All-Star Game Is Goal-Oriented Event

For a goaltender, being selected to play in the NHL All-Star game is the most thankless honor in professional sports.

Think about it. After earning the right to be among hockey’s top players by keeping opposing teams from scoring all season, a goaltender is rewarded by being put in a situation where a fragile ego could easily be crushed.

“It’s not the most fun for goalies,” said King goaltender Felix Potvin, who played in two NHL All-Star games when he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the mid-1990s. “You have to just approach it as a good honor.

“You just go to the games to have fun. I don’t think you are going to be judged or anything. You are playing against the greatest hockey players in the league. You can’t worry too much about how many go in.”

Scoring goals in bunches has become common in NHL All-Star games. Twenty-six goals were scored in last season’s game, an All-Star record.

“You wish the game featured more defense,” said Potvin, who was a starter for the Western Conference in the 1994 All-Star game played at Madison Square Garden. “It would be more fun for goalies ... but with the tough schedule that we play, it’s become a point that everyone approaches the game just to have a good experience. The fans enjoy seeing a lot of goals scored. There are so many good players in the league, you get a chance to see them make plays and score goals. What more can you ask?”

It wasn’t always this way.

When the league last held its all-star game in Los Angeles at the Forum in 1981, the final score was 4-1 and the most valuable player was a goaltender, St. Louis’ Mike Luit.

“The game itself was good,” said Dave Taylor, a King all-star in 1981. “Unfortunately we were on the losing end. We helped make goaltender Mike Luit the player of the game. He was outstanding.”

In 1981, Luit’s performance wasn’t uncommon to NHL All-Star games. He split time with Philadelphia’s Pete Peeters and they combined to stop 24 of 25 shots. A goaltender may face that many shots in one period Saturday at Staples Center.

Until 1989, there had been only four All-Star games with more than 10 goals scored. Since then, there has been only one game in which there have been less than 14 goals scored.

“The game is a lot more wide open today than it was back then,” Taylor said. “There’s not as much emphasis on defense.”

Over the years, the NHL has had several all-star game formats. Starting in 1947, the defending Stanley Cup champions played a group of all-stars, but that changed to an East vs. West format in 1969. The league switched to a Campbell Conference vs. Wales Conference setup in 1975 with special all-star games against the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1987.

The league’s current North America vs. the World all-star format began in 1998 and has averaged 16 goals.

Goaltenders aren’t alone when it comes to yearning for the old ‘low-scoring’ days.

“The game itself was better then,” Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller said. “It was lower scoring without a lot of hitting. I broadcast the game on radio in 1981 and then did another game in Montreal in [1993].

“The game I did in Montreal, the score was 16-6. Every time I looked down to write who scored, someone else scored.”

According to Potvin, look for more of the same Saturday.

“It’s the one game in a season that is a little different than any other night,” he said. “You just want to see an enjoyable game as long as it is not a blowout. When a game is close no matter what the score, that’s a good thing.”

Starting From Scratch

Imagine where the Mighty Ducks would be without Coach Bryan Murray, who picked up his 500th victory last week.

When General Manager Pierre Gauthier picked Murray to take over the dismal Ducks after last season, few around Southern California were excited. After all, the Florida Panthers had fired Murray only a few months earlier and who could blame Duck fans for wanting a higher-profile coach?

But Murray seems to be a perfect fit. His positive outlook and patience has helped him keep the offense-challenged Ducks together despite the team’s numerous deficiencies.

“He’s been great,” team captain Paul Kariya said. “He’s been through a lot and has a lot of experience. I don’t think he has gone through a streak like this before, with so many one-goal games. He has kept the focus on team-oriented things....

“It helps that your coach respects you and is trying to teach you to become a better player.”

Kariya can speak from experience, having seen other styles.

“Other coaches might throw their stick in the stands or yell at you to get off ice,” he said. “When things aren’t going well, he stops and teaches.”

As usual, Murray took his latest accomplishment in stride.

“I never thought when I was young guy coaching college hockey ... that I’d ever be in the league let alone have this number of wins,” Murray said. “I’m real proud of that and certainly real proud of a lot of the players who played for me over that time.”

Tired Act

When players tune out a demanding coach, there’s no turning back. Just ask former Dallas Star coach Ken Hitchcock, who was fired last week in a surprise move pulled off by team management.

The warning signs had been floating around Dallas for weeks and after more players began to complain about Hitchcock’s refusal to change, it was time for him to go even though he is the only coach to lead the Stars to a Stanley Cup championship.

“He can go out in Frank Sinatra style, saying ‘I did it my way,’” said former Star and current Calgary assistant Brian Skrudland. “Now it’s up to those players, who I imagine have prompted a large part of the decision and why the change was made.”

Dallas will attempt to regroup under assistant coach Rick Wilson, who was promoted to Hitchcock’s job and is expected to keep it at least until the end of the season.

If Wilson can’t turn things around and get the Stars to play up to their capabilities, Dallas is expected to go after Guy Carbonneau, an assistant with Montreal and a former Star, once the season is over.

That would not be a surprise to Canadien General Manager Andre Savard.

“Guy has done excellent work for our organization and we don’t want to lose him, that’s for sure,” Savard said. “If the Stars ever contact me to see if he’s available, I’ll be in a delicate situation.

“There’s an unwritten rule in sports that you don’t stand in the way of someone taking a step upward. At least that’s how it works in the NHL. Happily, we’re not at that point.”

If the Stars do decide on Carbonneau, it will be interesting how he deals with Star forward Brendan Morrow, who is engaged to his daughter and is planning to get married this summer.

Line Shift

All you can do is hope the best for Pittsburgh winger and former King Kevin Stevens, who left the Penguins nearly three weeks ago and is undergoing counseling for an undisclosed problem, according to Pittsburgh General Manager Craig Patrick.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Stevens sought help for an unspecified behavioral problem at a facility in New York. Stevens was required to go through the NHL’s substance-abuse program after being arrested two years ago in suburban St. Louis on a crack cocaine possession charge.