Okay, so that is an exaggeration. NO ONE is predicting the end of the Red Wings, but...
It certainly has been painful to watch what has happened to the team. And it isn't their fault--that's what makes it so hard to accept! The hit on Lidstrom shouldn't have happened--at least the elbow to the jaw shouldn't have! Chelios was just doing his job and blocked a shot--so he is day-to-day with no idea when he will be back. And Cleary: Getting hit in the jaw with a puck isn't something you TRY to do. Rafalski has the old groin injury--an injury that just PLAGUES hockey players. And what can you say about Kronwall? I wonder if hockey is what he should be doing with his life? He hasn't played an entire season without getting a strange injury. Too bad, too, as he is quite good but he may never be able to play to his optimum potential. As for Hasek, I am really wondering if he should just retire at the end of this year--for GOOD this time. Come on Dom, you ARE 43! There can only be one Chelios. {sigh}
I guess the absolute hardest thing is to see how different the second half of the season has been compared to the first. The Wings were on the way to a record breaking season. Every record and every individual trophy (almost) could have gone to Detroit--the whole ball of wax, the whole enchilada, EVERYTHING! Now, they might not even win the Western Conference. ARRRGGGHHH!!!
However, they are far from out of the run for the Cup. In the past it has seemed as if the years they did very well during the regular season, they didn't do well in the play-offs. So, they are facing adversity and injuries. They are learning what it is to struggle AND are doing a decent job of working through it all. As the saying goes, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Here's to the Wings just getting stronger and stronger.
(Oh, yeah, they lost to the Canucks 4-1 tonight. Not too bad considering how many of the regulars were not playing--and how many called-up players WERE there. Again: {sigh})
