The Wings won back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday and now will have a much needed rest over the All-Star break. Wednesday's win was all the sweeter because they beat Anaheim AND it was without Z! Plus, they played two nights in a row and the Ducks were supposedly fresh, so... A nice sweep of the California teams.
Z won't be in the All-Star game, again. His back is acting up and he'll use the time to rest it. Hopefully he will be able to address the problem at some time or he'll wind up having a very short career. Anyway, it is real nice to see the Wings stepping up their level of play again with Z out. Baby Boy scored the winning goal against the Ducks and was named the NHL player of the night. This makes 15 goals for him--NOT out of the realm of possibilities for him to get 30 on the year.
As it stands now, I don't even know that I will be all that excited to watch the All-Star game. The players who were SUPPOSED to play are dropping like flies--both goalies for the West that were voted in have bowed out. Z is out with an injury as is someone named Sid for the East. (Crosby, for those who don't follow--as it is, he is probably out for 6-8 weeks with that ankle injury.) There are at least six players who have had to drop out for one reason or another--and most are being replaced with players I don't feel the need to watch. (Don't need to see two MORE Ducks playing in the game--saw enough of them on Wednesday. :))
The All-Star break is the unofficial beginning of the second half of the season. For the near future--till the end of February and the trade deadline--all that will be talked about are the trades. Until all of the trading is done, I will be chewing on my fingernails--there will be VERY few players who are safe once the trading begins, including Baby Boy. I HATE that teams are able to do these trades--most of the players that are traded are just 'rentals' through the play-offs and then they move on to a bigger and better paycheck during the off-season. I figure the teams should just play with what they have and let the chips fall where they may.
Once the trade deadline is passed, then all talk moves on to the play-offs. That isn't all that surprising considering the end of the season comes only about six weeks later. It is all moving along quite quickly and before you know it, the new Stanley Cup champions will be crowned and I will be counting the days till the 2008-09 season begins. Hopefully I will be smiling during those days--smiling because the Wings will bring the Cup home for the 11th time. I can only dream. :)
And Now For A Rest
