They Start at 6 So God Gets Confused and Doesn't See the Game

by Ryan

The title is Jon's rationale as to the start time. It's as good a guess as any.

Take a look at the payroll for the best team in the League. Wow, what a freaking magician that GM is. Hudler and Cleary at less than $1 million, Zetterberg at $2.7? Jesus, that's almost illegal. Don't get me started on their goaltending situation. As a fan of a small market team that needs young players to come up big, that's the kind of payroll I can only dream of having.

Needless to say, I hate playing the Red Wings. They are always good, always contenders, and they have Hasek in net for them. It's envy as much as it is respect for a solid team and nice work done by the front office. I really like Dan Cleary and Tomas Holmstrom, guys that like working the front of the net but still have a scoring touch.

Maybe I like them because they are the best team in the League, but they have been struggling as of late. 1-7-2 in their last 10, the skeptic in me says they are due and we will follow their lead just like we did with Philly on Monday. I guess we shall see.

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Do you even remember the last time we played Detroit?

Of course you do. Everyone remembers that "Lake Storm Aphid", and if you don't you certainly remember the next night when Drury dropped a hat trick on the Rangers and the Arena was rocking. That weekend was a strange one, with lots of stories of how you saw or heard both games.

I'll never forget leaving the city at drive time on Thursday and noticing how bad things were getting, thinking I may not be making it in the next day. Only later did I realize how lucky I was to get out in time. I watched that Red Wings game at home while so many never had the chance to see it.

Now while that Rangers game on Saturday was the catharsis this city needed, the Wings game was the first time I realized how close the Sabres were getting to this city that year. Stories of players bringing generators back and calling loved ones to see if they had power really hit home and I think this city benefited so much from the roll that team was on at the time. A comeback on Friday and a blowout on Saturday were the positives this region needed to get through a tough time and I think over time that's going to mean something.

So on a slow Sunday in the sports world, think back to the last time these two teams played. What's your story? Maybe you didn't miss a second, or maybe you scrambled to find a radio. Either way, we're all ears.

Sure we have two big points up for grabs tonight, but tell me a story until we get there.