Down the Stretch They Come

The NHL’s real season begins today, with serious jockeying for playoff spots.

As play resumes after the All-Star break, the Dallas Stars are in position to complete a remarkable turnaround from playoff spectators to top-seeded team in the West, ahead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. The Ottawa Senators, operating under bankruptcy protection and still unsure where they’ll play next season, are fighting New Jersey for the top spot in the East. The defending East champion Carolina Hurricanes are dropping behind the pack and probably won’t make the playoffs.

In the East, the gap from fifth to 11th is nine points, creating a fierce scramble. In the West the race appears to be for the last two spots, although the Minnesota Wild has been slipping the past month and could fall out of the picture.

“I think the top teams in the West are pretty solid,” said ESPN announcer and former King coach Barry Melrose. “Detroit is going to be interesting when Steve Yzerman comes back [after knee surgery]. They can make a push. You look at Colorado and you’ve got to think they’ll get into the playoffs. Dallas could finish first -- how would you like to play Colorado in the first round? Patrick [Roy] is playing better and they can be dangerous.

“I like St. Louis, too. You’ve got to give them points for persistence, playing so well without [Chris] Pronger. And I like the Ducks. I like the Sandis Ozolinsh deal because their power play is going to get a lot better. [Adam] Oates has been playing better, and the special teams should improve. It’s going to be tough for the Ducks, though, because Colorado is going to make a run and be around fighting for a spot.”

In the East, Melrose sees the Senators going far into the playoffs.

“I love Ottawa, he said. “That team has everything. They’ve got great forwards and big, mobile defensemen, and [goalie Patrick] Lalime has good numbers. But until they win a couple of playoff series, you don’t know about them for sure.

“If they don’t win this year and get some rounds under their belt, something’s wrong. They have no weaknesses. I think they might like to be more gritty, but that’s true for every team. New Jersey has quietly been playing great, and I think Martin Brodeur is the best goalie in the NHL. Washington is a dark horse. [Olie] Kolzig has been solid and Jaromir Jagr looks like he’s fired up.”

Brodeur’s proven goaltending for New Jersey could be decisive in the East, as could Marty Turco’s efforts for Dallas in the West. The Kings seem unlikely to erase the eight-point gap between them and the last West playoff berth, but the Ducks are merely a point out. Watch for Colorado General Manager Pierre Lacroix to make a big trade if his team doesn’t soon go on a roll. Among the teams in the top eight, Chicago could be vulnerable if Theo Fleury’s off-ice behavior becomes a distraction, leaving an opening for the Ducks or underachieving San Jose Sharks.

How Swede It Is

Vancouver right wing Markus Naslund is probably as talented as fellow Swede Peter Forsberg of Colorado but hasn’t gotten the same publicity because he’s rarely seen by the influential Toronto and New York media. He led the NHL with 35 goals at the All-Star break and was only three points behind Mario Lemieux for the scoring lead, 68 to 65, but Naslund isn’t thinking about individual trophies.

“If I focus too much on it, it’s not going to work,” said Naslund, who plays with Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi on the NHL’s most productive line. “To me, it’s more important to focus on the team.

“[Lemieux’s] one of the guys I idolized growing up. It’s a great experience to be in the race and I’m proud of the fact I’m right there with him.”

Canuck Coach Marc Crawford anticipated Naslund’s humble response.

“Markus is smart enough to know he can’t do it on his own,” Crawford said. “He understands that for us to continue to evolve as a team, he has to continue to evolve as a leader.... He’s going to be around [the scoring lead], as will Todd. A lot depends on Mario’s health. But Markus has tremendous consistency, and that’s been over a two-year period. He scored at a little higher rate the second half of last season than the first, and he’s been able to keep that up.”

Kovalev

Sweepstakes Hot

The Pittsburgh Penguins, on tenuous financial footing, probably will begin dumping salaries soon. The first one out the door figures to be Alexei Kovalev, the skillful right wing who’s seeking $8 million next season. He’s eligible for arbitration and can make a strong case for bigger bucks than the Penguins can pay.

The Maple Leafs have said that they’re interested, but don’t want to give up Nik Antropov. If the Avalanche jumps into the hunt, as rumored, the West playoff picture could change dramatically as rivals make deals to keep up.

Kovalev is trying to block out all the trade talk.

“If you’re going to wait for the phone to ring, you shouldn’t go out and play hockey,” he said during last weekend’s All-Star festivities. “I don’t think players get bothered. If it happens, it happens.

“I’d definitely love to stay in Pittsburgh. That’s the organization I’ve had success in. They gave me an opportunity to be where I am.... But everybody knows what’s going on there. It’s all a business now. It’s not because they don’t like me or like my game. For me, it’s more to do with hockey first and money second.”

Will Ducks Fly

Toward Playoffs?

Duck General Manager Bryan Murray made an excellent point in explaining why he acquired Ozolinsh from the Florida Panthers.

The success of nearly every Cup-winning team in the last decade has hinged on a creative defenseman, a role Ozolinsh played for the 1995-96 Avalanche, Brian Leetch filled for the 1994 New York Rangers, and Nicklas Lidstrom is playing for the Red Wings. The Ducks had no one in that role, and despite the organization’s reputation for cheapness, Murray picked up more than $11 million in salary in hopes the Latvian defenseman can push the Ducks into the playoffs and make them Cup contenders.

“It seems this kind of player is needed to reach that stature,” Murray said.

Ozolinsh’s stock has fallen since his Colorado days, but he should be a good fit with the Ducks. They have enough defense-minded defensemen to compensate for Ozolinsh’s weaknesses in his own end.

Rangers Get Stranger

Ranger General Manager Glen Sather isn’t the genius he was in Edmonton, when he could send Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe, Mark Messier and the rest of the Oilers over the boards on every shift.

Sather’s hiring of Bryan Trottier to coach the Rangers was a mistake put on the foundation of another mistake: Sather’s extravagant shopping spree last summer, which assembled an overpriced, under-motivated rotisserie team. When Sather fired Trottier last week and went behind the bench himself, he declared, “We’re making the playoffs.” Maybe. He just never said it would happen this season.

Sather is the Teflon GM: Criticism slides off him, no matter that he has an open checkbook and can’t produce a playoff team. His apologists continue to blame the team’s shortcomings on the previous general manager, Neil Smith, which is absurd. Sather has had enough time and more than enough money to build a Stanley Cup contender, and he must be held accountable.

Slap Shots

Detroit winger Brett Hull is one goal from 700 for his career, and Flyer Coach Ken Hitchcock, who coached him in Dallas, marvels at Hull’s durability.

“He’s like Scotty [Bowman]. He’s been able to adjust with the times,” Hitchcock said. “He used to score all the time. Now, he’s able to score at the right times. He’s like a big shark.

“He’s old as dirt, but when the game’s on the line, he’s one of the scariest players in the league.”

After a skeptical fan disputed financial data the Kings showed The Times last month to rebut Forbes magazine’s claim that the club had made $7 million last season, King executives decided to let him analyze the same data. According to the Web site letsgokings.com, a fan who’s a financial analyst will look at the Kings’ books later this month, accompanied by Chief Financial Officer Dan Beckerman. The fan signed a nondisclosure agreement but will report his analysis on the Web site.

Los Angeles-area agent Pat Brisson of IMG added Detroit center Sergei Fedorov to his client list. Fedorov dropped his previous agents, Brian Lawton and Mike Liut, after contract talks had stalled with General Manager Ken Holland. Fedorov is finishing a six-year, $38-million contract and can be an unrestricted free agent July 1.

Eric Staal, a center for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, was the top-ranked North American skater among players eligible for the June entry draft in mid-season reports compiled by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service. Marc-Andre Fleury, a standout on Canada’s silver-medal team at the World Junior Championships, was the top-ranked North American goalie. Left wing Nikolai Zherdov of Russia was the No. 1 European skater. Central Scouting ranks 240 North American skaters and 30 goalies, as well as 156 European skaters and 13 goalies. It will issue a set of final rankings before the draft, which will be held in Nashville June 21-22.