Playoffs Prove Speed, Skill More Valuable Than Brawn

Thank you, Gary Bettman. You too, Brian Burke.

By directing referees to crack down on obstruction and interference--and by maintaining that vigilance in the playoffs--the NHL’s commissioner and director of hockey operations brought speed back into the game and made it easier for small, skillful players to become vital forces.

The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators might not have won their playoff series without that directive.

And the NHL is better for it.

Gone are the New Jersey Devils, who compiled the NHL’s second-best record with a slow, negative, colorless game that stifled players’ creativity. Of the 12 goals they scored in their six-game loss to Ottawa, five were by Doug Gilmour. Bobby Holik, their season scoring leader, was blanked.

The Senators had 24 fewer points than the Devils, the largest disparity of the three eighth-seeded teams that have upset top-seeded teams since the NHL adopted this format in 1993-94. Yet, the Senators were faster and set a brisk tempo the Devils couldn’t match.

Short shifts enabled the Senators to exert constant pressure, which wore down New Jersey’s big but slow defense.

The Devils, tethered by Coach Jacques Lemaire to a defensive system that allows no flexibility, were outplayed by the tenacious Senators and goalie Damian Rhodes, who had a .936 save percentage.

“Everyone’s a hero,” Randy Cunneyworth said after his team’s first playoff series victory.

Gone, too, are the Philadelphia Flyers, to no one’s sorrow. Their defense, bulked up by the acquisition of Dan McGillis from Edmonton for Janne Niinimaa, was undisciplined and not skillful enough to avoid taking bad penalties.

Their top regular-season scorer, John LeClair, had 51 goals--five more than Miroslav Satan’s team-leading point total for Buffalo--but the smaller Sabres skated rings around the muscle-bound Flyers. LeClair and Eric Lindros, who combined for 81 goals and 155 points this season, had two goals and five points against Buffalo. Lindros has not become the leader he was touted to be, and it’s time to wonder if he ever will.

The Sabres also excelled in special-team play. Despite going 0 for 20 on the power play against Philadelphia this season, the Sabres were nine for 31 in the playoffs. Their penalty killers neutralized 32 of 35 disadvantages and scored two short-handed goals.

“Our speed was the key,” said Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek, who led the Czech Republic to the gold medal at Nagano.

“Philly is a great team,” Satan said. “Everybody thought they would go past us. We proved everybody wrong.”

In proving people wrong, the Sabres proved the NHL did something right. The league had swung too far toward brawn over skill, nearly making small but skilled players extinct. Now, expect coaches to seek more skill and speed.

It’s the best thing that could have happened, for players and fans.

AT LEAST HE’S CONSISTENT

St. Louis left wing Geoff Courtnall didn’t just annoy the Kings in their first-round playoff series--he annoyed his own teammates.

The morning of Game 4, he smeared Al MacInnis’ hairbrush with Vaseline before they left the team hotel. The unsuspecting MacInnis went to finish dressing and probably said the same things about Courtnall the Kings did after he had barreled into King goalie Jamie Storr in Game 3.

Courtnall’s mother, already angry at him for running into Storr, wouldn’t have liked his joke on MacInnis.

“We were kidding him that you know you’re doing your job when your mother won’t talk to you,” MacInnis said. “But there’s not one team in the league that wouldn’t want Geoff Courtnall.”

Many will pursue him July 1, when he can become a walk-away free agent. The Kings couldn’t beat him, but they should sign him. Or MacInnis. Or former King Steve Duchesne, who may be amenable, since old pal Luc Robitaille has been urging him to return to the Kings.

Duchesne and Robinson chatted on the handshake line at the end of the series, but Duchesne wasn’t getting a sales pitch.

“Larry was disappointed and I just told him to be proud of his team. They did so well,” Duchesne said. “They can keep their heads up. As a former King I was so happy for them as an organization. Of course, I’m glad I’m on this end.”

NO CHOKE, NO JOKE

The Washington Capitals did their best to gag on another 3-1 series lead, but goalie Olie Kolzig spared them that humiliation by outplaying Boston’s Byron Dafoe to end a closely matched series in six games.

The Capitals have squandered 3-1 series leads three times in their dark playoff history. This time, though, Adam Oates, with three goals, and seven points, and Kolzig, with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .946 save mark, held on.

Gee, that Ron Wilson must be a decent coach.

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES

Nice to see 38-year-old Andy Moog playing well for Montreal, whose six-game victory over Pittsburgh was its first playoff series triumph since the 1993 finals. Coach Alain Vigneault escaped a French-English goalie controversy when Jocelyn Thibault pulled a groin muscle, and Moog made Vigneault look like a genius with a smart, poised performance.

The decisive factors were Montreal’s defensive coverage of Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins’ lack of balanced scoring and the return of Montreal center Saku Koivu, who missed the first four games because of a broken hand. His return moved Vincent Damphousse back to the second line, where he’s more effective, and visibly boosted linemates Shayne Corson and Mark Recchi. The speed and playmaking of Koivu--another of those small, skilled players--threw the Penguins into a panic.

SLAP SHOTS

Edmonton’s seven-game upset of Colorado wasn’t that much of an upset. The Oilers’ speed paralyzed the immobile Avalanche defense, and Curtis Joseph resoundingly outplayed Patrick Roy in goal. Peter Forsberg played well for Colorado, but the grinders didn’t come through as they did two years ago. . . . Another gutless effort by the Phoenix Coyotes, eliminated by Detroit in six games. Left wing Keith Tkachuk, who had criticized the Phoenix media for being too soft, cursed a reporter who dared question his production before Game 6. Only Rick Tocchet and Jeremy Roenick seemed to care, and Tkachuk’s selfishness is part of a bad atmosphere that Jim Schoenfeld’s uninspired coaching hasn’t cleared up.

Forward Tomas Holmstrom was one of Detroit’s best weapons against Phoenix. He planted himself in front of the net for rebounds, tips and screens and took a lot of punishment. . . . Once Dallas center Mike Modano gritted his teeth and waded in, bad shoulder and all, he and the Stars dominated the gutsy but talent-thin San Jose Sharks. Jeff Friesen, the Sharks’ top scorer, had only one point. That’s learning the hard way.

After the Devils’ loss, Lemaire said he hasn’t decided whether to return as coach. . . . Craig Hartsburg was barely out the door in Chicago when Barry Melrose had his resume on the desk of General Manager Bob Murray. Blackhawk scout Dirk Graham is the preferred candidate, but Graham hopes to stay in management and doesn’t want to go behind the bench. Denis Savard, the only assistant coach to survive the purge, could end up with the job by default. . . . The New York Rangers began contract talks with goalie Mike Richter, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Richter, who wants to stay in New York, wants $5 million to $6 million a year.