_ _ _ _ | | ____ __ | | ____ ___ | | ____ ___ | | ____ ___ | |/ _ / __| | |/ _ / __| | |/ _ / __| | |/ _ / __| | | (_ \__ \ | | (_ \__ \ | | (_ \__ \ | | (_ \__ \ |_|\____\___/ |_|\____\___/ |_|\____\___/ |_|\____\___/ GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY ================================================================ Five Star - ELECTRONIC EDITION - * * * * * ================================================================ Issue 116 March 24, 1999 287,000 bytes ---------------------------------------------------------------- Visit us on the web at http://www.lcshockey.com/ for all your hockey needs... not really. To subscribe/unsubscribe from the LCS Hockey mailing list contact zippy@lcshockey.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Chelios Dealt Before Deadline ----------------------------------------------------------------- by Jim Iovino The NHL trading deadline is usually a boring time around the offices of LCS Hockey. Each year there's promise that something big will happen. But by the time 3 o'clock rolls around Tuesday afternoon, the staff is so bored that we end up listening to Zippy, pretending to be Philadelphia GM Bobby Clarke, call up Pittsburgh Penguin general manager Craig Patrick and try to convince him the Flyers are interested in trading for Tyler Wright or Dan Kesa. This year was expected to be just as sleepy. Big named players like Mark Recchi and Theo Fleury had already been moved to the Flyers and Avalanche, respectively. But just as Zippy reached for the phone to make the annual prank call, the word hit the street - Darcy Tucker had not been traded. Then we heard the other, almost as important, big news of the day - the Detroit Red Wings went crazy-go-nuts before the deadline. Detroit, looking to add a third straight Stanley Cup, acquired Chris Chelios from the Chicago Blackhawks, Ulf Samuelsson from the New York Rangers, and Wendel Clark and Bill Ranford from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Wow. Now that's what I'd call bolstering a lineup for the playoff run. Chelios was the biggest acquisition. After months of speculation about whether he would be traded from his hometown club, the Blackhawk captain was surprisingly dealt to a long-time rival within Chicago's own division. In return for Chelios, the Blackhawks received young defenseman Anders Eriksson and two first-round draft picks. Chelios immediately signed a two-year extension with the Wings. On the other hand, Chicago GM Bob Murray signed his death wish. But the Wings weren't done. Detroit needed to add more depth to the blue line after finding out Uwe Krupp was done for the year with a back problem, so they called up New York Rangers GM Neil Smith. Smith, usually the one inquiring about really old players who are nearly past their prime, sounded confused and groggy when asked about the status of Ulf Samuelsson. "Wha? Aren't I supposed to be asking you about Jamie Macoun or sumthin'?" Smith was reported to have said during the phone call. After being assured that every trade he makes doesn't necessarily need to include acquiring a player over age 36, Smith dealt Samuelsson, a free agent to be, to the Wings for second- and third-round draft picks. Samuelsson, an unrestricted free agent after the season, is currently sidelined with a broken foot. But he should be ready for the playoffs. The Wings still weren't finished making deals. Perhaps in a move to keep a player from going to another playoff- bound team, Detroit acquired Wendel Clark and Bill Ranford from Tampa Bay for goalie Kevin Hodson and a conditional draft choice. Detroit-rival Dallas was also in the hunt for Clark, a left wing who rejuvenated his career this season by scoring 28 goals with the Bolts. With Clark out of the picture, the Stars picked up center Derek Plante from the Buffalo Sabres for a second-round pick. The Sabres could deal Plante because they had already acquired center Joey Juneau and a third-round pick earlier in the day from the Washington Capitals for defensive prospect Alexei Tezikov. Why would the Sabres get Juneau? I'm not really sure... Other contending teams make moves The Philadelphia Flyers continued to shake up the lineup by making two deals before the deadline. The Broad Street Bullies, who had already acquired tough guy Sandy McCarthy earlier in the week, made sure they could beat the piss out of any team 10 times over by picking up Craig Berube from the Capitals for future considerations. The Flyers also picked up Steve Duchesne from Los Angeles for Dave Babych and a fifth-round pick in 2000. Duchesne, who fell out of favor in L.A. and was actually put on waivers, will be looked to to help the Flyer power play. The Avalanche, who was hurt by the loss of Valeri Kamensky to a broken arm, tried to replace him by acquiring...ahem...Dale Hunter from the Capitals for a second-round pick. Yep, the Avs got Dale Hunter. Why? Try asking Joey Juneau. The New York Islanders realized Sergei Nemchinov was still on their roster and traded him to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who are in need of a center, scraped the bottom of the barrel and found Yanic Perreault. He was had for semi-prospect Jason Podollan. The Coyotes picked up Stan Neckar from the Rangers for Jason Doig and a sixth-round pick. Ottawa acquired injured winger Nelson Emerson from the Blackhawks for forward Chris Murray. In other news: The Sharks picked up Vincent Damphousse from Montreal for future considerations. The Rangers traded defenseman Lee Sorochan to the Flames for defenseman Chris O'Sullivan and then traded Vladimir Vorobiev to the Oilers for Kevin Brown. The Oilers also picked up Jason Smith from the Leafs for second- and fourth-round picks in 1999. The Panthers acquired defenseman Mike Wilson from the Sabres for d-man Rhett Warrener and a fifth- round pick. The Blues reacquired Blair Atcheynum from the Predators for a sixth-round pick in 2000. Atcheynum was selected by Nashville in the expansion draft. The Canucks sent Peter Zezel to the Ducks for future considerations. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Dell..................................Editor-in-Chief Zippy............................................Computer Boy Jim Iovino.......................................Ace Reporter Matthew Secosky..............New Voice of the Lost Generation Nicole Agostino....Don't Know Nothin' Bout Birthin' No Babies 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 Chuck Michio.......................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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- LCS Hockey - Issue 116 - March 24, 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? ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Oilers Think They're Slick With Trades ----------------------------------------------------------------- by Aubrey Chau On Saturday, Edmonton Oilers GM Glen Sather pointed his guns at the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks and pulled the trigger on two deals, seeing nine players changing jerseys. The big deal involved the Chicago Blackhawks acquiring defenceman Boris Mironov, winger Dean McAmmond and prospect defenceman Jonas Elofsson. Coming to the Great White North was centre Chad Kilger, left winger Ethan Moreau, other left winger Dan Cleary and defenceman Christian Laflamme. Then Sather banished Mats Lindgren and an eighth-round draft pick to Long Island as he joined the New York Islanders. In return, the Oilers acquired Tommy Salo, who has the No. one job between the Edmonton pipes until he loses it. The Oilers gave up experience with their premier defenceman Mironov, 27, and speedy winger McAmmond, 25. In return, the Oilers receive a four unproven kids. With the major need to make the playoffs, the question is: Is this a deal that will help the Oilers now? Apparently so, from the looks of the first game with the new Oilers, which included Ethan Moreau garnering three assists playing in McAmmond's old spot beside Mike Grier and Todd Marchant. Kilger played but failed to produce. Laflamme didn't play because his equipment got lost in Denver and didn't make it in time for the game. Still, the verdict is out on this deal. All these guys are 23 years of age or younger. Selected fourth overall by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks during the '95 entry draft, 22-year- old Chad Kilger has high expectations placed upon him. Sather said he'd like to see him become the next Keith Primeau. With his size (6-3, 215 lbs) and talent that's a possibility, the only thing lacking is his drive. This is Kilger's fourth team already, he's running out of fresh starts. But after a few years in the league, maybe this will be his home for the next few years. Kilger has the potential, but he hasn't shown the offensive flash he did when he was in junior with Kingston of the OHL. Ethan Moreau's another first round draft choice, drafted 14th overall by the Blackhawks, Moreau has already contributed to the Oilers with a three-assist performance on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks. The book on Moreau says he's a good, physical two-way winger who'll never be a huge point-producer. He can be a good second or third liner. Christian Laflamme, drafted 45th overall in the '95 draft is considered to be solid two- way defenceman. He can play both ways and should see some power-play time with the Oil. Dan Cleary, who was sent directly to the Hamilton Bulldogs, is yet another first-round draft choice. He was selected 13th overall during the '97 draft and should have a decent offensive upside. He could become a solid second line winger. The other new Oiler is Tommy Salo, who has the starting job. He's been successful at every level except the NHL. He has managed two consecutive 20-win seasons. That's quite an accomplishment considering he was playing behind the sad-sack Islanders. Say Good-bye Leaving Edmonton are long-time Oilers Dean McAmmond (six years as an Oiler), and Boris Mironov and Mats Lindgren, who each spent five years as Oilers. Mironov will be a good addition to the Hawks. He didn't want to leave Edmonton, but his time was up. The fans were booing him and in turn he wasn't making the smartest choices with the puck. But Mironov has the talent and the heart to become an all-star defenceman, and it looked like playing beside one of the NHL's best, Chris Chelios, would help Boris realize his full potential. Unfortunately for Mironov, Chelios was traded to Detroit, so he won't get to experience that. Bobo currently shows flashes of brilliance for 20 or 30 games at a time. When he puts it together for the majority of a season, he will win the Norris. There are not many all-star players who wanted to stay in Edmonton. But Boris really wanted to stay and finish his career here. He says he'll still call Edmonton home during the off-season. McAmmond will bring some good speed and decent two-way play for the `Hawks. If McAmmond can get his head screwed on straight and gain some confidence, he can be a threat like he was last season where he collected 19 goals. He looked like himself Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche where he netted a goal and an assist. Mats Lindgren, who's now an Islander, will be given a lot more responsibility in New York. On Sunday, during the Islanders 12-shot performance against the Calgary Flames, Lindgren was centering the first line and logged 21 minutes on the ice. When Lindgren arrived in Edmonton five years ago, some dubbed him the `next' Mats Sundin. Well, he never panned out did he? Injuries and lack of icetime certainly were a factor, but Lindgren has never been more than a defensive 3rd/4th line forward for the Oil. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Pronger Piles Up the Minutes ------------------------------------------------------------------ by Jim Iovino Chris Pronger doesn't play every minute of every game for the St. Louis Blues -- just every other minute. The stalwart defenseman leads the NHL in minutes played with an average of 30.2 per game. That is a tremendous amount of time to be on the ice. But then again, Pronger is a tremendous player worthy of the minutes. Pronger plays at even strength and on the power-play and penalty-killing units and does all of it well despite playing the most minutes of anyone in the league. One would think as the season goes on, the grind of playing as much as Pronger does would start to wear on him. But as Pronger points out, he's been able to take the occasional break this season because of an injury and a suspension to get the required rest he needs to survive the playoff run. "Actually, after taking 11 games off (due to injury), I am quite happy to be playing 30 minutes a game," Pronger said. "I got my breather in mid-December there with the suspension and now here in February with the ankle injury, so I am kind of happy to get back into it." The Blues captain is putting together another solid season. His offensive numbers (11-27-38) have already surpassed his Norris Trophy contending season of a year ago (9-27-36). His plus/minus rating (+1) has slipped significantly from his league-leading +47 of a year ago. But with Pronger on the ice for half of every game matching up against the league's best forwards and top lines, having any kind of plus rating is impressive. With the loss of Steve Duchesne via free agency before this season, Pronger has been counted on to provide more offense to go along with his usual superb defense. Pronger has responded with a career-high in points and power- play goals even though he's played in about 30 less games than he did all of last year. Pronger also has teamed up with 1999 Norris Trophy candidate Al MacInnis to give St. Louis one of the best 1-2 punches from the blue line. As a matter of fact, both could make strong cases for winning the trophy for the league's best defenseman. But as of right now, Pronger says the honor should go to Big Daddy Mac. "You will probably have to go with Al," Pronger said. "He has got the better numbers. He is having a great year. I think if I was having a similar year as I did last year, I am sure it would be a little closer. But right now, I think I would have to give Al the win." MacInnis has had some big seasons in the past - including a 103-point, 28-goal year with the Calgary Flames in 1990-91 - but has never won a Norris. That could change this year, however. The man with the howitzer from the point leads all defensemen with 54 points (19 goals) in 68 games. It's a far cry from the 100-point season at the beginning of the decade, but the game has changed a lot since then. MacInnis is also near the top of the league with a +28 rating. Pronger, who is 11 years younger than MacInnis, wonders sometimes how his fellow defenseman didn't win a Norris Trophy back in the old-school NHL. "I would like to see him win," Pronger said. "I think anybody who looks back on his career, you almost wonder how did he not win in certain years of his career with 100 and some points. But maybe it is his time and maybe it isn't. But like I said, getting on in years and into his career, you certainly would like to see a player of that caliber and that kind of person win a Norris Trophy." This is the fourth season Pronger and MacInnis have played together. Pronger joined the Blues in a controversial Mike Keenan-inspired trade with the Hartford Whalers. Pronger, who was trying to establish himself as a solid prospect in the league at the time of the trade in 1995, was dealt by the Whalers to the Blues for Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan was one of the most popular players in St. Louis history at that time. It took Pronger some time to win over the fans in St. Louis, but it looks like he finally has. He's received a lot of help from veterans like MacInnis. Perhaps Pronger has taken a few lessons from MacInnis on how to improve his offensive game, as well. Step One: The Slap Shot. "The amount of whip and torque he gets from his stick certainly is one of the factors in how he shoots the puck so hard," Pronger said. "I think if you watch him play, it's kind of like a jai-alai stick where he could whip it towards the net from any angle." One thing Pronger needs no advice in is how to play half a game and do it well. "I think that just comes with the territory," Pronger said. "If you want to be the best player in the world or the best defenseman in the league, you got to prove it. You have got to come to produce a play the same way each and every night. I don't think it's a matter of winning trophies or whatnot. I think the bottom line is winning hockey games. If it takes you winning the Norris Trophy or winning the scoring title for your team to win hockey games, then that's what you have to do." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Stevens Chat ----------------------------------------------------------------- by Michael Dell See, here's how it works. The NHL provides us with transcripts of conference calls and then I usually craft a hilariously funny feature article around the quotes, employing a vast array of obscure television references and other comedic devices. One of the featured players this time around is New Jersey's Scott Stevens. Unfortunately, I'm quite burnt at the moment and just don't feel like writing anything. I got nothin'. So instead I'm just going to rerun the transcript in its original question-and-answer form. The only difference being that I have supplied new questions. Stevens' answers are the same, but the questions have been changed or altered to make things confusing and difficult to understand. Good night and god bless. LCS: Hello, Mr. Stevens. Let me start by asking the obvious question. Have you ever been bitten by a monkey? SCOTT STEVENS: Well, it seems like that happens every year, but it is a gamble. I guess the teams that really feel they are there and they have a great chance of winning the Cup will tend to do it. Other than that, I think usually you are going to give up some pretty good players for some picks that could hurt you later on down the line. But if you feel you are right there and you feel you have an excellent chance of winning, a lot of teams will do that. LCS: Do you like waffles? SCOTT STEVENS: Yes, there's no question, especially a team that is not going to make the playoffs or doesn't have a great chance, it is always beneficial for them to grab a young player or some draft picks to improve the team down the road. LCS: Imagining for a moment that it was possible, which do you think would win in a fight: a giant carrot or a giant radish? SCOTT STEVENS: That is a good question. I think we play a simple game, patient game, and a little more relaxed, maybe, and we are in the games. They are not all pretty, but we seem to be in every game and feel that we can win every game on the road. That is a big part of it. At home, we are having some troubles. We are just not getting the breaks and just making the mistakes at the wrong time. Where, on the road, we play a simpler game, more patient game, I believe, and we have more success that way. LCS: Have you ever read "Catcher in the Rye"? Because I just read it a couple weeks ago and I was extremely disappointed. SCOTT STEVENS: Yes, especially the first half, but now guys are being creative and we had some time off to relax. I can see now he is starting to get more intense. He believes now, which is true, is the time to bear down; work a little harder at different things and really come together and get ready for the playoffs because it is the most important time of the year. LCS: After French painter Paul Gaugin abandoned his family and moved to Tahiti, he had a string of affairs with several young teenage girls and contracted such a severe case of Syphilis that many of the other island inhabitants thought he was a Leper. Do you think Al MacInnis has a chance to win the Norris this year? SCOTT STEVENS: Well, there is no question, he has really improved a lot ever since he has come into the league. He seems to be getting better and better. He is very potent on the power play and playing a lot of minutes and he is playing more defensively, which was always a knock, but now, obviously, seems like he is doing much better in that area. To be playing the minutes you are playing, you have to play well defensively at the same time. LCS: Do you know what the capital of Nepal is? SCOTT STEVENS: No, I don't think so. I think everyone, you know, you work hard; do the best you can, and you don't have much control over that. As long as you are working as hard as you can play well and doing what you can, I don't think people really keep that in their mind too much. I don't think you can. I don't think it is healthy and I don't think -- obviously, you have no control of it so there is no use worrying about it. LCS: Sometimes I like to wear frilly, floral-print dresses. Is that wrong? SCOTT STEVENS: I think so. Probably is. You have been there many times and seeing it come and go, so -- but, I don't really -- I don't ever sense in the room or see where people are waiting for something-to-happen-type thing and that doesn't happen very often. Everyone is pretty happy to be playing and working hard and that is the most important thing, if you are playing well and working hard, doing the best you can, there is nothing else you can do. LCS: If you were a tree, what type of tree would you be? SCOTT STEVENS: I agree. I think every year you have to put eight teams in there at least. There is a lot of parity in the league, no question. But, obviously, there are some teams that stand out a bit more. But, also, there are teams that slip in the back door. Obviously, Dallas is playing really well. Colorado is picking it up now. Detroit is always -- I think is always dangerous; especially since they have been there before; won a couple. Philadelphia and Phoenix dropped off a bit, but I'd like to look at ourselves, we are having a pretty good year so, there is no question, I have to agree there are probably eight teams that have a good chance of winning the Stanley Cup. LCS: Thank you very much for your time, Scott. SCOTT STEVENS: Okay, no problem. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Barnes for Barnaby ----------------------------------------------------------------- by Peter Farkasovsky After the Penguins had won their second Stanley Cup in 1992, the new ownership decided to change the team's beloved logo. Fans longed for the mean, muscular bird used in advertising, but the corporate, snobby-looking squashed penguin head was chosen. Freud would've loved this. I think he would've said something like: "Zee fans vant more toughness from zee team. They know they that von't happen, zo dey are projecting their desire for zee muskles to zee team logo." Well the Pens did get tougher. Seven years later, but who's counting? They swapped scorer Stu Barnes for Buffalo Sabres tough guy Matthew Barnaby. To the fan, it gives the team a much needed dimension of grit and fire for the playoffs. To the accountant, Barnaby's and Barnes' last names both start with "Barn" -- that's four less letters the Battlin' Birds of Bankruptcy have to pay the seamstress to sew on Barnaby's sweater. Believe it. The truth is out there. Barnaby isn't a goon in the purest sense -- he actually has some skill, compiling 47 goals and 79 assists in 317 career games. That's on top of his 1,248 minutes of having to sit in the corner. Granted, no one is going to confuse Barnaby with Jaromir Jagr or Alexei Kovalev when he has the puck, but he knows that the net is for more than just knocking the goalie into. Barnaby also has that coveted skill of being able to annoy anybody and get distracted opponents to take stupid penalties. Those qualities become even more important to the Pens as Darius Kasparaitis (that's Lithuanian for "Darcy Tucker," you know) will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury. That would have been some crazy stuff to have those guys on the ice at the same time. Sick, I tell ya, sick. Although drawing penalties and annoying the opposition are what the Pens are looking for from Barnaby, he also has been known to take some bad penalties at inopportune times and annoy his own team because of it. And speaking of annoying his own team -- that's what bought him a one-way ticket out of Buffalo. Barnaby is a rabid supporter of former Sabres coach Ted Nolan and when Nolan was fired after receiving little endorsement from All-World netminder Dominik Hasek, Barnaby threatened publicly to run Hasek. Not a very bright thing to say, but you have to admire the guy's tenacity. This put a strain on his relationship with management and he was a healthy scratch for many games this season. The Penguins did not scratch Barnes when he mysteriously fell into disfavor with management who said his work ethic was poor. Although there was little to no truth in that accusation, Barnes was demoted from the top line and sent to the third. If anything, Barnes' work ethic suffered after the demotion. Maybe the Pens meant to say, "He works too hard. We want him to have a poor work ethic, so we're moving him to the third line." Barnes was obviously shaken by the demotion and he would never be productive in a Penguins sweater again. A move needed to be made. The Penguins have some scoring depth in their top three lines, so moving an offensive talent was viable. The Sabres get a proven scorer to help spark a struggling offense. Miroslav Satan and Mike Peca are probably their best two offensive players, but Peca's strong suit is his defensive play. Acquiring Barnes will allow Peca to focus more on that role and they still have Rob Ray, so the Sabres won't be missing any muscle from its line up. Buffalo made it to the conference final last season behind stellar goaltending and a solid defensive effort, but scoring was lacking. Barnes should be able to help. What do you think, Mr. Freud? "Yez, yez. . . muskle is goot. Scoring is goot. Zee fans in both cities vill be happy." Now if the Penguins will get a new logo... ------------------------------------------------------------------ More Stuff... ------------------------------------------------------------------ by Michael Dell PLAYOFF SEEDING Lately there's been some grief about the format for playoff seeding, where division winners receive precedent over teams with more points. For example, the Carolina Hurricanes will be seeded third in the East if they win the Southeast Division, even though they have fewer points than Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Buffalo. Instead of being seventh, the Canes will sit in the three hole and enjoy home ice for the first round of the playoffs. Some people don't think this is fair. But guess what? Life ain't fair, Clyde. If it was do you think Don Knotts would have been sitting home on Oscar night? How many years have to go by before the Academy recognizes his brilliant career? "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" didn't make itself. As long as the conferences are grouped by divisions, then the division winners should receive preferential treatment. It's the only thing that keeps the rivalries going. If division winners don't receive special benefits, then there would be no point in having divisions. The alternative would be to switch to a balanced schedule where a club plays the same number of games against every other team in its given conference. Where's the fun in that? If a club like the Flyers wants to be seeded higher than the Hurricanes there's a simple solution: try harder. Don't be satisfied with what you've done, hunger for what you haven't. Win more games. Win your division. Then there's no doubt as to your fate. If only Don Knotts had it so easy. COACHING ADVICE On the whole, hockey coaches are smart guys. But some things they do just drive me crazy. Usually I have to call 'em out for questionable line combinations, but this time it's a matter of late-game strategy that has me up in arms again. Nothing gets me more irate than watching a team on the power play pull its goaltender when it's trailing by one goal with more than a minute left in regulation. If there's less than 30 seconds, then okay, go right ahead. But otherwise it's an exercise in stupidity. The most recent example came on March 14 when the Detroit Red Wings prevailed 3-1 over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. The Avalanche were behind 2-1 with two minutes and 25 seconds remaining in the third when Detroit's Martin Lapointe got whistled for high-sticking. Instead of just being content to allow Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Adam Deadmarsh, Claude Lemieux, and Sandis Ozolinsh to work their usual five-on-four magic, Colorado coach Bob Hartley elected to pull Patrick Roy in order to employ a six-on-four advantage. Bad idea. Colorado seemed over cautious with the puck and eventually turned it over at center ice and Igor Larionov slid a weak shot into a gaping net at 18:57, ending the game and wasting the final 22 seconds of the power play not to mention the final 1:03 of regulation. Let me ask you this, let me ask you this... what's the point of pulling your goaltender in the first place? To get a man- advantage. So why do it if you're already on the power play? It makes no sense. And since there's no fear of icing, all it takes is one bad bounce or errant pass anywhere on the ice, including the offensive zone, and the penalty killers can end the game in a heartbeat. Now things are different if you have a draw in deep and only like 20 or 30 seconds left, but it's a ridiculous ploy when you're looking at a full two minutes as the Avalanche were on that day. Hartley isn't the only guy to make this mistake, though. The worst example of this suicidal tendency came in Game Six of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals when Jacques Lemaire handed Mark Messier an empty-net hat trick goal and squandered the final two minutes of the game. Yeah, that'll suck. All I'm saying is accept the power play, love the power play, use the power play. LEAVE LEMIEUX ALONE The city of Pittsburgh is all giddy with the prospect of Mario Lemieux owning the Penguins. And rightly so. Not only has he vowed to keep the team in the Burgh, but he's also, well, Mario Lemieux. Good ol' number 66 submitted his reorganizational plan for the franchise this past Friday and all is going according to schedule. Lemieux has apparently lined up the investors needed to provide the $50 million to get the deal off the ground. I'm not exactly sure who the investors are, but I'm almost positive that one of them is Oprah. She's got all the money. With Mario being in town so much lately, he's been able to take in more than a few Penguin games. But the cool thing is that he isn't sitting up in the press box or anything, oh no. Lemieux is sitting in the middle of the Igloo crowd with all the other fans. Mario is of the people, for the people, by the people. But please, for the love of Cullen, if you see Mario at a game, do not ask him for an autograph. Leave the man alone. It's so pathetic watching people bother the Greatest One while he's there with his family and friends trying to enjoy the game. Because I know how frustrating it is for me when I'm out in public and people keep bugging me for autographs. I mean, I can only sign so many. Just because I'm so much better than you doesn't make my signature on a piece of paper anything special. Okay, well maybe that's a bad example. But believe me, I'm a normal man. If you cut me, do I not bleed? If you slash my thumb, does it not break? If you forget who I am, do I not die a broken man? Aw, it still hurts. But I digress... Anyway, just leave Mario alone. But if you really feel the need to bother someone, I'll be signing autographs at the Buffalo Wild Wings behind Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg this Wednesday, and every Wednesday for that matter, beginning at 10PM. I'll be the thin, sickly looking guy at the back table by the windows getting ripped on shots of Jager and humiliating everyone in bar trivia. Feel free to stop by and say hi. I'll tell a few jokes, you'll buy me a few shots, I'll sign some autographs, you'll buy me some more shots, everything will be grand. SAKIC SMACK DOWN Joe Sakic isn't scared to throw. Doug Gilmour found out the hard way during Chicago's recent 5-5 tie with the Avalanche in Colorado. At 8:35 of the first period, Sakic scored his 34th goal of the season but chose to celebrate in a rather unique way, tapping out a glorious noise unto the lord with the aid of Gilmour's skull. Sakic came to the defense of his good buddy Theo Fleury after Gilmour threw a punch at the little red menace. Joe, who hadn't recorded a fighting major since February 28, 1990, when he went with Toronto's Gary Leeman, got the gloves off in a hurry and laid the smack down on Gilmour with the Corporate Right Hand. Sakic makes too much money for it to be the People's Right Hand. Gilmour took a pair of clean shots to the side of the head before turtling and holding on for dear life. But you Doug Gilmour fans out there have nothing to worry about. He's still the most overpaid player in the league. NHL HELPS THE KIDS The National Hockey League has this thing they do called the A.S.S.I.S.T. program that helps youth hockey organizations worldwide defray the costs of equipment, ice time, and travel expenses. I think A.S.S.I.S.T. stands for like Assists Skaters and Shooters Ingesting Smoked Turkey or somethin'. But the point is the league does good, making grants of up to $10,000 US to qualifying hockey programs with the overall donations totaling $100,000. Now here's a whole bunch of info straight from the press release, void of wit and sarcasm: The league is currently accepting grant applications for the 1999-2000 season. In its third year, NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. has provided financial assistance to hockey programs in Canada, China, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, and the United States. To be eligible for an NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. grant, the applying youth hockey organization must be nationally registered and a member in good standing with a local governing hockey federation. Organizations must also be a not-for-profit entity holding a 501(c)3 tax status in the United States, or native country's equivalent. Grant recipients will be awarded on the basis of need and community service efforts with special consideration given to organizations that are inclusive of both girls and boys, the economically disadvantaged and physically challenged. The NHL will determine grant recipients based on the information provided in its sole discretion. The deadline for applications is August 13, 1999. Award recipients will be announced by the NHL during the opening of the 1999-2000 NHL season. To obtain an application for the NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. grant, the NHL has established a toll-free A.S.S.I.S.T. hotline that is accessible within the U.S. and Canada (1-888-NHL-AWARD) as well as a dedicated e-mail address (ASSIST@nhl.com). Applications are also posted on the official NHL website (www.nhl.com). NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. applications will be available at the NHL offices in New York, Toronto, Montreal and Zurich, Switzerland as well as through the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in Zurich, a founding partner of the NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. program. Interested programs outside North America can request applications by contacting the NHL Zurich office at 011-411-389-8080 or the IIHF at 011-411-289-8600. Applications are available in English, French, and Spanish upon request. STATS AND WHATNOT Who doesn't like wacky stats? Because I know I do, and that's for damn sure. So naturally I was taken aback recently by two individual single game performances. The first occurred on Wednesday, March 10, when the Carolina Hurricanes played host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even though he couldn't prevent his team from blowing a two-goal third-period lead in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss to the Penguins, the great Gary Roberts was simply an unbelievable physical presence. Roberts racked up an astonishing 17 hits in the game. That's right, 17 hits. That's more collisions than your average highway chase scene in any given episode of "CHiPs." Considering his past history of neck woes, Roberts' aggressive play is courageous to say the least. The second wacky stat of choice came this past Saturday, March 20, when the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche skated to a 5-5 draw at McNichols Arena. Chris Chelios was on the ice for 40:26 of the 65-minute contest. You play 40 minutes in an NHL game, especially against the likes of Sakic, Fleury, and Forsberg, and you're definitely earning your money. Here are the league leaders in hits, ice time, and, just for fun, giveaways through Sunday, March 21: 
ICE TIME (in minutes)
 1. Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues      30.21
 2. Brian Leetch, New York Rangers      29.94
 3. Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins          29.55
 4. Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues        28.99
 5. Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks   27.32
 6. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings 26.79
 7. Mattias Ohlund, Vancouver Canucks   26.67
 8. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche       26.19
 9. Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins   25.91
10. Boris Mironov, Chicago Blackhawks   25.90   

HITS
 1. Gary Roberts, Carolina Hurricanes     221
 2. Ken Klee, Washington Capitals         221
 3. Mattias Norstrom, Los Angeles Kings   212
 4. Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wings     207
 5. Bobby Holik, New Jersey Devils        201
 6. Keith Primeau, Carolina Hurricanes    197
 7. Bob Boughner, Nashville Predators     193
 8. Richard Matvichuk, Dallas Stars       186
 9. Derian Hatcher, Dallas Stars          186
10. Adrian Aucoin, Vancouver Canucks      185

(NOTE: Darius Kasparaitis is ranked 15th with 173 hits, but his
average of 3.6 hits per game remains the best in the league)

GIVEAWAYS
 1. Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins     182
 2. Oleg Tverdovsky, Phoenix Coyotes      154
 3. Eric Weinrich, Montreal Canadiens     144
 4. Brian Leetch, New York Rangers        142
 5. Teppo Numminen, Phoenix Coyotes       133
 6. Vladimir Malakhov, Montreal Canadiens 130
 7. Joe Juneau, Washington Capitals       128
 8. Mark Recchi, Philadelphia Flyers      127
 9. Pavol Demitra, St. Louis Blues        127
10. Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche    127
COOLNESS UPDATE Sadly, Darius Kasparaitis, the coolest player... IN THE WORLD, was forced to undergo season-ending knee surgery. Kaspar will therefore have to relinquish the number one spot on our list of the ten coolest players in the NHL. Gee, I wonder who the new number one is? Can you say Darcy Tucker? I knew that you could. 
Coolest Players
 1. Darcy Tucker, Tampa Bay Lightning
 2. Tony Amonte, Chicago Blackhawks 
 3. Marty Straka, Pittsburgh Penguins
 4. Theo Fleury, Colorado Avalanche
 5. Gary Roberts, Carolina Hurricanes
 6. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
 7. Mike Modano, Dallas Stars
 8. Adam Graves, New York Rangers
 9. John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers
10. Pavol Demitra, St. Louis Blues

Least Coolest Players
 1. Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings 
 2. Kirk Maltby, Detroit Red Wings
 3. Garth Snow, Vancouver Canucks
 4. Jamie Macoun, Detroit Red Wings
 5. Slava Kozlov, Detroit Red Wings
 6. Rich Pilon, New York Islanders
 7. Craig Ludwig, Dallas Stars
 8. Ray Ferraro, Los Angeles Kings
 9. Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix Coyotes
10. Mark Recchi, Philadelphia Flyers
--------------------------------------------------------------- Own the Original Darcy Tucker Puppet! --------------------------------------------------------------- Press Release Always the community-minded lads, LCS Hockey will be auctioning off the original Darcy Tucker puppet for charity on Sunday, April 4. A one-of-a-kind item, the puppet rose to unmatched prominence as part of the hockey publication's Darcy Tucker Tribute Issue on March 10. Since then, a day hasn't gone by that the LCS Hockey offices haven't received phone calls, e-mails, and faxes requesting to buy the cherished brown paper bag. LCS Hockey is seizing the opportunity to once again raise money for the needy. "I hate the idea of selling it," said LCS Hockey editor-in-chief Michael Dell. "I made the puppet with my own hands. I gave birth to it. Parting with it will be extremely traumatic. But what can I do? I need booze. I mean, poor people need food. Like soup and apples and whatnot. Gotta feed those poor bastards." The auction is open to the public. To partake in this unique fund raising event, e-mail your bids to LCS Hockey at dell@lcshockey.com. Bids will be accepted beginning Wednesday, March 24. The deadline to submit a bid is 11PM EST on Sunday, April 4. The puppet will come with a certificate of authenticity and a personalized letter from the desk of Michael Dell. So bid early. Bid often. But most of all, bid with your heart. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Reader Mail ----------------------------------------------------------------- by Michael Dell We love to answer letters from you, our valued readers. Here's the proof. And, as always, letters may be edited for content in cases when the writer rambles incoherently or says something funnier than me. SNOW FAN Reasons why Garth Snow should be taken off the lame list Reason #5 - In practice, Snow sees Brad May streaking in on net with his head down end to end. Snow skates out to challenge and comes sliding in with stacked pads. The two meet at the blue line. Snow makes the save and May does this wicked loop-de-loop. When he recovers he threatens the lives of Snow and his dog. If he does that to his teammates, imagine what he does to the other team!?!?!? Reason #4 - He plays for the Canucks, has faced 1322 shots in 49 games. Yet he's still helping the team fight for the slimmest of playoff spots. Reason #3 - He doesn't have Pedro and his brother as shoulder pads anymore. Reason #2 - Brian Burke thinks he sucks (Brian Burke also insisted that Dave Gagner was the key to the Bure deal). And the number one reason why Garth Snow shouldn't be on the Lame list.... Reason #1 - Because that's where guys like Milbury, Keenan, and Don Cherry belong. Steve Peckenpaugh LCS: Good effort. I especially liked the reference to Georghe and Pedro. But in the end, Garth Snow remains a dork. Some men are born dorks. Some men achieve dorkdom. Some men have dorkdom thrust upon them. Snow's a little bit of this, a little bit of that... WHAT NO WITT? Darius at #1? Sure, there's a little Yinzer in all of us, but not #1! Anyway, next time add Brendan Witt to the list. He's a cult hero of sorts in the DC/Baltimore area at the alternative rock station here (WHFS). Hangs out with bands at the 9:30 club, and has become hockey's spokesman to the burnout post-grunge 20- somethings in the area. Plus on the ice he beats up people. Izzy Zeumer LCS: Watch yourself about Kaspar. As for Witt, he is a pretty cool guy. But he'll have a tough time cracking the list with so many cool, high-scoring superstars out there at the moment. He's really gong to have to do something impressive. Might I suggest a blood feud with Darcy Tucker? JUST WONDERING... I was wondering: is this a full-time job for you? And how many of the other staff work full-time? Is it all done through the internet or is there an office? Josh Davidson LCS: This is sort of a full time job for me. But I do supplement my income with my dancing career. And hey, I know what you're thinking, but it's interpretive not exotic. As for the rest of the staff, we usually find them through the kindness of various work-release programs from area hospitals and prisons. So they really don't work full time for us. It's sort of part for us, part for the community. And yes, we do have an office. Although some people might refer to is as a "bar." KEENAN PEN PAL Hi, I was wondering if you knew of Mike Keenan's e-mail. Thanks. Rob Ivezich LCS: I'm not really sure how to contact Mike Keenan. I think he was doing stuff with The Sporting News, so you could check there for him. But while we're on the subject, I recently received a letter in the mail from Kenny Bloom, the president of the official Mike Keenan Fan Club. Apparently, Kenny is having some difficulty adjusting to life without Mike Keenan. I'll try to update his condition in a future issue of LCS Hockey. TUCKER FAN Hi. I saw your Darcy Tucker tribute issue of LCS Hockey. I think it's great that you're getting the word out about him. I'm a Lightning season ticket holder and a huge Tucker fan. I was the first person to have a Lightning Tucker jersey. Anyway... I have had the Darcy Tucker Fan Page (http://members.tripod. com/~tucker16) up for about a year now. I was just wondering if you'd like to put a link to it. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Erin LCS: Thanks for the swell letter and the dedication to our hero, Darcy Tucker. Hopefully the tribute issue will bring more attention to the cause. All hail Darcy Tucker. Darcy Tucker is good. WHATEVER Why are you such an idiot? Terry Malloy LCS: Practice, practice, practice. HONESTY, SWEET HONESTY I've been reading LCS hockey for a while now, and it is light years ahead of not just other Internet hockey sites, but any printed sports publication out on the market. My first introduction to your site was through the America Online favorite sites section on their sports/hockey "channel." Since then other so-called hockey news journals seem empty and trivial to me, and I can't help but notice their striking inferiority. LCS hockey was like a bright, blinding beam of enlightenment shining into the darkened den of ignorance that I had unknowingly lived in all these years. It reminds me of ESPN on its good nights, in that it is top-notch sports journalism that is intelligently conveyed, but with a sense of humor. However, the humor in LCS is of a superior brand, because it is less reserved, and a little less polite, and, most importantly, quite a bit more humorous. Normally I am not one to send unsolicited praise, but the most recent issue of LCS, with editor-in-chief Michael Dell's comedic and literary masterstroke of dedicating an entire issue to Darcy Tucker, moved me to express my gratitude for this publication. I learned and I laughed as never before. This issue is a monument to the creativity, compassion, courage and genius of humanity; it is a masterpiece of journalistic innovation. LCS is defining a new genre, a new era, and a new standard for sports reporters of this planet Earth. I can only pray that they are taking note. Michael Kopp LCS: Now that's a letter! Thank you very much, Michael. I really appreciate it. I don't believe a word of it, but I appreciate it nonetheless. It's times like these that I'm so grateful for the miracle of modern prescription drugs and all the joy they bring. BOOK? Is it true that Michael Dell is writing a book? I've heard things. What's it about? And where can I buy one? Melina Belich LCS: Yes, it is true, I am currently working on my first novel. Although, it will actually be my second book. Because as we all know, my book of Haikus, entitled "Haikus? I Got Your Haikus Right Here," can already be found at better bookstores everywhere. But back to the whole novel thing, it's very close to completion. It has nothing to do with hockey and can be best described as "101 Dalmatians" except with more dogs. Seriously, it's got a little bit of everything... sex, violence, adventure... and that's just the dedication. If I can ever get away from all this LCS crap I might be able to finish it within the next month. So if you're a publisher or literary agent searching for the next big writing talent that will eventually drink himself to death and die a lonely, lonely man, look no further than this guy! ------------------------------------------------------------------ AHL News ------------------------------------------------------------------ by Tricia McMillan Player of the Week (Mar. 7): The last time Shawn Bates won the POTW, he was promptly recalled to Boston. While it remains to be seen if Bates goes back to the NHL this time, he gets the award anyway. Bates had six points for the Bruins during the week, including four goals and two of the goals were game-winners. Bates is second in the AHL in short-handed goals and has taken over the Providence franchise record in that category. Player of the Week (Mar. 14): In a week wherein the magic words were 'hat trick', the award went to a goaltender. Albany's Mike Buzak was named the POTW after winning three of his four games with a GAA of 1.90 and .939 save percentage. Buzak won all three games, including two against division leading teams, by allowing only one goal in each game. Buzak took last season off from the AHL to play in the WPHL after a few seasons with Worcester. A Different Note: Hockey teams do quite a lot of things to raise money for charity throughout the year, but this one is fairly new (I say fairly because the Washington Capitals did something along these lines a couple years ago.). New Haven's Ashlin Halfknight recorded a CD of his original songs, primarily for the heck of it, and the Beast are selling the CD to raise money for a local children's charity. Contact the team if you'd like to buy one. On a Clear Day...: 'Clear Day' is Thursday, March 25. For those who are unfamiliar with it, all AHL teams must submit a roster of 20 regulars and three injury alternates to the AHL on that date. The roster is made up primarily of those players who have been on the team all year, but can also include players presently in the NHL. In theory, only these players may play for the team during the AHL playoffs. That's in theory, because players completing their junior or college seasons may be freely added to a team's playoff roster. The assumption is those players aren't as good - and they definitely aren't as experienced - as the players who've been in the AHL all season, thus no restriction on their appearance in the lineup. At Long Last...: March 19 was an important day for Providence defenseman Elias Abrahamsson - after two seasons and 96 games, he finally scored his first professional goal. But while Abrahamsson breathes a sigh of relief, another AHLer is doing some serious squirming. Cincinnati's Byron Briske is in his third professional season, all in the AHL, and he still hasn't scored a goal. As of March 22, that was 171 games, and he hasn't scored yet. Even worse for Briske, the AHL record for games played without a goal is 174, a record held by Kevin Kemp. But it looks like Briske is about to acquire the dubious distinction for himself. The Rest...:Hershey went to the Rock for the first time in over three years Mar. 9 but coach Mike Foligno didn't get much of a homecoming. Brad Chartrand had three points as the Leafs won, 4-2... Good thing Rochester was on the road in early March, because they couldn't go home due to the several feet of snow that closed the highways in upstate New York... The Amerks made good use of the time in Philadelphia with a 4-1 win over the Phantoms Mar. 9. Tom Draper stopped a penalty shot from...Francis Belanger. Not exactly one's first choice to take a penalty shot... The Amerks need just three more road wins to set an AHL record in that category... Rochester remains on pace for another AHL record - fewest goals allowed in a season. The Amerks average 2.13 goals allowed a game, which would give them 170 for the season. The record is 201... Mike Minard has yet to lose a game since becoming a Bulldog, and he was helped by three points from Chris Ferraro on Mar. 9 as Hamilton defeated Albany 6-2... Jeff Reese stopped 46 of 47 shots from the Bears Mar. 10 for his second win over them in two nights. The Leafs won it 5-1... Cincinnati led 1-0 in the third, but then the River Rats scored three goals in 63 seconds and Jeff Williams iced it with his second goal a few minutes later for a 4-1 Albany win Mar. 10... John Grahame's 19 game winning streak ended when Kentucky's Jarrod Skalde scored with less than six seconds remaining in overtime for a 5-4 T-Blade victory Mar. 10. The game went to overtime when Providence's Joel Prpic scored with 22 seconds left in regulation... It took Portland's Trevor Halvorson less than 12 minutes to put up a hat trick against Fredericton on Mar. 11. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Habs still managed a point with a 4-4 tie... The Saint John Times Globe got to wondering what AHLers are being paid. The result? Not counting players on one-way contracts (maybe 20 or so across the league), the average salary is $53,500 (U.S.) / $81,245 (Cdn.)... Shawn Bates registered assists on all of the Bruins' goals as Providence beat Lowell 3-2 Mar. 12. Brandon Smith scored two of the goals... Hamilton won their seventh straight game, this time 5-3 over Cincinnati on Mar. 12 as Chris Ferraro had a hat trick... Also getting a hat trick that night was Syracuse's Matt Cooke, and Robb Gordon scored the game-winner with 39 seconds remaining in OT as the Crunch took out Kentucky 6-5. Mark Wotton and Larry Courville had three points for the Crunch, while Matt Bradley and Joe Blaznek did same for the T-Blades... Adirondack had a 2-0 lead on Philadelphia Mar. 12 but the Phantoms came back with five goals in the third period to win anyway... Springfield held on for a 6-4 win over Saint John Mar. 12, as Eric Belanger was the big star with a three point night for the Falcons... It took overtime but New Haven still managed to not win for the tenth straight game, this time losing when Chris Winnes scored in OT to give the WolfPack a 2-1 win... Hershey's Marc Denis had work to do, with 47 IceCats shots coming his way, but he still got a shutout as the Bears won 5-0 Mar. 12... During that game, the Bears didn't register a single shot on goal during the third period. It was the first time in the history of the Hershey franchise the team went a full period without a shot. That's 63 years folks... Portland's Trevor Halverson continued his hot streak with two goals and Dwight Parrish scored the game-winner as the Pirates took out St. John's 3-2 Mar. 12... Cincinnati lost four straight before running into Adirondack and picking up a 3-1 win Mar. 13... More hat tricks - Springfield's J.F. Jomphe got one Mar. 13 as the Falcons gave New Haven an 11 game losing streak with a 4-1 win... And if one twin does it, so will the other. Peter Ferraro picked up a hat trick the day after brother Chris did it, carrying Providence to a 4-3 win over Portland and taking the Bruins to the 100 points mark... On the same night the Calgary Flames came back against Washington in the final 90 seconds, the baby Flames did likewise in Hartford. Saint John was down 5-2 with less than five minutes left in regulation, but won the game 7-5 as Martin St. Louis had a four point evening... Terry Ryan had four points and linemates Aaron Asham and Scott King had three each as Fredericton trounced St. John's 8-2 Mar. 13... The Phantoms' Jim Montgomery joined the hat trick parade Mar. 14 against Hamilton, but the Bulldogs won the game 4-3 in overtime on Jeff Daw's goal... John Madden picked up a pair of goals and a pair of assists for Albany in a 5-1 victory over Kentucky Mar. 14... Providence's Eric Nickulas had three points and the Bruins scored four in the first period on their way to a 6-3 over Springfield Mar. 14... Cincinnati completed a 6-0 run against Syracuse this season with a 2-0 shutout of the Crunch Mar. 14. Jamie Ram had 34 saves for the shutout... New Haven got within two minutes of finally winning a game - and then let Ray Giroux and Mike Kennedy score 29 seconds apart in the final 1:26 for a 3-3 tie with Lowell... ECHL callup Jamie Thompson had two goals and an assist for the IceCats in a 6-2 win over Saint John Mar. 14. Shayne Toporowski also had three points... The IceCats auctioned off their game jerseys after the game, raising over $7,000 for a program called Learn to Swim and Save the Pools Foundation... Hershey scored two goals early and then sat back and let Rochester catch up for a 2-2 tie. Less than half the people who bought tickets for the game showed up due to a bad storm (and yes, I was one of the ones who didn't make it there)... Christian Matte scored a goal to extend his scoring streak to 12 games, but likely won't have an opportunity to extend the streak as he has gone to Colorado... Lowell's Mark McArthur stopped 25 Saint John shots for a 3-0 shutout on Mar. 16... With Martin Biron and Steve Passmore in the NHL, Hartford's J.F. Labbe has moved up to second in the AHL in minutes played and has taken over first place in saves made... The Providence Bruins have seven different players who have scored 20+ goals this season... We're not saying Trevor Letowski is everything for the Springfield Falcons, but he does lead the team in goals, points, power-play goals, short-handed goals, shots and plus-minus... The Lowell Lock Monsters scored the first goal of the game in 12 straight games... St. John's signed the CIAU's top scorer for 98-99 to a three game contract. David Gilmore scored his first pro goal for the Leafs in Fredericton, home of his college team... Rochester's Martin Biron leads the AHL in GAA, and his backup Tom Draper now leads the AHL in GAA for an actively playing goaltender... Albany's John Madden had a five point night Mar. 17 against Hartford with two goals and three assists. He was involved in all of the Rats' goals as they won, 5-2... The Beast of New Haven were winless in 12 games until they met the current cure for a losing streak, Saint John, on Mar. 17. Ryan Johnson scored two goals in two minutes and the Beast won 6-2... Worcester dropped Portland 4-3 in overtime Mar. 17 on the second goal of the game by Andrei Podkonicky... Hamilton's Mike Minard is still perfect for Bulldogs and finally picked up a perfect game with a 36 save shutout against Syracuse Mar. 17. It was Hamilton's ninth straight win... The Mar. 28 game in Hartford between the WolfPack and the Hershey Bears was rescheduled to Mar. 30 so the Hartford Civic Center could host the Rolling Stones. All tickets will be honored... The heretofore hapless Beast of New Haven won for the second time in a row, against Providence no less. The Beast won Mar. 19, 4-2... Springfield knocked off Adirondack 5-2 Mar. 19 with a pair of goals coming from Sean McCann... Syracuse picked up a rare win courtesy of Corey Hirsch as they beat Albany 4-2 Mar. 19. The Crunch scored all four goals in the first period and held on from there... Herbert Vasiljevs scored in the final minute of regulation to give the T-Blades a 2-1 win over Philadelphia Mar. 19. The other Kentucky goal came from enforcer Eric Boulton, of all people... The other game in that division that night ended in the same score, as Cincinnati beat Hershey. Anders Bjork was in on both Ducks' goals, as Jeremy Stevenson scored the winner... Hartford seems to be a cure for whatever ails Saint John. The Flames knocked off the WolfPack 5-2 Mar. 19 for their second win against Hartford in a week - also their only wins on their current road trip... Worcester came back to tie the score late in the third and then Andrei Podkonicky's goal with 28 seconds left gave the IceCats a 4-3 win over Lowell... Then the next night, Lowell ran into a brick wall named Aren Miller. The Adirondack rookie backstopper picked up his first pro shutout against the Monsters - who also got a shutout from Mark McArthur. The ever rare 0-0 tie... Albany took Hamilton to overtime but Fredrik Lindquist picked up the game-winner for a 4-3 win Mar. 20. Chris Ferraro had a three point night for the 'dogs... Ville Nieminen scored the game-winner with 33 seconds left in regulation as Hershey squeaked out a 4-2 win over Kentucky Mar. 20... Springfield pretty much finished Portland's season with a 4-1 win Mar. 20. Josh Green had a three point night for the Falcons... The Beast got a rare win in Hartford Mar. 20 on Byron Ritchie's goal with 43 seconds left in OT. The 4-3 win was only their second in Hartford in franchise history... Mark Greig and Peter White both had three point nights as the Phantoms romped over Cincinnati 6-2 on Mar. 20... Rochester toyed with Syracuse Mar. 20 as the Amerks won 8-2. Craig Fisher and Domenic Pittis both went double up on goals and assists... Peter Allen had three assists for the T-Blades as they beat Hershey for the first time in their last six matchups, 5-2 on Mar. 21... Providence gave ECHL callup David Brumby a tryout in net and he missed a shutout by 20 seconds. The Bruins defeated Saint John 2-1 Mar. 21 after Brumby's near perfect game... Eric Bertrand's second goal came in overtime to give Albany a 4-3 against Adirondack. Sasha Lakovic played in the game despite his six game suspension... Rochester took out Syracuse again Mar. 21, this time 2-1. Dean Sylvester scored the game-winner for the Amerks, his ninth game-winning goal this season. That ties the franchise record... Domenic Pittis has 19 points in nine games against Syracuse. Pittis played for Syracuse last season but was unceremoniously dropped by the Penguins during the summer. Now, he's enjoying sweet revenge... Somewhat surprisingly given his offensive exploits, Philadelphia's Richard Park picked up his first hat trick this season on Mar. 21, against Cincinnati. His third goal with seconds remaining in regulation gave the Phantoms a 4-3 win... New Haven busted out with a four goal third period to defeat Hamilton 5-4 on Mar. 21. Shane Willis had a three point night, while Peter Ratchuk notched the game-winner... ================================================================ 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, Sergei Nemchinov. 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: Traded a fourth-round pick to the Islanders for Sergei Nemchinov, c. Game Results: 3/15 at Vancouver W 2-1 3/17 at Edmonton W 4-1 3/20 at Toronto L 3-1 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... New Jersey is first, Pittsburgh is coming on strong, Have you seen my pants? 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK ISLANDERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- The report didn't arrive in time for the text issue. You'll have to visit the web site. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK RANGERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: John Muckler Rosters: C - Wayne Gretzky, Manny Malhotra, Petr Nedved, Marc Savard, Christian Dube. 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, Peter Popovic, Mathieu Schneider, Ruman Ndur, Chris Tamer, Rich Brennan, Jason Doig. G - Mike Richter, Dan Cloutier. Injuries: Jeff Beukeboom, d (out for remainder of the season); Todd Harvey, c (thumb, day-to-day). Transactions: Traded Stan Neckar, d, to Phoenix for Jason Doig, d, and a sixth-round pick. Traded Ulf Samuelsson, d, to Detroit for second- and third-round picks. Game Results 3/08 Toronto W 3-2 OT 3/10 Ottawa L 3-0 3/12 Boston L 5-4 3/14 NY Islanders W 3-2 OT 3/15 Washington T 1-1 3/19 Buffalo L 3-2 OT 3/21 Pittsburgh T 2-2 TEAM NEWS by Gregg Jensen FORE! I hoped to be talking about who the Rangers first round matchup would be, but as it looks right now their first round matchup will be against the first tee box because they will be on the golf course in April for the second straight year. Another frustrating season is about to end. The one positive that can be taken from all of this is that they have unloaded some dead wood in exchange for youth. With a couple of free agent signings in the off-season, they should be a top contender in the east. Although, they still haven't signed Brian Leetch and that is a must. THE FAT LADY IS WARMING UP With 12 games remaining and six points needed to overtake Boston for the 8th spot, it looks as though the Rangers are done. However, looks can be deceiving. Many had this team left for dead about a month ago and they rebounded. Now however, time is not on their side. They must have a stellar run to overtake the Bruins, who incidentally look very sharp and continue to win. The Blueshirts have gone 2-3-2 in their last seven, hardly the way to go about securing a playoff spot. BYE BYE ULF? The trade rumors are swirling around the Rangers. The one I keep hearing the most is Ulf Samuelsson to Detroit for Thomas Holmstrom. I think Neil Smith will move the defenseman ONLY if he can get a young talent to replace him. With or without Ulf, the Rangers are not going to win the Cup, that's the harsh reality. So why not trade him now and get a quality player rather than lose him to free agency? ----------------------------------------------------------------- PHILADELPHIA FLYERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Roger Neilson Roster: C - Rod Brind'Amour, Marc Bureau, Daymond Langkow, Eric Lindros. LW - Mikael Andersson, Craig Berube, Dan Kordic, John LeClair, Roman Vopat, Valeri Zelepukin. RW - Jody Hull, Keith Jones, Sandy McCarthy, Mikael Renberg, Mark Recchi. D - Adam Burt, Eric Desjardins, Steve Duchesne, Karl Dykhuis, Dan McGillis, Luke Richardson, Chris Therien, Dmitri Tertyshny. G - Ron Hextall, Jean-Marc Pelletier, John Vanbiesbrouck. Injuries: Eric Desjardins, d (sprained knee, out indefinitely); Mikael Andersson, lw (sprained knee, out up to a week). Transactions: Traded Colin Forbes, lw, and a conditional draft pick in 1999 or 2000 to Tampa Bay in exchange for Sandy McCarthy, rw, and Mikael Andersson, lw. Traded Dave Babych, d, and a 5th- round draft pick in 2000 to Los Angeles in exchange for Steve Duchesne, d. Traded future considerations to Washington for Craig Berube, lw. Game results: 03/09 at Islanders T 2-2 03/12 Colorado L 5-3 03/13 at Pittsburgh L 4-0 03/14 Dallas T 1-1 03/16 St. Louis L 5-2 03/21 Detroit W 5-4 03/22 at Toronto W 3-1 TEAM NEWS by Chuck Michio TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE Apparently Roger Neilson and Bob Clarke miscommunicated before the trade deadline yesterday. Instead of retooling the Flyers roster, Clarke went out and picked up a bunch of tools. While Detroit was out nabbing Chris Chelios, Ulf Samuelsson, Bill Ranford, and Wendel Clark for little more than Anders Eriksson and some used puck bags, the Flyers were patting themselves on the back for one-way defenseman Steve Duchesne and prodigal Flyer Craig Berube, a more accomplished headcracker than hockey player. Is anyone else out there reaching for the Tums right now? Clarke's failure to acquire either Chelios or Samuelsson yesterday probably doomed the Flyers to another early exit from the playoffs. If the Flyers recent 13-game winless skid accomplished anything, it was to expose all of the holes in the leaky Flyers defense. Call me crazy, but I'm hard-pressed to believe that Steve Duchesne is the right man to correct that situation. Oh, what might have been. Due to the less than unconditional love shared by Clarke and Neil Smith, Ulf was probably never a realistic possibility. But the Flyers' inability to land Chelios, a player Clarke openly coveted, must have been a bitter pill for old #16 to swallow. According to Al Morganti, the sticking point in any Chelios deal was top Philly prospect Simon Gagne, a player some scouts are calling the best player in Canadian junior hockey right now. Chicago apparently demanded Gagne and Daymond Langkow for Chelios. Clarke countered with an offer of formerly untouchable AHL goaltender Brian Boucher and either Karl Dykhuis or Luke Richardson, but the Hawks refused to bite. With Samuelsson and Chelios just more water under the bridge now, the Flyers need to hope against hope that the knee injury suffered by Eric Desjardins is not severe enough to keep him out of playoff action. Apparently Desjardins was well enough to leave the building under his own power after suffering the injury on Sunday, but it seems likely that he'll be at less than 100% if he's able to return at all this season. That's a scary prospect for a team that won its first game of the year without him on Monday night. THE NEW FACES So what exactly did the Flyers pick up in the last week? Well, for starters, they picked up a couple of legitimate NHL goons. Newcomers Sandy McCarthy and Craig Berube should provide Flyers fans with some welcome relief from too many nights spent watching Luke Richardson work his fists. Anyone who's seen Richardson drop his gloves knows that Luke belongs in a fight about as much as Kathy Bates belongs on Baywatch. McCarthy is especially scary. He can play better than former Flyers enforcers such as Dave Brown, but the multiple knock-outs he scored during his Calgary stint are more indicative of his real "abilities" on the ice. He's garnered 80 fighting majors in his six-year career. He also plays hard, a quality that made him an assistant captain in Tampa Bay. Berube is not quite the pugilist that McCarthy is, but he's a major upgrade from Richardson and a capable player. He'll likely cost Roman Vopat his job on the checking line. Berube also brings some welcome leadership skills to the fold. He was a highly respected veteran in Washington. It's unlikely that Berube and McCarthy will make a major impact on the club. The acquisition of Steve Duchesne may, but unfortunately it's likely to be negative. I'm convinced that the addition of this prodigal Flyer was a major blunder. Duchesne brings some power-play savvy, a skill the club desperately needs, but he's more likely to impersonate Dykhuis than Chelios in his own end. That's not good news for a Flyer defense that already coughs up the puck with alarming frequency. This acquisition calls to mind another recent Flyers disaster, the Paul Coffey fiasco. Here's betting that Duchesne ends up leaving the club in the same unceremonious way. All in all, Clarke's deadline deals are a major disappointment. Other teams seem to demand more from the Flyers than any other club, but that's no excuse in this situation. Barring a playoff miracle, Clarke is going to have to perform a much more significant overhaul of the club in what's likely to be a long off-season. ----------------------------------------------------------------- PITTSBURGH PENGUINS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Kevin Constantine Roster: C - Martin Straka, Robert Lang, Jan Hrdina, Tyler Wright. LW - German Titov, Kip Miller, Matthew Barnaby, Dan Kesa. RW - Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Aleksey Morozov, Robby Brown, Martin Sonnenberg. D - Darius Kasparaitis, Kevin Hatcher, Brad Werenka, Jiri Slegr, Ian Moran, Sven Butenschon, Bobby Dollas, Neil Wilkinson, Jeff Serowik, Victor Ignatjev, Maxim Galanov. G - Tom Barrasso, Peter Skudra, Jean-Sebastian Aubin. Injuries: Tom Barrasso, g (hand, couple weeks); Victor Ignatjev, d (shoulder, couple weeks); Jeff Serowik, d (concussion, indefinite); Kevin Hatcher, d (broken foot, couple weeks); Darius Kasparaitis, d (knee surgery, done for the season); Maxim Galanov, d (shoulder, indefinite). Transactions: Traded Stu Barnes, lw, to Buffalo for Matthew Barnaby, lw. Game Results 3/13 Philadelphia W 4-0 3/16 Dallas T 2-2 3/17 at Tampa Bay W 2-0 3/20 Nashville T 1-1 3/21 at NY Rangers T 2-2 3/23 Chicago W 5-2 TEAM NEWS by Jerry Fairish It reads just like an episode of Seinfeld, "Prognosis Negative." Just as they were starting to put some pieces in place for the playoffs, the Penguins lost their best defenseman, Darius Kasparaitis, with a season-ending knee injury. The hard-hitting blueliner will have to undergo surgery to repair the MCL in his right knee and will not be able to return until next season. This was the second time he injured the knee; the first was back in the pre-season and he was thought to be out for the year. However, Kaspar opted to rehabilitate the knee and instead only missed eight games of the season. In a game against the Edmonton Oilers, Kaspar once again aggravated the injury and will not be able to recover for the season. This may just about kill the Penguins chances of being truly competitive in the playoffs. Kasparaitis could probably play the playoffs if he wanted to, however, he's only 26 years old and has a whole career ahead of him. So at this point he decided that it was better to have the surgery now then to try and play and risk his whole career. Kasparaitis isn't only the defenseman the Pens have had to play without recently, they've lost Kevin Hatcher (broken foot, 3-4 weeks), Jeff Serowik who is day-to-day due to a concussion that he can not shake, Victor Ignatjev (shoulder, indefinite), and Maxim Galanov (shoulder, indefinite). The Penguins have no doubt been hurt by the injuries, so they've called up defenseman Sven Butenschon to fill the void. Butenschon has done a very good job trying to help out the defense, but let's face it he's no Darius Kasparaitis. Kaspar was the emotional leader out there. His vicious checks would help motivate the other players to pick up the pace, which it usually did. Nobody in the NHL gets under someone's skin like Kasparaitis. He can make even the elite players in the league take a penalty solely out of frustration. He's awesome, he's unrelenting, and he could kick Darcy Tucker's ass any time he wanted to. Kasparaitis who injured the knee on March 5 was put on the IR for a week to wait for the swelling to go down. And finally... Please send money. Mike Dell and I are strapped. ================================================================= ================================================================ 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: None. Transactions: None. Game Results 3/12 at NY Rangers W 5-4 3/13 at Buffalo L 3-1 3/17 at Toronto W 4-1 3/20 San Jose T 2-2 3/21 at Washington W 4-1 TEAM NEWS by Matt Brown The three most interesting events of an NHL hockey season (aside from the eternal question when will Mike Keenan be fired this year?) are opening night, the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the trading deadline. Every year, there is a flurry (no pun intended) of activity. The have-nots deal away the players who made them have-nots. The contenders jockey for overpriced morsels that they each believe will mean the difference between an early exit and a long Cup run. The teams on the bubble are both afraid to trade, and afraid not to. At least that seems to be how it looks to Mike O'Connell, the assistant GM for the Boston Bruins, who seems content to sit back, stay put, and chuckle at the riff-raff for young talent bargains offered to him over the phone by the wheeler-dealers from other clubs. This year, Mike at least made a show of it by going on a pre-deadline scouting trip. But that trip was described as a combination skiing/scouting trip. Given that no deals have yet resulted, one has to wonder how much time Mike spent at the rink, and how much time was spent on the slopes, if not back at the lodge? Will the Bruins end up with a new sniper for the second line, or a new recipe for hot buttered rum in the luxury boxes? The truth is, it is hard to blame Mike for this, as most of the talent available looks like leftovers from a scratch and dent sale at the used car lot - lots of older models, some with high mileage, others barely used, and all with very limited warranties. And unfortunately, the NHL doesn't have a lemon law. It isn't helped by the fact that most of the dealers are looking to steal next year's young phenom away in exchange for a long-toothed, overpaid, albatross like Vincent Damphousse. So as much as a Bruins fan might like to see a Tony Amonte or a Wendel Clark dressed up in Black and Gold, sorry, not going to happen. Speaking of Wendel, here is this reporter's top ten list of available players you can be glad the Bruins didn't acquire: 1. Vinny - Aside from the fact that the Bruins and Montreal are most unlikely to be trading players anytime soon, this is one trade the Habs might have been willing to make, if only for revenge. Vincent Damphousse proved that it isn't enough to be French. Vinny, in seven years with Montreal, hasn't exactly set any records as Montreal's captain. Vinny apparently is heading to San Jose, where he and Owen Nolan can form two thirds of the Glass Jaw line. Too bad the Sharks traded away Craig Janney. So much for the Sharks in the playoffs. 2. Speaking of Craig Janney, thankfully Harry Sinden didn't have a soft spot for Mr. Softee. Craig had some great years with the Bruins, but he has never been able to re-kindle the chemistry he had with Cam Neely (not that he is alone in that category). A great passer, but not a clutch guy. Minimal impact recently in the playoffs. Deserves to be with the Islanders. 3. Dino Ciccarelli's name usually gets trotted out this time of year when teams are looking to beef up for the playoffs, and other teams are looking for ways to get rid of players who are more trouble than they are worth. Dino would be great if you could pull him off the shelf, dust him off, and throw him into a playoff series. Unfortunately, you usually have to put up with the guy all year. Granted he does drive opponents crazier than teammates, but not by much. Dino is hurt this year, playing in only 14 games, so Florida hasn't unloaded him. 4. Enrico Ciccone - Here is another guy who often gets paraded around as just the enforcer a team needs. However, in Rico's case, that sales pitch is getting stale. He has been on only three playoff teams in an eight-year career, and he is starting to average two trades a year, usually from one loser team to another. Bad luck or bad player? Fortunately, Bruins fans won't find out soon. 5. The aforementioned Wendel Clark. 101 of his 322 goals have come on the power play. 34 goals in 79 playoff games. But he hasn't played one full season in a 15-year career. He has gone from tough to fragile, and making a trade for him only to have him get injured would deflate his new team. By the way, he is - 125 for his career. He has only three playoff goals since 1995. Pat Burns may like him, but Detroit can have him. 6. Joe Juneau - personally, this Bruin fan would love to have Joe-way. But No-way Harry would bring him back. Juneau alienated many of his teammates with Boston, and the locker room discord that started with him did not dissipate until Adam Oates left and Pat Burns arrived. Joe has never come close to the 102 points he registered in Boston, and with him the Caps have been boom or bust - out of the playoffs, in the finals, and out of the playoffs again. Joe gets injured lots and doesn't shoot the puck as much as he should. Buffalo got him for practically nothing. They may have gotten their money's worth, or they may have stolen a spot in the finals. It's a coin flip. 7. Speaking of Adam Oates - the guy is a Hall of Famer, arguably the greatest assist man in NHL history (sure Wayne has more, but Adam's are better), but he also seems to be a controversy magnet. He was trouble in Detroit, and trouble in St. Louis, and trouble in Boston, usually about contracts. In Washington his points have steadily declined. Was outplayed considerably in the Finals by Detroit's Steve Yzerman, which is hardly a disgrace, but neither will Oates be looked at as some team's playoff savior. 8. Sergei Nemchinov - Why? He is 35, he had 16 points in 67 games for he Islanders this year. He was along for the ride when the Rangers won the Cup. But the Devils traded for him. "Sergei Nemchinov is a proven veteran who can play all three forward positions," said Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello. "He is familiar with the Eastern Conference and has been a member of a Stanley Cup winner. We are confident he will fit in well with our organization." Lou should sit down and have that bump on his head looked at. 9. Doug Gilmour - the guy is 35, and even though he is always trumpeted as a great leader, what has he got to show for it? A Cup ten years ago with Calgary? Not much since. Hasn't provided the spark in Toronto, New Jersey, or Chicago - all three have missed the playoffs with him on the roster. Last playoff goal was in 1996. It's over. 10. Number 10 with a bullet, who else but Owen Nolan. Yes, we're pickin' on poor Owen. Sure he has had chronic injuries, and he has played on horrible teams. It just is never clear whether that is a cause or effect relationship. Colorado dropped him and won a Stanley Cup. San Jose didn't get the message. Owen and Vinny will be the San Jose equivalent of the two crash test dummies of commercial fame. 15 goals in 66 games? Vinny with 12 goals in 65 games? What are these guys thinking? It would be great to be proved wrong on any of these guys, not to restore faith in humanity, but because if any one of the above players who were traded turn out to be the difference in a positive way in the playoffs, then maybe next year the Bruins will have the guts to acquire a player at the deadline, and go more than one round deep in the playoffs. If asked to name a player who would have been an asset to the Bruins, well there were several available. Chris Chelios, for example, would help any team he joins, but there probably wasn't room on the bench for Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, and Chris Chelios' ego. The player who might have best fit the profile for helping the Bruins (durable, team player, versatile, and reasonably priced) was old pal Bryan Smolinski, who surely could have been had cheap from the Long Island fire sale. Was it a case of burned bridges? We might never know. But Smoke would have been a nice player to trot out with Thornton or Allison if the regular guys started to slump in the postseason. Then again, Harry and Mike could be 100% correct about this Bruins team, when they say that they want to go with the current club. There are, after all, several positives that can be drawn from standing pat: 1. No clunkers -- Sometimes trades flop, and often a player is brought in with expectations set too high. See Kevin Stevens and Jim Carey, former Bruins. A clunker at playoff time is like double indemnity. 2. No chemistry problem -- Sometimes a new player disrupts the team, or the team anguishes over the player that was traded away. Neither is a good situation to go into the playoffs with. Right now the Bruins seem extremely devoid of discord and disruption, and in fact the players are coming together and growing, Ain't broke, don't fix. 3. Club morale -- Sometimes when trades are made, the team players remaining feel like the coach or GM didn't have confidence in them to win in the playoffs. Especially with young players, confidence is a major factor, and sometimes a fragile thing. Sticking with the team is a measure of Pat Burns' and Harry's confidence in the team. So much for sweetness and light. There are, coincidentally just as many reasons why not making a deadline trade is bad news: 1. 8th place is good enough -- That's where this team looks to land, facing the number one team in the East, away. Whatever Harry is saying to the team, he is saying to the fans "Hey, we made the playoffs. Stop complaining, and buy some nachos." This gets into the argument about competing vs. striving for championships, and most Bruins fans have had their fill of this discussion. 2. No proven second line sniper -- Traditionally, the Bruins have fared poorly when they did not have a scoring threat on the second line. While Joe Thornton has made phenomenal progress, his line still lacks a player who can park in front of the net and make goals out of Joe's hard board work and his gorgeous passes. Anson Carter doesn't have the hands, and Steve Heinze doesn't have the strength. Sergei Samsonov is great, but he is a playmaker, not a garbage collector. Take away Samsonov, or Dimitri Khristich, who can play this role, and where does that leave Jason Allison? 3. First round exit -- That is where the Bruins may well be headed. Without that second line threat, and facing Ottawa, a team that desperately wants to prove they belong in the NHL's upper echelon, the Bruins may have a tough time getting through. Fortunately, they play well at the Corel Center, they match up decently with the Senators, and the Senators are just about as inexperienced in the playoffs as the younger members of the Bruins. Well, enough about what might have been. We are only able to talk this way, rather than about a Boston liquidation sale, because the team Harry and Mike stuck with truly put in a clutch performance in the past two weeks. The Bruins had four Eastern teams hot on their tail for that eighth and final playoff spot, and the Bruins responded by dismantling three of them, and in the process, piling up enough points to sink the fourth. Florida, the Rangers, Washington, and Montreal were all threatening to send the Bruins home early. In response, the Bruins went 4-1-1, beating Florida, the Rangers, and the Capitals, and outpointing the Canadiens to the degree that three of these teams have essentially thrown in the towel at the trading deadline. The Bruins shut out Florida 2-0, staged an amazing comeback fueled by two Anson Carter goals within a minute in the third period to drive a stake in the Rangers' heart, and mugged a depressed and lethargic Capitals team 4-1, sticking a fork in Washington's playoff hopes. The Rangers, Capitals, and Canadiens have each dealt away players for draft choices and prospects, more interesting in cutting their losses than trying to overtake the Bruins. Florida has decided to pin their hopes on the return of Pavel Bure from knee surgery. Bure will be skating again soon, but it would be a shame and a loss to hockey if he rushes back and is injured again. Trailing Boston by four points in the standings and five wins if they were tied in points, they have to measure the risk carefully. They play the Rangers Wednesday, and a win their coupled with a Bruin loss in Ottawa will leave the Panthers in decent shape. So there still is a two-team race. It would be too ironic for the Bruins to go into a slump and be accidently overtaken by one of the teams that has seemingly waved the white flag, so don't even think about it. Meanwhile, the Bruins game against the Sens should be a dandy, since both teams will feel like they have something to prove. Boston won in Ottawa, Ottawa won in Boston, Ron Tugnutt stoned the Bruins in Boston, and Boston pummeled Tugnutt in Ottawa. All in all, pretty even -- the difference between the two teams (nine wins and 16 points) comes largely because Ottawa has beaten up on the weaker teams in the conference and on the road better than the Bruins, who keep choking on the Islanders and Tampa Bay. That is not to belittle Ottawa one bit - they are just doing what an elite NHL team is supposed to do. If they meet the Bruins in the playoffs, the Bruins should be a good challenge for the Senators to do the other thing elite teams must do -- handle lesser opponents in the money rounds, where it counts, and the losers go home. This week's game should be a test, where both teams start staking out their respective turf for that eventual meeting. "This is playoff hockey" as the commentators like to say, even though it isn't. Ottawa has to solve the Bruins penalty kill, and the Bruins have to prove they can skate with three lines of young talented Senators, and score a few power-play goals of their own. Should be big fun. ----------------------------------------------------------------- BUFFALO SABRES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Lindy Ruff Roster: C - Michael Peca, Brian Holzinger, Curtis Brown, Wayne Primeau. LW - Joe Juneau, Dixon Ward, Stu Barnes, Michal Grosek, Paul Kruse, Randy Cunneyworth. RW - Vaclav Varada, Geoff Sanderson, Miroslav Satan, Rob Ray. D - Darryl Shannon, Jason Woolley, Alexei Zhitnik, Jay McKee, Richard Smehlik, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, James Patrick, Rhett Warrener. G - Dominik Hasek, Dwayne Roloson, Martin Biron. Injuries: None. Transactions: Traded Matthew Barnaby, rw, to Pittsburgh for Stu Barnes, c/lw. Recalled Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, d, from Rochester (AHL). Traded Derek Plante, c, to Dallas for a second-round pick. Traded Alexei Tezikov, d, and future considerations to Washington for Joe Juneau, lw, and a third-round pick. Game Results 03/11 Tampa Bay L 5-2 03/13 Boston W 3-1 03/15 N.Y. Islanders W 2-1 03/19 at N.Y. Rangers W 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Matt Barr Long National Nightmare Over: Hasek Returns Having been without Dominik Hasek for 12 games, the Sabres head toward the NHL trade deadline in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, looking up at Toronto and Ottawa in the Northeast Division. Hey, get this! This is precisely where they were when Hasek missed his first game, February 19! Who says Hasek is this whole team? Hasek returned March 19 against his personal ball of yarn, the New York Rangers. A little rusty, Hasek actually allowed two goals against the Blueshirts, after shutting them out in five of his previous six starts against them. Still, Slinky-For-A-Spine was priceless in the second period against forward Manny Malhotra, who faked Hasek to his back without a stick and... you've seen the rest, a couple dozen times. The team played inspired hockey in front of Hasek, particularly in the third period which they entered trailing 2-1. Michael Peca connected on his 27th devastating open-ice hit of the season, closing in on the team record set in 1983 by Mike Ramsey, when he levelled Petr Nedved. That was sweet. They're Not Boo-ing, They're Saying "Barrrrrnnneesss" Darcy Reiger finally pulled the trigger on a trade that ended the Matthew Barnaby era in Buffalo on March 11 when he shipped the disgruntled winger to Pittsburgh for under-utilized center/left wing Stu Barnes. Barnes' contract with the Penguins paid him a significant bonus for achieving certain milestones in goals scored, and the Penguins have, like, no money. Despite a reduction in ice time this season, Barnes had followed his 15 power-play goals in 1997-98 with 13 this year before the trade. Beyond a nose for the net on the power play, Barnes possesses a talent for winning faceoffs. The Sabres' faceoff winning percentage had been in the high forties, but has been over fifty in each of the three games Barnes has played. Most importantly, all this is accomplished in the person of a capable two-way, coachable player who already, from their days together in Florida, has an outstanding rapport with Lindy Ruff. "Coachable" and "rapport" were two words almost never used in conjunction with Matthew Barnaby. We don't want to diss Barnaby. We looked him up right after the Sabres drafted him and learned he had something like 440 PIM and 145 points in junior playing on a line with Alexandre Daigle. He immediately became one of our favorites. Considering Barnaby's volatile personality and the fact he's demonstrated repeatedly he can get awfully motivated to play hockey when he's pissed off, it's somewhat odd that he was traded to a possible playoff opponent. This is likely why Chicago had been rumored to be a final destination for Barnaby, perhaps in a three-way trade. Nevertheless, Barnaby-for-Barnes improves the Buffalo Sabres. Barnes can be found wearing number 41, and most often on a line with speedy Geoff Sanderson and Brian Holzinger and on the number one power-play unit with Michal Grosek, Miro Satan, Jason Woolley and Peca. More Trade Fun! Fifteen hours before the trade deadline, which is when we're submitting this piece, the sense was that the Sabres would like to add a defenseman, not necessarily of the blockbuster variety, and another two-way forward if the price wasn't too high. Of course, there's always another dynamic going on: maybe you don't want to make a blockbuster deal, but the best way to keep Chris Chelios off the Flyers roster or Wendel Clark out of Toronto is to make a better offer. If you can afford it. With Eric Desjardins of the Flyers and Igor Korolev of the Leafs out for an extended period of time, the pressure might be on to make a significant deal. If you can afford it, you go for the jugular. If you don't land (or don't want to land) a Chelios or Clark yourself, maybe you tie up the talks until the deadline has passed. And of course, you're in seventh place. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have Chris Chelios after all. All this makes for pins 'n needles time around NHL teams, even seemingly cohesive, no-shakeup-required outfits like the Sabres. "It is a nervous time," says Lindy Ruff. "Anytime there's a possibility that players might get moved, there's some anxiety around the team. There's nothing you can do about it. You worry about how you play and your effort on the ice, and that's all you can control really." Hey, wouldn't Chelios and Ron Hextall beat each other up? Remember that Brian Propp incident in the playoffs ten or so years ago? For the sake of sportsmanship, let's offer Bob Murray a prospect and a pick, or something. Satan Player of the Week, Again If the Sabres team MVP award were given out right now, think we'd have co-winners? Or maybe an outright upset? Miroslav Satan was honored for the second time this season as NHL Player of the Week after four goals and an assist in two games. If Satan scored against New Jersey Tuesday night, it would give him 30 goals in his last 45 games. (Unfortunately, I go to bed right after Sports Night on Tuesdays so I won't know until this article is already in print.) But for the fact he only scored four goals in his first 24 games, that's a 55-goal pace. Quick: name a more impressive season by someone who was traded by Glen Sather for reasons other than Peter Pocklington needing cab fare. Slats doesn't get taken that often, but Satan is developing into a legitimate NHL scoring threat. Then again, it could be a contract drive. Big Pete Watch The team re-recalled Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre on March 10, and James Patrick hasn't seen the light of day since. We can wonder why it's Patrick and not Mike Wilson who's the healthy scratch, but the point is that Big Pete has won himself a place in the National Hockey League with his presence and intelligence. Derek Plante has also been a healthy scratch in four straight games, and Randy Cunneyworth hasn't played since Vaclav Varada returned from his ankle injury on March 5. Get Well Soon, Mr. Rigas Sabres and Adelphia Cable owner John Rigas is recovering from triple bypass surgery, and Sabres fans wish him a speedy return. Amerks Honor Gage Does anybody remember Jody Gage's various cups of coffee with the Sabres during the Bowman-Meehan era? He, like, kept leading the Amerks in scoring and stuff and he'd come up for ten days or two weeks and he was so slow that he even made Dave Andreychuk go offside a few times. Gage is the GM in Rochester now, and on Friday night the 19th the Amerks retired his sweater number 9. This makes us think of Crash Davis setting the record for minor league home runs and getting all defensive about it with Susan Sarandon, but we're not entirely sure why. Anyway, memories of Jody Gage live on. Good for him. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MONTREAL CANADIENS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Alain Vigneault Roster: C - Saku Koivu, Scott Thornton, Trent McLeary, Serguei Zholtok. LW - Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet, Terry Ryan, Brian Savage, Dave Morissette, Patrick Poulin. RW - Dainius Zubrus, 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, Scott Lachance. G - Frederic Chabot, Jeff Hackett. Injuries: Benoit Brunet, lw (back spasms, day-to-day); Patrice Brisebois, d (sternal-clavicular separation, shoulder, undetermined); Craig Rivet, d (strained groin, day-to-day). Transactions: 03/09 Scott Lachance, d, was acquired from the New York Islanders for a third-round selection. 03/10 Mark Recchi, rw, traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Dainius Zubrus, rw, and a second-round draft choice. 03/23 Traded Vincent Damphousse, lw, to San Jose for future considerations. Game Results 3/11 at St.Louis W 3-0 3/13 Toronto W 2-1 3/18 Nashville W 3-2 3/20 Washington L 1-0 3/22 San Jose T 1-1 TEAM NEWS by Jacques Robert Life Is Not Beautiful! If you've watched the Oscars, you know how the Canadiens fans feel: bored! Will this season ever end? When a paying spectator wears a bag over his head that says, "Just Trade them all!", you know that things are definitely not going well. Plus, for someone who grew up watching the Canadiens Dynasty, it is very hard to accept the fact that their favorites will most likely not make the playoffs for the second time in thirty years. On the ice and in the office, efforts are being made and with some good results. GM Houle tried to shake up the team by trading Recchi to the Flyers and by acquiring Scott Lachance from the Islanders. However, it is still too late to keep playoff hopes alive. In his first game, Dainius Zubrus - who came to Montreal in the Recchi deal - fared well against St. Louis. He scored the first goal in a 3-0 win against the Blues. And for a change the Habs were lucky in Toronto: an apparent tying goal with less than two minutes to go was disallowed because of a crease infraction in Hackett's territory. That night, Damphousse added two assists, for his first two-point game since Nov. 17 in Carolina. After that 2-1 win against the Maple Leafs, the Habs were on a roll as the hosted and downed the Nashville Predators 3-2. Defenseman Stephane Quintal remarked, "Since Mark (Recchi) left, I think that we might be playing a little better as a team". He added, "Sometimes I think we rely on our big players too much." But things changed against Washington. The Habs didn't show-up for the first period (four shots on goal), but the Caps did as they scored a short-handed goal that turned out to be the winning one. Montreal lost 1-0 even if the players rallied in the second with 16 shots on goal. The goal drought that has plagued the Habs this season is more and more apparent and costly. The team might end the season with no 20-goal scorer since the 1940-41 season. The game against San Jose was therefore a typical one. The Habs fired 44 shots at San Jose goalie Steve Shields but could only manage one goal in a 1-1 tie. "It's been the story of our season," said Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault. "It's like a football team that drives into the red zone but can't score, or a baseball team that has the bases loaded but can't get a key hit." Montreal is 11th in the Eastern Conference and remains about seven points behind eighth place Boston, holding a game in hand. Let's not forget the other teams in between. So we can't expect a happy ending this season in Montreal. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Jan 16 - Chris Murray, sprained left knee/MCL, returned Mar 10. Feb 20 - Chris Phillips, sprained right ankle, 6 weeks. Feb 20 - Patrick Travese, separated shoulder, 4-6 weeks. Feb 23 - Steve Martins, hip flexor, available Mar 06. Mar 04 - Wade Redden, right shoulder, 1 week. Mar 06 - Bruce Gardiner, bruised foot (right), Day-to-day. Mar 06 - Ron Tugnutt, right knee injury, returned Mar 13. Mar 08 - Andreas Johansson, strained hamstring (left), returned Mar 15. Mar 17 - Daniel Alfredsson, abdominal strain, Day-to-day. Mar 19 - Sami Salo, groin injury, Day-to-day. Transactions: Mar 08 Frederic Cassivi emergency recall from Cincinnati (IHL). Mar 08 Brad Shaw signed a one-year contract with Ottawa - remains with the Vipers (IHL). Mar 08 Viacheslav Butsayev acquired from Florida in exchange for 6th round pick in 1999 Draft. Mar 08 Brad Shaw claimed off waivers by Washington Capitals. Mar 08 Frederic Cassivi emergency recall cancelled and re-assigned to Cincinnati (IHL). Mar 12 Radim Bicanek traded to Chicago for 6th round pick (Los Angeles) in 1999. Mar 12 Viacheslav Butsayev recalled from Fort Wayne (IHL). Mar 19 Andre Roy signed a two-year contract with Ottawa - remains with the Fort Wayne Komets (IHL). Mar 19 Chris Luongo acquired from the New York Islanders. Mar 20 Erich Goldmann emergency recall from the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL). Mar 20 Chris Luongo signed a one-year contract with a team option and assigned to Detroit (IHL). Mar 20 Acquired LW Ted Donato from the New York Islanders in exchange for fourth round pick in the 1999 Entry Draft. Game Results 03/08 Tampa Bay W 9-3 03/10 at NY Rangers W 3-0 03/13 at San Jose L 3-2 03/15 at Los Angeles L 4-0 03/17 at Anaheim T 2-2 03/19 at Dallas W 2-1 03/20 at St. Louis W 3-2 TEAM NEWS by The Nosebleeders The Senators should be looking to shore up their roster as we head toward the playoffs. Despite having the best overall record in the Eastern conference, this period proved that the team is not bulletproof. They scratched out wins in Dallas and St. Louis but did so despite getting soundly outplayed in the third period of both games. In the St. Louis game, the Sens managed just one shot on goal in the third period - luckily it went in for the game-winner (McEachern with his 30th). In Dallas, the Stars fired 13 shots in the third but the Senators again only managed to fire one back. When combined with "the trouble in California" many bandwagon fans were seen on the edge of jumping off. The trouble in California was one tie and two losses in their three-game road trip. This included a particularly tough loss to the Kings where they were shut out. Maybe it's the sun doing it's magic on the team, but the Nosebleeders do not predict good things for the team if they cannot adjust with the playoffs (and spring) just around the corner. Toughness and intensity are key. Adjustment may mean trade. The Sens did make a few moves in the period leading up to the trade deadline including acquiring left winger Ted Donato, but two big trade rumors continue to be Trevor Linden to the Sens, and the trade of one of the Sens' two goalies. Next season's expansion draft must be factoring into the GM Rick Dudley's mind as he works the phones in search of the right ingredients for a run at Stanley this season while leaving enough scraps for the expansion draft so that the existing core team is not impacted. Lightning Does Faze Senators Before embarking on a six-game road trip the Senators faced the Tampa Bay Lightning at home. Entering the game on a season high two-game winning streak, the Lightning took a 2-0 lead after the first period. The Senators responded scoring eight straight goals en route to a 9-3 win. Magnus Arvedson netted his first career hat trick, Alexei Yashin added two goals and an assist and Andreas Dackell had a career-best four assists. Road Trip! A much anticipated visit to MSG to face the red-hot NY Rangers resulted in a close 3-0 victory for the Senators. The Senators had won their fifth game in a row. * Alexei Yashin set a franchise record with his 36th and 37th goals (breaking his own record - 1996-97). * Damian Rhodes recorded his third shutout of the season. * Mike Richter stopped 30 shots for New York but suffered his first loss in seven starts. * The Rangers lost for the first time since Wayne Gretzky went down with a neck injury. Quiz Time The most goals in one NHL season were scored by Wayne Gretzky in the 1981-82 season when he netted 92. Name the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th top single-season goal scorers and their totals. Shark bait - Sens Lose 3-2 Arriving with a large number of Silicon Valley North players, the Senators visited San Jose to play the Sharks. Scoring 83 seconds in and three times on seven shots, with 14:02 remaining in the first period Damian Rhodes was pulled in favor of Run Tugnutt. Ottawa outshot the Sharks 26-9 over the final two periods but could not break through against Shields (remember how well he did against the Senators during the Buffalo series). This-a-et-that-a * Ottawa has finished 15 season series thus far this season, going 10-0-5. * Rookie news - The Senators rookie trio continues to do well. Sami Salo leads all NHL rookies in the plus/minus category with a +15, Hossa is second with a +14 and Traverse is tied for third with a +8. * The Senators continue to be the least penalized team in the NHL averaging 11.1 PMs per game. This means that the two referee system for the playoff was good news for the team. * Who's hot: - Marian Hossa has six points in his last seven games including a goal in each of the last two games. - Damian Rhodes allowed just three goals in facing 75 shots in his Mar 17 and 19 appearances. - Alexei Yashin continues to keep pace or lead the NHL goal race, he is currently at 39. Hail to the King The Los Angeles Kings and the Ottawa Senators are two teams who are at almost opposite ends of the NHL standings. The Kings are struggling to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot while the Senators are looking to first place overall. One would expect an easy Sens victory. Proving that intensity and desperate hockey wins against talent, the Los Angeles Kings soundly beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-0. * Stephane Fiset stopped 29 shots for his second shutout of the season. * Rob Blake recorded his 100th NHL goal. * Kings coach Larry Robinson moved past Tom Webster for second place on the team's all-time wins list with 116. Bob Pulford tops the list with 178 victories. * Yashin had his five-game points streak snapped. * The Senators suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since dropping three straight from December 9-17. Does Playing Golf Cause Problems for Hockey Players? The Sens visited Anaheim to face the Ducks. The Ducks opened a 2-0 lead and held on for the tie. Despite outplaying the Ducks over the final two periods, all the Senators could manage was the tie. Guy Hebert faced a total of 41 shots and was the difference in this one, stopping all 20 shots over the final 25 minutes. * Alexei Yashin netted his 39th goal of the season. * Marian Hossa netted his 10th. Dallas Stars - Stars Return The Dallas Stars saw a number of their star players return from injury for this one but despite putting together a great third period could not manage to beat the Senators. Veterans Brett Hull, Darryl Sydor and Joe Nieuwendyk returned to action. Dallas outshot the Senators 13-1 in the third period but Damian Rhodes turned aside all 13 shots. Another Bad Third Period The last game of the team's six-game road trip was in St. Louis to face ex-Senator Pavol Demitra and the St. Louis Blues. Tied 2-2, Shawn McEachern scored the winner with 8:15 remaining on Ottawa's only shot of the third period. The Senators were outshot 11-1 in the third period. * Pavol Demitra scored his 33rd and 34th goals of the season. * McEachern 29th goal meant that he surpassed his career best of 28. * The Senators managed just 15 shots in the game. He Shoots, He Scores! Wayne Gretzky holds both first and second place in the most goals scored in a season category. He scored 92 goals in the 1981-82 season, and 87 goals in the 1983-84 season. Third place is held by Brett Hull who netted 86 goals in the 1990-91 season. Mario Lemieux is next with 85 in the 1988-89 season, followed by Phil Esposito who held the record for over 10 years, scoring 76 in the 1970-71 season. Esposito's 76 was matched in the 1992-93 season by both Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne. Wayne Gretzky's name also appears on the list at 73 goals (1984-85) and 71 goals (1982-83). Brett Hull has also had seasons of 72 goals (1989-90) and 70 goals (1991-92). Brett's father Bobby Hull held the record prior to Phil Esposito at 58 goals. ----------------------------------------------------------------- TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ----------------------------------------------------------------- The report didn't arrive in time for the text issue. You'll have to visit the web site. ================================================================ ================================================================ TEAM REPORTS ================================================================ EASTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Steve Halko. G - Trevor Kidd, Arturs Irbe. Injuries: Dave Karpa, d (shoulder, day to day); Sean Hill, d (ankle, unknown); Steve Chiasson, d (shoulder, few weeks at most). Transactions: Steve Halko, d, called up from New Haven (AHL). Game Results 3/10 Pittsburgh L 3-2 OT 3/12 Calgary W 2-1 3/15 at Phoenix T 5-5 3/18 at Colorado L 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Chris Schilling When the comforts of the road are mentioned, you may think of years-old chewing gum in the glove compartment, a rest area with clean toilets, and a Wendy's at every exit. But to the Canes, there are no such thing as comforts on the road. The Hurricanes have gone 1-3-2 since the last issue, ending a tough four-game road trip with an OT loss, a tie, and two other losses. Sami Kapanen had some things to say about the loss. "Forwards were overskating the puck," Kapanen said. "We didn't handle the puck well at all. Most of the night we were a half-second off and we didn't have enough patience." "Obviously, we have to regroup now because this is not what we expected," said Kapanen after the Canes ended a winless four-game road trip with their worst performance by far with a 5-2 loss against the average-in-the-West St. Louis Blues. While you're searching your pockets for the gum and Wendy's receipts, I'll begin the wrap up on the trade deadline for the Canes. But don't get yourself too excited... NOT A TRADE IN HADES: Well, the deadline came up to us all of a sudden, and the land was abuzz. "Wendel Clark's coming to Carolina! No, wait, Linden's better, maybe cheaper...or is it Turgeon we're getting? JR will build this team into a winner!" Yeah, and I'll watch Ally McBeal. Unfortunately, there were no Canes trades, which was too bad because with all the "young" crap being shopped around, we could've easily made out like bandits. Gelinas and O'Neill are worth something, at least a support man like the Russian Tank. Oh well. Another chance come and gone. Despite the fact we got nothing, it is well known now that we were runners up to get Recchi, Fleury, and Chelios. Plbbt. That got us...um...no one. SPEAKING OF CRAP: We have our very own sub-par youth to toss away in Marek Malik. Malik has made some bonehead plays throughout his NHL career, screwing up in Hartford as well as in New Haven. But nothing is like how bad he has done on this road trip. He continues to plunge his +/- without offering anything to the team. As a rookie, it is suspected that Marek has some potential, but that hope is stopped faster than a guy wearing a Yankee hat in Raleigh. He went -3 for the night in St. Louis, outdoing everyone on the team. At least there's something he can win at. I can't help but say that the Canes should of dealt Malik for Janney. Well, since the Isles aren't that stupid, we'll toss in an 8th-rounder. At least Janney can skate....sort of. TANK LIKEY: Yessir, the Russian Tank has actually asked to be in Carolina. He likes it here. In case you missed his quote, he watched the Three Musketeers and "wants this team to be like that". Yeah, it's cheesy, but since he's an RFA this season and has performed well and loves the team, I'll bet on him staying. "I have to show everybody that I love this game and I love this team," said Kovalenko, a restricted free agent after the season. "I want to sign a long-term contract with this team." GAME RECAPS Pittsburgh, 3/10, 3-2 L Despite being up 2-0 going into the third, the Canes let this one slip into overtime, where it once again slipped (must have been the bad ice) into a 3-2 loss thanks to a bit of luck from Kip Miller -- Irbe made an uncharacteristically bad play, mishandling a loose puck. Kapanen scored twice for Carolina, who had trouble handling the puck after the first two periods. Which means Jagr's line spanked us. Calgary, 3/12, 2-1 W The only win of these six games against the dismal Flames was a physical, gritty game, the sort of stuff our pal Gary Roberts loves. He and Nolan Pratt made sure the Flames didn't push around the Canes in this 2-1 win, highlighted by a goal from Bates Battaglia and the Russian Tank, who popped a backhand over Ken Wregget's pads. Phoenix, 3/15, 5-5 T A phenomenal comeback in the third period led by the third line of O'Neill, Kovalenko, and Gelinas, the Canes overcame a three- goal lead by the slumping Yotes to stick this one into the books as a tie. Another poor outing by the Latvian who let in four goals (three were the defense's fault) sent Kidd into the net. Kidd flopped around like a fish but made some saves while imitating Hasek, enough to keep the Canes in the game. Hey, but we paid two million for a backup, so he's GOTTA be good! Colorado, 3/18, 3-2 L Patrick Roy was Patrick Roy and the Canes couldn't manage the same sort of comeback against the Coyotes versus the Avs. Roberts continues to be snakebit, having been stopped by Roy in the last few minutes of the game at point blank range. Kovalenko scored, and Francis -- get this -- got a power-play goal! And it was fast, just over a minute into the first. Almost made up for the loss. Almost. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA PANTHERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- The report didn't arrive in time for the text issue. You'll have to visit the web site. ----------------------------------------------------------------- TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Jacques Demers Roster: C - Darcy Tucker, Chris Gratton, Mike Sillinger, Vincent Lecavalier. RW - Alexandre Daigle, Michael Nylander, Jason Bonsignore. LW - Stephane Richer, Rob Zamuner, Robert Petrovicky, Colin Forbes. D - Sergei Gusev, Cory Cross, Petr Svoboda, David Wilkie, Jassen Cullimore, Pavel Kubina, Kjell Samuelsson, Drew Bannister. G - Daren Puppa, Kevin Hodson, Corey Schwab. Injuries: Daren Puppa, g (groin injury, out for season); Drew Bannister, d (broken foot, day-to-day). Transactions: Assigned Andrei Skopintsev, d, Xavier Deslile, c, Mike McBain, d, and Karel Betik, d, to Cleveland (IHL); traded Wendel Clark and a sixth round choice in the 1999 draft to the Detroit Red Wings for Kevin Hodson, g, and a second round choice in the 1999 draft; traded Brent Peterson, lw, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for future considerations; traded Benoit Hogue, lw, to the Dallas Stars for Sergei Gusev, d, and a conditional pick in the 2001 draft; traded Sandy McCarthy, rw, and Mikael Anderson, lw, to the Philadelphia Flyers for Colin Forbes, lw, and a conditional draft pick; traded Bill Ranford, g, to the Detroit Red Wings for a conditional draft pick. Game Results 03/11 Buffalo W 5-2 03/13 Florida L 1-0 03/17 Pittsburgh L 2-0 03/19 Detroit L 6-3 03/24 Rangers W 6-3 TEAM NEWS by Seth Lerman Jacques Demers, general manager and coach, achieved his two objectives as the Lightning headed into the trading deadline. He made his team younger and lowered payroll. Entering the trading deadline with the worst record in the National Hockey League, Demers made five trades, three of which brought in some good young talent. Demers shipped leading scorer, Wendel Clark and a sixth-round draft choice to the Detroit Red Wings for goaltender Kevin Hodson and a second-round draft choice. In a separate deal with Detroit, he traded Bill Ranford for a conditional draft pick. The 32-year old former Conn Smythe winner had been a huge disappointment since his arrival from Washington this past summer. In other deals, left wing Benoit Hogue was traded to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Sergei Gusev, and Mikael Anderson and Sandy McCarthy were traded to Philadelphia for Colin Forbes and a draft pick. In one minor deal, Brent Peterson was traded to Pittsburgh for future considerations. The trade of Clark was rumored for the past several weeks, although the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars appeared to have the most interest. Earlier in the week, Demers hinted that he might keep Clark, who has 28 goals, for his leadership. The offer of Hodson, a young goalie with a lot of potential was too much for Demers to pass on. The acquisition of Hodson, Gusev, and Forbes supplies the club with plenty of young talent, something which Demers considers essential if the club will move forward. Hodson will join Corey Schwab in the Lighting goal. Both have a chance to prove that they can be the number one goaltender for the Bolts. The Lightning have played well in front of Schwab, who is getting his first legitimate shot at being a number one netminder. "This is the kind of opportunity you work for," said Schwab to the Tampa Tribune. "Now what I have to do is help us win some games and get the team playing well in front of me." Schwab has defeated Montreal, Colorado, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and the New York Rangers this season. "There isn't one coach or player here who doesn't wish that Corey Schwab can be the answer for us in goal," said Demers. "He's so well-liked because he is a total team guy." Schwab, 28, is a native of North Battlefield, Saskatchewan. He was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils with the 200th pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He spent five years in the Devils system, while appearing in 10 NHL games. He was acquired during the summer of 1996 for Jeff Reese and two draft picks. In Gusev, the Lightning have acquired a player who, in the words of Demers, can step in and play a regular shift immediately. "Looking down the road, we see him in our top four," said Demers to the Tampa Tribune. In 23 games this season, the native of Russia registered five points. ----------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON CAPITALS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Ron Wilson Roster: C - Adam Oates, Andrei Nikolishin, Michal Pivonka, Mike Eagles. LW - Brian Bellows, Richard Zednik, Yogi Svejkovsky. RW - Kelly Miller, James Black, Jeff Toms. D - Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Ken Klee, Brendan Witt, Enrico Ciccone, Alexei Tezikov. G - Olaf Kolzig, Rick Tabaracci. Injuries: Chris Simon, lw (shoulder surgery, out for season); Dmitri Mironov, d (back spasms, indefinite); Mark Tinordi, d (broken ankle, out for season); Steve Konowalchuk, lw (concussion, indefinite); Calle Johansson, d (strained knee, out for season); Peter Bondra, rw (broken hand, two weeks). Transactions: Acquired Brad Shaw, d, off waivers from Ottawa. Assigned Jan Bulis, c, to Cincinnati (IHL). Sent Brad Shaw, d, and 1999 eighth-round draft pick to St. Louis for 1999 sixth- round draft pick. Recalled Steve Poapst, d, from Portland (AHL). Assigned Steve Poapst, d, to Portland. Sent Tom Chorske, lw, to Calgary for future considerations. Traded Dale Hunter, c, and a thrid-round pick to Colorado for a second-round pick. Traded Craig Berube, lw, to Philadelphia for future considerations. Traded Joe Juneau, lw, and a thrid-round pick to Buffalo for Alexei Tezikov, d, and fututre considerations. Game Results 3/11 Florida L 2-1 3/13 Calgary W 5-4 OT 3/15 at NY Rangers T 1-1 3/17 Dallas W 2-1 OT 3/20 at Montreal W 1-0 3/21 Boston L 4-1 TEAM NEWS by Jason Sheehan Trade Winds Begin to Swirl [Note: This article was written before the 3 p.m. trade deadline Tuesday.] General manager George McPhee has opened the floodgates in preparation of Tuesday's trade deadline. McPhee's hope of a playoff drive turned into a sense of urgency Saturday after his Washington Capitals saw Boston, a team his club must pass in the standings to make the playoffs, skate off MCI Center ice with a 4-1 victory. More importantly, Boston holds a nine-point lead over Washington. The Capitals only have 12 games left to play. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar and center Dale Hunter were in shock over the loss, both calling it the worst game they have played in their careers. That's quite a mouthful for Hunter, since Saturday marked his 1,395 game in the National Hockey League. Although the Capitals haven't been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, center Adam Oates knows, in all likelihood, that Boston drove the final nail in his team's coffin. Oates also realizes the Capitals will probably be one of the busiest teams in the league Tuesday as McPhee will attempt to move as many of the eight players set to become unrestricted free agents this summer as he can. "Trade rumors are flying around and guys are looking over their shoulder a little bit," Oates said after the Boston game. As for the playoffs, "it's pretty academic. Mathematically I guess we are still in it, but it's hard. We lost to the team we're trying to catch, so I think that's about it." Joe Juneau is the most likely Capital to be dealt on Tuesday. Detroit and Ottawa have expressed interest in the 31-year-old forward, since both teams are looking to add depth for the playoffs. Phoenix, who a couple months ago tried to acquire Oates, also remains in the hunt for a top playmaking center. It is believed that McPhee is looking to package a majority of his unrestricted free agents and won't hesitate to include players under contract for next season to help sweeten a deal. The eight Capitals whom will be negotiating new contracts this summer are Juneau, Hunter, injured defenseman Mark Tinordi, center Mike Eagles, left wing Brian Bellows, right wings Craig Berube and Kelly Miller, and backup goaltender Rick Tabaracci. Hunter, 38, is expected to retire at the end of the season. In a twist of irony, the Capitals can re-sign any unrestricted free agent they trade in the off-season. However, McPhee stated that none of his players are untouchable in a television interview conducted by HTS on Saturday. McPhee began his trading activity Monday by sending left wing Tom Chorske to Calgary for future considerations. Browse the feature articles in this issue for the recap on all trades made at the deadline. News and Notes Defenseman Brad Shaw only appeared in four games as a Capital after completing four years of service with the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. Shaw, who was acquired off waivers from Ottawa, was traded along with an eighth-round draft pick to St. Louis for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft. Defenseman Calle Johansson was set to become the only Capital to appear in every game. That ambition came to a crashing halt March 15th when he strained his left knee during a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He will miss the rest of the season. The Capitals assigned struggling rookie Jan Bulis to Cincinnati of the International Hockey League. The center had just five assists in his last 14 games. "We feel that sending Jan to the IHL is the best move for his development as a hockey player," McPhee said. "We are hoping that he will gain the additional experience and confidence necessary to achieve the level of play we feel he is capable of." ================================================================ ================================================================= TEAM REPORTS ================================================================= WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION ----------------------------------------------------------------- CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Lorne Molleken roster: C - Sylvain Cloutier, Doug Gilmour, Mark Janssens, Josef Marha, Alexei Zhamnov. LW - Eric Daze, Jean-Yves Leroux, Dean McAmmond, Bob Probert, Reid Simpson. RW - Tony Amonte, Jean-Pierre Dumont, Nelson Emerson, Ed Olczyk. D - Jamie Allison, Brad Brown, Chris Chelios, Dave Manson, Boris Mironov, Bryan Muir, Doug Zmolek. G - Mark Fitzpatrick, Jocelyn Thibault. injuries: Nelson Emerson, rw (separated shoulder, indefinite), Mark Janssens, c (rib injury, indefinite). transactions: Recalled Sylvain Cloutier, c, from Indianapolis (IHL); assigned Todd White, c, to Chicago (IHL), and loaned Geoff Peters, c, to Portland (AHL) March 9; acquired Radim Bicanek, d, from Ottawa for a sixth-round pick and assigned him to Grand Rapids (IHL) March 12; recalled Radim Bicanek, d, from Grand Rapids March 14; assigned Radim Bicanek, d, to Grand Rapids March 19; traded Dan Cleary, lw, Chad Kilger, c, Christian Laflamme, d, and Ethan Moreau, lw, to Edmonton in for Jonas Elofsson, d, Dean McAmmond, lw, and Boris Mironov, d, March 20. game results: 3/10 Nashville W 5-2 3/12 at Nashville L 5-3 3/14 St. Louis L 5-2 3/17 Calgary W 3-1 3/20 at Colorado T 5-5 3/21 Colorado W 4-3 team news by Tom Crawford "Quick Draw" Murray Strikes Again For the second year in a row, Blackhawks GM Bob Murray has made a major deal near the end of a disappointing season. Here's hoping this latest one turns out different. At the time the deal that brought Chad Kilger to Chicago looked promising. The Hawks had depth at defense, with solid youngster Christian Laflamme meshing well with veterans Chris Chelios, Gary Suter, and Eric Weinrich, so they could afford to lose Keith Carney, and Kilger had size and scoring potential. As we all know, Kilger and his fellow power-forward-in-training Ethan Moreau never quite lived up to expectations, and since Suter's departure the Hawks have lacked a real offensive threat on the blue line, particularly one fit to run the power play. Chelios's efforts on that front often ended disastrously. So Murray's reasoning was fairly obvious when he sent Kilger, Moreau, Laflamme, and Dan Cleary to Edmonton in exchange for Boris Mironov, ex-Hawk draft pick Dean McAmmond, and defensive prospect Jonas Elofsson. If one goes by the old saw that whoever gets the best player wins the deal, then this one's a TKO. Mironov, despite inconsistency and a taste for the nightlife, is a top-rank defenseman who early in the season was being mentioned as a Norris Trophy candidate. He moves the puck well, has one of the heaviest shots in the league, and isn't afraid to use his size (as Colorado's Milan Hejduk found out quickly Sunday afternoon). On the other end of the deal there's a load of potential but very little proven talent. Laflamme is the steadiest player of the four, but even he was shaky enough early this season to merit a stay in the minors. This deal appears to signal the end of Murray's grand plan to mold the Hawks in the image of the Philadelphia Flyers. Murray had envisioned Kilger, Moreau, Eric Daze, and Jean-Yves Leroux as the backbone of a young, physical team that could intimidate and score. Daze has played better of late but still shows little taste for the rough stuff, and Leroux has yet to develop much of a talent for scoring. Instead, the Hawks have moved toward a game based on speed and skill, a strategy endorsed by interim coach Lorne Molleken. The play of Josef Marha and Jean-Pierre Dumont was a stated reason for dealing three forwards, and McAmmond, the lone forward coming to the Hawks in this deal, is more of a scooter than a basher as well. The early results look good, as Mironov and McAmmond both played well in their Hawk debuts. If Kilger, Moreau or Cleary turn out to be the goods, then Oilers GM Glen Sather looks like a genius, but Murray got the all-star, so for now the advantage is his. Hawk Players Want to Keep their Molleken The stunning success of formerly unkown Lorne Molleken has prompted certain Blackhawk players to lobby for an extension of the Molleken era beyond April, 1999. The Hawks are 5-4-1 under their new coach, and everyone's giddy. Or are they just relieved to be out of the iron grip of Reichsmarschall Dirk Graham? "We're having fun playing hockey again," said Jocelyn Thibault. Tony Amonte added: "It's weird to be able to make offensive plays again." But Chris Chelios had perhaps the most interesting appraisal of Molleken's abilities, especially in light of Graham's 'just play hard' philosophy. "His knowledge makes him a real educated coach," Cheli said. Not Quite a Rivalry, But . . . . Even in the darkest of times, you could always count on the Hawks giving a good effort against Colorado. Ever since the back-to-back playoff meetings, these two teams have harbored a healthy dislike of one another which often results in physical, close (but often high-scoring) games. This past weekend saw a happy continuation of this trend, with a home-and-home producing two rollicking, fight-filled games with a total of 17 goals scored in a tie and a one-goal Hawk win. The downside is, of course, how much more frustrating this makes watching the Hawks phone it in against the rest of the league. News and Notes After horrible starts to the calendar year, Tony Amonte and Alex Zhamnov have started to produce again. Amonte has five goals in four games, while Zhamnov has six points in his last three games . . . . The Chris Chelios trade rumors refuse to die. Apparently John Davidson reported recently on Hockey Night In Canada that Cheli had submitted a list to management of the teams to which he would allow himself to be traded. Predictably, Chelios denied the rumor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Assigned Mark Mowers, f, to Milwaukee (IHL); claimed Dan Keczmer, d, off waivers from Dallas. game results: 3/10 at Chicago L 5-2 3/12 Chicago W 5-3 3/14 Edmonton W 3-1 3/16 Calgary L 4-2 3/18 at Montreal L 3-2 3/20 at Pittsburgh T 2-2 team news by Jeff Middleton HOME AND . . . The Predators wound up their road trip in Chi-town, attempting to get a victory against the only Division foe below them in the standings. Interestingly, the 'Hawks were also the only team in the Central who they had not defeated this year. Seems as though the Red Wings and the Blues were easier targets for the expansion team. Things did not go any better this time around, as the Preds got behind early, came back to within one in the third period, then allowed late goals to put themselves away. They came back home to prepare for a return visit with the lowly Blackhawks on Friday night. . . . HOME AGAIN And what a nasty visit it was. It seemed like Nashville and Chicago both got up on the wrong side of the bed, as neither team was interested in being friends. In a hard-fought contest, the Preds jumped out to a lead and held on to seal up the first franchise victory against the Blackhawks. MOVING UP . . . Nashville had played the Edmonton Oilers tough each time they played, but could not seem to score enough times to win. Either that or they needed another 10 minutes to complete the comebacks they made. This time, the Predators had a little more to fight for, as the Oilers were one of the teams they were fighting for a playoff birth. In the first of two key matchups, Nashville was able to gain some ground by defeating the Oilers. . . .AND THEN DOWN Unfortunately, they were not able to gain more ground on Tuesday night. The Fleury-less Calgary Flames came to town and put back the distance Nashville had gained by taking the Oilers. This seems to be a common theme for the boys from Music City - every time they show a little life and start to threaten, they die a little and lose their fangs. These games were crucial to the fate of the Preds, and they wound up exactly where they started. ON THE ROAD AGAIN Road games in the second half of the season have been significantly kinder than those in the first half. After a three game homestand, Nashville headed out for their first visit ever to the Montreal Forum. OK, maybe not, but it was the first time they had ever been to Montreal. Sebastien Bordeleau, centering the Preds hottest line and on a tear himself, was with the Habs last season and has proven himself to be one of the better two-way centermen in the league. He certainly wanted to prove to the Canadiens that they had made a mistake in leaving him exposed for the expansion draft. The Predators were able to gain a lead on a shorthanded goal by Vitali Yachmenev, but gave up two goals in five miuntes and were shut down by Montreal. The fat lady is warming up. IGLOO-ED And this sure isn't going to make her stop and think about it. When the Penguins came into Nashville, they were forced to go to overtime to defeat the Preds. This time, they were forced to go to tie them. Tomas Voukoun stopped everything except for a power-play goal early in the third to continue his unexpectedly solid play. Not bad . . .not bad. Notes: With the victories over Chicago and Edmonton, the Predators have at least one victory against every Western Conference opponent . . . . Sebastien Bordeleau, Scott Walker, and Tom Fitzgerald have proven to be the best defensive AND offensive lines of late. . . . . nothing big expected from the Preds at the deadline . . . . top prospect David Legwand's agent has issued a deadline of March 25th to sign his client to a deal or it will have to wait until September . . . . GM David Poile said that's fine with him . . . Nashville Arena was named "Loudest Arena in the League" by somebody with a lot of authority over giving out worthless honors. ----------------------------------------------------------------- DETROIT RED WINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Scotty Bowman Roster C - Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Kris Draper, Sergei Fedorov, Darryl Laplante. 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: 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, one week); Igor Larionov, c (groin, day- to-day); Darren McCarty, rw (back, day-to-day). TRANSACTIONS: Darryl Laplante, c, recalled from Adirondock. Game Results: 3/09 at Los Angeles L 4-2 3/12 at San Jose L 2-0 3/14 at Colorado W 3-1 3/17 Phoenix L 4-3 3/19 at Tampa Bay W 5-3 3/21 at Philadelphia L 5-4 Team News by Dino Cacciola LOS ANGELES 4, DETROIT 2 The Los Angeles Kings, fighting for a playoff spot, beat the Red Wings 4-2. The Red Wings may also be fighting for a playoff spot the way they are playing as of late. The professor Igor Larionov tied the score with two goals in a seven-minute span, including his first short-handed goal of the season. But it wasn't enough. It was the second straight time that the Kings have beaten the Wings this season. "Some teams, for whatever the reason, really get up for another team and obviously, we're the team for them," defenseman Jamie Macoun said. "They love to play us and try to show exactly where they belong. They're trying to prove that they're not seven points out of the playoffs." After blowing a two-goal advantage, the Kings regained the lead for good midway through the second period. Luc Robitaille made a blind backhanded pass into the slot and Glen Murray slid the puck to Laperriere, who fought off a check by Maltby before putting his eighth goal past Chris Osgood from 25 feet out front. "You expect a team like that to play hard when they're trying to make the playoffs," Larionov said. "They played well against us in Detroit a couple of weeks ago and tonight they had confidence because they remembered that game. They played well defensively and were disciplined." A two-goal lead was once money in the bag for the Champs. Now it is not a sure thing as defensively the Wings are not clicking whatsoever. A deal may be done to shore up the defense. SAN JOSE 2, DETROIT 0 The Wings fired 26 shots at Steve Shields. But none could get passed him as they were shut out 2-0. "I always wanted to play for the Red Wings when I was in school," Shields said after his first career win over Detroit. "They're big back there, and I consider that home, so it's kind of special to beat them. Hopefully it won't be a habit. It was the first time the Sharks have shut out the Red Wings in their eight- year NHL history, and it was only their sixth victory over the Red Wings in 31 regular-season games (6-23- 2). Normy Maracle stopped 32 shots as San Jose outshot the Red Wings, 34-26. It was only the fourth loss in 37 games this season for the Red Wings when they have held their opponents to two or fewer goals. They are 30-4-3 in those games. Center Sergei Fedorov was still serving part of his five-game league suspension. "Losing Fedorov was a big price to pay," coach Scotty Bowman said. "It seems to be catching up with us. We miss his offense because other teams have been shutting us down pretty well." DETROIT 3, COLORADO 1 The Red Wings finished up a bad road trip on a good note beating Conference rivals Colorado 3-1. Vyacheslav Kozlov and rookie Stacy Roest scored second-period goals and backup goalie Norm Maracle had 21 saves in the win. Maracle, getting his second straight start, allowed only a third-period goal to Joe Sakic to snap the Red Wings' three-game losing streak and end Colorado's three-game winning streak. "We haven't done very well on the road this year," head coach Scotty Bowman said, "but now we have 15 games left , 10 at home and only five on the road. We've virtually done our traveling. Now we'll get some guys back who are getting healthier -- Uwe Krupp, Todd Gill, Brent Gilchrist, Joey Kocur." With the win the Wings stayed six points ahead of the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division and also narrowed Colorado's lead in the battle for the No. 2 record in the conference to four points. "It would have been disappointing if we lost tonight," Maracle said. "We won the last game on the road, and now maybe we can go home and continue winning. "I haven't played a whole lot this year because Ozzie is our No. 1 goaltender. When you're No. 2 or 3 and you get to play two games in a row, it's a big bonus. When I get my chances, I've got to play really well. They said last game I played pretty good. I had to have another good performance so hopefully I can play in the future." Igor Larionov scored an empty netter for insurance late in the third period. PHOENIX 4, DETROIT 3 With one second left in the game Keith Tkachuk scored a goal which lifted the slumping Coyotes to a 4-3 win over the Red Wings. Yes I said with just one second left in the game. That is 19:59 of the third period. Martin Lapointe said the Red Wings sat back in the third period and got hosed. "In the third, at the end, you can't play sloppy like that, especially against a team like that," Lapointe said. "They've got a lot of snipers, and we paid." Red hot Slava Kozlov had two goals and an assist and Nicklas Lidstrom also scored in the deflating loss. Norm Maracle had 24 saves in his third straight start replacing Chris Osgood, who was a healthy scratch. Sergei Fedorov was scoreless in his first game back. The Wings played without forward Kirk Maltby, who was serving the first game of a four-game suspension for breaking the arm of Colorado's Valeri Kamensky with his stick. The Red Wings had an apparent goal from Doug Brown In the third waived off because Steve Yzerman's left foot was in the crease. That rule has to go! DETROIT 5, TAMPA BAY 3 Sergei Fedorov had two goals and an assist in his second game from suspension. He helped as the Red Wings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3 while being outshot. "My first game was in Phoenix and I was a little tight sometimes at the end of a shift," Fedorov said. "Today I think I completely bounced back and I feel really, really well." Fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom scored short-handed goals 22 seconds apart in the third period. Vyacheslav Kozlov added a goal completing a three-goal Detroit burst over a 1:48 span. With the win, the Red Wings increased their division lead to five points the St. Louis Blues. "I think from our point of view, it was a very important game," Fedorov said. "The important thing is we just want to play well." Wendel Clark got his third hat trick this season for the Lightning. He would look great sporting the winged wheel. Nonetheless the Red Wings have a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) against the Lightning. Tampa Bay, which outshot the Red Wings, 12-2, during the opening 12 minutes and 17-9 in the first period, had been shut out its two previous games. Left wing Brent Gilchrist played 17 shifts totaling 12:34 in his first game this season. He had been sidelined since undergoing hernia surgery last September. PHILADELPHIA 5, DETROIT 4 The Philadelphia Flyers ended their 12-game winless streak with a comeback victory over the Red Wings. A game in which the Wings blew a two goal lead twice and lost 5-4. Eric Lindros took a pass in front of the net and fired a shot past goalie Chris Osgood who on this day could not stop a beach ball. Fedorov was supposed to cover Lindros but lazily did the European try a poke check that didn't work. You just knew coming in that the Flyers would end their streak against the Red Wings. Despite the fact that Brendan Shanahan scored twice for the Red Wings it wasn't enough as he let his man free on the tying goal. "Obviously, they put pretty much a full press-attack on. I mean they were desperate, they put a lot of pucks on the net," said Shanahan. "With a team like the Flyers, you don't want to spend a lot of time in your own end. They're so big and strong." Slava Kozlov scored as well for the Wings in the joke of a game. Playing like this the Red Wings are doomed for an early round playoff exit. There seems to be no urgency in their defensive game. Whether is complacency or what, things are not looking pretty. They do have the talent. One would hope that the underachieving Fedorov would start to get his game in gear. The addition of Krupp should help and they desperately need Gill back. Chelio would look great on this team as would Wendel Clark. As the other teams get Recchi, Fleury, Bure, and Reichel, the Red Wings will need to bolster the lineup as well. A starting goalie that can actually save a game and win on his own a few would be nice. Chris Osgood while having won a Stanley Cup isn't sharp and the Red Wings will pay the price if he doesn't improve. They say a goalie is only as good as the team in front of him. Well that is true to a point. But they are playing with no confidence coz he doesn't make the big save and seems to let the one weak goal a game in. It's time to start hitting and skating. It's now or never for the Red Wings. There is a lot at stake here. Let's hope the Wings will fly again. It won't be easy this time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ST. LOUIS BLUES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Joel Quenneville Roster: C - Craig Conroy, Mike Eastwood, Pascal Rheaume, Pierre Turgeon, Michal Handzus. LW - 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, Chris Pronger, Jamie Rivers, Ricard Persson. G - Grant Fuhr, Jamie McLennan. Injuries: Geoff Courtnall, lw (post-concussion syndrome 12/9, day-to-day); Rudy Poeschek, d (sprained ankle 2/24, day-to-day); Rich Parent, g (scrotal contusion 2/13, three weeks), Craig Conroy, c (ankle 3/22, day-to-day). Transactions: 3/9- Recalled Lubos Bartecko, f, from Worcester (AHL); 3/10 - assigned Rich Parent, g, and Bryan Helmer, d, to Worcester; 3/12 - returned Johnson Helmer to Worcester; 3/13 - recalled Michel Picard, lw, from Grand Rapids (IHL); 3/18 - acquired Brad Shaw, d, and a 1999 eighth-round draft choice from the Washington Capitals for a 1999 sixth-round draft choice; 3/20 - loaned Jim Carey, g, to Cincinnati (IHL). Game Results: 3/09 Calgary L 7-4 3/11 Montreal L 3-0 3/13 Edmonton W 6-4 3/14 at Chicago W 5-2 3/16 Philadelphia W 5-2 3/18 Phoenix T 2-2 3/20 Ottawa L 3-2 3/22 Carolina W 5-2 TEAM NEWS by Tom Cooper Defense anybody? It looks like the old problem with the St. Louis Blues has struck again. St. Louis jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first half of the first period and held a 4-2 lead on the Flames after the second, when the Flames got a good piece of coaching advice from head coach Brian Sutter. "Coach told us to just shoot the puck on net and it worked, for us," Rene Corbet said. Well, Calgary shot the puck at the net 13 times and scored on five of them as the Flames turned the tables on the Blues, pounding them 7-4. Jim Carey got the start for the Blues stopping 19 of 21 in the first forty minutes and only one of five in the first 9:14 in the third. "I just wasn't playing with a lot of confidence out there and when they got one quick one in the third period, it went bad from there," Carey said. Well, maybe he won't be playing a whole lot more. Jamie McLennan finished the final 10:46, saving seven of eight. The Rematch of the Century They've met twice in the Stanley Cup Finals - 1968 and 1969. In the first two years of the franchise's existence, the St. Louis Blues advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, both years losing to Montreal. Now, 30 years later the rivalry has come full circle as the Blues and Habs meet on a Thursday in St. Louis. And the Blues lost yet again. Danius Zubrus scored in his first game as a Canadien as Montreal went on to a 3-0 win. The Blues lost despite outshooting Montreal 41-25. Jeff Hackett stopped every shot he faced to give the Blues their second straight loss. Brent Johnson stopped 22 of 25 for the loss. Thank God For the first time in seven weeks, the Blues were solid in net. Why? Grant Fuhr was back. After missing 16 games, der Fuhr stopped 24 of 28 shots to help the Blue fight from a 4-3 deficit after two to win 6-4. The win was Fuhr's 100th in goal for St. Louis. Mike Eastwood tied the game at 4-4 just 18 seconds into the third. Just 3:01 later, a cutting Pavol Demitra fed Lubos Bartecko for his third goal of the season, which put St. Louis up for good. Oh My God, He Won It had been almost a year and a half since Jim Carey won a game in the National Hockey League. Kind of unexpected considering Carey won the Vezina Trophy only two years ago. It looks like his difficulties may be turning around... but don't hold your breath. St. Louis scored three times in a 3:54 span of the first, giving Carey enough room to earn his first win since October 21, 1997 as the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Carey stopped 22 shots in the win. "Tonight is the first game I can honestly say I felt good out there," said Carey. "But I'm not at the top of my game. I know that's not going to happen overnight." Pavol Demitra scored twice in the first to help the Blues to victory. The Greatest Game Ever Let me give you some background. I'm from the Philadelphia area. I've lived in the southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for all of my 19 years on the planet. This would explain why I am a St. Louis Blues fan. (Not really. It all goes back to when I saw the 1991 playoffs and, because the Flyers sucked, I saw teams for other cities in the league. I saw the Blues. I liked what I saw. The rest is history.) Thus, because of my support for the Blues, I have faced ridicule for the greater part of my high school life by Flyers fans. "St. Louis sucks, Tom!" "The Blues blow, Cooper" "Why don't you root for the Flyers?" "You still wet the bed." I heard it from every angle. So, for me, when the Blues play the Flyers, it a big game for me. Not just for the team I love. But for my pride. That's why I can't get over what happened two Tuesdays ago. After drawing the second period 1-1, the Blues came out to try and add to the Flyers misery, who hadn't posted a victory in the previous 11 games. Terry Yake put the Blues up for good 1:27 into the third, but that wasn't the best part. At 6:47 into the period, St. Louis was on the power play. Off of a face-off in the Philadelphia zone, the Blues controlled. Flyers' penalty killer Jody Hull appeared to be pulled down by Terry Yake. The whistle was not blown and Pavol Demitra ended up putting the puck in the net to give the Blues a 3-1 victory. Flyers head coach Roger Neilson was pissed. In protest of the goal, he kept his players from going on the ice for the face-off after the goal. Referee Bill McCreary warned the Flyer bench, but Neilson persisted. McCreary blew his whistle, but this was to give the Flyers a delay-of-game penalty. Neilson still persisted. This time, Neilson grabbed one of his player's stick and threw it on the ice in a flashback of his days as a prominent high school javelin thrower. The stick Neilson threw just missed a linesman. McCreary threw Neilson out of the game. "That's Roger," said Al MacInnis of Neilson, who was an assistant with the Blues until midway through last season. "He's a very emotional guy, and he's going through obviously a tough time with that club." The Blues continued to turn the heat on. Pierre Turgeon scored on the power play 2:24 after the flying blade incident as the Blues made my night with a 5-2 victory. The Blues won for two reasons: 1) A four-goal third period and 2) Stellar goaltending from Grant Fuhr, who stopped 26 of 28 shots in a fashion that reminded fans of his play from the past two seasons. Kissing Their Sister Phoenix was a good team early in the season. They were the hottest team in the league throughout the 1998 calendar year. Then they got injured, and everything went downhill from there. The same thing happened to the Blues, except for the hottest team in the league part. Now both teams were healthy and both teams were making the final push toward the playoffs. A loss wouldn't have helped either team's cause. Good thing they tied, eh? Mike Eastwood put the Blues up 1-0 in the first, but Phoenix came back with two goals in a 2:55 span in the third to take the lead 2-1. 1:18 after Mike Stapleton scored that go-ahead goal, Pavol Demitra salvaged the tie to give both team a point with a 2-2 tie. Although complacent with a point, Blues goalie Grant fuhr thought Phoenix's share should belong to the Blues. With St. Louis up 1-0 8:05 into the third, Fuhr got into position to block a Jeremy Roenick shot. Suddenly, Greg Adams came up and tripped Fuhr, knocking the netminder off his skates. Adams eventually ended up with the goal to tie the game at 1-1. "We feel like we got the point stolen from us," Fuhr said. "Ideally, it should have been a 2-1 win." Best in the League The Blues aren't the greatest team in the league. Let's be honest about that. So, saying they lost to Eastern Conference leading Ottawa wouldn't be a shock. That happening wasn't a definite. Pavol Demitra scored his 33rd and 34th goals of the year in the first and third periods respectively to help tie the game at 2-2 with 11:23 left in the game. The Blues defense clamped down in the third, allowing only one Ottawa shot. The shot, taken by Shawn McEachhern, beat Grant Fuhr with 8:15 left to give the Senators a 3-2 victory. ================================================================ ================================================================= 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, Eric Charron; G- Ken Wregget, Fred Brathwaite. Injuries: Rocky Thompson, rw (concussion Jan. 16, indefinite); Bob Bassen, lw (back spasms, indefinite); Derek Morris, d (separated shoulder, indefinite). Transactions: Recalled Eric Charron, d, from Saint John (AHL). Game Results: 3/09 St Louis W 7-4 3/12 Carolina L 2-1 3/13 Washington W 5-4 OT 3/16 Nashville W 4-2 3/17 Chicago L 3-1 3/21 N.Y. Islanders W 2-1 TEAM NEWS by John Alsedek, Calgary Correspondent Here at LCS Hockey, there is one journalistic ideal that we hold above all others. It's not honesty, or clarity, or even source integrity. Nope, it's laziness. I took on the job of Calgary Flames correspondent in the expectation that the team would deal off Theo Fleury and Andrew Cassels, not be able to score again before the end of the season, and miss the playoffs, thereby letting me wrap up the Flames column for the season in late April. But darned if Brian Sutter and the boys aren't doing their best to screw up the best-laid plans of LCS Hockey correspondents. Calgary has just wrapped up a seven-game road trip -- including a stretch of four games in seven nights -- with a wizard record of 5-2-0. Granted, the opposition was less than stellar -- five of their seven opponents are likely to be on the outside looking in come playoff time. Still, 5-2-0 is 5-2-0, and the Flames will take their points where they can get them. If GM Al Coates dealt Fleury as early as he did in order to find out what his youngsters could do, he must be pretty pleased with the results. In the nine games since THE TRADE, the Flames have gone 6-3-0, and the Kid Flames have been playing with - pardon the pun - fire. Rene Corbet has four goals and two assists in the last six games; Cory Stillman has six points in the same period. Hnat Domenichelli has two tallies, and guys like Jarome Iginla, Jeff Shantz, and Andrei Nazarov also have scored (Nazarov deserves bonus points, both for his game winner against St Louis, and his newborn baby - congrats, Andrei). But, out of all the Young Guns, the most pleasant surprise has been Pavel Bure's little brother, Valeri. Over the last six, he's racked up a half-dozen goals, including two against the Islanders, who were courteous enough to interrupt their fire sale to take a whole eleven shots against Ken Wregget in a 2-1 loss. Of course, it hasn't just been the kids contributing. The defense has been tight, and the goaltending tandem of Wregget/Brathwaite has generally been outstanding. Wregget's save percentage over the past six has been around 93%. Mention should also be made of veteran blueliner Phil Housley, who has two goals and five assists over the last six. At this point, the destiny of the Kid Flames is in their own hands. Four of their final 13 games are against their arch-nemesis, the Edmonton Oilers -- who also just happen to be Calgary's closest challenger for the last playoff berth. Talk about the Battle of Alberta! In fact, the Flames have a pretty tough schedule to close out the season. Other than two games with the Canucks -- which are as close to 'gimmes' as there are anyplace in the West -- and one with Montreal, the Flames have their work cut out for them. Of particular note should be the last home game of the season, with Calgary hosting... yep, the Avs. It just doesn't get any easier for the Flames, but my prognosis is this: eighth in the West, and a real scare for the Stars in the first round -- maybe an upset, if Ed Belfour plays down to his potential. ----------------------------------------------------------------- COLORADO AVALANCHE ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Bob Hartley Roster: C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Stephane Yelle, Chris Drury, Christian Matte. LW - Valeri Kamensky, Milan Hejduk, Shean Donovan, Warren Rychel, Chris Dingman. 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: Stephane Yelle, c (achy all over, day-to-day); Valeri Kamensky, lw (broken hand, mid-May); Shean Donovan, lw (achy all over, day-to-day); Adam Deadmarsh, rw (back, day-to-day); Aaron Miller, d (back, day-to-day); Can Russell, d (back, early April). Transactions: Recalled Christian Matte, c, from Hershey (AHL). Recalled Chris Dingman, lw, from Hershey. Game results: 3/09 at Washington W 3-2 OT 3/11 at Philadelphia W 5-3 3/14 Detroit L 3-1 3/18 Carolina W 3-2 3/20 Chicago T 5-5 3/21 at Chicago L 4-3 TEAM NEWS by Greg D'Avis If they ever field a full squad, the Avalanche may just be world beaters. Unfortunately, that's looking impossible. Theo Fleury, Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg return -- half the team goes down with bad backs. Add the loss of Valeri Kamensky for the year, a sudden inability to play defense, and things are rough in ol' Denver. Even when winning, the Avs looked sloppy. Against Washington, the Caps clearly outplayed the Avalanche, and only a strong game by Craig Billington (in place of Roy) kept it close, and only a fluky goal by Sandis Ozolinsh (went in off Calle Johansson's stick) won it. Then came Philly, and as everyone's done lately, the Avalanche beat up on the poor Flyers. Chris Drury solidified his rookie of the year bid with two goals, Peter Forsberg got three assists in his return from an elbow injury, and Adam Deadmarsh pounded the stuffing out of some big galoot on the Flyers. C'mon, who Doesn't like to see the boys in orange stomped? And then ... Detroit. While they haven't had the fight-fests of years past -- despite the fact that the Avalanche are among the lead leaders in majors -- the games are still intense, passionate, and a blast to watch. Well, except when the Avalanche lose. Then it sucks. But, frankly, the Wings outplayed the Avalanche. They played smarter, Norm Maracle outplayed Roy in goal, and they earned the win. The game delivered some bad news for the Avs. Valeri Kamensky, a consistent playoff performer in years past (and yours truly's favorite player) had his hand broken by Kirk Maltby. Maltby -- best known for his work with Pol Pot, Idi Amin and Satan -- delivered a two-handed slash to Kamensky's hand, sending him out for two months. Maltby had already done the bidding of the Dark Lord with an elbow to Forsberg's head early on, which sent Foppa into a blind rage and turned him into a Maltby-seeking missile for the rest of the game. Which would be fine, except Pete forgot to play hockey as well. Maltby got a four-game suspension, but suspensions don't matter to minions of Satan, now do they? Kamensky -- who becomes an unrestricted free agent at year's end -- has likely played his last game in an Avalanche uniform. Dammit. Now Fleury-less and Kamensky-less, the Avs played a fiery game four days later against their traditional rivals ... Carolina? Yeah, I don't understand it either, but the two teams played like they hated each other. The top line -- Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk -- played a flawless game as the Avs eked out a 3-2 win. Then came the game everyone will remember. Not because Fleury returned (though he scored a goal). Not because of the back-and-forth, up-and-down tempo. Not because the Avalanche appeared to be playing sans defensemen. No, it will be remembered ... because Joe Sakic fought. Early on, after the Blackhawks jumped to a 2-0 lead, Sakic scored a goal to tighten it. Gilmour and Dave Manson took some whacks at Theo Fluery in front of the goal, and everyone leapt in. It appeared to be breaking up, then Sakic and Gilmour skated over to the boards, yapping at each other. (Gilmour backing away, FYI.) Suddenly -- seconds after my Dad said, "does Sakic ever fight?" -- the gloves flew off, and Sakic pummeled the turtling Gilmour. First fight in nine years, and he looked good doing it -- Bob Probert was hiding behind a linesman, Doug Zmolek ran to the locker room, Reid Simpson started to cry. Then, once in the penalty box, Sakic tried to go over the glass to get at Gilmour. Oh, no, he didn't really, but wouldn't that have been cool? The rest of the game was no less exciting, both for fans of the pugilistic arts and fans of exciting games. Umpteen fights and umpteen goals. Everytime the Avalanche tied it, the Hawks would score again. Finally, the just-returned Fleury scored early in the third and both teams went back to Chicago with a tie. And, again, there were lots of lead changes and lots of fights. (Though Sakic concentrated on goals this game.) Sadly, there wasn't much defense again, and Chicago rallied to win it. Fun Rumor of the Week Theo Fleury's knee -- sprain or torn ligament? Fleury says sprain -- duh, he's playing again, after all, and has two goals in his two games back -- but a persistent rumor has it that it's more serious. Hooray. New Guys What with all the injuries, the Avalanche brought two Bears up from Hershey, Christian Matte (making is 16,325th trip between Hershey and Denver) and Chris Dingman (the "other guy" in the Fleury trade). Matte, normally a wing, looked sharp centering the fourth line; Dingman made an immediate impression, fighting Bob Probert three seconds in to his first game with Colorado. Sayonara? As noted before, we may have seen the end of Kamensky's tenure with the Avalanche, thanks to Kirk "Jerkface" Maltby. The injury ruins any Avalanche plans to trade Val for a defenseman by Tuesday; it hurts Kamensky's always-good playoff run, and therefore his earning power as a free agent this summer; and it almost definitely renders my Kamensky jersey "old school." So no one's happy. Except Maltby. Dammit. ----------------------------------------------------------------- EDMONTON OILERS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Ron Low Roster: C - Doug Weight Todd Marchant, Rem Murray, Josef Beranek, Dan Lacroix LW - Ethan Moreau Alex Selivanov, Chad Kilger, Ryan Smyth. RW - Bill Guerin, Mike Grier, Pat Falloon, Georges Laraque. D - Sean Brown, Roman Hamrlik, Christian LaFlamme, Frank Musil, Janne Niinimaa, Tom Poti, Marty McSorley. G - Tommy Salo, Bob Essensa. Injuries: None. Isn't that just groovy? Transactions: Recalled Boyd Devereux, c, and Kevin Brown, rw, from Hamilton (AHL); assigned Steve Passmore, g, to Hamilton; acquired Chad Kilger, c, Ethan Moreau, lw, Christian Laflamme, d, and Dan Cleary, lw, from the Chicago Blackhawks for Boris Mironov, d, Dean McAmmond, lw and Jonas Elofsson, d; traded Mats Lindgren , lw, to the New York Islanders for Tommy Salo, g. Game Results: 3/06 at Washington L 4-3 3/10 at Dallas L 7-4 3/13 at St Louis L 6-4 3/14 at Nashville L 3-1 3/17 New Jersey L 4-1 3/20 Vancouver W 4-3 Team News by Aubrey Chau Well, the big news this week is the two trades Edmonton Oilers GM Glen Sather pulled off Saturday. With the Oilers going through a five-game losing streak, and falling into the ninth place in the Western Conference, something had to be done. Sather started off the wheeling and dealing with a big trade which saw Oiler defensive-stud Boris Mironov, sidekick Dean McAmmond and some guy named Jonas Elofsson leave the Oiler organization. In return, the Oilers got a slew of young guys - forwards Chad Kilger, Ethan Moreau, Daniel Cleary and defenceman Christian Laflamme. But Slats wasn't finished there. He then dealt Mats Lindgren and an eighth-round pick to the New York Islanders for Tommy Salo. The Oilers had to make a deal to shake up the team and its losing ways. The Oilers responded in kind with a winning performance against the Vancouver Canucks later that night. Only the future will tell if this trade was a wise move or not. The Go-To Guy With Mironov gone, the Oilers will be looking for a lot more offensively from the remain defencemen. Particularly Roman Hamrlik. He's the head of the defensive corps now, and he'll have to follow through. Trading Mironov was a message to Harmlik. It was a vote of confidence for Hamrlik. Now he'll have the prime power-play time and the premiere ice time. He has shown he can do it, too. He scored 60-some points a few years ago when he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Defencemen Janne Niinimaa and Tom Poti will also be given more power-play opportunities and are looked upon to produce more. Boy Do They Suck: The Oilers had to make a move to shake up the team. After Glen Sather said he'd stand by his man, coach Ron Low, it was inevitable that trades were on the horizon. The team was in such a downward spiral something, anything had to be done. But the Oilers aren't out of the fire yet, that was one win against the lowly Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers had quite a match against the Calgary Flames. The factor which will decide whether the Oilers sneak into the playoffs or not is the three remain games against the eighth place Calgary Flames. This playoff race will definitely turn the heat up on the Battle of Alberta. Monday's game resulted in a tie. Which is good for the Flames, which leaves them still in eighth place, and still two points over the Oilers. The Russian Puzzle Alex Selivanov, a promising offensive winger acquired last month is now a healthy scratch for the Oilers. Selivanov has six goals and three assists in 22 games. Five of those six goals were scored during a two-game span, against Anaheim and Los Angeles. The last goal was a fluke that bounced off his head. Coach Ron Low says he hasn't been producing offensively and he's a liability defensively, so now Selivanov has a prime seat for Oilers games in the press box. A good idea for Sather is to dump Selivanov and his $1.5 million salary for anyone who'll take him. He's making too much to be a scratch. Maybe Crazy Mike Milbury and the New York Islanders would be interested? If not before the trade deadline, maybe during the summer. Selivanov has been too unproductive to warrant staying in the lineup. Especially when the Oilers are struggling so much. If worse comes to worse, he could be waived, and pray someone takes him. The Oilers line combinations looked like this as of Monday's game against the Calgary Flames. 
Forward Lines:

Kilger Weight Guerin 
Murray Beranek Falloon
Moreau Marchant Grier 
Laraque Devereux Buchberger

Defensive Pairings:

Hamrlik Poti
McSorley Niinimaa
Brown Laflamme

Starter: Salo
----------------------------------------------------------------- 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, Kevin Weekes. INJURIES: Mark Messier, c (should return this week from knee injury); Todd Bertuzzi, lw (leg, out for season); Steve Staios, rw (knee, out for season); Harry York, c (feelin' goofy, a few weeks). TRANSACTIONS: Assigned Corey Hirsch, g, to Syracuse (AHL). GAME RESULTS: 3/09 at Anaheim T 4-4 3/11 at Phoenix W 3-0 3/13 at Los Angeles L 3-1 3/15 New Jersey L 2-1 3/21 NY Islanders L 3-1 3/22 at Edmonton L 4-3 TEAM NEWS by Jeff Dubois Many National Hockey League teams win games on a regular basis. They do this because they have a talented group of players who have jelled together into a cohesive unit. LCS Correspondents who write about these winning teams enjoy the success of these clubs and players. Other National Hockey League teams lose games on a consistent basis. They do this because they have gathered a bunch of players who lack the confidence, skill and vision that is necessary for success. LCS Correspondents who cover such teams enjoy the thrill of seeing these players shipped off to various cities at the trade deadline, in return for other players that will continue the tradition of whining, sucking and losing. But at least they're new losers! WHAT ARE THE CANUCKS LOOKING FOR? The Canucks are set on defence and in goal. They have about 17 fourth liners, but no one to put the puck in the net. Offence will be the big key at the deadline IF the Canucks decide to improve. If they do this, they will most likely work from the back end, where McCabe and Aucoin could be had. They may, however, decide to do a little addition by subtraction. This would mean either an Islander-like liquidation or a few moves to get rid of some overpaid, under worked veterans. I would tend to point to the latter. Brian Burke has too much pride to put on a fire sale and just dump salaries. Hopefully he can get rid of some of the dead wood, but more than a couple of these trades would be surprising. WHO MIGHT GO: Murray Baron - Defenceman are all the rage at the deadline. The Canucks have five guys around right now plus Bryan Allen is on his way. The Canucks can make up for his experience for him in the locker room by re-calling Murzyn, and they might just be able to get a decent prospect from someone looking to shore up their blue line. POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS: Detroit, Anaheim, San Jose, St. Louis. Look for a prospect or draft pick in return, much like when they got rid of Diduck and Dirk. Bryan McCabe - If the Canucks are going to trade of their young defenceman for scoring help, Bryan McCabe will may be the guy. McCabe should one day be a captain again, he is mobile, tough and will score the occasional goal. He's valuable. Brian Burke says he would need to be blown away by an offer to trade one of his young d-men. It always takes more to get a blueliner, so who knows? POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS: San Jose, if they're willing to part with Nolan in a bigger deal, Chicago, where the rumours started but have calmed since the Mironov trade. Dave Gagner - Sure am glad that Brian Burke "demanded" him in the Bure trade! Where would we be without him? Probably about where we are right now, but at least some ice time would have gone to developing players in the meantime. Terry Murray did know what he was doing when he scratched Gagner for most of his last month as a Panther. The Canucks should just get rid of his salary and ice time. Give his spot on the second line and the power play to Josh Holden and get a draft pick or futures or a puck for him. POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS: Anyone needing experience down the middle and is willing to overpay for it. Peter Zezel - Much the same case applies to Zezel. He isn't a bad guy to have around, but the Canucks are rebuilding. Save his salary and give his spot to a younger guy who might be around for a while (Stevey Washburn). POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS: Any play-off bound team looking for depth. Adrian Aucoin - Has the big shot from the point that many teams covet and is having a breakthrough season. Burke would probably trade his power-play trigger man only because he is a free agent in July and will demand a BIG raise. The same factors apply from the McCabe rumours, as offensive help would come in return. POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS: Could he end up in Carolina (where Paul Coffey has been ineffective on the point) in a deal involving Jeff O'Neill? Meanwhile in Reality Land, the Canucks have jumped head-first into the race for a top three draft pick. As of "press time", Chicago had leapt over Vancouver, leaving the Canucks with the NHL's third worst record (in front of only Tampa Bay and the Islanders). The Lightning are unreachable but the Islanders may just pass by if we play our cards right! Since Atlanta will likely select second come June, the Canucks need to continue losing to attain the third or fourth pick. THE LONE BRIGHT SPOT: The Wayne Axford Award once again goes to Adrian Aucoin. Adrian tied Doug Halward's long standing record for goals by a defenceman against Edmonton last Saturday (19). I figure that anyone who sets an offensive record on this team deserves not only an award, but a trade to a contender (the public agreed, as he garnered 74% of the 8,024 votes cast). Adrian now has tied Markus Naslund with two awards while Bryan McCabe has a single victory. Only two more issues (at least for this team) so the battle is heating up! I WANT TO VOTE FOR THIS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD!!! Guess what! You can, by e-mailing me 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, Johan Davidsson. LW - Ted Drury, Stu Grimson, Paul Kariya, Jim McKenzie. RW - Antti Aalto, Jeff Nielsen, Tomas Sandstrom, Teemu Selanne. D - Kevin Haller, Jason Marshall, Fredrik Olausson, Jamie Pushor, Ruslan Salei, Pascal Trepanier, Pavel Trnka, Dan Trebil. G - Guy Hebert, Dominic Roussel. INJURIES: Fredrik Olausson, d (sore ribs, day-to-day); Steve Rucchin, c (strained groin, day-to-day); Ruslan Salei, d (sore shoulder, day-to-day). TRANSACTIONS: 3/18, Recalled Dan Trebil, d, from Cincinnati (AHL); 3/16, recalled Johan Davidsson, c, from Cincinnati; 3/08, assigned Mike Crowley, d, to Cincinnati. GAME RESULTS: 3/10 Vancouver T 4-4 3/12 at Dallas L 4-0 3/13 at Phoenix L 1-0 3/17 Ottawa T 2-2 3/18 at Los Angeles W 4-2 3/21 Florida L 5-2 TEAM NEWS by Alex Carswell THE MIRAGE If, as we postulated here, this segment of Anaheim's season was to determine the probablility of home-ice for the playoffs, then the vision of opening round one at the Pond has disappeared like an oasis in the mind's eye of a thirsty nomad. With the exception of a spirited performance against the Kings, the Ducks failed to inspire much hope for postseason success over the past two weeks. A come-from-ahead tie against Vancouver (blowing 3-0 and 4-1 leads) saw the end of a team-high seven-game winning streak, and things got worse from there. As we suggested might happen, Teemu Selanne's 17-game points streak came to an end at the hands of Ed Belfour and the Dallas Stars, who threw a shutout at the vastly overmatched Ducks. Not that it mattered, because Phoenix also blanked them the very next night. The Phoenix game was a huge disappointment, because the bad habits Anaheim has been displaying of late -- including loosey-goosey defensive zone play -- cost them major emotional currency against a possible first-round opponent. Most distressing, however, was a dreadful performance against the Pavel Bure-less Florida Panthers. The Panthers, noting that everyone on Anaheim's bench was sound asleep, cracked open a 1-1 tie with four third period goals -- including one on a penalty shot by Ray Whitney. Compounding the team's lethargic play was a seriously off night for Guy Hebert, who let in three soft goals (the first three) along the way. One can't scapegoat Hebert, however, who has stolen far more games than he has given away, as the team simply failed to show up...again. BREAKS GO BOTH WAYS Skeptics noted that even during the it-seems-like-so-long-ago winning streak Anaheim was catching quite a few breaks. They were allowing a lot of shots (a trend that has continued, with Hebert facing 39 or more in each of the past three games), not spending much time in front of the opposition's net, and saving themselves with their league-leading power play. But now the breaks seem to be going the other way. The power play has suffered from injuries to Freddie Olausson and, now, Steve Rucchin. Hebert isn't saving the team's bacon on every defensive breakdown -- though he continues to do his share -- and even Selanne's streak ended on a bad break: Olausson's heel was passing through the crease when Teemu notched a goal that was negated by the officials. ("That rule," Selanne would say later, "is ruining hockey.") In an effort to get the team to make its own breaks, coach Craig Harstburg has planned a four-day minicamp prior to Anaheim's next game, again against Dallas. With the Stars next on the agenda, and the playoff drive heating up in front (Phoenix) and behind (St. Louis) them, it's a tough time to be slumping. Despite the slump, it's unlikely President/GM Pierre Gauthier will make any moves, certainly any that sacrifice youth or draft picks. It's clear that -- even if they can make a good postseason run -- this is not a Stanley Cup year for Anaheim, and there's no single player available out there who can make it one. That said, it makes more sense to let the team grow together than to make significant changes. FLASH: 40 On the positive side of the ledger, the Finnish Flash hit the 40-goal mark against the Panthers, and continues to challenge for the inagural Maurice Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer. It's the fourth straight year Selanne has hit the 40-goal plateau, though he claims hitting 50, as he has the past two years, is unlikely. "The way the league is now," said Selanne, "it's possible no one will." But the league would have to search long and hard to find a better recipient of the first Richard. Selanne is a bubbling cauldron of optimism and fan-friendliness, and the NHL would be blessed to have him on display on awards night. COMING UP After home games against Dallas and Calgary, on a playoff run of their own, the Ducks embark on a brutal roadie against New Jersey, the Rangers, the Islanders, Detroit and Dallas again. Then it's home for tilts against San Jose, Phoenix and St. Louis. All of those teams, save for the Isles and Dallas, are fighting for playoff positioning. It's entirely possible that unless this ship is righted, and fast, St. louis will supplant Anaheim for the No. 5 slot in the West -- giving the Blues a match-up against Phoenix and relegating the Ducks to an opening-round visit to Detroit. ----------------------------------------------------------------- DALLAS STARS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head coach: Ken Hitchcock Roster: C- Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Tony Hrkac, Brian Skrudland, Derek Plante. LW- Benoit Hogue, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jason Botterill, Dave Reid, Brent Severyn, Jere Lehtinen. RW- Blake Sloan, Brett Hull, Mike Keane, Grant Marshall, Pat Verbeek. D-Derian Hatcher, Craig Ludwig, Darryl Sydor, Shawn Chambers, Richard Matvichuk, Sergei Zubov, Doug Lidster. G-Ed Belfour, Roman Turek. "I-Word": Richard Matvichuk, d (sprained knee, 14-21 days). Brian Skrudland, c (chest contusion, indefinite). Shawn Chambers, d (hip flexor, 3-7 days). Transactions: Acquired Derek Plante, C, from Buffalo for 1999 second-round draft pick. Placed Dan Keczmer, lw, on waivers. Traded Sergei Gusev, d, to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Benoit Hogue, lw and a draft pick. Signed Blake Sloan, rw, to one-year contract. Reassigned Aaron gavey, c, to the Michigan K- Wings (IHL). Reassigned Kelly Fairchild, c, to the Michigan K-Wings (IHL). Reassigned Brad Lukowich, d, to the Michigan K-Wings (IHL) Game Results: 3/10 Edmonton W 7-4 3/12 Anaheim W 4-0 3/14 at Philadelphia T 1-1 OT 3/16 at Pittsburgh T 2-2 OT 3/17 at Washington L 2-1 3/19 Ottawa L 2-1 3/21 Carolina W 3-2 Team News by Jim Panenka, Dallas Correspondent Stars Go Into Survival Mode With several players shuffling in and out of the lineup due to "player physical problems (PPP)" coach Ken Hitchcock has simplified his goals for his team. He wants them doing nothing more than playing a smart, defensive game (meaning a boring 2-1 game) for the rest of the season until the playoffs, and staying as healthy and rested as possible. He has also begun to recognize that he has to rest some of the workhorses so they can be fresh enough to get the postseason off to a good start. Hitchcock said he plans to rest Modano, Lehtinen, Carbonneau, Ludwig, and maybe even the feisty Pat Verbeek. It's just a matter of keeping players focused, not having anything to do with their performance or ice time. This is a pretty good move, considering the Stars have had to make several last-minute deals to bolster the troops for the big show in April-May, due to that damn, nagging PPP problem. The Stars aren't concentrating on anything else other than making a run for the Cup. The back office is trying feverishly to supply a few last-minute additions to the team, and the players themselves are pretty much writing off the rest of the regular season, come what may. It doesn't really matter even if Dallas does lose more than half of the games left, which they won't. They still have 98 points, which is still much more than any other team. The Stars were the first team to clinch a playoff berth. The President's Trophy means nothing. The Western Conference Championship means nothing. Only one thing will satiate this team - the only goal they have been going for during the last three seasons. Only this time, most everyone agrees they can do it. Except Detroit, that is. The Red Wings snapped up Chris Chelios! Man - what is this weird, twisted world coming to - when the Hawks deal Chelios! As well as picking up Wendel Clark, just to rub Dallas' noses in it (Dallas has been tagged together with Clark's name for some time now). It's obvious the Wings are trying to make a contender out of their sagging team. Guess what? It ain't happening this time, guys. While Dallas isn't gonna have an easy time of it this playoff season, they still are gonna get farther than Scotty Bowman's Red Raiders. But, it probably won't be as easy to make it past the second round as it was last season. Although Joe Nieuwendyk is on a personal scoring tear, his line's production is down. Other than Modano's line - the only other production has been coming from Tony Hrkac's line. Man, I am sure glad they brought that dude back. He is a sleeper of a player - he isn't flashy, but man can he produce! Anyway, the point is Dallas' offense has found a way to win most nights, but they have gotten too many of their points from just a few players. They are inconsistent on the power play, which can be a death knell, as they found out last season against Detroit. And on that note: Hitchcock Demands More From Zubov Yep, Old Zubie has been coasting this year. Maybe it had something to do with all that pressure on him to run the power play. Maybe he is just chumping out. When Zubov hasn't been scoring, he has also been making some stupid-ass boneheaded plays with the puck lately. What's up Zubie, are you just too rich and fat these days? Asked if he was satisfied with Zubov's play, coach Hitchcock said, "No. He has to be a better player for us. He hasn't been effective on the power play. He's just been OK." That might even be being nice to the guy. He's a better player than that. He has to play better if Dallas is to have a chance for the Cup. Hoguie's In Da House Dallas dealt d-man Sergey Gusev to Tampa Bay for Benny Hogue and a draft pick. Hogue was dealt to Tampa Bay in order to make room for some new prospects to make a spot for themselves, something that has yet to happen. So, rather than letting Benny flounder in Boltsville for another few games - the Stars reacquired a player who knew the team and the system well. More importantly, Hogue is a natural left wing, and has played very well for Dallas in the past. He had a run- in with coach Hitchcock before, but both men say they are over that now. "Benoit will add depth and experience to our group of forwards," GM Bob Gainey said. "He will be a valuable addition to our team as we enter the stretch run of the season and the playoffs." Hogue, 32, had 11 goals and 14 assists in 62 games this season with the Lightning. He was third on the team in goals and points. He signed with the Lightning as a free agent last summer after playing two-plus seasons with the Stars. Hogue has 208 goals and 293 assists in 732 career games with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Stars and Lightning. He had six goals and 16 assists in 53 contests with the Stars in 1997-98. Sergey Gusev, 23, had one goal with four assists in 22 games with the Stars this season. He also has six assists in 11 games with the Michigan K-Wings. Stars Acquire Derek Plante The Dallas Stars have acquired forward Derek Plante from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the Stars' second round draft choice in the 1999, it was announced today by Stars' General Manager Bob Gainey. Plante will join the Stars on Wednesday in Los Angeles. "Derek Plante is a solid two-way player who gives us a deeper group of forwards as we enter the stretch run of the season and the playoffs," said Bob Gainey. In 41 contests with the Sabres this season, Plante has recorded four goals and 11 assists for 15 points with 12 penalty minutes. The 5-11, 181-pounder scored two of his four goals for the season on February 26 at Edmonton. Plante, 28, began his NHL career with the Sabres in the 1993-94 season after a four-year career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 395 career NHL contests, he has registered 91 goals and 145 assists for 236 points with 126 penalty minutes. In 1996-97, the Minnesota native led the Sabres in scoring with 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points, establishing a career-high in goals and game-winning goals (6). Hey - at least they got another guy from Minnesota, yah? Stars Running Out of Steam Dallas has had to endure the dog-days stretch of 11 games in 16 days, enough to make any mere mortal cry for pity. But these are professional athletes, Jack! Even though the Stars do rise above mere mortals, they are human beings. And coach Hitchcock has noticed his powerhouse-team go a little flat lately. "Our offense is a direct reflection of our energy, and even after a day off [Saturday] it's obvious there's still very little left in the tank." Said Hitchcock after Sunday's gut-check win over Carolina. Even though there wasn't much in the tank, Mighty Mikey Modano still found a way to make an impact despite the rest of the team playing like a bunch of comatose elephants. Modano used his knowledge of former Stars' goalie Arturs Irbe to score both a shorthanded goal as well as the game-winner for Dallas. "We kinda knew Archie's tendencies," Modano said. "He plays back in his net, and being as short as he is, I don't think it helps him to back in that far. And he gave me a lot of time to do what I had to do." Yeah, that was a real smooth way of saying "Archie sucks and I had his number." Although, going into overtime for the fourth time in the last five games was not their idea of a good ending. "It's something we really don't need right now," Modano said about yet another overtime game. "You can see we were kind of mentally fatigued. Kind of out of it at times." Yep, that can explain that four-game winless streak. A bunch of nasty 2-1 losses, or 1-1 OT ties. Blecch. But, Dallas found a way to win - again. Now if they can just pick up one more defenseman before the deadline? Other Notes: * The Stars are opening another two-rink skating facility in a nearby suburb to bolster youth hockey in Dallas. This is great. It won't be much longer before the first Dallas-born players will be making it into the NHL. Just wait. * The high school hockey program in Dallas has taken firm root, and now boasts several division's worth of fully-stocked teams. Like the above notice - that is Muy Bueno! Now if they had just done that when I went to high school! Oh well. Never too late to start, right? Yeah, right. * The new arena set to open in 2001 or 2002 will be named the American Airlines Arena. What a great name for generations to come to covet and put into fabled lore. Yet another sickening example of corporate commercialism's demons weaseling their way into the last honest sport on earth! That sucks! Well, at least it was the last honest sport on earth, until player's salaries finally broke the 1 million-dollar barrier. Does anyone remember that column about two seasons ago after Detroit's first Cup - "Greed putting game on the boards" (from Rick Bell (August 24, 1997) of the Calgary Sun)? Yep, that was great - that was fun reading. Do a web search on it. If you find it, read it. It appeared on SLAM! Hockey for awhile. The sport we all used to know as hockey is dead. It's all commercialism and greed from here on out. * Does anyone besides me find great joy in the fact that Brett Hull has returned? He is the perfect antidote to the above point. He's just Old School Cool, man!! There's nothing like watching that guy stand with his stick pointing straight up into the air, just waiting to crank out a death bomb! What an incredible addition this guy was! All that controversy just went away, and what emerged was a cool guy with a cool grin who just wanted to stay quiet, do his job, and do it well. Hey, what a concept! If I look forward to anyone carrying the Cup- it's Brett Hull. Hully- you da man! * Do you think it's too late to steal Al MacInnis from the Blues? ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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: Mark Visheau, d (urinary tract obstruction, who cares?); Sean Pronger, c (knee, 2-4 weeks). Transactions: Put Steve Duchesne, d, on waivers. Game Results 3/09 Detroit W 4-2 3/13 Vancouver W 3-1 3/15 Ottawa W 4-0 3/18 Anaheim L 4-2 3/20 Florida W 4-3 3/21 at Phoenix L 4-1 Team News by Matthew Moore Twelve games left to go in the season and the Kings are six points out of a playoff spot, with Edmonton between them and the Flames. So, barring a minor miracle, the Kings season is over. Of course I think I've been saying that for quite some time now. The Kings went on a nice three-game winning streak, beating the Red Wings and the Senators in impressive fashion. And they did beat the playoff-hunting Panthers, although that game showed why the Kings are where they are. For once the Kings got out to an early lead, but only by the grace of God and Stephane Fiset did they get out of there with a win. The Kings scored their four goals in the first period and allowed none by Florida, despite several defensive lapses that led to breakaways and outnumbered attacks by the Panthers. From the start of the second period on, the Kings played back on their heels and made what should have been a momentum building win become a hanging on for dear life victory. What with all the talk the "emergence" of Rob Blake as a leader, this just shows how effective he really is. Yes, he's the best defenseman on the team and plays well most every night, but leadership isn't apparently one of his strong suites. Where has his "leadership" been during the rest of the season? I don't want to disparage Blake too much for finally trying to step up and lead, but what good is his effort now after they have wasted the season away and are struggling to stay ahead of an expansion team in the standings? Why sit on his hands until now? And why is it such a big deal that Larry Robinson is now benching players who don't play hard? Shouldn't he have been doing this the entire time? Maybe I'm just out of it or something but the coach being in charge and the team captain showing leadership shouldn't be the exception, but should rather be the norm. And with the trade deadline coming up on Tuesday, the Kings most talked about going bye-bye are Doug Bodger and Russ Courtnall. Bodger is rumored to be heading to either Pittsburgh or Detroit. Courtnall is mentioned with Detroit. My guess is Bodger will be gone, but Courtnall won't be going anywhere. Now if only they could get someone to take Yanic Perreault off their hands. The biggest player move of the past two weeks has been the giving up on Steve Duchesne. He was placed on waivers and should clear them without anyone being foolish enough to pick his big ol' salary. The Kings will then be able to trade him, send him to the IHL, or just cut him. Look for a trade to be made since to cut him would require the Kings to eat a good deal of his salary. But don't expect much from the trade since the Kings have pretty much burned their bridges with Duchesne and will be wanting to just get rid of his albatross around their neck. ----------------------------------------------------------------- PHOENIX COYOTES ----------------------------------------------------------------- The report didn't arrive in time for the text issue. You'll have to visit the web site. ----------------------------------------------------------------- SAN JOSE SHARKS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Darryl Sutter ROSTER: C - Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Mike Ricci, Steve Guolla, 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, Andy Sutton. G - Mike Vernon, Steve Shields. INJURIES: Gary Suter, d (tricep, rest of season); Tony Granato, rw (knee, indefinite); Murray Craven, lw (knee, day-to-day); Mike Vernon, g (groin, day-to-day); Bill Houlder, d (twisted knee, day-to-day). TRANSACTIONS: Recalled Steve Guolla, c, from Kentucky (AHL); returned Sean Gauthier, g, to Kentucky; recalled Andy Sutton, d, from Kentucky. GAME RESULTS 3/09 Phoenix W 4-2 3/11 Detroit W 2-0 3/12 Ottawa W 3-2 3/17 Florida W 4-2 3/20 at Boston T 2-2 TEAM NEWS by A.J. DaSilva Recalling the cool stuff since the last report: 
   1) Jason B., Ginny K., Cheryll & Dave K., Margaret,
      and your humble correspondent got to see the
      Sharks go on an offensive explosion - that's 
      SUPER cool.
   2) I'm still an LCS correspondent - that's a relief
      type of cool.
   3) Gina and Kevin L. are proud parents of a new 
      baby boy - that's a special type of cool.
   4) It rained for the 9th straight weekend in the
      San Francisco Bay Area - That's NOT cool :(
   5) The Sharks are 6-1-1 in their last 8 games -
      Yeah baby yeah (An Austin Powers type of cool).
A Comment from A Friend Fellow long-suffering Sharks fan Michele P. wrote in to say she wanted me to change Alex Korolyuk's nickname from Korky to K-yuk in my reports. To paraphrase, she believes Korky "sounds wimpy" for a guy who works hard, takes the punishment, and dishes out stuff. She's got a point. Therefore, Alex's nickname from now on will be K-yuk. K-yuk is cool! Hustle and You Will Get Rewarded After the debacle against the Blackhawks, a different Sharks team took the ice against the Coyotes. This team played hard from the start, delivered hits, took shots, and shut down the explosive Roenick-Drake-Tkachuk line. Goals by Patrick Marleau, Owen Nolan, Bryan Marchment and an empty-netter by Mike Ricci made for a very satisfying night for the home fans. K-yuk had a couple of assists, and almost scored the Sharks goal of the season. He skated past a bunch of hapless 'Yotes, had Nikolai Khabibulin on the ice, but couldn't score when the goalie lifted his leg at the last moment to deny K-yuk's excellent effort. Hard work continued to pay off in the next game as Alex Korolyuk and Owen Nolan's efforts behind the net were rewarded with a Patrick Marleau goal. Steve Shields made some incredible saves, and for the second straight night, the Sharks outplayed, outshot, and outhustled the opposition for a 2-0 win. Joe Murphy scored as well, but didn't score with the fans (see later on in the article). The following game against the Ottawa Senators showed the Sharks at their best and worst. Three quick goals, one by Andrei Zyuzin, two by Ronnie Stern, in the first eight minutes of the first period put the Sharks in position to finish off the visitors early. However, the Sharks gave up a power-play goal and suddenly reverted to the Sharks of old -- tentative, unsure, and seemingly on their heels. Ottawa scored a second, and the Sharks began to look like a bunch of amateurs. The Sens were feisty, skating hard, and firing on all cylinders, but the Sharks held on for the win. The Sens are what the Sharks should be right now: young, talented, and winning games in entertaining fashion -- and they're going to make life miserable for the rest of the Eastern Conference. But the Sharks had the big win, and with wins in back-to-back nights against the mighty Red Wings and Senators, who could ask for anything more? A reunion of sorts occurred against Florida. Former Sharks Viktor Kozlov, Johan Garpenlov, Alex Hicks and Ray Whitney paid a visit to the Shark Tank, while former Panthers Jeff Norton and Dave Lowry also renewed acquaintances. The Sharks continued their fast start to games, moving out to a quick four-goal lead, and then held on to win 4-2. Patrick Marleau picked up two more goals, and Steve Guolla and Owen Nolan picked up the other two. Four out of five wins on the home stand, although who would have thought that the only loss would have been to the Blackhawks?! The next game was the first of five games on the road. A Saturday afternoon matinee against a hungry Boston Bruins squad started out ugly, as the jet-lagged Sharks failed to find their legs. Incredibly, after 15 shots, six of which hit the post, and constant pressure by the Bruins, the Sharks were ONLY down by two goals. Adjustments by the Sharks changed the momentum. San Jose took control of the game following goals by Joe Murphy and Marco Sturm. In OT, the Sharks had all the opportunities, but stellar play by Bruin goalie Byron Dafoe saved the point for the Bruins. At the end of the week, the Sharks were safely in 7th place, just two points behind 6th place St.Louis, five points ahead of 8th place Calgary and also Edmonton. So you want to make a trade... Theo Fleury, Matthew Barnaby, Stu Barnes. All were supposedly being pursued by the Sharks for a beat-the-deadline trade for a scorer. They're all gone. Who's left? Names thrown around include Trevor Linden, Doug Gilmour, Shayne Corson, Adam Oates, and quite possibly, Tony Amonte. I'd like to see Amonte in Teal, but there are three reasons why that wouldn't happen. First, Chicago would have to get a lot in return, and the Sharks don't have too much to give (and that includes Joe Murphy, but we'll get to that later). Second, Chicago fans would be incensed if their top scorer was traded. And third, since Tony wasn't happy about former coach Dirk Graham's dump and chase philosophy, he wouldn't want to come to the Sharks since that's the Darryl Sutter philosophy as well. Yeah, baby, it's Trivial.. Can you name the players who were Sharks, became ex-Sharks and then came back to be Sharks again? Offensive Mutterings... Marco Sturm was getting mentioned in trade talks to get that scorer the Sharks desired, but I wouldn't trade him. Kids like Marco, Patrick Marleau, Andrei Zyuzin, Andy Sutton and Alex Korolyuk are playing as well as they can under the glaring spotlight, and the last thing the Sharks need to do is to give up on the solid youth nucleus. Kudos for the staff in Kentucky for providing the development for some of the key kids being brought up. And since we mentioned Kentucky... Steve Guolla was called up to provide some offense. He paid immediate dividends with assists in the first couple of games. He looks like he doesn't want to go back down to Kentucky, and it would be difficult for the Sharks to send him down since he'd have to go through waivers, which means he could be claimed by another team. The way Steve is playing, it would be difficult for some of the injured players to get back into the lineup. And speaking of getting back in the lineup... Andy Sutton was called up on an emergency basis for Andrei Zyuzin's absence in Boston. In the revolving spot on the Sharks checking line, Shawn Burr played against Ottawa and Detroit, Brantt Myhres played against Phoenix and Florida, and Stephane Matteau played against Boston. Regular grinders Ron Sutter and Dave Lowry continue to play well together. Coach Sutter seems to know when to make the appropriate changes in his lineup. Plus Coach seems to play his ex-Blackhawks a whole lot more when they're all healthy. And speaking of the ex-Blackhawks on the Sharks.. What does Joe Murphy have on Darryl Sutter? It's true that Murphy is paid as a scorer, not to play defense. But since coach Sutter expects solid two-way play from ALL his forwards on his team, and those who don't are sent to Kentucky until they can (see Steve Guolla), why is "floating Joe" playing so many minutes? If he was a consistent goal scorer, then that's okay, but he's not. Plus he leaves his teammates to play most situations four-on-five, and on most nights, you wouldn't know he's on the ice. Yet, coach plays him night after night. Yup, make an example of Burr, Zyuzin, Guolla and others for their lapses or lack of effort, but not Murphy. What gives coach? And while I'm still being inquisitive... If that wasn't enough to get your humble LCS correspondent scratching his head, Joe also managed to get the rest of the fans on his case. He went public in the local rags about Recchi and other free-agents-to-be getting more press than they deserved, compared his stats to Recchi's, and claimed he was a better defensive player than Recchi. (Yeah, right, insert laughter here). He also said if the Sharks didn't offer him something decent before the July 1st free agent deadline, he'd walk. An informal majority opinion in the Sharks chat room indicated that the fans would let him go. I'm with them. I can hear it now.. "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye..." Defensive Implications... Andrei Zyuzin has paid immediate dividends with a couple of assists and goals. Like I said in the last issue, if you play Andrei, good things will happen. The power play has looked a little more alive, especially since Andrei is amazingly one of the few Sharks who can deliver a one-time slap shot on target. Andrei on the point looked a lot better than the indecisive Mike Rathje who has to stop the puck before shooting. And speaking of shooting.. Bryan Marchment's first goal on home ice was a thing of beauty. Steve Guolla held up the puck, Jeff Friesen took it from him and laid a perfect pass to the cutting Marchment and scored past Nikolai Khabibulin. Mush said he "closed his eyes" when he took the shot and scored. Keep it up Mush!!! Your Entertainment Dollars At Work Prior to the Red Wings game, SJ Sharkie, mascot extraordinaire, was supposed to rappel down from the top of the arena to the ice. Usually, Sharkie has no problem. But this night, he got tangled up in the rope, and was left hanging for about 20 minutes, which delayed the start of the game. Luckily, Sharkie was eventually rescued and all was good again in the Sharkie universe. My friend Bonnie E mentioned that there's now a new meal at the San Jose Arena -- it's called Shark on a rope (collective groan!) The Sharks also sent a survey to the season ticket holders asking for their feelings about everything related to the Sharks, EXCEPT the team's performance on ice and the performance of Sharks management. Huh?!! When fans have to endure the really expensive food, really expensive parking, the tired cheap entertainment between periods (except for pee-wee hockey, now that's VERY cool), and throw in a team with the 20th best overall record, but the sixth-highest payroll in the league, and they send us a survey about the experience, but not the product, you have to ask yourself about the commitment of the team toward winning. Late Kudos Your humble correspondent forgot to mention in the last issue about the well-deserved ceremony the Sharks gave to LCS Hockey favorite Bernie Nicholls. The team presented Bernie with a silver hockey stick with all his accomplishments, plus he got a standing ovation. Bernie thanked the Sharks for allowing him to play and becoming an assistant coach (although for PC purposes he didn't mention how Sharks management forced him to retire). And, he mentioned how the San Jose fans were the best in the league (funny how every Shark player who the Sharks have honored also said that very same thing!!!) Bernie, you're one cool dude. Things that make you go Hmmmmm... When the Sharks went on their hot streak of the season, many insiders pointed to the call up of Alex Korolyuk and the return of Brantt Myhres as the key reasons for that streak. What many people forget to mention is that Murray Craven was sidelined during that streak. The current 6-1-1 streak has coincided with the re-introduction of Andrei Zyuzin and the call up of Steve Guolla. And who happens to be sidelined? It's Murray Craven. Hmmmmm.. Remember when.. Our ex-Shark update spotlight falls on Craig Janney. Janney started out in Boston, went to St.Louis, got into Mike Keenan's doghouse, and traded to the Sharks for Jeff Norton. During his brief tenure with San Jose, he was known for his disruption and bad attitude in the locker room, and was booed all around by the fans for performing the same move over and over again as he got into the opposition's zone -- the infamous pass between his legs to the "phantom" player behind him. Janney was thankfully traded to Winnipeg for Darren Turcotte, moved to Phoenix when the Jets went south, somehow played his way off the 1st line with Roenick & Tkachuk, traded to Tampa to play on their first line, and then this year was told by Tampa coach Jacques Demers to take a hike while he worked on a trade. Finally, he was traded to the Islanders, where he now sits on a regular basis in the press box as a healthy scratch. We in San Jose can only look at the Islanders and ask ourselves - maybe Mike Milbury is the only GM worse than Dean Lombardi!! The Morgan Stuart Award Named after my really cool, really sweet, and really wonderful God-daughter, the award goes to the best Sharks player during the last two weeks. Candidates include Patty "Goal Machine" Marleau, Alex Korolyuk, Andrei Zyuzin, and Ronnie Stern. But this week's winner is Steve Shields, who in the absence of Mike Vernon, delivered five wins, including a shutout of Detroit. Plus he was named NHL Player of the week. Congrats to Steve, and in his honor, could we ask Sharks management to come up with a better chant other than "Shields, Shields, Shields!" And those who came back for more punishment.. Bob Errey, Jeff Norton, Jamie Baker and Jarrod Skalde are Sharks who were Sharks, then ex-Sharks, and came back. Errey captained the Sharks during their 1st playoff season, was traded to Detroit, and eventually returned to San Jose. Norton was traded during the Sharks 2nd playoff season to St. Louis, and was traded back this season from Florida. Baker was traded to Toronto for the "speedy" Todd Gill, and played one game in Japan this season before being put on waivers. Skalde was with the Sharks, claimed off waivers by Dallas when the Sharks attempted to send him to Kentucky, then claimed by Chicago when Dallas tried to send him to their minor league affiliate, and then claimed back by San Jose when Chicago tried to send him to their minor league team. Got that? If you would like to send comments, please send them to hkshark.netscape.net PS. Happy Birthday to Annabelle and Maella. ================================================================ NEXT ISSUE: Wednesday, April 7. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Player Stats through March 21 ---------------------------------------------------------------- TEAM P NO PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG ANA R 8 Selanne, Teemu 63 40 47 87 10 26 23 0 6 1 231 17.3 ANA L 9 Kariya, Paul 70 30 55 85 9 36 8 2 3 0 376 8.0 ANA C 20 Rucchin, Steve 66 23 37 60 12 22 5 1 5 1 143 16.1 ANA C 16 McInnis, Marty 70 18 31 49 -13 36 10 1 5 0 130 13.8 ANA D 2 Olausson, Fredrik 62 14 33 47 11 28 9 0 2 0 107 13.1 ANA C 39 Green, Travis 67 12 15 27 -2 77 3 1 1 0 139 8.6 ANA R 17 Sandstrom, Tomas 46 11 15 26 -2 36 5 0 2 0 89 12.4 ANA C 11 Cullen, Matt 63 8 12 20 -15 47 4 1 0 0 87 9.2 ANA D 24 Salei, Ruslan 62 2 11 13 -5 57 1 0 0 0 112 1.8 ANA C 18 Drury, Ted 63 5 6 11 7 42 0 0 0 0 61 8.2 ANA D 23 Marshall, Jason 63 1 8 9 -1 130 0 0 0 0 58 1.7 ANA C 22 *Davidsson, Johan 54 3 4 7 -8 12 1 0 1 0 46 6.5 ANA C 14 *Aalto, Antti 61 3 4 7 -10 18 2 0 0 0 50 6.0 ANA R 19 Nielsen, Jeff 68 3 4 7 -6 24 0 0 2 0 78 3.8 ANA L 33 McKenzie, Jim 61 3 3 6 -15 79 1 0 1 0 47 6.4 ANA D 25 *Crowley, Mike M 20 2 3 5 -10 16 1 0 1 0 41 4.9 ANA D 27 *Trepanier, Pascal 42 2 3 5 -1 46 0 0 1 0 47 4.3 ANA D 5 Haller, Kevin 70 1 3 4 3 106 0 0 0 0 54 1.9 ANA L 32 Grimson, Stu 62 3 0 3 2 141 0 0 1 0 9 33.3 ANA D 7 Trnka, Pavel 54 0 3 3 0 54 0 0 0 0 45 0.0 ANA D 4 Pushor, Jamie 60 1 1 2 -14 90 0 0 0 0 59 1.7 ANA D 34 Trebil, Dan 3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 ANA L 12 *LeClerc, Mike M 6 0 0 0 -2 4 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 BOS L 12 Khristich, Dmitri 68 27 39 66 11 46 11 1 4 1 131 20.6 BOS C 41 Allison, Jason 69 21 44 65 1 49 5 1 3 0 144 14.6 BOS D 77 Bourque, Ray 68 8 39 47 -4 32 6 0 3 0 228 3.5 BOS L 14 Samsonov, Sergei 66 21 24 45 -6 18 5 0 6 1 135 15.6 BOS C 6 Thornton, Joe 69 12 21 33 2 69 5 0 1 0 107 11.2 BOS R 23 Heinze, Steve 60 18 13 31 4 30 5 0 3 0 129 14.0 BOS C 33 Carter, Anson 42 16 13 29 -1 14 5 0 3 0 89 18.0 BOS C 19 DiMaio, Rob 61 5 14 19 -11 86 1 0 0 0 105 4.8 BOS D 20 Van Impe, Darren 51 5 13 18 -8 55 4 0 0 0 88 5.7 BOS L 11 Axelsson, P.J. 65 7 10 17 -10 14 0 0 2 0 122 5.7 BOS D 18 McLaren, Kyle 40 6 11 17 -1 44 3 0 0 0 80 7.5 BOS C 42 Ferraro, Peter M 45 6 8 14 10 44 1 0 1 0 60 10.0 BOS D 36 Ledyard, Grant 39 4 8 12 -8 27 1 0 2 0 43 9.3 BOS C 26 Taylor, Tim 37 4 6 10 -6 33 0 0 1 0 59 6.8 BOS D 32 Sweeney, Don 69 2 8 10 10 58 0 0 0 0 67 3.0 BOS C 38 Taylor, Chris M 37 3 5 8 -3 12 0 1 0 0 60 5.0 BOS D 25 Gill, Hal 69 2 6 8 -7 53 0 0 1 0 89 2.2 BOS R 10 *Mann, Cameron 23 5 2 7 -3 8 1 0 1 1 32 15.6 BOS C 17 *Bates, Shawn M 25 3 4 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 23 13.0 BOS L 16 Belanger, Ken 47 2 4 6 -1 154 0 0 0 0 19 10.5 BOS D 44 Ellett, Dave 48 0 6 6 11 25 0 0 0 0 41 0.0 BOS D 37 Timander, Mattias 13 0 5 5 1 4 0 0 0 0 14 0.0 BOS R 27 Wilson, Landon 10 1 2 3 1 11 0 0 0 0 15 6.7 BOS L 57 *Laaksonen, Antti M 11 1 2 3 -1 2 0 0 0 0 8 12.5 BOS L 22 Baumgartner, Ken 62 1 2 3 -6 104 0 0 0 1 12 8.3 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 M 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 67 33 25 58 22 38 10 3 4 0 175 18.9 BUF L 18 Grosek, Michal 68 19 29 48 20 95 4 0 3 0 127 15.0 BUF C 27 Peca, Michael 68 26 19 45 0 56 10 0 7 1 170 15.3 BUF C 37 Brown, Curtis 65 16 29 45 27 44 5 1 3 3 112 14.3 BUF R 15 Ward, Dixon 67 16 22 38 6 38 2 1 3 0 87 18.4 BUF D 5 Woolley, Jason 67 6 29 35 16 52 2 0 1 1 139 4.3 BUF C 41 Barnes, Stu 67 20 13 33 -11 22 13 0 3 0 165 12.1 BUF C 19 Holzinger, Brian 67 17 14 31 5 35 5 0 2 0 125 13.6 BUF D 44 Zhitnik, Alexei 67 6 22 28 -9 80 2 1 2 0 150 4.0 BUF L 80 Sanderson, Geoff 63 10 16 26 5 18 1 0 1 0 128 7.8 BUF R 25 Varada, Vaclav 58 7 18 25 5 49 1 0 1 0 96 7.3 BUF D 8 Shannon, Darryl 63 3 13 16 24 52 1 0 0 1 75 4.0 BUF C 26 Plante, Derek 41 4 11 15 3 12 0 0 0 0 66 6.1 BUF D 42 Smehlik, Richard 58 1 10 11 -11 40 0 0 0 0 48 2.1 BUF C 22 Primeau, Wayne 53 4 6 10 -8 36 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 43 1 6 7 12 16 0 0 0 0 31 3.2 BUF D 74 McKee, Jay 58 0 6 6 16 65 0 0 0 0 46 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 30 1 2 3 10 47 0 0 1 0 40 2.5 BUF R 32 Ray, Rob 62 0 3 3 -2 216 0 0 0 0 21 0.0 BUF L 24 Kruse, Paul 34 2 0 2 -1 103 0 0 0 0 26 7.7 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-Luc 8 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 8 0.0 CGY C 16 Stillman, Cory 63 23 25 48 13 32 8 3 4 1 148 15.5 CGY D 6 Housley, Phil 69 9 39 48 15 48 3 0 1 0 162 5.6 CGY R 8 Bure, Valeri 67 21 24 45 9 22 6 0 3 0 202 10.4 CGY R 12 Iginla, Jarome 69 24 18 42 8 58 6 0 3 1 163 14.7 CGY C 21 Cassels, Andrew 57 11 20 31 -4 14 4 1 3 0 76 14.5 CGY D 53 Morris, Derek 58 6 25 31 7 71 2 0 2 1 126 4.8 CGY C 11 Shantz, Jeff 67 13 16 29 15 38 1 1 3 0 77 16.9 CGY L 20 Corbet, Rene 61 12 17 29 7 62 2 0 1 0 107 11.2 CGY C 24 Wiemer, Jason 69 6 13 19 -14 171 0 0 1 0 113 5.3 CGY D 55 Smith, Steve 67 1 14 15 5 78 0 0 0 0 42 2.4 CGY L 62 Nazarov, Andrei 49 7 7 14 3 65 0 0 2 1 53 13.2 CGY C 23 *Wilm, Clarke 65 7 7 14 8 51 1 2 0 0 77 9.1 CGY D 32 Hulse, Cale 66 3 9 12 -3 103 0 0 0 0 71 4.2 CGY C 18 Dubinsky, Steve 55 4 7 11 -7 12 0 2 0 0 59 6.8 CGY D 27 Simpson, Todd 68 2 7 9 18 145 0 0 0 0 46 4.3 CGY R 42 Ward, Ed 57 3 5 8 -2 63 0 0 0 0 44 6.8 CGY D 5 Albelin, Tommy 48 1 5 6 -6 6 0 0 0 0 34 2.9 CGY D 3 *Gauthier, Denis 44 3 2 5 5 35 0 0 0 0 31 9.7 CGY C 25 Roche, Dave 29 2 3 5 -1 31 1 0 2 0 25 8.0 CGY C 17 Domenichelli, Hnat 13 3 0 3 -4 11 2 0 0 0 30 10.0 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 26 *Landry, Eric M 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 CGY D 19 O'Sullivan, Chris 10 0 1 1 -1 2 0 0 0 0 10 0.0 CGY C 44 *Fata, Rico R 20 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 13 0.0 CGY R 22 *Thompson, Rocky R 3 0 0 0 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 CGY D 38 Charron, Eric 4 0 0 0 -1 6 0 0 0 0 3 0.0 CGY D *Belak, Wade 22 0 0 0 -2 71 0 0 0 0 5 0.0 CAR C 55 Primeau, Keith 69 27 31 58 9 65 9 1 5 1 163 16.6 CAR R 26 Sheppard, Ray 64 22 30 52 3 12 5 0 4 1 168 13.1 CAR L 24 Kapanen, Sami 69 22 28 50 -2 6 5 0 6 0 203 10.8 CAR C 21 Francis, Ron 70 16 25 41 -10 24 6 0 1 1 111 14.4 CAR L 10 Roberts, Gary 66 11 27 38 -3 139 0 0 4 0 120 9.2 CAR R 51 Kovalenko, Andrei 62 16 16 32 -9 32 2 0 4 1 92 17.4 CAR C 92 O'Neill, Jeff 63 13 12 25 3 64 3 0 1 0 97 13.4 CAR L 23 Gelinas, Martin 68 12 13 25 3 65 0 0 2 1 98 12.2 CAR D 2 Wesley, Glen 70 6 16 22 13 42 0 0 2 0 109 5.5 CAR L 18 Kron, Robert 64 8 13 21 -10 10 3 1 1 0 113 7.1 CAR R 11 Dineen, Kevin R 55 8 9 17 5 73 0 0 1 0 77 10.4 CAR L 28 Ranheim, Paul 66 8 9 17 6 27 0 2 1 0 55 14.5 CAR L 44 Manderville, Kent 69 5 10 15 12 34 0 0 0 0 64 7.8 CAR L 13 Battaglia, Bates 52 5 9 14 5 20 0 0 0 1 43 11.6 CAR D 77 Coffey, Paul 42 2 10 12 -10 24 1 0 0 0 65 3.1 CAR D 4 Pratt, Nolan 49 1 11 12 12 72 0 0 1 0 37 2.7 CAR D 3 Chiasson, Steve R 24 1 8 9 6 12 1 0 0 0 65 1.5 CAR D 5 Malik, Marek 41 1 8 9 -1 28 0 0 0 0 29 3.4 CAR D 7 Leschyshyn, Curtis 59 2 6 8 3 50 0 0 0 0 32 6.3 CAR D 22 Hill, Sean 48 0 7 7 3 40 0 0 0 0 41 0.0 CAR D 33 Karpa, David 25 0 2 2 3 37 0 0 0 0 15 0.0 CAR D 14 *Halko, Steve 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 M 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 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.0 CHI R 10 Amonte, Tony 70 36 25 61 -4 50 12 3 5 0 219 16.4 CHI C 93 Gilmour, Doug 70 16 39 55 -15 54 7 1 4 0 107 15.0 CHI C 36 Zhamnov, Alex 64 16 31 47 -14 34 6 1 1 1 180 8.9 CHI D 3 Mironov, Boris 64 11 30 41 6 109 5 0 4 1 145 7.6 CHI R 11 Emerson, Nelson 62 12 23 35 9 49 3 0 1 2 178 6.7 CHI D 7 Chelios, Chris 65 8 26 34 -4 89 2 1 0 1 172 4.7 CHI L 55 Daze, Eric 60 15 16 31 -18 20 6 0 1 2 151 9.9 CHI C 34 McAmmond, Dean 66 10 17 27 6 36 1 0 1 0 124 8.1 CHI D 22 Manson, Dave 63 3 15 18 -4 121 2 0 0 0 125 2.4 CHI C 16 Olczyk, Ed 49 7 8 15 -5 25 0 1 2 0 73 9.6 CHI L 24 Probert, Bob 66 3 12 15 -14 175 0 0 1 0 73 4.1 CHI C 26 *White, Todd M 35 5 8 13 -1 20 2 0 0 0 43 11.6 CHI D 4 Zmolek, Doug 53 0 12 12 2 91 0 0 0 0 26 0.0 CHI L 33 Simpson, Reid 41 3 3 6 2 115 0 0 0 0 13 23.1 CHI L 23 Leroux, Jean-Yves 28 2 4 6 -6 14 0 0 0 0 33 6.1 CHI D 2 *Brown, Brad 54 1 5 6 -6 159 0 0 0 1 20 5.0 CHI R 17 *Dumont, J.P. 15 4 1 5 1 6 0 0 1 0 16 25.0 CHI C 44 Marha, Josef 20 2 2 4 -4 0 1 0 1 0 25 8.0 CHI D 37 *Muir, Bryan 45 1 3 4 3 46 0 0 0 0 70 1.4 CHI D 38 Allison, Jamie 30 1 2 3 -2 56 0 0 0 0 19 5.3 CHI C 20 Janssens, Mark 54 1 0 1 -10 65 0 0 0 0 25 4.0 CHI C 14 *Cloutier, Sylvain 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 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 32 Bicanek, Radim 9 0 0 0 -3 4 0 0 0 0 8 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 66 23 62 85 22 88 7 1 4 0 184 12.5 COL C 19 Sakic, Joe 61 35 44 79 12 27 10 5 6 1 224 15.6 COL R 14 Fleury, Theo 63 33 40 73 17 70 7 3 3 2 262 12.6 COL R 18 Deadmarsh, Adam 62 21 27 48 -3 86 10 0 3 1 143 14.7 COL R 22 Lemieux, Claude 70 24 20 44 -5 90 11 0 8 1 265 9.1 COL L 13 Kamensky, Valeri R 65 14 30 44 1 28 2 0 2 0 123 11.4 COL C 37 *Drury, Chris 67 18 20 38 8 58 6 0 2 1 116 15.5 COL R 23 *Hejduk, Milan 70 12 23 35 2 24 4 0 5 0 158 7.6 COL D 8 Ozolinsh, Sandis 28 4 19 23 5 14 2 0 1 0 58 6.9 COL R 12 Donovan, Shean 61 7 11 18 6 33 1 0 1 0 77 9.1 COL D 2 Lefebvre, Sylvain 64 2 16 18 16 44 0 0 0 0 56 3.6 COL D 52 Foote, Adam 52 4 13 17 11 82 2 0 0 0 72 5.6 COL C 26 Yelle, Stephane 60 7 7 14 -6 34 1 0 0 0 86 8.1 COL D 3 Miller, Aaron 65 4 10 14 0 40 1 0 1 0 73 5.5 COL D 5 Gusarov, Alexei 44 1 9 10 5 18 0 0 0 0 22 4.5 COL L 25 Podein, Shjon 44 1 4 5 -5 20 0 0 0 0 57 1.8 COL D 29 Messier, Eric 25 2 2 4 -1 14 1 0 1 0 24 8.3 COL D 7 de Vries, Greg 61 1 3 4 -8 58 0 0 0 0 52 1.9 COL R 36 Odgers, Jeff 63 2 1 3 -3 215 1 0 0 0 33 6.1 COL D 24 Klemm, Jon 34 1 2 3 5 29 0 0 0 0 25 4.0 COL D 4 Russell, Cam 42 1 2 3 -4 94 0 0 0 0 15 6.7 COL R 17 *Matte, Christian 7 1 1 2 -2 0 0 0 0 0 9 11.1 COL L 16 Rychel, Warren 21 0 2 2 1 49 0 0 0 0 9 0.0 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 L 6 Dingman, Chris 3 0 0 0 -2 24 0 0 0 0 1 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 69 32 44 76 28 42 6 4 7 1 205 15.6 DAL R 22 Hull, Brett 48 26 22 48 17 26 12 0 9 0 151 17.2 DAL C 25 Nieuwendyk, Joe 57 21 25 46 6 28 7 0 5 1 132 15.9 DAL R 26 Lehtinen, Jere 64 18 28 46 28 18 7 1 2 0 149 12.1 DAL D 5 Sydor, Darryl 61 13 30 43 -3 31 8 0 2 1 135 9.6 DAL D 56 Zubov, Sergei 69 9 30 39 5 20 4 0 2 0 136 6.6 DAL C 15 Langenbrunner, Jamie 64 11 27 38 10 52 4 0 1 0 121 9.1 DAL R 16 Verbeek, Pat 69 16 15 31 12 112 7 0 2 1 118 13.6 DAL C Hogue, Benoit 62 11 14 25 -12 50 2 0 3 0 101 10.9 DAL R 29 Marshall, Grant 69 11 14 25 3 68 2 0 3 0 90 12.2 DAL D 2 Hatcher, Derian 69 8 17 25 22 83 2 0 2 0 107 7.5 DAL C 41 Hrkac, Tony 61 11 12 23 5 26 2 0 2 2 58 19.0 DAL R 12 Keane, Mike 68 3 19 22 4 54 1 1 1 0 84 3.6 DAL L 14 Reid, Dave 65 5 11 16 1 12 0 0 0 0 70 7.1 DAL C 21 Carbonneau, Guy 64 3 12 15 -4 25 0 0 2 0 51 5.9 DAL D 24 Matvichuk, Richard 64 3 9 12 23 51 1 0 0 0 54 5.6 DAL D 27 Chambers, Shawn R 58 2 8 10 5 18 1 0 1 0 76 2.6 DAL D 3 Ludwig, Craig 67 2 4 6 10 77 0 0 0 0 34 5.9 DAL C 10 Skrudland, Brian R 37 4 1 5 2 33 0 0 1 0 30 13.3 DAL L 17 Severyn, Brent 26 1 2 3 -1 43 0 0 0 0 18 5.6 DAL D 37 *Lukowich, Brad M 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 DAL C 39 *Fairchild, Kelly M 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.0 DAL D 33 Lidster, Doug 6 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 4 0.0 DAL R 11 *Sloan, Blake 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 DAL C 23 Gavey, Aaron M 7 0 0 0 -1 10 0 0 0 0 4 0.0 DAL L 46 *Wright, Jamie 11 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 0 0 10 0.0 DAL L 28 *Botterill, Jason M 17 0 0 0 -2 23 0 0 0 0 8 0.0 DET C 19 Yzerman, Steve 69 26 37 63 2 40 12 2 3 0 210 12.4 DET C 8 Larionov, Igor 67 14 42 56 9 44 4 2 2 1 77 18.2 DET L 14 Shanahan, Brendan 70 27 25 52 -3 119 5 0 5 0 261 10.3 DET D 5 Lidstrom, Nicklas 70 12 37 49 9 10 6 2 3 0 178 6.7 DET C 13 Kozlov, Vyacheslav 67 23 25 48 5 39 3 0 3 2 187 12.3 DET C 91 Fedorov, Sergei 65 20 28 48 3 54 5 2 2 0 190 10.5 DET D 55 Murphy, Larry 69 9 36 45 15 42 4 1 2 0 145 6.2 DET R 25 McCarty, Darren 66 14 26 40 8 104 6 0 1 1 136 10.3 DET R 20 Lapointe, Martin 66 15 13 28 6 132 7 1 3 0 133 11.3 DET L 96 Holmstrom, Tomas 70 11 16 27 -16 58 5 0 4 0 90 12.2 DET R 17 Brown, Doug 69 8 14 22 -1 38 3 1 1 0 158 5.1 DET C 33 Draper, Kris 68 4 12 16 1 71 0 1 1 0 67 6.0 DET R 18 Maltby, Kirk 43 6 6 12 -7 22 0 1 1 0 60 10.0 DET D 44 Eriksson, Anders 61 2 10 12 5 34 0 0 1 0 67 3.0 DET C 23 *Roest, Stacy 51 3 8 11 -6 12 0 0 1 0 43 7.0 DET D 11 Dandenault, Mathieu 63 3 8 11 12 53 0 0 0 0 82 3.7 DET D 27 Ward, Aaron 48 3 6 9 -7 48 0 0 0 0 40 7.5 DET D 15 Gill, Todd 43 3 5 8 -14 22 1 0 0 1 56 5.4 DET D 34 Macoun, Jamie 62 1 7 8 -6 32 0 0 0 0 55 1.8 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 12 1 0 1 -3 2 0 0 1 0 11 9.1 DET D 3 Houda, Doug 3 0 1 1 -2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 DET D 28 *Golubovsky, Yan 17 0 1 1 4 16 0 0 0 0 10 0.0 DET L 41 Gilchrist, Brent 2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 DET C 21 *Laplante, Darryl 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 69 28 28 56 8 125 12 0 1 1 218 12.8 EDM L 20 Beranek, Josef 59 19 25 44 4 15 7 0 2 0 137 13.9 EDM R 10 Falloon, Pat 69 16 18 34 -1 18 8 0 2 0 133 12.0 EDM R 25 Grier, Mike 69 13 18 31 -1 44 0 1 0 0 118 11.0 EDM C 26 Marchant, Todd 69 11 18 29 1 57 3 1 1 0 155 7.1 EDM R 28 Selivanov, Alexander AL65 12 16 28 -9 32 1 0 1 0 164 7.3 EDM D 22 Hamrlik, Roman 63 7 21 28 2 48 2 0 0 0 142 4.9 EDM C 39 Weight, Doug 31 3 25 28 -7 8 0 0 0 0 49 6.1 EDM L 17 Murray, Rem 65 13 13 26 1 18 2 0 3 0 89 14.6 EDM C 15 Kilger, Chad 65 14 11 25 -2 30 2 1 1 1 68 20.6 EDM D 44 Niinimaa, Janne 68 4 20 24 11 80 2 0 1 0 118 3.4 EDM L 94 Smyth, Ryan R 61 9 14 23 -1 54 3 0 2 2 141 6.4 EDM L 18 Moreau, Ethan 67 9 9 18 -2 86 0 0 1 0 83 10.8 EDM D 5 *Poti, Tom 61 3 11 14 6 40 2 0 1 0 74 4.1 EDM C 19 Devereaux, Boyd 52 6 7 13 1 21 0 1 4 1 36 16.7 EDM D Laflamme, Christian ALL62 2 11 13 0 70 0 0 0 0 53 3.8 EDM L *Cleary, Dan 35 4 5 9 -1 24 0 0 0 0 49 8.2 EDM R 16 Buchberger, Kelly 39 4 3 7 -3 59 0 2 1 0 25 16.0 EDM R 42 Brown, Kevin 12 4 2 6 -2 0 2 0 0 0 13 30.8 EDM R 27 *Laraque, Georges 32 3 2 5 0 53 0 0 0 0 15 20.0 EDM D 46 Reirden, Todd M 17 2 3 5 -1 20 0 0 0 0 26 7.7 EDM D 33 McSorley, Marty 41 2 3 5 -6 82 0 0 0 0 27 7.4 EDM D 23 *Brown, Sean 45 0 5 5 1 162 0 0 0 0 24 0.0 EDM D 32 *Millar, Craig M 24 0 2 2 -6 19 0 0 0 0 18 0.0 EDM D 8 Musil, Frank 32 0 2 2 1 28 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 28 Huard, Bill R 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 EDM L 15 *LaCouture, Dan M 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 EDM L 21 Lacroix, Daniel 4 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 5 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 68 22 31 53 -4 14 6 0 6 1 157 14.0 FLA C 44 Niedermayer, Rob 69 18 28 46 -5 50 6 1 3 2 122 14.8 FLA C 25 Kozlov, Viktor 59 15 31 46 10 20 5 1 1 0 195 7.7 FLA R 27 Mellanby, Scott 55 16 20 36 3 71 4 0 3 3 109 14.7 FLA R 19 Dvorak, Radek 69 13 19 32 0 27 0 3 0 0 147 8.8 FLA D 24 Svehla, Robert 67 7 25 32 -7 64 3 0 0 1 138 5.1 FLA L 21 *Parrish, Mark 60 18 12 30 0 23 5 0 4 0 110 16.4 FLA L 11 Lindsay, Bill 69 12 14 26 -2 86 0 1 2 0 129 9.3 FLA L 16 *Kvasha, Oleg 64 12 11 23 4 41 4 0 2 1 131 9.2 FLA D 4 Hedican, Bret 62 4 15 19 2 44 0 2 1 1 85 4.7 FLA R 10 Bure, Pavel R 11 13 3 16 3 4 5 1 0 1 44 29.5 FLA L 29 Garpenlov, Johan 55 5 8 13 -5 40 0 0 0 1 61 8.2 FLA L 9 Muller, Kirk 69 2 10 12 -9 40 0 0 0 0 86 2.3 FLA D 8 *Spacek, Jaroslav 53 3 8 11 9 26 2 1 0 0 72 4.2 FLA D 3 Laus, Paul 68 1 9 10 2 210 0 0 0 0 48 2.1 FLA D 2 Carkner, Terry 52 1 7 8 0 43 0 0 0 0 17 5.9 FLA R 22 Ciccarelli, Dino R 14 6 1 7 -1 27 5 0 1 0 23 26.1 FLA L 28 *Worrell, Peter 49 3 4 7 -1 206 0 0 2 0 33 9.1 FLA D 7 Warrener, Rhett 48 0 7 7 -1 64 0 0 0 0 33 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 43 0 6 6 -1 53 0 0 0 0 42 0.0 FLA D 26 *Boyle, Dan 9 1 3 4 -2 2 0 0 0 0 6 16.7 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 R 10 *Nilson, Marcus M 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 FLA C 23 Wells, Chris 7 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 8 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 70 32 33 65 -2 44 9 0 7 0 243 13.2 LAK R 10 Audette, Donald 39 17 15 32 3 51 6 0 2 0 119 14.3 LAK R 27 Murray, Glen 51 16 15 31 -8 28 3 3 3 0 146 11.0 LAK C 15 Stumpel, Jozef 57 12 18 30 -17 10 1 0 1 0 120 10.0 LAK D 4 Blake, Rob 52 10 20 30 -2 124 4 1 2 0 184 5.4 LAK C 44 Perreault, Yanic 64 10 17 27 -3 30 2 2 1 0 113 8.8 LAK C 26 Ferraro, Ray 53 10 14 24 4 55 2 0 2 0 60 16.7 LAK D 28 Duchesne, Steve R 60 4 19 23 -6 22 1 0 1 0 99 4.0 LAK L 9 Tsyplakov, Vladimir 58 8 11 19 -4 32 0 2 1 0 91 8.8 LAK C 12 *Jokinen, Olli 54 7 8 15 -7 37 3 1 0 0 71 9.9 LAK L 23 Johnson, Craig 58 6 9 15 -7 28 2 0 2 0 82 7.3 LAK R 19 Courtnall, Russ 46 5 10 15 -2 17 0 1 1 0 63 7.9 LAK D 3 Galley, Garry 54 4 11 15 -6 28 3 0 0 0 66 6.1 LAK R 55 *Rosa, Pavel M 21 4 10 14 1 4 0 0 0 0 42 9.5 LAK D 8 Bodger, Doug 54 2 10 12 -1 20 0 0 0 0 53 3.8 LAK D 6 O'Donnell, Sean 70 1 11 12 3 153 0 0 0 0 57 1.8 LAK C 22 Laperriere, Ian 60 2 8 10 -5 132 0 0 1 0 51 3.9 LAK C 11 Convery, Brandon 15 2 7 9 4 12 0 0 1 0 14 14.3 LAK D 43 Boucher, Philippe 37 2 6 8 -12 30 1 0 0 0 74 2.7 LAK D 14 Norstrom, Mattias 70 2 4 6 -3 34 0 1 0 0 54 3.7 LAK C 45 Moger, Sandy 37 3 2 5 -9 24 0 0 2 0 24 12.5 LAK R 24 LaFayette, Nathan 33 2 2 4 0 35 0 1 1 0 42 4.8 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 C 29 Pronger, Sean 29 0 4 4 -1 8 0 0 0 0 14 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 12 0 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 0 6 0.0 MTL C 11 Koivu, Saku 54 13 24 37 -6 30 4 2 0 0 122 10.7 MTL C 25 Damphousse, Vincent 64 12 24 36 -7 46 3 2 2 0 142 8.5 MTL D 38 Malakhov, Vladimir 58 13 21 34 -5 77 8 0 3 0 136 9.6 MTL L 17 Brunet, Benoit 59 14 17 31 -1 31 4 2 0 0 113 12.4 MTL L 27 Corson, Shayne 56 12 18 30 -6 98 7 0 4 0 130 9.2 MTL L 26 Rucinsky, Martin 60 15 14 29 -18 42 5 0 1 0 151 9.9 MTL L 37 Poulin, Patrick 68 8 16 24 7 19 0 1 1 0 78 10.3 MTL D 5 Quintal, Stephane 69 7 16 23 -13 60 1 1 3 0 130 5.4 MTL R 23 Stevenson, Turner 56 7 14 21 8 75 0 0 2 1 87 8.0 MTL L 49 Savage, Brian 41 10 8 18 -11 14 3 0 3 1 87 11.5 MTL C 34 Zholtok, Sergei 60 7 11 18 -8 6 2 0 3 0 87 8.0 MTL D 22 Weinrich, Eric 67 5 13 18 -24 64 2 0 1 0 99 5.1 MTL R 44 Hoglund, Jonas 62 8 8 16 -6 12 1 0 0 1 101 7.9 MTL R 21 Dawe, Jason 54 4 8 12 1 22 0 0 0 0 68 5.9 MTL D 43 Brisebois, Patrice R 50 3 9 12 -7 28 1 0 1 0 86 3.5 MTL D 20 Lachance, Scott 63 2 9 11 -17 30 1 0 0 0 45 4.4 MTL R 28 Zubrus, Dainius 67 4 6 10 -6 25 0 1 1 0 58 6.9 MTL D 52 Rivet, Craig 59 2 8 10 0 64 0 0 0 0 32 6.3 MTL C 24 Thornton, Scott 35 5 3 8 2 79 0 0 0 1 36 13.9 MTL D 55 Ulanov, Igor 63 3 5 8 -1 83 0 0 0 0 45 6.7 MTL D 29 Clark, Brett 52 2 2 4 -1 16 0 0 0 0 31 6.5 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 R 45 *Asham, Aaron M 5 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 MTL L 53 *Blouin, Sylvain M 5 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 0 1 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 36 0 0 0 -1 19 0 0 0 0 17 0.0 NSH C 7 Ronning, Cliff 68 19 34 53 1 38 10 0 4 0 220 8.6 NSH C 22 Johnson, Greg 61 15 32 47 -7 20 2 3 0 0 111 13.5 NSH R 25 Krivokrasov, Sergei 58 22 20 42 0 34 9 0 5 1 165 13.3 NSH C 71 Bordeleau, Sebastien 63 15 21 36 -15 24 1 2 3 0 144 10.4 NSH C 24 Walker, Scott 59 12 21 33 1 97 0 1 1 0 83 14.5 NSH L 10 Kjellberg, Patric 68 11 20 31 -13 24 2 0 2 0 103 10.7 NSH L 19 Brunette, Andrew 65 10 18 28 -5 22 6 0 1 0 58 17.2 NSH R 21 Fitzgerald, Tom 68 11 16 27 -22 40 0 0 1 0 144 7.6 NSH D 20 Heward, Jamie R 54 6 12 18 -21 44 4 0 1 0 114 5.3 NSH L 28 Lambert, Denny 64 5 11 16 -3 179 1 0 0 0 52 9.6 NSH R 43 Yachmenev, Vitali 43 7 8 15 -7 10 0 1 2 0 63 11.1 NSH R 23 Atcheynum, Blair 53 8 6 14 -10 16 2 0 1 0 70 11.4 NSH D 42 Bouchard, Joel 52 3 10 13 -6 55 0 0 0 0 64 4.7 NSH D 27 Slaney, John 43 2 11 13 -11 12 0 0 1 0 81 2.5 NSH D 15 Berehowsky, Drake 62 0 13 13 -15 117 0 0 0 0 63 0.0 NSH L 16 Peltonen, Ville R 14 5 5 10 1 2 1 0 0 0 31 16.1 NSH D 6 Boughner, Bob 67 3 7 10 -4 113 0 0 1 0 54 5.6 NSH D 5 Vopat, Jan 44 5 4 9 4 22 0 0 0 0 39 12.8 NSH C 9 Turcotte, Darren R 40 4 5 9 -11 16 0 0 1 0 73 5.5 NSH D 44 *Timonen, Kimmo 38 0 6 6 -6 26 0 0 0 0 56 0.0 NSH L 32 Daniels, Jeff M 9 1 3 4 -1 2 0 0 0 0 8 12.5 NSH R 18 *Mowers, Mark 25 0 4 4 -3 4 0 0 0 0 21 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 58 0 2 2 -5 195 0 0 0 0 14 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 Keczmer, Dan 26 0 1 1 -4 26 0 0 0 0 15 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 66 23 35 58 11 18 11 0 5 0 173 13.3 NJD L 16 Holik, Bobby 66 23 29 52 12 111 4 0 6 0 214 10.7 NJD C 14 Rolston, Brian 68 19 25 44 2 14 4 4 2 0 170 11.2 NJD C 25 Arnott, Jason 63 22 21 43 6 59 7 0 3 0 158 13.9 NJD L 26 Elias, Patrik 60 13 26 39 15 28 2 0 2 0 104 12.5 NJD D 27 Niedermayer, Scott 58 8 30 38 14 20 1 1 1 0 123 6.5 NJD C 9 *Morrison, Brendan 62 12 25 37 -6 18 5 0 2 0 88 13.6 NJD R 21 McKay, Randy 58 15 14 29 11 127 3 0 4 0 119 12.6 NJD D 4 Stevens, Scott 64 5 21 26 26 54 0 0 1 0 94 5.3 NJD D 24 Odelein, Lyle 65 4 22 26 2 105 1 0 0 1 91 4.4 NJD L 20 Pandolfo, Jay 65 14 11 25 3 10 1 1 4 0 98 14.3 NJD R 8 *Sharifijanov, Vadim 43 8 15 23 8 16 0 0 2 0 59 13.6 NJD L 23 Andreychuk, Dave 39 11 11 22 -1 16 3 0 3 1 87 12.6 NJD C 10 Pederson, Denis 67 11 11 22 -5 52 3 0 1 0 133 8.3 NJD L 29 Oliwa, Krzysztof 54 5 6 11 4 195 0 0 1 0 49 10.2 NJD C 18 Brylin, Sergei 35 4 7 11 4 20 2 0 1 0 36 11.1 NJD D 3 Daneyko, Ken 68 2 7 9 20 57 0 0 0 0 52 3.8 NJD D 28 Dean, Kevin 50 0 7 7 -1 16 0 0 0 0 37 0.0 NJD C 19 Carpenter, Bob 48 1 5 6 -3 34 0 0 0 0 56 1.8 NJD D 2 Souray, Sheldon 56 1 5 6 1 89 0 0 0 0 70 1.4 NJD D 6 Bombardir, Brad 45 0 4 4 -6 12 0 0 0 0 38 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 32 Linden, Trevor 71 14 24 38 -14 30 7 1 1 0 146 9.6 NYI R 16 Palffy, Zigmund 39 17 19 36 -4 30 4 0 0 0 132 12.9 NYI C 13 Lapointe, Claude 71 13 22 35 -15 52 2 2 1 0 111 11.7 NYI C 20 Smolinski, Bryan 71 15 18 33 -7 38 7 0 3 0 197 7.6 NYI R 25 Czerkawski, Mariusz 67 14 13 27 -11 12 4 0 0 2 173 8.1 NYI C 11 Janney, Craig 56 5 22 27 -15 14 2 0 0 1 45 11.1 NYI D 29 Jonsson, Kenny 53 8 18 26 -11 30 6 0 0 0 74 10.8 NYI R 44 Lawrence, Mark 49 12 11 23 -6 26 4 0 2 1 73 16.4 NYI L 12 *Watt, Mike 65 6 15 21 -1 10 0 0 3 0 60 10.0 NYI C 10 Lindgren, Mats 49 5 12 17 4 22 0 1 0 0 53 9.4 NYI C 17 Nemchinov, Sergei 67 8 8 16 -17 22 1 0 0 0 61 13.1 NYI D 38 Richter, Barry 61 6 10 16 -9 28 0 0 2 0 99 6.1 NYI D 4 *Brewer, Eric 56 3 6 9 -13 28 0 0 0 0 56 5.4 NYI R Isbister, Brad 32 4 4 8 1 46 0 0 2 0 48 8.3 NYI D 6 Harlock, David 59 2 6 8 -15 58 0 0 0 0 30 6.7 NYI L 24 Odjick, Gino R 23 4 3 7 -2 133 1 0 2 0 28 14.3 NYI C 11 Miller, Kevin M 33 1 5 6 -5 13 0 0 0 0 37 2.7 NYI D 3 *Chara, Zdeno 48 1 5 6 -3 72 0 0 0 0 46 2.2 NYI D 2 Pilon, Rich 52 0 4 4 -8 88 0 0 0 0 27 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 65 2 0 2 -23 41 0 1 2 0 76 2.6 NYI D 33 Cairns, Eric 6 0 2 2 1 5 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 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 R 49 *Orszagh, Vladimir 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 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 34 0 0 0 -8 26 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 70 25 25 50 9 36 9 1 1 0 201 12.4 NYR D 2 Leetch, Brian 70 9 39 48 -5 38 2 0 1 0 157 5.7 NYR L 9 Graves, Adam 70 33 13 46 -8 45 13 1 7 0 189 17.5 NYR C 93 Nedved, Petr 51 19 26 45 -4 48 8 1 2 0 146 13.0 NYR C 33 Savard, Marc 58 9 32 41 0 30 4 0 1 0 98 9.2 NYR L 17 Stevens, Kevin 69 19 19 38 -7 50 7 0 3 0 114 16.7 NYR L 24 Sundstrom, Niklas 69 12 26 38 -3 18 1 2 3 0 79 15.2 NYR R 22 Knuble, Mike 70 14 17 31 -3 22 3 0 1 0 94 14.9 NYR R 20 Harvey, Todd 37 11 17 28 -1 72 6 0 2 1 58 19.0 NYR D 25 Schneider, Mathieu 63 8 20 28 -11 48 5 0 2 0 142 5.6 NYR R 26 *Maneluk, Mike 43 6 9 15 5 18 1 0 1 0 54 11.1 NYR C 6 *Malhotra, Manny 61 8 5 13 -4 11 1 0 2 0 51 15.7 NYR D 5 Samuelsson, Ulf 67 4 8 12 6 93 0 0 0 0 37 10.8 NYR L 37 Fedyk, Brent 55 4 5 9 -10 26 0 1 0 0 42 9.5 NYR D 23 Beukeboom, Jeff R 45 0 9 9 -2 60 0 0 0 0 8 0.0 NYR R 21 Fraser, Scott 27 2 4 6 -11 14 1 0 0 0 34 5.9 NYR D 34 Popovic, Peter 56 1 3 4 -13 30 0 0 0 0 48 2.1 NYR D 12 *Brennan, Rich 12 1 2 3 -3 10 0 0 0 0 17 5.9 NYR D 36 *Ndur, Rumun 27 1 2 3 2 44 0 0 0 0 12 8.3 NYR L 28 Lacroix, Eric 52 1 2 3 -11 18 0 0 1 0 32 3.1 NYR L 10 Tikkanen, Esa M 32 0 3 3 -5 38 0 0 0 0 25 0.0 NYR D 3 Neckar, Stan 21 0 2 2 -2 8 0 0 0 0 10 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 51 0 2 2 -11 95 0 0 0 0 38 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 L 28 Stock, P.J. M 5 0 0 0 -1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 NYR C 14 Dube, Christian 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 NYR L 19 Langdon, Darren 34 0 0 0 -4 59 0 0 0 0 5 0.0 OTW C 19 Yashin, Alexei 69 39 40 79 20 46 16 0 4 1 268 14.6 OTW L 15 McEachern, Shawn 69 30 22 52 9 44 7 0 4 1 200 15.0 OTW R 10 Dackell, Andreas 64 12 30 42 11 22 4 0 3 0 87 13.8 OTW L 20 Arvedson, Magnus 67 18 20 38 30 44 0 2 5 0 117 15.4 OTW C 21 Johansson, Andreas 62 20 16 36 6 34 6 0 6 0 130 15.4 OTW D 33 York, Jason 66 4 29 33 24 40 2 0 0 1 146 2.7 OTW C 13 Prospal, Vaclav 66 7 22 29 8 50 2 0 2 0 95 7.4 OTW R 11 Alfredsson, Daniel 48 9 19 28 8 10 2 0 4 0 139 6.5 OTW C 14 Bonk, Radek 68 13 14 27 15 42 0 1 6 0 93 14.0 OTW D 6 Redden, Wade R 59 7 19 26 14 52 3 0 1 0 106 6.6 OTW L Donato, Ted 69 8 14 22 -10 31 2 0 0 0 90 8.9 OTW L 18 *Hossa, Marian 47 11 10 21 15 25 0 0 2 1 97 11.3 OTW D 29 Kravchuk, Igor 68 3 16 19 12 32 2 0 0 0 152 2.0 OTW C 22 Van Allen, Shaun 66 5 9 14 4 24 0 1 0 0 39 12.8 OTW D 5 *Salo, Sami 50 3 9 12 15 20 2 0 1 0 76 3.9 OTW C 25 Gardiner, Bruce 46 4 6 10 4 31 0 0 1 0 50 8.0 OTW D 27 Laukkanen, Janne 43 1 9 10 15 34 0 0 0 0 41 2.4 OTW D 3 *Traverse, Patrick R 39 1 7 8 8 16 0 0 0 0 29 3.4 OTW C 16 Martins, Steve 33 4 3 7 4 10 1 0 1 0 26 15.4 OTW D 2 Pitlick, Lance 37 3 4 7 7 27 0 0 0 0 21 14.3 OTW R 12 Oliver, David M 17 2 5 7 1 4 0 0 0 0 18 11.1 OTW R 17 Murray, Chris 38 1 6 7 -2 65 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 L 9 Berg, Bill 36 2 2 4 2 23 0 0 0 1 32 6.3 OTW C 7 Butsayev, Viacheslav AL 3 0 1 1 -1 4 0 0 0 0 5 0.0 OTW L 26 Crowe, Phil M 8 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 OTW L 37 Sarault, Yves M 11 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 7 0.0 OTW D 24 Gruden, John 13 0 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 10 0.0 PHI C 88 Lindros, Eric 68 39 52 91 35 110 9 1 2 3 232 16.8 PHI L 10 LeClair, John 66 39 44 83 35 24 13 0 6 2 211 18.5 PHI C 17 Brind'Amour, Rod 70 20 42 62 3 41 9 0 2 2 162 12.3 PHI R 11 Recchi, Mark 66 15 36 51 -7 30 3 0 2 0 165 9.1 PHI R 20 Jones, Keith 66 17 32 49 26 92 2 0 3 0 120 14.2 PHI D 37 Desjardins, Eric 63 14 33 47 19 36 5 0 1 0 178 7.9 PHI D 3 McGillis, Dan 67 7 33 40 14 52 6 0 3 0 142 4.9 PHI C 18 Langkow, Daymond 66 14 17 31 -2 31 4 1 2 0 129 10.9 PHI R 19 Renberg, Mikael 54 10 20 30 3 14 4 0 2 0 117 8.5 PHI L 26 Zelepukin, Valeri 62 14 9 23 1 44 0 0 4 0 100 14.0 PHI D 6 Therien, Chris 63 3 15 18 21 46 1 0 0 0 92 3.3 PHI R 8 Hull, Jody 62 3 11 14 2 12 0 0 1 1 68 4.4 PHI R 21 McCarthy, Sandy 68 5 7 12 -23 135 1 0 0 0 90 5.6 PHI C 28 Bureau, Marc 59 4 6 10 -2 6 0 0 0 0 37 10.8 PHI D 5 *Tertyshny, Dimitri 57 2 8 10 1 28 1 0 0 0 66 3.0 PHI D 24 Dykhuis, Karl 68 3 5 8 -21 40 0 0 0 0 76 3.9 PHI R 00 Andersson, Mikael 40 2 3 5 -8 4 0 0 0 0 40 5.0 PHI D 44 Babych, Dave 32 1 4 5 0 20 1 0 0 0 43 2.3 PHI D 22 Richardson, Luke 70 0 4 4 0 97 0 0 0 0 46 0.0 PHI C 29 Vopat, Roman 47 0 3 3 -7 81 0 0 0 0 21 0.0 PHI D 2 Burt, Adam 57 0 3 3 3 56 0 0 0 0 44 0.0 PHI R 23 Greig, Mark M 5 1 1 2 1 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 D 25 Joseph, Chris M 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 PHI L 40 Zent, Jason M 2 0 0 0 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 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 68 21 44 65 5 100 4 0 3 0 176 11.9 PHO C 16 Reichel, Robert 71 20 38 58 -15 50 6 1 1 1 190 10.5 PHO L 7 Tkachuk, Keith 56 30 24 54 19 101 10 1 7 1 200 15.0 PHO R 22 Tocchet, Rick 69 22 25 47 6 111 5 1 3 0 154 14.3 PHO D 27 Numminen, Teppo 70 10 27 37 4 28 1 0 0 2 138 7.2 PHO L 17 Adams, Greg 63 16 18 34 -4 24 4 0 3 0 149 10.7 PHO R 11 Drake, Dallas 47 8 20 28 18 58 0 0 3 0 92 8.7 PHO D 20 Lumme, Jyrki R 57 7 20 27 7 34 1 0 4 0 114 6.1 PHO C 8 *Briere, Daniel M 64 8 14 22 -3 30 2 0 2 0 90 8.9 PHO C 36 Ylonen, Juha 56 6 16 22 17 20 2 0 1 0 65 9.2 PHO D 10 Tverdovsky, Oleg 70 6 15 21 9 20 2 0 2 0 102 5.9 PHO C 21 Corkum, Bob 69 9 10 19 -4 17 0 0 0 0 136 6.6 PHO C 14 Stapleton, Mike 64 8 9 17 -6 28 0 2 2 0 93 8.6 PHO D 5 Quint, Deron 55 5 8 13 -11 20 2 0 0 0 90 5.6 PHO D 3 Carney, Keith 70 1 12 13 11 52 0 1 0 0 51 2.0 PHO R 19 Doan, Shane 67 3 9 12 -13 49 0 0 0 0 137 2.2 PHO D 33 Daigneault, J.J. 59 2 7 9 -13 50 1 0 1 0 59 3.4 PHO R 15 Cummins, Jim 45 1 6 7 2 162 0 0 0 0 22 4.5 PHO C 26 Sullivan, Mike 51 2 4 6 -10 18 0 1 1 0 60 3.3 PHO C 50 *Letowski, Trevor M 14 2 2 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 8 25.0 PHO C 47 *Hansen, Tavis M 20 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 23 0 2 2 -5 30 0 0 0 0 19 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 D 6 Huscroft, Jamie 33 0 1 1 -6 78 0 0 0 0 23 0.0 PHO L 44 Vasilyev, Andrey M 1 0 0 0 -2 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 M 2 0 0 0 -2 7 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 PHO R 18 Noonan, Brian 2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 PHO L 49 Dziedzic, Joe M 2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 PHO L 29 DeBrusk, Louie 5 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 PHO D 39 Tiley, Brad 6 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 PIT R 68 Jagr, Jaromir 69 33 74 107 22 58 7 1 6 1 293 11.3 PIT C 82 Straka, Martin 68 35 38 73 19 22 5 4 4 1 160 21.9 PIT C 9 Titov, German 66 11 41 52 16 30 3 1 3 1 105 10.5 PIT R 27 Kovalev, Alexei 64 18 28 46 2 35 4 1 3 0 160 11.3 PIT C 20 Lang, Robert 69 20 21 41 -12 24 6 0 3 3 132 15.2 PIT D 4 Hatcher, Kevin R 60 11 27 38 16 22 4 2 3 0 121 9.1 PIT C 37 Miller, Kip 65 18 17 35 9 20 1 0 4 0 104 17.3 PIT C 38 *Hrdina, Jan 69 10 24 34 4 40 3 0 2 0 78 12.8 PIT D 5 Werenka, Brad 69 5 18 23 18 85 1 0 4 0 65 7.7 PIT D 71 Slegr, Jiri 51 3 18 21 21 80 1 0 0 0 79 3.8 PIT R 36 Barnaby, Matthew 49 4 15 19 -4 152 0 0 3 0 59 6.8 PIT R 44 Brown, Rob 45 7 8 15 -5 10 4 0 1 0 54 13.0 PIT R 95 Morozov, Aleksey 54 9 5 14 4 14 0 0 0 0 58 15.5 PIT D 8 Dollas, Bobby 57 2 7 9 2 58 0 0 0 0 27 7.4 PIT R 24 Moran, Ian 50 3 5 8 5 29 0 1 0 0 45 6.7 PIT D 47 *Galanov, Maxim 51 4 3 7 -8 14 2 0 0 1 44 9.1 PIT D 16 Serowik, Jeff R 26 0 6 6 -4 16 0 0 0 0 26 0.0 PIT D 11 Kasparaitis, DariusR 48 1 4 5 12 70 0 0 0 0 32 3.1 PIT R 25 Kesa, Dan 57 1 4 5 -6 27 0 0 0 1 27 3.7 PIT L 12 *Sonnenberg, Martin 35 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 22 *Butenschon, Sven 5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 PIT D 6 Wilkinson, Neil 21 0 0 0 -5 13 0 0 0 0 11 0.0 PIT C 29 Wright, Tyler 49 0 0 0 0 61 0 0 0 0 11 0.0 SJS L 39 Friesen, Jeff 65 18 26 44 -2 32 8 1 2 1 183 9.8 SJS C 14 Marleau, Patrick 68 19 19 38 2 22 4 0 4 1 111 17.1 SJS C 18 Ricci, Mike 69 11 25 36 7 56 2 1 2 1 89 12.4 SJS R 11 Nolan, Owen 65 14 21 35 7 99 5 2 2 0 176 8.0 SJS R 17 Murphy, Joe 63 17 16 33 4 59 4 0 1 1 150 11.3 SJS C 19 Sturm, Marco 67 14 19 33 3 46 3 2 3 2 124 11.3 SJS D 2 Houlder, Bill 63 8 18 26 11 36 6 0 4 0 100 8.0 SJS R 15 *Korolyuk, Alex 42 7 16 23 -2 20 1 0 0 1 71 9.9 SJS L 37 Matteau, Stephane 56 8 13 21 6 58 0 0 0 0 64 12.5 SJS D 5 Norton, Jeff 59 3 15 18 2 28 2 0 1 0 60 5.0 SJS R 22 Stern, Ronnie 66 7 9 16 4 131 1 0 2 0 79 8.9 SJS L 26 Lowry, Dave 55 6 8 14 -5 22 2 0 0 1 54 11.1 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 63 0 10 10 -1 42 0 0 0 0 71 0.0 SJS C 12 Sutter, Ron 49 3 6 9 -8 40 0 0 1 0 54 5.6 SJS D 40 Rathje, Mike 69 4 4 8 6 30 1 0 1 0 53 7.5 SJS D 10 Ragnarsson, Marcus 61 0 8 8 2 46 0 0 0 0 66 0.0 SJS D 27 Marchment, Bryan 49 2 4 6 -8 83 0 0 0 0 44 4.5 SJS D 4 Zyuzin, Andrei 23 3 1 4 5 23 2 0 0 0 41 7.3 SJS C 36 Guolla, Stephen 12 2 2 4 3 6 0 0 1 0 21 9.5 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 R 33 Myhres, Brantt 27 1 0 1 -2 111 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 18 0 1 1 -3 29 0 0 0 0 22 0.0 SJS D 42 *Sutton, Andy 25 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 69 34 41 75 9 14 14 0 9 1 225 15.1 STL D 2 MacInnis, Al 69 19 35 54 26 58 11 1 2 2 270 7.0 STL C 77 Turgeon, Pierre 55 25 27 52 0 30 7 0 4 1 162 15.4 STL R 48 Young, Scott 66 16 25 41 7 27 6 0 3 0 172 9.3 STL D 44 Pronger, Chris 54 11 27 38 1 99 6 0 0 0 140 7.9 STL C 22 Conroy, Craig 65 14 22 36 10 38 0 1 1 0 131 10.7 STL L 33 Pellerin, Scott 68 16 15 31 -3 30 0 4 3 0 115 13.9 STL C 32 Eastwood, Mike 69 9 20 29 10 30 0 0 0 0 63 14.3 STL R 10 Campbell, Jim 55 4 21 25 -8 41 1 0 0 0 99 4.0 STL C 25 Rheaume, Pascal R 51 9 15 24 7 24 2 0 0 0 74 12.2 STL R 27 Yake, Terry 47 8 14 22 -11 26 3 0 3 0 45 17.8 STL C 26 *Handzus, Michal 64 4 12 16 -8 30 0 0 0 0 77 5.2 STL L 34 Picard, Michel 32 5 9 14 -2 14 0 0 1 0 38 13.2 STL L 56 *Bartecko, Lubos 20 3 9 12 -1 6 0 0 1 0 23 13.0 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 42 3 7 10 2 126 0 0 1 0 25 12.0 STL L 18 Twist, Tony 52 2 5 7 0 147 0 0 0 0 20 10.0 STL D 6 Rivers, Jamie 68 2 5 7 -4 43 1 0 0 0 72 2.8 STL D 7 Persson, Ricard 42 1 6 7 -1 66 0 0 0 0 44 2.3 STL C 21 *Mayers, Jamal 21 2 2 4 -8 16 0 0 0 0 35 5.7 STL D 36 Helmer, Bryan 40 0 4 4 5 42 0 0 0 0 49 0.0 STL D 19 McAlpine, Chris 48 1 1 2 -12 50 0 0 0 0 54 1.9 STL D 4 Bergevin, Marc 48 1 1 2 -12 94 0 0 0 0 38 2.6 STL D 37 Finley, Jeff 19 0 2 2 1 8 0 0 0 0 6 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 28 Shaw, Brad 5 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 6 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 64 28 13 41 -25 35 11 0 2 1 170 16.5 TBL C 16 Tucker, Darcy 68 16 17 33 -32 139 6 2 3 0 145 11.0 TBL C 8 *Lecavalier, Vincent 68 11 13 24 -17 19 2 0 1 1 101 10.9 TBL C 77 Gratton, Chris 64 4 20 24 -22 115 0 0 0 1 142 2.8 TBL R 44 Richer, Stephane 50 7 16 23 -14 22 1 1 1 0 104 6.7 TBL L Forbes, Colin 66 9 7 16 0 51 0 0 4 0 92 9.8 TBL D 13 *Kubina, Pavel 54 7 9 16 -26 70 3 1 1 0 95 7.4 TBL D 23 Svoboda, Petr 48 5 11 16 -2 65 1 1 1 0 74 6.8 TBL D 4 Cross, Cory 54 2 13 15 -19 86 0 0 0 0 76 2.6 TBL D 5 Cullimore, Jassen 64 4 10 14 -20 73 1 0 1 0 61 6.6 TBL C 21 Daigle, Alexandre 52 6 6 12 -14 4 3 0 1 0 64 9.4 TBL C 9 Nylander, Michael 24 3 7 10 -4 6 1 0 0 0 21 14.3 TBL C 26 Sillinger, Mike 65 6 3 9 -23 24 0 1 0 0 71 8.5 TBL L 7 Zamuner, Rob 44 4 5 9 -11 18 0 0 1 0 62 6.5 TBL D 49 Wilkie, David 38 1 7 8 -15 31 0 0 0 0 31 3.2 TBL D 2 McBain, Mike 37 0 6 6 -11 14 0 0 0 0 22 0.0 TBL C 14 Petrovicky, Robert 15 2 3 5 -4 2 0 0 0 0 15 13.3 TBL D *Gusev, Sergey 22 1 4 5 5 6 0 0 1 0 30 3.3 TBL C 11 Kelly, Steve M 25 1 3 4 -13 19 0 0 1 0 12 8.3 TBL L 27 Peterson, Brent R 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 C 64 Bonsignore, Jason 10 0 3 3 -2 4 0 0 0 0 5 0.0 TBL D 55 Bannister, Drew 14 1 1 2 0 18 0 0 0 0 22 4.5 TBL D 46 Skopintsev, Andrei M 19 1 1 2 1 10 0 0 0 0 17 5.9 TBL D 28 Samuelsson, Kjell 38 1 1 2 -10 34 0 0 0 0 18 5.6 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 15 Ysebaert, Paul M 10 0 1 1 -5 2 0 0 0 0 10 0.0 TBL C 43 *Delisle, Xavier M 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 D 71 *Larocque, Mario M 5 0 0 0 -4 16 0 0 0 0 3 0.0 TOR C 13 Sundin, Mats 69 24 45 69 15 48 4 0 6 0 180 13.3 TOR L 32 Thomas, Steve 65 22 34 56 17 31 8 0 6 0 174 12.6 TOR R 22 Korolev, Igor 66 13 34 47 11 46 1 0 2 0 99 13.1 TOR L 7 King, Derek 68 21 22 43 11 18 6 0 3 0 136 15.4 TOR R 94 Berezin, Sergei 63 27 15 42 7 12 7 0 4 0 213 12.7 TOR R 20 Johnson, Mike 68 20 20 40 10 26 5 3 2 0 131 15.3 TOR C 11 Sullivan, Steve 51 14 15 29 6 24 2 0 4 0 87 16.1 TOR D 34 Berard, Bryan 58 7 21 28 -2 42 4 0 4 0 117 6.0 TOR L 19 Modin, Fredrik 54 13 12 25 6 29 1 0 3 1 88 14.8 TOR C 18 McCauley, Alyn R 39 9 15 24 7 2 1 0 1 1 76 11.8 TOR D 3 Cote, Sylvain 69 3 20 23 13 24 0 0 1 0 102 2.9 TOR D 36 Yushkevich, Dimitri 65 5 17 22 18 82 2 1 0 0 84 6.0 TOR L 10 Valk, Garry 64 7 14 21 3 45 1 0 0 1 80 8.8 TOR R 28 Domi, Tie 59 7 13 20 6 148 0 0 1 0 55 12.7 TOR D 52 Karpovtsev, Alexander 47 2 18 20 31 40 1 0 0 0 43 4.7 TOR L 8 Warriner, Todd 40 9 10 19 -1 14 1 0 1 0 80 11.3 TOR D 15 *Kaberle, Tomas 52 4 14 18 -4 8 0 0 2 0 64 6.3 TOR D 25 Smith, Jason 59 2 11 13 -8 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 44 2 4 6 -2 22 0 0 0 0 20 10.0 TOR L 12 King, Kris 58 2 2 4 -13 92 0 1 1 0 29 6.9 TOR R 39 *Kohn, Ladislav M 9 1 3 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 14 7.1 TOR R 16 Bohonos, Lonny 7 3 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 13 23.1 TOR D 33 McAllister, Chris 37 1 2 3 -5 87 0 0 0 1 9 11.1 TOR D 2 Eakins, Dallas M 18 0 2 2 3 24 0 0 0 0 11 0.0 TOR D 4 Dahl, Kevin M 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 TOR R 37 Podollan, Jason M 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 VAN R 19 Naslund, Markus 68 35 23 58 -10 72 15 2 3 1 176 19.9 VAN C 11 Messier, Mark R 52 13 31 44 -13 29 4 2 2 0 89 14.6 VAN R 17 *Muckalt, Bill 70 16 20 36 -6 69 4 2 1 0 117 13.7 VAN R 89 Mogilny, Alexander 47 9 24 33 -2 36 2 2 1 1 86 10.5 VAN D 2 Ohlund, Mattias 67 7 24 31 -17 77 2 0 1 0 110 6.4 VAN D 6 Aucoin, Adrian 70 19 11 30 -9 69 14 2 2 1 153 12.4 VAN C 15 Gagner, Dave 57 5 19 24 -13 61 2 0 0 1 77 6.5 VAN C 20 Scatchard, Dave 70 11 12 23 -6 117 0 1 2 0 116 9.5 VAN D 55 Jovanovski, Ed 60 5 16 21 -3 90 1 0 1 0 93 5.4 VAN L 8 Brashear, Donald 70 8 10 18 -17 163 2 0 1 0 99 8.1 VAN D 4 McCabe, Bryan 57 6 11 17 -8 90 1 2 0 0 70 8.6 VAN L 9 May, Brad 64 6 11 17 -12 102 1 0 1 0 89 6.7 VAN C 44 Bertuzzi, Todd R 32 8 8 16 -6 44 1 0 3 0 72 11.1 VAN C 22 Zezel, Peter 41 6 8 14 5 16 1 0 2 0 45 13.3 VAN C 27 York, Harry 46 6 7 13 -1 16 1 0 0 1 47 12.8 VAN R 26 Klatt, Trent 66 4 9 13 -3 10 0 0 0 0 57 7.0 VAN C 14 Hendrickson, Darby 50 3 3 6 -8 48 1 0 0 0 49 6.1 VAN L 29 *Schaefer, Peter 19 2 3 5 -4 8 1 0 0 0 17 11.8 VAN C 21 *Holden, Josh 18 1 4 5 -5 6 0 0 0 0 20 5.0 VAN D 23 Baron, Murray 69 0 5 5 -17 89 0 0 0 0 43 0.0 VAN D 18 Robertsson, Bert 31 1 2 3 -3 11 0 0 0 0 10 10.0 VAN D 5 Murzyn, Dana R 12 0 2 2 1 21 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 53 0 2 2 -16 88 0 0 0 0 18 0.0 VAN R 25 Staios, Steve R 50 0 1 1 -11 52 0 0 0 0 25 0.0 VAN C 28 Washburn, Steve 12 0 0 0 -1 6 0 0 0 0 6 0.0 WSH R 12 Bondra, Peter 66 31 24 55 -1 56 6 3 5 1 284 10.9 WSH C 77 Oates, Adam 47 12 32 44 4 18 3 0 0 0 68 17.6 WSH C 90 Juneau, Joe 63 14 27 41 -3 20 2 1 3 0 142 9.9 WSH L 13 Nikolishin, Andrei 61 7 24 31 2 26 0 1 1 0 105 6.7 WSH D 6 Johansson, Calle R 67 8 21 29 10 22 2 0 2 1 145 5.5 WSH L 23 Bellows, Brian 64 12 15 27 -6 20 5 0 2 0 128 9.4 WSH D 55 Gonchar, Sergei 46 17 8 25 -1 49 13 0 3 0 150 11.3 WSH C 28 Black, James 63 12 13 25 7 6 1 1 2 0 113 10.6 WSH C 22 Konowalchuk, Steve 45 12 12 24 0 26 4 1 2 0 98 12.2 WSH C 8 Bulis, Jay M 38 7 16 23 3 6 3 0 3 0 57 12.3 WSH R 2 Klee, Ken 66 7 12 19 -5 68 0 0 1 0 105 6.7 WSH D 15 Mironov, Dmitri R 46 2 14 16 -5 80 2 0 0 0 86 2.3 WSH R 34 Svejkovsky, Jarolsav 25 6 8 14 -2 12 4 0 2 0 50 12.0 WSH L 44 Zednik, Richard 37 8 5 13 -4 44 1 0 2 0 89 9.0 WSH C 20 Pivonka, Michal 24 5 5 10 -4 8 2 0 0 0 24 20.8 WSH L 17 Simon, Chris R 23 3 7 10 -4 48 0 0 0 0 29 10.3 WSH L 27 Berube, Craig 66 5 4 9 -7 166 0 0 0 0 45 11.1 WSH D 29 Reekie, Joe 61 0 8 8 8 54 0 0 0 0 70 0.0 WSH D 19 Witt, Brendan 46 2 5 7 -2 79 0 0 0 0 39 5.1 WSH L 10 Miller, Kelly 50 2 5 7 -3 27 0 0 1 0 40 5.0 WSH D 24 Tinordi, Mark R 48 0 6 6 -6 108 0 0 0 0 32 0.0 WSH C 36 Eagles, Mike 40 3 2 5 -3 39 0 0 0 0 28 10.7 WSH C 32 Hunter, Dale 50 0 5 5 -7 102 0 0 0 0 18 0.0 WSH D 39 Ciccone, Enrico 47 3 1 4 0 99 0 0 0 1 36 8.3 WSH L 21 Toms, Jeff 9 1 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 12 8.3 WSH C 26 *Herr, Matt M 18 1 2 3 -2 6 0 0 0 0 21 4.8 WSH L 9 Chorske, Tom 19 0 3 3 -3 6 0 0 0 0 31 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 3 Malgunas, Stewart M 10 0 0 0 -5 6 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 WSH D 33 Poapst, Steve 10 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 0 3 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Goaltender Stats through March 21 ------------------------------------------------------------------- TM NO GOALTENDER GPI MINS AVG W L T EN SO GA SA SPCT G A PIM ANA 30 Roussel, Dominic 13 645 2.33 4 4 2 1 1 25 346 .928 0 0 0 ANA 31 Hebert, Guy 60 3591 2.39 27 24 9 3 5 143 1885 .924 0 1 0 BOS 34 Dafoe, Byron 58 3378 2.11 25 22 9 3 7 119 1567 .924 0 2 19 BOS 35 Tallas, Rob 14 807 2.68 6 5 2 1 1 36 358 .899 0 0 0 BUF 39 Hasek, Dominik 53 3132 1.97 26 15 10 2 8 103 1582 .935 0 0 12 BUF 43*Biron, Martin 6 281 2.14 1 2 1 1 0 10 120 .917 0 0 0 BUF 30 Roloson, Dwayne 15 732 2.87 5 6 2 1 1 35 355 .901 0 0 4 CGY 40 Brathwaite, Fred 24 1426 2.31 10 6 7 2 1 55 696 .921 0 2 2 CGY 31 Wregget, Ken 18 1041 2.42 8 7 2 1 1 42 478 .912 0 1 6 CGY 30*Moss, Tyler M 11 550 2.51 3 7 0 0 0 23 295 .922 0 1 0 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 53 3147 2.21 24 16 10 3 5 116 1525 .924 0 0 10 CAR 37 Kidd, Trevor 21 1117 2.74 6 10 4 3 2 51 528 .903 0 0 0 CHI 41 Thibault, Jocelyn 54 3088 2.76 18 29 6 6 5 142 1502 .905 0 1 0 CHI 30 Fitzpatrick, Mark 22 1129 2.76 4 7 5 2 0 52 540 .904 0 0 4 COL 33 Roy, Patrick 51 3044 2.35 24 18 7 4 5 119 1379 .914 0 1 28 COL 30*Denis, Marc M 4 217 2.49 1 1 1 0 0 9 110 .918 0 0 0 COL 1 Billington, Craig 19 966 2.80 10 7 1 1 0 45 434 .896 0 0 2 DAL 1 Turek, Roman 21 1134 1.96 12 2 3 1 0 37 459 .919 0 0 0 DAL 20 Belfour, Ed 53 3063 1.96 31 12 9 0 5 100 1163 .914 0 0 12 DET 38*Maracle, Norm 16 821 2.27 6 5 2 1 0 31 379 .918 0 0 0 DET 30 Osgood, Chris 55 3211 2.56 28 23 4 4 2 137 1455 .906 0 3 8 DET 37 Hodson, Kevin 4 175 3.09 0 2 0 0 0 9 79 .886 0 0 0 EDM 35 Salo, Tommy 52 3078 2.63 18 26 7 5 5 135 1394 .903 0 0 12 EDM 30 Essensa, Bob 36 1941 2.66 12 12 6 1 0 86 912 .906 0 1 0 EDM 29*Passmore, Steve 6 362 2.82 1 4 1 1 0 17 183 .907 0 1 2 FLA 31 Burke, Sean 51 2977 2.54 20 18 13 0 3 126 1411 .911 0 4 10 FLA 1 McLean, Kirk 23 1237 2.76 6 8 4 0 1 57 562 .899 0 0 0 LAK 1*Storr, Jamie 26 1456 2.39 11 12 2 3 4 58 694 .916 0 1 6 LAK 35 Fiset, Stephane 31 1809 2.45 14 15 1 2 2 74 895 .917 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 56 3195 2.54 24 23 8 5 4 135 1437 .906 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 29 1476 3.01 9 13 4 2 1 74 779 .905 0 1 4 NSH 1 Dunham, Mike 40 2233 3.09 15 20 3 3 0 115 1265 .909 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 59 3571 2.39 32 19 8 4 3 142 1503 .906 0 2 4 NJD 31 Terreri, Chris 9 537 2.46 6 3 0 0 1 22 221 .900 0 0 0 NYI 1*Cousineau, Marcel 6 293 2.87 0 4 0 0 0 14 119 .882 0 0 0 NYI 30 Flaherty, Wade 11 526 2.97 2 6 1 2 0 26 247 .895 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 18 880 2.39 6 5 2 2 0 35 456 .923 0 0 2 NYR 35 Richter, Mike 59 3371 2.67 23 26 8 6 4 150 1656 .909 0 0 0 OTW 31 Tugnutt, Ron 36 2075 1.68 20 8 5 2 3 58 853 .932 0 0 0 OTW 1 Rhodes, Damian 39 2105 2.42 20 12 4 1 3 85 917 .907 1 1 4 PHI 34 Vanbiesbrouck, John 52 3103 2.28 21 15 14 4 6 118 1175 .900 0 1 12 PHI 27 Hextall, Ron 21 1111 2.38 10 6 3 0 0 44 416 .894 0 0 0 PHI 49*Pelletier, Jean-Ma M 1 60 5.00 0 1 0 0 0 5 29 .828 0 0 0 PHO 35 Khabibulin, Nikolai 53 3063 2.10 27 18 7 4 7 107 1379 .922 0 0 6 PHO 30 Shtalenkov, Mikhail 36 1944 2.65 13 17 4 2 3 86 844 .898 0 0 2 PHO 28 Waite, Jimmy M 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-Sebastien13 524 1.95 4 1 4 0 2 17 192 .911 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 30 1579 2.62 14 7 5 3 3 69 661 .896 0 0 2 SJS 30 Gauthier *MNR* 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 29 1669 2.26 10 10 6 1 2 63 756 .917 0 1 4 STL 1*Johnson, Brent M 6 286 2.10 3 2 0 0 0 10 127 .921 0 0 0 STL 29 McLennan, Jamie 32 1703 2.40 12 14 4 3 3 68 602 .887 0 0 0 STL 30*Parent, Rich M 10 519 2.54 4 3 1 1 1 22 193 .886 0 0 2 STL 31 Fuhr, Grant 27 1467 2.70 9 8 6 0 1 66 537 .877 0 0 10 STL 35 Carey, Jim 4 202 3.86 1 2 0 0 0 13 76 .829 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 30 1631 3.53 7 20 1 2 0 96 884 .891 0 2 4 TBL 30 Ranford, Bill 32 1568 3.90 3 18 3 2 1 102 858 .881 0 0 2 TOR 30 Healy, Glenn 6 368 2.28 4 2 0 0 0 14 173 .919 0 0 0 TOR 31 Joseph, Curtis 57 3393 2.65 30 21 5 4 3 150 1632 .908 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 56 3051 2.95 17 28 7 4 4 150 1505 .900 0 1 20 VAN 31 Hirsch, Corey M 20 919 3.13 3 8 3 0 1 48 435 .890 0 0 0 VAN 35*Weekes, Kevin 5 261 3.22 0 3 1 0 0 14 135 .896 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 18 899 2.20 4 7 3 1 2 33 396 .917 0 0 2 WSH 37 Kolzig, Olaf 59 3289 2.66 24 28 3 4 3 146 1394 .895 0 1 19 Stats provided by Brad Murray. 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