Detroit Red Wings 2010 Preview & Predictions

Detroit Red Wings 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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DETROIT RED WINGS

2009-10 record: 44-24-14
Shootout Record: 6-9
Division Finish: 2nd, Central
Conference Finish: 5th, Western
Goals For: 229
Goals Against: 216

Detroit Red Wings 2010 Preview

A most uncommon sight greeted hockey fans in Michigan this past May – Red Wings players walking the streets with nothing to do.

After three years in which they either won the Stanley Cup, lost the Final or appeared in the Western Conference championship, the Wings found themselves spectators after just two rounds. Their families might have been happy to see them back in the house so early, but the players themselves weren’t about to 8lnbrace the unusually long vacation and have no intention of repeating it in 2011.

Among other things, the Wings entered last spring’s playoffs with four of the top 10 career post-season leaders for games played.

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom has almost 250 playoff games to his credit and 175 points – either number would satisfy the regular season careers for many players in the League.

But that sets up the burning question in the wake of the five game semifinal loss to San Jose: Has age finally caught up to Detroit? Have those playoff beards that became commonplace every spring become flecked with too much gray?

There can be no doubts players such as Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and Todd Bertuzzi are showing some wear and tear.

Goaltender Chris Osgood watched Jimmy Howard usurp his NO.1 status during the year and through the seven-game series with Phoenix before the San Jose Sharks ‘ended their season.

But the 26-year-old Howard was worthy of his status, and a quick glance at the regular season and playoff leader board showed the most productive Wings are just on the cusp of turning 30, with Pavel Datsyuk reaching 32 this year.

Forwards Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg and Valtterri Filppula will also be around awhile.

The elder Wings won’t simply shrivel up, and even multi-Norris Trophy winner Lidstrom, who will hit age 41 during next spring’s playoffs, remains vital to the plot and keeps the Wings in . perennial contention for their fourth Cup in 14 seasons.

And though the Wings won’t say it loudly, to get as far as they did in ’09-10 was quite significant, given their best horses had two short summers after the back-to-back’ appearances in the Final and were afforded little rest because of the Olympic year. They also had to reenergize for a late-season playoff push (remarkable considering many thought trey wouldn’t even qualify at the February peak), registering 100-plus points a ninth straight time.

The Wings endured two West Coast series without home-ice advantage and still gave the Sharks a tough battle. Players such as the 37-year-old power play pest Holmstrom is still going strong and signed on for two more years.

There was one notable parting in the off-season, as Steve Yzerman left the front office to become OM of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yzerman had either played for or worked for the Wings since they drafted him fourth overall in 1983.

2010 Detroit Red Wings Offense:

Johan Franzen showed why the Wings’ up-and-down regular season wouldn’t have been so bad had he played more than 27 games. Back in fine form for playoffs, he had six goals in 12 games following knee surgery and 18 post-season points for a grand total of 39 in 39 regular season and post-season games. You can’t seem to mention Selke Trophy-winner Datsyuk without Zetterberg as they matched 70-point regular seasons, though Zetterberg had 106 more shots and his 309 were tops in the conference. The duo had three game-winning goals in playoffs. Holmstrom played in 68 games, his most in three seasons and bounced back with 25 goals, adding four more in playoffs. It was Filppula’s turn to miss almost half the year, but he still carne within 40 points and scored four goals in the playoffs. In all, Zetterberg, Franzen, Holmstrom, Filppula, Jason Williams and Dan Cleary were missing from the forward ranks during parts of the season.

2010 Detroit Red Wings Defense:

Lidstrom’s four playoff goals gave him 50 in his career, but it was Brian Rafalski’s 11 points that topped the team in the post-season. He also boasted a club best plus-23 in the regular season. He and Lidstrom squeezed in to the top 20 scoring defensemen in the League, which only Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer and Lubomir Visnovsky and Vancouver’s Alex Edler and Christian Ehroff managed. Brad Stuart had six points against the Coyotes and Sharks, to go with 20 in the regular season and two game winning goals. Hard-hitting Niklas Kronwall is still looking to playa full season, but had five assists in playoffs and played 23 minutes a night in the post-season.

2010 Detroit Red Wings Goaltending:

The switch to Howard as full-time stopper didn’t disrupt Detroit’s team defense too much as the Wings’ goals against dropped back to 216 from a 15year high of 244 in ’08-09. Howard wasn’t supposed to be ready for the starring role until late in the year, but after four seasons in the minors and just nine League games in that span, he was tired of waiting. The rookie had a sparkling .924 save percentage in regular season (fourth in the League) that dipped only slightly as he faced his first-ever League playoff action. Osgood had to be content with adding seven more wins to his outstanding career numbers, with 400 wins if he gets four more. He also picked up his 50th shutout.

Detroit Red Wings 2010 Special Teams

Holmstrom likely takes more of a pounding in the slot for a player his size than anyone else, but it paid off with another 13 power-play goals that put him over 100 in his career and held Detroit in ninth overall, with just under 20% success. The other Swedes on the team proved just as canny, with Zetterberg Lidstrom and Franzen contributing 14 goals between them, Lidstrom leading in playoffs with another three. Pesky Darren Helm potted three short-handed goals for the Wings’ 10th-ranked penalty killers. The Wings and the Sharks were the only teams to maintain top 10 rankings with the man advantage and while short-handed.

Detroit Red Wings 2010 Season Predictions

The Wings quite likely will continue having to fight harder to make a postseason entrance and go from there; however, no one wants to bet against a team that has the current pro sports’ record of 19 consecutive playoff appearances, whether long in the tooth or not.

We predict that the Detroit Red Wings will finish 1st in the NHL Central.

Detroit Red Wings Betting

Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Odds: +800
Detroit Red Wings Western Conference Odds: +350

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