Brothers are talk of town

Scott and Rob Niedermayer may be Anaheim’s feel-good story of the playoffs, but a couple of Red Wings players feel less than warm and fuzzy about the brothers.

Detroit’s veteran goaltender Dominik Hasek, for example, made it clear Monday that he thought Rob Niedermayer shoved him across the goal line and into the net in the third period of Game 2 on Sunday. The problem, from Hasek’s point of view, was that the puck -- shot by the Ducks’ Travis Moen -- was lodged in his equipment at the time. The goal tied the score.

To make matters worse, brother Scott won the game in overtime, 4-3, by threading a shot through a minuscule space between Hasek and the right post.

But it was Rob Niedermayer’s perceived role on Moen’s goal that had Hasek still steaming after the Red Wings’ afternoon skate at the Honda Center.

“Yeah, of course,” he said when asked whether the younger Niedermayer influenced the play. “When I saw the replay, it was clear that he pushed me. I thought it was my defenseman [at the time], so I didn’t complain. But after seeing the replay, I saw it was Niedermayer.

“I would easily have made the save, but he pushed me with his stick, probably about two feet back into the net, and it was intentional. The referee probably didn’t see it.”

Neither, apparently, did replay officials, who validated Moen’s goal by ruling, in effect, that Hasek’s momentum carried him and the puck across the goal line.

Rob Niedermayer said he was simply doing what most players would do in that situation -- trying to put the puck in the net after Hasek apparently stopped Moen’s shot.

“I was trying to jam at the puck,” said Niedermayer, who slid face-first toward the goal, stick extended. “I didn’t really see too much. I was on the ice.”

Late in the game, Scott Niedermayer was the recipient of some rough treatment by 45-year-old Chris Chelios, who hacked and chirped away at the defenseman during a faceoff.

When asked about the incident, Chelios chuckled. “It was nothing personal,” he said. “It’s part of the game.”

Said Scott Niedermayer: “That’s what he [Chelios] likes to do. I just ignore him.”

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With Chris Kunitz effectively out for the remainder of the playoffs, the status of Shawn Thornton becomes even more critical.

Ducks officials said that Thornton, who has a “lower-body injury,” participated in an off-ice workout Monday but not in the optional skate session. They said it is not known if Thornton will be ready for Game 3.

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Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said he was pleased with the ramped-up offensive power of third-line players Moen, Rob Niedermayer and Samuel Pahlsson. Noted for their defensive prowess, the three have followed Carlyle’s edict to “shoot the puck more.”

So far in this year’s playoffs, Pahlsson is tied for second in team scoring, Moen is tied for third and Rob Niedermayer is tied for sixth.

“They’re big men, hard to control,” Carlyle said. “When you play those minutes, there’s going to have to be some form of offense provided. We’re thankful it’s them delivering it at this point.”

joel.greenberg@latimes.com