Panic in Detroit

Well, OK…the words… with the exception of the chorus… don’t quite fit. But yeah, there’s a bit of panic in Detroit after yesterday’s 2-1 loss to Dallas. Mitch Albom titles his column in today’s Freep “Yes, there's reason to worry.” Drew Sharp calls his “Opinion: Hot goalie could doom Wings.” Speaking of… Marty Turco picked a helluva time to exorcise his Joe Louis Arena demons (he’s now 1-9-2 at The Joe) from the Wings’ perspective… and that of their fans, too. Bob Wojnowski, writing in The Detroit News is similarly pessimistic, with a column titled “Tension mounts, and so do Wings' worries.” BAU: Panic in Detroit!

Wings players (left to right) Daniel Cleary, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Niklas Kronwall look frustrated behind the team bench late in the third period.
(John T. Greilick / The Detroit News)

But all that really matters about yesterday’s game is this: the Stars deserved the win. They played harder than the Wings, who came out just a little bit flat and stayed that way for the whole game. Yes, the Wings out-shot (39-21) the Stars and dominated in face offs (41-21). As for the physical play…it was even, with Dallas giving but one more hit than they took (21-20). But the Wings weren’t on their game…the passing wasn’t as crisp, plays were broken, and waaay too many shots went wide of the net… including at least four potential game-winners (in the aggregate). It could be said (and is, if you follow the Freep links) that both Dallas goals came on bad changes by Detroit…read as: errors and lack of concentration.

The Wings had their chances yesterday and blew ‘em, for the most part. Yes, Turco played a superlative game and definitely made the biggest contribution in Dallas’ win. But one cannot ignore the fact that Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, and Holmstrom…Detroit’s big guns… were pointless yesterday. That has to change. And it would be good to see The Mule back in the line-up, too. But…it’s the playoffs, and injuries happen. The better teams deal with it, and the best teams pull together and win.

But Hey! So, we have a series worth watching rather than a blow-out and some sort of premature coronation. The Wings still hold a 3-2 series lead. They still have two chances left to close out the Stars and advance to the Final. They are still the best team in the NHL. And lest we forget: some of us predicted “Wings in six.” And no one said this would be easy, including Mike Babcock, speaking after yesterday’s game:

“I don't think anybody when we started this series thought it was going to be easy. The Stanley Cup Playoffs aren't supposed to be easy. Neither are the Conference Finals.”

Game Six is tomorrow night…in Dallas. Don’t make a liar out of me, Boys. Or... more to the point: please don't break my heart yet again.