Weekend analysis: Friday-- good, Saturday -- bad

Blogger gave me the weekend off, so I spent some non-hockey time with Mrs. Deke (hey, unless you can think of a better girlfriend/anonymity gimmick, kiss my ass). I did not see a second of either game the past two days.

However, my inside sources tell me that the Red Wings beat Anaheim on Friday. And they looked very good in doing so. Hank was the man.

But my source's sources tell me that the Minnesota game was a dreadful. A reverse score of Friday's masterpiece. Anytime you give up five goals to the Wild, it's time to question your own gender.

In other news,



4th Line stuff:

"The unit has featured Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Tomas Kopecky for most of the season. It has not been as effective defensively or provided the kind of energy the team would like.

Salary-cap limitations precluded any changes until defenseman Brad Stuart's injury created enough room to recall Darren Helm and Ville Leino from Grand Rapids.

Coach Mike Babcock already has said Helm will be playing in the postseason, just like last year." (Khan)

Kopecky has no right playing over Leino right now, much less
Darren Helm.

So, Kirk Maltby. What's the non-douche way to handle that whole situation? Do you think Babcock really wants to go into the playoffs with the "experience" of Maltby over the energy of Leino? No way in hell. For every intangible thing that Malts supposedly does with his experience-ness, Leino will add double that with actual offensive output. The Cup won't be hanging by a thread that is determined by keeping Kirk Maltby in the lineup, but perhaps injecting Leino will have at least a small, recognizable impact.

The situation feels bad. Malts is by no means a legend or icon, but he's .... something, right? Here were my thoughts before the season started.

"Kirk Maltby has put me in a bit of an emotional pickle. I like the guy, as it's pretty hard not to if you're a Wings fan. He's a high character guy, and judging by his interviews and such I can say that I wouldn't mind sharing a game of Jenga with him. You know, the one with the blocks and shit. It's great. And when you eventually fuck it up and make the tower fall, and your nemesis yells "JENGA" at you like an asshole yelling that "the light is green" at an intersection, you get to play dominoes and make everything better. Jenga is fun."

See? You can't even discuss this without distracting yourself entirely. It's impossible. Why am I still typing.