Sixty Minutes to Decide a Season

For much of the season, the Detroit Red Wings have been labeled one of the best teams ever assembled. The roster features at least nine future Hall of Famers, as well as a handful of others who may join their teammates in the Hall some day.

Despite this, the Red Wings face elimination in the Western Conference Finals, down three games to two to the arch-rival Colorado Avalanche.

Detroit’s run for the Stanley Cup has run up against a brick wall named Patrick Roy. It is a familiar wall that they’ve demolished before, but only once in four previous playoff tries.

For the Wings to advance beyond the Conference Finals, they will have to solve Roy. The only way left for them to do that is to throw everything they have at him. Repeatedly.

Shots from the blue line, rebound chances, deflections… All of them need to be sent at Roy. Enough of this waiting for the perfect shot. Steve Yzerman’s Game Five goal was a low percentage shot banked off of Roy but it worked.

Above all, the Red Wings must not quit. If the Wings give up, they will play the final sixty minutes of their hockey season tonight. If not, they may just have sixty minutes more on Friday.