Hawks captain Dirk Graham thinks he may have fooled Edmonton goalie Bill Ranford on his Game 3 short-handed goal with an unexpected move: ”I probably gave him the wobbly leg move.”
Graham didn`t wince when he said it. But he admits there is pain flaring from his healing knee whenever he doesn`t have an adrenalin flow to mask it.
”I feel it when I sit on the bench or between the periods,” he said. ”I never felt it on the breakaway.”
Graham said he is ”taking a certain risk” in playing. He cracked the kneecap March 17 and he didn`t return until the final game of the Norris Division finals.
”The doctors have assured me I can`t do any permanent damage to it, or else I wouldn`t be out there,” he said.
Good, not good enough: Edmonton really didn`t play badly in that 5-1 loss Sunday to Chicago. So what does that mean?
”We looked at the tapes and we did a lot of good things,” coach John Muckler said. ”It`s the same situation as it was against Winnipeg (down 3-1 before winning the first-round series). We`re doing good things, but not enough to win. After a tough series with Winnipeg and an easy one against Los Angeles, our intensity level isn`t where it should be.”
Muckler might unleash his Russian Tuesday in Game 4. Anatoly Semenov arrived just a couple weeks ago after having played in the Soviet Union with Dynamo. The forward was on the 1987 Soviet squad that was beaten by Mike Keenan`s team in the Canada Cup. He hasn`t played for Edmonton.
Role reversal: Graham doesn`t think the Oilers have their backs pushed against the wall, down 2-1. ”We are the ones who have to win” Tuesday, Graham said. Charlie`s best: Defenseman Steve Konroyd thought teammate Dave ”Charlie”
Manson`s best playoff performance came in Game 3. ”Doug Wilson played well, too. He stood up Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson just great.”
The entire Hawk defense played one of its most complete games. ”The attitude was devil-may-care,” Konroyd said. ”When we have a lead that isn`t always the case. Sometimes we play too safe. But Sunday night, everyone decided to jump into the play rather than sit back and the assertiveness paid off.”