So we head into tonight's contest against the Calgary Flames one point ahead of them for the 8th and final spot in the Western Conference Play-offs race.  Where have we seen that before?  Oh, that's right, last Tuesday when we called it "the biggest game of the year" only to see the Wings get outshot 15-5 in the final frame at home and lose.  Now, it's payback time.

From the Free Press...

"The Flames have been playing good, and they beat us at home, and that was a game we really needed to win. So we need to get back at them right away, and this is a good chance.  We need to play with the same hunger and desperation we've had the last few games."--Johan Franzen

Thanks to the Vancouver Canucks, the Wings stayed ahead of the Flames when all was said and done with the NHL action yesterday.  In this newest group of 5 games, the Wings are currently two for two and need to keep batting a thousand.  Tonight is one of those "four point games".  Worst case scenario: Flames win in regulation and we're once again behind them by one point.  Best case scenario: Wings win in regulation and we're clear of them by 4 points.

God, a cushion of over a game would be sweet.

In other news, Ozzie still doesn't know when he's going to see another game:

"Mike (Babcock) hasn't said anything. I just practice hard and have fun, that's it. That sums it up right there."

It's nice to see that Osgood is no longer being vocal about his displeasure.  I'm sure he angry as hell...and that's a good thing.  He's a competitor and quite frankly, who wants a goalie that's content to sit on the bench and watch every night.  Hang in there, Ozzie.

Yesterday, I showed you a poster that just wouldn't caputre the drama of today's game.  This movie was probably before a lot NOHS readers' time, but I hope you at least know what I'm going for here...

March 13th: Buffalo Sabres @ Detroit Red Wings

Grab your beers and kleenex, this is going to be a tear jerker for somebody... 

Which one of you was claiming that Mike Babcock had a "if it's not broke, try and fix it" approach to our line-up?  Chris and I had a coach who did that in college and it sucks.  Well Babcock isn't playing that game according to Khan(!)...

Coach Mike Babcock said he isn't planning on any lineup changes for Saturday's game against Buffalo at Joe Louis Arena (7 p.m., FSN), meaning Jimmy Howard will make his 15th consecutive start in goal and Brett Lebda stays in on defense in place of Jonathan Ericsson.

So there you have it...

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Filppula-Zetterberg-Cleary
Bertuzzi-Miller-Williams
Draper-Helm-Eaves

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Lebda-Lilja
Ericsson-Meech (scratches)

Howard (starting)
Osgood

Be the better Miller, Drew...be the better Miller and we win this game.

From NHLfanhouse...

According to Greg Brady, a radio host on 640-AM in Toronto, the Boca Raton, Fla. hotel where the NHL's general managers stayed didn't even carry Versus, forcing some disgruntled GMs out in search of somewhere to watch Monday's thrilling Dallas-Washington game -- a Stars' shootout win.

Hey General Managers...go home and tell your owners about that.  They're the ones that are allowing Gary Bettman and his Versus obsession to remain.  We don't want to be a niche sport, yet our "flagship" network isn't even carried by DirectTV, a major distributor.  I think it was in Indiana a year or two ago when my sporadic co-author, Chris had to convince a local restaurant that Versus was a real channel, because they had never heard of it (the play-offs were going on).

Chris, the GMs, and the entire state of Indiana aren't the only ones who have had past problems...

Just last season, during the conference finals, Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood told CBC Sports that Versus wasn't available at Detroit's team hotel in Chicago.

"I haven't even seen a game yet," Osgood said. "The hotel we were in doesn't have Versus.

"I saw a bit of the last game in a restaurant from a distance, but that was it. I put it on my phone live and try to get the updates as it goes along. I haven't seen them, but I've read about them on my phone."

Ridiculous.  Inexcusable.  Thanks, Gary. Ass.

So since it's Friday, and I like to plan ahead, I thought I would spend a few minutes trying to draft up the movie poster for tomorrow's pre-game.  Let's recap what we've done so far...

Nashville: 10,000 BC (the poster had a sabre-tooth tiger on it)

Chicago: Indian in the Cupboard

Calgary: Reign of Fire

Minnesota: Wild Wild West

Which now brings us to Buffalo.  Do you know how hard it is to find a movie with 'Buffalo', 'Sabre', or an image of either of those?  It's not easy, let me tell you.  I was able to throw something together, but I decided to go another way.  But since I put the work in and I think it was fairly well done, I thought it only fair to go ahead and post what could have been the movie poster for tomorrow's game.

You'll have to check back tomorrow to see what it really is.

Here's another installment of "find an obscure Red Wings fan", a favorite of NOHS reader, Eats, who is on vacation down in the sunny south right now.

From mLive.com...

It happened almost in a flash for Allison Busch.

The Swartz Creek native had just arrived in Brooklyn in 2003, drum set in tow. In less than a year her band Awesome Color went from playing parties and weekly  shows to a record deal and national tours with alternative rock legends Sonic Youth.

Okay, cool, but what does that have to do with the Red Wings?

Allison (center) and her band, Awesome Color

Q: The band got its start in Brooklyn, but you just moved back to Detroit. Why?

A: Money for one thing. Rents there are three times what they are in Michigan and we've been touring so much that it didn't make a lot of sense to keep paying all that money if we were never there. Plus, I'm a Red Wings fan and it's nice to be able to actually watch some games again.

Hey, thatta girl.  Rent money is important, but we all know the REAL reason Allison came back to Detroit.  Welcome back, lady.  Let's hope that we're still watching Red Wings hockey along with you all the way into June.

For today's rub-it-in-your-nose segment, of course we're going to Hockey Wilderness every Detroit Red Wing fan's least favorite Minnesota Wild site to grab some comments...wait...there's only 6.  Hell, let's grab them all, then.

HS hockey might be the better bet... At least those kids can put pucks on net.

by SpaethCo on Mar 11, 2010 7:08 PM EST

Notice the time of this comment...this was posted before the game was even started.  Clearly the fans were feeling pretty confident heading into the Joe after putting up 11 shots on the Florida Panthers over 65 minutes of playing.

This is painful to watch.

by shleske on Mar 11, 2010 8:01 PM EST

Only a half hour into the broadcast...I'm guessing this fell somewhere between Detroit's 3rd goal and Minnesota's first.  Then the line went dead for two hours...

Understatement...It’s like October all over again.

by SpaethCo on Mar 11, 2010 10:01 PM EST

A little late response to shleske's from eight o'clock.  But they were probably too busy banging their heads against the wall watching this game.

My guess...Desire to write game recap = 0.

by SpaethCo on Mar 11, 2010 10:31 PM EST

You HAD to know what Pinky wasn't going to be the one writing this re-cap.

 Almost as embarrassing as the loss against the Panthers. The guys played with no heart and seem like they have given up on the season. Honestly the only thing i can look forward to now is the draft.

by taralynn09 on Mar 11, 2010 11:07 PM EST

Not a bad strategy, Tara...just look what it did for Blackhawks and the Penguins.

Ugh

Not fun to come home to this.

by nathaneide on Mar 12, 2010 12:05 AM EST

Poor Nathan.

Oh and let's go back a few posts just for fun and take one more quote from Pinky who was responding to Casey from WIM, who called him out on belittling his 'Pinky and the Brain' post yesterday...

The part I remember was 25 or so people acting like children, calling names, and attacking me and my family on a personal level, all because I did what I have a right to do, express my opinion. Then, after being pushed and pushed for hours and I snapped back, those same 25 or so people coming at me even harder, as though it were a fun little game to have emails from family members wanting to know if they were really in danger or not.

But hey, I won’t put those emails out in public, so they must not really exist, right?

But thanks for bringing that up again for me. I can feel the support washing over me. When this all blows up again, make sure you remind your fellow Wings fans who fired the first salvo in this round, OK?

Yup, still bitter.

That was Red Wings hockey last night, folks.

Sure it got a little boring towards the middle, but if you remember, that's what Red Wings hockey used to be all about.  Detroit would get the lead and then lock it down...completely.  It's why teams used to absolutely hate playing against the Red Wings.  They would never get the puck.

Don't worry about what other teams are doing as long as we keep winning.

Well, alright let's see what the other Western Conference teams did last night...

Not a good night in terms of help from...thanks Ottawa, Florida, and Long Island.  But look at the snowman that the Sushi put up on Bubba...damn.  No big shake-ups in the standings...

But we are only one point out of seventh AND eighth place right now.  So all Detroit has to do is keep winning.  No way that both Nashville and Calgary stays hot for the entire stretch.  We just have to win one more game than either of these teams from here on out.

Well since the feedback (when asked for) has been so positive, here is the 4th installment of my pre-game movie poster.

3/11: Minnesota Wild @ Detroit Red Wings

Wild Wild West, Franzen, desperado, rough rider
No you don't want nada
None of this, gun in this, Swedish runnin this, 
Zetterberg soldier, look it's like I told ya
Any play-off run that's in distress
Be out of of that mess when the Wings run the West
Rough neck so go check Tick Tock and abide
Watch your step with flex and get an Eaves in your side
Swallow your pride, don't let your lip react
You don't wanna see Bert's hand where your neck be at
With all of this, from the start of this
Runnin the game, the league's best tamin the west so remember the name
Now who ya gonna call?

We going straight through the Wild Wild West
We going straight through the Wild Wild West

Now, now, now, now once upon a time in the west
Mad men burned up all their equipment in the west
The Wild, got 70 points, nothin' less
Now we must put their behinds to the test (can you feel me)
Then through the shadows, in the saddle, ready for battle
Bring all your boys in, here come the poison
Behind my back, all the bloggin' ya did,
Front and center, now where your lip at kid?
Who dat is? A Charlie Buckets, bad for your health
Lookin damn good though, if I could say it myself
Told me Pinky is a mad man, but I don't fear that
Got MGD too, ain't tryin to hear that
Tryin to bring down the D, the champion
When y'all Wild gon' see that it can't be done
Understand me son, Dats is the slickest they is, 
Helm the quickest they is, did I say Dats is the slickest they is?
So if you barking up the wrong tree we comin, don't be startin nothin
Me and my Red Wings gonna test your chest, Latendresse
Can't stand the heat then get out the Wild Wild West

From the Detroit News...

"I wouldn't mind feeling a bit more tension and anxiety in this room. These guys think they are in. You talk to them and they just believe they're getting in, and I think that's great. But you and I both know the only way we're getting in is if we start playing better.  And I'm not just talking about playing better for a period or for a few minutes. I'm talking for 60 minutes. We need to put a run together. Are we capable? Yes. But the intensity level and how hard we play has to pick up."--Mike Babcock

Oh and Mike doesn't agree with Mickey Redmond in terms of how many games you have to win out of every five:

"I said we have to win four out of every five the rest of the way.  Since we lost, now we have to run the table and win the next four."

That's a tall order, coach.  I'm fairly certain that winning 13 out of the final 16 games would get us into the post-season...but is that an attainable goal? 

Aim high, I guess.