Around the NHL in 30 Days – Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings take center stage in FanSided’s Around the NHL in 30 Days at The Octopus Thrower blog. I don’t think there is a doubt in anyone’s mind that the Red Wings will be back in the playoffs this year. With Jimmy Howard between the pipes, Nick Lidstrom back on the blueline for one more year, and the talented forward group highlighted by Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings will once again be in the running for the Stanley Cup.

What can I say about the Red Wings? I’m impressed with how this franchise is run and with how much success they’ve had. Yet at the same time they frustrate me with how difficult they are to play against and the headaches they give the Sharks in the playoffs. I mean c’mon, Datsyuk is a human video game out there making plays that seem impossible. Lidstrom seems to have found and hoarded the fountain of youth because no matter his chronological age, he still plays like a 25 year old star. How about head coach Mike Babcock? The only think more solid than his hairdo is the team strategies that he implements on the ice.

Here’s a snippet of what lead writer Monica McAlister has to say about her Red Wings:

"Returning this season is the flying circus with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom. Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary went head to head in a bobble head fight this summer. Valtteri Filppula and Johan “The Mule” Franzen will make a return. Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader are back with youthful vengeance and Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller are both back on new deals."

We all know that the Sharks had a 3-0 series lead against the Wings last year in the second round of the playoffs… and we all know that the Wings stormed back with 3 straight wins and pushed it to a game 7. That can only be done by a team with a ton of heart. Hopefully that experience will rub off on the Sharks this spring. During the season the Sharks won 3 out of the 4 meetings… which as we know means nothing against the Wings when it comes to playoff time.

Looking forward to more epic matchups this year between the Wings and Sharks. Who else can smell a Wings/Sharks playoff series this year? I just have a feeling that the Sharks’ road to the Stanley Cup Finals will be going through Detroit.

Check back tomorrow on FanSided’s Around the NHL in 30 Days as the young Edmonton Oilers take the spotlight.

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