Heartbreak City

Yeah, I was pissed yesterday. Was it surprising the Wings lost? Not really. Did I think they'd get blown out? Never.

In many ways, Game 6 was the reverse of Game 5. The Wings got all the right bounces in Game 5. Howard kept the team in the game, and then the Wings broke their back with the fortuitous Holmstrom goal... which followed the fortuitous Drew Miller goal.

In Game 6, the Wings absolutely dominated, but Bryzgalov turned away every shot. Then Stuart turned it over on the power play and BOOM - short handed goal for Phoenix. It was a dreadful mental letdown for Stuart, but Zetterberg did almost save the day. He was neck-and-neck with Korpikoski. Somehow, Korpikoski got the shot off with Zetterberg's stick in the way, and the puck flew threw Howard's legs. Then Phoenix got three on the power play, mostly on deflections. As Howard said after the game, "Deflections - what can you do?"

Hockey is truly a game of bounces. The Red Wings puck-possession style is based on the belief that, more possession equals more shots equals more bounces. It's a style that's served them well over the years. Unfortunately, we've all suffered through games when the opposition gets 4 chances to the Wings 10, and somehow the Wings are down 4-0.

So, I'm not gonna crucify the Wings for the loss. I will say I'm extremely disappointed in two bone-headed plays that absolutely killed momentum. The first, of course, was Stuart's ill-advised turnover. The second was Draper's inexplicable penalty for breaking a dude's stick. Draper was fifty feet from the puck - hardly involved - and yet he slashes at the defenseman's stick and breaks it. It's a no-brainer call for the ref. The Coyotes scored on the resulting power-play to go up 3-1. The Coyotes then got another deflection goal four minutes later to essentially put the game away.

UG-LY.

The Wings are veterans and former champions and have seen it all. They won't be fazed by a Game 7. Yet, I'm not counting on a win. It's just oh-so-rare for the road squad to win. The Penguins were the aberration last year... I hope I'm wrong.

Lions

Quick shout-out to the Lions -- Thank you for not blowing the #2 pick. You took the right man for the job. They're still about nine players short on the defense, but Delmas and Suh are a nice start.