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It's funny just how recently it was that the Red Wings main concern in March was whether or not they would finish the season first in the West and President's Trophy winners and the Blackhawks' preoccupation was finding a way to stay in the playoff picture. Well, maybe it isn't funny. Yeah, "depressing" is probably more appropriate. As Detroit maintains a very tenuous grasp on the eighth and final playoff spot in the ...

Last summer, Chris Chelios made it clear that, though he was soon to be 48 years old, he had every intention of playing in the NHL in 2009-10. He had no takers in the offseason after being told he would not be back with the Red Wings. He eventually signed with the AHL's Chicago Wolves and made no secret about his desire to, hopefully, make a homecoming to his former team, the ...

As an American, watching Sidney Crosby throw off his gloves, jump up and down and scream at the top of his lungs after scoring the gold medal game-winning overtime goal for Canada, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel personally defeated. I had high hopes for my national team, I really felt we were destined for greatness once New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise sent the game to overtime ...

At one point during Saturday's bronze medal game between Team Slovakia and Team Finland, it appeared that the terrible game the latter played against Team USA was about to hurt worse than it already did. Entering the third period, Slovakia looked to be well on their way to winning a medal for the first time in team history as they had a deceptively comfortable 3-1 lead over the Finns. However, the long-dormant ...

Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed in the morning. Had Miikka Kiprusoff hit the snooze button on his alarm clock on Friday, and decided to bag in bed the rest of the day, Team Finland likely would have been much better off. In what will be remembered as an epic failure in Finnish goal-tending history, Kiprusoff allowed four goals on seven shots in the first ten minutes ...

On Wednesday, the Detroit Red Wings announced that defenseman Andreas Lilja will return to the lineup on Monday, March 1, against the Colorado Avalanche. Lilja has been on long-term injured reserve for nearly a year after suffering a concussion in a fight with Nashville's Shea Weber last February. Though never a game-breaker by any means, Andreas Lilja has filled a valuable niche in Detroit over the past five seasons, that of a ...

On "Rivalry Sunday" hockey fans were treated to a unique set of three games. The matchup between Russia and Czech Republic, United States and Canada, and Finland and Sweden represented the last three gold medal game match ups from 1998, 2002, and 2006, respectively. The trends of the day looked promising for Finland as each of the previous sliver medalists (Russia and the United States) won the games. Unfortunately for Finland, ...

Friday's game between Germany and Finland featured two goalies making their Olympic debuts.á However, it was clear which one had over 200 games played in the NHL and which one had three. In a match up that looked more like a power-play clinic than an Olympic contest, Finland cruised to a 5-0 win over a hard-working but offensively impotent German squad. á Recap Both teams employed a rather tentative strategy to start the game, ...

As is typically the case in first round Olympic match-ups, the game between Group C opponents Finland and Belarus was largely a "men vs. boys" affair. Finland skated to a 5-1 win over Belarus on Wednesday afternoon, outshooting them 45-12 in the process. Recap Olli Jokinen opened the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal assisted by Teemu Selanne. The assist marked Selanne's 36th point in Olympic competition, tying him for ...

On a team that is devoid of the same kind of offensive star power found on Team Canada or Team Russia, the Finns will need to rely on their veteran leadership and goal tending if they are to make any waves in this year's Winter Olympics. Hmm, veteran leadership and goal tending. These are the same key ingredients required for a team to win a Stanley Cup. Olympic gold ...