Almost no human activity is immune from this simple and undeniable fact—a good start, is the best start.
Indeed, whether you're building a house, baking a pie, flying a plane, or trying to make the NHL playoffs, a bad start will make your job harder, and often impossible.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that one of the reasons the NHL is more exciting post-lockout is that since playoff spots can literally be won or lost in October, every game from one to 82 is meaningful.
While I don't often agree with much of Bettman's pablum, in this instance, he is exactly right.
Teams who miss the playoffs by just a few points can now often look back at their record and see that the seed of failure was planted in October.
Again, a good start is the best start.
Last October, the Red Wings ended the month with a 5-3-4 record. Now, in my book, that means they lost seven out of 12 and even though those four overtime/shootout loses yielded four points, losing that early and that often certainly didn't do the team any favors.
Only a nearly miraculous finish (the kind of blessing a Fairy Hockey Godmo ...
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Article written by Matt Hutter
Detroit Red Wings: October Start Should Set Up Excellent Regular Season
November 1st, 2010 by Matt Hutter Leave a reply »
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