New
York Daily News - May 22, 1997
New
York Daily News - May 22, 1997
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glance at the battered visage of Rod Brind'Amour and there is little
mistaking his occupation. A stockbroker usually doesn't wear a purple
welt under his right eye. A professor doesn't have a crinkle of scar
tissue at the corner of his left eye. And a chef doesn't have a
meandering nose that's been broken how many times is it now, Rod?
"We've counted five," said the Flyers center. "We'll get it fixed when I'm done."
Brind'Amour is a long way from done. Besides, this deep into the playoffs no one wants a GQ-pretty player. If a face doesn't bear some wound of honor, then it is an 18-year-old face, like Dainius Zubrus' that is new to these hockey wars. For the 26-year-old Brind'Amour, this is familiar turf.
He is emerging as a surprise star for the Flyers in the playoffs, trailing only Eric Lindros and John LeClair in points on the team with eight goals and six assists. In the first three games against the Rangers in their Eastern Conference final series, which resumes tomorrow night at the Garden, Brind'Amour has two goals and an assist, has won key draws and killed penalties.
"I don't think I'm playing any differently," Brind'Amour said after yesterday's practice session. "It's just that now the pucks are going in, so you notice. And in the playoffs, everything gets magnified 10 times."
Part of the reason for Brind -Amour's resurgence is the result of a bad break to rookie Vinny Prospal, who suffered a broken wrist in practice after the Flyers eliminated Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs. Brind'Amour, who uncomplainingly had accepted the move to left wing during the season, was happy to be moved back to center.
"It was sad for him to go down but it worked out for me to go back to center, where I feel more comfortable," Brind'Amour said.
He felt more comfortable, too, once the trade deadline passed in March. Whenever a trade rumor popped up in Philadelphia, Brind'Amour's name was in the mix. Although he has played for only one other NHL team, starting his career with St. Louis, you could call Brind'Amour an ex-Devil, ex-Canadien, ex-Red Wing, ex-(insert name of team here), depending on the latest scoop.
"There are only a few players that are free from that on any team," Brind'Amour said. "There are a couple of guys here, there are a couple of guys in New York. But everyone else is always, when the team starts to slump a little bit, in that category where I'm not comfortable, where I'm trade bait or whatever. The older you get, the less it bothers you. The first time I got traded I was 21, and it was a shock. Once you've been through it and you look around the room and you see a guy who's played on eight teams, you realize this is just a business."
In his sixth season in Philadelphia, Brind'Amour has suffered through the lean, pre-Lindros days, and even through two lean, post-Lindros non-playoff seasons. It makes him appreciate the Flyers' current position of being two wins away from his first trip to the finals.
"It was great when I first got here, because they gave me an opportunity to play and I was able to develop as a player, but we were a bad team," he said. "You sit home and watch the playoffs and it's very disappointing. This is my ninth playoffs. You forget how fast it goes by. You don't get too many chances like this. You look at Dale Hawerchuk, and as many years as he's been in the league, this is the farthest he's been. Some guys are lucky and get to do it every year, but there's such a fine line in winning a playoffs. You want to take advantage of it."