The only major drawback to the wing’s play, as I see it, is their reluctance to play a really physical game. I’ve seen the occasional good check along the boards, but it seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

We all have seen the punishment the wings have taken at the hands of teams like the Calgary Flames and a couple of others. I get really frustrated at seeing a Red Wing player hit the boards just to the right of an opposing player, or just to the left of him, or just a mild bump, when they do hit a player head on.

C’mon. When you get a chance to nail a guy cleanly, well, nail him. Let him take that extra second or two the next time he goes into the corner for a puck.

Plenty of Wings fans say we’re going all the way every year, and that’s why they’re called “playoff disasters.” Because we expect to go all the way and end up losing early. The only year I was truly confident of a Cup was 2002, and that’s a different era when we had double the payroll.

My reasons why we are a weaker team than our standings suggest are that I don’t think the Wings are different enough from the team that lost to Calgary. We don’t have the speed, and if we play a young, quick team I see no reason why we don’t lose 1st/2nd round again if our offense disappears and we play a hot goaltender. Legace and Ozzie have been shakey this season, especially considering the defense they get from Lidstrom, Chelios, etc. Also, injuries to Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Schneider could become longterm issues. Finally, the Wings haven’t played as well as they should at home, and we’ll have home ice advantage.

Or everyone can comment, and say “Go Wings!” but I thought I’d give reasons why we won’t win it instead.