Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 4

Happy start of Hockey season!! How good does it feel to have hockey start on time this year instead of bouncing back and forth between uncontrollable rage and shedding bitter tears while rocking back and forth in the corner? Oh, that was just me? You liars! Rejoice fellow hockey addicts, for the NHL season has begun. In honor of this most joyous occasion, Kevin and I are proud to present for your pleasure, a brand spanking new episode of the Blue Line Patrol Podcast. Wherein we talk about...

• Cory Emmerton and his waiver saga
• Gustav Nyquist and his adventures to Griffinland
• How Tomas Tatar needs to grab his opportunity in the lineup and hump it into submission
• Wings injured and long term injured players and how the LTIR and the salary cap/CBA don't make a lick of sense
• Opening Wings lineup, both real and fantasy, and all about the PP.
• Along with some other top secret stuff that we can't even tell you about here; you'll just have to listen and find out.

The podcast is available for your listening pleasure here ---> Episode 4

Click the link here for the Capgeek article Kevin mentioned that breaks down how LTIR and salary cap relief work. -->

We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here Kevin and here Michelle. You can send us an e-mail to Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com.
You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol 

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 3

Welcome to our last podcast of the 2013 preseason! Kevin and I are ready for preseason to be over and some real hockey to start. As we get ready to bid farewell to the preseason, we take a look back at...

• Saturday's game that Kevin was able to attend (and the rest of us could only listen to on the radio)
• The ever growing list of injuries, their implication for the team, the start of the season, and groins...so, many, groins.
• Good things and players so far
• Not so good things and players so far
• A quick preview of the remaining preseason games
• Damien "Oh god why didn't I sign the offer the Wings made me in the Summer" Brunner.

Also, Kevin says dirty things.

The podcast is available for your listening pleasure here ---> Episode 3

We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here Kevin and here Michelle. You can send us an e-mail to Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com.
You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol 

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 2

Hockey is back! Frk Yeah!

There's a lot happening in the hockey world already, so there's a lot to cover this week, including...

•  Training camp: Kevin and I both attended camp and we'll let you know who looked good, who looked great, and who didn't blow our skirts up.
• The first two preseason games: Who looked good, who didn't impress, hey PK practice!, and look forward to the Bruins game Thursday night.

You can listen to or download the podcast here. ---> Episode 2

There was one thing that both Kevin and I forgot to mention on the podcast that we want to rectify.  Justin Abdelkader looked very, very good in training camp. He played with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and that line was on fire (in a good way, not a dumpster fire). I'm sure we all remember when Abby first got moved up to the first line because we had approximately 6.75 healthy players left on the team. It was painful to watch at times because Abby was in way over his head. As the season progressed, he got more comfortable and competent in the new role he was assigned. Abby is essentially filling the Homer role, but he has more skating and puck handling skills than Homer did. There were times in training camp, and in the first preseason game where Abby reminded us a lot of Homer. He's was really good at digging pucks out of the corner, screening the goalie, creating chaos in the crease, but he also has decent puck handling skills and while his skating isn't mind blowing, it doesn't hold him back. Abby improved a ton last year in this role, and he looks even better now, than he did at the end of the playoffs. Both Datsyuk and Zetterberg have said they like playing with him, and Z even said that hopefully they can keep playing together.

When we re-signed Cleary, Babcock said he originally planned to put buckets up on the top line in Abdelkader's place, but Abby played so well that Babs didn't do it. I am 100% in favor of keeping Abby on the top line, and Kevin is 95% in favor of it. Abby is younger, stronger, and has more future potential than Cleary (or Bertuzzi) and keeping him on the top line so he can continue to get better at the role, is better for the future of the team. 



Here's the link to George Malik's post with the "highlights" from the game against Chicago.

Here's the awesomely awkward picture of Ouellet and Sproul (the article is worth a read as well).


We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here Kevin and here Michelle.
You can also follow the Blue Line Patrol Twitter feed @BlueLinePatrol 

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Blue Line Patrol Podcast: Episode 1

Welcome to the first episode of the Blue Line Patrol Podcast!

Kevin and I covered a lot of ground, and we went a little (lot?) longer than planned, but we hope you enjoy the bonus content and will stick with us as we cover...

• The NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City
• Why Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill is so good
• The Griffins upcoming season and what the roster might look like
• Who might be the next young guy(s) to be called up to the Wings
• A brief preview of the Red Wings Training Camp
• And More...

 The link to listen to and download the podcast can be found here --> Episode 1

If you'd like to read my full writeup of each of the Prospect Tournament games, complete with player evaluations and video of the games, they can be found here:

Game 1: Detroit (3) vs Minnesota (1)
Game 2: Detroit (4) vs Dallas (2)
Game 3: Detroit (4) vs St. Louis (1)
Game 4: Detroit (4) vs Buffalo (2)

These are the Griffins "Between the Benches" videos Kevin mentioned in the podcast. These are amazing videos and we both highly recommend watching them. The griffins also have a lot of other very cool videos on their vimeo channel that are worth the watch.

(Part 1) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - PEDAL DOWN
(Part 2) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - FIRST TO THREE
(Part 3) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - SACRIFICE AND FOCUS
(Part 4) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - THE PROCESS
(Part 5) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - 100 GAMES
(Part 6) Between the Benches: Calder Cup Playoffs - TAKE IT IN BABY 

We hope you enjoy the podcast and always welcome suggestions. If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here Kevin and here Michelle

Thanks for listening!