March 22, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Justin Abdelkader (8) is congratulated by defenseman Niklas Kronwall (55), center Pavel Datsyuk (13) and left wing Johan Franzen (93) after scoring a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Really quickly, for like the ten people who regularly read my posts that don’t share my last name: remember all those previous recaps? The ones where I shamed Justin Abdelkader and said that Datsyuk deserves better linemates? Remember at one point where I said Abdelkader barely belongs in the NHL?

WHO SHOWED HIM THOSE.

Because clearly, he read them. And his next step, after embarrassing me with a series of three goals that Pavel Datsyuk only owns 30% of this time, is going to be to come to my house and drop the gloves. I’m a kid. I’m like, 160 pounds soaking wet, with glasses and skinny jeans. As I write this, I’m drinking something with aloe vera pulp in it. And you sent Justin Abdelkader after me.

Thanks guys. I’ll call you from the hospital.

But, while I still have my health, I guess I’ll tell you about the Anaheim Ducks’ absolute destruction at the hands of your Detroit Red Wings on Friday night. It started off kinda shaky, believe it or not. Everyone started the game doing their best Kyle-Quincey-In-St.-Louis impression, and predictably, the Ducks opened the scoring after Kyle Palmieri and Teemu Selanne teamed up and skated by every single red and white jersey on the ice to tap the puck past Jimmy Howard. Speaking of Howard, the score would have been so much worse, even in the first, if it wasn’t for him. I hope he earns the nod as Team USA’s starter in Sochi. Aaaaand speaking of Americans, Detroit got the equalizer from another one – Justin Abdelkader, who powered around Sheldon Souray and cut in front of the net before splitting the pads of Viktor Fasth to make the score 1-1. The play took a turn for the better at that point,  and it wasn’t long before the Wings scored again. On a powerplay…on the road. I think Datsyuk got tired of seeing that big goose egg in the statbook, because he made that goal (his 250th, by the way) look easy.

See, at this point I was content with labeling Abdelkader’s game as a success. But no – he wasn’t done. He scored another goal just 3:06 into the period to chase Viktor Fasth out of the net, and then, nine minutes later, he put another one past replacement goalie Jonas Hiller to make the score 4-1. Oh, Datsyuk also got his 500th career assist on that goal.

(Let’s break for a minute, and take some time to appreciate that Datsyuk scored his 250th goal, and got his 500th assist as well as his 750th point in the SAME GAME. Even on paper, the things this guy does are perfect. What’s it gonna be like in 2014-2015 without him? Let’s go back to the article so we don’t have to think about that.)

March 22, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk (13) moves the puck up ice against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Things started to get kinda chippy after that. A pair of fights at the end of the second period, one between Jonathan Ericsson and Ryan Getzlaf (who’s annoying, by the way), and the other between Brian Lashoff and Kyle Palmieri, left the Wings with just four defensemen for a few minutes of play, but also took away two of Anaheim’s best scoring forwards – good trades both, in my opinion, as Detroit looked just fine without those two to start the third period.

The final stanza of this one was boring, as it usually is in games where one team is up by three after the first two. Good, hard fought hockey, but Detroit clearly had the pace under their control, and they slowed the game down to their own comfort level. Howard still had to look sharp occasionally, but he has for the past month, so that wasn’t an issue. The end got interesting again though, when Franzen scored his sixth goal of the season with just under five minutes remaining, and more importantly, Abdelkader ALMOST got his fourth goal of the game. Datsyuk also got another assist…I almost wish he would’ve ended with that perfect statline we talked about earlier, but hey, a win’s a win right?

I liked Brendan Smith‘s hit and fight against Bobby Ryan. A lot. Especially with that instigator penalty too. Made Smith look classy as %*#& and Ryan look like…well, %*#&. Although putting Cory Emmerton and Patrick Eaves out on the powerplay at the end like that seems to me like kind of a low blow.

I have no random thoughts because every part of my brain that isn’t hockey related fell asleep awhile ago, so here’s a few stars:

1st Star: Justin Abdelkader – 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, +4, 13:40 TOI

2nd Star: Jimmy Howard – 34 SA, 33 Saves, .971 SV%

3rd Star: Pavel Datsyuk – 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +4, 16:59 TOI

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter: @dzkefalas

Feb 5, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Jordin Tootoo (22) celebrates a goal against St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) scored by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jakub Kindl (not pictured) during the first period at the Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Petr Mrazek made his first NHL start and performed amazingly, stopping 26 of 27  shots and earning his first win. He played with poise and confidence well beyond his years (he’ll turn 21 on Valentine’s Day), and provided a strong presence in net even despite an extremely porous defense. Hopefully Babcock sees fit to trust him long term, as this could provide Howard with the ability to rest for more than one game at a time, or even see the Wings with a 1-A/1-B goaltending situation similar to Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot in St. Louis.

The Blues’ lone goal was scored by Alex Pietrangelo, the 4th overall pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft. The Wings were once again unable to provide a strong presence on the penalty kill, and Pietrangelo was able to capitalize, scoring from the center of a circle completely devoid of coverage. If Detroit doesn’t shore up their special teams play, their hopes of holding a record over .500 for more than two games at a time will never come to fruition.

The Good

- Petr Mrazek looks awesome. With all due respect to Jimmy Howard, this is the goalie of the Red Wings’ future. He’ll fit into the role of a franchise goaltender much more comfortably than Howard has.

- Finally, some scoring depth. Cory Emmerton is showing flashes of the offensive potential Detroit saw in him when they used a second round pick to select him in 2006. Drew Miller looks like the player that lit up the Great British Elite League during the lockout and scored 14 goals in the NHL last season. Jordin Tootoo is starting to return to 30 point form. And Dan Cleary doesn’t look like a floating log anymore. Still, I really miss Darren Helm.

- Filppula is starting to develop into a first-line calibre center. Holland needs to lock him up long term, and soon, because other teams challenged down the middle (cough-Buffalo-cough) are going to poach him right out from under us come off-season time.

- Damien Brunner continues to look like the goal-scorer the Wings have been missing since Marian Hossa, or even Brett Hull.

The Bad

- Team defense. Still. Sucks. The lapse during the second period of this tilt was especially bad – the game could have easily turned around back there if it wasn’t for Mrazek.

- Kindl scored, and is showing some offense awareness, but the guy is hopeless away from the puck. His time will be up soon, and if he doesn’t reach his slowly shrinking ceiling soon, he’ll lose a regular spot on the team. The Wings have four solid prospects in Ryan Sproul, Xavier Ouellet, Matthias Backman, and Alexei Marchenko making their way to North American professional hockey soon, just itching to take Kindl’s job.

The Ugly

- Franzen’s spear near the end of the game was pointless and stupid. He’s prone to cheap retaliation calls every once in awhile, but it is imperative that he avoids these while Detroit’s special teams are still struggling.

- David Backes. In a Blues jersey, anyway. He’s just the kind of physical, gritty, get-under-your-skin type player that you hate when he’s on any team but your own. Too bad St. Louis would have to be Brian Burke stupid to move him, especially within their own division.

The Wings are hoping to ride the momentum from this win into Saturday’s game against Edmonton, one of the most exciting young teams in hockey. The Western Conference is still tight as far as standings go (excluding Chicago…sigh), so a few wins in a row could mean a lot.

Thanks for reading!

Follow me on Twitter: @dzkefalas