In the magazine business, you never want to be known as a jinx. Just ask those other guys. That's why us ESPN The Magazine folks were happy to see the Kings' Ziggy Palffy net a hat trick (in a losing cause) against the Rangers the other night. You see, Palffy is featured in a piece by Jeff Miller in our latest issue (the one with Marshall Faulk on the cover). You can plan a story for months, but if a player (or team) goes cold at the wrong time, you're a jinx.

The subject of my last feature, Ottawa's Alexei Yashin, went into a three-week funk after our story hit the newsstand. Suprisingly, Yashin didn't run from me when I ran into him at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. Yash was feeling good after snapping an 10-game goal-scoring drought the night before against Toronto. It probably didn't hurt that his supermodel girlfriend Carol Alt was waiting for him in the Garden lobby.

Anyway, back to Ziggy. He's been at or near the top of the league's scoring list since the season started. Personally, I'm glad to see him back on his game. During the 1996-97 season, when I was scouting for the Dallas Stars, I ranked Palffy among the top five forwards in the league. Despite playing with the laughingstock Islanders, Palffy cranked out three straight 40-goal seasons during the mid-?90s. At his best, Palffy is much more than just a goal scorer. He's blessed with great vision and hockey sense. He's a fantastic passer and playmaker. And, despite his smallish build, he's a competitive little SOB. Against the Rangers, he got into a tiff with Mark Messier. No, Palffy doesn't scare anyone -- especially Mess. But believe me: many bigger, stronger players wouldn't be so bold as to challenge the captain of captains.

This Palffy had gone missing for a couple of seasons. A prolonged contract dispute with the Isles in 1998-99 seemed to derail his overall game. Last season, after a trade to the Kings, he battled back problems throughout the season. Healthy, Palffy could crack the 50-goal mark and win a scoring trophy. The way he's going, we won?t have to worry about zinging Ziggy.

E.J. Hradek, an associate editor at ESPN The Magazine, appears regularly on NHL 2Night. Got anyone you want to jinx? E-mail ej.hradek@espnmag.com.