And the Angels Wept

I missed the puck drop due to the need to take my insane 100 lb. puppy to the dog park before the exuberance of one of his "desperate for exercise" leaps onto the sofa resulted in a broken rib for me. When I turned the game on at minute 5 and saw the score was already one-nothing, I should have just turned it off and saved myself the heartache. But then my deep-seated sense of masochism kicked in.

Here are my observations. May the Hockey Gods have mercy on my soul. (Please.)

• The goal with Cleary screening Kiprusoff. WTF? How is screening the goalie interference? The only thing interfered with on that goal was my ability to maintain my normally low blood pressure. That had the have been the dumbest call since...well, since Brad May's disallowed goal nine days ago.
• Speaking of which, will any of our goals ever count again? I'm just asking, because after being shut out on Wednesday, it left me a mite perturbed to see two of our goals waved off in one game. Call me kooky.
• I try not to expect unreasonable perfection from the Red Wings; I only want a reasonable amount of perfection. Like the kind involved in not passing the puck to no one. Seriously. Is that so much to ask? Can we try only passing the puck to another player? Better yet, can we try only passing to a player on our own team? Please?
• As a corollary to the above, can we try not to create camera shots that leave me watching a screen full of opposing team players without a single Wings sweater in sight? That would be nice. As would actually having someone close enough to the opponents' net to catch a rebound now and then.
  

Those were my observations through period two. By period three, I stopped observing much of anything other than the insides of my eyelids as I sat on my sofa alternately weeping/gnashing my teeth and rocking myself back and forth to the tune of the old folks songs my mother used to sing me to sleep with.

The thing is, I have faith in this team, gods help me. I really do. They're too good for me not to have faith. Eventually this spiral of despair and shame in which we seem trapped with end. I'd just really like it to be soon.

Like, last month.