Record: 24-16-4, 54 pts Conference Rank: 9th Division Rank: 3rd Top Scorer: Pavel Datsyuk (11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points) Top Goalie: Jimmy Howard (17 wins, 2.17 GAA) Midseason Grade: B+
I give the Red Wings a B+ on their season so far because, even though they’re not in the playoff picture at the moment, no team has been hit as hard as the Red Wings have with injuries. Here’s a list of the stars that have missed significant time for the Wings: Johan Franzen, Valterri Filpulla, Jonathan Ericsson, Niklas Kronwall. Henrik Zetterberg missed a few games, and at one point, 5 of the starting 6 defensemen were scratched due to injuries of varying levels of seriousness.
And yet, the Wings keep trucking along. They’re certainly not at the level of the red hot Chicago Blackhawks, but when this team gets healthy, they will be just as dangerous as ever. Todd Bertuzzi is having a rebound season, with 12 goals and 26 points already, and the Wings are one of the better technical teams in the game. Their offensive output has been a little lacking as of late, but the return of Johan Franzen should help that immensely.
The big story so far has been the emergence of Jimmy Howard as a top goalie. Long considered the future for the Wings in net, Howard jumped on his first opportunity to seize the starting job from Chris Osgood this season, and hasn’t given it back. He’s been stellar, so far, while Osgood gives the Wings a very capable and pretty reliable backup keeper.