Red Wings' Recent "Three Stars" Very Appropriate

The three stars were announced and they took their perfunctory, brief skates onto the ice, giving the remaining fans the slightly-raised stick of acknowledgement. It was the final order of business to seal the team's hard-fought, 3-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets the other night.

But what struck me about this nightly NHL routine was who the three stars were for the Red Wings.

Star #3: Todd Bertuzzi, deadline-day acquisition from the Florida Panthers. His goal late in the third period gave the Red Wings an insurance marker, 2-0.

Star #2: Kyle Calder, obtained from Philadelphia a few weeks before Bertuzzi. His aggressive play created a turnover deep in Columbus's zone, which he turned into a nifty, unassisted goal for a 1-0 lead.

Star #1: Dominik Hasek, once again an All-World goaltender. He made well over 30 saves in garnering his eighth shutout of the season, after missing another by 59 seconds a couple days prior, against these same Blue Jackets.

I'll point out the obvious to you, as if you haven't already figured it out: none of these players were with the team last season, when the Edmonton Oilers drummed the Red Wings out of the playoffs after six games in the first round.

I thought it was wonderfully symbolic that Bertuzzi, Calder, and Hasek should be named the three stars after a late-season contest, as the team gets ready for what promises to be an extended postseason run. For these three players represent all that is new with the Red Wings, and thus all that is supposed to be the boost Detroit's hockey club needs to make a serious, no-detour beeline for Lord Stanley's Cup.

Calder was brought in for his fearlessness in pursuing pucks in the corner. His goal against Columbus was that trait in a microcosm. Bertuzzi was acquired because of his ability to plant himself like a Redwood in front of the opponent's goal, combining braun with deft hands. And Hasek was signed last summer because goaltending was deemed to be a playoff bugaboo, which it was.

Now all three are poised to help the Red Wings do something that they've only done once since 1998: advance to the Western Conference Finals, at least. Their only appearance in the NHL's Final Four in that time frame came in 2002, when they won the Cup. Other than that, the playoff resume has looked like this:

1999: Out in the second round (Colorado)
2000: Out in the second round (Colorado)
2001: Out in the first round (Los Angeles)
2003: Out in the first round (Anaheim)
2004: Out in the second round (Calgary)
2006: Out in the first round (Edmonton)

Granted, the last three Red Wings' eliminators went on to the Cup Finals, each losing there in seven games. But that is little consolation for a town that demands June hockey every season.

Will Calder, Bertuzzi, and Hasek, plus the other cast of characters -- some old, some new -- be enough to take down all the behemoths in the West?

They'd better -- that's exactly why they were acquired, after all.