NHL Blogging: Predator and Prey Relationship

Am I concerned with the Red Wings postseason destiny now that they blew Game 3 against Nashville? Especially given the way they lost that game; late and on two of back-to-back goals that have been haunting them all series (Really, as quick as I am to jump on Hasek, they weren't bad goals, either. Bad time to give them up, sure. But Arnot's, for example, beat the goalie on a clean open ice slapper. What was bad were the defensive breakdowns that led to those chances in the first place.)?

Not really.

The Predators have led for a grand total of 4 minutes in this series.

The Wings have been lucky, yes, but they've outplayed Nashville in every phase of the game. Dropping a game or two is fine and certainly understandable on the Predator's home ice.

All of the other series in the West are bogged down, too (In the East, not so much. The Canadiens and Penguins both look set to advance while the Caps and Devils are both eyeing the door nervously. And, yes, my Ottawa resurgence prediction is looking increasingly more ill-thought. While in the West, the Sharks-Flames and Wild-Lanche series look to go the distance while the Ducks had to pull a Predators and win that 3rd to stave off an elimination game.) and it's not like next round's opponent is sitting and getting healthy. What stings is that they had that throat choking win in the bag and let is slip away late. And what's the worry is that this series starts to get long, injuries and fatigue start to pile up, and this round or the next, the bubble bursts on the Wings latest inflated playoff expectations.

But as high as those were, I don't think anyone expected them to go undefeated.

Update: Yes, I did write this before the game started.

Now is the appropriate time to start panicking.