Stanley Cup

His wide-eyed, maniacal stare can almost melt the ice his team plays on. His tongue can leave lashes that never heal on the psyches of the weak. No NHL coach is more intense than Mike Keenan. That's one reason why Keenan's New York Rangers are one victory away from winning their first Stanley Cup in 54 seasons. Keenan is a man driven to excellence. For the Rangers, who lead the Vancouver Canucks, three games to one, in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals, tonight's Game 5 at Madison Square Garden could result in the fourth championship in their illustrious history.

NEWARK, N.J. - Justin Williams was facing the Los Angeles Kings' bench, battling for a loose puck with his back turned to the open ice. Williams never actually saw Anze Kopitar streaking toward Martin Brodeur with his own two eyes, though he chipped the puck to an open area. "I just had a feeling," Williams said. "I kind of thought he might be there alone. " Finally, Williams could turn to watch Kopitar go in alone, the golden goal's puck resting comfortably on his stick.

As unlikely as the Flyers' run to the Stanley Cup finals was, getting back will be more difficult. At least that's what history says. Perhaps the bounces start going the other way or the frustration of getting so close leads to a bottle-of-cheap-wine hangover, but teams that almost win the championship one season rarely get right back into striking position the next. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette knows the challenge, but thinks his club can overcome it. "A lot of it has to do with the parity in the league, not necessarily a Cup hangover," he said yesterday.

It was a Stanley Cup the Edmonton Oilers should have won, the Flyers could have won and several other teams might have won. But at the end of these most unpredictable playoffs, the Stanley Cup was finally hoisted by the familiar hands of Bob Gainey and Larry Robinson of the Montreal Canadiens. Greatly aided by those two veterans - the only carryovers from past days of glory - the Habs defeated the Calgary Flames last night at the Olympic Saddledome, 4-3, and won the Cup. Thus, after losing the first game of the series, Montreal came back to win four in a succession and take the 23d Cup in the club's gloried history.

Dave Andreychuk held the chalice high as he skated around the ice, ever certain not to drop Lord Stanley's Cup. Darryl Sydor, who had already won a Stanley Cup as part of Ken Hitchcock's 1999 Dallas Stars, stood near the Tampa Bay Lightning bench and watched. "It almost brought tears to my eyes that this guy has been here so long, hasn't been to the Finals, and to get him the Cup is awesome," Sydor said. "This is for Dave Andreychuk. " In a season during which just about any team in the playoffs could have won the Cup, the Lightning did with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night.

For more than five hours, they played as if they would never allow a goal, and by the time the third overtime rolled around, everybody else had faded into the background. Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Monday night belonged to Patrick Roy and John Vanbiesbrouck. Roy, the goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche, and Vanbiesbrouck, the goalie for the Florida Panthers, engaged in one of the NHL's greatest netminding duels at Miami Arena as the Avalanche nipped the Panthers, 1-0, to win their first Stanley Cup. Colorado's Joe Sakic, with six game-winning goals, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

Ryan Parent 77 Defenseman, 6-3, 198, age 23, from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Singer Taylor Swift would be his choice for a dinner date.   Darroll Powe 36 Center, 5-11, 212, age 24, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When it comes to food, nachos are his guilty pleasure.   Chris Pronger 20 Defenseman, 6-6, 220, age 35, from Dryden, Ontario. His first car was a 1983 Ford Ranger that was "held together by rust. "   Mike Richards 18 Center, 5-11, 195, age 25, from Kenora, Ontario.

YOU CAN sense it coming. Somebody will bust out real soon - maybe as soon as tonight, when the Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks resume play in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. The players involved are too talented to remain scoring afterthoughts in the finals: Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne for the Flyers; Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien for the Blackhawks. One of these first-line units will rediscover its stride. The one that does it first could very well determine which team will raise the Stanley Cup. "Are you asking me to choose?"

Being the defending Stanley Cup champions isn't all it's cracked up to be. Just ask the Montreal Canadiens. Winners of their 24th Stanley Cup last season, the Canadiens are struggling to stay above .500. Injuries have taken their toll - Patrice Brisebois, Brian Bellows and Stephan Lebeau were all sidelined Wednesday against the Flyers - but the Canadiens have rediscovered the fact that everyone gets pumped up to play the defending champions. "Any year, people want to beat Montreal, but more so this year," Montreal winger Kirk Muller said before the Flyers pummeled the Canadiens, 9-2, on Wednesday.

The picture hung in Bill Barber's office when he coached the Flyers: his father, Harry, sitting beside him in the Buffalo dressing room after the Flyers won their second Stanley Cup in 1975. "It was so congested in the locker room, we all had our dads there, traveling with us," Barber said. "Harry had that cigarette going. It was a special time, them being with us on the road, winning that Cup on the road. " Thirty years ago today - May 27, 1975 - the Flyers won their second Stanley Cup at the Aud. Bernie Parent shut out the Sabres, 2-0, while becoming the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in consecutive seasons.