NOTES : WETTELAND, VANBIESBROUCK KNOW SAVES.

Byline: Ken Rappoport Associated Press

After taking part in the New York Yankees' victory parade through the city this past week, World Series MVP John Wetteland took in a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. The Yankees' star relief pitcher is a big hockey fan.

``I get inspired from watching a hockey game,'' Wetteland said after the Rangers tied the Florida Panthers 1-1. ``I love hockey so much, I feel that way just watching a regular-season game.''

Wetteland, meanwhile, served as an inspiration for Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.

``(The Yankees winning the World Series) was an emotional thing for me,'' Vanbiesbrouck said. ``I grew up in Detroit. I'm an American League fan and when the Yankees were in it, I was pulling for them. I saw John, how he approached the game, the mental focus, the inspiration he gives to teammates. It was just a wonderful thing to watch.''

Model citizen: Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars isn't ready to give up his real job, but part-time modeling is something he enjoys.

``I just did two magazines a couple of summers ago with a couple of other guys in the league,'' he said. ``It was just fun to get into New York a couple of weekends in the summer. It was a good time working, but I am not anywhere close to hanging the skates up yet.''

Fanning the Flames: The Calgary Flames, celebrating their 25th season this year, haven't forgotten about their first eight seasons, when they were based in Atlanta.

Captain Theo Fleury and alternate captains James Patrick and Ron Stern are brandishing a different style of letter designation this season. Fleury's ``C'' is a miniature replica of the current Flames ``Flaming C'' logo, while Patrick and Stern are wearing the ``A'' of the old Atlanta Flames.

Offense is fun: When Mike Milbury was an ESPN hockey commentator, he ripped the trap as a boring system.

Now as coach and general manager of the New York Islanders, he is forced to play a modified version of the trap, because he admits he doesn't have the offensive firepower to compete with the better clubs.

But that still doesn't mean he likes what he's doing.

``It's not my preferred choice,'' Milbury said. ``It's more like an aggressive 1-2-2. Right now, it's just what we have to do.''

Asked why he prefers a more offensive thrust, Milbury replied, ``because it's a lot more fun.''

``Coaches have structured the game with a more mechanical and methodical approach,'' he said. ``The game should be played with a high energy. We tried to do that early last year, and it was unfair because of all of our injuries - plus, our goaltending wasn't very good.

``We have to be able to blend aggressiveness with being under control. We can't do a (big) aggressive forecheck, but when the opportunity to jump on a loose puck is there, we're going to do that.''

A knickle's worth:Talk about a well-traveled hockey player. That's goaltender Rick Knickle, who plays for the Milwaukee Admirals of the International Hockey League these days.

The Admirals are the 11th IHL team for Knickle, who has also played for three different teams in the American Hockey League and one in the old Eastern Hockey League.

Of his 18 years in professional hockey, Knickle has been up twice in NHL, both times with the Kings. His total NHL experience: 14 games.

Icing the Palace: Opening night at the Ice Palace in Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 20 was a big deal to just about everyone in the area - except Lightning general manager Phil Esposito.

``It means a lot but it doesn't mean as much as that very first game we had at the old (Florida State) Fairgrounds,'' he said. ``I didn't care about the facility. It was the fact it was the first game and it got done. I knew we had to have the building (the Ice Palace). It was just a matter of time. Because if we didn't, then we wouldn't have been here. We wouldn't have gotten the franchise in the first place if we told them we weren't going to build a building.''