As many of you know, although I have the good fortune of writing a blog on one of the league's most popular teams, I am not a "Red Wings fan".

Now that a few days have passed since the devastating Red Wings Game 7 loss on home ice, I thought it would only be fitting prior to providing my own analysis of why the final result ended up as it did, that an anonymous loyal Red Wing fan shares his thoughts on why the Wings finished the season one win short of their 12th Stanley Cup.

Not everyone may agree with all of his thoughts, but one thing you can't deny is his passion.



So there I was, in shock as I watched the Detroit Red Wings come within one win of capturing their fifth Stanley Cup title in 12 seasons. Many thoughts went through my head as I watched the Pittsburgh Penguins jump around with vengeance burning in their eyes. It has left a hole in my stomach.


What happened to the 40-goal scorer who came to the Wings with the expectations of winning the Cup? Zero goals in the series. Where was the MVP candidate who scored more than a point per game the previous playoff season? On the bench, with one goal and a frozen foot. What about that guy they call ‘Homer’, who is supposed to be the best in the game standing in front of the net? I believe he was on the bench counting his minus 2 rating.


There are no excuses that can erase the fact that the Red Wings blew their chance to become this era's version of a dynasty. Although many predicted this series would go to 6 or 7 games, I don’t think anyone would have anticipated the Penguins becoming only the second team to come back and take the Cup after losing the first two games. The Wings had two chances to close out the series. In the NHL, you can’t do that by scoring only one goal in each of those games.


The turning point, I believe, in this series was when Evgeni Malkin had his automatic one game suspension lifted due to a technicality, in which I also believe was fabricated in order to avoid having the only Penguins player to have his name on the score sheet sit out a pivotal Game 3. NHL rule #47 clearly states:


“A player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at any time in overtime, shall be assessed an instigator minor penalty, a major for fighting, a ten minute misconduct and an AUTOMATIC one-game suspension.”


I don’t see anywhere in the rule where it says that it’s ok to start a fight at the end of the game if you average more than a point per game. This was, in my opinion, clearly the league stepping in to avoid having the predictable Red Wings pull out another win and giving the younger Penguins a chance to stay in a series in which they were being outplayed. The result in Game 3? The Penguins win 4-2, with Malkin registering 3 points. In Game 5, the Wings took it to the Penguins winning 5-0 and where was Malkin with less then five minutes to play? He was on the ice throwing punches. No penalty, no suspension.


In any event, it was the Penguins who won an exciting series. I am proud of what my Red Wings have accomplished over the past 20 years. Even though another Stanley Cup hat added to my collection would have been nice, I am comforted in the fact that the Wings core will remain together for the next few years and they will always be mentioned as a contender. We will also likely see many veterans out of the line-up next season to make way for the young Griffins to put their stamp in the organization.


The Penguins on the other hand will fall into the category of Stanley Cup champions failing to qualify for the playoffs the following season.


Pretty interesting comments. Agree or disagree?


mark.spizzirri@hockeybuzz.com