9601140378
DETROIT FREE PRESS
960429
Monday, April 29, 1996
METRO FINAL
1D
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1996, Detroit Free Press
BY SLAYING THE FIRST DRAGON,
WINGS PROVE PLAYOFF METTLE
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Keith Primeau saw the puck, stole the puck, and
whipped it into the empty net with a swing so hard it could have sliced
someone's head off. The arena seemed to gasp a final breath, then fell
silent.
One dead dragon.
Three to go.
"There was anger in our locker room before the game," said Primeau, who put
the empty-net exclamation mark on Sunday's 4-1 victory, which polished off
Winnipeg and advanced the Wings to the playoffs' second round. "Normally,
we're doing a lot of talking, pumping each other up. Today, it was just
quiet."
"Quiet means angry?" he was asked.
"Quiet means angry," he said.
What's that old expression? That which does not kill you makes you
stronger? The Wings emerge from this raucous first- round series not worse for
wear, but better. Hockey-wise, these Jets were good for the Wings. They gave
them healthy scoops of things they'll have to face again and again if they
really want the Stanley Cup -- including unreal goaltending, and a grit that
cannot be measured in scouting reports.
The Wings handled all of it, with the quiet patience of a surgeon who gets
squirted in the eye with blood. It might shock the outsider, but the doctor
knows it's just part of the business.
So, on Friday, it took Detroit 52 shots to score one goal, but there was no
panic. And on Sunday, it took just one shot, the very first, a snapper by
Slava Kozlov, that cracked the shell of Friday's miracle goalie, Nikolai
Khabibulin. And all the Jets' horses and all the Jets' men couldn't put their
magic back together again. The Wings would go on to score the way Chicago
folks used to vote -- early and often -- and the life drained from this
madhouse arena like water going down the tub.
"When Kozzie put that goal in and I looked up and saw it was our first
shot, I knew we were on our way," said forward Kris Draper. "It was a
different game than Friday. That's all we needed to know."
One dead dragon.
Plenty of good signs
Never mind if it was six games, or five, or seven. The truth is, for heavily
favored teams such as the Wings, first-round playoff series are like sand
traps on golf courses -- they're only there to frustrate you. The best you
can hope for is to survive them with minimal damage.
The Wings did. And once again, they showed they are master adapters. They
won the opener, at home, with Chris Osgood in the net, and the closer, on the
road, with Mike Vernon in the net. They won four games without a single goal
from their leading scorer, Sergei Fedorov.
They won by scoring late (Games 1 and 4) and on Sunday, they won by scoring
early. Needing to take the whitewashed crowd out of the game, Kozlov scored
twice and Steve Yzerman once in the first 17 minutes. The series was
essentially over before the first intermission. And when the Wings skated
past Winnipeg in the postgame handshake, several of the Jets took their hands
and said, "Go and win the Cup now. You deserve it."
"When do you start thinking about the next round?" Yzerman was asked, his
hair still wet from the postgame shower.
"I'm doing it right now," he said.
Dumb question.
Farewell, Canada
Now, I want to add something here. While the feature photo is the Wings
advancing, the wide-angle lens picks up something else. This was the end of
Canada in the 1996 NHL playoffs. The whole country! All five teams that made
the playoffs -- Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg -- have
been eliminated in the first round. The Jets not only go away for the season,
but go away for good, off to Phoenix, the latest victim of a profit-seeking
owner, and a sunny American resort town bent on becoming major league.
No Canada in the NHL playoffs -- with three rounds to go? You may be happy
for the Wings, but there is no way not to feel sad about this. Imagine no
American baseball teams in the World Series. Hockey is Canada's game; in some
places it is the only game in town, and the NHL is plucking those towns like
unwanted nose hairs. It seems unfair, insensitive, almost disrespectful. I
don't care what the bottom line shows. On Sunday, painted beneath the ice of
raucous Winnipeg Arena, was a thank-you message for charity money raised by
fans.
And when the game ended, not a soul left the building. Many fans were
crying, banging on the glass, and kept clapping until their team, the losing
team, came back out for one last good- bye.
Let's see that in Phoenix. Hockey in these smaller and suddenly unwanted
Canadian towns often galvanizes the community, gives it spirit and drive.
Heck, Winnipeg only got into the NHL because of an astounding community
effort, which included -- get this -- boycotting a local brewery. That's a
pretty brave thing, if you're Canadian.
None of it seems to matter. There are better dollars elsewhere. And this
morning, not a soul in Winnipeg, and not a soul in all of Canada, has a local
team to root for. Strange, no?
Ah, well. The Wings do not worry about such things. They have their eyes
locked on the castle atop the mountain. Today they wipe their swords clean and
plot their next attack.
One dead dragon.
Three to go.
Now. Let's see what kind of fire these St. Louis guys are breathing. . .
.
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HOCKEY; RED WINGS; PLAYOFF