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player ready...There may be a valuable lesson for coach Darryl Sutter in Ed Belfour’s terrific 41-save shutout Tuesday night in Detroit.
Although the common belief is that Belfour needs to play frequently to remain sharp, the moral of this story may be that he responds just as well-if not better-to a regimen of rest.
Because of the All-Star break, Belfour was coming off an eight-day vacation Tuesday night.
Belfour never wants to sit out and won’t agree that more rest is beneficial.
But Sutter has to wonder if using backup Jeff Hackett more than he has so far in the closing months before the playoffs will have Belfour fresher and sharper for the postseason.
Unsung heroes: They didn’t score a goal, but defensemen Cam Russell and Greg Smyth among the most noteworthy Hawks in Tuesday’s game. That’s because they both fought Bob Probert and held their own against the game’s most famous enforcer.
Smyth also didn’t hesitate to manhandle Wings defenseman Paul Coffey when Chris Chelios was being worked over at another stage by some of Coffey’s teammates.
“I don’t want to make excuses, but my first four games the opponents we played weren’t that physical, and I was adjusting to the system,” Smyth said of waiting until his fifth game after being plucked off waivers to get rave reviews. “I didn’t want take bad penalties in my first few games, and I was being careful.”
Memory lane: The Hawks and Wings will be wearing uniforms from a few decades ago when they meet Thursday. It’s part of the Hawks celebrating Nostalgia Night by rolling back some concession prices.
An untouchable: Jeremy Roenick, Chelios and Belfour are the core of General Manager Bob Pulford’s untouchable list. But whether the Quebec rumors were right or not, he should add Dirk Graham-supposedly offered to the Nordiques. Not many 34-year-olds rate as untouchables, but anyone who plays with as much consistency and desire as Graham, and is such a strong dressing-room leader, should be kept around.