As predicted, veterans clinch Stanley Cup
DETROIT -- Dominik Hasek asked to be traded to the Detroit Red Wings because he was sure they would take him to the Stanley Cup. Turns out it was the other way around.
Hasek finally won the Cup he has chased throughout a Hall of Fame career -- and 600-goal scorer Luc Robitaille did, too -- as the Red Wings beat Carolina 3-1 Thursday night to win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons.
Tomas Holmstrom, a surprising scorer for much of the playoffs, and Brendan Shanahan, a surprising non-scorer for most of the last two rounds, scored Detroit's goals in tightly played Game 5 that mirrored one of the most defense-dominated finals ever, with only 21 goals scored.
The Red Wings sealed it with Shanahan's empty-net goal with 45 seconds left.
Detroit, with one of the greatest collections of Hall of Fame talent in league history, went wire-to-wire in winning coach Scotty Bowman's NHL- record ninth Stanley Cup, breaking a tie with former mentor Toe Blake.
Just moments after the win, Bowman announced during a CBC interview that he was retiring.
Bowman, who first coached in the finals during the 1960s, became the second major pro sports coach in two nights to win a ninth title, joining Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Former Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach is the only other coach with nine titles in any of the four major sports.
But this title will be remembered just as much being Hasek's first, just as Ray Bourque's first with Colorado was a year ago.
Hasek, who at 37 may now retire now that he's got a Cup, finally gave up a goal -- Jeff O'Neill's line drive that he had no chance to play late in the second period -- after shutting out Carolina for more than 166 minutes.
But it was Hasek's almost perfect play over the final three games and the timely scoring of Brett Hull and Igor Larionov that turned around the series and finished a season dominated by Red Wings from start to finish. Their Presidents' Trophy for winning the regular season was all but assured by a 22-3-1 start.
From the time Brett Hull scored with just over a minute left in Game 3 to prevent Detroit from going down 2-1 in the series, allowing Larionov to win it late in the third overtime, Detroit outscored Carolina 7-1.
Detroit teased its fans throughout the first period without a series of good scoring chances without getting the first goal, only to get it early in the second period.
Holmstrom, skating down the slot, stuck out his stick with his right hand to deflect Larionov's pass from the right circle through Arturs Irbe's pads.
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DETROIT -- Scotty Bowman ended one of the most successful coaching careers in professional sports history by retiring immediately after winning his record ninth Stanley Cup.
"It's my last game as a coach,'' Bowman said on the ice after the Detroit Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 on Thursday night to win their third Cup in six years.
Bowman, 68, won five Cups with Montreal and one with Pittsburgh.
Bowman was handed the Cup by captain Steve Yzerman and skated around with it held high over his head.
He had been tied at eight Cups with his mentor, former Montreal coach Toe Blake. Only two NBA coaches, Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers and Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics, have won nine titles, with Jackson winning his ninth Wednesday night.
No other current NHL coach has won more than one Stanley Cup. It would take decades for any coach to match his 1,244 regular-season victories or 223 playoff victories.
Bowman said he was unsure what he would doing after leaving coaching.
"I got a contract with the Red Wings,'' he said. "I haven't worked out what I'll be doing. I won't be doing a lot.''
Bowman said earlier that he wouldn't be coaching following the 2003-04 season, after which the NHL will get a new labor agreement.
"I made up my mind in February that this would be my last year. I'm not an old man, but it's time to go,'' Bowman said. "I never knew before, but I felt this year that this was it. I'm so happy that I was able to go out with a winning team.''
When he was asked if his players knew he was going to retire, he said: "No. I didn't even tell my wife till tonight.
"I wanted to do it again,'' he said of skating around with the Cup. "I enjoy being with the guys.''
Although the Red Wings' payroll was the biggest in the NHL -- inflated by owner Mike Ilitch's additions of Dominik Hasek, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille -- it was Bowman and his old-school methods that glued together a club that many in Detroit felt had lost its way after winning consecutive Cups in 1997-98.
"I will enjoy it when I finish, when I finish coaching,'' he had said. "I was fortunate I was 32 or 33 when I started. ... I was fortunate to be with a team (Detroit) that spent quite a bit of money on players. That's the way I look at it -- I was fortunate.''
As the crowd of 20,000-plus at Joe Louis Arena wailed their approval, Bowman revealed to reporters a decision he said he had made in February.
"I didn't want it to be a distraction. I never told anyone because I didn't think it was what they wanted to hear,'' he said. "I just felt it was time. ... It's just time to enjoy what the other people enjoy.''
He coached during five decades, even as hockey has evolved from a time when players didn't wear helmets to a wide-open game, through the Canadiens, Islanders and Oilers dynasties to today, when teams are so well-coached, well-prepared and systematized that, Bowman said, "It's so hard to score, it's like soccer.''
Bowman persevered, a senior citizen who remained as far ahead of the coaching pack as he was when he was hired by the St. Louis Blues, about the time Carolina coach Paul Maurice, 35, was born.
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Congrates Moter City on finally winning the Cup after such a long time of being bridesmaids. :)