THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Howie Long Aside, Fox’s Coverage Keeps It in the Hunt

On one TV screen, Brett Hull is scoring a goal that will help the Blues end the Red Wings’ 11-game unbeaten streak. On another, the Stars and Blackhawks are fighting for the puck and for playoff position. On a third, the Rangers and Islanders are simply fighting.

The Avocado Room at Fox Studios in Hollywood is hockey heaven on Sundays. Thirteen monitors display the network’s five simultaneous telecasts, creating a great opportunity to keep up with the playoff races--although all those commercials featuring Howie Long lose their charm very quickly.

“Clearly, we’ve shown we’re able to present a game where it’s fun,” said Dave Maloney, who shares studio host duties with James Brown. “I’m of the opinion people can get a little too serious about sports. Fox never made a mockery of football and it’s not making a mockery of hockey.”

Three weeks into its five-year deal with the NHL, Fox is still determining what works. Maloney must satisfy confirmed hockey fans and appeal to casual viewers, specifically the young, male audience Fox is trying to dazzle with its robots and flashy graphics. His frenzied delivery suggests he ought to switch to decaf, but Fox wants him to exude energy. He’s the hockey equivalent of Terry Bradshaw: slightly goofy and a bit loud, but likable and informative.

“We’re not here pretending we’re educating the Western world,” said Maloney, who spent most of his NHL career as a defenseman with the New York Rangers. “I know all the old, traditional hockey fans are probably wondering what we’re doing, but like JB (Brown) says, ‘Lighten up.’ ”

Brown is his role model and his test audience. “JB is extremely cool and professional,” Maloney said. “To me, he represents a lot of people who are interested in the game but might not know a lot about it.”

The shame is that because Fox’s telecasts are regional rather than national, most viewers missed a marvelous game between Detroit and St. Louis. And only the lucky few in the Avocado Room saw Ron Hextall make a save on Larry Murphy in Philadelphia at the same time Mike Keenan grimaced at a call in St. Louis and Brian Skrudlund yapped at an opponent in Florida.

“This is going to work,” David Hill, president of Fox Sports, said of the network’s hockey venture as he gestured toward the wall of TV monitors. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s all there.”

THE WINNER IS . . . FORREST GUMP

The lack of interconference play has led to a change in voting procedures for postseason awards.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn. annually select winners of the Hart (most valuable player), Calder (rookie of the year), Norris (best defenseman), Selke (best defensive forward), Lady Byng (gentlemanly play) and Masterton (perseverance and dedication) trophies. But some reporters covering Eastern teams haven’t seen Western teams enough to make informed decisions, and vice versa.

To ensure fair voting, the process will entail two steps. Voting only for players in the conference of the team they cover, two voters in each city will nominate three players for each award. Those nominations will be sent to a 15-member committee of writers from Eastern and Western cities, and the committee will vote for the top three in each category. Broadcasters will vote for the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year), and general managers will vote for the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender), as they have in the past.

It’s not perfect, but it’s the best way to avoid a landslide for players in the more populous East. Procedures will revert to normal next season.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

Russ Courtnall, acquired from Dallas for Greg Adams and Dan Kesa, and Roman Oksiuta, acquired from Edmonton for Jiri Slegr, have revived Vancouver.

Oksiuta, who plays right wing with Sergio Momesso and Cliff Ronning, had two goals and four points in his first four games. Courtnall, playing with his brother, Geoff, and center Trevor Linden, had five assists in those games.

“Speed kills, and we’re a lot quicker hockey club now,” Canuck Coach Rick Ley said. “We have more weapons, and that takes the pressure off guys like (Pavel) Bure. Oksiuta can score and so can Courtnall--and he’s got great wheels. They give us two pretty quick lines.”

Ley believes the Canucks, who remain around .500, can finish among the top four seeded teams and thereby open the playoffs with the home-ice advantage.

“We have the talent. We’re just playing with a lot more urgency now,” he said. “The guys finally took a look at the schedule and the standings and realized we weren’t in the rosiest of positions and we had to get it going if we want to make the playoffs.”

. . . AND IN THE SLOW LANE

The Blackhawks’ offense disappeared when Jeremy Roenick suffered his season-ending knee injury. Chicago has scored nine goals in its last eight games, losing all eight and falling into a 0-9-1 tailspin.

Bernie Nicholls, now facing opponents’ top checking lines--and not quick enough to elude them--hasn’t scored in eight games. Defenseman Chris Chelios, once a Norris Trophy favorite, also has tailed off dramatically.

BOSTON BIG MOUTH

Several weeks ago, Boston General Manager Harry Sinden denounced comparisons between Ranger defenseman Brian Leetch and current Bruin Ray Bourque, and between Leetch and Hall of Famer Bobby Orr.

“Get that out of your mind for the rest of your lives, ever,” Sinden said. He also mocked the Rangers’ trade for winger Pat Verbeek, saying: “They picked up a guy who is perfect for that team, absolutely perfect--overpaid.”

Leetch politely agreed that such comparisons are unfair because “Bobby Orr was so far ahead of all the other defensemen of his time, and Ray Bourque has been at the top of his position since he came into the league.” Leetch saved his best response for the ice, scoring twice in the Rangers’ 5-3 victory over the Bruins on Friday. Verbeek, who accurately pointed out that Sinden paid Bourque less than fair-market value for years, also had two goals in that game.

SLAP SHOTS

The Whalers’ schedule is the toughest of the Eastern playoff wannabes. Seven of Hartford’s last eight opponents are at .500 or above, and six of their games are on the road. The Rangers play four sub-.500 opponents, and Montreal plays two. The Canadiens, 3-17-2 on the road, play five of their last seven at home. . . . Dallas center Mike Modano (ankle tendon) and Boston defenseman Al Iafrate (knee) recently underwent surgery. Iafrate will miss the whole season. The Stars lost steady defenseman Grant Ledyard to a broken ankle Sunday.

The Red Wings’ 6-5 defeat by the Blues on Sunday marked the most goals they’ve allowed this season. Three of their eight losses have been to Calgary, two to St. Louis. . . . Ted Turner reportedly offered $60 million to buy the Winnipeg Jets and move them to Atlanta. . . . Rookie Jim Carey rested Sunday after starting 21 consecutive games for Washington. The Capitals lost to Quebec behind Olie (the goalie) Kolzig and have now suffered five defeats in six games.

Eighteen-year-olds who want to opt into the entry draft have until May 15 or seven days after their club’s last game to do so. The opt-in rule was a product of the new labor agreement, which raised the draft age to 19. . . . Claude Lemieux’s goal in New Jersey’s 3-2 victory over Hartford on Sunday was his first since March 14. Scott Stevens scored his first goal since March 6 for the Devils. . . . Mark Messier’s Ranger teammates credited his speech after the second period Sunday for rallying them to a 3-2 victory over the Islanders.