UNIONDALE, N.Y. - He pickled Peca. He smothered Scatchard. He made trashin' Yashin all the fashion.
He treated a sacred old building as if he were Santa Anna blowing in from the border. He transformed the Islanders' white rally flags into instruments of surrender. He didn't quite send the opposition home, but he showed it the way.
Yes, Nik the Merciless had himself quite a night Wednesday night.
Again.
If you are looking for the ultimate testament of just how overpowering the Lightning's Nikolai Khabibulin was in his latest playoff performance, however, we take you to the stirring cheer that rose from the Islanders' crowd with 17:49 to play.
"We ... s---!" the fans chanted. "We ... s---!"
It was in that instant, when he had stripped the fans of their pride, when he had blunted the power of the opposition, you got some notion of just how strong Khabibulin had been through this game, through this series.
Three shutouts in four games.
One hundred and thirteen saves out of one hundred and fifteen shots.
And one reputation redefined.
What do you think of Khabibulin now? Do you pronounce his name differently today? Is there finally a hint of awe, a bit of appreciation? For all of his glittering reputation, Tampa Bay has been slow to warm to Khabibulin. Perhaps that is because we have heard more about his credentials than we have seen. No more. Perhaps, it is because the franchise itself hasn't seemed quite comfortable with him for a year.
During this playoff series, however, Khabibulin has given Tampa Bay as long a streak of sustained excellence as it has seen at this level. He was brilliant, and after that he was dazzling, and after that he was amazing. Which adds up to plenty of nothing.
Call it the Khabibulin Trilogy. And has there ever been a better one?
"Maybe The Godfather," said defenseman Brad Lukowich.
He is in the zone now, that rare ground that a rare athlete enters every now and then. The game seems slower. The puck seems bigger. The net is nearly hidden from view. Every shot seems to come as slowly as an income tax refund.
Consider that Khabibulin had three shutouts all season. He played 58 games, and there was a lot more talk about whether he might be traded or benched than there was about his ability. Even now, there are those who suggest that if John Grahame had been better down the stretch, Khabibulin might be a spectator here.
Instead, he has been the Lightning's best player. For three games, Khabibulin has taken away the Islanders' oxygen. He has deprived them of light. He has skated all over their hopes. He has been tougher to penetrate than Superman's shirt pocket, harder to get by than the SATs in Latin. It's like watching Groundhog Day on ice.
So far, Khabibulin is stopping pucks at a 98.3 clip, which isn't a save percentage as much as it is a body temperature. You have a lower percentage of getting to work without a flat tire today.
There was a snit by Islanders general manager Mike Milbury the other day when he locked up several of the rooms usually used by the opposition. Looking back, Milbury should have locked away the room containing Khabibulin's equipment. Also, Khabibulin.
"Nik knows how good he can play," Brad Richards said. "We know how good he can play. He had a little Nik on his shoulders coming in. He wanted to show he was a world class goaltender."
Want to rate the performances? Give his 3-0 shutout in Game 1 the gold, because he withstood the most pressure. Give his 3-0 shutout in Game 4 the silver because the Islanders were desperate. Give his 3-0 shutout in Game 3 the bronze. On the other hand, Khabibulin might not be finished yet.
Jeff Reese, the goaltending coach, stood in the hallway after this one and grinned. To tell the truth, he's enjoying the show.
"He's playing like he's trying to prove something," Reese said. "But I'm not surprised. This guy is a world-class goaltender. He really is. He's played well before."
That's true enough. For instance, Khabibulin stopped 60 shots in a triple-overtime game against Washington last year. He has shown flashes of his ability since he arrived. Still, the viewpoint persisted that Khabibulin had skates of clay, that this was like a baseball team depending on an erratic reliever.
Perhaps part of that is Khabibulin's personality. Usually, outsiders have as much trouble reading him as opponents. He doesn't say much, and he reveals even less. He will never let you see his pain or his pleasure. Even in the locker room, he seems to wear a mask.
"I played with Eddie (Belfour), and they used to say the same things about him," Lukowich said. "He'd be on his end of the ice doing his own thing. Then the game would start, and he'd be unbeatable.
"That's the way it is with Habby now. If he wants a day off, give him a day off. If he wants to get in some work, let him get in some work. If he wants a steak, then by God, somebody get him a steak."
Late in the game, there was a telling moment. Someone from the crowd tossed a cup onto the ice, and it landed at Khabibulin's feet. Calmly, he moved it out of the crease and onto the side of the net. Not in it, of course. These days, nothing gets in the net.
Three shutouts in the series ties an NHL record, by the way. No goaltender has ever had four.
