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 Closer look Nieuwendyk's line clicking on all cyclinders
Posted: Sunday June 13, 1999 03:15 PM
By Jamie MacDonald, CNN/SI BUFFALO, New York (CNN/SI) -- The trio of Dave Reid, Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner came out of the dressing room for the third period playing to nearly satisfying perfection -- keeping the puck low, cycling and creating scoring chances. It was hard not to figure they would be a key to the game. Even the Sabres knew the line was clicking, especially with Nieuwendyk. Yet there he was, Saturday night's No. 1 star, with a little more than 10 minutes remaining, all alone in front of Dominik Hasek with the potential game-winner on his backhand. While Nieuwendyk switched to his forehand, Hasek fell forward in front of him. ("Hasek's always on his way down," Nieuwendyk said after the game.) With a pitchfork motion, Nieuwendyk lifted his 11th goal of the playoffs under the crossbar to give the Stars a 2-1 lead at 9:35. "We've got real good chemistry on our line," Nieuwendyk said. "We had the puck in there for a little while. Jamie did a great job getting the puck in front of the net, and it just went through a few legs, came on my stick and I just pulled it to my forehand." As important as that line was to the scoresheet in a very big game, its significance as a blueprint of how the Stars win hockey games and grinding playoff series, should not be overlooked -- for at the end of this series is a Stanley Cup.
Teammate Mike Modano, he of the healthy [fingers crossed] Modanos, explained the success as a sum of three parts. "They've been really dominant the last few weeks, pretty much throughout the whole playoffs. Dave's really strong and patient with the puck. Jamie's got the speed to come in and pick things up. And Joe's kind of a support guy and very good in front of the net with his stick. If our line is somewhat contributing, it forces teams to make a decision on what line they're going to go after." Langenbrunner also trotted out the sum-of-their-parts argument. "I think we are complementing each other really well. We are sticking with it. It isn't coming early for us, most of the time it's coming late. We stick with it and eventually they go in for us." On Saturday night, they went in because the three-man unit worked defenders off their men by moving the puck and circling deep in the offensive zone. Buffalo's Rob Ray faulted missed defensive assignments. "When guys are strong like that and able to rotate the puck, it creates a lot of confusion down low. They were able to get it moving all over the ice and keep control of if. That gets guys turning and looking and guys losing position and their men. "[Joe] is a very smart player. When he doesn't have the puck he finds that opening. It's a matter of keeping an eye on him, especially when he doesn't have the puck. I think that's the key. You have to look out for Joe." "They have a complete game right now," said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock. "They're playing strong two-way hockey and it's giving them the offensive opportunities but it's not making them vulnerable defensively, either. So they're just being solid, and when they're solid, the emotion is on the right side-when you get scored on, you let down a little bit. Well, they're not getting scored on. So they're just being positive all the time and it's working."
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