So we're all probably feeling a little depressed after last night's game.  We could have put a little distance between us and the Flames last night, but now we find ourselves looking up at them in the standings.  It's deflating, it really is.  Especially the way that they ripped that game away from us.

Two periods of up and down hockey, hardly a whistle to be found...it did feel like a play-off game.  It was fast, it was dirty, it was some decent hockey for 40 minutes.  Early into the third, Datsyuk and friends missed an opportunity to put the Wings up 3-1 and failed to convert.  About 5 minutes later, we somehow left Jerome Iginla all by himself in front of our net, and he's not the kind of guy to miss a rebound right on the doorstep.  Less than two minutes later, Iggy popped in another one off his teammate's leg.  And that was the end of the game for Detroit.

The third period after that was completely horrendous.  Calgary really took it to the Wings after that and I mean in a big way.  Datsyuk, Holmstrom, and Franzen were good, but not nearly as dangerous as they were in the first two periods.  The Little Red Corvette line was chugging away as usual and doing their jobs.  I don't know what is wrong with Zetterberg right now.  But he is not looking the All-Star we know him to be.  And he is not coming up big when we need him to.  Whatever it is, Hank, please fix it.

But...

We did accomplish what I had wanted us to in this first five game set...

That win against Chicago meant that we didn't need to win this one.  Don't get me wrong, it would have been nice.  I certainly would be happier sitting in 8th place like we were at this time yesterday.  But if we can continue to win at least three of every five games for the next 15 games (plus one), I'm still confident that we'll sneak into the post-season.

Do we really think that Calgary is going to be able to match that performance (winning three of every five)?  All signs point to 'no'.  They have one game against a sub .500 team...one.  They have the toughest schedule in the West going forward.  So Detroit just needs to take care of its own business and let the rest of the West do the dirty work on the Flames.  Of course, there could be another four point swing just five days from now when we see them again in their barn.

So the best thing to do right now is to try and move on and concentrate on the next five games...

Two home games left before our last trip to Western Canada.  If we can stick it to Pinky's Wild and Drew's older brother's team, then maybe by Monday we'll be right back in the same position we were heading into last night's game. 

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