Wings trio rattled Ducks in Game 1

                    DETROIT -- They annoy. They frustrate. The pester and fester. They talk. Sometimes, they
                    talk a lot. Mostly, they stir emotions, good and bad. "Basically, our goal this time of year," Kris
                       Draper said, "is to get people to hate us." It's an oddly noble goal for Draper and the rest
                    of the Red Wings' Grind Line, which never met a foe it couldn't irritate. One game into a first-round
                    series against Anaheim, hate remains attainable for Draper, Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty, who
                    took the opening faceoff and immediately began ruffling Duck feathers, which is exactly why Scotty
                        Bowman starts them. Draper is the fast skater and fast talker. He's the
                     pest.
                         Maltby is the edgy one, known to whack furtively, then draw a retaliatory penalty.
                         McCarty is the punisher, settling matters with his fists, when necessary.
                         All are better players than many opponents realize. All can hit and skate and score.
                     Together, they form the perfect change-up on a team loaded with players of distinct
                     abilities. One minute, the Ducks are chasing Sergei Fedorov and Steve Yzerman. The next
                     minute, Maltby and McCarty are thumping heads.
                         "It's a tough line to play against because they all skate well, and they all get in your face,"
                     said Anaheim star Paul Kariya, who ran into the Grind Line about half the time during the
                     Wings' 5-3 victory. "I don't hate anybody. It's enjoyable, because you want to play against
                     the best."
                         The best? Hold on here. Isn't a checking line supposed to be the last stop for
                     thick-legged luggers, the fourth and final line, one step from the bench? Isn't "grind"
                     supposed to be a code word for "slow"?
                         Isn't the Grind Line's relentless passion one of the elements that make the Wings so
                     difficult to defend? The line didn't get a goal or an assist Wednesday night, but it had an
                     impact. Just ask the Ducks.
                         "It's hard to call that a fourth line," Anaheim Coach Craig Hartsburg said, shaking his
                     head. "It's not their physical play that affected us, it was the way they got the fans involved.
                     Our guys hadn't seen that. We responded well to the hits. We didn't respond to the instant
                     pressure."
                         Basketball teams have instant offense. The Wings have instant obnoxiousness, and we
                     mean that in the best possible way. You won't meet three nicer guys than the Grind Liners,
                     which makes their quest for on-ice malice so curious. Factor in equally likable enforcer
                     Joey Kocur, out because of a lower abdominal strain, and you have the friendliest band of
                     marauders on ice.
                         Just don't expect them to play nice. Anaheim's Jamie Pushor, a former Wing and friend
                     of McCarty's, was the recipient of several head swats from his pal. When Pushor
                     responded with a punch, he was called for a penalty.
                         "You don't change anything just because you're buddies off the ice," McCarty said,
                     smiling. "Hey, things happen."
                         Things often happen quickly with the Grind Liners, who sense when physical measures
                     are necessary. They swarmed for the first 54 seconds in Game 1, and when the whistle
                     finally blew, fans delivered their loudest ovation of the night.
                         "We like to bang right off the bat," Draper said. "The best thing we have going for us is
                     our confidence, knowing we'll back each other up. ... Everything's fair game this time of
                     year, eh?"
                         Kariya handled the physical play, although he had a tougher time shaking Detroit's
                     defensive duo of Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom. Teemu Selanne didn't seem to like it
                     a bit, and was invisible until he scored in the third period. All things considered, the Ducks
                     would rather skate than hit, and it's up to the Grind Line to alter that agenda.
                         If it had shown signs of rust, it would have been understandable. Maltby missed 29
                     games this season because of injuries and a suspension. Kocur, who scored four goals in
                     the playoffs last year, missed 33 games. McCarty missed 13 games and spent considerable
                     time mingling with the elite on fancier lines.
                         Now, McCarty is back to his roots, and the line is back in its boots.
                         "Any time a guy gets a chance to play with Stevie or Brendan (Shanahan), that's fine,"
                     Maltby said. "We don't hold any grudges against him. That's one of the keys to our
                     success. Guys can play with anybody on this team."
                         And they can irritate any way imaginable. Sometimes it takes a well-aimed verbal dig
                     from Draper, or a stick jab from Maltby, or a punch from McCarty. The idea is to agitate
                     without getting agitated, to punish without getting penalized. McCarty was whistled twice in
                     the opener, but for the most part, the Grind Line did its job. Hate might be too strong an
                     emotion for the Ducks to muster. But then, it's early.
 
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