Devils Playing Like Pistons Of Old

This isn’t going to bring any comfort to Detroit fans already looking for ways to dump tranquilizers into the city water supply. Yet it has to be said.

The thing that is making Red Wings fans so nervous is this: New Jersey has the Red Wings down 2-0 in the Stanley Cup finals because the Devils play like the old Detroit Pistons.

Remember how it was in 1989 and 1990? Every team in the NBA hated the Pistons, whined about how their style of play was ruining the game, cried about their rough tactics and suffocating defense.

But those Pistons bent to the will of coach Chuck Daly and won consecutive championships. And they did it by defeating teams that perhaps had more talent. Sound familiar?

During the abbreviated NHL season, the Red Wings showed they clearly had enough talent to win. With offensive stars like Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman and Paul Coffey in the lineup, the Red Wings compiled the best record in the league.

Playoff hockey is different, however. The Red Wings should have known that after first-round exits in 1993 and 1994. In case they forgot, the Devils are now giving them a remedial crash course.

It started in Game 1 when Claude Lemieux rifled home the game-winning goal at 3:17 of the third period.

When you think of Lemieux, it is impossible not to think of Bill Laimbeer on skates. Lemieux is everything to the Devils that Laimbeer was to the Pistons’ glory days. He is a pest.

Lemieux flops, he grabs, he talks trash, he irritates, just as Laimbeer did. Yet he also comes up big in the playoffs, like Laimbeer used to, hitting six 3-pointers in the 1990 finals against Portland.

“He’s got a cocky attitude,” Detroit forward Dino Ciccarelli said. “You need guys like that on your team.”

The Red Wings have complained about the Devils’ defensive tactics. It seems nobody except the Devils likes the neutral zone trap. Even some of the Devils, such as forward Stephane Richer, aren’t so crazy about it.

Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said the Devils were holding the sticks of his guys. Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said Bowman should lighten up.

“I don’t really mind,” Lemaire said. “I think myself that we are playing a great game. I know that the players have a lot of fun playing it. They feel they are a part of the game.”

Detroit’s lowest shot total during the season was 22 in a January game against Vancouver. But the Devils outshot Detroit 28-17 in Game 1 and 23-18 in Game 2.

“I think they’re playing extremely well,” said Detroit forward Mike Krushelnyski, who was inserted into the lineup for Game 2 when a wrenched back prevented center Keith Primeau from playing.

“They’re bottling us. We’ll just have to find a way to muck it out in the corners. If that’s the way they want to do it, that’s the way we’ll have to do it.”

Again, that sounds just like the way the Pistons used to do things. They would force teams like the Chicago Bulls, teams loaded with offense, to play their style. And, of course, offensive teams don’t generally do well when they suddenly switch to the bump and grind.

“We can’t change the way we’re playing,” Detroit forward Darren McCarty said. “We’ll find what we’re made of.”

Another strength for the championship Pistons was their bench. With players like Vinnie Johnson, John Salley, Dennis Rodman and James Edwards, reserves often outscored the starters.

The Devils’ fourth line, nicknamed the “Crash Line,” features Bobby Holik, ex-Red Wing Randy McKay and Mike Peluso. It has certainly contributed to Detroit’s woes. “We’re shocked, we’re frustrated,” Ciccarelli said. “But Jersey’s been playing good hockey. Ask Philly.”