2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

13 Jun 2009

Well, I have to start by saying congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins who won the Stanley Cup last night.

As for my Wings? I’m disappointed. I’m not disappointed that they lost. That I can accept. I’m disappointed that they didn’t play last night. Other than about two minutes in the second period and maybe another two minutes in the third period, that wasn’t my Detroit Red Wings team that I have come to know and love. I understand that most of them are injured. I understand that they had a long hard road to the final. In the end though, they just didn’t show up. It resulted in what has to be the least exciting game seven I’ve ever seen.

I am also disappointed by the officiating that took place in the final round. It was bad for both teams. It was bad for the league. That game last night was a return to the clutching and grabbing style of hockey we got used to in the mid 90’s.

I enjoyed the officiating in the first three rounds of the playoffs where they didn’t call every little thing like in the regular season, but in the final round they simply put the whistles away. It was a disgrace to the league and to the sport. I always hear the line “they don’t want a playoff game to be decided by officiating and power plays”, but I don’t understand. Isn’t that how the other 82 games a year that each team plays is decided?

One other disappointing thing for the league, is that because of the way the game was being called it went from what should have been one of the best match-ups to watch in this years playoffs to one of the worst. It couldn’t hold a candle to the hockey that I saw played in the previous three rounds.

You can’t structure the rules and the enforcement of them to let your stars shine, and then turn out the lights during the big show and plan to draw in more fans.

I’ve watched a lot of the NBA playoffs this year as well. They haven’t changed the officiating in the final. Just the other night half of the Laker’s starters were on the bench in the first quarter because of foul trouble. That’s the way it should be.

If the rules are going to be different in the playoffs than they are in the regular season, how can you possibly build a team to be great at both?

I also have to say that the scheduling this year has been atrocious. I miss the days when the playoff games were every other night. Again, it is just crazy to schedule back to back games in the playoffs, and then to turn around and have massive breaks between games of three and sometimes more days. It causes a loss of momentum for fans. You never know when the next game will actually be. I understand that sometimes the arena has been scheduled for other things; but honestly, aren’t those arenas normally built for the professional sports teams? Is it too much to ask them to keep the schedule clean for the few weeks that the playoffs last? I definitely don’t understand bowing to the schedule of NBC who doesn’t even pay to show the NHL playoffs.

Here’s hoping for an exciting off-season starting with an exciting draft.

Go Wings! Go!