Are the Red Wings wearing down?

The Red Wings have played a ton of hockey the past three years and despite what some Red Wings fans may admit, they are a bit of an older team. Combine all of the hockey played by the team and the Olympic hockey that most of the Red Wings’ players played, there’s no doubt that Detroit could be playing on some weary legs.

Of course, they won’t tell you that. Mike Babcock says it’s just an excuse:

“We played a lot hockey and it’s a grind,’' Babcock said. “You could say, ‘Geez we’ve played a lot hockey. I’m worn out.’ That just means you’re soft between the ears. Let’s just win a game.’'

Nicklas Lidstrom also shoots down the notion that despite the Red Wings being outplayed and outworked in three games against the Sharks, it’s more a matter of them playing poorly than the team being worn down.

This notion -- that the Red Wings might be tired -- is likely to be dismissed by Detroit fans, as they’ll be the first to admit that the Sharks are just plain outplaying the Red Wings. I’m also certain that while the fans may not want to admit it, and the team certainly won’t, it’s easy to see that the Sharks are just the hungrier, faster and deeper team.

It’s something that Detroit has yet to come across the past few years in the playoffs, and you can see that the Red Wings are having trouble keeping up. Whether that’s fatigue or not, it’s likely just a case of the Sharks having a better team. While the Red Wings have been so successful over the years, sometimes that happens; sometimes, the Red Wings just aren’t the better team.