play.

Offense: Well the loss of 88 goals, or nearly 30% of last year's production, is nothing to overlooked by any means. Hossa was an elite scorer for the Red Wings and Hudler/Samuelsson were great playmakers. I don't know if the addition of Bertuzzi, Williams, and Eaves is enough to make up for that departure but they also may not need to if the identity of this year's team is focused on better defense rather than trying to outscore everyone. Another thing running through my mind is whether or not Tomas Holmstrom will be back to top form or somewhere close. If he's not close, the offense might sputter for a while before finding a new alternative. Good thing there's great scoring depth all the way down to the 4th line right?

Credit to redsox907 (DSS) for the preview
Credit to Alex and Ken for the banner

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Offensive Lines

Tomas Holmstrom - Pavel Datsyuk(A) - Johan Franzen

Dan Cleary - Henrik Zetterberg(A) - Todd Bertuzzi

Ville Leino - Valteri Filppula - Jason Williams

Kris Draper(A) - Darren Helm - Patrick Eaves

Defensive Lines

Nicklas Lindstrom(C) - Brian Rafalski

Brad Stuart - Niklas Kronwall

Jonathan Ericsson - Andreas Lilja

Goalies

Chris Osgood

Jimmy Howard

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RED WINGS LOOK TO PULL OFF TRADE

Detroit, Michigan - Leaked from an inside source of the Detroit Red Wings, the Wings have apparently been talking with General Manager Lou Lamieriello and the New Jersey Devils in regard for acquiring winger Brendan Shanahan.

Shanahan played for the Detroit Red Wings for 9 seasons after being acquired via trade in the deal that involved forward Keith Primeau and defensemen Paul Coffey heading to the Hartford Whalers.

Brenden Shanahan turned out to be the final piece of the Stanley Cup puzzle for the Red Wings, helping them to three Stanley Cup victories in 1997, 1998 and 2002 before signing with the New York Rangers in 2006.

The trade wire looks as though Todd Bertuzzi and a draft pick or prospect could be going into the deal.

When asked about the trade, General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings Ken Holland responded.

"I'm not going to say yes or no to this trade, we've been talking to Lou and the Devils about some trade, I won't say which players have been discussed, but this early in the year, we're not looking at trades, maybe later in the season, depending on how both teams are doing".

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Scottrade Center	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	1	0	-	1
	0	0	4	-	4

Red Wings Star In Sweden
Zetterberg scores in homecoming

Red Wings Scoring
Pavel Datsyuk (Unassisted) 5:34 3rd Period
Henrik Zetterberg (Bertuzzi, Stuart) 15:20 3rd Period
EN Dan Cleary (Franzen, Datsyuk) 19:38 3rd Period
EN Pavel Datsyuk (Franzen, Lidstrom) 19:59 3rd Period

Blues Scoring
David Perron (Backes, Johnson) 17:27 2nd Period

Three Stars
3. Johan Franzen 2 assists
2. Henrik Zetterberg 1 goal
1. Pavel Datsyuk 2 goals 1 assist

Record: 1-0-0

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Joe Louis Arena	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	0	0	-	0
	1	0	2	-	3

Red Wings Sweep Up Swedish Tour
All Scores Are From Sweden; Lidstrom, Holmstrom and Franzen


Red Wings Scoring
Nicklas Lidstrom (Rafalski, Datsyuk) 6:41 1st Period
Tomas Holmstrom (Lidstrom, Rafalski) 3:57 3rd Period
(EN) Johan Franzen (Lidstrom, Datsyuk) 19:48 3rd Period

Blues Scoring
No Scorers

Three Stars
3. Pavel Datsyuk 2 assists
2. Brian Rafalski 2 assists
1. Nicklas Lidstrom 1 goal, 2 assists

Record: 2-0-0

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Joe Louis Arena	1	2	3	OT	F
	1	1	0	0	2
	0	1	1	1	3

Red Wings Reignite Rivalry
On Return To North America, Red Wings beat Hawks

Red Wings Scoring
Johan Franzen (Stuart, Kronwall) 11:41 2nd Period
Niklas Kronwall (Rafalski, Betuzzi) 4:41 3rd Period
Nicklas Lidstrom (Rafalski, Datsyuk) 3:49 Overtime

Blackhawks Scoring
Brian Campbell (Sharp, Hossa) 12:07 1st Period
(PP) Marian Hossa (Byfuglien, Seabrook) 19:57 2nd Period

Three Stars
3. Nicklas Lidstrom 1 goal
2. Brian Rafalski 2 assists
1. Niklas Kronwall 1 goal, 1 assist

Record: 3-0-0

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Joe Louis Arena	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	0	0	-	0
	0	2	3	-	5

Wings Uproot Superstar riddled team
Red Wings show no mercy against Capitals



Red Wings Scoring
Niklas Kronwall (Stuart, Bertuzzi) 10:20 2nd Period
Nicklas Lidstrom (Datsyuk) 13:52 2nd Period
Nicklas Lidstrom (Franzen, Datsyuk) 1:55 3rd Period
Todd Bertuzzi (Zetterberg) 10:33 3rd Period
Henrik Zetterberg (Cleary, Stuart) 19:32 3rd Period

Capitals Scoring
No Scorers

Three Stars
3. Todd Bertuzzi 1 goal, 1 assist
2. Niklas Kronwall 1 goal
1. Nicklas Lidstrom 2 goals

Record: 4-0-0

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HOWARD TO START NEXT GAME

Detroit, MI - After 4 amazing games by starting goaltender Chris Osgood, head coach Mike Babcock released, after an afternoon practise, that back-up netminder Jimmy Howard will ne starting the next game.

"Obviously, at the age of 37, after playing 4 amazing games like that, ecspecially after flying from Sweden back to Detroit, your going to get tired, and we feel that, after Chris' hard work in between the pipes, Jimmy (Howard) will get the start" Babcock explained.

Chris Osgood, however, was not as happy to hear the news. "I respect the decisions of Mike and the Wings, but I'm up to the challenge, but there's nothing I can do to change the situation, I feel as though Jimmy won't be able to keep our perfect record standing" Osgood critisized.

Howard didn't respond to Osgood's quip about his inability to keep the Wings 4-0 record standing, only saying "I'm happy to get the start, I want to prove myself as more than a back-up goalie on this team".

Could trouble be brewing in the Red Wings change room between Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard, Captain Nicklas Lidstrom does not think so.

"We're a happy team, we have an unbeaten record on our hands, and, to us, it doesn't matter who's in net, let it be Ozzy (Chris Osgood) or Jimmy (Howard), as long as they play they're hard out and win us the game" Lidstrom commented.