Happy Martin Luther King Day, everyone! And welcome back NHL.
The Red Wings got off to a disappointing start to the 2013 season Saturday night. We don’t need to talk about that anymore. The club gets a chance to redeem themselves tonight in Columbus, but they are already fighting the injury bug. Jonathan Ericsson got hurt in practice on Sunday, and he is now ‘questionable’ for tonight’s game. If he can’t go, you can add him to a list that includes Jan Mursak, Todd Bertuzzi, Darren Helm and Jonas Gustavsson currently watching instead of playing. Tom McCollum has joined the Red Wings to serve as the back-up to Jimmy Howard.
Ryan Miller returned to NHL action Sunday afternoon, and held the Philadelphia Flyers to only two goals in front of a national TV audience. That makes the East Lansing native our Michi-gamer of the weekend.
Congrats to Western Michigan’s Brett Beebe, who is on the list of nominees for the BNY Mellon Hockey Humanitarian Award.
Speaking of college hockey, here’s a look at what happened this weekend:
- Ferris State swept Michigan State in a home-and-home
- Michigan and Lake Superior split
- Northern Michigan swept Ohio State
- Western Michigan split with Bowling Green
The Griffins set a franchise mark for goal-scoring in a single game on Saturday – the Wings’ AHL affiliate dropped 11 on the IceHogs in a game that featured a lot more than just a lot of goals (see below).
Also, check out a bunch of photos from the Griffins’ Great Skate Winterfest event.
The Whalers host Erie today in a 2 p.m. game.
Old-time hockey? We know the Hanson bros would be proud, at least. I especially like how the IceHogs had pink jerseys on for this one.
During the lockout, Josh Harding was diagnosed with MS. The Wild goaltender told the world he was still able to play hockey on Sunday night by posting a shutout in his first game of the year. Not bad, Josh. Not bad at all.
Two of the new NHL rules regarding using your hand to play the puck have already come into effect – read about it right here.
The Maple Leafs have inked Joffrey Lupul to a five-year extension.
Scott Gomez is flying around with the San Jose Sharks, yet he still hasn’t signed a contract with them. Maybe he’s just hiding in somebody’s luggage, and the team doesn’t actually know he’s trying to get on the roster?
Former Whalers star James Neal is having a whole lot of fun playing with Evgeni Malkin – he already has three goals in two games.
We took almost 100 photos at the High School Varsity Showcase in East Lansing this weekend – click here to see the photos, or click on the image below.
See you all tomorrow – after all, it’s the home-opener for the Red Wings.