But, in retrospect, the Blackhawks have plenty to build on for next year.

Belfour flourished in series

The brightest and best of the Blackhawks, goalie Belfour, flourished throughout the entire Red Wing series. He could have had his own saves of the week segment on ESPN, with save of the year reserved for snaring a Sergei Federov blast from 15 feet out in the lopsided second period of Game 5. Belfour’s record of one win and four losses did not accurately indicate his individual performance, as he yielded four games by four goals total. It would have been the greatest goaltending display in history had the Hawks offense put the puck in the net during crucial moments of the overtime periods that littered the series like octopi did the playing surface.

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What was once considered a career-threatening injury to superstar center Jeremy Roenick ended up being far less serious than originally diagnosed. The speedy return of Roenick did not pay off as he managed only a handful of scoring chances the entire series due to a lack of jump in his step, perhaps a result of the injury. If the Blackhawks are to return to the Western Conference Finals in the 1995-96 campaign, they will hope for a complete recovery from Roenick.

Norris Trophy candidate (top defenseman) Chris Chelios continuously showed why he is being considered for the honor a third time. Even after taking hard hits, both dirty and legal, from Red Wing behemoth forward Keith Primeau, Chelios kept his composure and played impeccably, save for the accidental tap-in on his own netminder in the Game 4 rout of Detroit.

The late arrival of center Murray Craven and defenseman Gerald Diduck helped extend the Blackhawks’ quest for the Stanley Cup, but they still needed more time to gel with the rest of the team. Center Bernie Nicholl’s scoring slump one goal in the final 32 games was not something the Blackhawks expected, but he will surely return to be a leader next season. The Chicago darling, centerman Denis Savard, will likely return after a dazzling playoff performance.

Not only has the Blackhawks’ season ended, but Sunday night also may have been the final game played by captain Dirk Graham. The center/forward hinted to the media late in the season that it may be time to hang up the skates to avoid the complete disintegration of his knees.

Graham, 35, is in the upper age bracket as far as hockey players are concerned and showed it a bit this post-season as younger players streaked past his tired legs. The Hawks’ speedy winger Tony Amonte and the wheels of other young forwards like Jeff Shantz and Sergei Krivokrasov have only helped mask an obvious shortcoming known as overall team speed.

The truth is becoming as clear as the cloudless skies:The Detroit Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup.

Detroit coach Scotty Bowman has coached six Stanley Cup champions, five with Montreal and one with Pittsburgh. It seems likely Bowman will keep the team focused and relaxed enough to eliminate either the Devils or the Flyers. Neither team resembles the Red Wings in star quality.

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True, the Flyers have the Legion of Doom in Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael Renberg, but the Red Wings can counter with the likes of Dino Ciccarelli, Primeau and Federov. Of course, that does not include Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, Ray Sheppard (fifty goal scorer two years ago) or Blackhawk killer Kozlov.

The Devils have a star in defenseman Scott Stevens, who is also in contention for the Norris Trophy. But the Red Wings have the third candidate for the Norris in Paul Coffey. After a decade and a half of service in the NHL, Coffey is still one of the most prolific skaters in the league as well as one of the smartest offensive-minded defenseman.

Coffey and his defensive partner Nicklas Lidstrom create the best defensive tandem in the NHL. If Gary Suter had not broken a hand late in the series against the Vancouver Canucks, he and Chelios could have taken the honors from the Red Wing’s dynamic duo. And possibly a drink from Lord Stanley’s Cup.