Phoenix 5 Detroit 2 - The "Debacle"

Debacle. That is what my mother called yesterday's game, and she's not even a Red Wing fan. I'm not sure what to call it. I was texting with The Disabled List during the game, and words that we used words like "disgusting", "pathetic", and "fuck" (a lot). So, it's off to Game 7, where they no longer have home ice and momentum.

I won't dwell on the game too much. A couple of things stood out to me thought.

• The defense looked bad. Again. I'm really concerned that this group is just not good enough to take the Wings anywhere. The Coyotes have an aggressive forecheck, and everyone on the Wings' defense (Lidstrom included) seems to be having problems. Plus, there were 3 or 4 times yesterday where a puck was headed into Detroit's zone, and the 2 d-men looked at each other expecting the other one to play it.
• The sense of urgency and intensity is lacking. I get that the Red Wings are "business-like" in their approach. But once again, they did not match the desperation of the Coyotes. The talent is there, but if they don't outwork the Yotes, they will not win. My wife (again, not a Wings fan) said that the difference in intensity between the Wings/Coyotes game and the Kings/Canucks game was much different - the Kings/Canucks were playing balls to the walls. I believe that had the Wings been playing pretty much anyone else in the West, they'd be out by now.
• That game was not lost by the 3 goals in the 2nd period. It was lost in the first after they gave up the shortie and then did not score on the 5-on-3. I told my wife at the time that they were in deep trouble. I hate being right.
• I will not blame this loss on Jimmy Howard. He should have had the first goal (although I still believe Zetterberg altered the trajectory of the shot). But of the next 4 goals, 3 were tipped in (2 on flukes) and 1 was off a beautiful cross-ice pass that no goalie in hockey would have stopped. Maybe if his team in front of him played some defense, he would have been better.

Not a whole lot else to say about that. It's over and time to move on. However, I want to request 1 thing from the NHL: please stop scheduling these fucking afternoon games for the Wings. Please. I will do anything (and I mean anything). I have no idea why they are so bad during the day, but they are. If this series were played at night, it would have been a Wings sweep. Plus, I never want to hear Pierre McGuire again. This man is an idiot. I wish I had been writing down all his thoughts yesterday, because that's a post in itself. But I loved this gem at the beginning of the third period:

"I'm getting a real sense of positive energy from the Coyotes bench. It's like they sense they are in a good position, and that's generating the positive energy." (not sure if that is an exact quote, but it's close).

Really, Pierre? Let me get this straight: a team that is on the road, facing the defending Conference champions, is facing elimination, and is winning 4-1 at the start of the third, and you deduct that they have some positive energy on the bench? What kind of fucking analysis is that? A retarded monkey could have told me that. Pierre, please go back to your day job of blowing Mike Richards and calling anyone who hits a "monster".

One last thing, and this may alienate some people. I watched the entire game yesterday, even after it was painfully obvious it was not the Red Wings' day. As the game was winding down, I saw people leaving the Joe. A lot of people. Now, I understand that they were probably upset at the outcome, but this may have been the last chance these fans had to see the Wings play at home this year. After all the shit they have gone through, with the bad start to the injuries to the frantic finish at the end, this team deserved a standing ovation after the game from the fans. It would have been nice for the players to know that we as fans were 100% behind them despite yesterday's game. How many teams have lost that last game but the fans stay behind, cheering and going crazy as a thank you for the year the team had? I can guarantee that if the Wings win tomorrow, the Coyotes fans that are there will give the Yotes a final send-off as a thank you. If you left early yesterday, shame on you. We as Red Wing fans are labeled as "bandwagon" and "fairweather" fans, and after the display yesterday, it's hard to argue with that. This team is trying as hard as they can, and while they made a lot of mistakes yesterday, and have throughout this series, it's not because they don't care. Let's show this team that, win or lose, we are still behind them.