From the Detroit News (so true):
Mike Babcock said the parity in the new NHL has ensured the amount of upsets and first-round struggles of many higher seeds in the league.
Wings players agree, noting Dallas and Nashville losing over the weekend to lower seeds (Colorado and San Jose, respectively).
"Hockey is a little different than any other sport," Dan Cleary said. "It doesn't matter if it's a 2 against 7, or 1 against 8, anything can happen over a seven-game series. It's been proven already in the playoffs. If you're the higher seed, it's not a cakewalk."
So why is it, the higher seeds struggle so badly?
"I wish I knew," Tomas Holmstrom said. "Maybe because they've been battling for the last month and they've been in this grind and have to win every night. Anything can happen in overtime, when the games go into overtime."
Holmstrom said it best. These teams that are fighting for their lives and make the playoffs carry considerable momentum with them while teams like Dallas and Detroit have been resting players since they already wrapped up spots. But the parity in the new NHL is apparent. You can kinda throw the seeds out the window.
