Ducks Are in a Close Race, but the Drama’s in the East

With less than three weeks left in the regular season, Eastern Conference teams are providing most of the suspense in the playoff races.

The Pittsburgh Penguins regained the overall lead in the East and pushed the New York Rangers deeper into a 3-8-3 slump Sunday. The New Jersey Devils are trying to avoid becoming the first defending Stanley Cup champion to not qualify for the playoffs since the 1970 Montreal Canadiens, and the Boston Bruins are trying to extend their 28-year playoff streak.

In the West, the only question is whether the Detroit Red Wings will break the NHL record of 60 victories and 132 points in a season, set by the 1976-77 Canadiens under Scotty Bowman, the current Red Wing coach.

The competition in the West is for the last two spots. The Mighty Ducks, who have one of the NHL’s hottest teams--and the hottest Teemu--are poised to pass the Winnipeg Jets, but the Edmonton Oilers are nipping at their heels.

Here’s how things shape up:

The Penguins’ potent offense--48 goals in their last 10 games--may propel them past the Rangers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Mario Lemieux sat out their 8-2 rout of the Rangers on Sunday, but they didn’t miss him. The Ranger defense has been awful--they’ve given up 23 goals in the last five games--and their big guns are silent.

The Florida Panthers, seeking their first playoff spot, are only three points behind the Rangers. However, they must play seven .500-or-better teams in their last 10 games. The Philadelphia Flyers, who moved two points ahead of the Panthers after beating Hartford on Monday, have a similarly tough finish.

The Canadiens will strain to stay fifth after losing defensemen Vladimir Malakhov and Stephane Quintal to knee injuries. The Devils’ next four games are on the road, where they are 5-1-2 in their last eight.

Tampa Bay has scored only 12 goals in its last seven games, a pace that will make it tough to clinch its first playoff spot.

Bill Ranford’s goaltending pulled the Bruins into a three-way tie for sixth with New Jersey and Tampa Bay, but the Bruins miss Cam Neely’s offensive spark. They may still have enough grit to edge out the lackluster Washington Capitals, who plod along scoring two goals a game.

Detroit, Colorado and Chicago will finish 1-2-3 in the West. St. Louis will probably keep fourth place, but only because the Calgary Flames didn’t get rolling until midseason. The Vancouver Canucks’ offense should keep them ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who could drop out of the top eight after two games each against Chicago, St. Louis and Edmonton.

Thanks to the Jets’ 1-6-1 slump and the Ducks’ 6-1-1 surge, the last few weeks will be interesting. It’s a good omen when second- and third-liners such as Alex Hicks and Garry Valk are scoring, and they take pressure off Duck mainstays Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. If goalie Guy Hebert can play as he did until Monday’s 5-1 loss at Detroit, Disney’s Ducks just might take a trip to Playoffland.

IT’S OFFICIAL

Western Conference teams’ second-favorite beef--after the schedule--is that the NHL doesn’t send its best referees to their games.

“I’ve argued for years that Western teams don’t get an equal amount of the top officials,” said Glen Sather, general manager of the Oilers.

Bryan Lewis, the NHL’s director of officiating, maintains that the West doesn’t get the short end of the stick. He devises the referees’ and linesmen’s schedules according to where they live, his travel budget and common sense, with room to adjust for injuries and weather problems.

“We try to get our veteran people out there so every team gets its share,” Lewis said. “It’s an average of four or five games per official.”

The top-rated referees last season were Bill McCreary, Terry Gregson and Kerry Fraser. Citing the Kings as a typical Western team, Lewis said that, barring unforeseen changes, McCreary will have worked eight King games by Sunday, Gregson five and Fraser four. Don Koharski, second in number of games worked to Andy Van Hellemond, will have done six, as will Paul Stewart and Dan Marouelli. Junior referee Lance Roberts will have done four King games, Dave Jackson six, Paul Devorski five and Stephen Walkom one.

Van Hellemond, the NHL’s senior referee, will have worked only two King games. He was scheduled for more until he injured his knee.

“I do not have one ounce of problems with this schedule,” Lewis said.

RAGS TO RICHES

Once upon a time, Pat Croce was a working stiff who was kicked out of college before he straightened up and became the fitness and conditioning coach for the Philadelphia Flyers and NBA’s 76ers.

Thanks to shrewd self-promotion, he became a multimillionaire, and helped broker Comcast’s purchase last week of the Flyers, 76ers, the Spectrum and the CoreStates Center. As a reward, he was named president of the 76ers.

Just think of the revenge he can exact against players who didn’t give him good tips in his old job.

HERE COME THE BLACKHAWKS

The Chicago Blackhawks, who acquired Enrico Ciccone and his 260 penalty minutes last week, must think the only way they can beat the Red Wings is to beat them up. But adding Ciccone isn’t going to resolve a complaint they voiced to the NHL last week: that referees discriminate against them.

Through Sunday, the Blackhawks were short handed 382 times and had 307 advantages, a difference of 75. The next-biggest difference belonged to the Rangers, who were short 57 times more than they had power plays.

Instead of whining, the Blackhawks should realize that with bruisers Bob Probert, Chris Chelios, Jim Cummins and Jeremy Roenick, they are bound to pile up penalties. If you play a physical style, you’ve got to be prepared for the consequences--and have your penalty-killers primed.

SLAP SHOTS

Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky, who haven’t faced each other in more than two years, are expected to go head to head tonight at Pittsburgh. . . . Blackhawk center Roenick, who has a sprained right knee, will be out for two more weeks. He had just recovered from a broken jaw and torn thigh tendon when he was hurt again. The Blackhawks are 2-4-1 without him.

After going 15 games without a goal, Tampa Bay winger Alexander Selivanov has three in two games. Teammate Rudy Poeschek, who had an empty-net goal Saturday, had not scored since Jan. 20, 1995. . . . The Maple Leafs took only two shots at Flyer goalie Ron Hextall in the first period of a 4-0 loss Saturday, both during power plays. . . . During his hectic visit to the Forum last week, Gretzky made time to give the Kings’ trainers generous thank-you checks.

Buffalo’s Matthew Barnaby had a “Gordie Howe hat trick” Saturday: A goal, an assist and a major fighting penalty. . . . In 20 months as general manager of the Blues, Mike Keenan has traded, released or waived 36 players. The team’s average age is a league-high 30.6 years and includes 16 players 29 or older. Among them, the Blues have won 33 Cups.

Dale Hawerchuk was delighted to be traded from St. Louis to Philadelphia. “It was a zoo there,” said Hawerchuk, who has been playing right wing with John LeClair and Eric Lindros. . . . The Dallas Stars are 0 for 35 on the power play in their last seven games.