The Key to the Red Machine
Depth.
That is what allows the Detroit Red Wings to constantly be among the elite teams in the league, and is what has them two wings away from playing for the Stanley Cup. This is a team with a nominee for MVP of the league during the regular season in Pavel Datsyuk. The same Datsyuk who has one lonely goal in the playoffs. Oh and leading goal scorer, Marian Hossa isn’t exactly lighting the lamp regularly with four goals to his name, either.
The Red Wings are getting scoring contributions from everybody. Arguably my least favorite player on the team, Mikael Samuelsson, won the game in OT, nicely finishing a 3-on-1. It was his fifth goal of the playoffs, and he’s predominantly been playing on the third and fourth lines. Cleary, often a third or fourth liner during the regular season, has really stepped up this series with three goals in two games. The Wings played a good portion of the epic series against the Duckss missing two of their top five defenders in Rafalski and Lilja. They’re still missing Lilja and will be for the forseeable future.
To me, it’s really amazing the depth that the Red Wings have managed to have with the salary cap. It’s why I felt confidence against the Ducks, a team seemingly built for long playoff series. The Wings can come at you with twelve forwards and six defenders every single night.
Chicago is actually one of the deepest teams in the league themselves, which in my opinion is why they have gotten into the third round. Of course, they’re depth lacks the experience that the Wings have. Either way, this series could be the start of a great rivalry for years to come.
Let's Take a Walk in the Woods. 