Thursday, April 12, 2012

The Playoffs Begin

Betcha thought I was gonna let that slide right by, dint ya?  Heh... fat chance.  So, three games last night and two out of the three teams I favor in last night's games won.  The Wings, unfortunately, weren't one of those teams.  I really do believe the officiating was a contributing factor in last night's loss.  Speakin' of...


The league's two least-penalized teams took 14 penalties last night, which is more than one usually sees in three or four playoff games.  The Preds couldn't convert on six power play opportunities (including over a minute of 5-on-3 time) and that speaks more to the efficiency of the Wings PK than anything else, in my mind.  The fact remains that penalties break up the rhythm and flow of the game and affect both teams' momentum, not that Nashville had anythang that looked even remotely like momentum after the first period... but the Wings did.  It's also an unfortunate fact of life that garbage goals and fluky goals count just the same as a goal from a well-executed play.  But that's hockey.

The thing that hurt the most last night was losing Darren Helm for the rest of the playoffs due to a freak accident in the first period, where tendons in his right arm were cut by a Nashville player's skate.  Losing Helm WILL affect Detroit's penalty kill and the power play and that sucks more than losing the game by a single goal.

So we're down 1-0.  No big deal... I liked the way the Wings played last night.  Nashville is gonna have to get a whole helluva lot better to win this series... they're not gonna be able to rely on luck and garbage for all seven games.

LGRW!

8 comments:

  1. WTF Shea Weber?

    Lots of penalties in that 'Nucks/Kings matchup, too. Are we under some unspoken league mandate to come away from this postseason without being accused of putting the whistles away? I hope not.

    I went 3 for 3 last night - nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WTF, indeed. He got fined $5K... but he SHOULD have gotten a game.

      As for the other two series... it's too bad both the Flightless Birds AND the Flyers can't lose. I'm agnostic on El-Eh - Vancouver but favor the Kings.

      Delete
  2. I turned it on just seconds before the Wings tied it at 1-1. Then the BS of daily life kicked in, during the break between 2nd and 3rd periods so I couldn't see the ending. Since I don't really have a fave hockey team (used to like Pittsburgh back in the '90s but that's a long time ago) I was rooting for Detroit.

    Bummed....

    ReplyDelete
  3. ...I was rooting for Detroit.

    You're a good man, Inno. Unlike some OTHER people in The Land O' Constant Rain that I know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm always rooting for Detroit.

    To be ravaged by Godzilla and crushed by a meteor. So it's a little different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. That would be ENVY speakin'. ;-)

      Delete
  5. Buck, I'm a novice fan, but my theory is that garbage goals come about because guys are taking shots at the goal. You've gotta shoot to score.

    BTW, that journalistic standard of accuracy, The Tennessean said 17 penalties.

    I definitely agree that Nashville will have to play better if they expect to win the series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a common sayin' that "when ya throw the puck at the net, good thangs happen." Or bad thangs, depending on yer perspective.

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask.