Saturday, May 25, 2002
Hasek confident, Roy desperate on eve of Game 4
By JOHN MOSSMAN
AP Sports Writer
DENVER — On one side was a confident Dominik Hasek, surrounded by future Hall of Famers and playing in a comfort zone.
On the other was a desperate Patrick Roy, aware that he needed to summon his best effort yet to prevent his team from falling into a big hole in the Western Conference finals.
In a matchup of two of hockey's best goalies, Hasek and the Detroit Red Wings hold a 2-1 lead over Roy and the Colorado Avalanche heading into Game 4 on Saturday. With its second win in Denver, Detroit could clinch the series at home on Monday night.
Hasek, who needed to make only 20 saves in the Red Wings' 2-1 overtime win on Wednesday night, admitted he feels more at ease on the ice since joining Detroit this season.
“If I give up three or four goals, we can still score the extra goal, whether it's four or five,” he said. “Here, I can make a mistake and my teammates can win the game for me. In Buffalo, usually when I made a mistake, it was more difficult to win.
“Here, I'm with nine Hall of Famers. In Buffalo, maybe I was the only one. There are guys who have won Stanley Cups, scored 600 goals and won Norris Trophies. In every other stall is a big name.”
Hasek's main focus on Friday was getting enough work to stay sharp.
“I think I see enough shots in practice and just enough in the games,” he said. “I didn't face as many shots in the last game as before, but that isn't a concern. That is a dangerous team over there, and they don't need too many chances to score their goals.”
Meanwhile, urgency was the theme running through the dressing room of the Stanley Cup champions.
“We have to come out and play desperate hockey,” Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg said. “This is a must-win game. To go down 3-1 is not good. We've got to make it 2-2 going back to Detroit.”
Forsberg noted the Avalanche have been in this situation before.
In fact, the Avalanche have won their last six playoff games when they trailed in a series or faced elimination, including Game 7 of the first-round series against Los Angeles and Games 6 and 7 of the next round against San Jose.
How many times can they go to the well?
“I don't know,” forward Alex Tanguay said. “I guess we'll have to find out. We have to do it one more time.
“If we win (Saturday), it's a best-of-3. If not, then we'll have to win three straight. So I guess it's pretty much a desperate situation for us.”
Asked why his team seems to play better after a loss, Roy said, “It just shows that everybody wants to win bad. After a loss, it seems like we're all a little bit more focused. There's such a fine line between winning and losing right now. It's amazing that little details can make a difference.”
The Red Wings are familiar with Colorado's resiliency.
“We are very aware of how Colorado responds after a loss,” right wing Kris Draper said. “They seem to come out with their best effort.”
The Avalanche were outshot 42-21 on Wednesday night, and no one needed to tell them that that discrepancy can't continue, regardless of Roy's brilliance.
“I don't think we can give up 40-some shots again,” said Chris Drury, who scored in overtime in Game 2. “No matter how good Patrick is, a team gets that many shots, it's hard to win.”
The Avalanche have squandered six one-goal leads in this series, including a 1-0 advantage they carried into the third period of Game 3.
“When we get the lead, we have to work harder to keep it,” Forsberg said. “I think we've been sitting back too much when we have the lead.
“It was just Patty that kept us in the lead for so long, because I thought they outplayed us.”
Colorado coach Bob Hartley agreed.
“We need to skate better,” he said. “We know that we're a great skating team. When we're freewheeling, that's when we're going to generate a lot of offense. We just need to get back to our game.”
Centers Igor Larionov of Detroit and Stephane Yelle of Colorado were expected back in the lineup. Larionov hasn't played in the series because of a sore knee, and Yelle didn't finish Wednesday's game because of a third-period hit he took near the Red Wings bench.
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Hasek confident, Roy desperate on eve of Game 4
