commentary...

last season,i made the comment of the Red Wings' 2012-2013(as i put it the 2013 team)team,"that if you gave me the seventh game of the second round,at the beginning of the season,i would be very happy"... that was very true last year,but i believe the Red Wings need to improve over the off-season,not so much as pundits may think,but i will always remember the quote from head coach Mike Babcock,when asked if he thought the Red Wings were a tough out(from the Stanley Cup playoffs),he replied simply,"not at all",explaining that they simply got out-played by the Boston Bruins... he also said that injuries,and youth,in terms of AHL talent,has(paraphrasing)taken the edge off the Red Wings,noting that four years ago,they were playing deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs,and the last two years,they have struggled to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs,especially this year,because of injury... now for the Sharks' overall season... they won fifty one games,had 111 points(fourth in Western Conference),primed to make a deep run into the playoffs,and then went poof,in an epic historical flameout... i mentioned the Red Wings' front office... let us compare them to the Sharks' front office:have only one major question to ask??? when was the major player input from the Worcester(Mass.) Sharks,the AHL affiliate of San Jose... they must have had one,and they did:the last two goals,against the Los Angeles Kings,were from James Sheppard,and Matt Irwin,two Worcester Sharks called up,by San Jose,but in the last three games,against the Kings,the high priced stars did not get a sniff of the net/goal... after 51 wins,and 111 points,did the Sharks overachieve,or underachieve,compared to the Red Wings??? they both underachieved,one because of a team depleted by injury,and the other by not fighting for a fourth win,in their seven game series(and you can not tell me that they played hard,against the Kings,in the last three games,of that historical but pathetic series)... which team would you root for??? i know my answer...