Charlie Klein
For pretty much the entire duration of my almost 20 years of existence I have hated the Detroit Red Wings with a passion as fiery as the red on their sweaters. Players like Sergei Federov, Steve Yzerman, Slava Fetisov, Niklas Lidstrom, etc. have always held negative associations for me growing up. Today's big red machine is no different. I simply do not like Henrik Zetterberg, Pavol Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Marian Hossa. At the same time, I have come to realize that I have an inner appreciation for the brand of hockey the Red Wings play. Come to think of it, now I actually want the Wings to win their twelth Stanley Cup in franchise history. Why? Allow me to explain.
What makes the Red Wings all of a sudden so likeable is players like Dan Cleary, Jiri Hudler, and even Johan Franzen. Cleary has scored two beautiful goals in the Western Conference finals on the team that gave up on his NHL future in the Chicago Blackhawks. Hudler has been a valuable source of secondary scoring for the Wings with four goals in the playoffs. Johan Franzen has becomes a whole 'nother animal when the schedule changes to the playoffs. He has commented that it seems to him that whenever the going gets tougher he gets better. Franzen leads the Red Wings in goals during the playoffs with nine and ranks third amongst active players in plus minus behind teammates Cleary and Zetterberg.
At the end of the day we all have to put down our haterade and respect great teams when we see them. Were it not for the fact that the Giants were in the Super Bowl, I would have wanted to see the Patriots achieve total perfection. Truly great teams do not come around every season in sports. The 2008-2009 Detroit Red Wings are one such team. They do not score all of their goals with one player but rather as a collective excel the way teams ought to. Their execution of a 3-on-1 during Game 2 of their Western Conference Finals against the Blackhawks is a perfect demonstration of the team mentality. The way these Red Wings are flying, I doubt that anyone will be able to stop them.
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