ANALYSIS : Sideshow Antics Hide Real Issues : Campbell Conference: In hockey, as in other sports, defense wins championships.

Let’s see if we’ve got this straight.

You take a bunch of Canadian kids who grew up in small towns, dreaming of putting their names on the Stanley Cup.

They hone their skills on ponds and in creaky, cold rinks, hoping for bigger days and bigger arenas.

They get taller and faster and better and, one day, they find themselves in the NHL, at the entry level on the road to the hallowed Cup.

Then this year, it all comes together for some of those kids. After 84 regular-season games, after being slashed and scarred, bumped and bruised, after two grueling playoff rounds, they reach the third leg of the NHL’s postseason tournament, one round removed from the Stanley Cup final.

For some, the final will be the realization of a lifelong dream. For others, it will be a return to their greatest glory.

And for the privilege of pursuing this lofty goal, they are paid huge sums of money.

But, we are led to believe, all of this is not enough.

Not even the chance to consummate this quest for the Cup is enough to motivate these players.

No, what the Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs need to motivate them in the Campbell Conference final are insults.

They need to hear that someone has made fun of the long hair of King Coach Barry Melrose. Or mocked the weight of Maple Leaf Coach Pat Burns.

They need to see soft drinks or doughnuts or a crutch thrown on the ice by unruly fans.

They need to hear talk of intimidation from opposing players.

They need pep talks from self-help gurus and therapists.

Well, don’t believe it.

A Toronto newspaper might enjoy headlines announcing that Game 2 of this series might closely resemble World War II. An L.A. radio station might encourage fans to throw objects onto the ice. The coaches might enjoy bringing in outside sources of motivation. The fans might enjoy the sideshow that has evolved around this series.

But it all pales in comparison to the Cup. This series won’t be decided on motivation alone. Any team that has come this far has demonstrated courage and heart and guts and all the other cliches coaches love to toss out at this point of the season.

So what has given the Maple Leafs a 3-2 edge in this series heading into Game 6 tonight at the Forum?

The same thing that gives championship teams in every sport the edge--defense.

Melrose said it isn’t chiseled in stone that playoff games must be won, 2-1.

But it is chiseled in the Stanley Cup. Championships are won at the blue line and in the crease. They are decided by great goaltending, solid defensemen and two-way forwards and centers.

Nor is this theory of defense unique to hockey. When they were winning all those NBA championships, the Lakers were known for their fast-break offense. But their defense, led by Michael Cooper, initiated the break.

When the Dodgers in the early years in Los Angeles were the toast of the National League, it was because of defense and pitching.

The Buffalo Bills have discovered over the last few seasons that great offenses alone are not enough.

The Maple Leafs were second in the NHL in goals-against during the regular season. They held the St. Louis Blues to 11 goals in seven games during the second round of the playoffs.

Toronto has held the Kings to 12 goals in five games during this series, including five in the Kings’ three losses. The Maple Leafs have shut down Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille and Jimmy Carson.

And in Felix Potvin, Toronto has a goaltender playing at the top of his game.

But so is King goalie Kelly Hrudey. And with young defensemen such as Rob Blake, Alexei Zhitnik and Darryl Sydor, along with veterans Marty McSorley, Tim Watters and Charlie Huddy, the Kings can play tough defense as well, as they did against the Vancouver Canucks in the previous round and as they have done at times in this series.

It’s no coincidence that the Kings lost in overtime in Game 5 after an injury knocked Zhitnik out of the game.

So smile at all the insults. Shake your head at all the histrionics.

But pay attention to the defense. That will decide this series.

You can chisel that in stone.