Mild , Spicy or Suicide ?

It is Wing Night for the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

Will it matter that the Red Wings top two scorers , Datsyuk and Zetterburg , have more points (wings ) than the Habs leading marker – Tomas Plekanec ? Not really .

Will it matter that the Detroit team has eleven players with ten or more points (wings) and the Habs have only eight ? Nope.

What about the fact the hockey club from the city that calls itself  ‘ Hockeytown ‘ is two points ( wings ) behind the Habs in the overall scheme of things and possess two games ( four wings ) in hand ? Will that matter ?

Not at all.

What will matter is Carey Price and the Montreal defence. Period.

Les Canadiens arrive in Windsor ce soir on the coat tails of a three game winning streak. The Wings have lost two straight at home after losing all but one in the entire season so far. What this means is a recipe for a very good match – up between the best team in the West and arguably – the best in the East.

Gordie Howe would probably love to be able to sit next to Maurice Richard tonight and share a couple of beers . The pair could reminisce about Doug Harvey and Marcel Pronovost as they watch Nicklas Lidstrom and Roman Hamrlik defend their zones. Hamrlik is one of the leaders on the Hab defence corps especially on the penalty killing unit. The Habs rank number one in the league in that department and the Wings are no slouches either –  they are eighth in the league when down a man and they will attempt to stop a much improved Canadiens powerplay which ranks tenth.  The Wings’ five man powerplay specialists rank just behind Jacques Martin’s troups at eleventh .The Habs obviously have an edge in this department and that edge grows considerably larger when you compare the goaltending.

Wing netminder Jimmy Howard is having a good season. His goals against average is 2.54 and his save percentage is .914. These stats would normally give him an opportunity to lay claim to being a distant relative to Ron Howard and gain some royalty payments from the former child actor. Unfortunately for the Detroit puck – stopper these are not Happy Days as his rink – length foe , Carey Price ,  is outdueling him with a 1. 92 GAA and a .936 SV%. Howard the goalie and the Red Wing team can only hope that Howard the Director will be filming a remake of Appolo 13. That way Howard the Director can cast Price as an astronaut and leave the space capsule stranded in space. Carey Price will then literally be ‘ outta this world ‘ !

Much Ado About Nothing

The debate over P.K Subban rages as the Montreal pundits and ‘ voices of non – reason ‘ scream that coach Martin is as crazy as Sean Avery on a Hollywood set. Like a ‘ stoner ‘ in a biology class as he goes over the fine points of cutting open a specimen ;  ” Dissect it all you want – a dead bird is still a dead bird !”

Rod Langway sat on the bench during the majority of the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup run in 1979 and everyone knows what happened with his Hall of Fame career. There was a time when the Habs and hockey administrations would never allow their ‘ best wines ‘ to be served before their time. A slow maturing process would be allowed in order for fans to enjoy a championship dinner. Coach Martin is quick to point this out using Price’s experience last season as his primary example of his sanity. The example is a good one although Price’s attitude and mistakes from the past do not compare to Subban’ s faux pas‘ of the present. Common sense dictates that the lessons given to Subban are more to do with the young rearguard’s ‘ on- ice yapping ‘ than the two mistakes he made against the Edmonton Oilers. Yannik Weber or Subban ? As long as the team is winning and the two youths are striving to become improved players – does it matter ?

Gomez Has a Boo – Boo …

Just when Scott Gomez was beginning to earn ten dollars worth of his seven

million dollar contract, he collided with a Senator. The Senator in question is unknown yet it is a good thing for the Habs that the fellow is not a true Senator. If he were –  then Gomez would be swayed into joining the Senate and join the rest of the crooks that make money for nothing. Although not on record – Gomez’s malady appears to be groin related and he did fly to Detroit with the team. He will be evaluated at game time and look for Halpern to take his spot at center if the ‘good ship ‘ Gomez is not able to continue. There is an outside chance that Gomez is not hurt and has played his last game for the Habs. He has been consistent the last six games and G.M Gauthier is shopping him around the league. A used car cannot be sold ‘as is ‘ if everyone in the neighborhood is aware of the rusted frame. Dustin Boyd may find his way back into the line – up as Martin has been impressed with his doghouse resident’s work ethic in practice.

The Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens will play hockey tonight. The only thing left to decide is whether it will be a defensive battle , a hard hitting game or an end to end battle.

In other words – Mild, Spicy or Suicide ?

Want something to wash that down ?

Check out Octopus Thrower to see what’s new in Detroit.

How many sight – challenged people  does it take to change a lightbulb ? Find out at Too Many Men on the Site.

Tomorrow night’s game against the Leafs will be broadcast in 3 – D. What have I been watching all these years…? Things that make you go hmmmmm…