Doing Time in Goal No Pressure for Hebert

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was not a movie about a high shot on goal, but, judging from the title, it could have been.

NHL goaltenders, like left-handed pitchers, have a reputation for strange behavior, especially during the playoffs. See Dominik Hasek for the most recent reference.

But Tuesday, as the Ducks’ Guy Hebert left home for the Pond of Anaheim and Game 7 of a playoff series against Phoenix, he was as calm as if he were headed toward another type pond for his favorite recreation, fly fishing.

If the pressure didn’t appear to faze him, perhaps it’s because he learned how to handle it from someone who knows something about the subject.

Hebert’s father, Paul, was assigned by the New York State Dept. of Correctional Services after the Attica riots as director of training for 30,000 prison guards.

Whenever Hebert remembers that one aspect of his father’s job was to teach people how to subdue agitated convicts, I would guess facing an onrushing Keith Tkachuk doesn’t seem so threatening.

All Tkachuk threatened Tuesday night was Hebert’s shutout, with a first-period slap shot that bounced off the left post.

“Unbelievable,” a relieved Paul Hebert said to his wife, Carol.

“I’m more nervous than he is,” Paul said later. “Guy’s intense, but he doesn’t get too nervous. I’ve known goalies on the flaky side. Guy doesn’t fit that description.”

He said the only time he sensed tension in Guy this season was when he learned his parents wouldn’t make their annual trip from Troy, N.Y., to Anaheim until the playoffs.

“That meant the team had to make the playoffs,” Paul said. “That put some pressure on him. He knew we were looking forward to coming to California.”

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There’s a debate in Hebert’s hometown of Troy about how to pronounce his first name--English or French. . .

Guess which Paul prefers. His father’s name was Jules Alphonse Maurice Hebert. . .

Game 7. Pond of Anaheim. Ron Wilson vs. Larry Robinson, Hebert vs. Stephane Fiset, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne vs. superstars to be named later, Ducks vs. Kings. Well, we can dream. . .

Wilson says the Duck-King rivalry will become one when the media gets involved. I think it will become a rivalry when the Kings get involved. . .

There is some King presence in the playoffs. Former King Butch Goring is the coach and general manager for the Utah Grizzlies, who open a best-of-seven IHL series at Long Beach on Friday night. King exec Rogie Vachon’s son, Nick, plays center for the Ice Dogs. . .

According to reports, the Boston Bruins are so desperate in their search for a coach they’re pursuing King castoffs. Believe the one about Robbie Ftorek. Don’t believe the one about Barry Melrose. . .

Brett Butler came back for this? . . .

On a team of cliques, Ismael Valdes marches to his own beat. . .

I’m not sure, though, that Eric Karros should be the one chastising him. Going into Tuesday night’s game, Karros was hitting .253. . .

The Angels are the best National League team in Southern California. At least Terry Collins has them playing like an NL team. . .

They stole their 19th base last season on June 21. They stole their 20th this season last Sunday. . .

UCLA’s Steve Lavin is planning a well-deserved vacation to Cancun. But before he travels to another country, he should call Toby Bailey, J.R. Henderson, Kris Johnson and Jelani McCoy. They need to hear that it’s still their team, no matter what they hear about Baron Davis and Schea Cotton. . .

It’s too bad NBA audiences have never gotten to see Portland’s Arvydas Sabonis at his best. Playing for the Soviet Union in the 1986 World Championships and 1988 Summer Olympics, he was every bit the equal to David Robinson. . .

The young Sabonis, unfortunately, didn’t have Bill Walton’s work habits. The Lithuanian did, however, have Walton’s knees. . .

As well as Shaquille O’Neal is playing, he’s only 80% recovered from his knee injury. That’s according to Laker assistant Bill Bertka, who says, “He still doesn’t have the explosion to the basket he had earlier.” . . .

Shaq didn’t appreciate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s contention in a “Men’s Journal” article that his game is one-dimensional. . .

Watching a tape of Abdul-Jabbar playing defense against Moses Malone in the 1983 playoffs, O’Neal said he could have scored 80 points against the center of Laker past. . .

Well, he can dream.

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While wondering if we really need another Dennis Rodman book, I was thinking: go Oprah, say it ain’t so about Lambeau, the Ducks don’t stop here.