A ROCKY RELATIONSHIP : Unless Calmer Heads Prevail, Western Conference’s Main Event Between Colorado and Detroit Will Be a Fight to the Finish

The Colorado Avalanche’s second-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers showcased all of hockey’s best elements: speed, skill and rugged hitting. The Detroit Red Wings’ series against the Mighty Ducks was also a thriller, featuring superb goaltending, individual brilliance and gutsy team play throughout four tense games.

The Western Conference final series between the Avalanche and the Red Wings, which begins tonight at Denver’s McNichols Arena, may be memorable too--but for the wrong reasons.

Players claim they are over the hostility that marred their West final series last year, specifically a blind-side blindside check by Avalanche winger Claude Lemieux that sent Detroit center Kris Draper face-first into the boards and caused Draper extensive facial damage.

And they say they have forgotten their last regular-season game, on March 26, when they combined for 148 penalty minutes and goalies Mike Vernon of Detroit and Patrick Roy of Colorado squared off while Detroit’s Darren McCarty pummeled an unresisting Lemieux.

For the moment, reason is prevailing. But those old emotions don’t seem to be far beneath the surface, and they could boil over and heighten what has become one of the NHL’s fiercest rivalries. With that possibility in mind, Brian Burke, the league’s director of hockey operations, warned both teams he will crack down if things get out of hand, and he is scheduled to be in Denver to keep a wary eye on the proceedings.

“I know the fans would like a blood bath again,” Detroit forward Martin Lapointe said. “But you can’t afford to be stupid like that by taking penalties and jeopardizing your team.”

Said Lemieux, who has a seven-game goal-scoring streak and leads playoff scorers with 10 goals and 19 points: “I know people are going to talk about that stuff, but more than anything, I think this series will be about discipline. There will be aggression, but neither team can afford to let it get out of line. It will be emotional, but we can’t get stupid.”

The Red Wings have many reasons to avoid fights and foolish penalties, especially with the first two games of the series at Denver, where the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche is 6-0 this spring and has outscored opponents, 29-6. Going back to last season, the Avalanche has a 10-game home winning streak in the playoffs and has outscored opponents, 48-11.

Why give better scoring chances to the Avalanche, which was seven for 21 on the power play against Edmonton and has the best playoff power play at 28.8%? The Red Wings’ penalty killers are 39 for 48 (81.3%), which is adequate.

And why risk losing a couple of players when depth will be a crucial factor? The Avalanche, although deeper overall and able to put out the top four playoff scorers (Lemieux, Joe Sakic, Valeri Kamensky and Peter Forsberg), has been hit by injuries. Forsberg is expected back tonight after recovering from a concussion, but hard-hitting defenseman Uwe Krupp (back surgery) and forwards Stephane Yelle and Keith Jones (knee injuries) are out.

The Red Wings have every player available. No Red Wing has reached double figures in points, but they have three strong lines that can play well at both ends of the ice and they’ve developed a tenacity they lacked in previous seasons.

“From our point of view, the only thing that matters is trying to win the series,” Detroit center Steve Yzerman said. “We’re not going to think about settling scores.”

The most important score will be the final one, and it’s likely to be close and low. “We’re a little bit more methodical, a little more plodding,” Yzerman said. “I don’t think we’re as explosive offensively as we were last year, but we’re more comfortable playing low-scoring, tight-checking games.”

In a rarity, Detroit didn’t give up more than three goals in a game against the Ducks and gave up four to St. Louis once. Colorado shut out Chicago twice and gave up a goal once to Chicago and twice against Edmonton.

Both starting goalies have their names on the Stanley Cup: Vernon won it with Calgary in 1989 and Roy won with Montreal in 1986 and 1993 and last year with Colorado.

Vernon, a surprise starter in the St Louis series, played well against the Mighty Ducks despite being overshadowed by Mikhail Shtalenkov’s overtime exploits. Vernon’s 1.96 goals-against average is better than Roy’s 2.07, but Roy has the edge in save percentage, .933 to .929.

With Forsberg back in the lineup centering for Lemieux and Kamensky, the Avalanche’s offense has excellent balance. Sakic, last year’s playoff MVP, had moved up to the first line but can now go back to centering for Scott Young and Adam Deadmarsh, reuniting a line whose ability to make plays at a high tempo could frustrate Detroit’s slower defensemen, Larry Murphy and Viacheslav Fetisov. But the Red Wings’ Russian Five--forwards Vyacheslav Kozlov, Sergei Fedorov and Igor Larionov and defensemen Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov--add a puck-control element the Avalanche defensemen may find difficult to handle.

The Red Wings are grittier than they were a year ago, but less prolific; the Avalanche is as skilled as when it eliminated the Red Wings in six games last year, but must prove its desire to repeat is as great--if not greater--than its desire to win for the first time.

“This should be fun,” Avalanche winger Mike Keane said. “That’s what the playoffs should be all about. You want to play against the best teams. You want to play against teams you don’t like.”

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NHL PLAYOFFS

GAME 1

Western Conference Finals

Detroit at Colorado

5:30 p.m. ESPN