Weekend of Win

Huet looks surprised that the puck stayed OUT of the net…

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Two divisional matchups. Two wins. Two points apiece.

I’m sure there will be plenty of folks out there who declare that the Wings have put the ‘Hawks and Predators “on notice” with a pair of wins this weekend, but I don’t see it that way. I see a team that looks like they are ready to do business in the race for the NHL playoffs. Moral victories and feel good moments have no place in that locker room right now. It’s all about two points every time they hit the ice, because those points will take care of the pressure that’s on the shoulders of this team right now. “Statements” aren’t important right now. The only statement that means anything is two more points in the column and another step forward towards the playoff picture.

The Wings know this. They know they  have to hunker down and power through the obstacles. It started on Friday when they buried a tired Predators team early and it continued with a gritty, grimy effort against a very talented Blackhawks team in their own barn. Two wins against a pair of teams that the Wings are looking up at in the standings. If you subscribe to the theory that this team should beat the teams that are below them and compete with the teams above them, this weekend has been a complete success. There will be critics who point at the fact that the Wings almost blew it today against the ‘Hawks and who poo-poo the win over a “tired” Predators team. When it happens, the Wings can smile and point to the climbing point total and go right back to the business of getting to the playoffs. There’s no need to justify how games are won anymore. Each pair of points speaks volumes.

Briefly, some additional observations:

• Worst development of the weekend has to be the loss of Todd Bertuzzi to what is being described as a “charley horse”. Bert was all kinds of bad in the first period of the game today, but he was arguably the MVP of the second period, tallying a pair of assists and getting it done at both ends of the ice. I know there will be a smattering of folks who feel that the Wings may be better off without Bert in the lineup, but I have a hard time justifying that from over here. Yes, there may be players around the league who are a better fit for this system of hockey than Bertuzzi is, but they aren’t on the team. The fact is that the Wings are a better team with Bert on the ice than without him, so we should all be hoping that this is only a minor setback that can be remedied with some rest and stretching. We can deal with the Bert “situation” in the offseason. For now, he’s a Wing and we should all be hoping he’s in the lineup against Calgary.

• Secondary scoring has been a huge issue for the Wings throughout the entire season, but there’s indications that may be starting to work itself out. Since returning from the Olympic break, the Wings have gotten two goals each from Jason Williams and Darren Helm, along with a goal from the snakebitten-of-late Valtteri Filppula. Good to see some other players getting in the mix, but the re-emergence of guys like Bertuzzi, Danny Cleary, Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller would be an incredible boost for the Wings down the stretch.

• I can’t say I’ve been overly impressed with Jimmah since the end of the break. He’s doing what he needs to do to get wins, but he seems to have taken a small step back since the Olympic break. Maybe it’s the fact that Babcock is tinkering with the defense in front of him, but I’m just not seeing Howard with the same confidence he had before the break. No cause for alarm, just hoping that Jimmah is working himself back from the layoff.

Here’s the numbers from the weekend:

Production Charts (3/5 vs. Nashville)

*The season totals are updated here and here.

Line Production

Special Teams Production

Production Charts (3/7 @ Chicago)

*The season totals are updated here and here.

Line Production

Special Teams Production

Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Danny Cleary, Darren Helm, Drew Miller, Jason Williams, Nashville Predators, Patrick Eaves, The Jimmah Howard Experiment, Todd Bertuzzi, Valtteri Filppula