If you missed the Detroit Red Wings game last night, you missed a classic. The Wings just kicked the living crap out of Phoenix, looking like a buzzing bee-hive that attacked the Coyotes relentlessly all night long. The Wings won 6-1 and advanced to the second round (vs San Jose)- but the game wasn't that close. About another half dozen shots hit the cross bar; the Wings had three break-aways; that puck rolled around behind Phoenix goalie several times... the Wings had 39 shots... by the end of the second period. They finished with 50 shots overall -- but it seemed like 100.

Read the quote from the Phoenix coach, Dave Lippett: "Their top players came out and dictated the pace, and we had no answer for them, and they were relentless. When their top players play like that, the whole group just jumps right in, and hats off to them, they played an unbelievable game. We had no answer no matter what we were doing. They just turned it up another level that we couldn't get to."

Or, Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who played unbelievable and still gave up 6 goals (17 shots and 9 quality scoring chances in the first period with the game at 0-0 after the first period) : "The way they played tonight, don't know if anybody can beat them . . . I played with everything . . . tried to keep the team alive the best I can, but it was not enough. You can say maybe we didn't play good enough, tough to say, but they were unreal tonight."

It was beautiful to watch - like a shooting gallery, or a boxer pummeling their opponent into the ground, or like the Russian 5 during the Red Wings' reborn dominance of the 1995-96 Stanley Cup year. The Wings play like that night in and night out, they won't lose. Damn, that's good hockey. And a real shit-kicker.