The view from Detroit

There’s no mystery as to why general managers, when building a team, often look to the Detroit Red Wings. Over the past couple decades, the Red Wings have built a huge track record of success, they have a clear organizational philosophy and a regular pipeline of players ready to step in when the time comes. Last night, the Red Wings essentially had a preseason, split-squad roster, as they played without their top goalie, their top defenesman and a small handful of talented forwards. Did it bother the Red Wings? Yes, so much that they scored twice in the final four-plus minutes to win the game. Teams that have enjoyed success in the past inherently know how to do that. The Kings? Well, the disparity on the ice was clear for anyone to see.

Both teams were fighting last night, the Red Wings to maintain their grip on home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and the Kings simply to make the playoffs. If nothing else, the Kings’ professional survival instinct should have been stronger late in the game, but the Red Wings got the two points and sent the Kings to a devastating loss. Here’s how the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News covered last night’s game. Also, local professional photographer Ankur Dholakia, a Kings fan, was at yesterday’s morning skate and kindly passed along a link to his photos for everyone to check out…

Zetterberg, Filppula fill void on offense (Detroit Free Press)

Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula star as Red Wings rally past Kings (The Detroit News)

March 9 morning-skate photos