Stars Make No Apologies for Style of Play

Veteran winger Mike Keane knows the Dallas Stars’ devotion to defense won’t earn them style points. And that when they face the like-minded Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup finals, starting today at Reunion Arena here, the games aren’t likely to feature a thrill a minute.

“If I were a fan and I was going to pay $300 or $3,000 for a ticket, I’d think, ‘This is a boring series,’ ” Keane said. “The Colorado series [the Western Conference final] was more exciting and there was an exchange of scoring chances.

“But that’s not the way we have to play. If people don’t like it, that’s tough. The players that came here know this is our system. It wins. It’s not pretty. Brett Hull knew the system we play and he’s not scoring 50 goals. But I bet Brett would be happy to trade 20 or 30 goals for a Cup.

“It’s going to be a low-scoring series. Obviously, we have similar teams and two great goaltenders. . . . Would you be satisfied as a fan if we lost every game, 8-7? You have to think of what’s best for the team. If you’re trying to win a game, that’s your main goal.”

The end justifies the means for the Stars, who will try for their first championship in three trips to the finals--the first two as the Minnesota North Stars. They hate being labeled defensive drones, but that fits because Coach Ken Hitchcock’s system calls for lots of discipline and no freelancing offensively. They clog the neutral zone, play safe in their own end and capitalize on turnovers with a decent counterattack.

“The best thing that happened to us was losing Game 5 to Colorado [7-5] because as a team we got away from the style the coaching staff wanted us to play and we got that thrown in our faces,” Hull said. “The system works, so we keep doing it. It’s easier to buy into it when you become successful.

“It’s boring, but it’s not boring like the clutching and grabbing some teams do. We’re using our skills. We do very little hooking and holding.”

How they play is an acquired taste, but they do it well.

“We’re obviously the underdogs,” said Sabre center Michael Peca, who is expected to check Mike Modano. “Dallas proved the last couple of years they’re a powerhouse. But this is a role we’re comfortable with, especially starting on the road.”

The last four Cup finals have been sweeps, thwarting the NHL’s hopes of showcasing an exciting, competitive series to a wide TV audience. Another blitz may be in store, given that the top-ranked Stars had 23 more points than the Sabres, who were seeded seventh in the East. But Hull, who will flank Modano and Jere Lehtinen on Dallas’ top line, scoffed at predictions that the Stars will breeze past the smaller and less experienced Sabres.

“They’re in the Stanley Cup finals,” Hull said. “How can you not respect them?”

The Sabres’ hopes rest on the performance of goaltender Dominik Hasek, who has been hampered by a sore groin. He practiced lightly Monday and said he felt good. His fitness will be as big a factor as the poise of Dallas goalie Ed Belfour, who will be provoked by the Sabres at every turn.

“He’s shown a tendency to get off his game a little bit,” Peca said of Belfour. “It’s not looking for anything dirty, just going to the net and crashing for rebounds. They do a good job protecting him, and our job is to fight through that.”

Said Hasek, who was Belfour’s backup in Chicago during the 1992 finals, “I respect Ed Belfour. I believe he was, and is, a very good goalie. But my focus is not on Ed Belfour. My focus will be on players who can score the goals and pass the puck.”

Dallas has plenty of those, but the Sabres’ scrappiness and mobile defense can cause havoc. Buffalo winger Dixon Ward cautioned against thinking there will be a letdown after the exciting West finals.

“I didn’t remember them pulling out the Stanley Cup for that series,” said Ward, a former King. “It’s not anticlimactic for us whatsoever. We’ve earned this. We beat three very good hockey teams to get here.”

They beat Ottawa, Boston and Toronto, but they won’t beat the Stars.

KING ALUMNI ASSN. MEETING

Although the Kings lost the 1993 finals to Montreal, defensemen Rob Blake, Alexei Zhitnik and Darryl Sydor gave them hope of contending for years to come. Zhitnik has made it back to the finals with Buffalo and Sydor with Dallas, but Blake and the Kings have since been in the playoffs only once.

Sydor said, “I was young. It was my first year, and I went from the Memorial Cup [junior tournament] to the Stanley Cup, and you think it’s going to happen every year. I just try to cherish this moment and enjoy it. It was over in a flash.”

Zhitnik was sent to Buffalo with Robb Stauber, Charlie Huddy and a draft pick for Philippe Boucher, Denis Tsygurov and Grant Fuhr in 1995. Sydor, always tough on himself when he made mistakes, was traded to Dallas in 1996 for a fifth-round draft pick, Shane Churla and Doug Zmolek. Both have blossomed into all-stars, and both still keep in touch with Blake.

“Things have worked out for us pretty good,” Zhitnik said. “I can’t complain. We could have had a great team in L.A., but you can’t change the past. I can’t look back. Whatever happened, it was for a good reason.”

BIG TRIUMPH FOR SMALL CITY

Because Buffalo is the 45th-largest market in North America, the Sabres’ presence in the finals won’t generate huge TV ratings or nationwide attention. That’s too bad, because they prove winning isn’t a matter of how much money you spend, but how well you spend it.

Their early-season payroll of $26.1 million ranked 20th in the NHL, whereas the Stars’ $39.8 million ranked second to Detroit’s $48.3 million. Dallas, incidentally, is the eighth-largest market.

“I think you can have a good team without spending $50 million,” Sabre General Manager Darcy Regier said. “But I will say it’s increasingly difficult to do. As far as being in a small market, we’re being told we’re being recognized by other clubs as a successful small-market hockey club, and that’s OK. I think it’s good, particularly for Canadian hockey clubs.”

GOING BATTY

The Sabres made their first appearance in the finals in 1975, five years after they joined the NHL as an expansion club. That series is remembered for three things: the Philadelphia Flyers became the first modern-era expansion team to win the Cup, Game 3 was almost fogged out and Jim Lorentz killed a bat in Game 4.

The Sabres’ home was the Aud, which had no dehumidifier or air conditioner. The weather, humidity and fans’ body heat created a fog that obscured the ice and resisted attempts by sheet-waving arena attendants to disperse it.

“Players just materialized out of the fog,” said Lorentz, then a Sabre player and now a broadcaster. “I don’t think Bernie Parent saw the winning goal in overtime [by Buffalo’s Rene Robert].”

Parent did see a bat that found its way into the arena in Game 4.

“Early in the game it was dive-bombing the crowd,” Lorentz said. “Bernie had a couple of swipes at it with his goalie stick. I think it got tired, and I was waiting for a faceoff and I saw it coming at me and I killed it. I got letters from people all over the country criticizing me for that.”

SLAP SHOTS

After Colorado lost to Dallas in the West finals, Theo Fleury--who can be an unrestricted free agent July 1--repeated that he wants to stay in Colorado. However, his no-goal, minus-four showing in the series may count against him. “I think I’ve made it clear that Colorado is a place I’d definitely like to be at the start of next season,” said Fleury, who may seek $6 million a year on the open market. Colorado probably won’t try to keep free-agent winger Valeri Kamensky, even though he was impressive in the playoffs. . . . The Atlanta Thrashers, who talked to Ted Nolan about their coaching job several times, have also been in contact with Ottawa assistant coach Mike Murphy and former Duck coach Don Hay. Mike Keenan is not on their list, but Buffalo assistant Don Lever may get a call after the finals.

The Red Wings are unlikely to pick up Wendel Clark’s option for next season. They previously waived Bill Ranford, making Clark the second of their four deadline-day acquisitions to depart. They’re reportedly in the hunt for Islander winger Ziggy Palffy, who could keep them competitive while they retool. The Kings and Rangers are also interested in Palffy. . . . The power struggle in Toronto between General Manager Ken Dryden and his assistant Mike Smith may be resolved this week. Smith still wants the GM title, but Dryden hasn’t wanted to give it up.

By offering Ron Low a one-year deal and no raise, the Edmonton Oilers showed how little they wanted him back as coach. He obliged them Monday, turning down the $307,000 deal. Assistant coach Kevin Lowe may succeed him. . . . Ottawa gave Tampa Bay permission to talk to Rick Dudley about the Lightning’s general manager opening.