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By HOWARD BERGER

TORONTO (Apr. 7) — You have to be approaching old geezer status to remember Henri Richard sliding on his belly into Roger Crozier at the Detroit Olympia on May 5, 1966. It was overtime in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final with the Montreal Canadiens needing a goal to eliminate the Red Wings and win their second consecutive championship. Just more than two minutes into the extra frame, Habs’ forward Dave Balon feathered a lead pass to Richard, who was tripped up by Red Wings’ defenceman Gary Bergman. The Pocket Rocket, as he was known, fell forward onto the ice — still slippery from the Zamboni freeze after regulation time. The puck was beneath Richard, but it isn’t clear, to this day, exactly where. At the last second, he appeared to guide it into the net with his glove as he upended Crozier, the acrobatic Detroit goaltender.

We shudder to imagine the results of a similar play in the current NHL. Whereas a moment of suspended confusion morphed into a wild stampede off the bench by the Montreal players in ‘66, a match today would grind to a halt for 15 minutes while the “War Room” – which has all but eliminated the human element of officiating and goal-judging — poured over every replay angle, frame-by-frame. Players would be sitting atop the boards; crouching on the ice; leaning on the net. Fans would be standing, mouths agape, wondering why the spontaneity of their favorite sport had again been hijacked by technology. Finally, the referee would point to centre-ice and the Cup jubilation — its impulsiveness ruined — would erupt for all to see. Colin Campbell, Jim Gregory, Mike Murphy, Kris King and Co. would bust out the cigars for a job well done.

But, I digress. The point of my 1966 recollection is to advise, one and all, that Detroit and Montreal will hook up in the Stanley Cup final this spring for the first time since that memorable series 42 years ago. It was one of the few title rounds in which the road team won the first two games, but not the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings were victorious at the Montreal Forum in Games 1 and 2, only to have the Canadiens turn the tables in MoTown and sweep the ensuing four matches. The opportunities for Montreal and Detroit to subsequently meet in the Cup final have been sparse. The Red Wings were a running joke during the Canadiens’ Cup dynasties of the 1970s, and the Habs weren’t much to speak of while Detroit marched to three championships between 1997 and 2002.

This year, the stars have aligned for two of the NHL’s pre-expansion teams — frequent Cup adversaries in the decade of the 1950s. The Red Wings were my pre-season choice to win the  Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators. For the first month of the schedule, there appeared to be no one else in the league, as the Wings and Sens erupted from the gate with a combined record of 28-4-1. An unforseen malaise, however, gripped Ottawa in November, and the defending Eastern champions have yet to recover. The Red Wings incurred a spate of injuries around the All-Star break — perennial Norris Trophy winner Nick Lidstrom among the casualties — and fell into their only slump of the season. But, hockey’s best-run franchise of the past decade finished strongly to capture another Presidents’ Trophy.

Detroit’s only question surrounds its goaltending. Dominik Hasek finally looked his age at times this season. Chris Osgood is an able stand-in — having backstopped the Wings to the ‘98 championship — but can he be counted upon if Hasek faulters? Even a slight loss of edge by Detroit would open the door for Anaheim or San Jose to win the West. But, I’m sticking with the Red Wings; no team has a better combination of speed, savvy, and top-level young players.

Montreal is among a weaker crop of teams in the East. Or so it appears. But, the Habs have been a marvelous story this season under the guidance of Bob Gainey — one of the NHL’s sharpest minds for more than three decades. Having missed the playoffs last spring, the Habs were positively dynamic in the second half of the schedule. They play before the NHL’s loudest and most fervent spectators, in the league’s biggest arena. The Bell Centre will be an intimidating venue for visiting clubs this spring whenever the Habs get on a roll. And, that will be often.

We’ll all watch with intrigue as rookie netminder Carey Price gets his first taste of Stanley Cup toil. But, Gainey has seen this act before in Montreal… as an observer of Ken Dryden in 1971 – two years before he joined the Canadiens – then, later, as a teammate of Steve Penney and Patrick Roy — both of whom were miraculous in their initial playoff moments (Roy becoming, arguably, the best goalie ever). So, I trust the instinct that told Gainey to deal Cristobal Huet and anoint Price the Habs’ undisputed No. 1 puckstopper.

In the end, the Canadiens will fall just short this spring, dropping a six-game championship round to Detroit. But, there’s lots of hockey to be played before then. I look forward to covering the Ottawa-Pittsburgh opening-round series for THE FAN-590, having followed the Senators through their long playoff drive a year ago. These are my predictions for the Conference quarterfinals:

EAST

MONTREAL vs. Boston: Canadiens in 5. The Habs will only fall into trouble if they give up the first goal or two, as the Bruins can play shut-down as well as any team in the league. But, Montreal has too much oomph, especially on the powerplay.

PITTSBURGH vs. Ottawa: Penguins in 6. Even before losing Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher to injury, the Senators seemed bewitched by an unexplained malady. It will be nigh impossible for them to advance in the playoffs without a healthy Alfredsson, who could have won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year.

WASHINGTON vs. Philadelphia: Capitals in 5. I’m picking the Caps quickly in this series, for if they lose a couple of games, they might wake up and realize what they’ve been doing the past two months. It says here the Caps’ momentum will continue through at least one round of the playoffs. But, if the Flyers put an early halt to it, they are good enough to win. 

NEW JERSEY vs. New York Rangers: Devils in 6. Martin Brodeur has lost an opening-round series only four times in 16 attempts. It will be four in 17 after this round.

WEST

DETROIT vs. Nashville: Red Wings in 6. The Predators won’t be a pushover, but the Red Wings were so dynamic on home-ice this season – the anti-Leafs, with a 29-9-3 record – while Nashville played .500 hockey on the road.

SAN JOSE vs. Calgary: Sharks in 6. I suspect that San Jose has finally learned how to win. Whether or not the Sharks can crash and bang in the murderous West for four rounds is another story, but they have enough quality to get past a good Calgary squad.

MINNESOTA vs. Colorado: Wild in 7. This one is almost too close to call, but — like San Jose — I feel Minnesota is ready to take another step in the post-season. And, I don’t think the Avs are quite as good as they appeared over the last few weeks.

ANAHEIM vs. Dallas: Ducks in 6. The Stars finished the season on a downer with only three wins in their final 10 games. I’m sure he’s sick of hearing it, and he may one day overcome it, but Marty Turco isn’t often at his best at playoff time. If Chris Pronger is healthy (he hurt his leg in the season finale on Sunday), the defending champs will advance to the Conference semifinal.

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