I know there is a lot of disappointment in this town over the Red Wings’ Game 6 loss to Anaheim Tuesday night - and there should be.
But, honestly, I don’t think the Red Wings played that poorly. I was more impressed with how the Ducks responded.
That team was done after Game 5, wasn’t it? The Red Wings thrashed the Ducks up one end of the ice and down the other. They had no jump at all. If it weren’t for two goal posts and a cross bar hit by the Red Wings, it would have been 6-1 or 7-1.
I’ve seen the Ducks as formidable, but may not have given them enough credit for having a championship pedigree. To me, they were a one-year champions - not a team that was going to win multiple Cups in a short span. That will likely prove to be true. I do expect the Red Wings to win Game 7 tonight.
Yet, you must to give the Ducks credit for their propensity to keep coming back from the dead. They made deadline trades that were for the future more than now, and were hopelessly out of the playoff race, and still somehow got it. They proved to have a lot more pluck than the consistently disappointing San Jose Sharks in the opening round. And they have certainly given the Red Wings all they can handle, despite the Red Wings superior depth and playing what is essentially a journeyman goalie in Jonas Hiller.

Random Thoughts

- Another benefit of Joel Zumaya returning is Jim Leyland can use Ryan Perry in a longer role. This will help stretch out his arm and allow him to work on all his pitches. I still wouldn’t be surprised if Perry is the Tigers’ closer by the season’s end.

- I’m not sure if the Cavaliers will lose a game in the Eastern Conference finals, either.