Hey Hey Hockeytown

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 last night to record their 7th straight win. Goaltender Jimmy Howard made 22 saves while goals from Datsyuk, Holmstrom, and Bertuzzi lead the Detroit charge. The wings have recorded points in their last 11 games and have a 13-2-1 record since the Olympic break (best in the league).

With the regular season winding down, the Wings currently hold the 6th spot in the Western conference with 95 points. They trail the Nashville Predators (96 points) and Vancouver Canucks (96 points). Detroit, who was looking at a 7th or 8th seed a month ago after a shaky start to the season, could realistically play their way into a 4-seed for this years Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The record isn't the only impressive aspect of this teams current playoff push; its the way they are winning games. The wings have outscored opponents 53-37 over this stretch of 16 games and goaltender Jimmy Howard has been incredible with a 2.31 gaa, starting in every game. He also has faced criticism this season for a number of OT losses but was huge in an 11 round shootout with the Nashville Predators on March 27. Howard is quickly becoming a fan favorite, especially after white-washing Sidney Crosby with a glove to the face following a 3-1 W over the Pens last Monday. Crosby went after Red Wing star forward and Assistant captain, Henrik Zetterburg, at the end of regulation. Both players received minor penalties for the incident. Howard has drawn a lot of attention around the league and there are whispers of Howard playing his way into contention for rookie of the year.

The energy and enthusiasm the Wings are putting into each game has sent a buzz through Hockeytown. It is almost as if they refuse to lose another game this season. Things could not have been more improbable or exciting than they were during a three game stretch in mid March during a Western Conference road trip through Canada (Recap below).

• 3/15/2010 - Tomas Holmstrom scored a game winner vs. Calgary with 1:19 left in regulation to cap off a 2-1 W. At the time, Calgary was nipping at the heels of the Red Wings for the 8th spot in the Western Conference.

• 3/19/2010 - The next game, Brian Rafalski scored with 0.4 seconds left in regulation to tie things at 2-2 and send the game to a OT with the Edmonton Oilers. Though they would eventually lose in a shootout, Rafalski managed to save the Wings a much needed point for the OTL.

• 3/20/2010 - The Wing's Henrik Zetterburg buried an OT game winner vs. Vancouver in the next game with literally no time left on the clock for a 4-3 W.

It doesn't end there, in their most recent dramatic win, the Wings blew a 4-0 lead at home to the worst team in the league, Edmonton, only to have defense-man Brad Stuart redirect a Pavel Datsyuk shot for a controversial game winner with 1:07 left on the clock on March 30th.

The Wings can also thank forward Henrik Zetterburg for much of the recent success. Z has scored 7 goals and helped out with 11 assists over the 16 post-Olympic games. Zetterburg is also known league wide for his abilities as a great defensive-forward, boasting a (+/-) of 10 through these games.

The Wings have 5 games remaining and are looking at a great schedule to finish out strong. In what could be the biggest game of the season so far, the Predators will head to Joe Louis arena on Saturday night to battle for that 5th spot mentioned above. There could be a lot of last minute shuffling in the Western Conference as Detroit will then travel to Philadelphia for a clash with the Flyers. After that they wings are looking at a Home-Away with Columbus who they have a 3-0-1 record against and are +10 goals over the 4 games they have already played this season. They will end the season with a road trip to face Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Detroit has picked the right time of year to be clicking on all cylinders and is going to be carrying a lot of momentum into what should be one of the most exciting post-seasons of NHL hockey in recent memory.

Next Game: Saturday April 3, 2010 vs. Nashville Predators (TV: Fox Sports Detroit)