Well, Nightfall, I think you are underselling the role that luck plays in the outcome quite a bit. I know people hate to hear it, but it's the truth, and hockey is probably the sport most susceptible to randomness and chance, including blown or missed calls by referees. I think there have been plenty of times where the better team in a series has lost because they didn't get any breaks. Granted, a much lower percentage of the time than when the better team wins because they are better.
I also happen to think that all of the above is totally irrelevant though. It doesn't matter if you have the better team and play better; you don't necessarily win because of any of that. You win because you win; the final score is the only thing that ultimately matters.
Luck may play in the outcome of a single game. Bad reffing may play the outcome in a single game. All in all, a 7 game series in the playoffs is the best way to decide a winner. The best team always moves on.
I looked back at my previous post, and I may have misspoke. In a single game, anyone can win. Bad luck and a bounce or two can decide a game. However, in the end, the cream always rises to the top. The better teams always have a good record and go to the playoffs. There they fight it out for the cup, and in my 20 years of watching hockey (yes, I was a late bloomer), I can't remember a 7 game series that the better team lost. If the lower seed won, it was because of hard work, showing perseverance, and so on.
I do agree with your last paragraph.

It's on your site too.
Classy guys you have over on your site too. Is this what happens when you let children on the Internet?
Idiots with the same mentality are on this site too. I could find a few hundred examples of that kind of behavior to other teams the Wings play.
Personally, I think people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones....but that's just my thought.
That's just rah rah talk...sometning you hear players say to the media.
Call it whatever you want...excuses, reasons, etc.
The facts are that sometimes bad calls are made and sometimes those bad calls cost teams games. Period.
Very true story, but fighting through adversity is what makes a team a cup champion. Losing some games in the regular season isn't bad, especially if you are a cup contender. The playoffs will tell the tale of these two teams in the end. It will be the team that works harder and competes harder that wins the Cup. The refs may dictate a game. Luck may dictate a game. In the end, the teams dictate who advance. No excuses in a 7 game series.
Yeah usually the better team will win a 7 game series, but not always.
We also aren't talking about the teams blaming the refs, St. Louis did not blame the refs or any calls going against them for the loss last night. Of course no team is going to get all poopy-faced and blame the refs for the loss. But there are plenty of instances where refs make a bad call that does effect the outcome of the game, that is undeniable.
Please give me an example of a better team losing in a 7 game playoff series to a team that played pathetic hockey. In 20 years of watching hockey, I have never seen one.