BROOMBALL
As expected, Detroit completed its sweep of the Mighty Ducks with a
3-0 shutout in Game 4. That the Ducks put forth their most
competitive effort of the series was something of a moral victory,
as they played without their captain, Paul Kariya, who had broken
his right foot late in Game 3. The announcement of Kariya's injury,
sustained while blocking a Nicklas Lidstrom shot in the third
period of the 4-2 loss, came mere hours before game time.
It was just 48 hours earlier that Coach Craig Hartsburg, in the wake
of that third loss, had hailed Kariya's character as exemplary, and a
shining example for his teammates to emulate -- this before the
extent of Kariya's injury (which should take four-to-six weeks to
heal) was known. Afterward, Kariya, who spent all season determined
to prove himself fearless, asserted he would do it all the same way
again, even knowing that injury would result.
In Kariya's absence, the Ducks gave a spirited two-way effort,
surrendering the game's first -- and deciding - - goal to Tomas
Holmstrom late in the second period. Brendan Shanahan and Slava
Kozlov added tallies midway through the third, and the official
countdown to summer was on.
A TIME TO HEAL
Summer will be a healing time not just for Kariya, but also for
several other important Ducks. Teemu Selanne, who played Game 4
with a bout of the flu, also seemed to be suffering from a relapse
of the strained right thigh that had hobbled him earlier in the
season. At no time in this series did Selanne exhibit the powerful
stride that keys his explosive bursts of speed. And while he was
duly smothered by All-World defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom -- who goes
about his job with extraordinary efficiency but little flash -- he
clearly was physically handicapped.
Likewise, Steve Rucchin was suffering from a recurring groin injury
that kept him out of the lineup down the regular-season stretch.
While he battled through the pain as best he could, the effects of
the injury were obvious. At one point, after a false faceoff late
in Game 3, Rucchin fell to one knee and took a good 10 seconds just
to right himself.
Not that it would necessarily have made a difference against the
team Hartsburg called "the best team I've seen since I started
coaching," but without their top three players hitting on all
healthy cylinders, the Ducks don't have enough to beat Phoenix,
much less Detroit.
Then add Ruslan Salei, who missed Game 4 after re-injuring his right
shoulder early in Game 3, to the list of MIAs, and the Ducks were
playing with a virtual skeleton crew.
But, again, that didn't stop them from putting up a good fight in
the season-ender. The respectable effort against Chris Chelios &
Co. was a hopeful sign for the character of a young, undermanned
club going up against a potential dynasty in the making.
RESERVES CALLED, SIGNED
Prior to the final game, Anaheim called up a handful of reserves
from their minor-league affiliates. From among the group of Patrick
Lalime, Mike Crowley, Joel Kwiatowski, Mike Leclerc and Jeremy
Stevenson, only Leclerc dressed for the game, and played
respectably.
Perhaps more significantly, however, was the signing of young
Russian star Maxim Balmochnykh, Anaheim's second-round pick in
1997. Balmochnykh, a dynamic offensive player, was Russia's top
scorer at this year's World Junior Championships, tallying three
goals and five assists over seven games in leading his squad to the
gold medal. Balmochnykh also earned first-team all-star honors at
the WJC for the second consecutive year. Now just 20, Balmochnykh
will attend Ducks training camp next season and either make the
squad or earn a seasoning assignment in the minors.
FAN FRENZY
Anaheim's fans -- perhaps inspired by a free T-shirt upon entering
The Pond -- were less lethargic than usual in Game 4, proving that
home-ice can actually be an advantage. Detroit's fans also made
themselves heard once again, but this time in both flattering and
less-than-flattering ways. Continuing the sad tradition of victory
"celebrations" that has become a Motor City motif, inebriated Red
Wings boosters taunted the locals, littered the ice with debris,
engaged in fisticuffs, and committed acts of minor vandalism --
including lighting fires in the parking lot.
All of which proves that a classy team -- and Bowman, Lidstrom,
Yzerman, et al can be considered nothing less -- is no reliable
barometer of its fan base.
