Ready to rumble

By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
The last time the Maple Leafs won an NHL regular-season title, Glenn Healy was in diapers and the Philadelphia Flyers weren't even born.

But both will have a say in Toronto's chances of snatching the next Eastern Conference crown, which would end a 37-year break since the Leafs won an Original Six title by a point over Chicago in 1962-63.

Though no one is counting out the defending-champion New Jersey Devils or the defending Northeast Division-winning Ottawa Senators, signs are pointing to a Leafs-Flyers dogfight through the winter.

"It's terrific," Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn said of the rivalry, which flourished during the 1999 playoffs. "It's a long season and you need something to catch your attention."

Healy, 37, who played well in a 3-2 overtime loss Nov. 26 in Philadelphia, likely will start tonight in the opener of a home-and-home series, with Curtis Joseph saved for Saturday at the Air Canada Centre.

While Joseph's 1.89 is the best goals-against average of any NHL first stringer, Healy has a good history against the Flyers. Standing up to consecutive games of Eric Lindros, Keith Jones, John LeClair, Sandy McCarthy and Mikael Renberg is asking a lot of any goaltender.

"With my short stature, there's not much you can do," the 5-foot-9 Healy said of the Philly fivesome's average dimensions of 6-foot-3, 221 pounds.

Quinn, who coached the Flyers during the early 1980s, said the Flyers' philosophy of bringing in the beef hasn't changed.

"They established that in 1969 (after back-to-back playoff losses to the St. Louis Blues in their first two seasons)," Quinn said. "They got the snot beaten out of them and they vowed it would never happen again. They play on the edge of the rules."

The Flyers walked over the Leafs in three playoff series during the 1970s. But last spring, in Quinn's first season in Toronto, the Leafs outworked Philadelphia in a six-game opening-round series.

"Everyone talked about an Ottawa-Toronto rivalry when we came to this conference," Healy said. "But it hasn't happened yet because we've never met in playoffs. That's what has come out of last spring with the Flyers."

Healy has a career record of 11-11-4 against the Flyers with a 3.23 goals-against average. He's 1-1 as a Leaf heading into tonight and the Flyers are a nice change from the bottom-feeders Healy usually is assigned to face as the No. 2 goalie.

"I know them well," Healy said of the Flyers. "When I played for the Rangers, they were our biggest game, next to New Jersey."

The Leafs will have defenceman Alexander Karpovtsev back in the lineup, after he was put on the injured reserve list with a shoulder sprain following the Nov. 26 meeting with the Flyers.

"Maybe it's a bad time to be coming back, but I'm ready," Karpovtsev said.

Centre Nik Antropov suffered the same injury that same week. He also hopes to return tonight.

At a practice at Maple Leaf Gardens yesterday, Quinn continued to use winger Dmitri Khristich at centre, flanked by Tie Domi and Mike Johnson. Antropov was between Garry Valk and Kris King.

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