12/30/24
May 02, 2006
A Tale of Two Seasons: The Red Wings were built for the regular season. A column by sportsfilter's own wingnut4life.
The Wings defense simply didn't show up. Because of that, this whole Wings postseason fiasco can't be laid entirely on Legace. Shanahan just mailed it in. Other than a few exceptions--mainly some young guys and Stevie Y.--it was like the Wings didn't care about playing sloppy and commiting all those turnovers and not taking advantage of scoring chances like they did during the regular season. Edmonton played like they wanted the Cup. The Wings played like they didn't care.
posted by roberts at 05:11 AM on May 03, 2006
True, but if Legace is supposed to be the backstop of the best team in the game, then he has to step up and do something better than he is every once in a while. It's what playoff goalies do. (Not to name names, but ... Dwayne Roloson did it. And if the Oilers are to have any more success, he'll have to keep doing it.) He'll become that guy yet -- he's more than good enough -- but he had a shot to be that guy now, and he didn't take advantage of it. The defense didn't help, though, and I heard Shanahan was in the lineup, though for the life of me I didn't see him. I'm sorry, wingnut. I'm glad you managed to stop listening to the Cure in the fetal position in the dark long enough to work out some of those feelings.
posted by chicobangs at 06:20 AM on May 03, 2006
Sorry but Roloson "stood on his head" when he had to. Fo face 238 shots in six games and stop over 200 of them is remarkable. The Wings shot, and shot again, but he did an excellent job of turning them away.
posted by coach at 07:02 AM on May 03, 2006
Datsyuk has yet to bring it in the playoffs. This was supposed to be his breakout year, but if you look at his career post-season numbers, he was doing what he's done in the past - disappear. This guy is a big disappointment. That said - Those were six very tight games. Much like the Carolina/Montreal series - every game was anyone's to win. Edmonton managed to get the big save and the timely goal, despite Detroit pretty much dominating the game in terms of puck possession and time in the offensive zone. It seems that the deep teams that gambled on the salary cap by not spending money on a goalie - Detriot and Philly - can prosper in the regular season teams and overcame any deficiencies - but come the playoffs, were exposed. Legace, like so many Red Wings - was good - but just not good enough.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:57 AM on May 03, 2006
Much like the Carolina/Montreal series - every game was anyone's to win. Well, the first one was pretty clear-cut. I'm still trying to find a way to blame the refs, here. And again: I’m not even going to argue about Hemsky showcasing his soccer skills in that game-tying (non)goal. You won't, but you are. Look me straight in the face and tell me you saw Hemsky kick the puck in.
posted by qbert72 at 08:38 AM on May 03, 2006
I hate how people are blaming Legace. While I was watching one of the games, the announcers kept talking about how Manny told them he knew if the Red Wings did any thing less then winning the Stanley Cup, he would be blamed. I just think it's unfair, first give the Oilers some credit they played great, and second I just think the Red Wings aren't that good past the second line. I just think they aren't a good team overall just a bunch of superstars then some guys no one has really heard of.
posted by buffalo will never win at 09:36 AM on May 03, 2006
Look me straight in the face and tell me you saw Hemsky kick the puck in. You're right, it never happened. That's because the high stick that should have stopped the play in the first place was never blown dead. But honestly, I'm not going to argue about it any more. That's because the Wings should never have let it get that far. They played terribly, bottom line. I will give Edmonton all the credit that they deserve. They played inspired hockey, and I refuse to take anything away from them.
posted by wingnut4life at 09:57 AM on May 03, 2006
I know Manny outside the rink & I love the guy for what he has done for my family. His biggest knock has always been he could not step up when it matters most. Sadly we all saw that in this series. However he should not be the only one to shoulder the blame. The D played horrible in front of him, & the Forwards did not do enough to score. If both play better the pressure is off Legace & the outcome probably is different. I will miss Manny. In this town if the Goalie or QB doesn’t perform at a high level you will be “run out of town” & I expect that to happen here. (+ He is a free agent) The Oliers also deserve a lot of credit. I feel the way their regular season was at the end, fighting to get in, got them ready for the playoffs. The Wings pretty much coasted due to their regular season success & really never got into playoff mode. It cost them dearly. Yah the calls seemed to go against the Wings, but they put themselves in a position to let a bad call, brake or anything cost them. It did. You can debate the high stick & the kick, but in the end it was ruled a goal, so it was. I met Steve Y. once too & he told me “all refs are bad……………….” I just hope he plays one more year.
posted by directpressure at 10:43 AM on May 03, 2006
You're right, it never happened. It may very well have happened, but it was impossible to see, so they couldn't overrule the ref's call. The only point remaining is whether Horcoff touched the puck higher than his shoulders, and it didn't go to a Wings player before getting to Hemsky's stick. Even then, as you say, the whole team collapsed on Hemsky's second goal, and there's no arguing about that.
posted by qbert72 at 10:46 AM on May 03, 2006
BTW nice column Wingnut4life. Someone actually said to me on Saturday I was brave to put my Red Wing sweatshirt on after the loss. I took the time to explain that I started following the Wings back in ’72 (The Dead wing era) & even if the LOST this series they will still be “my team” I remember 8 win seasons, so even a first round knock out is better…………….. Oh just wait for next year………. I am rooting for the Senators now………. Even though “my team” is out I am still a fan of the game & love the playoffs, just a little bit less with no Wings.
posted by directpressure at 10:56 AM on May 03, 2006
Thanks for the encouraging words about my column. I'm just a dumb-ass press operator, not a professional like a lot of you guys. I just act smart.
posted by wingnut4life at 11:35 AM on May 03, 2006
Roberts said it best in the second post: "Edmonton played like they wanted the Cup. The Wings played like they didn't care." While the refs were atrocious for most of the series, that goes both ways. The fact is, every game was close, but one team found a way to win more often. That's not lucky - that's doing what it takes to win in the playoffs. One team did what it took to win; one team didn't.
posted by rexthewonderdog at 11:48 AM on May 03, 2006
I'm just a dumb-ass press operator, not a professional like a lot of you guys. I just act smart. Other than the math error (Only three of the eight 20-plus regular season goal scorers showed up to play, and the other six all but disappeared. 3 + 6 = 8?), the article was perfectly fine. The only "smart" thing I require from something I am reading is basic punctuation, spelling and capitalization. Other than that, a good read is a good read. And this was a good read.
posted by grum@work at 11:52 AM on May 03, 2006
I liked it too wingnut. Passion is a good thing, and you tempered it well with insight. I don't see many people disagreeing with your conclusions at all.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:05 PM on May 03, 2006
For every "bad" call you find going in favour of Edmonton, you can find a "bad" call going in favour of Detroit. Was it a high stick? I don't know. It certainly looked like he made contact with the puck below the shoulders, so it definitely looked legal to me. Was it kicked? I don't know, I couldn't see anything. Maybe it was, but the Detroit defenseman didn't make things any easier for the refs by knocking Hemsky into the net. Did Lidstrom perform a blatant mid-ice pick on a 5 on 3 in game three (or was it four?)? It certainly looked like it was a callable play (embelished or no), but it wasn't and it led to the game winning goal. It works both ways. Besides, it's not like one team had seven 5 on 3s while the other had none. *cough*
posted by mkn at 12:22 PM on May 03, 2006
Sutter's too good at playing the officials. I think he's already given Calgary an edge going into game seven. Or, I should say, I hope he has. Yeesh. They were my preseason pick for the Cup.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:39 PM on May 03, 2006
Dont put this on Manny Legace he didnt play great but he did play good enough if we could of scored and are D was there they would had won and I hope They keep Manny he is the best goalie they had in years look at "CUJO" he is a great goalie he should of won the cup with us but same thing happened then as it did now 'D' not playing good and we cant score even if a goalies hot that happens in the playoffs u still have to find a way to score or you dont go to the next round.....Detroit is my favorite team but what a waste,Give the Oilers all the credit they wanted to win and they did even when people said they would fall.If Manny is not back next year they should bring up Jimmy Howard I think he will be a great goalie for years and win a cup or two.
posted by sirtt22 at 02:57 PM on May 03, 2006
Sirtt: My freshman year in college, we knew this girl named Neve. She never shut her mouth. It was all, "blah blah this blah blah that so-and-so, something something blah blah blah..." I don't even think she stopped to breathe, and you couldn't tell when she started a new sentence. One time at a party, she was at the other side of the room, blathering on about something or other, and my buddy Todd snapped a bottlecap between his thumb and forefinger. From about 15 feet away, the bottlecap knuckleballed wildly across the room, and shot directly into her mouth, finally shutting her up for ten seconds or so while she coughed and sputtered. She'd talked so much and become so incomprehenible that everyone in the room applauded this otherwise unnecessary action. Anyway, my point is that reading your comment is like listening to Neve talk. If you want to contribute and be taken seriously, try using some commas, periods, and capital letters properly. Punctuation is your friend, and please don't write like you're text-messaging everyone here. With a little effort, you can make your words more understandable. I'm not trying to be a dickhead here - I just thought I'd let you know before everyone starts shooting bottlecaps at your mouth.
posted by Samsonov14 at 06:30 PM on May 03, 2006
Dont put this on Manny Legace, he didnt play great but he did play good enough for the Red Wings to win if they could have of scored. I hope they keep Manny because he is the best goalie they had in years. For example Curtis Joseph is a great goalie and he should of won the cup with the Wings but the same thing that happened now happened then. If Detroit wants to win another Cup then they have to score even if a goalie's hot because that happens in the playoffs. Detroit is my favorite team but what a waste, give the Oilers all the credit, they wanted to win and they did even when people said they would fall.If Manny is not back next year they should bring up Jimmy Howard because he will be a great goalie for years and win a cup or two. I could have done a bit better but I can't make text with a line through it.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:01 PM on May 03, 2006
The tag you are looking for is strike YYM. Example: <strike>Word you wish to have line through.</strike> Result: Word you wish to have line through.
posted by lilnemo at 07:29 PM on May 03, 2006
Cool. I always wondered how you guys did it. I'm learning html all the time. Woo hoo!
posted by owlhouse at 09:06 PM on May 03, 2006
I'm learning html all the time. You probably deserve a break.
posted by justgary at 09:17 PM on May 03, 2006
<strike> is deprecated and bad! Use <del> since that does the job of, well, deleting!
posted by mkn at 09:59 PM on May 03, 2006
This is in a del tag Hey, cool. Thanks mkn.
posted by NoMich at 10:14 PM on May 03, 2006
I feel special now.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:20 AM on May 04, 2006
Wait a minute, 3+6 does not equal 8? I'm calling my lawyer. I just found out that my second grade teacher has made a fool out of me all of these years! Seriously, though. When I wrote it, I started out with only two players showing up. That's because Lang just rubs me the wrong way. So at the last second, I grudgingly threw him in with Hank and Schneider and forgot to change six to five. Why don't you guys believe me? I really can do basic math, honest!
posted by wingnut4life at 05:32 AM on May 04, 2006
Blame the goaltending if you must, but I have to say that the larger problem was that the wings just do not have enough hard-nosed tough defensmen and, as usual, the key players(like Shanny, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom, among others) simply did not show up to play. Even larger of an issue is preparation by the coaching staff. Babs was brought here to win more than 2 playoff games and to me the presidents trophy is meaningless. If this is what we get then they could have just stayed with Dave Lewis, so fire babs and get a real coach that will step it up in the playoffs--then maybe the players will follow the lead.
posted by sydney2006 at 09:33 AM on May 04, 2006
Seriously, though. When I wrote it, I started out with only two players showing up. That's because Lang just rubs me the wrong way. So at the last second, I grudgingly threw him in with Hank and Schneider and forgot to change six to five. That's what I figured happened. I was just teasing you a bit for it. If you'd said "only three showed up and the rest didn't", you'd have been okay.
posted by grum@work at 10:30 AM on May 04, 2006
(Fixed your 'special' math wingnut4life.)
posted by justgary at 10:49 AM on May 04, 2006
grum, you're not fooling me. You're one of those grammar and math policemen who're just trying to oppress me! I'm on to you, man! (Thanks, justgary. Just don't let anybody else know, ok? It'll be our little secret...)
posted by wingnut4life at 07:05 PM on May 04, 2006
I think you just have to chalk this sort of thing up to having a series. In seven games, anything can happen, and occasionally does. I think that the skills necessary to win a playoff game are the same as those that win regular season games, give or take a Claude Lemieux. Legace wasn't good. Get an a-list goalie, and I think Detroit is fine. Certainly the youth movement there, your Zetterbergs and Datsyuks, looks pretty good. And Stevie Y. is one of the greatest players ever to lace on skates. Ultimately, one has to accept that even the best team cannot win all the time. You have to settle for maximizing your chances. Oh, and you mention Detroit's defensemen. that was the one area I think the Oilers had you beat. I'd take the Oilers' defensemen over the Red Wings'. Am I saying the Oil got lucky? Pretty much.