Western Conference Playoff Roundtable #3: On The Wings of Love

Filed under: Detroit, General NHL, Wings, Western, Stanley CupApart from a bad stretch in February, the Detroit Red Wings have been dominating the entire NHL this season. With the world's best defenseman (Nick Lidstrom), a tight defensive system, and two of the league's brightest offensive stars, the Red Wings are truly a team that outclasses the competition. The Wings sports the best goals against average and the league's third best offence. It's no secret how and why they set a record with their eighth straight 100-point campaign. With all of that said, the Wings have often been favored to win it all many times before, but generally come up short. In contrast to teams like Anaheim and San Jose, the Wings prefer to win on skill and finesse, rather than toughness and a blue-collar work ethic. Today's roundtable deals with the Red Wings, who current sit in first overall with a 47-18-6 record. Is this the year the Wings return to the winner's circle, or are they primed for another disappointing exit?Kevin Schultz: I'm no Western Conference expert, but I see this Detroit team as a return to the powerhouses of old. As we previously discussed there's a ton of talent out West so I think that's the one difference between this incarnation and those of seasons past (other than the salary cap and what not) is that they have very stiff competition. I think this team is ready to take it to the next step despite a couple early exits in the past few years. We saw this when the took it to the conference finals last year and this is the year that everyone has finally stepped up and taken notice of Datsyuk and Zetterberg playing out of their minds who aren't putting up numbers similar to last year. A huge plus is the goaltending. I don't care how old he is, the Wings have Dominik Hasek on the bench 1/2 the time. Granted the men in front of Ozzy and Dom help the situation greatly but Detroit goaltenders have a combined 2.08 GAA. At this point I see the West as a game of roulette. Lots of talented teams and it's just going to come down to which way the ball, or in this case puck, bounces. It should be a fun run.Earl Sleek: Detroit should be a force this postseason, I don't think that I'd be that worried about recent struggles much at all (unless it does turn out that none of their blueliners can return). They should be particularly driven by the last season + playoffs, where the cup was pretty much in their grasp and Niedermayer fluked the Ducks' way past them. I think you'll see them even more driven and even more dedicated. Certainly the Detroit upset seems like an annual event, but this could be the Wings' year. Goaltending could turn out to be an Achilles Heel, but if Detroit's playing their game properly, it seems that DET goaltending doesn't even become a factor. They are really one team that hasn't tried to match Anaheim's toughness, and I think it works for them. They were skilled enough to nearly beat out the champs last spring, and I think their strategy is more potentially successful than the teams who tried to re-invent toughness specifically for the Ducks.Jes Golbez: I am picking Detroit to take a fall in the playoffs, for the same reasons they did previously. 1. They are rather softish and small up front. Putting Darren McCarty on the fourth line won't really solve the fact that Tomas Holmstrom is their main physical presence up front. Sure, I can see that they went the complete opposite of what Anaheim/San Jose have done, but the playoffs have usually been a battle of attrition and physicality, especially out West. 2. The goaltending. The reason the GAA's are so low is because the Wings are so proficient at preventing shots against. Hasek's groin is more shredded than the meat in my pulled pork sandwich, and Osgood has been slowly turning back into the pumpkin he always was. I know Detroit once won a Stanley Cup with shaky Osgood goaltending, but I don't expect they'll be able to do that again.  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments