Good morning, everybody.
Quick hits
Valtteri Filppula must have had a good Christmas. Perhaps Santa left him some goals in his stocking. The Wings’ forward scored Detroit’s first goal, and Detroit’s last goal, to lead a 4-1 win over Nashville. Goaltender Jimmy Howard stood on his head, stopping 31 of 32, to post his league-leading 21st win of the season. The win ends a two-game losing skid for the Wings.
Team USA started their quest for gold with a bang yesterday, beating Denmark 11-3 in their first game of the 2012 World Juniors. Michigan defenseman Jon Merrill’s shot from the point was tipped in 24 seconds into the game to start the scoring for the American squad. Port Huron native Jack Campbell made 21 saves to earn the win. Keep an eye on MiHockeyNow.com for more coverage of the game later today.
Highlight reel
Miss any of the Red Wings game last night? Check out the highlights.
Here’s Campbell talking about the USA’s win last night.
Outside the Mitten
After stopping Ovi and the Caps, Ryan Miller is our Michi-gamer of the night.
Carolina goaltender Cam Ward scored his first NHL goal last night. The netminder made a save, then Ilya Kovalchuk misfired on a pass that ended up going all the way down the ice and into the Devils’ goal.
Canada opened the World Juniors with an impressive 8-1 win over Finland.
Check it out
Follow the USA World Junior team every step of the way on their official blog.
Next up
I’ll be at the Joe tonight to cover the Wings’ return home.