So far so good!
My Wings are up 2-0 over the 'Yotes and my only regret is that my Wings will knock off a great coach in Dave Tippett. Get rid of Tippett and Phoenix can rot for all I care.
This game, however, was a bit closer than Game 1 in my opinion. We barely hung on to our lead and Datsyuk was lights out with 1 goal and 3 assists.. Yup. He figured in on ALL of Detroit's points last night. That brings me to my claim:
If this is what Detroit looks like day in and day out in the playoffs.... Detroit won't win the Cup. Deep teams that play a well rounded game AND get the best of what they're given win championships. Teams that have it, but only have 1 line that can reliably "bring it" will find the road to the Cup almost impassible. This is what Detroit is doing right now.
They have great depth and veteran leadership. They are dynamic and fun to watch. However... Howard is still relatively inexperienced against playoff caliber opposition in the playoffs and, though he's more than capable of shutting down opponents, he's not done so consistently in the playoffs. And it's mainly been one line that has taken charge. This means, thus far, the Wings aren't blowing anyone away, so the Wings are making Howard work for the win.
The Wings SHOULDN'T have any trouble with Phoenix, but (though the Wings ARE winning) they aren't shutting them down. This does not bode well.
On a separate Detroit note:
As Goon pointed out, the NHL has banned the tossing of octopi onto the ice pregame. I think this was a marvelous move by the NHL. It turns the league into what Bettman truly wishes the league could be: The NBA on ice skates.
Truth be told, traditions are under attack. UND's traditions are under attack and now this tradition is under attack. Next up is the hats.
In fact, I remember the WCHA or NCAA briefly tried to ban throwing hats on the ice after hat tricks stating that the officials first warn the crowd and then assess the home team a 2 minute minor for delay of game. To this day, I can't understand why opposing fans didn't throw stuff on the ice just to get their team up a man.
This ban is all about image, but I wonder: If Bettman's beloved Penguins had a tradition that had people throwing something onto the ice during the pregame or after the first Pittsburgh goal, would this rule still come about? I'm truly not taking a jab at the Penguins as much as I'm pointing at Bettman's hypocrisy and inept incompetence when it comes to consistency.
In other news:
Chicago and Boston are done. Boston has NEVER, not in 26 tries, overcame a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs. In Chicago, Crawford isn't stealing games like Niemi did last year. Crawford isn't bad, but he's not the netminder du jour.
As for Boston, it pisses me off to see 2-0 and 3-1 defeats because it makes Carey Price look good. The guy is a dunderhead and, though he's doing extremely well this year, I can't stand the guy. Like I said, I hope he gets an extension after this season ala Dipietro and proceeds to pull a Huet-job on the Habs. I just pray that the Habs dont' win the Cup or Price will NEVER fade away.
Pittsburgh vs. Tampa:
COMON TAMPA!!!!! Seriously, 3 reasons why Tampa NEEDS to win:
1. Fleury's a sieve... look at game 2.
2. It would stop NHL Network's persistent whining about how Crosby isn't playing.
3. Matt Cooke needs his season to end and the only two ways that happens is if the Pens are eliminated after the first round or he injures another player. I don't want to see any more injuries so... GO TAMPA!!!
Caps vs. Rangers:
Rangers need someone to show up... SOMEONE! Caps are going to sweep at this pace.
That's allll folks!
