DETROIT -- Based on the post-Game 1 comments of Carolina coach Paul Maurice, we could see a lot of special-teams play during this suddenly interesting Stanley Cup finals series between the surprising Hurricanes and powerhouse Red Wings.

"We were aware from the conference call that happened (Monday) that the standard (of officiating) was going to be held high in this series," said Maurice, after his team's stunning 3-2 overtime Game 1 victory Tuesday night.

Clearly, after watching referees Bill McCreary and Stephen Walkom whistle 13 minor penalties (seven on Carolina, six on Detroit), the league wasn't kidding.

Now, with a mandate apparently in place, the teams must adjust to the standard or face a lot of time on the penalty kill. Maurice knows it's a fine line between fair and foul.

"We took more penalties than I would have hoped," Maurice said. "We will address that but we still have to play a physical enough game that we are involved. It's really going to be a bit of a tightrope out there figuring out what is good and what is not."

Maurice's team didn't fare too badly against the Wings' dangerous power play in Game 1. They killed six of seven chances, including a hooking call on Erik Cole that stretched into the overtime.

Despite their success, the Hurricanes will be living dangerously if they give the Wings that many chances in each game of the series.

"They control the puck so well in the offensive zone," Maurice said. "They rarely give you a chance to be aggressive on your penalty kill. And, you do want to be aggressive on the kill.

"But, if you run at any one of those guys, they are going to make you look real bad."

Detroit operates an umbrella-type of power play, using defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom at the middle point. Lidstrom, who operates with precision, looks to set up Brett Hull (at the top of the left wing circle) and Sergei Fedorov (at the top of the right wing circle) for one-time shots. Both Hull and Fedorov possess lethal shots that are particularly difficult for a moving goaltender to stop.

At the same time, crease crashing Tomas Holmstrom creates chaos in front of the net and Steve Yzerman looks for open ice below the dots.

By contrast, the Hurricanes run a more conventional power play, with defenseman Sean Hill and forward Sami Kapanen manning the points. Center Ron Francis quarterbacks the unit from the left wing side boards, while Jeff O'Neill and -- most recently -- Jaroslav Svoboda seek out cracks in the penalty-killing group.

The 'Canes power-play group likes to set up either Hill or O'Neill for one-timers from the left side. In fact, Hill scored the Hurricanes' power-play goal -- which came on a 5-on-3 advantage -- on a one-timer from the top of the left wing circle.

Interestingly, just seconds before the goal, Yzerman blocked a similar attempt by cheating out to Hill. But on the next attempt, Yzerman was too deep in the zone to get to the shooter.

Now that both teams have had an up-close look at each other's special-teams units, we can expect the coaching staffs to do some tinkering. And, in a series where there just might be significant power-play time, that tinkering could prove to be the difference.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.