Every year around this time hockey fans from all over ask this question and if you are not a Detroit fan you always want the answer to be yes. In most years the answer is no the Red Wings are still a force to be threatened with.

Recently though there have been some signs that may suggest the Red Wings reign may be coming to an end. When I say coming to an end I mean they may not be a favorite to win the Cup every year. There is no doubt that the Red Wings will always be in the mix of great hockey teams and their twenty year run of making the playoffs is not in jeopardy ending anytime soon. They have too many key players locked into long term contracts to not be a playoff team.

However, the Red Wings defense is among the oldest in the league and Nick Lidstrom who will go down as the second greatest blue liner to ever play the game behind Bobby Orr is forty-one years old and was unsure whether he was going to play this season. At the end of this campaign he will have another decision to make on his return for his twenty-first season. This is the first time in Lidstrom’s illustrious career that he has been a minus player. Prior to this year the closest Lidstrom had come to a minus season was plus seven. Point is he is slowing down. In the post-lockout era of NHL hockey speed is of the essence and the Swede’s great positioning will only get him so far. Lidstrom’s point production has not dropped which is impressive and I’m not saying he doesn’t have some time left in his legs; he just isn’t as dominating as he once was.

Brian Rafalski is another aging defenseman for Detroit who will turn thirty-eight before the next season begins and also isn’t done but top pairing minutes may be a thing of the past for him.

Both of these elite defenseman aren’t done, but they aren’t as effective as they once were and their careers are certainly on the down side. The problem for Detroit is that they don’t have anyone to fill their roles.

The forward core is not aging like the back end but they are not a young group in a game where the average age is getting younger. Bertuzzi is thirty-six years old and the injuries he has sustained over the years take their toll. The chances of Bertuzzi playing into his forties are slim. Among the team’s forwards only Darren Helm played all eighty-two games and the big guns up front all had their injury problems missing a total of forty-eight games among their top four scorers.

This is the second year in a row that the usual dominating Red Wings are down two games coming back home against the San Jose Sharks. Last year they had the excuse of playing a tough seven game series before taking on the Sharks. This year they had plenty of rest and they find themselves in the same hole. Coach Babcock feels his team has improved up front with Abdelkader and Helm maturing as players. Even with this improvement they are down and both games would have been more convincing victories if not for the stand-out performances by the Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard.

This makes me think that the San Jose Sharks are playing at a much higher level. The Sharks are also an improved team up front. The Big Pavelski continues to shine in the post-season along with Ryan Clowe and Devin Setoguchi. Logan Couture has shown great maturity for a young player in the playoffs and has earned his ice time. The average age of the four players just mentioned is twenty-five years. These young guns aren’t even the focal point of this offense. Thornton and Marleau are only thirty-one and Heatley is thirty, and they are the ones who get the most attention from the opposition.

Jimmy Howard has been without a doubt the Red Wings best player in the first two games of the second round. Howard is not accustomed to keeping his team in the game the way he has and if we have already seen his best then the Red Wings are closer to tee times than they know. So far the Sharks have outplayed and out chanced Detroit and the confidence in the San Jose dressing room is growing. They are rolling three scoring lines that are all getting the job done and putting points on the board. After games one and two I can’t help but get the feeling that the Sharks are due for an offensive eruption and the fans at the Joe won’t be happy if it takes place tomorrow or Friday night.

Your feedback and thoughts are always welcome at hockeybuzz.com. If you think I am off my rocker let me know.

In the meantime keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» Sharks review

» Sharks forge ahead without Boyle

» Battle of Unbeatens: Sharks Go Head-to-Head with Blues

» Sharks take perfect record on the road

» Player Evaluations: Marc-Edouard Vlasic & Raffi Torres