Stanley Cup Notebook
No miracles for Caps this series
Posted: Wednesday June 17, 1998 12:15 AM
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Pressure cooker: Kolzig totaled 34 saves, but the Red Wings again outshot the Capitals 38-31 (AP) |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Washington Capitals fans
were looking for a miracle Tuesday night. Who should show up but Moses --
or, actually, a man wearing a costume representing the Biblical figure.
Dressed in a gold-colored fabric, the white-bearded figure waved
a staff as he wandered through the aisles at the MCI Center during the
pre-game warmups. The fans' prayers were not answered, as the
Red Wings beat the Capitals 4-1 to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
Murphy's law Detroit's Larry Murphy
appeared in his 190th playoff game Tuesday night, moving him into 10th
place on the NHL's list. He had been tied with Paul Coffey at 189.
Goalies goalden Since 1965, 29 players have won the
Conn Smythe Trophy, including five multiple winners -- Bobby Orr, Bernie
Parent, Wayne
Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Patrick Roy.
Goaltenders have won the award 11 times, more than any other position.
One of a kind The Red Wings' victories in the first three
games marked the first time in 22 years that the first three games of the
Stanley Cup finals were decided by one goal. In the 1976 championship
round, Montreal beat Philadelphia in three straight one-goal decisions.
Swept away It was no surprise the Washington Capitals were
swept by the Red Wings after falling behind 3-0 in the finals. That's
usually the case. The Game 4 record of all teams trailing 3-0 in the finals
is 5-19. Team togetherness Ask the Red Wings why they've
been so successful, and "character" and "leadership" are usually in most of
their vocabularies. Kris Draper
emphasized another word Tuesday: "closeness." "One thing that
has always been said about our team is that we have been very close,"
Draper said prior to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals with the Washington
Capitals. "I think the accident brought us closer." Draper
referred to the automobile accident that left Vladimir
Konstantinov and Sergei Mnatsakanov with severe head injuries.
"We always said we were playing for one another," Draper said, "and
now we're playing for two integral parts of our team. We use that as
motivation." Winging it Washington's Joe Juneau is a
center, but he might be described as an "Offwing." Actually, the Offwings
is the name of the rock band that he plays for when he isn't playing
hockey. Juneau is a drummer for the band that plays benefit
concerts and sells CDs to help the Cam Neely House and Children's Hospital
in Washington. The multi-faceted Juneau also has a bachelor
degree in aeronautical engineering from RPI and is working toward his
master's in the field. The masters is slowly coming along, Juneau said.
"There's not too much time between hockey seasons," he said.
Scotty's take With over 30 years in the coaching
business, Scotty Bowman still finds it easy. In fact, the Red Wings coach
finds it easier than when he started.
Kocur (front) and the Red Wings were 3-for-4 on the power play (AP) | |
"You used to have to do a
little bit of everything," Bowman said."Now you have other coaches to help.
I don't work with the goalies at all." That job falls
specifically to Jim Bedard. Bowman says he relies heavily on other coaches
to handle specific areas -- Barry Smith for special teams and Dave Lewis
for defense. Bowman gives them all input, of course, but says
he likes to let his coaches do their jobs. Practice day
Before Game 4 Tuesday night, the Capitals held a short game-day practice
featuring mostly offense. They were working mainly on
one-timing the puck past goaltender Olaf Kolzig and
shooting from different angles. One drill featured a similar play to Game 3
when Detroit's Sergei Fedorov
swept in and beat Kolzig with a close shot for the winner.
The Capitals scored a total of six goals in their first three losses to the
Red Wings. More than 100 fans were at the Capitals' facility
in nearby Piney Orchard, Maryland, chanting, "Let's go, Caps, let's go,
Caps," in the final minutes of practice. A tough break
It's tougher having two days off between Stanley Cup games on the road than
at home. Ask Detroit's Jamie Macoun.
"At home, you can always play with your kids," the Red Wings'
defenseman said. "You run out of things to do on the road."
What did the Red Wings do for the most part in between Saturday night's
Game 3 and Tuesday night's game 4 at the MCI Center? "We
walked around the mall a few times and saw just about every movie that was
out there," Macoun said. Words of wisdom Even the
defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings need
some motivational words at the Stanley Cup finals. Written in
magic marker on the wall in their dressing room prior to Game 4 against the
Capitals: "Faith is to believe what you don't yet see; the
reward for this faith is to see what you believe." Film
critic Detroit's Kirk Maltby is
discriminating about the movies he goes to these days. One he
did like was, "Bulworth," the new Warren Beatty movie about politics.
"I'm not too big on the Godzilla thing, that will be a rental,"
Maltby quipped.
"Godzilla," of course, is the nickname for
Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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