Detroit Red Wings (NHL 09)

[Psyblast]

Winged Wheel Renaissance
Addition of Hossa gives Red Wings plenty of motivation to repeat

DETROIT, MI - One last desperate shot by Sidney Crosby and one final swipe by Marian Hossa, and the puck fluttered away harmlessly. For a moment the players were tenative, and then Chris Osgood raised his arms in celebration and his teammates soon joined him in a mob of triumph.

And the Red Wings had the last laugh.

When the NHL returned from lockout with a salary cap in place, executives around the league smiled, thinking the era of Detroit spending and spending to stay at the top was over. On that warm June night at the Igloo in Pittsburgh, the Red Wings struck back, finishing the Penguins in six games and claiming the franchise's 11th Stanley Cup, and 4th since 1997.

And then they poached one of Pittsburgh's prized players, signing Marian Hossa to a one-year, $7.225M deal. It almost isn't fair. A month after reasserting themselves as hockey's premiere franchise, with the Cup still making its rounds, the Red Wings added a superstar so hungry for a championship that he took a paycut.

This year's Wings will look very similar to last year's. Although Dominik Hasek and Dallas Drake are now retired, everyone else returns, and Ty Conklin was brought in as well to serve as backup to playoff hero Chris Osgood.

The bullseye is always on Detroit's back, and it will be even bigger now that they are the reigning champion. The West is full of talented teams eager to make a run at the crown, including the hungry San Jose Sharks and the 2007 champion, the Anaheim Ducks.

[Psyblast]

Forwards

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Marian Hossa, #81 6'1, 210 Stara Lubovna, SVK $7.225M	Pavel Datsyuk, #13 (A) 5'11, 194 Sverdlovsk, RUS $6.475M	Tomas Holmstrom, #96 6'0, 203 Pitea, SWE $2.025M

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Johan Franzen, #93 6'3, 220 Vetlanda, SWE $0.725M	Henrik Zetterberg, #40 (A) 5'11, 195 Njurunda, SWE $5.800M	Dan Cleary, #11 6'0, 210 Carbonear, NL $2.575M

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Jiri Hudler, #26 5'10, 182 Olomouc, CZE $0.800M	Valtteri Filppula, #51 6'0, 193 Vantaa, FIN $2.775M	Mikael Samuelsson, #37 6'2, 213 Mariefred, SWE $0.975M

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Kirk Maltby, #18 6'0, 193 Guelph, ON $0.650M	Kris Draper, #33 5'10, 188 Toronto, ON $1.350M	Tomas Kopecky, #82 6'3, 200 Ilvana, SVK $0.475M

Defensemen

Left Defense	Right Defense
Nicklas Lidstrom, #5 (C) 6'1, 189 Vasteras, SWE $7.375M	Brian Rafalski, #28 5'10, 191 Dearborn, MI $5.775M

Left Defense	Right Defense
Niklas Kronwall, #55 6'0, 189 Stockholm, SWE $2.775M	Brad Stuart, #23 6'2, 213 Rocky Mountain House, AB $3.525M

Left Defense	Right Defense
Andreas Lilja, #3 6'3, 220 Helsingborg, SWE $1.025M	Brett Lebda, #22 5'9, 195 Buffalo Grove, IL $0.475M

Goaltenders

Starter	Backup
Chris Osgood, #30 5'10, 178 Peace River, AB $1.200M	Ty Conklin, #29 6'0, 184 Anchorage, AK $0.525M

[Psyblast]

Joe Louis Arena	1	2	3	OT	F
	1	0	2	-	3
	2	1	3	-	6

Banner night for Detroit
Wings raise Cup banner, open 08-09 with fireworks


There was no immediate Stanley Cup hangover for the Red Wings

Period	Time	Team	Scoring Detail	Score
1	5:52		Goal: Daniel Cleary (1) Assists: Johan Franzen, Brad Stuart	1-0, Red Wings
1	10:59		Goal: Jiri Hudler (1) Assists: Mikael Samuelsson, Andreas Lilja	2-0, Red Wings
1	18:32		Goal: Nikolai Kulemin (1) Assists: Pavel Kubina, John Mitchell	2-1, Red Wings
2	18:12		Goal: Kirk Maltby (1) Assists: none	3-1, Red Wings
3	11:03		Goal: Niklas Hagman (1) Assists: Mike Van Ryn	3-2, Red Wings
3	11:26		Goal: Marian Hossa (1) Assists: Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk	4-2, Red Wings
3	12:49		Goal: Tomas Holmstrom (1) Assists: Marian Hossa, Nicklas Lidstrom	5-2, Red Wings
3	18:55		Goal: Henrik Zetterberg (1) Assists: Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen	6-2, Red Wings
3	19:35		Goal: Jason Blake (1) (PP) Assists: none	6-3, Red Wings

	@
42	Shots on Goal	31
1/3	Power Plays	0/1
3:46	Power Play Minutes	2:00
8	Faceoffs Won	23
2:00	Penalty Minutes	6:00
91	Passing %	84
6:37	Time on Attack	12:03

Record: 1-0-0

[highheatkingsb]

Oh man, I'm looking forward to this. I never got to see the end of your dynasty you did last year, is it still on here? Great job thus far. Good luck!!!

[GoldenJet]

Great to see a Psyblast production NHL style back here on OS.

[Madman55]

Lmao. I literally celebrated when I saw who the creator was. :P. Hopefully this one goes far.

[forumcop] No Psy, there is already a Wings Dynasty, so you can't use them. z0mg! [/forumcop] :P

[Psyblast]

Scotiabank Place	1	2	3	OT	F
	0	0	2	-	2
	1	2	1	-	4

Senators spoil Wings' road opener
Ottawa's top line too much for Detroit to deal with


Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley combined for seven points

Period	Time	Team	Scoring Detail	Score
1	3:42		Goal: Jason Spezza (1) Assists: Shean Donovan, Jason Smith	1-0, Senators
2	11:58		Goal: Jason Spezza (2) Assists: Dany Heatley	2-0, Senators
2	13:52		Goal: Dany Heatley (1) Assists: Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza	3-0, Senators
3	8:01		Goal: Johan Franzen (1) Assists: Dan Cleary	3-1, Senators
3	17:49		Goal: Tomas Holmstrom (2) (PP) Assists: Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom	3-2, Senators
3	18:45		Goal: Janis Sprukts (1) Assists: Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley	4-2, Senators

	@
31	Shots on Goal	43
1/2	Power Plays	0/4
2:40	Power Play Minutes	7:40
27	Faceoffs Won	16
8:00	Penalty Minutes	4:00
78	Passing %	90
10:44	Time on Attack	6:54

Record: 1-1-0

[onlybygrace]

FAIL!!!

Sorry...its an obligation.