Reaction Runs Deep After Red Wings Go to Wide-Open Attack

Minutes after Detroit’s 5-4 Game 2 overtime victory, Coach Scotty Bowman said that his Red Wings’ depth had worn down the Washington Capitals, who became the first team in the history of the Stanley Cup finals to lose a game after leading by two goals twice in the third period.

On Friday, Washington Coach Ron Wilson disagreed, saying the Capitals had four lines to match up against the Red Wings.

“The line with Dale Hunter, Craig Berube and Chris Simon . . . I thought they were our best line,” Wilson said. “They made Detroit very uncomfortable. We’ve got to get more contributions from our other lines.”

Once the Red Wings fell behind, they opened the game up, and the quickened pace might have tired the Capitals down the stretch, according to Bowman. But don’t look for Detroit to start tonight’s Game 3 at Washington the same way it finished Game 2.

“That’s the way we like to play, but our coach doesn’t like it,” Detroit captain Steve Yzerman said. “We’re not a wide-open team.”

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Washington’s MCI Center will be sold out for tonight’s game and the Capitals are hoping their fans can give them a lift back into the best-of-seven series.

“It’s very important . . . that’s why you don’t want to play all the games on the road in the playoffs,” said Wilson, whose team rarely played before home sellout crowds during the season.

“You want to get some support and friendly atmosphere. The Detroit fans were great in their support of the Red Wings. I know our fans have never had a sniff of the Stanley Cup finals and this should be exciting for everybody.

“By no means is the series over. . . . Our games could have gone either way.”

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A year ago today, the Red Wings’ celebration of their first Stanley Cup championship in 52 years came to a screeching halt when defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov, and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were involved in a near fatal limousine accident.

Said winger Brendan Shanahan, “We think about them every day. They are always on our minds and in our hearts.”

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Even though Washington has made it to the finals for the first time in the 24-year history of the franchise, the Capitals still are scrambling for respect. The third page of the press notes for Game 2 at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena listed the rosters and statistics for the Red Wings and the Dallas Stars.

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Since the NHL implemented the best-of-seven format for the finals in 1939, only three teams that trailed 2-0 have rebounded to win the series. The last team to do so was the Montreal Canadians, who defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in 1971.

Only once has a team lost the first three games, then won the last four, and that was in 1942, when Toronto defeated Detroit, 4-3.

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Detroit forward Vyacheslav Kozlov missed the third period and overtime of Game 2 with a minor leg injury, but he is expected to play tonight. Washington defenseman Jeff Brown is doubtful because of lingering headaches left by a late-season concussion.

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The Chicago Tribune has reported that former King Coach Barry Melrose will be named coach of the Blackhawks if he can agree to contract terms with General Manager Bob Murray.

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The St. Louis Blues addressed their top free-agent priority, and it was not Brett Hull.

Defenseman Al MacInnis, called the team’s most valuable player by General Manager Larry Pleau, signed a three-year, $15 million contract that includes a no-trade clause and makes him the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL. The Blues also extended the contract of Coach Joel Quenneville, who has a .578 winning percentage in 1 1/2 seasons, for two years.

The Blues also signed forward Terry Yake to a three-year deal. Yake had 10 goals and 15 assists in 65 games.

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Brian Burke, the league’s vice president in charge of discipline, may be leaving the NHL office. Burke has interviewed for vacant general manager positions at Vancouver and expansion Atlanta. If he does step down, former New York Ranger coach Colin Campbell has been approached about the league job.

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USA Hockey, still stinging from a lamentable Olympic performance by American NHL players on and off the ice, will not hear a proposal calling for amateurs to return to the rink.

The proposal had been on the agenda for today’s USA Hockey board of directors meeting in Colorado Springs but was removed Friday after informal discussions throughout the week, USA Hockey executive director David Ogrean said Friday.

“When we first hit town here, we had intentionally scheduled an open forum so that people could discuss it,” Ogrean said. “We knew that it needed to be sort of a catharsis.

“There was a lot of frustration about it, and people had to just get stuff off their chest. That has happened. It has calmed down. Folks said, ‘Hey, let’s just get it behind us.’ ”

Team USA, made up of 23 NHL players, drew heavy criticism in February for its disappointing Olympic performance on the ice in Nagano, Japan, and a few players’ behavior in the Olympic Village afterward.

Within hours of being eliminated by the Czech Republic in the Feb. 17 quarterfinals, a small group of still-unnamed American players caused $3,000 in damage to three dorm rooms housing the American athletes.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.