Red Wings Opener

Final score 4-0 Wings... nice opening night win.
Modano scores in his first game with the Wings... nice touch.
Howard gets a shutout and plays solid in net... goal tending is a key to the cup.

But... can someone explain to me... WHY THE HELL IS DATSYUK FIGHTING!

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that he was willing to come to blows with a bigger player from the Ducks in defense of his team. He shows the kind of heart that is commendable, especially in a highly skilled two way player that normally would not drop the gloves. The point is he never should have been put in that position in the first place. The top talents in the league do not fight for a reason and that reason is that they are WAY to important to their team to risk possible injury doing something that other players on their team should be in place to do. It has been an ongoing theme with the Red Wings for years now. Other teams take liberties with their star players because they do not fear any type of retaliation. Last nights game was a hack and slash fest on the part of the Ducks, especially when the game was out of reach. Yes, there were fights earlier in the game and in one of them an Anaheim player broke his thumb which only drives home my point further. The Wings have possibly the deepest offense in the NHL this year but all that offense means nothing if those players are taking a beating every night and then missing games due to injury. It has been happening for far too long. They lose games due to injury which ultimately costs them wins, playoff positioning (last year especially), and potentially a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

At the point when the hacking and slashing got out of control there should have been someone on the Wings roster that grabbed a Duck player and pounded on him to send a message to them that that type of play will not be tolerated. This in turn sends a message to other teams that they can take less liberties with the Wings star players. Instead NO ONE mans up and Datsyuk is forced to fight and risk himself and the best interest of the team. Even if someone was not willing to take the lead and do the "dirty work", there should have been someone as the third man in to peel the player off Datsyuk and take the third man in penalty. The game was already 4-0 and at that point taking the penalty would have meant nothing... other than possibly keeping the Wings best player from being hurt and missing time. Probert, Kocur, and dare I say it even Darren Mac would never have let Yzerman fight even if he had wanted to. They would have made a streak to the opposing player and taken care of business.

I love the Wings but this is a weakness that cannot be overlooked. It has been a problem for years and apparently times are not going to change any time soon. I applaud Datsyuk for his heart. He did well and held his own in the fight but it never should have come to that.

Great game Wings but shame on you for your lack of toughness... shame on you for allowing your star players to be abused night after night... shame on you for not realizing that Datsyuk fighting is not in the best interest of the team... and most of all shame on you for doing NOTHING about it.

See you soon from the cheap seats