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Stars stellar in six

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Posted: Tuesday June 08, 1999 02:14 PM

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber, who wrote SI's Stanley Cup finals preview (excerpted below, right), spoke with CNN/SI's John Giannone on-site in Dallas about the upcoming matchup between the Stars and the Sabres;

John Giannone : Dominik Hasek has an Olympic gold medal and two MVP awards ... does he need a Stanley Cup championship to truly validate his career?

Michael Farber : In the minds of the NHL, absolutely. The Cup is the ultimate measuring stick. Hasek hasn't won it, although he's won just about everything else. If he does manage to lead the underdog Sabres to the Stanley Cup, he will be considered, along with Terry Sawchuk , Patrick Roy and, among the greatest ever.

This Week's Issue Dallas stars center Mike Modano was put to the ultimate challenge, the single most formidable test facing modern NHL players: You have 15 seconds to name as many Buffalo Sabres as you can. A sly smile crossed Modano's lips, the corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement. He plays hockey games, not parlor games, and he wasn't about to be ambushed by a pop quiz last Friday on which a score of anything less than 100 might be hung on the other team's bulletin board. Time was ticking. Modano was grinning. Finally he said, "I probably wouldn't get half." He hadn't yet been reintroduced to the team that's going to save the Stanley Cup finals. The NHL's showcase series -- known as Sweeps Week the past four years, not for its television ratings but for the dominance the Western Conference has held over its Eastern foes -- has been an embarrassment as the trailing clubs have drifted away like a schoolboy's attention in early June, the Florida Panthers' worthy effort in 1996 excepted. The glut of sweeps and the conspicuous strength of the top Western teams have prompted respected hockey observers to suggest that semifinal teams be reseeded to enhance the odds of a more competitive Stanley Cup final, an idea that might snare more television viewers but ignores the big picture of conference rivalry. Enough. The NHL already has tinkered with its game to distraction. There is nothing wrong with the playoff system that this Buffalo team can't fix. The Sabres, anonymous even within the mom-and-pop industry of hockey, won't beat the Stars for the Cup, but they have the ability to salvage it from the tyranny of another sweep ... But even if this Cup final was supposed to be a foregone conclusion before it began, the Sabres know they will be judged not by their pedigree but by their game. They're quick, opportunistic, fun and hard to discourage, one Cinderella who won't show up for the finals in a gown ... "Fifteen seconds, huh?" [Dallas defenseman Craig] Ludwig says in response to the question that was first posed to Modano. " Hasek , Peca , Woolley , [sniper Miroslav] Satan , [defenseman James] Patrick , Zhitnik , [tough guys] Paul Kruse and Rob Ray . Time must be up. Did I do better than Modano?" Ludwig did fine, and, ultimately, so will the Stars, a team with the hubris to have adopted the slogan NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. But before the Stars win the Cup in six games, the Sabres are going to have more than their requisite 15 seconds of fame. -- M.F. Issue date: June 14, 1999

Giannone : One of the great unanswered questions in the NHL is how do you beat Dominik Hasek? You think the Stars have a way that's a little unorthodox ...

Farber : Most teams attack Hasek by going right at him, by bumping him, by cruising his crease, by trying to upset him. Dallas plans to do things a little bit differently. Instead of going right at Hasek, the forwards are going to back off a little bit -- three to five feet. The reason they're going to do this is it allows them to raise the puck more on rebounds. Hasek covers the bottom of the net so very well, if you back up some, you have a better chance with deflections and with rebounds.

Giannone : Hasek is the signature player on the Sabres, but one player who's drawn a lot of attention is Michael Peca , for his physical play against the other team's best players. What will Dallas do to counteract him?

Farber : Michael Peca is 5-11, 180 pounds, pound-for-pound the best hitter in the National Hockey League. What the Stars plan to do is hit Peca before he can hit them, so look for Derian Hatcher , the big Dallas defenseman, to go right at Peca, who may be playing with damaged ribs.

Giannone : Buffalo loves Peca's attitude. When the Sabres won the Eastern Conference championship, Peca refused to accept the trophy, saying that he only wants the Stanley Cup. Michael, for four straight years in the Stanley Cup finals, we've seen four-game sweeps. Are we about to see another classic mismatch? After all, during the regular season the Stars finished 23 points better than the Sabres ...

Farber : Certainly the NHL hopes it's going to be different this time. But I think the Sabres are better than most people give them credit for -- they're a tough team, a resilient team, one that won't get down on itself even if it gets down early in the series.

Giannone : There were so many rules changes made this year to try and increase the offense in the NHL. Yet this seems to be a very defensive-minded series. Is it going to be exciting only for the most knowledgeable hockey purists?

Farber : Think of this as a classic pitchers' duel. Dominik Hasek on one end of the ice and the Stars defense on the other. Dallas is very good at clogging the middle of the ice -- they turn it into a mine field, you just can't get through it as Colorado found out, especially in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. So look for Dallas to turn the puck over in the middle of the ice and go the other way, and if they don't get a break, the Stars will simply dump it back in.

Giannone : In any Stanley Cup Finals, special teams always play a pivotal role. Who has the advantage in this series and why?

Farber : Surprisingly, Buffalo has the advantage with a very good power play. And you look to the point men, Jason Woolley and Alexei Zhitnik , as the reason why. They're very clever, they get the puck through to the net for rebounds and deflections. The Sabres' penalty-killing is also very strong -- they go hard at the power-play unit, they force turnovers, and Dallas has had trouble against teams which do that, notably St. Louis.

Giannone : Three years ago, the Stars and Sabres didn't even qualify for the playoffs. Now, sometime in the next week or two, one of these franchises will win its first Stanley Cup.

 

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