Stanley Cup Notebook

Grind Line continues to prove they have some talent

DETROIT (AP) -- "The Grind Line" of Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Darren McCarty proved again that it has some talent to go along with its gritty ways.

Maltby scored Detroit's first goal and Draper scored the last as the Red Wings beat Carolina 3-1 Thursday night in Game 2 to even the Stanley Cup finals.

"We feel confident with our game," Draper said. "Maybe the passing wasn't good, like some people have said, but we're a line that likes to get the puck down low, cycle and get the puck to the net."

"The Grind Line" is often far from the spotlight on their star-studded team, but their contributions are valued by their teammates and they're fan favorites in a town that respects players who are a little rough around the edges.

"I love to play behind that line," Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek said. "They always do a good job so I never take them for granted. They always seem to give us a spark because they work so hard and forecheck so well."

Maltby scored his third goal of the playoffs. Draper, who has two goals, got his third assist of the postseason on Maltby's goal, which gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 6:33 of the first. McCarty has four goals in the playoffs, including three in one game against Colorado in the Western Conference finals.

"There's not a lot of room out there," McCarty said. "They play a trapping style and maybe that's in our favor."

Teams get testy in Stanley Cup finals

A solid but tame Stanley Cup finals turned testy at the end of Game 2.

In the final minute of Detroit's 3-1 victory over Carolina there was plenty of pushing and shoving. Four Red Wings and two Hurricanes were penalized for roughing and tripping.

Detroit's Kris Draper thinks the rough play may even help the Red Wings, who had an emotional series with Colorado in the Western Conference finals.

"I think we're a better team when we don't like our opponents," Draper said. "And I think that tonight showed that we have a lot of emotion and we certainly are starting to not like these guys. So it's going to make for a very good series."

Losing face

Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour, one of the top faceoff men in the NHL, is having a tough time so far in the Stanley Cup finals in the circle.

The veteran center has won 59 percent of his faceoffs in the postseason, but was under 50 percent in Games 1 and 2 against the Detroit Red Wings.

Brind'Amour lost 15 of 27 faceoffs in Game 2 Thursday night, two days after losing 16 of 31 in Game 1. However, he scored the Hurricanes' only goal, unassisted, to tie the game at 1 late in the first period.

Hockeytown help from boisterous crowd

The Joe Louis Arena crowd has been criticized at times for being loud when the Red Wings are ahead, and passive when they're tied or behind.

That was not the case early in the third period of Game 2 when it was tied at 1.

One side of the arena screamed, "Go!" with the other side responding with a loud chant of "Wings!"

"That has to go on for three or four minutes," Draper said. "A couple guys said something about it on the bench and again after the game. These fans want it just as bad as we do and they knew how important this game was."

Shortly after the chant subsided, Nicklas Lidstrom scored the go-ahead goal.

Glad to see Vlad

Seeing Vladimir Konstantinov at Joe Louis Arena is a bittersweet experience for the Detroit Red Wings.

Five years after a limousine accident caused severe brain trauma and the end of his career, the former defenseman can stand upright, move forward with a walker and stop when people approach him to chat or shake hands.

"It's nice to see the physical progress Vladdy has made," Red Wings senior vice president Jim Devellano said before Game 2. "He uses his walker well and you can have somewhat of a conversation with him. Obviously, he's not in the condition that we would like him to be in, but he's doing well all things considered."

While it's an accomplishment for the 35-year-old to have some motor skills, it's difficult not to think of how Konstantinov once was -- a world-class defenseman who helped put an end to Hockeytown's 42-year Stanley Cup drought in 1997.

Today, Konstantinov provides a quiet source of inspiration for his former teammates.

Before games, he visits them in the dressing room -- where his stall is still labeled and not used. During warmups, he stands near the team's bench. During the national anthem, he often stands just off the ice behind anthem singer Karen Newman. When the game starts, he usually watches from owner Mike Ilitch's box and waves to fans when he's shown on scoreboard.

When that happened Thursday night, the crowd chanted: "Vlad-dy! Vlady-dy!"

Care to see a map, Mr. Kilpatrick?

Raleigh mayor Charles Meeker didn't get the call from Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to place a bet Game 1 in the Stanley Cup finals. That's because somebody in the Detroit mayor's office called the wrong city.

Meeker had called Detroit to make a mayor-to-mayor bets. When Kilpatrick's office called back, a call was placed to Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory, who corrected the caller and directed the call to Meeker.

"Really? That's just fabulous. He only missed it by this much," said Carolina's Aaron Ward, who held his thumb and finger about an inch apart. "If I make a comment on that, I could only get myself in trouble."

Charlotte is about a three-hour drive from Raleigh.

Eventually, a bet was made on the series between Kilpatrick and Meeker.

If the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup, Kilpatrick will receive a North Carolina oak tree. If the Hurricanes win, Meeker will win a Michigan cherry tree and a 20-pound octopus.

One-Timers: Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, who assisted on Nicklas Lidstrom's goal, has a five-game point streak. ... Detroit defenseman Fredrick Olausson didn't practice on Wednesday because of an undisclosed injury, but was able to play 17:21 in Game 2. ... The Red Wings scored their seventh shorthanded goal of the playoffs and are three short of the record set by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1983 playoffs. The other 15 playoff teams have combined for six shorthanded goals this postseason. ... Detroit killed all eight of Carolina's power plays and has allowed only one power-play goal in the past six games while shorthanded 28 times.

 

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