Wing Wheeled: Same Old Garbage

December 7, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Well, at least people liked my classic Quebec Nordiques road blue jersey. And well, the atmosphere was nice with plenty of proud Red Wing fans sprinkled around along with about a group of 50 from Sweden. Hell. I even ran into some fans in from Quebec City. One of which was there to cheer his Wings. How did that happen? Of course, he had his girlfriend lending moral support. I showed them their seats and then found a couple of other Quebecers with that cool French Canadian accent praising my jersey.

So, why the title? Because our team officially sucks. There’s no reason to even play the remaining 53 as this dysfunctional batch wearing Ranger jerseys aren’t seeing the playoffs unless they purchase a ticket. Not when even on a night Brian Boyle found the back of the net, Henrik Lundqvist reverted with a softie right thru the wickets with 2:03 left, sending many including us to the exits.

Hey. At least the Detroit contingent had something to cheer. They were everywhere. Ran into Mickey Redmond too before the game as he was getting ready to enter the broadcast booth for Hockey Town. Dave Maloney also was there and we gave him some love, saying he deserved to be on national TV which he appreciated. Joe Micheletti also was there. Think both he and Maloney auto’d this diehard fan Steve’s home white Ranger jersey which had between 25-30 on it, including <gulp> Al Rotwig. Apparently, he gets everyone and considers the ‘casters part of the team, noting how Wiggie was shocked because nobody ever asks for his. Duh.

Look. I knew they had no chance in Hell of winning this game. We don’t beat the Red Wings. The one time they did was a few years prior when The Dominator had a nightmarish first that included losing the puck for an empty netter. And that was in the real bad days when it was humiliating to lose to us. Well, those days have returned. Even with Marian Gaborik leading in goals and second in scoring, this team is God awful. To make matters worse, the Wings did a great job keying on The Big Ticket, holding him without a shot. Gabby tried but Nick Lidstrom was real strong, making a key defensive play before Dan Cleary’s decider. Guess that’s what happens when you play the best as soon after, Lidstrom fed Henrik Zetterberg, who was unstoppable all game, setting up the first two Wing scores in what amounted to an all to predictable 3-1 win.

Zetterberg faked and then held the puck forever before shooting down low to Cleary, who somehow squeaked one through from a horrible angle. Do the words swiss cheese mean anything to The Queen? I know it’s too hard to ask him to come up with consecutive good games as even the first Detroit marker was off a leaky rebound of a sharp angle Zetterberg backhand. Maybe he was in a giving mood against his countrymen. It’s just so disappointing because he didn’t play badly. But the guy just doesn’t get it done often enough for this team to have a chance. So, while the joke known as The Garden continues to whore him in every Garden Of Dreams ad along with overpriced Casino Night, when does he start living up to his celebrity status? Lundqvist after a game in which Jimmy Howard outplayed him by a country mile, stoning Ryan Callahan on a penalty shot and denying Chris Higgins’ bid:

“I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t really see it in front of me. I was expecting a shot earlier, and then I just went far down and I kind of got stuck there. It is a tough one to let in that late.”

That would be because ageless Tomas Holmstrom was doing the screening just as he had at the conclusion of a Detroit power play in the mid-frame that led to Pavel Datsyuk evening it. Still one he can’t allow. Especially at that critical juncture when just getting a point in this ass backwards league is life and death. You wonder what the deal is with Lundqvist. Why does he suffer so many concentration lapses? The people standing behind us in Sec.411 kept referring to how this franchise will never win with him. What does that say? Would it kill John Tortorella to see what Chad Johnson can do? Of course, he won’t be in when they visit the Windy City Wednesday. But with it blatantly obvious that this edition is better off missing and playing for a lottery pick, what’s the point of overplaying Henrik?

It doesn’t get any easier after the Blackhawks as the Sabres pay a visit to MSG Saturday and the much more skilled Thrashers also come in. And here’s what’s even sadder. Atlanta has a realistic shot of making the playoffs with Nik Antropov anchoring their first line. All Russian with Buffalo castoff Maxim Afinogenov and super duper star Ilya Kovalchuk. They also have a good goalie tandem with Ondrej Pavelec and Johan Hedberg each performing well. Plus a nice supporting cast that includes Rich Peverley, Slava Kozlov, Todd White, Bryan Little, Evander Kane and a revamped blueline built around Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian. Remember when they had no hope after unloading Marian Hossa to the Pens for a package that included hexed Angelo Esposito? Look at the team they’ve built.

When does it happen here? Maybe when they stop obsessing over the annoying egocentric Dancin’ “Homo” Larry. What exactly does this buffoon do? Is he on the payroll? Everytime he does his redundant choreographed routine, it’s the opponent that usually scores as was the case tonight. And yes. That was basically uttered before they put the damn spotlight on him. When you have fans uttering, “Game over,” you know it’s gotten way played out. Our section hates him with a passion. Where do you think the “Homo Larry” chant originated from?

Look. I could care less how passionate this baldheaded stooge is. Nobody who pays for their ticket comes to see him dance. If we wanted a Disco Night, go to a night club. There are plenty to choose from. This is H-O-C-K-E-Y! Someone needs to get that message out to Dolan and the losers. Heck. Our fan of the game was a security guard, who the whole night stood next to us and even remarked how it’s time for them to stop showing Larry. When is enough ENOUGH?

Here’s hoping we at least get a good lottery pick.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Nicklas Lidstrom, Det (2 assists, 3 SOG, hit, 2 blocked shots, +1 in 26:15)

2nd Star-Henrik Zetterberg, Det (2 assists, game high 7 SOG, +2 in 22:51)

1st Star-Jimmy Howard, Det (28 saves incl. stop on Cally PS and Higgins breakaway, 12/12 in 3rd)