WISH UPON A STAR

Joe Nieuwendyk is no longer the starry-eyed kid he was in 1989, the first time he played in the Stanley Cup finals.

He was a 22-year-old hotshot then, an Ivy Leaguer from Cornell who stunned the NHL by scoring 51 goals in each of his first two seasons and established himself among the best of the new breed of power forwards. A decade later, the surgical scars on his knees attest to the trials the Dallas Stars’ center has endured in a career that has taken him from Calgary to a team that was in Minnesota when he lifted the Cup with the Flames.

“I was a young guy when I went through this 10 years ago, and I don’t think I had the appreciation that I do now,” he said Sunday. “I don’t know whether that’s age or having gone through the wars of 10 more years.”

Those wars took a terrible toll on his knees, and the Flames’ failure to win another playoff series took a toll on his spirit.

Nieuwendyk was traded to Dallas in 1995, but bad luck seemed to follow him. The Stars missed the playoffs in 1996, lost to Edmonton in seven games in 1997 and were destined for defeat a year ago when a hit by Bryan Marchment damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in Nieuwendyk’s right knee barely two minutes into their playoff opener against San Jose. While the Stars were losing to Detroit in the Western Conference finals, Nieuwendyk was recovering from surgery on both knees, having had minor repairs on the left knee and a ligament transplant from a cadaver to rebuild the right one.

His rehabilitation was tedious, and he needed extra breaks to get through the season. He played 67 games, scoring 28 goals and 55 points and leading the NHL in faceoff percentage (63.2%).

“It’s an ongoing thing. It’s gotten better and better,” he said of regaining his skating rhythm. “Probably sometime after the All-Star break I started feeling that I was getting my legs back.”

Without those strong legs, good hands and superb faceoff skills, the Stars would not be facing the Buffalo Sabres for the Cup on Tuesday at Reunion Arena.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound center leads the Stars in playoff scoring with nine goals and 18 points, but his contributions go beyond that. Besides winning countless key faceoffs, he made better players of his wingers, Jamie Langenbrunner and Dave Reid.

“Nieuwendyk and Langenbrunner seem to be their hot line,” said Sabre center Michael Peca, who will use his outstanding defensive skills against Nieuwendyk or Mike Modano. “They’re big and they skate extremely well and shoot the puck well. We have to try to be physical against them and not let them carry the puck through the neutral zone.”

That may be easier said than done.

Langenbrunner emerged as an offensive force against Colorado, recording the game-winning goal in Game 6 and the first goal in Game 7. Reid, who was placed on that line after Benoit Hogue injured his knee in Game 2, scored a goal and added four assists with his new linemates. Nieuwendyk had the game-winning goals in the second and third games for a playoff-leading five.

“I never really saw much of him [until Reid signed with Dallas in 1996],” Reid said. “You see him once or twice a year and you never appreciate how strong he is on faceoffs and how strong he is with the puck, and that he can create so many plays by just hanging onto the puck. He’s not a finesse player who will put the puck between someone’s legs. He’d rather go through you. He’s a real power forward. And he’s so good in the locker room and such a good team guy. He’s a very positive influence.”

Nieuwendyk has had a good influence on Langenbrunner, 24. “We complement each other very well. Joe’s easy to play with in that he takes up a lot of attention from the other team. That makes it easier for Dave and me to get chances,” Langenbrunner said. “He’s playing with a lot of fire right now. It’s fun to watch and be part of.”

Having traveled so far and so long to get back where he started, Nieuwendyk isn’t quaking at the potentially intimidating sight of Sabre goaltender Dominik Hasek, the NHL’s most valuable player the last two seasons.

“We just went through that with Patrick Roy, and there’s a lot to be said about what he’s done in the playoffs,’ Nieuwendyk said. “We’ll take the same approach with Hasek. He’s obviously a world-class goalie, as well. We haven’t really had a lot of difficulty creating scoring chances. In the playoffs, we’ve been getting lots of chances. . . .

“We got a lot of goals past Patrick Roy, and they’re not a bad defensive team. Hopefully, that won’t be a problem in this series.”

Stanley Cup Notes

The Sabres changed their travel plans and practiced in Buffalo on Sunday. They are scheduled to arrive in Dallas today. . . . Dallas center Mike Modano said he didn’t mean to insult the Sabres when he said the Stars might have a letdown after defeating Colorado, or when he expressed disappointment the top-seeded teams in the East were eliminated early. “That’s what other teams were thinking, that it would be better for ratings and for the hockey world for the top teams to be in it,” he said. “But it’s whoever’s playing best at the moment. They’re disciplined and young. There are too much smarts in this locker room for us to think it’s going to be a cakewalk.”