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Playing keepaway Wings take control with great puck-possession gamePosted: Tuesday June 11, 2002 1:42 AMUpdated: Tuesday June 11, 2002 1:59 AM
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Mind over matter. It's just a saying. A variation on those three words is "If the mind isn’t sharp, the rest doesn’t matter." Such was the case for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4. Early on, it was apparent that they just were not sharp mentally. Symptoms included overskating the puck in the defensive zone, a bobbled pass here and there in the neutral zone and failed keep-ins at the offensive blueline.
Led again by the peerless puck-pursuit pressure of Sergei Fedorov and consistently reinforced by the other three units as well, the Red Wings did just that. They maneuvered between the bluelines with precision. They lost faceoffs, but forced turnovers, and came up with possession of the puck. They made moves with the puck one-on-one that generated scoring chances. They dominated. Carolina escaped the first period with a scoreless draw, but Detroit had forced the 'Canes out of their comfort zone, especially in their own end of the rink. The 'Canes routinely rim the puck around the boards on their breakout, with a defenseman getting the puck to a winger. Detroit denied that play by sending their wingers immediately to the boards in one-on-one coverage. That forced the Hurricanes to make direct passes in the middle of the ice in their zone, something they typically avoid. The resulting action in the middle of the ice was precisely what the Wings wanted. That is their strength. It showed on all three goals, with the Red Wings operating between the circles on the rush. First, it was Brett Hull sniping a beautiful cross-crease feed from Boyd Devereaux in the second period. Then it was Igor Larionov driving the center lane and knifing one home in the third, followed by a Brendan Shanahan tap-in on another deft pass from Fedorov. The Hurricanes could do little but watch -- reduced to bystanders as Detroit refused to relinquish control of the puck. That control now extends to the series overall. Three Stars1. Hull: He scored his 100th playoff goal, a testament to his greatness, but it is his matured, developed, all-around game that was again on display in impressive fashion. 2. Fedorov: He played with such passion and conviction and fluidity that it was hard to take your eyes off him whenever he was on the ice. 3. Jiri Fischer: He asserted himself physically in his own zone and many times took matters upon himself by lugging the puck through the neutral zone to key the attack. 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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