Only with the way the Red Wings have been playing this past decade could their record-setting first-half performance cause the league to barely bat an eye. Of course, the way these things seem to have gone in that time, they’ll probably get a good first-round scare and possibly be eliminated, and knowing my luck it’ll probably be the Blue Jackets who knock them out. Still, for all that the Red Wings kind of became the New York Yankees of hockey in the mid-90s by outspending nearly every other team to ludicrous degrees, three years into the salary cap system they’re even more dominant than ever. Even with so many of the old Russian players gone or retired, and with a head coach who was never around during that time period, that old puck-possession system continues to reap dividends with the Red Wings’ goal differential and shot differential both at absurd levels. After the Wings’ dominance of the past decade, though, hardly anyone notices.

I was glad to see Chris Osgood get another All-Star nod, although the goalie situation for the Wings is kind of worrying me. As much as I hated the Red Wings waiving Osgood back in the day and signing Hasek, at the time I couldn’t deny that Hasek was a better goalie than Osgood. I don’t think that’s the case these days, though, as evidenced by Osgood’s stellar win-loss record and goals against. When it comes time for the playoffs, I’m not that sure just how the Red Wings will play things; "Hasek is still the number one goalie" seems to be the mantra of the Wings these days, but Osgood is just plain performing better, and Hasek’s body isn’t allowing him to start that many games. I don’t think Hasek should sit for the playoffs, but I don’t think Osgood should, either. Alternating the two feels like the best thing to do, but I can’t recall any Stanley Cup champion in recent memory deliberately alternating goaltenders in the playoffs.

The real Red Wings story that’s getting buried right now, though, is that Darren McCarty just started his first minor league game last night in a rehab stint. I don’t know if there’s a place for McCarty on the Red Wings’ roster right now given how everyone seems to be clicking on all cylinders, but him returning to the Red Wings would really help fill up all those empty seats in the Joe. Aaron Downey’s been half-playing an enforcer roll with the Red Wings so far this season, which I think is playing a big part in the Wings’ success, but McCarty at his peak could earn his spot on the roster by both his play with the puck and his ability to knock some teeth out. I still think the Red Wings’ publicity problems of the past few years had a lot to do with McCarty’s departure — of all the modern Wings players, his grit and toughness best embodied the spirit of Detroit — and if he’s healthy enough to play at the NHL level again, bringing him back might just get the Joe selling out again.