Stanley Cup Notebook
Fetisov inspired by fallen Red Wings
Posted: Monday June 15, 1998 05:52 PM
| |
Fetisov (right) and the Red Wings didn't have long to celebrate their Stanley Cup championship last season before Konstantinov was injured (AP) |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- At age 40, Detroit defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov had
no problem getting up for another season. All he had to do was think of his
friends who weren't there.
"I still have injuries, but I felt it was another chance," he said. "I
can't help but play and compete because I was lucky enough to get away from
the situation."
The situation he referred to was the limo wreck last spring involving
teammate Vladimir
Konstantinov and team masseur Sergie Mnatsakanov. Fetisov was injured
in the same accident, but recovered. Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov are still
recuperating.
"When you lay in the hospital, you're not always thinking about hockey,"
Fetisov said. "Lying next door was Sergei, Vlady. It makes you think about
life. It was a combination of a few things that pushed me through for
another season. People were unbelievable in Detroit for our families, and
we got so much support from the people."
Fun practice
Washington Capitals
coach Ron Wilson ran a 90-minute practice Monday, and the mood was upbeat.
Wilson even instituted a drill that had never been used before, one that
poked fun at veteran Esa Tikkanen.
Tikkanen missed a great scoring chance in Game 2, faking out Detroit
goaltender Chris
Osgood before shooting wide right past an open net. After Tikkanen
scored on the same play during Monday's practice, he kiddingly blamed
Wilson for the previous miss because the Capitals never worked on the play.
So Wilson sent several players out, one by one, to perform the move.
Tikkanen scored again, but a few others missed the shot -- including
goaltender Olaf
Kolzig, who missed it twice.
"I did it just to lighten the mood," Wilson said.
"You've got to go out there and have some fun," left wing Brian Bellows said.
"That's how you get the most out of guys. We work hard, but at the same
time there's always an element of fun."
If it seemed as if the drill was designed to poke fun at Tikkanen, so be
it.
"He'd be the first one to do it if it happened to somebody else," left
wing Todd Krygier
said jokingly.
One good skate
In the event the Detroit
Red Wings win the championship, coach Scotty Bowman doesn't plan on
skating around with the Stanley Cup again. Last year, Bowman put on a pair
of skates and went on the ice following the Red Wings' sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I had never been on the ice with the Cup and that's the reason I did
it," Bowman said. "I would have liked to play on a Cup winner, but I never
got to that level.
"It was improv. I didn't think about it until three or four minutes to go
in the game. I thought it was a good idea and then when Philadelphia scored
with about 12 seconds to go, I didn't think it was a very good idea. I
haven't got any plan to do it again."
Hold the celebration
Washington's Joe
Reekie was asked whether the Capitals were intent upon making sure the
Red Wings don't hold the traditional Stanley Cup celebration at the MCI
Center by winning Tuesday night's game.
"I don't want them to celebrating at all," Reekie said. "I don't care
where it is. I'd like to win four and celebrate in their rink."
Judgment call
Detroit defenseman Bob
Rouse, a 14-year NHL veteran, said the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s
were the best team he ever faced. Still, he thinks this year's Red Wings
team would give them a good battle.
"It would be a good matchup versus the Oilers," Rouse said Monday. "[With
Wayne Gretzky
and Mark Messier]
they had a lot of high-flying players. But I thought our defense would do a
good job of shutting them down."
In terms of team style, Rouse thinks the Red Wings compare more to the New York Islanders, who
won four Stanley Cups from 1980-83.
"We're able to play four [strong] lines and six defensemen, much like
those Islander teams," Rouse said.
Housley's ear
Capitals defenseman Phil Housley missed
Monday's practice with an inner ear infection.
"He went to see the doctor," Wilson said. "Whether he plays tomorrow, I
don't know until I hear from the doctor. He would have been at practice,
but the ear, nose and throat specialist could only see him at 10:30."
The practice started at 10 and ran to 11:30.
Brown's nose
Detroit's Doug
Brown doesn't mind breaking his nose for a cause -- like helping to win
a Stanley Cup game.
His nose still shows the results of an injury he sustained while scoring
the tying goal in Detroit's Game 2 overtime victory Saturday night. Brown
was bleeding profusely and received quick medical attention on the bench
following the goal.
"It feels fine," Brown said Monday, still sporting a dramatic mark on the
bridge of his nose. "Of course, it would feel worse if we had lost."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
NHL Finals
