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 Detroit's Bowman a stickler for details
Posted: Tuesday May 11, 1999 05:38 PM
Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman didn't get to 200 playoff wins without being attentive to details. Not only has he managed to get the defensive matchups he has wanted against Colorado -- Chris Chelios and Ulf Samuelsson have played against Peter Forsberg's line -- Bowman even scouts the hotels. He ordered Detroit-area media not to book rooms in the Red Wings' hotel in Denver although one did manage to get in, much to Bowman's initial chagrin. Bowman is hockey's most powerful coach, but he can't stand up to a Starwood preferred hotel card. Stars would like a mid-period scrapeConcerned about deteriorating ice conditions -- especially in Southern arenas during the playoffs -- the Dallas Stars have been kicking around a solution that could improve the quality of the ice, and hence the play, in the final minutes of a period. General manager Bob Gainey would like to see a dry scrape of the ice midway through a period. The Stars have calculated that with a third Zamboni, the process would take four minutes. The time could be borrowed from the four 90-second breaks currently used for television commercials. The NHL and its broadcast partners would have to approve, but certainly it is an idea worth pursuing. Oilers' Sather has a dilemmaAssuming he isn't lured by a California franchise, Edmonton Oilers president Glen Sather has a dilemma with coach Ron Low. After being eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the first round, Sather said Low would be back if the coach wanted to be -- hardly a ringing endorsement. Sather has assistant coach Kevin Lowe, a former star defenseman, as a tempting alternative, but Ron Low is a close friend who coaches an appealing, wide-open style. The only thing Sather treasures more than entertaining hockey is loyalty. If Sather does force Ron Low out, look for the Oilers president to try to hook him up with one of the expansion franchises. The blunt, media-friendly Low would be excellent choice for a new team because of his aversion to the neutral-zone trap, the NHL's leading sleep-inducing formula. Avs out of control against Red WingsRookie Colorado coach Bob Hartley did a splendid job in righting the Avalanche after a rocky regular-season start and guiding it through a difficult first-round series against San Jose, but the team has been out of his control against Detroit. Despite his pleas for poise and discipline, the Avalanche has been playing silly and often selfish hockey against the defending Stanley Cup champions. In Game 2, for example, Colorado took three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and third-line center Dale Hunter was in the box four times. But Hartley better practice what he preaches. After Detroit went ahead 3-0 midway through the third period in that game, the coach responded by sending out Hunter, Jeff Odgers and Shean Donovan for the ensuing faceoff -- a line looking for trouble, not goals. This was a junior-hockey tactic, one that didn't intimidate Detroit and only deepened Colorado's embarrassment. Can Penguins' center lock remain effective?The Toronto Maple Leafs won their opening series against Philadelphia by outplaying the Flyers along the boards, but Pittsburgh has been gambling they can't do it twice. The Penguins have been using a center lock, forechecking aggressively with both wingers and having the center hang by the blue line to clog up the middle of the ice. While Detroit favors a left-wing lock and many teams employ a neutral-zone trap, the center lock is unique to Pittsburgh coach Kevin Constantine, who has done wonders in taking a river hockey club and getting it to think defense. Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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