Going into the Western Conference Finals in the NHL Playoffs between the defending champion Detroit Red Wings and the young, upstart Chicago Black Hawks, many people, myself included, felt that the Hawks could give the Wings a run for their money.
Boy was I wrong.
The Red Wings looked poised to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year after taking a dominant 3-1 series lead tonight with a 6-1 drubbing on the Blackhawks home ice. The experience of the Red Wings is just too much for the younger Blackhawks to handle. The Red Wings have guys in Nicklas Lidstrom, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom who have won four cup titles with Detroit since the 1996-97 season. In 1997, Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks was a pre-teen in Buffalo. That kind of experience is too much for a young team to overcome, I don't care who you are. Just ask the Penguins from last season.
It'll be interesting to see a rematch in the Finals, with Crosby and Malkin a year older and even better than we all thought. Can the Red Wings win again?
Only time will tell.
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