Red Wings look like the Dead Wings in playoffs

The first team to hit the links in the Stanley Cup playoffs is the one 56 miles north of my house via I-75. The Red Wings showed everything that is wrong with them in losing to Nashville in five. They may be built for the regular season grind. But they were too old, too gutless, too weak and too unwilling and unmotivated to do the little things that are needed to hoist Sord Stanley high in the air for the 12th time in Detroit’s storied hockey history.

Point 1 — Too old: The Red Wings are the second oldest team in the NHL; the Devils being number one in age. Lidstrom is 42, Holmstrom is a worn-out 39. Many others are in their low to mid 30s, and, except for Datsyuk and Zetterberg, their pathetic play against the Predators showed it. The Preds had the advantage in speed, and it showed even to a blind person. Lidstrom was beaten to the puck in the corner many times. That happened a lot to him last year, but no one in the Detroit media had the guts to admit that fact when the Sharks sent them home in the conference semifinals. You can’t count on the young kids to do the heavy lifting in the playoffs, unless the kids’ names are Orr, Howe, Gretzky and Esposito (both Tony and Phil). That’s where the vets have to step up their play, and the old Detroiters didn’t do that.

Point 2 — Too gutless, weak and unwilling: Except for Bertuzzi who went after Weber after he plastered Zetterberg’s head into the glass at the end of game one, the Red Wings didn’t put up much resistance to the Predators’ checking and hitting. I’d say the number of times they engaged their opponents in anything even resembling rough play was maybe one per game. They let Nashville push them around. How many times did the Wings crash Rinne? Maybe once in five games. Driving to the net is a staple in hockey, but only Hudler did it and he scored the Wings’ only goal in the fifth game. The Wings took way too many shots from the perimeter that Rinne caught easily, rarely letting out juicy rebounds for the Wings to fire back at him. The nasty zone in front of the goalie where you know an offensive player is going to get popped was rarely occupied by a player wearing a red-and-white sweater. Needed next year in Motown are more guys who are more than willing to get their noses bloodied and ribs and ankles hacked. That’s how you score goals in the playoffs. Detroit’s pretty-boy European hockey style does not win Stanley Cup titles in the post-lockout era.

 
Point 3 — Lack of motivation was grossly apparent, despite what the players and Babcock continued to tell Wing fans. A lot of fault goes to Babcock. To me, they looked like they could care less after losing game 3 at home. In reality, they looked lackadaisical at the end of March and early in April. How do you lose to the Blue Jackets when you need two points to finish ahead of the Predators? Not only a lack of motivation but a lack of smart thinking did them in. How can you explain a Predator taking three Wings, including Lidstrom and Howard, into the corner with him and then letting him pass the puck to a teammate that gets him a Christmas present for a goal in game 4? The Wings just didn’t have the hunger for the playoffs. Maybe they thought the 23 straight wins at home were good enough for them to live off during the summer. Their last game of the playoff was also their most listless and disinterested one.