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Fowl play Red Wings see season slipping away to Mighty DucksPosted: Tuesday April 15, 2003 4:10 AMUpdated: Tuesday April 15, 2003 2:32 PM
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ah, playoff hockey. You gotta love it, with the nuances of series play. It is the time of year when anything is possible and players define their careers. How else do you explain the Mighty Ducks pushing the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings to the brink of elimination? As was the case in the first two games, goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was magnificent. And centerman Steve Rucchin and defenseman Keith Carney were again diligent in shutting down Sergei Fedorov on the attack, limiting the Wings' catalyst to one shot on goal. Actually, the Ducks had no passengers, with each player fulfilling his prescribed role in executing coach Mike Babcock's game plan. The Ducks knew how they wanted to approach this series, and it is working to perfection. The Red Wings operated more or less under the premise of business as usual and it isn't working at all. When head coach Dave Lewis finally decided to shorten his bench, it was the fabled "Grind Line" that grabbed some pine, with the trio of Kirk Maltby-Kris Draper-Darren McCarty only playing around 10 minutes -- hardly seeing the ice in the third period when the Wings fell behind 2-0. Rambunctious Tomas Holmstrom also saw less than 10 minutes of even-strength ice time, even though he was the lone goal scorer with a late power-play tally. No, this was about the old guard. This was about Steve Yzerman moving up to play with Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan for most of the second half of the game and playing over 21 minutes, yet registering but one shot on goal. Yzerman gave it his all, but his frustration bubbled to the surface with a slashing penalty midway through the third after yet another Wings near-miss in front of Giguere. This after Shanahan mixed it up with Rucchin and Chris Chelios manhandled Paul Kariya at the end of the second period. Those incidents told the tale -- the Red Wings grudgingly acknowledged that the Ducks were playing their best game of the series. There finally was a sense that their season was slipping away. Magnifying the slim margin for error was the misplay on the second goal by goaltender Curtis Joseph, while counterpart Giguere was thwarting every bid at the other end -- driving the champs to distraction. It all added up to the Red Wings' first three-game losing streak of the year. Looking for an explanation? It is playoff time, when anything is possible, as one team gains confidence while the opposition begins to battle self doubt. Three StarsFirst Star: Giguere was again in complete control all night long -- confident and composed. Second Star: Carney battled, competed and did everything right in his own end. Third Star: Rookie Stanislav Chistov was dangerous offensively, outplaying more publicized Red Wings youngsters Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com. Eliot will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason and is also broadcasting games for NHL Radio. |
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