‘Miracle’ Men Together Again

The real miracle about the movie “Miracle,” which chronicles the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s upset of the Soviets and its subsequent gold-medal triumph at Lake Placid, N.Y., is that those who lived it say it does justice to their remarkable story, which will resonate as long as there are sports and underdogs and dreams.

Nineteen of the 20 players attended a screening Monday before getting star treatment at a premiere at El Capitan theater. Only Mike Ramsey was missing, busy with his duties as an assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild.

Some had seen it before but many got their first look at the Walt Disney Pictures production Monday; all praised Kurt Russell’s portrayal of visionary coach Herb Brooks, who did the supposedly impossible in leading them past the Soviets and then warning them they would “take it to their graves” if they didn’t beat the Finns for the gold medal. Brooks died in a car crash in August after most of the film was shot, but his son, Dan, daughter, Kelly, and wife, Patti, were at the screening.

“Kurt Russell as Herbie was spot-on with his characterization, and I thought the hockey footage of the kids was terrific,” winger Dave Silk said. “The things I didn’t like were that all the guys that played us had all their teeth, and the biggest problem was that I’ve been telling my daughters all these years that I scored the winning goals. I’m going to have to send them out for popcorn at the climactic moments.”

This being Hollywood, some dramatic license was taken. Ken Morrow’s signature beard is missing, and a few players are depicted shooting with the wrong hand. John Harrington, who played with Buzz Schneider and Mark Pavelich on the “Conehead” line, said he got more power-play time in the film than at the Olympics.

“Kurt Russell recognized my talent more than Herbie did,” he said, drawing chuckles.

Phil Verchota, who saw the movie for the first time Monday, said it was “relatively authentic. You don’t see that in some of these things.”

Their overriding reaction, though, was that the focus on Brooks added a human dimension anyone can appreciate.

“This movie is not just a hockey movie, and what we participated in is not just a hockey game,” said Rob McClanahan, who runs a trading desk at a Minneapolis equities firm. “We had no idea at the time what we’d accomplished and looking back, it was partly because nobody expected us to beat them. It was men against boys....

“One scene got me, where Herb is in his kitchen, drawing diagrams. It was very chilling. But maybe because Herb is no longer with us it was very eerie looking at Kurt Russell portraying Herb. At the end of the movie, they show that picture of Herb [taken after the victory over the Soviets] and it was just sad.”

Goaltender Jim Craig, a motivational speaker and businessman in the Boston area, said he hoped those unfamiliar with the story would be inspired by “Miracle,” which opens nationally on Friday. That might be the most fitting tribute to Brooks of all.

“Hopefully, the movie will get people excited not only about the story but about the sport,” Craig said. “The hockey scenes are so good that, hopefully, people will want to wear the sweater and play the game.”

Said Silk: “The fact that the story has legs is because it’s become much more than a hockey game or a political event. It was the kind of event that everybody read their own meaning into. People in sports can point to it as a sports story. People in politics can point to it as a political story. Parents can use it as a history tool for their kids. It teaches people, and it becomes less of a hockey game.

“Even if we hadn’t won, it still would have been the greatest year in my life because of the friendships and the camaraderie.”

Between the (Wider) Lines

Among the most popular ideas to reverse the NHL’s scoring decline is widening the area between the blue lines. An experiment in the American Hockey League that added four feet to the neutral zone hasn’t produced a spike in offense, but Mike Murphy, the NHL’s vice president for hockey operations, says that if players practice with the new configuration, they’ll adjust to it and eventually produce more flow and scoring chances.

The experiment is in its early stages and not all the feedback has been collected from AHL coaches and on-ice officials. Murphy said he would update NHL general managers when they meet in Henderson, Nev., after the All-Star game.

“The lines make the rink more colorful, just from a fan point of view,” Murphy said last week. “The linesmen felt the blue line offsides were easier to call, that they had a clearer vision of it. They didn’t feel the added distance that was gained in the neutral zone was really used to a benefit, and part of it was, players haven’t practiced on it enough and the skill level in the American League didn’t capitalize on that extra four feet. It’s something that I think the NHL teams would [capitalize on], and they’d practice it.

“What ended up happening is, players are used to playing inside the blue line in the offensive zone so they ended up playing in a more crowded, clustered area in the offensive zone because they didn’t adjust to play back on the line, because they had more area there. That’s something I think would be learned.

“We added a line on each side of the center-ice line so there were some saved icing plays, where players had a little more distance to shoot the puck in without it being icing, so that was a significant thing.”

He also said one pitfall was that players sometimes went lateral on the blue line while attacking but linemates would step over the blue line, resulting in more offsides. Again, that’s a matter of timing.

“I think once players realize if you’re the defensive player, you can make a pass that’s four feet farther,” he said. “In the NHL, you’re going to have the [Paul] Kariyas, the [Teemu] Selannes, those types of players getting in behind, and you’re going to have that pass being made.”

Murphy said it was worth longer study and, perhaps, trying in NHL exhibition play.

“I think what it’s going to provide is a better rush game,” he said. “Too much of our game now is dump, forecheck, cycle. I think you’ll open up the rush here and possibly get more chances on the rush.”

The general managers also will discuss goalies’ ability to stop the game, with an eye on reducing the number of times they can freeze the puck each period. Limiting the extent goalies can handle the puck is another possibility, but that’s more radical.

“I think we’ve raised, going back to [Ron] Hextall’s day, most young goalies who have been good shooters and good puck handlers,” Murphy said. “We would be making a U-turn in the direction we’ve sent a lot of those kids if we were to make changes.”

Slap Shots

This is not a typo: Kris Draper has more goals, 20, than teammate Brett Hull, 18. Draper’s surprising productivity is a key reason that the Red Wings, who lost Sergei Fedorov to free agency, still rank among the NHL’s most prolific teams.

Draper’s previous career best was 15 goals in 2001-02. At 32, he has long been the heart of the Red Wings because of his defensive skills and grinding ability.

It was classy of Red Wing fans to cheer Igor Larionov on Thursday when he made what is probably his last visit to the city he called home for parts of eight seasons. Larionov also left as a free agent last summer but hasn’t played regularly in New Jersey. The 43-year old center plans to retire at season’s end.

New Jersey General Manager Lou Lamoriello said Devil defenseman Scott Stevens would definitely play again this season after suffering a concussion, but he wouldn’t say when. The outlook for fellow concussion victim Eric Lindros is cloudier. The Ranger center suffered his eighth known concussion last week on a hard, clean hit by Washington’s Jason Doig and is out indefinitely. After so many head injuries he might be risking his future if he absorbs another hard hit.

Colorado Coach Tony Granato found a positive side to Peter Forsberg’s and Milan Hejduk’s not being selected for Sunday’s All-Star game: Both can get much needed rest. “For the guys that aren’t going, that’s the way you have to look at it,” Granato said. “You get three days away. It’s a nice break and we’ve had a lot of games since Christmas [22 by the All-Star break]. It’s a few days away to rest the bumps and bruises and rejuvenate the legs for a lot of us.”

Just as the Buffalo Sabres got on a 5-1 roll and killed 21 of 21 disadvantages, their schedule gave them one game in nine days. “The way we’re playing, you’d like to keep playing,” Coach Lindy Ruff said. “The thing that’s really evident is how unselfish everybody is playing.”

The Ottawa Senators will hold a telethon Thursday to benefit Roger’s House, named in honor of their late assistant coach, Roger Neilson. They’ve raised $750,000 toward a goal of $3 million to build a pediatric palliative care unit for children with life-threatening illnesses, and the children’s families. Game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia will be auctioned.