He had tape wrapped around his big toe and an ice bag wrapped around his right forearm, and he walked with the lumbering gait of a man who would wake up very stiff the next morning.

And yet Derian Hatcher never felt better.

His Stars' teammates had given him a precious reprieve for 98 of the ghastliest seconds - 98 of the most uncharacteristic seconds - of Hatcher's hockey career.

The last eight of those 98 seconds included two San Jose goals. The first came on a power play that started with a rare bad penalty on Hatcher, the second came on a rare Hatcher giveaway.

And yet the Stars rallied to win Thursday, 3-2.

"They did a great job coming back," Hatcher said with a thin smile. "I feel a lot better now."

His teammates would forgive him for the penalty and the giveaway. Take away those 98 seconds, they said, and Hatcher, the Stars' captain, has had a terrific series. Forgiven and forgotten.

"I think Derian would love to have that back," Mike Modano said. "We just stuck with our game plan. We're not going to get distracted with those type of plays. He's an important part of our team. We're not going to dwell on that mistake."

Nearly midway into the second period, the Stars were nursing a precious 1-0 lead. That lead would be gone in a hurry. Hatcher was mostly the reason.

"We got away from what we had to do to win," Hatcher said.

Hatcher started banging with the Sharks' Owen Nolan, which is sort of like two rams butting heads. As the puck sailed down the ice, Hatcher cross-checked Nolan. Nolan got up. Hatcher cross-checked him again. Nolan stayed down this time.

The penalty gave San Jose a five-on-three advantage for the next 1:23. The Stars killed off the first penalty. But then John MacLean tied the score, and Hatcher was allowed back on the ice.

He probably wished he could have stayed in the penalty box.

Seconds after the face-off, the puck went to Hatcher in the Stars' zone. Ron Sutter chopped at Hatcher’s stick and dislodged his lower hand. Hatcher tried to pass the puck, but whiffed. Sutter picked up the puck and slapped it past Ed Belfour.

"What can I say? I made a bad play," Hatcher said. "I didn't feel very good about it at all. But that’s something you do in professional sports. You screw up. But, hey, you come back."

And the Stars did. Another good thing for Hatcher: Those two goals in eight seconds was not a Stanley Cup playoff record. Detroit's Norm Ullman scored two goals in five seconds in a 4-2 Red Wings' victory over Chicago - way back on April 11, 1965.

But the Stars scored twice and won. Hatcher heard about his mistakes between periods. Then they became ancient history.

"We said what had to be said," Guy Carbonneau said. "In the playoffs, things like that are going to happen. As long as they don't happen too often."

© 1998 The Dallas Morning News All Rights Reserved

Dave Caldwell / Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News, Hatcher receives reprieve: Rare errors gave Sharks quick lead., The Dallas Morning News, 05-01-1998, pp 15B.