FUHR IMPROVING WITH AGE\Ex-King racing down comeback trail as Blues MVP.

Byline: TIM TREPANY

For anyone who saw Grant Fuhr flop in a Kings uniform last season their first thought has to be, "This isn't the same guy."

It just can't be.

Maybe no other player in the NHL went through a more dramatic on-ice transformation during 1995 than Fuhr.

Acquired from Buffalo in a Valentine's Day trade, Fuhr was no sweetheart to Kings fans, who saw him go 1-7-3 with a goals-against average of 4.04.

But they didn't have to put up with him for long, just long enough for him to symbolize the team's futile attempt to make the playoffs. An unrestricted free agent, he signed with St. Louis in the off-season and has easily been the Blues' MVP this season.

He's appeared in every game, has saved 91 percent of the shots he's faced and has a goals-against average of 2.62.

"Coming out of last year, I still thought I could play at this level and (Blues general manager and coach) Mike Keenan was nice enough to see the potential I had," Fuhr said. "You have to believe in yourself before you can expect other people to believe in you."

Talk about a leap of faith. Fuhr's glory days in an Edmonton Oilers uniform were long gone; he played only 49 games the past two seasons combined. But Keenan's faith has been rewarded.

Fuhr has lost 30 pounds since being kicked out of training camp for being overweight and, considering his goals-against was over 3.00 two months ago and that he was 3-2-0 in the second of back-to-back games, has gotten stronger as the season has gone on.

Fuhr credits working with Bob Kersee, the husband of U.S. Olympian Jackie Joyner Kersee, with helping him improve.

"He's getting me to do a little bit of work on the treadmill each day," he said. "And I'm doing a lot of stretching. I think that's probably the biggest difference."

Role player: Kings defenseman Rob Cowie will never be a star, but there might be a place for him in the NHL as a role player.

With left wing Dimitri Khristich out with a concussion last week and the Kings a forward short, Cowie was moved up to offense against Colorado and Anaheim.

While he played only a few shifts against the Avalanche at left wing, he saw regular shifts there against the Ducks on Wednesday and helped set up a goal by drawing a penalty. The Kings scored on the ensuing power play.

Of course, his time there was short-lived. Khristich returned Sunday against the Ducks and Cowie was a healthy scratch. But he wasn't complaining.

"I was just happy to get on the ice," he said. "I'd make the team meals if it kept me here."

Rocky road: Keenan is making up with Brett Hull, the Blues forward who was stripped of his captaincy earlier in the season.

Keenan recently gave Hull the letter 'A' to wear on his sweater, symbolizing an assistant captain.

"There's no reason for him not to wear the A," Keenan said. "I think he deserves the recognition."

Instant perspective: Detroit's Paul Coffey was steaming mad after he was assessed the second penalty against the Red Wings in overtime, putting the New York Rangers at a two-man advantage. The Rangers capitalized and won the game.

But Coffey got over his anger when he saw a young fan in a wheelchair outside Madison Square Garden after the game and signed an autograph.

"He's got more problems then I have," Coffey said.

Looking up: It's unusual for a player to admit an opponent can be intimidating, but Flames defenseman Trent Yawney took one look at the Philadelphia Flyers, who have eight players 6-foot-3 or over, and said, "You look down at them even in warmup and think, 'Oh my God.' "

Chasing a milestone: Center Paul Yzerman is three goals shy of becoming the second player to score 500 goals in a Detroit Red Wings uniform. Gordie Howe is the first.

Although his goal production has dwindled to 24 and 12 the past two seasons, Yzerman is tied for the Red Wings' goal-scoring lead. He and Vyacheslav Kozlov have 16 apiece.

The rebound in production couldn't have come at a more critical time for Yzerman, who at 30 is starting to feel like an old man.

"When I broke in and there was an older guy, maybe 30, I'd react to him the way I would to my father's friends," Yzerman said. "I'd call him 'Mister' or something like that. Now I'm that old guy. I'm 30. I try to talk to the young guys on this team about people I used to play with and they look at me like 'Who?' and, yeah, I start to feel old."

Add Yzerman: His production last season (38 points in 47 games) kept him off the all-star ballot for the first time in a decade.

"I noticed it," he said.