April 16, 2011

Blog for April 16, 2011

Well, the long 82-game schedule has mercifully come to a close and my not-so-beloved Red Wings are in the playoffs for the 20th straight year. Alas, I really don’t see them advancing too far this year. I can count on one hand the games where they actually dominated a team, like they used to regularly. The Wings will not be winning any games on their reputation these Stanley Cup playoffs. Surprisingly they play the Phoenix Coyotes again this year in the first round. It will probably be our only real chance at a first round triumph. I hate to be so negative, but I’ve watched them all year, and I’ve done more swearing rather than cheering.
But the swearing will have to turn to cheering if I’m to have a pleasant post season run. This mean my team has to change their sloppy, inconsistent play that was so evident all year long. The Wings have to be especially good at home; something that haven’t done since early in the season. The Wing fans are used to excellence; the team will have to provide it on a nightly basis for the full 60 minutes. If they do that, there should be no need for overtime.
Ah, overtime… It really is something special. The intense pressure on the players, especially the goalies, must be seen to be believed. I would love to see an overtime game live. The electricity in the building would be incredible I’m sure. Perhaps I might one day get the opportunity to see my Wings at home in an overtime game in the playoffs. I would really like to be in the stand for one of those, especially if we win, naturally.
Enough of this piffle; let’s get to the playoffs and what the Wings have to do to have me cheering and not cursing. First Johann Franzen will have to play up to his potential on every shift; second, Todd Bertuzzi will have to play much smarter than he has all year: that means no more stupid passes which gives the other team the puck and now his line has to play in our zone. That happened way to often this year.
Well, I’m glad to report that the Wings won the first game against Phoenix 4-2 last night. I saw only the third period, at least most of it anyway. I will miss all of the Saturday game, as I’ll be helping a friend demolish an old sauna and turn it into a bunkhouse. I expect my team to play even better on Saturday. Apparently they were lucky to escape the first period down 1-0. Some things don’t appear to change: the Wings do not start on time and then spend the rest of the game playing catch up.
It was good to see Johann Franzen finally do something. He had a goal and an assist. He will have to play well in all games for us to be successful. Phoenix had four power plays in the first period alone; this was after scoring the first goal less than three minutes in. One of the power plays was a two-man advantage for 90 seconds. Amazingly the Coyotes did not score. Detroit scored three times in the second and that was about it.
I don’t know how good or bad Bertuzzi was, but he did get into a fight, of sorts. Datsyuk, as usual, was his amazing self, at least from the little bit of the game I saw. Cleary was his always hard-working, intelligent and dangerous self. He too is amazing in his own workman-like way. Apparently Filppula had an excellent game – it’s about time! He, too, has to get going and play up to his potential if we are to be successful. I was surprised though at Darren Helm’s play; I thought he would be much more visible and dangerous. He wasn’t very noticeable out there, which is very unusual for him. He raises him game considerably in the playoffs, but we shall see.
I really don’t see how Babcock can put Mike Modano, a healthy scratch in game one, in for game two. Kris Draper is just too important for face offs, and Modano, let’s face it, really hasn’t fit in with the Wings. He is a defensive liability, and he never really got it going offensively this year.