Detroit Gets Lapointe Across in 6-1 Win Against St. Louis

ST. LOUIS — Martin Lapointe permitted himself one long, loud scream, a heartfelt expression of relief and joy. Then it was back to the business of showering, dressing and packing.

There was no music in the Detroit Red Wings’ locker room Tuesday, no hugs or back-slapping. Lapointe and his teammates saw no reason to exult after their 6-1 rout of the St. Louis Blues launched them into the Western Conference finals for the fourth consecutive season. To them, it was merely a necessary step toward a second successive Stanley Cup.

“We’re a pretty focused team, and it shows in this dressing room. Right now, there’s not much excitement,” said Lapointe, whose two second-period goals put the game beyond the reach of the overmatched Blues. “We haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

The Red Wings, who will open the conference finals Sunday against the Dallas Stars at Reunion Arena, accomplished more in these six games than they realized.

In defeating the speedy, defensively sound Blues, they proved they can play a tight game or match anyone goal for goal. In sweeping all three games at the Kiel Center, they improved their playoff road record to 5-1, a key consideration because they won’t have home-ice advantage against Dallas.

In recording three power-play goals Tuesday they doubled their total for the series, turning a weakness into a strength when they needed it. And in goal, their one supposed soft spot, they got a strong effort from Chris Osgood, whose 2.01 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in the series eclipsed those of five-time Cup winner Grant Fuhr. Chased from the net Tuesday after giving up five goals on 23 shots, Fuhr had a 3.19 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in the series--in addition to one drop-kicked glove and hurled helmet after he was replaced by Jamie McLennan.

“I don’t want to think that I was vindicated or anything,” Osgood said. “I enjoy playing against him. He’s a classy guy and he had some nice things to say afterward.”

Nineteen Red Wings had at least one point in the series, including Doug Brown’s first-period goal Tuesday in his first game since he separated his shoulder April 18. Darren McCarty gave Detroit the lead at 12:08 of the first period, finishing a set play with faceoff man Kris Draper and beating Fuhr to the glove side. Brown essentially ended the game with his power-play goal at 14:29, taking a lead pass in the neutral zone from Steve Yzerman--one of Yzerman’s three assists--and lifting a shot over Fuhr’s left shoulder.

“I really liked the way we played in the first period too,” Blues Coach Joel Quenneville said. “We were down, 2-0, but it seemed like we had so many chances. It seemed like we were chasing them the whole series.”

Lapointe made it 3-0 when he converted the rebound of a Nicklas Lidstrom shot during a power play at 5:03 of the second period, and he extended the lead to 4-0 with a 45-foot shot from the left side at 7:56. After goals by Tomas Holmstrom and Yzerman, the only suspense centered on whether Osgood would get a shutout, but Jim Campbell spoiled that with 5:25 to play.

“Tonight they put us in our place and it’s a humbling experience. . . . They’re what you want to become,” Blues center Craig Conroy said. “We want to be able to beat teams like them.”

They also want to stay intact as a team. Geoff Courtnall, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis and Steve Duchesne can be walkaway free agents July 1, but management probably can’t--or won’t--retain all four. “I certainly hope to be in a Blues uniform,” MacInnis said. “I’m not putting my house up for sale and my phone isn’t going to be off the hook.”

Even Hull, who rejected a deal in March because it lacked a no-trade clause, sounded like he’s not packing his bags. “This is such a wonderful place and Joel is a wonderful guy to play for,” Hull said. “You tip your hat to the Red Wings and hopefully we can come back and be better.”

The best team won this series. “We had a team focus as far as little things, winning faceoffs and battles,” said Detroit center Sergei Fedorov, who will earn a lump-sum $12 million bonus because the team advanced to the conference final. “Obviously the experience we had last year was important. We know we can never stop working.”