Poetry in Motion : Dafoe Has Helped Kings Go From Verse to Better, but What Will They Do When Hrudey Comes Back?

One King goalie, Jamie Storr, is Generation X personified--a goofy 19-year-old with a partial goatee who occasionally needs a prodding call of “Wake up, Jamie,” at practice from Coach Larry Robinson.

At the other end of the spectrum is 34-year-old Kelly Hrudey, who looks as if he should be playing bass in an aging rock band, but instead has spent the most productive years of his athletic life head-banging in the mosh pit that is also known as the Kings’ goal crease.

In between, is a shockingly normal Byron Dafoe, the 24-year-old Lord of the Kings, who has simply managed to stop almost everything thrown at him lately. And there has been a lot--in one five-game stretch, he faced an average of 46.4 shots per game, including two of 50-plus.

Maybe his mother was onto something that day of his birth in Sussex, England, when she named him after her favorite 19th-Century British poet George Gordon Byron, whose unhappy youth led him to embrace morbidity and a scorn for authority.

Many before Dafoe have turned out that way playing goal for the Kings.

But the Kings haven’t gotten to Dafoe yet. So far, he hasn’t lost his sense of humor, only lots of weight during 50-shot nights. Of Saturday’s 41-save performance in a 3-2 victory against Pittsburgh, Dafoe laughed, saying: “It was only an eight-pound night.”

Storr, however, cautioned those who believe Dafoe is a truly normal guy, an anomaly in the often bizarre world of goaltenders.

“He’s not that normal,” Storr said the other day after practice. “I’ve been his roommate for two months. All goalies are weird. You have to be strange to want to stand there and get hit by the puck and that’s what you want. And then when it doesn’t hit you, you get mad.”

Dafoe, wearing shorts and sandals, wandered by Storr, who was at his entertaining best, shook his head and warned the audience not to believe anything the teen-ager was saying.

Later, Storr talked about Dafoe’s stunning display in the crease with awe, the kind of appreciation that only another goaltender can generate. “It’s amazing, kind of like the streak Kelly had last year, facing 50-something shots in Winnipeg,” he said.

King right wing Rick Tocchet has played with Ron Hextall in Philadelphia and Tom Barrasso in Pittsburgh but didn’t hesitate to insert Dafoe into the race for the NHL’s Hart Trophy for the most valuable player.

“If I had to vote, it would be between [Mario] Lemieux, [Jaromir] Jagr and Dafoe if they picked the MVP right now,” he said.

Dafoe isn’t one to pick apart his own performance with heavy analysis. He doesn’t openly agonize whether Robinson is going to start him for a particular game or not. “We have a good relationship,” Dafoe said. “He just tells me, ‘You’re going.’ ”

He has been in goal when the team has given up more than 40 shots on five occasions but hasn’t lost, going 3-0-2. Dafoe is ranked fourth among NHL goaltenders in save percentage at .921, behind Hextall, Darcy Wakaluk of Dallas and Ken Wregett of Pittsburgh.

“You just get into a mental groove with that many shots and the puck looks like a beach ball,” said Dafoe, whose goals-against average is 2.96 and record is 6-3-5.

So what happens when Hrudey returns?

Dafoe has become enormously popular--dubbed Lord Byron by radio talk show callers--and established himself during the absence of Hrudey, who has been out for more than two months because of a partially torn ligament in his left ankle. Hrudey, however, has been with the Kings since 1989, helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup finals in 1993 and managed to play some of his best hockey despite a paucity of defense the last two seasons.

It would have all the makings of a goaltender controversy if not for the individuals and the coach involved. Robinson, quite clearly, is no Barry Melrose and probably won’t be trying out new motivational techniques upon his goaltenders.

The only time tempers openly flared in the King camp was when Melrose and management brought in journeyman Rick Knickle late in the 1992-93 season, irritating Hrudey and Robb Stauber, who felt the situation was not handled adroitly.

Robinson won’t have to make a decision on how to handle the goaltenders until Saturday at the earliest. At least initially, he wants to keep Storr in Los Angeles until it is determined Hrudey is completely healthy.

Some teams end up returning the No. 1 duty to the previous No. 1 goalie in the case of an injury. But with Dafoe playing so well and feeling he has earned the opportunity, what does Robinson do?

“Good question,” Robinson said. “Right now, Byron deserves to play whenever he can. Once Kelly gets healthy, both will be playing equally. I’d alternate them, one on one night and one on the other.”

However.

“You go with the hot hand, but not at the risk of him being worn out,” Robinson said. “It depends whether your team plays well in front. Right now, they have so much confidence in Byron. At the same time, you don’t want to kill him and not have him for the rest of the year.”

Hrudey, speaking on Saturday from Phoenix, took the high road, a day before being put on injured reserve having re-injured the ankle and the day after his first game of a rehabilitation assignment with the Roadrunners.

“When I’m ready, I obviously don’t know what they have planned,” he said. “The way Byron is playing, it will be difficult to take him out. My major concern is getting ready and sharp enough to play.

“You always need two goalies. It’s amusing when everyone says, ‘Who is the No. 1 goalie?’ Because if you have two, you play whoever is playing better. I’ve been through that with Billy Smith with the Islanders and [former King] Daniel Berthiaume, and I have split time.

“It’s just so important to have two goalies. It keeps you mentally sharp. The last two, three years, it’s been wearing.”

Just ask Dafoe. Actually, Hrudey might be returning just in time to help out on two fronts--in goal and in keeping Dafoe from melting away.