Red Wings, Capitals Play ‘Nice’ Early

Maybe it’s because Detroit and Washington have so many old-school veterans with common ties, or maybe the Red Wings and Capitals have just been too worn down by the long season, but this year’s Stanley Cup finals may well be a showcase of “nice hockey”.

The way the teams made sure not to give up any bulletin-board material a day after the Red Wings’ 2-1 victory in Game 1, you would have thought the best-of-seven series had turned into a lovefest.

No put-downs or insults. Just one bland statement after another in the hours after a game that included only seven penalties for 14 minutes.

“We know that the Red Wings can play better but we also understand that we can play much better,” Washington Coach Ron Wilson said Tuesday morning. “Yesterday was a feeling-out process. We came out of the game with a 2-1 loss but we had our opportunities in the third period to tie it and send the game into overtime and a possible victory. But the bottom line is winning and losing, and how you play really doesn’t amount to anything at this stage in professional sports .”

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Commissioner Gary Bettman found himself defending Brian Burke, the league’s overseer of rules and punishment, at the annual Stanley Cup media breakfast.

“Somebody has to be the [judge]. . . . This is a democracy,” Bettman said of Burke’s disciplinarian role. “You rarely make anyone happy in this process. . . . You have to make a judgment as best you can. It’s not a popularity contest.”

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The NHL probably did not ask King Coach Larry Robinson’s input in choosing the referees to work the finals because two of the three picked are Bill McCreary and Don Koharski. Robinson had run-ins with both this season.

He was fined $10,000 after he was ejected for making an obscene gesture at McCreary in a regular-season game against Dallas.

And Robinson ripped Koharski, a St. Louis native, after Game 3 of the Kings’ first-round playoff series against the Blues when Koharski gave the Blues a five-minute power play that led to four consecutive goals. They helped the Blues complete a four-game sweep.

Robinson hasn’t been fined for his criticism of Koharski but he will be, according to Bettman, who said the league still needs to determine the amounts of a number of pending fines.

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Wilson, born in Windsor, Ontario, just across the Detroit River from downtown Detroit, is enjoying his time in the spotlight with the Capitals, especially after having been dismissed by the Mighty Ducks at the end of last season.

“In Anaheim, we had a five-year plan to make it to the Stanley Cup,” said Wilson, who coached the Ducks for four years. “Well, I made it, but with another team.”

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Washington forward Brian Bellows is still with the team but he could return home to be with his wife, Tracy, who is expecting their second child, before Game 2 tonight at Joe Louis Arena. Capital owner Abe Pollin, who did not attend Game 1, has offered to send a private plane to fly Bellows to be with his wife. . . . The Capitals had defenseman Jeff Brown in the lineup for Game 1, his first appearance of the playoffs because of post-concussion syndrome, and hope to have left wing Todd Krygier back. He missed the last three games because of a groin injury.

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Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman is 61-11-5 against Washington in coaching stints at Montreal, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit. . . . Since the best-of-seven format began in 1939, first-game winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup 47 of 59 times. . . . NHL general managers will meet in Washington, D.C., before Game 4 Tuesday and plan to complete recommendations for rule changes for next season. One issue sure to be addressed is crease infractions.