LILLEHAMMER / ’94 WINTER OLYMPICS : NOTEBOOK

Slovakian center Peter Stastny planned to apologize to U.S. wing Craig Johnson for chipping two of Johnson’s bottom teeth in the teams’ 3-3 tie Tuesday. Johnson’s damaged teeth were replaced by a dentist in the Olympic Village.

“I was touched when I read (that Johnson idolized him) and I’m going to give him a stick from that game, signed, and dedicate it to him,” Stastny said. “It was so much accidental.”

Stastny, captain of his team in its Olympic debut, recorded another first Thursday when he collected two goals and an assist in a 10-4 romp over Italy. That gave Slovakia its first victory after two ties.

“I feel blessed to be here,” Stastny said. “There are so many first things, so many historic things.”

Stastny, who spent most of his career with the Quebec Nordiques, faces another historic moment Saturday when Slovakia meets Canada. “I have so many friends in Canada and Quebec,” he said. “My kids are Canadian, but I hope they cheer for Slovakia. I hope they’re behind daddy.”

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with officials of the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation to discuss making “dream teams” a reality in the 1998 Winter Games at Nagano, Japan.

“The first step is logistics--can this be done?” Bettman said. “We’re going to explore the options and see which, if any, makes sense. But I’m very optimistic.”

Any solution is likely to involve condensing the tournament because NHL owners are unwilling to suspend operations for the three weeks now required for practice and tournament play. Under one proposal, the major hockey nations would automatically qualify for the Games. Then the remaining countries would have to earns berths through a qualifying tournament held during the first week of the Olympics, with the top two teams advancing to face the teams composed of NHL players.