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Monday, November 18, 2002

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

MONTREAL -- A few weeks ago, Aleksey Morozov was part of the most fearsome line in the NHL.

An important part, at that.

	Penguins winger Aleksey Morozov has no goals and eight assists in his past eight games. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

He was getting four points one game, five the next. Not looking the least bit out of place alongside Mario Lemieux and Alexei Kovalev.

And on pace to reach his contract bonuses in time to have the money for holiday shopping.

But that marvelous run ended for Morozov's line a few weeks ago. His goal-scoring touch vanished and, eventually, so did his linemates.

He hasn't gotten either back, yet.

And so Morozov enters the Penguins' game against Montreal, 7:38 p.m. today, at the Bell Centre with no goals in eight games and only a few wisps of the confidence he developed while he, Lemieux and Kovalev were brutalizing the league during the early days of this season.

	More Penguins Coverage: Penguins Report: 11/18/02

Martin Straka has moved into his place on the No. 1 line -- Morozov is working with Jan Hrdina and Alexandre Daigle on the second unit -- and Morozov is trying to figure out how to pull out of his slide.

He hasn't disappeared entirely from the scoresheet -- he has eight assists in the past eight games, including two during the Penguins' 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders Saturday -- but that's scant consolation for a guy who rang up seven goals and five assists in the first eight games.

"It's not really good for me right now," Morozov said. "I had a great start and ... everybody knows you can't score two goals every game, but this is still a tough time. It seems like everything is going wrong. I'm not even getting the opportunities to score, like before."

Actually, he had a couple of those against the Islanders, and one led directly to the Penguins' second goal, as Lemieux punched in a Morozov rebound at 15:46 of the third period.

Morozov has enjoyed the most productive stretches of his career while working with Lemieux, and that's no accident. When they're in sync, Lemieux's playmaking creativity and Morozov's offensive instincts can be a volatile blend.

Nonetheless, Morozov doesn't blame the decline in his goal production on the breakup of his line. The reality, of course, is just the opposite: The line was dismantled because it no longer was putting up numbers.

"It's great to play with Mario and Kovy, of course, but Jan and Alex are great players, too," Morozov said. "We're all young, and we want to show what we can do."

Still, his ultimate objective is to convince Coach Rick Kehoe that the team's interests are best served by using him with Lemieux.

"Everybody on this team -- in this league -- would want to play with Mario," Morozov said. "I hope I can do that. I just need to get back to playing my game."

And while there's no reason to believe Kehoe will reunite them anytime soon -- the Straka-Lemieux-Kovalev unit could become almost unstoppable if its members mesh -- he won't rule out doing it at some point.

"That's something we could do if Morozov gets back on track," Kehoe said. "They know how each other plays, so that would help."

Morozov's visibility has dropped during the past few weeks, and not just because he has been separated from Lemieux and Kovalev. During the early part of the season, he was constantly in motion, driving hard to the net whenever the opportunity presented itself. His play lately has been a lot more static and passive.

"I feel like I need to skate more, to go to the net more," Morozov said. "I think if I concentrate on going to the net more, I know I can make the plays more. I just need to get that feeling of scoring back."

Even the most gifted offensive players go through stretches when they can't find the net -- Lemieux's goal Saturday was his first in four games -- and there's little to suggest that Morozov's dry spell will drag on indefinitely.

"He's just got to get his confidence back around the net," Kehoe said. "All he needs is a goal to get going again."

Whether that goal goes off his stick or his skate or his hip pads really isn't the issue. Go this long without scoring, and it doesn't matter if the goal that ends your slump provides footage for the highlights shows.

But while the Penguins' immediate concern is getting Morozov out of his slump, a more enduring issue is trying to establish consistency in his game. Management enjoys those stretches when he scores six or eight in a couple of weeks as much as anyone, but Morozov's protracted slumps negate the impact of his hot streaks.

"As a coaching staff, we try to keep him consistent," Kehoe said. "But as a player, it's up to you to find ways to motivate yourself."

Whether Morozov's ability to motivate himself is a factor in his dry spells is a matter of opinion. What no one disputes is that Morozov's value will rise significantly if he finds a way to exorcise the long-term slumps from his game.

"It's really important," Morozov said. "I know that I can go seven games and score seven goals and feel confident, then not score anything in the next seven games.

"It makes it harder to find confidence. I think it would be better if I would score one or two goals every five games."

Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144.