THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! Game 7…

This is drama, this is life, this is hockey:

Game 7.

I’ve gained such an appreciation for Detroit’s Swedes over the past few seasons. Nick Lidstrom plays one of the toughest positions in sports so effortlessly, and Henrik Zetterberg conjures memories of my favorite player ever, and perhaps his very own boyhood idol, Peter Forsberg (sorry Wings fans, but he was THE best and you know that’s why you loved to hate him!). In Sweden, there is one way to play hockey: completely. Accountable on both ends of the ice, to your team, to yourself. The reigning gold medalists and Cup champions have mastered it, and that serves as a standard for excellence not only on the ice, but in life.

You must respect those who continually raise the bar. The Red Wings team unit, consisting of the ‘Tre Kronor’ core plus ageless vets Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, execute their game almost flawlessly. “Know your role and shut your mouth.” That makes for GREAT teams when each man sacrifices the ‘me’ for the ‘we’.

Bravo, Red Wings. You honor the greatest team game in the world by competing selflessly, every shift, every night, to near perfection. Win or lose, you are champions.

You know they’re going to “leave it all on the ice”…