Well That Was Easy

Just as someone with amazing insight predicted, the Wings made real quick work of a lousy Phoenix team that didn't look like they had any business even being on the ice with the Wings. Now it seems we'll have roughly 7-8 days before the start of the next series which is great considering we're still missing Zetterberg and now Franzen. The Lady Friend, who was a champ and stayed up late to watch the game with me, was a bit more skeptical and pointed out that I still complain about a long layover being the reason the Tigers lost the '06 World Series. And she's right, but the Wings are a veteran team and the only person I see this possibly effecting is Howard cause so much of playing goalie is about staying hot and not over thinking things. But this ain't his first rodeo so I expect him to stay focused.

Now let's break down the slaughter. There were numerous reasons this thing got Coyote Ugly for Phoenix. First off the Wings had 13 different goal scorers in a four game series. That's fuckin bonkers. Detroit basically had 4 lines all as good as Phoenix's 1'st and the relentless pursuit of the puck (ie - Helm's hit/assist last night) never let the Coyotes breath. In addition to that, Detroit seriously limited the defensive zone turnovers that have plagued them all season. Most notably, the defensive pairing of Selei and Kronwall stepped up their game. The powerplay looked good and took advantage of opportunities early in games and the penalty kill came up big when it needed too as well.

And while all these things played an important role in the series it really came down to the fact that Bryzgolov was horrendous and Howard was spectacular. The Coyotes had relied so heavily on Bryzgolov all year that once the Wings got to him early in the series you could see the team, him included, get that collective "oh fuck" look on their faces. And once the Wings smelt blood in the water the series was essentially over.

Oh, and did I mention we've got a wizard playing Quidditch on our team? Look at that pass. Guy is not human.



PS - While the rest of these suckers are schlepping away trying to finish their series, we should take our well deserved week off and go on Spring Break. Last one in is a rotten egg bitches!