RALEIGH, N.C. - They were supposed to be worn out by now and too old to make a difference.
But as the playoff marathon reaches its home stretch, Detroit's elder statesmen haven't gotten older, they've gotten better.
Igor Larionov and Brett Hull spoiled the party in Raleigh last night for the second straight game and even slumping Brendan Shanahan found the back of the net as the Red Wings moved one step closer to their third Stanley Cup in the last six years with a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Finals.
Detroit leads the series 3-1 with a chance to clinch the Cup on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena.
"I don't think we're tired," Hull said. "The adrenaline and the emotion don't let you get tired."
The shutout increased Dominik Hasek's NHL record to six in one postseason and was the 12th of his career in the playoffs.
Detroit improved to 8-2 on the road in the playoffs and seldom looked rattled amid the raucousness of the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Detroit struck first on a pretty series of passes started by Hasek. The goaltender has had some adventures handling the puck in the series, but was quick to chase down a dump-in and turn the play the other way while Carolina was changing lines.
Larionov one-timed the puck to Fredrik Olausson, who found Boyd Devereaux in stride down the right wing. Devereaux broke in on a two-on-one with Hull, waited until the last second and feathered a perfect pass that Hull converted at the 6:32 mark of the second.
The goal was the second in as many games for Hull and the 100th of his playoff career.
"It's more the people that I've joined up there," Hull said. "It's quite a group and I'm proud to be a part of it. There was a time that it was said you can never win in the playoffs with Brett Hull. All of a sudden you have 100 goals ... I think it makes people look and think a little differently."
Hull joins Wayne Gretzky (122), Mark Messier (109) and Jari Kurri (106) as the only players with 100 playoff goals.
"He's played pretty tenacious," Wings captain Steve Yzerman said of Hull. "Most of all, he's a finisher."
Carolina had a chance to tie the game nearly three minutes later on the power play.
With Luc Robitaille in the penalty box after taking an elbowing penalty, Jeff O'Neill found Ron Francis alone on the right side of the crease. Francis one-timed O'Neill's pass past a sprawling Hasek. Francis' shot hit the far post and bounced back toward Hasek, who covered the puck.
"It was a big relief seeing that hit the post," Yzerman said. "That's a huge break for us. Just a lucky thing."
Detroit gave itself some breathing room in the third on another brilliant passing play when Jiri Fischer, from the left point, threaded a pass to Larionov, who was alone next to Arturs Irbe, for a tap-in. It was Larionov's third goal in the last two games.
Last night's game was unlike the previous three in just about every way.
Whether Saturday's triple-overtime affair took its toll, the pace was not as fast, the hitting not as hard, the intensity not as great and the scoring chances not as numerous.
"We played probably our best defensive game in a long time," Detroit coach Scotty Bowman said.
Carolina managed just 17 shots on goal.
"They play a really good five-man defensive game," Carolina coach Paul Maurice.
Now the Wings have two days before they get an opportunity to hoist the Cup on their home ice.
"It's just a matter of staying away from all the hoopla," Bowman said.
NOTES: Detroit has allowed only one power-play goal in 35 chances over its last eight games. ... Detroit is 21-4-0-1 against the Eastern Conference this season. ... Bowman won his record 35th career playoff finals game, one more than former Montreal coach Toe Blake. ... Detroit is 11-2 when scoring the first goal and 9-0 when leading after two periods.
Bob Foltman is a reporter for The Chicago Tribune.
Detroit 0 1 2 - 3
Carolina 0 0 0 - 0
First period - None. Penalties - Wesley, Car (hooking), 2:05; Cole, Car (goalie interference), 16:54; Fedorov, Det (high-sticking), 16:54.
Second period - 1, Detroit, Hull 10 (Devereaux, Olausson), 6:32. Penalties - Robitaille, Det (high-sticking), 9:06; Duchesne, Det (holding stick), 14:34.
Third period - 2, Detroit, Larionov 5 (Fischer, Holmstrom), 3:43. 3, Detroit, Shanahan 6 (Fedorov, Chelios), 14:43. Penalty-Hill, Car (boarding), 8:34.
Shots on goal - Detroit 10-6-11-27. Carolina 6-7-4-17. Power-play opportunities - Detroit 0 of 2; Carolina 0 of 2. Goalies - Detroit, Hasek 15-7 (17 shots-17 saves). Carolina, Irbe 10-7 (27-24). A - 18,986 (18,730).
Stanley Cup Finals
(Best of seven; *-if necessary)
Detroit vs. Carolina
(Detroit leads series 3-1)
Game 1: Carolina 3, Detroit 2, OT
Game 2: Detroit 3, Carolina 1
Game 3: Detroit 3, Carolina 2, 3OT
Last night: Detroit 3, Carolina 0
Thursday: Carolina at Detroit, 8 p.m., chs. 2, 7
*Saturday: Detroit at Carolina, 8 p.m., chs. 2, 7
*Monday: Carolina at Detroit, 8 p.m., chs. 2, 7