Gelinas now has three career OT playoff goals that instantly ended a series. Unbelievable. I don't think Gretzky has that many, and I know Lemieux doesn't.
I tried, but I couldn't stay awake for the end . . . I dozed off about half way through the OT. I'll bet folks in Detroit wish they did th same . . . some samplings of Detroit's take on the whole thing . . .
MITCH ALBOM: Flames end the dream and likely a great era
May 4, 2004
BY MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
CALGARY, Alberta -- The red light came on, and for Detroit, the rest of the lights went out. The Flames had scored, one goal, after 79 minutes of choking, desperate, zero sum hockey, and the series, the season, and a slice of Detroit history was finished.
MICHAEL ROSENBERG: Red Wings exit playoffs with lineup caught between eras
May 4, 2004
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
CALGARY, Alberta -- In the end, the roster looked better than the team.
The names on the jerseys screamed "star," but the players inside them did not.
The Red Wings' lineup said Stanley Cup contender, but the Red Wings' play earned a second-round exit. They lost, 1-0, to the Flames in overtime of Game 6.
As the Wings battled Calgary long into Monday night, they sometimes looked like they would win. They often looked like they should win. But they never really looked like a team that was clearly better -- and that was the case in almost every game in this series.
Mathieu Schneider struggles with the Calgary Flames' Ville Nieminen in front of goalie Curtis Joseph during the first period Monday night.
Red Wings' OT loss may be end of an era
Key injuries too much to overcome against Calgary
By Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News
Ryan Remiorz / Associated Press
Calgary Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff makes a save against the Red Wings during the first period.
CALGARY, Alberta -- They've always had more opportunities, another chance, another shot.
And now, they have none.
It's over for the Red Wings, the series, the season and maybe the run. It ended as other disappointments have ended, by the thinnest margin, on an overtime goal. Calgary's Martin Gelinas scored to give the Flames a 1-0 victory Tuesday morning, eliminating the Wings in six games.
So another season expires deep into the night in another far Western city, far from the spotlight, far from where the Wings figured to be. And today, as fans wake up and rub their eyes, there can be no mistaking what they see.
Red Wings goalie Curtis Joseph reaches back in vain to stop Martin Gelinas' winning goal in overtime.
Flames 1, Red Wings 0 (OT)
Red Wings' Cup dreams go down hard in Flames
Shocking exit could prompt many changes
By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News
David Guralnick / The Detroit News
Jarome Iginla greets Wings Coach Dave Lewis, who might be facing an uncertain future in Detroit.
David Guralnick / The Detroit News
The Wings don't blame goalie Curtis Joseph, who played almost to the level of his counterpart, Miikka Kiprusoff.
CALGARY, Alberta -- Say good-bye to the Red Wings as you know them, hockey fans.
For that matter, say good-bye to professional hockey at Joe Louis Arena for a while, with an expected lockout before the 2004-05 season a forgone conclusion.
The Wings' 1-0 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of a Western Conference semifinal series Monday night ended one of the more disheartening series in the Wings' history.
The Wings didn't score in either of the final two games of the best-of-seven series, which the Flames won four games to two, and wasted outstanding goaltending from Curtis Joseph.
"Some of the guys we count on to score goals did not score goals," Coach Dave Lewis said. "That hurts a team. Curtis can't score goals."
I can't believe the arrogance of the Detroit press, saying that Kiprusoff played "almost to the level of his counterpart, Curtis Joseph".
Is this the same Curtis Joseph who allowed the Wings to get knocked out first round last year? Is it the same Cujo who was spanked to the tune of 5-2 in the Olympics during the Canadians first game, which relegated him to the stands for the rest of the tournament. The same CuJo who for years lead Toronto to humiliating defeats in the first round or two of the playoffs every year? The same man who has rightfully earned the name CuChoke?
Wow, I guess being a Vezina candidate doesn't get you any repect nowadays huh?
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Jarome's gonna let me have all da Red Wings, and we're gonna take care of 'em like wittle bunny rabbits... aren't we Jarome?
Oops, my mistake, but I still think that CuJo played a lot worse. Maybe it's just the Wings hater in me
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Jarome's gonna let me have all da Red Wings, and we're gonna take care of 'em like wittle bunny rabbits... aren't we Jarome?
I think they only meant that CuJo had an awesome game (stopping 43 shots before allowing the last one), but not as good as Kiprusoff's (38/38). It was actually a nice compliment to Kiprusoff, who got the second star, by the way (CuJo got the third star). I believe they were only speaking of that game.
This message has been edited by Mehdi_Caps on May 4, 2004 10:02 AM This message has been edited by Mehdi_Caps on May 4, 2004 10:01 AM
Chris, if you're referring to the photo caption, I think you might have it backwards . . . "The Wings don't blame goalie Curtis Joseph, who played almost to the level of his counterpart, Miikka Kiprusoff."
I've always been of a mind that Joseph was overrated, more style than substance . . . the kind of goalie who will make the acrobatic SportsCenter save in January but come up small in May. But this time, with all the soap opera nonsense in Detroit with Hasek, his uncertain future, having to go to the minors while the team figured out what to do with him, an injury or two along the way, and to give up a pair of 1-0 losses to close the series . . . this time, I think he deserved better. He and Draper gave all they had...Yzerman, too. The rest? Not a hall-of-fame moment for any of them.
___________
Play hard, shake hands, drink beer.
"LA needs two hockey teams like Switzerland needs two navies" -- Norman Chad (from "My 10-Point Plan to Save Gary Bettman from Himself")
"Playoff hockey is the best two months in team sports . . . period."
Yeah, I realize I got it backwards... asI said, probably just the Wing and Leaf hater in me couldn't stand seeing Cujo on the same page and being compared to Kipper.
The question I have is what will the league see as a just punishment for Hatcher with his hit on Lombardi? Obviously they can't suspend him, and will a fine really discourage him from doing it again when he's being paid $6m this season?
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Jarome's gonna let me have all da Red Wings, and we're gonna take care of 'em like wittle bunny rabbits... aren't we Jarome?
Hatcher will miss the first two or three games of the next season, whenever it is. But they won't announce it until they have a CBA -- they don't want suspensions, such as Bertuzzi's, to become bargaining chips. And rightly so.
I still say that CuJo left a juicy rebound on a shot that did nothing to merit a rebound. Iggy's shot hit him in the logo.
Iggy's shot to the logo shows that he could indeed be a Cap, where the team seems to specialize in those sorts of shots
-------------------------------------------- Jarome's gonna let me have all da Red Wings, and we're gonna take care of 'em like wittle bunny rabbits... aren't we Jarome?
This message has been edited by CalgaryCaps on May 4, 2004 12:04 PM
Yes, Chris, but his salary doesn't qualify him as a Cap.
Remember: the Caps will soon be known as the Washington Salarycaps. No one will earn more than $450,000 and have more than 40 NHL games under their belt.
At the end of the season Marc, he won't be making a salary as his contract is up. Rumour around these parts is that he will re-sign in the off season for less money than he is making now, but somehow I think that will be difficult as he is the NHLPA Union Rep in Calgary, something that screwed him and the team a couple of yeasr ago during contract talks.
Iggy at the time apparently was going to take $5m per season to play, but his agent came out and said that he wanted $8m a season without even asking Iggy what he wanted. Due to the status as NHLPA rep, Iggy, despite all his wanting to do it, couldn't back down and couldn't fire Don Meehan over it as it would look bad for the NHLPA. If the Flames could only get a different player as rep, things maybe looking up for Calgary to re-sign him.
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Jarome's gonna let me have all da Red Wings, and we're gonna take care of 'em like wittle bunny rabbits... aren't we Jarome?
