Red Wings Never Done Working posted by Jeff Ponder
The first round of the 2010 NHL Playoffs speak of the Detroit Red Wings’ character better than almost any series of games. Crushing dreams and taking control are the names of the game for the Red Wings.
After leading in the series two different times, the Phoenix Coyotes faced a game seven against Detroit after a miracle season in the desert. Facing numerous problems off the ice yet still finishing as the fourth seed of the Western Conference, the Coyotes were actually considered the favorite by many heading into the series. With game seven in Phoenix, the hockey world set its eyes at what promised to be a tight, high-intensity game. Sometimes, promises cannot be kept.
The Red Wings offense made the Cinderella-story Coyotes look foolish in game seven, exploding with four goals in the second period. Adding two more in the third, they crushed the Coyotes, 6-1.
“From early in the game, their top players came out and dictated the pace, and we had no answer for them,” Coyotes Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "They were relentless. When their top players play like that, their whole group just jumps right in. Hats off to them; they played an unbelievable game.”
Go to work night in and night out. That seems to be a general practice for the Red Wings.
Almost exactly one year later, the Coyotes received the same fate in the playoffs. Stacked to face the Red Wings in the first round again (this time as the sixth seed; Detroit as the third seed), the Coyotes were outmatched even more noticeably, getting swept in four games. Detroit just could not be stopped, despite not having stars Henrik Zetterberg for the entire series and Johan Franzen for half of the series.
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