Mike Babcock understands that his job as coach is to get his team beyond the unfortunate events that decided Game 3.

Most people assume, and quite logically, that it will be Mike Babcock standing behind the bench of Team Canada bench when the 2010 Winter Olympics kick off in Vancouver.

And with no disrespect to the three Jack Adams Award nominees this season, each of whom would be very deserving of the honour of NHL coach of the year, Babcock deserves the job.

It is understood that Babcock has had more to work with than some of his contemporaries, but a quick peek at the current NHL playoffs reveals how the team with the best players doesn't always win.

In the past few days the Red Wings have had the daylights beaten out of its plan to become the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champion since they did it in 1996-97 and 1997-98. The salary cap has made it very difficult for teams to build a dynasty, but many, including the Red Wings themselves, believed they had what it takes to win back-to-back titles this season, especially with the arrival of star winger Marian Hossa.

But a heartbreaking triple-overtime loss at home followed by one of the worst calls to ever go against them in Game 3 changed everything. The call in question was the one where referee Brad Watson signaled an end to play because he lost sight of the puck just before Hossa poked it into the net behind Ducks stopper Jonas Hiller with just over a minute remaining in the game. The puck was clearly lying uncovered in the crease.

"No goal!"

Not just any "No goal!" but a "No goal!" of Brett Hull foot-in-the-crease "Goal!" vs. Buffalo Sabres proportions.

(OK, maybe not that big a "No goal!" But close.)

"We got screwed," Babcock told Sportsnet.ca Wednesday morning. "And we're allowed to be pissed off. It is an absolute tragedy. But we have to get over it. To me they were the better team in the early going, but we got better as the game went on and I thought we were the better team at the end. Too bad both teams scored two goals and the game was not allowed to go into overtime."

Now what?

Do the Wings, knowing they were robbed, simply fold up the tent? Obviously not. Besides, there is no guarantee the Wings would have prevailed had the game gone into overtime.

Enter Babcock.

He must somehow find a way to get his players to quickly put Tuesday's heartbreaking loss behind them. It will be one of the toughest tasks he has faced in his esteemed big-league coaching career. No time to dwell on it. Back to business.

On the surface, it doesn't look like an easy task. But when you really think about it, not much about the Wings has changed outside of the fact star defenceman Brian Rafalski has been hurt and some of the snipers the team depends on have mysteriously gone silent.

The good news is goalie Chris Osgood, thought to be the team's Achilles' heel heading into the playoffs, has been decent. He has not been the reason why the team has lost.

Back to the scorers.

Pavel Datsyuk is a Hart Trophy candidate after finishing fourth in league scoring, but has been snake bitten in the playoffs thus far with just one goal and three points in seven games. He has yet to score in three games against Anaheim.

Holmstrom and Hossa are pointless in the second round.

"Hossa scored a goal," Babcock corrects. "They just decided they didn't want it to count."

I stand corrected.

Babcock said, despite the devastating loss, he saw some signs of encouragement he hopes will carry over into Game 4.

"I thought in the second half of the game Datsyuk and Hossa really started to take over," he said.

Coming back against a team that plays as tough as do the Ducks will not be easy. Hiller has played solidly between the pipes, Chris Pronger is a menace at both ends of the rink and Ryan Getzlaf is an unstoppable force up front. Add to that the Ducks are also coached by one of the best button-pushers in the league, Randy Carlyle, and you can guess he is burning the night oil thinking of ways to send the Red Wings packing.

Babcock sounded decidedly frustrated in the wake of the Game 3 loss. Who wouldn't be in his position? But he has faced adversity before and he'll face it again. He knows between now and Thursday night he needs to get his team focused on what lies ahead; not what has happened in the past. He's up for the challenge.

"In my mind, one of the greatest things about winning a championship is the journey," Babcock said. "One day you are up and the next day you are down. I believe part of the satisfaction of winning is how hard you have to work to accomplish your goal."