guy who runs the warehouse at work is a minor hockey coach/GM and major Detroit fan (I had some fun at his expense in 06) and he was astounded that Babcock used Hasek as the starting goaltender. He is not the same player he was even two years ago. I did not watch enough DET games to be absolutely stubborn about this, but Hasek to me has looked shaky all year long, and if Osgood had not slumped towards the end of the year, the difference in their stats would have been much larger.

That point is moot today; in the end Hasek was a bench warmer, and after waiting his turn Osgood took the crease with authroity for the duration of the playoffs. Hasek and Chelios wound upnone.

And it's way more than six years, the Wings were a powerhouse for a decade prior to that. in 16 seasons since 1991-92, the Wings have posted a regular season mark of 762-344-174, .663 with 12 division titles, 6 President's Trophies, and 4 Stanley Cups. Since their first PT in the lockout-shortened 1995-95 season, they have averaged over 110 points per season, including the last 8 in a row of at least 108 points.

Shades of the powerhouse Wings of the 1950s, who were so good in the regular season (7 straight Prince of Wales Trophies) that the fact they won "only" 4 Stanley Cups had some tabbing them as underachievers. (!) Not in my view, in which the combination of perennial regular season achievement with frequent playoff success