THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Detroit Might Miss Ultimate Goal

On the theory that you get what you pay for, Detroit Red Wing owner Mike Ilitch spent nearly $1 million of his pizza company dough to hire Scotty Bowman, a seven-time Stanley Cup winner as coach in Montreal and Pittsburgh.

But given a chance to acquire Cup-winning goalies Bill Ranford and Grant Fuhr, Detroit General Manager Bryan Murray settled for Winnipeg’s Bob Essensa, whose puck-stopping ability is dubious.

Murray says he doesn’t regret his decision, even though Essensa gave up five goals to the San Jose Sharks in a playoff-opening loss. Rookie Chris Osgood has both Detroit victories in the series, which resumes tonight at San Jose.

“We talked seriously to about three other teams, but the price was something I didn’t feel we could afford as an organization,” Murray said. “We could have gotten Fuhr for Chris Osgood and Keith Primeau, and Ranford for those two and more. I wasn’t prepared to do that, to give up a 20-year-old goalie for a 32-year-old (Fuhr). We have a lot of young players who are going to get better, and we didn’t want to sacrifice them.”

The Red Wings haven’t won the Cup since 1955 and haven’t gotten past the second round of the playoffs since 1988. What if they lose because of Murray’s inaction? “It’s not a problem at all,” he said. “That was addressed at the organizational level. Osgood’s a real good goaltender. He’s calm and cool. You give him up and you’re playing against him for the next 10, 12 years.”

The Sharks lost to Osgood three times before defeating him Saturday with a third-period rally.

“They were overconfident, I think,” said Arturs Irbe, Shark goalie. “They were thinking they’re supposed to beat the Sharks. Everybody says so. They were so confident, maybe that confidence turned against them.”

And perhaps they’re frustrated: Sergei Fedorov, Ray Sheppard and Viacheslav Kozlov, who combined for 142 goals this season, have none. Is Bowman concerned?

“It’s something to look forward to,” Bowman said, sarcastically.

LUNCH TIME

With a little pepper, crow doesn’t taste so bad. It’s on the menu here for having underestimated the Rangers’ superiority over the Islanders.

Any thought that emotion might lift the Islanders to the Rangers’ level vanished in the first two games, 6-0 Ranger victories. The Rangers were disciplined and dominant throughout the series. Mike Richter didn’t give up a goal for the first 135 minutes 28 seconds and stopped 87 of 90 shots. In getting their first best-of-seven sweep since 1972, the Rangers gave up one power-play goal in 17 chances and outscored their rivals, 22-3.

Not too shabby.

BLUE NOTES

Few NHL executives shed tears over the St. Louis Blues’ swift playoff exit.

None wanted to see St. Louis succeed after club President Jack Quinn tried to buy the Cup by signing free agent Petr Nedved to a three-year, $4-million contract and Peter Stastny, 37, to a $1.2-million deal. Whether jealous of Quinn’s cash reserves or afraid they would have to respond with similar deals, most general managers rooted for the Dallas Stars.

They got their wish. Stastny was ineffective, Nedved added nothing to his thin playoff resume and defenseman Steve Duchesne provided none of the spark the Blues sought when they acquired him from Quebec. He was derided by Coach Bob Berry, who is on shaky ground for his failure to tame the Blues’ disparate personalities.

THE BIG HURT

The appendicitis that hospitalized Montreal goalie Patrick Roy last Thursday hurt the Canadiens too.

Roy’s value was never more obvious than in their 6-3 loss to the Bruins in Game 3 with Ron Tugnutt in goal. The Canadiens played badly, but Tugnutt fell to their level instead of rising to the occasion. His glove hand was slow, and he worked poorly with his defense. “I felt for him,” Bruin goalie Vincent Riendeau said. “He probably had the toughest job in Quebec (Thursday)--tougher than the prime minister’s job, because Patrick Roy is a god here.”

AROUND THE WORLD

The World Championships, which began Monday in Italy, feature more talent than the Olympics. Instead of college stars and minor leaguers, NHL players fill the rosters of Team USA and Canada and supplement Sweden’s squad. Sweden and Canada, the gold and silver medalists at Lillehammer, are favored.

“It’s fun. It’s the Stanley Cup of Europe,” said Team USA Coach Ron Wilson, coach of the Mighty Ducks. “I’ve got a lot of friends just across the border in Switzerland (where he played for six seasons), so it’s special to me to go over there after the success we’ve had. They think it’s really a big deal to be coaching the U.S. national team, and it is. To be in the same position as Bob Johnson and Herb Brooks is just great.”

Team USA was hurt by refusals from Winnipeg’s Keith Tkachuk, King goalie Robb Stauber and Florida goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, but will gain players from teams whose playoffs end early. Canada has Ranford in goal, a defense that includes the Kings’ Rob Blake and Darryl Sydor, Tampa Bay’s Marc Bergevin and Edmonton’s Luke Richardson and ample scoring potential in the Flyers’ Rod Brind’Amour (35 goals, 97 points), the Jets’ Nelson Emerson (33 goals), the Kings’ Luc Robitaille (44 goals) and Hartford’s Geoff Sanderson and Pat Verbeek, who had 41 and 37 goals, respectively. Olympian Paul Kariya is another threat.

SLAP SHOTS

Before Sunday, Norris Trophy winner Brian Leetch had won only one playoff series in seven seasons with the Rangers. Either they missed the postseason party, he did (broken ankle), or they lost early. . . . A few months ago, the Capitals couldn’t give Don Beaupre away. They went back to him when Rick Tabaracci faltered and have watched him handle the Penguins in Games 1, 3 and 4. He got help from a defense that permits almost no rebounds. . . . Steve Yzerman, who sat out Detroit’s first four playoff games because of a mysterious injury--best guess was a sprained right knee--is expected to return tonight. . . . Despite losing centers Joel Otto and Joe Nieuwendyk to knee injuries, the Flames have pushed the Canucks to the brink of elimination. Vancouver right wing Pavel Bure, a 60-goal scorer, has been silenced by the checking of Mike Sullivan.