May 02, 2006

A Tale of Two Seasons: The Red Wings were built for the regular season.

It Was the Best of Seasons

The Wings had a phenomenal regular season. Not only did they win the President’s Trophy for best regular season point total, they had numerous other milestones. They had a team record eight 20-plus goal scorers, and tallied the second most goals in the league. Their defense was infallible, boasting the second best GAA in the league, and you could also say that they have at least two legitimate Norris Trophy finalists in Schneider and Lidstrom. With the help of a number one regular season power play and a number three penalty kill, they set an NHL record for consecutive road wins and tied the league record in total road wins.

This team was built for the regular season...

It Was the Worst of Seasons

The Wings had a dismal post-season. The best word I can think of to describe it is “choke.”

Detroit’s facade of superiority crumbled rapidly in the playoffs. Up against an eighth-seeded Edmonton team that were much more physical and faster, the Red Wing Machine flew off the tracks. Only three of the eight 20-plus regular season goal scorers showed up to play, and the other five all but disappeared. Zetterberg silenced his critics with his goal-per-game average, Schneider and Lang also brought their playoff games. Shanahan should have showed up, but he didn’t. Not only did he shrivel up offensively , but he didn’t really scare anybody physically like he did in previous seasons. The biggest disappointment of all was Datsyuk. What happened to his magic? His performance was like getting a brand new sports car for half the price, only to find out that it had a four cylinder under the hood.

Their defense was dismal. I have never seen so many turnovers in my entire life of following the Wings. What happened to Lidstrom? The rookies were playing better than him half of the time! I refuse to put the blame solely on goaltending. Legace was not his usual self, but he needed his D-Men up front to help him out. They didn’t, letting the Oilers get second- and third-chance shots off of rebounds. Basic defense tells you to clear the puck or clear the man! I’m not even going to argue about Hemsky showcasing his soccer skills in that game-tying (non)goal. It shouldn’t have came down to that (non)goal. The Red Wings rested on their regular season laurels, and it blew up in their face.

This team was built for the regular season...

posted by wingnut4life to commentary at 07:53 PM - 0 comments