Good Read

[redwingsgirl 0]

Loss not what Wings wanted, but it will do them good

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • May 15, 2008

·

DALLAS -- You know what that was? A normal playoff hockey game. A return to a sane world. The Red Wings had won nine straight games. They had been on a high for four full weeks, and like all highs, the crash at the end was severe but necessary.

This is going to be good for the Wings.

A little adversity goes a long way in sports, especially in hockey, where grinding is of utmost importance. The Wings certainly did not coast in Game 4. But it was a worthy reminder that they can lose, and better to get that reminder from Dallas than from Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals.

When the Wings make the Cup finals, they won't carry the burden of a monthlong winning streak, because it just ended.

If something crazy happens to the Wings when they get to the Cup finals -- like, hypothetically, a goal getting disallowed because somebody's butt is over the crease -- they will be ready, because it just happened.

And yes, they will make the Cup finals. They are up, 3-1, with two of the final three games of this series at home -- but more than that, there is no doubt they are the better team. They clearly outplayed the Stars in the first three games and could have won Game 4, too. The Wings did not wake a sleeping giant here. They woke a sleeping medium-sized dude.

They played their worst game of this series, had a goal disallowed for no apparent reason ... and still almost won.

"At times we were our worst enemy, giving pucks away in our own zone," goalie Chris Osgood said. "We were kind of off and on. We were there some minutes and not others."

That is not going to happen three more times.

The Wings insisted beforehand that they were not looking past Game 4, though they led the series 3-0. I got the feeling that if I asked Kris Draper if he had a 401(k), he would have said no, because he wasn't thinking past Game 4. He acknowledged that he watched Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals, but I think he was just doing his part to boost the Versus ratings.

Even NHL commissioner Gary Bettman got into the fun (though "fun" has never been used to describe the dour Bettman). When somebody asked Bettman if there were contingencies to start the Stanley Cup finals earlier if Detroit and Pittsburgh swept their way there, Bettman said he wanted to be careful not to "anoint" anybody. Bettman then launched into a long answer that seemed designed, like so many Bettman answers, to cause my eyes to roll back into my brain.

Well, the Wings can think past Game 4 now. They have no choice. And if that puts a little more pressure on them, that's good. It will make the end of this series that much more fulfilling.

It is natural, after winning nine straight games in the toughest postseason in sports, to lose your edge a little bit. It is human. The Wings did not play poorly Wednesday night, but they came out a little sluggish by their standards.

"We knew they were going to be a desperate team," captain Nick Lidstrom said. "We knew they were going to come out real hard. That's something we have to match in the first half of the game, not just wait until the third period."

I asked Draper on Wednesday morning if he felt like his team had faced adversity.

"I think so," he said.

He talked about the Nashville series, when the Wings came home tied 2-2 and needed overtime to win Game 5.

"We really just started building a lot of momentum from there," Draper said. "That's what you need. You need adversity. You need to handle it."

If the Stars are looking for inspiration, they can go back to their last series, against San Jose. The Stars took a 3-0 series lead in that one, lost Games 4 and 5, and went to quadruple overtime of Game 6 before winning. Game 7 would have been in San Jose. The Stars came dangerously close to a historic collapse.

The Stars, then, must convince themselves that they can do what San Jose almost did. The problem is they need the Red Wings to collapse like the Stars almost did, and these Wings are too good for that.

This isn't what the Wings wanted, and maybe they didn't need it. But it will be good for them. It will.

[Opie 308]

I love this line

The Wings did not wake a sleeping giant here. They woke a sleeping medium-sized dude.

[RedRockit 0]

I love this line

Yeah, that's good, but my fav is this: "Bettman then launched into a long answer that seemed designed, like so many Bettman answers, to cause my eyes to roll back into my brain."

I thought I was the only one who actually felt dumber after listening to PeeWee Herman explain something....

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

Good article indeed. I'm obviously not happy they lost, but I'd much rather them have an 'off' game in the WCF instead of against the Pens.

[wingslogo19 281]

Great article

[Gizmo 21]

Money quote:

They played their worst game of this series, had a goal disallowed for no apparent reason ... and still almost won.

I think the Wings getting a little ticked-off now might be a good thing.

Edited May 15, 2008 by Gizmo

[Chris L 0]

Rosenber is right, the Wings will RISE ABOVE

[Wing Fanatic 3]

Now that I have had time to calm down from last night's debacle, I would agree with this article. Perhaps this is just what the Wings need to "fire" them up again. They obviously were not playing anywhere near their best hockey last night. Game 5 on Saturday, with the home crowd, could we see another divealanche blowout?

[T.Low 1,011]

Nice read, thanks for posting it.

I agree. If the Wings swept "injury depleated" Colorado and medium sized sleeping dude Dallas, then if they lose one of the first two at home against Pittsburgh, it could stun the Wings just enough, but even more than that, it could really pump up the Pens. The Pens would think that nobody could beat the mighty WIngs but them, so they really must be that great and could end up playing even more out of their minds.

Personally, I'm glad they lost; the win streak and dominate play has had an ill effect on me. I've been so psyched about their play lately that I can't concentrate on anything else. At work, on a mountain bike ride, in bed with my Fiancee, all I can think is "Wings are so awesome, Wings are so awesome, Wings are so awesome!" Sheesh. I meet a new client at work and my response is, "The difference is that we really work as a unit; we have a great balance of verterans and youth; everyone nows their role; we back check like crazy; if there is a penalty, we put our best people on it so its not like they are ever sitting out of the loop doing nothing, and we can out skate anybody!". And I live in Washington state for crying lout loud. And my love life; Fiancee has an orgasm, "Tic, tac, toe, to the side of the crease HE SCORES!" Its been hell.

Glad they finally lost one.

I need a mocha.

.

[sixer 37]

These were my exact thoughts last night, better now then in the final against the Pens. Period.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Nice read, thanks for posting it.

I agree. If the Wings swept "injury depleated" Colorado and medium sized sleeping dude Dallas, then if they lose one of the first two at home against Pittsburgh, it could stun the Wings just enough, but even more than that, it could really pump up the Pens. The Pens would think that nobody could beat the mighty WIngs but them, so they really must be that great and could end up playing even more out of their minds.

Personally, I'm glad they lost; the win streak and dominate play has had an ill effect on me. I've been so psyched about their play lately that I can't concentrate on anything else. At work, on a mountain bike ride, in bed with my Fiancee, all I can think is "Wings are so awesome, Wings are so awesome, Wings are so awesome!" Sheesh. I meet a new client at work and my response is, "The difference is that we really work as a unit; we have a great balance of verterans and youth; everyone nows their role; we back check like crazy; if there is a penalty, we put our best people on it so its not like they are ever sitting out of the loop doing nothing, and we can out skate anybody!". And I live in Washington state for crying lout loud. And my love life; Fiancee has an orgasm, "Tic, tac, toe, to the side of the crease HE SCORES!" Its been hell.

Glad they finally lost one.

I need a mocha.

My condolences to your fiance.

[Taylorov 37]

"They woke a sleeping medium-sized dude."

lol

[Gutierrez 7]

Rosenber is right, the Wings will RISE ABOVE

Nice vid, Henry Rollins is awesome haha. But yes the Wings will rise above and finish this at home.