4\29 The Wings played a solid, physical game, but were still unable to find any offense. The 
only Detroit goal was a Patrick Roy bungle that Holmstrom scooped up and slammed in. The Wings
lose 1-3, are are down 0-2 in the series which shifts to Detroit on Monday night.

4\28 A combination of slow legs and bad officiating cost the Wings game one 2-0. Chris Osgood 
was awesome yet again and the defense played well, there was just no offense all night. Next up:
Game 2 on Saturday at 3 PM in Colorado.

4\26 The Blues choked last night, so the Wings will play at Colorado tomarrow.

4\24 Still waiting for the Blues-Sharks series to end to see who we get next. A Blues win in 
game 7 and we'll open in St.Louis. A Blues loss and we'll be shufflin' off to Denver. Game one 
will likely be on Thursday. Aaron Ward should be available sometime in the second round.
     Bill Ranford retired today after 15 years in net, most with Edmonton. You'll recall that 
the Wings picked him up last year at the trade deadline. Also..........
     
"By Joel Kurth / The Detroit News
    SOUTHFIELD -- Hate for Hockeytown's favorite sons increasingly is landing Mario Fundaro in 
court. Awaiting trial on accusations he threatened injured former Red Wing Vladimir 
Konstantinov, Fundaro now is suing Southfield-based WKBD/UPN-50 for at least $25,000, claiming 
staffers teased him after declining his offer to box hockey announcer Mickey Redmond for charity. 
    The "smackdown" solicitation was a good-faith offer borne of loathing for WKBD's game 
accounts, insisted Fundaro, who acknowledges wanting to hurt Redmond but argued that Redmond's 
colleagues' turnabout went beyond fair play. "I just wanted to kick his butt because he's biased 
toward the Red Wings, but the staff didn't need to call me at home and malice me," said Fundaro, 
55, of Roseville. Fundaro claimed that WKBD staff repeatedly made prank phone calls to him in 
April 1999. In his handwritten lawsuit filed last week in Oakland County Circuit Court, Fundaro 
claimed to have an audio tape of the calls. He alleges the television station staffers asked him 
"Who is your father?" and threatened to kill him. Fundaro is demanding an on-air apology, but 
Sports Director Tim Swore calls his claims preposterous and perplexing. Swore said he no longer 
accepts Fundaro's repeated calls at the station because they've become increasingly profane and 
hateful. "He used to call us all the time and shout at us," Swore said. "I should be the one 
suing him." 
    Fundaro faces trial May 23 in Clinton Township District Court on allegations he threatened 
harm if Konstantinov appeared in a Christmas parade in Mt. Clemens. Konstantinov cancelled. 
    A Dallas Stars fan, Fundaro unsuccessfully sought to move the trial to a jurisdiction with 
fewer Wings fans. "What can I say? I just hate them," acknowledged Fundaro, who owns a dating 
service. 
    A failed candidate last year for the Roseville School Board, Fundaro now is aiming higher, 
challenging U.S. Rep. David Bonior in the Democratic primary. Bonior is a Wings fan. Fundaro 
wouldn't say if hockey will figure into his platform."

4\20 The Wings prove to be too much for the Kings who played their best game of the series but 
were still overpowered by the Randy Wings 3-0. Scoring were Verbeek, Murphy, and Fedorov(sh).
Chris Osgood was awesome once again, making unbelievable saves. The key stats for the series 
were the fact that the Wings went 7-for-22 on the power play and the Kings were 0-23. Next up: 
a few days off, then Round two vs. most likely Colorado or St.Louis.

4\18 Game 3 was much slower than game 2. The only thing that even resembled game 2 was the 
Wing's special teams. The Kings are 0-16 on the powerplay and the Wings have 5 powerplay goals 
in the last two games. The Wings lead the series 3-0 after a 2-1 win in L.A. last night. Chris 
Osgood was awesome. Scoring were Fedorov and Holmstrom. Next up: Game 4 at L.A. tomarrow night.

4\17 From the Free Press: "REDBIRD II: The flight to Los Angeles was the Wings' first aboard 
their new DC-9 -- and it was the first time all season they have not flown on a charter since 
their old plane, Redbird I, was declared obsolete and retired last summer.
  "You get spoiled by having your own plane," Lewis said. "Everybody has their same seat. The 
flight attendants know how to take care of you. You have certain guys drink different drinks. 
The card tables are set up the way the guys like them -- the little things that make travel so 
advantageous."

4\16 It took the Wings 93 seconds at the start of the game to build a 2-0 lead. And it didn't 
end there. Marty Lapointe lead the Wings with a hat trick to an 8-5 win, taking a 2-0 lead in 
the series. Scoring were Shanahan, Lapointe(3), Draper(2), and Lidstrom(1+1en). Next up: Game 3 
at L.A., Monday night, 10 PM EST.

4\15 From the Detroit News: "The NHL playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals will be broadcast in more 
than 170 countries and territories, including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, 
Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Poland and 
even Vatican City." 

4\14 The Wings survived a terrible power play (0-6) to edge the Kings 2-0 and take a 1-0 lead 
in the series. Scoring were Kozlov and Fedorov(en). Chris Osgood stopped 19 shots for the 
shutout. Steve Yzerman, who is fighting the flu, sat out at the last minute. Next up: Game 2 at 
the Joe on Saturday at 2 PM.
     "Five more years," said Bowman, when asked how much longer he wants to coach. "One more 
series. It's hard to say." Classic Bowman. 

4\11 Mostly from the Free Press: "Scotty Bowman said that everyone should be in the lineup on 
Thurday with the exception of Aaron Ward. "... The Wings called up defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov 
and goalie Aren Miller from Cincinnati of the American Hockey League to add to their postseason 
roster, and will keep forward Darryl Laplante and defenseman Jesse Wallin, who were called up 
for the Colorado game Sunday...Bowman said Aaron Ward (shoulder) could be cleared to play 
within a week...The schedule against the Kings doesn't bother Bowman. 
 "We have no back-to-backs (games) like there are in the other series," said Bowman, who 
worries only about a noon Game 6 start in Los Angeles, if necessary, after a Friday night game 
in Detroit. "The overall schedule is pretty good." 

THE SCHEDULE

Game 1 Thursday at Detroit; 7:30; Ch. 50, ESPN

Game 2 Saturday at Detroit, 2:00; ABC, CBC*

Game 3 Monday April 17 at L.A., 10:00; Ch. 50, ESPN2

Game 4 Wednesday April 19 at L.A., 10:00; Ch. 50, ESPN

Game 5 Friday April 21* at Detroit, 7:00; Ch. 50, ESPN

Game 6 Sunday April 23* at L.A., 3:00; ABC, CBC*

Game 7 Tuesday April 25* at Detroit, 7:00; Ch. 50, ESPN

  Notes: Games 5-7 if necessary; CBC listings are tentative.


4\9 They might as well billed it the Adirondack All-Stars at Colorado Avalanche, because that's 
what it was. Most of the Wings over 30 sat out this game, and the Avs avoided the season sweep 
with a 3-2 win. Scoring were Shanahan and Roest. Jesse Wallen played his first NHL game since 
being drafted a few years back. This was the first time an NHL game had gone without a penalty 
since Feb. 17, 1980 (Habs and Sabres.) Next up: Round 1 Game 1 at the Joe on Thursday.
    Chris Chelios is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday, and Darren McCarty not far
behind. In fact, Mickey Redmond said last night that he talked with Darren and he would likely 
play Thursday.....Marty Lapointe was the only player to play all 82 games this year.

4\8 The Wings lost to the Caps 2-4, but more importantly, lost Chris Chelios to a high stick. 
X-rays are pending.Scoring were Murphy and Larionov. Next up: at Colorado on Sunday. Those not 
making the trip include Yzerman, Chelios, Murphy, Larionov, and Lidstrom. 
    The Wings have announced that the first playoff game will be Thursday at 7:30 PM. It will 
be against the Kings.

4\6 St. Louis won last night, so the Wings will be the 4th seed in the playoffs and will play 
either L.A. or Phoenix.
    Joe Kocur has called it a year....and possibly a career. He will stay with the club through
the playoffs as a scout. Kenny Holland said that the remaining free agents will have to wait 
until summer to talk turkey. Those in the final year of their contracts include Osgood, Kozlov, 
Draper, and Larionov.

4\5 Brendan Shanahan signed a 4 year deal with a club option for a fifth year today in Detroit. 
Groovy. Shanny'll make $6.5 million a year while enjoying a no trade clause.

4\3 It started in the first period with a 3-1 lead, the Wings were playing great and the defense 
was tight. In the second, Sergei Fedorov stormed out of the gates with an early goal and things 
calmed down a bit. Going into the third with a 4-1 lead, the defense fell apart and the Habs 
kept coming. 5-5 after three. Overtime was much of the same, with the Wings showing signs of 
life again. Then, with 14.4 seconds to go, Nick Lidstrom fired a rocket from blue line to blue 
line, and right on the tape of Marty Lapointe. He was gone. Just him and Jeff Hackett. He roofed
it. Game over. Scoring were Shanahan(#40), Duchesne, Lidstrom(sh), Fedorov, and Lapointe(ot). 
Next up: 4 days off, then the Caps at the Joe on Friday. Only 2 games reaining.
    Steve Yzerman was honored before the game for the milestones he set this year (600 goals, 
900 assists, 1500 points.) Just to remind you, Shanny got his 400th, Verbeek his 500th, and 
Fedorov his 300th, all this year.
    Nick Lidstrom leads the NHL in points since the All-Star break (7 goals and 28 assists, 
35 points). Mike Modano is second with 15 goals and 34 points.

4\1 It was a hard fought battle in St.Louis with neither team giving an inch. The final: an 
appropriate 0-0 tie. Yzerman, Kozlov, and Holmstrom all sat this one out. Chris Osgood recorded 
his 29th career shutout and Marty Lapointe was about to pummel Chris Pronger when a linesman got 
in the way. Lucky for Pronger. Next up: The Habs at the Joe tomarrow night.