I find the backpedaling that the sportswriters are doing to be both ironic and amusing. Ironic because Red Wings fans feel that our team has been consistently underestimated all year long – as I explained to my stepson, when he complained of the lack of reporting on the Red Wings, “The Red Wings aren’t news when they’re winning, because they do it all the time.”
And they weren’t news – until February, when they had their nice, long, losing streak. That certainly brought some attention to the team.
Amusing because anyone who watched the entire playoffs saw the same thing I did: the difference between the Eastern and Western Conferences this year was so vast that it was like watching two different levels of hockey being played. After every Eastern Conference game we would just shake our heads mournfully and mutter, “They’re gonna get creamed when they meet the Western Conference.”
I remember reading, both on the blogs and in the articles, the opinion that the Detroit Red Wings did not have the defensive depth to shut down Pittsburgh’s offense. I suppose, then, that it’s octopus slime that’s tripping them up at center ice?
I’ve listened to the Penguins claiming to be a puck-possession team, frustrated because Detroit’s obstructionism is preventing them from playing their game. Ummm…did I miss something, or isn’t that the point of defense? And the Penguins as a puck-possession team? I don’t recall seeing that in any of the playoff games I watched. Does “puck-possession” have a different meaning in the Eastern Conference than it does in the Western Conference?
I distinctly remember seeing a bunch of chip-and-chase plays, and, while Pittsbugh did it very well, it was a far cry from the puck-possession type of game I expect when I watch the Red Wings play. This is where we would have a mournful-head-shaking-and-muttering part.
I’ve read the sportswriters who claimed that Detroit lacks players capable of secondary scoring, and that the Red Wings wouldn’t go far if the Penguins could figure out how to shut down Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Those are the same sportswriters who, ignoring the scoring coming from the second, third and fourth lines, are now bemoaning the fact that Datsyuk doesn’t have a single point in the series. Listen up you guys, quick lesson here: Datsyuk doesn’t have any points in the series because they don’t give points for what he does so well – but what he does so well is what’s going to help Detroit reclaim the Cup. Okay? Ya got it now?
I do agree with Dan Rosen – the Penguins haven’t done anything to make the Red Wings angry yet, which means the Red Wings are still viewing the Penguins with the indifference of an opponent, instead of the fiery emotions of a rival. That sort of indifference is very difficult to fight against.