Skate Off That Turkey Bloat

First I have to apologize to my three readers for not posting in awhile. Due to a combination of sick kid, work, and general laziness, farting around on the interwebs wasn't a high priority. That being said, I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving festivities were very good, despite me cooking for a house full of Packer fans. And even though the Lions lost, I didn't sabotage the meal. That's why today's headlines are full of morons pepper spraying each other for buy one get one free Crocs and not "Southern Wisconsin family suffering from volcanic diarrhea".

With these last two wins by the Wings, the standings look a lot different than a couple of weeks ago. They are on the better side of the goals for/goals against ratio with a +12. They still take the most shots in the League and their shots against are among the lowest, usually in the one or two spot. These may seem like dork stats, but in the long run they usually turn out favorable for a team. Some of the teams that are on top of the league may be scoring butt tons of goals, but they are also giving up too many.

Now today the Wings go into Boston to face the red hot Bruins. The Bruins come into this game riding a 10 game win streak, scoring a shitload of goals while doing it. This is a good test for the Red Wings, to see if they can shut down a high-powered offense while still getting shots to the net. All four lines will have to work hard because Boston runs deep in their line-up. Not only will getting shots on important, but the quality of those shots will count when you are facing Tim Thomas.

So what is going to be the deciding factor in this game? It will be the anti Ken/Mick jinx. During the pre-game or first five minutes of the game, one of them will mention some kind of streak or milestone that is like the Sword of Damocles hanging over the game. How many times have we heard, "So and so hasn't scored a goal against the Wings in X amount of time", only to have that player have a 4 point night? Even though this is a NBC game, in my head, I can hear Ken or Mick really talking up Boston's win streak. And that is what cuts the horse's hair.

Could I be any more obtuse in coming up with a deciding factor? At least I didn't consult with the psychic octopus that picks soccer matches.

No, Jimmy will have to be extra sharp. The back check will have to help out the defense. And they need to crash the net making life for Thomas difficult while piling up the shots. How do you like that? I basically just said what every coach has said since the dawn of time. Oops, I forgot, "we just need to stick to the basics and keep the puck in their end".

Well, I gotta go and see if I can get pepper sprayed while battling some tard for a $10 dollar crock-pot Thunderdome style.

Lets Go Wings