Article Archive

MODANO CENTER OF ATTENTION Stifling coverage frustrates key Star 05/25/98 By Bart Hubbuch / The Dallas Morning News Mike Modano had Derian Hatcher's sympathy Sunday. "I felt bad for Mike," the Stars defenseman said. "It was like he had two guys on his back all game." Modano certainly wasn't hard to spot in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. All you had to do was look for the crowd of Detroit Red Wings whenever the Stars' center and primary goal-scoring threat touched the puck. With Joe Nieuwendyk sidelined by a knee injury, Modano fully expected to become the focus of the Red Wings' attention in this series. He learned just how suffocating that attention can be during Dallas' 2-0 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champions. It took practically all the energy Modano could muster just to get off two shots Sunday against Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood. Finding his way through a maze of Red Wings defenders proved virtually impossible. "You have to work for every inch you get on the ice against them," Modano said. It didn't take long for Modano's frustration to show. He took separate penalties for holding and hooking in the first 38 minutes, matching his penalty total for the first 11 playoff contests. Modano also was credited with two missed shots. But if Modano was angry Sunday, he didn't show it afterward. Mostly, he spoke in a low voice - almost a whisper at times - while wearing a glazed look of disappointment. "They're on you as soon as you have the puck," Modano said. "They back-check very well and don't give you much room to operate. There's not much room for lateral play." Modano appeared to be very active early, but the Red Wings' strategy of sending waves of defenders at him admittedly wore on his energy level. That was all part of Scotty Bowman's plan. Rather than have one player focus all his attention on Modano, the Red Wings coach employed a rotation. And with good reason, Bowman said. "With Modano on your side, you're never out of it," he said. Adding to Modano's frustration was the inability of any Star to make the Red Wings pay for diverting so much of their attention to one opposing player. Only Darryl Sydor and Jamie Langenbrunner mustered more than one shot on goal for Dallas. "As the game went on, our game tailed off and our effort began to slip," Modano said. "We sat back and never regained our energy or enthusiasm. We have to respond better than that." Copyright 1998, The Dallas Morning News. All rights reserved.