Well….it’s game 7 day and I thought I’d do a little commentary before the game tonight…it doesn’t look good for the Wings with Kronwall getting suspended for tonight’s game for a open ice hit on one of the Lightning….no penalty given on that play but the league thought it was a hit to the head…I could see there was a little bit of an elbow but what about the two guys on the Lightning that left their feet to slam Abby into the wall? That hit was worse and they are still playing so I don’t understand the disparity in the penalties. It’s as if the league just doesn’t want the Wings to win…yeah, I know…one guy being out shouldn’t cause the team to lose but when the teams are evenly matched, losing one of your best defensemen can tip the contest pretty easily. But, that just how it is now and Kindle will have to step up and play his best game ever…only one last thing to say…Let’s go Red Wings!

Well…haven’t gotten a lot of stuff done today, but I wanted to get to this one since the news was good from last night’s game…the Red Wings played the first complete game of the playoffs and that was show by the 4-0 score. It was really something to see with everyone clogging up center ice and not allowing Tampa to get anything going and taking many fewer penalties helped to keep the other guys on their heels for most of the game. To take one in their building and force Tampa to win the next two is really quite neat…but, I am not going to get ahead of myself here…I have been disappointed before but all I can do is root like crazy for the guys and say “Let’s go Red Wings!”

Oh, can’t forget Mrazak the goalie….stood on his head again and made a lot of saves he shouldn’t have…just one more game…

Well….I should have done this one yesterday, after the Thursday night game but I was so disappointed that I just didn’t want to think about it…I mean, up 2-0 with about 8 minutes to go and you lose the game? They played well, though, so maybe that is something to think about? The problem that I’ve seen in these playoffs is that they never put together a complete game…they either start slow and get behind or they play well to start and then collapse at the end….today should be the telling game…back in Tampa for game 5 and we need to steal one….at least the series is going longer than any pundit thought it would…the consensus was that we would lose in 5 games and that can’t happen….Let’s Go Red Wings!

Well…trying to stay up to date on these as the playoffs go on, and with the good win last night, I really want to do this one….as you know, the Wings won convincingly last night by 3-0 and, for the first time, they looked like a team. Not sure what Babcock said to them after the last one but they came out with fire from the start…I think part of it was the return of Abdelkader giving Babcock the ability to go back to the lines that were successful during the regular season…splitting Pavel and Hank up again looked like a great idea since they both played better with other linemates and Pavel kept up his scoring with one going off his foot in the first. It was good to see them play like they can…now I’m excited about Thursdays game and can’t wait to see it…maybe 3-1 going back to Tampa? Oh, I forgot to mention the great play of Mrazak the goalie…stood on his head for his first playoff shutout and I hope that goalie comes back out for Thursday….

Well…as I promised, here is the Red Wings update that I neglected to do Sunday or yesterday…and, I think it was the score that has kept me away…I mean, when you lose 5-1 in a hockey game, you got your butt handed to you. The strange thing is that I think they played better than in their win on Thursday…much more energy but the pucks were just going in for Tampa…I’ve seen games like this all the time since I have been a hockey fan but why didn’t it go the other way? Not sure about that but tonight we have another one and I have to find the gear again and get ready this aft….but, the game is going to be on nbcsn so we don’t get Ken and Mickey and that is a bit of a letdown….but, I am going to break my cocktail rule for tonight and have a couple so that will help….and, we have Abdelkater back tonight so that may help, too…we’ll see….I still have hope we can go up 2-1 tonight…..

Okay…I was wrong…just checked and the Wings are on FSD along with nbcsn….yay!

Well….the playoffs have started and amazingly, the Wings won the first game last night. They never should have with how they played most of the night and how they were outshot 44-14…but they did win and I think they stole that one. It was really a little painful to watch but somehow, they found a way…and, as I said yesterday, Hank and Pav were going to have to step up…and Pav did with two goals and even some secondary scoring by Glendening that you would never expect…cancelling out Tampa’s shorty with a shorty of our own. As good as it was to get a win, the next game tomorrow is still going to be painful to watch if they keep playing as the have been…

Well…it has been a busy morning just getting the soup ready to simmer but I promised to do a Red Wings post as I always do before the playoffs start so here goes. I am excited for the playoffs to start but I have the most reservations that I can remember about my team….they have not played well over the past 6 weeks and I’m not sure this group can just turn it on like the veterans used to…and, as Pav and Z get older, there are only flashes of their old brilliance that used to be seen throughout the playoffs…not that I think they can’t be great again, but they need to show it…and show it now or we’re in for another first round exit that just is not good enough. There is a lot of uncertainty that can be seen into the playoffs here, too…with Babcock still not signed for next year and I get the real feeling that he will have had enough if they don’t get out of the first round this year….10 years is a long time to coach one team but where would he go that would be better…Toronto? They are a couple of years away from being competitive and with firing everyone there but Shanny, it would be a long rebuilding process that I’m not sure he would take on. So, what does that mean for this year? I think we all need to enjoy the ride no matter how long it is, support our guys, and hope for someone to step up and perform way over their head….it’s been done before….maybe again….I’ll be there for all of them with a cocktail and the gear on…Let’s Go Red Wings!!

Well..another year has passed and we are in the playoffs again even though this year, it was a nail-biter right until the end…but they dug down and made it…I am excited about the games starting tonight and, for the last year, we start again on the west coast which means the games don’t start here until 10 or 10:30…kind of late for an old guy but I am going to be good all week so it might not be that much of a challenge…they have been playing like a team for the first time this season and seem to be peaking at exactly the right time…there is hope for next year with the move to the east and all early games….I have the gear on already and I am going to take a nap this aft to try to prepare….with the way that Hank, Pavel, and Jimmy are playing, we may be able to surprise some people and get to the next round….we can only hope…Go Wings!

Well…this one should not have been as close as it was…the Wings won 4-3 but when they were up 4-1, they just about quit playing and went into cruise mode…just like they’ve done all year but today they were fortunate that they upped their level of play just enough to win at the end. I think the refs were trying to help Phoenix get back into in with the bogus calls for two penalties on us that gave them two scores. We almost lost Frantzen again and he ended up with 23 stitches in his face from getting slammed into the boards…I don’t understand why Kronwall didn’t make Doan pay for it later in the game but I guess it’s okay…don’t want to lose any more players after losing Hank. Pavel put on a show for us again today with a shot that no one else but he could make…and the rebound was hammered home by Helm….good to see him get another playoff goal. Now we move on to Phoenix for Monday’s game and it is going to be a chore since they don’t start until 10:30….looks like nap time Monday aft…Go Wings!