Eyes on the prize

Wings need to seal the deal to call their season a success

The surprising Stanley Cup finals pairing of the underdog Carolina Hurricanes and the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings is interesting on many levels.

First, you have the Hockeytown Hall of Famers with their renowned roster versus the unheralded upstarts who hail from Tobacco Road.

Second, you have the first finals in history featuring two netminders born and trained overseas. No European netminder has ever hoisted the Cup, which will be a certainty this spring.

And you have two individual entrepreneurial owners who operate out of Detroit and have clashed on several fronts. Not the least of which saw the Hurricanes tender restricted free agent Sergei Fedorov an offer sheet during his contract holdout with the Red Wings in the 1997-98 season. The Wings, of course, matched the offer and went on to win their second successive Stanley Cup. So, at least from a business standpoint these organizations -- led by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch of Little Caesar’s fame and Pete Karmanos of Compuware -- are bitter rivals.

Other ancillary storylines of note include former Red Wing Aaron Ward -- who had to travel to Raleigh to emerge from Scotty Bowman’s doghouse -- returning to face his former team and tormentor. Ward also played college hockey for the University of Michigan, one of three Hurricanes to play NCAA hockey in Michigan, with Bates Battaglia (Lake Superior State) and Rod Brind’Amour (Michigan State) being the others. Then there is the Brendan Shanahan connection. Shanny was traded from Hartford (the Hurricanes' place of origin) to Detroit for Paul Coffey and Keith Primeau. Shanahan’s arrival in 1996 coincided with the franchise’s successive Cup wins.

Does any of this matter? Maybe a little. What remain important are the same elements when you talk playoff hockey.

Goaltending

Detroit general manager Ken Holland acquired Dominik Hasek because with him, he felt the Red Wings could win even when his team wasn’t in top form. That was not the prevailing sentiment previously. Hasek’s fine play and importance to the Red Wings has been apparent throughout the playoffs. He is one series win away from completing his already remarkable resume, so expect him to be in top form.

Unlike Hasek’s wildly unconventional style, Arturs Irbe is a technician who relies on precise footwork and economy of motion. He performed brilliantly in the Eastern Conference Finals. Against the Red Wings, his challenge is twofold on the penalty kill. First, at 5-foot-8 he has to find a way to contend with the perpetual screening and harassment by Tomas Holmstrom. Second, because he challenges aggressively to compensate for his diminutive stature, he is vulnerable on cross-ice one-time shots from the wide angle, a favorite play of Shanahan, Hull and Yzerman with the man advantage.

Special Teams

Detroit quite often kills penalties with its top four forwards as part of the forward rotation. The Wings are very much looking to attack when they gain possession of the puck and not just trying to run out the clock. They have six shorthanded goals in the postseason to prove their prowess, so look for the Red Wings to put pressure on Sami Kapanen especially, a forward manning the point. Keep in mind, the Hurricanes surrendered the second most shorthanded goals against (11) in the NHL during the regular season.

While the 'Canes offense is largely predicated on their power-play effectiveness -- especially for the Francis line -- Carolina has had tremendous success at even strength in the playoffs, outscoring its opponents to the tune of a plus 13 differential. During the entire regular season, the 'Canes were exactly even at even strength. In this series, that surge must continue.

Defense

Carolina might be the best man-on-man coverage team in the NHL. Its forwards are diligent between the bluelines, complemented nicely by the one-on-one zone coverage of the rearguards. All six blueliners are mobile and play a containment game with just enough bite to diffuse low-zone rotations and cycling. The Wings play a puck possession game -- disdaining the dump in -- making for plenty of great one-on-one confrontations -- the essence of the game and the way it should be in the finals.

Details

Both teams thrive on puck possession, which all begins in the faceoff circle. The Hurricanes are the best team on the draw anywhere, coming up with more loose pucks in scrambled faceoffs than any other team. The Wings dominated the Avalanche on faceoffs, which was critical in games six and seven. The individual battles between Yzerman and Fedorov for the Wings versus Francis and Brind’Amour for the 'Canes -- and the resulting offensive chances -- should be intriguing.

Further, these finalists play all of their personnel and both teams enter the series relatively healthy. The two facts go hand in hand. Paul Maurice spots his fourth line more than Bowman does, but the 'Canes' fourth liners pick up quality minutes on the penalty kill. Carolina’s bumping, grinding, gritty forechecking style has the potential to wear on the Wings' defense. Certainly, the Wings are in for the most physical series of the postseason, as the 'Canes have a nice mix of size and speed up front.

Intangibles

In the end, the 2002 Stanley Cup final pits the team most expected to represent the West versus a team that most gave but a passing glance to in the East. A mismatch? Possibly. This appearance in the finals won’t appease the Wings. Their goal since the first day of training camp was to win the Cup. While Carolina’s stated goal may have been the same, it became a real, tangible possibility only in recent weeks.

Besides taking on the talented Red Wings, the 'Canes must fight the urge of self-satisfaction. Their season is a success even if they lose. That is not necessarily the case for the Red Wings. If Carolina can embrace the rare opportunity they have earned for themselves, especially early in the series with a split of the first two games, then no one will talk of a mismatch again.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason for CNNSI.com. Eliot will be joining Sam Rosen and Gary Green on NHL Radio's broadcasts of the Stanley Cup finals.

 

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