THE NHL / LISA DILLMAN : New-Look Nordiques Look Like Real Winners so Far

All in all, it was a good weekend for Quebec Coach Marc Crawford.

His team won twice. Twenty-year-old goaltender Jocelyn Thibault shut out the Devils on Saturday in Quebec. Then 24-year-old goalie Stephane Fiset improved his record to 5-1, with a goals-against average of 1.71, by defeating Hartford on Sunday as the Nordiques remained undefeated at Le Colisee.

Then Crawford helped excavate his brother’s car from a snow drift after a vicious winter storm swept through Quebec.

“Realistically, we didn’t expect to be 7-1 after eight games,” he said Monday. “We’re very happy because, while we know we have a good team, we’ve been winning with different styles. One night it might be the power play or then it might be goaltending. There’s been an overall willingness to play as a team.”

Hartford Coach Paul Holmgren, taking note of the Nordiques’ explosive offense, said, “It’s no mirage that the Nordiques are where they are.”

Changes in Quebec were set in motion after the Nordiques missed the playoffs, finishing 28 points behind their point total of the 1992-93 season. Pierre Page, general manager and coach, was fired and replaced by agent Pierre Lacroix in the front office and Crawford behind the bench.

Lacroix immediately acquired veteran leader Wendel Clark and defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre from the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving up star center Mats Sundin, and then traded for 6-foot-5 defenseman Uwe Krupp from the New York Islanders.

Crawford, 33, the NHL’s youngest coach, has proved a welcome change from the often explosive Page. It also helped that the same man wasn’t coaching and negotiating contracts, which often leads to acrimony. Known as a players’ coach, Crawford played left wing in 176 games with Vancouver and was a member of the Canuck team that reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1982.

The addition of Clark has helped on and off the ice. His presence, in particular, has affected center Joe Sakic. A 32-goal scorer last season, he is leading the league with 15 points on four goals and 11 assists.

“Wendel has had a great influence on Joe,” Crawford said. “He (Clark) has great leadership skills, so the responsibility doesn’t always fall solely on Joe’s shoulders anymore. And he feels comfortable with him on the ice.” Clark has always endeared himself to teammates by immediately taking on-ice justice into his own hands. Sunday, he showed he hasn’t lost that ability after Whaler enforcer Kelly Chase crushed Lefebvre in the second period, flattening him with a left.

Then Clark went out and had a dominating shift.

“He basically showed them that we’re not a team who is going to get ridden roughshod,” Crawford said. “As in, ‘We’re not going to take it.’ ”

The Nordiques’ attention to defense has paid off. They have given up 13 goals in eight games, and the coaching staff has stressed keeping the puck deep in the opponent’s end. Center Mike Ricci joked that the players can hear that request “150 times a game” from the coaches.

“I try to utilize a lot of common sense,” Crawford said. “Try to keep things simple.”

Crawford has been lauded as one of the bright young coaches after his former team, the St. John’s Maple Leafs, had three consecutive years of improvement in the American Hockey League. He was a contender for the Mighty Duck coaching job and believed his involvement in that process helped him get hired in Quebec.

“That was the first time I interviewed for a head coaching job, and that experience helped me to be that much more prepared for the next time,” he said.

So instead of learning the language of Disney, Crawford has immersed himself in French classes, which he had plenty of time for during the lockout. Now, he conducts his postgame interviews in English and French, an effort that goes a long way in Quebec.

“I make mistakes,” he said. “But it’s better when you get over the initial shyness. You improve. My postgame answers are getting better.”

Crawford joked about his abilities, saying: “Before I could order toast. Now I can order toast with jam.”

FATHER AND SON REUNION ON ICE

One unfortunate consequence of the 48-game schedule is that the Kings won’t play the Nordiques because games are limited to opponents within the conference.

Any claim on bragging rights will have to wait for Nordique General Manager Pierre Lacroix and his son, Eric, the King left wing. Lacroix, 23, actually made his NHL debut before his 46-year-old father, playing three games with the Maple Leafs last season. But he spent most of the season playing for Crawford at St. John’s.

Lacroix was his son’s agent--along with many other prominent players, including Alexandre Daigle--before his job change in May. He hasn’t seen his son play with the Kings yet, at least not in person.

“But because of the time difference, he has watched almost all of our games on the satellite dish,” said Eric, who has five points in seven games but is out because of a minor knee injury. “After their games, they sit down and watch ours.”

NO ORDINARY JOE

Pittsburgh right wing Joe Mullen is two points shy of 1,000, which would make him the first American-born player to reach that milestone.

Mullen, born and raised in New York, shows few signs of slowing down, even though he turns 38 in three weeks. In 10 of the last 11 seasons, Mullen has had 30-plus goals. In the season that he was limited to 17 goals, he played only 47 games.

Playing until he is 40 is realistic for Mullen.

“What does old feel like?” Mullen asked. “You have days when you get out of bed and you go, ‘What the hell am I doing playing this game?’ Then I go down to the rink and see a 22-year-old getting rubbed down in the trainer’s room.

“I look at that and say he’s having the same type of day I had last week. Then on days you feel good, you don’t even think about it.

“If I feel the way I do now, 40 would be good.”

SALT IN THE WOUND?

Goaltender Corey Hirsch doesn’t want his Olympic moment for Team Canada captured on a stamp--not in Sweden, not anywhere.

Swedish star forward Peter Forsberg’s goal against Hirsch in the shootout decided the gold-medal game at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

The Swedes want to commemorate the famous goal with a stamp in April. When Hirsch was asked for his release, he requested a fee, which would have been donated to Canadian minor league hockey. Postal officials and the Swedish hockey federation said no.

Hirsch’s agent, Carlos Sosa, said that his client will sue for image appropriation in Sweden and the United States if the stamp is produced.

“It’s the height of hypocrisy to have the Swedish federation concerned about a fee for his stamp with all the money the Swedes have taken out of North American hockey in the last 15 years,” Sosa said.

“They handled it like amateurs, which they profess to be.”