|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Controlling the ice Stevens, Devils throwing weight around again
Updated: Tuesday April 17, 2001 4:10 PM
The beauty of hockey is there are no mop-up men coming out of the bullpen, no garbage time at the end of a blowout. You play 60 minutes, not 59 minutes and 50 seconds, as the Carolina Hurricanes painfully were reminded after New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens nailed Shane Willis -- cleanly -- late in Game 2. Stevens, one of the few defensemen who can physically control a game, has a scrapbook filled of memorable hits. Detroit's Slava Kozlov was the recipient of one in the 1995 Stanley Cup finals. In last year's playoffs, there were a passel, most notably on Philadelphia's Eric Lindros . Stevens, a great open-ice hitter who has learned to rein in his temper, gets help from partner Brian Rafalski and the Devils forwards, who actually steer attackers towards Stevens as they approach the blue line.
Decisions, decisionsDefensemen are praised for toughness, hitting, shooting and passing, but the most critical aspect of every defenseman's game is decision-making. Consider Game 2 of the Dallas-Edmonton series. Stars captain Derian Hatcher, a crease-clearing bulldozer who will surely be on the U.S. Olympic team in Salt Lake City, foolishly iced the puck in the final minute, giving the Oilers a faceoff in the Dallas zone. Moments later, Edmonton tied the game. Then look at Oilers defenseman Igor Ulanov, another big hitter, who inexplicably pinched in the final minute of overtime, got caught and then compounded the initial mistake by diving at the Stars' shooter instead of picking up the trailer after hustling back on Dallas' winning goal. In hockey, like on Mother's Day, it's the thought that counts.
Luc still doing it his wayLuc Robitaille -- the smile if not the soul of the Los Angeles Kings -- might not be the coaching staff's favorite. He's slow of foot, and a liability defensively yet he remains one of the great goal scorers of his generation. Robitaille was benched for seven minutes in Game 1 after a desultory poke check led to a Detroit goal in the Kings' 5-3 loss. He bounced back in Game 3 and scored the important the first goal in his team's 2-1 victory, giving L.A. new life in the series. Robitaille still gets to the war zones on the ice from which goals are scored. He might not get there quickly, but Lucky Luc gets there. Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
