Detroit, MI. Even though Henrik Zetterberg tied the game, the Blackhawks proved to have the fresher legs at the end. You knew it was coming. The longer the great teams hang around, they find a way to win the game and the series. The Red Wings had to earn their way into the playoffs for the 23rd straight year. Maybe that took some of the steam out from the Red Wings. There are any number of things that you can point to. When Jonathan scored his first goal of the playoffs, I was thinking at the time that this could make a difference in the series, because the Red Wings had plenty of chances to close out the Hawks. There is no way to stop the fire power when it gets confidence. Unfortunately when it really counted, the Red Wings were unable to put their best foot forward in the end. Twenty-three straight years of making the playoffs is a remarkable achievement, but unfortunately Mike Babcock will have a lot to look back on. How many times have I said that it all comes down to team unity? The key to the series was strength and conditioning. The Red Wings had it in the beginning, and that’s one of the reasons that it went seven games. You could see that the Red Wings had strength and conditioning, but Chicago just kept it coming. You can never underestimate the heart of Jonathan. Just because the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings doesn’t give them the rights to the Cup! They are going to go up against the defending Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings. It will be interesting to watch and see how both teams react to going seven games in both series.
