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Sporting News, The, May 31, 1999 by Larry Wigge

The time for words is over for the Avalanche, who have bowed through a season of adversity and stand as the favorite to win their second Stanley Cup in four years

They sat in their locker room with their heads down, like a beaten team. There was no inspirational speech. No emotional plea. No big discussion of X's and O's. Members of the Avalanche just sat there.

"We had studied films after losing the first two games against Detroit," defenseman Adam Foote says, recalling the scene in the locker room before Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. "We pointed fingers at one another at practice, and we still weren't sure how we would play until we looked around at one another.... It was amazing--like a lightning bolt hit the middle of that room.

"Suddenly ... each of us nodded as if we knew we were in this together.... No one needed to say a thing.... No one needed to hit a home run."

This defining moment marked the rebirth of a team that won the Stanley Cup in 1996, a team that had to sell off some of its depth and retool, a team that wasn't certain if its rookie coach was a puppet for management or the real thing, a team that fought off tears after 15 were killed at a high school in nearby Littleton, Colo.

That night in the locker room, the Avalanche changed from a team with its back against the wall versus the two-time defending champs to become the favorites to win another Stanley Cup.

The Avalanche simply let their talent take over. The players decided to be patient, composed, play it simple and wait. Wait for the opportunities to pounce on Red Wings errors.

"As our series went along, they got stronger and we faded," Red Wings center Steve Yzerman says. "I've watched the playoffs for a lot of years--and I've noticed every time: The teams that win get better as they go along in the playoffs. That's what we did the past two years, and that's what Colorado has done."

"In those (last) four games against Detroit, the Avs learned to play smart. They found a balance," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock says. "When you know you have eight or nine world-class players who can score, you feel that you don't have to put on a show. Now, they're patient; they feel the other team is going to crack, eventually--and they have enough weapons to take advantage of those mistakes."

How did this turnaround happen? Renewed depth and team speed.

"They have a lot of spring in their step," Red Wings defenseman Larry Murphy says. "They're playing with a lot of energy now."

In the last two years, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, Keith Jones, Jarl Kurri and Francois Leroux all have been replaced up front by Theo Fleury, Shjon Podein and sensational rookies Milan Hejduk and Chris Drury.

Three lines with speed to burn.

And a group of talented athletes all playing on the same page defensively--blocking off the passing lanes in front of the net to perfection, and batting down passes in the neutral zone as if they're using tennis rackets instead of hockey sticks.

"If you're overly aggressive, you can get burned. If you're careless with the puck, you get burned," Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman says. "You have to be just as patient as they are--or their speed will kill you."

Mike Keane was unsure of his feelings when he and Patrick Roy were traded from Montreal to Colorado during the 1995-96 season. He had been with the Canadiens for eight seasons and was captain of the storied franchise. He had even won a Stanley Cup with them.

But it didn't take long for him to love Colorado just as much as Montreal, particularly because his new team would soon be celebrating a Stanley Cup of its own--the first in franchise history.

Keane is now a third-line winger in Dallas, and for him to win his third Stanley Cup with a third team, he will have to get through Roy's Avalanche in the Western Conference finals.

"Don't ask me what you have to do to beat the Avalanche," Keane says. "Half of that team is different (there are actually 13 players remaining from the Stanley Cup champion in 1996). But they still have Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg up the middle, they still have Claude Lemieux and Adam Deadmarsh along the boards, they still have explosiveness on defense with Sandis Ozolinsh and Patrick's still Patrick, the best money goalie in the game.

"When they are on, they come at you in waves. And that's what we're going to have to protect against."

Different team? The last two seasons, with Marc Crawford behind the Colorado bench, the team didn't play man-to-man defense in its zone--the players were all over the place. Crawford was satisfied with sending his stars out there and hoping they would win with their talent and instructs. It didn't work.

Under new coach Bob Hartley, the team went through a bumpy 0-4-1 start, worst in team history. Everyone wondered what was wrong with Roy and wondered if Hartley, with the sitcom name, was a not-ready-for-prime-time coach.

A rash of injuries to nearly every defenseman decimated the roster. Still, the team stayed on its feet like a veteran boxer until January 10, when holdout defenseman Ozolinsh returned to the lineup.