I know I promised another entry on past events from the fall and that will be forthcoming, but today I must talk all things Red Wings, as in case y'all have not noticed they are kicking some butt! How anyone could not adore this sport is beyond me, but apparently many of you do not actually follow the world of ice and sticks and so may have missed last nights game in which the fabulous ones went and beat one of the best goalies in the league right now. Despite being 6'4" and something like 212lbs, Steve Mason could not keep his hefty frame in front of Pavel Datsuk's puck or Marion Hossa's. Of course, no one seems capable of stopping Datsuk (anyone catch the outdoor game at Wrigley field or Datsuk's overtime goal in the shoot out the other night? Stuff of highlight reels, really.)
And now Ty Conklin is coming into his own and starting to find that goalie radar the good ones all seem to get ..... the capability to throw some type of body part or piece of equipment out there and get it on the puck even when there seems to be no human way possible that he even saw the puck coming in that split millisecond. It isn't always pretty but it gets the job done, and I am liking the fact that I am increasingly comfortable with him or Osgood in the net.
So, it is all the more disgusting that none of the Red Wings were chosen for the NHL All Star game, but of course, it is selected based on fan votes a truly bias way to go, in which you have some cities essentially "stuffing the ballot box" to get particular players selected. All too often it can turn into a popularity contest. There are other arguments of course. Some say the Wings are just too good with too many good players and thus, no true standouts to garner votes. Or there is the argument that as a city the Detroit fan base is sadly lacking in enthusiasm (at least until the playoffs, perhaps once more because the Red Wings are consistently so good).
There is also a certain group of Red Wing, shall we say "Haters" out there. Rumor even has it that on the Pittsburgh Penguins website there was a link to the Hawks website with the express purpose to help vote for some of their players to put them in the All Star game and shut-out Red Wing players. Still harboring a little bitterness over last season Pittsburgh? Or are ya just ticked that Hossa decided he liked the look of our team more than yours? (For those of you uneducated hockey people Hossa was a member of the Penguin team last year and made a decision to come play for us and leave Pittsburgh because he wants to win a Stanley cup and he seems to think he has the best chance of doing that with us.) I guess ya can understand why they might be bitter. Today I hear that Lidstrom and Datsuk have been chosen as alternates or reserves for the All Star game, but they are chosen by the general managers and operations department of the NHL, not the fans.
That's okay. My boys can stay home and get the rest... they would probably prefer it anyways. Meanwhile, they will just keep doing what they do. Winning games and plugging away, biding their time until the playoffs roll around. I will keep watching and screaming and "woo-hoo-ing" (I mean Datsuk "soccer-kicked" the puck to Zetterburg last night when he lost his stick... CRAZY move!) Ya gotta love hockey.
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