NHL NOTES : Nicholls Plays to Madison Square Garden House

Bernie Nicholls looks like he’s going to be a big favorite in New York.

Nicholls made a big hit in his initial appearance at Madison Square Garden after being traded from the Kings to the New York Rangers by tossing pucks into the stands during pre-game practice.

All the while, the fans chanted, “Bernie, Bernie.”

Nicholls had to finally be told to stop the display--the Rangers were running out of pucks for practice.

At least one member of the New York Rangers went out of his way to make Nicholls welcome after he was traded. When Nicholls arrived for his first game, Ulf Dahlen gave up his number and presented Nicholls with the No. 9 sweater.

“That was awfully nice, real nice,” Nicholls said of Dahlen’s offer. “I hardly know him and he comes over and says ‘Here, you take it.’ ”

Dahlen switched to No. 16.

Calgary’s Tim Hunter says he is tired of hearing Wayne Gretzky talk about how fighting must be taken out of the NHL.

“I don’t care how much press he gets,” Hunter says. “I don’t think it should change because of Gretzky. It’s been part of the game for a long time, and it’s going to be a part of the game for a long time to come.”

When Ken Linseman returned to the Philadelphia Flyers in last month’s trade with Boston, Coach Paul Holmgren remembered an old roommate. It wasn’t a pretty story.

“He was very difficult to talk to--a rebel, a nomad. I roomed with him a lot,” Holmgren said of the player known in his prime as “The Rat.”

Holmgren said Linseman was different then. He has changed since, Holmgren said.

“He’s matured. He’s got a wife and family now. He’s straight as an arrow off the ice.”

Eric Lindros is only 16 years old, but is already being touted as a player with talents comparable to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Lindros, who is 6-foot-4 and weighs 220 pounds, made an impressive debut with Oshawa in the Ontario Hockey League with two assists and several bruising checks.

He is already a marketable item in Canada. At his OHL debut, ticket scalpers were getting $20 for a $6.50 seat and Lindros T-shirts were selling for $12.

Toronto Coach Doug Carpenter fears the NHL’s expansion plans for one reason--there won’t be enough good goaltenders to go around.

“There seems to be a shortage,” Carpenter says. “It’s an art. It’s a unique trade. Not a lot of people get into it.”

NHL players think Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux is the most dangerous player on a breakaway, Los Angeles’ Wayne Gretzky is the most difficult to defend and Paul Coffey of the Penguins is by far the best skater.

The opinions were contained in a random survey taken of players by the Pittsburgh Press.

According the survey, the NHL players also felt that Edmonton’s Mark Messier was the best all-around player, Winnipeg’s Thomas Steen the most underrated and Pittsburgh’s Rob Brown the most overrated.

Who would they pick to start a franchise with?

Why, Gretzky, of course.

Buffalo’s Dean Kennedy about being spit on by six-foot-six defenseman Kjell Samuelsson of the Philadelphia Flyers: “At first I thought there were seagulls in the building.”

Injured Edmonton goalie Grant Fuhr is expected to sport a neon bubblegum-blue stick when he returns to action in March.