Flyers Finally Find Goalie They Can Trust in Playoffs

In Philadelphia, hockey fans are a little too busy right now to ponder what Roman Cechmanek will be doing during his long summer vacation. He is the Kings’ problem now.

Flyer fans are reveling in their goaltender. General Manager Bob Clarke happily jettisoned Cechmanek after another disappointing performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. That sparked speculation as to what Philadelphia would do for a goaltender.

Robert Esche’s name rarely came up amid the rumors. Now, it would be hard to pry Esche from the Flyers.

Esche has the Flyers up 2-0 in their second-round series against Toronto. He stopped 26 shots in their 2-1 victory Sunday, which included withstanding a pounding, in shots and in body checks, from the Maple Leafs in the second period.

Center Jeremy Roenick summed things up neatly after the game.

“I love this kid,” Roenick said. “He’s awesome, and he’s showing us he’s the goalie of the future.”

Esche, 26, hardly seems Hall of Fame material. Yet, he outplayed New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur in the first round, which Philadelphia won in five games. And Esche has thus far overshadowed the Maple Leafs’ Eddie Belfour.

“If you look at the good teams that won the Stanley Cup the last couple of years, they’ve got everything,” the Flyers’ Simon Gagne said in the Philadelphia Daily News. “Teams sometimes play well and sometimes they’re not there for one period, and the goalies just step up for them.” That’s what Esche “did for us and that’s why right now we’re winning, and it’s the difference, for me, from the last two years.”

That certainly should have Cechmanek’s ears burning.

The Flyers last season seemed waiting for the Cechmanek mistake that would cost them a game. They have now learned to rely on Esche, who has given up 11 goals in seven playoff games.

Still, this seems more the result of blind luck than of a shrewd move. Things were not as simple as sending Cechmanek west, although that was a good start.

Esche had played 30 games for the Flyers in 2002-03 but was seen as a backup.

Clarke pursued and signed free agent Jeff Hackett last summer. Even as the season progressed, Clarke was less than enamored of Esche. When Hackett had to retire because of vertigo, Clarke traded for Sean Burke.

Esche, though, kept putting up the numbers. His 2.04 goals-against average was the fifth-lowest in the NHL.

Still, Clarke and Flyers had seen good regular-season numbers before. Cechmanek had delivered those, then had gone Dixie when the playoffs began. Esche, though, has the Flyer fans whistling a different tune.

Flyer Coach Ken Hitchcock tap-danced when asked to compare Esche and Cechmanek after Sunday’s victory. Still, he couldn’t help himself when asked whether he’d been nervous watching Esche.

“After last year?” Hitchcock said. “No.”

Exit Stage Left

In the NHL, as everywhere else, time marches on.

In some cities, that means the drive to the Stanley Cup finals moves into another round. In other cities:

* Ottawa -- Coach Jacques Martin is out of a job.

* Vancouver -- General Manager Brian Burke is on the hot seat.

* Dallas -- Stars’ owner Tom Hicks is vowing big changes.

* Prague -- Former St. Louis Blues’ Coach Joel Quenneville has stepped down from coaching Team Canada in the world championships because of stress, presumably not related to Glen Sather’s wanting him to coach the New York Rangers.

Hockey teams that don’t live up to expectations go through these timeworn stages:

* Denial -- Coach is fired: “We need someone to get us over the top.”

* Anger -- General manager is fired: “You spent all this money and all we got was a lousy ‘We Made the Playoffs’ T-shirt?”

* Resignation -- Owner hacks and slashes: “OK, let’s have a do-over, a much-less-expensive do-over.”

Ottawa has gone with Stage 1, axing Martin, tops among NHL coaches in tenure.

Martin’s team came within a wisp of reaching the Stanley Cup finals last season. But this season, the Senators lost the battle of Ontario for the fourth time in five seasons. Being eliminated by Toronto is considered treasonable by those in Ottawa’s part of the province.

So Martin was expelled.

He received support from his professional nemesis. Toronto Coach Pat Quinn, on hearing the news of Martin’s ouster, told Canadian Press: “To me, that’s the ultimate fingerpoint, trying to scapegoat somebody. This man has done a tremendous job there.”

In Vancouver, it’s Burke who may be gone. Already the Vancouver media are speculating on replacements.

The Canucks blew a 3-1 lead over Minnesota in the playoffs last season and were eliminated in seven games by Calgary this season. And losing to Calgary cannot be blamed on the absence of Todd Bertuzzi, who was suspended for the playoffs for attacking Colorado’s Steve Moore. The Canucks won their last seven regular-season games without him.

Burke’s contract is up and a decision on his fate is expected this week.

Hicks ripped into his team after a first-round loss to Colorado.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Hicks told the Stars: “You were brought here for a reason: To win, and you didn’t do that. A lot of you won’t be here next year. This [lockout] is for real. The owners are unified, and we’re going to change the way hockey does its business.”

Soaring Unemployment

With Martin joining Quenneville and Carolina’s Paul Maurice in the unemployment line, the NHL’s three top coaches in terms of tenure with their teams have been fired.

Maurice and Martin were in their ninth seasons and Quenneville his eighth. That leaves Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff, who just finished his seventh season, as tops in seniority.

Quenneville, who was replaced as Team Canada’s coach by the Mighty Ducks’ Mike Babcock, may not be out of work long. He has talked with the Rangers and is expected to talk soon with Ottawa and Phoenix.

Tracking Teemu

Things have not gone as planned for former Duck stars Teemu Selanne or Paul Kariya. Both signed for less money, a lot less in Kariya’s case, with Colorado. Yet neither has been a factor as the Avalanche struggles in its playoff series with San Jose.

Kariya has yet to play in the playoffs because of an ankle injury.

Selanne was a healthy scratch for Game 2 of the San Jose series.

“I almost feel like a rookie from Siberia trying to prove myself,” Selanne said after the benching.

“For Paul and I, the plan that we had didn’t really happen. Well, not so far.”

Selanne didn’t rule out this being his last season.

“One option is, I go play in Finland,” he said. “And one option is not to play anywhere. My body, after 12 years in the league, could use rest.”

A Brave New

World (Hockey Assn.)

WHA, an acronym for Where Hockey Is Alive?

The founders of the new league are banking on that if there is an NHL lockout. They announced their seven-team league last week, with franchises in Quebec, Toronto, Detroit, Miami, Halifax and either Vancouver or Dallas.

Montreal might also be added to the group.