It’s easy to point to Tomas Holmstrom and Chris Chelios as the goats of the game. They certainly deserve it. Both of them made huge mistakes and really hurt their team.
At this point, I’d not be opposed to inserting Jonathan Ericsson or Derek Meech in place of Chelios, who has had an awful series in general. And Holmstrom isn’t much use if he’s not doing his job. All he did yesterday was take two incredibly stupid penalties. Not bright marks on the records of either player.
The responsibility for the loss does not lie on their shoulders, however. It was a team thing. The Red Wings failed to measure up yesterday, failed as a whole. They had little jump, little focus, and nearly no drive. Rather than going out and taking Dallas by the neck, they chose to rely on passivity, apparently expecting the Stars to just roll over in the face of the crowd at the Joe. There’s no excuse for that.
The only exception to the rule that I saw was Chris Osgood. I thought he was the only Detroit player that consistently looked like he wanted to win. The others showed interest in spurts, but that was it.
A lot of credit goes to the Stars for their hard work and rejuvenation. Make no mistake, however. It wouldn’t matter what the Stars did if the Wings were playing their best, something they are no longer doing at a time they need it the most.
This is a letdown similar in quality to that which we experienced in the first round against Nashville. It’s just in much larger quantity because of the timing. It’s one thing to lose two games to go 2-2 in a series. It’s another thing entirely to twice fail to finish the deal after winning three games. They allayed our fears in the first round, but the task of doing so in the third will be much more difficult and painful.
The playoff run is hemorrhaging. I know the Wings had it in them to stop it. Do they now? I’d like to think so. We’ll find out Monday.
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