Separated by a border and a time zone, Jose Theodore and Jarome Iginla still managed to deliver a moment on the same night that nicely expressed the frustrations of their seasons so far.

	Jose Theodore has allowed 15 goals in his last three appearances.

For Theodore, it was holding Mario Lemieux and Co. mostly at bay for 59-plus minutes Tuesday night, then finding himself unable to stop Lemieux from setting up Aleksey Morozov for the tying goal with only 9.8 seconds left on the Bell Centre scoreclock in what ultimately became a 3-3 tie between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens.

For Iginla, it was flying down the wing in overtime against the Minnesota Wild and hammering a shot past Manny Fernandez for the apparent winner, then seeing the puck glance off the post. When Cliff Ronning scored moments later for the Wild, Iginla's Calgary Flames had dropped their second straight.

It has been that kind of season so far for the two young stars, who finished one-two in voting for the Hart Trophy last season in the closest race in league history. Both finished with 434 points, with Theodore ultimately getting the nod and becoming the first goalie to win the Hart in 40 years on the basis of more first-place votes.

This fall, however, both young men are finding follow-up campaigns of similar dimensions to be no easy trick.

By giving up three goals to the Penguins, Theodore's stats actually improved substantially. His goals-against average was lowered to 3.92 from a horrific 4.33, the numerical result of giving up 12 goals in his previous two starts, while his save percentage today sits at .849, a dismal number but still a significant improvement on the .829 figure he dragged into Tuesday's game.

Iginla, meanwhile, would have to trace his finger all the way down the NHL scoring list to 52nd place today before he found his name. After leading the league in scoring last year and winning the Rocket Richard Trophy for potting a league-high 52 goals, he has two goals and four assists in seven games this season, not quite the stats Calgary fans are hoping for.

Both players, of course, have ample time to recover and post strong seasons. Yet they'll never be viewed through quite the same prism again, and the expectations that would already have been there because of their breakthrough efforts a year ago have been increased exponentially by several factors.

First, both Montreal and Calgary are already feeling the pressure to get into the playoffs next spring, with both franchises clearly understanding that a slow start by their star players might mean their respective teams are in postseason trouble by December.

Montreal just got back into the playoffs last spring after missing three straight years, while the Flames haven't hosted a postseason match since 1996 and have seen their season ticket base whittled down to below 10,000 as their popularity has plunged.

There is hope in both cities that a new labor agreement in 2004 will include substantial changes to aid their small-market, Canadian cause, but on-ice success right now is the priority.

Second, both Theodore and Iginla signed enormous contracts in the offseason, pacts that put more financial pressure on their teams and more onus on the individual players to deliver the goods and prove they are worth those gigantic salaries.

For $13 million over the next two years, Calgary fans are looking for Iginla to establish himself as a consistent 50-goal man, not drop to a point-a-game performer.

Theodore, meanwhile, is the highest paid Montreal puckstopper ever at $5.5 million per season, yet he labors in the shadow of Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy, brilliant goaltenders who brought multiple Stanley Cups to the city.

Until he does the same, Theodore is in danger of being viewed as a one-shot deal, a player unable to live up to the salary he forced the Habs to pay.

Iginla's situation is complicated to some degree by what has come before and by a shifty new star on the Calgary scene.

When the club was routinely registering 100-point seasons in the late 1980s and early '90s, snipers like Joe Nieuwendyk, Gary Roberts, Doug Gilmour and Theo Fleury powered the Calgary attack.

All, however, ultimately left for more lucrative pastures, and the fear with Iginla is that he will ultimately do the same. The arrival of Chris Drury from Colorado this fall, meanwhile, has added a flashy component to the Calgary offense that should help Iginla by deflecting the defensive pressure elsewhere but may also make him appear second-best in both style and on the points sheet.

Theodore, meanwhile, must pursue his trade in the white hot spotlight of Quebec's ever-present language issue. Anytime a Habs personnel issue pits a Francophone athlete against an Anglophone, it becomes infinitely complicated and invites a split in the French-English media that frequently makes the entire situation decidedly more flammable.

The reality for both youngsters is that their Hart joust last year did not necessarily prove either yet belongs among the best in the game at their position.

After Theodore was soaked for six goals by Philadelphia Oct. 15, just two days after the Buffalo Sabres also pumped a half-dozen past him, Jeff Hackett moved into the Montreal crease and promptly helped the Habs win their first game in Detroit in a decade.

Two days later, Hackett made a miraculous save in OT to preserve a 2-2 tie at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was presumed he would get Tuesday's start against the Pens, but head coach Michel Therrien instead re-inserted Theodore.

Right or wrong, that choice will invite speculation and criticism. Indeed, when Hackett started against the Leafs, francophone journalists openly speculated that Therrien had made the choice to mollify critics in the English media.

Against the Pens, Theodore wasn't outstanding, but he was better than he had been. Iginla, meanwhile, has actually played well for the Flames, although head coach Greg Gilbert was concerned enough about his offensive balance that he shifted his star right winger to a line with Marc Savard and Rob Niedermayer on Tuesday against the Wild, moving Iginla's usual center, Craig Conroy, to another forward line.

Of some concern must be the fact that after averaging about six shots a game last season, Iginla is only getting about four per match this fall, which has to cut into his production to some degree.

The reality for both youngsters is that their Hart joust last year did not necessarily prove either yet belongs among the best in the game at their position.

Iginla benefited from injuries to Mario Lemieux and an off-year by Jaromir Jagr in his ascent to the top of the NHL scoring chart, not to mention chunks of time missed by both Joe Thornton and Todd Bertuzzi that might have cost them a legitimate chance at winning the Art Ross Trophy.

Theodore wasn't among the top four goalies considered for Team Canada's Olympic team that won gold in Salt Lake City, and even today he would have a difficult time pushing his way past the likes of Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy on the Canadian depth chart.

But gathering all of those MVP votes created enormous expectations for both players, anointing them as NHL superstars despite the fact both have work to do to truly be considered among the league's elite.

For Theodore, it's worth remembering that Jim Carey also won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie in 1996, while Iginla need look no farther than players like Teemu Selanne, Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov to understand that one huge offensive season can become a burden over time if it is never matched again.

Damien Cox, a columnist for the Toronto Star, is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.