Hejduk thrives in crunch time
Associated Press
DENVER -- Colorado Avalanche right wing Milan Hejduk
relishes being on the ice when the game is on the line.
|  | | Hejduk has scored some clutch goals in his short career. |
Hejduk leads the Avalanche with 36 regular-season goals, nine
which won games and two others which tied games. Hejduk hopes that
intensity will help his team sweep the Phoenix Coyotes in the
first-round Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avalanche, who lead the
series 3-0, play the Coyotes in Game 4 Wednesday.
"These are very important games, and there's more intensity and
more pressure, but I like it," Hejduk said. "I like these type of
games; it's more fun."
Hejduk played with Pardubice of the Czech League and was a
member of the Olympic gold medal team in 1998. He said it took him
a while to adjusted to the National Hockey League.
"It takes some time to figure out what's going on here. It's
totally different. You don't have much time (to react) because the
rink is smaller and the other players are closer to you. You have
to think quicker than in Europe," Hejduk said.
Hejduk, 23, is playing in his second NHL season. He produced
five winning goals in his rookie season and three more in the
Stanley Cup playoffs. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound right wing, was
knocked out of the Western Conference finals last year by a hit
from Dallas' Richard Matvichuk.
The hit broke Hejduk's collarbone. |
