STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF FINAL : Bruins Shadow Edmonton’s Messier, Who Is Among the Missing

This was to have been his coronation, the spotlight he needed to be dubbed the new Wayne Gretzky.

If Gretzky was the Great One in Edmonton, then surely Mark Messier was the Next One.

In this, his 11th season with the Oilers, Messier had 45 goals in the regular season and career highs in assists, 84, and total points, 129.

With two goals and two assists, he led his team to victory in the crucial fourth game of the conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks.

He is considered the favorite to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL’s most valuable player.

But beyond the numbers and the accolades, Messier seemed to have finally assumed the leadership role left vacant by Gretzky’s departure to the Kings two years ago.

If the Oilers were truly heading back to the top, Messier was the point man.

All that remained were the Stanley Cup finals.

Edmonton is right there, leading the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 tonight at the Northlands Coliseum.

But where is Messier?

The question began as a murmur but has become a roar, seemingly asked by an entire city.

What started as a curiosity has turned into a crisis.

Messier came into the finals with a 10-game point streak.

In Game 1, the triple-overtime victory over Boston, he had one assist but also blew a chance to win the game by missing a wide-open shot in front of the net.

Although Edmonton scored seven goals in Game 2, Messier was held pointless. And he was pointless again Sunday when the Oilers lost, 2-1.

Is he just in a slump, or is it more serious?

According to one rumor, Messier has a cracked rib.

Asked about that Monday, he said only, “I have no comment,” then added “I feel fine.”

Boston Coach Mike Milbury seemed to lend credence to the rumor when talking about his use of Bob Carpenter to shadow Messier.

“When (Messier) is not 100%, it’s probably not fair to put somebody on him,” Milbury said, grinning.

What makes you think he’s not 100%? Milbury was asked.

“I just heard it,” the coach answered enigmatically.

Whatever the problem, the Oilers know their chances of winning the Stanley Cup may hinge on finding a solution.

“Obviously, I have to play better,” Messier said. “No question about it.

“I’m just going to have to . . . find a way to break through the checking they are giving me. That’s to be expected this time of the year.”

Most of what has occurred in this series, though, has been unexpected. The Bruins were supposed to be a tight-checking, defensive-minded team, using the smaller Boston Garden rink to their advantage, against the wide-open, free-skating Oilers, who would excel on the larger Edmonton ice.

So what happened? The Oilers won both games in Boston, their offense breaking open Game 2. And the Bruins won a defensive struggle in Game 3 in Edmonton.

Hard to figure. But no more so than Messier’s disappearing act.

“I think I had more open ice in Boston,” he said. “(Sunday) night, they played more man-to-man. Their idea, I guess, is to deny me the puck.”

He admitted that Carpenter’s shadowing has thrown him.

“I never had a shadow before,” Messier said. “I guess there were more important people than me to shadow in the past.”

But now, having stepped out of the Great One’s shadow, Messier must find a way to deal with a shadow of his own.