Red Wings, Avs headed for Game 7

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Posted 1:41PM on Thursday, May 30, 2002

DENVER - Dominik Hasek criticized his teammates after consecutive losses in the Western Conference finals. He took matters into his own hands this time. Hasek stopped 24 shots and Brendan Shanahan ended his scoring slump Wednesday night, leading the Red Wings past the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 to even the series. Game 7 is Friday night in Detroit. ``The one thing about playing with this pressure, it makes you feel so good when you win the game,'' Hasek said. After a 2-1 loss in overtime in Game 5, Detroit's second straight defeat, Hasek said his teammates were making too many mental mistakes. In Game 6, Hasek was spectacular at times in earning his fourth shutout of the playoffs this year and 10th of his career. ``They had their chances, but Dom came up big when he needed to,'' Detroit's Chris Chelios said. Detroit finally won a game when facing elimination after having lost four straight. The outcome put the Avalanche in a Game 7 for the fourth straight series and fifth time in their last six. ``We are not happy going back to Detroit,'' Colorado goalie Patrick Roy said. ``It is a big challenge, but it's been like this for us all year. We have a hard time making it easy on ourselves.'' Shanahan had been criticized for his lack of production and was despondent after hitting a post in the final two minutes of Game 5, which Colorado won 2-1 in overtime. He made up for it with 38 seconds left in the first period with his first goal since Game 4 against St. Louis in the conference semifinals. ``You tell yourself good things when you're getting close and hitting posts, but it's still very frustrating,'' said Shanahan, who has five goals in the playoffs. ``I personally wanted to have a big night, but I don't think it was a night of personal gains.'' Roy raised his glove, thinking he caught Steve Yzerman's shot from the slot, but the puck hit the ice and Shanahan chipped it in. Roy briefly tried to argue the call, then bent over and covered his mask with both gloves. ``We were lucky that the referees knew that the puck wasn't in his glove and didn't blow the whistle,'' Yzerman said. ``It just hit his glove and went down, as opposed to just staying in there.'' It was the first time Detroit scored the first goal in the series and the Red Wings' first lead in regulation since the third period of Game 1. Darren McCarty made it 2-0 with 6:33 left in the second after Peter Forsberg couldn't get to a back pass by Martin Skoula in Detroit's zone. McCarty beat Roy stickside from the left faceoff circle on the breakaway for his first goal since scoring three straight in the third period of Game 1. Colorado coach Bob Hartley gambled in the second period when he asked the officials to check the width of Hasek's stick but wound up losing a power play. The officials said Hasek's stick was within the 4 1/2 -inch limit, resulting in a bench penalty against Colorado that wiped out 1:23 of a power play. ``We had information that Hasek was playing with an illegal stick and down 2-0 with 1:20 on the power play, we thought the timing was right,'' Hartley said. ``Sometimes in games you try some things that work. Unfortunately for us, that one didn't.'' Colorado had to move defenseman Pascal Trepanier to forward for Game 6 because of injuries to Mike Keane, Dan Hinote and Alex Tanguay. It got worse in the second period when forward Stephane Yelle went out with a sprained neck after a collision with Detroit's Steve Duchesne. ``We will never use injuries as an excuse,'' Hartley said. ``We are a very proud organization, and we are going to battle to the last second. We are going to Detroit with the firm intention of coming back here for the finals.'' Notes: Detroit's previous win in an elimination game was against St. Louis in the 1996 conference semifinals. ... The Avalanche have won four straight Game 7s, including victories over Los Angeles and San Jose this year. ... Forsberg failed to register a point for just the fourth time in 19 playoff games. ... Hasek has faced 96 shots the past four games while Roy has faced 130. ... The winner of Game 7 will open the Stanley Cup Finals at home Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.