Did I just say that the Sharks upset the Red Wings? Yes I did. But, the Sharks were the #1 seed in the West. True. But as an organization, Detroit is a winner until proven otherwise. I doubt that the Sharks would have made the playoffs, had they faced the injury adversity the Red Wings did. Excuses? Maybe. Detroit lost those close games that they should have won, and got down 0-3. Howard wasn't good enough against San Jose. Maybe that's not fair, but you have to get quality goaltending in the playoffs. Time to look at where the Big Red Machine went wrong.
I think it stems back to last summer. Patrick Eaves was an acquisition. I thought it was a golden opportunity for Eaves. I'd seen a lot of him with Ottawa. Thought he had a good all around game, attitude, and grind-ability. A smart player. Your basic interchangeable Red Wing type player. I don't think he panned out. Bert should not be in the NHL based on his skating alone. He did better than I expected, but it's not enough. Franzen was off for too long from his injury. Didn't really get his normal playoff groove. Zetterburg played like he was nursing an injury. The Wings needed more from Fillpula. Hudler and Hossa were missed. Howard was good. They needed Howard to be great.
Is this the end of the Red Wings era? It might be fair to the other organizations if that is the case. More than likely, Detroit will make some minor tweaks to the roster over the Summer, players will rebound, some rookie will improve the team. I know this because that's what usually happens. Unlike most other teams that only wish for this to happen. It is expected from Detroit. I'm not ready to throw away the octopus quite yet.
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