Net Result: Goalies Proving Key in First Round

New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur has as many playoff goals as Wayne Gretzky, Tony Amonte, Brett Hull, Mike Gartner, and Mario Lemieux. He has one more than Sergei Fedorov and Joe Sakic combined.

Now do you believe how important goaltenders are in the playoffs?

Most of their exploits involve stopping goals rather than scoring them, as Brodeur did last week against the Montreal Canadiens. But one way or another, goalies are dominating most first-round playoff series.

After being blanked by St. Louis’ Grant Fuhr for five periods, the Detroit Red Wings began to doubt themselves and were on the verge of losing the first two games of their Western Conference series, despite opening at home. Since scoring on Fuhr in the third period of Game 2, they’ve bested him five times and have taken a 2-1 series lead.

“There was a lot of relief,” Red Wing defenseman Larry Murphy said of Detroit’s breakthrough goal, scored by Kris Draper. “The question was, were we ever going to score on him?”

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had difficulty scoring on Garth Snow, who has excelled in place of faltering veteran Ron Hextall, and the New York Rangers got a split of their first two games against the Florida Panthers only because goalie Mike Richter responded to John Vanbiesbrouck’s series-opening shutout with a shutout in Game 2.

“One game or another, somewhere in every series, a goalie has been the deciding factor,” Phoenix Coyote forward Kris King said. “There’s no doubt that teams win the Stanley Cup because of the play of their goaltenders, and sometimes that’s overlooked. When New Jersey won [in 1995] Brodeur was the hero. Look at Colorado last year. They were a good team before they got Patrick Roy and they were a great team after.

“The goalie is the last line of defense. Look at Ottawa, with Ron Tugnutt. He plays two years in the minors and comes up and plays the last 20 games [after Damian Rhodes was hurt] and he gets them into the playoffs. The goalie is a huge part of any team’s success.”

That was true in Game 3 of the Coyotes’ series against the Mighty Ducks. Phoenix goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was less than spectacular in the first two games and had been outplayed by the Ducks’ Guy Hebert. In Game 3, Khabibulin gave his teammates a lift with an early save on a breakaway by forward Richard Park. Buoyed by his effort, the Coyotes worried less about how to stop Duck forwards Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne and more on how to beat Hebert. Their strategy of driving to the net to create crowds and obscure Hebert’s view led to three goals in their 4-1 victory, which cut the Ducks’ series lead to 2-1.

“Every save in a playoff game is magnified because most of the time, games are low-scoring and if a goalie isn’t sharp, one mistake can lose the game,” Phoenix defenseman Jayson More said. “Look at guys like Vanbiesbrouck, Brodeur and Patrick Roy, who have won series or Stanley Cups. When a goalie gets on a roll, it’s unbelievable.”

Hebert was the backup in St. Louis four years ago while Curtis Joseph carried the Blues. He welcomes the chance to carry the burden himself when the series resumes tonight at America West Arena.

“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “As Francois [Allaire, the Ducks’ goaltending consultant] tries to ingrain in me, it’s an opportunity to improve as an athlete and show people what you’re capable of doing.”

He’s capable of winning or losing this series. So is Khabibulin. The most consistent goalie will win.

GOOD GOING, GARY

Gary Bettman has probably attended more games in his four years as commissioner than John Ziegler did in 15 as the NHL’s president. Unlike Ziegler, Bettman goes to playoff games, and he was in Anaheim for the Ducks’ opener against Phoenix last Wednesday. Ziegler’s absence during the 1988 playoffs caused a crisis when game officials walked out and replacements had to be found to work a semifinal game between New Jersey and Boston.

Bettman also gets points for saying the league needs to reexamine its directive on not making marginal calls as applied to obstruction fouls. More vigilance in that area would eliminate some of the nonsense that has driven scoring totals down and would allow skill players more freedom.

NOT EVEN A GHOST OF A CHANCE

Steve Kasper is no diplomat, and former Boston Bruins such as Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet, who were benched by Kasper the last two seasons, would probably say he isn’t much of a coach.

What’s clear is that Kasper ended up being the fall guy for the Bruins’ failures this season, taking the hit for an unholy mess that’s the responsibility of General Manager Harry Sinden.

Through a series of awful trades and bad drafts, Sinden let the Bruins decay without much thought for anything but the club’s bottom line, which showed a profit of $14 million last season. He also put a higher priority on bearing grudges than on building a contending team. He considered Bill Ranford a traitor after Ranford took the Bruins to salary arbitration before the season, even though the case was decided in the club’s favor. Sinden showed Ranford who was boss by trading him to Washington in a six-player deal with the Washington Capitals that brought goalie Jim Carey to Boston.

Without Cam Neely, who was forced to retire before the season because of hip problems, the Bruins were a lifeless bunch with a poor work ethic. They had little talent and even less character, and no coach could have fared much better than Kasper did, although his lack of experience made him far from the ideal candidate for the job.

The top candidate to succeed Kasper is Jack Parker, coach of Boston University, the runner-up to champion North Dakota in the NCAA tournament. The Bruins have already contacted him and may interview him this week. If he’s seeking a challenge, he will find one with this no-talent, no-defense team.

SLAP SHOTS

The Red Wings’ experiment with Fedorov on defense ended in Game 2 of their series against St. Louis, when Coach Scotty Bowman moved him back to center and reunited his Russian Five unit. . . . The Edmonton Oilers’ first home playoff game in five years featured a stunning rally and a 4-3 overtime victory over Dallas. The Stars are struggling with the Oilers’ speed and with their own special teams. They’re one for 18 on the power play and have given up a short-handed goal. . . . Edmonton defenseman Bryan Marchment, who suffered a concussion and a gash on the back of his head Friday when he fell and hit his head on the door to the penalty box, was released from a Dallas hospital after tests showed no damage. “I’ve got to learn how to skate,” he joked.

Montreal Coach Mario Tremblay asked former Coach Jacques Demers, now a scout for the Canadiens, to help him during the playoffs. The Canadiens need all the help they can get. . . . Chicago forward Sergei Krivokrasov has scored only two playoff goals in his career but they were at crucial times. Both were overtime game-winners against Colorado, one in their second-round series last May and one Sunday, helping the Blackhawks avert a 3-0 deficit. . . . Detroit’s Kris Draper has a similar knack for heroics. He had only eight goals this season but has two in three playoff games and 12 playoff goals in his career.

Edmonton goalie Joseph lost to Dallas four times this season and lost the opener of the Oilers’ first-round series to the Stars, leaving him 0-5 against them in the playoffs. However, he won the last two games, stopping 64 of 67 shots. . . . Mike Keenan’s name keeps coming up as a successor to Vancouver Canuck Coach Tom Renney and General Manager Pat Quinn if changes are made there. . . . Defenseman Uwe Krupp, who scored the Cup-winning goal for Colorado last spring, sat out the first three games against Chicago because of a pinched nerve in his lower back, which numbs his toes and makes it difficult for him to skate.

The International Hockey League said it won’t move a franchise to Hartford to replace the Whalers, but the American Hockey League is interested in putting a team there. Whaler owner Peter Karmanos is considering buying a vacant airplane hangar in Columbus, Ohio, and converting it into a rink until a new arena could be built to house his team.