Many Firsts Leave Fans Ready for Seconds

The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was highlighted by a flurry of firsts: The Florida Panthers, in their inaugural playoff appearance, upset the Boston Bruins; the New York Rangers won a series for the first time after losing the first two games, and the Colorado Avalanche (formerly the Quebec Nordiques) survived the opening round for the first time since 1987.

Because of those feats, the second round--which starts tonight--should be anything but second rate.

The Avalanche, seeded second in the West, may have begun to shed its reputation as a team that dazzles opponents all winter but melts each spring.

“Those questions about the past finally can be laid to rest, and we can concentrate on winning hockey games and getting to the second round and hopefully the third and fourth,” said center Joe Sakic, who leads playoff scorers with seven goals and 11 points. “We’re all happy people can forget about what happened in the past and we can look at now and the future.”

Their immediate future holds a matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks, who had nine days off after sweeping the Calgary Flames. Chicago Coach Craig Hartsburg said he won’t have Peter Forsberg shadowed, as the Canucks did in the first round, because Sakic is just as dangerous. “It’s going to take a good solid team defense to stop the two of them,” Hartsburg said.

The Philadelphia Flyers, the top-seeded team in the East, withstood a pounding from the Tampa Bay Lightning. They expect a close, physical series against the defensive-oriented Panthers.

“I don’t look at it as teams winning by a touchdown or a field goal. It’s going to be tight hockey,” Flyer center Eric Lindros said.

The Detroit Red Wings, seeded first in the West and overall, overpowered the Winnipeg Jets with a balanced offense and good penalty killing (28 for 28). That’s the formula they will use against the St. Louis Blues, who lost record-setting goalie Grant Fuhr to a knee injury but regrouped in front of second-stringer Jon Casey and outlasted Toronto.

In a potentially explosive series, the Pittsburgh Penguins, seeded second in the East, face the third-seeded Rangers. Mario Lemieux scored only two goals against Washington, but Petr Nedved had six and Jaromir Jagr had three. The Rangers struggled against Montreal while Mark Messier was hampered by injured ribs, but got stronger when he did. Thanks to his recovery, six goals from Adam Graves and the acrobatics of goalie Mike Richter, the Rangers won the last four games and the series.

WESTERN CONFERENCE DETROIT RED WINGS VS. ST. LOUIS BLUES

Season seedings, records: No. 1 Detroit (62-13-7); No. 5 St. Louis (32-34-16).

Season series: Detroit 3-1-1.

Top scorers: Detroit--Sergei Fedorov 39 goals, 68 assists, 107 points. St. Louis--Wayne Gretzky 23-79--102.

Top playoff scorers: Detroit--Fedorov 0-7--7. St. Louis--Gretzky 0-9--9.

Power play: Detroit--21.3% season, 21.6% playoffs. St. Louis--16.5% season, 14.7% playoffs.

Penalty killing: Detroit--88.3% season, 100% playoffs. St. Louis--83% season, 75% playoffs.

First round: Detroit--Beat Winnipeg, 4-2. St. Louis--Beat Toronto, 4-2.

Esoteric facts: Detroit’s top scorer, Fedorov, ranks 21st among playoff scorers. The Blues are the only sub-.500 team still in the playoffs.

Keys: The Jets pushed the Red Wings a bit, not a bad thing after they cruised to a record 62 victories. Coach Scotty Bowman split the goaltending between Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon, but he might pick one to ride the rest of the way. The Blues would love to have that option, although Casey (2.76 goals-against average) filled in capably for Fuhr. Shayne Corson (five goals) was their big gun against Toronto, and Gretzky and Brett Hull (three goals, four points) must produce or the Blues will be embarrassed. They’re not in the Red Wings’ class. Detroit in five.

COLORADO AVALANCHE VS. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Season seedings, records: No. 2 Colorado (47-25-10); No. 3 Chicago (40-28-14).

Season series: Colorado, 3-1.

Top scorers: Colorado--Joe Sakic 51-69--120. Chicago--Chris Chelios 14-58--72.

Top playoff scorers: Colorado--Sakic 7-4--11. Chicago--Joe Murphy 4-2--6.

Power play: Colorado--21.3% season, 22.2% playoffs. Chicago--17.7% season, 19% playoffs.

Penalty killing: Colorado--88.3% season, 82.1% playoffs. Chicago--85.5% season, 100% playoffs.

First round: Colorado--Beat Vancouver, 4-2. Chicago--Beat Calgary, 4-0.

Esoteric facts: Sakic had never won a playoff series until the Avalanche beat the Canucks. The Blackhawks, the only team to sweep through the first round, killed all 21 Calgary power plays.

Keys: Stop Sakic, and there’s still Forsberg (four goals, 10 points), Claude Lemieux (the 1995 playoff MVP with New Jersey) and Valeri Kamensky (three goals, nine points). Colorado has an edge up front, but its defense leaves too many rebounds around goalie Patrick Roy. The Avalanche acquired him for the two MVP trophies and two Stanley Cups he won with Montreal; we’ll see if the reason was his skill or the Canadiens’ defensive system. Chelios, Gary Suter and Steve Smith give Chicago toughness and mobility on defense. If Murphy, Jeremy Roenick (five points) and goalie Ed Belfour play big, the Hawks will wear the Avalanche down. Chicago in six.

EASTERN CONFERENCE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS

Season seedings, records: No. 1 Philadelphia (45-24-13); No. 4 Florida (41-31-10).

Season series: 2-2-1.

Top scorers: Philadelphia--Eric Lindros 47-68--115. Florida--Scott Mellanby 32-27--69.

Top playoff scorers: Philadelphia--Dale Hawerchuk 3-4--7. Florida--Ray Sheppard 4-4--8.

Power play: Philadelphia--19.7% season, 23.3% playoffs. Florida--17.3% season, 16.7% playoffs.

Penalty killing: Philadelphia--88.5% season, 91.4% playoffs. Florida--83% season, 74.1% playoffs.

First round: Philadelphia--Beat Tampa Bay, 4-2. Florida--Beat Boston, 4-1.

Esoteric facts: Flyer General Manager Bob Clarke was president of the Panthers in their first season, 1993-94. Panther General Manager Bryan Murray is the older brother of Flyer Coach Terry Murray.

Keys: Lindros is capable of carrying the Flyers. He may not have to, with Hawerchuk playing like a kid and their support players resembling all-stars: Fourth-liners Bob Corkum, Trent Klatt and Shawn Antoski had five goals against Tampa Bay. Ron Hextall (2.10 goals-against average) improved on his 2.17 season average and was poised. In a great team effort, Florida got points from 19 players against Boston. Sheppard is a threat, but the Panthers have more heart than skill. Philadelphia in six.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. NEW YORK RANGERS

Season seedings, records: No. 2 Pittsburgh (49-29-4) vs. No. 3 New York (41-27-14).

Season series: 2-2.

Top scorers: Pittsburgh--Mario Lemieux 69-92--161. New York--Mark Messier 47-52--99.

Top playoff scorers: Pittsburgh--Lemieux 2-8--10. New York--Adam Graves 6-1--7.

Power play: Pittsburgh--26% season, 16.7% playoffs. New York--19.8% season, 25.8% playoffs.

Penalty killing: Pittsburgh--83.3% season, 81.6% playoffs. New York--82% season, 90.3% playoffs.

First round: Pittsburgh--Beat Washington, 4-2. New York--Beat Montreal, 4-2.

Esoteric facts: Penguin goalie Ken Wregget stopped 127 of 131 shots after replacing the injured Tom Barrasso. The Rangers have never won a playoff series against Pittsburgh, losing in 1989 and 1992.

Keys: Emotions will run high, resulting from the 1992 series when a slash by Graves broke Lemieux’s hand and Pittsburgh upset the top-ranked Rangers. Lemieux, who won his fifth scoring title this season, started slowly against Washington but scored in each of the last two games as the Penguins overcame a 2-0 series deficit. Nedved (six goals, nine points) and Jagr (three goals, nine points) tore through a good Washington defense and might destroy the inconsistent New York corps. The Rangers have a wealth of playoff experience and showed resilience against Montreal. Graves and Pat Verbeek began to pounce on rebounds and defenseman Brian Leetch grew more assertive. Wregget isn’t as good as Richter, and that will be the difference. Rangers in seven.