Without scoring depth, playoff hopes are shallow

Sporting News, The, April 2, 2001 by Larry Wigge

Steve Heinze's four goals in his first four games with Buffalo show that out of the 57 or so ways a player can help get his team ready for the playoffs, one ranks above all.

And that's to provide scoring depth--because one-line teams usually don't advance far in the playoffs.

The Sabres, who already knew how to play well with a lead and in one-goal games and had the best defensive record in the Eastern Conference, added 55 goals at the deadline--32 from Donald Audette and 23 from Heinze. And they did it without disturbing their roster, acquiring Audette from Atlanta for a fourth-round draft choice and 22-year-old prospect Kamil Piros and getting Heinze from Columbus for a third-rounder.

After the trading deadline, Buffalo went from an average of 2.59 goals per game to four goals per game and outscored the high-powered Penguins. That's right, Heinze, J.P. Dumont, Chris Gratton and Doug Gilmour have outscored Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev and Martin Straka.

"Based on what I saw, the Sabres are back as a Stanley Cup contender," Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph says.

"We like expectations," says Lindy Ruff, who took his team to the conference finals and Stanley Cup finals in his first two seasons as Buffalo coach. "Right now, we're not giving up many chances, and that means we're in every game.

"There are a lot of teams that would like to be in our position, with Dominik Hasek in goal, a solid team in front of him and now having Audette and Heinze up front."

Heinze scored a goal on his first shot in a Sabres uniform. There was no hesitation, as there has been with so many other Buffalo shooters, before he fired a backhander behind Rangers goalie Guy Hebert. But will Heinze and Audette be enough to help get the Sabres past Ottawa, New Jersey, Washington or Philadelphia in a possible first-round matchup?

There's no telling. But don't forget that the Sabres, who still have 10 players on their roster who were in the Stanley Cup finals two years ago, have beaten the Devils in all three of their meetings this season and have a 3-1 record against Ottawa.

Some general managers think they have that highly sought scoring balance, only to find out differently when the playoffs begin. That happened to Buffalo last year, when the Flyers bounced the Sabres out in the first round. Same thing for Washington, Ottawa, St. Louis and Edmonton.

"The playoffs can be cruel," Capitals G.M. George McPhee says of a first-round surprise against Pittsburgh last year. "You'd better be ready to play. I mean really ready."

That's why McPhee acquired center Trevor Linden and right winger Dainius Zubrus from Montreal at the deadline.

The Capitals hope that Adam Oaten and Linden will give them the kind of 1-2 punch that will help them match up against center-rich New Jersey (Jason Arnott, Bobby Holik, Scott Gomez and John Madden), Ottawa (Radek Bonk and Alexei Yashin), Pittsburgh (Lemieux and Robert Lang) and Philadelphia (Keith Primeau and Daymond Langkow).

It's all about depth in the playoffs. The teams that have it play on. The ones that don't can line up at the first tee for a long summer without hockey.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tuning up

NHL teams are traveling a variety of routes as they prepare to jump on the playoff highway:

* Finishing school: The Sabres traded for free-agents-to-be Steve Heinze and Donald Audette and look like a more offensive team now.

* The big-fish theory: The Blues sent three young players and a draft pick to Phoenix for Keith Tkachuk and also obtained the productive Cory Stillman from Calgary.

* Reverse big-fish: The Kings added two solid veterans, right winger Adam Deadmarsh and defenseman Aaron Miller, for star defenseman Rob Blake. That depth makes them a playoff contender.

* A kid grows up: Young Mike Comrie, signed out of junior hockey in January, has helped spark Edmonton and become a productive complement to first-line center Doug Weight.

* Center stage I: The Capitals got tired of inconsistent performances from youngsters Richard Zednik and Jan Bulis and swapped them for veteran center Trevor Linden and young right winger Dainius Zubrus.

* Center stage II: Getting prodigal son Alexei Yashin back automatically made Ottawa stronger up the middle. But the club still needed help with face-offs and depth, and that's where Mike Sillinger from Florida figures in.

* Carolina on his mind: All of the Hurricanes' forwards kind of look alike, but adding a leader like Scott Pellerin from Minnesota has made them tougher.

* Power move: The Sharks figure to get the power-play push they need from star right winger Teemu Selanne.

* Good timing: The Flyers instantly became a deeper and better team when left winger John LeClair returned from a seasonlong back problem. --L. W.

TSN's
Power Poll           W-L-T-OL

 1. Colorado         49-13-9-4
 2. Detroit          45-18-9-4
 3. New Jersey       42-17-12-3
 4. Ottawa           44-20-8-3
 5. Philadelphia     40-23-10-2
 6. St. Louis        41-19-10-5
 7. Dallas           43-24-6-2
 8. Buffalo          41-27-5-1
 9. Washington       38-25-10-2
10. Edmonton         36-26-10-3
11. Vancouver        35-24-9-7
12. San Jose         35-26-11-2
13. Phoenix          32-26-15-2
14. Pittsburgh       36-27-9-2
15. Los Angeles      34-26-11-1
16. Toronto          34-26-11-5
17. Carolina         34-29-8-3
18. Boston           30-29-8-7
19. Nashville        31-34-9-3
20. Chicago          29-34-7-4
21. Minnesota        24-35-11-5
22. Calgary          24-32-14-4
23. Columbus         25-34-9-6
24. N.Y. Rangers     28-40-5-1
25. Florida          20-35-12-9
26. Anaheim          24-38-9-5
27. Montreal         24-39-7-5
28. Atlanta          22-39-12-2
29. Tampa Bay        23-42-6-4
30. N.Y. Islanders   20-45-6-3