Lifeless? Not so much ...

The Sharks made some mistakes, and the Red Wings took advantage. The
Red Wings made mistakes, and the Sharks weren't able to convert.

That simple. Think about the plays of two defensemen:

1) Matt Carle: lost the puck in his own zone and then failed to
recover and prevent his goalie from being hung out to dry;

2) Nicklas Lidstrom: after his goalie blew a puck-handle, he dove
headlong toward the the line to prevent a Sharks' goal.

Think about these two plays and how they changed the game (in the
Wings' favor). It's the series, encapsulated right there, to me. I
thought the Sharks played well enough to win tonight; they didn't,
because they made two mistakes that cost them, while the Red Wings
were strong enough to overcome their own mistakes. I give the Wings
credit; they're a great team, obviously, and the Sharks just couldn't
close the deal when they had the chances. The Wings got enough chances
to do what they do best: win.

The second goal was a crusher with less than ten seconds left in the
first period. Nabby, again, just doesn't have what it takes to truly
steal a game. Is that a bad thing? No, but you're not going to win the
Stanley Cup unless you have a Hasek/Brodeur in net or your goalie gets
hot (a la Cam Ward). Sharks goalies haven't gotten hot in the
postseason the last three times out. It's time to start over again:
trade both Nabby and Toskala, and find a kid with icewater in his
veins. Heck, swap Nabby for Turco -- both need a change of scenery to
possibly thrive.

[Prediction: Wings in seven over Ducks]

On May 8, 9:47 am, "Hockeyguy" <heymor....TakeThisOut@whatever.net> wrote:


> - I think this series was won by the coaches.

I think the series was "won" in round 1, when Detroit scouted the
Sharks vs Nashville. Sent the right guy...

The scouts name.... Scotty Bowman.