The Thinker

What goes through a goaltender's mind when Pavel Bure is racing
in on a breakaway? Or Al MacInnis is teeing up a slap shot? Here
are the thoughts of New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, one of the best
and smartest netminders in the game

Flyers forward Simon Gagne driving wide down the wing
"He's looking for a shot, high to the glove hand."

Defending a shot from the point while Flyers wing John LeClair
is camped near the crease
"I stay close to LeClair. That way, if he deflects the puck, it
might be from only a couple of inches away, close enough that it
would have a better chance of hitting me."

Blues defenseman Al MacInnis ready to unleash a slap shot from
inside the blue line
"I hope everybody gets out of the way so I can see it. I hope
there's no screen."

Penguins center Mario Lemieux on the power play
"I don't have to look for him--I know he'll be between the
face-off dot and the goal line. If he gets the puck on the goal
line, he'll shoot at a bad angle, trying to bank it off me into
the net."

Panthers wing Pavel Bure on a breakaway
"I look for him to deke, go to his backhand and try to slide the
puck between my legs."

Rangers wing Theo Fleury on a wraparound
"He'll fade, take a step back and try to roof it to the blocker
side."

The Avalanche makes a quick change and gets its No. 1 Joe Sakic
line on against New Jersey's third defensive pair
"I'm thinking about getting a face-off. I'll be yelling, 'Get a
face-off!' or 'Ice it, ice it!'"

Blues defenseman Chris Pronger carrying the puck over the red line
"I'm aware that he might shoot. Guys know I like to roam, so they
sometimes fake a dump-in and shoot on goal, hoping to catch me
out of the net. Eric Desjardins also does that."

Flyers forwards Mark Recchi and Keith Primeau on a two-on-one,
with Recchi carrying the puck
"Recchi will shoot, low to the blocker side. If it's two-on-one
coming out of the corner, Recchi will still shoot, but he might
look high to the glove side."

Rangers center Mark Messier facing off in the offensive zone
"He might try to score directly off the draw. When we were
teammates in the 1996 World Cup, he often talked about doing
that."

Devils leading by two goals with less than a minute to play; the
other team pulls its goalie and shoots the puck into the Devils'
zone
"I'm going to try to score a goal."

COLOR PHOTO: PORTRAIT BY WALTER IOOSS JR.

COLOR PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: BRAIN: MANFRED KAGE-PETER ARNOLD

SEVEN COLOR PHOTOS: DAVID E. KLUTHO (2)

COLOR PHOTO: DARREN CARROLL

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: J. MCISAAC/B. BENNETT STUDIOS

THREE COLOR PHOTOS: LOU CAPOZZOLA