The Left Wing Lock

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The Detroit Red Wings have confirmed that they will use the Centre I.C.E. arena as a home base for the first few days of their preseason schedule. The Traverse City portion of camp was originally scheduled to conclude on September 20th with the Red and White Game. The Wings now have preseason games on September 21st and 22nd in Pittsburgh and London, Ontario and will use fly out of Traverse City on those two dates. No announcement about additional practice sessions has been announced, but it is expected that at least … Continue Reading

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The 2011 NHL Prospects tournament has been finalized and be viewed here. This years tournament will run from September 10th through September 14th. Tickets to all games can be purchased on site and are $10 for the day.

The tournament has had nearly 300 players make the NHL including 2011 Calder trophy nominee Jeff Skinner. This year’s tournament will feature teams from Detroit, Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, New York, and St. Louis. The Tampa Bay Lightning were originally slated to return to the tournament but dropped out and were … Continue Reading

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Divisions
Howe                      Gretzky
Detroit                     St. Louis
Buffalo                     Dallas
Columbus              New York Rangers
Minnesota              Carolina

Saturday, September 10
Practice

8:30 – 9:15 am      Buffalo (David’s) / Minnesota (Huntington)
9:30 – 10:15 am    Carolina (David’s) / Dallas (Huntington)
10:30 – 11:15 am  NY Rangers (David’s) / St. Louis (Huntington)
11:30 – 12:15 pm  Columbus (David’s) / Detroit (Huntington)

Games
3:30 pm    Minnesota / Buffalo (David’s)
4:00 pm    Dallas / Carolina (Huntington)
7:00 pm    NY Rangers / St. Louis (David’s)
7:30 pm    Detroit / Columbus (Huntington)

Sunday, September 11
Practice
8:00 – 8:45 am      Buffalo (David’s) / Carolina (Huntington)
9:00 – … Continue Reading

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** Note since this was originally published, San Jose completed their series meaning that there is no chance Detroit will face Chicago in the Second round of the playoffs.

The Red Wings won’t know who their second round opponent is until the conclusion of the Chicago – Vancouver series late Tuesday night. With the elimination of the Anaheim Ducks, the contenders are down to the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, or the San Jose Sharks. Detroit cannot play the Vancouver Canucks or Los Angeles Kings if either team advances. Outlined below is an overview of each of the potential second round opponents:

Chicago … Continue Reading

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If the Red wings have a glaring weakness heading into the second round of the playoffs, it is their penalty kill. Detroit’s PK rate through four games against Phoenix was a disappointing 66.7% which is only better than the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Key to this statistic is the fact that the Wings have struggled more on the road (40.0%) than at home (76.9%).

The Red Wings entered the playoffs with a respectable 82.3% kill rate, but they failed to adapt to changes in the officiating causing them … Continue Reading

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Centre I.C.E. Arena held its first 2011 Red Wings training camp ticket sale on April 16th. This year’s camp will be held September 17 – 20 with the NHL Prospects Pournament scheduled for September 10 – 14. Local fans came out in numbers to buy tickets for the event, with all tickets for Saturday September 18th being sold. There are still available tickets for all other dates. A future Internet or fax sale is planned for later this summer. Stay tuned to http://www.theleftwinglock.com/ for future updates or check the Training Camp Central Page for more … Continue Reading

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When Igor Grigorenko was laying in a Russian hospital in 2003 after a horrific car accident, many didn’t think he would survive let alone play hockey again. The 5-foot-10, 203 pound forward had suffered multiple fractures in his left leg as well as a nearly fatal fat embolism which broke off and entered his lungs while he was recuperating. The injuries would be too severe and he would never be the same player again.

The Red Wings, who had drafted the Russian forward 62nd overall in 2001, had been … Continue Reading

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The Red Wings will need to improve their consistency if they have any hope of advancing deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. On Saturday, Detroit started strong racking up a four goal lead on the strength of Pavel Datsyuk’s four point game. The effort was almost spoiled due to a dismal effort in the third period which saw the Phoenix Coyotes battle back to within a goal.

The Wings, who has been plagued by poor starts all season long, absolutely dominated the first two periods and had Phoenix on the … Continue Reading

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Dick Axelsson has been called a lot of things in his brief hockey career, but now he can add Swedish Elite League Championship to that list. Axelsson, who plays for Farjestadt, notched four goals and six assists through  14 postseason games.

The 6-foot-2, 188 pound winger has at times frustrated the Red Wings brass by some of the choices he has made both on and off the ice. Despite his ill-advised decision to leave Grand Rapids of the AHL in 2009 to return to Sweden, Axelsson seems to be finally taking a significant step forward.

The former second round pick in … Continue Reading

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Success in the NHL playoffs is often measured by the performances of the goaltender and defense corp. However, having skaters who consistently generate offense and elevate their play may be just as important. While the Red Wings possess their own offensive arsenal, they will face significant challenges from key players with a history of success against them. Below is a partial list of players who, if not contained, could cause problems for the Red Wings this post season.

• Shane Doan (Phoenix) – The 34 year-old has always been productive against the Red Wings, though this season he was limited to just one assist in three games. In the … Continue Reading