Sunday was Hockey Night in America, and four teams played their 60th game of the season. One of those teams was the Detroit Red Wings. How have things been going in Motown? This should enlighten you.
Detroit Red Wings: 41-17-2, good for 84 points:
The Wings have the most points in the NHL currently, but not on a per game basis. Still, they've already locked up a playoff spot more or less, so there's that. However, they haven't secured the Central Division just yet. The Blues are really close, and Nashville isn't far behind either. The Wings have won six in a row, and they are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Oh, also they've won their last 23 home games in a row, which is an NHL record. So, there's that. They also have a plus-51 goal differential, which is best in the West, and second best in the entire league.
Pavel Datsyuk is having another great season, and he leads the team with 59 points. Johan Franzen has the most goals with 23. He has 47 points. Henrik Zetterberg has put aside a slow start and now has 46 points. Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler have provided nice secondary scoring as well. Them, of course, there is Nicklas Lidstrom, the ageless wonder, who has 31 points and is a plus-26. However, Ian White actually leads the team in plus minus at plus-28 in 56 games, and he has 28 points.
Jimmy Howard has been great in net. He's started 44 games and has a .924 save percentage. Of course, he's been out recently with a broken finger. After Ty Conklin's struggles continued, they turned to Joey MacDonald, who has been quite impressive. It appears the Wings may have found a reliable backup goalie.
Like I said, the Wings are going to make the playoffs. They likely won't finish worst than fourth, and look like a good best to win their division, if not the conference. Plus, as has been mentioned many times, Detroit has a lot of cap space to make a move. They are already a Stanley Cup contender, and with one shrewd move they could increase those chances.
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