Class Dismissed
I have been raving and raving about Detroit since the playoffs started, talking about how great they’ve been. Well last night they were pretty weak. Their 2-0 loss to the Sharks was more than just an opening game loss. The crisp, disciplined, well-structured play that they had demonstrated in the opening round was lacking last night. The Red Wings couldn’t stop the early onslaught that was the Sharks and they couldn’t break the conservative possession game that San Jose played late. Detroit looked amazing in the first round but they lost some of their magic last night.
San Jose was the 5-seed in the playoffs, but don’t let that fool you. They were only 5 points below Detroit, AND they had more wins (51-50) in the regular season. They also had more regular season losses (26-19) but fewer overtime losses (13-5). The Sharks have a real chance, and I’ll admit it right now, I might have missed it.
Ottawa and the Devils played an interesting little game, with Brodeur’s magic fading.
Giving up 4 goals in the first period — that’s very un-Marty-like. But I’ll be honest, let’s call this game an anomaly and see what happens in game 2. I would be very surprised if they don’t rebound. Ottawa may have led 4-1 after the first 20 minutes (and at no point did they trail), but they won’t be able to keep it up. New Jersey (whom I have called a one-dimensional team in the past) will manage to put together a few more wins and the Marty Magic will come back. This will be a series to watch though.
The Rangers skate against Buffalo again tonight, and the Ducks face off against Vancouver for game two.
And finally, my quote of the day comes from this past weekend. I was in Tucson with my fiance and we were watching the Travel Channel (her favorite). The program was about how goldfish were made and someone from the factory gave us this gem: “The best part is trying the finished product at the end.” My only question is can you try the finished product at any other time? If it were finished in the middle, why keep going?
Detroit, Sharks, Red Wings, San Jose, playoffs, Ottawa, Devils, New Jersey, NHL, Stanley Cup, Hockey
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