Hartsburg’s Praise Low-Key

The last Duck coach to wax poetic about the Detroit Red Wings during the Stanley Cup playoffs got canned. But Craig Hartsburg probably won’t anger his bosses by praising Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman.

“I couldn’t ask for better,” Hartsburg said of facing Bowman, who has led the Red Wings to Stanley Cup championships the last two seasons. “He’s the greatest coach who’s ever coached in the league. Scotty Bowman has been unbelievable for the game.”

However, Hartsburg said he refuses to view the teams’ first-round playoff series, which begins Wednesday in Detroit, as a mere matchup between coaches. “It’s our team against their team, and they are a great team,” Hartsburg said.

You will recall that Ron Wilson spoke at length about his family ties to the Detroit organization on the eve of the Duck-Red Wing series in 1997. Because his father and uncle had been Red Wings, he believed coaching Detroit some day would be his dream job.

Jack Ferreira, former Duck general manager, fired Wilson 12 days after the Ducks were swept in four games.

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Wayne Gretzky had one fight early in his 20-year NHL career and now Paul Kariya has had one. The Duck captain tangled with San Jose’s Alexander Korolyuk in overtime Saturday and each received roughing minors instead of fighting majors.