COLORADO-DALLAS REVISITED
It's been nearly two weeks, but I never got a chance to talk about the Colorado-Dallas Game Seven. So, like, here are some thoughts:

* Obviously, Dallas played its best hockey, appearing in complete control throughout the decisive 4-1 victory. The Stars skated a simple, patient game, never allowing the Avalanche to crank up their freewheeling offense. As for Colorado, the men with feet on their shoulders did little to try and disrupt the Stars. The Avalanche and coach Bob Hartley made the fatal mistake of trying to beat Dallas at its own game, looking to match the Lone Star State's favorite sons in the departments of defense and discipline. That's just not gonna happen.

Dallas won the President's Trophy for a reason. The Stars are the most disciplined, machine-like team in hockey. They just roll four lines and never waver from their defensive philosophy. Trying to outwait them, hoping they'll blink first, simply won't cut it. One has to carry the play to 'em, make things ugly, play chippy, play dirty, play mean. Nothing will get a team off its game more than mindless acts of barbarism. It may not be nice, but neither is playoff hockey. The goal is to win a Stanley Cup, not make friends.

Mike Keane by Meredith Martini

When Mike Keane scored at 11:13 of the second period to give Dallas a 2-0 lead, it was clear that something had to be done. But the Avalanche didn't respond. Someone should have dropped the gloves the very next shift. Send a message. Set a tone. This sort of thing doesn't always work, but when Dallas is playing its game, it's pretty much the only chance a team has. You simply can't sit back and hope the Stars make a mistake to let you back in the game, because they won't. You have to make it happen. Get the Stars mad, get 'em running around, and those mistakes might start to present themselves. And considering how anemic the Dallas power play has been this postseason, there's really no excuse for failing to take a few senseless cheap shots. It's all part of the game. If you don't like it, play tennis.

There's no doubt in my mind that if the Avalanche and the Stars both play their best games, Colorado wins. The only problem is Dallas plays its best like nine out of ten times, while Colorado hits around the .500 mark at best. The Avs just didn't have it in Game Seven, the Stars did. That's why it was imperative that Colorado do everything in its power to get Dallas off its game. The Avs didn't even recognize the mission, let alone try to accomplish it. Now they're home watching reruns of "The Andy Griffith Show" while the Stars get to work a second-tier team for the Stanley Cup. Barney Fife is cool and all, but that Cup thing might be a bit more important. I mean, you can buy a "Best of Barney" tape at Suncoast Video for like ten bucks and take it with you on the road and watch it whenever you want, before the games, between periods, whatever. That way you can get your Fife and your Cup at the same time.

* Bob Hartley took grief from some members of the media for dressing defensemen Jon Klemm and Eric Messier as fourth line wingers in Game Seven, with the thinking being that it further limited Colorado's offensive potential against the air-tight Stars. I don't see what the big deal was. Klemm has played wing a lot in his career, not to mention the series, and is a perfect swing man to move up front on the kill or back to the blue line when needed. Hell, he used to be Sandis Ozolinsh's regular partner back in the day.

So the only real dispute would be dressing Messier in favor of the likes of Shean Donovan, Warren Rychel, or Jeff Odgers. First of all, Messier has more skill than the three of those guys put together. Second, having him in the lineup could be a boost to the power play, since he's a proven point man. And third, the fourth line wasn't going to score anyway. I'd rather have Dale Hunter and two defensemen out there, and not worry about getting scored against, then have Donovan and Odgers and risk a bad penalty or a defensive mistake. Colorado didn't lose this game because Hartley dressed eight defensemen. However, they could have lost because of some other personnel decisions.

I've been saying it for the past two years, and it should be painfully obvious to everyone by now, but Adam Deadmarsh is a much better center than winger. He's an impact player in the middle. On the wing, he just gets lost in the shuffle. When Stephane Yelle returned form injury, Hartley put Yelle at center on the third line and moved Deadmarsh to left wing with Joe Sakic once Milan Hejduk was hurt. That's just a mistake. Deadmarsh has to play center.

Moving Deadmarsh to the middle, with a healthy Yelle, would then allow Hartley to go back to playing Sakic and Peter Forsberg, with the added bonus of Theo Fleury on the right wing. That still leaves a second line of Deadmarsh, Claude Lemieux, and Valeri Kamensky, and a third line of Yelle, Shjon Podein and Chris Drury. And I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the Colorado Avalanche would never lose a game if Sakic, Forsberg, and Fleury played for 60 minutes.

Hartley just refused to let them skate together for any length of time. The dream line worked the first shift of Game Seven and then was immediately broken up. At other times in the postseason Hartley would try and stick them together late in games when the Avs were trailing in hopes they could provide some sort of miracle. It doesn't work that way. They have to play a full 60 or not at all.

And if you're not going to stack your top line with three of the best players in the world, then you might as well separate Sakic and Fleury. They just weren't clicking. It looked like each one was waiting for the other to do something, or they'd always go out of their way to try and set each other up rather than just firing the puck on net. Sakic had two goals in the series, Fleury none. It shouldn't have taken Hartley seven games to realize that they simply weren't playing well as a duo. Either put Forsberg up there with them, or split 'em.

And the good thing about Theo is that he's so used to playing with scrap after all those years in Calgary, that Hartley could put him out there with any two players on the Colorado roster and expect production. If Forsberg-Sakic-Fleury wasn't an option, then Game Seven might have been a perfect time to reunite the Lemieux-Hunter-Fleury line that played together a bit at the end of the regular season. Now that's a trio that knows how to stir up trouble and get the opposition off its game.

But before we string up Hartley for his failure to find the right mix, let's not forget that he is a first-year coach. He'll learn from his mistakes. He'll get this team back where it belongs.

Theo Fleury by Meredith Martini

COLORADO CUP BOUND
Speaking of which, can we just give Colorado the 1999-2000 Stanley Cup now? As long as they re-sign Fleury, which seems likely, and don't do something stupid like trade Joe Sakic, which would make the Fleury re-signing a virtual impossibility, the Avs will be a lock in 2000. Dallas is going to be too old, Detroit needs some serious retooling, Philadelphia is always a house of cards, New Jersey can't get out of the first round, Ottawa could be in for a serious stumble, and everyone else is bush league.

Colorado's only glaring weakness is along the blue line, where it's extremely solid one through three with Ozolinsh, Adam Foote, and Aaron Miller, but frail four through six.

Alexei Gusarov and Sylvain Lefebvre are unrestricted free agents. Gusarov is worth re-signing. Despite his advancing age, he's still a dependable d-man, always cool under pressure, and the regular partner for Foote. Lefebvre, on the other hand, has got to go. I realize he's one of the team leaders, but he's just too damn slow and turnover prone to stay. For all his strong positional play and competitiveness in front of the net, Lefebvre commits numerous glaring mistakes with the puck, and usually at the worst possible times. His money can be spent better elsewhere.

That leaves Messier, Klemm, Greg de Vries, and Cam Russell on the depth chart. Help wanted.

Up front, look for Valeri Kamensky to say goodbye via free agency. No doubt, the guy is one of the top pure skill players in the league, and he showed how valuable he is to this team against Detroit, but it's not worth re-signing him when Hejduk and Drury will be ready to carry more ice time. There just won't be enough spots to go around. It'll be sad to see him leave, and Kamensky is still cool as hell, but the Avs need to let their young guys step up.

Of course, if Fleury doesn't re-sign, then inking Kamensky would be a good move. But there's no reason to think the Little Red Menace won't be back in Colorado next season. Theo loved it in Denver, enjoyed playing with his old pal Sakic, and got his first taste of what should be many conference finals appearances over the next few years. Fleury has always said that winning is the most important thing to him. Now's when we find out if he's a man of his word. If he signs with Colorado, he'll have a shot at the Cup for the next five seasons. If he chases money and goes to San Jose or the Rangers, well, he's a weasel. Make us proud, Theo. Make us proud.

As for Sakic, some bright boys with typewriters in Denver are saying that the Avs should trade him. Um, those guys are stupid. Sakic is set to make only $2 million this season. And while it is the last year of his contract, he still won't be unrestricted come next summer. New Jersey has been rumored to be after him something fierce, but trading Sakic would be a monumental mistake. Not only would you lose your captain, one of the most popular players on the team, and your best goal-scorer, you'd also forfeit any shot at re-signing Fleury, since Theo isn't likely to stick around if his best friend gets moved to another team. Sakic is one of the main reasons why Theo wants to stay in Denver. You'd be losing two All-World players at once. It would just be retarded. And moving Sakic now, when the Avs will be the overwhelming favorites to win the Cup next season, just makes no sense at all. They really shouldn't just let anyone be a sportswriter. There should be like a test or something.

FINALS FUN... SORT OF
To be honest, I really haven't even been watching the Finals all that closely. Shhh, don't tell anyone. But from what I've seen, it's clear that both teams are playing with intensity and are giving it their all, so that's cool. The only problem is there's a whole lot of skating around and hitting without ever amounting to much of anything. The games are exciting because of their intensity, not because of their creativity. Sometimes you just get the feeling these guys couldn't score a goal to save their lives. Buffalo had 12 shots in Game Three. I had more than 12 shots during Game Three. God bless Scotch and all the joy it brings.

Alexei Zhitnik by Meredith Martini

These teams just don't know how to make it fun. Alexei Zhitnik does, though. Zhitnik has been something special. The guy's a jukebox. The hit's just keep on comin'. After a pretty lousy regular season, Zhitnik seems to have rediscovered the form that made him a legitimate Norris threat in 1997-98. Hey, remember the time Zhitnik crushed Jaromir Jagr in the Olympics? Aw, that was great, that was fun.

And who was the genius that decided to have all the Buffalo fans wear red shirts for Game Three? Not only is it weak to try and sweat the Phoenix fans, but all the red just made it look like the arena was full of empty seats. Hell, even actor boy Tim Robbins made fun of it on Letterman this week. That's never good. So, Buffalo fans, leave the red shirts at home. In fact, leave all shirts at home. Now there's a promotion for ya.

ZIGGY GO? ZIGGY GONE
It looks like Ziggy Palffy could be moving from one New York team that really sucks to another New York team that really sucks. Once the league gives its stamp of approval, which features a jackass eating a turnip, the Isles will ship the man named Ziggy along with Rich Pilon, one of the least cool players in the league, to the Rangers in exchange for Nicklas Sundstrom, Todd Harvey, the 11th overall pick in this year's Entry Draft, and minor-leaguers Patrick Leahy and P.J. Stock. It is being rumored that the Isles would then send Sundstrom to the Sharks for defenseman Andrei Zyuzin. No word yet on how long Zyuzin would play for the Isles before disappearing for weeks at a time and turning his back on his teammates. Stay tuned.

Ziggy Palffy by Meredith Martini

This deal is strictly a cost cutting move for the Isles. Ziggy and Pilon combined would make $6.7 million next year, with Palffy accounting for the majority of the coin. Ziggy is 40 goals in the bank and will finally give the Rangers the star scorer on the right side they've lacked for the past, well, ever. How about the timing from GM Neil Smith? Wait for Wayne Gretzky to retire, and then trade for the superstar goal-scorer. Way to go, Smitty. I'm sure Wayne appreciates it. The Rangers are hoping to build their team on the offensive talents of Palffy and Petr Nedved for the next several years. Sounds like a plan. If, you know, Nedved was someone you could build a team on and not a gutless little weasel that cares about his wallet more than his teammates. How long before you hold out again, Pete? Let me know so I can make sure and not care again.

Pilon will help replace the toughness void along the blue line left by the departure of Ulf Samuelsson and the questionable health of Jeff Beukeboom. And he'll also add the element of dorkiness.

The key for the Isles is getting Harvey. I used to make fun of him when he was in Dallas, but he really came to play last year for the Rangers. He's a fiery guy that proved he had the skill and desire to play on one of the top two lines. He could be an emotional leader for the Isles, provided he can stay healthy, which has been a concern in his career. But do you really need leadership when you're going to finish in last place for the next decade or so?

Now that they've got Ziggy wrapped up, other players on the Ranger wish list include Theo Fleury, Valeri Kamensky, Sylvain Lefebvre, Stephane Quintal, Joe Juneau, Mark McGwire, Brett Favre, and Tim Duncan.

MARIO AND WAYNE, TOGETHER AGAIN
It wasn't exactly the 1987 Canada Cup, but Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky were back playing together this past weekend at Lemieux's annual Celebrity Invitational golf tournament at the Club at Nevillewood in Collier Township, PA.

Gretzky missed the first day of the three-day event, but arrived in time to play with Lemieux and some guy named Michael Jordan during the tournament's second round. Needless to say, the legendary threesome drew some major galleries and a fun time was had by all. Proceeds from the event went to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Research Institute and neonatal research. Early estimates were that the tournament raised nearly $1 million, including $400,000 from an auction held earlier in the week. Top prize at the auction was a dinner with Mario and his wife Nathalie at the couple's home that went for $36,000. A chance to skate with Lemieux and a few friends went for $20,000. An autographed collection of LCS Hockey issues failed to receive a bid, was later ripped up by drunken auction participants, and then urinated on in the parking lot. Which, oddly enough, is still a better reception than what the same item drew last year, so we were pleased. We just try and do our part to help the community. That's all.

Back to the tournament itself, former Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Rick Rhoden won the event with a three-round score of -4. John Elway was second at -3, followed by Dan Quinn (even) and Trent Dilfer (+2). Grant Fuhr was the top finisher among current NHLers, coming in eighth at +6.

Lemieux shot a 76, 74, and 78, for a +12, good for 18th place. Other notable scores: Dan Marino +18, Michael Jordan +19, "Broadway" Bernie Nicholls +19, Stan Mikita +22, Mark Recchi +76. Yes, that's right, Recchi was a +76. So let's see, I guess that means his handicap is that he sucks. Gretzky, not known as a golfer either, was +36 for his two days.

And oh yeah, Johnny Cullen, LCS Hockey hero and the idol of millions from eight to eighty, was a +24. Cully could have done better, but he didn't feel the need to dominate yet another sport.

LCS HOCKEY TURNS FIVE
On June 15, LCS Hockey celebrated its fifth anniversary. And they said it wouldn't last. Well, I guess they were sort of right, because next issue will be our last one ever. Five years and 125 issues ain't no joke. Be here next issue for a fond farewell.

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