Before the big-money Dallas Stars, there were the low-rent North Stars. And, back in 1991, that grubby group of North Stars -- that included a sophomore named Mike Modano -- took the hockey state of Minnesota on a magical spring ride through the playoffs.

Those North Stars, who finished the regular season with a dismal 27-39-14 record and qualified for the postseason because the Leafs were even more inept, came within two victories of having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. And they might have done if it weren't for a fellow by the name of Mario Lemieux, who led Penguins past the Cinderella North Stars in a six-game final series.

GOT SPECIAL TEAMS?

EASTERN CONFERENCE Ottawa: Dynamite PP unit ranks second in the league (behind Detroit) with a 21.4 success rate. Marian Hossa (13 PPGs) and Radek Bonk (11) make it work around the net. There's room for improvement on the PK, where they rank 13th (83.8 percent). With their defensive style, this should be a little better. And shouldn't they have more than four shorthanded goals? New Jersey: The Devs have the league's top PK unit (88.4) and the worst PP, converting on a dismal 11.3 percent of their chances. GM Lou Lamoriello couldn't add a goal-scorer at the deadline, so they'll have to make due. Life would be easier for coach Pat Burns if talented Patrik Elias would catch fire. Tampa Bay: Lumbering vet Dave Andreychuk (13 PPGs) and speedy mite Martin St. Louis (11) get it done in different ways. Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards are dangerous. The PP is a respectable 17.1 percent. The PK, though, needs some improvement. They're 19th in the league, with a 82.6 success rate. With Nikolai Khabibulin in goal, that should be better. Philadelphia: Tony Amonte's arrival and John LeClair's return to good health should help their PP, which ranks a pitiful 22nd in the league. Still, they don't have a top-notch PP quarterback. The Flyers' PK is doing a credible job. But, in Philly, they want a Cup. And, you have to be better than "credible" to do that. Toronto: Ed Belfour's strong goaltending has helped his penalty killers, who rank third in the league with an 87.1 success rate. Last season, the Leafs' PK finished 16th. The PP has been clicking at a steady 16.9 rate. The additions of power forward Owen Nolan and veteran PP specialist Phil Housley (currently out with a foot injury) should make them more dangerous in the postseason. Washington: With Olaf Kolzig in net, there's no reason for this team to be 23rd in the league on the penalty kill. Simply, the forwards and defenseman aren't working hard enough. However, the power play, currently ranked ninth, can be dynamic. Jaromir Jagr, Petr Bondra and Sergei Gonchar can score from anywhere in the attacking zone. Boston: The B's penalty killers have been hurt by some subpar goaltending. Any group of PKers that includes Brian Rolston and P.J. Axelsson shouldn't be in the bottom third of the league. On the PP, the Bruins rank fifth overall with a 19.2 success rate. Not surprisingly, Joe Thornton (12 PPGs) and Glen Murray (11) have been their most dangerous power players. Of note, the B's have scored nine SHGs, but allowed 10. N.Y. Islanders: Peter Laviolette's special teams have let him down a bit this season. The Isles rank 13th on the penalty kill and an uninspiring 20th on the PP. Those numbers might be a bit inflated by their terrible start. Perhaps, deadline additions Janne Niinimaa and Randy Robitaille can help pump some life into their power play. The Islanders (and the Blue Jackets) have scored a league-high 12 SHGs. WESTERN CONFERENCE Detroit: The defending champions have the best special teams in the league. The Wings' PP is connecting on a league-high 24 percent of their chances. Brett Hull (11), Brendan Shanahan (12) and Tomas Holmstrom (12) have double-digit PPGs. And, recently acquired Mathieu Schneider brings 10 PPGs. Of course, D-man Nicklas Lidstrom is the best PP quarterback in the league. On the flip side, penalty-killers Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby remain among the best in the business. Dallas: The Stars' penalty-killing unit, ranked fifth in the league, has suffered a bit in recent weeks due to the loss of top goalie Marty Turco, who has been sidelined by a bum ankle. Captain Derian Hatcher does a nice job of cleaning the crease on the PK. Their PP has been pretty good, scoring on 17.4 of their chances. But, you would think a team with that much talent would be more dangerous. Vancouver: The Canucks' top line of Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison are tough enough during 5-on-5 play. On the power play, it doesn't seem fair. Their PP ranks fourth in the league (19.7 percent). Coach Marc Crawford's penalty killers also do a good job. The unit is ranked 10th, stopping opponents 84.5 percent of the time. They've scored 11 shorties, but allowed 10 against. St. Louis: Goaltending woes have bogged down the Blues' penalty killers, who rank 20th overall. If Chris Osgood can solidify things, they have the talent to do much better. No such problems with the power-play unit. Keith Tkachuk (13 PPGs), Scott Mellanby (13), Pavol Demitra (10) and Al MacInnis (9) key a dangerous group that ranks third in the league. Colorado: The Avs' penalty killing must improve in the postseason. The unit ranks a dismal 26th overall. Obviously, they have the talent to be better. Their bottom six forwards haven't been as good as in past seasons. The power play, though, remains among the most dangerous on the circuit. Right wing Milan Hejduk has 17 PPGs to lead the club. Minnesota: If the Wild could get their power play going, they'd be more of a threat in the playoffs. Through 72 games, they're ranked 26th overall. Not good. However, Jacques Lemaire's team does know how to kill penalties. The Wild stand fourth in the league, with a 86.3 success rate. Anaheim: The Ducks' penalty killers, who rank second overall, have received strong support from goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The power play has struggled after a strong start. But, with offensive types like Paul Kariya, Petr Sykora and Adam Oates, things could turn around soon. Edmonton: The departure of forward Anson Carter and defenseman Janne Niinimaa don't help either of their struggling special-teams units. The Oilers have allowed 11 short-handed goals.

How, you ask, did the 68-point North Stars manage such an incredible run? Two words: power play.

The '91 North Stars, under first-year coach Bob Gainey, opened the playoffs with a shocking upset of the President's Trophy-winning Blackhawks, who finished the regular season with 106 points, 38 more than Minnesota. In the six-game series, the North Stars tied a league record for a single playoff series (previous established by the 1980 Islanders), netting 15 power-play goals en route to the stunning victory.

In the second round, the North Stars met the Blues, who finished a single point behind the Blackhawks in the regular-season standings. Again, the North Stars' power-play unit was the difference in what proved to be a six-game series. In Game 4, Minny tied a league record with four PPGs in one period during an 8-4 win that gave the North Stars a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.

By the end of their run, the North Stars -- led by veterans Dave Gagner, Neal Broten, Brian Bellows and Brian Propp -- scored 35 PPGs, a record for a single playoff season that still stands.

"We just got on an unbelievable run," remembers Flames GM Craig Button, who was an amateur scout for those North Stars. "It just seemed like everything we did worked."

Recent success
Now, nobody expects any team to break the North Stars' record during the upcoming playoffs. But teams that expect to have success in the playoffs had better tune up their power-play and penalty-killing units.

Last season, the Red Wings connected on a very respectable 19.2 percent (19-for-99) of their power-play opportunities en route to their third Cup in six years. On the flip side, they killed an equally strong 86.5 percent (90-of-104) of the PP chances against them. The Wings also scored a playoff-best seven shorthanded goals, five more than any other team during the 2002 playoffs.

Two seasons ago, the 2001 champion Avs posted almost identical special-teams numbers during their playoff drive. They were 19.8 percent on the PP and 85.9 on the PK.

This year's model
Rookie Anaheim Mighty Ducks head coach Mike Babcock, who will receive some consideration for the Adams Trophy after leading his club to their first playoff appearance since 1999, adheres to the formula devised by a rival general manager.

"(Wings GM) Kenny Holland has said that you'd like to see the combined league rank of your PP and PK units equal 10 or lower," Babcock said. "Earlier in the year, we were within that number, but our PP has fallen off in recent weeks. Hopefully, with more practice time in the coming weeks, we can get it back on track."

Ironically, as of March 17, Holland's Wings had the lowest combined rank number. The defending champs have the league's best PP and rank ninth in penalty killing. That gives them a "Holland" number of 10. The Stars and Senators are next, both with a combined rank of 15. Babcock's Ducks aren't far behind with an 18.

Heading into his first NHL playoffs, Babcock has observed some interesting things about special-teams play in his first several months on the job.

"With every 20 games, the grit level turns up dramatically," Babcock said. "Early in the season, you see more skill play on the power play. But, as the season wears on and the games get tighter and tighter, your power play has to be simple. It becomes about paying a price to get the puck to the net."

In the West, Babcock figures at least two of his conference foes have the type of players to run a successful playoff power play.

"The Wings always get (Tomas) Holmstrom around the net, and they've got guys like (Brendan) Shanahan and (Brett) Hull who can rip it, and (Nicklas) Lidstrom is so smart with the puck on the point," Babcock said. "The Blues can be really dangerous, too, with those big horses in front of the net (Keith Tkachuk, Scott Mellanby) and (Al) MacInnis blasting it from the point."

All the talent in the world, though, doesn't mean too much if they allow themselves to get outworked by an opposing group of penalty killers.

"The penalty killers are usually your hardest-working guys," Babcock said. "So, there has to be a willingness to pay a price and battle for every inch of ice. Really, four guys going at 100 percent is better than five guys at 80 percent."

Winning the draw
If you're looking for a hidden ingredient for special-teams success, check out the faceoff circle.

"Winning a faceoff is the difference between clearing the puck or attacking the goal," Babcock said. "We're pretty lucky to have some pretty good faceoff guys with Jason Krog, Adam Oates, Andy McDonald and Steve Rucchin."

In Tampa, veteran power-play expert Dave Andreychuk, a winger throughout his long and distinguished NHL career, has been among the best in the league in the faceoff circle this season. With a 58-percent success rate, Andreychuk has been able to start and finish things for the Lightning, which has improved from 21st last year to 13th this year on the PP.

The Blues' Tkachuk (56 percent) and Leafs captain Mats Sundin (56 percent) are two other power-play threats who have been particularly good at winning faceoffs.

On the flip side, penalty killers like the Wings' Kris Draper (56 percent) and the Bolts' Tim Taylor (57 percent) do a nice job winning key draws that defuse an opponent's power-play thunder.

Old man mo'
Like all coaches, Babcock knows his power-play unit won't be a success every time off the bench. Even the best PP units only connect on one in four or five opportunities. But, he does think a power-play unit has a great chance to change the game, even if they don't score.

"You'd like to get a goal on every power-play chance you get," Babcock said. "But, even when you don't score, you have a chance to build some momentum for your team."

In the playoffs, where every game is tight and momentum changes teams more often than Mike Keenan, the difference can be a power-play goal scored or a successful penalty kill.

Twelve years ago, a rag-tag bunch from Minnesota almost rode its special-teams success to a Stanley Cup. This year, no doubt, the team that ends up with the Cup will owe a good bit of its triumph to its special teams.

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