Sadly, they don't award points for moral victories



Hands up, who thinks the Habs could have won?

Could've, would've, should've.

They could've won, had they played the first two periods like they did the third.

They would've won, had they played the first two periods like they did the third.

They should've won, but they didn't play the first two periods like they did the third.

Unfortunately, after a good start to the first period which included a Travis Moen goal banked off of Wing goalie Jimmy Howard from behind the net, the Habs got into penalty trouble (not all their own doing) which took all of the flow out of their game. And against a veteran, skilled team like the Red Wings, that's lethal.

Six straight penalties, including an almost full 5-on-3 to end the period, was just what the doctor order ordered for the Wings to swing the momentum in their favour. 

The refereeing was inconsistent at best. A call against Tomas Plekanec that led to the 5-on-3 and the Wings' first goal was a prime example: called for holding, Plek's biggest offence was what would have more appropriately been deemed a slash, and a light one at that. Rafalski went down easy, and the ensuing penalty being called a hold would lead you to believe that the referee didn't see the initial infraction and instead ruled on the result of the play. The guys in stripes simply need to be better than that.

To the Habs credit, they didn't give up. Faced with a 2-goal deficit going into the third period and playing a divisional rival the following evening, it would have been easy for them to mail in the final 20 minutes and look forward to Saturday's game against the Leafs. But then a funny thing happened: they kicked the Wing's asses.

Montreal dominated one of the strongest teams in the league for long stretches of the final frame, outshooting the Wings by an 18-2 margin... and one of those two shots was an empty net goal by Detroit. To their credit, the Habs served noticed that this isn't the same team that might have (read: would have) packed it in under the same scenario just a couple of seasons ago.

It's tough to feel bad about a loss like this one. Could they have played more responsibly to help keep the Wings from grabbing momentum, and a 3-1 lead? Yes, but as a Hab fan I still have to feel good about what transpired over the final 20 minutes.

On the strength of their third period, and the overall level of their play to this point in the season, we'll leave the mood-indicator at "fist pump", and bump the loss-severity indicator to just "rickrolled".

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Stars prolong the inevitable

Those undertakers and their crazy sense of humour

"Inevitable? Even with the Stars' first win against the Wings, are you saying that they still have a snowball's chance in hell of advancing to the Stanley Cup final?"

Why yes, I am. Or to be more exact, my dog says that even with this potential last gasp, the Stars are still finished. If you've been following Centre Hice, you already know that my dog is never wrong. And TSN's Maggie the Monkey can go to hell for all I care.

The low-down on last night's game, courtesy of the good old AP:

"DALLAS - Maybe it was payback, maybe it was just good fortune. The Dallas Stars aren't going to quibble.

All that matters is Tomas Holmstrom's rear end - and possibly his reputation - cost the Detroit Red Wings a goal and the Stars took full advantage, avoiding the humiliation of getting swept out of the Western Conference finals.

Minutes after Detroit's lead was taken away, Dallas took its first lead of the entire series thanks in part to an officiating non-call. Then, Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow added third-period goals, sending the Stars past the Red Wings 3-1 on Wednesday night. 

Detroit lost for the first time since April 16, ending a nine-game winning streak that was the franchise's longest in a single post-season. Yet the Red Wings can always wonder how differently this game might've played out if they kept the 1-0 lead they appeared to have taken when a shot by Pavel Datsyuk hit the back of the net.

The goal was waved off immediately, with officials telling Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom that Holmstrom's backside interfered with Turco in the crease. Replays didn't necessarily confirm that, but it didn't matter because it's not a reviewable play. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said Holmstrom's history of crowding and bumping goalies - as he did to Turco earlier this series - likely factored in. 

Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg tied it just 49 seconds into the third period, but the Stars weren't about to go away that easily. Mike Modano's one-timer on a power play put Dallas back in front, then some great stops by Turco kept it that way. 

Turco beat Detroit for only third time in 21 career starts. But say this about him: He's tough when facing playoff elimination, improving to 5-4. The bigger challenge comes at Joe Louis Arena, where he's 0-9-2.

But Detroit came out defensive, taking only five shots while concentrating on defence. The Red Wings flipped over to an offensive mindset in the second period, but just couldn't get the breaks - or the official's rulings - that they needed."

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