From the link TRS provided:
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Wings-Pens series dispels the myth of momentum
OK, maybe Mike Babcock's right. The theory of hockey momentum doesn't exist.
"I tell you guys that all the time and no one listens," Babcock said.
Can you take everything seriously from a guy who wears lucky ties that bear the colors of his alma mater, McGill University in Montreal?
But we're listening a little closer today to Professor Babcock because this Stanley Cup final continually laughs in the face of momentum -- that highly sought intangible in which a previous occurrence predicates a future action.
Wings president Jimmy Devellano had another word for mythical momentum when we spoke outside Joe Louis Arena in the wee Sunday hours after the Wings positioned themselves one win away from their fifth Stanley Cup in the past 12 years.
Unfortunately it isn't printable in a family newspaper.
Playoff hockey doesn't assume cookie-cutter configuration as opposed to other sports. A goalie can quickly transform from sieve to stonewall and back again without warning. The fortuitous bounce off the boards or the post can quickly renew the most depleted reserve of confidence.
That remains the Cup playoffs' intrinsic charm, generally defying those patterns and trends that weave a clearer directional path to future performance as is more regularly the case in the NBA or Major League Baseball.
"Every game assumes its own character, its own identity," said Devellano. "And then it's over."
Anyone would logically assume that Pittsburgh has little chance of extending this series beyond Tuesday because of the dominating fashion in which the Wings seized firm control of their championship destiny and the Penguins' undisciplined response. But this series has sought the opposite of conventional wisdom, making it all the more probable that there's going to be a Game 7.
"Momentum ends once the game ends," said Nicklas Lidstrom. "That's always been the case. What you see in one game doesn't mean that there's going to be a carryover into the next. It's always a new game."
The Wings seized the early ... you know, when they won the first two games in 48 hours. Pittsburgh blew a great opportunity and seemed destined for an early series expulsion.
But then the Penguins tied the series, fueling the perception that the Wings were tiring from the thrust of the Penguins' youth and speed.
And then came the Wings' 5-0 Game 5 victory.
"Momentum hasn't really proved anything in this series," said Dan Cleary. "We win (Games) 1 and 2. They respond and play well at home. Everyone's counting us out, and then we come back to give a good effort. I expect them to come out (Tuesday) with an even better effort. You can't let the last game play into effect whether for us to score or them to score."
The NHL thought it had a little momentum at its back approaching Game 5. NBC executives actually used hockey in a sentence without interjecting an "Ugh!" There was more national discussion than usual regarding the sport and the intriguing diametric of the veteran champion catching its breath juxtaposed against the young challenger finding its footing. The opportunity was there to better reach that audience that appreciates the event more than the sport itself.
But for those impartial to the outcome, Game 5 was a dramatic dog that probably sent many folks scurrying for the television remote.
"We never believed what was being said or written about us," said Lidstrom. "We never doubted our level of energy or the strength of our commitment to see this through to the end. You get the chance to shake off a bad game and start fresh."
Those chances have dwindled to one last gasp for the Penguins, hoping that momentum isn't in their favor.
Contact DREW SHARP: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com.
--------------------------------------
Wings-Pens series dispels the myth of momentum
OK, maybe Mike Babcock's right. The theory of hockey momentum doesn't exist.
"I tell you guys that all the time and no one listens," Babcock said.
Can you take everything seriously from a guy who wears lucky ties that bear the colors of his alma mater, McGill University in Montreal?
But we're listening a little closer today to Professor Babcock because this Stanley Cup final continually laughs in the face of momentum -- that highly sought intangible in which a previous occurrence predicates a future action.
Wings president Jimmy Devellano had another word for mythical momentum when we spoke outside Joe Louis Arena in the wee Sunday hours after the Wings positioned themselves one win away from their fifth Stanley Cup in the past 12 years.
Unfortunately it isn't printable in a family newspaper.
Playoff hockey doesn't assume cookie-cutter configuration as opposed to other sports. A goalie can quickly transform from sieve to stonewall and back again without warning. The fortuitous bounce off the boards or the post can quickly renew the most depleted reserve of confidence.
That remains the Cup playoffs' intrinsic charm, generally defying those patterns and trends that weave a clearer directional path to future performance as is more regularly the case in the NBA or Major League Baseball.
"Every game assumes its own character, its own identity," said Devellano. "And then it's over."
Anyone would logically assume that Pittsburgh has little chance of extending this series beyond Tuesday because of the dominating fashion in which the Wings seized firm control of their championship destiny and the Penguins' undisciplined response. But this series has sought the opposite of conventional wisdom, making it all the more probable that there's going to be a Game 7.
"Momentum ends once the game ends," said Nicklas Lidstrom. "That's always been the case. What you see in one game doesn't mean that there's going to be a carryover into the next. It's always a new game."
The Wings seized the early ... you know, when they won the first two games in 48 hours. Pittsburgh blew a great opportunity and seemed destined for an early series expulsion.
But then the Penguins tied the series, fueling the perception that the Wings were tiring from the thrust of the Penguins' youth and speed.
And then came the Wings' 5-0 Game 5 victory.
"Momentum hasn't really proved anything in this series," said Dan Cleary. "We win (Games) 1 and 2. They respond and play well at home. Everyone's counting us out, and then we come back to give a good effort. I expect them to come out (Tuesday) with an even better effort. You can't let the last game play into effect whether for us to score or them to score."
The NHL thought it had a little momentum at its back approaching Game 5. NBC executives actually used hockey in a sentence without interjecting an "Ugh!" There was more national discussion than usual regarding the sport and the intriguing diametric of the veteran champion catching its breath juxtaposed against the young challenger finding its footing. The opportunity was there to better reach that audience that appreciates the event more than the sport itself.
But for those impartial to the outcome, Game 5 was a dramatic dog that probably sent many folks scurrying for the television remote.
"We never believed what was being said or written about us," said Lidstrom. "We never doubted our level of energy or the strength of our commitment to see this through to the end. You get the chance to shake off a bad game and start fresh."
Those chances have dwindled to one last gasp for the Penguins, hoping that momentum isn't in their favor.
Contact DREW SHARP: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com.
