Round 1 Sweep

Well, that was a barnburner.

Detroit scored, then Columbus scored. Then Detroit scored a couple, and then Columbus scored a couple. That was pretty much the story for the first two periods.

The Red Wings looked a little loose, lax on the defense, at least compared to the previous two games.

Darren Helm was an absolute wrecking ball throughout the entire series, but this game in particular. He had 8 hits. His speed is incredible and he brings so much energy to the fourth line.

Osgood was clearly hurting halfway through the second period. I was stuck watching the FS Ohio feed, but I heard later that Oz may have pulled something during Game 3, which must have been exacerbated when he was driven into the goalpost. He was slow to get up, and wasn't moving side to side at all for the rest of the second, which makes me think groin or hip. I imagine he got a cortisone shot or something along those lines during the intermission.

The Blue Jackets announcers are awful. Absolutely awful. I overlooked it when I watched Game 3, but it's ridiculous. They play each other 6 times a year in the regular season. I loved how their play-by-play guy was screaming that they tied the game when it was quite obviously 5-4. And suddenly Kirk Maltby turned into Kris Draper when he took the penalty. Incredible, considering Draper wasn't even playing.

Speaking of Drapes, the Red Wings really could have used him in the faceoff circle tonight. I don't know what it was, but they were not nearly as strong on the draws as they usually are. They went 25 to 33, advantage Columbus.

Dear Columbus fans: It's really not cool to throw beer bottles and cups into the ice just because you don't like a call. Real classy.

So Don, about that too many men... Oh right. So Hitch, how about that too many men on the ice penalty? I didn't see anything controversial about the call. If you're the guy coming onto the ice, you can't play the puck before the other guy is off. No buts about it.

Mule is so clutch. He might be the next coming of Joe Sakic in terms of clutch playoff performances.

As much as I love the Red Wings, I am an Ohio girl and I am proud of the Blue Jackets for making the playoffs. Better luck next year, Columbus. I very much believe that you have to lose before you win, particularly in a case like this when there were a total of 4 Stanley Cup rings and 401 playoff games played in that dressing room at the start of the series.

But I also have to admit that I loved seeing the Red Wings just steamroll Columbus for the sweep. They may have tied the season series, but they just didn't know what to expect in the post-season, and it's clear they're not quite ready to play with the big boys. Hitchcock had an interesting comment in his post-game press conference, which was that in the Central Division, it's really a fight for the remaining 4 spots because it's pretty much a given that Detroit will win the division title.

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Here's how the West looks:

2 DETROIT sweeps 7 Columbus 4-0
3 VANCOUVER sweeps 6 St. Louis, 4-0
8 ANAHEIM is up on 1 San Jose, 2-1 (looking like it might head to 3-1)
4 Chicago is tied with 5 Calgary, 2-2

If Anaheim wins their series, that's who Detroit will play next. If San Jose keeps from choking, Detroit will play the winner of Chicago/Calgary.