Once Again, Wings Fight For Survival

The Detroit Red Wings face a series of must-win games - if they’re lucky. If they’re not, the next game could be the last for the winningest team in NHL history.

“It’s always do-or-die. This is as extreme as it gets, I guess. But, the old cliche, we’ve been in that position before,” Detroit forward Dino Ciccarelli said after the Red Wings’ 4-2 loss to Colorado on Saturday night.

For the second straight series, the Red Wings are on the brink of elimination, trailing 3-1 in the Western Conference finals with the Avalanche. Game 5 is tonight in Detroit.

In the conference semifinals against St. Louis, the Blues won three straight games to take a 3-2 lead, but Detroit won the final two. Steve Yzerman’s goal in the second overtime of Game 7 was the winner in a 1-0 game.

“We played a real good game in St. Louis in Game 6. There, we had to win two games, and here we have to win three, but we have to win the first game first,” said Detroit coach Scotty Bowman, whose team won 62 games in the regular season.

Detroit hopes to have defenseman Paul Coffey back. Coffey, who has four goals and seven assists in the playoffs, missed the last two games with back spasms.

The Avalanche will have Claude Lemieux back on the ice. Lemieux had three points in the first three games of the series, but missed Saturday’s game after being suspended for sucker-punching Vyacheslav Kozlov during Game 3.

Colorado coach Marc Crawford said Lemieux’s absence forced him to mix things up a bit, pointing to forwards Adam Deadmarsh and Mike Ricci, and defenseman Jon Klemm as major factors.

“We had Deadmarsh come in and play the right wing for Claude, and he did a great job and scored a goal,” Crawford said.

Ciccarelli said the Wings still can win the series.

“We’re not content. There’s still a lot of hockey left. We’ve got to win one game and worry about the rest after that,” he said.