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10-16-2002, 06:37 AM
Morozov's early outburst drawing notice
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
It could turn out to be just another quirky early-season statistic, like San Jose's grotesquely bloated 5.50 goals-against average, or the 53.5 penalty minutes Tampa Bay has averaged during its first two games.
Or maybe it will prove to be the latest evidence that Aleksey Morozov is continuing to evolve into the impact player the Penguins envisioned when they drafted him in 1995.
When the NHL released its daily statistical package yesterday, Morozov -- not Mario Lemieux, Jarome Iginla, Mats Sundin or Peter Forsberg -- was the league's No. 1 scorer with eight points. That's a decent feat, considering that all his goals and assists have come the past two games.
Mind you, no one has sent the Art Ross Trophy out to have Morozov's name engraved on it. Consider that, had the NHL's 2001-02 scoring championship been decided when the season was six days old, the Ross Trophy would have gone to Brian Savage, then of Montreal.
As it was, 145 players passed him before the regular season ended.
Which might explain why Morozov, among others, attaches no significance to him holding down first place in the scoring race.
"It's not really important now," Morozov said. "It's only three games. I'm not thinking about it. I'm just trying to concentrate on the next game."
That next game is against Atlanta tonight at 7:38 at Mellon Arena, and it's reasonable to assume that Thrashers Coach Curt Fraser has spent a lot of time -- and maybe lost a little sleep -- trying to devise a strategy for containing Morozov and his linemates, Lemieux and Alexei Kovalev.
If not, he should have, because the members of that line have accounted for eight of the Penguins' 11 goals this season. They blend size, speed and skill to create a unit as menacing as any in the NHL.
"These two guys can handle the puck, and they see the ice very well," Lemieux said. "It's pretty easy to play with them."
Easy enough that Lemieux has put up seven points during the past two games, which prompted him to suggest to Morozov that he shouldn't expect his stay atop the scoring race to last indefinitely.
"I told him, 'Not for long,' " Lemieux said, laughing.
Whether Morozov can make a serious run at the Ross Trophy this season isn't the Penguins' main concern. They're more interested in having him become a reliable contributor to the offense.
"He's got a lot of talent," Lemieux said. "He's just got to believe in himself. And it seems that, right now, he's believing that he can be a good player in this league."
It's easy to see why Morozov would think that. Not only because of the points -- four goals and four assists -- he has piled up, but because of the company he keeps. Not many guys in the NHL have a pair of world-class linemates such as Lemieux and Kovalev.
Those two not only create scoring opportunities Morozov can exploit, but dominate the attention of defensemen. If an opponent has to choose between focusing its efforts on containing Lemieux or Morozov, or Kovalev or Morozov, the decision is difficult.
And it won't be Morozov who gets the special attention.
"It's like that throughout the league," Penguins Coach Rick Kehoe said. "You look at Toronto, and you look at [Mats] Sundin and [Alexander] Mogilny and all of a sudden, [Darcy] Tucker is getting a few points here and there because you're paying more attention to the other guys.
"And that's only normal, because if you don't, the other two guys are going to burn you."
One key to Morozov's success in working alongside Lemieux and Kovalev is easy to overlook, but of inestimable value: He isn't intimidated by them. Doesn't alter his game to have it fit what he thinks they want.
Which, as is turns out, is precisely what Lemieux and Kovalev want.
"That's what I keep telling him," Kovalev said. "Just play your game. You don't want to be nice to everybody. Don't try to pass it to me too much, or to Mario. You have to play your game."
Some players cannot resist the temptation to serve as a caddy for high-profile linemates; Jan Hrdina is the poster boy for that condition.
"When he's got a scoring chance, he's got to take it," Kehoe said. "He can't be looking to give up that opportunity [in order] to make a play to his linemates. He's got to take advantage of that."
So far, Morozov has, and his belief in his abilities has increased almost as quickly as his points total.
"I have good confidence now," he said.
The most obvious by-product of that is patience. Morozov is giving plays time to develop, not rushing to unload the puck to a teammate or to toss it toward the goal.
That was evident on the first of his two power-play goals during the Penguins' 5-4 victory in Toronto Monday. After getting the puck from Lemieux in the left corner, Morozov considered feeding it to Hrdina. But when a defenseman picked up Hrdina, the area in front of Maple Leafs goalie Trevor Kidd cleared, giving Morozov the room he needed to move out of the corner and toss in a backhander to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.
It was the kind of measured, assertive play Morozov has made routinely of late.
"I hope he continues having the same confidence with the puck he's had the past couple of games," Kovalev said. "He looks great out there."
Highly motivated and focused, too, which is another key element in the equation.
"He's got to keep playing with that fire he's playing with right now," Kehoe said.
If Morozov can do that, he might be able to elevate his game even more, although Kovalev wondered how much room for improvement remains.
"How much better can he be?" he said. "He's scoring two goals every game. I'll take it."
Just about anybody would. Of course, everybody would be glad to take a copy of the league statistics that show him leading the scoring race -- no matter how young the season is -- and have it framed, too.
Not Morozov. Not now, anyway.
"It's only three games," he said. "I don't want to keep this. I want to see the same thing at the end of the year."
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
It could turn out to be just another quirky early-season statistic, like San Jose's grotesquely bloated 5.50 goals-against average, or the 53.5 penalty minutes Tampa Bay has averaged during its first two games.
Or maybe it will prove to be the latest evidence that Aleksey Morozov is continuing to evolve into the impact player the Penguins envisioned when they drafted him in 1995.
When the NHL released its daily statistical package yesterday, Morozov -- not Mario Lemieux, Jarome Iginla, Mats Sundin or Peter Forsberg -- was the league's No. 1 scorer with eight points. That's a decent feat, considering that all his goals and assists have come the past two games.
Mind you, no one has sent the Art Ross Trophy out to have Morozov's name engraved on it. Consider that, had the NHL's 2001-02 scoring championship been decided when the season was six days old, the Ross Trophy would have gone to Brian Savage, then of Montreal.
As it was, 145 players passed him before the regular season ended.
Which might explain why Morozov, among others, attaches no significance to him holding down first place in the scoring race.
"It's not really important now," Morozov said. "It's only three games. I'm not thinking about it. I'm just trying to concentrate on the next game."
That next game is against Atlanta tonight at 7:38 at Mellon Arena, and it's reasonable to assume that Thrashers Coach Curt Fraser has spent a lot of time -- and maybe lost a little sleep -- trying to devise a strategy for containing Morozov and his linemates, Lemieux and Alexei Kovalev.
If not, he should have, because the members of that line have accounted for eight of the Penguins' 11 goals this season. They blend size, speed and skill to create a unit as menacing as any in the NHL.
"These two guys can handle the puck, and they see the ice very well," Lemieux said. "It's pretty easy to play with them."
Easy enough that Lemieux has put up seven points during the past two games, which prompted him to suggest to Morozov that he shouldn't expect his stay atop the scoring race to last indefinitely.
"I told him, 'Not for long,' " Lemieux said, laughing.
Whether Morozov can make a serious run at the Ross Trophy this season isn't the Penguins' main concern. They're more interested in having him become a reliable contributor to the offense.
"He's got a lot of talent," Lemieux said. "He's just got to believe in himself. And it seems that, right now, he's believing that he can be a good player in this league."
It's easy to see why Morozov would think that. Not only because of the points -- four goals and four assists -- he has piled up, but because of the company he keeps. Not many guys in the NHL have a pair of world-class linemates such as Lemieux and Kovalev.
Those two not only create scoring opportunities Morozov can exploit, but dominate the attention of defensemen. If an opponent has to choose between focusing its efforts on containing Lemieux or Morozov, or Kovalev or Morozov, the decision is difficult.
And it won't be Morozov who gets the special attention.
"It's like that throughout the league," Penguins Coach Rick Kehoe said. "You look at Toronto, and you look at [Mats] Sundin and [Alexander] Mogilny and all of a sudden, [Darcy] Tucker is getting a few points here and there because you're paying more attention to the other guys.
"And that's only normal, because if you don't, the other two guys are going to burn you."
One key to Morozov's success in working alongside Lemieux and Kovalev is easy to overlook, but of inestimable value: He isn't intimidated by them. Doesn't alter his game to have it fit what he thinks they want.
Which, as is turns out, is precisely what Lemieux and Kovalev want.
"That's what I keep telling him," Kovalev said. "Just play your game. You don't want to be nice to everybody. Don't try to pass it to me too much, or to Mario. You have to play your game."
Some players cannot resist the temptation to serve as a caddy for high-profile linemates; Jan Hrdina is the poster boy for that condition.
"When he's got a scoring chance, he's got to take it," Kehoe said. "He can't be looking to give up that opportunity [in order] to make a play to his linemates. He's got to take advantage of that."
So far, Morozov has, and his belief in his abilities has increased almost as quickly as his points total.
"I have good confidence now," he said.
The most obvious by-product of that is patience. Morozov is giving plays time to develop, not rushing to unload the puck to a teammate or to toss it toward the goal.
That was evident on the first of his two power-play goals during the Penguins' 5-4 victory in Toronto Monday. After getting the puck from Lemieux in the left corner, Morozov considered feeding it to Hrdina. But when a defenseman picked up Hrdina, the area in front of Maple Leafs goalie Trevor Kidd cleared, giving Morozov the room he needed to move out of the corner and toss in a backhander to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.
It was the kind of measured, assertive play Morozov has made routinely of late.
"I hope he continues having the same confidence with the puck he's had the past couple of games," Kovalev said. "He looks great out there."
Highly motivated and focused, too, which is another key element in the equation.
"He's got to keep playing with that fire he's playing with right now," Kehoe said.
If Morozov can do that, he might be able to elevate his game even more, although Kovalev wondered how much room for improvement remains.
"How much better can he be?" he said. "He's scoring two goals every game. I'll take it."
Just about anybody would. Of course, everybody would be glad to take a copy of the league statistics that show him leading the scoring race -- no matter how young the season is -- and have it framed, too.
Not Morozov. Not now, anyway.
"It's only three games," he said. "I don't want to keep this. I want to see the same thing at the end of the year."