DETROIT, June 11 — Washington Capitals right wing Brian Bellows said he feels "like a huge weight has been lifted" since the birth of his second child, Keifer, Wednesday. Bellows flew to Minnesota after Tuesday's Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Red Wings to be present at the induced birth and then flew back to Detroit Wednesday night.

"I had my best skate in ages this morning," Bellows said before tonight's Game 2. "It's a world of difference to me, all the worry, all the concern is gone. We had a difficult pregnancy at the beginning back in Germany, and it's great to see it come to full term with such a good result."

This has been a roller-coaster season for the 33-year-old Bellows, a former 50-goal scorer who was unable to find an NHL job when he became an unrestricted free agent last summer. He went to training camp in Vancouver, but was not signed. Four days before his release, in fact, his wife, Tracy, had a miscarriage, although she was pregnant again when Bellows began playing in an elite league in Germany.

Tracy Bellows then had to come back to the United States for medical care after some complications and remained in Minnesota even after her husband was signed by the Capitals in March. Just seeing her give birth to a healthy baby was enough for Bellows, although he was not expecting to have a boy. The Bellows already have a daughter, 3-year-old Brianna.

"I was pretty surprised because I thought it was going to be a girl and that would give me an excuse to go for the third right away," he said. "Now I guess I'm just going to have to sweet-talk my wife into it."

All That Glitters
The Detroit News reported today that tennis star Anna Kournikova is wearing a gold ring on her right ring finger with the same interlocking design as the ring forward Sergei Fedorov is wearing on his. In Russia, wedding rings are worn on the right hand instead of the left, but the 28-year-old Fedorov insisted that "there is nothing to it." Kournikova, 16, was in the stands at Joe Louis Arena to watch Game 1.