Red Wings are Ahead

Who knew that Wings can fly in a Duck pond? Oh, there are a few hands out in the crowd. Well, the Red Wings went into Anaheim and not only won, but the scoreline shows that they de-feathered the Ducks. I wouldn't give them the 8-ball treatment tonight since they are still at home, but they are certainly poised to be there.

The Ducks got thumped 5-0 and Dominik Hasek made 29 saves to help out the thumpin'. Yes, it was a four-point night for ol' Hasek, but there will be a different spotlight player tonight. It was quite a messy game with it's fair share of bloodshed... and possibly a key injury and/or a suspension.

In the pool, Derek W. moved two points ahead of another Hasek holder, Benson, and Benson is two points up on third place, Dan. With the Sens/Sabres game looming, Derek might have a chance to run away with this lead, depending on who scores and how many they score. Mike and Aaron are falling quickly away from the money, but they could still use a certain combination of players to score to get back into it all.

Spotlight Player



Two goals, one assist and two stitches... that's the line on Tomas Holmstrom tonight to earn him the spotlight position in the post-game report. Holmstrom quite possibly should have been Pierre Maguire's Monster of the Game, but instead he took the safe pick in Nicklas Lidstrom. Holmstrom scored a pair of goals in the trouncing and actually got trounced by Rob Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, which gave him his two stitches in his forehead. Holmstrom was only taken once in the pool, didn't make an immediate impact to the Standings, but I thought his performance was worthy of the spotlight.

Game Winning Goal Scorer
You know, every time some player in the pool doesn't get the winning goal, a little piece of me has another drink. What?!? You thought a little piece of me was gonna die? Ha ha ha ha... silly. I'm not that serious about this... although it does make me wonder a bit. Well, it was Johan Franzen who scored the opening goal against Anaheim tonight, which of course, lasted the remaining 49 minutes to be the winner. Franzen, who lost his pool spot to Todd Bertuzzi, probably wouldn't have been picked at all if Bert wasn't on the list, so it wasn't like the bonus point was going to touch the Stanidngs anyways.

Well, the Ducks are going to be without the services of Chris Kunitz for the rest of the playoffs... which could only be a few games, by the way the Wings are playing. He underwent surgery to repair a broken hand yesterday and won't be able to grip his stick to possibly help the Ducks get out of his tailspin.

In regards to the Holmstrom hit, there is a small possibility that Chris Pronger, who on the video was shown to drive #96's head into the boards, may receive some supplemental punishment if it goes to review. Rob Niedermayer was the one who received the five-minute major and the game misconduct for the play should not see any time off other than the third period and a bit that he served.


Wednesday night, Ottawa should be a buzz with the prospect of a little (or long) vacation before the Stanley Cup Finals, which they have not seen in the modern era. If you've been watching the sport networks on TV, you'd know that if the playoffs were to end today, despite who won the Cup, Daniel Alfredsson would walk away with the Conn Smythe Trophy. Ray Emery will look to extend his points lead and finish the series... it all should effect the pool quite dramatically.

Technorati Tags
NHL, Hockey Pool, Injuries, Playoffs, Scores, Hockey

Go to the Hockey Pool standings Page
Go to the Trash Talk Page