Pregame Notes: Sharks @ Red Wings – Game Four

I’m not going to lie, there’s a part of me that kind of hopes that – if the Red Wings are going to lose this series – they just drop Game Four tonight and get it over with.

I still firmly believe Detroit *can* win this series. When they’ve been on, they’ve had no problem competing with the Sharks. They played well enough to win Game Three. Yes, they slowed down in the third but I think that was the first time all series that San Jose got outplayed.

The problem is the Wings haven’t been on enough. Even if they flip the switch, the Sharks will attempt to counter. So I think this Detroit team can win the series but, rationally, I don’t expect it to happen. And if it’s not going to happen, I don’t want to be jerked around anymore.

I’ll admit that I’ve got a little bit of morbid curiosity about what would happen if the Wings lost a series at home. Aside from 2009, when Pittsburgh won the Cup at Joe Louis Arena, the Red Wings haven’t finished off a losing series in Detroit since 1999. Since then, the trend of teams saluting their fans at season’s end has sprung up. I’ve never seen the Red Wings do it and I wonder if they would given a prime opportunity.

As far as the actual game goes… No lineup changes for Detroit. I don’t know how I feel about not putting Mike Modano in, seems like his scoring potential would be nice right now. That said, the Game Three lineup was pretty solid so maybe there isn’t a need to shake it up.

Game time is 7:00 on Versus.