Last summer, when the Leafs signed Ed Belfour to replace departed fan-friendly Curtis Joseph in their goal crease, many observers (this reporter included) figured it was a disaster waiting to happen.

	Ed Belfour Goaltender Toronto Maple Leafs Profile
	2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM W L T SV% GAA 22 13 7 2 .925 2.07

And, in the first month of the season, we observers seemed to have gotten it right. In October, the 37-year-old Belfour was 2-3-2 with a mediocre 2.71 goals-against average and a dismal .852 save percentage. To make matters worse, the Eagle was hearing it from the unhappy home fans at the Air Canada Centre.

Then, in early November, Belfour began to rediscover his game. He says the team just started playing better in from of him. Whatever the reason, Belfour has returned to his old puckstopping self. On Nov. 5, at the ACC, Belfour turned back 34 of 37 shots in a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Lightning. Since then, the future Hall of Fame goalkeeper is 11-3 with four shutouts.

A pair of those shutouts came against the Flyers and his old coach, Ken Hitchcock. During their time together in Dallas, Belfour and Hitchcock won a Stanley Cup and battled through a few highly-publicized disputes. Despite their differences, Hitchcock remained a staunch supporter of Belfour. In fact, whether the moody goalie knows it or not, it was Hitchcock who fought to keep the goalie in Dallas for the 2001-02 season.

In the end, though, that final season was would end badly. Hitchcock was fired in January; and Belfour became a free agent after the Stars decided against offering him a new contract. Now, just a year removed from their final days together in Dallas, the goalie and his old coach find themselves on the opposite ends of an Eastern Conference rivalry.

On Thursday, when the Leafs visit the Flyers, Belfour will be looking to make it three in a row over Hitchcock's new team. And, he'll also be trying for his seventh straight win.

In the game within this game, Hitchcock would love see his Flyers ruffle the Eagle's feathers. If his troops work the Leafs' questionable blueliners below the faceoff dots and create traffic in front of the net, they'll have a better chance of beating Belfour. If they don't, suddenly steady Eddie could hang another zero on his old friend.

As for the potential for disaster in Toronto, it still could happen. But, clearly, it won't be because of Belfour, who is proving most of us wrong, again.

Hello, Larry?
In Calgary, nine days after the firing of coach Greg Gilbert, the search for a new head coach continues. The latest name to surface is ex-Kings and Devils bench jockey Larry Robinson, who could definitely help the club's young and inexperienced defensemen. He joins minor-league coach Jim Playfair and another ex-Devils coach, Kevin Constantine, on the Flames' short list. In the extended interim, Al MacNeil will continue to run the team. The 67-year-old MacNeil brings a 2-0-1 record into the Flames' tilt with the visiting Hurricanes.

It's about time
Rangers LW Rico Fata scored the first goal of his NHL career in the third period of the team's 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Fata, the sixth overall pick by the Flames in 1998, hadn't been able to find the net in his previous 53 NHL games. Hopefully, it won't take him as long to score his next one. Interestingly, Fata was selected ahead both the Flyers' Simon Gagne (No. 22) and the Devils' Scott Gomez (No. 27).

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.