FROM SI-
"An unlikely matchup
Wednesday April 12, 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- European vs. North American. Offense vs. defense. Finesse vs. grind-it-out. Top scorer Jaromir Jagr vs. top scorer Chris Simon.
Chris Simon?
It would be hard to find an office pool that had Simon leading the Washington Capitals in goals this season, but the left wing formerly known as the injured enforcer put the puck in the net 29 times. No one will mistake him for Jagr (42 goals, 54 assists) when the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins begin their first-round Eastern Conference series Thursday, but Simon is a major reason Washington returned to playoffs and earned the No. 2 seed.
"He always knew he could do it," defenseman Calle Johansson said. "The question is, did he want to do it? Was he willing to sacrifice a lot of work in the summer to be great instead of just good? And, yes, he was."
Simon entered the season with 43 career goals and 806 penalty minutes. His only double-digit scoring season came in 1995-96 when he had 16 goals and 18 assists to help the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.
Then, from 1997-99, Simon was primarily a spectator because of a shoulder injury. He played in just 51 games over two seasons before rededicating himself by spending three months last summer with his trainer in California.
Finally healthy, his offensive explosion came this season. Playing on the same line as skilled passer Adam Oates -- and with Peter Bondra sidelined much of the year with an injury -- Simon's all-around ability and quick wrist shot finally caught up with his 6-foot-4, 231-pound frame. He played in 75 of 82 games, adding 20 assists to his 29 goals.
"Chris has always had the offensive skills, he's not been here for more than 20 games to get anything going," coach Ron Wilson said. "I've always said that Si should be able to score 25-30 goals for us, and I get laughed at. It's nice that at least about one thing Si proved me right."
Simon has shed the one-dimensional enforcer tag, but didn't mind it anyway.
"An NHL player is what I've wanted to be all my life," Simon said. "To get myself into the league, that's what I did in the beginning and I had no problem doing it. I always worked on my skills and tried to continue working on my shot and my skating. As a young kid playing hockey, I was always a skill player. It was a matter of letting my abilities catch up to my size."
Simon isn't making any promises about leading the Capitals to their first-ever NHL title, at least not the way Jagr is. Jagr opened more than a few eyes Monday when seized the leadership mantle in order to "do what Mario did," a reference to the Penguins' Stanley Cup championships won by now-owner Mario Lemieux in 1991-92.
"There's nothing wrong with Jagr saying that because he's been carrying this team all year long," center Alexei Kovalev said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he would do the same thing during the playoffs. He showed how good he is in the regular season, the best player in the league right now."
The Capitals agree. Wilson, however, envisions his defensive-counterattacking team getting its own chances to score when Jagr's skillful and fancy line is on the ice.
"You have to be aware of him, you have to respect him," Wilson said. "But we also want to be able to take advantage of the fact that he's on the ice. We can create some offense while he's out there."
