Defining the Moment

Forget the 82 regular-season games and the six previous playoff games. Forget the name-calling and the gamesmanship, the whiteouts in Phoenix and the fowl towels in Anaheim.

All that is meaningless, because the Phoenix Coyotes and the Mighty Ducks will be defined for years to come by what happens tonight at the Pond in the seventh game of their Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series.

A victory by the Coyotes would relieve them of the emotional baggage they carried when they moved from Winnipeg after last season. As the Jets, the club won a best-of-seven playoff series only once, in 1987, and got past the first round only one other time, after winning a best-of-five series in 1985. In both instances, they were swept out of the next round.

“We have some demons to exorcise,” Coyote General Manager Bobby Smith said recently.

A victory by the Ducks would establish them as an NHL power and not merely a Disney marketing tool. No longer could snide columnists in supposed hockey capitals mock the Ducks because of the trendy green of their uniforms or suggest, as one Toronto writer did, that the winner of this series between two warm-weather cities “eats quiche.”

There was nothing soft or inconsequential in the Ducks’ rebound from an awful Game 5 performance to win Game 6 Sunday at Phoenix, or in the Coyotes’ victories in Games 3, 4 and 5.

And if the color of a team’s uniform means so much, where are the Montreal Canadiens and their fabled bleu, blanc et rouge today? On the golf course, most likely.

A victory by the Ducks would also create what Coach Ron Wilson calls a tribal story, a tale passed from one generation to the next. He loves telling stories of his uncle, Johnny Wilson, coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, brawling with Edmonton Coach Glen Sather in a playoff game. Those anecdotes breathe life into names etched on the Stanley Cup and make players feel part of a larger, greater whole. The Ducks don’t yet have a collective past; winning tonight would give them one.

Contenders have become champions in seventh games and pretenders have been unmasked in the searing pressure.

In 1971, a splendid victory in the finals launched Montreal goalie Ken Dryden to a Hall of Fame career.

In 1986, an errant pass by Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith in a second-round series against Calgary interrupted what might have been a record Cup run. The Oilers had won the previous two Cups and won the next two but the 1986 loss kept them from challenging the Canadiens’ record of five in succession.

In 1987, Pat LaFontaine’s goal for the New York Islanders in quadruple-overtime in the first round stuck a near-miss label on the Washington Capitals that they have yet to shed.

Also that year, rookie goalie Ron Hextall became the fourth player on a losing team to be voted the most valuable player in the playoffs when he carried the Philadelphia Flyers to a loss in the finals against Edmonton.

Two well-matched teams. One chance. One night of gut-wrenching tension. This is why these players first laced on skates. And why we watch.

WEATHER REPORT

The forecast in Philadelphia calls for lots of Snow in May. And if the Flyers are lucky, that will continue into June.

But Philadelphians won’t need to reach for their shovels. The subject here is Garth Snow, who supplanted Hextall as the Flyers’ starting goalie before their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against Pittsburgh and helped the Flyers eliminate the Penguins in five games.

Snow was Hextall’s backup this season but was given the starting job by Coach Terry Murray after Hextall faltered late in the season. Like Hextall, Snow is feisty, unafraid to challenge shooters and a good enough puck handler to help his defensemen and ease the pressure when opponents forecheck.

“The coach went out on a limb for me and I don’t want to let him down,” Snow said. “It was a big decision to go with me and I just want to play my best. It’s a lot easier when you’re playing this often and it’s so easy to get into these games because they’re so defensive. It’s so easy to get focused and stay focused.”

Hextall, to his credit, didn’t sulk.

“It was a situation I had never dealt with and it was hard, but I had a lot of support from my teammates,” he said. “I’ve given [Snow] probably a little advice, but he’s been there before in college [the University of Maine] and in the minors. I told him, ‘This is no different than the regular season. It’s like a high-intensity regular-season game. You play maybe 10 to 15 of those during the season.’ For us, it’s the same thing: Just stop the puck.”

GETTING BUFFALOED

Strange doings in Buffalo, where Buffalo News columnist Jim Kelley suggested that Sabre goalie Dominik Hasek’s sprained right knee was merely a cover for his inability to cope with playoff pressure.

In response, Hasek--known as a fierce competitor--pushed Kelley, grabbed him by the throat and called his story “a bunch of lies.” That was after the Sabres had held a news conference to deny the report and Hasek had read a statement, saying he thrives on pressure and wasn’t faking. He apologized to Kelley on Monday, but only after being asked to do so.

Forward Rob Ray supported Hasek.

“We were all there and we want everyone to know it’s [untrue],” Ray said of the story. “We’re a family in this dressing room. We know when Dominik’s ready to play, he’ll be there.”

NOT AN AVERAGE JOE

Mario Lemieux’s retirement overshadowed the retirement of Pittsburgh right wing Joe Mullen, the first American-born player to score 500 goals. Mullen, the NHL’s oldest player at 40, also hung up his skates for the last time after the Penguins were eliminated by the Flyers on Saturday.

“I’ll just slide out the side door or back door,” Mullen said, smiling.

Mullen, who learned to play hockey on roller skates in the tough Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, was ready to quit a year ago, but the lure of being five goals from 500 kept him going. He played only 54 games but got his five goals, and two more for good measure.

If his body permitted, he would play another 18 years. That’s why he can’t comprehend why Lemieux quit at 31 with what might have been many productive years left.

“Mario can still do things and be a dominant player,” Mullen said. “Maybe he can’t do the things he wants to do. It’s hard for me to understand, but maybe he just feels it’s time. Everybody’s different. He’s doing what he feels is right.”

KING FOR A DAY

Sam McMaster was never qualified to be the Kings’ general manager. Farm system director or scouting director, yes. But he didn’t know the NHL well enough or become decisive enough to win respect from his peers and take the Kings’ rebuilding process to the next level, where you fill holes by trading some of the prospects you’ve developed for proven players.

When he dealt for youngsters--such as Mattias Norstrom and Ian Laperriere--his judgment was fine and he added depth to the organization, though there’s more quantity than quality. His moves for established players, such as Grant Fuhr and Kevin Stevens, were failures. He probably could have squeezed more out of the St. Louis Blues for Wayne Gretzky and he was afraid to pull the trigger on big deals.

There’s also reason to believe he could have pried Teemu Selanne away from Winnipeg before Selanne was traded to the Ducks.

New General Manager Dave Taylor promised to boldly pursue free agents and trade for impact players. He was an exemplary player, but that doesn’t guarantee he will be a good general manager. He starts with a promising defense and decent goaltending, and where he goes from there will determine whether King fans get a new arena or a playoff team first.

SLAP SHOTS

Canadien President Ronald Corey gave a vote of confidence to General Manager Rejean Houle but not to Coach Mario Tremblay after Montreal lost to New Jersey in five games. Rumor has Pat Burns going there, but after sitting in a comfortable TV booth, he might be in no hurry to return.

Gretzky and Mark Messier scored five goals in the final two games as the New York Rangers eliminated the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers. Not bad for a couple of 36-year-olds who played the last four games of that series in six nights. Esa Tikkanen, a mere 32--and a former Edmonton Oiler, as are Gretzky and Messier--scored the winner in Game 5. Old Oilers seem to go on forever. Ask Fuhr and Craig MacTavish, now at St. Louis; Andy Moog of Dallas, or Paul Coffey of Philadelphia.

The Panthers couldn’t manufacture goals when injuries idled Bill Lindsay and Johan Garpenlov. They also struggled when defenseman Ed Jovanovski lost his confidence and wasn’t a physical force. . . . Mike Eaves, a former NHL player who is coaching in Europe, is the top candidate to coach the Penguins next season.

Chicago Coach Craig Hartsburg challenged management to get him better talent next season. Good luck. Owner Bill Wirtz is more interested in his profits than in his product. . . . The Sabres are 0-3 in previous Game 7 situations.

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MIGHTY DUCKS vs. PHOENIX

Series tied 3-3

* Game 1: Mighty Ducks, 4-2

* Game 2: Mighty Ducks, 4-2

* Game 3: Coyotes, 4-1

* Game 4: Coyotes, 2-0

* Game 5: Coyotes, 5-2

* Game 6: Mighty Ducks, 3-2

* Tonight: Pond, 7:30.