So a nice recap from Andy in the comments of the previous post. I, too, was highly disappointed that the Flames turned out to be far more evil than I remember, especially as I have an annoying habit of being a Canadian team apologist. I do tend to walk away from series in which the Wings are beaten with a newfound respect for the opponents (the best example probably being my secret love affair with the NJ Devils ever since 1995). To behave as reprehensibly as Calgary did at the end of game 5 and then spend the next day trying to spin it rather than just saying, "Listen, we screwed up, sorry" was almost worse than the original behavior. You can at least claim being carried off in the moment. Even the evil TB didn't have the audacity to say, "Yeah, I was trying to get Steve Moore to fight, and its his fault his neck is broken for being such a pansy" which was essentially the line Playfair took. As it was happening I felt that Playfair must have been at least condoning if not encouraging the behavior on the ice at the end of Game 5. After listening to him talk, I'm sure of it, and that makes it just disgusting.
In any case, we're on to Round 2, and I feel very good about our chances. Sharks or Stars, determined tonight. I guess I don't have a strong preference.
