Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios didn’t think he could have stopped Nicklas Lidstrom’s tying goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation in Saturday’s 5-5 standoff with the Detroit Red Wings.
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But, said the Hawks’ captain, “I think I would have been able to stop the guy who made the pass if I’d had my stick.”
Chelios had lost his stick while trying successfully to stop a breakaway by Keith Primeau.
“My stick got caught in Primeau’s skate when I dove,” Chelios said.
With the Red Wings swarming the net, all Chelios could do was watch as Lidstrom’s shot went by. “If I could do it over again,” said Chelios, “I should have gone into the pile with everyone else and taken a penalty.”
Detroit’s Steve Yzerman got the puck out of the pile and started the play that resulted in Lidstrom’s goal.
“I slid down, but I couldn’t get him (Yzerman) without my stick,” Chelios said.
Thriller: Jeremy Roenick called Saturday’s game “one of the most exciting I’ve been involved in for a long time. After that San Jose lullaby game (Thursday night), this made up for it big-time. I think the fans got their money’s worth. They saw a pretty good hockey game.
“You can say we dodged a bullet, or you can say they dodged a bullet. It’s one of those stay-tuned-for-a-later-date kind of things.”
Before the game, Roenick had said it would be a barometer of where the teams stood.
“The barometer says it’s going to be a heck of a playoffs,” he said. “They’re No. 1 in the league for a reason. I think they showed that reason tonight.”
Who’s good? Osgood: The Red Wings know a good thing when they see it. They’ve signed goalie Chris Osgood to a four-year, $6.5-million contract that will keep him in the organization through the year 2000. The deal is backloaded, with Osgood scheduled to collect $2.25 million in the final year of the deal. Osgood, 23, is leading the NHL in wins, goals-against average and shutouts in his first year as the Wings’ No. 1 netminder.