So there

ESPN's Sheldon Burnside has a nice little post about the NHL playoff schedule.

You remember the NHL? No? Oh, well, there was a playoff game on Tuesday. There's another tonight, but in the other conference. Don't worry, we'll get there eventually.

I posted a long reply ...

Back in the day (early to mid '90s), games were every other night until the series was over, and it was great. You knew when each game of the series was, good series got to keep the momentum going, and the best series seemed to end too soon.

Now, particularly during the conference and Stanley Cup finals, it's easy to forget that hockey is still going on, especially when it's on a third-tier network (at best).

The NHL's excuse about breaks is ridiculous ... if anything, spacing out games makes it even more likely you'll wait forever for the next series. If the Wings sweep the Hawks and the Pens-Canes series goes 7, Detroit will be waiting 9 days just for the series to end, never mind for the Finals to begin! Game 4 of the East is 2 days after Game 4 in the West.

A good commissioner would regain control of the schedule and tell the minor networks how it's going to be. Vs doesn't have that much that it needs to show, and the ratings for NHL playoff games are bad anyway ... of course on a real network like ESPN, there would be options other than delaying by days (moving a game to ESPN2, News, Classic, whatever).

Of course this one is too concerned with not letting THAT MAN have an NHL franchise to care. Hey, it's the same guy who thought fans would come streaming back after the lockout. Why expect anything better from him?

Suspense? Um, no.

The Wings have certainly made things interesting this postseason, from splitting the first four with Nashville to letting the Stars back into the conference finals. However, they do have this knack for shutting the door firmly on their competition, and yesterday was no exception.

There are few things quite like the feeling you get when your team is the favorite in a game that will eliminate the other team, and shortly into the game, you see there is no doubt that your team will win. It wasn't quite as special as the 7-0 rout of Patrick Roy and Colorado the last time the Wings won the Cup, but nonetheless, it was much better than watching a nailbiter.

It's true. People talk about how close games are so exciting, but what they really mean is that winning a close game is exciting. Watching a solid win for your team is better. Trust me.

Too bad the NHL is copying the NBA with respect to the Finals ... Game 1 on Saturday night? Maybe they're afraid they won't get enough June games on the calendar. News flash: the ratings will suck on Vs no matter when the games are played. (That's right. The NHL is so dumb, they don't have their finals on a network channel. Even the NBA isn't that dumb.)

Vs = Versus Sucks

Here is another reason why: late in Game 4, the Wings are down two and pulled their goalie on a power play. What does V show at the top of the screen? "Empty Net". Why? Well, it's too helpful to show power-play time remaining, so they went with the less-helpful information. Five-on-three? Doesn't matter. Not important.

Also, if you want to know one reason why Dallas is down 1-3 in the series after winning tonight (thanks in part to a blown call by the refs, disallowing a goal by Datsyuk), here's a hint. With just over two minutes left, a Star takes a penalty for delay of game, lifting the puck over the glass into the seats. Who is it? Brendan Morrow, the captain. Well done, sir, that's about as dumb as you can get ... well, except for the guy who took the hooking call with about 35 seconds left in the game. Keep in mind that even in the modern NHL, in the playoffs, referees rarely call additional penalties during a power play. (Case in point: Steve Ott lying on top of Holmstrom late in the power play, then pulling his helmet off. Outmanned teams frequently resort to this kind of play. Idiot announcers refer to this as "letting them decide it on the ice." It's no coincidence that many of these announcers were former mediocre players themselves.)

Anyway, who was this other guy? Alternate captain and former captain Mike Modano.

The last thing you want late in a game is to be down a man. Now you're down three (remember the empty net?). They didn't give up any goals, but they sure tried.

The Wings will win in five - this was a desperate effort by the Stars, and it did pay off temporarily, but Dallas is not good enough to win two in a row from these Wings, much less four.