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Sunday, May 06, 2001

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Out of the NHL's 30 teams, 16 qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. They play 1,230 games to determine those participants.

And right there, in those two sentences, you can neatly summarize the relevance of the regular season to the postseason. Beyond that, forget it.

Home-ice advantage?

That's a misnomer.

Road teams have a 33-30 record in these playoffs, including an incredible 13-6 mark in this round. Before the Penguins lost to the Sabres yesterday in Game 5 of their series, the visiting club had won every game. That's in stark contrast to the regular season, when road teams went 423-602-152.

Momentum?

Please.

The Blues were one of the league's coldest teams in the final few weeks of the regular season, winning six of their final 25 games, but they're in the Western Conference final. The Maple Leafs went 0-5 against the Senators when the games didn't matter, 4-0 when they did. The Red Wings had 49 victories, and they lost only four of their final 29 regular-season games, but they fell hard to the Kings.

It's as if regular-season hockey and playoff hockey were two entirely different sports.

The home teams have no edge because the players' focus is sharper. Having the fans cheering is a great boost on a Tuesday night in February with the Thrashers in town, but it doesn't mean much when both teams are intensely zoned in on what's happening on the ice.

And momentum from the regular season seldom carries over into the postseason because the ingredients for success are so different. This time of year, it's grit before goals.

It's about the drive of Adam Deadmarsh, the skill of Peter Forsberg, the determination of Randy McKay, the stamina of Chris Pronger, the meanness of Scott Stevens, the dramatic flair of Mats Sundin, the courage of Alexei Zhitnik, the leadership of Mario Lemieux and the cool of Johan Hedberg.

Put those guys and a few others named Claude Lemieux on one roster, coast to a 36-36-10 regular-season record, finish eighth in the conference, and you'll still probably like your chances.

Icy chips

Wayne Gretzky understands the importance of the playoffs. He said he will base his decisions on picking the Canadian Olympic team largely on what he sees in these two months. "When you get to the Olympics, every game is like a Game 7," Gretzky told the Canadian Press. He underscored that by saying Martin Brodeur and Curtis Joseph, going head to head right now, are the top two candidates to be the No. 1 goaltender.

Was Marty McSorley's infamous hit any worse than what the Maple Leafs' Tie Domi did to the Devils' Scott Niedermayer two nights ago? Or did the league just take a stronger stance against McSorley because his incident crossed into the mainstream media and made it onto the evening news?

Look for one -- and possibly both -- of the top two picks in the NHL Entry Draft to get moved. The Thrashers are on record as saying they would part with the No. 1 pick for a good, young goaltender, and the Canadiens' Jose Theodore might be enough. The Islanders, also, will listen to offers for the No. 2 choice. Given that there are two superior prospects ranked equally by most scouts, forwards Jason Spezza and Ilya Kovalchuk, that could reap quite a return.

Kevin Constantine, Ted Nolan and Bryan Murray are the final three candidates for the Islanders' coaching job. The team expects to decide within a week.

You've seen the last of the Stars, as presently aligned. After an incredible four-year run which included appearances in 13 of a possible 16 playoff rounds, Coach Ken Hitchcock vowed change is coming after getting swept by the Blues. "We've been going at this thing with this core group for four years," he told the Dallas Morning News. "It was a hell of a run. But it ended today."

Cry for the Oilers no more. The team expects to sell as many as 15,000 season tickets -- roughly 5,000 more than the Penguins' current base -- for next season. As General Manager Kevin Lowe told the Edmonton Journal, "The so-called little team that couldn't but almost did should now be known as the little team that should and will."

Get out of Rob Blake's way.

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