wild/nhl

BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Tonight, when the Wild meets the Vancouver Canucks in a battle for the top spot in the Northwest Division, newly acquired Wild center Dominic Moore will be at the scene of the crime for the first time in his career.

Almost three years ago to the day on the GM Place ice surface, former Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi stalked, then pummeled Moore's older brother, Steve, with a blindside, roundhouse punch to the side of the head before putting every ounce of his 245-pound frame into driving Moore face-first into the ice.

In one of the most shocking acts of vengeance in NHL history, Moore was left unconscious in a pool of blood with a broken neck, concussion and likely an end to his career.

It was payback for Moore's open-ice, clean check that left star Markus Naslund injured three weeks earlier.

"Playing here has crossed my mind," said Dominic Moore, 26, two years younger than Steve. "It's been a while. I think it'd be harder, tougher for Steve to play here. Obviously, he'd love to be able to still play."

The eeriness of being at GM Place likely will strike Moore at some level, but he said it would be more emotional for him to play at Vancouver if there hadn't been such a large Canucks turnover since the March 8, 2004, incident -- Bertuzzi now plays for Detroit; Brad May, who put the "bounty" on Steve Moore's head, now plays for Anaheim; and Marc Crawford, who's been accused of inciting his players by labeling Moore's hit on Naslund a "cheap shot," now coaches Los Angeles.

A $16.6 million lawsuit is still pending against Bertuzzi, the Canucks and their parent company, Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment.

"He's not doing too much right now," Dominic said of his brother, who lives in Toronto and still suffers from post- concussion syndrome. "There's not much he can do. He's not medically cleared to play or anything like that. It's a lingering thing. He's just got to be patient, but it's been a while, so I'm not sure what we can expect."

Asked if he thinks Steve will ever play again, Dominic said: "I would love to say that he would, and so would he. But it's been almost three years now. At a certain point ... I don't know."

Last season, Moore, when he played for the Rangers, played against Bertuzzi and the Canucks for the first and only time. Moore didn't seek retribution, but he delivered two clean checks on Bertuzzi, once riding him hard into the glass despite giving up 4 inches and 50 pounds.

"Just played my game," Moore said.

In fact, Moore has played only one game in his Wild career, and so far coach Jacques Lemaire loves what he sees. In Thursday's 5-0 victory at Edmonton, Moore won seven of 10 faceoffs, was a plus-2, had three takeaways and three shots.

"He was on the puck, in good position, he understands the game. He was quick at times, made some plays, hands were fine, he had intensity," Lemaire said. "He's got to play like this, and I'll like it.

"At a time this winter, we were playing only three centers. Having Moore, to me, is a big plus."

Moore was one of the Pittsburgh Penguins' best defensive forwards before being traded to the Wild on Tuesday for a third-round pick. He's trying to ease into the Wild's very different system.

In Pittsburgh, centermen are more offensively aggressive and can interchange responsibility with the wingers. But with the Wild, the center usually plays above the circles in the offensive zone and acts as a third defenseman and is told to keep the puck to the outside in the defensive zone.

"That's been my sort of game as far as being in the right position and being in support positions, wherever that might be on the ice," Moore said. "So I think the system fits well. Hopefully I'll continue to play that way."

Michael Russo • mrusso@startribune.com