In The Crease

Penguins goalie Johan Hedberg, who may be the best puckhandling
netminder to come from Europe, learned that fine art as a kid
growing up in Sweden by watching video of renowned Flyers goalie
Ron Hextall. Hedberg, 27, was drafted by Philadelphia in 1994
but didn't play an NHL game until he was acquired by Pittsburgh
in March....

Could Carolina turn out to be hockey country? After beating the
Devils 3-2 last Friday night to force Game 6 in Raleigh, the
Hurricanes had sold 11,000 tickets by 3 p.m. on Saturday. (The
match on Sunday drew a capacity crowd in the 19,000-seat
Entertainment and Sports Arena.) Since moving from Hartford in
1997, the team has averaged a disappointing 10,764 fans per
game....

Mighty Ducks G.M. Pierre Gauthier, who fired coach Craig
Hartsburg in November and Guy Charron, Hartsburg's replacement,
following the season, is interested in hiring either the
Senators' Jacques Martin or former Canadiens coach Alain
Vigneault. Martin has one year remaining on his contract, but
considering that Ottawa was swept by the Leafs in the first
round, the Senators may allow him to leave....

Speaking of hiring coaches, general managers usually look for
candidates who were with a Stanley Cup-winning team in some
capacity. Of the NHL coaches today, only five (Scotty Bowman,
Marc Crawford, Ken Hitchcock, Jacques Lemaire and Larry
Robinson) would fit that description....

Capitals forward Jeff Halpern, one of four Princeton alumni ever
to play in the NHL, may have more company next season. Chris
Corrinet, a 6'3", 220-pound grinding right wing who was a Tiger
from '97-98 through 2000-01, made progress at Washington's minor
league affiliate in Portland, Maine, when he joined that team in
March and may be with the Capitals next season.