Once the Jackhammers Started, Rest Was History

Several King players decided to move to another downtown Detroit hotel after they were awakened early Thursday morning by the noise of construction work being done on their riverfront accommodations.

But conspiracy-minded thinkers wondered if it was an evil plot by Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman to disrupt the Kings’ rest. Remember, it was Bowman who two years ago ordered maintenance workers at Joe Louis Arena to paint the visitors’ locker room a day before their playoff series against St. Louis, creating choking fumes that couldn’t be dispersed by giant fans.

The Kings, half-jokingly, wondered if Bowman had been at work again.

“Someone said they saw him with a jackhammer outside the hotel,” defenseman Garry Galley said.