Johan Hedberg spent his day in Calgary having his psyche examined by the suspicious media. Can Hedberg, the man called Moose, be reborn as a Stanley Cup hero? Is it time to dig out those foam yellow antlers that were once the height of hockey fashion in Pittsburgh? He was the goaltender who came out of nowhere actually, it was Winnipeg, where he was stopping pucks for the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League.
In the playoffs, he outduelled Dominik Hasek and Olaf Kolzig, took the Pittsburgh Penguins to the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference final and then, as quickly as he had everyone wearing goofy antlers, disappeared into hockey's wilderness. That was three years ago.
And the shocking truth was Hedberg never got a set of those antlers. But now that the Vancouver Canucks have lost Cloutier to a knee injury, their fate rests in the gloved hands of the man who came off the bench in the third game of their Western Conference playoff series against the Calgary Flames and helped them to a win and a series lead on Sunday. Cloutier's loss is being viewed as the Canucks' gain in many quarters. Mario Lemieux speaks French, and he's on the Penguins too, which always gives them a chance, but Hedberg gives Pittsburgh dependable goaltending, the ingredient it has lacked since the early s.
He has succeeded in downgrading Lemieux, who had produced five playoff goals--not to mention the most inspiring comeback in hockey history--to a mere costar.
I try to enjoy it as much as I can. Inside the Pittsburgh dressing room, he's called Yo-Yo or sometimes Heddy. To goalie-deprived Penguins fans, however, Hedberg became Moose when Pittsburgh returned home for Game 3 of its first-round series against the Washington Capitals.
Every save during that win on April 16 was greeted with a braying that to untrained ears sounded like a boo. It was funny. Funny and brilliant.
This was one of those increasingly rare sports moments--a tribute wafting down from the stands, unsolicited by a team promotion or a cheerleading scoreboard. For that welcome bit of spontaneity, the hockey world owes a debt of gratitude to David Gunnarsson.
He's a year-old Swedish artist who paints goalie masks but also, according to his website, decorates "telephones, cars, trucks, computers, playstations, the human body. The only limit is your imagination. Your imagination isn't nearly as vivid as his, which explains why he did Hedberg's Moose mask in an icy blue, the team color of Leksand, for which Hedberg played in the Swedish Elite League, rather than in forest green and purple, the team colors of Manitoba.
Because you are what you wear, the quirky Moose mask--through Monday, Hedberg was second in the playoffs in goals-against average 1. Between midnight and 10 a. Hedberg allowed more than two goals just twice in his first eight playoff games as the team survived a six-game quarterfinal series against the Southeast Division champion Washington Capitals and a seven-game semi-final series against the Buffalo Sabres.
It was never quite the same after that for Hedberg in Pittsburgh. Jagr left after the season, and the team eventually started to trade off parts due to pre-lockout NHL economics. Hedberg had to backstop games over the next two seasons on last-place teams, before being traded to Vancouver prior to the season. And, yes, he still has the moose mask at home. Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer.
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TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. Local Front - - - - -. Sports Front - - - - -. Cloutier got back to his feet but was obviously in pain.
He was helped off the ice and replaced by Hedberg. Cloutier went to hospital Sunday night on crutches before returning to Vancouver the next day. The team has kept quiet about the extent of the injury, saying it's a lower body injury to Cloutier's right side.
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