HOCKEY / LISA DILLMAN : Jolt of Coffey Might Mean Cup for Detroit

These things seem to keep turning up together in the spring. It happened in Alberta: Wayne Gretzky + Paul Coffey = Stanley Cup for Edmonton Oilers. Then, several years later, it happened in Pittsburgh: Mario Lemieux + Coffey = Stanley Cup for Pittsburgh Penguins.

This season, there’s a good chance it could happen again, this time in Detroit. Coffey has been delivered to the Red Wings’ doorstep and it’s no surprise that Steve Yzerman is suddenly playing his best hockey of the season.

With less than a quarter of the season left, a clearer definition in the NHL’s hierarchy has developed. Detroit, which hasn’t won the Cup since the 1954-55 season, is one of four teams with a shot at it. A closer look at the teams that can win the Cup, the contenders and the rest:

FOUR WHO COULD HOIST

PITTSBURGH--Sure, the Penguins are struggling late in the season. Not to worry. They are having their problems on the ice a little earlier than last season. Last year, Pittsburgh stumbled in the first two rounds of the playoffs before pulling together to win its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

MONTREAL--No matter what happens in the playoffs, at least Jacques Demers managed to make Montreal an exciting team again, prodding the Canadiens out of their defensive-minded shell. They are actually having fun again--and they didn’t need to change to a silly nickname to do it.

CHICAGO--This is the way to go when it’s too early to pick the Norris Division winner, the Blackhawks or the Red Wings. Whichever team emerges, bloodied from the divisional battle, will have an excellent path all the way to the Cup final.

DETROIT--It’s time for General Manager-Coach Bryan Murray to deliver. He wanted Dino Ciccarelli, Mark Howe and Coffey--and got all three. The only small, nagging doubt is the playoff caliber of goaltender Tim Cheveldae.

MAY? YES. JUNE? SORRY

BOSTON--You might say the Bruins’ playoff chances are something like Cam Neely’s knee--it could give way for good at any moment.

VANCOUVER--How can a team with Pavel Bure have such a lousy power play? Unless the Canucks find an able-bodied point man for their power play, it could be two rounds and out.

QUEBEC--No one is calling the Nordiques the turkeys anymore, the way a radio station did several years ago in Quebec. If these youngsters had more playoff experience, they would have moved up a category.

BUFFALO--John Muckler. Grant Fuhr. Pat LaFontaine. Alexander Mogilny. Yeah, but there’s one thing missing from the Sabres’ playoff puzzle: D-E-F-E-N-S-E.

NEW JERSEY--No identity, you say? Coach Herb Brooks can take care of that by himself and he’s got the Devils peaking at the right time.

CONFERENCE FINALS BLUES AGAIN

WASHINGTON--Maybe that quartet of blowouts over the Kings and Blues last month was a mirage. The Capitals haven’t played well since.

NEW YORK RANGERS--Mark Messier used to rule the dressing room. Now, there seems to be a line down the middle, splitting the Messier coalition from the anti-Messier forces. Factions never won a Stanley Cup.

TORONTO--Everyone watched Doug Gilmour lead the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup in 1989. Once again, he’s working wonders in Toronto, with more than a little help from rookie goaltender Felix Potvin. But there’s no comparison between Gilmour’s surrounding cast in Calgary to his teammates in Toronto.

KINGS--So many questions and hardly any answers. Will Tomas Sandstrom stay injury-free long enough to finish a single series? Whatever happened to Corey Millen? And where did Rick Knickle come from? Did he have a show on Nickelodeon--Knick at Night?

FIRST-ROUND FODDER

WINNIPEG--Teemu Selanne has the best name in hockey and is the best rookie in the NHL. But he won’t be enough in the playoffs. The Jets will need defensemen Fredrik Olausson and Teppo Numminen back at full strength. Another area of concern is left wing Alexei Zhamnov’s back.

ST. LOUIS--The Blues should sneak into the playoffs by the blade of a skate, now that Brett Hull is in his preferred-salary neighborhood, slightly better than Eric Lindros and second to Mario Lemieux. Now, if the Blues could do something about bringing Adam Oates back to Hull’s neighborhood, there would be more chance of St. Louis being only a first-round warmup act for the Blackhawks in the Norris Division. There is no way that will happen, so it’s one round and out.

CALGARY--Left wing Gary Roberts, who has an injured leg, could return in time for the second round. One problem: His team may already be on the sideline, meaning he could be back in action just in time for the World Championships.

RIFFRAFF

MINNESOTA--Distracted by moving vans, the Lone Stars are moving out of the Norris Division playoff picture.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS--Gee, weren’t we great in the ‘80s.

EDMONTON--And weren’t we?

PHILADELPHIA--The first-year verdict on the Lindros trade: Quebec 1, Philadelphia 0.

TAMPA BAY--A success? Well, the Lightning wasn’t quite like the expansion Atlanta Flames, who finished with 65 points in the 1972-73 season, but Tampa Bay’s first-year performance helped ease the flinching in Anaheim.

BRING ON THE MIGHTY DUCKS

HARTFORD--Owner Richard Gordon says if he had Minnesota’s crowds and the North Stars’ record, they would be holding a parade in Hartford. Maybe there should be a parade for Gordon, who seems committed to keeping his team in Hartford.

OTTAWA--The prize for finishing last overall is the right to sign junior star Alexandre Daigle in the June entry draft. Fifteen more games and the season could actually mean something for the Senators. They, however, have only three games to play against teams under .500, two against Hartford and one against Tampa Bay.

SAN JOSE--In this corner . . . the Sharks aren’t giving up in the crawl to the Daigle Cup. With 16 games left, San Jose is even with Ottawa, holding fast at 22 points. The Sharks play three games against teams under .500--Edmonton, Philadelphia and Winnipeg.