Slimmest Margin of Error
“If you drop your level just a little bit, it's amazing how you can drop with everyone into that gray zone there.”
In making that observation, Kirk Muller was thinking of his Dallas Stars and their roller coaster ride of recent years. But to the defending Stanley Cup champions he must sound like a prophet.
As they rolled into the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs – just three regulation-time losses in their last 27 games – the Detroit Red Wings appeared to be operating at a higher level than the rest of the NHL. Surely they would dispatch the Anaheim Mighty Ducks without shifting from first gear.
But in today’s NHL, even the sublimely gifted, enviably deep and richly rewarded work with a slim margin of error. The Red Wings’ game slipped “just a little bit,” enough to turn them into Duck feed.
“We should've been better, more disciplined,” said Steve Yzerman, owning up to the unvarnished truth. “We made untimely mistakes defensively, as a group. This is really humbling for us. After winning the Stanley Cup, we got brought back down to earth, hard. Maybe the humbling is good for us in the long run.”
The Ducks, of course, deserve full credit for seizing the day. They played better with every game, and were the superior team in game four. Clutch scoring, smart positional play, consistent defense, the ability to come from behind and a high panic threshold - the Ducks knew exactly what to do to complete their incredible sweep. And by now we all know about goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere, the MVP of the opening round.
But any Red Wings’ fans who see this disaster as simply a run of bad luck and hot goaltending should heed the words of another coach who faced a hot goaltender on Wednesday night: The Philadelphia Flyers needed 75 shots and nearly six periods before escaping with a 3-2 win over Toronto. Afterwards, coach Ken Hitchcock claimed he never got frustrated watching Leafs’ goalie Ed Belfour turn his Flyers away time after time. If you’re going to blame your problems on great goaltending, he said, “You’ll be making that excuse for the rest of your life.”
More Stanley Cup Notes:
Blues, Leafs and Avs Pack Up Their Gear
Pity the Dot-Com Millionaire
2003 Red Wings: A Trivia Question in the Making
The All-Muttonhead Team
