Are you hungry?
Stanley Cup Notebook: Fedorov buys Wings dinner
Posted: Saturday June 13, 1998 06:22 PM
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Fedorov celebrated his contract windfall with his teammates,who helped him rack up an $11,000 bill at a restaurant in Phoenix (AP) |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- What does a hockey player do when he signs a new
contract worth millions? Treat his teammates to dinner, of course.
That's what Sergei Fedorov did
for the Detroit Red Wing after rejoining the team late this season
following his long and complicated contract battle.
Fedorov, who earned a $12 million bonus when the Red Wings made the
conference finals, took his teammates out to a restaurant in Phoenix. The
dinner bill: about $11,000.
What did the players eat?
"We [drank] a lot of red wine," Brendan Shanahan
said. The silent type
As a captain, Steve Yzerman leads
by example rather than fiery speeches. So says Detroit coach Scotty Bowman.
"He doesn't say a lot," Bowman said. "If there are issues, he will take
them up. He has a good demeanor because he plays hard." Draft
story
Unless the Tampa Bay
Lightning make a trade, it's likely they'll pick Vincent Lecavalier No.
1 in the NHL Entry Draft.
A guest at the Stanley Cup finals along with other top picks, Lecavalier
was asked about stories regarding the Lightning trading his rights.
"I read something in the newspapers [about a possible trade], but I don't
know if it's true or not," he said.
There were chuckles and groans. Then, realizing he was among
newspapermen, Lecavalier quickly apologized, saying, "No offense!"
Stanley Cup streaks
With victories over Washington in the first two games of the finals, the
Red Wings extended their unbeaten streak over the Capitals to nine games.
The last time Washington beat Detroit was January 30, 1994 -- 6-3 at
Landover, Maryland.
Yzerman was on a streak of his own prior to Saturday night's game at the
MCI Center. His two goals in Game 2 extended his point streak in the finals
to six games dating back to last year's four-game sweep of Philadelphia.
Brown out, Klee in
Defenseman Jeff
Brown was scratched from the Capitals' lineup Saturday and replaced by
Ken Klee.
"Kenny deserves a chance to play right now. He hasn't played in a while,"
Capitals coach Ron Wilson said after Saturday's morning skate. "He's a guy
who can kill penalties and play a steady game. Maybe he'll step forward and
make a difference in the game."
Brown has a problem with post-concussion syndrome. He felt nauseated
after the second period in Thursday night's game at Detroit and did not
return to the ice.
Klee had one goal in seven games during the 1998 playoffs but was not
used in the first two games of this series.
"Of course, it's great to get a chance like this," Klee said. "This is
what you dream about when you're growing up -- playing in the Stanley Cup
finals." Drawing inspiration from Utah
Wilson hoped the underdog Capitals could draw some inspiration from the
performance of the Utah Jazz, who staved off elimination Friday night by
beating the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals.
"Everybody wrote off Utah and they bounced back with a great effort
against a great team and the greatest basketball player of all time,"
Wilson said. "It shows that if you put your nose to the grindstone and
battle, you can change the momentum.
"That's exactly what we're looking for -- a big effort from our best
players and a continued effort from the people on our fourth line. We're
playing a great team, but we're not disappointed at all in the way we've
played." Birthday memory
The last team to rally from a 2-0 deficit and win the Stanley Cup was the
1971 Montreal
Canadiens, a club that Wilson knows something about.
"I went to Game 7 in Chicago. That was my birthday present from my dad,"
Wilson said. "Maybe there's some karma there. I'm looking all over the
place for it." Team concepts
What has made the Detroit Red Wings so
successful in recent years? Team togetherness, says Darren McCarty.
"We love to be around each other and love to play hockey," McCarty said.
"There are no egos on this team. We put all our personal goals aside. We
only have one: winning the Stanley Cup."
He also said the team was thrilled to have Sergei Fedorov back in the
lineup after his long contract battle. Nor was there any jealousy regarding
Fedorov's fat contract.
"He had to take care of his family," McCarty said. "He came back to play,
and played well. We know we have a better chance of winning because he's in
the lineup." Kozlov OK
Detroit's Vyacheslav Kozlov, who injured a leg in Game 2, was cleared to
play in Saturday night's Game 3.
"It was a routine charley horse, but he feels much better today than he
did yesterday," Bowman said.
Kozlov was injured in Game 2 when hit in the leg by Washington's Sergie
Gonchar.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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