GMR
Registered User
In all fairness to the Wings, Calgary likely won the Cup in 2004 (Gelinas' goal) and Edmonton would have won in 2006 if not for the injury to Roloson.They ran into a hot goalie in 03. They dominated in shots. Scoring chances. Everything. There's literally nothing else they could've done. If that series is played ten times, Detroit wins nine times. That was a sweep. But it wasn't your usual sweep where the loser is vastly outplayed.
I'm not sure they were better than Anaheim in 07. Maybe during the season. But that Ducks team was built for the postseason. There was only one team in the West that Detroit matched up poorly with. And unfortunately they ended up facing them.
In 04 and 06 they choked. There was zero excuses to lose to those teams. Some blame Joseph in 04. The man gave up like four total goals from game 4-game 6.
If both Calgary and Edmonton lost in the next round, that makes Detroit look much weaker in hindsight. Both teams went on a deep run. That doesn't make fans feel better, but makes things more understandable when looking back 15 years later.