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PITTSBURGH -- When Daniel Alfredsson pulled off the stunner of the NHL off-season by leaving the Ottawa Senators as a free agent, the rationale he gave was simple: He thought the Detroit Red Wings offered him a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. Mickael Landreau France Jersey . At the time, skeptics looked at the Senators and questioned if that was true. They had just overcome injuries to Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson to reach the second round of the playoffs, and even Alfredsson saw a bright future ahead. Playing into his 40s, Alfredsson just didnt "have the time to wait for that." As a disappointing season unfolded in Ottawa, it became clear the longtime Senators captain was right, and on Wednesday night the Red Wings validated his decision to sign in Detroit by making the playoffs and giving him another opportunity to chase the Cup. "Thats what you play for: to get into the playoffs," Alfredsson said after the Red Wings clinched with a shootout loss in Pittsburgh. "I played a long time in this league, I played a lot of playoff games but I havent won the Stanley Cup, and thats what you dream about. Thats the only reason Im still playing." The easy move, as Alfredsson acknowledged July 5, wouldve been to re-sign with the Senators and play out a career that would then include his No. 11 being raised to the rafters and maybe a statue being built outside Canadian Tire Centre. Leaving immediately clouded his legacy. In the wake of Alfredssons departure, the Senators couldnt seem to get out of a fog early and were never able to catch up. They missed the playoffs for the third time in six years, but even from afar the former face of that franchise didnt get any satisfaction in watching the Sens struggle. "I was hoping that they would do well, theres no question," Alfredsson said Tuesday in Buffalo. "Other than that, my focus is solely on this team and on the present and finishing out this season strong." Led by Alfredsson and fellow Swede Gustav Nyquist, the Red Wings made a strong push to qualify for the playoffs on the night they played their 80th game of the season. And they did so despite missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg for almost half the season due to injuries, while Alfredsson, himself, missed 13 games. Thanks to major contributions from young players like Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, Detroit overcame those and many more injuries to make a 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. The Red Wings also leaned heavily veteran defenceman Niklas Kronwall, Alfredsson and coach Mike Babcock to steady the ship. "I think theres a few factors: goaltendings been consistent for us, I think Kronwall has pulled a really heavy load throughout the year on and off the ice for this team," Alfredsson said. "And (the) coaching staff, as well, adjusting to the team we have and giving us a chance and a game plan to win every night. Theyve been pushing us hard. Its been hard-fought to get here, but it feels great." A season full of injuries putting a coach in line for a Jack Adams Award -- sound familiar? Ottawas Paul MacLean won it last year, and Babcock will be a serious candidate given how many Red Wings regulars missed time this season. Of course someone has to score to make that happen. Alfredssons 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists have him tied with Kronwall for the team lead with two games left. Alfredsson was all smiles in the visiting locker room Wednesday night after helping Detroit pick up the one point it needed to make it. And while clinching a playoff spot was a proud accomplishment, he didnt deny doubts crept in when the Red Wings learned Datsyuk and Zetterberg would be out for a while. "We knew it was going to be tough," Alfredsson said. "We had a similar situation in Ottawa last year where we lost Spezza, Karlsson, (Milan) Michalek and Anderson for longer periods of time. "If you get something going and you get a good feeling within a locker-room, you can accomplish a lot of things, and I think thats what weve done. Were a good group, we have fun and we know how to work for each other. Its kind of contagious when you see everybody going. Everybody kind of drags along and knows that they have to pull their share, as well." Taking a step back from the situations, Alfredsson didnt see much more of a correlation between the triumphs of the 2013 Senators and the 2013-14 Red Wings. In his estimation, this year was worse. "I think in Ottawa it was more right away we knew a few guys were out for longer periods of time," he said. "It wasnt as much guys coming back, guys coming out. Weve been shuffling lines for most of the year but still found ways to get everybody contributing." Alfredsson was one of 34 skaters to dress for the Red Wings this season, second only to the Penguins (37) among playoff teams. Beyond Nyquist and Tatar, Detroit likely wouldnt have extended its NHL-best playoff streak were it not for minor-league call-ups Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening and Tomas Jurco. The kids -- a couple of whom werent even alive the last time the Red Wings missed the playoffs -- are all right in Alfredssons eyes. But he also believes Babcock and his staff deserve some credit. "They gave them that chance and didnt make it a big deal," Alfredsson said. "Its just, You can do this. I think that gave them confidence. They definitely made the most of it. I think Coach gave them a chance, and they repaid him with solid play." Anything less than solid play wouldve meant an early summer for the Red Wings and a quicker start to the retirement questions for Alfredsson. Instead, the 41-year-old winger gets to compete in the playoffs for the 15th time in his NHL career. This time is extra special because of how difficult it was. "I think we worked extremely hard to get to this point, and it feels great," Alfredsson said. "This group has overcome a lot of adversity and that makes it even more fun." Laurent Koscielny France Jersey . Now shes ready to make waves in the U.S. Pace shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday to grab a share of the third-round lead with Laura Diaz in the Marathon Classic. She can barely express what a breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour might bring. Bacary Sagna Jersey . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, So the Canucks are on the wrong side of a seven-minute power play (again) and this time, it was a 5-on-3 power play for the Ducks! In all my years of watching hockey, I have never seen a 5-on-3 power play for that length of time. Ive tried my best at looking at the play and I came up with a ruling of how I would have called it, would you agree with my assessment? Tom Sestito hits Mathieu Perreault before the whistle blows - watch closely and you can see Sestito hit Perreault before the whistle blows. Tim Jackman comes in with his stick high which is met with high sticks from a few other players. Sestito then drops the gloves and drags Jackman down. During this, Sami Vatanen comes in from the blue line and puts Jannik Hansen in a headlock. The linesman comes in and while Jackman is down on the ice, Sestito throws a couple more punches. Meanwhile, Hansen is trying to break free and drops his gloves thinking that hes with a willing combatant. But Vatanen keeps his gloves on and Hansen stops once hes separated. For this, I would define Jackmans actions after Sestito dropped Perreault as the beginning of the incident. As such, I dont think that an instigator should have been awarded here. To get them both out of the game, I would have given each five for fighting and a ten-minute misconduct. For Hansen, I would have given him either a double minor for roughing or a five for fighting and a ten minute misconduct. However, Vatanen coming in from the blue line and putting Hansen in a headlock deserved a two minute minor for roughing. This would have left the Ducks with a power play, but not a seven-minute 5-on-3! As always, I would love to get your opinion as its rare to hear a referee explain their calls in any sport. Would you like to see referees respond to questions from the media in the future? Gareth EvansRichmond, BC ----- Gareth, I like your assessment better than the seven minute 5-on-3 for a couple of reasons. 1) As you correctly pointed out there was some initial response from two Duck players (Tim Jackman and Sami Vatanen) that was not recognized in the penalty assessment. 2) The secondd issue I have is that with 7:11 remaining in a blow-out Duck win, any subsequent infraction that a Vancouver player might receive would be treated as a "delayed penalty" if it was assessed prior to the expiration of the major penalties incurred by Tom Sestito and Jannik Hansen. Michel Platini France Jersey. This scenario provides little deterrent for Vancouver players to restrain themselves from taking penalties. Also, the more goals the Ducks might score during the extended two-man advantage would only intensify the frustration that Vancouver players were already feeling. My objective in this situation would certainly be to remove the troublemakers from both sides to eliminate future confrontations or a potential gong-show. I would also want to manage players negative emotions if at all possible. As such, I would be very cognisant of not piling on, or further embarrassing the Canucks in a similar way that Temmu Selanne demonstrated class by not celebrating his secon
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