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Tuesday, January 01, 2002

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Goaltender Johan Hedberg has spent a lot of time complaining to officials in recent weeks, and they must be listening.

Some of them, anyway. Because at least one has talked back to him.

It happened in the Penguins' 4-4 tie in Washington Dec. 22 when, by Hedberg's account, the Capitals scored after center Andrei Nikolishin had interfered with him.

Hedberg said he protested to one of the referees -- he didn't specify whether it was Stephen Walkom or Chris Rooney -- and received a blistering response.

"It was a pretty obvious call, but apparently he doesn't see it, and he starts yapping at me and telling me to get up, that [Nikolishin] never touched me," Hedberg said. "Giving me some bad words."

While that episode didn't convince Hedberg to stop pleading his case with the officials -- he still gets irate and animated when he believes the other team has scored because one of its players was allowed to take liberties with him -- he hs come to realize that protesting can be counterproductive when not done selectively.

"I just shouldn't say anything," Hedberg said. "They've been in the crease all year, but as long as the puck doesn't go in, you don't really care. But when it happens a couple of games in a row and the puck starts going in, you get frustrated.

"That's something I'm more [upset about] with me, that it happens. I'm going to try to pick my spots and not lose my focus on the game."

Hedberg's on-ice outbursts are very much out of character -- he's a soft-spoken, thoughtful sort most of the time -- and, more important, they don't seem to be doing him much good, because he still gets plowed into several times in most games.

What's more, barking at the officials probably isn't the best way to get a sympathetic ruling from them. Nonetheless, Coach Rick Kehoe doesn't object to Hedberg expressing himself when he believes the referees are allowing opposing forwards to stray outside the limits of the rule book.

"I don't mind him [complaining], at all," Kehoe said. "If he's got a beef, he's going to speak his mind, and that's good. I don't have a problem with that at all, and I don't think our coaching staff has a problem with our goaltender.

"If he wants to complain about guys getting in his crease or bumping him, we don't have a problem with that."

Trivia question

Who was the first Penguins draft choice to play in the NHL?

Media play

The Penguins' game Sunday in Chicago is the only one this season that won't be on television, and that's a direct result of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Although team officials said neither Fox Sports Net, the Penguins' primary rights-holder, nor WCWB, which carries a handful of games, could televise it because of scheduling conflicts, ESPN2 had been scheduled to show the game to a national audience.

That changed when the terror attacks prompted the NFL to postpone its games for the following weekend, then add a week to its regular season. Penguins officials theorize that, because of ESPN's commitment to NFL coverage, ESPN2 then dropped the Penguins-Blackhawks game.

Because the game will not be televised, the Penguins plan to have a camera crew at the United Center and to have highlights available on their Web site (http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/main.asp) on a minor delay, probably about 15 minutes.

The NHL has waived a rule requiring clubs to refrain from posting highlights on their Web sites for at least a half-hour after the conclusion of a game to protect the interests of TV rights-holders.

Mike Lange and Bob Errey will handle play-by-play and color on the conventional radio broadcast of the game, while Paul Steigerwald, who normally does radio play-by-play, will conduct a live on-line chat with fans.

There also are plans for General Manager Craig Patrick and assistant general manager Ed Johnston to be available for live chats with fans during the intermissions and for Ed Olczyk, who usually handles TV color, to conduct player interviews between periods.

Different styles

The Penguins are approaching the end of a stretch in which they'll play 10 of 11 games against Eastern Conference opponents.

Those games mean more in the standings than ones against Western Conference clubs and are, in general, somewhat easier to prepare for because teams generally know more about the personnel and tendencies of conference rivals. Under the current scheduling guidelines, teams play clubs in the other conference no more than twice per season.

"It's almost like when you're going into a tournament to play a game and you don't know the other team, really, know that much about them," Kehoe said.

Whether that lack of familiarity has been a factor in the Penguins' miserable record against Western opponents -- they're 1-7-0-1 -- is hard to say, but those numbers suggest the style of play that prevails in that conference causes real problems for the Penguins.

"The Western Conference [clubs], they skate," Kehoe said. "[When facing] teams in that conference, you have to come ready to play. They're a skating conference, whereas [the East] is a little more grinding."

Hlinka's new gig

Former Penguins Coach Ivan Hlinka, who's suing the team in federal court, claiming breach of contract, is getting a taste of life in upper management these days: He's general manager of the Czech Olympic team.

Hlinka led the Czech Republic to the gold medal at the 1998 Games in Nagano, but he acknowledged to Czech reporters that his role is different this time. He also was emphatic that he'll handle the job differently than some general managers do.

"I won't be down there on the bench," Hlinka said. "But don't expect me to start saying what coaches would do and didn't or should do. Just because I never liked that kind of stuff from any GM."

WhetherPatrick was guilty of doing that isn't known, but it's not likely. That isn't Patrick's style and, even if it were, he probably would have figured out early on that the chances of Hlinka actually grasping anything Patrick said in English were slim, at best.

Brooks' other duties

Herb Brooks already has a full-time job -- he's the Penguins' Minnesota scout -- but he has been devoting a lot of time lately to another position: He'll be the coach of Team USA at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Brooks has had to focus on details like finalizing the team's roster, and that's cut into the time he has been able to spend evaluating young talent.

"It's lightened up the workload, obviously, with the time he's had to commit to the Olympics," head scout Greg Malone said. "But he's still out there seeing a lot of college games, and he's made a trip into Western Canada. He's getting out and around, seeing some players."

Patrick is serving as general manager of Team USA, so it stands to reason that he isn't upset about the time Brooks has spent preparing for the Games. Fact is, he allowed Brooks to determine how his time should be allocated.

"Craig and myself and Herbie discussed it, and we more or less let him make up his own game plan," Malone said.

The Penguins were able to do that, in part, because they added longtime NHL personnel man Chuck Grillo to their scouting staff before this season. Grillo also lives in Minnesota and, Malone said, "has filled in quite well for the stuff that maybe Herbie doesn't see."

Trivia answer

Left winger Gary Swain, the Penguins' first-round choice in 1968, played nine games for them in the 1968-69 season. Their two choices from the previous year, centers Steve Rexe and Bob Smith, never played for the Penguins.