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Sunday, April 22, 2001

WASHINGTON -- This Stanley Cup playoff series between the Penguins and Capitals has been so tight, so give-and-take that Alexei Kovalev has likened it to a chess match.

"We make a move," he said, "Then they make a move."

Borrowing Kovalev's analogy then, the NHL's entire first round might well be described as a chess tournament. So close has the action been around the league that it has sent hockey historians scrambling for the record books.

Twenty-three of the first 35 games were decided by one goal, a clip of 65.7 percent which figures to shatter the first-round mark of 52.3 percent set two years ago.

Thirteen of those games were decided in overtime, one shy of the record set in 1993.

And, perhaps the most telling trait, no lead seems to be safe.

The dramatic comebacks have been spread across the continent. The Penguins mounted a two-goal rally in the third period to tie the Capitals in Game 4 before falling in overtime. The Oilers twice have overcome late two-goal deficits against the Stars. And, of course, the Kings' rally against the Red Wings on Wednesday night will be talked about in hockey circles for years.

For those who didn't stay up, Los Angeles wiped away a three-goal deficit against Detroit, one of the league's top defensive teams, by scoring three times in the final 6:07, then winning it on Eric Belanger's goal 2:36 into overtime.

The Kings and their fans celebrated as if they had won the Cup, but that might be because what they accomplished was rarer. They became only the fifth NHL team since 1927 to win a playoff game when trailing by three or more with less than seven minutes remaining.

Why all the close calls and frenetic finishes in a round in which teams theoretically should be facing the most lopsided matchups?

One reason is that in a 30-team league the talent is spread so thin that the difference between haves and have-nots is not nearly as great.

Another is that most coaches these days employ defense-first systems, which lead to lower scores and greatly reduce the chance of blowouts.

Either way, who's complaining?

Icy chips

Older readers will recall that the Kings pulled a similar stunt nearly two decades ago, only it was far more impressive. That was the famous "Miracle on Manchester" on April 10, 1982, when they trailed Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers, 5-0, heading into the third period and rallied to win on Daryl Evans' goal at 2:35 of overtime. That's just a second earlier than Belanger hit the net Wednesday.

Would you like the Penguins' chances better if you knew that the No. 6 seed is only 3-11 against No. 3 seeds since the NHL went to a conference-based playoff format in 1994? Didn't think so.

The incredible part of that statistic is that No. 6 seeds have fared worse than those teams seeded No. 7 and No. 8. Don't believe it? Ask the Maple Leafs.

The Blackhawks still are looking for a coach to replace Alpo Suhonen, and it appears they might be leaning toward Terry Murray. All he did was win six of his first 36 games this season with the Panthers before getting fired.

The Senators collapsed for the third year in a row, and there is blame enough to spread around, considering the wealth of speed and skill on their roster. But the main finger has to be pointed at Jacques Martin behind the bench. His stoic, systematic style was a perfect fit for regular-season success, but passion is what plays in the postseason.

Eleven head coaches were fired since the start of the season, two in Boston. Is Martin next?

Alexei Yashin's contribution to his summer contract drive? One assist in four games.

The Canucks' ship sunk in four games, too, but the reviews in Vancouver were stunningly positive for a club which won just two of its final 21 games. Coach Marc Crawford is pointing to his team's youth and a couple of tight battles with the Avalanche as evidence the best is yet to come. Particularly impressive in the round were the rookie twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

A gem of a leftover statistic from the regular season: Pavel Bure scored 59 of the Panthers' 200 goals, or 29.5 percent. That broke Brett Hull's mark of 27.7 percent in 1990-91, when he scored 86 of the Blues' 310 goals.

If Scott Stevens played for your team, would you ask if his hits were ethical?

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@ post-gazette.com.