Pronger marking new territory

By Chris Iorfida

Edmonton Oiler defenceman Chris Pronger is heading into uncharted territory.

Which is really saying something because in his career, Pronger has racked up an Olympic gold medal, the Hart Trophy for most valuable player, the Norris Trophy as top defenceman and several all-star berths.

But an appearance in the Stanley Cup final has thus far proved elusive for Pronger, despite several seasons with the St. Louis Blues, a team that was once the Presidents' Trophy winner and more often than not was considered a contender.

So this time Pronger is determined to make the most of the opportunity in his first playoff run with the Oilers.

"We don't feel like we have achieved what we have set out to do," said Prongerafter the Oilers eliminated the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the Western Conferencefinal.

"We want to continue to perform and finish it off [bywinning theStanley Cup].

"Anything less than that is an incomplete season."

Everybody contributing

As befitsa storybook run, several Edmonton players have taken a turn in the spotlight.

Shawn Horcoff came up huge against San Jose, tallying four goals and three assists in the series.

Goaltender Dwayne Roloson, solid throughout the run, got into a groove in the series against the Sharks and didn't miss a beat as the scene shifted to Anaheim.

Michael Peca also shone against the Ducks, with a six-game point streak and goals in fourconsecutive contests.

Fernando Pisani has been steady throughout, and has been rewarded with nine goals.

But as he does on the ice, Pronger is standingabove the rest.

Pronger standing tall

He was the main story against Detroit, notching two goals and seven points while overshadowing perennial Norris winner Nicklas Lidstrom —and everyone else on the ice, for that matter.

Like many of the Oilers, Pronger didn't have his best games during the initial San Jose leg of Round 2, but he has since registered a point in seven of his last nine games.

The defenceman is tied forsecond among all playoff scorers with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists), engineering offence with crisp passes and scoring three power-play goals with his hard shot from the point.

A pair of such goals camein the Anaheim series against goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

His goal in Game 3 of the Western Conference final seemed merely icing on the cake as a celebratory crowd at Edmonton'sRexall Place revelled in a 4-0 lead, but it proved critical as the Mighty Ducks dominated the last half of the period to nearly come all the way back.

Pronger's above-average point production in the playoffs has been supplemented by his usual contributions of blocking shots, doling out hits and providing an intimidating presence in front of his own net.

Just as notably, the player known for being prone to lapses in temper has just 18 penalty minutes. To put that in perspective, it's just few more than Roloson, though that could also be a commentary on the goaltender's orneriness.

Heartbreak with Blues

Prongerhas been a household name since being drafted No. 2 overall by Hartford. With all the individual honours, a big trade early in his career for Brendan Shanahan and some scrapes with the league's disciplinary office, it's easy to forget he's still only 31 years old.

But in 11 seasons with the NHL he's learned one important lesson: There's more to a winning team that talent.

He spenttwo yearswith theHartford Whalers, a mediocre squad that didn't make the playoffs.But a move to thesuperstar-laden St. Louis Blue didn't make much difference.

Although the Bluesaddedsuch powerplayers asGlenn Anderson,Wayne Gretzky,Grant Fuhr, Al MacInnis and Dale Hawerchuk, they always seemed to underachieve. Indeed, there are many past championship teams that haven't boasted as many current or future Hall of Fame players.

Emerging stars in Edmonton

Pronger learned the hard way that winning teams are as much about mettle as talent. This time around, hehas a more pleasant reminder of that fact.

When asked during a conference call about the difference between the Oilers and Blues, Prongeranswered:"teamwork."

"Yeah, we had good teams in St. Louis, but we never had this type of depth and this type of commitment to one another," Pronger said during a conference call last week.

Prongeralso did his best to debunk the perception that the Oilers are a team without stars.

"I think you're going to see a number of our players on our team become big names. The Horcoffs, the Stolls of our team are going to be stars in this league. And, you know, they're just not known yet."