ANother win for the Wings.

Good start for Detroit after the Olympic break, winning three of their four games. All of the wins were against teams the Red Wings are chasing in the standings (Colorado, Nashville, Chicago.) They are big momentum builders, confidence builders, and point builders. The Wings are one point behind Nashville for the 7th spot and now three points up on Calgary for the 8th spot in the West.

The Red Wings playoff push is off to a big start. The Wings are now fully healthy and throwing out there the best line-ups they've had all season. The returns of Holmstrom and Franzen will make a huge difference this year, especially Franzen. The Wings have clearly missed Franzen's all around ability to just put the puck into the net. He's a big body, hard to take off the puck, and excellent at getting to the net. Add that to his wicked snap shot, and you have a goal scorer on your hands that other teams must always watch out for. He also takes the pressure off Pavel and Hank. Those two were relied on all season for all the offense. Now with Franzen, the Wings can separate Pavel and Hank, which will then in turn provide a more well rounded scoring assault.

The next game is one of the biggest games all year for the Wings. This could change the entire course of the season. The Wings take on Calgary tuesday. Obviously this game is important. If Detroit wins, they move up five points, if they lose, the lead drops down to only one. My official prediction: Calgary's trade moves have left their team with plenty of players, but not performers. They picked up a handful of Leafs for Deon Phanuff. I'll take Deon over the Leafs any day. And to make matters worse, Calgary has to play the red hot Red Wings. I'll take Detroit 4-2 in this important March matchup.

HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!