Red Wings Grinding Kings Into Ground

Martin Lapointe may have wanted to be Guy Lafleur once, when every kid in Quebec in the 1970s and ‘80s idolized the flashy Montreal Canadien winger, but he relinquished those dreams long ago.

Lapointe, a stocky right wing, lacks the speed and quick hands that helped Lafleur score at least 50 goals in six consecutive seasons. His hair doesn’t fan out behind him as he skates up ice, as Lafleur’s mane did, and Lapointe’s strides are more powerful than graceful.

But it’s not always the Lafleurs who decide playoff games. In winning Stanley Cup championships in 1997 and 1998, the Detroit Red Wings learned it’s players like Lapointe and his “Grind Line” mates Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby who can become pivotal figures, a point reinforced Saturday when Lapointe recorded his first playoff hat trick and Draper added two goals in leading the Red Wings to an 8-5 victory over the Kings at Joe Louis Arena and a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series.

“A lot of guys here have different roles, and you’ve got to take pride in what you do,” Lapointe said. “If you’re not a goal scorer, you’ve got to bring something else to the table.”

Lapointe and Draper bring huge amounts of grit, a willingness to take a hit to make a play, to sacrifice offense for smothering defense and to make another lunge to clear a puck that seems unreachable.

“Our line is a checking line, a hard-working line,” Draper said, “but if we get some opportunities, we’ve got to put them in the net.”

Draper scored five goals this season and Lapointe had 16, but both eclipsed their more gifted teammates Saturday. Norris Trophy candidate Nicklas Lidstrom scored the last two goals, but Lapointe and Draper helped lift the Red Wings beyond the reach of the resilient but still overmatched Kings.

“They seemed to be our top line as far as energy,” Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman said. “I thought they had a lot of energy and they created a lot of speed for us.”

After Luc Robitaille cut an early 2-0 Detroit lead in half, Draper rebuilt a two-goal lead when he corralled an errant pass by Bob Corkum and jabbed the puck past Stephane Fiset at 3:32. When the Kings again crept within one, on Ziggy Palffy’s first career playoff goal at 4:55, Lapointe gave the Red Wings a 4-2 lead at 6:56 by poking the puck past Fiset’s arm during a Detroit power play.

“When the playoffs come around there’s a lot more emotions, and I’m the type of player that gets a lot of emotions,” Lapointe said.

Although the Kings trimmed Detroit’s margin to 4-3 on a goal by Sean O’Donnell after a scramble in front of the net with 24 seconds left in the first period, Draper and Lapointe essentially tugged the game out of reach. Draper’s shot from above the left circle at 3:27 of the second period was the last Fiset faced before being replaced by Jamie Storr; Lapointe, shooting from the near edge of the left circle at 9:33, inspired a shower of hats--and one octopus--from the sellout crowd.

“I think everybody wants to be the hero of playoff games, and tonight we had a couple of guys,” Lapointe said. “Every game it’s somebody different, and that shows our depth.”

Lapointe’s contributions Saturday included a ferocious shoulder hit on Palffy in the second period, which is more typical of Lapointe’s game. Asked whether he got more satisfaction from a goal or a hit, he laughed.

“Probably a hit,” he said. “I realize my role on this team. Every time I go out and score a goal, I think it’s a bonus. I’m not a goal scorer, I’m a grinder. When you play as a team and you get great passes from your center and the other winger, you’ve got to take advantage of those chances.”

Draper, who won 14 of 21 faceoffs Saturday and 25 of 36 in the series, knows the Red Wings value him and his linemates as much as they value Lidstrom, top scorer Steve Yzerman or 41-goal scorer Brendan Shanahan.

“If we’re going to be successful, this is what we need. We’ve got to have four lines contributing,” Draper said. “This is the time of year everyone likes to play. It’s nice that we’re able to contribute. We needed these five goals from myself and Marty. It shows you the character of this hockey club.”

That character has been tempered by tragedy and defeat, as well as triumph. After winning the Cup in 1997, the Red Wings lost defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov to grievous injuries they suffered in a limousine accident; the team dedicated its 1998 Cup victory to the pair but ran out of emotional and physical impetus in the second round of the playoffs last spring. After sweeping the Mighty Ducks in the opening round, the Red Wings took a 2-0 lead over Colorado but lost the next four games. With that in mind, they’re not likely to become overconfident.

“You’re never really in control of a series. We learned that last year,” Draper said. “The Kings are going to take a lot of good things from this game. This was an absolute battle for 60 minutes and they never quit. . . . We know we have to play better defensively. We didn’t enjoy this one. This is not the kind of game we want to play.”

Lapointe also downplayed the notion the Red Wings are in command. “I don’t think the guys are thinking that way,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot the last two years. We’re going to L.A. and it won’t be an easy one. It will probably be the toughest one of all.”

Maybe. But when the going gets tough, that’s when Draper and Lapointe get going.