text: Abel to Yzerman
  
  Pierre LeBrun, on Toronto’s Fan 590, said earlier that Lidstrom is going to have to convince Uncle Mike he’s ready if he expects to play this Sunday, that the staff will take exactly zero chances on a re-injury. Good.
  
  The ESPN weekly conversation between Scott Burnside and Damien Cox revolves today around whether Detroit and Ottawa can regain their roles as favorites of each conference.
  
  Scott: The Wings, of course, have been crippled by injuries to core players. But I wonder if the end result will be the same—can either team rebound and become the Cup contender it looked like for most of the season? I think the answer is no.
  
  Shocking. Poll the MSM right now and I guarantee no one will be picking the Wings to come out of the West. Heck, if you asked me right now I’d probably be 50/50 on that. Their recovery from these injuries and how quickly they regain the momentum they lost in February is key.
  
  I do know this. Nearly every one of the mainstreamers you read who pick against Detroit now were annointing them in January.
  
  Chris Chelios is up for the Masterson Trophy (perseverance) this year. St. James blogged about it. Thrilling stuff. I can’t find a single thing in the article that didn’t make me doze. Read it if you want. Bottom line: he’s been nominated. Next.
  
  Frigging Team Dub…he’s got me thinking of another contest. Go to the comment section of this post and check out his “Smell the Glove” playoff slogan and image. Great stuff, and here’s the deal. Let’s come up with a new header for the site to be unveiled April 7th. It will stay up throughout the playoffs and the winner will get something downright nifty. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). I’ll post them here as we get them. You’ll vote. Firetrucks, hookers, puppies…all that stuff.
  
  About Abel to Yzerman
  
  Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com