Wings Win

The 2008 version of the Red Wings showed me a lot, winning game 6 in Pittsburgh after a disappointing triple overtime loss in game 5 - when they were just 34 seconds away from winning Lord Stanley's Cup in the 3rd period, before Pittsburgh tied it. It could have been a heartbreaker, the kind of loss that starts a fall. Instead, the Wings rebounded, going on the road and winning the Cup 48 hours later. They were the only team to win in Pittsburgh's building all playoffs long, and they did it twice, the second time to clinch the championship.

The Wings are Stanley Cup champs again, and the the city of Detroit is partying hard. As is the city's usual manner there's booze flowing, a lot of people in the bars and dancing in the streets - and no rioting or other idiocy. Detroit's fans know how to win.

It all looks good, just like it did the other 3 times in past 11 years. Lidstrom, McCarty, Osgood and the rest of the old guard did a great job, and Zetterberg (Conn Smythe winner - or MVP of the playoffs if hockey's not your bag), Datsyuk, Kronwall, and Franzen have answered the critics. It's worth bearing in my mind that almost no one in sports talk TV/radio picked the Wings to win the Cup. No one will admit it, but several of the critics picked Nashville to beat the Wings in the first round. TSN's experts picked Colorado to beat the Wings, and the Wings responded by sweeping them. It was only when Detroit beat Dallas in the Conference Finals that the Wings were suddenly known as an unstoppable force.

No sour grapes from me, everyone's welcome on the bandwagon.

The Wings' story this year was fun to watch. Darren McCarty came back after retirement. He worked his ass off in the minors and the Wings gave him another shot at the title. Tonight, he's smoking a cigar in the locker room. Nicklas Lidstrom made history by becoming the first European player to captain a Stanley Cup team. Coach Mike Babcock exorcised some demons after losing in game 7 two years ago when coaching Anaheim.

Dominic Hasek proved to be one of the classiest players in the league. After being benched in the first round, he reportedly spent extra time on the ice after every practice throughout the playoffs, keeping loose and waiting for his shot. It never came, but as he said tonight, who cares? He declared it a team effort. He and Osgood won the identical number of games throughout the regular season, so Hasek deserves the Cup as much as anyone else. With all of the goalie controversies that infect other clubs, his relationship with Osgood is a clinic for young kids coming up.

Now the players can savour the victory, while general manager Ken Holland and the coaches smoke a cigar and get ready for next seas--whoops. Back to work already.

Photos: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn - AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar