What do the Detroit Red Wings and PGA golfers have in common?

Answer: They'll both be playing golf this weekend.

Apparently the spring sunshine and increasingly warm temperatures were to much for my Wings to handle as they handed over a 2-0 third period lead last night en route to yet another first-round exit after a dominant regular season that saw them finish first overall.

The high-powered Wings were outplayed by a younger, faster and a far more hungry Edmonton Oilers team that simply outclassed the #1 seed in the Western Conference. In all honesty, Detroit was lucky to have six games in this first round series.

I have no problem giving full credit to the Edmonton Oilers on this one. They played some fantastic hockey in this series. Is it just me or does this Oiler team not remind you of the 2004 version of the Calgary Flames? I definitely get a sense that this team is set-up for a long run in the playoffs.

And talk about X-factors, did I not say that if the Oilers get solid goaltending from Dwayne Roloson then they will be a very tough team to beat? Fact is with solid goaltending there really isn't much difference between the Oil as a #8 seed and the Wings as a #1. This is not a fluke victory. This is parity at it's finest.

The Western Conference is definitely a testimony to the competitive balance in the new-look NHL. If Calgary loses at home tomorrow night then the so-called top four teams in the west will have all been eliminated in the first round.

I love to see my Wings dominate and I would have loved to have seen them win another cup, but I love to see this type of competitive balance where any team has a chance to win on any given night.

Sure I'm sad to see Detroit suffer yet another first round exit after a dominating regular season. Sure I'm ticked that all the so-called "hockey experts" are now going to say that Detroit's regular season dominance was due to the fact that they had so many games against Western Conference cellar dwellers in St.Louis, Chicago and Columbus (the fact is a win is a win, regardless of whether it's against St. Louis or Ottawa).

Unfortunately for Edmonton I think the focus will be more on what might be wrong with Detroit as opposed to all the good things going on in Edmonton. I don't think there's anything wrong with Detroit. I think the focus should be on the fact they got beat by a better team.

The saddest part for me last night was watching Stevie Y shake hands in what probably was his last game as captain of the Wings. I am a Red Wings fan because I watched Yzerman play a game against the Leafs one Saturday night when I was 9 years old (nearly 20 years ago) and I greatly admired the heart and determination (as well as the immense skill) that this guy possessed. I think it's fair to say that I am Steve Yzerman fan first and a Detroit Red Wings fan second.

Should Stevie Y retire this summer (and I think it's fairly certain that he will) I don't know how much of my devotion to the Motor City maniacs will retire along with him. I'm sure lots of Wings fans went through the same thing when Gordie Howe retired. It's funny how many memories, how much of your childhood and teenage years get wrapped up in one single player.

Anyways, I hope that if Yzerman does retire he'll stay involved in hockey in some aspect. The game still needs great ambassadors and there's not many players in the history of the game who played with as much heart and leadership as Stevie Y.

Thanks for the memories.