COLUMBUS, Ohio – Series prediction: In their 18th trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs while acquiring the Cup 11 times out of those 18, one only need look at the Wings hockey-star-studded roster to wonder why even bother with the first round. The Wings roster is loaded with many vets and also has a decent amount of energetic young stars who are eager to win. There are also players who are out to prove that they deserve long-term contracts similar to those awarded to other Red Wings earlier this year.
The underdog Columbus Blue Jackets are not as experienced as their opponents,but they also are a highly energetic team with quite a few high-impact players who may give the Red Wings defense a run for their money and may lead them to be the “dark horse” of the playoffs. The Blue Jackets’ secret weapon against the high-powered Detroit offense is their impressive goalie Steve Mason. Mason, who is only 20, has just finished a season worthy of the Rookie of the Year prize, and possibly a Vezina Trophy, Mason could prove to be a major factor in this series.
Red Wings fans hope their team will remember the hard lessons learned from season’s past where the Wings had highly successful regular seasons but were over confident and consequently upset early in the playoffs. Detroit will have to be vigilant so they will avoid a pitfall this year. The Blue Jackets fans hope the Red Wings have forgotten those lessons and cause themselves to stumble by looking past the ‘Jackets and their youthful energy. Columbus fans also hope goalie Mason can stand on his head long enough to stop one of the NHL’s most diverse and potent offensive lines.
Look for this series to get rough early, as Columbus may inadvertently attempt to batter Red Wings players to stifle their offensive firepower. Detroit is too experienced to be intimidated, yet they are just so naturally good that they haven’t really had to show or prove it, which may cause the young Columbus team to gain significant ground early in this series. Detroit’s defense is just as deserving of mention as their offense with Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Brett Lebda–need any more be said?
One concern of many Red Wing fans is the danger of the mental game played by goalies, or, more accurately, played by the opponent, with the goalie as the victim. Chris Osgood took a little time off mid-season to rest his mind. Goalies are a special breed, and it does become almost as much mental as it is based on abilities for good goalies. “Ozzie” and former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin, obviously have the talent, but if they are not focused and don’t exude confidence in themselves, it could prove to be damaging to the Wings.
If the Wings can stay healthy and solve Mason, they will win this series in five games. However, if the Blue Jackets prove they can physically punish the Wings, distract Ozzie and/or Conklin, and catch Detroit off-guard early things might be different. Mason could provide some playoff magic similar to that displayed in the regular season, if he does this series could go to six or seven games, but Detroit will still prevail.
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