Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco, right, celebrates his first period goal with Riley Sheahan, left, and Tomas Tatar during the game against the Sabres on April 4 at Joe Louis Arena.
There are tangible ingredients needed for a playoff run, like good goaltending and effective special teams.
Then there's the intangible, like confidence, like swagger.
The Detroit Red Wings have earned the right to feel good about themselves after setting their destiny as the playoffs, and then steering straight ahead. Where other teams stumbled for lack of leadership and mental toughness and winning culture, like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, the Wings emerged from a mid-March double date with Minnesota inside the playoff picture, and kept good to their word they'd ...