I got nothing.

How can you possibly expect me to come up with a title at this time? How could I possibly choose just a few succinct words to describe how I'm feeling right now, at this very moment?

The Wings lost 6-5 in a shootout tonight.

This was after the Oilers scored the first goal of the game 0:42 into the first period. And after they scored the second goal of the game before the first half of the first period was up. And after they converted a Wings penalty to make the game 3-0 before the first buzzer. And after the Oilers took to the ice at the beginning of the second and made the game 4-0 within the first minute of the second period. And after the Wings rebounded from a 5-1 deficit to tie up the game, forcing overtime, after the Oilers shat themselves for the duration of the third period.

It was after the Wings fired off forty-five shots.

It was after Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves each scored their first goals of the season--Mr. Helm with his first career regular-season goal ever, despite being a postseason phenomenon last spring.

It was after Todd Bertuzzi finally had some luck with the net.

It was after a disgusting number of shots by the likes of Kris Draper, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, et al., bounced off the post or somehow off Nikolai Khabibulin (bleh).

It was after the Wings rebounded during the latter part of the game, controlling play, keeping the puck out of their own zone for the most part, after being dry humped by the Oilers all throughout the neutral zone and in their own territory during the early portion of the game.

And then it all came down to a shootout, in which, apparently, Datsyuk and Zetterberg had given up the idea of trying to put some stank on their shots. I love shootouts, as long as they don't involve my team.

I kinda don't feel anything. Maybe frustrated due to the loss after all that? Maybe weirdly optimistic due to the comeback (i.e., the Wings deciding to give a shit for at least 1/3 of the game tonight)? Maybe just kinda bleh. Super bleh. Super fuck.

***

Brian was correct on a comment he left on the Tuesday recap: Jimmy Howard scares the shit outta me with his rebounds. He made some spectacular saves tonight; conversely, how much did my heart skip a beat when a loose rebound squeaked toward the slot? Howard has fast reflexes and is obviously a quick-thinking goaltender, but his puck-handling has got to improve.

***

Yeah. So, guess who has two thumbs and felt like a total jackass. Of all the songs that could have possibly played during the game tonight, and of all the songs that could have been chosen by the Rexall Place maestro to pump up the crowd for one of Edmonton's power plays (one of the ones they ended up converting), of course "Cat Scratch Fever" was it. I can't believe that rat bastard Ted Nugent betrayed me. My permanent dibs are officially off.

***

Is this the end of the world? Aside from my breakup with Ted Nugent, no. I'm just extremely frustrated right now. This is a horrible way to lose. On top of wanting my team to win for obvious reasons, winning this game tonight would have made an amazing statement that the team is on the right track. Tonight's play was horribly inconsistent and maddening. What else is there to say?

***

Holy fuck on a stick: I just checked the news to see if there were any updates on Valtteri Filppula since he left the ice mid-game with an undisclosed injury. Per the Detroit Free Press, Filppula will be out for 6-8 weeks due to a broken wrist. Sigh.