While it's true they lost some talent and production, and haven't added anything of consequence in the early stages of the offseason, it still shouldn't put much of a dent in the Red Wings' Stanley Cup chances for 2009-10.
Let's take a look at what Detroit is really losing, and what it has coming up through the Grand Rapids pipeline.
A lot of the talk following last night's Game 2 in Detroit centered around Chicago's Brian Campbell and his turnover, which led to Mikael Samuelsson's game-winning goal, giving the Wings a 3-2 win in overtime and a 2-0 series lead. But it wasn't nearly the first time that Campbell has made a mistake that has cost his team a victory in a playoff overtime. This is actually the third time in this past three years that a misplay by Campbell has led to an overtime defeat for his team.
It's not a death blow by any means, but the Chicago Blackhawks are firmly behind the eight-ball, and they have all the pressure on them.
Tuesday night, a huge mistake by Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell set Detroit up for a game-winning goal. The overtime marker by Mikael Samuelsson put Detroit up 2-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.
Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 2, OT: Recap | Box Score Red Wings lead series 2-0
A series billed as youth versus experience got its start Sunday, with the experience controlling most of the 60 minutes. Detroit's mix of amazing skill and unending will was more than enough to hold off Chicago at Joe Louis Arena. The opening game of the Western Conference Finals wasn't a blowout, but there was not much of a feeling Chicago could break through in this one.
Red Wings 5, Blackhawks 2: Recap | Box Score Red Wings lead series 1-0
DETROIT -- After the Red Wings stopped the Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday. Detroit forward Mikael Samuelsson said, "Sometimes the stars take each other out a little."
And when the big-name guys cancel each other out, the Wings usually are left in a better position that their opponents, which was the case in Game 7, when Darren Helm, Samuelsson and Dan Cleary provided the final three goals in a 4-3 victory. Jiri Hudler scored the first goal of the night on a power play.
Helm never has scored a goal in the regular season (14 games) but he has four postseason goals, and his breakaway score on Thursday showed off his terrific speed. Samuelsson is a role player, but has a nose for big playoff goals, while Cleary is a grinder. His game-winner with three minutes left Thursday was his first goal of the series.
Blues 5, Wild 3: Thanks to their 5-3 win over Minnesota on Sunday, the St. Louis Blues find themselves within one point of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with just 13 games to play. The Blues managed to hold off a late Minnesota rally, as Brad Boyes sealed the win with an empty net goal in the closing minute.
Sunday's win comes less than 24 hours after the Blues suffered a loss to Detroit in a game that featured three Red Wings goals in just 46 seconds. The Blues have been on a roll in recent weeks, winning 10 of their past 15 games to stay in the playoff hunt.
Also inside Monday's edition of newsmakers: the Islanders continue their strong play by upsetting Chicago, the Blue Jackets have their winning streak snapped, and the Los Angeles Kings demonstrate just how easy it is to screw up a two-on-none breakaway.
Panthers 5, Hurricanes 0: With the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference on the line the Florida Panthers went into Carolina and pulled out a 5-0 win. The Hurricanes actually held a commanding edge in the shots department, firing 42 shots at Tomas Vokoun, who stopped them all to pick up his fourth shutout of the season.
Florida managed only 23 shots on goal, but was able to get four behind Cam Ward and another past Michael Leighton. The Panthers now hold a three-point edge over Carolina for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Nikita Filatov, the No. 5 overall pick in this year's Entry Draft, entered play on Saturday night for Columbus with one goal in his first five NHL games. During the Blue Jackets 4-2 win over Minnesota, the 18-year-old rookie notched his first career hat trick -- and recorded an assist -- helping lead Columbus to its second straight win and sixth in its past eight games.
Steve Mason continued his strong play in net for the Blue Jackets, turning aside 21 of 23 shots to pick up his 15th win of the season. It's a big win for Columbus, as it entered the game trailing the Wild by one point in the Western Conference standings.
Mason is still leading the league in goals against average and save percentage, and he is still not an all-star. Crazy.
The San Jose Sharks continued to distance themselves from the rest of the National Hockey League on Monday night, as they beat Nashville, 4-1, to improve to 16-3-1 on the season. The Sharks have earned at least a point in 11 of their previous 12 games, as they now have an 11 point lead over second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division.
Setoguchi has 22 points in the Sharks first 20 games, while he's also filled the net four times in his previous four contests. As a team, the Sharks have a league-high 73 goals, seven more than second-place Detroit. Meanwhile, Boucher continued his solid play in net, as he's now 6-1-1 on the season, including 4-1-1 since taking over for Nabokov.
Perhaps the most newsworthy item from the game, aside from the Sharks continuing to systematically dismantle whatever team lines up across from them, was the fact Nashville's Jason Arnott had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher when he was knocked into Boucher during the first period. According to the AP game report, Arnott was taken to a local hospital and is being held for precautionary reasons.
It was an interesting start to the Stanley Cup Finals, there's no doubt about that.
Pittsburgh came out strong and took it to the Wings pretty well in the first, forcing Chris Osgood to bail his team out as the period went on. Detroit's play, which had started out strong, crumbled as they ran into penalty trouble in the second half of the first 20 minutes. As the game went on, however, Pittsburgh trailed off and Detroit regained its footing, taking command in the second and third periods.
Detroit held Pittsburgh to just seven shots over the course of the final 40 minutes of the game, after allowing 12 in the first 20. They held the "big three" of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marian Hossa to just eight shots combined. Compare that to Henrik Zetterberg's eight shots on his own. That Zetterberg was able to manage eight shots while remaining so focused on his defensive responsibilities is pretty incredible.
It's been a one-way street out of Detroit this offseason, as the Red Wings have watched Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Ty Conklin and Tomas Kopecky sign with rival teams in the Western Conference, while Jiri Hudler attempts to make a jump to the KHL (even though the NHL isn't all that happy about it). Such losses would be a sizable blow to most teams, but the Red Wings aren't like most teams. 
It's not a death blow by any means, but the Chicago Blackhawks are firmly behind the eight-ball, and they have all the pressure on them.
DETROIT -- After the Red Wings stopped the Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday. Detroit forward 
The San Jose Sharks continued to distance themselves from the rest of the National Hockey League on Monday night, as they beat Nashville, 4-1, to improve to 16-3-1 on the season. The Sharks have earned at least a point in 11 of their previous 12 games, as they now have an 11 point lead over second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division. 
It was an interesting start to the Stanley Cup Finals, there's no doubt about that. 
