Game 7

There's not much in sports that equals the excitement of a Game 7. The fact that this particular Game 7 is only the Conference Semifinals does not diminish anything.

Those that have watched these games know that the Sharks and Wings are playing at an extraordinary level. The margin of victory for all six games was razor thin. Despite the Wings dominating the shots in Game 6, the Sharks still had plenty of opportunities to win late in the 3rd period. Both Devin Setoguchi and Dan Boyle had excellent looks at the net from close range -- only to get foiled by a last-second poke check.

I've rarely seen two teams so evenly matched.

Since I wrote the Wings off for dead after Game 3, I probably have no reason to share in their recent success. I'm a sucker for math, and the percentages were extremely low for the Wings to even force a Game 6, let alone a Game 7. But they bucked the odds. Whatever happens tonight, I will always remember this team fondly for their never-say-die attitude.

In hindsight, I shouldn't be so surprised. I see teams saving their hide at the last second all the time. This is my favorite recent example:

(any chance to bring back that clip)

There's also this gem:

The Pistons ended up losing that game but winning the series and eventually the Championship. Those clips, of course, were just individual moments of excellence. The Red Wings need to string together four straight games of excellence. They've got three in the bag. One more to go.

History is against them, but many teams in recent memory won a Game 7 on the road. The Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium to take the ALCS and eventually the World Series in '04. Red Wing fans remember losing at home to the Penguins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. And, of course, the Red Wings themselves won a Game 7 on the road just last year against the Coyotes. It can be done.

In less pressing Hockey news...

News swirled out of Glendale yesterday that the Phoenix Coyotes will not move next season. The likely recipient of that franchise would've been Winnipeg. All is not lost for the Winnipegians. It's possible the Atlanta Thrashers may move there. While I hate to see any team move, the Thrashers are a pretty sad franchise. In eleven seasons, they've made the playoffs just once. Both the Coyotes and the Thrashers rank near the bottom in terms of attendance. At least the Coyotes have a reputable playoff history.

You may ask yourself, why should I care about this? Because if the Thrashers move to Winnipeg, the new Winnipeg team will join the Western Conference. This opens up a spot in the East for the Red Wings. The Wings would get to play traditional rivals like Toronto, Montreal, and Boston more than once every blue moon. They'd also get to play in the Eastern time zone. What's not to like?

Heart

Last night, the Red Wings showed why they remain the gold standard franchise in Detroit. After 4 Cups, countless trophies, and over 30 years of fandom, the team still finds a way to surprise me.

After falling behind 3-0 in the series, most fans, namely yours truly, wrote them off.

Friday night they jumped on the Sharks early, scoring 3 first period goals. The Sharks eventually tied it up, forcing a white-knuckle finish. Despite the gut-punch of allowing the Sharks back in the game, the Wings buckled down and forced the issue in the final five minutes. It was a tenacity we've rarely seen this season from the Wings. They attacked San Jose with reckless abandon, pummeling the goal with shots. They finally broke through with less than 2 minutes to go, thanks to great work from Patrick Eaves (assist) and Darren Helm (goal):

Despite the sheer excitement of the Game 4 win, I just wrote it off as a proud team not wanting to end the season in front of the home fans. This series was following the same script as last season. Why would Game 4 be any different? I figured San Jose would dismantle the Wings in Game 5, just like in 2010.

It certainly looked like they would do just that. The Sharks completely overwhelmed the Wings for 40 minutes. It reminded me of the US/Mexico soccer games in Mexico City. It doesn't matter who's on the field, Mexico plays with superior confidence, speed, and skill. The US just tries to hang on. That was the Wings last night. They were barely hanging on. The Sharks maintained possession for extended durations, wearing out the Wings' defense. Howard did the best he could, but Devin Setoguchi finally broke through late in the 1st period to take a 1 goal lead. San Jose then caught the Wings on a bad change in the 2nd period, leading to a 2-on-1. These Sharks showed again that they can match skill with any team in the league as Ryan Clowe fed a perfect pass to Joe Pavelski to take a 2-0 lead. The stars seemed to align and the fans relaxed, as the Sharks had a 2-goal cushion compliments of regular Red Wing killers Setoguchi and Pavelski. This was the script as written by Sharks' coach Todd McLellan.

But it was not to be.

The Red Wings were not quite ready to cede this series. They quickly struck back, as wizard Pavel Datsyuk found an open Niklas Kronwall pinching in. Kronwall whipped his one-timer into the back of the net to stun the Sharks and their fans.

With less than a minute gone in the final period, the Sharks broke through once again, this time on a goal by Logan Couture. This 3-1 lead must surely be the death-knell for the Wings, right? Down two goals, on the road, and trailing 3 games to 1 in the series. Surely this was enough to destroy the will of even George Patton. The Sharks were poised to move to the next round.

But it was not to be.

During that final intermission, Babcock sensed his team overwhelmed by the Sharks' puck possession. Babcock opted to mix up the lines. He reunited Datsyuk and Zetterberg. The move ignited the Wings' offense. Despite giving up that early goal to Couture, the Wings shot back three minutes later. After some good work by Datsyuk (again), Zetterberg found Red Wing whipping boy, Jonathan Ericsson, pinching in. Ericsson quickly shot the puck and easily beat Anti Niemi for the Wings' 2nd goal.

The Wings did not let up. They spent most of the next 90 seconds in the Sharks' zone. Wings' 2nd liners, Cleary and Bertuzzi, rushed up the ice with Kronwall, apparently auditioning for a forward spot next season. Kronwall, after a nifty move, whipped a shot that deflected behind the net. Cleary corralled the puck and... well... this happened:

That's a vintage "playoff goal." It ain't pretty, but it counts just as much as this one. That Cleary goal changed everything. The Sharks seemed stunned. I know I was. The Wings finally rattled a team that appeared to have unwavering confidence.

Perhaps this was a taste of the Sharks' own medicine. In Round 1, the Sharks came back from a 0-4 deficit to beat the LA Kings in Game 3. This was just a 2-goal comeback, but, with the Wings' on the brink, the pressure was greater.

Up to that point, the 3rd period was marked by end-to-end action. Yet, with the score tied, both teams went a bit conservative. The Wings opted for the dump-and-chase which is never their strong-suit. It did work for the game-winning goal, though. The Wings dumped the puck and never seemed to fully regain possession. The Sharks had plenty of opportunities to clear their zone, but Datsyuk and Zetterberg refused to give up. They pressured the defense into a turnover. Datsyuk fended off two Sharks and found a wide-open Lidstrom.

Vintage Pavel and vintage Homer causing a ruckus in front of the net.

Unlike previous games, the Wings maintained their slim 3rd period lead. San Jose was even granted a power-play late, thanks to a bone-headed elbow by Abdelkader. But the Sharks had difficulty getting just one quality chance. In the waning minutes, the Sharks did their usual cycling deep in the Red Wings' zone. Howard stood tall and didn't concede. All told, Howard made an impressive 39 saves and kept the Wings in shooting distance.

With the Wings still down 3 games to 2 in the series, they'll probably ultimately lose. As we've heard ad nauseum this week, only 3 teams in the history of the NHL ever recovered from a 0-3 series deficit. Yet, for one glorious game, the Red Wings stunned the hockey world and proved they still possess the heart of a champion.

For whom the bell tolls

Howard's one mistake
Rest in peace, 2010-11 Detroit Red Wings. You finished 3rd in the West, which is no small feat. But when the chips were down, you once again couldn't protect a 3rd period lead. Now your head is on the chopping block, down an impossible 3 games to zero against the San Jose Sharks.

Prior to the series, I said the Red Wings matched up well against the Sharks. I still do believe that. The teams are incredibly similar. They're an even match, as the 2 overtime games will attest to. So why did one team win all three games? It comes down to defense.

Defense - once the Red Wings' hallmark. Whether it's complacency or degrading ability, the Red Wings lack the defensive acumen to shut down a team when they absolutely must. It's a problem that infects the entire squad, with the exception of perhaps Jimmy Howard. While many might point the finger tonight at Howard for missing both the Dan Boyle game-tying goal and the Devin Setoguchi game-winning goal, those were both wide open looks. Boyle and Setoguchi had space and time to whip a shot on Howard and, in Boyle's case, from point-blank range. Howard also deserves a bit of blame for the fluky 2nd Setoguchi goal on the power play. Setoguchi mishit the puck but it faked out Howard and trickled in. Yet, Howard also saved the Wings' butts on numerous other shots. He's played well overall, and I don't think the Wings or their fans can expect much more from the young player. His main problem is the defense in front of him.

Two contrasting plays come to mind. When Zetterberg found himself alone with the puck in front of the San Jose goal in overtime, he barely had time to settle the puck, let alone take a shot. Three San Jose players descended upon Zetterberg like the Visigoths on Rome. Zetterberg lost the puck and the chance was over. Yet, with four minutes to go in the game, Dan Boyle was all alone on Howard when he scored the crucial game-tying goal - the goal that, in essence, ended the Wings' season. Where was the defense? How did he get so open?

On the radio today, Matt Shepherd on WDFN said it was Helm who lost his man on that play. Helm got caught "puck watching". Yet, I can't single out Helm alone. It was also Ericsson who allowed Joe Thornton to waltz into the Red Wing zone in overtime. Ericsson could not disrupt Thornton who had enough space to send a perfect pass to Setoguchi for the one-timer winner. And who was supposed to cover Setoguchi? That would be Zetterberg. To relive the pain, watch below:

It happened so fast. The Sharks are the real deal. There's no shame in losing to this team. But the Wings are an elite franchise with an elite history. Ironically, it's the Sharks who covet the Wings' playoff success. With four Cups since 1997, the Red Wings are in class all their own. The Sharks have never made the Finals, let alone won the whole thing. Yet, for two years running, it's the Sharks who own the Wings. Complete, utter domination. 7 wins, 1 loss.

Last night, the Sharks proved they have the heart and grit to win the whole thing. They've had timely goals and goaltending. And... let's be fair... a little bit of luck too. That ricocheted shot to win Game 1 in OT and then the Setoguchi power play goal in Game 3 proved that the hockey Gods are on their side. Luck is a crucial component to going all the way. I recall a shot against Osgood in the 2nd round in the '98 playoffs. The shot beat Osgood and hit the inside of the post. The puck floated along the goal-line until it hit the opposite post and bounced out. At the time, the series was tied 1-1. Had the Blues scored that goal, they would've taken a crucial 2-1 series lead. Instead, the Wings won and eventually took home the Cup. I learned right then how much luck plays a role.

With that said, I'm not calling for anyone's head on this sad morning. The Wings remain an excellent team. There's no reason to "blow up the roster" as was suggested on mLive by numerous knee-jerk fans. I will admit the lack of defensive tenacity may be due to complacency. The roster does need an injection of true hunger. Throughout these playoffs we've seen that hunger manifest itself with some excellent play by Cup-starved Bertuzzi in Round 1. The teams desperately needs more of that.

Admittedly, I'm disappointed in the play of Johan Franzen and Ericsson. Franzen, such a clutch playoff performer in years' past, just doesn't have it. He's not dangerous at all. Teams used to fear him on the ice. Yet he barely took a shot last night (2). And Ericsson, well he finished a deserved -2. Besides getting abused by Thornton on the game-winning play, Ericsson had a horrible turnover in the 3rd that was barely saved by Filppula. Ericsson needs to watch Ruslan Salei. Salei does not possess Ericsson's natural ability, but Salei knows playoff hockey. He makes the conservative, safe play, never ceding position. Salei finished a +1 for the night.

Can the Wings trade either Franzen or Ericsson? In Franzen's case, I hope not. These disappointing playoffs don't negate what he's done in the past. At age 31, he still has plenty of hockey left. Ericsson, though, is a trickier situation. He seems to have regressed. After a beautiful run in the '09 playoffs, Ericsson seemed the next in line for elite Swedish defenders to wear the winged wheel. Since that time, he's shown a penchant for turnovers and boneheaded plays. He needs to play within himself, a la Salei. And Lidstrom. But even if the Wings wanted to, they can't trade him. He's an unrestricted free agent. He's free to sign with anyone. My guess is the Wings will make an offer but get outbid by another team enamored with his potential.

Other free agents this offseason are Lidstrom, Modano, Draper, Eaves, Miller, Salei, and Osgood. That's $12million in cap space seven players. Not a ton of money if they want to make a splash. Most likely Eaves, Miller, and Salei will return. That's roughly $3million. Modano, Osgood, and Draper are bigger question marks. Osgood and Draper probably want to return, but do the Wings want them? After sitting out almost the entire playoffs as a healthy-scratch, does Modano want to come back? I bet he will. And then there's Lidstrom. No doubt he'd be a massive loss to the team, even at age 41.

As for trades, there's only one player not earning his cash on this roster. That's Jiri Hudler and his $2.875million. 10 goals and 27 assists just ain't gonna cut it. He's trade bait. Other than that, I just don't see a ton of change. The core will return, unless Ken Holland decides he's seen enough of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, or Kronwall. Any of those three will bring significant talent in return. Is it likely? Not at all.

So Holland's likely looking at the list of free agents. Not a ton of great options, though I wouldn't mind another reclamation project like Alexander Frolov. The dude's had injury problems of late, but is a former 30 goal scorer with the Kings. After 19 and 7 goals in the last two seasons respectively, he's not going to cost a ton.

Imagine My Surprise

Living in Colorado, I rarely get a chance to watch my beloved Tigers. So, imagine my surprise when I turned on the tv last night to see Alex Avila facing Bartolo Colon. A Tiger game on National TV? Imagine my surprise when I realized it was the Yankees on in prime time on ESPN.

But, I had a chance to watch the Tigers, and they were down 2-3 in the bottom of the 7th. I thought to myself, it would be nice to see Avila go yard, since it seems (based on the box scores that I've been watching) that the kid is starting to hit. Imagine my surprise when, on the next pitch, he sends an outside pitch over the left field fence. The Tigers tied it up - maybe their slump will break!

All season I've heard about the failures of the bullpen - except for Valverde. I knew that the middle relief - and of late - the $10 million set-up man - had been failing miserably. So, imagine my surprise when I saw a young rightie with about 300 letters on the back of his jersey (Alburquerque? Wha?) walk the first batter (btw, when did Curtis Granderson learn to work an at-bat to 25 pitches?). Having read a lot about the Tigers' late inning collapses, imagine my surprise when I saw Granderson steal second and the throw from Avila nearly go to center field. However, further imagine my surprise when I saw Granderson overslide 2nd and Jhonny tag him out. Maybe the Tigers' slump ends tonight! And the young pitcher retired the side. A tie game going into the bottom of the 8th? Surely the Tigers can find a run with the heart of the order coming up! Imagine my surprise when the only Tiger in the bottom of the 8th to put a ball in play was the superlative Cabrera. Nofrownmotown has been preaching all season that this team is "Miguel and 8 guys that can't hit." Imagine my surprise to find that prescient.

But it was still tied going into the 9th. I've heard all season about how solid Valverde has been. So, imagine my surprise when I saw him take about 2 hours to give the Yankees a 2 run lead. And imagine my surprise when the Tigers went out 1-2-3 against Mariano Rivera. To be honest, I wasn't very surprised.

Sweepvil in the D

I can't stand to look either
The worst sports weekend in Detroit in recent memory.

An ugly sweep by the Cleveland Indians over the Tigers, and two gut-punch playoff losses to the Sharks. It's hard to say which was uglier to watch, but I'd have to give the edge to the Red Wings just due to the added playoff importance.

Now, I don't want to sell the Tigers short. They lost the first game on a walk-off Grand Salami. They led almost the entire game but couldn't add the insurance runs to put it away. Cleveland cut into the 3-run lead and eventually punched a hole in the Benoit 2010 armor with the Grand Slam. Last night, Cleveland again won on a walk-off, this time in the 13th inning. The Tigers' bullpen at least pitched a handful of shutout innings before they blew it. The bats decided to take the evening off.

Same thing today. Weak hitting but even weaker pitching by Benoit. After the Tigers take a late one-run lead (courtesy of a SACRIFICE FLY!!!), Benoit implodes once again to grant Cleveland the win. Heck, at least it wasn't a walk-off!

The season is still young, but these are some ugly, no-fun losses. I take solace in the fact that Rick Porcello and Phil Coke pitched well. Porcello is a key cog to the future of the franchise. To have him develop into a competent starter is more important than a win for a team going nowhere.

As for the Wings, it's hard to see many positives. Yes, the team overall is fine, and it's great to be one of the 8 teams still playing. I just don't know what happened to the team that dismantled Phoenix. From a player-to-player perspective the Red Wings should be neck-and-neck with San Jose. Perhaps San Jose is just hungrier? It's hard to say. I do know they're playing smarter. The Wings took a ton of bone-headed penalties in both games. And it cost them.

The one consolation is that the Wings are a veteran team. They won't wilt after losing the first two. San Jose is a strong side, but, with a little luck, the Wings can win both at home. They'll need to avoid the penalty box, though. No reason to give San Jose any more reason to feel good about themselves.

A lot of Wings' fans are down right now, but the fact is that these were both one-goal losses. It's just too close to call one team significantly better than the other. The playoffs are about luck as much as skill. Time to create some luck.

12-13 Never Felt So Bad

Leave it to the Tigers to destroy all the happy feelings of the weekend by getting swept by the worst offense in the American League... at home.

I knew this offense was in trouble against the Mariners. For all their faults, the Mariners can pitch. I thought the Tigers could too. Yet, in Game 1, Phil Coke got blistered for 7 runs in 4 innings. The next game, Seattle's Erik Bedard took his 7+ ERA and held the Tigers to just 1 run over 7 innings, while Tigers' ace Justin Verlander surrendered 4 runs over 6. In perhaps the most disturbing trend, Joaquin Benoit gave up 2 runs late. Perhaps he just wasn't used to pitching in a wasted effort. Yesterday, Brad Penny gave up 4 runs in 7 innings, followed by Ryan Perry getting blasted for 3 runs in his relief effort. All of Perry's 3 earned runs came on a home run by .206 hitter Luis Rodriguez.

The Mariners just destroyed Tiger pitching all week. In fact, 41% of the Mariners entire offensive output this season occurred solely against Detroit.

The Tigers do not have much margin for error. With a lineup of middling bats like Austin Jackson, Will Rhymes, Ramon Santiago, Brandon Inge, and Ryan Raburn, the Tiger pitchers must keep the team in shouting distance. That didn't happen this week. Seattle outscored them 24-6. It was the exact opposite of the White Sox series. For the foreseeable future, I don't see much changing with regard to the offense. Yesterday, five of the Tigers starting nine were hitting .200 or lower. How can a major league team be so inept? This isn't just a team slump... this is Panic Time!

One of those slumping players is Magglio Ordonez. He's in a funk, batting .172. I'm not worried about him. As a career .300 hitter, Magglio will fight his way out of it. It's the rest of the offense that's troubling. Yesterday, Will Rhymes had the look of a player who knows his days in the Majors are numbered:

Unfortunately, the slump runs so deep with this offense that a few personnel moves is not going to resolve it. The 2011 Tigers will be Miguel Cabrera and 8 fill-ins. It's possible the Tigers may get lucky and have a dude like Brennan Boesch break out. Or perhaps Magglio and Victor Martinez may pick up some slack. I certainly hope they do. But the fact of the matter is that the team simply can't pin their hopes on offense. They desperately need the pitching to carry them.

All five starters have shown moments of doing just that. And they've also shown moments of extreme vulnerability. My guess is that Phil Coke and Brad Penny will continue to follow the good with the bad. The real pressure is on the other three. Porcello, Verlander, and Scherzer need to pitch each game like they've got just a one run cushion -- because that might often be all they get from the offense.

Tonight, Scherzer faces off against first place Cleveland. Let's see how the Tigers rebound after a sweep.

Super Bowl Friday

Yesterday was the Super Bowl for Detroiters - NFL Draft Day! Whoo-hoo! The day that Lion fans can feel like winners without having to play an opponent.

If the Lions had a strength on their team last year, it was defensive tackle. With so many glaring holes in their lineup, common logic dictated the Lions would draft a cornerback, defensive end, or offensive lineman with their 13th pick. Instead, they picked a defensive tackle. Some fans are perplexed. Others are thrilled. I, for one, understand the pick. Yes, they have decent depth already, but these are the Lions. A good player on the Lions may be another team's castoff. Other than Ndamokung Suh's spot, every other position on defense should be up for grabs. The Lions took a potential premiere player in DT Nick Fairley. The team needs talent, and I think they got it. Next, I'm guessing the Lions draft a LB. Only one LB went in the first round.

For the record, NFL commish Roger Goodell was greeted with a chorus of boos last night. Perhaps now he understands the anger fans have toward him and ownership. Thanks to Roger Goodell, the NFL draft is now spread out over three days too. Last night, they wrapped up the first round in a robust 3 hours 30 minutes. Nothing like milking a barren cow, eh?

Rod Allen Knows Baseball

Seriously.

It's too bad Phil Coke doesn't have an earpiece on the mound, with a direct line to Rod's color commentary. If Coke had listened to Rod, Coke may have avoided some major mistakes last night.

For those unfamiliar with Rod Allen, he was a fringe MLBer with just 31 career games. After a handful of appearances with the '84 Tigers, Rod spent the next few years back in the minors. In the late 80s, Rod signed with a Japanese team. Thankfully for us, Rod introduced the Japanese to the wonderful art of charging the mound:

What I like about Rod is that he has no delusions of grandeur about his playing career (unlike, ahem, this guy). An All-star career is no prerequisite for success in the booth. Rod's 30 years experience in the game and calm delivery make him a top-notch color analyst. Last night, he showed he might have a future in coaching as well.

Phil Coke was facing off against Felix Hernandez - perhaps the best pitcher in the American League. So he had his work cut out for him. The last thing he needed was this gaffe by Ryan Raburn:

By the way, Raburn is quickly becoming the absolute star of this blog. Perhaps I should rename it RyRa.com? RaburnRugburn.com? Ryanshope.com? I'll think about it.

Strangely, that fly ball was ruled a home run for Miguel Olivo. Not an error. Raburn's agent loves that. In Raburn's defense, the ball flew right into the sun. Despite his poor fielding history, I have no doubt Raburn makes that catch under normal circumstances. It was just Raburn's bad luck that Olivo hit the ball right into the one patch of sunlight on the field. That "home run" tied the game at 1.

In the 4th, with Coke seemingly in control, Olivo notched a legitimate double with two outs. Rod Allen commented that Coke may want to walk the right-handed Justin Smoak (.288 BA), since 1st base was open and the next batter was left-handed Jack Cust (.176 BA). As Rod spoke his wisdom, Coke threw a fastball right down the middle which Smoak blistered down the left field line. The ball fell inches foul. Apparently, that blistered shot was not enough to convince Coke to pitch around this guy. Now, Coke didn't need to intentionally walk Smoak. But there was no reason Coke needed to give him anything good to hit. Coke threw two balls to Smoak, but Coke apparently didn't want to concede anything. Coke challenged Smoak with his next pitch, and apparently Smoak accepted the challenge. He sent the ball deep into the seats for a 2-run home run.

Coke got the next batter out with a weak grounder to first.

Now, there's no way to know if Rod Allen's suggestion of walking Smoak would've prevented the runs. It's possible the next batter would've hit differently with runners on base. Regardless, Coke gambled and lost. It was a key point in the game too. The Tigers did tie the game, but the Mariners scored 4 for a commanding 7-3 lead. If Coke had avoided those 2 runs by walking Smoak, perhaps the Tigers have a bit more confidence down 5-3 instead of 7-3. Who knows. The bottom line is that Coke must be smarter. He's new as a starting pitcher in the majors. He needs to play to his strength. He's not Felix Hernandez or Tim Lincecum, who can trust their stuff against any player in the league. He's got to, as Rod Allen said, "choose his outs."

Lefties are hitting .182 against Coke. He should know that, and use it to his - and the Tigers - advantage. And if Coke is too keyed-up to understand the situation, Jim Leyland or Alex Avila should help him out. Jim Leyland gets paid big bucks to manage this team, and he should not be upstaged by Rod Allen in the booth. Last night, he was.

The good news is that the Tigers get Felix Hernandez out of the way. If the team was to lose a game in this series, last night would be it. Tonight, the Tigers bring back Verlander.

For the record, the Tigers' #1 and #2 batters - Jackson and Will Rhymes - combined for zero hits (one walk). With Scott Sizemore hitting .411 (!!!) in Toledo, it's time for a change. I'm no expert, but .411 tells me the kid is hungry for another chance. I backed Rhymes up at the beginning of the season, but, if the dude ain't hitting (.185 BA), he ain't helping the team.