Lindros Is Both Valuable and Risky for the Rangers

Hours before the New York Rangers’ Eric Lindros suffered the seventh concussion of his career in a game against San Jose, Theo Fleury talked about his linemate.

“The concussion thing hasn’t been an issue at all with Eric,” Fleury said. “If you look at [Mighty Duck] Paul Kariya, who had to sit out for a long time, he’s come back and is playing well and no one’s talking about his [previous head injuries].”

But later that night, Lindros did suffer another head injury, in a first-period collision with San Jose’s Mark Smith. The contact didn’t appear to be too damaging at first, but it turned out to be just the type of innocent hit that points out the difference between Lindros and Kariya.

One player can’t seem to avoid hits, the other works hard to avoid them.

“Eric is a physical player,” Kariya said about his Canadian Olympic teammate. “It’s not like he can hide out there or play a soft game.”

True. At 6 feet 4 and 240 pounds, Lindros is a muscular power forward with great skill. He draws contact the way a magnet draws nails. That’s why the Rangers are taking a major risk by counting on Lindros to lead them to the Stanley Cup.

Mike Richter has played like an Olympic goaltender. Brian Leetch has returned to all-star form and Fleury is flying around the ice like a youngster again. But Lindros has been the driving force behind the Rangers’ surge to the front of the pack in the Atlantic Division.

If there were any doubt before Lindros had to sit out four games, there shouldn’t be now, seeing as how the Rangers went 1-3 without him. When Lindros returned in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, he played tentatively, as he had during the exhibition season.

Lindros told Ranger broadcaster John Davidson that he’d known immediately the extent of his latest injury, saying he knew it was minor but wanted to be on the safe side because of his history.

“It wasn’t a major concussion,” he said. “I felt very confident in the fact that things will return.”

When Lindros takes the ice on Wednesday for the Rangers’ game against the Kings at Madison Square Garden, expect him to be as aggressive as he was before he sat down, complaining of a headache, against the Sharks.

“I believe that I altered my game from the start [of the season],” Lindros said. “I don’t think I’m as physical [as before].”

Kariya knows what it’s like to return after having been sidelined because of a head injury. In 1997-98, he sat out the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the final 28 games of the NHL season because of post-concussion syndrome. He did not return to the Ducks until the start of the next season.

“It’s been three years for me and I’ve gotten hit hard a lot of times,” Kariya said. “I didn’t feel great afterwards, but I’ve never had any symptoms of a concussion.”

Because of his well-documented experiences with concussions, Kariya says Lindros is better prepared to deal with any problems he has now. Once you sit out for a while, you’re more aware, according to Kariya.

“No one can tell anyone else what to do,” he said. “You have to be yourself and consider your health. Eric has been through all of this before. He knows what his body can take.

“It’s a tough situation because, obviously, Eric is a tremendous competitor and one of the best players in the game. As a fan of the game and a fan of him, you want to see him playing out there.”

Better Second Time Around

Right wing Glen Murray, the former King who was shipped out in the trade that brought in Jason Allison, has emerged as a consistent scorer during his second tour of duty with the Boston Bruins.

Murray played his first full NHL season with Boston in 1992-93, but his playing time was shaky and he was traded to Pittsburgh in the summer of 1995.

“It’s funny how things work out,” Murray told the Boston Globe. “You start your career and then you go away and come back. It’s different because I was so young. Before, I did play, but not in the situations I do now. I feel like a big part of the team. You just want to keep helping out.”

Skating on a line centered by Joe Thornton, Murray has 12 goals and 25 points in 33 games with the Bruins, who have won seven of their last nine games and moved into the No. 2 spot overall in the Eastern Conference.

“I knew it was going to be different coming back here because I knew I was going to get a chance to play,” he said. “Obviously, getting to play with Joe and [Sergei Samsonov] has helped out a ton.

“I’d never played with a left-handed-shooting centerman before. It’s kind of different, but it’s working out great.”

Streaking Hurricane

Carolina’s Sami Kapanen has been on a tear. Over a recent six-game scoring stretch, Kapanen had two goals and nine assists as the first-place Hurricanes gave themselves some breathing room in the Southeast Division.

Veteran captain Ron Francis has seen a tremendous jump in poise by Kapanen.

“He’s skating extremely well; handles the puck extremely well and he can shoot the puck extremely well,” Francis said. “Now he has the confidence and belief that he’s able to do that on a consistent basis. Myself, and the rest of the team here are benefiting from that process.”

In building a double-digit lead in points over the Washington Capitals, Carolina has ridden Kapanen, who has climbed up the scoring charts and was the league’s No. 3 scorer with 45 points before Monday’s games.

“With Sami, we have all sort of seen the talent and the ability he had,” Francis said. “It’s a little bit of a growing process, and you have to sort of experience some things and mature a little bit and gain confidence in your game. I think that’s just the biggest change this year, he has so much more confidence in his ability on the ice.”

Line Shifts

* The St. Louis Blues will skate into the Arrowhead Pond on Wednesday with the stingiest defense in the league. With defensemen Chris Pronger and Al McInnis holding things down, the Blues have returned to a more basic style after flirting with becoming an offense-first team.

“We have got to play like we’re in the playoffs now because that’s what this team is built to do,” Pronger said. “We can’t be playing a run-and-gun game, you know, the way we kind of have the last few years. Not playing very gritty, but playing a little bit more of a finesse game and puck movement game.”

* The U.S. team made a respectable showing at the World Junior Championships recently in the Czech Republic. The U.S. finished 4-1-2, losing only to gold-medal winning Russia. The U.S. defeated Sweden, 3-2, in overtime, for fifth place.

* Around Ottawa, Canada, Senator fans are hoping President-CEO Roy Mlakar doesn’t step down and return to Southern California to replace Tony Tavares for Disney. Mlakar has local ties, including family, and would be a good choice because of his hockey background and his love of baseball.

* Florida Coach Mike Keenan is already up to his old tricks, letting it be known that he would love to have Ottawa’s Shawn McEachern and Boston’s Bill Guerin in Panther uniforms. If Keenan gets his way, Florida owners had better be ready to pay because Guerin, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, is looking for a long-term contract starting at $8 million a year.

Quote of the Week

“You look at that milestone and you wonder if anyone from my generation

could play that many games or have that sort of career. Everyone has goals

like those, but it’s hard to imagine anyone can actually do it.”

Boston forward Samsonov, on Carolina’s Francis, who became the fifth NHL player with 500 goals and 1,000 assists.

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