• Jimmy Howard has been the rock in net for the Red Wings all post season, but his play the past two games has stood out more than ever. Howard has allowed only two goals in the past two games after giving up four and has been the main reason the Red Wings lead this series. The Red Wings will go as far as Howard takes them and with his level of play lately, it could be a long way.
• Drew Miller is one of the aces in the hole for the Red Wings. He came through with the eventual game winning goal in game three and has helped steady a Red Wings penalty kill that has been shaky for the most part this post season. Miller is a player that goes unnoticed much of the time, but is a key players for the Red Wings if they are to win this series.

• Andrew Shaw had what appeared to be the game tying goal in game three but had it waved off due to being in the crease. Shaw did not take to kindly to losing game three as he threw an elbow towards the end of the game and earned a game misconduct with less than a minute remaining. Look for him to come out with bad blood once again and he will be in the middle and the starter of many scrums tonight.
• Brian Bickell also did not take too kindly to losing game three as he took a penalty late in the game for cross checking which essentially sealed the Blackhawks fate. He, like Shaw, was in the middle of many scrums in game three and was quick to drop the gloves. I'm sure he will be looking to drop the gloves once again to get some life in his team, so he will be one to watch when on the ice.

Welcome to a weekly column by Kyle Bauer on various happenings in national and local sports.  Agree or disagree with the author? Please comment below or let him know your thoughts by email,kylebauerdsn@gmail.com or twitter, @kyle_bauer

Ten wins.

The Detroit Red Wings–THIS Red Wings team–only need ten more wins to earn their twelfth Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Sure, I guess ten wins are a lot. The Wings aren’t even half way through to their far-fetched goal, yet ten games seems so freaking close, likely because I have to put an emphasis on this and claim winning the Cup is far-fetched. But these are just pro-nouns and adjectives I’ve placed with this team I refused to believe in all regular-season long.

I expected them to miss the playoffs.

I expected them to get obliterated by Chicago Blackhawks in a short series.

Yet here we are in a position where the Hawks are seemingly on the ropes, down 2-1 in this series with the pressure of the entire hockey world and Chicago’s bandwagon expectations breaking their backs. The Blackhawks will need to draw this series to at least six games to advance–what level-headed hockey fan could say they expected this out of the (now) plucky Red Wings?

We as Wings fans are currently living in bizzaro-world. Our all-great-and-starchy Red Wings are now this likable and energetic underdog; prone to baffling mistakes and relative no-shows some evenings but mostly awe-inspiring and downright motivational performances since mid-April. All consistency is gone. Me, you and your co-worker have no idea what is going to happen in game 4 tonight and beyond and that’s brilliant.

When was the last time you’ve felt so blissfully uncertain about a Red Wings team?

That’s why I’ve come to like this whole underdog thing a lot. As Red Wings fans, I’ll argue we have one of the more privileged fan bases in hockey history. Other than the “Dead Wing” era of the mid-70′s to early-80′s, we’ve had the luck of getting to watch legends skate beneath the Winged-Wheel to be a perennial Cup contender. Not only have we seen four Cups since 1997, but we’ve seen the best in the game play for our city so frequently it became routine.

That routine bred complacency for me. The Wings appeared rudderless and stubborn in the salary cap structure. For me, signing and trading for –what devolved to be– second-tier veterans while stunting youth became incredibly frustrating not a supplement of pride as it formerly was.

As I wrote about last week, the culture has changed, though that change was forced through attrition. Now that the culture of the roster is–at least for the remainder of this playoff run–different, I’ve felt rejuvenated as a fan watching the Wings put the exclamation mark at the end of change against Anaheim and Chicago.

This little playoff run is the most fun I’ve had watching the Red Wings in my 20 years of coherently following this team, likely because it’s been the biggest surprise from where I was in March.

My brain keeps telling me, there’s no way any team other than the Penguins or um maybe the Kings could win four out of seven games against the Blackhawks. They’re just that good. They’re DYNASTY good. Yet my heart points to all six wins this Wings team has had and you can argue they’ve improved in each victory. There’s just this brewing strength–the momentum of a train that has every single part in harmony. It’s only been six wins, but each win–even the game 6 victory they almost blew in the third period–has brought a sharper, increasingly more refined look while their opponent seems increasingly frustrated. Babcock, Zetterberg and Datsyuk just seem to have that look so far. My heart seems to be overpowering my brain, these Grand Rapids kids seem to be overpowering my objectivity. It now seems that ten more victories is conceivable despite how rough they’ve looked in four playoff losses.

I’ve fallen in unabashed love with this team in a little over a month. Have you?

I’m not just talking to you slappies clinging to your Maltby jerseys, I’m asking the city. We’ve heard the phrase “house money” thrown around a lot by the local sports media, well what’s not to love about a team with nothing to lose.

We glowingly reminisce about the Tigers 2006 run to the World Series. It’s fueled the front-running love-affair that has had the area buzzing more over an early-May game against the Astros than a playoff game against the Ducks. “Hockeytown” needs to be reignited like the Wings roster. The suddenly raucous playoff crowds need to remain, but the buzz needs to overtake us all. I am calling for casual fans to hop on the bandwagon now, there’s plenty of room from your hop off in 2010, you don’t want to miss what is potentially boiling here.

I want to see the infamous relic car-flags reappear. I want the Red Wings trending on Twitter in Detroit. I want almost every Facebook post I see to be regarding the Wings, no matter how ignorant or simple. I want the giant Wings jersey back on the Spirit Of Detroit. I want to over hear car-horns honking from the expressway every time Datsyuk snipes another one that make the play-by-play announcers stutter and stumble. I want people to put the Tigers in the backseat, remembering they play in a terribly weak division and it’s only May. I want every topic and every caller on Detroit sports radio to be a discussion about the Wings. I DO NOT want all the putrid Red Wing themed parody songs to return to the radio, but everything else I want. I want the passion of Maple Leaf fan just without their moronic and destructive nature.

I suppose I want it to be like 1997 all over again–not just because I’ve personally taken such a liking to this team, not simply for nostalgic purposes. I want the buzz because I believe this team has become worthy of it. Were they in late-March? HELL NO. But not every story is instant, not every compelling team begins that way in training camp. Often the best stories are slow developing, building to an epic crescendo. This Red Wings team has the potential to be one of the best Detroit sports stories of this generation, right there with the 2004 Pistons and 2006 Tigers, who both again, were endearing to this city as major underdogs.

We’re not used to our Red Wings being the underdog. Maybe that shies some people away, but that is exactly what has drawn me in. I believe this team deserves the rampant fanfare of the late-90′s because I feel this organization is in a sudden rebirth and with this rebirth we should all revisit the passion that this area once had for this franchise.

Ten wins are a lot, but I have to keep telling myself that. I wouldn’t have imagined myself actually counting down wins or looking ahead in the playoffs especially while playing the freaking Blackhawks. I have to also remind myself that the Wings are still only three losses away from their season ending. It is far more likely that those three or four losses come before the ten wins. At this point I don’t care, because who really knows? This team is fun, gritty and refreshingly unpredictable.

I’m just having a blast, along for the ride at this point. I’m hoping you’ll join me if you haven’t already.

Kyle Bauer is an award winning college sports broadcaster and former Sports Director of WXOU 88.3fm, freelance journalist and radio producer who has been published in The Macomb Daily, mlive.com, Oakland Post and MIPREPZONE.com, follow him on Twitter @kyle_bauer

WP: Verlander (5-4)    LP: Jimenez (3-3)

CLEVELAND, Ohio —

The Detroit Tigers hung on in the late innings to defeat the Cleveland Indians 11-7 in a rain-filled game tonight at Progressive Field. Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning and never relinquished the lead, as Ubaldo Jimenez served up doubles to 4 different Tiger batters in just 4 innings of work. Every Tiger except Victor Martinez recorded a hit, and everyone but Andy Dirks and Torii Hunter recorded an RBI.

Miguel Cabrera continues to amaze, as he hit his 5th home run in the past 3 games. Cabrera (13 HR) trails Baltimore’s Chris Davis by 1 HR for the American League lead. Miggy finished 2 for 4 with a home run, double and 3 RBI on the night.

On the mound, Justin Verlander picked up his 5th win of the year, but looked average at best in just 5 innings of work. Verlander allowed 10 hits and 5 runs while striking out 9. His night was cut short due to the first rain delay, even though he did come out and finish the 5th inning. Jose Valverde came on in the 9th and pitched a flawless frame in relief. It was not a save situation, however.

The Tigers will hop back on the plane a little later than expected, due to a pair of rain delays that lasted almost 2 hours together. Detroit  welcomes the Minnesota Twins to town starting tomorrow night at Comerica Park. Rick Porcello will look to take advantage of the struggling Twins.

As always, GO TIGERS!

W: Scherzer (6-0)    L: Kluber (3-3)

CLEVELAND, Ohio –

Miguel Cabrera continued his red hot hitting streak and Max Scherzer moved to 6-0 this season as the Detroit Tigers took the first of a quick 2 game series against the Cleveland Indians, 5-1.

The Indians took a quick 1-0 lead in the 1st, but Scherzer would settle down and retire the last 22 Indians he faced, striking out the last 4. “Mad Max” finished with 7 strikeouts in all, while allowing only 2 hits over 8 innings.

Meanwhile at the plate, Miguel Cabrera continued to prove he’s the best hitter in the game of baseball. Miggy finished just 1 for 4 but the one he did get a hold of was a towering 2-run home run in the 6th inning. It was Cabrera’s 12th of the season and 4th home run in his past 2 games, following Sunday’s 3 home run outburst. Miguel is leading the MLB in batting average, and RBI, and only trails Atlanta’s Justin Upton by 2 home runs in the race for his 2nd straight triple crown. Andy Dirks homered 2 batters earlier for Detroit’s first run on the night.

Victor Martinez finished 3 for 5, which was great to see. While Alex Avila’s struggles continued, as he finished 0 for 3, further lowering his average to .174. There has been a debate over whether to send Alex to AAA to get his head straight.

Detroit and Cleveland wrap up their 2 game set tomorrow at 7:05, as Justin Verlander takes on Ubaldo Jimenez. Verlander looks to rebound after a rough outing last week in Texas, and also move above .500 as a starter vs Cleveland (he’s 14-14).

As always, GO TIGERS!

From Shes Out of My League, to Star Trek: Into Darkness Alice Eve is burning up the silver screen.

Yes, this is about to happen. Gentlemen, I give you NFL Cheerleaders in slow motion.

http://youtu.be/EeKEzcU8DaY

Once, maybe twice in a generation will you ever see a hitter as pure as Miguel Cabrera. Here is a shining example as to why he is the best hitter in baseball, period.

The Detroit Red Wings take the game from the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of 3-1, and take the series lead 2 games to1.

After watching the Red Wings and Blackhawks test each other’s waters in games 1 and 2, (and subsequently get thrashed by one another), everyone knew this was going to be a high-intensity, tightly-contested game. The first period was a display of such. It was scoreless throughout, despite a few power play chances for each side and some great scoring chances. The Red Wings left the ice trailing in shots 15-9.

The second period was when the Red Wing’s offense started to click. At 7:49, Gustav Nyquist found himself entering the Blackhawk’s zone by himself, against Brent Seabrook. He put the puck under Seabrook’s stick, got around him to gain possession again, patiently waited out Corey Crawford, and buried his shot for the Red Wing’s first goal of the game. Damien Brunner and Joakim Andersson picked up the assists. Just 31 seconds later, at 8:20, the Blackhawks turned over the puck in an attempt to clear their zone. Cory Emmerton was there to keep the puck in the zone, and got it over to Patrick Eaves, who put a shot on net. Crawford stopped it, but the rebound was picked up by Drew Miller who buried it to make it 2-0 Red Wings. The teams would leave the period tied in shots at 23 apiece.

The Blackhawks would finally get themselves on the board in the third period. 4:35 in, Johan Franzen was boarded on the opposite side of the ice with no call made. Patrick Kane took a pass heading in alone against Jimmy Howard, and buried his shot under Jimmy Howard’s legs to make it 2-1 Red Wings. They would then have a goal waved off as it was determined that Andrew Shaw was inside the crease when the puck when over the line. The Red Wings would answer quickly, though. At 6:46, Pavel Datsyuk took a pass at the Blackhawk’s blue line and dangled a defender waiting to get his shot off. He fired it at the top of the faceoff circle and it beat Crawford high, and ricocheted off the back bar of the goal to make it 3-1 Red Wings. Brendan Smith picked up the lone assist. The Red Wings would finish the last minute of the game on the power play after a cross-checking call against the Blackhawks.  They would hold off Chicago’s desperate onslaught to take the game by a score of 3-1.

Even with their power play being as anemic as it is, the Red Wings continue to find offensive success. The penalty kill is going a long way to keeping the Blackhawks from fully capitalizing on their chances. Sometimes, as they say , defense is the best offense.

Next game will be Thursday night, again at the Joe. See you then, Nation!

-Nathan Webb

• Damien Brunner recorded his fourth goal of the playoffs and second in as many games this series in game two. It seems that Brunner has rediscovered the scoring touch that we saw in the beginning of the season which is good as he is a crucial part of the Red Wings depth on offense.
• Henrik Zetterberg continues to play well as of late in the playoffs, recording two assists in game two. The Blackhawks are having a hard time containing him and if Detroit is able to win this series, Zetterberg will be a main reason why.

• Viktor Stalburg was a healthy scratch in both games one and two for the Blackhawks, but the Blackhawks decided that they need some change after the game two debacle so Stalburg will be inserted into tonight's lineup to provide some more energy. Though not a game changer usually, Stalburg will be well rested and could pose some issues if the Red Wings fall asleep on him.
• Patrick Kane was the lone goal scorer for Chicago in game two and it was his first goal of the playoffs. In order for the Blackhawks to continue on in these playoffs, Kane will need to get going and scoring in bunches like hes capable of.