PHILADELPHIA COACH GETS SKY-HIGH NIELSON RATINGS.

Byline: Matt McHale

During Saturday night's game in Toronto, the Maple Leafs paid a simple but poignant tribute to Philadelphia Flyers coach Roger Neilson, who learned the day before that he has bone cancer. Each player tapped their sticks on the ice in unison when Neilson's image came up on the scoreboard.

It is hockey's universal sign of affection and there was not a dry eye in the house.

``That was one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me in my life,'' Neilson said after the game.

But the greater sign of respect on an emotional night might have come later, when both teams began a monster fight that delayed the game almost a half hour.

The Flyers and Maple Leafs are the two best teams in the East and expect to play each other in the conference finals in late May. Neilson, who has coached seven teams in his NHL career, would be the first to say that while sympathy is fine, so is a good body check.

But the outpouring for the 65-year old coach has been wonderful. When he reached the team hotel Friday there already were 30 phone messages waiting. When Neilson got back to Philadelphia, there were 35 more.

``It has been such an emotional time for me,'' Neilson said. ``You get on the phone and people are crying, and I seem to end up being the one who's trying to comfort them.''

Neilson began chemotherapy Monday. Once treatment begins, Neilson said he has four consecutive days of it. He believed the program would involve an intravenous pump in his arm.

Doctors also said Neilson could expect four to five years of remission.

Interestingly, he is in the final year of his contract and though the Flyers lost 6-4 to Toronto, the team is having an outstanding season. When they began 0-5-1, knee-jerk Philadelphians wanted his head. Since then they have gone 17-4-1.

It is so close in the East that Saturday's victory moved the Maple Leafs one point ahead of the Flyers in the conference standings.

With so much on the line, the fight was not a surprise. After Gary Valk scored two goals in the first 1:43 of the second period to give Toronto a 3-2 lead, Flyers big man Eric Lindros went at it with defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev. Nine second later, everybody got into it, including goalies Curtis Joseph and Brian Boucher.

In all 12 players on the ice were involved, resulting in 96 penalty minutes and three game misconducts.

Before the game, Neilson spent much of Saturday playing Santa Claus for kids at the team hotel. But afterward, as he discussed the fight, Neilson did not make a friend of Leafs coach Pat Quinn. He questioned why Quinn had only one goon on the ice for the fight.

``He had the last line change, and he didn't answer the challenge,'' Neilson said of Quinn.

``He thinks he's still coaching in the '70s,'' Quinn responded. ``Are we playing hockey or are we having the '70s scrum crap we've already been through? If you're sitting there and you've got one scrapper on your bench and they've got a half dozen, what do you do? Do you send out two to fight a half dozen? To me, that's a stupid statement.''

But one that should remind people that Roger Neilson is still very much alive.

Hawks make a hire: On Sunday, the 7-19-4 Chicago Blackhawks officially hired Mike Smith to be the team's manager of hockey operations, giving him the day-to-day duties of turning around a team that has not won a Stanley Cup in 38 years.

Smith, fired as associate GM in Toronto after last season, was living in semi-retirement on Martha's Vinyard. But to him, the good life is building a hockey team.

We have a challenge ahead of us,'' Smith said Sunday. ``But that's the attraction of being in sports - the challenge.''

Smith, 54, replaces Bob Murray, who was fired Dec. 2. He was the only candidate interviewed by club president Bill Wirtz and his two sons, Rocky and Peter.

Smith played a large role in the rebuilding of the Maple Leafs, including the hiring of Quinn and the signing of free-agent Joseph.

Bob Pulford, the Blackhawks' longtime GM, only confused a bad situation by coming out of a consultant role to co-coach with Lorne Molleken. Players didn't know who was in charge.

Smith's first act Sunday was to meet with Molleken, who is still making game decisions, but has been given no guarantees beyond this season.

His second could be trying to acquire Phoenix's holdout goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.

Blue lines

WATCH OUT FOR AVALANCHE

Colorado's 3-2 victory Sunday night against Vancouver was more than Patrick Roy's 424th career win, which tied him for third all-time with Tony Esposito. It extended the Avs' Northwest Division lead over the Canucks, who are in the midst of a free fall. Colorado has gone 3-0-1 against the Canucks this season, and two more games remain in Denver. In the past two seasons, the Avalanche has gone 7-0-3 against Vancouver. The Avalanche is 4-0-2 against former coach Marc Crawford, who is now behind the Canucks bench. Vancouver opened the season 9-5-3, but has won just twice in the past 14 games.

TOUGH NIGHT

After recently tying Montreal to end a 14-day trip, the Calgary Flames turned out to be big losers. After they left Molson Centre, bused to the airport and boarded the plane, the Flames had to wait 50 minutes for Air Canada. By then it was 12:02 when they taxied to the runway. Problem: Dorval Airport has a midnight curfew, which is strictly enforced. The pilot was forced to turn back to the gate. The team got back on the bus and, since all the airport hotels were booked, went back downtown, checked in for three hours, got back on the bus and flew home. Luckily they were playing Vancouver next. The Flames won 3-2.

HASEK GONE?

Less than a year after getting the Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals, goalie Dominek Hasek announced this would be his last season and then seriously injured his groin. Now it appears wheSn the former league MVP returns, he probably will be traded to a Stanley Cup contender. Since Hasek went down, youngster Martin Biron has taken over and done an admirable job. The Sabres are going nowhere this year and would like to get something in return for Hasek. And if Hasek likes the team he is traded to, he could decide to unretire after the season.

BAD IDEA

Three weeks ago, Florida thought it would be good to sign playmaker Ray Sheppard, pair him with high-flying Pavel Bure and march off to the playoffs. The Panthers lead the Southeast Division, but have pretty much written off Sheppard after just eight games. Instead of getting his usual 22 minutes, Sheppard is down to 14 and was a healthy scratch last week against Phoenix and Dallas. Sheppard and Bure have not meshed and Sheppard, when he plays, is skating with the second line. Interestingly, Bure now has 26 goals in the 29 games he has played since joining the Panthers, but the first of his three goals Wednesday against the Coyotes was his first game-winner.

KINGS vs. NEW JERSEY

Time: 4:30 p.m., at Continental Airlines Arena

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; KRLA-AM (1110)

Matchup: The Kings (16-8-6), who have split the first two games of this four-game trip, got some good news Monday when first-line right winger Ziggy Palffy (sore lower back) and captain Rob Blake (strained groin) skated a full practice and declared themselves ready to return. A decision will be made this morning at the team's pregame practice. Goaltender Stephane Fiset, sidelined since Nov. 6 with a deep bone bruise on his right hand, also practiced Monday and could be the backup to Jamie Storr against New Jersey. The Devils (15-10-3) are coming off an embarrassing 3-1 loss to Edmonton at home. The Oilers are one of the also-rans in the West, but one of the league's quicker teams. The win was only their second on the road this year.

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