Még mindig a vasárnapi meccsről:

The Detroit Red Wings have struggled to match the San Jose Sharks' faceoff prowess, have penalty-killing problems, and obviously find themselves facing a season-breaking must-win situation going back to Detroit on Tuesday thanks to a 4-3 loss to San Jose via a horrific break...

But let's be honest here. The refs screwed, blued, and tattooed the Wings here. Any time a Shark chooses to let his feet go out from under him, impales himself into the goalpost, or so much as sneezes, the Sharks get a power play, and at the other end of the ice, when the Red Wings rip a shot on the net and the Sharks do what they've very literally told the press--grab and hold onto Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, and Todd Bertuzzi to prevent them from getting to loose pucks, clearly committing obstruction fouls--they get away with what the NHL deems is "battling."

Yes, the Red Wings have been out-played, but it's pretty hard to win Game 2 when you're playing against 18 players, a goaltender, and two referees. This game was disgusting and pathetic and if there ever was proof positive of an anti-Red Wing bias, this is it.

The NHL should be ashamed of itself and Brad Watson and Kevin Pollock are nothing less than incompetent. The Red Wings will of course focus on what they have to do to get back into this series, because that's what they do--worry about themselves--but every fan comment regarding a pro-Sharks bias is accurate and valid right now.

Tonight's game was a screw-job, plain and simple, and that's no conspiracy theory--that's a fact.

The Red Wings can and will respond on Tuesday. They'll adjust to prevent the Sharks from gaining the blueline so easily, they'll sort out their coverage in their own end much better, establish their forecheck on a more consistent basis, and make sure to utilize winger support in all three zones to sustain puck possession. I expect them to win more faceoffs as well. Given all Howard and his teammates have endured, I fully believe that the Wings will emerge victorious on Tuesday--assuming they're allowed to actually play hockey on the ice and not in the penalty box.

Fontos meccs lesz ez a mai, ha bukjuk, akkor ki is esünk. A véleményem viszont az, hogy az eddig mutatottnál sokkal többet tudunk, ha odatesszük magunkat. Persze nyilván ehhez az is fog kelleni, hogy levessék a bírók a Sharks mezt végre.