So here we are. Less than 22 hours from puck drop in Hockeytown. I don’t know about you, but I caught the Flyers and Penguins playing while channel surfing. And, god help me, I got sucked in. I was excited. Every hit, every pass. Every shot.
Watching the plays develop, a perfect tip in front. A glorious rebound begging to be tapped into the twine. The color of the ice, the sound of the goal horn.
As the NHL marketing team would say:
It’s Faceoff 2010.
It’s time to get a little excited, because your Detroit Red Wings are going to face the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena, October 8th, 2010. At 7:30 EST.
A team that people have been calling old, run down, injury prone, “finished”.
All I have to say to that is: Prove it.
Because in all honesty, if we were old, would we have nineteen straight Playoff appearances?
Yes, losing to San Jose hurt, and yes, you could see flaws. But name me any other team that played for 9 months out of 12, for three years straight, that wouldn’t be tired. Because I don’t think there is another team in any sport that can claim that.
But guess what? We got an extra months rest. Time to heal those “Old” and “tired” limbs. Time to strengthen those “worn out” muscles.
In all honesty, we had a lot of time. Time to think, time to focus. Time to become hungry.
This team is Hungry. And with veterans like Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Mike Modano, Kris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom. We’ve realized one thing:
This could be it.
Will it be the end of an era? Or is it the final chance to uncork the champagne?
It’s five minutes to midnight for a few of our players. Their careers, magnificent and extraordinary, filled with records, trophies, and titles, are coming to a close.
Tick tock, National Hockey League. Who’s going to come out on top when you have infused a team with expert leadership, coaching and management, powered by the one single truth: They’re aging.
Or are they ageless?
But perhaps that is their fuel. The talk and hate, that the “Dynasty” is over before it really came to pass.
What do players like Darren Helm, Jiri Hudler, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Justin Abdelkader, and Johan Franzen think about that? That this could be the final season they lace up with Nicklas Lidstrom next to them? That the all-time leading American Born player, Mike Modano, left a cushy job in Dallas to come play with his hometown team? He turned down offers worth more to come here.
I’d like to imagine they would say this: That’s what drives this team.
To give them one more shot at the ecstasy of lifting that 30 lb trophy over their head, just one more time before their banners are lifted in their respective homes.
Tick, tock.
Your Detroit Red Wings will look as follows:
Henrik Zetterberg 40 (LW) – Pavel Datsyuk 13 (C) – Tomas Holmstrom 96 (RW)
Todd Bertuzzi 44 (LW) – Valtteri Filppula 51 (C) – Johan Franzen 93 (RW)
Jiri Hudler 26 (LW) – Mike Modano 90 (C) – Danny Cleary 11 (RW)
Drew Miller 20 (LW) – Darren Helm 43 (C) – Patrick Eaves 17 (RW)
Working in: Justin Abdelkader 8 (RW) for Todd Bertuzzi. Kris Draper 33 (C) working in on the fourth line, presumably for Patrick Eaves.
It’s possible since Eaves, Draper and Bertuzzi are all nursing some small injuries, Kirk Maltby 18 (LW) might make the start on the fourth line.
Nicklas Lidstrom 5 (LD) – Jonathan Ericsson 52 (RD)
Brad Stuart 23 (LD) – Brian Rafalski 28 (RD)
Niklas Kronwall 55 (LD) – Ruslan Salei 24 (RD)
Jimmy Howard 35 (G)
Chris Osgood 30 (G)
23:55. Your move.

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