BLSPORTS TOP 20 Players in the NHL #20

The NHL top 20 will kick off with.....

20) Marc Savard (Center, Boston Bruins)

This pick may come as a surprise to some of the “casual fans”, but to the hardcore hockey fan there is no denying what Savard has been able to do for the Boston Bruins in the last few years. In the last four regular seasons, he has accumulated 359 points in 320 games.

The Reason that Marc Savard seems to be overlooked a lot is because he is not that flashy 50 goal scorer that NHL fans love so much, but he is a play maker extraordinaire compiling 60 or more assist in each of his last four seasons. Boston Bruin fans love having him around because he knows how to find that open man, and win games.

So next time you watch a Boston Bruins hockey game, watch for number 91, because he will be on the puck, making defenders look stupid with some of his amazing passes.

Ducks Drag Series Out

Last Second Save Helps Ducks Win Game 5

Look in the dictionary for the definition of a hockey goon and inside you will see the Anaheim Ducks roster. They are a great team with a ton of talent, but love relying on brute strength and size rather than skill. I am not much a fan of that GOON tactic, especially when playing a skilled team with no enforcer on the roster, like the Wings.

In Game 5 the Wings seemed to be flat for 50 minutes. They seemed uninspired, undetermined, and just zoned out of the game through 2 and ½ periods. The Ducks first got on the board early in the second period when Ryan Getzlaf poked in a rebound 3 feet from the net on the power play. The Wings didn’t seem to want to engage with the big man down low and ended up paying for it The Wings had a couple unsuccessful power plays in the 2nd and could just not seem to put anything past the everlasting bunny Jonas Hiller. The 2nd goal for Anaheim came on yet another deflection in front of the net, this time by youngster Corey Perry. He deflected a shot from Getzlaf to put the Ducks up 2-0 at the end of the 2nd.

The next period belonged mostly to the Wings, but not because the Ducks weren’t trying. Thinking the Ducks would sit back in the 3rd period would have been a mistake. The Ducks stayed aggressive throughout the entire game, and it finally cost them when Johan Franzen scored a power play goal late in the 3rd. Sadly, it was too little too late. The Wings put shot after shot at Hiller in the last 3 minutes but could not seem to break the barrier known as Hiller. With 15 seconds left, the Ducks turned the puck over in the zone and Marian Hossa ripped a laser at the net that Hiller made an amazing save on.

This save ignited a riot on the ice as every player from every team seemed to get into a fight. The most memorable was watching Pavel Datsyuk try to fight Scott Niedermayer, the fight was complete bullshit as Niedermayer still had a helmet with a visor on as he was punching a helmetless Datsyuk. Pardon my French, but FUCK THE DUCKS. Game 7 will be interesting as I expect the Wings to come out hungry, and I pray that the Wings recall Aaron Downey, or Darren McCarty for game 7 to beat the shit out of Chris Pronger. Viva La Revolution!!!

Wings Go Up 3-2

Another Dominating Performance Gives Wings 3-2 Advantage in Series

The Detroit Red Wings are back on track and looking to close out this forsaken series. Tonight the Wings came out hungry and more determined on the ice to coast to a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. The first period was relatively slow due to Jonas Hiller in net. The Wings took many shots at him once again, but could not put it in the back of the net. The Ducks seemed a tad tentative in the first for some reason and really looked uncomfortable out there. The second period was one of Detroit's finer periods of the post season as Johan Franzen netted a goal and 39 seconds later Jiri Hudler batted a puck out of mid air to give the Wings a 2-0 lead. Late in the period the Ducks cut into the lead with a power play goal from defenseman Ryan Whitney. The 2nd period ended with a 2-1 score thanks to an amazing glove save from the Wizard of Oz.

The 3rd period started and saw much of the same action throughout, the Wings dominated defensively but couldn't seem to put the game away. Late in the game Darren Helm scored his first goal of the post season, and anyone that knows me knows that I am a gigantic supporter of Helm stating on multiple occassions that he is the hardest working player in the NHL. The game ended with an empty netter from Henrik Zetterberg sealing the 4-1 victory for the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.

P.S. If you are reading this Brian LaBelle this one is for you.

Wings Tie up the series with a 6-3 win

Franzen and Hossa net two goals each to lead the way

The Ducks came out firing and took an early 1-0 lead on a Corey Perry goal. Coach Mike Babcock switched up his lines and the Wings responded. Babcock paired Franzen and Hossa on a line with Valteri Filpulla at center and the Wings caught fire. They led 2-1 after the first period on Franzen's two goals.

The Ducks tied it up on another Perry goal early in the second but then the Wings new line struck again. Hossa scored back-to-back goals to give the Wings a 4-2 lead and their first two goal lead of the series.

Mikael Samuelsson scored on a perfect snap shot early in the third period and the Ducks pulled young goalie Jonas Hiller from the game for J.S. Giguere and it was all over but the crying. Scott Niedermayer scored on a perfectly executed power play before Zetteberg scored an empty netter to close out the game.

Referee cost game for Wings

Game 3 of our series with the Ducks was no easy game for the Wings. Unfortunately the Wings lost a tight game 2-1 largely due to a horrific, game changing, no goal call from the ref. With a little over 1 minute left in the 3rd period, the Red Wings put a puck in the back of the net with 6 men on the ice. The ref supposedly lost sight of the puck and was "intending" to blow the whistle when Marian Hossa poked the puck into the net. This was a non reviewable call and coincidentally lost us the game.

Don't get me wrong about the game itself, for a good portion of the game, the Ducks were just a better team then us, but after Henrik Zetterberg scored a goal late in the 2nd period, the Wings seemed to kick it into gear. Jonas Hiller is standing on his head this post season, and combine that with the Ducks stiff defense it seems impossible to score on them. The Wings had 45 shots on Hiller and only managed that one goal.

This series is getting ugly and I am sure the Wings will come hungry after being robbed in game 3. Expect a much better outing for the Wings in game 4. O, and expect sparks to fly

Wings Lose in Thriller

My dream of a 16-0 post season has come to an end in a thrilling 4-3 Triple OT loss Sunday to the Anaheim Ducks.

The loss is a little disheartening and I for one hope that it does not flow over to the rest of the series. The reason that I am scared is that the Red Wings outplayed the Ducks in each overtime dominating from blue line to blue line. The fact is that the Wings could not score on Jonas Hiller when it came down to the grind. We sent shot after shot after shot at him (62 to be exact) throughout the game and could not score in overtime for the life of them.

I do believe the Wings will come back hungry in game 3 and I believe that we will score early, but this setback still stings and the only thing that can erase that sting is a W. Love the Ducks or hate them (preferably hate them) they are here to play some hockey. This series just got a whole lot more interesting

5-0

The Detroit Red Wings almost had a hiccup Friday night in a very close 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. As expected, Anaheim played uber physical and Detroit out skilled them.

The scoring started with Corey Perry and the Ducks as he rifled a slap shot past Ozzie. Later in the period Ducks goon (i know they are all goons), Mike Brown, leveled Jiri Hudler in what can only be deemed as a vicious case of interference as he busted Jiri's face up. A 5 minute penalty followed which gave Johan Franzen the chance he needed to score a goal and run Jonas Hiller over. The first period ended in a very tight 1-1 tie.


The second period was extremely fast paced as the Wings ripped shot after shot at Jonas Hiller aka the unknown Jo Bro. The next goal came close to midway through the period when Nicklas Lidstrom ripped a slap shot from the point on the power play...with a screen from Homer of course. The Finnish Flash tied the game at 2 with a power play goal from "his spot". Teemu Selanne always seems to score on us, it must be a curse. Again, the second period ended in a tie.

The third period went back and forth as much of this game went, but when things go back and forth in the playoffs, it is the Wings that always seem come out on top. This could not be more true as Nicklas Lidstrom scored on a dandy rebound, in which the original shot came from...well himself. As Franzen crashed the net the captain was already making his way towards the open puck and a game winning goal.

This game was pretty much what I expected after a long layoff from the Wings and that is that they started a little slow, but really picked up the pace. Also, the game was extremely physical, but what was surprising was the physical play of the defensemen of the future, Jonathan Ericsson. He got in scuffles, played physical on the penalty kill, and just threw his body around the entire game. Look for more head hunting from the Ducks and look for more W's from the Wings.