Everyone remembers the '88 Dodgers, they had no business being in the World Series, but they had hockey's equivalence of a hot goalie in Orel Hershiser, a hot pitcher. Hershiser single-handedly put the Dodgers on his back and led them to a World Series title.

Find a hot goalie in May, and your team will probably hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. There is one big question surrounding the NHL playoffs. Can anyone beat the mighty Detroit Red Wings?

The answer is yes, but notice the lower case because it isn't a resounding yes. The Ottawa Senators could have beaten the Wings in the first round, but they're in the East, so instead they knocked off the Flyers. Many experts picked the Flyers as Eastern Conference champs, but a hot goalie named Patrick Lalime surrendered just 2 goals to the Flyers while shutting them out three times as Ottawa won the series 4-1.

Lalime is still hot. He proved it with another shutout in round two as the Senators topped Toronto 5-0 in game one of the Eastern Semis. Unfortunately for Senator fans, the Senators will need that type of performance for three more rounds.

Carolina is getting that type of performance from their own net minder Kevin Weekes. Weekes, primarily a backup for the Tampa Bay Lightning all year, has suddenly found lighting for the Hurricanes. Weekes has recorded two consecutive shutouts including one in game one against the Canadians as the Canes beat Montreal 2-0 for a 1-0 lead in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

Weekes will have to be great because Hart Trophy nominee Jose Theodore has also been great in goal for the Canadians all year long, although he hasn't registered a shutout at press time. The Habs are hoping that history is on their side. They have had a history of young goalies catching fire and leading them to Lord Stanley's Cup.

Ken Dryden caught fire and led the Canadians to a title in '71 at the age of 23. Fifteen years later, a guy by the name of Patrick Roy caught fire and led the Canadians to another Cup. Both Dryden and Roy won the Conn Smythe award as playoff MVP.

The Red Wings can be beaten, just don't bet the house on it, or for that matter, the car or anything else. In an earlier column, I wrote that the only thing that could stop them would be "Father Time." It looked like he (Father Time) had finally caught them when they fell behind 2-0 to Vancouver, losing the first two games at home.

Not only were they down 2-0, but they also had to travel more than 3,000 miles, across three time zones to play the young Canucks. The Wings, however, never were truly worried and responded by winning four straight behind Dominik "The Dominator" Hasek. I'll discuss him a little later. The Wings have passed the "Father Time" test, so now the only thing that can stop them is an extremely hot goalie.

There are also three hot goalies in the West. The aforementioned Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche have the best chance of knocking off the Wings. Roy has 21 playoff shutouts, including 2 this year. Colorado has the second-most star-studded squad behind, yes, the Wings. Peter Forsberg's return makes the Avalanche deadly, although at press time, they trailed the San Jose Sharks 1-0 in the Western semis.

The second hot goalie in the Western Conference is Brent Johnson. Johnson has registered 3 shutouts this playoff season, but he was 0-2 at press time against the Red Wings. He'd only given up 5 goals in two games, not bad, but not good enough when the opposing goalie is a future Hall of Famer and the third and final hot goalie in the West.

Dominik Hasek has everything in his trophy case. He has an Olympic gold medal and multiple Vezina and Hart trophies, but he wants his name on Lord Stanley's Cup more than anything else does. Hasek had 2 playoff shutouts at press time and that's not good for the rest of the league. They have the most talent and one of the top two (Roy) goalies in the playoffs. That's a lethal combination for opposing teams.

Can the Wings be beaten? Yes, but only by an extremely hot goalie, I'm talking really hot because they also have a hot goalie of their own. Enjoy the playoffs!

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