Can the Wings go all the way?

Can the Wings go all the way? Here's a list of why the Wings could take it all and followed by a list of reasons why they won't be able to win it. Why the Wings could go all the way... Personally, I believe this is the Wings' year. I think that we've made enough changes since the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 playoff disasters to prevent an early round exit from happening. I'm really excited for playoffs to start because unlike last season, I really can see Detroit taking it. And that makes me very happy, but also very nervous. So why do I, Christy Hammond, have this much faith in my team? In no particular order... 1. The Captain. Need I say more? It's potentially his last year and I could think of nothing better than for Steve Yzerman to retire after a Cup win. Plus, Yzerman has been stepping up his game of late with 13 points in his last 10 games. According to IwoCPO @ Abel to Yzerman, it's his longest ten game point streak since 2000. The Captain has a way to inspire his troops so if they see him blocking shots, scoring, and working hard, the rest seem to follow. 2. As James Mirtle pointed out, the team who is the hottest at the end of the regular season tends to perform pretty well in the playoffs (ex. Tampa Bay). And which team has the hottest record since the Olympic break? That's right, Detroit. 3. Health. Now I realize that the Wings went from healthy for the most part to Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Schneider injuries. Datsyuk is supposed to return right before the playoffs. Zetterberg missed the second half of the Columbus game last night with an upper body injury (rumors: injury from a puck or the flu). Assuming that those three return in good health before the start of the playoffs, we have our core intact. Now if any of those three especially Zetterberg and Datsyuk remain injured, the rest of my points may just go out the window. On the bright side, Niklas Kronwall is finally regaining normal form after a preseason injury resulted in knee surgery to repair his ACL and MCL. 4. Goaltending. Now don't get me wrong, I am terrified of the goaltending we will face in the playoffs. It's usually the opponent's goalie that seems to screw the Wings over. However, I think that in Manny Legace and Chris Osgood we have good enough goaltenders to take us to the Finals. They certainly aren't the best goalies in the league, but I'd rather have them than an unhealthy Dominik Hasek. Plus Manny is 5th in the league with a 2.22 GAA and 9th overall with a .912 save percentage. 5. Mike Babcock. I really believe that this guy deserves some recognition. Everyone gives credit to Carolina's coach and Buffalo's coach, but what about Babcock? Sure it doesn't seem much has changed since the Wings are still at the top of the standings, but Babcock knows how to push all the right buttons. Let's take a look at Brendan Shanahan, for example. Under former head coach, Dave Lewis, Shanny notched 68 points in '02-03 and 53 points in '03-04. This season with 76 games under his belt, Shanny has 73 points with 10 more goals AND 10 more assists than last season. Personally, I believe Babcock is the one to thank for giving Shanny a chance and opportunity to improve. 6. Winter Olympics. After the '98 and '02 Winter Olympics, the Wings took it all. What's to say it won't happen again this year? The Swedish Five would have one pretty sweet year, that's for sure. Random Piece of Trivia: Did you know that "The last 18-year-old to score as many points as [Sidney] Crosby has this season was Steve Yzerman, who had 87 in 1983-84." I read that out of the Sports Illustrated Players NHL Poll (on page 30 for those of you who subscribe). SI asked 346 NHL players, "Will Penguins rookie center Sidney Crosby end up being one of the 10 best players of all time?" 49.5% said no, 40.5% said yes, and 10% said they weren't sure.