Lidstrom skating among the greats

Swede is one of the all-time best defensemen, just ask Orr

Vartan Kupelian / The Detroit News

The images are indelible. No. 4 is carrying the puck, hapless pursuers in his wake. He’s skating circles to kill penalties. He’s stickhandling and shooting.

Finally, he’s soaring through the air and scoring another goal for the ages.

Bobby Orr played defense like nobody else ever has. He played with flair and passion, pure instinct and brilliance.

Today, Orr watches the NHL, the league he dominated for a decade between 1966 and 1976, from a unique perspective. He knows what’s good and what’s not, especially when the subject is how to play defense.

That means Orr can appreciate like few others just how good Nicklas Lidstrom has been for a very long time.

“I’ve watched him a lot,” Orr said. “He does everything.”

That’s Robert Gordon Orr, the greatest defenseman ever, speaking.

• “Lidstrom is a guy who comes every night.”

• “His performance is the same every game. He’s as consistent a player as I’ve seen.”

• “He’s got great passion. There has never been a great player who didn’t have great passion or great vision.”

Best of his generation

Nobody will suggest Lidstrom, the Wings’ peerless defenseman, is Bobby Orr. What they are likely to argue is that there hasn’t been anybody better than Lidstrom at the position over the past 16 seasons and maybe even since Orr left the NHL in 1979.

In his prime, Orr won every possible honor. Twice, in 1969-70 and 1974-75, he became the only defenseman to win the scoring title. He won the Hart Trophy as most valuable player three times and twice was the playoff MVP for leading the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972. In 1970, Orr was Sports Illustrated’s Man of the Year, a rare honor for a hockey player.

The Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman was Orr’s birthright. He won it eight straight years beginning in 1968. It is a mark approached by very few. Doug Harvey, who played for Montreal and the New York Rangers, won the Norris Trophy seven times before Orr. Raymond Bourque won it five times as Orr’s successor with the Bruins.

And now Lidstrom has won it five times since the 2000-2001 season. In 2003, Lidstrom became the first defenseman since Orr to win the Norris Trophy three straight years. Another for Lidstrom this year is a distinct possibility.

Orr is considered one of the three greatest players in hockey history alongside Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky. Each defined his position. It wasn’t until after Howe that the term “power forward” was identified. Gretzky combined sublime playmaking skills — the calling card of any great center — with scoring skills never before displayed even by the purest snipers.

Orr demonstrated that defensemen could also play offense and produce points in bunches. It was always difficult, if not quite impossible, for opponents to play offense when Orr was on the ice. They were all too busy trying to prevent Orr from beating them with his offense. That was an innovative approach to defense.

In perhaps the highest compliment Lidstrom has ever received, Orr said he sees “some similarities” in their games.

“He does the things I like to see a defenseman do,” Orr said. “He reads the ice — all the great players read the ice — and he does it as well as anybody. There haven’t been many like him when it comes to reading what’s happening. He sees what’s going to happen.

“The way he shoots the puck, passes, anticipates, jumps up — or doesn’t jump up — he does everything.”

Understanding the game

The feel for a game is innate. Instincts aren’t taught, they’re the product of an intuitive understanding of how a game is played and are nurtured over a period of time. Lidstrom arrived in Detroit as an offensive defenseman and power-play specialist. With experience and a solid work ethic, he has matured into a five-time Norris Trophy winner.

The vision, Lidstrom said: “You just have it.

“I played other sports growing up and developed that sense,” he said. “As the years have gone by, I’ve adjusted to playing in the NHL and worked hard (on it).

“The game is so fast, you have to have instincts. You don’t have time to think about much. I’ve been able to develop that.”

For all the things he does, Lidstrom is the mainspring for the Wings. He is their Bobby Orr, minus the flash and dash. For all these years, Lidstrom has played defense like Jean Beliveau played center for those superlative Montreal teams — with elegance and grace.

“It’s everything he does,” said Johan Franzen, Lidstrom’s Swedish teammate with the Wings. “All his numbers speak for themselves. He’s so calm. He’s always buying himself time. He never seems to be under pressure somehow.”

Lidstrom, who was born in 1970, never saw Orr play, live or on television. Lidstrom has seen highlight reels and he learned of Orr’s reputation from teammates.

“When I first came to Detroit, the older defensemen on the team, like Paul Coffey and Brad McCrimmon, would talk about Orr,” said Lidstrom, whose idol growing up was another defenseman from Sweden, Borje Salming. A year ago, The Hockey News called Lidstrom the best European-born player ever in the NHL.

Follow the leader

The Wings’ defense feeds off its leader. It’s a group known for its mobility and savvy. Its strength is in the ability to move the puck and get it out of the defensive end with as little fuss as possible, just the way coaches appreciate. It’s a defense that anticipates the play and attacks when the opportunity arises.

The Wings’ defenders aren’t especially big or physical. A bump-and-grind style isn’t what they do best.

Now consider Lidstrom’s style. He’s mobile and savvy. His strength is the ability to move the puck, get it out of the defensive end with as little fuss as possible. He’s a player who anticipates the play and attacks.

At 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, Lidstrom is big enough but not physical. He doesn’t bump and grind. It’s not in his makeup or his game.

The similarities are not a coincidence.

“If the other defensemen on the team aren’t watching him, they should be ashamed of themselves,” Orr said.

“I know if I’m playing with Lidstrom, I’d be watching him.”

There is a concern that the lack of physical play compromises the Wings’ chances of winning another Stanley Cup this year. It might or might not but at this point, there’s nothing much can be done to change the Wings’ approach. It has made them a NHL powerhouse for more than a decade.

“We feel that we can win the championship with the style that we have,” Lidstrom said. “I think we’re tough to play against, meaning that we try to keep teams on the outside, try giving them shots from bad angles, counting on our goalies to make the saves.

“That’s the style we’re playing defensively. Offensively we try to be creative and use our speed.”

However far the Wings go in the playoffs, Lidstrom will be the conductor, as he was during the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2002. He plays 20 minutes or more a game and pulls the strings on the power play. He orchestrates the tempo, dictates the style and the others follow. That’s exactly as it should be, Orr said.

“Knowing the big guy is there, it contributes at both ends,” Orr said. “It’s a pretty warm feeling.

“With young players, it disturbs me a little bit when I hear coaches say, ‘Don’t carry it, shoot it up. What makes our game so great is the ability to do things like carrying it out and making plays. That’s how we find the Paul Coffeys and Nicklas Lidstroms. “I enjoyed the game so much playing that way. I don’t think I could play it any other way.”

And today Orr couldn’t enjoy watching it nearly as much without Nicklas Lidstrom playing defense the way he does.

Source: The Detroit News