Down to the Wire (Again): Never a Dull Moment in the West

(Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

Every hockey season, it's the exact same story for me. Come training camp, I am glued to my local sports-radio station daily, soaking in all they have to offer on the upcoming NHL season, The Northwest Division, and the Calgary Flames.

I am ravenous, listening intently to all the speculation on who has a shot to make the team, who has a chance to sign with the organization, who might make a good mid-season call up due to injury, etc.

I listen to all the exhibition games I can, and catch all the ones shown on the tube. Like all fans of "my team," I follow every deal, every line combination, every on- and off-ice happening.

Unlike some, I follow so intently as a result of my personal analytics of what I can expect for the upcoming season. One think I do not do is get too high with a win or too low from a loss.

In fact, I refrain from going to the extreme one way or the other in my thoughts of my team's chances through the first quarter of the season. The reason for this is quite simple: Its a long season, and October's play simply can never dictate January's play.

Take a look at the "class" of the league, the Detroit Red Wings. For the first half of the season, they looked every bit the Stanley Cup champs they are, neck and neck withe the Conference- and league-leading San Jose Sharks, even temporarily taking over that coveted top spot.

Recently however, cracks that have appeared in that armor over the season to this point have widened into definite fissures. The Wings' biggest flaw has been exposed. their goaltending is extremely suspect.

Not to take anything away from the accomplishments of Chris Osgood or to make light of Ty Conklin, but neither one can at this point be considered "clutch." Osgood's best days are behind him, while Conklin has not got enough experience to be able to shoulder the kind of workload Detroit will be expected to face come the post season.

Detroit's saving grace this season, just like seasons' past, is the explosiveness of its offence. This however has lately showed the signs of fatigue an extended previous season and short summer can have on a team in this era's NHL.

This is a team quickly tiring out. Wings fans should worry: This team is on track to have a scary first round against an opponent you can guarantee will be extremely hungry and opportunistic.

Additionally, it is still mathematically possible (however unlikely) that they can be ousted as second seed in the conference by the Calgary Flames, a team that was not too long ago only three points back of the Wings.

This is despite the fact that Calgary has to keep a constant eye on the rear-view mirror watching the Vancouver Canucks.

This is the time of the season to really pay attention the sport. Instead of watching your team blow a three-goal lead to win by the skin of their teeth, you wind up accepting that a win is a win, and that the boys found a way to hang on for that ever-so-important victory.

The way teams played at the beginning of the season is generally not indicative of how they wind up playing when it really starts to matter. This is the time it really starts to matter.

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