RED WINGS AIMING FOR RARE REPEAT.

Byline: Associated Press

After winning their first Stanley Cup in 42 years, the Detroit Red Wings now face the hard part - repeating.

``Our team is going to be tested a lot,'' said coach Scotty Bowman, whose Red Wings play at Calgary in one of 10 season openers today. ``It's up to us as coaches to get them prepared.''

The defending champions face a daunting task. There hasn't been a repeat winner in the NHL since Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992. There have been six different league champions in the past six years, and 11 different teams in the finals.

Last season, Colorado had the best record in the regular season and was favored to repeat. But the Avalanche was beaten in the Western Conference finals by the Red Wings, who had the fifth-best record in the NHL.

``You can't win the Stanley Cup in the regular season,'' Bowman said. ``You have to get to the playoffs to get a shot at it.''

Bowman speaks from experience. The year before, the Red Wings had the best record in NHL history and were heavily favored to win the Cup. But they were eliminated by the Avalanche.

``I told them to have a passion,'' Bowman said. ``Just because you've won the Cup, it doesn't go away with the first game. They've got to realize, everything changes.''

Things have certainly changed in Detroit since the Red Wings won the Cup: Goaltender Mike Vernon, the most valuable player in the playoffs, is gone in a trade. Free-agent forward Tomas Sandstrom left the Red Wings to sign with another team. And superstar center Sergei Fedorov is a contract holdout.

Then there is the loss of star defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, who is recuperating from a near-fatal limo wreck after a team celebration.

Anaheim and Vancouver open their seasons Friday and Saturday in Tokyo - the NHL's first regular-season games to be played outside of North America. The Canucks will be led by former Ranger Mark Messier, who signed with Vancouver as a free agent this summer.

The Mighty Ducks will be playing without free agent Paul Kariya, who is involved in a contract dispute with the team.

One of 10 coaches will make his debut with a new team in the Detroit-Calgary game when Brian Sutter leads the Flames. Sutter has replaced Pierre Page, who wound up in Anaheim.

Also making their debuts with new organizations Wednesday night: Kevin Constantine with Pittsburgh, Alain Vigneault with Montreal, Wayne Cashman with Philadelphia, Ron Wilson with Washington, Lindy Ruff with Buffalo, Jim Schoenfeld with Phoenix and Darryl Sutter with San Jose.

Pat Burns will also be making his debut with Boston when the Bruins play host to the Kings on Thursday night.

Fedorov and Kariya aren't the only high-profile players unhappy with contracts who figure to be staying home on opening night. Vancouver's Alexander Mogilny, Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson, Pittsburgh's Petr Nedved and Buffalo's Mike Peca and Alexei Zhitnik will be noticeably absent when the season opens.

Detroit, Colorado favored: The past two Stanley Cup champions are among the favorites to win it this season, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.

The Red Wings and the 1996 champion Colorado Avalanche are listed as 4-1 favorites by the Stardust Race & Sports Book.