After watching Game 1 and 2 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup, it may be a safe bet to say that the Detroit Red Wings are clearly far better then their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. In two games Detroit has managed to score a total of 7 goals to Pittsburgh’s ZERO…as in none! The challenge for the Penguins is not so much scoring goals as it is just getting a shot on goal. The Red Wings style of play highlights what hockey is all about…Team. Every time Detroit mounts an offence attack at least two or more players are involved in the play. The same holds true on the defense end of the ice. No offence push by the Penguins is without three and many time four Detroit players jumping back and covering a place on the ice. This style of play does not come natural…it’s coached. And their coach, Mike Babcock, has everyone buying into his system right now. Back when Scotty Boman coached the Red Wings he devised a system called ‘the left wing lock’. His system is alive and well under the watchful coaching eye of Babcock. He calls it something else but in fact it is a very similar formation. When a coach has a winning, proven system with player’s who can execute it flawlessly well, get out your brooms and listen for the fat lady to sing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I want Pittsburgh to win the Stanley Cup. They were one of my ‘pick’ teams during the regular season along with the Dallas Stars and nothing would please me more then to see Detroit take a swan dive. Yet after the first two games I don’t see this happening and right now Pittsburgh might consider it a victory just to score a goal…never mind winning a game!

As a side note, my hat goes off to the Versus (VS.) network for broadcasting NHL hockey games in HD. Another tip of the hat goes out to Time-Warner Cable for opening up this broadcast to their digital HD customers. The game of hockey and HD were made for each other and watching it any other way is just wrong.

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