Epic battle

Fans the real winners as Avs, Wings renew rivalry

The hockey fans in Denver know no middle ground. Since the Quebec Nordiques relocated and became the Avalanche, they have reached the Western Conference finals six times in seven years, winning the Stanley Cup twice. Talk about restitution for the six seasons of dismal results when the Colorado Rockies existed from 1976-82.

The same goes for the Red Wings. A generation of young fans in Hockeytown has known nothing but a dominant hockey team in the Motor City. Stories of the "Dead Wings" seem implausible to many current supporters. Yet for 17 seasons, the Wings were abysmal, making the playoffs just twice over that forgettable span from 1966-83.

Now these teams combine to form the marquee matchup in the NHL -- they are the two best teams and the rivalry is real. Add the immense star appeal on both sides and it’s no wonder the hockey world has clamored for this series since September. From the crease on out, the potential for drama is endless: Patrick Roy vs. Dominik Hasek. Rob Blake and Adam Foote defending against Steve Yzerman and Sergei Federov, while Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios contend with Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. On and on, up and down both rosters, this series has the most name recognition of any in the NHL since the first expansion in 1967.

The most intriguing individual battle is between the goaltenders. Roy is the deified goaltender whose legend continues to grow beyond his record numbers. Hasek is the legendary Dominator, successful by every measure except for never having won the Cup. He bested Roy in the 1998 Olympics in a shootout as the Czech Republic eventually captured gold, but he has never faced Roy in the NHL playoffs. This is his chance to round out his already impressive resume.

Then there is the interesting thread running through the comparison of Yzerman and Sakic. Both are captains of their respective teams and both wear No. 19. Yzerman took it as a nod to his favorite player, Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders. Sakic wanted to acknowledge his favorite player as well -- a young, rising star named Steve Yzerman. Both lead by example on and off the ice, as did the original bearer of the number, Trottier, now an assistant coach with the Avs. Too bad this series isn’t the best of 19, but three of the best No. 19’s of all-time in one series certainly will suffice.

The difference in this series up front may well come from the grinders, not the stars. They could be the difference makers with contributions coming in the form of ice time, hitting, checking, penalty killing and even production. To that end, Detroit has a distinct advantage with the veteran trio of Kirk Maltby-Kris Draper-Darren McCarty. Coach Scotty Bowman uses them more and in a variety of situations than does Colorado’s Bob Hartley in his deployment of youngsters Brad Larsen-Riku Hahl-Dan Hinote. Hartley did use his energy line more than he had previously in the decisive Game 7 win over the Sharks. That mindset has to remain part of the Avalanche’s overall strategy against the deeper, more versatile Red Wings.

The blueline comparison provides another noteworthy occurrence in that the three Norris nominees are in this series and all three -- Chelios, Blake and Lidstrom -- have won it previously. An interesting footnote, but hardly telling. These teams have the best top-four blueline crews in the game, obviously led by the aforementioned. Much like the forwards, though, this series may hinge on the ability of the third set of defensemen to supply quality minutes. Again, the Red Wings typically use the Steve Duchesne-Mathieu Dandenault tandem to a greater degree than the Avalanche count on the Bryan Muir-Martin Skoula combination. Hartley does at times go to a five-man rotation with Skoula as the fifth man, something that may be necessary as a minimum to keep his rearguards as fresh as possible.

Two more areas that might tip the balance of what promises to be a tight, hard-fought series are faceoff possessions and power-play productivity. Both teams are excellent on either side of the special-teams equation and both rely on their power plays -- Detroit to spark the offense and Colorado to sustain it. When it comes to faceoffs, we’re back to Sakic and Yzerman. The difference is that Sakic has struggled on the draw in the playoffs -- at least against San Jose -- while Yzerman has continued at the top of the class throughout.

The unknown, yet anticipated, element of this series brings us back to the number of stars involved. All have a chance to turn in a memorable performance that alters a game, or the entire series for that matter. And I’m sure we’ll see some of those exploits on both sides. Nevertheless, I still think a cumulative contribution from the unheralded and an unwavering delivery on the details will sway this series one way or the other. Ultimately, the stars will garner the headlines, while the supporting cast will provide the margin of victory.

Who will win then, you ask? All I can say definitively is fans everywhere. Enjoy.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason for CNNSI.com.

 

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