DETROIT — After nearly four hours of battle, after both teams had seemed just a blink from winning a half-dozen times each Thursday night, Kris Draper of the Detroit Red Wings suddenly found himself alone on Olaf Kolzig's doorstep.

For a split-second, Draper didn't have the puck. But soon he did. Brendan Shanahan, behind the Washington Capitals' net, found Martin Lapointe near the point and Lapointe spotted Draper. The Red Wings see each other, feel each other. That's why they're world champions. And why, in a few days, they may be repeat champions as well.

For a millisecond it seemed that, as he'd done 60 times before, Kolzig would play Godzilla, with Detroit in the role of New York City. One last time, he did his splits and fired his arms in the air, trying to eat space.

Not this time, Olie the Goalie. The red light went on with 4 minutes 36 seconds left in the first overtime period. Draper started to dance on skates. The Red Wings won Game 2, 5-4, in Joe Louis Arena.

So this is the Stanley Cup. Let's have more of it. Lots more. Because, at times, it truly is hard to believe.

For the Capitals, their fondest hope — something on the order of a fantasy just a few weeks ago — was to win the Stanley Cup. But the second-most wonderful dream they could imagine was to go to the Cup, play their best and turn Washington into a hockey town.

If you didn't see this game, then you missed a battle that was as tense, twisted and thrilling as any Game 2 in any NBA Finals or World Series could be.

Hockey's TV ratings may stink — down 15 percent this year. But the game, at its best, without brawling and goons, smells like a rose. Unfortunately, even in Washington not many people are stopping to sniff the flowers. According to the Game 1 overnight ratings, there was only a 1-in-6 chance that, if you had the TV on, you were watching the Capitals.

The Caps may trail this series two games to none now. And hockey cognoscente may tell you that their chances against the defending champions are slim and none. They were enormous underdogs before the lost two heartbreakers here. They may even get swept. In Game 2, they squandered 3-1 and 4-2 leads in the third period. Losing a game that seemed like a sure victory can sap any team's will.

But, occasionally, victory isn't the only measuring stick.

Last October, for example, the Baltimore Orioles lost a 1-0 11-inning battle to the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. That knocked them out of a chance to go to the World Series. However, that game, and several others in that playoff, were so splendid and intricate that everybody involved won. It was a series that created new fans and reminded old ones why they cared.

This was the hockey equivalent.

Overtime, or extra innings, is chilling in any sport. But in hockey it is unique. In baseball, only one team can bat at a time. In football, only one team has the ball. And in basketball overtime, there are many possessions. However, in hockey, either team can win within the next few seconds at any time.

"It took 60 shots to score the winning goal," said drained Red Wings Coach Scotty Bowman, the sport's most legendary strategist. "That's hard to believe."

Even Draper, the man who won the game, talked afterward about how many times he, and other teammates, thought they'd finally made the play that would end the night. Then, finally, "I was wide open. Marty found me and I just one-timed it into the open net. You can see by my smile how excited I am."

For nearly 24 years, the Washington Capitals have stood for bad luck, frustration and emotional pain. To root for them was to suffer. To play for them? Who knows what that must have been like. If the goal mouth were as wide as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, the Caps would hit the post.

This, however, should not be seen as an illustration of more misfortune. "Washington played a great game," said Draper.

The fate of this Stanley Cup is now squarely up to the Caps. The Wings are going to come to Washington ready to wrap this baby up quick. A sweep in the offing?

The Wings certainly seemed to think so. After the first period, the scoreboard screen in Joe Louis Arena flashed to the image of Vladimir Konstantinov, sitting in the owners box. Konstantinov was paralyzed and suffered brain damage last June 13th in an automobile accident six days after he'd helped the Wings win their first Cup in 42 years. Coming to a big game such as this is part of his therapy. Why wait until Game 5 to invite Konstantinov when there might only be four games?

However, the Caps can still have tons to say about the outcome. They didn't get whipped here. They barely got edged by the best team in the world. How will they react? With pride in the quality of their play here? Or simply with frustration and a debilitating anger — directed inward at themselves — for not winning when victory was so close.

"We had a two-goal lead a couple of times and didn't get it done," said Caps Coach Ron Wilson, who seemed uncharacteristically devastated by the loss. "We made some soft plays. You can't do that against a team of Detroit's caliber."

Then, he seemed to regain his stronger self and said, "We came here needing to win one game in Detroit. We still need to."

That implies that he still thinks the Caps can win Games 3 and 4 at MCI Center. Many in hockey would disagree with him. However, no one who saw this marvelous battle should rule out, prematurely, the possibility that this will be a long and fabulous Stanley Cup.

Give us more. Much more.