Yogi Berra’s game is not played in the NHL.
If it was, Berra might have rethought his axiom, “It ain’t over till it’s over!”
For decades it has been observed that teams out of the playoffs on Thanksgiving Day usually begin golfing and fishing in early April, when their better peers prepare for the first round.
There are exceptions. The current Stanley Cup champions, the Penguins, are a classic example.
But the Red Wings roster is not of that caliber.
Not these days.
Few teams break through the well-established pattern, season after season.