Detroit Red Wings: 3 Stars of the Week

As seems to be typical for the Detroit Red Wings this season, they had an up-and-down week.  Things looked positive as they blew out the Vancouver Canucks, 8-3, to start the week.  They would end the week with a 2-1 shootout loss against the Chicago Blackhawks.  In between, they blew a late lead against the Los Angeles Kings but came from behind to beat the San Jose Sharks.

Even in both losses this week, they managed to play well.  While that is nice, close losses do not earn a playoff spot. 

Here are the Red Wings' three stars of the week:

1st Star: Damien Brunner

Damien Brunner is making GM Ken Holland look like a genius, yet again.  The first-year player is leading the team in goals.  This week would begin with Brunner leading the charge in the rout of Vancouver.  He would score two goals and added two assists in his first multi-point game.

2nd Star Joakim Andersson

Joakim Andersson is making a strong push to be a regular part of the team.  He was called up during the season to cover for injuries and has played very well.  Over this past week, he had two goals, one assist and had a team-leading plus-five rating.

3rd Star: Niklas Kronwall

Defensively, the team played well this week.  Over four games, the Red Wings gave up an average of 2.0 goals per game with Kronwall leading the defensive charge.  He played the most minutes on the team by over 11 minutes.  He also scored one goal, added two assists and had a plus-four rating for the week.

The team has 24 points, which has it in a five-way tie for fourth place in the Western Conference.  The Red Wings will play four games this week with home games against Colorado, Edmonton and Columbus and a road game in Columbus.  They will need more players to step up in order to make this a successful week.