Sunday May 24 2pm
The Dallas Stars had the NHL's best record this season. Now they want respect.
That could come in the Western Conference final against against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Game 1 is today (2 p.m. EDT, CBC).
``If we want to go all the way, we have to go through them,'' said Benoit Hogue, who's been a hero for Dallas with four goals in the NHL playoffs, including an overtime winner against the Edmonton Oilers.
``We know that we can play our game, so it doesn't matter that it's Detroit.''
Easier said than done, said Stars coach Ken Hitchcock.
``The toughest part of playing Detroit is getting your game to influence their game,'' Hitchcock said. ``We have to leave this series with people respecting our game. It's not a dull game, it's a disciplined game.''
It's a game that relies on strong checking and a neutral zone chokehold to slow an opponent's transition game.
``They're tough,'' Red Wings forward Brent Gilchrist said of his old team. ``They check and check and check. It's unbelievable.
``But they pressure the puck and really try to control the middle, the inside portion of the rink, and they've had a lot of success with it.''
If Hitchcock is worried about criticism calling the Stars' style of play dull, he would do well to remember that the leading proponents of so-called boring hockey were the 1995 Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils. The Devils paralysed the heavily favored Wings in a four-game sweep with the now-infamous neutral zone trap.
``Dallas is the No. 1 team in the league. We know that,'' said Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman. ``They've been a very stingy team.''
The other key to the Devils' win was strong goaltending from Martin Brodeur, and the Stars are hoping that goalie Eddie Belfour will perform at the level that took him to the Cup finals with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1992.
That means Belfour, whose profile has slipped to the background since he was a central figure in the first round against the San Jose Sharks, will be in the foreground again.
``I'm looking forward to the opportunity,'' said Belfour, who leads the NHL with a 1.41 goals-against average and is third with a .937 save percentage. ``They're going to bring out the best in our team.''
Belfour was outstanding in an April 15 game against Detroit, in which he stopped 44 shots on the way to a 3-1 Stars win.
In goaltender Chris Osgood, the Red Wings have a young player who is still developing, but performing close to the expectations the team has of him.
``Osgood has been steady all the way through,'' Bowman said. ``He played against a topnotch goalie and won a series against one of the best goalies ever to play in the NHL (St. Louis' Grant Fuhr). As a young goalie, that can't but help your confidence.''
So can a 13-2-3 record against the Stars, in comparison with Belfour's 14-24-7 career record against the Red Wings.
The money matchup of the series is between centres Mike Modano and Sergei Fedorov.
Both enjoy similar reputations as offensive stars who have grown into strong two-way players, and that could mean they'll be shadowing each other on the ice.
``It's really tough for one guy to shut him down,'' Modano said of Fedorov, who leads the NHL in playoff goals with eight and is second in scoring with 15 points, one point behind teammate Steve Yzerman. ``It takes your whole line to shut him down. He's a great player. I'd pay a hundred bucks to watch him play.''
Fedorov said, ``I think it's always interesting if you have two good players playing against each other. Fans want to see that. But I think both teams know it's not so much about Mike Modano and Sergei Fedorov, it's about winning and how the teams respond on the ice.''
That's what players and coaches want to get after a long layoff since their semifinal series.
``There's too many tans in the dressing room, so it's time to play hockey,'' Hitchcock said.
