Hockey Whooha

With

Wingnut

Of

Pepee's Pornn Palace

Well, it has been some time since the last edition of Hockey Whooha. With Christmas, New Years, Internext, and the recovery period from the dreaded "convention crud" seriously cutting into my hockey viewing time, it's been difficult to keep up with the fast pace of the games.

Nonetheless, as I quickly peer into the standings, I see that some of the teams with fantastic starts have started to falter, and some of the slow starters have begun to play well. There are two teams that still seem to on the same path as the beginning of the season. One is a surprise, and the other is a team that everyone keeps waiting for the players to "tire out" and falter.

If you follow hockey at all, I'm sure you may have guessed the two teams are the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. Chicago had the best start to a season in anyone's recent memory, and with two weeks to go before the Olympic break they sit in 2nd place overall in the league behind 1st place Detroit. So if anyone thought the start to Chicago's was a fluke, think again, this appears to be the real deal. I had the pleasure to catch a game this week, and unless a major melt down were to occur, the team that meets them in the first round of the playoffs had better bring their "A" game. Yes, I did say playoffs and Chicago in the same paragraph. The Bears might be done for the year; the Bulls may look like a bunch of schoolyard wannabes, but the Blackhawks look like a team that could make it to the second round this year.

Now the old, washed up, slow Detroit Red Wings continue to be the best team overall in the league. Not just number one in points, but number one in everything. The Wings have the highest goals scored, the hottest powerplay, the best road penalty killing record. During the games I watched early in the season, the play of Detroit did not particularly impress me. Yet, they managed to pull out some exciting and thrilling victories. Now later in the season, it seems as though they still could "turn it up" another notch. The play is much more consistent and solid but with a hint of reserve. Almost as if they were by intent "pacing" themselves, exerting just enough to get the job done and the game won. The Wings have shown glimpses of true magic during games, they have an incredible ability to "turn a switch" and play with a skill level that is unmatched in the league. If that type of play is displayed in the playoffs, it can only result in the Wings skating with the Cup, anything less will have the critics calling them old, washed up and slow. Not that that is any different then what the critics are saying now … shrug.

Wingnut