Stanley Cup Notebook
Wilson: 'Remember 1942 and the Toronto Maple Leafs'
Posted: Sunday June 14, 1998 08:01 PM
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Wilson and the Capitals face the daunting challenge of turning around the series (AP) |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ron Wilson put things into perspective for a reporter
on Sunday.
Asked how he handled being down 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings in the
Stanley Cup finals, the Washington Capitals' coach
said it wasn't a particularly low moment for him.
"You're just assuming that losses are low moments for me," Wilson said.
"Nobody in my family has died in the last two years.
"Professionally, I love coming to the rink. I don't think if we lose
Tuesday [in Game 4 at the MCI Center] that a firing squad is going to show
up at my house and shoot me."
Wilson tried to put a positive spin on things.
"Hey, remember 1942 and the Toronto Maple Leafs,"
he said.
Wilson referred to the only team in Stanley Cup finals history to come
back and win the series after losing the first three games. The team they
beat, by the way, was Detroit. A tough climb ahead Brian Bellows' take
on coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the finals: "It is
kind of like climbing Mt. Everest with low oxygen," the Washington forward
said. "It is not [impossible] but it is going to be very, very tough."
Bowman aiming for another record Scotty Bowman is not only
within one victory of tying the record for most Stanley Cups, but also of
tying the record of wins in the finals. Saturday night's
2-1 victory over Washington was the 31st career Stanley Cup finals victory
for Bowman, leaving the Detroit coach one behind Dick Irvin and Toe Blake.
Bowman, whose team leads the finals 3-0, also can pull even with
Blake with his eighth Cup. Stevie Wonder Steve Yzerman's
playoff performance has been a big reason the Red Wings are one victory
away from their second straight Stanley Cup. His 24 points (6
goals, 18 assists) are tops in the postseason. And that isn't all. The
Detroit captain also has been great in faceoff situations, winning 66.2
percent over the first three games of the series.
"He works hard -- he's relentless," Capitals coach Ron Wilson said.
Suprising run for Macoun Red Wings defenseman Jamie Macoun wasn't
even thinking about the playoffs in late March, when he was with the
Toronto Maple Leafs. But that changed March 24, when he was
shipped to Detroit for a fourth-round draft pick. Less than three months
later, Macoun is one win away from the Stanley Cup -- his first since
winning with Calgary in 1989. "At this point I am still
just excited to be here," Macoun said Sunday. "I think after 10 years being
away from the Finals, I'm savoring this a little more. I'm just enjoying
myself right now. I appreciate the situation as it is.
"We have a darn good chance of winning it, but at the same time we have
seen stranger things happen so we don't want to say anything. Nothing is
impossible, improbable, but not impossible." Great comebacks
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs are the model for comebacks in the Finals.
But how about the 1975 New
York Islanders? Detroit associate coach Dave Lewis
played for the Islanders, who overcame a 3-0 deficit against Pittsburgh in
the quarterfinals of that spring. "The hardest thing for a
coach or player is to project four wins in his mind," Lewis said. "That is
the most difficult thing: `How can we do it? How can it be done?'
"Those questions rarely go away even when you present different scenarios
as a coach to the team. In the back of each player's mind that is the
hardest question to answer and it doesn't go away, it lingers."
Extra days The Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals will
get an extra day off between games. Game 4 won't be played
until Tuesday night, when the Red Wings can wrap up their second straight
Stanley Cup. "I don't know if it helps either team in
particular," Detroit defenseman Larry Murphy said.
"It will bring a better product to the ice. Teams playing on an extra day
off are more energized." 'None of your business' Is the
stress of the finals getting to Ron Wilson? The Washington coach has twice
snapped at local beat writers during press conferences this past week.
Asked by one if he had come up with any new motivational
talks, which is his forte, Wilson responded: "None of your business."
Following Saturday night's 2-1 loss to Detroit, Wilson was
asked to measure his disappointment. "I don't want to
answer questions where the answer is obvious," he said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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