Bad Juju

[WingNut722]

It's been a very long time since I've seen a goal scored by the Red Wings.  And that's not an over-exaggerated criticism of the team's low goals per game number.  With the exception of Kronwall's winner against Edmonton the other night, I honestly haven't seen a goal scored by Detroit in quite some time.  

 

I never believed much in superstition, but I've been noticing a pattern.  Whenever I turn on a Detroit Red Wings game, the team inexpicably begins losing.  I've had it in my head for a while but it only became solidified last night.  

 

I was finally able to switch to last night's game while the Wings were up 3-1 (after a rousing round of cartoons trying to settle my daughter down to go to sleep).  Matter off act I switched over the channel just in time to see the replay of Zetterberg's scuffle with Kane.  I watched as the Sabres scored three goals.  I turned it off immediately following Bogosian's tie breaker early in the third.  Never turned it back on, but managed to find Detroit had come back to win 5-4 in a shoot-out.

 

So I'm bad juju.... 

 

And to help verify this claim, I will abstain from watching Thursday night's contest against the 'Yotes; a team with a pretty similar record to the Wings, and we'll see.

 

I'd hate to think this is true...I just hate the thought of paying all that money for the Center Ice package not to be able to watch...

[yave1964]

I hope it is not you, lol. If the Wings win 5-0 or some such I think I will have to get your address and send you a personal check to cover center ice. Either that or you have to switch allegiance to a conference rival. Have you ever thought of becoming a Rangers fan, lol?  Or wait, I changed my mind. Montreal.

[WingNut722]

@yave1964

 

Hmm...switching teams, eh?  Well, living in New Jersey it's not a stretch to start donning the Red White and Blue.  On the other hand I do have ancestry from the Montreal area.  Not the worst of choices, both Original Six franchises too!

 

Either way I wouldn't think of taking your money, Yave.  However, I think it might be benficial for you to call me up on game days and provide a continuous Ken Daniels/Mickey Redmond play-by-play.  

[WingNut722]

 @yave1964

 

 Well that's it.  I'll be going now.

 

[yave1964]

 @yave1964

 

 Well that's it.  I'll be going now.

 

Ummmm, this is Time Warner Cable, announcing that your subscription to the NHL Network has been cancelled.......

 

Okay, serious, did you see the game, even on DVR? Wow that last minute of the first may have been the most fun all year. Two goals and a fight within a minute. And Smith held his own against the rugged Chipchura. A college boy against a Western Canadian. Fluky goal by Nyquist reminded me of Lidstroms playoff goal in 2002 against the Canucks in game 3.

  And for the first time since who knows when, we have more goals for than against.

 

  Looking forward to the next game., Be sure not to watch.

[WingNut722]

@yave1964

 

As promised, I stayed away from the game all night.  Didn't even check updates online.  I waited until 10:30 to be sure it was over, then pulled it up on my phone.  Then I just started laughing........

 

What a game to miss!  Seeing the highlights just disappointed me.  And fluky goals or no, it's about time the puck luck starting bouncing Detroit's way.

 

This Saturday we have a friend's Christmas party to attend so I doubt I'll be ale to see the game anyway.  I'll keep away from it as well.  Given the circumstances, I'd like to see if we can widen the margin on Ottawa!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@WingNut722

 

Hmm..the ONLY way to really know if you are "bad juju" is to make a point to actually WATCH games.

Let's see....watch about 5 or 6 straight.

 

If the Wings come up with a 5 or 6 game losing streak, THEN turn in your Det Red Wing fan card

[WingNut722]

@WingNut722

 

Hmm..the ONLY way to really know if you are "bad juju" is to make a point to actually WATCH games.

Let's see....watch about 5 or 6 straight.

 

If the Wings come up with a 5 or 6 game losing streak, THEN turn in your Det Red Wing fan card

 

Assuming of course the Bolts go on a 5 or 6 game tear at the same time and get back up into the playoff spot?  

[Yotes Jackets]

You guys waxed us good.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Assuming of course the Bolts go on a 5 or 6 game tear at the same time and get back up into the playoff spot?  

 

Well, that, of course, would be a deeelicious side effect, but it was FAR from my mind when I posted. 

[WingNut722]

You guys waxed us good.

"I heard" it was an entertaining game to watch. But I would have to say that both Miller and Pulkkinen got waxed pretty good themselves!

[WingNut722]

Well, that, of course, would be a deeelicious side effect, but it was FAR from my mind when I posted.

Of course...!

[SpikeDDS]

Assuming of course the Bolts go on a 5 or 6 game tear at the same time and get back up into the playoff spot?  

The who? ;-P

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

Hmm...switching teams, eh?  Well, living in New Jersey it's not a stretch to start donning the Red White and Blue.  On the other hand I do have ancestry from the Montreal area.  Not the worst of choices, both Original Six franchises too!

 

Either way I wouldn't think of taking your money, Yave.  However, I think it might be benficial for you to call me up on game days and provide a continuous Ken Daniels/Mickey Redmond play-by-play.  

So does this mean you'll be changing your name to LeafsNut722? Or is it PanthersNut722? ;-)

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

The who? ;-P

 

[yave1964]

@WingNut722@SpikeDDS

 

Best Game of the year, by far. Shea Weber a power play hat trick, Nashville holding a two goal lead halfway through the third, essentially game over, right? WRONG!! This was the type of game that if you are not a Hockey Fan going in you are after watching it. Nut, if you missed this one as well, you have to miss the next one again, lol.

[SpikeDDS]

@WingNut722@SpikeDDS

Best Game of the year, by far. Shea Weber a power play hat trick, Nashville holding a two goal lead halfway through the third, essentially game over, right? WRONG!! This was the type of game that if you are not a Hockey Fan going in you are after watching it. Nut, if you missed this one as well, you have to miss the next one again, lol.

Correction, the best game of the year FOR THE VIEWING AUDIENCE. I'm sure Mrazek would not call that his best game of the year. Although, if he stays true to how he usually plays, he's probably forgotten about the game by now. He will certainly take the win. His team bailed him out, and that is a very good thing. ;-)

Will say this: Our PK seemed to miss Drew Miller. 3 PP goals by Weber. What has--apart from goaltending--been arguably the strongest aspect of our game--was lacking. Once again making a "pedestrian" D-man into a superstar. Oh, wait...never mind. ;-P

Couple other notes: I hope that Richards' goal releases the pressure and opens the floodgates for some goals for him. He's been playing so much better and just not getting rewarded. Nice to see a lucky bounce go in for him. Hope in the very near future he scores a scorer's goal to confirm he's back. We need him. Mike Green continues to improve and get active in the offense. It is activating Dekeyser, Kroner, and others as well--or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, I don't care!

In fact, other than the PK and Mrazek's off night, all of the cylinder's were firing otherwise, and in general the last dozen games or so the cylinders have all begun to fire and are now starting to fire together and in harmony. This is really getting fun to watch.

Hey @WingNut722, catch us up on The Walking Dead. I've never actually seen an episode of that, but I really think that with all of the great RedWing hockey you aren't watching, that we need to give you some purpose. So why don't you start from season one and binge watch it for us and catch us up. OK? Thanks buddy!

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

Agreed Mrazek wont think it was the greatest game, but I loved it, lol.

 

  I have a love for solid d-men, Weber has been my favorite non Wing for years, even after his after the buzzer cheapy on Z in the postseason a few years ago. Nice to see a future HOFer have A) the best game of his career, his first hattrick all power plays and B) the Wings still win.

 

  The talk is that Athanasiou is to be recalled for next weeks games, Mantha is rumored to be in consideration for a look see, of the two I would rather see Athanasiou because of Miller being out and Athanasiou and his speed and two way game.

 

   Last night, even with the historic game by Weber, i felt that Green was the best player on the ice. Over and over he would take the puck away from the Preds deep in the Detroit zone and instead of simply passing it out he carried the puck out, he was great! Smith was solid, Ericsson was very good, Kronwall had a decent game. We gave up 4 goals and I still liked our defense overall.

 

Agreed Miller was sorely missed, Jurco was, well, Jurco and he and Andersson took stupid penalties that led to Weber owning us. Athanasiou has been on fire at Grand Rapids and should fit nicely on the bottom six.

[SpikeDDS]

@SpikeDDS

 

Agreed Mrazek wont think it was the greatest game, but I loved it, lol.

 

  I have a love for solid d-men, Weber has been my favorite non Wing for years, even after his after the buzzer cheapy on Z in the postseason a few years ago. Nice to see a future HOFer have A) the best game of his career, his first hattrick all power plays and B) the Wings still win.

 

  The talk is that Athanasiou is to be recalled for next weeks games, Mantha is rumored to be in consideration for a look see, of the two I would rather see Athanasiou because of Miller being out and Athanasiou and his speed and two way game.

 

   Last night, even with the historic game by Weber, I felt that Green was the best player on the ice. Over and over he would take the puck away from the Preds deep in the Detroit zone and instead of simply passing it out he carried the puck out, he was great! Smith was solid, Ericsson was very good, Kronwall had a decent game. We gave up 4 goals and I still liked our defense overall.

 

Agreed Miller was sorely missed, Jurco was, well, Jurco and he and Andersson took stupid penalties that led to Weber owning us. Athanasiou has been on fire at Grand Rapids and should fit nicely on the bottom six.

I agree on Weber. Though I didn't LIKE his cheapy on Z, I was more mad at the league for not properly disciplining him for what he did than at Weber. It wasn't as bad as Malkin in 2009. I still despise Malkin and that he got away with it then. Still bitter, because it turned the series. Weber's thing wasn't as aggregious, but the league was still incompetent. He is also my favorite non-RW blue liner.

This is the time of year when all of our depth is gonna really pay off. AA will be a fine replacement. I agree that his two-way game--from the limited amount of time I've seen Mantha--AA does seem more defensively responsible than Mantha. The cool part is having all of these kids with their skill sets and being able to replace the skill set we have lost to injury. With Miller out, we need a defensive forward to fill the hole. Even though I wouldn't necessarily say AA is a "defensive forward" per se, he'll fill the void better than Mantha would.

I just think the two new veterans are finally gelling after their introductions and injuries delayed that process. We've now got 3 legitimate scoring lines, and our 4th was always reliable, but will need some help with Miller out. Heck, even before he got injured, he was coming on too. He scored the one goal, but before that, he had several quality chances that he just couldn't put in the net. And Green is really beginning to establish his game, and that is happening just as Kroner seems to be finding his. It is helping DDK's offensive game, and may even be helping Brendan Smith redefine himself as well.

The PP is now showing signs of life, but that is honsetly the part of our game that still needs to rise a few notches. A few weeks ago, PP minutes were almost wasted minutes. They aren't that bad now, but I don't think they are too much of a penalty deterrent yet, and they need to be.

What's exciting is that even with the loss of The Pulk and Miller, I don't have too many fears so long as the PK thing gets addressed. It's fun to watch these games. Too bad @WingNut722 can't watch them. I'm hoping by the time you read this that he is almost through watching The Walking Dead Season 1. ;-)

[yave1964]

Our big three adds over the offseason, Green, Richards and Larkin are all working out quite well. At this point Pavel and Z are becoming the weak links on the team, it is inevitable they will get it going but both are really off their game right now....

 

  Speaking of the PP, Larkin only has one PPP all year, the plus/minus is fine but lets get him more time on the power play, especially with Z struggling. The kid deserves it.

  And Wingnut when you are done watching Walking Dead, try Jessica Jones on Netflix. Pretty cool series.

[WingNut722]

@yave1964  @SpikeDDS

 

OK hang on a sec, I'm writing down my winter viewing list.

 

Walking Dead.......

Jessica Jones....

 

I could start going through my wife's Gilmore Girls DVDs too

 

Anything else?

 

 

No, I did not watch that game and I'm really kicking myself!  My instinct with the bad juju was that the Red Wings would just win if I didn't watch, not create some of the most "watchable" hockey this ideas.  I watched Nyquist's OT goal on replay and heard Ken and Mickey just go absolutely off the wall.  I knew then that I had missed "another" doozy...  This sucks...!!   

 

Actually, as I mentioned, we were at a Christmas party that evening, so I wouldn't have been able to watch anyway.  And Spike, to reference your previous comment about changing my screen name, it might be possible, but in order to retain the "Nut", I have to choose a team with a mascot that isn't already anatomically endowed with such things.  BlackHawkNut....Ouch!

 

Dallas is doing well, why don't I go for "StarNut722"  Sounds Christmas-y to me!  Or "BoltNut722" is actually pretty catchy!

 

So the Caps, Habs and Devils coming up.  Can I watch any hockey this week, Dad?  Please, PRETTY PLEEEAAASE!!!

[yave1964]

@yave1964  @SpikeDDS

 

OK hang on a sec, I'm writing down my winter viewing list.

 

Walking Dead.......

Jessica Jones....

 

I could start going through my wife's Gilmore Girls DVDs too

 

Anything else?

 

 

No, I did not watch that game and I'm really kicking myself!  My instinct with the bad juju was that the Red Wings would just win if I didn't watch, not create some of the most "watchable" hockey this ideas.  I watched Nyquist's OT goal on replay and heard Ken and Mickey just go absolutely off the wall.  I knew then that I had missed "another" doozy...  This sucks...!!   

 

Actually, as I mentioned, we were at a Christmas party that evening, so I wouldn't have been able to watch anyway.  And Spike, to reference your previous comment about changing my screen name, it might be possible, but in order to retain the "Nut", I have to choose a team with a mascot that isn't already anatomically endowed with such things.  BlackHawkNut....Ouch!

 

Dallas is doing well, why don't I go for "StarNut722"  Sounds Christmas-y to me!  Or "BoltNut722" is actually pretty catchy!

 

So the Caps, Habs and Devils coming up.  Can I watch any hockey this week, Dad?  Please, PRETTY PLEEEAAASE!!!

LOL!

 

Come on back to the dark side, even without the last two games under your belt, we are on a ten game point streak (7-0-3) so I don't think you are jinxing the boys at all, lol. Welcome back!

 

BTW I collect cards, today I received the rookie card of Dylan Larkin. 10 bucks well spent.

[WingNut722]

 

BTW I collect cards, today I received the rookie card of Dylan Larkin. 10 bucks well spent.

 

And another $5 getting a sturdy plastic sleeve to keep it in mint.

 

If you have a Franzen cards you can just clip them into the spokes of your bike!

[yave1964]

@WingNut722

 

I am the ultimate Hockey Card geek, well over a hundred thousand, I have just a ridiculous amount of cards, many based off of themes. For instance I have an autographed card of every single member of the 1997 and 1998 as well as 2002 Red Wings, I am putting the 2008 Wings autographs together. Larkin, when his card first came out a month ago it was going for 25 bucks on line, I waited for the initial rush to die down, 10 bucks is still a bit pricy for me for a rookie, if he were with any other team no way would I have spent even that much, but well........

[SpikeDDS]

Speaking of Larkin, @yave1964 did you have any idea that he would be this good this fast? The kid just totally gets this game. Can't believe he's only 19! How the heck did he get passed over long enough to let us pick him? I know he can score, but he is making other players better too. Slick passing. Opportunistic and solid D for a O man. +19 is just sick! It's amazing how few 5-on-5 goals have been scored with him on the ice. Just a handful. That's what I think is amazing. Other young forwards might score, but they also tend to give up lots of goals too. Not Larkin. He's responsible. Smart. Fast!

Z had a great start, but has slowed down to pedestrian levels. Pav's not yet really going. Little flashes here and there, but nothing consistent yet. It will be quite a thing if these guys can get their games back along with Larkin, Green, and Richards, adding to Tats and Nyke. If that core gets going offensively without coughing up chances, this could be a very interesting season.