Detroit Defends Territory

Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek credited defense and a little luck for the Red Wings’ win.

He neglected to mention his contribution.

Hasek wowed the crowd with many of his 23 saves as the Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-0, Thursday night in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series at Detroit.

It was the seventh playoff shutout for Hasek, a six-time Vezina Trophy winner still looking for his first Stanley Cup.

“They tried to be physical, but my defense did a very good job in front of me,” Hasek said. “Twice on the power play, I think they hit the post. I was very lucky.”

Brett Hull and Pavel Datsyuk scored for a Detroit team that played with much more focus than the one that dropped the first two games of its first-round series with Vancouver. The Red Wings rallied to win four in a row in that series to advance.

“The first game in the [Vancouver] series, the bounces didn’t go our way. Tonight they did,” Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman said. “They had some shots from the point and some of them hit the crossbar or the posts, and that’s what happens.”

Ottawa 5, Toronto 0--Now that the Senators have proven they can beat the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, they’re focused on the next step--beating them again.

“It’s only one game,” said Senator goaltender Patrick Lalime. “It’s a long series. You want to enjoy it when it’s done. But you’ve got to move on and prepare yourself for the next one.”

Lalime, who stopped 27 shots, and the rested Senators were certainly prepared, opening the Eastern Conference semifinals with a rout of the exhausted and battered Maple Leafs at Toronto.

Lalime became only the 14th goalie to record four shutouts in one postseason after getting three in the first-round series against Philadelphia.

The victory was the Senators’ first win in Toronto in six postseason visits.

Daniel Alfredsson and Martin Havlat had a goal and two assists each as the Senators set a franchise record for most goals in a playoff game.