Where do you even begin to explain the last two games Detroit has played? They are within 1 point of their seventh-straight 100-point season and they missed it again tonight. Of course, with nine games left to play, they WILL get to 100 (let's hope I didn't just jinx it), but there is really no reason for it to not have happened during this road trip.
Even though I wouldn't mind watching the Wings play 12 months of the year, I am beginning to wonder if the season they do play isn't too long. Maybe part of the reason for the last-month slump is just plain tiredness. (They didn't play great the last month of last year, either.) If the season was shortened by 10 games, it might be much better all around--except for the owners, of course. They would be in the play-offs already and probably be done with it all before summer got rolling along. But, I don't really think the powers-that-be will shorten the season.
The Wings had a problem with penalties on Saturday, but Vancouver had quite a few, also. It all boiled down to who actually took advantage of the power play. Tonight, the officiating didn't seem to be fair, at all. (And yes, it is always an excuse: blame the officials.) The reason I say this: the Wings had 5 penalties against them in the first and second periods and Calgary had NO penalties until the third period--then they received only one. A little lopsided, and yes, there were a few that were quite blatant that were not called. A reason for Detroit's poor showing? Maybe. Maybe not.
West coast road trips seem to be especially hard on the Wings--and you really can't blame them for that. After all, they bounce three time zones to play on the west coast. Even still, this was a fairly short road trip--Saturday in Vancouver and tonight in Calgary. And they didn't have to play back-to-back games, either. So, is THIS an excuse for losing two in a row? Hmmm.
Again, all the talk is about when Bertuzzi will play his first game. Right now 'they' say he will either play on Thursday or Saturday. I certainly hope it is on Thursday: I will be able to watch that game--no one is broadcasting Saturday's game, so I will be sh*t-out-of-luck if it is then. 'They' continue to say that Zetterberg is feeling better every day, but he STILL hasn't skated. 'They' are hoping he will be able to come back for the last five games of the season--HA! I don't now what 'they' are smoking, but I just might like to have some of what 'they' are having.
