Ruslan Fedotenko's recipe for title: 2 Cups of will
Ruslan Fedotenko brings the puck into the offensive zone in the second period. (April 14, 2012) Credit: David Pokress
To Ruslan Fedotenko, whose two Stanley Cup championships are commemorated by trophy tattoos on the upper right of his back, it's not the flashy, talented teams who always win championships.
"The most committed team will win the Cup," he said.
Not a pure skill team? "To me, I don't think so," said Fedotenko, who won Cups with Tampa Bay in 2004 and Pittsburgh in 2009. "It takes some skill, but it's will . . . the teams that are grinding, chipping pucks in, doing the little things, that are successful, in my opinion."
His opinion certainly carries some weight.
The 33-year-old Rangers forward played in his 800th game March 4 against Boston and his 102nd postseason game in Game 7 against the Capitals before facing the archrival Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night.
"They're a good team," Fedotenko said, "and from watching in the playoffs, they're even better. They're forechecking hard, they have a pretty good lineup, and you respect that. To get to the conference finals, I'm sure they're doing a lot of things right . . . they've got a lot of good players; we have to be alert and play our game. We have a good team, too, that's why we're here."
Fedotenko scoffed at the idea that the Rangers should be patient and defensive-minded against the Devils.
"We need to have a great start and not test the water to see how this team is going to play," he said, "and try to create as much traffic in front of [Martin] Brodeur and throw shots from everywhere, try to hold on to the puck as much as we can and create offense."
Fedotenko, who was born in the Ukraine, had 14 points in each of the Cup runs, with 12 goals and two assists in 2004, and seven goals and seven assists in 2009. His career postseason numbers are 20 goals and 15 assists.
His two-way game remains solid. He has no goals and two assists in the first 14 playoff games entering last night, and is playing about 16 minutes a game, including about 1:47 per on the penalty-kill and is a plus-2. He had three hits and two blocked shots in the tight-checking 2-1 win in Game 7 Saturday. In nine career playoff games against the Devils, he had one assist.
Did the four-country exhibition season, opening games in Sweden, HBO's coverage and the hype for the Winter Classic in Philadelphia create any special bonds with this team?
"If you have a good chemistry on the team, even without going overseas, you still have good chemistry and a good group of guys," he said. "Whatever cards you are dealt, you play with that hand; if you have a good group of guys, it doesn't matter if you have a Winter Classic . . . you can look at the dots and see if you can make a connection, but it really doesn't matter."
Hockey, coaches say, is all about making the right decision at the right time.
In search of a third Cup, Fedotenko made a decision last summer. He signed a one-year, $1.4-million contract for a chance to play for John Tortorella again. He played 73 games, and scored nine goals and had 11 assists after scoring 35 points in 66 games in 2010-11.
He also played for the Flyers from 2000-02 and for one season, 2007-08 with the Islanders, the only time in his 10-year career that he did not skate in the postseason. Fedotenko will be a free agent this summer and doesn't want this series to end his -- or the Rangers' -- run.
"I feel like it's not been too many easy games, there's no time to relax," he said. "We have a good young team, everybody's playing well and everybody's still alert right now. If you're not, you're in the wrong business, or wrong sport. I feel the young guys have responded really well. The veterans definitely set the tone and lead the way."
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