Turning Point: Can Avs handle Wings' gritty guys?
By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
It's easy to dissect how the high-profile guys will impact the Detroit-Colorado series. But what might decide the winner will be a few guys from Detroit -- who aren't regulars on any All-Star team -- and how Colorado deals with them.
In his career, Darren McCarty has become more than a tough guy and relentless forechecker. He has scored some big goals for the Red Wings. But stirring up a mess around the rink like the Tazmanian Devil is still what he does best. Perhaps, better than anyone in the league.
|  | | McCarty is always a presence on the ice. He can pound you, and then beat you with a clutch goal. |
What is so tough about Detroit is that most teams only have one guy like McCarty -- and he's usually a Mini-me version. But the Red Wings have several players, who can create havoc as well as provide a clutch spark on offense.
Martin Lapointe scored a hat trick in a first round game against the Kings. He also sees time on the power play. And Lapointe's 121 regular-season penalty minutes signify the 5-foot-11, 215 pound right wing isn't afraid to mix it up.
Then there's Pat Verbeek. Throw away the stats. All you need to know is that his nickname is "The little ball of hate" for a reason.
Place Brendan Shanahan at the core of this group. He may not agitate like McCarty, but he backs down from no one. A guy who can score 40 goals and drop the gloves is gold in today's NHL. Heck, look at all the money Keith Primeau got, and he's never scored more than 31 times in a season.
All this tenacity without mentioning the likes of Kirk Maltby, Chris Draper or the Red Wings defensemen. Now, that's not to say Colorado doesn't have some versatile guys. They do. But this team doesn't have Mike Keane, Mike Ricci and Chris Simon from their '96 Cup run.
This by no means hands the series to Detroit, but only with those three departed players could the Avs match Detroit in the versatile grit-goal scorer-agitator department.
Brian A. Shactman is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com. |
