Wings 3, Rangers 5

Here are some comments on the game from someone on an e-mail list I'm a member of:

Just a quick note to give an idea of who was with who in last nights loss to the Rangers, 5-3. King-Hudler-Williams Maltby-Draper- Wilm Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Yzerman Mowers-Kopecky-Picard(not Jean-Luke!!) Kronwall-Hatcher Fischer-Chelios Schneider-Dandenault Hasek- two periods, Joey MacDonald- third period. Out-Datsyuk, Hull, Lidstrom, McCarty, Shanahan, Whitney, Woolley. Sloppy game. Jiri Hudler scored two goals for the Wings and was effective on the ice. One goal was a very nice redirection, right out in front, of a Derek King pass. He looks very small on the ice. Conspicuously so, IMO. Can't be any more than 160-165 lbs. Hatcher and Fischer for example tower over him and make him look tooth pick like. Still, he did not look out of place and was excellent with the puck. Kronwall also looks small to me. Tried to play a physical game somewhat but consistently went out of position to do so. Reminds me of a smaller version of Aaron Ward. I see Nick as GR bound to learn the NHL game. Hudler, I just don't know. I'm concerned about his size once the real season starts. Hasek looked rusty to me. Hatcher was very low key on the physical side. Kopecky and Holmstrom both got drilled by BIG hits by the Rangers.

I definitely agree that Hasek looked rusty. He looked bad on at least two of the Rangers' goals. I really hope he'll sharpen up for the season otherwise his return will mean nothing. Hudler looked good but he is really small. The Captain played pretty well, didn't look too slow. McCarty's hand is not broken, apparently, it's just a bruise. Great news. Next game: Boston on Wednesday at home.