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Sunday, May 31, 1998

Unheralded players carrying Red Wings and Stars

By HARRY ATKINS / AP Sports Writer

DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings pride themselves in being able to use all four of their forward lines.

It's a good thing for a team that would be in big trouble against the Dallas Stars if they relied on high-profile players like Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan or Darren McCarty to score.

The defending Stanley Cup champions take a 2-1 edge in the best-of-7 Western Conference finals into Game 4 on Sunday at Joe Louis Arena mainly because unheralded players have produced.

It was defenseman Jamie Macoun on Friday, scoring what proved to be the winning goal in a 5-3 win in Game 3.

"If you've got a guy like a Fedorov out there, he'll have one or two guys spending extra attention to him," Macoun said. "That allows the second tier players, as I call them -- myself included -- to be open a little bit more.

"And you know, on this team, we've got a lot of players the defenses have to pay special attention to. Maybe that's what's making it easier for some of us to step forward."

Yzerman leads the Red Wings with 17 points during the playoffs, one more than Fedorov. But none of Detroit's top forwards have scored a goal in this series. Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who had two goals and an assist in Game 3, is third on Detroit's point list with 15.

"That's just the way this team is built," Yzerman said. "We always roll four lines. It's worked for us all season.

"Actually, our first job is to play defense. We believe scoring comes from that, and this way there's no pressure on any one player to try to carry the whole team."

The high-profile players for Dallas also have struggled to score. Mike Modano, for example, went eight games without a goal until beating Chris Osgood in the third period of Game 4.

Stars coach Ken Hitchcock toyed with some line changes during Saturday's practice. But his feeling is that top-flight players have to change their style of play once the playoffs begin.

"I think that Detroit has those players, and we have those players," Hitchcock said. "But I think that when you get into the playoffs, those players have to draw in with the rest of the group.

"This is not the time for finesse and a space and time all over the ice. It's a time for very little room. You have to create your own space with your work ethic and I think your skilled players have to draw into that type of game.

"They have to do a lot of grunt work that maybe they don't have to do during the regular season, if you're going to win."

The Stars also spent some time working on their disappearing power play during a morning workout at Joe Louis Arena. Dallas is 0-for-17 with the man-advantage during this series.

"We need all the power plays we can get," Modano said. "But it seems not to be working right now. It's tough, especially for all of us that are on it. We're trying to get out of this little rut that we're in right now. It grinds on you."

Another problem for the Stars appears to be the building. The Stars are 1-15-2 at Joe Louis Arena since the franchise moved from Minneapolis in 1993. In Friday night's game, the Stars watched as Detroit scored on four of its first 11 shots.

"What happens when you get down like that is all those negative thoughts come back again," Hitchcock said.

The Red Wings are likely to get an addition emotional boost Sunday with the return of Vladimir Konstantinov. The tough Russian defenseman, still recovering from last summer's career-ending limousine crash, visited the team after practice Saturday.

Konstantinov, who has spent the last six months in rehabilitation in Florida, is expected to attend Game 4. It will be his first game in Joe Louis Arena since helping Detroit clinch the Stanley Cup almost a year ago.

"He's going to have a big impact for Detroit, but he's going to have a big impact on our team, too," Hitchcock said. "He might be a Detroit Red Wing, but in our view he's a National Hockey League player.

"There's a strong sentiment of sadness in our group and I know that if they wheel him on the ice you're going to see two teams standing, not one."

Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday night in Dallas. If a sixth game is necessary, it will be played June 5 back at Joe Louis Arena.