NHL PLAYOFFS : Things Could Get Even Better for the Red Wings

The Red Wings were nearly perfect in a 6-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night in Detroit.

But nearly wasn’t good enough for a team that had the best record in the NHL and sees its first Stanley Cup championship in 40 years as a possibility.

“We’re going to have to play better,” Detroit forward Shawn Burr said. “In two games, we’ve only played four good periods. We need to play 60-minute games. We can play better, believe me.”

They have played well enough to lead the Western Conference semifinal series, 2-0, over the team that eliminated them in the first round in an upset a year ago.

“They are twice as good a team,” Shark goalie Arturs Irbe said. “They’ve added speed, they’ve added goaltending. I can tell that they believe in one another. They have the chemistry. That’s the difference.”

Detroit’s Paul Coffey, Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman and Dino Ciccarelli scored first-period goals, and Fedorov and Doug Brown scored in the second period for a 6-0 lead.

Coffey also had an assist, giving him 164 playoff points and tying him with Denis Potvin for most playoff points by a defenseman in NHL history.

A power-play goal by San Jose’s Mike Rathje 6:01 into the third period ended a Shark stretch of 232 minutes 36 seconds without a goal in Joe Louis Arena.

The last goal scored by the Sharks in Detroit was Jamie Baker’s game-winner at 13:25 of the third period in Game 7 of the first round last season.

Detroit put tremendous pressure on Irbe in the first two periods. He was the architect of San Jose’s seven-game upset in the 1994 series, and the Red Wings looked like they couldn’t wait to get at him.

“They came out like they were the team trying to get back into the series,” Shark forward Chris Tancill said. “They were good and we were bad. They’re too good of a team to fall behind like that. They’ll eat you up alive.”

Coffey’s goal came 1:37 into the game and the Red Wings never let up. Detroit had the first nine shots on goal and outshot the Sharks, 21-8, in the first period, 20-5 in the second and 46-17 for the game. When the Sharks did manage a quality shot, Mike Vernon would turn it away.

The furious assault led to a bevy of octopuses being thrown on the ice by the 19,875 fans. Four of the creatures sailed down from the stands just for the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.

The octopus has been a playoff staple in Detroit since the days when the NHL was a six-team league and eight victories were enough to win the championship.

Another touch was added with 1:40 remaining in the game, when a broom landed on the ice in front of Irbe.

Chicago 2, Vancouver 0--Jeremy Roenick came back from a knee injury to provide an emotional lift, playing left wing instead of his accustomed center, and Ed Belfour made 17 saves for the Blackhawks, who won in Chicago to go up, 2-0, in the Western Conference semifinals.

“I was like a little baby out there,” said Roenick, who injured his knee April 2 and had not played since. “I saw the way the people here welcomed me back, and I was next to the guys I love. I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life.”

Jim Cummins scored his first playoff goal and Patrick Poulin added the third-period clincher for the Blackhawks, who have won 14 of 16 series after winning the first two games. Chicago is 6-0 against the Canucks this season.

Vancouver, which plays host to Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday, has lost all seven times it has dropped the first two games of a series.

Belfour, who tied for the NHL lead with five shutouts this season, got the second of his playoff career.

NHL Notes

The Boston Bruins are expected to announce former center Steve Kasper as their new coach at a news conference today. . . . Philadelphia Flyer center Eric Lindros was honored as NHL player of the year by the Sporting News.