Quack quack...
In a preview of the first round of the playoffs, the Red Wings faced
the high- flying Mighty Ducks. The Wings extended their winning
streak to a season best seven games. Bill Ranford making a start also
remained unbeaten in net in the 3-2 win.
"Going from Washington to Tampa Bay was a real downer," Ranford
said, "I'm sure I didn't handle it very well. But, I'm a
professional. I know coming here was a kick in the butt. I'm just
so happy to be here."
Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman scored in the
win. Former Red Wing Tomas Sandstrom scored for the Mighty Ducks.
"If they get so many good players like they got, it's a huge
difference," Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne said. "Especially the
defense. When Ulf Samuelsson is going to be healthy, he's going to
make a big difference, too. With those moves, they're the No. 1
team again."
The Red Wings outshot the Ducks 33-18 in the game. More importantly
Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne were left off the scoreboard. The
Ducks boast the league's best power play as well and were shut
down.
The two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs. It
should be an exciting opening round.
VANCOUVER
With a 6-1 win over the lowly Vancouver Canucks, the Red Wings
clinched the Central Division crown for the first time in three
years. Led by an impressive output by the captain Steve Yzerman the
Wings remained unbeaten in eight games.
"I didn't even know about the divisional title," said Igor Larionov,
who had two assists, "Nobody was talking about that. Mainly, we're
just trying to get ready to go into the playoffs."
Tomas Holmstrom, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Sergei Fedorov and Brendan
Shanahan also scored in the win. Since the trading deadline the
Wings have scored 30 goals and allowed only 11. "I think the team
has been re-energized since the trades," Nicklas Lidstrom said.
"They give us a lot of depth."
ST. LOUIS
Well is was fun while it lasted, but its a lot better than a loss.
The Red Wings tried to go for a nine-game winning streak but fell
short in a 1-1 tie with the rival St. Louis Blues. "The streak's
still going," said goalie Bill Ranford, who had 25 saves. "We're
undefeated. That's all the guys in the room care about. We came
out and we got a point. I don't know for sure, but I think we're
the two hottest teams in the league right now. It's a tough
building to win in."
Sergei Fedorov extended his scoring streak to 11 games with his 25th
goal. Fedorov has seven goals and 17 points in those 11 games. The
Red Wings are 19- 2-3 when Fedorov scores and 21-25-4 when he
doesn't score.
Chelios didn't play because he had a strained groin. The Wings have
used a different lineup every night, and they are deep enough to do
it. "That's the thing that's been really unique about the run that
the team's had," Ranford said. "There have been different guys in
the lineup every night."
PITTSBURGH
Well it finally happened, they were bound to lose sometime. This
time is was at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penquins. A 3-0 loss to
the Pens seemed much more important to them than to the Wings.
"They have so many great players," Pittsburgh forward Jaromir Jagr
said after the Penguins' 3-0 win. "For us, this is huge."
The nine-game unbeaten streak was Detroit's longest since 1996 when
the Red Wings went 12-0-1 from March 3-31. Chris Osgood, who made
20 saves against the Penguins, had won six games during the
unbeaten streak.
"Pittsburgh always gives us a tough time," Igor Larionov said. "We
have to find a way to get more chances against that kind of
system. Barrasso played well, but we didn't give him a lot of
competition. You have to test a goaltender more than we did
today."
NASHVILLE
Time for a new streak? Well perhaps not with only two games
remaining in the season, but a good primer to get ready for the
show with about a week left. The Red Wings beat the Nashville
Predators 4-2 in a game that really didn't matter.
"Nashville is the type of team that tries to outwork you," said
goalie Bill Ranford. "They came at us the whole game without ever
letting up. That's what they thrive on."
Going into the game the Wings were still unsure of who they would be
playing in the first round. It was either St. Louis, San Jose, or
Anaheim. "There's pluses and minuses with all of them, and it shows
you just how close they all are that with a game or two left, we
don't know who we will be playing," he said. "But they all have
great goaltending -- Shields and Vernon in San Jose, Hebert in
Anaheim and Fuhr in St. Louis."
"Everyone knows that Chris Osgood is going to start in the
playoffs," Ranford said. "These games just give everyone a comfort
zone in case there's a time where I have to go in. This way, there
won't be total chaos, and the coach will have confidence in me."
CHICAGO
Tough town. Not my kind of town. Chicago is not my kind of town,
when it comes to devotion that is.
Making his homecoming return wearing a different uniform on familiar
ice, Chris Chelios got a not very nice greeting in his emotional
return to the United Center. He was booed loudly when he took the
puck on power-play duty.
"It was half and half. That's what I thought," Chelios said,
following Chicago's 3-2 victory in the regular season game over the
Red Wings. "It's not the homecoming I expected. But it's over and
now I can concentrate on the playoffs," he added. "I'm a Detroit
Red Wing now. I'm sure there are bad feelings right now, I guess."
Chelios had just four shifts totaling a little more than three
minutes before he went to the locker room for the final period. "He
was nervous. He wasn't sure how he'd be received on the ice. I
think Chelios was upset," Chicago forward Tony Amonte said. "He put
in a lot of work and time here. I hope this can bring closure to
the whole thing."
The Red Wings did not bring along for the trip Nicklas Lidstrom,
Igor Larionov, Steve Yzerman, and Larry Murphy. Scotty Bowman gave
them a rest in the meaningless game rather than risk any injury.
Brown and Drapes scored the only goals for the Wings in the loss. It
was the only loss against the Hawks all season long.
Playoffs
Well the Mighty Ducks will prove to be no pushover, that's for sure.
They seem to play the Wings very well. The Red Wings and Ducks
always play very close games with many going into overtime. The
clutch and grab style of the Ducks really wears down the speed and
finesse of the Red Wing forwards.
The Ducks basically have one power line with Kariya and Selanne
which is deadly in itself. Their awesome power-play unit anchored
by the reliable Freddy Olausson is the top of the NHL. So the
Wings, in order to beat Guy Hebert and the Ducks, will need to be
penalty-free. That in essence will limit the chances of Paul and
Teemu from the get go. The Wings boast the deepest lines in hockey
and will need to constantly execute line changes at the helm of
Scotty Bowman.
Can the Wings win? Absolutely if Yzerman is allowed to play his
game. If the Grind Line can provide a much-needed punch. If
Shanahan and Fedorov score timely goals. And if the goaltending
remains solid. It is time to make a run for a third straight
championship.
