With an Avalanche of Goals, Sakic Shows He’s No Ordinary Joe

When Joe Sakic spoke Sunday of seizing this chance to sweep the Florida Panthers and win the Stanley Cup tonight at the Miami Arena, he wasn’t indulging in idle musing.

The Colorado Avalanche’s leading scorer knows the importance of not wasting time or opportunities because he knows how capricious life can be, that you can feel invulnerable one moment only to have your hopes snuffed a moment later in one horribly cruel stroke.

Sakic learned that at 17, when he was playing for Swift Current of the Western Hockey League and his team’s bus crashed en route to a game. Four of his teammates were killed, including the younger brother of Florida assistant coach Lindy Ruff. Sakic escaped with minor injuries and an indelible lesson.

“It just changes you as a kid in a lot of ways,” said Sakic, now 26. “It’s the first tragedy that happened to me. You learn to deal with it and you learn to be more careful.”

He is careful with his words and his emotions, as though fearful his prosperity will vanish if he flaunts his success. Given the choice of facing a group of inquiring reporters or a tough goaltender, “I’d take the goalie. It would be a little easier,” he said.

Because this soft-spoken center is having a remarkably easy time beating goalies in the playoffs, the Avalanche is on the verge of its first Cup in franchise history.

Sakic helped Colorado take a 3-0 series lead by scoring the winning goal Saturday, a wicked wrist shot off a rush on the right side. It was his sixth game-winning goal this spring, a record, and his 18th goal overall, one short of the record for a playoff year shared by Reg Leach of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers and Jari Kurri of the 1985 Edmonton Oilers.

“That’s a goal-scorer’s touch right there,” Florida center Brian Skrudland said. “He’s speedy and he’s got a great shot, and he’s playing an all-around game. I saw him in [the semifinals] nailing guys along the boards. There’s a guy who’s desperate to score 18, 19, 20 goals. If we can keep him from doing that maybe we can play a Game 5, 6 or 7.”

The Panthers face daunting odds: In the 57 years since the NHL adopted a best-of-seven finals format, only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have erased a 3-0 deficit and won the Cup. The odds against stopping Sakic are almost as long. With a postseason-high 34 points in 21 games, he is a co-favorite with teammate Patrick Roy for the Conn Smythe award as the most valuable player in the playoffs, an honor Sakic has not thought about.

“It would be nice, but obviously, it wouldn’t mean as much as the Cup. As long as we win the Stanley Cup, it doesn’t matter who wins it,” said Sakic, who finished third in scoring this season with 51 goals and 120 points, both career highs. “First things first. We’ve got to get the Cup. . . .

“It’s important to me just to have my name on the Cup. It’s something you dream about as a kid. I’ve thought about it since I turned pro and early on I didn’t think we’d have a chance.”

Sakic was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1987 but chose to return to his junior team for a year of seasoning. He was worth the wait, scoring 23 goals and 62 points as a rookie and breaking the 100-point barrier three times in the next four seasons.

His personal success, however, contrasted with the team’s struggles. In 1989-90 the Nordiques won only 12 games and they made the playoffs only twice in his first seven seasons. Last year, their final season in Quebec before they were sold and moved to Colorado, they were seeded first in the East but were upset by the New York Rangers in the opening round.

“We couldn’t wait to get back to the playoffs and redeem ourselves,” he said. “Obviously, because of what happened, Pierre [Lacroix, Colorado’s general manager] had to make some changes, and he made some great trades that gave us good chemistry.”

Those deals and Sakic’s superb efforts have brought Colorado within a victory of realizing a dream. He’s determined to capitalize on this chance.

“We’re going to have to play our best game of the series,” he said. “We don’t want to give them momentum they can ride for a while. It’s great being up, but we have to control our emotions and not get too far ahead. If we don’t play enough games [for him to set a goal-scoring record] that’s a good sign. Goals and those things don’t really matter. I’m hoping we do it in four.”

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Stanley Cup Notes

Panther President Bill Torrey was general manager of the New York Islanders when they rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the quarterfinals against Pittsburgh, the only other team that overcame a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series. “You cannot look beyond the immediate,” he said. “You’ve got to win the battle of the moment, then win the next and the next. The minute you let it creep into your head, ‘If I make a mistake it’s over,’ it will be over. . . . We just have to keep our focus on the immediate problem and not how high the mountain is.” Panther Coach Doug MacLean played for a senior A (adult) team, the GE Silliker Combines, that won a title after facing a 3-0 deficit. “They sent us a fax wishing us good luck. I hope that’s an omen,” he said.

Bobby Orr’s Cup-winning goal for the 1970 Boston Bruins was voted the greatest moment in NHL history by writers and broadcasters. Detroit goalie Chris Osgood’s diving save on Sakic in overtime in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals was voted play of the year. . . .The Avalanche would be the first NHL club and second in professional sports in North America to win a title in its first year in a city. The first was the 1937 Washington Redskins, who had moved from Boston.