IRVING - Derian Hatcher, 6-5 and 225 pounds, is about as tangible as a defenseman can get and far more tangible than opponents generally would prefer.

But an intangible does a better job than any statistic of capturing Hatcher's significance.

The NHL does not quantify the kind of imposing thereness that distinguishes the Stars captain, who always faces the foe's top line. More than a matter of minutes or shifts, Hatcher's presence on the ice forces the other side to think about him.

The league has no accounting system to define the degree of Hatcher' s territorial vigilance. Stars opponents might be able to tell you -- once they are able to resume normal breathing -- how Hatcher keeps them away from the net.

Neither a superbly artistic skater nor a celebrated puck-handler, Hatcher can be found where he belongs, doing what he is supposed to do.

The trouble with reliability, especially when it comes in hard- to-measure dimensions is that a mistake becomes a MISTAKE.

And three glitches become a multi-alarm disaster. Or so it seemed when Hatcher committed a trio of bloopers in the final two games of the Stars' Stanley Cup first-round series victory over San Jose.

Hatcher's role in three Sharks goals had observers wondering. Needlessly.

Many fans simply had been taking Hatcher for granted, which explained their monumental shock at his lapses so late in a playoff series. The Stars went 5-5-2 without him in their 49-22-1 regular season, but that seems ages ago.

His fate has come to this: It is harder to see what he does right than what he does wrong.

As the captain of the Stars' ship, Hatcher has steered his thoughts to the next enterprise.

The first-round series lasted six games, each of which was memorable in its own way. Hatcher, fortunately, already has forgotten the Sharks series. He has turned full attention to the Round 2 opener against the Oilers on Thursday night at Reunion Arena. Absorbed in the impending series, he has moved on to dwell no more on San Jose.

"The series might have a little different look," Hatcher said on Tuesday. "I don't even care about Round 1."

Among Round 1's lasting impressions was that Hatcher had done a few things he was not supposed to do in the final two games. The mistakes appeared costly at the time, but they also were magnified by the fact of their rarity. And the Stars won both games.

A salient feature of Round 1 also was its sudden transformation into an oddball series. That happened the minute the Stars lost Joe Nieuwendyk to a knee injury in the first period of the first game. Dallas players found themselves in new alignments, and doing new things. Hatcher, in fact, broke his career playoff-scoring drought in the opener.

Then came Game 5, with the series tied, 2-2. Hatcher allowed San Jose a 5-on-3 advantage when he took an inexplicable cross-checking penalty. The Sharks ended up getting two goals in an eight-second span -- a power-play goal while Hatcher was in the box and Ron Sutter' s even-strength score after Hatcher's giveaway.

In Game 6's first period, Hatcher lost the puck to Shawn Burr then was penalized for hooking to set up the Sharks' first goal.

With three of the Stars' top five forwards sidelined to start Round 2, Dallas will make adjustments that could include pairing Hatcher with Sergei Zubov. Hatcher seemed intrigued by the possibility.

The rematch of last year's first-round series, won by the Oilers in seven games, will feature an Edmonton team with more speed and finesse, determined to win sole custody of the puck.

"The forwards are really going to try to hit us," Hatcher said. "I'm going to focus in on not giving them anything.

"I think that's going to be our attitude."

That attitude and Hatcher's presence can make an immeasurable difference.

© 1998 The Dallas Morning News All Rights Reserved 05-06-1998, pp 3B.