THE NHL / HELENE ELLIOTT : Red Wings’ Fedorov Earns Kudos for Carrying Team

Many NHL teams will hit the midpoint of the season this week, an occasion that calls for compliments and condemnations.

There have been some memorable moments--Toronto’s record 10-0 start, Dominik Hasek’s five shutouts in 12 games. And there have been some forgettable ones, too--the on-ice officials’ strike, a rash of head-butting incidents and the Edmonton Oilers’ threats to move to Minnesota. The two newest expansion teams are flourishing, but franchises in Hartford, Winnipeg and Washington are wobbling. And will anyone ever admit to being a New Jersey Devil fan?

Mario Lemieux had to curtail his return from back surgery, and he probably won’t try again until March. Buffalo’s Pat LaFontaine underwent season-ending knee surgery and St. Louis’ Phil Housley was told he needs a back operation.

But although the Detroit Red Wings were without Steve Yzerman for 26 games because of a neck injury, they gained a superstar in Sergei Fedorov, who is jockeying with Wayne Gretzky for the scoring lead. Grant Fuhr’s injured left knee kept him out of Buffalo’s lineup, but that gave Hasek a chance.

Some noteworthy feats and failures, with appropriate awards:

Mini MVP: Fedorov. Runners-up: Gretzky, Patrick Roy.

Fedorov carried the Red Wings during Yzerman’s absence. With Yzerman fit, Detroit’s offense is scary. Gretzky enjoyed a revival after sitting out most of last season because of back problems, leaving him 19 goals from Gordie Howe’s record of 801. Roy’s goaltending, a carry-over from his MVP performance last spring, is all that keeps the Canadiens afloat most nights.

Rookie of the half year: Alexei Yashin.

Ottawa’s rookie center is tough to move off the puck, skillful and half of a potent 1-2 punch with fellow rookie Alexandre Daigle.

Coach of the half year: Mike Keenan. Runners-up: Bob Gainey, Scotty Bowman.

Keenan’s Rangers have the NHL’s best record, but how long can he bully them into winning? Gainey has guided an average team to the league’s fourth-highest point total and Bowman is doing an outstanding job of keeping the Red Wings’ fragile egos in line. If their goaltending improves, they will be a force.

Half Norris: Chris Chelios. Runners-up: Garry Galley, Brian Leetch.

Chicago’s Chelios is probably the NHL’s best all-around defenseman. Galley is a leader for the young Flyers and Leetch, after being benched by Keenan early in the season, has regained his Norris-winning form.

Demi-Vezina: Hasek. Honorable mention: Curtis Joseph.

Hasek, who has a 1.80 goals-against average in 26 games, can become the first European-trained goalie to post the NHL’s lowest average. The Blues made Joseph face a record 2,202 shots in 68 games last season--an average of 32.4--and they are deserting him again. He has faced 1,194 shots in 34 games, an average of 35.1, but his goals-against average is a respectable 3.

EXPANSION EXPLOITS

The NHL expanded, so whynot expand the standard awards list?

MVP, expansion category: John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers and Terry Yake, Anatoli Semenov and Coach Ron Wilson of the Mighty Ducks.

Goalie Vanbiesbrouck has given Florida credibility and a shot at a playoff berth. Yake and Semenov give the Ducks creativity and Wilson gives them a calm, concentrated presence behind the bench. He has devised the perfect road strategy, a cautious style calculated to frustrate teams trying to please their home fans.

THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN

Kudos to Pittsburgh’s Joey Mullen, who needs 43 points to become the first U.S.-born player to score 1,000; the Rangers’ Mike Gartner, the sixth NHL player to score 600 goals; the Capitals’ Randy Burridge, dogged as ever after surgery on both knees; Boston’s Cam Neely, who has 26 goals in 22 games despite a sore left leg, and Hartford’s Geoff Sanderson, whose 27 goals represent a hefty 23% of the Whalers’ offense.

Boos start with Winnipeg’s Teemu Selanne, who had 76 goals last season but has only 21 this season. He and teammate Bob Essensa, who has a 3.59 goals-against average, showed no class in refusing to talk to reporters after a victory last week. Also, the maddeningly inconsistent Vancouver Canucks; the feuding Jets, who have put Coach John Paddock’s job in jeopardy, and the Quebec Nordiques, who have too much talent to be 17-17-5.

BE GLAD IT WASN’T A JAVELIN

Blackhawk goalie Ed Belfour threw his stick toward Coach Darryl Sutter after Sutter had pulled him less than five minutes into a game at Winnipeg, Belfour’s hometown, but Sutter managed to smile about it the next day.

After learning that Belfour had not been added to the Western Conference All-Star team, Sutter laughed as he told the Chicago Tribune: “I hope he doesn’t throw his stick at anyone.”

Belfour wasn’t contrite.

“I’m still upset about it and I don’t understand what he did,” he said. “We’re both competitors and sometimes we’re going to step on the other’s toes. In the end, we want the same things, and we’ll have to try and find a way to do it together.”

DINO’S NO DINOSAUR

Detroit winger Dino Ciccarelli, who is two goals away from 500, is in awe of the company he is about to join.

“Look at the guys who have scored 500 goals--Gordie Howe, Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull. I watched them play when I was a kid,” said Ciccarelli, who will turn 34 next month. “That’s a pretty good group of guys.”

Ciccarelli has perked up since he was put on a line with Fedorov and Viacheslav Kozlov. He had 13 points in his first 24 games, but has 16 in 12 games with his new linemates.

SLAP SHOTS

The Met Center in Bloomington, Minn., the North Stars’ home from 1967 until 1993, probably will be razed this spring. . . . The St. Louis Blues have an eye on Hartford defenseman Zarley Zalapski. . . . Jocelyn Lemieux asked the Blackhawks to trade him after he was benched last week. . . . Eric Lindros has only two goals in eight games since returning from a knee injury. . . .

Derek Plante would have benefited more by joining the U.S. Olympic team instead of being Buffalo’s third-line center. . . . Lemieux’s new contract includes payments of $4 million on Sept. 1, 1996, and $4 million 30 days after he plays his last game. Interest on that $8 million will start accruing on Sept. 1.

The Canadian Olympic team, humiliated by a 2-0 loss to France in the Izvestia tournament, welcomed Canuck holdout Petr Nedved, who was born in Czechoslovakia but became a Canadian in July. Centering for Mighty Duck draftee Paul Kariya and former King Chris Kontos, he had 10 points in his first four games. Kariya had 13 points in his first 10.