Day 1

Okay, so this is sort of an odd time to start a Wings' blog. But I sees it this way: when is a more important time to step up and say, goshdarn it, I love these guys, and what they do, how much they distract me from shit. First things first, Red Wings, you rock, and you had one hell of a season.

There are some good things about this, obviously all of it overshadowed by a loss, but some good things to pick out from the mess.

1. Dats and Hank played their nards off in the third. Those guys were dominant out there. It sucks that it took a three goal lead, but...

2. This will build character. I know it's basically a ridiculous thing to say when you think about it, but sometimes you don't want to win too soon. I told you it was going to be ridiculous. But I would hate for this collection of talent to get complacent. It was a good four years that the Wings had a great team before they won it all in 97.

This team was on Hank and Dats, and they lost. That really sucks for them, but it also means they're going to want it even more next year. They've never been in this position: driving the bus, and failing. They've always been behind Yzer and Shanny, and they always saw those guys handle the losses well and they prolly didn't get too upset. Well, now it's time to get pissed because it was them who failed to lead the team to the Cup.

I'm not trying to bag on the Eurotwins; they are the second and third most talented players on the team (behind the Perfect Human), and they played well. But I think now this is really, really their team - not because they won anything with them, but because they really lost something with them.

Reactions from around the horn:

Abel to Yzerman
http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/A2Y/comments/game_5a/
The Chief says Game 5 was when this series ended - can't say I really disagree. Hard to dominate four games in a row. But man, it wasn't out of reach at the end. Good comments mostly from A2Y readers; staying upbeat, and proud of this team.

Behind the Jersey
http://www.behindthejersey.com/2007/05/23/wings-3-ducks-4/
Fellow Stevie worshipper Christy has her commentary on the game. Says she was frustrated by the first 50 minutes of effort. I again agree, but like I said above, it's hard to dominate a good team four straight games. They're going to figure a thing or two out at some point.

Oh yeah, and one more little bit of silver lining in tonight's loss.