Thursday, February 7, 2002
Olympics will spawn new allies
By JIM KERNAGHAN -- London Free Press
The heart of the U.S. Olympic hockey team skated out for the pregame introduction last night to lusty boos.
Boos!
Catcalls, right here in middle America, a region gripped as tightly by the high winds of American patriotism as any other in the nation since the Sept. 11 horrors.
In the new world of shifting sports alliances, goaltender Mike Richter, defenceman Brian Leetch and forward Mike York skated out as New York Rangers against the beloved Detroit Red Wings.
In other words, they were the bad guys. In a week's time, when they exchange their Rangers' red-white-blue for the red-white-blue of Team USA, everything will change.
So, when Toronto's Kris Draper took a pass from Mimico's Brendan Shanahan and Steve Duchesne of Sept Iles, Que., and flipped it over Abington, Pennsylvania's Richter to open the scoring leading to Detroit's 3-1 win, the 20,058 fans erupted.
Down at the other end, when Dominik Hasek of Pardubice, Czech Republic, stopped a local Michigander, Mike York, well, you'd think everyone in Motown had been handed a new sport utility vehicle.
And when Moose Jaw's Brent Gilchrist got the Wings' second goal against the embattled Richter, the Saskatch-ewan lad might as well have been born on the River Rouge plant doorstep with an auto worker's badge on his bottom.
Silence attended Petr Nedved's third-period Ranger goal, then the place erupted when Sergei Fedorov negated it.
Beginning in a week, though, things will be different. Richter will be the saviour between the pipes and guys like Shanahan will have their hero status shelved locally until the hockey hostilities in Utah end.
Hockey shares with top-level soccer a curious confluence of competition that can turn today's teammate into tomorrow's foe and conversely, today's foe into tomorrow's teammate. Or even linemate.
Some enmities could continue, particularly one between the Rangers' Theo Fleury and the Wings' Chris Chelios, who've been feuding for years. It continued last night. Fleury took a run at Chelios, Chelios slew-footed him later and threw in some invective that really got under Fleury's skin.
"There's no place in this game for (what Chelios said) at all," the irascible Fleury fumed. "I'll be giving Mr. Campbell (NHL vice-president in charge of discipline Colin Campbell) a call."
A league-leading 10 Red Wings cheering each other on last night will, beginning shortly, be dispersed to five different Olympic teams. From patting each other on the back as clubmates to clashing face-to-face in national team colours in the NHL's second Olympics.
Most Wings have been downplaying their forthcoming Salt Lake City competition but it's no secret they've all been honing their shooting eyes on the team's lone Czech, goalie Dominik Hasek.
The only Wing without a Detroit teammate on his Olympic team is outnumbered by Canadians (Shanahan and Steve Yzerman), Swedes (Niklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and Fredrick Olausson), Americans (Chelios and Brett Hull) and Russians (Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov).
They all remember how Hasek killed Canada in their shootout game in the '98 Games semifinal at Nagano. Three on the ice last night, Eric Lindros, Fleury and Shanahan, sure remember, since they were among the five shooters nominated by Team Canada.
The Rangers have seven Olympians, led by Canadians Lindros and Fleury, the three Team USA guys and then Radek Dvorak (Czech Republic) and Vladimir Malakhov (Russia). Lindros, just back from a strained knee, set up a couple of good chances and showed a strong forecheck.
"But not good enough," he said. "We had our chances, some flurries in front and wraparounds and screens but Dominik played really well."
Most will compartmentalize their game in the leadup to the Olympics by thinking team first, Olympics second. But it will be impossible for them not to consider strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of teammates as well as foes they'll be facing after the flame is lit.
"The Olympics will be exciting but we have three games to play first," Lindros said. "We need points."
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
