Red Wings Playoff bound for 25th consecutive year!

     The NHL playoffs open with the Detroit Red Wings playing in their 25th consecutive playoff year facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightening. It was a struggle down the stretch for the Red Wings who needed some help along the way but squeaked into the playoffs and now gear up to play the Lightening.  The teams played 4 games during the regular season each team winning 2 of them.  Tampa Bay is favored in this series but these teams stack up well against each other and it will be either a 6 or 7 game series.
     The Red Wings who have been up and down all season long have a hard time scoring goals and the defense has been suspect at best all year.  Goal tending has been above average and is not this teams down fall. The Red Wings cannot put together 60 minutes of hockey and have terrible defensive lapses numerous times on most nights. But they did make it into the playoffs and who knows if they play to their potential they could surprise the Bolts and make it to the second round. Anything can happen in the playoffs as we all know and have seen over the years.
     Tampa Bay was hampered by some injuries late in the year and will have to rely on Goalie Ben Bishop to help them through the early rounds of the playoffs until they get some of their injured players back on the ice.  Last year the Bolts ended the Red Wing season in a tough 7 game series and it could be that way again this time.  The Red Wings may have a little more incentive as well seeing that Pavel Datsyuk has told the Red Wings that He will retire after the playoffs and return to his native Russia. This should inspire the Red Wings to play even harder and may propel them further into the playoffs.
     Although not many give the Red Wings any chance of beating the Bolts or even getting any further than the 2nd round, I have seen teams gel during the first round and make a serious run deep into the playoffs. On the other hand, Tampa Bay is the favorite in the first round and many have them facing the Penguins for the Eastern Conference Finals. Washington who had the best record in all of hockey has had problems the previous playoffs and many feel they will again disappoint and get beat before reaching the Finals. Katie the Hockey Analyst back in her October Blog post on the NHL Season, correctly picked 14 out of the 16 teams that are in the playoffs. She will follow the playoffs and comment as they progress right thru the Stanley Cup.                                                                                              @cupofjoeinthed

Katie NHL Hockey Analyst after making her playoff predictions