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Playoff Observations -- Thursday

Just a few things that caught my eye:

  • Is it me or are the Wings slowing down? The tank looks low after three in four and four in six. Henrik Zetterberg looks exhausted.
  • Evgeni Malkin -- 23 points in his last 11 games. I'm telling you -- powered by borscht. I can't wait to see how good this guy can be.
  • Don Cherry dialled up yet another couch-upholstery jacket for his segment on CBC. Baby blue with yellow daisies? Then he goes and says Gino Malkin is playing like a good Canadian boy. It's hard to take that man seriously. 
  • Was Jordan Staal's game-tying shortie the turning point of the series? I think it could be. Nice to see the big boy finally wake up again.
  • Marc-Andre Fleury was flat-out sick, particularly in the first period. Nineteen shots and just a single goal? I know he has his lapses but he's becoming a big money goalie with an acrobatic flair. Remind you of Grant Fuhr just a little?
  • Justin Abdelkader out; Kris Draper in. Now help me understand that move. I know Draper is good but he didn't look it Thursday night. Abdelkader's energy with Darren Helm and Ville Leino was outstanding.
  • Marian Hossa is channelling his best Marcel. No points Thursday and just 14 in 20 games. His six goals have come in only three games with each the fourth game of each series. And he has points in just eight of those 20. He has to be hurt.  
  • Me thinks Pavel Datsyuk has a hip problem and not a foot issue. Replays show he got nailed hard on a check, pinning his right hip awkwardly against the boards. Shortly after, he was lame. You can freeze a foot and shove it into your boot. But you can't do much with a bad hip. He'll be back in Game 5, healthy or not though. The Wings need him.