Stanley Cup Playoffs : Detroit Faces Oilers After Maple Leafs Crumble

Detroit goalie Glen Hanlon put one of the fastest team games in slow motion, then put the Red Wings into the Stanley Cup semifinals Sunday night.

Hanlon turned in his second shutout in three games as the Red Wings, completing a three-game comeback, beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0, to win the Norris Division final series in seven games.

“I don’t put too much stock into my play,” Hanlon said. “I don’t want to blow my own horn.

“When you’re in a groove, things slow down a bit for you. You almost see the play before it happens.”

Only three other teams in NHL history have rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series. Those teams were the 1942 Maple Leafs, who trailed Detroit, 3-0, in the Stanley Cup finals; the 1975 New York Islanders, who were behind Pittsburgh, 3-0, in a quarterfinal series, and this year’s Islanders, who trailed Washington, 3-1, in a first-round series.

Adam Oates, Steve Yzerman and Darren Veitch scored for the Red Wings, who open the semifinals Tuesday night at Edmonton. Detroit has lost 13 straight games to the Oilers.

It was the third career shutout and second in three games for Hanlon, who blanked the Maple Leafs, 3-0, in Game 5.

Hanlon, who played the last five games after Toronto routed Greg Stefan, stopped 30 shots. Toronto goalie Ken Wregget turned away 30 of 33 shots.

“It’s great we have a second goalie like that,” Yzerman said. “Glen turned the series around.”