   * * * * *  SPECIAL DARCY TUCKER TRIBUTE ISSUE  * * * * * 
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GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY  GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY  
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Issue 115               March 10, 1999             317,000 bytes
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Darcy Tucker Is Awesome
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

Welcome to LCS Hockey's Darcy Tucker Tribute Issue.  

It's no secret that we love ourselves some Darcy Tucker.  But we
don't think he's getting the attention he deserves from the
mainstream media.  That's why it's our duty to take the word to
the streets.  We're hoping that this very special tribute issue
will help raise Darcy Tucker awareness and bring our newest cult
hero closer to you, our valued readers.  

Often described as the next generation Dale Hunter, Tucker is a
fiery competitor that shows up every night for the Tampa Bay
Lightning.  He's a driver.  He's a winner.  With Darcy at the
helm, and promising youngsters Vincent Lecavalier and Pavel
Kubina following his lead, things are gonna change for the Bolts. 
I can feel it.  

Despite his lack of size (he's listed at a generous 5'11, 182),
Darcy is fearless.  He battles on every shift.  Whether it means
dishing out punishment or taking some for the team, there's
nothing Tucker won't do to help his club win.  And if things get
chippy, Darcy will be the first to drop the gloves and throw. 
Say when.  That's all you gotta do.  Say when.

But don't think he's just a scrapper.  Tucker's got skills.  He's
scored at every level and there's no reason to believe he can't
enjoy similar success in the big show.  While this is technically
his third full season in the NHL, it's really his first campaign
as a headliner after serving a limited role during his first two
years in Montreal.  Darcy currently has 15 goals and 32 points in
63 games for the Lightning.  Those numbers will only improve in
the future.  I think Tucker could be a 20-goal, 60-point guy as
early as next season.  So, Darcy, if you're readin', don't make
me look stupid, dude.

Tucker's points are all the product of hard work.  He never takes
the easy way out.  He goes to the net, digs the corners, mixes it
up with the big boys, and bangs away.  Once he claws his way into
the open, Tucker has enough talent to finish the play.  It's his 
ability with the puck that will make him more than just a
grinding third-line center.  A year or two down the road and the
Bolts could have a fearsome one-two punch in the middle with
Lecavalier and Tucker.                   

A natural leader, there's no question Tucker will be the captain
one day for the men with lightning bolts on their pants.  He's
already worn the C at times this season and it won't be long
before it's welded to his chest.

It's Tucker's unbridled intensity that makes him so damn special. 
The guy can be flat out scary at times.  Push him too far and
Darcy will snap in the gulliver and go Clockwork Orange.  

Fearless, tough, talented... Darcy Tucker is just everything a
hockey player should be.  So please, do yourself a favor and
start watching Darcy Tucker.  He's earned our respect and he
deserves yours as well.  Together we can make a difference.  I
don't even know what that means. 

Oh yeah, it turns out our tribute is well timed.  Darcy's
birthday is March 15.  He'll be 24.  That's right, I'm actually
26 days older than Darcy Tucker.  Man, that hurts.  You realize
how brutal it is to find out that you're older than one of your
favorite hockey players?  I mean, what the hell have I done with
my life?  There's Darcy, a month younger than I am, and he's
playing in the NHL with lightning bolts on his pants.  Meanwhile,
I take great pride in being able to rattle off all 43 original
episodes of "Columbo" in less than a minute.  There's something
wrong.  

Where am I going?  What am I doing?  Darcy's out scoring goals
and busting heads in the best hockey league in the world, and I'm
stuck sitting in front of a keyboard making obscure references
and lame jokes for the "enjoyment" of literally dozens of people. 
When am I gonna start living my life?  When am I gonna make my
mark on the world?  

Today, that's when!  This is the first day of the rest of my
life!  Nothing will ever be the same from this day forth!  And I
owe it all to the inspiration of Darcy Tucker.  If he can do it,
so can I, damn it!  So can I!  

But I don't know, it's kind of cold outside.  It's been snowing
all day.  And I chill easily.  Plus, you know, I think there's a
new episode of "NewsRadio" on tonight.  Come to think of it,
what's the rush?  Van Gogh didn't start to paint until he was 27. 
Hell, Miguel de Cervantes didn't write "Don Quixote" until he was
like in his 60s or somethin'.  I could pretty much piss away the
next 30 years and still beat him.  Whatever.   
      
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the tribute issue and takes it to
heart.  All hail Darcy Tucker.  Darcy Tucker is good.
  
                
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CREDITS
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Zippy..................................Computer Boy
Jim Iovino.............................Ace Reporter
Matthew Secosky......................Mr. Enthusiasm
Nicole Agostino.......................Got Me Ripped
Alex Carswell.................Anaheim Correspondent
Matt Brown.....................Boston Correspondent
Matt Barr.....................Buffalo Correspondent
John Alsedek..................Calgary Correspondent
Chris Schilling..............Carolina Correspondent
Thomas Crawford...............Chicago Correspondent
Greg D'Avis..................Colorado Correspondent
Jim Panenka....................Dallas Correspondent
Dino Cacciola.................Detroit Correspondent
Aubrey Chau..................Edmonton Correspondent
Vacant........................Florida Correspondent
Matt Moore................Los Angeles Correspondent
Jacques Robert...............Montreal Correspondent
Jeff Middleton..............Nashville Correspondent
Vacant.....................New Jersey Correspondent
David Strauss...............Islanders Correspondent
Gregg Jensen..................Rangers Correspondent
The Nosebleeders..............Ottawa Correspondents
Eric Meyer...............Philadelphia Correspondent
Bob Chebat....................Phoenix Correspondent
Jerry Fairish..............Pittsburgh Correspondent
Tom Cooper..................St. Louis Correspondent
AJ DaSilva...................San Jose Correspondent
Seth Lerman.................Tampa Bay Correspondent
Jonah Sigel...................Toronto Correspondent
Jeff Dubois.................Vancouver Correspondent
Jason Sheehan..............Washington Correspondent
Tricia McMillan...................AHL Correspondent
Peter Farkasovsky.....................Correspondent
Howard Fienberg.......................Correspondent
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LCS Hockey - Issue 115 - March 10, 1999.  All rights reserved 
because we, like, called ahead and stuff. Email address: 
info@lcshockey.com  Street Address: 406 Sheffield Drive, 
Greensburg, PA 15601.  Web Address: www.lcshockey.com
Direct Address: Something from the meat case, Linda?
-----------------------------------------------------------------

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Darcy Tucker Interview
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by Seth Lerman                                                        

Darcy Tucker brings a flash of light to what many consider a team
in transition.  Barring some unforeseen miracle, the Tampa Bay
Lightning will finish with the worst record in the National
Hockey League for the second consecutive year.  However, all is
not lost.  As coach and general manager Jacques Demers constantly
reminds us, the future of the franchise is in the young talent
which he has assembled.  This talent base includes Tucker.

Following a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on February 24,
Tucker reflected on the perils of playing for a franchise which
has clearly had its share of problems, both on an off the ice.  

"It's especially tough when we play well like we did tonight,"
said Tucker.  "We have too many bad breaks.  It's the way it's
been going for us all year.
  
"It's maddening.  As a team, we lose too many games."
  
Losing is not something which Tucker is accustomed.  After
winning three Memorial Cup Championships as a member of the WHL's
Kamloops Blazers, he was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens with
their sixth-round selection (151st overall).  For a young player
who has consistently been with storied franchises, the move to
Tampa could have been detrimental to his growth as a player. 
However, Tucker views playing for the Lightning as an honor, and
hopes to still be a part of the team when it achieves success.
  
"It's been tough, a learning experience, that's how I am taking
it," said Tucker.  "I could look at it as a disappointment, but
I'd rather look at it as a learning experience. I am a young guy
and maybe I need to go through this or the team needs to go
through this and when we play in the Stanley Cup finals, it'll
make it all the more sweeter for us."

This is Tucker's third season in the NHL, and already he is being
viewed as a team leader.  When Rob Zamuner, the Lightning's
captain, went out of the lineup with a groin injury, Tucker wore
the "C" in his absence.  He refuses to get down on the young
players.   

"They're learning.  You have to remember we're a young team. 
Sometimes young players try too hard, and when they do that, the
over exuberance causes them to make mistakes.  I went through the
same thing when I played in Montreal.  When I was there I made a
lot of mistakes from trying too hard, making the fancy play, and
it cost us.  We have to keep it simple.  We'll go through more
tough times as we get better."

On the ice, Tucker plays with a great deal of enthusiasm.  At the
time of this writing, he is second on the team in scoring with 15
goals and 17 assists, and first in penalty minutes with 141.  He
is most often remembered for a fight last season with
Pittsburgh's Darius Kasparaitis, a long-time nemesis.  

"Darius plays the game with a lot of passion, the same as I do,"
said Tucker.  "I study the game of hockey and work hard.  I'm a
little more of a fighter; he's more of a hitter and gets under
people's skin, but he is not willing to drop the gloves. 
Fighting is part of the game, and it's something I enjoy.  We got
into a fight last year because he was going after people's knees. 
I had to teach him a lesson - and I did.

"I am a feisty guy, a competitor and that's part of the game,
getting involved and being involved in the game.  I don't take
too many minor penalties.  Most of mine come from fighting or
roughing.  I am not a fancy guy who will make an unbelievable
pass; I will make my points from going to the net."
  
Off the ice, Tucker considers himself a quiet, family-man.  He
and his wife, Shannon, expect their first child at the end of
March.  His wife is the sister of Montreal's Shayne Corson, who
is considered by Tucker to be as close as a brother.  As for
their on-ice battles, Tucker said that is out of the question.

"Me and Shane have a working agreement to keep our sticks down
and our heads up," said Tucker.  "We love each other like
brothers; we are both competitors.  We are both family-oriented. 
He gave his sister away when we got married.  It was a great day
because their father passed away in 1993 and he went through a
hard time, and for him to give his sister away was a big honor.

"I am starting a family now.  My wife is having a baby.  The due
date is the 21st of March.  That's kind of taking up all of my
time.  I'm not the kind of guy that has a hobby or anything. 
Once in a while, I'll play some golf.  Other than that, I have a
cottage in Ontario in the summer time.  I'll go on the boat and
relax, spend time with my family and enjoy the off-season."

For the third season in a row, the Lightning will miss the
playoffs.  But for now, the players are concentrating on
finishing the season strong.  In one four-game stretch, they
defeated the Coyotes, Flyers, and Avalanche, all of whom are
considered to be in the running for the Stanley Cup.        
  
"We seem to get up for those games, that's when we play the best;
we have something to prove," explained Tucker.  "It's kind of
nice to see the guys play well together and hustle as we did
tonight (2-1 victory over Colorado)."

Asked how he felt on being the centerpiece of a tribute issue,
Tucker replied:  "It's very nice, especially for me.  I came a
long way to get to where I am today.  It's been a long hard road. 
I'm a small guy that never really was given a chance to fulfill
my dream when I was younger.  At every level they said I was not
good enough to play at the next level.  It's really gratifying
for me to feel that people recognized how hard I work out there. 
I love the game and it's something that's never going to
diminish."


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The Darcy Tucker File
----------------------------------------------------------------
by LCS Hockey

Here are the basics on Darcy Tucker.  Read them.  Share them.  But above all, 
commit them to memory. 

Born: March 15, 1975 in Castor, Alberta

Height: 5'11

Weight: 182

Position:  Center

Number:  16

Shoots: Left

Drafted:  Selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth round (151st pick) 
of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Became a Bolt:  Acquired by Tampa Bay along with Stephane Richer and 
David Wilkie in exchange for Patrick Poulin, Mick Vukota, and Igor Ulanov on 
January 15, 1998.

CAREER STATS

Regular Season
Year   Team        League  Gms   G   A  Pts  PIM
91-92  Kamloops    WHL      26   3  10   13   42
92-93  Kamloops    WHL      67  31  58   69  155
93-94  Kamloops    WHL      66  52  88  140  143
94-95  Kamloops    WHL      64  64  73  137   94
95-96  Fredericton AHL      74  29  64   93  174
       Montreal    NHL       3   0   0    0    0  
96-97  Montreal    NHL      73   7  13   20  110 
97-98  Montreal    NHL      39   1   5    6   57
       Tampa Bay   NHL      35   6   8   14   89
       Total                74   7  13   20  146
98-99  Tampa Bay   NHL      63  15  17   32  141
                
Playoffs
Year   Team        League  Gms   G   A  Pts  PIM
91-92  Kamloops    WHL       9   0   0    1   16
92-93  Kamloops    WHL      13   7   6   13   34
93-94  Kamloops    WHL      19   9  18   27   43
94-95  Kamloops    WHL      21  16  15   31   19 
95-96  Fredericton AHL       7   7   3   10   14
96-97  Montreal    NHL       4   0   0    0    0 


CAREER NOTES

Won three WHL championships with Kamloops (1991-92, 1993-94, 1994-95), and shares 
the CHL record for most titles.

Won Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (1993-94). 

Led the 1994-95 WHL playoffs in scoring (16-15-31 in 21 games).

Named to Canadian Hockey League All-Star first team (1993-94). 

Named to Western Hockey League All-Star first team (1993-94 and 1994-95). 

Named to Memorial Cup All-Star team (1993-94 and 1994-95). 

Won Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Trophy (1995-96).

Played first NHL game on January 13, 1996 (St. Louis).

Recorded first NHL assist on December 11, 1996 (Buffalo).

Scored first NHL goal on March 29, 1997 (Los Angeles - Byron Dafoe).

Won LCS Hockey's Darcy Tucker Award (1997-98) for being the best Darcy Tucker 
he could be.

Currently engaged in a blood feud with Darius Kasparaitis.  

PERSONAL NOTES

Darcy is married.  

His wife, Shannon, is the sister of Shayne Corson.

Makes off-season home in Endiang, Alberta.  

Name rhymes with "bad mother (sunshiner)."

Would one day like to meet LCS Hockey editor-in-chief Michael Dell and buy 
him several rounds in thanks for this swell tribute issue.  
 

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The Kids Love Darcy Tucker
----------------------------------------------------------------
by LCS Hockey

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Um, we asked a bunch of area school kids to draw pictures of 
Darcy Tucker. But if you want to see 'em, you're gonna have to visit the web 
site.  Really, would it bust your ass to go to the web site?  C'mon!)

----------------------------------------------------------------
The Darcy Tucker Song
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Matthew Secosky

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Um, guess what?  Matthew wrote a song about Tucker, but to 
hear it you'll have to visit the web site.  Live with it.)

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How to Make a Darcy Tucker Puppet
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

(EDITOR'S NOTE: THis article is much funnier if you could actually 
see the picture of the Darcy Tucker puppet.  But to do that you'll 
have to visit the web site.  Don't be scared to pick up on that pattern.)

Everyone loves puppets.  I know.  I asked.  

Now you can have the fun and excitement of puppetry in your own
home.  Follow these simple instructions and you'll be able to
make your own Darcy Tucker puppet!

NEEDED SUPPLIES
* One small brown paper bag 
* Crayons 
* Needle and thread 
* Two popcycle sticks 
* Three buttons of varying sizes 
* Scotch tape 
* Glue 
* One pint of human blood (optional)
* And an imagination!

DIRECTIONS
Step One:  Darcy Tucker wouldn't be Darcy Tucker without a
swell Tampa Bay Lightning jersey.  Using your crayons, color in
the jersey of your choice on the front of the brown paper bag.  I
chose the away sweater, since Tucker isn't scared to go into
somebody else's barn and embarrass them in front of their family
and friends.  And it should really go without saying, but the
bottom of the bag is the puppet's head.  That way you can stick
your hand up the puppet and move its head and say things like,
"Hello, I'm a puppet."

Step Two:  Choose the two buttons you want to use as eyes
and glue them in place.  I decided to go with one large button
and one small button to help depict the crazed look Tucker often
uses to his tactical advantage.  

Step Three:  Glue the remaining button in place for the
nose.  

Step Four:  Once again using your crayons (is there
anything they can't do?), draw in a mouth at the edge of the
bag's overlapping flap.  I was originally going to sketch a
menacing snarl on my puppet to help bring Tucker's blazing
intensity to life.  But I instead elected to go with a cheerful
smile, perhaps capturing the very moment Tucker heard about our
tribute issue.

Step Five:  Tape the popcycle sticks to the sides of the
bag to give your puppet arms.  After all, how could Tucker beat
the opposition senseless without arms?  

Step Six:  Your puppet may look a little too nice at this
stage of its construction.  So we have to do something to make it
look mean.  Thread the aforementioned needle with the color of
your choice, I would recommend basic black, and give your puppet
a few well-earned stitches.  You can place them anywhere on the
face, but alongside the right eye is probably the most
aesthetically pleasing.     

Step Seven (optional):  This step is optional, depending
on how mean you want your puppet to look.  But to capture the
true spirit of Darcy Tucker, splash a healthy dose of blood all
to and fro across the puppet's face and jersey.  Make it fun. 

Step Eight:  Enjoy your Darcy Tucker puppet!
    

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Point/Counterpoint - Who's Coller: Kasparaitis or Tucker?
----------------------------------------------------------------
You Can't Spell Kasparaitis Without C-O-O-L
by Michael Dell

Let me just start by saying that I love Darcy Tucker like a
brother.  A brother I've never met or spoken with, but a brother
nonetheless.  Hell, it was my idea to do this whole tribute
issue.  So I refuse to make fun of him.  Usually in these
point\counterpoint things I help build my case by ripping the
subject of the opposing view to shreds with a series of sarcastic
statements and caustic quips.  But not today, my friend.  I have
come not to bury Tucker, but to praise Darius Kasparaitis.  

The competition for the title of the Coolest Player in the NHL is
clearly a two-man race between Darcy and Kaspar.  No one else is
even close.  They could both start listening to The Backstreet
Boys and watching Jay Leno and they'd still be a country mile
ahead of the pack.  But as cool as Tucker is, and Don Knotts
knows he's cool, even he is no match for Kasparaitis.  The Wacky
Lithuanian is something special.

When exploring Kaspar's coolness, it's perhaps best to start with
the obvious: his name.  Darius Kasparaitis.  It just drips
coolness.  In fact, wasn't that the name of the James Bond
villain in "From Russia with Love"?  Of course, it also sounds a
little bit like some sort of liver ailment.  "Yeah, the doctor
says I have to give up the sauce.  He says I got a touch of the
Darius Kasparaitis."  It's a name with character.  There's no
forgetting Darius Kasparaitis.  You may not know how to spell it,
but you won't forget it.  Meanwhile, my name sounds like the kid
you don't remember going to high school with.  Aw, it still
hurts.  But I digress...

Then there's his sweater.  Darius wears the number 11.  And, as
we all know, that's the sign of Cullen.  Need I say more?

When it comes to the actual game itself, there's no denying that
Darius is a world-class defenseman.  A ferocious body-checker,
Kaspar leads the NHL in hits per game (3.6).  And a Kasparaitis
hit isn't just your average check.  Oh no.  Of his 173 credited
hits this season, a good 120 were probably of the highlight
variety.  He puts more people out than an anesthesiologist.  

Kasparaitis is simply the best hitter in hockey.  A very compact
5'11, 209 pounds, Darius generates his destructive power thanks
to enormous leg strength.  He just drives right through guys,
exploding at the moment of impact.  It's a beautiful thing to
watch.  From a safe distance, that is.

Kasparaitis checks come in a variety of forms.  There's the
"You're an idiot so I'm gonna knock you the (sunshine) out"
check.  This occurs when opposing forwards have the audacity to
look down at the puck while being on the same side of the ice as
Darius.  Not a good idea.  Kaspar's not scared to step up and lay
the smack down with the People's Shoulder.  The most famous
example of this would be the colossal collision with Eric Lindros
last spring that left the Philadelphia captain a broken man.  It
was, and still is, the biggest hit ever witnessed by man or
chimp.  Kaspar knocked Lindros the (sunshine) out.  That doesn't
happen every day.  

Then of course there are the numerous grinding checks along the
boards in the defensive zone.  Because of his powerful legs,
Darius doesn't need to build up momentum to deliver a punishing
blow.  Somebody will dig a puck free from the wall and try to
cycle low, Darius takes one step and it's lights out.  

And heaven help the poor soul that tries to beat Darius to a puck
dumped into the Penguin zone.  He'll race right alongside and let
the guy think he has a play before reminding him what life's all
about.  The most recent example happened this past week when the
Montreal Canadiens came to town.  The workers at the Civic Arena
are still trying to scrape Vincent Damphousse off the boards.     

But by far, Kasparaitis is most feared for his devastating hip
checks.  Anyone trying to go wide on Kaspar is begging to get
wrecked.  Observing Darius throw a hip check is a wondrous thing. 
One gets the sensation of witnessing an animal stumble into a
steel trap.  Before they realize they're in danger, it's too
late.  The jaws have snapped shut.  

Once Kaspar makes up his mind to go for the hip check, there's
nothing his prey can do.  It's automatic for the people.  He
lulls his quarry to sleep by innocently backing off the blue line
and opening an inviting lane down the boards.  Once the bait is
taken, Darius squats down, somehow manages to accelerate while
looping sideways, and thrusts his hip into the helpless victim. 
From there it's a one-way ticket to Palookaville, with great
passing scenery of the ice, the ceiling, and the ice.  

Some people complain about Darius going after their knees, but
they're just punks.  It's a clean check.  If you're not man
enough to risk a cripplin', then don't go down the wall.  It's
all part of the game.  

While his physical play overshadows all else, people often
neglect the rest of Kaspar's game.  Sure, he may shoot worse than
the Apple Dumpling Gang, but Darius is an excellent skater that
moves the puck extremely well.  He'll never be a serious point
producer, but that's not his job.  He's the very definition of a
defensive defenseman.  He hits everything in sight, blocks shots,
works the front of the net, and is usually smart in his own zone. 
Okay, so he's made his share of mistakes, but who hasn't?  I know
I've made mine.  The last one about five weeks ago.  Aw, it still
hurts.  But I digress...

Like any great athlete, Darius has a flair for the dramatic. 
He'll come through with the big play when his team needs it most. 
If the Pens are sagging, rest assured that Kaspar will make
something happen.  It takes but one Kasparaitis check to turn a
game around.  He's provided so many sparks over the years that
Smokey the Bear once tried to beat him to death with a shovel.    

When Petr Nedved made his return to the Civic Arena as a member
of the New York Rangers, guess who was there to welcome him? 
First shift.  Nedved tried to find the puck in his skates along
the right wing of the Ranger zone.  Trouble.  Darius stepped up
and drilled him to the ice with considerable malice.  The Igloo
crowd went crazy go nuts.  The fans wanted a pound of flesh. 
Kaspar gave it to 'em.  That's just the kind of guy he is.

Aside from holding out like a crybaby, the easiest way to get on
Kaspar's hit list is to mess with one of his teammates.  Take
liberties with another Bird and it won't be long before your next
of kin gets a phone call.  Darius is all about standing up for
his teammates.  

On January 30, Boston's Rob Dimaio made the unfortunate mistake
of running Alexei Kovalev into the boards from behind.  Kovalev
had gone back to touch up an apparent icing, but the stripes blew
the call.  Dimaio never slowed down and plowed the unsuspecting
Russian winger into the backboards.  Kaspar was not amused.  From
that point on Dimaio could have replaced his jersey's spoked-B
with a bull's eye.  He didn't finish the game unscathed.  Kaspar
saw to that, rocking Dimaio with a devastating open-ice hit.      

When Kasparaitis goes out for revenge, he does it with hard,
clean checks.  He doesn't hide behind the stick.  He doesn't run
people from behind.  The biggest misconception about Kaspar is
that he's a dirty player.  Nothing could be further from the
truth.  I've never once seen him use his stick on an opponent. 
Everything is with the body.  Kaspar will never pass up an
opportunity to finish a check.  It doesn't matter the score or
the time of the game, Darius is gonna deck ya.  He just doesn't
quit.  He's a competitor.  He'll do whatever it takes to win.  If
that makes him dirty, then every player in the NHL should be so
filthy.  

Need proof of his toughness and commitment to the team?  Darius
has played the entire year with a torn ACL in his right knee. 
I'll repeat that.  Darius has played the entire season with a
torn ACL.  That's pretty damn cool.  He originally suffered the
injury in a preseason contest and was expected to undergo season-
ending knee surgery.  But Darius wasn't goin' out like no punk. 
Most mortal men would have had the surgery and sat back and
collected a paycheck for the next six months.  Not Kaspar.  He
fought through the pain and was back on the ice after missing a
mere eight games. 

Sadly, Kaspar recently re-injured his right knee in a game
against the Edmonton Oilers.  The knee was badly swollen and
everyone feared the worst.  But Kaspar didn't care.  After one
day he gave the crutches back to the trainers.  Even after an MRI
revealed more damage had been done to the knee, Kaspar insisted
that he wouldn't be gone long.  He's going to rehab for a week
and then see how it feels.  Aw, that's just Kaspar being Kaspar. 
Needless to say, if he's forced to have surgery the Pens are
beat.
     
See, all of the above would be more than enough to make
Kasparaitis the coolest player in the NHL, but there's more.  Oh,
there's more.  The thing that places Kaspar in his own
stratosphere of coolness is his sense of humor.  He brings the
comedy. 

Earlier in the season I reported how the Penguins took a bunch of
area kids shopping for winter clothes.  For those that missed it,
Darius stole the show, pulling off the always popular pretend-
the-little-boy-asked-for-high-heeled-shoes gag.  It was classic.  

Then about a month ago the club held a "Skate with the Pens"
event that allows fans to take the Civic Arena ice with their
heroes.  The kids all flocked to Darius.  Then they all got
whacked.  Whenever an equipment-clad youngster approached, Kaspar
swatted them away or bumped 'em to the ice with a hip check. 
They got up, he knocked 'em down.  A good time was had by all.

Kaspar also isn't scared to speak his mind in the papers.  He
tells it like it is.  With the Penguin forwards refusing to get
the puck deep during a recent losing skid, Darius only half-
jokingly said that he'd start hitting his own teammates if they
didn't quit turning over the puck.  The club responded with a win
the next night.  

And we can't dismiss the fact that Darius is currently engaged in
a blood feud with Darcy Tucker.  Anyone crazy enough to mess with
Tucker is Alaska cool.  

Don't even front.  Don't even Wu-Tang Clan me.  Darius
Kasparaitis is the coolest hockey player... IN THE WORLD! 
I could go on singing Kaspar's virtues for hours, but now's the
time to yield the floor to my esteemed adversary.  Jim?

Tucker Spells Coolness
by Jim Iovino

Delly, you ignorant slut.

How could you possibly say Darius Kasparaitis is the coolest
player in the National Hockey League in the LCS Hockey Darcy
Tucker tribute issue?  

That's just wrong.  The whole idea behind the Darcy Tucker
tribute issue is to worship Darcy Tucker, not to explain, in
horrific detail, the coolness of Darius Kasparaitis.  

Sure, Kasparaitis is cool and all, but if it wasn't for Tucker,
Kaspar's rating wouldn't be as high as it is. Was it not Tucker
who goaded Kaspar into that classic battle during the
Pens-Lightning game earlier this season?  It was.  Who else would
Kaspar have gone up against - a little rich boy like Vincent
Lecavalier?  Sure, the first-round pick will take on Ottawa's
Marian Hossa, but I highly doubt it he'd pick a fight with
Kaspar.  

Kaspar has his cool moments, but so does Tucker.  Remember that
week early in the season when Darcy seemed to score seven goals
in a row by crashing the net, running over a goaltender and
knocking the puck across the goal line all in one motion...that
was great, that was fun.  You'd have to watch some old-school
hockey games on ESPN Classic to find exciting action like that.
 

Tucker is old school.  He's not flashy.  He's not a show off. 
He's just a pure hard-nosed, grind-it-out hockey player. 

You know, Delly, it's the little things in life that go
unnoticed, yet are so important.  Little things like taking a hit
to make a play.  Or going into the corners and mucking it up
along the boards to win the puck.  Or picking up the toilet seat
when you go to the bathroom and putting it back down when you're
done so your girlfriend doesn't yell at you when you come out.
 

Tucker does all of those things well.  He's just that kind of
guy.
 

But doing the little things means you never get as much attention
as you would if you scored a hat trick. Or if you knocked the
opposing team's top center out of the lineup for 17 games after
catching him with his head down coming through center ice and
laying him out with a solid shoulder to the noggin.  

Any great player in the game could do that.  But to put in the
same workman-like effort night in and night out and being a team
player takes more concentration -- more skill, if you will --
than most players are willing to put forth.  

Darcy Tucker is willing to do that for his team -- even if his
team is the lowest-rated in the National Hockey League. 

These are tough times for anyone on the Tampa Bay Lightning
roster, Tucker included.  But you don't see him whining or
complaining about wanting out.  You don't see him coasting
through the regular season dreaming of the vacation time he'll
soon be having. 

Tucker continues to work hard.  He's setting an example for his
teammates.  He's setting an example for kids across America.  And
he's setting an example for you and me.  

If that isn't coolness, Michael Dell, then I don't know what is. 

Thank you and good night. 

----------------------------------------------------------------
Fleury Finds a New Home
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Jim Iovino

Almost once a year a National Hockey League team partakes in a
ritual called Rent-A-Player.  The San Jose Sharks did it several
years ago with no success. They sent three players to Chicago for
unrestricted free-agent-to-be Ed Belfour with hopes of signing the
goaltender to a long-term deal before season's end. However, the
Eagle decided to migrate South over the summer for a chance to win
the Stanley Cup in Dallas.  The Sharks were left for dead with
nothing to show for their efforts to improve their goalie
situation. 

But those are the risks involved with trading for unrestricted free
agents late in a season.  The Colorado Avalanche is the latest team
to rent a player.  The Avs acquired Theo Fleury, who will be an
unrestricted free agent this summer, from the Calgary Flames along
with left winger Chris Dingman for Rene Corbet, Wade Belak, a draft
choice and future considerations.  

Unlike the Belfour trade, which eventually hurt the Sharks, the
Fleury trade ultimately could do more harm to the Calgary franchise
than Colorado.  

Even if Fleury decides to jump ship after the season and sign
somewhere else, the Avalanche still has a solid nucleus to build
off of.  The Flames, on the other hand, do not.  

A Sad Day in Calgary

Fleury was the heart and soul of the Calgary franchise.  His energy
lifted the team, and its fans, when times were tough.  His skill
kept the team respectable even when it looked more like a minor
league franchise than an NHL squad.  And Fleury's desire, courage
and insatiable urge to win and succeed made him the No. 1 player in
the hearts of fans in Calgary and throughout the rest of North
America.  

Fleury stands just 5 feet, 6 inches tall.  But even at that height,
he meant more to the Flames than any other player to their
respective teams in the league.  Now that he's gone, no one is
quite sure how much longer the team can remain in Calgary.  

There was a time when the Flames were one of the best teams in the
NHL.  That wasn't very long ago. During the late 1980s and early
1990s, Calgary fielded one of the most skilled teams in the league
with the likes of Fleury, Al MacInnis, Doug Gilmour, Gary Suter,
Hakaan Loob, Mike Vernon, Gary Roberts, Joel Otto and Joey
Nieuwendyk.  

Slowly, however, the economics of the NHL became too great for the
Flames to handle.  Great players left the team for bigger contracts
elsewhere. And when they left, no one was signed to take their
place.  The Flames fell lower and lower in their division, and it
got to the point where the 1989 Stanley Cup champions struggled
just to make the playoffs by the mid-90s.  

Fleury was there through it all.  He was a rookie when the Flames
won the Cup in 1989. While his game matured and he rose through the
ranks of hockey's elite, the teams he played for became less and
less talented.  Fleury became frustrated.  He was mad that he
couldn't carry the team by himself.  

Fleury might be small in size, but he carried the weight of the
franchise on his shoulders.  And a lot of times that weight dragged
him down.  At one point Fleury turned in his captaincy because the
pressure was too great on him to continue to try and play like he
knew he should.  He couldn't be a good role model when the
frustrations of losing continuing to build.  At times Fleury needs
to release that pressure.  He felt guilty doing it, however, when
he knew his teammates and the entire city of Calgary was looking at
him for positives and a sign that things were going to be all
right.  

As his teammates continued to exit stage left, Fleury remained a
Flame.  He loved the city.  He loved the atmosphere.  He loved the
people.  And everyone loved Theo.  The mutual admiration kept
Fleury in Calgary for much longer than people thought.  Somehow the
Flames scraped together enough money to sign him to a new deal
several years ago that paid him $2.5 million a year.  There's no
doubt that the franchise could hardly afford a salary like that,
but the Flames couldn't afford to lose Fleury, either.  

That's what made it so tough for the Flames to deal their star last
week.  That was why there were special sections dedicated to the
Fleury trade in all the local Calgary papers.  

Fleury was the Flames.  Without him, the fans have no one to rally
around.  No one to peg their hopes on for a brighter future. 
Without Fleury, the Flames franchise will probably be moved in a
few seasons.  The money problems that necessitated the Fleury trade
will also necessitate the move of the franchise to a bigger market.
 

Avalanche of Talent

Perhaps it's ironic that Fleury was traded to the Colorado
Avalanche.  The Avalanche itself moved to Denver from a
small-market region, Quebec.  The Nordiques, an original member of
the World Hockey Association, were forced to move because of the
economics of the NHL.  

Since moving to Colorado, the Avalanche has turned into one of the
best teams in the league.  They've been able to succeed for such a
long time because they have the capital to re-sign their star
players.  Team captain Joe Sakic almost left several years ago as a
free agent.  The Avs have also tried to lock up other key members
like Patrick Roy.  

The plan is for Sakic, Roy and the rest of the team to talk Fleury
into remaining in Colorado for more years to come.  First up,
however, are the 1999 playoffs and Stanley Cup.  The addition of
Fleury to an already powerful lineup makes the Avs a front-runner
for another Cup run.  In Fleury's first game, he teamed up with
Sakic, who is a close friend, and Peter Forsberg on a line.  Not
too shabby.  

When Fleury was traded, he was already the sixth-highest scoring
player in the league.  He did all of that in Calgary without a
superstar to pass to or give him passes.  Imagine him now on a line
with a Sakic, Forsberg or Kamensky.  The possibilities for success
are endless.  

The Avs are hoping Fleury will like the skill level in Colorado so
much that he won't want to leave after the season.  They will be
talking contract with Fleury's agent during the rest of the season
with hopes of signing him before July 1, when he officially becomes
an unrestricted free agent.  

Colorado paid a high price for Fleury's services.  If Fleury doesn't
sign a new contract with the Avs, that price will seem even higher.
To get Fleury, Colorado had to give up two current team members:
Corbet, who was a third-line player but has the potential to do more;
and Belak, who could become a hard-nose defenseman if he stays away
from injuries.  The Flames will also receive a draft pick and future
considerations.  The draft pick will be a second rounder if the Avs
don't re-sign Fleury; a first rounder if they do. 

The future considerations could be the most important part of the
deal as far as the Flames are concerned. The Avalanche reportedly
offered Calgary one of four top prospects in the Colorado
organization.  All four were drafted this past year.  The prospects
are:  

Martin Skoula, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound defenceman who was chosen 17th
overall.   
Robyn Regehr, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound defenceman who
was chosen 19th overall.  
Scott Parker, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound
right winger who was chosen 20th overall.  
Ramzi Abid, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right winger who was chosen 28th
overall.  

The Flames had 30 days from the time of the trade to choose the
player they wanted.  As of now, it looks like Calgary will take
Regehr, who is described as an Adam Foote-type defenseman.  Skoula,
who is a teammate of Flames prospect Daniel Tkaczuk, is also a
possibility.  He has more offensive skills than Regehr, but is also
solid defensively.  If you haven't seen him in action yet, Parker
is a future enforcer who has already seen action in the NHL.  Abid
needs work on his skating before he's to be considered a tremendous
prospect.  

No matter who the Flames get, he probably will not be able to take
the place of Fleury.  And for all intents and purposes, the
prospect chosen probably won't play his career in Calgary.  

Fleury didn't want to leave Calgary, but he explained that the
business of the game forced him to.  The Flames didn't want to
trade Fleury, but they, as well, blamed the economics of the game. 
Inevitably, the Flames won't want to leave Calgary, but once again,
economics will be to blame.  

It is a sad sight for the National Hockey League, but Fleury's
situation is just the tip of a Canadian iceberg that won't melt
until small-market teams like Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa get
pushed out of the game by the almighty American dollar.  

----------------------------------------------------------------
Selanne Has Ducks Soaring
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Peter Farkasovsky

In some professions, being the sixth fastest won't get you much
recognition.  Have you ever heard of Slappy's House of Cold
Pizza? I rest my case. In the NHL, however, being the sixth
fastest to 300 goals is something to quack. . .er, crow about.
  
That's just what Teemu Selanne, the flashy winger for the Mighty
Ducks of Anaheim, achieved late last month against the San Jose
Sharks in just his 464th game. Only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux,
Brett Hull, Mike Bossy and Jari Kurri have gotten there faster.
  
You know, that's not bad company -- Hall of Fame company, to be
exact.

"It's an honor to be one of those guys," says Selanne. "It's a
nice honor to score 300 goals, but I didn't really even think
about that too much. I just try to do my job and the goals are
there when I'm playing well."
  
Saying that Selanne and the Ducks are playing "well" right now
would be an understatement -- kinda like saying Michael Jackson
likes kids -- as they are breaking more records than bikers at a
Disco-Must-Go Rally.

The Ducks went 10-3-0 in February, setting club records for wins
and points in a month. A victory over the Detroit Red Wings on
Sunday gave the Ducks a seven-game win streak, also a club
record. In that same game, Selanne broke the club points streak
record by contributing an assist in the first period. 
  
The Finnish Flash tallied 12 goals and 13 assists in 13 games
during the Ducks' record-setting month of February. With numbers
like that, the league should've given him something -- and they
did, naming him NHL Player of the Month. I was thinking of
something like a gift certificate to Giant Eagle or a free oil
change, but the employee of the month thing isn't bad either.
  
Let's face it, the guy has rocket speed, a cannon shot, pin-point
accuracy and more moves than a bowl of Jell-O in an earthquake.
Those qualities have been evident throughout Selanne's NHL career
and even right from the beginning as he lit the lamp 76 times his
rookie season, breaking Mike Bossy's record of 52 goals by a
rookie.
  
Selanne was traded to Anaheim in February of 1996 to help star
left winger Paul Kariya bolster a sagging offense. Both have been
central to Anaheim's success; however, in years past, if either
or both didn't have a good game the Ducks had little chance of
winning. This season, the Ducks have had more balanced scoring
from their second and third lines.

"They really have supported us," says Selanne. "There are a lot
of nights that our line hasn't played as well as we wanted, and
we got some help from the other lines. That's a big thing."
  
Huge when a team is preparing for a playoff run. Usually by
April, Selanne is known as the "Finished Flash," as he has been
in the playoffs only twice. But the Ducks are in fifth place in
the Western Conference and are looking towards their first
playoff appearance since the 1996-97 season, and their second
berth ever.

Another reason for the Ducks' emergence has been a healthy Paul
Kariya, who missed most of last season because of a contract
dispute and injuries. Improved team chemistry and work ethic are
others, says Selanne.
  
"I think one of the biggest things is we have so much consistency
and the difference between the good game and bad game; the gap is
really small. So, that's what really makes our team so much
stronger than before."


----------------------------------------------------------------
Silver Spoons Forever
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

Every person's life has a defining moment for which they are
remembered above all else.  For some this happens in high school
with the crown of Home Coming Queen or the title of football
hero.  I always thought it would be pretty terrible to peak in
high school; to be through at 18.  That's why I'm pacing myself. 
At my current rate of progress, I should be a somebody by the
time I'm 63.  Let's hope.

Probably the only thing worse than having all of life's glory in
high school is reaching such status at a younger age.  Do
something memorable as a kid and you're pegged for life.  For
instance, take child actors.  Think Emmanuelle Lewis is ever
going to shake the Webster label?  Yeah, good luck.  Or how about
Urkel?  That kid might as well close the garage door and start
the car.  It's over.  

But there are a few exceptions to the rule.  Every so often
someone will come along with the ability to reinvent themselves,
allowing them to excel and achieve fame on separate occasions for
uniquely different tasks.  

The year was 1982.  A 12-year-old teen heartthrob by the name of
Ricky Schroder burst upon the scene with a starring role in the
NBC sitcom "Silver Spoons."  Schroder portrayed Ricky Stratton, a
rich kid that lived with his dad in an enormous mansion that
featured, among other things, full-sized arcade games and a
miniature locomotive capable of transporting people all through
the house.  

It wasn't long before the blond-haired, blue-eyed Schroder became
a fixture on teen magazines and a hot topic among junior high
school girls.  All the attention was fine when he was 12, but
trying to shed his Ricky Schroder, teen icon, persona proved to
be quite painful once "Silver Spoons" finished its run in 1987.  

It would have been easy for Schroder to pack it in and live off
his past glory while settling into the life of an everyman.  But
he strived for more.  He dropped the "y" from his first name and
began pursuing harder, more dramatic roles.  The transformation
was completed this fall when he made his triumphant debut on
ABC's "NYPD Blue."  

No longer riding around his living room on a train, Ricky, excuse
me, Rick Schroder now gets to bust heads on the mean streets of
New York as detective Danny Sorenson.  Jimmy Smits who?  Schroder
does such an excellent job that it's almost impossible to imagine
anyone else as the partner of Andy Sipowicz.  It's amazing,
really.  His past is buried.  His future bright.  

But Schroder is not alone in his staggering accomplishment. 
There's a young man in Denver, Colorado, looking to follow in his
footsteps.  

In 1989, two years after "Silver Spoons" died, little Chris Drury
helped lead his team from Trumball, Connecticut, to the Little
League World Series championship.  Drury was the winning pitcher
in the deciding game and will forever be immortalized in the
minds of those who, you know, actually give a rat's ass about
little league baseball.  I'm not sure who that is exactly, but
I'm sure they exist.  

Reaching such lofty heights at a tender age could stunt one's
personal growth.  Drury could have easily rested on his laurels
and the years would have passed with a blur.  One day he's
striking out some kid from Taiwan, the next he's a 47-year-old
bag boy at the local supermarket that likes to go to bars alone
and tell whoever will listen about the time he, well, struck out
some kid from Taiwan.  

But Drury wasn't satisfied polishing his own "Silver Spoons."  He
wanted more than a momentary train ride through the living room
of life.  He wanted to be a hockey player.

While Drury's interest in baseball faded in high school, his love
of hockey grew.  With his older brother Ted, who currently plays
for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, acting as a role model, Chris
applied himself to the game on frozen pond and was rewarded with
a four-year scholarship to Boston University for his efforts.  He
also caught the eye of the Colorado Avalanche, who drafted him in
the third round of the 1994 Entry Draft right out of high school.

Drury thrived at BU, leading the Terriers to an NCAA title,
finishing as the school's all-time leading scorer (116 points),
and winning the Hobey Baker Trophy in his senior year.  He
enjoyed such success that the temptation to leave school early
and make a bid for the NHL was quite enticing.  But Drury
remained loyal to his school.  He had an obligation to fulfill. 
And he's a man of his word. 

"After my junior year, there was a real good possibility [to
leave school]," said Drury.  "I was thinking about it, talking
about it with my family and my coaches.  But, you know it just
didn't feel right.  My gut feeling was to go back for my senior
year.  I felt I signed and accepted a four-year scholarship at
BU, and I wanted to honor that commitment."

With his college career complete, and the Hobey Baker to his
name, Drury made his way to training camp in Colorado this past
fall with hopes of making the big team.  It wouldn't be easy. 
The Avalanche were already three deep at center and boasted a
roster with such superstars as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and
Patrick Roy.  That's a tough situation for any rookie.  And Drury
admits that at first it was a bit overwhelming.         
 
"You can watch them on TV all you want, but when you sit in the
same room with them it's a little different," explained Drury.   
"After the first day, I realized they're just normal guys like
you and me, they tie their skates the same way, tape their stick
the same way.  They're just great guys who are exceptional hockey
players."

Once he relaxed, Drury was able to impress the Avalanche coaches
enough with his speed and competitive nature to earn a spot on
the opening day roster.    

"I didn't really know what to expect," said Drury, thinking back
to the early days of training camp.  "I wasn't sure if I was
going to be on the team from the start, if I was going to spend
the whole year, half year in the minors.  I didn't know what they
had planned for me.
            
"I knew a lot of it was going to depend on how I adjusted.  I'd
say the biggest adjustment has been life-style change, moving to
a new city.  Obviously, it's a big difference than college.
There's no homework.  You're not surrounded by your friends and
family.  You're kind of off on your own, starting a new thing. 
That was probably the biggest difference for me."

Drury's adjustment was made somewhat easier by the presence of
another talented rookie, Czech winger Milan Hejduk.  Both
youngsters have injected the Colorado offense with two things it
desperately needed: speed and enthusiasm.  Perhaps sensing their
importance to the future of the team, the Avalanche veterans have
welcomed Drury and Hejduk with open arms.     

"I think all the veterans have handled myself and Milan really
well, knowing it's our first year, trying to include us in
everything at home and on the road," said Drury. "They've all
just been real terrific about it."

Of course, Drury had a slight edge over Hejduk when it came to
adjusting to life in the NHL.  Whenever Chris needed some advice,
all he had to do was look to big brother Ted. 
   
"My brother has helped me a ton," claimed Drury.  "He didn't
really just say one thing, or a few things to get me ready.  It's
probably been just leading by example, just over the years,
watching him play in the league, just learning how to keep myself
healthy, get the proper rest away from the rink so you do have
some energy down the stretch here and for the playoffs."   

At 5'10, 180 pounds, Drury's biggest asset as a player is his
speed.  He has exceptional quickness and can dart all over the
ice.  However, speed alone wouldn't keep him in Colorado.  All
the skating in the world doesn't mean a damn thing if you can't
finish.  Drury knows how to finish.  He currently has 15 goals
and 35 points in 62 games, tying him with Vancouver's Bill
Muckalt for the lead among rookie scorers.  

Drury, 22, hasn't had the benefit of playing on one of Colorado's
top two lines this season.  That honor has gone to Hejduk, the
more natural shooter and compliment to the likes of Sakic and
Forsberg.  Drury, who enjoys taking the body and playing a
physical game for his size, has found his niche playing the left
wing on the third line with Stephane Yelle at center and either
Shean Donovan or Shjon Podein on the right side.  The rookie uses
his speed to forecheck hard and create havoc while never
neglecting the defensive responsibilities that often come along
with a third-line role. 

That's what makes Drury so special.  He has the talent of a top
flight scorer but also is willing to do the dirty work on a third
line.  He just loves to compete.  He's an intense kid.  It's a
quality that he shares with first-year Avalanche coach, Bob
Hartley.  Drury has found playing for Hartley to be quite the
experience.

"It's pretty intense," admits Drury.  "That's probably one word I
can describe him.  Every game, every practice, you got to come to
work and show him that you want to be out there."
        
The wear and tear of an NHL season, not to mention the stress
involved, took its toll on Drury early in the season.  

"I'd say probably around the 20-, 25-game mark, I felt a little
sluggish, a little tired," recalled Drury.  "But coach Hartley
and our strength coach Skip Allen sat me down, worked some things
out.  I lost four or five pounds at that point.  Started riding
the bike, doing some extra skating. Since then, I've really felt
great, feel light, have lots of energy."

The Avalanche will be counting on that energy to help spark their
Stanley Cup run.  Drury could prove to be such a vital cog in the
club's success that the Calder Trophy might become a natural
byproduct.  If it happens, great.  If not, no big thing.  Drury
has his priorities in the right place.  

"I think there are too many things going on right now with our
team, worrying just about winning hockey games than to get caught
up in an individual award," said Drury.

Yes, Chris Drury is an adult now.  His childhood days are behind
him.  He's no longer the lad with the fastball capable of sitting
down Asian kids one, two, three.  Drury is a hockey player now. 
He's an NHLer.  That's what should be remembered.  And never call
him Ricky.

All together now...

"Here we are, face to face, a couple of Silver Spoons. 
Hoping to find, we're two of a kind, making a go, making it grow. 
Together, we're gonna find our way, you and I.  Together, takin'
the time each day, to learn all about those things you just can't
buy.  Two Silver Spoons together, you and I.  Together, we're
gonna find our way, you and I.  Together, we're gonna find our
way, you and I.  Together."     


----------------------------------------------------------------
"The New Boys Are Coming In On The 4:15 Bus!"
----------------------------------------------------------------
by John Alsedek

First, about the title...it's actually a line from that
quintessential hockey film, 'Slap Shot,' and was made in
reference to the acquisition of the Hansen Brothers. I had
considered using a line of Paul Newman's - "Why, every piece of
garbage that comes on the market, you just gotta buy it!"-
until I realized that: a) it's pretty much impossible to not take
a comment like that the wrong way; and b) LCS is a family web
site, albeit in a 'The Hills Have Eyes' sort of way. I take the
time to mention this only because Ripple isn't getting any
cheaper, and LCS pays by the word...oh. Crap. Never mind.
     
Anyway, we're less than two weeks away from that annual rite of
spring, the NHL trading deadline (March 23rd, for all you anal
retentive date-stickler sorts out there). Most years, one or two
major deals might go down, but mostly the deadline is just a
chance for teams to dump salaries and swap minor-leaguers. Not
this year, though - Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix has guaranteed
that. He's a long way from being the genius that he thinks he
is, but give Lacroix credit for making things a heap more
interesting going into the playoffs. With the Avs having dealt
for fiery winger Theo Fleury (about which you can read more on
LCS's wizard Flames page, written by that hockey genius and
shameless self-promoter John Alsedek), they've effectively
challenged the rest of the potential Cup challengers to put up or
shut up.

With that in mind, here's more than a half-dozen (seven, to be
exact) trade-deadline deals that might happen, as well as the
likely results thereof. Now, bear one thing in mind as you read:
I don't have access to any more info than the rest of you. I just
have the basics - print reports, NHL 2Nite, spy satellites, bugs
in executive washrooms, ninja infiltrators, the usual. Okay, now
you can go on.

1) RW Theo Fleury & LW Chris Dingman to Colorado for LW Rene
Corbet, D Wade Belak, and future considerations
     
Yeah, I know - this one already happened. However, it's worth
mentioning anyway, just because of what it represents. When
Pierre Lacroix dealt Rene Corbet, a top prospect, and a
second-rounder to the Flames for what will likely be a short-term
rental on Fleury, he sent a message in big bold letters - LIKE
THESE - to the rest of the NHL: this is COLORADO'S year! 

Of course, if he doesn't fill his club's biggest need - another
defenseman (besides Sandis Ozolinsh) who can actually do
something with the puck besides dump it into the offensive zone,
it WILL be Colorado's year...to find a new GM. Los Angeles
blueliners Steve Duchesne and Garry Galley ain't gonna get any
more available; he could probably squeeze Vladimir Malakhov outta
the Habs for the right price. Can an amped-up Avs squad win the
Cup? Sure, but only if Patrick Roy plays a heckuva lot better
than he did last year.

2) LW Wendel Clark to Dallas for LW Brendan Morrow & a 2000
2nd-round pick

Colorado thrusts, Dallas parries. A recent spate of injuries has
exposed potential areas of weakness in the Stars lineup,
specifically on defense and left wing. As a result, Bob Gainey
picked up warhorse Doug Lidster - who played for the Canadian
National Team earlier this season - to add some depth on the blue
line. And as for the port side...Gainey is doubtless looking for
someone who fits the Stars mold: tough, skilled, hard-working,
injury-prone...did someone say Wendel Clark (I mean, you know,
besides me)? If they don't get Clark, look for Dallas to make a
big push for Broadway Adam Graves. 

Now, you'd think that sort of addition, combined with an already
potent offense and arguably the best two-way defensive corps in
the league would equal Stanley Cup. I'm not so sure, though, and
the reason can be summed up in two words: Ed Belfour. If he plays
at his bellyflopping, slashing best, the Stars make it past the
Avs to the Finals. If he plays at his bellyflopping, slashing
worst, they're out in the second round.

3) D Ulf Samuelsson to Detroit for future considerations

The Wings thought they'd filled their need for a top-four
blueliner over the summer when they signed Uwe Krupp.
Unfortunately, as long a reach as the 6'6" Krupp has, it's not
quite long enough to reach from the IR. So Detroit is still
looking for a mobile, two-way defenseman - but then, who
isn't? They'll doubtless be ringing Rangers GM Neil Smith about
Mathieu Schneider, but, with the Rangers still in the hunt for a
playoff berth, they're gonna have to settle for the dastardly
Swede. 

It's a good deal for both teams; Samuelsson's not gonna be
playing for a while (concussion), but Detroit won't care as long
as he's ready for the playoffs. Just what the tried-and-true
future considerations consists of will show who's the slicker
manager - Detroit will probably want to unload Aaron Ward and a
draft pick, while the Rangers will want prospect Jesse Wallin.
The Wings would be well-advised to hold onto Wallin: to the
disappointment of octopus-mongers in the Motor City, the Wings
are going out in the second round no matter what.

4) C Alexei Zhamnov to Toronto for a players/futures
combination

Every hockey pundit and his dog (or cat) have Dougie Gilmour and
Chris Chelios being traded by the Hawks for futures. I don't.
Chicago already has plenty of kids - now they just need to do
something besides underachieve.  Besides, someone has to bring
the younguns along. However, one guy who has definitely worn out
his welcome (besides owner Bill Wirtz and GM Bob Murray) is
Alexei Zhamnov, nicknamed 'Archie' for his red hair, freckles,
and salary of about two hundred g's per goal. Toronto's Mike
Smith was with the Winnipeg Jets organization when they drafted
Zhamnov, and is nonetheless interested in acquiring him. In all
fairness to Zhamnov, he's a tremendously skilled player who often
looked ill at ease in Chicago's dump-and-chase system; the Leafs'
run-and-gun offense should be much more to his liking.

Who will the Hawks get in return? Maybe wild card '98 draftee
Nikolai Antropov and a player like Alyn McCauley or Todd Warriner
- two guys waving red flags for entirely different reasons. With
an honest to goodness second-line center and Cujo's usual
acrobatics in goal, look for Toronto to make some real noise in
the East - as in second-round noise.

5) RW Mark Recchi to New Jersey for LW Brian Rolston & D Brad
Bombardir

As I said earlier, all that loose talk about Gilmour being traded
to an Eastern team is gonna come to naught. The prime candidate
is supposedly New Jersey, but it's just not the sort of deal that
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello likes to make. Besides whatever bad
blood there may be between 'Killer' and Lamoriello, it's just not
Lou's style. He prefers the low-cost (well, lower-cost)
short-term rentals - like the deal he made to get Gilmour in the
first place. 

Anyway, the last thing the Devils need is another center: they've
already got eight natural centers on their roster.  No, what they
really need is a goal-scoring right winger who also knows his way
around his own end, and who's an unrestricted free agent at the
end of the season.  Enter Mark Recchi. The Habs have a number of
needs - depth at center, tough wingers, stay-at-home d-men - and,
as usual, the Devils have enough talent in the minors to stock a
second NHL team. If it isn't Rolston and Bombardir who get dealt,
it'll be guys like them. Will Recchi be enough to get the Devils
back to the Finals? No, but at least they won't go out in the
first round like they would without him.

6) C Stu Barnes & D Bobby Dollas to Florida for D Jaroslav
Spacek, a 2000 first-round pick and futures

I just can't figure the Florida Panthers. Just look at their
collection of forwards. They've got the three S's: speed, skill,
and, uh, grit. Only one problem: beyond Pavel Bure, nobody on the
roster shows all three on a regular basis. Given the Russian
Rocket's ongoing knee problems, the Cats desperately need another
player of that ilk - particularly if they plan on actually making
the playoffs this year. Fortunately for Miami's hockey faithful,
ownership has shown a willingness to spend spend spend, and
there's a guy available who fits the bill...a guy they already
know. Need a hint? Playing in a STU-pefying situation in
Pittsburgh, he has been STU-pendous, and Florida GM was STU-pid
for trading him in the first place.

Yep, I'm talking Stu Barnes. He's become something of a spare
part in Steeltown - more because of his salary and the arrival of
Alexei Kovalev than any drop in his performance - and could be
had for the right price. Florida also needs help on defense;
they're likely to get a guy like Dollas or Wilkinson as a
throw-in, but they could also end up with Kevin Hatcher if
they're really willing to pay through the nose. If the Panthers
make the playoffs (a big IF) and Bure stays healthy (another big
IF), Stu and the boys could go all the way back to the Conference
Finals and be a regular whirligig of fun to watch on the way.

7) D Boris Mironov to Philadelphia for F Dainius Zubrus, G
Jean-Marc Pelletier, and other stuff

To say that the Flyers have underachieved recently is like saying
that Rembrandt van Rijn painted pictures, or that Anheuser-Busch
brews beer; it's an accurate statement, but one which gives you
no sense of scale. Having lost to such league powerhouses as
Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, Philly hasn't even looked like they
should be in the playoffs, let alone winning Lord Stanley's Cup.
Nevertheless, I'm picking the Flyers to wake up from their
malaise and win that big hunk o' silver, because I think Bob
Clarke is gonna say "To hell with the future!" and make moves for
this year. They'll go after - and maybe acquire - former Flyer
Mark Recchi, which would be a big help. However, their big move
is going to be to get what every team seems to need - a tough,
mobile defender who can play both ends well. 

The one guy available who really fits the bill is Edmonton's
Boris Mironov, who turned a lot of heads and crunched a lot of
bodies in last year's playoff series versus the Avs. He's still
playing well, but is up for a new contract over the summer and is
likely to be asking for $4 million per - a little rich for the
Oilers' blood, particularly as their blue line is already loaded
with younger, cheaper prospects. 

Both New Jersey and Florida have expressed interest in obtaining
him, but the Flyers are the only ones who have the commodity
Edmonton needs most - a hot goalie prospect who's just about
NHL-ready. 'Slats' has also been interested in 20-year-old Zubrus
for the past two years, and could always use a draft pick or two
(as long as he promises not to use them on any guy named Jason).
Heck, he might even take back slow-but-steady (emphasis on the
slow) defenseman Luke Richardson if Philly eats half his
contract. Sound like overpaying? Well, yeah...but hey, it's a
seller's market. 


Yeah, but it'll be worth it if the Flyers can manage to win
another Cup before the fans get into lynch-mob mode - and, given
the temperament of Philly's fans, that won't be long.

But wait! There's more! Yep, we at LCS just give and give and
give till it hurts. So here's a bonus for both of you loyal
readers (thanks Mom and Dad)...

8) C Andrew Cassels to Buffalo for W Matthew Barnaby and
future considerations

News flash: the Sabres need scoring. Darcy Regier may still think
he's gonna get Doug Gilmour by offering Motormouth Matthew
Barnaby, but he'll eventually wise up and go after a
reasonably-priced substitute: soon-to-be UFA Andrew Cassels. 

Cassels, as you may recall, was Geoff Sanderson's favorite center
back when he was Geoff Sanderson. Given that the Coyotes and
Rangers have also inquired about the Flames pivot, the price may
go up from what the Sabres want to pay (Barnaby, Derek Plante) to
something the Flames might actually want (Vaclav Varada, Erik
Rasmussen). Most likely, they'll meet somewhere in between -
Barnaby and a high draft pick, plus another pick if Cassels signs
with the Sabres over the summer. If he can get Sanderson scoring
like he did for Dickey the Whale, it'll be worth it. Otherwise,
it's the Sabres out by Game Six of the second round.

 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Chimp Bytes: General NHL News and Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Zippy, Wonderous Chimp

Islanders send Lachance to Habs

The Islanders confused everyone once again when they traded defenseman Scott 
Lachance to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday for a third-round pick in the 
1999 entry draft. Lachance, who was chosen fourth overall in the 1991 entry 
draft, played all 450 of his NHL games on Long Island and had 26 goals, 
79 assists and 348 penalty minutes. I think Lachance summed it up best when 
he said, "I'm a little confused and a little shocked... a third rounder won't 
help (the Islanders) for four, five years."

Pens ex-owner may owe $45 million 

A former owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins could owe the bankrupt team's 
banks $45 million, according to documents filed in bankruptcy court. 
Lawyers for current Penguins co-owner Roger Marino said the documents 
indicate that former co-owner Morris Belzberg guaranteed loans that banks 
made to the team. Belzberg is one of the original partners of Penguins 
co-owner Howard Baldwin and retains a stake in the team. 

Two-ref system to be used in playoffs

The NHL likes the two-referee system so much that Tuesday it decided to 
employ it throughout the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs. "The general 
managers and governors of our clubs were overwhelmingly in
support of the two-referee system for use in the playoffs," NHL senior
vice president and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said.
"When the system was phased in during the regular season, the games
had a quicker pace, interference was reduced and improper conduct
behind the play was controlled." 
				
1999 Women's World Hockey Championship

UNITED STATES 11, SWEDEN 0: Cammi Granato and Katie King
each scored two goals as the United States outclassed Sweden 11-0
and co-favorite Canada routed Germany 13-0 Tuesday in the fifth
women's world hockey championships. Also scoring for the
Americans were Angela Ruggiero, Jenny Schmidgall, Stephanie
O'Sullivan, Karyn Bye, Sue Merz, Tricia Dunn and Krissy Wendell.

				   
Group A
                GP   W   L   T   Pts.   GF   GA
United States    2   2   0   0     4    21    2
Sweden           2   1   1   0     2    14    1
China            2   1   1   0     2     4    5
Russia           2   0   2   0     0     4   13

Thursday's Group A games
Russia vs. Sweden
United States vs. China

Tuesday's Group A results
China 3, Russia 2
United States 11, Sweden 0 

Monday's Group A results
United States 10, Russia 2
Sweden 3, China 1

Group B
                GP   W   L   T   Pts.   GF   GA
Canada           2   2   0   0     4    23    0
Finland          2   2   0   0     4    16    0
Switzerland      2   0   2   0     0     0   17
Germany          2   0   2   0     0     0   22

Thursday's Group B games
Switzerland vs. Germany
Canada vs. Finland

Tuesday's Group B results
Canada 13, Germany 0
Finland 7, Switzerland 0

Monday's Group B results
Canada 10, Switzerland 0
Finland 9, Germany 0

Friday's placement games
B3 vs. A4
A3 vs. B4

Saturday's semifinal games
B1 vs. A2
A1 vs. B2

Sunday's games
5th/6th place - Winner B3/A4 vs. Winner A3/B4
Bronze Medal - Loser B1/A2 vs. Loser A1/B2
7th/8th place - Loser B3/A4 vs. Loser A3/B4
Gold Medal - Winner B1/A2 vs. Winner A1/B2

	

----------------------------------------------------------------
AHL News
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Tricia McMillan

Player of the Week (Feb. 21): As a whole, Fredericton goalie Jose
Theodore is not real happy about being in the AHL. But he had to be pleased for
at least this week, as he went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA, a .962 save percentage and a
shutout for the baby Habs and that was good enough for some hardware. Theodore had
a 41 save blanking of the Falcons and held his own against Hartford to give the
Canadiens a perfect week on the road.

Player of the Week (Feb. 28): He has the award, but still hasn't been online.
Portland's Jean-Pierre Dumont won the POTW for the second time this year,
and again the Blackhawks yanked him out of the AHL just before he could do the
POTW online stint. Dumont scored four goals and added three assists in the Pirates' two games during the week, both of which they lost. Dumont is now third in rookie scoring and second in rookie goal-scoring, having topped the 30 goal mark, and has a seven game goal-scoring streak alive.

Rookie of the Month: Weren't we just talking about him? That would be the
Pirates' Dumont, who picks up this award as well. Dumont had a total of 16
points in eight games during February, with 11 goals and five assists. Only Jason
Podollan has scored more goals this season. Dumont has also finally taken the lead in
rookie power play goals with 12, an honor that had been held by Martin Sonnenberg for
two months after his recall to the NHL. Dumont won't be adding to his totals though,
he's back in Chicago.

Goaltender of the Month: Nothing like perfection to get noticed. Providence's
John Grahame was 8-0-0 for the month, posting a 2.82 GAA and an .890 save
percentage in the nine games he appeared in. While Grahame was yanked from one
game, the P-Bruins came back to win and get him off the hook. Grahame hasn't lost a
game since December 26, with 16 straight wins despite the occasional mid-game
departure.

Plus/Minus Player of the Month: The overall leader in plus/minus this season
is a Providence Bruin, Antti Laaksonen. The winner of the monthly award for February
is a Providence Bruin, but not Laaksonen. Terry Virtue wins the award after
posting a +15 in 13 Bruins games during February. That brings Virtue's overall rating to +30, still behind Laaksonen's +34.

The Battle For Quebec: After the failure of the Nordiques and the Rafales,
one would think Quebec City and Le Colise� wouldn't be attractive to a new team.
Instead, two groups fought over who gets to put an AHL team there. Jean-Paul Boily's
group was the first interested and had strong backing from the Ottawa Senators, with
whom they had completed an affiliation deal. Polls indicated about two-thirds of the fans in QC would support a Senators farm team there.

Conversely, Jacques Tanguay's group didn't get an agreement with Montreal until late
February and the fans haven't gotten over their dislike for the Canadiens. But Tanguay is close to a deal with Molson for sponsorship and already owns a Le Colise� tenant, the Quebec Remparts. Once the agreement with Montreal was set, Tanguay got his team
and Freddie lost theirs, apparently guaranteeing the AHL will be in Quebec City next
season. The Senators have already started their next plan for the dormant franchise they own - a farm team in the Corel Centre. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, the Adirondack Red Wings are toast. The ownership group of both the
Detroit and Adirondack Wings is in the process of building a nice new arena in
Rossford, a suburb of Toledo, and will move the baby Wings there as soon as the arena
is finished. That could be as soon as 2000-2001. That would also put the Red Wings'
AHL and ECHL affiliates in the same city. Could be interesting to see which one draws
better.

Messin' With Success: Two teams that had a good thing going in the net
voluntarily ended it. The only goaltender who's been healthy or consistent for Portland all season is Joaquin Gage, who also happened to be the only Portland goaltender not under contract to Washington. Gage was released when the other goalies were finally healthy, but fear not, he landed with the Providence Bruins. Yes, that is correct. The Boston Bruins, seeing the sterling tandem of Jim Carey and John Grahame in net, and seeing how Carey was in the top five in most AHL goaltending categories, put him on waivers and bought out the last two years of his contract. Carey was signed by the goalie-short St. Louis Blues hours after clearing waivers.


And The Rest...: Hartford's Vladimir Vorobiev had a twelve game point
streak...

Cincinnati set a franchise record for attendance Feb. 21, drawing 8,241...

The second overtime game under the new rules featured the first four-on-three power
play - and it resulted in a win for St. John's, as Lonny Bohonos' power-play goal in
overtime put them up over Fredericton 3-2 on Feb. 22...

The next night the two teams repeated their performances, with St. John's picking up a
5-4 victory in OT this time. Jason Podollan finished a hat trick 1:46 into overtime for a win and his AHL-leading 38th goal...

Saint John picked up a 5-2 win against Lowell Feb. 23 as Greg Pankewicz had two goals
and an assist...

While Adirondack's ECHL acquisition Xavier Majic had been racking up the assists, he
didn't get a goal until Feb. 24. That was the game-winner for the Red Wings, who
defeated Springfield 4-3...

Another OT game in the new system and another decision. Albany beat Syracuse 3-2 on
a Richard Rochefort goal early in overtime on Feb. 24...

Landon Wilson scored two goals but it was Shawn Bates' unassisted shortie that was the
game-winner as Providence knocked off Hartford 6-5 Feb. 24. The Bruins spotted the
'pack three goals before mounting a comeback...

Fredericton came out ahead of Saint John Feb. 25 by a score of 5-2, with Scott King
picking up three points...

Kentucky picked up several protests of their 'Wieners on Ice' intermission promotion on
Feb. 26. Apparently a lot of people thought having a half dozen dachshunds 'race' was
cruel. There were no protests lodged against the second intermission baby race, however, and both promotions went on as scheduled...

Mark Greig registered a hat trick plus an assist as the Phantoms defeated Adirondack 5-2 on Feb. 26. Peter White assisted on all of Greig's goals, plus scored one of his own...

Also notching a hat trick that night was Providence's Shawn Bates, who scored two of his shorthanded as the baby Bruins also won by a 5-2 score over Worcester...

Kentucky's dachshund race went off without a hitch, but the game was hitched by
Springfield's Joe Dziedzic who scored two goals as the Falcons beat their hosts 4-2...

Hamilton won their fourth straight on Feb. 26, beating Syracuse 4-2 as Craig Millar had a three point night for the Bulldogs...

For the second time in a week, the Albany River Rats defeated Rochester by that all
popular score of 4-2 on Feb. 26. Eric Bertrand scored two for the Rats...

Cincinnati defeated Hershey 2-1 compliments of Ivan Ciernik's successful penalty shot
against David Aebischer...

Another 2-1 score Feb. 27 as Fredericton's Jose Theodore was less than three minutes
away from blanking the Maple Leafs...

Another day, another hat trick. Saint John's Hnat Domenichelli picked up one and Chris
Clark added his own pair as the Flames beat Portland 6-3. Martin St. Louis set up all of Domenichelli's goals...

Hershey won over Kentucky in overtime 5-4 Feb. 27 on Mike Gaul's OT winner. Chris
Armstrong and Christian Matte had three points each...

Providence finally lost a game, just their third in thirty games, when Lowell beat them 3-1 on Feb. 27...

Cincinnati was also an overtime winner, getting a goal in the first minute of OT from
Jeff Winter to top Springfield 3-2 Feb. 27. It was Winter's first point of the season...

Scott Roche came close to a shutout but settled for a mere 5-1 win over Hartford Feb.
27...

A wild one between St. John's and Portland Feb. 28, as seven goals were scored in the
third period. The Leafs' four goals gave them the 7-5 victory...

Hamilton's Mike Minard joined the team Jan. 27 when Tim Thomas quit. Minard won
his fourth straight game for the Bulldogs Feb. 28, stopping 48 of 50 shots...

Philadelphia thought they were going to win. Kentucky had other ideas and scored two
late goals for a 3-3 tie, keeping the T-Blades one point ahead of the Phantoms. Steve
Guolla set up all of Kentucky's goals...

Attendance for the game at the First Union Centre was 19,524, second best attendance
in AHL history. The Phantoms were trying to top 20,000 and get the number one spot...

Dane Jackson scored two for Lowell but New Haven came back for a 2-2 tie on Feb.
28...

Hartford took a 3-0 lead into the third period against Providence but blew it, allowing the Bruins to tie and then letting Randy Robitaille win it in OT. The Wolfpack played with only 13 skaters in the game...

Rochester blew a 3-1 lead, giving up a natural hat trick to Martin St. Louis and thus a 4-3 lead to Saint John. But Mike Hurlbut scored less than six seconds left to leave the teams tied at 4...

Portland's Jean-Pierre Dumont also picked up a hat trick Feb. 28 against St. John's, but Portland still lost the game 7-5...

The Hershey Bears are suing the UHL's Muskegon Fury. The Bears loaned Rod Hinks
to the Fury in the 96-97 season, but Muskegon never reimbursed Hershey for their part
of Hinks' salary...

Only Providence has won more road games than the Beast of New Haven...

Nothing like the last .02 seconds of the game. That's when Joe Dziedzic scored the
game-winning goal for Springfield in their 3-2 victory over Saint John Mar. 3...

Rob Shearer and Christian Matte combined for the three goals as Hershey defeated
Albany 5-3 on Mar. 3. The pair have 36 points in their last 11 games...

The borrowed Bujar Amidovski won his first game for the Phantoms, stopped 30 shots
for a 3-2 win over New Haven Mar. 3...

Worcester tends to outshoot opponents. For instance, outshooting Portland on Mar. 3
55-27. Oh yeah, Portland's Martin Brochu stopped all 55. Meanwhile Benoit Gratton had
a hat trick and Ryan VandenBussche had a pair of goals as the Pirates proceeded to
lambast the IceCats 8-0...

Saint John lost by a 3-2 score again on Mar. 4, but with four minutes left this time. Erik Rasmussen scored the game-winner for Rochester...

Jean-Francois Jomphe was involved in all three Springfield goals, including scoring the game-winner, as the Falcons beat Fredericton 3-1 Mar. 4...

The Phantoms got a point out of Fredericton when Richard Park tied the game with just
36 seconds left in regulation Mar. 5. The game ended 3-3...

St. John's outshot Lowell 34 to 20 Mar. 5, but it was the Monsters who got the 2-1 win...

Alexander Boikov scored two goals for Kentucky as they defeated Adirondack 3-2 Mar.
5. It was the T-Blades' first win in five games...

Worcester made reparations for the Portland blowout with a 5-2 win over Hartford Mar.
5. Jochen Hecht had two goals for the IceCats, while Tyson Nash and Stephane Roy had
three points each...

New Haven got a shorthanded goal from Pat Mikesch in the third period to earn a 2-2
tie with the Pirates...

Lowell's Mike Kennedy scored in overtime as the Lock Monsters beat St. John's by a 3-2
score for the second game in a row Mar. 6. The game went to OT when Mike Mader
scored with 34 seconds left in regulation...

Mike Gaul had his first two goal game in over a year but it wasn't enough. Rochester
beat Hershey 5-3 Mar. 6 on a three goal first period...

Syracuse won for only the second time in 19 games - against division leader Kentucky.
The Crunch dropped the T-Blades 6-2 on five power play goals, two from Josh Holden...

Adirondack's Ryan Tobler scored late in regulation Mar. 6 to give the Wings a 3-2 win
over Cincinnati...

Providence goaltender John Grahame set a new AHL record Mar. 7, winning his 19th
straight game to break Mike Dunham's record. The Bruins beat Fredericton 5-4 on a
couple of goals from Shawn Bates...

Kentucky gave back to Syracuse Mar. 7, winning 5-3 as Steve Guolla and Matt Bradley
scored 10 seconds apart in the last minute of the game...

Brad Smyth, Vladimir Vorobiev and Derek Armstrong all had three points for the
WolfPack against New Haven as Hartford won 6-3...

Mike Gaul scored an overtime game-winner for the second time in eight days, this time
getting a power play goal with 51 seconds left against Cincinnati Mar. 7...

Also getting an OT game-winner that day was Worcester's Lubos Bartecko, to give the
IceCats a 5-4 win over Adirondack. Jan Horacek had three points...


================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Rob Ftorek 
   
Roster: C - Bobby Holik, Bob Carpenter, Denis Pederson, Petr
Sykora, Jason Arnott, Sergei Brylin, Brendan Morrison. LW - Dave
Andreychuk, Brian Rolston, Scott Daniels, Jay Pandolfo, Sasha 
Lakovic. RW - Patrik Elias, Randy McKay, Vadim Sharifijanov,
Krzysztof Oliwa. D - Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken
Daneyko, Lyle Odelein, Kevin Dean, Sheldon Souray, Brad
Bombardir, Ken Sutton. G - Martin Brodeur, Chris Terreri.

Injuries: None.

Transactions: None.

Game Results:
2/28 Phoenix         W 4-1
3/03 at Toronto      W 5-2
3/05 Boston          L 4-1
3/07 at NY Islanders W 4-2

TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

We still don't have a New Jersey correspondent.  If you want the
gig, you're 
gonna have to write and let me know.  I mean, I'm a good guesser,
but my talents 
only go so far.  I can only do so much.  Meet me half way. 
Thanks.

Now a Haiku...

<center>
Scott Stevens is good, 
He'll be featured next issue, 
Have you seen my pants?

</center>
Thank you.  Thank you very much.  My book of Haikus, entitled
"Haikus? I Got Your 
Haikus Right Here," can be purchased at better bookstores
everywhere.  Ask for it.  

Peace out.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Bill Stewart
   
Roster: C - Robert Reichel, Trevor Linden, Bryan Smolinski, 
Claude Lapointe, Sergei Nemchinov, Craig Janney. LW - Mike Watt,
Mike Hough, Ted Donato, Gino Odjick. RW - Zigmund Palffy, Joe
Sacco, Mariusz Czerkawski, Kevin Miller, Mark Lawrence, Steve
Webb. D - Kenny Jonsson, Richard Pilon, Eric Brewer, David
Harlock, Barry Richter, Zdeno Chara, Ted Crowley. G - Felix
Potvin, Tommy Salo, Wade Flaherty. 

Injuries: Felix Potvin, g (groin strain, 4-6 weeks);  Gino
Odjick, lw (abdominal surgery, season).

Transactions:  Traded Scott Lachance, d, to Montreal for a 3rd
Rounder. (Like, Yay. Huge deal.)

Game Results
2/25 Toronto         L 4-1  
2/27 Detroit         W 3-1  
3/02 Ottawa          L 4-2  
3/04 Dallas          L 3-2 OT
3/06 at Philadelphia T 3-3 
3/07 New Jersey      L 4-2
3/09 Philadelphia    T 3-2

TEAM NEWS by David Strauss

In a season that has seen Hoistgate, holdouts, and horrible
hockey, it seemed the Islanders at least had some hope for the
future in new coach Bill Stewart, who has righted the sinking
ship and made the team respectable the last few weeks.

Now it turns out that Stewart may not stick around long enough to
finish the job.

Though Stewart led the Isles to a 6-9-6 record in his first 21
games, 17 against playoff teams, he may not want to continue if
the Islanders ownership doesn't show a commitment to winning.

Stewart, 41, hasn't made any strong comments either way, but
after GM Mike Milbury gave him a vote of confidence for next
season, Stewart said cryptically, "We'll see where we go." 

The New York Post has reported that Stewart has told a friend he
will not come back to the Isles next season unless he knows
management and ownership are committed to winning, committed to
spending some money in the off-season. 

If Stewart leaves the Isles, it will cast a greater cloud over
the floundering franchise, but he will no doubt land on his feet. 
After winning the AHL Coach of the Year last season with the St.
John Flames, Stewart was offered the job in Florida last summer
before Calgary demanded a first-round pick as compensation. 

According to sources, when Stewart was promoted from assistant
Jan. 21, Stewart and president David Seldin agreed to meet again
in two months to discuss his future.  Stewart apparently made
this promise on a handshake. 


Initial reports emanating from the organization that Stewart
received a raise to $240,000 were greatly exaggerated. That
figure still would've made Stewart the lowest-paid coach in the
league, below Calgary's Brian Sutter ($278,000). 

However, New York papers are reporting that the Islanders were
only willing to bump Stewart from his $120,000 assistant's salary
to a pro-rated $140,000. Stewart has refused to publicly comment
on his salary.

But salary is not the main issue as Stewart decided whether to
stay with the Isles, but the question of whether New York Sports
Ventures is willing to make the effort to putting a winning team
on the ice.

Certain, Stewart has shown he can coach in the NHL.  The team he
inherited was in an 0-10-1 slide, and the Isles have been
competitive against the league's elite teams, Dallas, New Jersey,
and Philadelphia, in recent games.  

Whether Stewart will get the chance to show what he can do with a
full season is, it appears, up to him.

****

Trade rumors are swirling around the Isles.  The only
untouchables, according to GM Mike Milbury, are defensemen Kenny
Jonsson, Eric Brewer, and Zdeno Chara.  Yes, he didn't mention
Ziggy Palffy.  But don't expect to see Palffy dealt, not when
he's locked up in a relatively affordable contract.  The
following players, however, shouldn't be buying any Long Island
homes in the next two weeks, as some or all of them might be
moved: Trevor Linden, Robert Reichel, Bryan Smolinski, Mariusz
Czerkawski, Craig Janney, and Tommy Salo.   

Another year of rebuilding lies ahead, it seems.


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NEW YORK RANGERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: John Muckler

Rosters:  C - Wayne Gretzky, Manny Malhotra, Petr Nedved, Marc
Savard.  LW - Brent Fedyk, Adam Graves, Darren Langdon, Kevin
Stevens, Eric Lacroix.  RW - Todd Harvey, Mike Knuble, John
MacLean, Niklas Sundstrom, Mike Maneluk.  D - Jeff Beukeboom,
Brian Leetch, Stan Neckar, Peter Popovic, Ulf Samuelsson, Mathieu
Schneider, Ruman Ndur, Chris Tamer, Rich Brennan.  G - Mike
Richter, Dan Cloutier.

Injuries: Wayne Gretzky, c (protrusion of the vertibrate 2-4
weeks); Ulf Samuelsson, d (concussion, day to day); Jeff
Beukeboom, d (concussion, indefinite); Peter Popovic, d (eye,
day-to-day); Todd Harvey, c (thumb, day-to-day).

Transactions: Mike Maneluk, rw, claimed off waivers from Chicago
Blackhawks.

Game Results:
2/26  Phoenix        W 3-0
2/28  Philadelphia   W 6-5
3/02  Dallas         T 2-2
3/04  at Washington  W 4-2
3/07  at Boston      W 3-1

TEAM NEWS by Gregg Jensen
 
SPARK IT UP!    
For two seasons, they have been billed as the worst team that
money could buy. Suddenly, pulling together despite an avalanche
of injuries, the Rangers have become scrappy underdogs.
They are finally playing with emotion.  Maybe that's due to
desperation, maybe due to the loss of Wayne Gretzky, or maybe it'
because there are only 19 games left and they are fighting for
their playoff lives.  

Whatever the reason, they are playing like a team on a mission. 
They are 4-0-1 in their last five.  It seems like they are
starting to gel...finally.  Adam Graves, in his option year, 
continues to tear it up as he notched his 31st goal of the year
against Washington on Thursday.  He is a workhorse that is nearly
impossible to knock off the puck.  Mike Richter continues to
stand on his head every night, and Brian Leetch is logging 30+
minutes a game in what could be a Norris Trophy season for the
Captain.  The veterans are starting to lead this team forward. 
If Neil Smith can continue to stay away from making any deals
that would disrupt the chemistry, this team will be the 8th seed. 

WAYNE'S WOES
The Great One's misses his first game as a Blueshirt. 
Gretzky finally gave in to a nagging neck and back problem. An
MRI discovered that he has a protrusion between the 5th and 6th
vertebrate.  Gretzky is on the shelf for the first in 223
straight games, including 222 since becoming a Ranger. 
 
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
I applaud John Muckler's decision to play the younger guys.  The
Rangers have cut their average age from 30 this time last year to
25.  Manny Malhotra, Marc Savard, Christian Dube, Scott Frasier,
and Rich Brennan have all provided a much needed spark. Malhotra
and Savard have really stepped up in Gretzky's absence.  The team
finally seems to have the right mix of veterans and youth.  They
are still a player or two away from being a legitimate contender,
but the infusion of youth looks to be just what the doctor
ordered.

TOUGH ROAD TO HOE
The Blueshirts have five games in eight days, including one
against Washington and one against Boston.  It's do or die for
this team.  Can they continue to hold it together despite all the
injuries?  We shall see.  Hopefully, the report I file in two
weeks will be filled with talk about who the Rangers will play in
the first round of the playoffs. Out of the 19 remaining games on
the schedule, 13 are against .500+ teams.  No easy task at all.  
             
           
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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Roger Neilson

Roster: C - Rod Brind'Amour, Marc Bureau, , Daymond Langkow, Eric
Lindros. LW - Colin Forbes, Dan Kordic, John LeClair, Roman
Vopat, Valeri Zelepukin. RW - Jody Hull, Keith Jones, Mikael
Renberg, Dainius Zubrus. D - Dave Babych, Adam Burt, Eric
Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Dan McGillis, Luke Richardson, Chris
Therien, Dmitri Tertyshny. G - Ron Hextall, Jean-Marc Pelletier,
John Vanbiesbrouck.

Injuries: Eric Desjardins, d (stomach flu, day to day).

Transactions: Traded Andrei Kovalenko, rw, to Carolina in
exchange for Adam Burt, d.

Game results:
02/24 at Florida    L 5-3
02/26 at Tampa Bay  L 4-1
02/28 at Rangers    L 6-5
03/02 at Montreal   L 4-1
03/04 Ottawa        L 5-0
03/06 Islanders     T 3-3
03/07 at Buffalo    T 1-1

TEAM NEWS by Chuck Michio

UGH
Will the Flyers EVER win again?


I'm not one for mincing words. The Flyers suck with a capital
"S." Their defense is in shambles, their goalies look like
they're playing dodge ball, and their stars are as lethargic as
fat people after lunch at the Super Bar.

How bad are things in Flyersland? Bad enough that their most
talented prospect, goaltending prodigy goalie Jean-Marc
Pelletier, had to be prematurely summoned to the parent club in a
desperate last-ditch attempt to stop the bleeding between the
pipes. He failed, but it was hardly his fault. General Custer
faced better odds.

Normally a top prospect would be disappointed to be sent back to
the AHL after just one game, but considering the way the Flyers
played in front of Pelletier, he probably returned to the
Phantoms skipping and whistling "Happy Days Are Here Again."

Flyers Coach Roger Neilson sounds like another guy who wishes he
could go somewhere else. He can't, so he did the next best thing,
he sent his players away. After watching his club get shellacked
5-0 by the Senators last Thursday, Neilson uttered the classic
quote, "I told them I don't want to see them until Saturday." I
can certainly understand how he felt.

Predictably, Bob Clarke responded to the carnage by shipping out
another malingerer, this time recently acquired Andrei Kovalenko.
Goodbye, Andrei, we hardly knew ye.

In exchange for Kovalenko, Clarke got Adam Burt, a consistent but
unspectacular defenseman. As a service to dedicated readers of
this column, I've prepared the following in-depth scouting report
on the newest Flyer.

Some d-men have great shots. Others are tremendous playmakers.
Some, like Paul Coffey, have great wheels. Adam Burt has a
similar distinguishing trait. He has a gigantic nose.

I'm not kidding, Flyers fans. It's really, really, REALLY big.
Big like a beak.

Other than that, he's pretty much your generic NHL defenseman.

Yeah, that's what you needed, Clarkie. As if having Rod
Brind'Amour didn't already take care of the nose thing.

RESTART THE CHELIOS WATCH?
What the Flyers really need is a potential monster on the blue
line. And despite the fact that he's a jackass, he doesn't want
to leave the Blackhawks, and he told Bob Clarke to "shut up,"
Chris Chelios may yet be joining the Flyers.

The deal looked dead a couple weeks ago, but that was before
Hawks scout Dale Tallon began following the Flyers around like a
lost puppy. As further evidence that something may be in the
works, Flyers scout Al Hill is presently training his eyes on
Chicago.

Apparently, Chicago offered Chelios to the Flyers for Dainius
Zubrus and Chris Gratton at the beginning of the season, but
Clarke said "no thanks." That was then, this is now. Look for
Trader Bob to do what he has to do, probably part with Dainius
Zubrus and another player, perhaps the suddenly brain-dead Karl
Dykhuis or disappointing Colin Forbes.

Will it really help?

Damn right it would. I hate Chelios more than Celine Dion, the
commies, and old people in the passing lane, but he'd bring some
defensive stability, a history of strong clutch play, and some
much needed attitude and leadership to the orange and black.

As if that isn't enough, it's also possible that he could lift
his play back to All-Star level in Philly. Guys his age aren't
supposed to log 30 minutes of ice time a game, but that's exactly
what he has to do on a terrible Blackhawk squad. With the Flyers,
he could give 100% for 20 minutes instead of 75% for 30.

In short, he's the man for the job. Let's hope Clarke can get the
job done.

KUDOS TO LANGKOW
Daymond Langkow is not a big guy, a tough guy, or a scary guy.
Fortunately for the Flyers, that didn't stop him from trying to
kick the hell out of Bill Berg against Ottawa last Thursday
night.

How good was it to see a Flyer with a little fight in him? A
Flyer who wasn't happy about getting pummeled. A Flyer with some
pride.

Pretty sad, isn't it? Once upon a time, no one, NO ONE could beat
the Flyers in Philly without unleashing a gigantic can of
whoop-ass on themselves. Teams that escaped with victories also
left with swollen eyes, bloody noses, and the knowledge that the
Flyers would never, EVER accept defeat.

Those days are gone. Ottawa destroyed the Flyers, embarrassed
their promising rookie goalie, and laughed and had a gay old time
throughout. It would make a normal person sick, and an old-time
Flyer kill, but most of the current crew were content to sit
impassively on the bench with stupid looks on their faces and
hometown boos raining down on their heads.

Not Daymond Langkow. He did what any person with a heart would
do. He grabbed one of those smirking, Canadian squirrels and
attempted to lay the smack down on him. God bless him for it.

Losing sucks. I'm glad at least one Flyer realizes that.

PELLETIER STILL PROMISING
Don't be misled by Jean-Marc Pelletier's sacrificial lamb cameo
appearance in the Flyers net last week-the kid is for real.

The line score says five goals in 60 minutes, but that hardly
tells the story. Prior to the embarrassingly shaggy final two
minutes, Pelletier showed a ton of promise, particularly on a
dazzling glove save on a blistering one-timer from between the
circles. The youngster also displayed remarkable side-to-side
quickness, all the more impressive considering his monstrous
size.

Unless the Flyers advance deep into the playoffs this year, look
for Pelletier to take over the number one goaltender role next
season. In other words, look for Pelletier to take over the
number one goaltender role next season. You heard it here first.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Kevin Constantine
     
Roster:  C - Martin Straka, Robert Lang, Jan Hrdina, Tyler
Wright. LW - German Titov, Stu Barnes, Kip Miller, Ian Moran, Dan
Kesa.  RW - Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Aleksey Morozov, Robby
Brown, Martin Sonnenberg. D - Darius Kasparaitis, Kevin Hatcher,
Brad Werenka, Jiri Slegr, Bobby Dollas, Neil Wilkinson, Jeff
Serowik, Victor Ignatjev, Maxim Galanov. G - Tom Barrasso, Peter
Skudra, Jean-Sebastien Aubin.   

Injuries: Darius Kasparaitis, d (knee, indefinite); Kevin
Hatcher, d (broken foot, 3-4 weeks); Tom Barrasso, g (broken
right hand, 4-6 weeks); Jeff Serowik, d (concusison, day-to-day);
Victor Ignatjev, d (shoulder, indefinite).  

Transactions: None.

Game Results
2/28 at Washington  L 4-3
3/03 Montreal       T 4-4
3/05 Edmonton       T 2-2
3/07 Colorado       L 3-1

TEAM NEWS by Jerry Fairish

This article is going to be a little short this issue.  The
reason for this is that I have been quite busy over the last
couple of weeks and have not had a lot of time to write.  I can
mention that I did see the Pens play the Colorado Avalanche on
Sunday afternoon at the Igloo.  Unfortunately, the Arctic Birds
came up a little bit short and the Lanche managed a 3-1 win.

Goaltender Peter Skudra had the opportunity to become a hero
Sunday, but instead he let up a weak goal to Milan Hejduk that
really turned the tide of the game and took any momentum the
Penguins may have had.  The Pens had a 1-0 lead going into the
third period thanks to a goal by Martin Straka in the first. 
However, early in the first period, Joe Sakic, Michael Dell's
all-time hero, successfully tipped a shot under Skudra to tie the
game 1-1.  Later on in the third, Milan Hejduk skated over the
blue line to the top of the right circle and threw a really weak
wrist shot on goal that miraculously found its way to the back of
the net and the Avalanche took the lead and never looked back. 
Claude Lemieux finished Colorado's scoring with an empty-netter.  

The Pens are still in the boat they have been in all season long;
they do not have any depth at the goaltending position.  Tom
Barrasso is hurt every other game giving Skudra the opportunity
to prove he's a winner.  However, Skudra doesn't possess the
skills it takes to be a quality starter in the NHL.  Like I
mentioned in the previous issue, he's just too small and frankly
he's uh, well...too small.  Now while I was at the game Sunday, I
got a hold of one of the programs with the players' heights and
weights.  Peter Skudra was listed in at 6' 1", 185 pounds.  If
Peter Skudra is 6' 1", then I'm 6' 5", oh wait I am 6' 5".  Well
if Peter Skudra is 6' 1", then I'm at least 6' 6".  There!

Friday, February 26, 1999: The Challenge Heard 'Round the
World!
As the entire staff (all five or six of us) sat at Buffalo Wild
Wings in Greensburg, PA this Friday night, we were involved with
our normal game of bar trivia.  This game in particular featured
Candy Ass, a team captained by one Michael Dell, that also
featured Matt Secosky, Lance Miller, and Bernie Dominiak.  They
were challenged by the Great Team, the Team of Winners, The Team
to End All Teams...Rudypoo.  Rudypoo was of course led by yours
truly.  I had "help" from the likes of Zippy the Wonder Chimp,
Ace Reporter Jim Iovino, and Chris Geffel.  

Now somehow Candy Ass managed to squeak out a victory over
Rudypoo in the first game of the evening.  Their celebration
wouldn't last long.  Rudypoo came storming back and took the next
three games.  That's right, three games in a row.  No doubt we
dominated that bunch of slackers.  Did I mention we won three
games in a row?  I thought I did, but I was just making sure.  

Losing three games in a row will drive anyone crazy, well not
anyone, just the likes of your Editor-in-Chief, Michael P. Dell. 
It seems Mike Dell can't take somebody making him look like the
buffoon that he is.  Did I say that out loud?  Anyway...

Mike Dell issued to me the Challenge Heard 'Round the World, "I
will beat your a** at Trivial Pursuit!"  Now obviously I laughed
hysterically at such a silly challenge, considering the fact that
I had just about single-handedly beat Delly three games in a row. 
three games in a row.  Dell then says, "Next Friday you against
me."  I decided to humor him and accept the challenge.  

Friday March 5, 1999: The Bell Was Answered!
Mike Dell decided to talk trash all week about how he was going
to kick my tail and so on and so-forth.  Blah, blah, blah! 
Anyway, we started of the first game with Mike Dell, myself, and
my girlfriend Kris playing.  Now Mike Dell, I will admit, won the
first game.  BUT...I must put this on record...I was cheated out
of a pie piece on the Entertainment question, thus losing to Mike
Dell 6 pieces to 5.  I want to make it known that I should have
won the game, but was ripped-off due to a technicality in my
answer.  

Game Two: Mike Dell VS. Jerry Fairish: One on One, The Showdown,
Armageddon.  I started off by answering 162 question in a row. 
That number may be slightly exaggerated but I'm just trying to
get my point across.  Dell came back with two straight answers.
Two in a row for Dell is pretty good.  Anyway, the game continued
and I easily won 6 pieces to 4.  6 TO 4!!!!  It wasn't even
close.  So no matter what your genius editor may say, I won
straight up!  He wanted to go one on one with the Great One.  HE
LOST!  I'm the most electrifying man in trivial entertainment
today.

We played a third game with everyone participating, and once
again Mike Dell proved victorious. When it came down to it, Mike
Dell could not handle the pressure, he couldn't handle the man,
he's yella, he folded, he was beat by the best...me!
 

(EDITOR'S NOTE:  True, Jerry did win one of the three games. 
But I was just trying to make it fun.  And the version of Trivial
Pursuit he has is all gay.  I actually think five out of every
six questions wears leather chaps.  Every time there was a
legitimate, intelligent question that truly tested the extent of
a man's knowledge, I was all over it.  Meanwhile, Jerry answered
every gay question this side of "Come here often?"  I mean, is it
my fault I don't own John Tesh's Christmas album?  

And I still took two out of three with ease.  In fact, I don't
even think I used the right side of my brain all night.  There is
not a person alive that knows more about nothing than I do. 
Believe it.)
  
=================================================================
  
================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHEASTERN DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BOSTON BRUINS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Pat Burns

Roster: C - Jason Allison, Anson Carter, Joe Thornton, Tim
Taylor.  LW - Sergei Samsonov, Ken Baumgartner, Rob
Dimaio, Peter Ferraro, Ken Belanger, Landon Wilson. RW - Dimitri
Khristich, Steve Heinze, Per Johan Axelsson, Cameron Mann, Randy
Robitaille. D - Ray Bourque, Don Sweeney, Dave Ellett, Kyle
McLaren, Hal Gill, Darren Van Impe, Grant Ledyard, Mattias
Timander, Brandon Smith. G - Byron Dafoe, Rob Tallas.

Injuries: Darren Van Impe, d (shoulder separation, indefinite);
Mattias Timander, d (shoulder, day-to-day).

Transactions: Recalled Landon Wilson, lw, and Brandon Smith, d,
from Providence (AHL).

Game Results
2/27 Washington    W 4-3
3/02 Phoenix       W 3-2
3/03 at Carolina   L 2-1
3/05 at New Jersey W 4-1
3/07 NY Rangers    L 3-1

TEAM NEWS by Matt Brown

First things first. If all this column's predictions were as bad
as the one made before the Chicago game, then the Bruins really
will win a Stanley Cup before Ray Bourque retires.  This resident
boob figured that the Bruins losing skid would continue against
the Blackhawks, but just the opposite happened. The Bruins went
on a tear, not losing at all while this fan and alleged columnist
was on vacation in the Caribbean.  

Unfortunately, vacations end, and so do winning streaks.  The
Bruins have lost two out of three games since then. So if any of
the more superstitious readers out there would like to pledge
cash to the "Send Matt on another cruise vacation for the rest of
the NHL season" Fund, to ensure that the Bruins make the
playoffs, all contributions would be welcome.

The Bruins won that Chicago game 6-3, with Dimitri Khristich's
first hat trick as a Bruin, and the first NHL goal from rookie
Cameron Mann. Dirk Graham, then the Chicago coach, commented that
being outplayed in your own building was unacceptable, and
apparently management agreed, as Graham was relieved of his
duties soon after.  The Bruins brought up Cameron Mann a
while back, but he didn't seem to catch on.  This trip, however,
Mann started to click when paired with Joe Thornton.

Then the Bruins went to Kanata, or whatever they call that place
where the Ottawa Senators really play, and handed a 5-2 whuppin'
to the best team in the east.  Mann had two more goals, both
assisted by Thornton, and Khristich had two more assists. More
importantly, the Bruins solved goalie Ron Tugnutt, who has been a
tough nut for them to crack over the years. The Tugger let up
three goals in the first and was replaced at the start of
the second by Damian Rhodes, who didn't fare much better.

To top it off, the Bruins had a comeback tie against the New
Jersey Devils, who had also manhandled them in their last
meeting.  This time, it was Cameron Mann doing the manhandling,
as he scored at 18:19 of the third to force the tie. Byron Dafoe
was the difference though, as the Bruins were outshot 39-28,
with a 15-7 New Jersey bulge in the third period.

Next came a win over Washington, with Khristich, Jason Allison,
and Anson Carter scoring four goals against their old mates,
going 3-for-5 on the power play.  Byron Dafoe evened his record
at 19-19-8, so that he was no longer the best goalie in the NHL
with a losing record.  He frustrated a 36-19 shot advantage for
the Caps, also his old team, leaving the lowly Caps to wonder
what might have been. 

Next the Bruins beat the road-slumping Phoenix Coyotes, barely,
as P.J. Axelsson had a goal and an assist in the third period,
and Robbie DiMaio scored his first goal in about a decade (well,
more like a month).  Cameron Mann scored his fifth goal in five
games, and Boston fans were saying "Where have I heard that name
before?  Cameron?"

Then the vacation ended.  A day later, a dreadful 2-1 loss
against the Hurricanes, and the Bruins have had a 1-2-0 record
since then.  Byron Dafoe was blameless, as both shots were
killers by unchecked players in the slot, and the Bruins' offense
was aimless, with only an Anson Carter goal in the first finding
its way past Arturs Irbe in the Carolina net.

After a lackluster effort against the 'Canes, the Bruins went
into New Jersey and tromped all over the Devils, winning 4-1,
playing their best 60 minutes of hockey all season. The Bs were
led by two first-period goals from defensemen Kyle McLaren and
Grant Ledyard, and an insurance empty-netter by Anson Carter.  

So the Bruins optimistically went against the New York Rangers
with a four-point lead for the eighth and final playoff spot. 
Simply put, they were stoned by Mike Richter in a 3-1 loss.
Boston outshot the Rangers 38-18, but as the Bruins proved
earlier in the week, shot totals do not get you points in the
standings. The worst touch was having Kevin Stevens, ex-Bruin
whipping boy, score the winning goal. 

The highlight of the game came when Ken Belanger boarded Ulf
Samuelsson from behind in the first, rendering the Ulfster
unconscious. When Ulfie awoke, he was looking around and seeing
20 Cam Neelys, and the hometown Boston crowd booed the fact that
he was able to leave the ice under his own power. It's great to
be loved.  Ulf left the game with a concussion, and in
need of stitches from a long cut on his face where his shield was
driven into his cheek.  Belanger was assessed a five-minute major
and a game misconduct for hitting from behind.  Belanger was not
particularly contrite, saying essentially that Ulf turned the
wrong way.  Ulf didn't get a lot of sympathy from the NHL
offices, either, because he was on the giving end of so many
questionable hits of his own over the years.  Heck, when your
former coach from last year, Colin Campbell, is the guy in charge
of meting out NHL justice, and Belanger doesn't get even a
one-game suspension, you definitely have a bad rep.

Overall, a 4-2-1 record over the last two weeks is hard to
complain about, compared to the previous stanza of 0-3. 
Unfortunately, the teams nipping on the Bruins' heels in the
playoff hunt did as well or better, so the Bruins find themselves
still tied for eighth going into Tuesday's game against Florida,
only the tie is with the Rangers, not the Panthers.

One of the trends in Boston professional sports seems to be to
give away star players and get nothing in return.  The Red Sox
have become proficient at this, letting both Roger Clemens and Mo
Vaughn walk away without getting so much as a pouch of Red Man in
exchange. The Patriots joined the Getaway Club by losing Curtis
Martin and Tom Tupa and Dave Walabaugh, two of them to the NY
Jets, who are rapidly approaching the hate level usually reserved
for the Yankees.

Not one to miss a trend, Harry Sinden decided to one-up the other
Boston sports teams in free agent futility. Harry, in his wisdom,
decided to PAY goalie Jim Carey to leave without compensation!
Trader Harry bought out the rest of the Net Detective's
multi-million dollar contract so he could jettison the young
fellow, who promptly signed on as a free agent with the
St. Louis Blues for no compensation. NADA! So in effect, the
Bruins paid Carey to leave. Not even a bag of pucks in return.

Now, we all know that trades aren't always what they seem. When
an All-Star gets traded for two fifth-round draft picks, you know
there are either favors owed, or future considerations,  or an
agreement to trade my mess for your mess. But couldn't the
Bruins, who clearly were not going to use Carey for anything
except expansion bait, and St. Louis, which has been about as
hurtin' for goaltending as a team can be (excepting perhaps
Calgary), have worked out a deal? Boston could have paid part of
Carey's salary (no more perhaps than the buyout) and gotten a
player or two in return from the Blues, even if only for
appearances sake?

Finally, an apology is in order. In writing of possible trades
the Bruins could make, I inadvertently confused Mats Sundin of
the Toronto Maple Leafs with his former Quebec Nordiques soulmate
Owen Nolan, who is indeed with the San Jose Sharks, and hopefully
will stay there.  The confusion was caused by years of watching
these two apparently talented players display, side-by-side,
approximately zero leadership and grit. Colorado won a Stanley
Cup seemingly minutes after trading these two (well, actually, it
was more than a year later, since Sundin was traded to the Leafs
in June 1994). Nolan is a big guy who plays soft for his size,
and has only been on a playoff team twice in his career. Getting
him was arguably the worst trade the San Jose Sharks have ever
made (sorry, Al Iafrate) because they gave up Sandis Ozolinsh to
get Nolan - it doesn't get more one-sided than that. Note that
the Sharks have hardly made the playoffs since. So the
meaning in the column was that Nolan should stay a Shark. Sundin
hasn't had the privilege.

However, Mats isn't exactly the Gordie Howe of the nineties
either - he has only been on three playoff teams (this year's
Toronto squad will make four).  While he is averaging better than
a point a game this year, and over his career, his limited
post-season play isn't up to that standard.  However, he is not
the loser he was portrayed as in the last column.  Still, the
Leafs can keep him.  Maybe subliminal references to the player
Bruins fans really want should be sprinkled liberally (Tony
Amonte) throughout articles like this to have a potential (Tony
Amonte) effect on the general manager.  Maybe if enough Bruins
fans chanted (Tony Amonte) at the games, at the dinner table, at
the Delaware North concession stands, on talk radio, on the T,
maybe Harry would hear the mantra of the great collective
unconscious.  Then, Harry will trade for Owen Nolan - he is a
"can't lose" proposition for Harry, because if Nolan stars in
Boston, Harry is a genius, and if Nolan crashes and burns, then
Nolan is a high-priced bum who took Harry's money on false
pretexts.  Did I mention Tony Amonte?

Thinking the unthinkable - the Bruins could end up as one of
those have-not teams, trading away players at the deadline, if
their play does not improve soon. The trading deadline is in
about two weeks, so when Pat Burns calls the upcoming games "the
week" it isn't too hard to read that as a two-edged sword
pointing right at some of his veteran players.  One of the guys
who would seem to be most vulnerable would be Dimitri Khristich,
if only because he has more playoff experience than most Bruins
forwards. Khristich has slumped some since the All-Star game,
though still leading the Bruins in goal scoring. He might be a
hot property for teams looking to add depth, if the Bruins miss
the cut.  Another might be Ken Baumgartner, if a contender
feels a little soft in the corners, or has an injured hit man at
the deadline.

One thing for sure - there isn't enough time left on the season
for Harry Sinden to bring back Steve Kasper to use as a
scapegoat.  If the Bruins miss the playoffs this year, it is not
a failure in coaching, nor is it a failure by the players, even
if some of them did not perform as well as last year.  Face it,
other teams got better, talent-wise, and the Bruins did not. 

This would be purely a management failure. It is management's
job, for example, to realize that more Eastern Conference teams
than ever before will miss the playoffs, because of the
unbalanced number of teams in the conferences (14 East vs 13
West).  Management must take responsibility for building a team
strong enough to withstand the changes, however unexpected,
in their competitors.  Toronto's management did so, getting
goalie Curtis Joseph and young defenseman Bryan Berard,
transforming their team into a contender. 

Boston, meanwhile, picked up Peter Ferraro and Ken Belanger,
hardly household names anywhere but in the Ferraro and Belanger
households.  Ferraro has been sent to the minors, and Belanger
doesn't get a regular shift many nights, so what has the brain
trust done to improve the team?  Heck, Curtis Joseph has five
assists for Toronto, more than Baumgartner and Belanger combined!

This is not a knock on the players on the team, or the guys
called up from Providence. The simple fact is that the Bruins do
not have the depth and skill to match up to the elite teams in
the league, and because of their relative inexperience, sometimes
they are overmatched by the middle of the pack teams as well.

The Bruins cannot sell out the FleetCenter regularly now, even
with price cuts and promotional discounts, even after having the
coach of the year and the rookie of the year last season. Think
about the cavernous echo of the FleetCenter all next year if the
Bruins are golfing in April.

Think of it this way, Harry: the fans would rather have you do
something than nothing. Fans look at the Kevin Stevens deal and
the Jim Carey deal and say, "They turned out to be stiffs!" But
they don't ever say, "Harry should have stood pat."  They
appreciated the attempt, because it gave them hope.  Have some
hope, Harry, even if you have to spend a little of Jeremy
Jacob's money to buy it. 


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BUFFALO SABRES
----------------------------------------------------------------- 
The Buffalo report didn't arrive in time for the text issue.  
You'll have to check the web.

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MONTREAL CANADIENS  
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Alain Vigneault
   
Roster: C - Saku Koivu, Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Trent
McLeary, Sergei Zholtok. LW - Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky,
Benoit Brunet, Terry Ryan, Brian Savage, Dave Morissette, Patrick
Poulin. RW - Mark Recchi, Turner Stevenson, Jonas Hoglund, Jason
Dawe. D - Vladimir Malakhov, Stephane Quintal, Patrice Brisebois,
Brett Clark, Miloslav Guren, Craig Rivet, Igor Ulanov, Eric
Weinrich, Alain Nasreddine. G - Frederic Chabot, Jeff Hackett.

Injuries: Benoit Brunet, lw (back spasms, day-to-day);           
Martin Rucinsky, lw (shoulder injury, undetermined).

Transactions: None.

Game Results  
02/25 at Ottawa      L 3-1
02/27  Ottawa        W 4-1    
03/02 Philadelphia   W 4-1
03/03 at Pittsburgh  T 4-4
03/06 Tampa Bay      L 6-1
03/08 Florida        L 5-2

TEAM NEWS by Jacques Robert

Analyze this... 'cause nobody can

After a humiliating 6-1 loss against Tampa Bay, Montreal had
definitely shattered all hopes of making it into the playoffs.
It's a team that has been difficult to figure out this season.
It's a team capable of the worst as well as the best. It's so
unexplainable that sports writers are out of words to analyze the
situation. It's a let's blame someone game: GM Houle, Corey, free
agents Damphousse and Recchi... is Vigneault's turn coming?

Needless to say that the dressing room was a quiet place after
the players were hit by lightning on Saturday March 5 and eaten
alive by the Panthers on March 8. The Habs' offense is almost
non-existent and defense is disorganized. It's just about the way
it has been all season long if you don't consider the couple of
winning weeks in December and January. Morale has been going up
and down like a yo-yo. After every win - like the one against
Philadelphia - everybody thought the team was back on track. Over
confidence, lack of respect for some opponents but mostly
weakness of character and lack of leadership explain the 25-31-8
record. 


So is the problem in the muscles or in the head?

After the loss against Florida defenseman Stephane Quintal said:
"I don't know, maybe we're a bunch of chokers. We got close to
where we wanted to be. We were two games under .500. But when it
came time to push further, we didn't do it." 

The Habs dropped to the 12th spot over the last week. Hope is
hard to come by in Montreal: The Canadiens would need at least a
record of 12-5-1 to make the playoffs... 

"I don't think anybody's packed it in," said Mark Recchi. "We
just haven't done what it takes." 

Does he know that the season is almost over? 

"We got lots of scoring chances in the first period. But when it
came time to face up to adversity we weren't able to," said
Montreal coach Alain Vigneault. 

Goalie Jeff Hackett had been keeping hope alive ever since he
arrived in Montreal. For a while he seemed to inspire his
teammates. But the unexplained negative feeling in the dressing
room must be catching. He has allowed 15 goals in his last three
games. Hackett seems discouraged. One man can't do it all. Where
are the defensemen when he needs them? Where are the big
important goals from guys like Recchi and Damphousse? 

Let's face it, the only places to see the Habs in May will be a
golf course or a psychiatrist's couch.  
                      

-----------------------------------------------------------------
OTTAWA SENATORS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Jacques Martin

Roster: C - Alexei Yashin, Vaclav Prospal, Radek Bonk, Shaun Van
Allen, Bruce Gardiner, Steve Martins. LW - Shawn McEachern,
Marian Hossa, Magnus Arvedson, Andreas Johansson. RW - Daniel
Alfredsson, Andreas Dackell, Chris Murray, Bill Berg. D - Lance
Pitlick, Patrick Traverse, Chris Phillips, Sami Salo, Wade
Redden, Jason York, Janne Laukkanen, Igor Kravchuk. G - Damian
Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt.

Injuries: Dec 12 - Lance Pitlick, bruised hip, athroscopic
surgery, 8-10 weeks; Jan 16 - Chris Murray, sprained left
knee/MCL, 8-10 weeks; Feb 20 - Chris Phillips, sprained right
ankle, 6 weeks; Feb 20 - Patrick Travese, separated shoulder, 4-6
weeks; Feb 23 - Steve Martins, hip flexor, Day-to-day;
Mar 04 - Wade Redden, right shoulder, 1 week.
 
Transactions: Feb 22 Radim Bicanek Emergency recall from Grand
Rapids (IHL); Feb 25 Radim Bicanek Emergency recall cancelled and
re-assigned to Grand Rapids (IHL); Feb 25 John Gruden Emergency
recall from Detroit (IHL); Feb 27 John Gruden Emergency recall
cancelled and re-assigned to Detroit (IHL); Mar 05 John Gruden
Emergency recall from Detroit (IHL); Mar 05 Yves Sarault
Emergency recall cancelled and re-assigned to Detroit (IHL).
 
Game Results
02/23 at Boston       L 5-2
02/25 Montreal        W 3-1
02/27 at Montreal     L 4-1
03/02 at NY Islanders W 4-2   
03/04 at Philadelphia W 5-0   
03/06 Toronto         W 3-1 

TEAM NEWS by The Nosebleeders

With an 8-2 record over their last 10 games and riding a three-
game winning streak, the Senators surged into first place overall
in the Eastern conference.  In their last 29 games they are
20-5-4.  This period, the Senators avenged their 5-0 home loss to
Philadelphia with a 5-0 victory in Philadelphia.  When combined
with their convincing victory against Toronto, the Senators are
starting to look like the team to beat in the Eastern conference. 
A cautionary note to this type of thinking may be the Montreal
and Boston losses where both teams avenged recent defeats to the
Senators.

The big off ice Senator news this period continued to be the
issue of team taxation and fair play in the hockey market place
for Canadian teams.  Rod Bryden continued to alert fans and
Canadian citizens with his public message campaign about the
plight of Canadian hockey teams.  Overtaxed and unable to get a
fair deal, Bryden has threatened that he may have to move the
team to greener pastures south of the 49th parallel (to the USA). 

A team press release this period provided some data as to what
has changed since the June 20th, 1992 date on which Alexei Yashin
was drafted.  Both Bryden and the report concur that there are
two main issues.  

Firstly, the Canadian dollar has declined significantly; from
1.20 Canadian to the US dollar in June 1992, to 1.52 Canadian to
the US dollar.  On today's team payroll of Cdn$ 34.2 million that
represents an increase of Cdn$ 7.2 million (enough to afford
say... one or two serious players).  

The second main issue is taxation and public funding of sport
facilities.  Estimated taxation on the Senators' Kanata home
(Corel Centre) was 1.2 million in 1992.  Tax assessment for 1998
is some $7.4 million (up from $4.3 million the year before). 
Don't ask the Nosebleeders where all this extra money is going -
it's not like Kanata has fancier sidewalks or something.  In
addition to paying some serious tax, Bryden estimates that the
total tax bill (including real estate, amusement, provincial
surcharges for the highway off ramp, etc) for the team will
exceed payroll (taxes $36
million, payroll $34 million), public funding of new sports
facilities in the US makes the idea of moving south sound
interesting.  Quoting the press release "A total of four new
buildings have been built in Canada within the last five years
and
all four were financed with private capital; while in the United
States, 10 new facilities have been constructed with partial or
total public funding. A further six NHL facilities are currently
being built in the United States.  The breakdown of six of the 10
new buildings in the U.S. reveals that Chicago, Philadelphia,
Boston and Washington were privately funded, while Florida and
Nashville are examples of facilities built with public funds. 
The difference between each of these publicly-funded buildings
compared to the Corel Centre based on an interest rate of only 8%
is $16 million dollars Cdn a year."

Under circumstances where a team fan support is low or team
expenses are high, Bryden's points could be easily negated.
However, fan support is high (average attendance is over 16,000 a
game and all suites are sold out for the remainder of the
season), and controllable team expenses (salaries) are low.  The
Senators have the league's second lowest payroll (first is the
expansion Nashville Predators).  Overall the team, which owns its
facility and derives revenue from concessions and non-hockey
events, is struggling just to break even.

Bryden's comments and suggestion of change seems to be gaining
ground.  Local radio and news surveys have the general
population, including non-hockey fans, thinking that perhaps this
is a problem to be solved by government.  Senior politicians
including Canada's industry minister and party leaders have given
Bryden an audience - particularly on the tax issues and the
impact of the Senators, and other Canadian teams, leaving the
country.  We'll see where this one goes folks, but in the short
all the Nosebleeders ask is that we start getting paid in US
dollars (uh...we could buy like two big beers at the game instead
of the one small one we can now afford).

Dudley ready to make some moves?

GM Rick Dudley has to consider making some moves.  With the
playoffs around the corner, expect the Senators to make moves to
not only shore up the team in preparation, but to prepare the
team for the impact of the summer expansion draft.  Teams must
expose a goaltender who played at least 10 NHL games this season
and they must expose a defensemen and two forwards who have
played in either 40 NHL games this year, or 80 NHL games over the
last two.  

Lack of emotion causes loss to Bruins

Returning from a five-game road trip, the Boston Bruins were
tasked with facing the red hot (winners of four games in a row)
Ottawa Senators.  Maybe it was the fact that they were travelling
for the first time in a while (the Senators had just completed a
six-game homestand) but the Nosebleeders are not sure just what
got into the Senators' Wheaties.  They did not come to game ready
to play.  A lackluster first period resulted in Boston
outshooting them 14-6 and ending the period with a 3-1 lead.  In
an effort to put a spark back into the team, coach Martin pulled
goalie Ron Tugnutt, 9-1-4 in his previous 14 decisions, in favor
of Damian Rhodes.  It did not work.  

* This was only the second time this season that Ron Tugnutt has
been pulled from a game.

* Senator frustrations boiled over in the dying minutes of the
second period as a wild skirmish ended with Vaclav Prospal (6'2")
in a scrap with Hal Gill (6'7").  Daniel Alfredsson intervened
but referee Bill McCreary, seemingly agreeing the matchup was
uneven, did not call what would normally be a third man in
penalty. 

* The Senators had two goals called back in the game but it was
the Bruins' fifth goal that caused coach Martin, convinced that a
Bruin was in the crease, to become upset with the refereeing. 
One of the Senator goals called back was a Daniel Alfredsson slap
shot where Alexei Yashin was called for being in the crease.

Montreal times deux

Any Ottawa-Montreal game is of big interest to Montreal Canadiens
fans (who are we kidding, any Montreal game at all is of big
interest to Montreal fans) but Montreal-Ottawa games hold special
meaning to Ottawa fans.  Up until a few years ago, the two-hour
commute to Montreal was the easiest way to see live NHL hockey
(we won't mention beer prices in Montreal).  As reports from both
local papers had each team taking three or the possible four
points you just knew that things would be interesting.  

A sellout Corel Centre crowd witnessed an Andreas Johansson
effort that included two goals and a collision with Stephane
Quintal that resulted in him being carried off the ice.  The
Senators showed a restored confidence as they soundly danced
around the Canadiens defence to take the easy victory.  Luckily
for the Senators, the Johansson injury turned out to be no more
than a minor hamstring pull.

The return matchup in Montreal was also a sellout but was a
different game.  Pre-game expectations on both sides were that
Montreal was playing lousy hockey and Ottawa was playing great
hockey and we could expect another Ottawa domination.  Another
Montreal loss would really put their chances of making the
playoffs at risk.  Pre-game expectations do not always match
reality. Another lackluster road effort for the Senators resulted
in an unexpected loss.  The only good news for the team was the
return to the lineup of Lance Pitlick (after missing 32 games
because of a hip injury). 

Finally a road win

There was a time where "finally a road win" really meant finally
a road win (in the team's first season, their first road win came
in the last road game of the season vs. the Islanders).  After
road losses to Boston and Montreal, the Senators visited Long
Island to feast on some Islander ice.

A tight game was broken open by a Daniel Alfredsson go-ahead goal
midway through the third period.  The win extended Ottawa's
unbeaten streak against the Islanders to 13 games (10-0-3 in the
series since January 6, 1996).

The Islanders failed to capitalize on four third-period power
plays and were 1-for-7 with the man-advantage. 

Flying into Philadelphia

After taking just three of the first 22 meetings against the
Philadelphia Flyers, the 5-0 Sens' victory increased their record
this season against the Flyers to 4-1.  Damian Rhodes had
relatively easy night, stopping 19 shots, and Daniel Alfredsson
scored a goal and an assist.

Flyers rookie goalie Jean-Marc Pelletier made his NHL debut on
his 21st birthday. The 6-3 Pelletier performed well, allowing
just one goal over the first 40 minutes before the roof caved in
in the third period. 

* The game marked a franchise record 35th victory. 

* Alexei Yashin recorded his fifth career hat trick.

* Damian Rhodes posted his second shutout of the season.

* Yashin netted his 30th goal.

Go Tugger Go - Quiz Time

Although being pulled against Boston, Ron Tugnutt is poised to
challenge the modern GAA record of 1.77.  Tugnutt, who had posted
a GAA under 3.00 just twice in his 11-year career before this
season, currently sports a 1.64 average.  The record is held by
two different goalies (71-72 and 50-51).  Name one or both.

National TV Win

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of this year's surprise teams. 
Up until a few weeks ago the Leafs had led the Northeast Division
for most of this season.  An important Saturday night matchup
against the Senators would either propel the Leafs back into the
first place hunt or put them deeper into the pack.

Ron Tugnutt played a great game, stoning Toronto center Steve
Sullivan a number of times, including once on a penalty shot. 
With 12:53 left in the first period, Sullivan was hooked down
from behind by defensemen John Gruden.  On the penalty shot,
Sullivan deked backhand to forehand but Tugger did not bite. 
After the game, the Tugger claimed he has recently seen a
highlight film of a Sullivan breakaway and he was hoping that
Sullivan would do the same move - he did.  The Senators came away
with a convincing 3-1 win.

* The Senators have won three straight and six in a row at home.

* The Senators moved four points ahead of New Jersey for the top
spot in the Eastern Conference. 

Looking ahead - road trip

After a home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning (featuring the
return of Alexandre Daigle), the Senators embark on a 12-day road
trip.  With less than two months left in the regular season, this
trip could be good to further bond the team together as it gears
up for the playoffs.

Modern day quiz answer

When talking about modern day hockey, the 1943-44 season is the
cutoff point.  It was that season that the red line was invented
and thus modern day hockey was born.  Tony Esposito (1971-72) and
Al Rollins (1950-51) share the modern day GAA record at a very
impressive 1.77. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Pat Quinn

Roster: C - Mats Sundin, Steve Sullivan, Alyn McCauley. LW -
Fredrik Modin, Steve Thomas, Todd Warriner, Derek King, Kris
King, Igor Korolev, Garry Valk, Ladislav Kohn, Lonny Bohonos. RW
- Sergei Berezin, Tie Domi, Mike Johnson, David Nemirovsky. D -
Bryan Berard, Sylvain Cote, Dimitri Yushkevich, Alexander
Karpovtsev, Jason Smith, Daniil Markov, Glen Featherstone, Tomas
Kaberle, Yanick Tremblay, Chris McAllister. G - Curtis Joseph,
Glenn Healy. 

Injuries: Alyn McCauley, c (concussion, indefinite); Fredrik
Modin, lw (collar bone, day-to-day); Alexander Karpovtsev, d
(foot contusion,, day-to-day).

Transactions: NHL suspended Chris McAllister, d, two games. 
Dallas Eakins, d, sent to St John's (AHL).  Recalled Lonny
Bohonos, lw, from St. John's (AHL).

Game Results
02/24 Hurricanes    T 2-2
02/25 at Islanders  W 4-1
02/27 Panthers      W 4-1
03/03 Devils        L 5-2
03/04 at Blues      W 4-0
03/06 at Senators   L 3-1
03/08 at Rangers    L 3-2
03/09 Lightning     W 6-1

TEAM NEWS by Jonah A. Sigel

INTO THE FINAL TURN 

After tonight's victory over Tampa Bay, the Leafs are left with
some 17 games to go.  After a disappointing loss to the Sens, and
being robbed by the officials in NY, the Leafs got down to
business and pummeled the Bolts and ruined Wendel Clark's debut
at the ACC.  

Once again the pundits were ready to pounce on the team had it
lost this game, it would have been the first time in a long while
since they had suffered three defeats in a row and to do so at
this juncture would have met with criticism to say the least.  

The Leafs are still doing that which no one expected them to -
and which no one thought would last.  They have sustained this
momentum all season, at least so far, and the fans have enjoyed
every moment.  The team that could not find the net last season
is, and has been, near the top of the team goal scoring chart all 
year.  Defensemen who in the past seemed to be the cornerstone of
the rebuilding process, like Jason Smith, are seeing diminished
ice time for the simple reason that they are not able to carry
the play in the high tempo, Pat Quinn system.

As the deadline approaches, it should be interesting to see what
the Leafs do.  To come this far and not help them out seems a
crime.  However, the question remains a difficult one.  If they
are to improve for this year, they are going to have to sacrifice
some youth.  Teams out of the hunt are not going to be looking to 
the Leafs for third or fourth liners in exchange for those
over-priced players who aren't performing.  To get a Linden, 
Rechhi, or Mironov, the Leafs are going to have to give up at
least one younger player/prospect/draft pick.  

There lies the hardest point for team Maple Leaf.  The club
clearly is deficient in certain areas, size for sure up-front and
perhaps in the back too.  So ownership will be asked to swallow a
contract, it is unlikely that too many unrestricted free agents
or rent-a-players will be of much value to the Leafs. Dryden and
Co. seem to only want to sign these types before dealing for
them, so there will be more money and of course the youth.  It
says here that if a mid-range player like a Warriner or either of
the Kings and or Sullivan plus one kid from the rock could land a
sizeable power forward or defender then the deal should be made. 
Anything else, gulp, then it would be better to sit tight and go
with the guys that brought you there. 

================================================================
================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Paul Maurice

Roster: C - Ron Francis, Keith Primeau, Jeff O'Neill, Kent
Manderville. RW - Ray Sheppard, Sami Kapanen, Kevin Dineen,
Robert Kron, Andrei Kovalenko, Craig Macdonald. LW - Gary
Roberts, Martin Gelinas, Paul Ranheim, Bates Battaglia. D - Paul
Coffey, Steve Chiasson, Glen Wesley, Curtis Leschyshyn, Sean
Hill, Dave Karpa, Nolan Pratt, Marek Malik. G - Trevor Kidd,
Arturs Irbe.

Injuries: Steve Chiasson, d (bruised shoulder, indefinite); Kevin
Dineen, rw (groin strain, day to day); Robert Kron, rw (groin
strain, day to day); Paul Coffey, d (being old, day to day).

Transactions: Traded Adam Burt, d, to Philadelphia in exchange
for Andrei Kovalenko, rw. Recalled forward Craig Macdonald, rw,
from the AHL. Assigned left wing Bryan Ritchie to the AHL.
Assigned defenseman Mike Rucinski to the AHL.

Game Results
2/24 at Toronto   T 2-2
2/26 at Vancouver L 1-0
2/27 at Edmonton  T 2-2
3/03 Boston       W 2-1
3/06 at Florida   T 2-2
3/08 Buffalo      W 4-1

TEAM NEWS by Chris Schilling

The Hurricanes ended February with a losing record, going
4-5-4 which includes a loss to the Canadian equivalent of
a natural disaster in the Vancouver Canucks. Despite this
horrible loss, the Canes have gone 2-1-3 in their past six
games, which is more than enough to run even farther ahead
of the Bure-d Panthers, who have lost their star scorer to
a knee injury.

Despite their eight-point lead, which is almost comfortable
enough to sleep on, the Canes' players have been trying not to
look back. Playoff vet Ronnie Francis told reporters, "I always
look ahead. I never look behind. It's you guys [evil reporters]
who always ask me about the teams behind us." Playoff newbie
Nolan Pratt added, "We're thinking about who we can catch, not
just who can catch us." 

Yeah, I thought the same way when I played tag in the 5th grade.
Except I always realized just how slow I was when I got caught.
Just a reminder, guys: don't overlook Florida.

OH CANADA: The fall of the Canadian dollar isn't the only
thing Canadian franchises are worried about. Despite a poor
showing against Vancouver, the Hurricanes are 8-2-3 against teams
north of the border. Four of the remaining Canes games fall
against teams in Canada.

One reason for this could be that most of the Canadian teams play
an open-ice style that fits in well with the Canes' speedy
offense. Or you could just blame the economy.

GLOWER PLAY: Paul Maurice's looks when his team is on the
power play definitely represent his team's success. Despite
trying to look like a younger Scotty Bowman, he can't help but
look like he sat on Paul Coffey's curved stick whenever his team
is proving that even a team with a winning record can
underachieve with the man-advantage.

The Hurricanes still are the favorite for bookies on which team
will decline a penalty first. It seems their league-worst power
play finds new ways to suck every single game. 

But in case you missed it, the Carolina power play has shown
(relative) signs of life. Thanks to some sharp thinking by Paul
Coffey and some deft passing, the Canes went two for three
(that's right, two for three) on a power play in Florida Saturday
March 6th. No, I didn't slide my hand from zero to two on the
keyboard. Sami Kapanen and Ron Francis netted the goals in the 2-
2 tie.

Paul Maurice, the king of the "angry parent" look, says "[It was]
the right time for the power play to kick in tonight," he told
the Greensboro News and Record. "We save our power play. Once
every 30 games or so we kick it in, grab a point and get out of
town." 

While some local newspapers took that as a joke, I think that's
been the plan all along. How else do you describe the
skyrocketing climb from last in the league to 26th (ahead of
ailing Phoenix?) The percentage now stands at 11.8, which is less
than half of league-leading Anaheim's 25.3% power play.

For those of you who actually think the Canes might quit
underachieving and play like, say, the incredibly talented Tampa
Bay squad on the power play, I say to you leave them alone.
Underachieving never hurt anyone. Just ask Alexandre Daigle.

THE TANK ROLLS IN: Andrei Kovalenko was acquired for
long-time Whaler and Hurricane Adam Burt in a deal inked last
Saturday. 

The 5'11, 215-pound Russian winger didn't even get the customary
optimism treatment by Canes GM Jim Rutherford. He garnered quite
a reputation for a die-hard partier who cares only for his
paycheck, and his limited ice time in Philly coupled by the fact
that he's been traded more often than a Playboy in junior high
gives him a lot of baggage. 

He came through, however, scoring the first goal of the night in
a 4-1 thrashing of Buffalo March 8th. He was also voted the first
star.

Burt was fearful of being traded after being made a healthy
scratch for a whole bunch of games. With six defensemen playing
and one still injured, who could blame the Hurricanes for wanting
to get rid of one? And Philadelphia's defense was poor enough to
need a hockey vet like Burt to rescue them from being scored on
more than Lindros AND LeClair can keep up.

Best of luck to Burt in Philadelphia. For all the years he stayed
on this losing franchise, he deserves to play on such a
consistent winner as Philly.

TRADE RUMORS: With half of Jim Rutherford's premonition to
get a winger who could score and a defensemen who could move the
puck fulfilled, one must only guess that one of the Canes' 14
current forwards will be traded. 

The natural choice would be Robert Kron, who has seen a steep
decline in his numbers after being stuck on the third line. He
has proved to be a solid checker when Ray Sheppard is the target
as well, taking both out of commission in the Vancouver game
February 26th. However, he continues to be out with a groin
strain, missing four games since leaving the ice early at
Vancouver, and he has been given a no-trade clause.

The next one on the block is anyone's guess. It also could be one
of the Canes' goalies, either the young, slumping Kidd or the
older, UFA-to-be All-star Irbe.

Regardless, don't expect the Canes to trade Irbe. His play is too
good and Kidd's too awful as of late for the Canes to give him
up. Remember when Mike Fountain took over last year at the end of
the stretch? He gave up more points than someone betting on Duke.

BRIEF SUMMARIES:

Toronto 2/24 2-2 T: The battle of two speedy offensive
giants ended in a 2-2 tie thanks to a late goal by Alyn McCauley
of the leafs. Primeau and Kapanen scored for the Canes, one goal
of which was on the power play. Hey, accidents happen.

Vancouver, 2/26 1-0 L: The Hurricanes regained their form
on the power play, going 0 for 10 against the pitiful Canucks as
Paul Devorski ruined a perfectly good game by interrupting it
every two minutes. Gary Roberts' apparent goal tipped under Garth
Snow was ruled no goal despite constant TV replays showing it
went across the line.

Edmonton, 2/28 2-2 T: Red-hot Steve Passmore, fresh from
Hamilton in the AHL, made some incredible saves but wasn't quick
enough to stop Ron Francis' fluke goal. It careened off
Passmore's skate after Francis shot from behind the goal. The
Canes pulled their goalie after being denied on multiple scoring
chances by the talented rookie. Well, I guess this one should
count as a power play, if only because it involved enough luck
for our power play to get it.

Boston, 3/3 2-1 W: Thanks to Arturs Irbe's usual all-star
goaltending and a goal by former 30-goal scorer Martin Gelinas,
the Hurricanes swept by Boston after returning from a lengthy
road trip that sent them wandering around Canada. Irbe stopped 23
from all over, making the net more empty than the Greensboro
Coliseum's upper decks.

Florida, 3/6 2-2 T: Even though the Hurricanes scored two,
yes, two power-play goals tonight, it was not enough to put away
the Bure-less Panthers. Sami Kapanen and Ron Francis scored for
the Canes who melted down in the third period, letting in the
tying goal on Florida's power play just over eight minutes into
the third. Irbe made 33 saves, and should be credited with
another one, saving the Hurricanes from returning Florida to the
Southeast playoff race in the last period.

Buffalo, 3/8 4-1 W: The Russian Tank, Andrei Kovalenko,
scored his first goal as a Carolina Hurricane less than three
minutes into the first and the Canes added three goals in the
first two periods, putting away the Hasek-less Sabres, including
one on a beautiful 2-on-1. Gary Roberts passed it right on the
wood to Sami Kapanen at full speed when Kapanen swished it in.
Credit Marek Malik with his 2nd goal, which was coincidentally
scored on his own net with a beautiful tip in against Arturs
Irbe. Note to self, Malik: Move ass from crease.


                      
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FLORIDA PANTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Terry Murray
   
Roster: C - Viktor Kozlov, Rob Niedermayer, Chris Wells. LW - 
Ray Whitney, Johan Garpenlov, Oleg Kvasha, Kirk Muller, 
Bill Lindsay, Peter Worrell, Dwayne Hay, Alex Hicks. RW - Pavel Bure, Scott
Mellanby, Dino Ciccarelli, Radek Dvorak, Mark Parrish. D - Robert
Svehla, Gord Murphy, Paul Laus, Bret Hedican, Terry Carkner,
Rhett Warrener, Jaroslav Spacek. G - Kirk McLean, Sean Burke.  

Injuries: Pavel Bure, rw (knee, 2-3 weeks); Dino Ciccarelli, rw (back, indefinite); 
Gord Murphy, d (back, day-to-day).

Transactions: Recalled Viacheslav Butsayev, c, from Ft. Wayne (IHL) then traded 
him to Ottawa for a sixth-round pick. Assigned John Jakopin, d, to New Haven (AHL).

Game Results
2/27 at Toronto    L 4-1
3/03 Colorado      L 7-5
3/06 Carolina      T 2-2
3/08 at Montreal   W 5-2
3/09 at Boston     L 2-0

TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

What?  You'd like to read a Haiku?  Well, okay...  

<center>
With Bure out hurt, 
Why do they even still play? 
Have you seen my pants?
</center>

My book of Haikus, entitled "Haikus?  I Got Your Haikus Right Here," can be found 
at better bookstores everywhere.  Ask for it by name.  Thank you.

Good night and God bless.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Jacques Demers
   
Roster:  C - Darcy Tucker, Chris Gratton, Mike Sillinger, Vincent
Lecavalier, Xavier Delisle. RW - Mikael Andersson, Alexandre
Daigle, Sandy McCarthy, Michael Nylander, Jason Bonsignore.  LW -
Wendel Clark, Benoit Hogue, Stephane Richer, Rob Zamuner, Robert
Petrovicky, Brent Peterson. D - Cory Cross, Petr Svoboda, David
Wilkie, Jassen Cullimore, Pavel Kubina, Kjell Samuelsson, Drew
Bannister, Andrei Skopintsev, Karei Betik. G - Bill Ranford,
Daren Puppa, Corey Schwab.

Injuries: Daren Puppa, g (groin injury, out for season); Drew
Bannister, d (broken foot, day-to-day); Mikael Andersson, lw
(knee injury, indefinite).

Transactions: Recall Jason Bonsignore, rw, from Cleveland (IHL);
recall Brent Peterson, lw, from Cleveland (IHL); assign Derek
Wilkinson, g, to Cleveland.

Game Results
02/26 Philadelphia W 4-1
03/02 Washington   L 8-2
03/04 Colorado     W 2-1
03/06 Montreal     W 6-1
03/08 Ottawa       L 9-3

TEAM NEWS by Seth Lerman

Art Williams owned the Tampa Bay Lightning for exactly nine
months.  The former insurance magnate, who purchased the
Lightning for a reported $117 million, sold the team and the
rights to the Ice Palace to Detroit Pistons owner William
Davidson on March 3 for $115 million.  Williams said that he has
lost $20 million on the Lightning this season.

Davidson owns an entertainment empire which includes the NBA's
Detroit Pistons and the IHL's Detroit Vipers, as well as the
Palace of Auburn Hills arena in suburban Detroit.
  
"We're in it for the long haul," said Tom Wilson, president of
the Pistons and the Davidson-owned Palace Entertainment Group. 
"We're not coming in to fail.  We're coming in to make this team
a thing Tampa can be proud of, and a benchmark franchise in the
league."

Fans in Tampa will remember that Williams said almost the same
thing when he took over ownership from Kokusai Green, a Japanese
holding company less than a year ago.
  
"I haven't been coming to games recently for a simple reason -
this team broke my heart," said Williams in early February to the
Tampa Tribune. "I couldn't have been happier the first month of
the season...then the bottom fell out.  I've been more upset with
the constant losing than all the money coming out of my wallet. 
This has been a painful experience for me."
  
As for now, no changes are planned in the hockey operations where
Jacques Demers is in his second season as coach and first season
as general manager.  He has three years remaining on a contract
that he signed last October.
  
The Lightning currently hold the worst record in the National
Hockey League.  The average attendance is 10,894 which is barely
more than half of the Ice Palace searing capacity.
  
"I had an amount in my mind that I could afford to lose over
four, five seasons," said Williams to the St. Petersburg Times. 
"I lost that amount in less than one season."
  
The question remains:  Can hockey survive in Florida?  Wilson
believes it can - and will.  "You've got a core of about 8,000 or
9,000 hockey fans here and that's much better than what we had in
Detroit with the Pistons," said Wilson to the Tampa Bay Tribune. 
"There were times when we were winning just 16 or 18 games a year
and getting 1,500 people out to watch us, and we were wondering
why they came.  We had one of the worst basketball teams in
captivity, but 10 years later we were hanging banners.  It just
took time to get it right."
  
As for the on-ice product, Williams and Demers are in agreement
of how this franchise should be built - with young players.  "You
start with a corps of young players and then you want to start
building around them," he said.  "It takes time, sort of like
when you're building a baseball team, but eventually, after two
or three years, you hopefully get to the point where you can add
a couple of big-name players to put you where you want to be.
That's the philosophy anyway."      

For now, Billy McGehee will remain as president, but Wilson
reiterated that he will spend the next few months evaluating all
facets of the  Lightning operation. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Ron Wilson

Roster: C - Adam Oates, Jan Bulis, Andrei Nikolishin, Michal
Pivonka, Dale Hunter. LW - Joe Juneau, Brian Bellows, Richard
Zednik, Steve Konowalchuk, Yogi Svejkovsky. RW - Peter Bondra,
Craig Berube, Kelly Miller, Mike Eagles, James Black. D - Calle
Johansson, Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Ken Klee, Enrico Ciccone.
G - Olaf Kolzig, Rick Tabaracci.

Injuries: Tom Chorske (abdomen/groin, 3-5 weeks); Chris Simon
(shoulder surgery, out for season); Jeff Toms (abdomen, 4-6
weeks); Dmitri Mironov (back spasms, indefinite); Mark Tinordi
(broken ankle, out for season); Joe Juneau (sore ankle,
day-to-day).

Transactions: None.

Game Results:
2/24   Phoenix          L 2-1
2/27   at Boston        L 4-3
2/28   Pittsburgh       W 4-3
3/02   at Tampa Bay     W 8-2
3/04   NY Rangers       L 4-2
3/06   Edmonton         W 4-3
3/09   Colorado         L 3-2 OT

TEAM NEWS by Jason Sheehan

Playoff Hopes on Life Support

The Washington Capitals are in danger of becoming the fourth Cup
finalists in NHL history to miss the playoffs in the previous and
following seasons. The New York Rangers last accomplished the
feat in 1950; the era before expansion.

Following a devastating 3-2 overtime loss to Colorado Tuesday at
a snowy MCI Center, the Capitals (27-32-5, 59 points) trail the
Boston Bruins (28-26-10, 66 points) by seven points for the
eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Washington has 18 games left and must pass three teams in the
standings to make the playoffs. The odds of that happening are
not good, especially with the Capitals slumping in the middle of
a five-game homestand, the longest of the season.

The last week, in particular, has been devastating. The Capitals,
despite out-shooting all opponents, lost must-win games to
Boston, 4-3, and saw a late 2-1 lead evaporate into a 4-2 loss in
a home game against the Rangers, who played without Wayne
Gretzky.

Colorado defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh's back-breaking goal 19
seconds into overtime may be the straw that broke Washington's
spirit. However, coach Ron Wilson dispels that notion.

"We outplayed them, we outshot them, 2-1," said Wilson. "You've
got to give their goaltender (Craig Billington) credit. He made a
lot of great saves, especially in the last 10 minutes, and we
made a couple of mistakes defensively. ... We'll bounce back. We
always bounce back."

Defenseman Enrico Ciccone appears to be more discouraged.

"It's a cheesy goal," said Ciccone, disagreeing with the notion
that good teams make their own luck. "It's always that kind of
goal that happens. It hit off [Calle Johansson's] stick and
caught Olie (Kolzig) off-balance. It's too bad, Olie didn't
deserve that."

Washington has had a few sparks in the last two weeks. The
Capitals manhandled Tampa Bay, 8-2, and collected wins over
Pittsburgh and Edmonton. But playing under .500 will not get the
Capitals closer to Boston, Florida and the Rangers.

Three of Washington's last four defeats have been decided by one
goal.

With the trading deadline two weeks away, general manager George
McPhee may be forced to hold the fire-sale he postponed in
January when the Capitals climbed back into playoff contention.

Left wing Joe Juneau and defenseman Mark Tinordi are Washington's
most prized unrestricted free agents at season's end. Washington
would receive no compensation if Juneau and Tinordi are lost to
free agency.  That is why the Capitals will likely make a trade.
They would rather get something in return from another club than
lose their top players to free agency.

Detroit was once rumored as a possible destination for Tinordi,
but it backed out when Tinordi broke his ankle Feb. 22. He is
expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Juneau, on the other hand, seems to be the most likely Capital to
be traded if McPhee decides to pull the plug on the season.
Rumors have Juneau going to several teams, including Ottawa along
with teammate Craig Berube for Igor Kravchuk or to San Jose for
rookie Marco Sturm.

Keep in mind, however, that rumors often come from unspecified
sources. McPhee may opt to sign both Juneau and Tinordi this
summer.

Capitals Clipboard

Calle Johansson broke Rod Langway's team record for most games
played by a defenseman March 4 by dressing for his 727th game...

Goaltender Olie Kolzig has started 18 consecutive games. However,
he is starting to show signs of fatigue, allowing more rebounds
and soft goals than usual. But there is no rest in sight for
Kolzig.  Wilson said last month that backup Rick Tabaracci will
sit for the rest of the season.

================================================================

=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Lorne Molleken
   
roster:  C - Doug Gilmour, Mark Janssens, Chad Kilger, Josef Marha,
Todd White, Alexei Zhamnov.  LW - Eric Daze, Jean-Yves Leroux, Ethan
Moreau, Bob Probert, Reid Simpson.  RW - Tony Amonte, Jean-Pierre
Dumont, Nelson Emerson, Ed Olczyk. D - Jamie Allison, Brad Brown,
Chris Chelios, Christian Laflamme, Dave Manson, Bryan Muir, Doug
Zmolek.  G - Mark Fitzpatrick, Jocelyn Thibault. 

injuries: Nelson Emerson, rw (separated shoulder, indefinite).

transactions: Recalled Jean-Pierre Dumont, rw, and Josef Marha, c,
from Portland (AHL) March 1; placed Mike Maneluk, lw, on waivers
March 4. 

game results:
2/24 at St. Louis  W 3-1
2/26 Los Angeles   L 2-1
2/28 St. Louis     L 3-1
3/06 at San Jose   W 4-0 
3/07 at Vancouver  T 2-2

team news by Tom Crawford

Is It April Yet?

I happened to catch the Rangers/Maple Leafs game on ESPN the
other night, and I saw the most amazing things.  Men were skating
swiftly the length of the ice and shooting the puck at the net. 
Men were seeking out the man who had the puck and hitting him with
their bodies.  And thousands of people cheered wildly as the home
team scored the winning goal.  

Must be nice. 

Legal trouble and high-maintenance drug habits have kept me from my 
typical level of immersion in Blackhawk hockey lately, so I can't
comment authoritatively on the early days of the Lorne Molleken
regime.  But the brief glimpses I've had reveal the same old Hawks
-- poor passing, no flow through the neutral zone, and the
occasional laugh-out-loud defensive miscue. 

Unlike the NFL, where good draft picks pay off immediately and
last-place teams are rewarded with cream-puff schedules, the NHL
has few avenues for truly bad teams to get better quickly.  Without
a dynamic presence behind the bench and some front office wizardry
the Blackhawks could get very familiar with the Western Conference
cellar.  

Bad Week for Waterbugs

If you're a little, speedy guy with some scoring touch, Chicago was
not the place to be last week.  In the second period of last
Sunday's game with the Blues, Nelson Emerson separated his shoulder
and could be lost for the season. 

Later in the week, the Hawks GM Bob Murray officially gave up on
Mike Maneluk, allowing the Rangers to claim him off waivers. 
Tension between Murray and Maneluk's agent was blamed, and the
Hawks now have nothing to show for the blockbuster trade that sent
Cam Russell to the Avalanche.  

After getting nothing in return for Maneluk, Murray appears to be
trying to get rid of young defenseman Bryan Muir the same way.  The
Hawks have pulled a two-year offer off the table after Muir
disputed one of the contract's clauses. 

News and Notes

The Flyers are still interested in dealing for Chris Chelios, as
evidenced by the Philadelphia scouts in attendance at the last
Hawks/San Jose game.  However, fans are not likely to accept Dainus
Zubrus as compensation for a hometown hero, so Murray will most
likely stand pat . . . . In his longest stint yet in the majors,
J.P. Dumont has shown some of the skill that helped him break some
of Mario Lemieux's records in junior hockey.  Perhaps more
monumental is Lorne Molleken's statement about Dumont that "he's
famous for scoring goals, so if he makes a mistake defensively, he
shouldn't worry about it." 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Barry Trotz
   
roster: C - Darren Turcotte, Greg Johnson, Jeff Nelson, Patric
Kjellberg, Sebastien Bordeleau, Cliff Ronning.  LW - Andrew
Brunette, Blair Atcheynum, Scott Walker, Denny Lambert, Ville
Peltonen, Jeff Daniels, Vitali Yachmenev.  RW - Sergei Krivokrasov,
Brad Smyth, Tom Fitzgerald, Patrick Cote.  D - Joel Bouchard, Bob
Boughner, John Slaney, Jamie Heward, Jayson More, J.J. Daigneault,
Drake Berehowsky, Jan Vopat, Kimmo Timonen. G - Mike Dunham, Eric
Fichaud, Tomas Vokoun, Chris Mason. 

injuries: Ville Peltonen, lw (separated shoulder, 4-8 weeks);  Eric
Fichaud, g (separated shoulder, season); Jayson More, d
(post-concussion syndrome, day-to-day);  Darren Turcotte, c (knee,
4-6 weeks). 

transactions: None.

game results:
2/23 Dallas          L 4-3
2/24 at Dallas       W 2-1
2/27 at Colorado     L 3-1
3/02 St. Louis       L 5-1 
3/04 at Los Angeles  W 4-3
3/05 at Anaheim      L 3-2
3/07 at Phoenix      L 4-3

team news by Jeff Middleton

LAST ISSUE'S REPORT

The wedding I attended was great, unfortunately I neglected to
submit a report for the previous issue. Therefore, without further
ado - the Cliff Notes version of my last report.  

Detriot Red Wings - Got smacked.
New York Islanders - Yes!  Road win.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Tied the game with one minute left . . .  lost
in OT. New York Rangers - First 30 minutes very bad, last 30
minutes better - not good enough to come all the way back.
Colorado Avalanche - Built up lead, gave up two goals in last six
minutes and wound up kissing their sister.
St. Louis - Division win on the road.  Good job. 

Sorry for the lapse. 

THIS ISSUE'S REPORT

So I'm back in the saddle again.  The Preds didn't really improve
their chances of getting into the playoffs, but they didn't look
too bad either.  

STARS IN THEIR EYES

When the Predators looked at the schedule, they must have looked
twice when the saw a home-and-home slated for March.  After Dallas
has pretty much had their way with most of the league, it must have
looked even tougher.  Interestingly enough, the Predators played
the talent-laden Stars to a 1-0 loss on the road in their first
meeting, so they could certainly build on that.  

In the first game, Dallas' first visit to Music City, the Predators
continued down a road they need to avoid to make themselves
contenders in the future.  They held a multi-goal lead going into
the third period, which for most teams is a good place to find
yourself.  The Predator way is to build up that lead and then give
it away. It happened against Colorado the week before, when Joe
Sakic scored a hat trick to tie the Predators.  This time it was
Mike Modano scoring a hat trick to give his team a win in the third
period.  

The next night, the Predators kept up their strong road play.  A
sweet goal by Sergei Krivokrasov stunned the Dallas fans with less
than 25 seconds left in the game, giving the Preds a 2-1 victory. 
Think the Stars are rooting for the Predators to miss the playoffs?
 

FIRST TIME MILE-HIGH

The Predators came into Denver with a 1-0-1 record against the Avs,
and were trying to remain undefeated against a team that had picked
things up considerably from the first half of the year.  The
Predators left Denver 1-1-1, defeated, but still .500 against a
significantly more talented team.  Not much to talk about here, one
questionable goal allowed by video replay, but them's the breaks.
 

NO MORE BLUES

In their last meeting of the year, the Predators were trying to
bring their record to .500 against St. Louis.  Not gonna happen. 
In an ugly effort, the Preds got smoked.  Kelly Chase had his first
two-goal game of his career, and Patrick Cote was pounded by Tony
Twist.  This was a bad night to be a hockey player in Nashville.
 

WESTERN SWING TO SEE THE KINGS

Its a darn good thing that the Predators decided to play better on
the road in the second half of the season, as the schedule was
home-heavy up front.  In journeying out to see some teams in their
Conference, they were looking to pick up some ground in the playoff
hunt.  They tried and tried and built up a lead going into the
third period, but they just couldn't give it away.  Sebastien
Bordeleau, a force on the face-off and a great penalty killer, had
two goals against L.A. and the Predators escaped with a 4-3 win. 
Mike Dunham played reasonably well, though there are still concerns
that he is getting through the tail end of his recovery from groin
injury.  

MIGHTY LAME DUCK

They were not done in by Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.  The were
done in by Jeff Neilsen, who doubled his output for the  whole
season in this one game.  Cliff Ronning scored a goal with 12
seconds left in the game to give the Predators a slim chance, but
they did not have enough time to get any more good chances.  On to
Phoenix.  

TRICKED AGAIN

The Predators have become very generous to the league's superstars
lately.  In the past two weeks they have provided hat trick defense
for both Joe Sakic and Mike Modano.  Sunday night's game in Phoenix
turned into another headwear affair when Keith Tckachuk scored
three times and gave the Coyotes all they needed to put away the
Preds.  Scott Walker continued his strong play, scoring twice in
the second period, but the Predators could not break through in the
third to score the equalizer.  

Notes

Not much going on in Nashville, no trade rumors to speak of . . .
.they don't really have anything to give anyone except Cliff
Ronning, and I don't think they will trade the Rat . . . .Patrick
Cote leads the league in fighting majors . . . . the playoffs don't
look as feasible now that teams like the Flames, Ducks, and Sharks
have picked up their play while the Preds have not. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
DETROIT RED WINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Scotty Bowman

Roster: C - Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Kris  Draper, Sergei
Fedorov. LW - Brendan Shanahan, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Doug Brown, 
Tomas Holmstrom, Petr Klima, Kirk Maltby, Brent Gilchrist. RW -
Darren McCarty,  Martin Lapointe, Mathieu Dandenault, Stacey Roest
D - Nicklas Lidstrom, Larry  Murphy, Jamie Macoun, Aaron Ward, Uwe
Krupp, Anders Eriksson, Todd Gill, Yan  Golubovsky . G - Chris
Osgood, Norm Maracle. 

INJURIES: Brent Gilchrist lw (hernia, indefinite); Todd Gill, d
(broken arm, day-to-day); Joe Kocur, rw (abdominal strain,
day-to-day); Kevin Hodson, g (knee strain, indefinite); Uwe Krupp,
d (back problems, two weeks). 

TRANSACTIONS: None.

GAME RESULTS
2/24 Los Angeles      L 3-2 OT 
2/26 Florida          T 5-5 
2/27 at NY Islanders  L 3-1 
3/05 at Phoenix       W 7-2 
3/07 at Anaheim       L 3-1 

TEAM NEWS by Dino Cacciola

LOS ANGELES 3, DETROIT 2 (OT) 

Luc Robitaille's sweet power-play goal in overtime gave the L.A.
Kings a 3-2  victory over the Red Wings. Lying on his back and
swinging a shot around  backwards, he beat Chris Osgood for the
winning goal that snapped the Red Wings seven-game unbeaten streak.
The Wings floundered from a 2-0 lead by allowing two goals within
29 seconds by the Kings to force the game into overtime.  

Brendan Shanahan and Sergei Fedorov scored for the Red Wings. 
"Obviously, we didn't play well enough to win this game," forward 
Martin Lapointe said. "We were leading 2-0. We could have buried
them, but we didn't. We have to take the blame for that."  

The Kings mounted a furious comeback for the Kings, who outshot
Detroit  40-26. "It wasn't a real strong game on our part," Murphy
said.  "We gave them too many opportunities."  

Shanahan had a bit of luck while giving Detroit a 1-0 lead with his
22nd goal  with 5:45 left in the first period. Captain Steve
Yzerman started the play with  what appeared to be a harmless shot
from the left circle. But then the Kings'  Jozef Stumpel reached
out for the puck, he deflected it onto the stick of Shanahan at the
right side. A quick wrist shot was put right into the net.  

The Wings were out worked and out played. No longer can the Wings
win on  reputation alone or mere talent. They will have to work
twice as hard to beat  teams that are rising to the occasion to
beat them.  

DETROIT 5, FLORIDA 5 (OT) 

In overtime Igor Larionov came within inches of giving the Red Wings
a win, but a 5-5 tie was all they could manage with the Florida
Panthers. Larionov's power-play goal with 5:04 left in the third
period  allowed the Red Wings to escape with the tie after a furious
comeback by the  Panthers. But when he blazed a shot just inside the
post with 1:04 left in the overtime period, McLean reached  out and
snagged it.  

"I had a good shot to win it in overtime," Larionov said.  "McLean
just made an unbelievable save. That's credit to the skill he 
has."  

Florida, outshot 36-17 for the game, had just seven shots on goal in
the  third period but scored on four of them, marking the second
straight game the  Red Wings have surrendered a seemingly safe
third period lead. Not exactly a way  to get into the playoffs
playing that kind of hockey. "We had a collapse  there in the
third," defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "They were  really
steamrolling us there. Thank God we got a power play. That gave us
a  chance to come back."  

Pavel Bure scored twice for the Panthers with one coming on a
penalty shot.  Kirk Maltby scored twice, while Sergei Fedorov and
Martin Lapointe also scored.  "We just gave them all the ice they
wanted to skate on," Lidstrom said. "There's no explaining that.
They were just flying past us. We  gave up some real pretty goals
there."  

Larionov tied it 5-5 with his 11th  goal. "That's exciting hockey to
watch, but there were too many mistakes leading to the action,"
Larionov said.  

N.Y. ISLANDERS 3, DETROIT 1 

The Red Wings peppered goalie Tommy Salo with 35 shots. But they
also allowed  two power-play goals as the New York Islanders beat
the Red Wings 3-1. It was the Islanders first victory at home
against the Wings since 1993. The Wings have gone 0-2-2 in their
last four games. Not an impressive stretch heading into a five-day
break.  

Tomas Holmstrom cut New York's lead to 2-1 at 14:50 on a tip of
Dougie  Brown's cross ice pass that hit the left post and went in
for the loan goal.  Sergie Fedorov was thrown out on a match
penalty for high sticking defenseman Zdeno Chara's neck with six
minutes to go. Chara blacked out for a  moment and was
hyperventilating, but only suffered a bruise. It was a vicious 
attack by Fedorov and he was later to receive by the league a
five-game suspension.  That's close to half a million dollars in
pay that he will not receive during  that time off.  

"I tried to get up and the stick just got him," Fedorov said.  "I
was on my back, and I thought the puck was under me, so I tried to
get  up quickly and recover my position. I didn't mean to injure
him." The NHL  feels otherwise on the issue. Said a disagreeable
Chara, "I know hockey is  a rough game, but I thought that was a
cheap shot."  

DETROIT 7, PHOENIX 2

Brendan Shanahan's feeling good lately and is making his opponents
pay for it. Shanahan scored two of his three goals within a 
55-second span of the second period as the Red Wings beat the
Phoenix Coyotes 7-2 in a rout.  

"It's nice to get rewarded for the way I'm feeling  health-wise,"
said Shanahan, who recorded his 12th career hat trick.  "There were
a lot of good things going on tonight. I shouldn't get all  the
credit just because I scored a few goals."  

Captain Steve Yzerman  had a goal and an assist and Slava Kozlov,
Mathieu Dandenault and Tomas Holmstrom also scored for the Red
Wings, who snapped their four-game winless  streak. They beat the
Coyotes for the first time in three tries this  season.  

Chris Osgood made 36 saves for the Wings in the win. The Wings 
played without centerman Sergei Fedorov who is out serving a
five-game league  handed suspension. The Red Wings had only 10
shots on goal over the game's first  25 minutes but made the most
of their opportunities. Kozlov scored his 13th goal on Detroit's
first shot when he one timed a pass from Igor Larionov past Jimmy 
Waite 70 seconds into the game. Yzerman gave Detroit a 2-1 lead
when he beat  Waite on the Red Wings' fourth shot with a sweet one
timer from the left circle  at 8:24 of the period. Shanahan put the
game out of reach early in the second period. First he redirected a
blast by Larry Murphy from the point past Waite at  3:37 of the
period, then he took a pass from Yzerman and bounced a shot off
the  inside of the left post 55 seconds later. A great win for the
Red Wings against  one of the conference favorites.  

ANAHEIM 3, DETROIT 1 

The Red Wings made two defensive lapses less than a minute apart in
the  second period that handed the Mighty Ducks a 3-1 victory. The
game ended a six-game winless streak against the Red Wings.  

Former Red Wing Tomas Sandstrom scored while goalie Guy Hebert made
33 saves. The win for the Ducks put them just one point behind the
Red Wings  for the fourth seed in the Western Conference , which
means home ice advantage  in the first round of the playoffs.  

The Red Wings just missed getting shut out for the third time this
season.  Captain Steve Yzerman scored his 26th goal on a power play
less than four minutes  into the third. The Wings offensivelly had
the chances. But the game was very  chippy with quite few high
sticking penalties called. The game had the instensity of a playoff
game but not much discipline from either team.  

"They've definitely got more depth and they're getting a lot of 
effective play out of other guys, so it makes a huge difference for
them,"  Yzerman said. "They didn't have to rely on Paul and Teemu
for their goals tonight."  

For your information, Darcy Tucker has never played for the Red
Wings.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------
ST. LOUIS BLUES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
   
Roster: C - Craig Conroy, Mike Eastwood, Pascal Rheaume, Pierre
Turgeon, Michal Handzus. LW - Geoff Courtnall, Tony Twist,
Pavol Demitra. RW - Jim Campbell, Kelly Chase, Scott Pellerin, Scott
Young, Jamal Mayers. D - Marc Bergevin, Jeff Finley, Rory Fitzpatrick, Al
MacInnis, Chris McAlpine, Rudy Poeschek, Chris Pronger, Jamie Rivers,
Ricard Persson. G - Grant Fuhr, Jamie McLennan, Scott Roche, Jim Carey. 

Injuries: Geoff Courtnall, lw (post-concussion syndrome 12/9, day-to-day);
Grant Fuhr, g (knee 2/6, four to six weeks); Rudy Poeschek, d (sprained
ankle 2/24, day-to-day);  Chris Pronger, d (bruised ankle 2/15,
day-to-day); Rich Parent, g (scrotal contusion 2/13, three weeks); Michael
Handzus, c (shoulder 3/7, day-to-day).

Transactions: 2/26 - Loaned Michel Picard, lw, to Grand Rapids (IHL); 3/1 -
signed  Jim Carey, g; 3/4 - signed Didier Tremblay, d; 3/5 - assigned Brent
Johnson, g, to Worcester (AHL).

Game Results:
2/24 Chicago       L 3-1
2/26 at Calgary    W 4-2
2/28 at Chicago    W 3-1
3/02 at Nashville  W 5-1
3/04 Toronto       L 4-0
3/07 at Dallas     L 4-3

TEAM NEWS by Tom Cooper

It's Spring Break for those of us who attend the Pennsylvania State
University. Thus, my time to talk to all of you on the Internet is kind of
limited. 

Seeing as I have been intensely planning my vacation to Downingtown, PA for
the past week, I have barely had time to notice newly acquired goaltender
Jim Carey's dreadful performance against Toronto, after he relieved Brent
Johnson who gave up three goals on only five shots. Carey, the one-time
Vezina Trophy winner, used to be good. But now he isn't. He signed a
two-year deal after he cleared waivers once Boston let him go. 

I did take a little notice at some of the games. So, here's a quick little
run down of what went wrong...uh, I mean what happened in the past two
weeks that were. 

Them Damned Hawks

Former St. Louis Blue Doug Gilmour scored twice in a three minute span of
the first period to give Chicago a 2-0 lead after one. Although Al MacInnis
brought the deficit down to one with his 17th of the year 7:38 into the
second, the Blues couldn't comeback as they fell to the Blackhawks 3-1. 

Jamie McLennan stopped only 13 of 16 shots for his 14th loss of the season.
The Bluenotes outshot Chicago 26-16, but Mark Fitzpatrick stopped 25,
giving new Blackhawks' head coach Lorne Molleken a win in his head-coaching
debut. 

They Did It Again

Hey, that streak of losing or tying when trailing after two is now just a
taboo of the past. 

Calgary was up 2-1 after two when Cory Stillman broke a 1-1 stalemate with
3:27 left in the second. Then, the Blues took charge, particularly Craig Conroy. 

Conroy, who opened the game's scoring 9:09 into the first, tied the game at
2-2 just 1:33 into the third. Scott Pellerin gave St. Louis the lead for
good with a short-handed goal 9:19 into the third. Conroy added an
empty-net goal for his first career hat trick as the Blues downed the
Flames 4-2. Brent Johnson stopped 27 of 29 shots for a win in his first
start of the season. 

Revenge

Payback's a female dog. 

The Blues got three in the first, and that would be all they'd need. Pierre
Turgeon scored two power-play goals in a 3:38 span as the Blues held on for
a 3-1 victory. 

Brent Johnson helped the cause by stopping 26 of 27 shots for his second
straight victory, and, referring to the previous game report, second of the
season. 

Expansion, My Tookas

The Blues have been having problems with the expansion Nashville Predators
all season. 

That has officially ended. 

Kelly Chase picked up his second and third goals of the season in a
33-second span late in the first, and Jim Campbell and Craig Conroy scored
in the second to beat the Predators 5-1. Brent Johnson stopped 30 of 31
shots, letting the only piece of rubber past him with 9:34 left in the
game. 

The New vs. The Old

Brent Johnson had been playing good as of late. The young strapping
netminder had won his first three starts of the season, giving the team
momentum and a little solidity between the pipes. 

Apparently, Blues' management didn't think that Johnson wasn't good enough
as the team signed former-Vezina Trophy winner and present-end of the bench
occupier Jim Carey, not the actor/comedian. 

Maybe Blues' management was right. 

Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Johnson let in three goals on five shots
in 25:58. Carey replaced him after that, and didn't fare much better,
letting three goals on four shots as the Leafs, even though they registered
nine shots on goal the entire game, beat the Blues 4-0. 

Former St. Louis Blue goalie and casualty of the Keenan Era, Curtis Joseph,
stopped all 28 shots he faced. 

Against The Best

The Dallas Stars are kinda good. They've got great offense, great defense
and great netminding. What beat the Blues wasn't their best, but it was good 
enough on the night in question. 

The Stars had a 4-1 lead on the Blues after two periods, but it almost
slipped away. Pierre Turgeon scored 5:39 into the third and Chris McAlpine
made it a one-goal deficit with 2:48 left. 

But back-up goaltender Roman Turek stopped the Blues until the end as the
Stars escaped with a 4-3 victory. Jim Carey stopped 18 of 22 shots to lose 
his first start as a member of the Blues.
================================================================

=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHWEST DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CALGARY FLAMES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Brian Sutter
   
Roster: C- Andrew Cassels, Clarke Wilm, Cory Stillman, Jeff Shantz,
Steve Dubinsky, Eric Landry; LW- Rene Corbet, Bob Bassen, Ed Ward,
Jason Wiemer, Dave Roche; RW- Valeri Bure, Jarome Iginla, Martin St.
Louis, Rocky Thompson; D- Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse, Derek Morris,
Todd Simpson, Steve Smith, Phil Housley, Denis Gauthier, Chris
O'Sullivan; G- Ken Wregget, Fred Brathwaite. 

Injuries: Rocky Thompson, rw (concussion Jan. 16, indefinite).

Transactions: Traded Theo Fleury, rw, and Chris Dingman, lw, to
Colorado for Rene Corbet, lw, Wade Belak, d, and future
considerations. 

Game Results:
2/24 Buffalo      T 2-2
2/26 St. Louis    L 4-2
3/01 San Jose     L 2-1
3/05 Vancouver    W 5-1
3/06 Los Angeles  W 4-1

TEAM NEWS by John Alsedek, Calgary Correspondent

Hi. My name is John Alsedek, and I'm the new LCS Hockey Calgary
Correspondent. It's a singular honor, and one that I will try to
live up to by giving you the most up-to-date Calgary Flames info
that you'll find on this page. 

Well, it was a pretty slow two weeks up in Calgary, so let me
tell you a little about my childhood...oh, that's right. There was
one trade...involved some guy named Fleury. 

Yup, GM Al Coates finally went and did it: he traded away the heart
and soul of the Calgary Flames, Theo Fleury - a guy who stood (and
still stands, so far as I know) just 5'6", yet looked about 22 feet
tall to the folks in Calgary. The scribes at the Calgary Sun
promptly called it the dawn of the Apocalypse, declaring February
28th not just the end of the Flames' season, but of the Flames
franchise itself.  

One problem, though. None of the "Young Guns" must know how to read,
because, in the first three games P.F. (Post Fleury), they outplayed
San Jose in a 2-1 loss, and then whomped the hapless Canucks and the
equally hapless Kings 5-1 and 4-1, respectively. Valeri Bure picked up
two goals and two assists; Cory Stillman notched three goals and a
helper; and Jarome Iginla got four points. 

And then there's Freddy Brathwaite. After holding Vancouver to one
goal on 23 shots, he did the same to the Kings (only on more shots).
As a result, he's 5-1-1 in his last eight starts, and the Flames are
just a win or two away from bumping the Sharks outta that last
playoff berth. 

Okay, all doom-talk aside: how did GM Coates do on the Fleury trade?
Pretty darn well, as far as I'm concerned. The odds of Calgary being
able to re-sign the Little Big Man were slim to none, and all they'd
have gotten back was a compensatory second-round draft pick. 

With the Colorado deal, they get that pick anyway - or a
first-rounder if Fleury does the unlikely and signs with the Avs -
plus two other items. The first of those is a guy who just joined
the Flames lineup on Saturday and picked up an assist: Rene Corbet.
 

Looking at his numbers over the past few seasons, Corbet looks like
third-line material. However, remember that he was playing for the
top-heavy Avs, and wasn't getting the ice time he will with
Calgary. Former Avs coach Marc Crawford sang Corbet's praises
immediately after the trade, bringing up his high-scoring junior
and minor-league credentials, plus the fact that he's made the
effort to turn himself into a complete player. Having seen him play
quite a bit myself, both in the minors and for Colorado, I'd say
he's a keeper.  

Then, of course, there's the other item - a top Avs prospect who
hasn't yet been signed by Colorado, Flames' choice. The Avs nixed
any deal involving well-regarded forward prospect Alex Tanguay, but
have left several other players available for Al Coates to choose
from. It's widely expected that he'll go for rough tough blueliner
Robyn Regehr, but don't be all that surprised if he opts instead
for puck-rushing defensive prospect Martin Skoula. In only his
second season of North American competition, Skoula has adjusted
well and is considered by his coach in Barrie, the inimitable Bert
Templeton, to be one of the best defensemen in junior hockey.  

For Al Coates, it was a no-win situation. Trade Fleury and have the
fans curse you for ostensibly giving up on any chance at the
playoffs; keep Fleury and have the fans complain that you didn't
get any return for him. To my mind, he did the best he could under
the circumstances, which says a lot more about today's NHL than I
like to think about.  

Coates will likely be doing the same with another Flames
unrestricted free agent, Andrew Cassels, even as you read this. 
Where's Cassels headed? Well, here's a hint: have you ever
fantasized about Matthew Barnaby in a Flames uniform? If so, you're
likely to be in luck, unless Phoenix is willing to give up a kid
like Brad Isbister or Shane Doan as part of a deal.  

Oh, and if that isn't enough to think about until next issue, here's
something else: head coach Brian Sutter's contract is up over the
summer, which means that the rest of this season will determine if
he's back come September. If he can motivate the Kid Flames into a
playoff berth - or even come close to it - he'll probably be back.
If not... 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
COLORADO AVALANCHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Bob Hartley
   
Roster:  C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Stephane Yelle, Chris Drury.
LW - Valeri Kamensky, Milan Hejduk, Shean Donovan, Warren Rychel.  RW
- Theoren Fleury, Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Shjon Podein, Jeff
Odgers. D - Sandis Ozolinsh, Sylvain Lefebvre, Adam Foote, Alexei
Gusarov, Jon Klemm, Aaron Miller, Greg deVries, Cam Russell, Eric
Messier.  G - Patrick Roy, Craig Billington. 

Injuries: Theoren Fleury, rw, knee (day-to-day); Peter Forsberg, c,
elbow (day-to-day).

Transactions: Assigned Marc Denis, g, to Hershey (AHL). Traded Rene
Corbet, lw, and Wade Belak, d, to Calgary Flames for Theoren
Fleury, rw, Chris Dingman, lw, and future considerations. Assigned
Dingman to Hershey. 

Game results:
2/23 Vancouver      T 4-4
2/25 Pittsburgh     L 3-2
2/27 Nashville      W 3-1
3/01 Edmonton       L 4-3
3/03 at Florida     W 7-5
3/04 at Tampa Bay   L 2-1
3/07 at Pittsburgh  W 3-1

TEAM NEWS by Greg D'Avis

Have you heard? They ceded the Cup to the Avalanche. Rest of the
season is cancelled. 

Ok, not really, but to see the reaction in Denver in the days
following The Trade, you'd have thought the Avalanche just earned a
playoff bye -- for three rounds. 

The mediocre play of late notwithstanding, it's exciting around here
these days. Even though he only got into one game before hurting his
knee, Theo Fleury has captured the town's imagination.  

But before Theo came to town, there were other games to play,
throwing a monkey wrench into the chronology of this column. First
came the much-ballyhooed return of ex-Avs coach Marc Crawford, who
left the team in an acrimonious dispute that we all heard way too
much about last summer.  

The game resolved nothing, as the Avs underachieved enough to not
win (but not enough to actually lose to the rotten Canucks). No one
killed each other, and newspaper columnists got to, once again,
exhaust the whole did-he-fire-or-did-he-quit thing. Oh boy. 

Thus inspired, Colorado went right out and lost their next game,
breaking the streak of four straight ties. The Czechs caused
problems, as Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka rallied the Pens from a
third-period deficit to win.  

Next up were the pesky Predators, who the Avalanche had yet to beat
this year despite the fact that they're (remember?) an EXPANSION
team. Thankfully, Adam Deadmarsh - who's been hot -- played one of
his best games of the year, playing a part in each goal, checking,
and even cleaning the ice between periods.  

And then came Theo. The news was big enough to push the Denver
press' year-long coverage of "John Elway: His 4,000 Greatest
Moments" down a bit. The news energized the town, especially since
all that was given up was checking winger Rene Corbet, perennial
prospect Wade Belak and future considerations (more on that later).
 

And boy did it energize the Avalanche, as they spotted Edmonton a
four-goal lead in Game 1, W.F. (With Fleury). Oooooooooooooops. 

But then, things got a little funky. Fleury -- already serving as a
sparkplug -- scored a third period goal. Then Valeri Kamensky. Then
Aaron Miller. Unfortunately, close only counts in saturation
bombing, and though the comeback won points for style, the judges
were unimpressed with the lack of finishing ability and awarded the
win to the Oilers.  

Still, Fleury was great to watch, all over the ice. On a line with
Joe Sakic and Kamensky, the three were all over the place, mixing
up the Oilers defense and only kept in check by a stellar
performance from Bob Essensa and the Hand of God. 

After the game, it was revealed that Fleury had sprained a knee and
was out indefinitely. Again, oooooooooooooops. 

Having learned a little something, the Avalanche let the Panthers
run out to a five-goal lead in the next game. Then, Peter Forsberg
was released from the cryogenic chamber and preceded to show that
little punk Pavel Bure (a hat trick? Hah!) what it's all about. 

As the nation turned into Monica, Forsberg put on a hockey clinic
the likes of which hasn't been seen since the last time ol' Foppa
went nuts. Six points -- three goals, three assists -- in just over
a period, sending Florida goalie Sean Burke into the witness
relocation program.  

Forsberg came out the next game and got hurt. See a pattern? In said
game, the Avalanche were wiped out by mighty Tampa Bay, an effort
that prompted Sakic to offer some rare public criticism of the team.
Well-deserved, too. I mean, Tampa Bay? 

And, while the effort wasn't entirely there, some spark and
character returned as the Avalanche rallied to beat Pittsburgh.
Craig Billington was crazy in relief of a flu-ridden Patrick Roy in
goal, and Milan Hejduk -- how do you say "clutch" in Czech? -- got
his second game-winning comeback goal in three games, making half
of the rookie's goals this year game-winners. And, believe me, it's
all because I repeatedly misspelled and mispronounced his name
early in the season. Inspired the guy.  

So, it's been uneven lately. But life's uneven. And the Avalanche
are facing the playoffs with a rested Fleury, a rested Forsberg,
and the best collection of skill you've seen in recent years. 

Aftermath

The Avs aren't done trading. With Fleury's acquisition, the Avs now
have seven first-two-liners (and -- do the math -- only six spots):
Sakic, Forsberg, Fleury, Adam Deadmarsh, Valeri Kamensky, Claude
Lemieux and Hejduk.  

Sakic, Forsberg and Fleury are all automatic. Deadmarsh has played
extremely well of late, and they need his physical presence up top.
Kamensky and Hejduk need to be on an offensive line to be
effective. Lemieux needs to be on and offensive line to be happy.
 

The odd man out? Color Kamensky gone. He's an unrestricted free
agent this summer. He's said he won't be back. 

Talks with Buffalo fell through because the Avs want too much
(defenseman Jay McKee). Vancouver continually pops up -- possibly
as part of a deal for Alexander Mogilny -- except that it makes no
sense. As a free agent, Kamensky's a rent-a-player, and the Canucks
are almost a sure bet to miss the playoffs. Plus, Mogilny's another
offensive force, which the Avs don't need -- particularly if they
are serious about getting Fleury for longer than a few months. 

More likely destinations? Toronto; Boston; Carolina; San Jose.  Those
types of places. 

Another rumored deal has Sylvain Lefebvre (another unrestricted free
agent this summer) going to Tampa Bay. Fine, except that's even
stupider than Kamensky-to-Vancouver. Recent games have exposed big
flaws in the Avs defense, and Lefebvre has always been a tough
defenseman in the playoffs. Plus, since Tamps Bay's going to finish
farther out of the Cup race than most ECHL teams, they need a
veteran defenseman for the stretch run like ... well, like the Avs
need another skilled forward.  

One deal that's likely to play out soon is the "future
considerations" of the Fleury trade. There's a list of machinations
far too complex to list (because I Don't entirely understand them),
but the upshot is the Flames will get an Avs prospect (most likely
junior defenseman Robyn Regehr, possibly Martin Skoula) and a draft
pick, the place of which is determined by a.) the Avs' finish in
the playoffs this year and b.) their success in signing Fleury.
See, you didn't need to know all those little details, did you?
 

Goodbye, Rene

Lost in the excitement of the Fleury trade was the departure of Rene
Corbet. Corbet's ice time had been reduced this season with the
emergence of Chris Drury and acquisition of Shjon Podein, but he'll
be remembered as one of the most entertaining Avalanche players to
watch, one of the very few who always gave their all, and one who
gave his heart to hockey all the time.  

Calgary will love him, and we'll miss him. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
EDMONTON OILERS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Ron Low
   
Roster:  C - Doug Weight Todd Marchant, Rem Murray, Josef Beranek,
Dan Lacroix, Chris Ferraro.   LW - Dean McAmmond, Alex Selivanov,
Mats Lindgren, Ryan Smyth. RW - Bill Guerin, Mike Grier, Pat
Falloon, Georges Laraque. D - Sean Brown, Roman Hamrlik, Boris
Mironov, Frank Musil, Janne Niinimaa, Tom Poti, Marty McSorley.  G
- Bob Essensa, Mikhail Shtalenkov, Steve Passmore. 

Injuries: Kelly Buchberger, rw (fractured arm, should be another
week). 

Transactions:   2/22 - assigned Boyd Devereaux, c, and Todd Rierden,
d, to the Hamilton (AHL) and recalled Chris Ferraro, c, and Steve
Passmore, g. 

Game Results: 
2/24 Anaheim        L 2-1
2/26 Buffalo        W 6-2
2/27 Carolina       T 2-2
3/01 at Colorado    W 4-3
3/03 at Buffalo     W 5-3
3/05 at Pittsburgh  T 2-2
3/06 at Washington  L 4-3

Team News by Aubrey Chau

The Oilers finished February and began March like a lion with a
five-game unbeaten streak under their belt. What was going right
for the woeful Oilers, who have been struggling so much the past
couple months?  

Well, for starters, they've started scoring.  You need to score to
start winning games, and that's precisely what they've been doing. 
Also, their power play has been clicking of late and has produced
consistently during their unbeaten streak.  

So why is the power play working?  Well, coach Ron Low, was
frustrated with the fact that the Oilers had about as much a chance
of scoring on the power play as Steve Urkel does with Pam
Anderson.  So he moved Doug Weight off the boards onto the point of
the power play, where he was able to distribute the puck better off
the point.  

Then he moved Rem the Gem Murray to center on the first power-play
unit, where he was able to create some traffic in front of the net.
 

But the biggest thing the Low did was tell Boris Mironov to shoot
the puck more often, and try to hit the stupid net.  Boris, of
course, complied and that resulted in a nice
five-goals-in-four-game scoring streak for Bob.  That resulted in
some nice points for the Oilers to keep them in the Western
Conference playoff race.  

Of course two of the games during the Oilers unbeaten streak were
against a Dominik Hasek-less Buffalo Sabres team.  Both times, the
Sabres started Dwayne Roloson, and both times they had to yank him
in favour of Martin Biron.  

The Oilers can thank their lucky stars that they didn't have to face
the Dominator this season, or else the Oilers could have walked home
with a big frown, and no points.  

But their unbeaten streak wasn't all against teams with missing
pieces.  The Oil had the misfortune of facing the Colorado
Avalanche and their newest member, Theo Fleury.    Everyone could
have counted the Oil down and out with the Avs riding the
adrenaline from their latest acquisition, that sparkplug Fleury.
 

But luckily, the Avs started out of the gates slow, and fell flat on
their face, giving the Oilers a lofty 4-0 lead. 

But hold on, this is a team that boasts a power-play unit featuring
Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Valeri Kamensky, Sandis Ozolinsh, and
now Theo Fleury.  The Avs came dangerously close to nipping the
Oilers in the bud as the Avs stormed back quickly (almost at will)
with three goals.  

Luckily, the Oilers were able to hold the Avs at bay long enough to
collect two points, then paint the town red after the game. 

But not all games finished with a happy ending.  The Oilers'
unbeaten streak ended Saturday in Washington, as the Capitals came
back after a 2-0 deficit and beat the Oil 4-3.  The team was
obviously shaken after reading Monica's book and seeing her special
with Barbara Walters, how could they play hockey after all the evil
things Bill and Ken Starr did to her?  

That, and the Oilers were an extremely fatigued team.  That was
their seventh game in 11 nights, and that Zippergate scandal didn't
help them cope any better.  

The Oilers had a 2-0 lead on the Caps halfway through the second
period.  When two things happened: 1) Oilers fatigue set in and 2)
Adam Oates.  Oates brought his team back from the dead, and led the
Caps to four unanswered goals, leaving the Oil high and dry.  

Other Stuff: 

YEAH, BUT CAN HE DANCE?  

So it looks like the Oilers goaltending situation has stabilized a
little bit, for now.  The Oilers called up farmhand Steve Passmore,
who has played solidly for the Oilers.  
        
Right now he's sitting with a 1-2-1 record.  Neither of the two
losses can be blamed on Passmore, it was more the team's inability
to score, or play well enough in front of him.  Passmore's play has
been more than adequate.  

The only question right now is where does Mikail Shtalenkov fit into
the puzzle now?  Nobody likes being a third wheel, and that is
precisely what Shtalenkov is right now.  Word is he could be traded
to the Phoenix Coyotes, or the Buffalo Sabres, or even sent down to
the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.  

Shtalenkov has been less than stellar for the latter part of the
season, and seems unable to carry a large game load.  Maybe all
those years as a backup hasn't prepared him to handle 50 games a
season.  

Bob Essensa has been sharing the time with Passmore, as they are now
alternating games.  Like Batman and Robin, Essensa and Passmore make
a good tandem. Essensa, the quiet seasoned veteran, while Passmore is
the young, excitable rookie.  

WHAT'S HE GOING TO DO?  BEAT ME UP?  

Yes he is, and that's what he did. 

So the Buffalo Sabres were visiting the Oilers at the Skyreach
Centre in Edmonton last week, the game proceeds as usual. 

Up-and-coming Oiler bodyguard Georges Laraque asked seasoned goon
Rob Ray if he wanted to dance. Much to Laraque (the Rock)'s dismay,
Ray turned him down. Then later in the game, Ray decided he tangle
with someone not his own size, as he started picking on Oilers
stars Doug Weight and Billy the Butcher Guerin.  

This infuriated the Oilers to no end, especially Georges Laraque. 
After the game, Laraque said Ray would get what's coming to him. 
Ray responded that by musing, "What's he going to do? Beat me up?"
 

So next week rolls by, and the Oilers and Sabres meet again.  First
chance he gets, the Rock goes after Ray.  And man, Laraque beat Ray
like a rented mule.  Laraque pummeled Ray into next week.  Ray
didn't even get a shot in, and when the Rock was finished, Ray had
to be helped off the ice.  

The 245-pound Laraque set a precedent for the Oilers and the rest of
the NHL, and that was, don't screw with our good players.   The
fight, without a doubt must have made highlight reels around the
league, because Laraque thrashed Ray.  Probably one of the most
severe beatings in recent memory.  

AT LEAST HE'S GOOD FOR SOMETHING

The Oilers' third goal against Washington the other night was a big
time fluke, it went off Alex Selivanov's head. 

The recently acquired Russian, with the exception of a few games,
has been next to useless for the Oilers. But it was nice to see him
get another goal, his sixth as an Oiler, even if it did go off his
noggin.  He'll take what he can get.  

TRADE RUMOURS        

It's been fairly quite on the rumour front lately.  The Oilers in
the most talks have been Boris Mironov and Mikail Shtalenkov. 
Mironov's rumoured destinations include Chicago, Philadelphia,
Detroit and Buffalo.  No real word on what the Oilers would get in
return, but some say Philly would have to give up Rod Brind'amour. 
Not bloody likely though.  

Shtalenkov's could be going to the Phoenix Coyotes.  Fellow Russian
goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's injured, and the cavalry, Jimmy
Waite, has been pretty bad.  Apparently the Oil are looking for
either Shane Doan or Brad Isbister in return for Shtalenkov.  


-----------------------------------------------------------------
VANCOUVER CANUCKS 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Marc Crawford

ROSTER: C - Mark Messier, Dave Gagner, Harry York, Dave Scatchard,
Peter Zezel, Darby Hendrickson, Steve Washburn, Josh Holden. LW -
Todd Bertuzzi, Brad May, Donald Brashear, Peter Schaefer, Bert
Robertsson. RW - Markus Naslund, Alexander Mogilny, Bill Muckalt,
Trent Klatt, Steve Staios. D - Adrian Aucoin, Murray Baron, Ed
Jovanovski, Bryan McCabe, Mattias Ohlund, Jason Strudwick. G -
Garth Snow, Corey Hirsch, Kevin Weekes. 

INJURIES: Mark Messier, c (knee, couple more weeks), Todd Bertuzzi,
lw (leg, indefinite), Steve Staios, rw (knee, out for season). 

TRANSACTIONS: Signed Kevin Weekes, g, to a three-year contract;
recalled Peter Schaefer, lw, from Syracuse (AHL); recalled Josh
Holden, c, from Syracuse; assigned Dana Murzyn, d, to Syracuse;
traded Jamie Huscroft, d, to Phoenix for future considerations. 

GAME RESULTS:
2/22 at Colorado  T 4-4
2/24 at San Jose  T 1-1
2/26 Carolina     W 1-0
2/28 Buffalo      L 2-0
3/03 San Jose     L 4-3
3/05 Calgary      L 5-1
3/07 Chicago      T 2-2

Team news by Jeff Dubois

Needless to say, us LCS Hockey writers are always in the public
eye. As a result, we tend to get a lot of comments and questions
from the general public. Now usually we either ignore or throw out
any such correspondence, but in those rare cases where it's very
late at night and a deadline is looming, they magically change from
crap to valuable journalistic tools. This is such a case. If your
letter wasn't chosen, don't fret, it just probably wasn't good
enough!  

Q: I am a Vancouver Canucks fan. At the moment, it is a very
embarrassing experience. The season began with promise, but it all
of a sudden went downhill! What happened and why are you so
incredibly attractive?  

A: A very good question! The downward spiral in the Canucks' level
of play is due to a couple of difficult circumstances. The first is
that they were simply playing over their heads at the start of the
year. The likes of Mattias Ohlund and Adrian Aucoin were producing
a point a game each from the blue line. That type of output simply
could not be sustained for any long period of time. Alex Mogilny,
before his injury, was contributing offensively as a first line
right winger. Since his return, his production has dropped sharply.
The early surge brought with it unreasonable expectations, and the
Canucks realistic level of competitiveness has now caught up to
their on-ice results.  

Q: It is now obvious that the Canucks will not make the playoffs.
Does this mean that the Canucks will get rid of some of their
bigger salaries and veteran players?  

A: You'd think that would make sense, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, I
suspect that Brian Burke will not trade the likes of Dave Gagner,
Peter Zezel and Murray Baron. This would add up to an admission
that the team is done for the season, and that's a statement I
don't think Burke will ever make, especially with eight more home
games to sell tickets for. There's usually a demand for experience
and leadership at the trade deadline, so while Zezel may not fetch
much, Gagner and Baron might bring back a decent prospect or draft
pick. I don't see any of them making an impact on the team next
season, so lets give the younger guys some quality ice time now.
 

Q: Will next season be any better ? 

A: Only marginally, if at all. The team will get even younger next
year, as Josh Holden and Peter Schaefer will be every-day players
in a line-up that already includes Dave Scatchard and Bill Muckalt.
The defence will probably average 23 years of age once Bryan Allen
is in the fold and Kevin Weekes will probably take the starting job
in goal. It could be ugly again, but at least there will be some
development.  

Q: What is the team's biggest need? 

A: Keeping in mind that this team will not reach it's peak for
another five years, and Mark Messier will be 60 or so at that
point, the Canucks need to find someone who will be a number one
centre. Josh Holden will probably do a good job at No. 2, and
Scatchard at No. 3, but who will play in the middle on the top
offensive unit? I doubt it will be someone currently in the system,
so let's start looking!  

Q: Are there any positives on this team? Any reason for optimism?
 

A: Yes, and lots. If Kevin Weekes develops into the number one
goalie that Brian Burke says he will, he will combine with an
excellent blue-line core to form on of the top defences in the
league. Bryan McCabe, Ed Jovanovski and Mattias Ohlund may all be
All-Star defencemen in a few years time, and Adrian Aucoin and
Bryan Allen very well could be. The offence is young, but has tons
of potential. Alex Mogilny (trust me, he will again be a force),
Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Bill Muckalt will be an excellent
group of wingers. Holden, Schaefer, World Juniors hero Artem
Chubarov, feisty Finnish winger Jarkko Ruutu and rugged but
talented Mike Brown (picked up in the Bure trade) all have great
potential. Not right way, but in a five seasons, the Canucks will
be contender.          

Q: When will you announce this week's Wayne Axford Award winner? 

A: Right now! 

This week's winner of the Wayne Axford Award for Sporting Excellence
goes to defenceman Bryan McCabe. With Ohlund and Jovanovski out of
the line-up for much of the last two weeks, McCabe stepped up his
play while logging over 30 minutes most nights. His play didn't
translate into much on the score sheet, but he redeemed himself after
a long string of lackluster play.  Congratulations, Bryan, you're my
kind of hockey player. (Bryan was an editorial choice for he award,
as he fell short of Markus Naslund's 1,308 votes. He did pick up 764
votes, and the most important one, mine!). 

Please place your vote for the Wayne Axford award by sending me your
selection at: canucks_eh@hotmail.com  
================================================================

=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PACIFIC DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Craig Hartsburg
   
ROSTER: C - Matt Cullen, Travis Green, Steve Rucchin, Marty McInnis.
LW - Ted Drury, Stu Grimson, Paul Kariya, Jim McKenzie, Mike Leclerc.
RW - Antti Aalto, Jeff Nielsen, Tomas Sandstrom, Teemu Selanne. D -
Kevin Haller, Jason Marshall, Frederik Olausson, Jamie Pushor, Ruslan
Salei, Pascal Trepanier, Pavel Trnka, Mike Crowley.  G - Guy Hebert,
Dominic Roussel.

INJURIES: Pascal Trepanier, d (left leg contusion, day-to-day). 

TRANSACTIONS: 3/04 - recalled Mike Crowley, d, from Cincinnati
(AHL); 3/01 - sent Dan Trebil, d, to Cincinnati; 2/25 - recalled
Mike Leclerc, lw, from Cincinnati; 2/23 - sent Johan Davidsson, c,
to Cincinnati. 

GAME RESULTS:
2/24 at Edmonton  W 2-1
2/26 San Jose     W 3-1
2/27 at San Jose  W 4-1
3/03 Los Angeles  W 2-1
3/05 Nashville    W 3-2
3/07 Detroit      W 3-1

TEAM NEWS by Alex Carswell

PEAKING DUCKS?

Look at the recent results and you'd have to say, yeah, these guys
are at the top of their game. And while some of the wins have left
a little to be desired -- the LA and Nashville victories were
uninspired -- others have been of the breakthrough variety. Start
with the win over Detroit, whom the Ducks had not managed to beat
since the 1996-97 campaign despite putting forth several
competitive performances. It just seemed that the Wings always had
Anaheim's number. But no more.  

Defining moments might also be found in the sweep of conference foe
San Jose. Anaheim spared no mercy on consecutive nights, and used
the series as a springboard to further separate themselves from the
dregs of the West. Craig Hartsburg later said that, henceforth, the
Ducks should be looking ahead in the standings to see whom they
might catch, rather than behind them to see whom they should fear.
 

The Detroit win was a franchise-record seventh in a row for the
Ducks, who are 13-3 in their past 16 games and currently sitting at
five games above .500 -- another franchise first. More
impressively, the combination of Anaheim's run and Detroit's recent
woes has left the Ducks just one point behind the Red Wings in the
Western Conference standings. You can read that sentence again, if
you like, just for the unexpected thrill. And as for Phoenix, whose
cerebrally lacking head coach recently opined that he had points to
waste in pursuit of physical revenge against Anaheim for earlier
perceived offenses, their standings lead has dwindled to three
little points. At this point, the Ducks seem a real threat to earn
home ice advantage in the playoffs.  

HOW? WHY?

How did it happen, this recent run of success? Well, regular readers
of this column will know that it was our unending faith in the
offensively stalled veterans -- Green, McInnis, Sandstrom -- who
would be the key to Anaheim's turnaround.  

You're not buying it? Okay. I'll give. I didn't think we'd ever hear
from those boys again in any significant manner. But I'll also give
credit where credit is due: They're chipping in. When Steve Rucchin
went down with a broken nose (Nashville) and concussion (San Jose),
Travis Green stepped into the breach and performed well. McInnis has
been potting the odd goal, and Sandstrom -- his wrist finally strong
again -- has points in 10 of the last 14 games (5-9-14). 

Moreover, the continued dominance of Anaheim's special teams --
first in the league on the power play, at 21.8% prior to the
Detroit game -- has meant everything. Anaheim has scored a
power-play goal in 45 of the past 55 games, and put up great
shorthanded numbers (85% kills) to boot. Not only has that provided
a scoring boost in and of itself, but fear of the power play
(typically featuring Kariya, Selanne, Rucchin and Frederick
Olausson, currently contending to be the top-scoring defenseman in
the league), has caused opposing teams to think twice about being
over-aggressive at even strength.  

Then, of course, there's Guy. Hebert has continued to be a rock in
the net, going 5-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .968 save percentage over
the past five games.  

TEEMING TEEMU

Whenever the Ducks are doing well, some of those following the team
become compelled to make a case for Teemu Selanne as MVP. Yes,
Kariya's contributions are immense. And yes, without Hebert these
guys would be going nowhere. But Teemu is so important to this
team, it's impossible to imagine them accomplishing anything close
to their current success without him.  

Start with the numbers. Selanne has a 16-game point streak
(14-14-28), good for a franchise record and second-longest in the
NHL this season -- Eric Lindros ran off an 18-game streak. (Our
money says Teemu busts that number with his eyes closed, and if he
doesn't, it's only because Dallas shuts out the Ducks on March 12.)
In the set against San Jose, Teemu figured in each of Anaheim's
seven goals over two nights (3- 1 and 4-1 victories), and notched
his 300th goal in just his 464th game -- sixth-fastest in NHL
history.  

But the numbers only tell part of the story for the NHL's most
recent Player of the Month and Player of the Week. Selanne is a
bull who cannot be intimidated, will not get depressed if things
aren't going well, and can spark the team to a turnaround when need
be. It's laughable to think that this player's desire to win could
ever have been questioned -- simply because of his sunny-side-up
personality -- or that he could once have been had for Oleg
Tverdovsky and Chad Kilger. But beyond Jaromir Jagr in Pittsburgh,
it's hard for this observer to imagine anyone being more important
to his team -- on or off the ice -- than Selanne is to the Ducks.
And if the Ducks "do any damage" (as Teemu likes to say) in the
playoffs, the NHL will be handed as charismatic a player as they've
ever had in the national spotlight.  

COMING UP

Four of the next five come against conference foes -- Vancouver,
Dallas, Phoenix and LA. The Dallas and Phoenix games figure to be
huge; the former as a yardstick of Anaheim's progress, the latter
as a measure of the team's desire to nab home ice from Schoenfeld
and the rival Coyotes. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
DALLAS STARS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head coach: Ken Hitchcock

Roster:  C-Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Tony Hrkac,
Brian Skrudland. LW- Jamie Langenbrunner, Jason Botterill, Dave Reid,
Brent Severyn, Jere Lehtinen, Dan Keczmer. RW- Brett Hull, Mike
Keane, Grant Marshall, Pat Verbeek. D-Derian Hatcher, Craig Ludwig,
Darryl Sydor, Shawn Chambers, Richard Matvichuk, Sergei Zubov, Sergei
Gusev. G-Ed Belfour, Roman Turek. 

"I-Word": Brian Skrudland, c (chest contusion, 2-4 weeks). Brett
Hull, rw (strained hamstring, two weeks). 

Transactions: Placed Brett Hull, rw, on "the IR". Assigned Sergei
Gusev, d, to the Michigan K-Wings (IHL). Assigned Dan Keczmer, lw,
to the Michigan K-Wings. 

Game Results:
2/23 at Nashville    W 4-3
2/24 Nashville       L 2-1
2/26 Pittsburgh      W 6-4
2/28 Los Angeles     W 1-0
3/2  at NY Rangers   T 2-2 OT
3/4  at NY Islanders W 3-2
3/5  at Buffalo      L 2-1
3/7  St. Louis       W 4-3

Team News by Jim Panenka, Dallas Correspondent

Let's Just Not Mention The I-Word Anymore, Capeche?

The Stars were lucky enough to avoid games lost by players due to
"physical problems" (don't mention that damn I-word) for most of
the season. That is, at least until a certain idiot correspondent
jinxed the whole thing by bringing that fact into light.  

Following that ill-advised and mis-timed mention, Dallas was hexed
with three key player's physical problems in a row. Brian Skrudland
had already been out awhile due to a cartilage tear in his ribs.
Then Darryl Sydor fell victim to "the Reunion Meat Grinder." The
poor ice at the arena has already cost the Stars several knee
twinges because of ruts (Brett Hull was an early-season victim), so
Sydor was lucky to escape with just a sprain.  Lastly, Brett Hull
suffered a strained hamstring muscle.  

Just like that, the Stars were without their number-one goal scorer
and power-play threat in Brett Hull, their number-one scoring
defenseman in Darryl Sydor, and had lost their third-line centerman
in Brian Skrudland (although that one technically isn't my fault).
 

So due to that bad luck, this column will no longer mention the
I-word -- you know the one we're talking about. At least not until
the playoffs are over. I have learned my lesson! It's not like I'm
superstitious, or anything. But just go with me here, OK? Cool.
 

Stars sign Lidster to Bolster Defense (Defence for all you Great
White Northerners) 

In a not-so-surprising move, Dallas GM Bob Gainey announced that the
Stars have signed semi-retired veteran defender Doug Lidster to a
one-year deal. The trigger was pulled on this deal when Sydor went
down with the strained knee. It was obvious that Dallas would need an
extra defender with playoff experience just in case another key
defender is lost during the playoffs.  

Lidster, a 38 year-old veteran, has played 14 seasons in the NHL.
Some career highlights include 10 seasons with the Vancouver
Canucks, as well as being a four-season member of the New York
Rangers, including the 1994 Stanley Cup championship team. He spent
the beginning of the 1998-99 season with the Canadian National
Team, where he had 4 goals, 15 assists, and 64 penalty minutes in
38 games.  

"Doug will provide depth and experience to our team as we enter the
stretch run of the regular season and into the playoffs," said GM
Bob Gainey.  

In 880 career games, Lidster has 75 goals and 268 assists for 343
points with 669 penalty minutes. Lidster was noted as saying he was
pretty sure he'd never play again in the NHL, but was very happy to
sign with the Stars for another go.  

He played in his first game as a Star vs. Buffalo on March 5, where
he was held pointless with one shot and was even at plus/minus. He
showed promise by sneaking in to attempt a few shots on net while
Dallas had possession in the offensive zone, which probably
indicates Lidster is already feeling at home back in the big
league.  

Modano Answers Critics With Two Hat Tricks In Three Games

After a poor performance and being challenged in the press by his
head coach, Mike Modano lit the afterburners and went to work,
scoring two hat tricks in three games.  

The first hat trick came during a 5-1 win over Chicago on Feb. 19.
The second, which also registered as the seventh of Modano's
career, came during the first game of a home-and-home series vs.
the Nashville Predators on Feb. 23 where the Stars held on to win
4-3.  

Afterwards, Modano spoke to the media about his increased leadership
role on the team.  

"I think it's just a lot more responsibility on my part," Modano
said. "It's something I never had in the first five or six years of
my career. It's something that Bob Gainey and I talked about a
lot."  

Modano also indicated he wished he had listened more to Gainey
during the lean years, when he was challenged to be a more
complete, two-way player by the man for whom they say the Selke
award was created for (Bob Gainey). The fact that Modano didn't
listen to Gainey may have been one of the reasons Gainey stepped
down as the Stars head coach.  

With that aside, Modano has really turned the corner, and is now
widely recognized as one of the league's best skaters, better
scorers, and one of the best all-around complete players. He has
received high praise by none other than linemate Brett Hull.  

"From the minute I got here, we really hit it off," Hull said. "We
have the same outlook on the game. We have the same philosophy on
the game, we see the same things, and we know what each other likes
out there."  

Modano currently leads the team in points with 67 in 61 games played
(25-42-67), and is a remarkable +20. 

Carbo And Luds sit so Hitch Can Check Out The New Faces

With Hull out for a long period, Hitchcock began really shuffling
the lines to fill in that void. As part of this, vets Guy
Carbonneau and Craig Ludwig were scratches for the March 4 game vs.
the NY Islanders. The two were scratched so that almost-forgotten
forward Aaron Gavey and newly acquired defeseman Doug Lidster could
get some ice time.  

Gavey, who was part of the Bob Bassen to Calgary deal, impressed his
team with a good performance.  

"I think Aaron knows that this is a real opportunity for him," coach
Ken Hitchcock said. "I hope, for his sake and the team's sake, he
takes advantage of it. He sure made a big step today. He looked like
an NHL player out there."  

Hitchcock also shuffled around the top lines by placing Jere
Lehtinen on Joe Nieuwendyk's line.  

"I thought the biggest difference was when we put Lehtinen with
Verbeek and Nieuwendyk," Hitchcock said. "That was a very good line
for us. I thought Gavey's line was excellent, and I thought
Nieuwendyk's line, when we made that switch, had a lot of jump to
it. Those two lines really carried the mail for us."  

Never mind that the line was subsequently dismantled during the next
game vs. Buffalo. Hitch will always keep 'em guessing when it comes
to line placements.  

State Of The Game

Dallas is currently sitting pretty with a 40-11-10 record for 90
freakin' points. This is head-and-shoulders above any other team in
the NHL. With only 20 regular-season games left to play, the Stars
will look to keep healthy, and stay on course with the recent
re-focus on plain-old Stars hockey.  

Which means they will win a lot of faceoffs by talented forwards,
defensively allow typically less than 20 shots per game, forecheck
a lot to capitalize on opponent's mistakes, and turn away most
opponent scoring chances because of the league's best tandem of
goalies in Belfour and Turek.  

Although there are many trade rumors surrounding the team,
including interest in signing a gritty forward such as Adam Graves
and a ridiculous rumor that has Joe Nieuwendyk going to Vancouver
for Mark Messier, it is my personal opinion that Lidster was it -
there will be no further trades.  

The Stars still need more depth at forward, but is their hopes that
upcoming talent like Aaron Gavey and Jason Botterill will be enough
to compensate for any loss during the playoffs, much the same way
Dan Keczmer stepped up and made a valuable contribution during last
year's series vs. Detroit.  

Besides, there is no interest in trading away any current
forwards - and the team would be ill-advised to deal the
aforementioned young talent for a vet-for-hire. (Rent-a-vet?)  

There's still a possibility that owner Tom Hicks will spring for an
expensive free agent, and Bob Gainey is surely still making the
rounds from his GM phonebook looking for a deal. But don't count on
anything this close to the playoffs, the dealin' is probably done.
 

Other Notes:

*The Stars power play received new life during the close 4-3 win vs.
St. Louis on March 7. Dallas was able to score twice with the
man-advantage, including a beautiful over-the-shoulder wrist shot
from Modano against Jim Carey. This breaks a six-game streak
without scoring on the power play.  

*Dallas just broke a ten-game unbeaten streak on the road with the
2-1 loss to Buffalo, and had posted another nine-game streak
earlier in December-January. This is a clear indication the team
plays much better off of their home ice, where conditions are so
bad that Reunion Arena is being mentioned as the worst ice in the
league.  

*On that note, the Stars are clearly spending time and effort to
make the conditions at least up to par for the upcoming playoffs.
Dan Craig, who helped make the ice at Edmonton the league's best,
gave Stars and Reunion Arena officials a maintenance program to
develop a better ice surface.  

Stars president Jim Lites said that dehumidifying machines will be
brought in the first week in April, which is a month earlier than
last year. Lites also said that the ice will be shaved soon so that
it can be rebuilt with a smoother and harder surface.  

"He was real helpful," Lites said. "We're going to do everything we
can to improve the ice. Perception is reality. If there's a
perception that the ice is bad, then it is."  

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. At
least, that's what they tell me in those "Drop the Demon Ripple!"
meetings at the local rehab center.  

* Joe Nieuwendyk scored the overtime game-winning goal last night at
the Islanders to extend his current point streak to five games
(3-3-6), his third point streak this season of at least four games.
He has now scored the game-winning goal in each of the Stars last
three outings after earning the game-tying goal on Tuesday at the
Rangers and the game-winner on February 28 vs. Los Angeles. He is
still first in the NHL in faceoffs (63.7%, 530 of 832) and is now
fourth on the team in goals (15). Nieuwendyk picked up two assists
against the Penguins on February 26 for his seventh multi-point
game of the season.  

* The Stars named Mike Modano the team's Player of the Month for
February after he recorded 15 points (7- 8-15) in 12 games with two
hat tricks and three game-winning goals. On February 23 at
Nashville, he posted his third hat trick of the season and seventh
of his career. He had two hat tricks in three games, having picked
up three goals on February 19 vs. Chicago. This marks the first
time in his career that he has recorded more than one hat trick in
a single season and is the first time since the 1985-86 season that
a Stars player has recorded three hat tricks in one year (Dino
Ciccarelli and Scott Bjugstad). He now has 15 points (8-7-15) in
his last 11 games and 28 points (12-16-28) in his last 22 games. He
is first on the Stars in assists, points, plus/minus and shots
(171) and is second in game-winning goals (4) and in goals (26).
 

* Having completed the first five months of the season, the Stars
entered March with a league-best 38-11-9 record. The 11 losses as
of the end of February equals the fewest losses for any team since
the 1979-80 season when the Philadelphia Flyers were 41-5-14
heading into March. The 11 losses equals the total that Detroit had
in 1995-96 after the month of February (46-11-4) when the Red Wings
went on to post the NHL record for most wins in one season. The
Stars did not suffer their tenth loss this year until their 48th
game, which was a new Stars' record for the most games played
before suffering ten losses.  

* The Stars defense has allowed no more than 20 shots in six of
their last nine games and 19 outings overall for the season. In
games where they keep the shots below 20, the team has gone 13-4-2.
For the year, the Stars are allowing an average of 23.2 shots per
game, which is tied for the second lowest average in the NHL. They
have allowed 30 or more shots only ten times and own a 6-1-3 record
in those games. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
LOS ANGELES KINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Larry Robinson

Roster:  C - Jozef Stumpel, Olli Jokinen, Ian Laperriere,  Ray
Ferraro, Yanic Perreault, Sean Pronger, Nathan Lafayette.  LW -
Eric Lacroix, Vladimir Tsyplakov, Luc Robitaille,  Craig Johnson, 
Josh Green.  RW - Russ Courtnall,  Glen Murray,  Sandy Moger,
Daniel Audette.  D - Garry Galley, Rob Blake, Sean O'Donnell, Doug
Bodger, Mattias Norstrom, Steve Duchesne, Philippe Boucher.  G -
Stephane Fiset,  Jamie Storr. 

Injuries: Steve McKenna, lw (abdominal strain, unknown); Vladimir
Tsyplakov, lw (knee, Saturday?);  Mark Visheau, d (urinary tract
obstruction, not until he can pee straight). 

Transactions:  Recalled Nathan Lafayette, c, from Long Beach (IHL).
Dispatched Pavel Rosa to the minors. 

Game Results
2/24  at Detroit  W 3-2
2/26  at Chicago  W 2-1
2/28  at Dallas   L 1-0
3/03  at Anaheim  L 2-1
3/04  Nashville   L 4-3
3/06  Calgary     L 4-1

Team News by Matthew Moore

The Los Angeles Kings suck. 

I could just stop there and that would suffice, but my editor would
be unhappy.  So I'll throw in some filler. 

It started out real well, with a gritty come from behind victory
over the Red Wings in Detroit.  This was highlighted by the
game-winning goal in overtime by Luc Robitaille.  Having received a
pass from the corner right in front of the net, Robitaille fell
down while turning.  But he had the presence of mind and skill to
put it on net while on the ice and put in the winner.  Yee-haw.  A
very good win indeed.  

Then the Kings played the Blackhawks.  The Blackhawks are the only
team in the West that are worse than the Kings, and the Kings have
schooled the Hawks in recent history.  So a win over them isn't
that impressive.  But still, two wins in a row is darn good.  

Then reality struck.  They played the Stars in the next game.  They
played tough and made it a close game, but they were stung in the
first minute by a quick goal.  This game showed two different
things about the Kings: that they have absolutely no offense
outside of Luc Robitaille and that they are so inconsistent that
even when they play 59 minutes of good hockey that the one minute
is still a killer.  

Now the next three games were real depressing.  The Ducks just
outclassed and out hustled the Kings.  And the Kings only showed up
for about 15 minutes of play during the Nashville game.  And the
Flames, well, that game was the worst.  They don't even have Theo
Fleury anymore, yet they still come onto the Kings home ice and
beat the Kings like a rented mule.  

Now for other news:

Pavel Rosa was sent to Long Beach.  Apparently Larry Robinson and
Dave Taylor didn't like his work ethic. But I wonder why just send
Rosa to the minors?  Somehow I still see Yanic Perreault playing
with the big team.  And how about sending people down for just bad
play?  Then Jozef Stumpel would be on the way to Springfield or
Long Beach darn quick.  Especially if he keeps on making those nice
clearing passes right up the middle to the stick of an opposing
player.  And for those who still try and make excuses for him by
saying that he was injured early in the season: well, build a
bridge and get over it already.  Jeez, it isn't as if he fell into
a wood chipper and is trying to play without any legs.  And I
always thought you were supposed to play hurt in hockey.  I seem to
remember a Tomas Sandstrom playing versus the Oilers in the
playoffs with a broken bone in his leg.  Sure he didn't play 100%
but he also didn't make mental mistakes that cost goals.  

One of the last true hustlers on the Kings, Ray Ferraro, was held
out due to the flu.  No truth to the rumor that he was on suicide
watch, being distraught over being on a team that was worse than
some of those Isles teams he was on.  Nathan Lafayette was called
up to take his spot in the lineup.  

Vladimir Tsyplakov got fitted with a brace and began practicing with
the Kings again on Monday.  He should be able to play against the
Canucks on the following Saturday.   


-----------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX COYOTES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Jim Schoenfeld 

Roster: C - Jeremy Roenick, Bob Corkum, Mike Stapleton, Juha Ylonen,
Daniel Briere, Trevor Letowski. LW - Keith Tkachuk, Greg Adams, 
Jim Cummins, Mike Sullivan, Louie DeBrusk. RW - Rick Tocchet, 
Dallas Drake, Brad Isbister, Shane Doan, Stephen Leach. D -
Keith Carney, Gerald Diduck, Jyrki Lumme, Teppo Numminen, Oleg
Tverdovsky, Deron Quint, JJ Daigneult, Brad Tiley, Jamie Huscroft. 
G - Nikolai Khabibulin, Robert Esche. 

Injuries: Brad Isbister, lw (hernia surgery, six weeks); Gerald Dicuk, d 
(broken foot (4-6 weeks); Juha Ylonen, c (knee, day-to-day); Mike 
Sullivan, c (shoulder, day-to-day). 

Transactions: Placed Jimmy Waite, g, on waivers.  Assigned Travis Hansen, c, 
to Springfield (AHL).  Assigned Scott Langkow, g, to Utah (IHL).  Assigned 
Andrei Vasilyev, lw, to Grand Rapids (IHL).  Recalled Brad Tiley, d, from 
Springfield (AHL).  Acquired Jamie Huscroft, d, from Vancouver for future
considerations.  Assigned Rob Murray, c, to Springfield (AHL).  Recalled 
Stephen Leach, rw, from Springfield (AHL).  

GAME RESULTS
2/28 at New Jersey    L 4-1
3/02 at Boston        L 3-2
3/05 Detroit          L 7-2
3/07 Nashville        W 4-3
3/09 at San Jose      L 4-2

TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

Bob Chebat, your regular correspondent, was unable to file a report this issue.  
So you know what that means?  That's right, my friend.  Haiku time.

<center>
They started off hot, 
Now they really blow big time, 
Have you seen my pants?
</center>

Thank you.  As always, my book of Haikus, entitled "Haikus?  I Got Your Haikus 
Right Here," can be purchased at better bookstores everywhere.

Good night and God bless.

 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
SAN JOSE SHARKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Darryl Sutter 
     
ROSTER: C - Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Mike Ricci, Tony Granato,
Ron Sutter. LW - Murray Craven, Stephane Matteau, Dave Lowry,
Jeff Friesen, Shawn Burr. RW - Ron Stern, Owen Nolan, Joe 
Murphy, Brantt Myhres, Alexander Korolyuk. D - Bryan Marchment,
Bill Houlder, Marcus Ragnarsson, Mike Rathje, Andrei Zyuzin, 
Bob Rouse, Jeff Norton. G - Mike Vernon, Steve Shields, Sean
Gauthier. 

INJURIES: Gary Suter, d (tricep, rest of season); Tony Granato, rw
(knee injury, indefinite); Murray Craven, lw (injured knee, 
day-to-day); Mike Vernon, g (injured groin, day-to-day); Bill
Houlder, d (twisted knee, day-to-day). 

TRANSACTIONS: Sent Andy Sutton, d, to Kentucky (AHL); Recalled Sean 
Gauthier, g, from Kentucky; Sent Shawn Heins, d, 
to Kentucky; Send down Jarrod Skalde, c, to Kentucky;

GAME RESULTS
2/24 Vancouver       T 1-1
2/26 at Anaheim      L 3-1
2/27 Anaheim         L 4-1
3/01 at Calgary      W 2-1
3/03 at Vancouver    W 4-2
3/06 Chicago         L 4-0

TEAM NEWS by A.J. DaSilva

Recap Time

Let's summarize what happened the last two weeks: 


   1) My friend Margaret was real sweet to me and stuff -
      That's REALLY cool.
   2) The Sharks finally played their first game at home in 
      three weeks - that's kind of cool.
   3) I got to become a regular LCS Hockey correspondent -
      that's VERY cool.
   4) My schoolmate Fabiola gave birth to a baby girl - that's
      a special type of cool.
   5) The Sharks aren't scoring enough goals - that's NOT 
      cool!!!


Scoring goals.. Putting the Sharks in perspective! 

My Philadelphia associate Bob S. told me that most Flyers 
fans are whining about the need for more scoring because they
only have one line (the Lindros line) scoring goals on a
consistent basis. Okay, at last look the Flyers were in a
mini-slump, but being a long suffering Sharks fan, all I can 
say is: 


   1) At least Philly has a winning record.
   2) Anyone on the Flyers second and third lines would without a 
      doubt be on the top line for the Sharks.
   3) My 10-year-old cousin Andrew knows the Flyers still 
      have way MORE wins, points, goals and guys with cool 
      nicknames like Beezer than the Sharks do.
   4) Who would you rather have as a favorite player, John 
      LeClair (my colleague Megan A's fave) or Joe Murphy?
   5) Philly Cheesesteaks are kind of cool. 


The Sharks have the third-worst scoring offense in the league (you
can now insert your "Thank goodness we're not Tampa Bay" joke
here). And with Theo Fluery now of the Avalanche, the Sharks 
obviously need to look elsewhere for scoring. 

But who? Mark Recchi? Alexander Mogilny? Rent another
free-agent-to-be for a few months and lose him over the summer
again? Sharks GM and resident "I'm way over my head" dude Dean
Lombardi doesn't rule out a "minor" trade to boost scoring. Tune in
to find out if Dean really thinks that means trading for a guy
who's still playing in the minors! As for Theo coming here as a
free agent in the off-season, don't bet on it. He'll get his money,
but he also wants to win. 

And they cometh home, finally... 

It took 
the Sharks three weeks to finally see the home confines of the
San Jose Arena again. So fans were anxious to see the first home
game against the "Let's get ready to Rumble" Vancouver Canucks. 

The Sharks came out firing against Garth Snow, yet it was the 
Canucks that scored first, when an innocent looking pass from 
the blue line was deflected past Mike Vernon by one of two Canucks
standing beside the net. Again, no Sharks anywhere in sight.
Even my roller hockey goalie chum Dave K. and his lofty
2.00 GAA would have been toast with that kind of defensive 
support!! 

The Sharks pulled one back thanks to Alex 
Korolyuk on the power play with a sweet move in front of Snow. 
Korky's play, his zip and never-say-die attitude ignited the 
team, and captain Owen Nolan nailed a Canucklehead with a 
thunderous hit that brought the crowd to its feet. Despite
outshooting the Canucks 40-10, and Garth Snow's habit of
giving up big, fat, juicy rebounds, the Sharks could not 
convert and settled for a 1-1 tie. 

Things got worse during a home-at-home series against the Ducks.
Simply put, stop Kariya and Selanne, you stop the Ducks. And
with the Ducks having the No. 1 power-play unit in the 
league, you obviously don't give up penalties to them. Simple?
(That actually describes how the Sharks staff wants Mike Rathje
to play defense, but I digress...). The Sharks went out and lost
both games as the Quack Attack scored three power-play goals, and
Selanne had seven points while Kariya had three. 

Next it was on to Calgary, who had just traded away Theo Fleury
for two guys, future picks and as my colleague Arlen A. enjoys 
saying, "the preverbial bag of used hockey pucks". Calgary could
have just gone through the motions, but there was still a
"hokey" hockey game to be played, and the Flames came out and 
outplayed the Sharks. 

Calgary would have won if: 


   1) Mike Vernon hadn't played in Stanley Cup form
   2) D-man Billy Houlder hadn't scored both Sharks goals.
   3) Theo Fleury hadn't left the building (you get the idea!) 


Instead it was the Sharks hanging on to a 2-1 win. 

Two nights later it was a rematch in Vancouver. The Sharks were
badly outchanced, outshot and were absolutely pathetic in 
winning faceoffs, but somehow managed to hold off the Canucks
4-3. Joe Murphy, Patrick Marleau, Stephane Matteau, and the
goal machine himself, Bill Houlder, scored for the Sharks. The
Sharks squandered a two-goal lead twice in the third period to hold
on for dear life. Steve Shields got the win despite having a
less-than-solid final period. 

The team came home for a late afternoon matinee against the
struggling Blackhawks. To summarize in short - the Sharks came,
they played, they lost, they were inept. The power play was
disorganized, the passing was nowhere, and the fans had plenty
of opportunities to show their displeasure. The lead over
the Calgary Flames for the last playoff spot is now
down to two points. 

And now for something completely trivial

One night during the Al Sims coaching "dynasty" in San Jose
(or as my buddy Bonnie E. points out, a period of not scoring
enough goals or winning enough games), the three defensive pairings 
that evening were given the immortal names of "Slow and Slower",
"Small and Smaller" and the title of the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels 
movie. Can you name the players of those defensive pairings? 
Answer at the bottom. 

Defensive Ponderings..

Bryan Marchment returned to the lineup for the first Canucks
game after a long absence due to his shoulder injury. This 
meant there were nine defenseman on the roster, so one guy
had to be sent down... 

And the unlucky guy was Andy Sutton. Sutton had actually played
well during his current stint with the Sharks this year. My guess
is that he may be back soon because he had the most games out of
all the rookie d-men this year, plus he plays with emotion. And
speaking of being sent down... 

Shawn Heins was sent down after the second Vancouver game. He
impressed me with his hustle and grit, but at age 26, Coach
Sutter had indicated that he still needed to improve on 
his basic skills. A good example of this was during the first 
Canucks game, where he seemed to have problems stopping the puck 
from exiting the offensive zone during the power play. Which 
leads me to ask the question.. 

Why isn't Andrei Zyuzin playing more? Granted he's still giving
the puck up a little too much, but he's still the most skilled 
offensive defenseman the Sharks have, and it's not like all the 
other defenseman (Billy Houlder being the exception) aren't 
giving up the puck either! The incident earlier this season when
Andrei refused to report to Kentucky might indicate he is still
in the coach's doghouse, but hey, 
when the team needs scoring right away, any guy with any 
offensive ability 
is a major plus. If that's not enough to make you scratch your 
head, then ponder this... 

Why is Mike Rathje still playing? (no comments please!) 

Offensive Musings...

Ron Sutter returned to the lineup in the second game against Ducks.
Jarrod Skalde was set to return to Kentucky, but the player who
my old boss Todd E. says has "Hands of Stone", Murray Craven, 
re-injured his groin, so Skalde stayed, at least until after
the second Vancouver game. Skalde always plays hard when he's up
from Kentucky, and speaking of hustle... 

Kudos for Dave Lowry and Mike Ricci. In recent games, they have
taken the punishment in front of the opposition net and lived to
tell about it. All good teams have guys who cause havoc in
front of the net, whether on the power play or when driving
towards the net after a shot has been taken. If the Sharks can
continue to do this, the scoring opportunities should increase.
And while we're on the subject of punishment... 

Welcome back Brantt Myhres! The Sharks missed his toughness
during the 12-game suspension handed to him by penalty tzar
Colin Campbell. His return should give the Sharks an emotional 
lift. Unfortunately, the refs will probably pay more attention
to Brantt during fights. And since I mentioned the zebras... 

Why do some refs have to make themselves the focal point of the
game? Mick McGough called his typical "let the game get out of
hand before I do something about it" game during the Sharks first
home game, then started to call all sorts of phantom 
penalties on both sides. It was pitiful. Remember, fans come to
watch the players, not the refs. 

Three Goalies??

Mike Vernon was injured during the Calgary game and was listed
day-to-day. Not wanting to put him on IR, the Sharks called up
Sean Gauthier from Kentucky and Shawn Heins was sent down to
meet the 24-man roster limit. Gauthier almost got into his first
NHL game in Vancouver when Steve Shields looked to be injured
after a collision around the net. Shields shook it off and
stayed in the game. Gauthier finally got his NHL debut doing
mop-up duty against Chicago. 

Where are they now??

Hoops fans here like to point out that if you put together a 
team of current ex-Golden State Warriors, they would be a 
pretty good team. In that same tradition, we present to you 
the "Where are they now?" segment, and let you Sharks fans 
ponder the question: "What if they had played like this
with the Sharks?". 

While you dive into this moment of 
melancholy, we'll announce that this week's player is 
former Shark fan favorite, and Pat Falloon buddy, Ray Whitney, 
who after being let go by the Sharks and Oilers landed with 
the Florida Panthers. 

Last season, Whitney scored a career 
high 31 goals with the Cats. This season, he has 17 goals and 
29 assists, and his 49 points would put him in first place on 
the Sharks. And unlike current Shark and ex-Panther Jeff 
Norton, Ray gets to play with some guy named Pavel Bure who 
can score a ton of goals. 

The Morgan Stuart Award

And finally, this award is named after my goddaughter Morgan, who 
exemplifies the hard work and effort that people come to 
appreciate, plus she's really cool. This award goes to the Shark
who was the best player since the last issue. And since this is
my first article, this is the first time the award has...uh...been
awarded. Honorable mention goes to Bill "Goal machine" Houlder,
Mike "Cool guy" Vernon and Mike "Samson-like hair" Ricci, but this
week's winner is Alex "Korky" Korolyuk, who displayed grit,
determination, and pretty nifty puck handling skills over the last
two weeks. Throw in some goals, assists, and a lot of heart game in
and game out, and you've got your award winner. Congrats, and keep
up the good work, Korky!!  

And not to leave you hanging...

Those immortal pairings that infamous night, and the answers to the
trivia  question, were:  

Jim Kyte and Jayson More: (slow and slower)
Greg Hawgood (5 ft 8) and Tom Pederson (5 ft 6): (small and smaller)
Mike Rathje and Michal Sykora: (the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels movie)

Until next time... 

Oh by the way, Happy Birthday Michele P.!!
================================================================
NEXT ISSUE: Wednesday, March 24, 1999

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLAYER STATS thru March 7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM P NO  PLAYER                 GP   G   A PTS +/-  PIM PP SH GW GT   S  PCTG
ANA  R  8  Selanne, Teemu         57  36  46  82  11   26 20  0  6  1 207  17.4
ANA  L  9  Kariya, Paul           64  27  52  79  11   36  5  2  2  0 345   7.8
ANA  C 20  Rucchin, Steve         61  23  34  57  12   18  5  1  5  1 134  17.2
ANA  C 16  McInnis, Marty         64  18  27  45 -13   34 10  1  5  0 115  15.7
ANA  D  2  Olausson, Fredrik      58  14  31  45  12   26  9  0  2  0 100  14.0
ANA  C 39  Green, Travis          61  12  15  27   0   69  3  1  1  0 121   9.9
ANA  R 17  Sandstrom, Tomas       40  11  13  24  -2   32  5  0  2  0  80  13.8
ANA  C 11  Cullen, Matt           57   7  12  19 -14   45  4  1  0  0  80   8.8
ANA  D 24  Salei, Ruslan          58   2  11  13  -2   57  1  0  0  0 107   1.9
ANA  C 18  Drury, Ted             57   3   6   9  10   38  0  0  0  0  51   5.9
ANA  C 22 *Davidsson, Johan   M   51   3   4   7  -7   12  1  0  1  0  46   6.5
ANA  C 14 *Aalto, Antti           56   3   4   7  -7   16  2  0  0  0  47   6.4
ANA  D 23  Marshall, Jason        58   0   7   7   0  124  0  0  0  0  54   0.0
ANA  L 33  McKenzie, Jim          55   3   3   6 -13   61  1  0  1  0  44   6.8
ANA  R 19  Nielsen, Jeff          62   3   2   5  -4   22  0  0  2  0  73   4.1
ANA  D 25 *Crowley, Mike          20   2   3   5 -10   16  1  0  1  0  41   4.9
ANA  D  5  Haller, Kevin          64   1   3   4   2   98  0  0  0  0  52   1.9
ANA  L 32  Grimson, Stu           59   3   0   3   2  134  0  0  1  0   9  33.3
ANA  D 27 *Trepanier, Pascal      38   1   2   3  -3   42  0  0  1  0  40   2.5
ANA  D  7  Trnka, Pavel           48   0   3   3   4   54  0  0  0  0  39   0.0
ANA  D  4  Pushor, Jamie          54   1   1   2  -8   86  0  0  0  0  54   1.9
ANA  D 34  Trebil, Dan        M    1   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
ANA  L 12 *LeClerc, Mike           5   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
BOS  L 12  Khristich, Dmitri      62  26  34  60   8   42 10  1  4  1 117  22.2
BOS  C 41  Allison, Jason         63  18  39  57   1   47  4  1  2  0 129  14.0
BOS  L 14  Samsonov, Sergei       60  21  23  44  -6   16  5  0  6  1 119  17.6
BOS  D 77  Bourque, Ray           62   6  35  41  -3   28  4  0  2  0 201   3.0
BOS  C  6  Thornton, Joe          63  11  17  28   0   65  4  0  1  0  95  11.6
BOS  R 23  Heinze, Steve          54  13  13  26  -1   28  4  0  3  0 114  11.4
BOS  C 33  Carter, Anson          36  12  12  24   0   12  5  0  2  0  75  16.0
BOS  D 20  Van Impe, Darren   R   47   5  13  18  -8   55  4  0  0  0  87   5.7
BOS  C 19  DiMaio, Rob            55   4  14  18  -9   84  0  0  0  0  90   4.4
BOS  L 11  Axelsson, P.J.         59   7   9  16  -7   12  0  0  2  0 108   6.5
BOS  C 42  Ferraro, Peter         45   6   8  14  10   44  1  0  1  0  60  10.0
BOS  D 18  McLaren, Kyle          34   6   5  11  -2   42  3  0  0  0  69   8.7
BOS  C 26  Taylor, Tim            31   4   6  10  -4   33  0  0  1  0  48   8.3
BOS  D 36  Ledyard, Grant         37   3   7  10 -10   25  1  0  1  0  40   7.5
BOS  D 32  Sweeney, Don           63   2   8  10  11   52  0  0  0  0  62   3.2
BOS  C 38  Taylor, Chris      M   37   3   5   8  -3   12  0  1  0  0  60   5.0
BOS  D 25  Gill, Hal              63   2   6   8  -7   51  0  0  1  0  80   2.5
BOS  R 10 *Mann, Cameron          18   5   2   7  -1    6  1  0  1  1  27  18.5
BOS  C 17 *Bates, Shawn       M   25   3   4   7   2    2  0  0  0  0  23  13.0
BOS  D 44  Ellett, Dave           44   0   6   6  11   25  0  0  0  0  38   0.0
BOS  L 16  Belanger, Ken          43   2   3   5  -1  149  0  0  0  0  14  14.3
BOS  L 57 *Laaksonen, Antti   M   11   1   2   3  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
BOS  L 22  Baumgartner, Ken       59   1   2   3  -5  104  0  0  0  1  11   9.1
BOS  D 37  Timander, Mattias       9   0   3   3   2    0  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
BOS  R 27  Wilson, Landon          6   1   1   2   0    6  0  0  0  0   9  11.1
BOS  C 21 *Robitaille, Randy  M    4   0   2   2  -1    0  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
BOS  C 28  Savage, Andre      M    6   1   0   1   2    0  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
BOS  C 56 *Nordstrom, Peter   M    2   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
BOS  C 72 *Nickulas, Eric     M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
BOS  D 55 *Girard, Jonathan   R    3   0   0   0   1    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
BOS  D 29  Vaske, Dennis      M    3   0   0   0  -3    6  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
BOS  L 51 *Henderson, Jay     M    4   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
BOS  D 71  Virtue, Terry      M    4   0   0   0   2    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BOS  D 53 *Smith, Brandon          5   0   0   0   2    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BOS  C 61 *Mathieu, Marquis   M    9   0   0   0  -1    8  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
BUF  L 81  Satan, Miroslav        62  28  22  50  18   34  7  2  2  0 161  17.4
BUF  C 27  Peca, Michael          63  25  18  43   3   50 10  0  7  1 156  16.0
BUF  L 18  Grosek, Michal         63  15  28  43  17   89  3  0  2  0 115  13.0
BUF  C 37  Brown, Curtis          60  16  26  42  23   38  5  1  3  3 107  15.0
BUF  R 15  Ward, Dixon            62  16  20  36   9   38  2  1  3  0  85  18.8
BUF  D  5  Woolley, Jason         62   6  27  33  13   50  2  0  1  1 129   4.7
BUF  C 19  Holzinger, Brian       62  16  13  29   7   31  5  0  2  0 113  14.2
BUF  D 44  Zhitnik, Alexei        62   6  21  27  -7   80  2  1  2  0 139   4.3
BUF  L 80  Sanderson, Geoff       58  10  15  25   7   16  1  0  1  0 116   8.6
BUF  R 25  Varada, Vaclav         53   7  17  24   6   47  1  0  1  0  90   7.8
BUF  R 36  Barnaby, Matthew       43   4  14  18  -1  136  0  0  3  0  52   7.7
BUF  C 26  Plante, Derek          40   4  11  15   3   12  0  0  0  0  64   6.3
BUF  D  8  Shannon, Darryl        58   3  12  15  24   48  1  0  0  1  71   4.2
BUF  D 42  Smehlik, Richard       53   1  10  11  -7   36  0  0  0  0  46   2.2
BUF  C 22  Primeau, Wayne         49   4   6  10  -5   34  0  0  0  1  45   8.9
BUF  C  9 *Rasmussen, Erik    M   38   2   6   8   5   37  0  0  0  0  37   5.4
BUF  D  3  Patrick, James         42   1   6   7  12   16  0  0  0  0  30   3.3
BUF  D 74  McKee, Jay             55   0   6   6  17   63  0  0  0  0  44   0.0
BUF  L 17  Cunneyworth, Randy     14   2   2   4   1    0  0  0  1  0  12  16.7
BUF  D  4  Wilson, Mike           27   1   2   3   9   47  0  0  1  0  33   3.0
BUF  R 32  Ray, Rob               57   0   3   3  -2  204  0  0  0  0  17   0.0
BUF  L 24  Kruse, Paul            29   2   0   2  -1   96  0  0  0  0  21   9.5
BUF  D 21  Hurlbut, Mike      M    1   0   0   0   2    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BUF  C 83 *Pittis, Domenic    M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
BUF  D 29 *Holland, Jason     M    3   0   0   0  -1    8  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BUF  D  6 *Sarich, Cory       M    4   0   0   0   3    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BUF  D 34 *Grand-Pierre, Jean-M    4   0   0   0   0    6  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
CGY  C 16  Stillman, Cory         57  21  20  41   9   26  8  1  4  1 130  16.2
CGY  D  6  Housley, Phil          63   7  33  40  13   46  2  0  1  0 145   4.8
CGY  R 12  Iginla, Jarome         63  23  16  39   6   54  6  0  3  1 144  16.0
CGY  R  8  Bure, Valeri           61  15  23  38   5   18  5  0  0  0 173   8.7
CGY  D 53  Morris, Derek      R   57   6  25  31   7   71  2  0  2  1 126   4.8
CGY  C 21  Cassels, Andrew        51  11  17  28  -4   14  4  1  3  0  72  15.3
CGY  C 11  Shantz, Jeff           61  12  14  26  12   36  1  1  3  0  68  17.6
CGY  L 20  Corbet, Rene           55   8  15  23   5   60  2  0  1  0  90   8.9
CGY  C 24  Wiemer, Jason          63   6  13  19 -10  160  0  0  1  0 108   5.6
CGY  D 55  Smith, Steve           62   1  13  14   3   78  0  0  0  0  39   2.6
CGY  C 23 *Wilm, Clarke           59   7   6  13   9   51  1  2  0  0  71   9.9
CGY  D 32  Hulse, Cale            60   3   8  11  -4   97  0  0  0  0  65   4.6
CGY  C 18  Dubinsky, Steve        54   3   7  10  -8   12  0  2  0  0  56   5.4
CGY  L 62  Nazarov, Andrei        44   6   3   9  -3   61  0  0  1  1  47  12.8
CGY  D 27  Simpson, Todd          63   2   6   8  14  138  0  0  0  0  41   4.9
CGY  R 42  Ward, Ed               51   3   4   7   0   50  0  0  0  0  38   7.9
CGY  D  3 *Gauthier, Denis        38   3   2   5   5   35  0  0  0  0  29  10.3
CGY  C 25  Roche, Dave        R   26   2   3   5   0   29  1  0  2  0  21   9.5
CGY  D  5  Albelin, Tommy         42   1   4   5  -4    6  0  0  0  0  23   4.3
CGY  C 28  Bassen, Bob            36   1   2   3 -12   35  0  0  0  0  40   2.5
CGY  R 33  Pankewicz, Greg    M   18   0   3   3   0   20  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
CGY  C 15 *St. Louis, Martin  M   13   1   1   2  -2   10  0  0  0  0  14   7.1
CGY  C 17  Domenichelli, Hnat      7   1   0   1  -2    7  0  0  0  0  18   5.6
CGY  C 26 *Landry, Eric            3   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CGY  D 19  O'Sullivan, Chris       7   0   1   1  -1    0  0  0  0  0   9   0.0
CGY  C 44 *Fata, Rico         R   20   0   1   1   0    4  0  0  0  0  13   0.0
CGY  L  7  Dingman, Chris     R    2   0   0   0  -2   17  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CGY  D 38  Charron, Eric      M    3   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CGY  R 22 *Thompson, Rocky    R    3   0   0   0   0   25  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
CGY  D    *Belak, Wade            22   0   0   0  -2   71  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
CAR  C 55  Primeau, Keith         63  26  27  53  10   63  9  1  4  1 146  17.8
CAR  R 26  Sheppard, Ray          58  21  28  49   7   12  5  0  4  1 155  13.5
CAR  L 24  Kapanen, Sami          63  18  26  44  -1    4  5  0  6  0 174  10.3
CAR  C 21  Francis, Ron           64  13  24  37  -8   24  4  0  1  1 101  12.9
CAR  L 10  Roberts, Gary          60  11  25  36  -3  120  0  0  4  0 109  10.1
CAR  R     Kovalenko, Andrei      56  13  15  28  -9   32  2  0  3  1  83  15.7
CAR  C 92  O'Neill, Jeff          57  12  12  24   1   56  3  0  1  0  89  13.5
CAR  L 23  Gelinas, Martin        62  11  10  21  -2   61  0  0  2  0  87  12.6
CAR  L 18  Kron, Robert           60   8  13  21  -8   10  3  1  1  0 110   7.3
CAR  D  2  Wesley, Glen           64   5  13  18  12   40  0  0  2  0  99   5.1
CAR  R 11  Dineen, Kevin          55   8   9  17   5   73  0  0  1  0  77  10.4
CAR  L 28  Ranheim, Paul          60   7   8  15   3   25  0  2  1  0  50  14.0
CAR  L 44  Manderville, Kent      63   5   7  12  10   34  0  0  0  0  61   8.2
CAR  L 13  Battaglia, Bates       47   4   8  12   5   18  0  0  0  1  41   9.8
CAR  D 77  Coffey, Paul           38   2  10  12  -9   20  1  0  0  0  58   3.4
CAR  D  4  Pratt, Nolan           43   1   9  10   9   53  0  0  1  0  31   3.2
CAR  D  3  Chiasson, Steve    R   24   1   8   9   6   12  1  0  0  0  65   1.5
CAR  D  5  Malik, Marek           35   1   7   8  -4   26  0  0  0  0  25   4.0
CAR  D  7  Leschyshyn, Curtis     53   2   5   7   4   50  0  0  0  0  28   7.1
CAR  D 22  Hill, Sean             42   0   4   4   3   36  0  0  0  0  32   0.0
CAR  D 33  Karpa, David           23   0   2   2   1   32  0  0  0  0  13   0.0
CAR  D 14 *Halko, Steve       M   12   0   1   1   2   10  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
CAR  D 46 *Rucinski, Mike     M   12   0   1   1  -1    6  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
CAR  C 15 *Ritchie, Byron          3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
CAR  R 45 *Willis, Shane      M    7   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CAR  C 31 *MacDonald, Craig        8   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
CHI  R 10  Amonte, Tony           64  29  23  52  -8   50 11  1  4  0 193  15.0
CHI  C 93  Gilmour, Doug          64  16  35  51 -13   45  7  1  4  0 100  16.0
CHI  C 36  Zhamnov, Alex          58  12  24  36 -19   28  4  1  1  1 154   7.8
CHI  R 11  Emerson, Nelson        62  12  23  35   9   49  3  0  1  2 178   6.7
CHI  D  7  Chelios, Chris         59   8  21  29  -3   85  2  1  0  1 146   5.5
CHI  L 55  Daze, Eric             54  14  12  26 -20   18  6  0  1  2 132  10.6
CHI  C 15  Kilger, Chad           61  13  10  23  -2   30  2  1  1  1  65  20.0
CHI  D 22  Manson, Dave           57   2  13  15  -7  103  2  0  0  0 113   1.8
CHI  L 19  Moreau, Ethan          62   9   5  14  -5   80  0  0  1  0  76  11.8
CHI  L 24  Probert, Bob           60   3  11  14 -15  146  0  0  1  0  68   4.4
CHI  C 26 *White, Todd            35   5   8  13  -1   20  2  0  0  0  43  11.6
CHI  C 16  Olczyk, Ed             44   6   6  12  -6   14  0  1  2  0  65   9.2
CHI  D  4  Zmolek, Doug           50   0  12  12   1   84  0  0  0  0  25   0.0
CHI  D  3  Laflamme, Christian    58   1  10  11  -4   70  0  0  0  0  45   2.2
CHI  L 25 *Cleary, Dan        M   35   4   5   9  -1   24  0  0  0  0  49   8.2
CHI  D  2 *Brown, Brad            50   1   5   6  -9  155  0  0  0  1  18   5.6
CHI  L 33  Simpson, Reid          36   2   3   5   1   87  0  0  0  0  11  18.2
CHI  L 23  Leroux, Jean-Yves      22   1   3   4  -5   12  0  0  0  0  21   4.8
CHI  D 37 *Muir, Bryan            40   1   3   4   4   42  0  0  0  0  63   1.6
CHI  R 17 *Dumont, J.P.            9   2   0   2   1    4  0  0  0  0   9  22.2
CHI  C 44  Marha, Josef           14   1   1   2  -3    0  1  0  0  0  19   5.3
CHI  D 38  Allison, Jamie         25   1   1   2  -5   38  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
CHI  C 20  Janssens, Mark         54   1   0   1 -10   65  0  0  0  0  25   4.0
CHI  R 39 *Mills, Craig       M    7   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CHI  R 27 *Jones, Ty          M    8   0   0   0  -1   12  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
CHI  D  6 *Royer, Remi        M   18   0   0   0 -10   67  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
CHI  D  5  Yawney, Trent      R   20   0   0   0  -6   32  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
COL  C 21  Forsberg, Peter        61  22  54  76  19   80  6  1  4  0 172  12.8
COL  R 14  Fleury, Theo           61  31  39  70  19   68  7  3  3  1 257  12.1
COL  C 19  Sakic, Joe             55  30  39  69  12   22  8  5  5  1 204  14.7
COL  R 18  Deadmarsh, Adam        59  19  26  45  -3   79 10  0  3  1 137  13.9
COL  L 13  Kamensky, Valeri       62  14  29  43   0   28  2  0  2  0 118  11.9
COL  R 22  Lemieux, Claude        64  23  17  40  -3   82 10  0  8  1 243   9.5
COL  C 37 *Drury, Chris           61  14  20  34   8   49  5  0  1  1  99  14.1
COL  R 23 *Hejduk, Milan          64  10  19  29  -1   18  3  0  5  0 150   6.7
COL  D  8  Ozolinsh, Sandis       22   2  17  19   3   12  2  0  0  0  49   4.1
COL  R 12  Donovan, Shean         56   7  10  17   6   33  1  0  1  0  75   9.3
COL  D  2  Lefebvre, Sylvain      58   2  14  16  16   33  0  0  0  0  52   3.8
COL  C 26  Yelle, Stephane        55   7   6  13  -5   36  1  0  0  0  82   8.5
COL  D  3  Miller, Aaron          62   4   9  13  -1   40  1  0  1  0  71   5.6
COL  D 52  Foote, Adam            46   3  10  13  11   57  2  0  0  0  63   4.8
COL  D  5  Gusarov, Alexei        38   1   9  10   4   18  0  0  0  0  19   5.3
COL  L 25  Podein, Shjon          38   1   4   5  -2   14  0  0  0  0  47   2.1
COL  D 29  Messier, Eric          19   2   2   4   3   12  1  0  1  0  22   9.1
COL  D  7  de Vries, Greg         58   1   3   4  -7   56  0  0  0  0  50   2.0
COL  R 36  Odgers, Jeff           57   2   1   3  -2  178  1  0  0  0  28   7.1
COL  D 24  Klemm, Jon             28   1   2   3   7   25  0  0  0  0  22   4.5
COL  D  4  Russell, Cam           42   1   2   3  -4   94  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
COL  L 16  Rychel, Warren         17   0   2   2   1   44  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
COL  R 14 *Matte, Christian   M    5   1   0   1  -1    0  0  0  0  0   7  14.3
COL  D 15 *Gaul, Mike         M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
COL  C 44 *Aubin, Serge       M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
COL  D 59 *White, Brian       M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
COL  D 32  Buchanan, Jeff     M    6   0   0   0   1    6  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
COL  D 43 *Smith, Dan         M   12   0   0   0   5    9  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
COL  R 27 *Parker, Scott      M   27   0   0   0  -3   71  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
DAL  C  9  Modano, Mike           62  26  43  69  22   40  6  2  5  1 177  14.7
DAL  R 22  Hull, Brett        R   46  26  21  47  18   26 12  0  9  0 146  17.8
DAL  R 26  Lehtinen, Jere         57  18  23  41  22   18  7  1  2  0 135  13.3
DAL  D  5  Sydor, Darryl          59  12  29  41  -2   27  7  0  2  1 130   9.2
DAL  C 25  Nieuwendyk, Joe        51  16  24  40   8   24  5  0  4  1 118  13.6
DAL  C 15  Langenbrunner, Jamie   57  11  24  35   9   42  4  0  1  0 107  10.3
DAL  D 56  Zubov, Sergei          62   8  25  33   3   20  3  0  2  0 123   6.5
DAL  R 16  Verbeek, Pat           62  15  13  28  13  104  7  0  2  1 103  14.6
DAL  D  2  Hatcher, Derian        62   8  15  23  21   68  2  0  2  0 100   8.0
DAL  R 29  Marshall, Grant        62  10  12  22   2   61  2  0  3  0  78  12.8
DAL  C 41  Hrkac, Tony            54   8  12  20   6   20  2  0  2  1  51  15.7
DAL  R 12  Keane, Mike            61   3  15  18   2   54  1  1  1  0  74   4.1
DAL  L 14  Reid, Dave             58   5   9  14   2    8  0  0  0  0  67   7.5
DAL  C 21  Carbonneau, Guy        59   2  12  14  -5   23  0  0  2  0  47   4.3
DAL  D 24  Matvichuk, Richard     60   3   8  11  22   51  1  0  0  0  52   5.8
DAL  D 27  Chambers, Shawn        54   2   6   8   4   14  1  0  1  0  70   2.9
DAL  D  3  Ludwig, Craig          60   2   4   6   8   71  0  0  0  0  31   6.5
DAL  C 10  Skrudland, Brian   R   37   4   1   5   2   33  0  0  1  0  30  13.3
DAL  D  4 *Gusev, Sergey      M   17   1   3   4   3    4  0  0  1  0  20   5.0
DAL  L 17  Severyn, Brent         24   1   2   3  -1   41  0  0  0  0  18   5.6
DAL  D  6  Keczmer, Dan       M   22   0   1   1  -2   22  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
DAL  D 33  Lidster, Doug           2   0   0   0   1    2  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
DAL  C 23  Gavey, Aaron            5   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
DAL  L 46 *Wright, Jamie      M    8   0   0   0  -4    0  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
DAL  L 28 *Botterill, Jason       15   0   0   0  -1   16  0  0  0  0   8   0.0
DET  C 19  Yzerman, Steve         63  26  35  61  10   40 12  2  3  0 195  13.3
DET  C  8  Larionov, Igor         63  11  39  50   6   42  4  0  2  1  70  15.7
DET  L 14  Shanahan, Brendan      64  25  23  48   5   99  3  0  5  0 242  10.3
DET  C 91  Fedorov, Sergei        62  18  26  44   4   52  4  1  2  0 180  10.0
DET  D  5  Lidstrom, Nicklas      64  10  33  43  16   10  5  1  2  0 164   6.1
DET  D 55  Murphy, Larry          63   9  33  42  20   42  4  1  2  0 135   6.7
DET  R 25  McCarty, Darren        64  14  26  40   8   98  6  0  1  1 130  10.8
DET  C 13  Kozlov, Vyacheslav     61  18  19  37   4   39  2  0  3  2 167  10.8
DET  R 20  Lapointe, Martin       60  15  12  27  10  121  7  1  3  0 120  12.5
DET  L 96  Holmstrom, Tomas       64  10  16  26 -12   52  5  0  4  0  81  12.3
DET  R 17  Brown, Doug            63   8  12  20  -1   32  3  1  1  0 146   5.5
DET  C 33  Draper, Kris           62   3  10  13  -2   67  0  0  1  0  61   4.9
DET  R 18  Maltby, Kirk           40   6   6  12  -4   20  0  1  1  0  55  10.9
DET  D 44  Eriksson, Anders       56   2  10  12   4   30  0  0  1  0  59   3.4
DET  D 11  Dandenault, Mathieu    57   3   8  11  16   45  0  0  0  0  73   4.1
DET  C 23 *Roest, Stacy           45   2   7   9  -5   10  0  0  0  0  40   5.0
DET  D 15  Gill, Todd             43   3   5   8 -14   22  1  0  0  1  56   5.4
DET  D 34  Macoun, Jamie          57   1   7   8  -6   32  0  0  0  0  53   1.9
DET  D 27  Ward, Aaron            42   3   4   7 -10   43  0  0  0  0  32   9.4
DET  R 26  Kocur, Joe         R   36   2   5   7   0   70  0  0  0  0  20  10.0
DET  D  4  Krupp, Uwe         R   22   3   2   5   0    6  0  0  0  0  32   9.4
DET  L 85  Klima, Petr             6   1   0   1  -1    2  0  0  1  0   9  11.1
DET  D  3  Houda, Doug             3   0   1   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
DET  D 28 *Golubovsky, Yan        14   0   1   1   4   16  0  0  0  0   8   0.0
DET  L 22 *Audet, Philippe    M    4   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
EDM  R  9  Guerin, Bill           64  27  26  53  13  118 12  0  1  1 205  13.2
EDM  L 20  Beranek, Josef         54  17  24  41   7   15  7  0  2  0 125  13.6
EDM  D  2  Mironov, Boris         59  11  29  40   7   98  5  0  4  1 128   8.6
EDM  R 10  Falloon, Pat           64  15  16  31   1   14  7  0  1  0 130  11.5
EDM  R 28  Selivanov, Alexander AL62  12  16  28  -8   28  1  0  1  0 159   7.5
EDM  R 25  Grier, Mike            64  10  18  28  -3   44  0  1  0  0 107   9.3
EDM  L 17  Murray, Rem            60  13  12  25   3   16  2  0  3  0  83  15.7
EDM  C 37  McAmmond, Dean         61   9  16  25   6   36  1  0  0  0 117   7.7
EDM  C 26  Marchant, Todd         64   9  16  25   0   40  2  0  1  0 149   6.0
EDM  C 39  Weight, Doug           26   3  22  25  -3    8  0  0  0  0  38   7.9
EDM  L 94  Smyth, Ryan            60   9  14  23   0   54  3  0  2  2 139   6.5
EDM  D 22  Hamrlik, Roman         58   5  18  23   2   44  1  0  0  0 123   4.1
EDM  D 44  Niinimaa, Janne        63   4  18  22  14   74  2  0  1  0 106   3.8
EDM  D  5 *Poti, Tom              57   3  11  14   5   36  2  0  1  0  70   4.3
EDM  C 19  Devereaux, Boyd    M   51   6   7  13   1   21  0  1  4  1  36  16.7
EDM  C 14  Lindgren, Mats         44   3  10  13   3   20  0  1  0  0  49   6.1
EDM  R 16  Buchberger, Kelly  R   37   4   3   7  -2   59  0  2  1  0  24  16.7
EDM  R 42  K. Brown, Kevin    M   12   4   2   6  -2    0  2  0  0  0  13  30.8
EDM  D 46  Reirden, Todd      M   17   2   3   5  -1   20  0  0  0  0  26   7.7
EDM  D 23 *Brown, Sean            43   0   5   5   3  160  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
EDM  R 27 *Laraque, Georges       27   2   2   4   1   51  0  0  0  0  12  16.7
EDM  D 33  McSorley, Marty        36   2   2   4  -3   76  0  0  0  0  24   8.3
EDM  D 32 *Millar, Craig      M   24   0   2   2  -6   19  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
EDM  D  8  Musil, Frank           27   0   2   2   0   26  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
EDM  R 38  Ferraro, Chris     M    2   1   0   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   1 100.0
EDM  C 34  Dowd, Jim               1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
EDM  L 21  Lacroix, Daniel         1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
EDM  L 15 *LaCouture, Dan     M    3   0   0   0   1    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
EDM  L 28  Huard, Bill        R    3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
EDM  C  7 *Lindquist, Fredrik M    8   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
FLA  C 14  Whitney, Ray           61  17  29  46  -5   10  4  0  4  1 129  13.2
FLA  C 25  Kozlov, Viktor         52  13  29  42  12   18  4  1  1  0 174   7.5
FLA  C 44  Niedermayer, Rob       62  15  26  41  -7   44  5  1  2  2 107  14.0
FLA  R 27  Mellanby, Scott        49  16  16  32   4   57  4  0  3  3 101  15.8
FLA  D 24  Svehla, Robert         60   7  22  29 -10   56  3  0  0  1 119   5.9
FLA  L 21 *Parrish, Mark          53  17  11  28   1   21  5  0  4  0 102  16.7
FLA  R 19  Dvorak, Radek          62  10  18  28  -3   25  0  3  0  0 128   7.8
FLA  L 16 *Kvasha, Oleg           58  11  10  21   2   39  4  0  2  1 120   9.2
FLA  L 11  Lindsay, Bill          62  11  10  21  -4   84  0  1  2  0 115   9.6
FLA  D  4  Hedican, Bret          55   4  15  19   2   42  0  2  1  1  76   5.3
FLA  R 10  Bure, Pavel        R   11  13   3  16   3    4  5  1  0  1  44  29.5
FLA  D  8 *Spacek, Jaroslav       46   3   8  11   6   24  2  1  0  0  58   5.2
FLA  L  9  Muller, Kirk           62   2   8  10  -8   38  0  0  0  0  79   2.5
FLA  D  3  Laus, Paul             61   1   9  10   3  196  0  0  0  0  45   2.2
FLA  L 29  Garpenlov, Johan       48   4   5   9  -8   38  0  0  0  1  55   7.3
FLA  R 22  Ciccarelli, Dino   R   14   6   1   7  -1   27  5  0  1  0  23  26.1
FLA  D  2  Carkner, Terry         47   1   6   7   0   43  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
FLA  D  7  Warrener, Rhett        41   0   7   7  -2   60  0  0  0  0  29   0.0
FLA  D  5  Murphy, Gord       R   51   0   7   7   4   16  0  0  0  0  56   0.0
FLA  L 18  Hicks, Alex            36   0   6   6  -1   46  0  0  0  0  33   0.0
FLA  L 28 *Worrell, Peter         43   2   3   5   0  194  0  0  1  0  28   7.1
FLA  D 26 *Boyle, Dan              6   1   3   4  -1    2  0  0  0  0   4  25.0
FLA  D  6 *Ratchuk, Peter     M   18   1   1   2   2    4  0  0  0  0  21   4.8
FLA  R 26  Nemirovsky, David  R    2   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
FLA  D 15 *Jakopin, John      M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
FLA  C 17  Butsayev, VlacheslaM    1   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
FLA  R 10 *Nilson, Marcus     M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
FLA  C 23  Wells, Chris            5   0   0   0   1    8  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
FLA  L 12 *Hay, Dwayne        M    9   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
LAK  L 20  Robitaille, Luc        64  31  29  60  -2   40  9  0  7  0 224  13.8
LAK  R 27  Murray, Glen           45  15  14  29  -9   24  3  3  3  0 129  11.6
LAK  R 10  Audette, Donald        33  13  14  27   2   47  3  0  1  0  99  13.1
LAK  C 15  Stumpel, Jozef         51  10  17  27 -18   10  1  0  1  0 107   9.3
LAK  C 44  Perreault, Yanic       58  10  15  25  -2   28  2  2  1  0 104   9.6
LAK  D  4  Blake, Rob             46   7  17  24  -5  109  2  1  1  0 159   4.4
LAK  D 28  Duchesne, Steve        60   4  19  23  -5   22  1  0  1  0  99   4.0
LAK  C 26  Ferraro, Ray           47  10  10  20   4   53  2  0  2  0  52  19.2
LAK  L  9  Tsyplakov, VladimirR   56   8  11  19  -3   30  0  2  1  0  88   9.1
LAK  C 12 *Jokinen, Olli          48   7   8  15  -7   31  3  1  0  0  59  11.9
LAK  L 23  Johnson, Craig         53   6   9  15  -9   24  2  0  2  0  76   7.9
LAK  R 55 *Rosa, Pavel        M   21   4  10  14   1    4  0  0  0  0  42   9.5
LAK  D  3  Galley, Garry          48   4   8  12  -4   22  3  0  0  0  61   6.6
LAK  D  8  Bodger, Doug           48   1  10  11  -3   16  0  0  0  0  45   2.2
LAK  D  6  O'Donnell, Sean        64   1  10  11   0  149  0  0  0  0  55   1.8
LAK  C 11  Convery, Brandon       15   2   7   9   4   12  0  0  1  0  14  14.3
LAK  R 19  Courtnall, Russ        40   2   7   9  -6   12  0  0  0  0  53   3.8
LAK  C 22  Laperriere, Ian        54   1   7   8  -9  110  0  0  0  0  46   2.2
LAK  D 43  Boucher, Philippe      31   1   5   6 -10   26  1  0  0  0  58   1.7
LAK  C 45  Moger, Sandy           36   3   2   5  -8   24  0  0  2  0  22  13.6
LAK  R 24  LaFayette, Nathan      28   2   2   4  -1   35  0  1  1  0  36   5.6
LAK  L 21 *Green, Josh        M   26   1   3   4  -6    8  1  0  0  0  34   2.9
LAK  D 48 *Visheau, Mark      R   28   1   3   4  -7  107  0  0  0  0  10  10.0
LAK  D 14  Norstrom, Mattias      64   1   3   4  -8   32  0  1  0  0  50   2.0
LAK  C 29  Pronger, Sean          25   0   4   4  -2    6  0  0  0  0  13   0.0
LAK  L 17  Johnson, Matt          38   2   0   2  -5  106  0  0  0  0   7  28.6
LAK  D 54 *Nemecek, Jan       M    4   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
LAK  R 42  Bylsma, Dan        M    8   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
LAK  L  7  McKenna, Steve     R   11   0   0   0   0   17  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
MTL  R  8  Recchi, Mark           60  12  35  47  -2   28  3  0  2  0 146   8.2
MTL  C 11  Koivu, Saku            49  13  20  33  -5   26  4  2  0  0 110  11.8
MTL  C 25  Damphousse, Vincent    59  11  22  33  -6   44  3  2  2  0 133   8.3
MTL  D 38  Malakhov, Vladimir     53  12  20  32  -2   67  7  0  3  0 123   9.8
MTL  L 17  Brunet, Benoit         56  13  17  30   0   31  3  2  0  0 109  11.9
MTL  L 26  Rucinsky, Martin       58  15  14  29 -17   42  5  0  1  0 149  10.1
MTL  L 27  Corson, Shayne         54  11  18  29  -5   86  7  0  4  0 126   8.7
MTL  D  5  Quintal, Stephane      64   7  15  22  -9   60  1  1  3  0 117   6.0
MTL  L 37  Poulin, Patrick        63   8  13  21   4   19  0  1  1  0  75  10.7
MTL  R 23  Stevenson, Turner      51   6  12  18   4   71  0  0  1  1  82   7.3
MTL  D 22  Weinrich, Eric         62   5  13  18 -21   62  2  0  1  0  93   5.4
MTL  L 49  Savage, Brian          36  10   7  17 -10   14  3  0  3  1  79  12.7
MTL  R 44  Hoglund, Jonas         58   8   8  16  -5   10  1  0  0  1  90   8.9
MTL  C 34  Zholtok, Sergei        55   5  11  16  -7    6  1  0  2  0  70   7.1
MTL  R 21  Dawe, Jason            52   4   8  12   0   20  0  0  0  0  68   5.9
MTL  D 43  Brisebois, Patrice     48   3   8  11  -8   28  1  0  1  0  85   3.5
MTL  D 52  Rivet, Craig           56   2   8  10   1   64  0  0  0  0  30   6.7
MTL  C 24  Thornton, Scott        30   5   2   7   2   57  0  0  0  1  30  16.7
MTL  D 55  Ulanov, Igor           58   2   4   6  -5   81  0  0  0  0  40   5.0
MTL  D 29  Clark, Brett           49   2   2   4  -2   16  0  0  0  0  28   7.1
MTL  C 15  Houde, Eric        M    8   1   1   2  -2    2  0  0  1  0   4  25.0
MTL  C 46 *Higgins, Matt      M   25   1   0   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0  12   8.3
MTL  L 14 *Ryan, Terry        M    1   0   0   0   0    5  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
MTL  R 42 *Delisle, Jonathan  M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
MTL  D 48 *Guren, Miroslav    M    4   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
MTL  L 53 *Blouin, Sylvain    M    4   0   0   0   0   17  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
MTL  R 45 *Asham, Aaron       M    5   0   0   0  -3    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
MTL  L 35  Bashkirov, Andrei  M    5   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
MTL  L 36  Morissette, Dave   M    7   0   0   0   1   35  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
MTL  D 56 *Nasreddine, Alain      15   0   0   0  -1   52  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
MTL  R  6  McCleary, Trent        32   0   0   0  -2   17  0  0  0  0  14   0.0
NSH  C  7  Ronning, Cliff         62  17  32  49   1   36  8  0  3  0 199   8.5
NSH  C 22  Johnson, Greg          55  15  29  44  -5   14  2  3  0  0 102  14.7
NSH  R 25  Krivokrasov, Sergei    52  19  20  39   1   30  7  0  5  1 149  12.8
NSH  L 10  Kjellberg, Patric      62  11  19  30 -11   24  2  0  2  0  93  11.8
NSH  C 24  Walker, Scott          53  11  18  29   2   95  0  1  1  0  75  14.7
NSH  C 71  Bordeleau, Sebastien   57  10  18  28 -14   18  0  1  3  0 128   7.8
NSH  L 19  Brunette, Andrew       63  10  18  28  -5   22  6  0  1  0  57  17.5
NSH  R 21  Fitzgerald, Tom        62  10  12  22 -21   34  0  0  1  0 132   7.6
NSH  D 20  Heward, Jamie          53   6  12  18 -21   42  4  0  1  0 113   5.3
NSH  L 28  Lambert, Denny         58   4  11  15  -4  152  1  0  0  0  48   8.3
NSH  R 23  Atcheynum, Blair       48   8   6  14  -9   14  2  0  1  0  65  12.3
NSH  R 43  Yachmenev, Vitali      37   6   8  14  -8   10  0  0  2  0  57  10.5
NSH  D 42  Bouchard, Joel         46   3   9  12  -9   47  0  0  0  0  55   5.5
NSH  D 15  Berehowsky, Drake      56   0  12  12 -13  115  0  0  0  0  56   0.0
NSH  L 16  Peltonen, Ville    R   14   5   5  10   1    2  1  0  0  0  31  16.1
NSH  D 27  Slaney, John           37   2   8  10  -7   10  0  0  1  0  70   2.9
NSH  C  9  Turcotte, Darren   R   38   4   5   9  -9   16  0  0  1  0  73   5.5
NSH  D  5  Vopat, Jan             43   5   3   8   3   22  0  0  0  0  39  12.8
NSH  D  6  Boughner, Bob          61   2   6   8  -7  111  0  0  0  0  49   4.1
NSH  L 32  Daniels, Jeff      M    9   1   3   4  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
NSH  R 18 *Mowers, Mark           21   0   4   4  -2    4  0  0  0  0  19   0.0
NSH  D 44 *Timonen, Kimmo         32   0   4   4  -3   22  0  0  0  0  45   0.0
NSH  C  7  Nelson, Jeff       M    9   2   1   3  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  25.0
NSH  D  4  More, Jay          R   18   0   2   2   2   18  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
NSH  L 17 *Cote, Patrick          53   0   2   2  -5  166  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
NSH  L  8  Friedman, Doug     M    2   0   1   1   0   14  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
NSH  D 40 *Skrastins, Karlis  M    2   0   1   1   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NSH  C 12  Valicevic, Rob     M   10   0   1   1   0    2  0  0  0  0   9   0.0
NSH  D  2  Zettler, Rob       M    2   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NSH  R 12  Smyth, Brad        M    3   0   0   0  -1    6  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
NJD  C 17  Sykora, Petr           62  22  31  53   8   18 11  0  5  0 158  13.9
NJD  L 16  Holik, Bobby           62  23  28  51  13   86  4  0  6  0 203  11.3
NJD  C 14  Rolston, Brian         64  19  25  44   4   14  4  4  2  0 164  11.6
NJD  C 25  Arnott, Jason          59  19  18  37   3   59  7  0  2  0 145  13.1
NJD  L 26  Elias, Patrik          56  11  25  36  13   28  0  0  1  0  92  12.0
NJD  D 27  Niedermayer, Scott     54   8  25  33  12   16  1  1  1  0 116   6.9
NJD  C  9 *Morrison, Brendan      58   9  23  32  -4   18  3  0  1  0  79  11.4
NJD  R 21  McKay, Randy           54  14  14  28  11  118  3  0  4  0 111  12.6
NJD  D  4  Stevens, Scott         62   5  21  26  24   54  0  0  1  0  93   5.4
NJD  L 20  Pandolfo, Jay          62  14  11  25   4   10  1  1  4  0  98  14.3
NJD  D 24  Odelein, Lyle          61   4  21  25   2   93  1  0  0  1  87   4.6
NJD  R  8 *Sharifijanov, Vadim    41   8  15  23   8   16  0  0  2  0  56  14.3
NJD  L 23  Andreychuk, Dave       35  11  11  22  -1   16  3  0  3  1  81  13.6
NJD  C 10  Pederson, Denis        63  11  11  22  -3   50  3  0  1  0 128   8.6
NJD  L 29  Oliwa, Krzysztof       51   5   6  11   4  173  0  0  1  0  46  10.9
NJD  C 18  Brylin, Sergei         35   4   7  11   4   20  2  0  1  0  36  11.1
NJD  D  3  Daneyko, Ken           64   2   7   9  20   53  0  0  0  0  51   3.9
NJD  C 19  Carpenter, Bob         44   1   5   6  -2   24  0  0  0  0  54   1.9
NJD  D  2  Souray, Sheldon        53   1   5   6   3   82  0  0  0  0  68   1.5
NJD  D 28  Dean, Kevin            46   0   6   6  -1   16  0  0  0  0  33   0.0
NJD  D  6  Bombardir, Brad        42   0   4   4  -5   12  0  0  0  0  33   0.0
NJD  L 32  Lakovic, Sasha         16   0   3   3   0   59  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
NJD  L 11 *Madden, John       M    4   0   1   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
NJD  L 22  Daniels, Scott     M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NJD  D  7  Sutton, Ken        M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYI  C 21  Reichel, Robert        65  19  35  54 -14   36  5  1  1  1 169  11.2
NYI  C 32  Linden, Trevor         65  14  23  37 -17   30  7  1  1  0 135  10.4
NYI  R 16  Palffy, Zigmund        33  15  18  33  -5   26  4  0  0  0 112  13.4
NYI  C 13  Lapointe, Claude       65  13  20  33 -16   50  2  2  1  0 104  12.5
NYI  C 20  Smolinski, Bryan       65  12  18  30  -8   36  6  0  3  0 184   6.5
NYI  C 11  Janney, Craig          55   5  21  26 -15   14  2  0  0  1  45  11.1
NYI  R 25  Czerkawski, Mariusz    61  13  12  25 -11   12  4  0  0  2 155   8.4
NYI  D 29  Jonsson, Kenny         47   7  15  22 -10   22  6  0  0  0  58  12.1
NYI  L 15  Donato, Ted            64   8  13  21  -9   29  2  0  0  0  81   9.9
NYI  R 44  Lawrence, Mark         43  10  10  20  -5   24  2  0  2  0  64  15.6
NYI  L 12 *Watt, Mike             59   5  15  20  -2   10  0  0  2  0  53   9.4
NYI  C 17  Nemchinov, Sergei      61   8   8  16 -17   16  1  0  0  0  60  13.3
NYI  D 38  Richter, Barry         55   6  10  16  -9   20  0  0  2  0  89   6.7
NYI  D  7  Lachance, Scott        59   1   8   9 -19   30  1  0  0  0  37   2.7
NYI  D  4 *Brewer, Eric           50   3   5   8 -16   22  0  0  0  0  50   6.0
NYI  L 24  Odjick, Gino       R   23   4   3   7  -2  133  1  0  2  0  28  14.3
NYI  D  6  Harlock, David         53   2   5   7 -18   54  0  0  0  0  27   7.4
NYI  C 11  Miller, Kevin      M   33   1   5   6  -5   13  0  0  0  0  37   2.7
NYI  D  3 *Chara, Zdeno           42   1   5   6  -4   66  0  0  0  0  39   2.6
NYI  D  2  Pilon, Rich            49   0   4   4  -7   82  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
NYI  D 36  Crowley, Ted           13   1   2   3  -1    2  1  0  0  0  20   5.0
NYI  R 14  Sacco, Joe             59   2   0   2 -23   35  0  1  2  0  74   2.7
NYI  D 39  Malkoc, Dean       M    2   0   1   1   3    7  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
NYI  C 37 *Nabokov, Dmitri    M    1   0   0   0   1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
NYI  L 18  Hough, Mike        M   11   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
NYI  R  8  Webb, Steve            32   0   0   0  -8   24  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
NYR  C 99  Gretzky, Wayne     R   58   8  49  57 -21    8  3  0  2  1 108   7.4
NYR  R 15  MacLean, John          63  23  22  45   6   36  9  1  1  0 182  12.6
NYR  L  9  Graves, Adam           63  31  11  42 -11   43 13  1  6  0 169  18.3
NYR  D  2  Leetch, Brian          63   9  32  41  -4   34  2  0  1  0 137   6.6
NYR  C 93  Nedved, Petr           44  15  24  39  -5   42  5  1  1  0 119  12.6
NYR  L 24  Sundstrom, Niklas      62  12  26  38   0   18  1  2  3  0  72  16.7
NYR  C 33  Savard, Marc           51   9  27  36   4   22  4  0  1  0  86  10.5
NYR  L 17  Stevens, Kevin         62  16  19  35  -3   48  5  0  3  0  99  16.2
NYR  R 22  Knuble, Mike           63  13  16  29   0   18  3  0  1  0  85  15.3
NYR  R 20  Harvey, Todd           37  11  17  28  -1   72  6  0  2  1  58  19.0
NYR  D 25  Schneider, Mathieu     56   7  17  24  -8   38  4  0  2  0 123   5.7
NYR  R 26 *Maneluk, Mike          42   6   9  15   6   16  1  0  1  0  52  11.5
NYR  C  6 *Malhotra, Manny        54   7   4  11  -1    9  0  0  2  0  34  20.6
NYR  D  5  Samuelsson, Ulf        62   4   7  11   5   93  0  0  0  0  34  11.8
NYR  L 37  Fedyk, Brent           48   4   5   9  -9   26  0  1  0  0  40  10.0
NYR  D 23  Beukeboom, Jeff    R   45   0   9   9  -2   60  0  0  0  0   8   0.0
NYR  R 21  Fraser, Scott          22   2   2   4  -8    6  1  0  0  0  26   7.7
NYR  D 34  Popovic, Peter     R   51   1   3   4 -12   30  0  0  0  0  45   2.2
NYR  D 12 *Brennan, Rich           9   1   2   3  -1    6  0  0  0  0  12   8.3
NYR  L 10  Tikkanen, Esa      M   32   0   3   3  -5   38  0  0  0  0  25   0.0
NYR  L 28  Lacroix, Eric          45   1   1   2 -10   18  0  0  1  0  29   3.4
NYR  D  3  Neckar, Stan           19   0   2   2  -3    6  0  0  0  0   9   0.0
NYR  D 36 *Ndur, Rumun            20   0   2   2   2   36  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
NYR  D  8  Mertzig, Jan       M   23   0   2   2  -5    8  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
NYR  D  4  Tamer, Chris           44   0   2   2  -6   93  0  0  0  0  31   0.0
NYR  L 14  Witehall, Johan    M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYR  C 18  Armstrong, Derek   M    3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
NYR  C 14  Dube, Christian         4   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYR  L 28  Stock, P.J.        M    5   0   0   0  -1    6  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYR  L 19  Langdon, Darren        33   0   0   0  -4   55  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
OTW  C 19  Yashin, Alexei         62  33  39  72  22   42 12  0  3  1 236  14.0
OTW  L 15  McEachern, Shawn       62  28  20  48  12   42  6  0  3  1 185  15.1
OTW  C 21  Johansson, Andreas     57  19  15  34   6   34  6  0  6  0 121  15.7
OTW  R 10  Dackell, Andreas       57  11  23  34  10   22  4  0  3  0  77  14.3
OTW  L 20  Arvedson, Magnus       60  14  18  32  26   42  0  2  4  0  99  14.1
OTW  D 33  York, Jason            59   4  26  30  20   36  2  0  0  1 136   2.9
OTW  C 13  Prospal, Vaclav        59   6  21  27   6   50  2  0  2  0  82   7.3
OTW  R 11  Alfredsson, Daniel     43   9  17  26   9   10  2  0  4  0 124   7.3
OTW  D  6  Redden, Wade           59   7  19  26  14   52  3  0  1  0 106   6.6
OTW  C 14  Bonk, Radek            61  13  10  23  14   40  0  1  6  0  75  17.3
OTW  D 29  Kravchuk, Igor         61   3  15  18  15   26  2  0  0  0 139   2.2
OTW  L 18 *Hossa, Marian          40   8   8  16  12   18  0  0  1  0  83   9.6
OTW  C 22  Van Allen, Shaun       59   5   8  13   3   20  0  1  0  0  37  13.5
OTW  C 25  Gardiner, Bruce        46   4   6  10   4   31  0  0  1  0  50   8.0
OTW  D  5 *Salo, Sami             43   2   8  10  18   18  1  0  1  0  65   3.1
OTW  D 27  Laukkanen, Janne       36   0   9   9   8   34  0  0  0  0  33   0.0
OTW  D  3 *Traverse, Patrick  R   39   1   7   8   8   16  0  0  0  0  29   3.4
OTW  R 12  Oliver, David      M   17   2   5   7   1    4  0  0  0  0  18  11.1
OTW  R 17  Murray, Chris      R   35   1   6   7  -2   60  0  0  0  0  33   3.0
OTW  D  4  Phillips, Chris    R   31   3   3   6  -2   30  2  0  0  0  44   6.8
OTW  C 16  Martins, Steve         27   4   1   5   3   10  1  0  1  0  25  16.0
OTW  L  9  Berg, Bill             29   2   2   4   2   16  0  0  0  1  28   7.1
OTW  D  2  Pitlick, Lance         30   2   1   3   7   23  0  0  0  0  17  11.8
OTW  L 26  Crowe, Phil        M    8   0   1   1   1    4  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
OTW  L 37  Sarault, Yves          11   0   1   1   1    4  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
OTW  D 24  Gruden, John            6   0   0   0   2    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
OTW  D 23  Bicanek, Radim          7   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
PHI  C 88  Lindros, Eric          62  37  50  87  36   99  8  1  1  3 210  17.6
PHI  L 10  LeClair, John          64  38  43  81  33   24 13  0  6  2 200  19.0
PHI  C 17  Brind'Amour, Rod       64  20  39  59   3   33  9  0  2  2 153  13.1
PHI  R 20  Jones, Keith           60  16  30  46  27   88  2  0  3  0 108  14.8
PHI  D 37  Desjardins, Eric       58  14  30  44  24   32  5  0  1  0 162   8.6
PHI  D  3  McGillis, Dan          62   7  31  38   9   48  6  0  3  0 134   5.2
PHI  C 18  Langkow, Daymond       60  12  16  28   5   31  3  1  2  0 117  10.3
PHI  R 19  Renberg, Mikael        48   9  17  26   3   12  4  0  2  0 102   8.8
PHI  L 26  Zelepukin, Valeri      56  13   7  20   5   44  0  0  4  0  90  14.4
PHI  D  6  Therien, Chris         57   3  14  17  26   40  1  0  0  0  83   3.6
PHI  L 12  Forbes, Colin          61   9   7  16   1   49  0  0  4  0  84  10.7
PHI  R  8  Hull, Jody             56   2  11  13   3   12  0  0  1  0  59   3.4
PHI  C 28  Bureau, Marc           53   4   6  10  -2    6  0  0  0  0  34  11.8
PHI  D  5 *Tertyshny, Dimitri     53   1   8   9  -3   28  0  0  0  0  61   1.6
PHI  D 24  Dykhuis, Karl          62   3   5   8 -18   38  0  0  0  0  73   4.1
PHI  R  9  Zubrus, Dainius        62   3   5   8  -5   25  0  1  0  0  48   6.3
PHI  D 44  Babych, Dave           31   1   4   5   0   20  1  0  0  0  43   2.3
PHI  D 22  Richardson, Luke       64   0   4   4   4   87  0  0  0  0  41   0.0
PHI  C 29  Vopat, Roman           41   0   3   3  -7   72  0  0  0  0  17   0.0
PHI  D  2  Burt, Adam             52   0   3   3   3   50  0  0  0  0  39   0.0
PHI  R 15  Greig, Mark        M    3   1   1   2   2    2  0  0  0  0   4  25.0
PHI  D 43 *Delmore, Andy      M    2   0   1   1  -1    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
PHI  D 32 *Bast, Ryan         M    2   0   1   1   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  L 21  Kordic, Dan        M    2   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHI  L 40  Zent, Jason        M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  D 25  Joseph, Chris      M    2   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  C 14  White, Peter       M    3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHI  C 15  Park, Richard      M    4   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  R    *Bonvie, Dennis         11   0   0   0  -4   44  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHO  C 97  Roenick, Jeremy        61  20  38  58   6   90  4  0  3  0 165  12.1
PHO  L  7  Tkachuk, Keith         49  27  20  47  19   97 10  1  6  1 165  16.4
PHO  R 22  Tocchet, Rick          62  22  22  44   8  107  5  1  3  0 141  15.6
PHO  L 17  Adams, Greg            56  14  18  32  -2   20  3  0  3  0 134  10.4
PHO  D 27  Numminen, Teppo        63   8  23  31  -1   24  0  0  0  2 120   6.7
PHO  D 20  Lumme, Jyrki           57   7  20  27   7   34  1  0  4  0 114   6.1
PHO  R 11  Drake, Dallas          42   8  16  24  17   44  0  0  3  0  88   9.1
PHO  C  8 *Briere, Daniel         59   8  13  21  -3   30  2  0  2  0  86   9.3
PHO  C 36  Ylonen, Juha       R   55   6  15  21  16   20  2  0  1  0  64   9.4
PHO  D 10  Tverdovsky, Oleg       63   5  16  21  12   20  2  0  1  0  92   5.4
PHO  C 21  Corkum, Bob            62   8   6  14  -4   13  0  0  0  0 119   6.7
PHO  C 14  Stapleton, Mike        57   5   9  14  -5   28  0  2  1  0  84   6.0
PHO  R 19  Doan, Shane            61   3   9  12 -15   49  0  0  0  0 126   2.4
PHO  D  3  Carney, Keith          63   0  12  12   6   46  0  0  0  0  44   0.0
PHO  D  5  Quint, Deron           48   3   7  10  -8   14  1  0  0  0  71   4.2
PHO  D 33  Daigneault, J.J.       57   2   7   9 -11   48  1  0  1  0  59   3.4
PHO  R 16  Isbister, Brad         30   3   4   7   0   46  0  0  2  0  46   6.5
PHO  R 15  Cummins, Jim           40   1   5   6   0  155  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
PHO  C 26  Sullivan, Mike         44   2   3   5  -9   14  0  1  1  0  54   3.7
PHO  C 50 *Letowski, Trevor   M   14   2   2   4   1    2  0  0  0  0   8  25.0
PHO  C 47 *Hansen, Tavis          19   2   1   3  -4   12  0  0  0  0  14  14.3
PHO  C 12  Murray, Rob        M   13   1   2   3   2    4  0  0  0  0  11   9.1
PHO  R 23  Leach, Steve           17   0   2   2  -4   13  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
PHO  D  4  Diduck, Gerald     R   44   0   2   2   9   72  0  0  0  0  39   0.0
PHO  D 55 *Doig, Jason        M    9   0   1   1   2   10  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHO  L 44 *Vasilyev, Andrey        1   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHO  D 39  Tiley, Brad             1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHO  C 46  Jomphe, Jean-FrancoM    1   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHO  D 48 *Gagnon, Sean            2   0   0   0  -2    7  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHO  L 49  Dziedzic, Joe           2   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHO  L 29  DeBrusk, Louie     M    4   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PIT  R 68  Jagr, Jaromir          62  29  66  95  15   56  7  1  6  1 264  11.0
PIT  C 82  Straka, Martin         61  31  34  65  13   20  5  4  3  1 142  21.8
PIT  C  9  Titov, German          59  10  39  49  15   28  2  1  3  0  93  10.8
PIT  R 27  Kovalev, Alexei        57  18  25  43   1   31  4  1  3  0 143  12.6
PIT  D  4  Hatcher, Kevin     R   60  11  27  38  16   22  4  2  3  0 121   9.1
PIT  C 20  Lang, Robert           62  19  18  37 -12   22  5  0  3  2 126  15.1
PIT  C 14  Barnes, Stu            62  20  12  32 -11   20 13  0  3  0 151  13.2
PIT  C 37  Miller, Kip            59  16  16  32   5   20  1  0  3  0  95  16.8
PIT  C 38 *Hrdina, Jan            62   9  23  32   2   34  3  0  2  0  67  13.4
PIT  D  5  Werenka, Brad          62   5  17  22  17   70  1  0  4  0  58   8.6
PIT  D 71  Slegr, Jiri            44   3  14  17  15   67  1  0  0  0  68   4.4
PIT  R 95  Morozov, Aleksey       47   9   5  14   5   12  0  0  0  0  55  16.4
PIT  R 44  Brown, Rob             38   5   8  13  -4   10  3  0  0  0  45  11.1
PIT  D  8  Dollas, Bobby          50   1   7   8  -4   54  0  0  0  0  23   4.3
PIT  R 24  Moran, Ian             43   3   4   7   3   23  0  1  0  0  40   7.5
PIT  D 47 *Galanov, Maxim         48   4   2   6  -6   14  2  0  0  1  42   9.5
PIT  D 16  Serowik, Jeff      R   26   0   6   6  -4   16  0  0  0  0  26   0.0
PIT  D 11  Kasparaitis, Darius    48   1   4   5  12   70  0  0  0  0  32   3.1
PIT  R 25  Kesa, Dan              50   1   4   5  -4   27  0  0  0  1  25   4.0
PIT  L 12 *Sonnenberg, Martin     32   1   1   2   0   19  0  0  0  0  10  10.0
PIT  L 18  Lebeau, Patrick    M    8   1   0   1  -2    2  0  0  0  0   4  25.0
PIT  D 23  Ignatjev, Victor   R   11   0   1   1  -3    6  0  0  0  0  15   0.0
PIT  D  6  Wilkinson, Neil        15   0   0   0  -3    9  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
PIT  C 29  Wright, Tyler          44   0   0   0  -1   59  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
SJS  L 39  Friesen, Jeff          60  18  24  42  -3   30  8  1  2  1 170  10.6
SJS  C 14  Marleau, Patrick       63  15  18  33  -1   22  4  0  3  1  98  15.3
SJS  C 18  Ricci, Mike            64  10  22  32   2   52  2  1  2  1  82  12.2
SJS  R 17  Murphy, Joe            58  15  16  31   3   53  4  0  1  1 141  10.6
SJS  C 19  Sturm, Marco           63  13  18  31   0   46  3  2  3  1 112  11.6
SJS  R 11  Nolan, Owen            60  12  19  31   3   86  4  1  1  0 163   7.4
SJS  D  2  Houlder, Bill          63   8  18  26  11   36  6  0  4  0 100   8.0
SJS  L 37  Matteau, Stephane      54   8  12  20   4   54  0  0  0  0  63  12.7
SJS  R 15 *Korolyuk, Alex         37   7  10  17  -5   20  1  0  0  1  59  11.9
SJS  D  5  Norton, Jeff           54   3  13  16   2   24  2  0  1  0  59   5.1
SJS  L 26  Lowry, Dave            50   6   7  13  -5   18  2  0  0  1  47  12.8
SJS  R 22  Stern, Ronnie          61   5   8  13   0  129  1  0  1  0  73   6.8
SJS  R 21  Granato, Tony      R   30   6   5  11   3   50  0  1  1  1  55  10.9
SJS  L 32  Craven, Murray     R   38   2   9  11  -2   18  0  0  1  0  52   3.8
SJS  D  3  Rouse, Bob             58   0  10  10  -1   40  0  0  0  0  63   0.0
SJS  C 12  Sutter, Ron            44   3   6   9  -7   40  0  0  1  0  51   5.9
SJS  D 40  Rathje, Mike           64   4   4   8  -2   28  1  0  1  0  51   7.8
SJS  D 10  Ragnarsson, Marcus     56   0   7   7  -6   42  0  0  0  0  61   0.0
SJS  D 27  Marchment, Bryan       44   1   4   5  -8   75  0  0  0  0  39   2.6
SJS  D  4  Zyuzin, Andrei         19   2   1   3   4   19  2  0  0  0  36   5.6
SJS  C  8  Skalde, Jarrod     M   17   1   1   2  -6    4  0  0  0  1  17   5.9
SJS  D  6 *Hannan, Scott      M    5   0   2   2   0    6  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
SJS  C  9  Nicholls, Bernie   R   10   0   2   2  -4    4  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
SJS  C 36  Guolla, Steve      M    7   1   0   1   1    6  0  0  0  0  18   5.6
SJS  R 33  Myhres, Brantt         25   1   0   1  -2  109  0  0  0  0   5  20.0
SJS  C 13  Baker, Jamie       M    1   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
SJS  L  7  Burr, Shawn            16   0   1   1  -3   29  0  0  0  0  21   0.0
SJS  D 42 *Sutton, Andy       M   24   0   1   1  -7   53  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
SJS  D 20  Suter, Gary        R    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
SJS  R 25  Craig, Mike        M    1   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
SJS  D 23 *Heins, Shawn       M    4   0   0   0   0    4  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
STL  L 38  Demitra, Pavol         62  27  37  64   9   14 12  0  7  0 193  14.0
STL  C 77  Turgeon, Pierre        48  24  23  47   3   30  6  0  4  1 144  16.7
STL  D  2  MacInnis, Al           62  18  28  46  20   52 10  1  2  2 239   7.5
STL  R 48  Young, Scott           59  14  22  36   4   23  6  0  3  0 154   9.1
STL  C 22  Conroy, Craig          62  13  20  33  11   36  0  0  1  0 128  10.2
STL  D 44  Pronger, Chris     R   47   9  24  33   1   79  4  0  0  0 121   7.4
STL  L 33  Pellerin, Scott        61  14  13  27   0   26  0  4  3  0 101  13.9
STL  C 32  Eastwood, Mike         62   7  18  25   9   28  0  0  0  0  59  11.9
STL  C 25  Rheaume, Pascal        51   9  15  24   7   24  2  0  0  0  74  12.2
STL  R 10  Campbell, Jim          49   4  19  23  -6   41  1  0  0  0  90   4.4
STL  R 27  Yake, Terry            41   7  14  21  -8   26  3  0  3  0  38  18.4
STL  C 26 *Handzus, Michal        58   3  11  14 -11   28  0  0  0  0  71   4.2
STL  L 34  Picard, Michel     M   27   4   6  10  -4   10  0  0  1  0  28  14.3
STL  L 14  Courtnall, Geoff   R   21   3   7  10   1   26  0  0  1  0  54   5.6
STL  C 15 *Reasoner, Marty    M   22   3   7  10   2    8  1  0  0  0  33   9.1
STL  R 39  Chase, Kelly           40   3   7  10   3  117  0  0  1  0  22  13.6
STL  L 56 *Bartecko, Lubos    M   13   2   5   7  -2    4  0  0  0  0  13  15.4
STL  L 18  Twist, Tony            46   2   5   7   1  136  0  0  0  0  19  10.5
STL  D  6  Rivers, Jamie          61   1   5   6  -4   41  1  0  0  0  69   1.4
STL  D  7  Persson, Ricard        35   1   4   5   1   60  0  0  0  0  37   2.7
STL  C 21 *Mayers, Jamal          14   2   2   4  -6   12  0  0  0  0  27   7.4
STL  D 36  Helmer, Bryan          40   0   4   4   5   42  0  0  0  0  49   0.0
STL  D 19  McAlpine, Chris        47   1   1   2 -10   50  0  0  0  0  53   1.9
STL  D 37  Finley, Jeff           13   0   1   1   2    6  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
STL  D  4  Bergevin, Marc         41   0   1   1  -4   73  0  0  0  0  35   0.0
STL  D 42  Fitzpatrick, Rory  M    1   0   0   0  -3    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
STL  C 55 *Hecht, Jochen      M    3   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
STL  D 00  Smith, Geoff            4   0   0   0  -5    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
STL  D 20  Poeschek, Rudy     R   15   0   0   0  -1   33  0  0  0  0   8   0.0
TBL  L 17  Clark, Wendel          58  24  13  37 -22   28 10  0  2  1 155  15.5
TBL  C 16  Tucker, Darcy          62  15  16  31 -29  135  5  2  2  0 134  11.2
TBL  C 33  Hogue, Benoit          56  10  13  23  -9   48  2  0  3  0  94  10.6
TBL  C 77  Gratton, Chris         58   4  18  22 -18  100  0  0  0  1 132   3.0
TBL  C  8 *Lecavalier, Vincent    62  11  10  21 -12   12  2  0  1  1  90  12.2
TBL  R 44  Richer, Stephane       44   6  15  21 -13   18  1  1  1  0  90   6.7
TBL  D 13 *Kubina, Pavel          48   7   9  16 -20   62  3  1  1  0  85   8.2
TBL  D  4  Cross, Cory            48   2  13  15 -17   74  0  0  0  0  71   2.8
TBL  D 23  Svoboda, Petr          42   5   9  14   2   63  1  1  1  0  63   7.9
TBL  D  5  Cullimore, Jassen      58   4   9  13 -13   64  1  0  1  0  57   7.0
TBL  C 21  Daigle, Alexandre      46   6   6  12 -13    4  3  0  1  0  52  11.5
TBL  R 10  McCarthy, Sandy        61   5   6  11 -16  131  1  0  0  0  76   6.6
TBL  C  9  Nylander, Michael      24   3   7  10  -4    6  1  0  0  0  21  14.3
TBL  L  7  Zamuner, Rob           38   3   5   8  -8   16  0  0  1  0  55   5.5
TBL  C 26  Sillinger, Mike        59   4   3   7 -21   22  0  1  0  0  64   6.3
TBL  D 49  Wilkie, David          33   1   6   7 -12   25  0  0  0  0  29   3.4
TBL  R 34  Andersson, Mikael  R   40   2   3   5  -8    4  0  0  0  0  40   5.0
TBL  D  2  McBain, Mike           32   0   5   5 -11   12  0  0  0  0  19   0.0
TBL  C 11  Kelly, Steve       M   25   1   3   4 -13   19  0  0  1  0  12   8.3
TBL  L 27  Peterson, Brent        20   2   1   3  -2    0  0  0  0  0  16  12.5
TBL  D 23  Sykora, Michal     M   10   1   2   3  -7    0  0  0  1  0  24   4.2
TBL  D 55  Bannister, Drew        14   1   1   2   0   18  0  0  0  0  22   4.5
TBL  D 46  Skopintsev, Andrei     18   1   1   2   1   10  0  0  0  0  17   5.9
TBL  D 28  Samuelsson, Kjell      37   1   1   2 -10   32  0  0  0  0  17   5.9
TBL  D  6 *Betik, Karel       M    3   0   2   2  -3    2  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
TBL  D  3 *Helenius, Sami          8   1   0   1  -5   23  0  1  0  0   4  25.0
TBL  C 14  Petrovicky, Robert      9   0   1   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
TBL  C 15  Ysebaert, Paul     M   10   0   1   1  -5    2  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
TBL  C 43 *Delisle, Xavier         2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
TBL  C 12  Cullen, John       R    4   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
TBL  C 64  Bonsignore, Jason       4   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
TBL  D 71 *Larocque, Mario    M    5   0   0   0  -4   16  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
TOR  C 13  Sundin, Mats           63  23  41  64  10   40  4  0  6  0 166  13.9
TOR  L 32  Thomas, Steve          62  22  33  55  15   31  8  0  6  0 167  13.2
TOR  R 22  Korolev, Igor          60  12  32  44  10   44  1  0  2  0  85  14.1
TOR  R 94  Berezin, Sergei        57  24  15  39   6   12  7  0  4  0 180  13.3
TOR  L  7  King, Derek            62  19  20  39   9   12  6  0  2  0 124  15.3
TOR  R 20  Johnson, Mike          62  18  17  35   7   24  5  3  2  0 121  14.9
TOR  C 11  Sullivan, Steve        45  13  13  26   4   20  2  0  3  0  78  16.7
TOR  D 34  Berard, Bryan          52   7  19  26 -10   38  4  0  4  0 101   6.9
TOR  L 19  Modin, Fredrik     R   53  12  12  24   5   29  1  0  3  1  87  13.8
TOR  C 18  McCauley, Alyn     R   39   9  15  24   7    2  1  0  1  1  76  11.8
TOR  D  3  Cote, Sylvain          63   3  20  23  12   22  0  0  1  0  98   3.1
TOR  D 36  Yushkevich, Dimitri    59   5  16  21  14   78  2  1  0  0  78   6.4
TOR  L 10  Valk, Garry            58   7  13  20   3   41  1  0  0  1  75   9.3
TOR  D 52  Karpovtsev, Alexander  42   2  17  19  27   36  1  0  0  0  41   4.9
TOR  L  8  Warriner, Todd         37   8  10  18  -3   14  1  0  1  0  75  10.7
TOR  D 15 *Kaberle, Tomas         50   4  14  18  -3    8  0  0  2  0  62   6.5
TOR  R 28  Domi, Tie              53   6   9  15   1  142  0  0  0  0  49  12.2
TOR  D 25  Smith, Jason           58   2  11  13  -9   40  0  0  0  0  53   3.8
TOR  D 38  Tremblay, Yannick      32   2   7   9   5   16  0  0  0  0  34   5.9
TOR  D 55 *Markov, Daniil         38   2   2   4  -6   20  0  0  0  0  15  13.3
TOR  R 39 *Kohn, Ladislav          9   1   3   4   3    0  0  0  0  0  14   7.1
TOR  L 12  King, Kris             52   2   1   3 -16   78  0  1  1  0  25   8.0
TOR  D 33  McAllister, Chris      31   1   2   3  -4   80  0  0  0  1   6  16.7
TOR  D  2  Eakins, Dallas     M   18   0   2   2   3   24  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
TOR  R 16  Bohonos, Lonny          2   1   0   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   2  50.0
TOR  D  4  Dahl, Kevin        M    3   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
VAN  R 19  Naslund, Markus        62  32  21  53  -8   64 13  2  3  1 160  20.0
VAN  C 11  Messier, Mark      R   52  13  31  44 -13   29  4  2  2  0  89  14.6
VAN  R 17 *Muckalt, Bill          64  16  19  35  -4   64  4  2  1  0 105  15.2
VAN  R 89  Mogilny, Alexander     41   7  23  30  -3   34  1  2  1  1  76   9.2
VAN  D  2  Ohlund, Mattias        61   7  20  27 -15   77  2  0  1  0 102   6.9
VAN  D  6  Aucoin, Adrian         64  16  10  26 -11   69 12  2  1  1 134  11.9
VAN  C 15  Gagner, Dave           55   5  18  23 -12   61  2  0  0  1  74   6.8
VAN  C 20  Scatchard, Dave        64  11  11  22  -5  111  0  1  2  0 110  10.0
VAN  D 55  Jovanovski, Ed         54   5  15  20  -3   84  1  0  1  0  87   5.7
VAN  D  4  McCabe, Bryan          51   6  11  17  -7   82  1  2  0  0  59  10.2
VAN  C 44  Bertuzzi, Todd         32   8   8  16  -6   44  1  0  3  0  72  11.1
VAN  L  8  Brashear, Donald       64   7   9  16 -16  155  1  0  1  0  93   7.5
VAN  L  9  May, Brad              58   5  11  16 -11  100  1  0  1  0  75   6.7
VAN  C 22  Zezel, Peter           37   6   7  13   4   16  1  0  2  0  43  14.0
VAN  R 26  Klatt, Trent           63   4   9  13  -3   10  0  0  0  0  57   7.0
VAN  C 27  York, Harry            44   5   7  12  -2   16  1  0  0  0  44  11.4
VAN  C 14  Hendrickson, Darby     44   3   3   6  -8   42  1  0  0  0  43   7.0
VAN  D 23  Baron, Murray          63   0   4   4 -17   83  0  0  0  0  38   0.0
VAN  L 29 *Schaefer, Peter        13   2   1   3  -3    2  1  0  0  0  11  18.2
VAN  D  5  Murzyn, Dana       R   12   0   2   2   1   21  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
VAN  C 21 *Holden, Josh           12   0   2   2  -3    6  0  0  0  0  14   0.0
VAN  D 18  Robertsson, Bert   M   26   0   2   2  -4    2  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
VAN  L 24 *Cooke, Matt        M   26   0   2   2 -10   23  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
VAN  D 34  Strudwick, Jason       47   0   2   2 -13   77  0  0  0  0  16   0.0
VAN  D  7  Huscroft, Jamie        26   0   1   1  -3   63  0  0  0  0  20   0.0
VAN  R 25  Staios, Steve          50   0   1   1 -11   52  0  0  0  0  25   0.0
VAN  C 28  Washburn, Steve        10   0   0   0  -1    6  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
WSH  R 12  Bondra, Peter          62  30  24  54   0   52  6  3  5  1 271  11.1
WSH  C 77  Oates, Adam            40  11  31  42   4   14  3  0  0  0  63  17.5
WSH  C 90  Juneau, Joe            61  14  27  41  -3   16  2  1  3  0 140  10.0
WSH  D  6  Johansson, Calle       63   8  20  28  10   22  2  0  2  1 137   5.8
WSH  L 13  Nikolishin, Andrei     54   5  21  26   1   20  0  1  1  0  93   5.4
WSH  L 23  Bellows, Brian         58  11  14  25  -3   20  4  0  1  0 119   9.2
WSH  C 22  Konowalchuk, Steve     45  12  12  24   0   26  4  1  2  0  98  12.2
WSH  D 55  Gonchar, Sergei        41  17   6  23   0   39 13  0  3  0 137  12.4
WSH  C  8  Bulis, Jan             35   7  16  23   6    6  3  0  3  0  53  13.2
WSH  C 28  Black, James           56  10  12  22   6    4  1  0  1  0  96  10.4
WSH  R  2  Klee, Ken              59   7   9  16  -5   58  0  0  1  0  91   7.7
WSH  D 15  Mironov, Dmitri    R   46   2  14  16  -5   80  2  0  0  0  86   2.3
WSH  R 34  Svejkovsky, Jarolsav   21   6   7  13  -3   12  4  0  2  0  43  14.0
WSH  L 44  Zednik, Richard        30   7   5  12  -3   40  1  0  2  0  69  10.1
WSH  L 17  Simon, Chris       R   23   3   7  10  -4   48  0  0  0  0  29  10.3
WSH  C 20  Pivonka, Michal        19   4   4   8  -6    8  2  0  0  0  20  20.0
WSH  L 27  Berube, Craig          59   4   4   8  -6  162  0  0  0  0  35  11.4
WSH  D 29  Reekie, Joe            54   0   7   7  12   52  0  0  0  0  60   0.0
WSH  D 19  Witt, Brendan      R   39   1   5   6  -1   54  0  0  0  0  32   3.1
WSH  D 24  Tinordi, Mark      R   48   0   6   6  -6  108  0  0  0  0  32   0.0
WSH  C 36  Eagles, Mike           36   3   2   5  -1   39  0  0  0  0  24  12.5
WSH  L 10  Miller, Kelly          43   2   3   5  -3   25  0  0  1  0  35   5.7
WSH  L 21  Toms, Jeff         R    5   1   3   4   4    0  0  0  0  0   5  20.0
WSH  C 32  Hunter, Dale           44   0   4   4  -5   94  0  0  0  0  17   0.0
WSH  D 39  Ciccone, Enrico        42   2   1   3  -2   86  0  0  0  0  27   7.4
WSH  C 26 *Herr, Matt         M   18   1   2   3  -2    6  0  0  0  0  21   4.8
WSH  L  9  Chorske, Tom           15   0   2   2  -3    6  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
WSH  L 18  Halverson, Trevor  M    5   0   1   1  -1    2  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
WSH  R 14  Augusta, Patrik    M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
WSH  R 14  Lefebvre, Patrice  M    3   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
WSH  L 48 *Gratton, Benoit    M    4   0   0   0   0    6  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
WSH  D 38 *Baumgartner, Nolan M    5   0   0   0  -3    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
WSH  D 33  Poapst, Steve           7   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
WSH  D  3  Malgunas, Stewart  M   10   0   0   0  -5    6  0  0  0  0   2   0.0

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOALIE STATS thru March 7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TM  NO GOALTENDER          GPI  MINS   AVG  W  L  T EN SO  GA   SA  SPCT G  A PIM
ANA 31 Hebert, Guy          54  3234  2.32 26 21  7  3  5 125 1681  .926 0  1   0
ANA 30 Roussel, Dominic     12   634  2.37  4  4  2  1  1  25  343  .927 0  0   0
BOS 34 Dafoe, Byron         52  3019  2.15 21 21  8  3  6 108 1417  .924 0  2  19
BOS 35 Tallas, Rob          14   807  2.68  6  5  2  1  1  36  358  .899 0  0   0
BUF 43*Biron, Martin         4   193  1.55  1  1  1  1  0   5   92  .946 0  0   0
BUF 39 Hasek, Dominik     R 52  3071  1.97 25 15 10  2  8 101 1553  .935 0  0  12
BUF 30 Roloson, Dwayne      12   579  3.01  3  5  2  1  1  29  272  .893 0  0   4
CGY 40 Brathwaite, Fred     21  1294  2.13  9  5  7  1  1  46  621  .926 0  2   2
CGY 30*Moss, Tyler        M 11   550  2.51  3  7  0  0  0  23  295  .922 0  1   0
CGY 31 Wregget, Ken         14   811  2.66  5  6  2  1  1  36  382  .906 0  1   4
CGY 47*Giguere, Jean-Seba M 15   860  3.21  6  7  1  2  0  46  447  .897 0  1   4
CGY 35 Trefilov, Andrei      5   186  4.84  0  4  0  0  0  15  104  .856 0  0   0
CGY  1*Garner, Tyrone     N  3   139  5.18  0  2  0  0  0  12   74  .838 0  0   0
CAR  1 Irbe, Arturs         48  2869  2.17 22 14 10  3  5 104 1397  .926 0  0   6
CAR 37 Kidd, Trevor         19  1027  2.75  6  9  3  3  2  47  474  .901 0  0   0
CHI 41 Thibault, Jocelyn    49  2827  2.72 15 27  6  5  5 128 1388  .908 0  0   0
CHI 30 Fitzpatrick, Mark    20  1027  2.75  4  7  4  1  0  47  502  .906 0  0   2
COL 33 Roy, Patrick         46  2741  2.25 22 16  6  3  5 103 1219  .916 0  0  24
COL 30*Denis, Marc        M  4   217  2.49  1  1  1  0  0   9  110  .918 0  0   0
COL  1 Billington, Craig    18   906  2.85  9  7  1  1  0  43  397  .892 0  0   2
DAL  1 Turek, Roman         19  1069  1.96 12  2  2  1  0  35  444  .921 0  0   0
DAL 20 Belfour, Ed          47  2699  1.98 28 10  8  0  4  89 1019  .913 0  0  10
DET 38*Maracle, Norm        13   642  2.24  5  3  2  1  0  24  296  .919 0  0   0
DET 30 Osgood, Chris        52  3033  2.49 27 21  4  3  2 126 1362  .907 0  3   6
DET 37 Hodson, Kevin         4   175  3.09  0  2  0  0  0   9   79  .886 0  0   0
EDM 30 Essensa, Bob         34  1870  2.47 12 11  6  1  0  77  875  .912 0  1   0
EDM 35 Shtalenkov, Mikhail  33  1772  2.61 12 16  3  2  3  77  767  .900 0  0   2
EDM 29*Passmore, Steve       4   242  2.73  1  2  1  0  0  11  128  .914 0  0   0
FLA 31 Burke, Sean          45  2650  2.63 17 15 13  0  2 116 1258  .908 0  4   8
FLA  1 McLean, Kirk         20  1148  2.72  5  8  4  0  1  52  521  .900 0  0   0
LAK  1*Storr, Jamie         26  1396  2.36 11 11  2  2  4  55  652  .916 0  1   6
LAK 35 Fiset, Stephane      26  1510  2.54 10 14  1  2  1  64  750  .915 0  0   2
LAK 32*Legace, Manny      M 16   859  2.58  2  9  2  5  0  37  415  .911 0  1   0
LAK 31*Bach, Ryan            2    88  4.77  0  2  0  0  0   7   60  .883 0  0   0
MTL 39 Chabot, Frederic      6   203  2.07  0  1  0  0  0   7   82  .915 0  0   2
MTL 31 Hackett, Jeff        51  2896  2.61 21 21  8  5  3 126 1289  .902 0  0   6
MTL 60*Theodore, Jose     M 15   771  3.35  3 10  0  1  0  43  333  .871 0  0   0
NSH 29*Vokoun, Tomas        28  1411  3.10  9 13  3  2  1  73  749  .903 0  1   4
NSH  1 Dunham, Mike         35  1936  3.13 13 17  3  1  0 101 1103  .908 0  0   4
NSH 35 Fichaud, Eric         9   447  3.22  0  6  0  1  0  24  229  .895 0  0   0
NSH 30*Mason, Chris       M  3    69  5.22  0  0  0  0  0   6   44  .864 0  0   0
NJD 30 Brodeur, Martin      55  3333  2.43 29 18  8  4  3 135 1404  .904 0  2   4
NJD 31 Terreri, Chris        9   537  2.46  6  3  0  0  1  22  221  .900 0  0   0
NYI 35 Salo, Tommy          48  2829  2.65 17 24  6  5  5 125 1290  .903 0  0  12
NYI  1*Cousineau, Marcel  M  6   293  2.87  0  4  0  0  0  14  119  .882 0  0   0
NYI 30 Flaherty, Wade        8   348  3.62  1  4  1  2  0  21  169  .876 0  0   2
NYI 28 Potvin, Felix        13   764  3.85  4  8  1  1  0  49  380  .871 0  0   0
NYR 39*Cloutier, Dan        17   816  2.43  5  5  2  2  0  33  423  .922 0  0   2
NYR 35 Richter, Mike        53  2997  2.70 22 23  6  5  4 135 1470  .908 0  0   0
OTW 31 Tugnutt, Ron         33  1902  1.64 19  7  5  2  3  52  788  .934 0  0   0
OTW  1 Rhodes, Damian       34  1854  2.46 17 11  3  1  2  76  809  .906 1  0   4
PHI 34 Vanbiesbrouck, John  47  2795  2.19 20 13 12  3  6 102 1056  .903 0  1  10
PHI 27 Hextall, Ron         20  1051  2.28 10  5  3  0  0  40  397  .899 0  0   0
PHI 49*Pelletier, Jean-Marc  1    60  5.00  0  1  0  0  0   5   29  .828 0  0   0
PHO 35 Khabibulin, Nikolai  48  2758  2.07 25 16  6  3  6  95 1234  .923 0  0   4
PHO 28 Waite, Jimmy         16   898  2.74  6  5  4  0  1  41  390  .895 0  0   2
PHO 42*Esche, Robert      M  3   130  3.23  0  1  0  0  0   7   50  .860 0  0   0
PHO 31*Langkow, Scott     M  1    35  5.14  0  0  0  0  0   3   17  .824 0  0   0
PIT 30*Aubin, Jean-Sebastien 9   309  2.52  3  1  1  0  1  13  112  .884 0  0   0
PIT 35 Barrasso, Tom      R 39  2086  2.59 17 14  3  3  3  90  893  .899 0  3  20
PIT  1*Skudra, Peter        26  1358  2.78 12  6  5  3  2  63  579  .891 0  0   2
SJS 30 Gauthier, Sean        1     3  0.00  0  0  0  0  0   0    2 1.000 0  0   0
SJS 29 Vernon, Mike         44  2530  2.23 16 18  9  2  4  94 1054  .911 0  0   8
SJS 31 Shields, Steve       24  1364  2.42  6 10  5  1  1  55  614  .910 0  1   4
STL  1*Johnson, Brent     M  5   226  1.86  3  1  0  0  0   7  102  .931 0  0   0
STL 29 McLennan, Jamie      31  1692  2.38 12 14  4  3  3  67  594  .887 0  0   0
STL 30*Parent, Rich       R 10   519  2.54  4  3  1  1  1  22  193  .886 0  0   2
STL 31 Fuhr, Grant        R 23  1224  2.70  7  7  5  0  1  55  444  .876 0  0   8
STL 35 Carey, Jim            2    93  3.23  0  1  0  0  0   5   26  .808 0  0   0
TBL  1*Bierk, Zac         M  1    59  2.03  0  1  0  0  0   2   21  .905 0  0   0
TBL 93 Puppa, Darren      R 13   691  2.87  5  6  1  1  2  33  350  .906 0  1   0
TBL 35*Wilkinson, Derek   M  3   148  3.24  1  2  0  0  0   8   76  .895 0  0   0
TBL 32 Schwab, Corey        24  1306  3.54  6 16  1  2  0  77  709  .891 0  2   4
TBL 30 Ranford, Bill        29  1534  3.75  3 17  3  2  1  96  832  .885 0  0   2
TOR 30 Healy, Glenn          5   303  2.18  4  1  0  0  0  11  138  .920 0  0   0
TOR 31 Joseph, Curtis       52  3095  2.75 27 19  5  3  3 142 1460  .903 0  5   4
TOR 35 Reese, Jeff        M  2   106  4.53  1  1  0  0  0   8   51  .843 0  0   0
VAN 30 Snow, Garth          53  2873  3.01 16 26  7  4  3 144 1408  .898 0  1  18
VAN 35*Weekes, Kevin         2    79  3.04  0  1  0  0  0   4   22  .818 0  0   0
VAN 31 Hirsch, Corey        20   919  3.13  3  8  3  0  1  48  435  .890 0  0   0
WSH 40 Rosati, Mike       M  1    28  0.00  1  0  0  0  0   0   12 1.000 0  0   0
WSH 31 Tabaracci, Rick      15   741  2.35  2  6  3  1  1  29  323  .910 0  0   2
WSH 37 Kolzig, Olaf         54  3018  2.66 24 25  2  4  3 134 1287  .896 0  1  19

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