Will Detroit Climb Out of a 3-0 Deficit?

When things don't go well, there always is somebody or something to blame. When Red Wings player Jason Williams shoots a puck over the glass and there's a 2-on-1 the other way, you'd probably blame him. Apparently, that's what got the Detroit Red Wings into a 3-0 hole, heading into Game 4 tonight. It's always tough to get out of a 3-0 deficit and expect to win the series. Only two other historic teams have managed to do that, but can the Red Wings join them? Let's take a look and see what is going wrong with a team that had so much success in the past. We'll start with penalties. They've had too many penalties in the last couple of days, leading to a few power play goals for the Sharks. Second, the defense. It has not helped goaltender Jimmy Howard stop Sharks players from firing the puck at him. Third, the goaltender himself, Jimmy Howard. He let in an easy side goal in Game 3 to tie the game at 3-3 and that was the goal sent into overtime. So does this mean Detroit will come back and be another one of those teams that wins a series with a 3-0 deficit or will it fall short? The answer is no. Jimmy Howard is superb enough to have the Wings climb out of a 3-0 hole, especially when you have a hot San Jose Sharks team fishing for a sweep. Second, the penalties will probably keep adding up, leading to more power play chances and goals for the Sharks. Third, the defense might do better this game but it won't do better for the next four games. And last, the offense is not clicking well enough. Sure, they lead 3-1 in Game 3 but that was Game 3. The other times have been disastrous for the Red Wings. But here's what I don't expect. I don't expect the Sharks to win Game 4, but they will win Game 5. That means Detroit's season will fall after two great seasons as Western Conference champions and there will be a new Western Conference champ coming to the top.