Gator's Blog: Serve And Protect
The Red Wings need to stand up for their Captain Nick Lidstrom. I'm not saying they don't support him, I'm just saying that they need to protect him from further cheap shots that the Phoenix Coyotes are doling out.
As much as I respect Shane Doan and think he'd make an awesome Red Wing, this guy has to learn the hard way that you cannot take advantage of the Wings' most valuable player. Too often in the three games to this point, Doan has targeted Lidstrom with slashes, cross checks, punches and whatnot, and it has to stop. You don't want to see the Wings lose their collective cool and go all Inglewood Jack on them, but you do want to see a confrontation led by some of the more intimidating players on the team.
With a 3-0 lead in the series, there should be a premium on keeping Lidstrom healthy and sending a message to the rest of the league that targeting the Captain will not be tolerated. Getting to the next round would mean nothing if number 5's health were compromised, so I'm looking forward to see what measures his teammates will go to to ensure his well being. As much as Lidstom, Datsyuk, and Helm should have their heads on a swivel, so should Doan, Pyatt, and Jovanovski.
It should prove to be a most interesting finish to the series!
