Domination in Detroit

How good are the Detroit Red Wings? I would say, with out a doubt, that currently they are the best team in the NHL. When they rolled over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 yesterday it was yet another exhibition of how to play the game to the very best of your ability. The Red Wings have such a well composed team and they are really getting the best out of the entire roster, which is essential when battling through the 82 game grind that is the regular season. After a few struggling seasons they have found the right combination of flare (Pavel Datsyuk) and grit (Dan Cleary).

They have a backup goalie in Chris Osgood who is 8-0 this season, and unbeaten in regulation time in his last 20 games. That is not bad when you also have Dominik Hasek as your number one man.

They have the league's best blue-line pair in Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, who more than enough makes up for the loss of Mathieu Schneider, not to mentioned players like Niklas Kronvall, Brett Lebda, and the ageless Chris Chelios. The Wing's D lacks nothing.

Dan Cleary, as I mentioned earlier, brings such a vital ingredient to the Wings game, and his gritty and uncompromised style is something the Red Wings of resent years have lacked. Add to that the workhorse Tomas Holmstrom and you have a team that is really tough to play against.

The icing on the cake is the top duo of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. When the career comes to an end for these two, they will be remembered as two of the best to ever play the game. When Lidstrom retires, at some point in the future I suppose he has to, my money is on Zetterberg to take over the captaincy. I actually though they would give to him when Steve Yzerman hung up his skates, and I was not alone in assuming that.

Eventually the Wings will lose, perhaps in the next game against the sizzling Blackhawks, but when they do it won't be for the lack of effort. During practice, coach Mike Babcock does not talk a lot about work ethics because he believes his group of players are professional enough to know the importance of it. And they do, and it is one of the biggest reason they are the best team in the NHL right now.