What a contrast in offensive styles.
Detroit flows across the blue line as smoothly as butter spreading over a hot English muffin. The Blackhawks screech into their attack mode with the dissonance of a scratchy record.
The Red Wings rolled another victory off the assembly line Tuesday night, crunching the Hawks 5-3 under their big wheels. They are 11-1-3 in their last 15 games and opened a seven-point lead on the Hawks in the Norris Division.
The Hawks saw a winning streak blasted to pieces at three games. Their road troubles are reflected in a 1-8-1 record in their last 10 games away from the Stadium.
The Hawk who really went out kicking was goalie Ed Belfour, who had a right to be angry and kicking his bench chair. Coach Mike Keenan removed him after the Wings went ahead 2-0 at 11 minutes 52 seconds of the second period. Both goals were on breakaways by Sergei Federov and Paul Ysebaert.
”They were embarrassing their goaltender the way they were playing in front of him,” Keenan said. ”At that point, I knew we were not going to win. We were fooling ourselves.
”Sometimes you have to do something to get a response. I hoped they`d be embarrassed enough as a team to get an emotional response.”
Keenan`s saying he knew he was going to lose so early in the game will reinforce an attitude among some players that he gives up at times when trailing.
”Nice attitude, huh?” said one Hawk about Keenan`s waving the white flag so soon.
Belfour had kept the Hawks in the game in his 15th straight start. The Hawks, in contrast, hadn`t tested goalie Tim Cheveldae at all with their meager five shots by the time Balfour went out.
Cheveldae got caught straying when Dan Vincelette came from behind the net and scored on an unassisted wraparound at 7:13 of the third period while the teams were four-on-four. Dirk Graham and Bryan Marchment later scored in the closing six minutes.
Belfour kicked the goalie chair and some sticks behind the bench as he came off the ice in favor of Jimmy Waite.
”I don`t like being taken out of the game at any time,” Belfour said, though refusing to criticize Keenan for the shuffle.
The players held a closed-door meeting afterward.
”We`re going to go through thick and thin with this team,” Mike Hudson said, ”and we told each other we`re in it together. Keenan doesn`t play the game. We do. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.”
Keenan`s decision became more controversial when Detroit scored on its second shot at Waite, who was down on his knees to face a steamer from the right circle by Jimmy Carson at 15:23 of the second period to open a 3-0 lead. Carson scored again from the left circle at 11:04 of the third period, a fine shot into the upper right corner. Federov scored his second goal of the night :16 later, and the rout was officially in progress.
Federov has four goals and four assists in three games against the Hawks this season, in which the Wings are 2-0-1.
”He`s outplayed Jeremy Roenick by a large margin in all three games,”
Keenan said. ”That`s a pretty good player Federov`s outplaying.”
Roenick had said Monday he wouldn`t win any races with Federov. He was right. He couldn`t overtake the center as Federov broke out of the Wings` zone for the only first-period goal.
The puck came free for Federov when defenseman Steve Konroyd`s shot hit him.
”We were to blame for most of his points,” Konroyd said of the Soviet`s three-point night. ”I put one off his shin guards, and he gets going his first shift, and we`re behind the 8-ball.
”We got mad at ourselves when Eddie was taken out. We realize it wasn`t his fault. It was a kick in the pants for us.”
Federov split the Hawk defense with a pass in the second period to send winger Ysebaert on his way to a breakaway goal. Belfour almost got a glove on Ysebaert`s shot at the right crease edge. He had stopped an Ysebaert breakaway earlier in the period.
”I would have stopped the one he scored on, too, if my right skate hadn`t slipped,” Belfour said.
