Full Tilt

[WingNut722]

Last night’s tilt at Joe Louis Arena was a hard-hitting, intense battle for control in the Central Division. A lot of things went into the pot tonight to stir things up between these two clubs…

- A tied season series to date

- 16-game win streak at home for the Red Wings

- 6-game win streak overall for the Red Wings

- 5-game win streak for the Blues

- 4 of Detroit’s the last seven games have gone to a shootout

- A chance for either team to obtain/retain the top spot in the NHL

- The obligatory media frenzy talking about a playoff series between the two

This was to be a huge test for Detroit with what appears to be a slipping offense of late. With solid defense and strong goaltending, the Wings have been able to hang on and snag a lot of points by shootout wins. With the St. Louis Blues matching Detroit’s defensive prowess, the fire had to be lit under the offense to get going, lest the Red Wings win streak(s) come to an end.

Nevertheless, the Wings were victorious 3-1 in regulation which has to feel good to know that you “still got it.” The road record is always going to be mentioned when talking about Detroit, but they’ve won their last two since an embarrassing performance against the Islanders on January 10^th. It’s only 2, but it’s still 2-0. You have to have 2 before you can get 3, and so on….

Next stop, Montreal. The struggling Habs will definitely come out harder against their Original 6 rivals, and especially being at home, the fans will be completely out of their skulls. That said, I fully expect Ty Conklin to get the nod in net this coming Wednesday at the Bell Centre. He’s been a lot better and Babcock has been trusting him more, which is the only way he’ll get to prove himself. But after Montreal and the All-Star break, the Wings hit the road for a four-game trip into western Canada and California. While they’ll have at least one day in between each of those contests, this is still going to be a grinding endurance test. If Detroit takes at least 6 out of 8 points, they’ll come home confident that they’ve dispelled their road woes. Even 5 points would go a long way.