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Name-carver standing by Wings one game from completing wire-to-wire runPosted: Thursday June 13, 2002 3:13 AMDETROIT (AP) -- The Stanley Cup will be in Joe Louis Arena, possibly only 60 minutes away from being cradled by the team that has been favored to win it for 10 months. With the cup so close now the Detroit Red Wings can almost see their names on it, these are the most agonizing and patience-testing hours of a September-to-June season that often seems endless. "You're kind of in the middle of the eye of the storm," said Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan, awaiting Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals against Carolina on Thursday night. "Everything is going crazy around us. "It's hard, the anticipation. It's like holding your breath for two days." With one more victory, one more big game in goal by Dominik Hasek, one more night when they frustrate one of the NHL's most unexpected finalists in years, the Stanley Cup will be theirs - a triumphant end to a much-scrutinized season. That would be only the start. By winning, the Red Wings would write their names into the NHL history books as one of hockey's best teams. They would claim a record ninth Stanley Cup for coach Scotty Bowman, and a long-sought first Cup for longtime NHL stars Hasek, a six-time goalie of the year, and Luc Robitaille, a 600-goal scorer. They would also accomplish one of the hardest tasks in sports by not only winning a championship, but going wire-to-wire in a season in which they started 22-3-1 and easily had the regular-season record. "Anytime you're a game away, there's always going to be excitement and anticipation," Shanahan said. "It's your job as a player to just stay focused. All the fun stuff will take care of itself if you do your job. There will be plenty of time for celebrating, but now is not the time for celebrating." His cautionary words, however, won't prevent hundreds of Detroit police officers from being on alert to keep any victory celebration from getting out of hand. It also won't stop Red Wings fans from bringing dozens of homemade Stanley Cup replicas -- and maybe a few octopi -- to the arena in anticipation of a cup-raising party. It also won't prevent the Hurricanes, who have gone into the third period of every game of the series with a chance to win, from playing as if the finals are starting, not possibly about to end. "I would like to think we have better motivation than trying to delay a party," coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday. Still, the Hurricanes' practices haven't seemed as energized, their mood less optimistic since they couldn't hold a 2-1 lead late in Game 3 and lost in triple overtime on home ice. That loss led to a 3-0 defeat Monday night in Game 4 that was their worst performance of the series, even though Detroit led only 1-0 for much of the game. Maybe reality, or the fear of it, is beginning to set in. Or maybe it's because the Hurricanes realize the difficulty in winning three straight from a team that has won five of its last six games. Maybe it's because they would have to win twice in five days in an arena where, until Game 1, they had not won since 1989. Or maybe it's because they have allowed the last five goals, and haven't scored against Hasek in six-plus periods. Or that they understand that only once in NHL history, in 1942, has a team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the finals. "But we have a tremendous amount of character in the locker room and we're just not going to lay down and die," defenseman Glen Wesley said. Still, another problem confronting the Hurricanes is Detroit's ability to close out teams, and quickly. The Red Wings have won seven straight potential series-clinching games, including their 7-0 rout of defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. The last time the Red Wings didn't end a series in the first game possible was Game 5 of the 1998 Western Conference finals against Dallas. The Red Wings clinched in Game 6. The only time they haven't finished off a series under Bowman was in 1994, when they were upset in Game 7 by San Jose. "This is what you play for," Kirk Maltby said. "The whole atmosphere, you don't really ever know if you will get a chance to experience it again. So we're just trying to enjoy it and, at game time, it's business." |
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