No time to panic: Wings 3, Sharks 4

Another game played well, another game lost. Two goals from that stupid streaking Pavelski, a ton of ridiculous penalties and game two ended exactly as game one. Wings 3, Sharks 4.

I wasn't watching as closely in the third period, but every time I looked up the Wings were on the penalty kill. I did some research afterward (opened my computer and clicked on the NHL.com box score) to find these numbers staring at me hard in the face:

Detroit penalties: 10. San Jose penalties 4. Detroit third-period penalties: 5. San Jose third-period penalties: 2.

OK. Maybe the 2007 Anaheim Ducks get five penalties in the third period, but we're talking about the Detroit Red Wings here. There's no referee in the world who can legitimately call five penalties on God's sacred franchise in a single period. The Wings don't have players on their team that take penalties, other than Bertuzzi. And since the 'Tuz didn't take allll the penalties, I have to assume most of the calls were crap. And since San Jose scored two goals in the third (both of which were annoying as all hell), I'm going to chalk this loss up to the officiating once again.

Call it poor logic if you want, but I don't see any other way to describe both games one and two. "The Sharks are just a better team" is a laughable rebuttal. That's like saying the Penguins deserved to win the Cup last June. Fuhgettaboutit.

Game three is Tuesday in Detroit. The Wings win and they're back in it; the Wings lose and it's all but over. The Triple Deke jinxed us tweeted earlier today that Babcock's Wings have never faced an 0-2 or 1-3 hole in a playoff series. Well they're in deep now. It's win four out of the next five or go home to book an early tee time. I love golf but I don't like the sound of that. Let's do this. See you Tuesday. Go Wings.