Cup-winning goal Stars' thorn

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2000

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Almost a year after Brett Hull's foot-in-the-crease goal gave the Stars the Stanley Cup, some Dallas players said they still are feeling the fallout.

Right wing Mike Keane said Monday that the disputed goal, which beat the Sabres, may have caused people to underestimate the team's quality.

"A lot of people are still talking about it," he said. "You get good calls and bad calls. At that time I thought it was a good call. We don't care what people think."

Maybe not, but he said that the way the Stars won may have caused fans and media to overlook them as this season's playoffs began.

"People talked about St. Louis, Jersey and Philly," Keane said. "We would like more respect, but it seems like the only way to get respect is to keep winning."

Center Joe Nieuwendyk shook his head when asked if he thought the goal tainted Dallas' title. "I know they were awfully excited in Buffalo, but I don't think that took away from what we accomplished," he said. "We were the best team all season long and in the playoffs. I don't think that was a black mark on our celebration."

THAT CANADIEN FEELING: Ten players, coaches and management types from the Stars and Devils have played for the Canadiens, including New Jersey coach Larry Robinson and Stars general manager Bob Gainey. That doesn't surprise Devils right wing Claude Lemieux, who played with Robinson on Montreal's 1986 Cup team.

"A lot of the players on the great Montreal teams have been great hockey people," he said. "Those guys learned so much, and they use their know-how to coach and play. It just shows you we all went to a great school."

TEAMWORK: Much has been made of Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock's insistence that Hull think about more than scoring. When asked about buying into the system, Hull, who had a career-low 24 goals in the regular season, said, "I'm still working on it."

Said Hitchcock: "We still pretty much disagree on everything hockey-wise. He's like me. He wants to win. Plus, I am the guy that puts him on the ice, so he either plays my way or doesn't go onto the ice, and he knows that."

HULL BENT: The Devils couldn't say enough about Hull, who has playoff highs of nine goals and 20 points.

"He just seems to find the open spot to get open for a shot," center Bobby Holik said.

"And he's always on net," goaltender Martin Brodeur said. "He doesn't miss the net, so you have to make a save every time. He's a threat, and he knows it."

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