FanHouse Ken Holland

Not that the Red Wings really needed him in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but head coach Mike Babcock announced on Sunday that Pavel Datsyuk will be missing his fifth consecutive game, while no other lineup changes will be made prior to Game 2 at 8 PM ET.

In Datsyuk's absence on Saturday, Detroit put on a clinic in the face-off circle, winning 39-of-55 draws, while also shutting down Pittsburgh's high-powered offense, much like it did a year ago to earn a 1-0 series lead.

After jumping out to a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock held a press conference on Monday and fielded a variety of questions from the media. For the most part, it was your typical, run-of-the-mill press conference.

About half way through, a reporter started asking Babcock about how he once joked that he was ready for the salary cap to break up the young talent the Chicago Blackhawks have assembled over the years. In Babcock's mind, he wasn't joking.

When the Detroit Red Wings signed Johan Franzen to an 11-year contract extension back in April, reactions were mixed. Some folks, like a number of the commenters at the Hockey's Future boards, thought the Red Wings were out of their minds for signing a soon-to-be 30-year-old forward to an 11-year contract. Others, like the good people at Abel to Yzerman, applauded general manager Ken Holland for not messing around when it comes to keeping the guys he wants.

We're only a month into the new deal, but the early results are stellar. Franzen has continued to excel as one of the better power forwards in the NHL, and has proven himself to be one of the best playoff, big-game goal-scorers the NHL has seen in quite some time.

The Detroit Red Wings continued to keep their Stanley Cup core together on Saturday with news that the team has agreed to a contract extension with forward Johan Franzen, as reported by TSN. According to the Red Wings, it's an 11-year deal that will keep Franzen in the motor city through the 2019-20 season.

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press has the latest from Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland on the contract talks with Johan Franzen and Marian Hossa, and the team's economic situation. George Malik of mLive's Snapshots blog picks up the discussion with a look at the tough questions the Wings face. [Free Press, Snapshots]

Sabres 5, Canadiens 1: Patrick Lalime faced 39 shots on Wednesday night and turned aside all but one in Buffalo's 5-1 thrashing of Montreal. Derek Roy and Paul Gausted each scored a pair of goals for the Sabres, as they raced out to a commanding 5-0 lead.

Lalime weathered the storm in the first period, turning aside 18 Montreal shots, until Roy started the party for Buffalo netting a power play goal at the 17:53 mark of the period.

One of the biggest criticisms of Gary Bettman's NHL is the fact the league does a terrible job marketing its sport. It's a legitimate problem. Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood would seemingly agree, though, for reasons that probably differ from every other sane and rational person not currently wearing a tin foil hat with wire coat hangers dangling from the ceiling.

In an article appearing in Tuesday's Windsor Star, Dave Waddell writes about how several members of the Red Wings -- including Osgood -- feel the NHL -- and fans across the league -- have it out for the team, while everyone is rooting against them. Oh the horror.

Just days after the Dallas Stars landed the much-hyped Swedish talent Fabian Brunnstrom, the Detroit Red Wings have made a European signing of their own: 24-year-old Finnish Elite League star Ville Leino. Evidently, the signing was made without Red Wings GM Ken Holland having seen Leino play. Hit the YouTube video above for footage of Leino in action as #89.

Leino put up 28 goals and 49 assists in 55 games in the FEL this season, winning the Oskanen Award as the league's best player in the process. Hockey writer Risto Pakarinen, a Finn working in Sweden, told FanHouse colleague James Mirtle, "Brunnstrom is not the hottest player around here. This guy is."

Leino's own coach sounds a little less certain about his now former player's ability. He told Matt Wuest of Red Wings Central, "It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the skating of the NHL and the smaller rink. I don't know if it will help him or hurt him. It's not that he's a bad skater, it's just that he's not overly fast."

Ken Holland told Dave Waddell of the Windsor Star that the plan is to bring Leino over to North America next season to give him a chance to make the Wings. If he's not able to make the team, it looks like they'll send him back to Finland. Holland did not rule out a possible stint in Grand Rapids, however.

This looks like a strong signing by the Wings. They generally don't talk about recently-signed prospects making the leap to the NHL, so you know they think highly of this guy. If he's that good, Wings fans should not be upset about the team striking out on Brunnstrom.

It is a little strange to see the Stars sign a Swede and the Wings sign a Finn a couple days apart, though. Only time will tell which team got the better player.