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GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY
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Five Star - ELECTRONIC EDITION - * * * * *
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Issue 82 Nov. 18 - Dec. 2, 1997 445,000 bytes
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Stormy weather predicted for Vancouver area
---------------------------------------------------------
By Jim Iovino
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- A freak weather pattern
developed last week in western Canada. Dark, ominous clouds of
hatred and despair slowly developed over Vancouver on Wednesday and
have blocked out the sun ever since. The eerie clouds have struck
fear in the hearts of all who have ventured outside into the brisk
November air causing widespread panic throughout the city.
Only one other time has a strange weather occurrence like this
appeared in North America. The same foreboding clouds formed over
St. Louis on July 18, 1994 and disrupted day-to-day activity in the
city until December 19, 1996. Meteorologists from around the world
have been puzzled by the recent ecological developments in
Vancouver, but have already ruled out any ties the apocalyptic
clouds might have to El Nino.
In an unrelated story, the Vancouver Canucks have hired Mike Keenan
to replace Tom Renney as their head coach.
Believe it or not, the man who caused a total collapse of a hockey
team in St. Louis a year ago has found more work in the NHL.
Keenan, who was fired by the Blues after overspending, underachieving
and obliterating team chemistry, was thought to have worn out his
welcome in the NHL. But time can apparently heal all wounds...or at
least make people forget all of the really bad stuff someone said about
you.
The Canucks signed Keenan to a three-year, seven-figure contract
last Wednesday. Keenan takes over the coaching duties of Renney,
but will not be responsible for all of the general manager
responsibilities left by the firing of Pat Quinn a week earlier.
The GM position will remain unfulfilled for the present, with
decision made by a collaboration of Keenan and others in the
organization. It is rumored that any moves Keenan wants to make
will have to be approved by Steve Tambellini, the team's senior
vice president for hockey operations.
Renney was handed his pink slip after he was unable to command
respect from the players, considered by many to be undisciplined,
and couldn't turn them into winners. Under Renney's command, the
Canucks missed the playoffs last season for the first time in seven
years. This season, even the addition of Mark Messier via free
agency couldn't save Renney's job. The Canucks were 4-13-2 this
year, their worst start in franchise history, and had just ended a
10-game losing streak when the firing was announced.
Keenan should have no problems turning things around in Vancouver,
but the organization has to wonder at what cost. Keenan has been a
proven winner throughout his coaching career. He won in
Philadelphia, in Chicago and in New York, where he led the Rangers
to the Stanley Cup. "Iron Mike" also should have no problem
commanding respect from Canuck players. Keenan doesn't just
command respect, he demands it. And if he doesn't get it, he'll
find players who will give him that respect elsewhere.
That was Keenan's problem in St. Louis. He had support from some
players on the team, but lacked it from others, especially the
stars on the roster. Brett Hull and Keenan never saw eye-to-eye,
and in the end it came down to Keenan getting the ax or Hull
demanding a one-way ticket out of town. Obviously, Hull won that
battle.
Keenan should have an ally on his side in Vancouver in the old
war-horse himself, Mark Messier. Messier and Keenan won the Cup
together in New York, and early interviews show that Messier is
happy to have his old coach around again.
But his old coach might be a changed man. Keenan said that he
learned a lot during his year away from coaching. He said he will
be more patient than he used to be...and maybe even a little kinder
and gentler. But don't count on it.
"When you have an opportunity to reflect on things that you've done,
both in terms of a positive direction and a negative direction, it's
a great exercise in self-evaluation and a great learning
opportunity," Keenan said. "I believe this experience that I've just
gone through will make me a better coach.
"I certainly have learned more about myself, about the aspect of
being patient."
For now, all seems positive around the Canucks locker room. The
players say they're happy Keenan is there. Keenan is ecstatic
about getting another chance to coach.
But all involved know that those dark, ominous clouds are still
hovering outside GM Place. And those clouds will be very hard for
people to ignore.
---------------------------------------------------------
Keenan Fan Club President Celebrates
---------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell
Not long after Mike Keenan was named as the new coach of the
Vancouver Canucks, a peculiar party invitation arrived at the
offices of LCS: Guide to Hockey. It was from none other than
Kenny Bloom, the president of the Mike Keenan Fan Club.
Apparently Kenny was planning a celebration to welcome Keenan
back to the NHL.
LCS
first encountered Kenny last December when we were trying to find
someone, anyone, who liked the then embattled coach and GM
of the St. Louis Blues. Much to our surprise, we found Kenny
operating his fan club in nearby Youngwood, Pennsylvania. The
37-year-old owner of the Youngwood Tasty Freeze ice cream parlor
devoted all his spare time to honoring Keenan and was the
founding member of the fan club, which also included Kenny's
mother, younger brother, and dog.
Our initial chat with Kenny was so enlightening that we checked
back in with him only
a few weeks later when the Blues fired Keenan. Unfortunately,
Kenny took the firing pretty hard.
Now, almost a year later, Keenan is back in the news and Kenny is
once again darkening our doorstep. While spending an evening
talking to Kenny is hardly one of my favorite past times, the
promise of free food and liquor is enough to get anyone from LCS
to attend even the dullest of functions.
The following is a transcript of the event. I call it "An
Evening at Kenny's". Enjoy.
LCS: Hey Kenny, how's it goin' buddy?
Kenny: Great! Fantastic! Wonderful!
LCS: Aw, that's too bad. Listen, thanks for inviting me
to the big party. I can't help but notice that the attendance is
rather sparse.
Kenny: Don't worry, I'm sure more will show up. This is
gonna be a great evening. And it's all about celebrating the
greatness of Mike Keenan. Who'd want to miss this?
LCS: That was a rhetorical question, right?
Kenny: Would you like a beverage? I got some apple juice
chilling in the fridge. Or how about a non-alcohol beer?
LCS: Um, no thanks. I think I'm a little too sober for
this night as it is.
Kenny: Well, if you change your mind just let me know.
And feel free to help yourself to the hors d'oeuvres. I got some
hard-boiled eggs and graham crackers over their in the corner.
And I'm gonna heat up some Jiffy Pop later.
LCS: You, my friend, are quite the host.
Kenny: Thanks. Later we're gonna play some party games,
like Pin the Mustache on Mike. It's a good thing you got here
early.
LCS: Yeah, good thing. So, Kenny, It's been awhile since
we talked.
Kenny: Yeah, almost a year.
LCS: Really? Somehow it doesn't seem that long. But
painful experiences always seem to linger in one's mind. Before
we get into the Keenan stuff, how've you been? Do you still own
the Tasty Freeze?
Kenny: Yeah. Business has been kind of slow lately, but
I'm sure it'll pick up now that Mike Keenan is back in the NHL.
LCS: Really? How come?
Kenny: Well, you know, just because.
LCS: Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a whole
intricate theory worked out. How's your mom doin'?
Kenny: She's doing okay. Didn't you see her when you
came in?
LCS: No, I must of missed her.
Kenny: She was standing right beside me when I answered
the door?
LCS: I didn't see anything... except for that old pile of
laundry.
Kenny: No, that was mother.
LCS: Oh, I'm sorry. She's a very handsome woman. How
about your brother Larry?
Kenny: You mean Chester?
LCS: Like it matters. Is he still working at the bowling
alley?
Kenny: No, he got fired.
LCS: Was he wearing the shoes home again?
Kenny: No. They caught him sniffing the alley varnish.
LCS: Aw, that's a shame.
Kenny: I guess they figured something was wrong when they
found him naked trying to dress the pins up in his clothes.
LCS: Yeah, I hear that's why Nixon had to resign. So
what's he up to now?
Kenny: Actually, I think he's dead, isn't he?
LCS: Not Nixon, you crank, your brother Larry?
Kenny: Oh, well, Chester's actually spending the next six
months in the local correctional facility.
LCS: Yikes. What did he do?
Kenny: He was arrested for a political crime.
LCS: Hey, that's pretty cool. What, did he get a little
carried away in a government protest or something?
Kenny: No, he stole the mayor's car.
LCS: Wow, I didn't even know the mayor of Youngwood had a
car. Well, moving on to the business at hand, if I recall
correctly, the only members of the Mike Keenan Fan Club the last
time I talked to you were yourself, your mom, and Chester.
Kenny: Don't forget Lightning!
LCS: Oh, that's right. Your dog Lightning. How is the
mangy little mutt?
Kenny: Just terrific. In fact, see for yourself, here he
comes now.
LCS: I see you got a little sweater on him there, don't
ya? What's that say on the back there?
Kenny: It says "Keenan's Kanine". I knitted it myself.
Notice that canine is spelled with a K so it matches Keenan.
See...
LCS: Yeah, that's clever. Kenny, in all seriousness,
have you ever considered therapy? I hear they're doing wonderful
things with medication these days.
Kenny: No, not really. I'm a pretty happy guy. I live
with my mom, I got a good pal like Lightning, I work at a Tasty
Freeze, and I have a hero like Mike Keenan. What more could a
guy want? Am I right?
LCS: Yes, you are living a dream. Have you been able to
recruit any new members to the fan club?
Kenny: Not yet. But our membership drive is still going
strong. I'm expecting the club to get a big boost now that Mike
is back in the NHL. That's why I sent out party invitations to
all the prominent members of the community. They should be
arriving any minute now. I don't know what's keeping them.
LCS: Well, I have a feeling the mayor might need a ride.
Other than that, yeah, it's a real mystery why no one's here. I
mean, c'mon, non-alcohol beer and graham crackers... Your
obviously excited that Keenan has returned to coaching. How did
you spend your time while he was away from the game?
Kenny: Nothing really changed for me. I'm a Mike Keenan
fan every waking moment of my life, whether he had a job or not.
I just did my best to honor Mike Keenan. I kept my shifts at the
Tasty Freeze short, I always mopped in the corners, and when the
milk shake machine started to slow down it was out the door.
LCS: Mike would be proud.
Kenny: I certainly hope so.
LCS: What do you think of Vancouver? Think he can win
with the Canucks?
Kenny: Mike Keenan always wins. The city or team makes
no difference.
LCS: Fair enough. Have you tried to contact Keenan
lately?
Kenny: I called the Canucks to try and congratulate Mike,
but he's always busy in a meeting or something. They assure me
he'll call me back, tho'.
LCS: I'd be waitin' by the phone if I were you, Kenny.
Kenny: Oh, believe me, I have been. Luckily the
weather's been cold, so I've been able to shut down the Tasty
Freeze and stay home the past week. Even Mother Nature must be a
Mike Keenan fan!
LCS: Obviously. Aside from this swinging bash, have you
got anything else planned to celebrate Keenan's return?
Kenny: Well, I've been talking to the city about getting
a permit to have a parade down main street. Negotiations are
ongoing. I'm hoping to hear something soon.
LCS: Um, Kenny, now that Chester is in the pokey, does
that mean the participants in the parade would just be you, your
mom, and Lightning?
Kenny: No, mother's hip bothers her in the cold, so she
really isn't up to marching in the parade. But me and Lightning
will be there with bells on.
LCS: Yeah, you are the excitable pair...
Kenny: No, I mean we'll literally be wearing bells. We
like to wear bells. And don't forget about all the new fan club
members we're sure to have by then. It's going to be quite the
happening.
LCS: Yeah, sounds like you'll have a regular Million Man
March on your hands there. Anything else on tap?
Kenny: Well, of course the Iron Mike Gazette is still in
publication. But don't worry, it's no threat to LCS.
LCS: Oh yeah, that's your fan club newsletter. How's
that goin'?
Kenny: Good, real good. I always give free issues to the
customers at the Tasty Freeze.
LCS: People actually take them?
Kenny: Sure, they go like hot cakes.
LCS: Kenny, have you noticed a correlation between the
number of newsletters taken and a sudden decline in the use of
napkins?
Kenny: How'd you know?
LCS: Just a lucky guess. Well, Kenny, as swell as this
evening has been, I think it's time I split before I, you know,
kill myself. Thanks for inviting me over and giving me this
thrilling interview. Any parting thoughts?
Kenny: Well, I'd just like to thank you for attending and
I hope all your readers that love Mike Keenan will join the fan
club. You'll let me know if anyone contacts you about it, right?
LCS: Sure. I just hope we can handle all the mail.
Kenny: Mike Keenan rules! Keenan supporters unite!
LCS: Kenny?
Kenny: Yeah?
LCS: Seriously, are you okay?
Kenny: I think so. Sure you don't want a hard-boiled egg
for the road?
LCS: Um, I'm leaving now. Please don't follow me.
And with that I hurriedly made my way out of Kenny's house and
back to the safety of reality. As always, we'll keep you, our
valued readers, up to date on Kenny and the progress of his Mike
Keenan Fan Club. If you read this interview and are interested
in joining the club, please see your family physician
immediately.
---------------------------------------------------------
Still Looking for Mr. Drummond
---------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell
Last issue we announced that we were looking for our Mr.
Drummond. Our current financial situation is so dire, that the
only way out is to have some rich person adopt us. If it was
good enough for Arnold Jackson, it's good enough for us.
Unfortunately, the search for our very own Mr. D isn't going so
well. It's been two weeks and we still haven't heard from any
millionaires. We did get one letter from some crazy old lady in
Queens, but her offer involved Zippy dressing up in a sailor suit
and doing household chores. We had no problem with that... until
the check bounced. What the hell? Zippy's got the sailor suit,
might as well use it. No sense havin' a full tank of gas if you
never take the car out of the garage, am I right?
Someone also sent us a nifty Johnny Cullen shamrock button. We
have no idea who sent it, but we are eternally grateful
nonetheless. So thanks to whoever sent it.
We think part of the problem here is that you, our valued
readers, think we're just jokin' about this need for scratch.
But that's not the case. We're dead serious, or at least as
close to serious as we can be. If we don't get some money in
here soon, we're solid gone. So think of us as the PBS of hockey
reporting. We desperately need the support of you, our readers.
Even if you're not a millionaire, you can still do your part.
All donations are welcome... money, food, clothes, we don't care.
Our address once again is:
LCS: Guide to Hockey
632 Hempfield Street
Greensburg, PA 15601
In order to help inspire donations, we're once again bringing
back the official LCS: Guide to Hockey Membership Cards! That's
right, if you send us a donation, you'll earn your very own LCS:
Guide to Hockey Membership Card! Yes, now you can be a card-
carrying member of the new revolution in hockey reporting. These
swell membership cards are all numbered and signed by the staff
of LCS: Guide to Hockey. Once LCS: Guide to Hockey's plan for
world domination comes to fruition, these cards also entitle the
bearer to his or her very own city in West Virginia. As an added
bonus, the cards get wet when you lick 'em!
So whether you're a millionaire willing to be our Mr. Drummond,
or if you just want to get a real wizard membership card, don't
be scared to write us. Because the way things stand now, time is
running out, the chair is plugged in, and the governor isn't
exactly ringing the phone off the hook.
We now ask that you, our valued readers, please join us in the
following inspirational prayer.
Now the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What
might be right for you, may not be right for some. A man is
born, he's a man of means. Then along come two, they've got
nothin' but their jeans. But they've got, Diff'rent Strokes. It
takes, Diff'rent Strokes. It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move
the world.
Everybody's got a special kind of story. Everybody finds a way
to shine. It don't matter that you got... not a lot, so what?
They'll have theirs, you'll have yours, and I'll have mine. And
together we'll be fine. Because it takes, Diff'rent Strokes to
move the world, yes it does. It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move
the world!
Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------
World Domination Report, VOL III, NO III
---------------------------------------------------------
by Zippy, Wonder Chimp
World Domination ain't easy, it takes time. You know, it took Dom Giagnocavo,
our crazy Canadian pal, twenty years to learn the names of all the members of Menudo.
So, how can we complain about the mediocrity we've achieved in only three years. Here
is a recap of the latest from the offices of LCS Guide to Hockey...
LCS Hockey on America Online...Update
Note: In the near future, our AOL area will undergo many changes to bring you, our
valued readers, more quality hockey coverage.
LCS Hockey is present on America Online for a second season. To access our
AOL area, use keyword "LCS Hockey" or "LCS".
If you access our site on AOL, you will find many exclusive features not
available on our web site. We provide daily recaps of NHL contests and news and weekly
columns in our NHL Daily area. Our AOL coverage is the perfect
compliment to our web-based content.
In addition to the new content, we also offer message boards and a chat room on AOL.
On our message boards, you can post your thoughts on various topics including current
NHL events, the ex-Hartford Whalers, John Cullen and waffles.
Also be sure to take part in our chat room. Each week night, members of the
LCS Guide to Hockey staff will host chats on various topics. These topics are
only suggestions, we prefer to run our chat room as an open discussion where
thoughts flow without hinderance. So, talk about whatever you want. Here is the
current chat schedule:
AOL Chat Schedule
Monday - Pez Addiction 11:00 PM to Midnight EST
Tuesday - Tribute to Donuts 11:00 PM to Midnight EST
Wednesday - Breakfast Cereals Midnight to 1:00 AM EST
Thursday - Beer: Bottled Joy 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM EST
Friday - Don Knotts Midnight to 1:00 AM EST
If hockey comes up during our discussion, so be it.
We hope to see you online.
LCS: Questions o' the Month
The Questions o' the Month have been a formidable
challenge to all who have dared solve their riddles. So difficult are
these questions that not a single soul was able to correctly answer any of
the trivia questions for last season. We're disappointed with
you, our apparently unknowledgable, valued readers. This month we're
going with another classic television program you all should
know, Taxi. If you answer all 10 questions right, you will win a bitchin' prize.
LCS Hockey Pool
The FREE 1997-98 LCS Hockey Pool is thru taking entries. The final team lists and weekly
results will be updated throughout the season. Results will be posted on Wednesdays. The
first epoch ends next week, November 24. Winners will be announced at that time.
Coming Soon!
The opening of the LCS Hall of Fame, and much, much more...
_____________________________________________________
CREDITS
Michael Dell........................Editor-in-Chief
Zippy the Wonder Chimp.................Computer Boy
Jim Iovino.............................Ace Reporter
Matthew Secosky............................Whatever
Dan Hurwitz.............Force for Cultural Hegemony
John Kreiser.....................Featured Columnist
David A. Feete......................Featured Writer
Viktor Malakoff...............Anaheim Correspondent
Matt Brown.....................Boston Correspondent
Joe Brunner...................Buffalo Correspondent
Tony Wong.....................Calgary Correspondent
Dan Glovier...................Chicago Correspondent
Greg D'Avis..................Colorado Correspondent
Jim Panenka....................Dallas Correspondent
Dino Cacciola.................Detroit Correspondent
Simon D. Lewis...............Edmonton Correspondent
Eric A. Seiden................Florida Correspondent
Steve Gallichio..............Hartford Correspondent
Matt Moore................Los Angeles Correspondent
Jacques Robert...............Montreal Correspondent
David Ibrahim..............New Jersey Correspondent
David Strauss...............Islanders Correspondent
Alex Frias....................Rangers Correspondent
The Nosebleeders..............Ottawa Correspondents
Eric Meyer...............Philadelphia Correspondent
Jeff Brown....................Phoenix Correspondent
Joe Ashkar..................St. Louis Correspondent
Mark Spiegel.................San Jose Correspondent
Troy Ely....................Tampa Bay Correspondent
Jonah Sigel...................Toronto Correspondent
Carol Schram................Vancouver Correspondent
Jason Sheehan..............Washington Correspondent
Tricia McMillan...................AHL Correspondent
_____________________________________________________
LCS Guide to Hockey, Issue 82, November 18, 1997.
Email address: sportif@oak.westol.com Good ol' postal
address: 632 Hempfield Street, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Web Site: http://www.lcshockey.com/ open 24 hours a day.
AOL Keyword: "LCS" or "LCS Hockey", exclusive coverage.
_____________________________________________________
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CHIMP BYTES: General NHL News and Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
by Zippy the Wonder Chimp
JAGR DENIES REPORTS THAT HE WANTS TO LEAVE PITTSBURGH
Jaromir Jagr has denied reports published by the Toronto Sun claiming he
wants to leave Pittsburgh because of discontent with Kevin Constantine's
new defensive-minded system. In fact, Jagr plans on signing a new contract by
next week so he can finish his career with the Penguins. The new contract is expected
to be for seven years and worth about $50 million
His comments came a day after the Toronto Sun reported that he sat out
the Penguins' last two games not because of a hip injury, but because
he was angry over the team's refusal to open up the offense.
''I've always wanted to play in Pittsburgh and I want to finish my career here...
and I want to play another 15 years.'', Jagr stated.
Jagr was also upset by claims that he no longer wants to play with Ron Francis because
he has lost a step over the past two seasons. Sure, Francis is getting older, but he
still leads the Penguins in scoring this season. Jagr had this to say on the situation,
''I've played with him for six years and everybody knows how much I love
to play with him.''
TEAM U.S.A. MAY BOYCOTT
St. Louis Blues right wing Brett Hull's threat of a player boycott
of the U.S. Olympic hockey team over the Bill Guerin issue was
greeted with surprise and solidarity.
Hull told The Toronto Star that New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch
said a boycott had been discussed because players were angry that unsigned
New Jersey Devils winger Bill Guerin wasn't named to the team and was told
he couldn't practice with the USA's under-18 national team.
Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello is naming the USA Olympic team.
The U.S.A. still has three remaining forwards to name by Dec. 1. In all
likely-hood expect to see Guerin selected.
LEMIEUX ENTERS HALL OF FAME
Mario Lemieux earned his rightful place in hockey history on Nov. 17
when he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame during ceremonies
in Toronto. Lemieux, who overcame Hodgkin's disease and a
debilitating back injury to maintain his status as one of the
greatest players in NHL history, became the ninth player inducted
into the Hall of Fame without having to wait the mandatory three
years after retirement. Lemieux retired in May as the
sixth-leading scorer in league history. After personally rescuing
hockey in Pittsburgh, he led the Class of 1997 into the Hockey
Hall of Fame. Joining Lemieux at the induction ceremonies were
Glen Sather, the architect of the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty; Bryan
Trottier, who led the New York Islanders' dynasty of the 1980s
before teaming with Lemieux to win two more Stanley Cups with the
Penguins; longtime Philadelphia Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart; and
Hockey News founder Ken McKenzie.
NHL AGREES ON FOUR-YEAR DEAL WITH CBC, LABATT BREWERIES
The National Hockey League Wednesday reached a new four-year
agreement with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for
national English language broadcast rights of NHL games in
Canada, and with Labatt Breweries for title sponsorship of the
package. CBC, which first broadcast the NHL in 1952, will
continue providing doubleheader NHL games on Saturday nights, as
well as coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs, NHL All-Star Game
and NHL Awards. "CBC has played an integral role in building the
tradition and passion that Canadians have for this great game,"
said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "And now that Labatt
Breweries will join the NHL family, this new partnership is sure
to energize the role that NHL hockey plays in Canada." The Labatt
agreement begins next season, after the league's five-year
contract with Molson Companies expires. Labatt, which is
celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, also has sponsorship
associations with the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and the
1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
NASHVILLE FRANCHISE TO BE KNOWN AS PREDATORS
The NHL's new Nashville franchise, which will begin
play next season, will be known as the Predators. The
announcement was made Thursday night by owner Craig Leipold and
team president Jack Diller at a downtown Nashville bar. The
nickname was recommended in September by more than 12,000 fans
who attended the team's "Ice Breaker Bash" at Nashville Arena.
"This is another major step in creating a permanent identity for
Nashville's franchise," Leipold said. "Given the intense nature
of hockey, combined with the game's speed and skill, Predators is
a natural fit, and it is the name Nashville fans chose for their
team." Team officials unveiled the Predators' logo, which
features a snarling sabertooth tiger. The animal was native to
the region that is now Nashville. The team colors will be dark
blue, silver, orange and gold. The Predators will join the NHL
next season as the first of four new franchises.
COLUMBUS FRANCHISE TO BE NAMED BLUE JACKETS
The NHL expansion team to begin play in Columbus, Ohio, during
the 2000-01 season will be called the Blue Jackets, the team
announced Tuesday. "We wanted a name that reflected the spirit
and pride that exists in Columbus," principal owner John H.
McConnell said. "The Blue Jacket is aggressive, industrious,
multi-tasked, resourceful and fast -- many of the qualities
exemplified by our community. The Columbus Blue Jackets will make
Columbus proud and the franchise will be a shining star for the
league." The primary logo, which also was unveiled Tuesday,
depicts a bug with an attitude -- complete with wings, antennae
and clenched teeth. It is outfitted with a blue coat with stars
on the collar and a cap reminiscent of the Civil War, in honor of
Ohio's historical heritage.
CAPS' SIMON SUSPENDED THREE GAMES AFTER HEARING
Following a hearing Tuesday in New York, NHL executives decided
upon a three-game suspension for Washington Capitals left wing
Chris Simon, who directed a racial remark at Edmonton Oilers
right wing Mike Grier Saturday. The incident occurred at the
conclusion of Washington's 2-1 win over Edmonton at Landover, Md.
Simon received a gross misconduct penalty after the teams
converged at center ice. He was suspended indefinitely on Sunday
after a preliminary investigation, which included a review of the
officials' reports, telephone discussions with the two on-ice
officials who heard the remarks and a telephone interview with
Simon. Simon flew to Toronto Monday and apologized to Grier and
volunteered to donate his time to the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey
Club, a program for inner-city youth in the Washington, D.C.
area.
LIMOUSINE DRIVER IN RED WINGS ACCIDENT SENTENCED
Richard Gnida, the limousine driver who was behind the wheel in a
single-car accident that injured two Detroit Red Wings players
and their trainer, received a ninth-month jail sentence for the
misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license.
Konstantinov, who suffered a brain injury in the accident, was
recently transferred to a private rehabilitation center in Florida
where he will spend the winter and continue his recovery. Mnatsakanov,
the Red Wings trainer, remains hospitalized at the William Beaumont
Hospital in Royal Oaks.
DEVILS' DANEYKO ENTERS SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM
New Jersey Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko, who recently missed
games for "personal reasons," voluntarily entered in-patient
treatment as part of the National Hockey League's substance abuse
and behavioral health program. The announcement was made on Nov. 6
by the league and the NHL Players Association. Daneyko will continue
to receive full salary and benefits and will have no penalty
imposed as long as he complies with the prescribed treatment
and aftercare program. It is believed Daneyko has a drinking
problem.
LIGHTNING'S CICCARELLI UNDERGOES SURGERY
The Tampa Bay Lightning received more bad news last week when
right wing Dino Ciccarelli opted to undergo surgery to remove
bone chips from his right elbow. Ciccarelli, who has been bothered
by elbow pain all season, will miss approximately 10 days after
undergoing the arthroscopic procedure on Nov. 8.
KINGS RETURN JOKINEN TO FINNISH TEAM
The Los Angeles Kings, trying to find more playing time for the
third overall pick in last summers NHL draft, returned center
Olli Jokinen to IFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League
Thursday. The 18-year-old Jokinen had no points and six penalty
minutes in eight games with the Kings. Look for Jokinen in the
World Junior Championship in December and the Nagano Olympics in
February.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
November 15, 1997
Tampa Bay Lightning: Fined forwards Rob Zamuner, Mikael
Renberg, Mikael Andersson and Mick Vukota; and defensemen
Roman Hamrlik, Igor Ulanov and Karl Dykhuis; and goaltender Darren
Puppa for reporting late to practice Saturday morning.
November 14, 1997
Boston Bruins: Sent defenseman Dean Cheynoweth, right wing Kirk
Neilson and center Shawn Bates to Providence of the American
Hockey League.
Calgary Flames: Sent left wing Todd Hlushko to Saint John of the
American Hockey League; recalled center Eric Landry from Saint
John.
Dallas Stars: Recalled goaltender Manny Fernandez from Michigan of
the International Hockey League. Placed goaltender Roman Turek on
injured reserve with a groin strain.
Florida Panthers: Traded left wing Dave Lowry to the San Jose
Sharks for the 1998 fifth-round draft choice, originally acquired from
Florida in the 1995 Johan Garpenlov deal.
Los Angeles Kings: Traded right wing Brad Smyth to the New York
Rangers for a conditional draft pick.
New Jersey Devils: Recalled left wing Jay Pandolfo from Albany of
the American Hockey League.
New York Islanders: Recalled defenseman Jason Holland and right
wing Steve Webb from Kentucky of the American Hockey League.
San Jose Sharks: Traded left wing Viktor Kozlov to the Florida
Panthers for a 1998 first-round draft pick. Recalled center Alex
Korolyuk from Kentucky of the American Hockey League and left
wing Barry Potomski from Las Vegas of the International Hockey
League. Sent center Steve Guolla to Kentucky.
November 13, 1997
Carolina Hurricanes: Recalled defenseman Nolan Pratt from New
Haven of the American Hockey League.
Edmonton Oilers: Recalled center Mike Watt, left wing Joe Hulbig,
right wing Georges Laraque and defensemen Ladislav Benysek and
Sean Brown from Hamilton of the American Hockey League. Sent
center Steve Kelly, left wing Jason Bowen and right wing Dennis
Bonvie to Hamilton. Waived defenseman Drake Berehowsky for the
purpose of reassignment.
Nashville: Announced its team name will be the Predators.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Sent defenseman Sven Butenschon to Syracuse
of the American Hockey League.
Vancouver Canucks: Fired coach Tom Renney and assistant coach
Terry Bangen. Named Mike Keenan coach.
November 12, 1997
Calgary Flames: Sent right wing Erik Andersson to SaintJohn of the
American Hockey League and defenseman Kevin Dahl to Chicago of
the International Hockey League.
Chicago Blackhawks: Acquired goaltender Andrei Trefilov from the
Buffalo Sabres for a conditional draft pick. Recalled goaltender Kirk
Daubenspeck from Indianapolis of the International Hockey League.
Sent right wing Kevin Miller to Indianapolis.
New Jersey Devils: Recalled defenseman Sheldon Souray from
Albany of the American Hockey League.
New York Rangers: Recalled right wing Johan Lindbom from
Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Phoenix Coyotes: Recalled defenseman Jason Doig from Springfield
of the American Hockey League.
St. Louis Blues: Sent goaltender Rich Parent to Manitoba of the
International Hockey League.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Named Jacques Demers head coach and
signed him to a three-year contract.
Washington Capitals: Recalled center Benoit Gratton from Portland
of the American Hockey League.
November 11, 1997
National Hockey League: Suspended Washington Capitals left wing
Chris Simon three games for directing a racial slur at Mike Grier of the
Edmonton Oilers in a Nov. 8 game.
Columbus: Announced its nickname will be the Blue Jackets.
Dallas Stars: Recalled right wing Jeff Mitchell and left wing Jamie
Wright from Michigan of the International Hockey League. Placed left
wing Patrick Cote on injured reserve with a shoulder strain.
Phoenix Coyotes: Signed defenseman John Slaney to a one-year
contract extension.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Recalled defenseman Matt Martin from
Chicago of the International Hockey League.
November 10, 1997
Calgary Flames: Recalled defenseman Jamie Allison from Saint John
of the American Hockey League.
Chicago Blackhawks: Sent left wing Dan Cleary to Indianapolis of
the International Hockey League for conditioning purposes.
Colorado Avalanche: Recalled left wing Yves Sarault from Hershey
of the American Hockey League.
Dallas Stars: Recalled defenseman Sergey Gusev from Michigan of
the International Hockey League. Sent defenseman Dan Keczmer to
Michigan. Activated right wing Jere Lehtinen from injured reserve.
New Jersey Devils: Recalled right wing Sasha Lakovic from Albany
of the American Hockey League. Sent left wing Jay Pandolfo to
Albany.
Vancouver Canucks: Sent defenseman Bert Robertsson and center
Lubomir Vaic to Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
November 9, 1997
National Hockey League: Suspended Washington Capitals left wing
Chris Simon indefinitely for directing a racial slur at Mike Grier of the
Edmonton Oilers in a Nov. 8 game.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Recalled left wing Brent Peterson from
Milwaukee of the International Hockey League.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sent center Kevyn Adams to St. John's of the
American Hockey League.
November 8, 1997
New York Rangers: Sent right wing Johan Lindbom to Hartford of
the American Hockey League.
Vancouver Canucks: Sent left wing Larry Courville to Syracuse of
the American Hockey League.
November 7, 1997
Buffalo Sabres: Recalled center Erik Rasmussen from Rochester of
the American Hockey League.
Calgary Flames: Sent left wing Todd Hlushko to Saint John of the
American Hockey League.
Colorado Avalanche: Sent defenseman Wade Belak and right wing
Christian Matte to Hershey of the American Hockey League.
Los Angeles Kings: Signed right wing Russ Courtnall to a one-year
contract.
Ottawa Senators: Signed right wing Alexandre Daigle to a one-year
contract extension.
Phoenix Coyotes: Sent defenseman Deron Quint and center Scott
Levins to the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.
Recalled right wing Shane Doan from Springfield.
St. Louis Blues: Recalled goaltender Rich Parent from Manitoba of
the International Hockey League.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sent goaltender Marcel Cousineau to St.
John's of the American Hockey League.
Vancouver Canucks: Re-signed restricted free agent right wing
Alexander Mogilny to a four-year contract. Recalled defenseman Bert
Robertsson from Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
Washington Capitals: Sent left wing Andrew Brunette to Portland of
the American Hockey League.
November 6, 1997
Buffalo Sabres: Sent center Erik Rasmussen to Rochester of the
American Hockey League.
Carolina Hurricanes: Recalled goaltender Pat Jablonski from
Cleveland of the International Hockey League. Sent goaltender Mike
Fountain to New Haven of the American Hockey League.
Dallas Stars: Sent left wing Juha Lind to Michigan of the International
Hockey League.
Edmonton Oilers: Waived right wing Dennis Bonvie.
Florida Panthers: Claimed left wing Ray Whitney off waivers from the
Edmonton Oilers.
Los Angeles Kings: Sent center Olli Jokinen to IFK Helsinki of the
Finnish Elite League.
New York Rangers: Sent left wing Pierre Sevigny and right wing
Vladimir Vorobiev to Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Phoenix Coyotes: Recalled defenseman Sean Gagnon from
Springfield of the American Hockey League.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Recalled defenseman Tuomas Gronman from
Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
November 5, 1997
Colorado Avalanche: Recalled defenseman Wade Belak from
Hershey of the American Hockey League.
Dallas Stars: Placed defenseman Shawn Chambers on injured
reserve. Recalled defenseman Dan Keczmer from Michigan of the
International Hockey League.
Philadelphia Flyers: Sent right wing John Druce and goaltender Neil
Little to Philadelphia of the American Hockey League.
San Jose Sharks: Recalled left wing Niklas Andersson from
Kentucky of the American Hockey League.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sent defenseman David Cooper to St. John's
of the American Hockey League.
Vancouver Canucks: Sent defenseman Chris McAllister to Syracuse
of the American Hockey League.
November 4, 1997
Colorado Avalanche: Recalled right wing Christian Matte from
Hershey of the American Hockey League.
Edmonton Oilers: Loaned center Jason Bonsignore to San Antonio of
the International Hockey League.
New York Rangers: Sent center Marc Savard to Hartford of the
American Hockey League.
Phoenix Coyotes: Recalled right wing Scott Levins from Springfield of
the American Hockey League.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Recalled goaltender Peter Skudra from
Houston of the International Hockey League.
Vancouver Canucks: Fired president and general manager Pat Quinn.
Washington Capitals: Sent left wings Ryan Mulhern and Dwayne
Hay to Portland of the American Hockey League.
---------------------------------------------------------
In the Box with John Kreiser
---------------------------------------------------------
by John Kreiser
(EDITOR'S NOTE: In the Box with John Kreiser is a regular weekly
feature on the LCS Hockey AOL area, keyword: LCS)
Mike Keenan says a year away from hockey has mellowed him, that's he's a
kinder, gentler version of the coach who's antagonized players from coast to
coast -- while winning everywhere he's been. Don't believe it. The overcoddled
players on the Vancouver Canucks had better not.
Keenan is about as loveable as an angry porcupine. He's earned his nickname,
"Iron Mike," by showing little regard for anything but winning. Players who
can help his team win are rewarded and retrieved at his next port of call
(think of Brian Noonan and Steve Larmer from the 1994 Rangers, or Stephane
Matteau, who's been with him in three cities); those whom he feels aren't up
to the task are sent packing (see Mike Gartner and Tony Amonte, thrown
overboard in 1994) with barely a goodbye.
For most of the Canucks, Keenan's hiring figures to be like stepping out of
a warm house into a zero-degree day -- a not-very-pleasant shock to the system.
Then again, if any team could use a wake-up jolt, it's the overpaid,
underachieving Canucks.
When Tom Renney was hired by Pat Quinn in the summer of 1996 as the Canucks'
new bench boss, he was a smart young coach who had enjoyed a run of success
with the Canadian National Team. When he was shown the door last week, he
finally got a break from all those "unnamed player" stories attacking him
after yet another loss.
Maybe Renney wasn't ready for the NHL. He certainly made no friends among
the players last year by banning beer from team flights, and showed no
particular brilliance in his 1+ seasons behind the bench. But given the
Canucks' inconsistent goaltending, soft-as-oatmeal defense, continuing
failure to find a center who can play with whiny Pavel Bure and Alexander
Mogilny, and overall selfish play, what was he supposed to do? Everyone knew
Pat Quinn was the boss, anyway. But when Quinn was guillotined earlier this
month. Renney's departure was all but assured.
There's an old adage that says "Be careful what you ask for. You might get
it." The players who didn't want Renney running the show got their wish.
Renney is gone, as is Quinn. Keenan's the boss. The party's over. Like Santa
Claus, Keenan is already making his list and checking it twice. Only in this
case, he's the one who'll be naughty or nice, depending on what he thinks of
a player's ability to help turn the team into a winner.
And make no mistake: Keenan's teams win -- and win quickly. He's taken three
different clubs to the Stanley Cup finals, winning with the Rangers in 1994
before running to St. Louis practically before the champagne had stopped
fizzing from New York's first title in 54 years. Remember: The year before
Keenan came, the Rangers missed the playoffs; since he left, they've gotten
as far as the semifinals only once.
But the other constant in Keenan's professional life is that he's never in
one place for a long time. He wants to be in control, to do things his way
with no one to tell him "no." Since Keenan's not an owner, this invariably
leads to problems. He thought he had that kind of situation in St. Louis,
where he was both coach and GM, only to find that ownership wasn't as eager
to throw around money on players as he was.
With the Canucks, Keenan's title is coach. Steve Tambellini will do the
dirty work that goes with the GM's job, but rest assured that it will be
Keenan's call when the time comes to clean house. That time should come soon:
Read through the Keenan-speak of the past few days and it's apparent that
he's already made it known that the Canucks' new slogan should be "My Way Or
The Highway." Anyone who's not prepared to play Keenan's uptempo,
pressure-style physical game should be packing their bags now. John McCaw
didn't bring Keenan to Western Canada to be a nice guy. He brought him there
to win -- now.
Keenan can be charming, graceful and insightful when he chooses to be.
Watching him talk to a room full of writers just before being hired by the
Rangers, it was impossible not to be impressed with his intelligence and
perspective. But Keenan seems to exhibit that side of his personality only on
rare occasions.
Mike Keenan will never be hockey's Mr. Congeniality. If he were, he would
have been back in hockey a lot sooner. But he wouldn't be the Mike Keenan
that Vancouver management hired him to be.
HAB-ING A GREAT TIME: It's true that you can't win without players. But
talent alone isn't enough to win hockey games. Exhibit A is the Montreal
Canadiens.
Last year's Montreal team had ample talent -- and no clue as to how to use it.
Though Mario Tremblay bled bleu, blanc, et rouge, he had no clue about what
went into being an NHL coach. The Canadiens were poorly prepared and
strategically weak. Combine that with a weak defense, inconsistent
goaltending, and Tremblay's prickly personality (he helped run Patrick Roy
out of Montreal), and the result was an early summer.
The arrival (via free agency) of Andy Moog has helped cure the goaltending
woes. But more important was the hiring of Alain Vigneault as coach and Dave
King as his top assistant.
Vigneault has the Canadiens playing as hard as Tremblay ever did. More
important, they're playing hard and smart -- the biggest reason that they're
14-5-2 and atop the Northeast Division. Their recent seven-game winning
streak is their first since 1992.
Vigneault says the Canadiens "are playing hard and getting contributions
from everyone." This season, that includes the coach, too.
GETTING DRAFTY: Here's some advice for the next time your favorite team
lands a high first-round draft pick: Don't start celebrating just yet.
The San Jose Sharks landed Florida's No. 1 pick next spring when they dealt
a former No. 1, Viktor Kozlov, to the Panthers. GM Dean Lombardi says the
Sharks wanted a player, not a draft pick, but took the first-rounder when no
one thought the 22-year-old Russian was worth what he was asking. "We decided
to take the pick and maybe we can do something with it down the road," says
Lombardi.
That wouldn't have been the case four years ago. At 18, Kozlov was a hot
prospect: a skilled 6-foot-5, 225-pounder with a seemingly unlimited future.
The Sharks landed him with the sixth pick overall after ranking him higher
than Paul Kariya, Chris Pronger, and Chris Gratton.
Four years later, Kozlov will try to rebuild a career that never was in a
new city. Maybe the Panthers will be able to turn his potential into
achievement. "People expect a lot from me," says Kozlov, who had five goals in
17 games before the Sharks dealt him. "I need to prove more."
That's an understatement.
STAT SHOTS: The fact that Colorado beat the Flyers in Philadelphia last
week wasn't all that remarkable. The identity of the winning goaltender is,
though. Patrick Roy's 2-1 victory marked only the second time he's ever
beaten the Flyers -- a potential rival in the Stanley Cup finals this spring.
He's now 2-11-8 against Philly. ...
The Montreal Canadiens owned the Washington Capitals during the Caps' first
few NHL seasons. Now the Capitals are getting even. Saturday's 3-2 victory
was Washington's seventh straight triumph over the Canadiens, including a
pair this season in Montreal. ...
Nikolai Khabibulin will have to settle for second place. "The Bulin Wall"
sat out Phoenix's 3-2 victory over San Jose last Saturday, ending his
consecutive-games streak at 60. Since expansion, only Grant Fuhr (76) had
played in more consecutive games than Khabibulin.
---------------------------------------------------------
I Heard Things
---------------------------------------------------------
By Jim Iovino
Alf ready for comeback
Ottawa Senator star forward Daniel Alfredsson hopes to end
his seven-game absence due to an ankle injury and return to the
lineup Thursday night when his team plays Pittsburgh.
For Senator fans, Alfredsson's return can't come soon enough. After
starting out the season on fire, the Senators have struggled. They
are currently mired in a six-game winless streak and are 9-9-4
overall.
The Senators disappointed the home crowd Monday night by losing to
the Boston Bruins (11-7-3), 4-2, and they looked bad doing it.
Outside of Alexei Yashin, who scored both Ottawa goals,
everyone was to blame in the loss.
Alfredsson's importance to his team has been felt during his
absence, both during the time he was injured and when he was a
holdout at the beginning of the season. Yashin has had to create
most of the team's offense by himself in that time, but more teams
are keying in on him and shutting him down for the most part. The
Senators need Alfredsson to return to the lineup not only for his
strong play at both ends of the ice, but also to take some of the
pressure off of Yashin.
Alfredsson has played in just nine games this season, scoring seven
goals and four assists.
No ice time for No. 1
Joe Thornton, the first pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft,
hasn't seen much ice time lately. And unless the Boston Bruins
send him to Team Canada's World Junior Championship squad, it's not
likely Thornton will see a lot more game action anytime soon.
Thornton has spent two of the past three Bruin games in the press
box, and even when he plays he doesn't get a lot of action. So
instead of letting the youngster's talents erode while on the
bench, Bruin head coach Pat Burns is thinking about sending
Thornton to Finland to play for Team Canada in the World Juniors
from December 25 to January 3.
The 18-year-old center has struggled with the defensive part of his
game. He has also disappointed in defensive zone faceoffs.
Offensively, Thornton has no points in 14 games this season.
Quotes on Keenan
"You just watch people fly in and out of there now. That's all I'm
going to say. We're having too much fun here to worry about that
organization."
Brett Hull
Comments after finding out his former coach, Mike Keenan, was
hired by the Vancouver Canucks
Notes an' `at
The Dallas Stars have had the luxury of scoring the first goal of
the game in all but one of their 13 road games. The only time the
Stars didn't tally the first goal was against the Detroit Red
Wings. The result was a 3-1 loss. The Stars are 8-3-2 on the
road... The Chicago Blackhawks are 6 for 100 on the power
play this season... There are just three more games left in the
history of The Midget Line...
---------------------------------------------------------
Winter Olympics Come to the Desert
---------------------------------------------------------
By Ron Matejko
Patriotism was very high at America West Arena this week.
The Phoenix Coyotes representatives of Team USA were on hand as
Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick proudly modeled their new
Olympic jerseys. The sweaters were equipped with all the
necessities; name, numbers, red, white and blue colors, and of
course, the Nike swoosh.
Roenick's jersey displayed his old Chicago Blackhawks number, 27,
on the back but he said he'll return it and have his current
number 97 sewn on, instead.
Tkachuk will wear the same number 17 he wore during the World
Cup, since Chris Chelios has first dibs on the number seven they
both wear during the regular National Hockey League season. He is
also expected to resume the assistant captain role he filled
during the World Cup.
For Roenick, playing in the Olympics has added meaning after
sitting out the World Cup during a contract dispute and missing
out on the first American victory in an international ice hockey
tournament since the 1980 Winter Games. It was the first time in
his career he didn't represent Team USA in an international
tourney.
"It hurt me a lot," said the Boston, Mass. native. "Whenever you
miss out on a chance to win a gold medal it's tough. But I did it
for personal reasons, and people have to respect that. Keith
played in the World Cup and won a gold medal, so he knows what
it's like. But I don't, so I'm very excited."
For Tkachuk, it is still a thrill representing the United States
even though he played in the 1992 Winter Games as a 19-year old.
"Anytime you play in the Olympics it's huge," says the Melrose,
Mass. native who helped lead Team USA to a fourth place finish in
Albertville, France. "Your adrenaline is always running, and I
had a lot of good experiences. I'm looking forward to doing that
again."
Roenick is predicted to center former Thayer Academy and
Blackhawks linemate Tony Amonte and hinted he would like to have
Tkachuk on his left side to form an all-Boston line.
The 1998 games represent the first time professionals will be
permitted to play for a gold medal. Previously, only players from
juniors and American colleges could play. Roenick isn't so sure
he like the format change.
"For me, I used to think of the Olympics as something the amateur
kids play in. That's something they dream of doing," said
Roenick. "For some kids who might not have a chance to play
professional hockey, their dream would be to play in the
Olympics. But with us playing in it now, that kind of shatters
their dream, and that's the negative part. But on the flip side
you do get the best hockey known to the sport and you can't beat
that."
The games for the Olympics will be played on a 200' x 100' ice
surface, wider than the 200' x 85' size of a standard NHL rink,
benefiting the better skating teams.
"Obviously it plays into the European hands, but we feel we can
compete with anyone," says Tkachuk who helped Team USA finish
fourth in the 1992 Winter Olympics. "We're the best team in the
world as champions of the World Cup. We're going to go out and
play our style and hopefully win a gold medal."
Defenseman Teppo Numminen and center Juha Ylonen are expected to
play for Finland like they did in the World Cup.
While goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has followed the same path as
many of his fellow NHL countrymen by declining to play for Team
Russia. Unsigned defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky will likely earn an
invitation to play for Russia, but his decision whether or not to
play is unknown.
---------------------------------------------------------
LCS Olympic Rosters
---------------------------------------------------------
by LCS: Guide to Hockey
Hey, kids, are you like LCS? Do ya... do ya have the Olympic
Fever. Yes, we here at LCS: Guide to Hockey are all loopy about
the upcoming Winter Olympics. Hey, what can we say? We love
ourselves some Biathlon. Where else can you legally ski and
shoot rifles for precious spot metals? Hell, toss in some cheap
wine and you'd have our eighth grade ski trip.
Biathlon excitement aside, this upcoming Olympics will feature
NHL players for the first time in the history of the planet.
It's, like, a really big deal or somethin'. Rosters for the
various countries participating in this wild and wacky
international hockey competition have to be turned in by December
1. There's been lots of discussion recently about who in fact
should make up the rosters for the United States and Canada. So,
being the swell guys we are, we went out of our way to pick
rosters. Aw, it's nothin' really. It's why we're here, it's
what we do.
Keep in mind, these rosters are made up of the players we
ourselves would select, and not the guys who we are predicting
will get picked. See how that works? Also, we only listed our
choices for the American and Canadian squads. We were gonna list
our picks for Team Germany, but they're all household names
anyway, so screw it. And as long as Colonel Klink and Sergeant
Schultz are there, the Germans will be all good.
TEAM CANADA
CENTERS
Eric Lindros, Philadelphia Flyers: He did a whole lot of
nothing at the World Cup. Now's his chance to make amends.
Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche: Joe was vastly underused
during the World Cup. He needs to play a ton to be at his best.
No one knows that better than Marc Crawford. So expect to see
Sakic with an expanded role.
Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings: Stevie Y may not be as
fast or dynamic as he once was, but the guy is just clutch. He
scores as many big goals as anyone in the business. He's also
Canada's second best two-way center. With number one being...
Ron Francis, Pittsburgh Penguins: Good ol' Ronnie Francis
never gets the respect he deserves and will likely get left off
the Olympic roster. But we here at LCS aren't stupid... we just
look that way. We know a good thing when we see it.
Mark Messier, Vancouver Canucks:: He has to go! He's
Mark Messier, damn it! Even if he doesn't play every game, he
can still have an enormous effect on the team.
LEFT WINGS
Paul Kariya, Parts Unknown: Holdout, shmoldout. Kariya
is still a bad man. Put him on a line with Sakic and watch the
red lights burn out.
Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wings: Okay, so he did stab
the Whale in the blow hole. It's time to move on. Shanny is
still a great player... a yellow-bellied turncoat, but a great
player nonetheless.
Gary Roberts, Carolina Hurricanes: That's right, Gary
Roberts. He still isn't back to top form, but he brings
character, toughness, and determination with him every time he
takes the ice. He's also got the scoring touch to finish the
chances when they come his way.
Wayne Gretzky, New York Rangers: Gretzky has to be
chosen. He's Wayne Gretzky, damn it! As long as he isn't used
in the middle, where he'd be a defensive liability, Wayne can
still be an impact player. Give him the occasional shift at
even-strength and then turn him loose on the power play.
RIGHT WING
Theo Fleury, Calgary Flames: Theo was probably Canada's
best player at the World Cup. With all the grief in Calgary
recently, Theo should welcome the chance to once again skate with
some of the game's best.
Claude Lemieux, Colorado Avalanche: Hell, Claude should
be given a gold medal for his recent brawl with Darren McCarty.
He's still one of the sports's best big-game players and has the
potential to be a factor, either with his scoring or his physical
play, every time he laces 'em up.
Owen Nolan, San Jose Sharks: Forget about his numbers in
San Jose. When Nolan plays with other great players, he's world
class. He's fast, powerful, and owns a lethal shot. To top it
all off, he's just a natural goal-scorer. Canada could have used
his stick at the World Cup. Nolan also has international
experience, having helped Canada to a World Championship last
summer. He likely won't make the real team, and word is he's
already been written off, but he's the kind of player Canada
needs.
Rod Brind'Amour, Philadelphia Flyers: Brind'Amour is the
utility guy. He can play all three forward positions, kill
penalties, and win key faceoffs.
DEFENSE
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins: Okay, so he's old, kind of
slow, and has a nutty haircut, but Bourque is still one of the
game's elite blueliners. He brings a presence to the rink. He
was sorely missed at the World Cup.
Adam Foote, Colorado Avalanche: He's the best young
defensive defenseman in hockey, bar none. Nobody likes to play
against this guy. When the opposition goes up against Foote,
they know one thing is for certain: pain.
Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues: Pronger's a machine. He
could play all 60 minutes if needed. He'll also bring more
youthful enthusiasm to the team... which means he'll be happy to
bust some heads.
Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils: He doesn't score like
he used to, but Stevens is still a force to be reckoned with.
Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings: Now that he's finally
healthy, Blake is once again an impact defenseman. He's one of
the most devastating hitters known to man. Combine Blake with
Stevens, Pronger, and Foote, and there's gonna be a trail of
beaten bodies along the boards in Japan.
Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia Flyers: This guy can do it
all. He's not flashy and sometimes goes without notice, but
Desjardins is excellent in every aspect of the game. He's more
dependable that a three-dollar wrist watch... that may not sound
like much, but keep in mind we're poor.
Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils: Niedermayer will
add some much needed mobility to the mix. It would also be a
chance for him to get out from under Jacques Lemaire's thumb and
show off his offensive skills. Because, as we all know,
Niedermayer's got mad skills.
Paul Coffey, Philadelphia Flyers: Say what you want about
the guy, but Coffey is a legend. If Gretzky and Messier are
getting free rides, so should Coffey.
GOALTENDERS
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche: He's the best goaltender
in the game and one of the best big-game netminders in the
history of the sport. Of course he's our starter. This is in no
way a slight to Curtis Joseph, he played great, but if Roy was in
net, Canada would have won the World Cup. He just has a way of
elevating the play of his teammates.
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils: If St. Patrick ever
needs a breather, Brodeur is the guy to take his place. Put them
in identical equipment and it would be hard to tell 'em apart.
Curtis Joseph, Edmonton Oilers: In case of emergency,
CuJo could come in and amaze and bewilder onlookers with his
startling quickness. A lot of people don't know this, but Joseph
is actually a circus sideshow exhibit during the off-season.
Yeah, it's true. Livin' out of a train, eating cotton candy for
breakfast, snagging all the sideshow groupies... it's a good gig
if you can get it.
While the Canadians were only a few moments from claiming the
World Cup themselves, it was obvious that the Americans were the
younger, stronger, faster club. So we selected guys like Roberts
and Nolan to add some muscle and grit up front, while Kariya will
add more than enough speed. One thing our group doesn't need is
leadership. Among our chosen few are 14 current or former
captains. I haven't seen that many Cs since my last report card.
TEAM USA
CENTERS
Mike Modano, Dallas Stars: Not only is he one of the most
dangerous scorers around, he's also become a dominant two-way
center. Just turn Mikey Mo loose and enjoy the show.
Doug Weight, Edmonton Oilers: Weight will be the USA's
premier set-up man. He scripts more plays than Shakespeare.
He's also sturdy on his skates and doesn't shy away from the
physical stuff.
Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix Coyotes: The last few seasons
have been rough for JR Superstar. The Olympics could be his
showcase to turn things around.
Joel Otto, Philadelphia Flyers: He's the big, strong
checking center every team wants and few have. He's a monster on
faceoffs.
Pat LaFontaine, New York Rangers: It would be absolutely
criminal if LaFontaine is left off the team. His early season
success with the Blueshirts proves that he can still score. And
his veteran leadership would be a major benefit to the youngsters
on the roster.
LEFT WING
John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers: LeClair established
himself as the best left winger in hockey at the World Cup. His
legend will continue to grow in Japan.
Keith Tkachuk, Phoenix Coyotes: He got off to a slow
start this season, but he's just now starting to catch fire. He
should be back to his usual 50-goal self by the time the Olympics
roll around.
Adam Deadmarsh, Colorado Avalanche: This kid can flat out
fly, hits like a truck, will drop the gloves, and has the
potential to be a serious goal contributor. He was pretty much a
hard-working role player at the World Cup, but could be ready for
prime time action during this tour with the red, white, and blue.
Shawn McEachern, Ottawa Senators: McEachern has one thing
that earns him a spot: speed. He's one pill-poppin' mother.
Whenever the team needs a little pick-me-up, McEachern could pass
around a bag of Black Beauties and lift everyone's spirits
through the wonders of pharmacology. He can also skate really,
really fast. He also centered Tkachuk and Amonte at BU. So
that's pretty cool...
RIGHT WING
Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues: Well, duh...
Tony Amonte, Chicago Blackhawks: Amonte is fun to watch.
His explosive skating makes him a threat to go end-to-end on any
given rush. He also finishes his checks, works hard every shift,
and is a demon on the penalty kill. He emerged as a star at the
World Cup and should solidify that status with a strong Olympic
showing.
Bill Guerin, Parts Unknown: He was a member of the World
Cup team, so who cares about his current holdout in New Jersey?
His brash physical nature went a long way to defining the gold-
medal winning US squad.
Bryan Smolinski, New York Islanders: We're not real big
fans of the guy, but he was a member of the World Cup team and
played the best hockey of his career for the stars and stripes.
DEFENSE
Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks: He's still the best
defenseman on Earth. The World Cup team looked kind of shaky
before Chelios arrived shortly before the tournament and calmed
things down. They need him back there.
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers: Leetch is the best
offensive defensemen North America has to offer.
Derian Hatcher, Dallas Stars: This guy's a rock on the
blue line. He plays it physical and can handle loads of ice
time.
Kevin Hatcher, Pittsburgh Penguins: Hatcher the Elder can
still be a force.
Bryan Berard, New York Islanders: The young phenom has
cemented his roster spot with an unbelievable start on Long
Island. He'll anchor one of the points on the power play and
help jump start the attack at even-strength.
Gary Suter, Chicago Blackhawks: He's a wily veteran that
knows his way around international competitions. His check on
Wayne Gretzky during the final Canada Cup can still spark fiery
debates.
Mathieu Schneider, Toronto Maple Leafs: He's never quite
made the jump to being a legitimate star defenseman, but
Schneider is still a remarkable skater that can make any team
he's on better.
Shawn Chambers, Dallas Stars: Assuming he's healthy
enough to play, Chambers will add even more mobility and puck
skills to the blue line.
GOALTENDERS
Mike Richter, New York Rangers: Richter was sensational
at the World Cup. He tends to run hot and cold, but if he's on
his game, Richter could carry the US to the gold medal.
John Vanbiesbrouck, Florida Panthers: VanRichterBrouck
will live again! Somewhere Roger Neilson is smiling.
Guy Hebert, Anaheim Mighty Ducks: Quack, quack, quack.
Hebert's a good goaltender, dude. Quack, quack, quack.
Our US squad is chock full of speed and vinegar. This would be a
good club, but they won't surprise anyone this time around. A
World Cup repeat is going to be a tall order. Especially
considering that Canada will be on a mission. But between you
and me, keep an eye on them Swedes... know what I mean? Them
Swedes are tricky like that.
---------------------------------------------------------
Russian Olympic roster announced
---------------------------------------------------------
By Jim Iovino
Because all Olympic ice hockey rosters can be made up of NHL
players, each country's list should be a who's who of the top
players the world has ever seen. But in the case of Team Russia,
there might just be more talent in those players not attending the
Olympic Games rather than the ones that are.
The Russian hockey federation named 19 players who will make the
trip to Nagano, Japan for the Winter Olympics, including
Vancouver's Pavel Bure, Ottawa's Alexei Yashin and Colorado's
Valeri Kamensky. But there are numerous stars absent from the
roster, including long-time Russian stars Igor Larionov and Slava
Fetisov and current superstars Nikolai Khabibulin and Alexander
Mogilny.
Their absence from the Games is due to complaints about the way the
Russian team was run in the World Cup and the failure to improve on
the situation. Team Russia lost to Team USA in the semifinals of
the World Cup last year. The old iron fist of Mother Russia is
still in charge of the hockey federation, which means players are
treated poorly and have no say in team affairs. Since Russia's
current stars are used to the freedom guaranteed to them by
democracy in North America, they are showing little tolerance to
the tactics used by those in charge in their homeland.
So for now, some of Russia's finest players won't make the trek to
Japan. There is little or no hope of changing their minds,
however. Khabibulin in particular has been adamant about not
playing for Team Russia.
Three spots still remain open on the Russian roster, but none of the
players who are boycotting the team are being considered for the
postitions. Names like Sergei Krivokrasov and Valeri Bure are being
mentioned as possible candidates.
The 19 players named are:
Forwards:
Alexei Zhamnov
Pavel Bure
Valeri Kamensky
Alexei Yashin
Alexei Kovalev
Andrei Kovalenko
Valeri Zelepukin
German Titov
Sergei Nemchinov
Defensemen:
Darius Kasparaitis
Boris Mironov
Alexei Gusarov
Alexander Karpovtsev
Igor Kravchuk
Dmitri Mironov
Dmitri Yushkevich
Alexei Zhitnik
Goaltenders:
Andrei Trefilov
Mikhail Shtalenkov
---------------------------------------------------------
Some More Stuff...
---------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell
EXPANSION BLOWS
If anymore proof was needed that NHL expansion was evil, it came
this past week when two of the new franchises unveiled their
nicknames and logos.
The Columbus franchise will be known as the Blue Jackets. Now
this might surprise a few people, but I actually liked that name
when I first heard it. I just think it's cool to name a team
after an article of clothing. After all, no one laughs at the
Boston Red Sox. But you can imagine my chagrin when I saw the
logo and it featured some sort of bulging-eyed insect dressed in
Civil War garb and carrying a hockey stick. Wha'? Huh? Wha'?
A simple blue hooded-windbreaker would have done just nicely,
thank you very much.
Apparently a Blue Jacket is some sort of pest common in Ohio
circles. Here's what John H. McConnell, the principal owner of
the franchise, had to say at the big news conference:
"We wanted a name that reflected the spirit and pride that exists
in Columbus. The Blue Jacket is aggressive, industrious,
multi-tasked, resourceful and fast - many of the qualities
exemplified by our community."
And what a proud community it must be, to be compared to an
insect and all. Just don't go near these people carrying a shoe
or rolled-up newspaper... makes them kind of skittish.
The Blue Jacket logo is strictly bush league. The first sign of
trouble is that it involves a cartoon character. That's never a
good thing. And get this, the bug's name is "Stinger". Wow,
how'd they ever come up with that? Truly a moment of creative
bliss. Then to make matters worse, "Stinger" is dressed like a
Civil War soldier. You know what that means, don't ya? He's one
of them stinkin' Civil War buffs. If it's one thing I hate, it's
buffs. Every weekend he probably heads to the forest with his
loser buddies and recreates battles using cap guns. That's just
silly.
The logo screams IHL. But then again, by the time the Blue
Jackets join the league in 2000-2001, the NHL will be mostly made
up of IHL level talent, so I guess the logo is a good fit.
That's right, the Blue Jackets won't join the league for another
two years. So why the hurry in deciding on a name and logo? Got
me. Maybe they lost a bet. Like, you know, it was probably one
of those bets where if you win you get $10 bucks, but if you lose
you have to make a big jackass of yourself and your community on
a national stage.
Joining the league next season will be the Nashville Predators.
Oh boy. First person to make an Arnold Schwarzenegger reference
will be beaten severely about the head and shoulders. And you
know it's only a matter of time before some clown makes one and
then thinks he's all clever for doing it. I just hope I'm there
with a bat when it happens.
This is the second dumbest nickname in professional sports,
finishing behind only the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. The
Predators' logo is a silvery Sabretooth Tiger. Ooooh, scary. It
looks more like a demented walrus. Hey, now there's a name for a
team... the Demented Walruses.
When considering these names and logos a few things come to mind.
First, as amazing as it seems, someone was actually paid money to
design the logos. Not fake monopoly money, but real honest to
goodness real life currency that can be used to procure goods and
services. That's astonishing. Meanwhile, we here at LCS have
been working every day like chimps for over three years and are
still broke as hell. Who says life ain't fair?
The second amazing thing is that numerous professional people
actually came to an agreement that the Predators was, in fact, an
excellent name for a professional hockey team. This wasn't just
a spur of the moment decision. There were meetings held and
memos written. Yet not once did someone have the strength to
say, "Ya know what? That's really dumb." And as hard as it is
to believe, many important people had to look at that punk-ass
Blue Jackets logo and say, "Wow, that's cool!" These things just
don't happen. It takes a lot of time and effort to come up with
stuff this pathetic.
But the main fault still lies with the NHL. The league has to
approve all names and logos. So hats off to the NHL for once
again making a mockery of the once proud sport. Nice job!
JAGR GOIN' NOWHERE
This past week, Toronto Sun reporter Al Strachan, the same guy
who spearheaded a panel that named Wayne Gretzky as the best
player in the league last season, wrote an article that said
Jaromir Jagr no longer wanted to play in Pittsburgh. The article
said that Jagr wants a $58-million contract and is angry that the
Penguins are still paying $7 million in deferred payments to
Mario Lemieux this season. It also said that Jagr is at odds
with first-year coach Kevin Constantine over the team's new
defensive system and went on to report that Jagr hates playing
with Ron Francis because the veteran center has slowed down
dramatically with age and that the Czech Wonder Kid would rather
play with fellow Czechs Josef Beranek and Petr Nedved, who are
both unsigned Penguin property.
Well, don't believe the hype.
Jagr, who missed the past two games with a hip flexor injury,
skated with the team on Tuesday and ripped Strachan's article to
shreds. The only sliver of truth in the whole mess is that Jagr
is a bit frustrated with Constantine's system. But it's not to
the point that he wants out of town. He'd just like to be freed
up a bit and allowed to be more creative. A compromise between
the star and coach will likely be reached as the season
progresses, but the two get along just fine. Jagr also said that
he is very close to signing a new deal with the club and it could
be finalized within a week.
The most disturbing part of the article for Jagr, tho', was the
bit about Francis. As soon as he heard about the story in the
paper, Jagr immediately called Francis and told him it was a
bunch of bull. Anyone who has been around Pittsburgh hockey the
last several years knows that Francis has had the most dramatic
impact on Jagr's career. People always think that it was Lemieux
who was Jagr's mentor, but that's not really true. Francis is
the man responsible for Jagr being the player he is today, and
Jaromir said exactly that to the media at practice.
"I've played with Ronnie for years," said Jagr. "He knows how
much I love to play with him. I would never, ever say anything
against Ronnie Francis, because he got me to where I am right
now."
The team discussed the article before practice and laughed it off
as the joke it was. So this won't be an ongoing problem in the
dressing room. As for the "close friends" Strachan reportedly
got his info from for the article, most speculate that the source
was Tony Kondel, the agent of both Beranek and Nedved. Go
figure...
This whole thing once again proves that sportswriters are big
dorks. Why the hell would anyone want to be a sportswriter?
Sportswriters have to be, without doubt, the biggest weasels
in... um, never mind.
CLAUDE IS COOL LIKE THAT
The first battle of the season between Colorado and Detroit has
come and gone, and what a memorable night it was. The Avalanche
went into Detroit on November 11 and shut out the Red Wings 2-0
behind 32 saves from backup netminder Craig Billington.
The big news on this night, tho', came right at the drop of the
opening faceoff. As soon as the puck hit the ice, Claude Lemieux
ditched his gloves and went after big bad Darren McCarty. It was
on March 26 of last season that McCarty pummeled Lemieux in front
of the Detroit fans, forcing the abrasive Colorado winger to
turtle like a frightened school girl. While Lemieux covered up
at center ice, his teammates rushed to his aid, triggering an
all-out brawl. The Wings not only won the rumble, they also won
the game... in overtime on a goal by, guess who, Darren McCarty.
The combined beating seemed to scar the collective psyche of the
Avalanche and set the stage for an eventual Detroit Stanley Cup
win. This time things were different.
When Lemieux skated out to take the opening faceoff along with
linemates Joe Sakic and Jeff Odgers against the Detroit trio of
Steve Yzerman, Slava Kozlov, and McCarty, he was a man on a
mission. Claude was instructed to play the right side by coach
Marc Crawford, but asked Odgers to switch wings with him so he
could matchup face-to-face against McCarty. The two rivals
leaned in for the draw and exchanged a few soft spoken words
before the drop of the puck, with Lemieux simply nodding his head
in silent agreement as the moment of truth approached. A second
later the gloves were off and the fists were flying.
McCarty is a serious fighter. The guy's no joke. Claude could
have suffered another humiliating defeat. But he knew that he
had to prove himself to the Red Wings and, more importantly, to
his own teammates. If he got clobbered again, then so be it.
There had been rumors that the boys in the Colorado room had lost
some respect for ol' Claude when he pulled his disappearing act
last season. Whether it was true or not doesn't matter anymore,
because his teammates have to respect Claude now. Not only did
he take one for the team in fighting McCarty, he actually battled
him pretty good and probably won on points. Lemieux's teammates
cheered him loudly from the bench as he made his way to the
penalty box, slamming their sticks in approval. It was quite the
happening.
Enough can't be said about Claude's coolness in this matter. It
was the ultimate team act and pretty much exemplifies what
hockey's all about. And don't underestimate the effect it will
have on his club. The fight was as symbolic as it was
satisfying. The Avalanche won back any pride lost during the
incident last season and are now back on level footing with the
Wings. With any luck, the two teams will meet for a third
consecutive year in the Western Conference Finals. Because
another Colorado-Detroit playoff series will be a sure cure for
all that ails the NHL. And the league is plenty sick.
HULL TAKES A STAND
New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is in charge of selecting the
US Olympic team. So it came as no surprise when Lamoriello left
Billy Guerin off the initial roster, since Guerin continues to be
a free-agent holdout from the Devils. Well, that's not going
over too well with the other US Olympians.
Guerin was a vital member of the US squad that claimed the World
Cup and his teammates aren't about to forget him. Brett Hull
even came out recently and threatened an Olympic boycott unless
Guerin was named to the team. How cool is that? Atta boy,
Brett! Hockey is all about teamwork. You can never let your
teammates down. Just ask Claude Lemieux.
Hull is doing the right thing. Lamoriello, on the other hand, is
acting like a jerk. That Archie Bunker-lookin' mother has no
business keeping Guerin off the Olympic team simply because
Billy's tryin' to use the NHL's free agency to get a fair
contract. If Lou doesn't want to pay Guerin, fine. But don't
put foolish pride ahead of the USA's chances to win a gold medal.
COUSIN LARRY FIXES SHOWER
In a remarkable display of slapstick comedy, Larry Appleton and
his cousin Balki Bartokomous replaced a shower head Tuesday
morning with rather disastrous consequences.
The wackiness started when upstairs neighbors Jennifer Lyons and
Mary Ann Spencer asked Larry to let the plumber into their
apartment to install the new shower head while they were away.
Larry, wanting desperately to impress Jennifer, cancelled the
plumber and undertook the labor himself. It wasn't long before
water was shooting forth from every pipe in the bathroom,
drenching Larry and Balki in a monsoon of their own zaniness.
Aw, that was great, that was fun.
---------------------------------------------------------
AHL News
---------------------------------------------------------
by Tricia McMillan
Player of the Week (November 3): The Bulldogs were a
perfect 3-0 for the week and center Scott Fraser racked up eight
points in those three games, so he gets the nod for the award.
Fraser had a four-assist night against Syracuse, sandwiched by a
pair of two-goal nights against Albany and Providence, and one of
the goals was an overtime game-winner. Fraser had kicked
around Fredericton for nearly three years until Montreal traded
him to Calgary last season. After finishing the year in Saint
John, Fraser signed on with Edmonton and joined the Bulldogs,
continuing his tour of both NHL and AHL Canadian franchises.
Player of the Week (November 10) The Hartford Wolf Pack
has been on a roll of late, winning six straight at home, and a
lot of that had to do with the performance of goaltender Dan
Cloutier, ergo, he's the Player of the Week. Cloutier was 3-0
with a 2.00 GAA and a .940 save percentage as the Wolfpack came
out on top of Hershey, New Haven and Springfield. Springfield
managed 23 shots against Cloutier in one period but he did not
allow a goal. Cloutier, a former first round pick of the Rangers,
was also featured in LCS last season and his popularity continues
into this season.
AWARDS
Goaltender: With one month of the AHL season in the books,
it's time for the monthly awards. The first one went to a player
who is no longer in the AHL due to his October
performance - Saint John's Tyler Moss. After posting a 2-0-2
record and a 1.20 GAA to go with it, Moss was called up to the
parent Flames and has already appeared in several NHL games.
Moss, who was originally a member of Tampa Bay's organization,
was such a disappointment with Adirondack last season that he was
shipped off first to the IHL and then to Calgary, who assigned
him to Saint John. Moss promptly won the Goaltender of the Month
award for April 1997, making Moss the first player to win the
award twice.
Rookie: Springfield Falcons youngster Daniel Briere was a
first-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes just a year ago and he
spent October demonstrating why he was a top pick. Briere potted
six goals, including a hat trick and a couple of game-winners,
and added seven assists in his nine games with Springfield during
the month. The 20-year-old Briere was expected to be an
offensive force after leading the QMJHL in all scoring categories
two seasons ago, a trick previously accomplished by Mario
Lemieux, Pat LaFontaine and Dale Hawerchuk.
Insurance Player: The K & K Insurance award goes to the
player with the best plus/minus rating for the month and the race
for the award was largely amongst the Saint John Flames.
Flames winger Ladislav Kohn (a former LCS feature subject) picked
up the award after posting a +10 rating for the month. Kohn,
along with teammates Hnat Domenichelli and Jim Dowd, has
already recorded a +5 game this season and scored 11 points,
including eight goals, during the month of October. New Haven
rookie Ian MacNeil finished second with a +9, and Kentucky's
Steve Guolla and Portland's Ryan Mulhern each were at +8.
Still Going...: On November 2 the Springfield Falcons tied
the AHL record for home unbeaten streaks as they beat Portland
2-1. It was the Falcons' 22nd unbeaten game at the Springfield
Civic Center, equalling the mark set by the 71-72 Boston Braves.
The Falcons then broke the record November 7, again against
Portland, with a 4-2 victory. The win brought the Falcons to
18-0-5 at home since February 8 of this year and brought
goaltender Sylvain Daigle to 7-0 at home this season. The
Falcons won another game at home to extend the streak to 24
games, and that's where it ends, as Springfield finally lost to
Providence Nov. 16. Quite a run!
Cleaning House: Hamilton was completely overhauled on Nov.
13, but not because they've done anything wrong. Rather, it was
the big club having its troubles and the result was five
Bulldogs getting the call on the same day. Ladislav Benysek, Sean
Brown, Joe Hulbig, Georges Laraque and Mike Watt were all
recalled, and for Benysek, Laraque and Watt, it'll be their first
trip to the NHL. Heading the other direction were Jason Bowen and
former Bulldogs Steve Kelly and Dennis Bonvie. Well, maybe.
Bonvie, who cleared waivers a week earlier, told Edmonton's press
corps he won't report to the Bulldogs, despite being the most
popular player there by far.
Got a Note From Mom?: Three AHL coaches will be taking
some time off from their teams, but all absences are most
definitely excused. Portland head man Bryan Trottier will take
off a few days so he can be inducted into the Hall of Fame Nov.
21. Providence assistant Rod Langway will skip the Bruins' Nov.
26 game in favor of seeing the Washington Capitals (finally)
retire his No. 7. And congrats to Albany head coach John Cunniff,
who has been tapped by USA hockey to be an assistant coach for
the U.S. Olympic team. Not a huge surprise, as the U.S. GM
is Lou Lamoriello, who happens to be New Jersey's GM and
therefore Cunniff's boss.
It's About Time: The Amerks finally reopened the Rochester
War Memorial - replete with new locker rooms, this time on the
same level as the ice, and a better paint job - on November 1.
The fans must've missed 'em because Rochester set a new record
for single game attendance that night, drawing 7,721 people. The
old record was 7,502, set during the Calder Cup finals two
seasons ago. Whenever the renovations to the building are finally
finished (no, they're not done yet), the building will have a
capacity in the area of 12,100.
Attendance Report: The AHL has reported attendance so far
this season to be up a whopping 11% over last year's attendance -
and last year was a new record. The rise comes in spite of some
attendance problems in traditionally strong cities of Portland
and Providence and without Rochester being home at all until this
week. The Phantoms, naturally, saw five figures twice in one
weekend, but they don't lead the league in average attendance.
The Thoroughblades currently hold that distinction, with 8,799
fans per game while Philadelphia draws an average of 8,360. By
the way, Hartford is responsible for much of the increased
crowds, with 6,815 turning out in the Mall.
Anywhere Is Better Than Here: While the Springfield
Falcons have been busy setting records for winning at home, Saint
John and Hamilton have been streaking when not at home (probably
as parents do seem to object to that kind of behavior...whoops,
wrong streaking.) The Bulldogs were a perfect 5-0 on the road to
start the year, and while the Flames have permitted some ties to
go with their wins (3-0-3), they've also posted two road
shutouts. Conversely, Rochester has yet to lose at home.
Or You Could Stay Home: The name of the game in the minors
is to get called up to the NHL, but based on the recent
adventures of recalled Portland players, they may want to just
stay in Portland. The Capitals recalled Ryan Mulhern last month
with the expectation he would join them in St. Louis; Mulhern
made it to St. Louis but his luggage made it to Tulsa. Then
Benoit Gratton was recalled for a game against Edmonton, but his
flight from Portland to Boston was so late he missed his plane
from Boston to Washington and wound up staying in Portland. He
was recalled again a few days later to meet the Capitals in
Pittsburgh; this time, both of Gratton's flights were
late, his luggage was lost, and his cab to the Civic Arena had a
flat. Nor are the adventures confined to Portland, as Albany's
Sasha Lakovic was recalled to New Jersey and in his first game as
a Devil, broke his leg in two places. The minors might be looking
pretty good right now.
Oops: For the second time this season, the AHL has watched
the film and overruled a match-penalty suspension. This time they
managed to rescind it before the player served it, as AHL
President Dave Andrews viewed the game tape and determined
Fredericton's David Ling shouldn't have gotten a match penalty
for spearing, thus reinstating Ling prior to the Canadiens'
next game. Andrews also determined the referee who called the
match penalty had his back to the play when it happened. So, if
you think NHL officiating stinks...
Break Out the Chainsaws: The AHL set a new record for
shutouts in a season last year and are on a pace this year to
shatter that new record. During the month of October, a total of
11 shutouts were pitched, including two each by Jamie Ram, Steve
Passmore, Tom Askey and Peter Sidorkiewicz. Seven different teams
put up zeros, with Hamilton doing it three times already. But
the big one came on Nov. 10, when Rochester and Adirondack
doubled up for a 0-0 tie. Norm Maracle and Martin Biron combined
to kick out 54 shots, and the only goal of the game, scored
by Adirondack's Stacey Roest, was waved off because referee
Blaine Angus erroneously believed Paul Brousseau was in the
crease.
Base Brawling: The Worcester IceCats and Saint John Flames
hooked up for a tilt November 6 which ended with a total of 191
penalty minutes assessed. 155 of those minutes came in the third
period, and 135 of them were racked up in a mere eight seconds on
the clock as a result of two separate allout brawls. Worcester
came out on the high end of the penalties with a total of 12
power plays during the game, but Saint John came out on the high
end of the game, 6-3, because the Flames' Hnat Domenichelli
scored on Worcester power plays as often as the IceCats did, that
is to say, twice. Both of Domenichelli's goals were not only
short-handed, but also unassisted. The only suspension assessed
went to Saint John's Rocky Thompson, who was awarded six games
(later reduced to three) to reconsider the wisdom of leaving the
bench to fight.
Base Brawling Pt. II: An odd thing happened on Nov. 8 in
the first half of a home-and-home between Hershey and
Philadelphia - they played a game. The two sparring partners have
had trouble getting down to brass tacks and actually playing
hockey but they managed it for one night, as Hershey used three
power-play goals and a fine performance by Petr Franek for a 4-1
victory at home.
The next day in Philadelphia, things were back to normal. Over
the course of a 9-1 shellacking of the Bears, the Phantoms scored
on nine of their 28 shots, while the Bears scored only once in 44
tries at the net. And oh yeah, the two teams combined for 292
penalty minutes, highest total the league has seen in some time.
Nowhere near the league record, however, as Hershey and
Adirondack combined for 520 minutes during a 'game' in 1981.
Although Hershey picked up 11 power plays - and didn't score on
any - the Bears acquired the majority of the PiMs, with 170.
The breakdown went something like this: 25 minors, 16 majors,
five 10-minute misconducts and 11 game misconducts.
Behold, the damages:
First Period: Coles, Phi (slashing), 1:04; Heward, Phi
(cross-checking), 2:06; Sarault, Her (interference), 2:19;
Lingren, Her (roughing), 2:19; McCosh, Phi (roughing), 2:19;
Montgomery, Phi, major (elbowing), 2:19; Banika, Her, game
misconduct, major-minor (fighting, instigating), 8:26;
Richardson, Her, misconduct, (roughing), 8:26; Simon, Her, mjaor
(fighting), 8:26; MacDonald, Her, game misconduct, major
(fighting), 8:26; Corcoran, Her, misconduct, 8:26; MacIssac, Phi,
major (fighting), 8:26; Delmore, Phi, misconduct, 8:26; McCosh,
Phi, major (fighting), 8:26; Bialowas, Phi, game misconduct,
major (fighting), 8:26; Hallman, Her (slashing), 10:28; Payette,
Phi (hooking), 15:24; Montgomery, Phi, double-minor (spearing),
19:36.
Second Period (When They Chilled Slightly): Nieminen, Her
(roughing), 10:53; White, Phi (roughing), 10:53; Richardson, Her,
game misconduct, major (aggressor), 13:30; Matte, Her (slashing),
17:00; Heward, Phi (roughing), 19:09. I've never heard of an
'aggressor' penalty before, you?
Third Period: MacIsaac, Phi, major (fighting), 1:02;
Simon, Her, major (fighting), 1:02; Staples, Phi (roughing),
5:15; MacIsaac, Phi (slashing), 6:33; Corcoran, Her (hooking),
9:12; Payette, Phi (hooking), 9:22; Phantoms bench (too many men
on ice-served by Maneluk), 12:30 Stevens, Phi (roughing), 13:30;
Healey, Phi (roughing), 13:30; Matte, Hershey (roughing), 13:30;
Veilleux, Hershey, game misconduct (roughing), 13:30; Little, Phi
(leaving the crease), 13:52; Payette, Phi, major-minor (fighting,
high-sticking), 13:52; McCosh, Phi, game misconduct, major
(fighting), 13:52; Staples, Phi, game misconduct, major
(fighting), 13:52; Lingren, Her, game misconduct, major
(fighting), 13:52; Simon, Her, game misconduct, major (fighting),
13:52; McHugh, Her, major-minor (fighting, high-sticking), 13:52;
Larson, Her (misconduct), 15:44.
Amazingly, they got through the last four+ minutes without
incident. Probably because no one was left on either bench.
Stuff: What do the Flames' Dwayne Roloson, the Leafs'
Francis Larivee and IceCats' Frederic Cassivi have in common?
They all have assists already this season...
Springfield rookie Jason Morgan made his first two professional
goals count. Not only did they come in the same game against
Worcester, but the second broke a late third period tie and stood
up as the game-winner...
Kentucky's Steve Webb has played the entire season with a broken
hand, and it's still not healed. Webb's only concession to the
injury has been not fighting...
Well, six weeks into the season and Portland didn't win a game on
the road. The Pirates were 0-4-2 away from Maine, with a couple
of the losses in OT, until they went to Saint John. Portland's
first road win came 2-1 over the league's best team...
Albany's Zdenek Skorepa scored his first professional goal Nov.
8. This is significant because not only was it a game-winner, but
Skorepa played all of last season for the Rats without a single
goal...
Hamilton would like to farm out either JF Labbe or Steve Passmore
to the IHL. Neither goaltender is getting the kind of playing
time he likes...
Why the Fredericton Canadiens bother playing the third period is
a mystery. The baby Habs are 5-0-2 if they're leading after two
periods, 0-7 if they're trailing...
Hartford's PJ Stock had 12 fighting majors in October. The second
and third most pugilistic players in the AHL combined for 13
fights in the same month...
Cincinnati's Tom Askey notched his second shutout of the season
against Kentucky Nov. 8, stopping 36 shots overall and 17 of
those in the first period...
While the goal was scored on a delayed penalty - and frankly it
should have been waved off as Mike McHugh was both in the crease
and punching the goaltender in the face when he 'scored' -
McHugh's goal against Cincinnati Nov. 1 ended the official 303
minutes and five seconds of even-strength futility by the
Hershey Bears...
There have been two six-goal games this season. New Haven was
involved in both, appearing on each end of the result...
The St. John's Maple Leafs started a 16-day, nine-game road trip
which will take them to every team in the New England division as
well as most of New York...
Hershey has lost defenseman Wade Belak for up to three months
with a separated shoulder...
Kentucky had lost six straight at home until they beat Hershey,
4-3, when Jason Strudwick scored the winner - at 19:59 in the
third period...
Philadelphia' rookie goaltender Brian Boucher can't complain
about not getting any work. Boucher saw 83 shots in two nights
against Kentucky...
The Hartford Wolfpack are out to top Rochester's dubious
achievement of sending Barrie Moore to Buffalo eight times in one
season. The Wolfpack's Marc Savard, Vladimir Vorobiev and Pierre
Sevigny were collectively recalled to New York and sent back
eight times in one week. It seems likely all three could top
Moore's mark by the New Year at this rate...
Worcester IceCat Chris Kenady has been second to Terry Virtue in
just about every Worcester stat category until now - he recently
surpassed Virtue in the goals scored category. Not surprising
really, as Virtue is a defenseman, but defenseman don't usually
hold franchise scoring records either...
Alek Stojanov of the Syracuse Crunch was suspended six games by
the league for 'using force with an official'. Stojanov tossed a
linesman who had tried to break up a fight between Stojanov
and Hamilton's Terran Sandwith...
Springfield finally lost a game...one that they had led 2-0 going
into the third period. Albany launched a total of 47 shots on the
Falcons and four of them found the net in the third period.
Peter Zezel had three assists...
For the second time in less than a year, the Portland Pirates
have shipped Jason Christie to the IHL's Manitoba Moose. This
time, 'Smurf' knew it was coming and everyone took it much
better...
Don't look now, but not only has Syracuse finally won a game,
they won three straight, all over Hamilton no less. The third win
not only ended Hamilton's road winning streak, but the Crunch
came back after trailing in the third period...
Cincinnati's Craig Reichert unleashed a total of 13 shots on
Kentucky netminder John Nabokov Nov. 9 and didn't score a single
goal. He did get three assists for his efforts, and teammate Bob
Wren also had three assists. The Mighty Ducks collectively
launched 53 shots in the game...
Philadelphia defenseman Andy Delmore ranks third in the league in
rookie scoring, with 14 points already...
The best line in the league? The Phantoms' Peter White, Bruce
Coles and Shawn McCosh are good for 66 points to date.
Adirondack's Stacy Roest, Paul Brousseau, and Corey Spring are
giving them a run with 59 points, or 46% of the Red Wings' total
output...
The Saint John Flames have allowed one power-play goal on the
road this season, with 35 successful kills...
Albany River Rats defenseman Bryan Helmer notched nine points in
six games, moving him up to second in AHL defense scoring...
Fredericton's David Ling has 11 goals, nine of which have been
scored on the power play...
Yo-yoing doesn't seem to both Marc Savard too much - while he's
only gotten into six Hartford games between trips to Manhattan,
he has nine points in those games...
Hershey can only score on the power play, but that's fine with
defenseman Steve Lingren who has five power-plays goals
already...
Looking for teams who can behave themselves? Hamilton has yet to
receive a misconduct penalty this season, New Haven has received
only one...
Rochester is the only AHL team unbeaten at home. Of course, it
helps that they've only played two games at home...
Providence went without a win in nine straight games, going
0-7-2. It's by far the worst such streak in the franchise's
history...
Winning comes easy for Springfield, who haven't lost outside
their division, and for Saint John, who have collected 22 of the
30 points possible and are unbeaten in nine of their last ten
games...
The Thoroughblades have already scored three hat tricks from
Alexei Yegorov, Chad Penney and Niklas Andersson. Worcester has
two, from Mike Prokopec and Chris Kenady, and no other
team has more than one...
---------------------------------------------------------
Fans take aim at millions
---------------------------------------------------------
By Jim Iovino
Self-promotion is key to all sports. In order to promote itself
and a sponsor, a professional league will highlight a specific
skill in their sport and exploit it for profit during a highly
publicized event. The NBA gives fans a chance to make a half-court
shot for cash. The NFL dares them to kick a field goal. Major
League Baseball taunts them with a strike zone to hit.
The NHL is no different than the other sports, so at this year's
All-Star Game in Vancouver, one lucky "fan" will have his or her
chance to win $5 million, complements of the NHL and Norelco, which
has just about as much to do with hockey as a potato farm.
Back in the day, Score-O contests used to be all the rage. You
know, some specific schmuck would be picked out of the stands who
wouldn't even know how to hold a hockey stick to shoot at a net
covered by a pick piece of plywood with an inch-wide slot cut out
at the bottom. If he slid the biscuit in the hole, he won some
fries or a bag a' donuts. If he missed, he was mocked, taunted and
laughed at until the crowd was satisfied.
But today, the NHL is more sophisticated. There's a new contest at
this year's All-Star Game that is all the rage. All a fan has to do
is hit four destructible targets fastened to each corner of a goal.
You get a million bucks for each target you hit; $5 million if you
get all four. This is the same event that Ray Bourque and Mark
Messier have made famous over the years by hitting all the targets in
just four shots. But, of course, those two players are future hall
of famers. Those of us watching the game are not.
So to make things a little fairer, wouldn't you think the fine
sponsors of the event would offer a little kindness to the fan in
the contest? Not when they've got five million smackers on the
line, Chester!
Being the corporate whores that they are, they've almost guaranteed
that they'll come out of the contest without having to open up the
checkbook. If you read the fine print, you'll see their trickery
at work.
First of all, the winner has to meet their criteria. The contest is
open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 65...anyone in the United
States, that is. Sorry Canada. The NHL is using your city for a
week, but they won't even let you enter their contest.
But wait, it gets better.
The contest is open to anyone between ages 18 and 65, BUT the
winner can't be a current professional, collegiate or
semiprofessional hockey player. That kinda sucks, but it still
leaves a lot of us left, doesn't it? Oh, one last thing...the
winner must not have participated in an organized hockey program
within the past 10 YEARS.
Well now, let's see, if my calculations are correct that eliminates
just about 90 percent of the hockey fans in the United States. It
doesn't just say ice hockey, mind you, but any organized
hockey.roller hockey, deck hockey, etc.
So in reality, the criteria for winning are just about the same as
the criteria for the old Score-O contests of days gone by. If
you're a dork who doesn't know how to hold a stick, you can be the
winner. And all of us who are true fans of the game? Well, we can
always buy more stuff from Dave in the NHL catalog.
But just in case their system doesn't weed out everyone that could
possibly get the puck off of the ice, they decided to take it one
step further.
The winner gets just four chances to shoot.from 30 FEET AWAY.
That's half the distance between the goal line and the blue line. If
that's not hard enough, the winner doesn't even get a chance to aim.
He or she gets eight seconds to shoot four stationary pucks. Eight
seconds, my friends, is not a lot of time. You can't even look to
see if you hit something, just keep firing those pucks.
While it is true that even if the winner of the sweepstakes doesn't
hit a target, he or she will still get $10,000 for just showing
up. But once again, the tiny print makes one wonder if it's worth
the torture the winner has to put up with. The rules state that
the winner must wear a uniform jersey/shirt provided by the
sponsor. In other words, they're gonna dress you up like a dork
with the word Norelco splattered all over your body and turn you
into a walking billboard for the man. Want more proof? Read
further.
"Entry (into the contest) constitutes winner's permission to use
his/her name, biographical information, image, likeness and/or
voice recordings for any and all of the Sponsor or the NHL Parties
advertising or publicity purposes without additional compensation
or permission except where prohibited by law."
In layman's terms, you sell your soul to the devil for a chance at
$5 million. Furthermore...
"If requested by Sponsor, Grand Prize winner and winner's travel
companion shall wear clothing displaying, or otherwise display,
Sponsor's name and/or logo as directed by Sponsor during the 1998
All- Star Superskills Event. Grand Prize winner and winner's travel
companion shall not wear or otherwise display the name and/or logo
of any other entity without the prior approval of Sponsor (which
approval may be withheld in Sponsor's sole discretion)."
This means if the "Sponsor" wants you to take off your pants and
slap on a pair of fluorescent green and orange Zubaz, well, you
gotta bite the bullet and do it.
Is $10,000 worth all of this hassle and humiliation in front of
millions of people? To most of us poor folk, yes, it probably is.
The Man has us under his thumb. We are pawns in his chess game.
One pull of the strings and we shoot a puck at a net.
But when you see that poor sole who wins the contest stumble out
onto the ice during the All-Star Game, try to remember what a
"great" opportunity the league and its sponsors have given us, the
so-called fans.
Is it really necessary to say "Thanks"?
---------------------------------------------------------
LCS Hockey's Score With A Goat Sweepstakes
---------------------------------------------------------
By LCS Hockey
In an attempt to keep up with The Man, LCS Hockey has devised a
clever scheme, I mean contest, in which you, our valued readers,
have a chance to win a great prize.
By just one simple email to LCS Hockey, YOU could be the lucky
person chosen to compete for a valuable prize in our very own
LCS Hockey Score With A Goat Sweepstakes. Yes, you could
win a date with our lovable mascot, Karl the Retarded Space Goat.
At first we did try to hook someone up with a leggy supermodel, but
during the negotiations Zippy whispered sweet nothings into her ear
and got a handful of lovin' in return. We're happy to report the
swelling on the right side of the chimp's face is going down
nicely...
Anyway, here's your chance to win a date with Karl. And I tell ya
folks, as far as retarded space goats go, Karl's definitely a
keeper.
But a date with the goat ain't gonna be easy, no sir. Karl's a
valuable commodity around the office, and we can't let him hook up
with just anyone. Karl, as they say, is unique.
So you're going to have to work hard to get a date with Karl. If
you're entry is chosen, and you meet the details of our rules and
requirements (listed below), then all you have to do is show
up at 6:45 a.m. on December 6 at the Greenburg Ice Complex in
University Park, Pennsylvania and make one shot on a regulation
size goal. Because we're poor and in dire need of our very own Mr.
Drummond, transportation will not be provided. Two words: grey
hound.
One you arrive at the rink, you will be introduced to the most
popular players in the NHL. That's right, the Nittany Hockey
League. Who knows, maybe even Kenny, star goalie for the Wizzards,
will make an appearance. We can only hope.
In order to score this goal on a regulation size net, you must use a
legal stick with a legal curve. No exceptions, Chester. We're
not about to start cheapening the sport just so you can win a date
with a goat. That would be sacrilege. Starting at the far blue
line, you are allowed to build up some momentum, but you must shoot
from the blue line nearest the goal you are shooting on. In front
of the net will be one a McDonald's Score-O board stolen, I mean
borrowed, from the Penn State ice hockey team. The bottom of the
board got kind of chewed up when Matthew dropped it out of the
trunk during transportation from the rink to our offices (i.e.
plywood and asphalt don't mix), so it will have to be turned upside
down. Sure, it makes it a bit tougher, having to pick a one-inch
slot right under the crossbar, but don't whine or we'll pick
someone else.
Feeling that it might not be tough enough, Zippy offered to chase
down whomever is chosen from behind with a stick and slash the hell
out of you. What could be better than a good old-fashion
ass-whooping by the Wonder Chimp?!?
So there you have, our simple little contest only available to you,
our valued readers (see Rules and Regulations for more details.)
Start sending in those email applications today!
Rules and Regulations.
1. No employees of LCS: guide to hockey, Penn State Sub Shops or
Westinghouse can apply. Had there been a good grand prize, we
would have rigged it so we'd win it, anyway.
2. Contest winner must be under the influence of malt liquor at time
of challenge. Cheap corn whiskey can be substituted if allergic to
malt liquor.
3. In order to pass the "schmuck factor", winner must think the
following: a.) Pat Falloon is a good hockey player, b.) The
Hockey News is interesting reading material, and c.) a butt end is
the tasty part of a pig.
4. Winner must agree to let LCS: guide to hockey use his or her
photo, name, likeness, social security number, driver's license,
green card, passport or any other identification item whenever a
staff member is pulled over illegally in state or province where
there is a warrant out for our arrest.
5. Winner must also wear clothes chosen by our staff or meet our
strict requirements. 1970s style pimp gear is a plus. No pants
guarantee grand prize.
6. Offer void where prohibited. Winner must be a resident of United
States, Canada, Finland or Sweden. Illegal immigrants welcome.
7. Sorry Tennesee.
=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHEAST DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BOSTON BRUINS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Pat Burns
Roster: C - Anson Carter, Dimitri Khristich, Joe Thornton, Ted
Donato, Tim Taylor, Randy Robitaille. LW - Ken Baumgartner, Rob
Dimaio, Sergei Samsonov, Jason Allison, Mike Sullivan. RW - Steve
Heinze, Landon Wilson, Per Johan Axelsson. D - Ray Bourque, Don
Sweeney, Dave Ellett, Kyle McLaren, Dean Chynoweth, Mattias
Timander, Dean Malkoc, Hal Gill. G - Byron Dafoe, Jim Carey.
Injuries: Steve Heinze, rw (fractured ankle, indefinite).
Transactions: Randy Robitaille, c, recalled from Providence of
the AHL. Shawn Bates, c, and Kirk Nielson, rw, sent to Providnce.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Northeast Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61
Game Results
11/06 Washington W 2-0
11/08 at New Jersey L 2-0
11/12 at Dallas T 3-3
11/13 at St. Louis L 4-2
11/15 Ottawa T 3-3
11/17 at Ottawa W 4-2
TEAM NEWS by Matt Brown
Ted's Excellent Adventure
Ted Donato is threatening to emerge as a legitimate NHL scorer.
He leads the Bruins with 11 goals in 21 games, and in their last
game with Ottawa, scoring on a breakaway scamper that featured a
Kariya-like finish. Donato faked right, swung back to the left,
showed the puck for an upper right corner wrister, slid back to
the left after Damian Rhodes bit for the fake, tucking the puck
in the corner past Rhodes' outstretched right skate. Ted has
shown nice chemistry with the Bruins other scoring leader, Jason
Allison, and it should come as no surprise that Donato's 11 goals
are complimented by Allison's 11 assists. Not just a coincidence.
Jason's Getting it Done
Jason Allison looks like he might be about to live up to his
first-round potential under Pat Burns. The knock on Allison was
lack of speed and motivation. Well, he still doesn't look like a
speed skater, but that long stride of his gets him where he needs
to go, and his long reach and puck control allow him to do things
that premier players do. After years of watching slow but steady
Adam Oates deke around opponents while seemingly standing still,
to lay that perfect pass down on his linemate's stick, Boston
recognizes the potential, only in a bigger package. Burns put it
simply: "I told him that he could make a lot of money in the NHL
with his skills." Looks like coach Pat hit the right button.
Meanwhile, the points are not coming easily for fellow ex-Capital
and sometimes linemate Anson Carter. But Carter is persevering
game by game, giving a strong effort every night and playing team
hockey. Carter has only one goal and ten points total so far, and
while the shots are coming, the goals aren't. He hasn't had as
much chance to shine short-handed this year, unlike last year,
because the Bruins penalty kill has been less freewheeling, and
the Bruins haven't taken all that many penalties. So Carter's
primary contribution has been to dig pucks out of the corner for
Donato, Allison, and others, and to play a solid checking game.
Against, Ottawa, Allison set him up with several nice chances,
but each one found the goalie rather than the netting. Through it
all, Anson Carter doesn't seem frustrated; he just goes out and
does his job night after night.
Carey on?
Another ex-Capital who is struggling some is Jim Carey. Byron
Dafoe has been sizzling hot, so Carey has been relegated to the
end of the bench. Then, in his first start in seven games
against Dallas, scheduled mostly because the Bruins were playing
back to back games, he was victimized for three goals in two
periods before being lifted for Dafoe. The yank was as much to
wake up the team as to give Jim Carey the hook, but when the team
rallied to tie, Dafoe looks like the hero. Never mind that all
three goals the Bruins scored were deflected off Stars' skates or
sticks.
Even still, Carey's record (3-2-0) and goals-against average
(2.39) aren't bad, but he just doesn't look as solid as he did
for a few games earlier on the long road trip. Meanwhile, Burns
is playing the hot hand, so it looks like the #1 goalie is Byron
Dafoe's job for the time being.
Imagine There's no Goalie
Don't accuse Pat Burns of lacking imagination. This week he
decided to try Dean Malkoc at forward on a line with Ken
Baumgartner and Joe Thornton. The main reason for this move was a
glut of defensemen with the return of Kyle McLaren from injury,
and a lack of forwards with the demotion of Shawn Bates and Kirk
Neilson to Providence. While he played solidly, Dean didn't
exactly light a spark under Joe Thornton, nor was he really
expected to. Burns didn't create this line with the
expectation of pulling the Bruins out of their scoring slump, and
they didn't.
Picking on the Sens
The Bs are one of the few teams dominating an improved Ottawa
this year. Last season, the Senators were more responsible than
any other team (besides the Bruins themselves) for stopping the
Bruins' playoff streak. This was sweet revenge for Ottawa, as
they had never beaten Boston prior to last season. This year,
though, the Bruins are 2-0-1 against the Sens, beating them at
the Corel Centre for the second time. The Bruins came back to tie
Ottawa in Boston, with Robby Dimaio working his magic in the last
minute with an extra attacker on the ice, sliding a goal
past Boston nemesis Ron Tugnutt. Dafoe then held the fort in OT
to preserve the point. Two nights later in Ottawa, it was Tugnutt
versus Dafoe again, and this time the Bruins chased Tugnutt in
the second, though Jaques Martin probably put in Damian Rhodes
more as a message to the team than to Tugnutt. But the Bruins
hung on to win 4-2 (with only 16 shots on goal) and move three
points ahead of the Sens in the standings.
A Regular Paul Maisson
There is just no rushing Pat Burns. Joe Thornton quietly passed
his fourteenth game in a Bruins uniform, but while several other
players like Shawn Bates and Landon Wilson have been up and down
to Providence of the AHL, Thornton remains despite having no
points as a Bruin. Burns has labeled Joe a definite keeper, but
Pat is in no hurry to put pressure on the young #1 draft pick.
Burns has made it abundantly clear that Thornton will have to
earn his shifts and his points the hard way.
Burns knows that giving a first-round draft choice major ice time
and a swelled-head isn't the best way to build a future star
player or a team. So Joe mucks with the fourth line, and ends up
a healthy scratch every time he forgets his place and his job. He
loses a critical faceoff that costs a goal, he sits the next
game.
It is pretty hard to argue with Pat Burns these days. Joe got a
shift against Ottawa with Dimitri Khristich and Sergei Samsonov,
and according to Burns, the Bruins were hemmed in their own zone
for a minute and a half in a tight game, and that was the end of
that experiment.
Very Ordinary Joe
"Everybody thought he would come in and be a marvel, but that's
not the way it is with kids in this league," Burns said. "If
people are waiting to see him score a whole boatload of goals,
then sorry, that's not going to happen right now."
The beauty of this for the Bruins is that they draw the fans who
all want to see Joe score his first goal (heck, we will take a
cheap assist at this point). They suffer little risk of either
losing a game to rookie mistakes or losing money by Joe making
his contract incentives.
And they teach a guy who has had people fawning at his feet that
this is the big leagues, and even the great players have to work
to be great.
Meanwhile, Pat Burns has done a masterful job of keeping the
media pressure off Thornton by breaking the kid in on the
checking line, instead of throwing him on the number one line
like the Bruins did a few years back with Joe Juneau. Juneau had
enormous success, scoring over 100 points as a rookie, but it
wasn't long before he wore out his welcome with the team, the
press, and the fans. You won't see that with Thornton. Pat Burns
knows how tough the Boston press corps is, and he isn't likely to
serve them Joe on a platter.
Now, with the goaltending solid, and no rookie busts to pick on,
the Boston media are fishing around for bad things to say about
the Bruins, and discovering (big surprise!) a lack of goal
scoring. But again, Pat has beaten them to the punch, already
stating that he knows goals will be hard to come by, and
downplaying it every time the team scores more than three in a
game. He knows the kinds of stuff the Boston press will
pounce on, and he deflects it. That is something few of his
predecessors have been able to do.
Case in point: Robby Dimaio has five goals, but three are
game-winners and one is a game-tying goal. A typical Boston
sports media critic would ask why Dimaio can't make every goal
count.
Burns has done the team a favor by turning the press microscope
into a telescope by pointing the media toward the season
objective rather than the game-by-game events.
The Enforcer?
Meanwhile, it doesn't look like Ken Baumgartner is accomplishing
much. He surely was not brought in to tutor young Joe in the
fine art of scoring in the NHL, as Ken has zero points in 21
games, a far worse average than young Joe. Why, he hasn't even
gotten his nose bent as many times as Jeff Odgers did last year,
sticking up for teammates. Truth is, he has not had to. He was
brought in partly to protect Thornton, but nobody has really
cared enough to run at Joe, so Ken hasn't had much to do.
He is rarely challenged, and few teams have tried to play a
rough-tough game with the B's. So the Bomber just waits, and
bides his time for the first cheapshot on Ray Bourque, or
face-wipe against Joe Thornton, or some big lug picking on Sergei
Samsonov. They will be sorry.
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BUFFALO SABRES
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Head Coach: Lindy Ruff
Roster: C - Mike Peca, Derek Plante, Brian Holzinger, Eric
Rasmussen, Wayne Primeau. LW - Randy Burridge, Miroslav Satan,
Michal Grosek, Brad May. RW - Donald Audette, Jason Dawe, Matthew
Barnaby, Dixon Ward, Rob Ray. D - Alexei Zhitnik, Darryl Shannon,
Jay McKee, Mike Wilson, Bob Boughner, Richard Smehlik. G -
Dominik Hasek, Steve Shields.
Injuries: Mike Wilson, d (bruised chest, day to day); Brian
Holzinger, c (bruised foot, day to day).
Transactions: Assigned Erik Rasmussen, c, to Rochester (AHL),
then recalled him to Buffalo four hours later. Traded Andrei
Trefilov, g, to Chicago for a conditional draft pick.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Northeast Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61
Game Results
11/06 Florida L 4-2
11/08 at Pittsburgh T 2-2
11/10 Edmonton T 4-4
11/13 Washington L 3-2
11/15 New Jersey L 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Joe Brunner
Despite playing four of the last five games at home the Sabres
failed to come away with a single victory. The lone bright spot
in the last two weeks was Jason Dawe's natural hat trick in the
Edmonton game. Dawe leads the team with 11 goals and may be
finally headed for that breakout season that Sabres' fans have
been waiting for.
In general, the team's play has been plagued by inconsistency.
They are simply unable to put three good periods of hockey
together. And without stellar goaltending, that's not good enough
to for this team to win. Dominik Hasek continues to struggle
(.888 sv, 3.39 gaa), and the home fans continue to boo him. Hasek
was pulled after giving up three first-period goals in the
Edmonton game, and was scratched in favor of Steve Shields for
the Washington game. Hasek continues to insist that the booing
doesn't bother him. And if you believe that, I have some land in
the Czech Republic for sale. The time is rapidly approaching
where Hasek will demand a trade.
Meanwhile, the Sabres' other poster child for juvenile behavior;
Matt Barnaby, pulled a little stunt of his own in the Edmonton
game. Barnaby received roughing penalties in the first and last
minutes of the first period, a definite no no, prompting coach
Lindy Ruff to bench him. Matt's response was to demand a trade
and inform Ruff that he had just played his last game in a Sabres
uniform. The next day Barnaby took back his trade demand, and
expressed frustration at his own poor play. Barnaby has just two
points (no goals) in 15 games this season. Is it just a
coincidence that the two main players in the Nolan fiasco are
having terrible seasons?
And now for a bit of good news; the Sabres named Mike Peca
captain prior to the Florida game. This marks the first time in
over a year that the Sabres have actually had a captain on the
ice. Peca has provided a huge lift to the Sabres since signing a
contract and is well deserving of the "C". In typical Sabres'
fashion, tho', no good deed goes unpunished. Peca aggravated a
hip flexor injury in the game and proceeded to miss the next
three contests.
Don Cherry who did a between-periods show with Ron MacLean made a
few headlines of his own with his off color remarks at the
Florida game. His comment that Peca would have problems playing
in Boston because of the way his name would sound with a Boston
accent was funny.
Rumors continue to swirl that John Rigas will gain majority
control of the team, prompting yet another shake-up in
management. Some are even speculating that this will lead to a
return by Ted Nolan. If the team continues to lose, it's not so
far-fetched that this may happen. Attendance is down by over 2000
fans per game, and something will have to be done to right the
ship.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Paul Maurice
Roster: C - Jeff O'Neill, Keith Primeau, Robert Kron, Kent
Manderville. RW - Sami Kapanen, Nelson Emerson, Kevin Dineen,
Stephen Leach, Chris Murray. LW - Gary Roberts, Steven Rice,
Geoff Sanderson, Stu Grimson, Paul Ranheim. D - Jeff Brown,
Steve Chaisson, Glen Wesley, Curtis Leschyshyn, Kevin Haller,
Adam Burt, Enrico Ciccone, Nolan Pratt. G - Trevor Kidd, Sean
Burke, Pat Jablonski.
INJURIES: Keith Primeau, c (bruised nerve in hip, day-to-day);
Gary Roberts, lw (abdominal strain, two weeks); Curtis
Leschyshyn, d (groin, day-to-day); Enrico Ciccone, d (groin, one
to two weeks); Trevor Kidd, g (groin, day-to-day).
TRANSACTIONS: 11/3 -- Recalled Mike Fountain, g, from New Haven
(AHL); 11/6 -- Recalled Pat Jablonski, g, from Cleveland (IHL),
returned Fountain to New Haven; 11/13 -- Recalled Nolan Pratt, d,
from New Haven.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Northeast Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61
GAME RESULTS
11/03 Vancouver W 5-3
11/05 Detroit W 3-2
11/07 NY Islanders L 3-2
11/09 Ottawa W 4-1
11/12 at Edmonton W 6-4
11/13 at Calgary W 4-2
11/16 at Vancouver L 4-1
TEAM NEWS by Brad Kane
After finishing a five-game homestand with an impressive mark of
4-1-0, the Carolina Hurricanes took their winning act on the
road, winning two out of three recently on the once-a-year swing
through western Canada. Add it all up and it means that the
Hurricanes have won six of their last eight, putting them right
in the thick of things in the NHL's Northeast division... Hey,
wait a minute -- did I just type that? Am I dreaming or what?
Somebody, please, pinch me!
GOOD CARS STILL AVAILABLE
The attendance woes won't go away, apparently no matter how good
the Hurricanes play. After topping 10,000, for only the second
time this year, against Detroit, Carolina drew a dismal 5,551
versus Ottawa. Perhaps it was the latter number that persuaded
Carolina officials to finally take action and get people in the
seats of the Greensboro Coliseum. Last week, the team unveiled a
promotional campaign that will give away a Ford car or truck at
each of the next 20 home games. During each game, three fans
will be selected from ticket stubs drawn during the game. During
the second imtermission the three will each be given a key to the
vehicle, rolled out onto the ice. Whichever fan has the key that
starts the car wins the car. The two losing fans will receive
NASCAR merchandise, a tie-in with Jeff Burton, the team's
designated "Official NASCAR Driver." Burton was on hand to
announce the campaign. As well, anyone taking a test drive any
of the 180 Ford dealerships in the Carolinas will receive two
coupons redeemable for tickets at home games for the rest of the
year.
With average attendance at the coliseum averaging around 8,000 a
night so far, it's high time the Hurricanes do something,
anything, to get folks in the building. This is indeed a start.
However, one has to wonder what all the Chevrolet fans in the
Carolinas think about this. NASCAR fans are particular about
their favorite cars, and drivers. Here's to hoping, for the
team's sake, that there's many more Ford fanatics in the
Carolinas than Chevy fans.
BURKE MAY PLEAD GUILTY
By now everyone seems to know the sad story of Sean Burke's
alledged abuse of his wife Leslie. While Burke acknowledges that
the two did have an argument and some physical contact, both
Burkes maintain that Sean did not hit Leslie. Despite that,
Burke said recently that he may plead guilty to assault charges
in order to put the matter to rest. Burke's trial is set for
January 20. Leslie has begun counseling, and Sean will now join
her as the Hurricanes have returned home from their road trip.
INJURY BUG
Bewtween the above incident and the hot play of Trevor Kidd, Sean
Burke was relegated to the bench for a few games as head coach
Paul Maurice temporarily scrapped the goaltender rotation
Carolina had been using. However, an injury to Kidd pressed
Burke back into service on the road trip as he started all three
games. Kidd suffered a groin injury against Ottawa that, among
other things, made him miss the Calgary game against Kidd's
former club. Winger Gary Roberts also missed the game versus his
ex-mates the Flames with an abdominal injury. The injury,
sustained during the Edmonton game, was an aggravation of a
previous injury that Roberts had not disclosed. Playing through
pain is nothing new for Roberts, who went the first month of the
season with a broken foot. Roberts himself is unsure of how
serious the injury is, but he expects to be out at least two
weeks.
In the second Vancouver game, the wounded list got a little
longer as both Keith Primeau and Curtis Leschyshyn suffered
injuries. Primeau bruised a nerve in his hip but is not expected
to be out long. Leschyshyn was scratched after warmups with a
groin injury. The status of the injury is not fully known.
HAPPENIN' KAPANEN
A surprise name among the NHL scoring leaders has got to the be
the diminutive one, Happenin' Sami Kapanen. Known prior to this
year as a ferocious checker who hits everything in sight, Kapanen
has discovered a goal scorer's touch playing mostly with Keith
Primeau and Gary Roberts. Currently Kapanen leads the Hurricanes
with 11 goals, is tied with Roberts for the team lead in points
with 18, and made a brief appearance last week among the top 20
overall scorers in the league. Standing only 5-foot-10 and
weighing 173 pounds, Kapanen netted the first hat trick in
Carolina history against Edmonton. What's more amazing is that
despite his penchant for throwing his body around with a reckless
abandon, Kapanen has yet to register a single penalty minute this
year.
WHATNOT
On a recent ESPN "Outside The Lines" special on sportmanship,
none other than Hurricane enforcer Stu Grimson represented the
NHL for a panel discussion. Sporting a band-aid on his forehead,
The Grim Reaper waxed eloquent on sportmanship issues relating to
hockey. Grimson's no stranger to the bright lights of televsion,
having done some guest analyst work for ESPN during last year's
playoffs.
Route 70, which runs through North Carolina connecting Greensboro
and Raleigh, has become a road of depair for the Hurricanes
lately. Apparently many players have been ticketed for speeding
along the road, most ofter while returning home to Raleigh after
games. It's become a bit of a joke among the players -- just one
more hardship to overcome as part of a homeless team.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
MONTREAL CANADIENS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault
ROSTER: C - Saku Koivu, Marc Bureau, Darcy Tucker, Vincent
Damphousse, Sebastien Bordeleau, Eric Houde. LW -Shayne Corson,
Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet, Scott Thornton, Brian Savage. RW
- Mark Recchi, Stephane Richer, Turner Stevenson, Valeri Bure. D
- Dave Manson, Vladimir Malakhov, Jassen Cullimore, Stephane
Quintal, Patrice Brisebois, Peter Popovic, David Wilkie, Craig
Rivet, Brett Clark, Francois Groleau. G - Andy Moog, Jocelyn
Thibault, Jose Theodore.
INJURIES: Stephane Richer, rw (sprained ankle suffered in San
Jose, day-to-day); Stephane Quintal, d (concussion, day-to-day);
Andy Moog, g (knee injury in L.A, 10 days); Turner Stevenson, rw
(sprained left shoulder , 1 week); Sebastien Bordeleau, c
(bruised thigh, day-to-day).
TRANSACTIONS: 11/10 : Goalie Jose Theodore recalled from
Fredericton (AHL)
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Northeast Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61
GAME RESULTS
11/03 Dallas W 6-4
11/05 Phoenix W 4-2
11/07 at San Jose W 4-3
11/08 at Los Angeles W 4-1
11/12 at Anaheim W 4-3 OT
11/13 at Phoenix W 5-2
11/14 Washington L 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Jacques Robert
BEST ROAD TRIP EVER IN HISTORY, BUT...
Needless to say that the last four-game western trip was meant to
be a test. OK, thus far, Les Canadiens had fared pretty well on
the road - just one loss in New Jersey in OT. But remember: by
that time, last year, several clashes had occurred on the road
like the one opposing Donald Brashear and Mario Tremblay... Bad
times are gone, but playing at home is still a concern for
Vigneault's boys who do not deliver on the home ice as much as
expected.
However, whenever they get a chance, Les Canadiens can put on a
good show at home. Against Dallas and Phoenix, they didn't start
on the right foot, trailing by one goal early into the first
period. But, both times, Montreal put things back in order in
about eight minutes by scoring fast goals to keep its opponents
from posting road victories.
Injuries do not hurt too much
This strategy was very efficient in San Jose, Los Angeles,
Anaheim and Phoenix. Despite seven casualties (five against LA,
two against San Jose), Les Canadiens found a way to post its 8th
victory in nine-road games by coming out strong right from the
start each time... Andy Moog was put on the injury list and so
was Stephane Richer. Jocelyn Thibault replaced Moog and played
up to everybody's expectations. Needless to say that Tbo is
supported by teammates who have dramatically reduced their
goals-against... without becoming yet another boring trap team.
These days, Malakhov is even compared to Larry Robinson... As for
Brisebois, he is a brand new player who contributed offensively
with one goal (San Jose) and one assist (L.A.). This guys is
playing the best hockey of his life. As a matter of fact, all
those athletes are playing their own style... thanks to
Vigneault. And Corson could be added to the list - he is
currently the among the NHL scoring leaders with seven goals and
23 points. What a difference a coach can make, eh!
The other secret of the Canadiens' success? The three offensive
lines played productively on this journey. The first two lines
contributed against San Jose, L.A and Anaheim, where a dazzling
Damphousse scored the first three goals to post the 10th hat
trick of his career. In Anaheim, Bure took the relay providing
Les Canadiens with the winner in OT. The third line
(Savage/Bordeleau//Brunet) took charge of the offensive the next
day in Arizona delivering three goals and four assists
altogether. Meanwhile, Savage scored two goals, getting back on
track after being kept aside to heal a broken hand, and Peter
Popovic ended a 70-game scoring drought... Yeaahhh!
How to please fans at home?
There is just one problem left in this city: how can the Habs
please their fans at the Molson Centre? As Montreal was
entertaining The Capitals with a one-goal deficit after five
minutes of play, fans started booing their "western heroes" who
were on a seven-game winning streak. Everybody knows that such a
long period spent away from home is likely to explain a lack of
concentration from players who had to face a team that is labeled
as "la bete noire" of Les Canadiens (The Caps got their seventh
win in a row over Les Canadiens). Fans ought to understand that
their favorites did their best to overcome a first period
two-goals deficit. In the third, Quintal even scored a disallowed
tying goal (3:53). Down the road, the Habs registered another
loss at home even though they had just outshot the Caps
over the last two period. Bad luck. Plain bad luck.
Sometimes, fans are merely blind and ungrateful.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OTTAWA SENATORS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Jacques Martin
Roster: C - Alexei Yashin, Radek Bonk, Sergei Zholtok, Shaun Van
Allen. LW - Randy Cunneyworth, Shawn McEachern, Magnus Arvedson,
Denny Lambert. RW - Daniel Alfredsson, Alex Daigle, Andreas
Dackell, Bruce Gardiner, Phil Crowe. D - Lance Pitlick, Sean
Hill, Chris Phillips, Wade Redden, Stan Neckar, Jason York, Janne
Laukkanen, Igor Kravchuk. G - Damian Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt
Injuries: Oct 17 - Dennis Vial, lw (dislocated kneecap, sidelined
8 weeks, placed on IR Oct 17); Nov 3 - Daniel Alfredsson, rw
(ankle injury, day-to-day, placed on IR Nov 3); Nov 6 - Bruce
Gardiner, c (bruised thigh, missed one game and returned Nov 9).
Transactions: None to report
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Northeast Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61
Game Results
11/08 Philadelphia L 4-3
11/09 at Carolina L 4-1
11/11 at Philadelphia L 1-0
11/13 Detroit L 4-2
11/15 Boston T 3-3
TEAM NEWS by The Nosebleeders
Damnation, Thy Name is November!
This is starting to get really old, really quickly. Much like
daylight or a crucifix is taboo to ol' Vlad (Fang) Dracula, it
seems the month of November is the antidote to Senator fortunes.
If you are a learned Senators fan, then we need not bore you with
a history lesson. Suffice it to say that November and the Ottawa
Senators get along about as well as George Bush and that So-Damn
Insane guy over in the Persian Gulf.
And this year, it seems no different. After jumping out to a
jaw-dropping 9-3 start, the Senators have lost their magical
touch, and are back to their losing ways. Mind you, we all
realize that this is a much improved hockey team. Gone are the
days when a November slump meant early reservations for Spring
tee times. In fact, after last year's playoff performance and
this season's great start, you can sense a touch of... how do you
say in English... "confidence" in the Bytown air, as many believe
the Senators are capable of shaking the cobwebs and resuming
their winning ways. And that, our fine friends, is usually
unheard of in this area of the globe.
So what's the moral of this story? Heck, if we knew that, we'd be
writing Mother Goose stories for a living. But if we had to
venture a guess, we'd say: "It's an ugly time of year to be a
Senator fan, but chin up, things will get better." Ya, that
sounds about right.
And besides, we don't have to play Philly or Detroit again for a
long time. That oughta help.
Math 101
Solve. (50 pts)
Alex Daigle, a Senator for four years and a tender, young 22
years of age, is in his final year of that embarrassing
five-year, $12.25 million contract that was handed to him on a
silver platter by former GM Randy Sexton back in 1992. It's time
for Alex to make a career choice - re-sign with Ottawa, or test
the lucrative free agent market. Alex is coming off a semi-decent
year, in which he netted 26 goals and 51 points. However, he has
a history of poor performances - including a meager five-goal
output the year before - and is not known for his defensive
abilities, as his -33 +/- rating last year would indicate. As the
Ottawa Senators GM, you decide to:
a) re-sign Alex, but at a substantial paycut.
b) let him test the free agent market. OR
c) trade him before those ridiculous offers disappear.
Answer? d) - you offer him an outlandish 1-year extension for a
whopping $1.9 million!
Daigle is a good hockey player, and he may one day be even
better. But $1.9 million for an underachieving player who is only
a few years removed from his last pair of Pampers?
In all fairness, the Sens' response to this is that contracts
like the Flyers' Chris Gratton have driven up the market price
for players of Daigle's capabilities.
Regardless, you have to chuckle out loud when they wonder why
Canadian hockey franchises are on such shaky financial grounds.
Trivia Time
Before we indulge in the carnage that was the past two weeks, let
us first don our thinking caps and ponder the complexities of
this cerebellum teaser. Out of all the players the Ottawa
Senators selected in the 1992 expansion draft, only two are still
active in the NHL. Can you name them? Answer at the end of this
column.
Dr. Nosebleeder, At Your Service
Many people are wondering why it's taking Daniel Alfredsson so
long to heal from his 'minor' ankle injury. The answer: because
it isn't as minor as the team would have you believe. Sens
teammates Igor Kravchuk and Randy Cunneyworth had similar
injuries before, Kravchuk in 1995-96 and Cunneyworth in
1991-1992. Kravchuk missed 16 games that year, and Cunneyworth
30.
The Legion of Ka-Boom
Somewhere out there, there is an NHL schedule-maker with a cruel
heart. For reasons only a deranged criminal would understand,
Ottawa was granted the unenviable task of facing the big, strong
Philadelphia Flyers twice in less than four days... in November,
no less.
Traditionally, the Flyers have owned the Senators' furry
backside, sporting a 15-3-1 lifetime record. Last season alone,
the Flyers top line of Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mikael
Renberg (now with Tampa Bay) accounted for 23 total points
against the Sens.
The good news is that Renberg, as mentioned, is no longer. The
bad news is the Flyers picked up rugged forward Chris Gratton to
take his place. Even more bad news for the Sens was the loss of
Daniel Alfredsson to an ankle injury and Bruce Gardiner to a
thigh bruise. With the injuries, the Sens contemplated playing
defenceman Sean Hill at wing on a line with Denny Lambert and
Shaun Van Allen. With that kind of patchwork against a team many
favor will win the Holy Ashtray at season's end, you can very
well predict the eventual outcome.
Powered by two goals in less than 46 seconds, the Flyers skated
away with a 4-3 victory. Don't let the score fool you, however,
this game was completely dominated by the Flyers.
* For only the third time this year, the Sens gave up over 30
shots in a game (32). Not surprisingly, the Sens have lost every
game.
* About the only bright spots were Magnus Arvedson's goal in the
third period - his first career NHL goal - and Phil Crowe's
twine-bulger, his third goal of the season. (If you're
wondering, 'What's the big deal about that?' People - it's Phil
Crowe we're talking about here!)
* The Flyers game represented the 8th game in a row that Randy
Cunneyworth has gone without a goal. It also represented the 11th
goalless game for (no shock here) Radek Bonk. It seems the
Bonkarama has cooled off quite a bit since his quick start. Of
course, both of these slumps pale in comparison to Sean Hill's
and Jason York's current streaks. Hill hasn't scored since Dec
13, 1995 - a streak of 67 games, while York has yet to tickle the
twine in 48 games.
Step Aside Holyfield
The first period featured a fight between the Flyers' Chris
Gratton and Ottawa's Stan Neckar. For those keeping score,
Gratton won on points, 19-2. From now on, we will be referring to
Neckar as Stan Golota.
Who'd A-Thunk It...
How weird is November to Ottawa? Well, if we had told you that
Denny Lambert would be leading the Sens in +/- with a +8, while
Sens captain Randy Cunneyworth, known for his aggressive
forechecking, would be at the bottom of the heap with a -4, would
you have believed us? How about this gem - Phil Crowe, not
exactly a premiere goalscorer, has three goals on four shots this
season. Appalled? Shocked? Discombobulated? You shouldn't be, it
is after all, Novem....well, you get the idea.
To the Land of Diesel and Tobaccy
The Sens had little time to drown their sorrows over the Flyer
loss, as they had to catch the red eye over to that hockey hotbed
known as Greensboro, North Carolina, to take on the Hartford
Hurricanes, or the Carolina Whalers, or...whatever you call that
crappy team Ottawa is always stuck playing against.
Pity poor Peter Karmanos and his Compuware bigshots. Last year,
they cried poor as their Hartford Whalers struggled at the gate,
drawing an average of about 13,000 per game. This year, they
headed to supposed greener pastures - a bustling population
center, large modern facility, rent-free accommodations, big TV
market. Just one problem, though - they forgot to ask Carolinians
"Do you have any clue what a hockey puck is?"
Going into the Sens tilt, the Hurricanes haven't exactly been
burning it up at the ticket counter. So far, Carolina has
averaged a pathetic 6,000 per game, with 3,000 of those season
ticket holders. The problem? As Hurricanes' centre Jeff O'Neill
so mildly explained: "It's a different culture. They like (NASCAR
driver) Ernie (expletive) Irvan. What are you going to do?"
With that kind of euphoric hockey excitement, people are still
wondering why this classic wasn't aired on national television.
Only 5,500 bothered to show up to watch as their (ahem) beloved
Hurricanes' lulled the Sens into a deep sleep, en route to a
(yawn) 4-1 victorzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
* The loss was the Sens second in a row, the first time the team
has dropped consecutive games this season.
* Part of the blame can be laid on the Sens' woeful power play.
They went 0 for 6 in this game, including a blown 5-on-3 in the
third period. In their last five games, Ottawa is an ugly 2 for
25.
The Pain and 'Angus' of Defeat
Igor Kravchuk scored Ottawa's lone goal, although Randy
Cunneyworth was robbed of a goal in the second period.
Cunneyworth picked up the loose puck behind the Carolina net and
tucked a wraparound behind Hurricanes' goalie Trevor Kidd, who
gloved the puck after it had crossed the goal line. But referee
Blaine Angus never signalled a goal, and refused to go upstairs
for a replay. So the b.s. continues...
So Close, and Yet So Far
This just in: Gary Roberts wanted to make his comeback with
Ottawa, but all of that changed when the man responsible for
encouraging Roberts back to the ice - ex-Sens conditioning coach
Lorne Goldenberg - was fired by the club last summer. With the
firing, Roberts backed off, and was eventually traded to Carolina
with Trevor Kidd. "I loved playing there (Ottawa) when I was in
junior. (Ottawa 67s coach) Kilrea is a big reason why I made it
to the NHL, and I have a close association with Jacques Martin
(from his days with Guelph)," Roberts was quoted in The Ottawa
Sun. "I saw the way they treated Goldenberg and I had no
interest."
On behalf of all Senators fans, may we pass this message over to
the entire Sens' front office: you bunch of putzes!
Flyer Misfire: Part II
See Ottawa. See Ottawa on a losing streak. See Ottawa play
against Philadelphia. In Philadelphia. See Ottawa win. True or
False?
If you chose 'True', then may you be sentenced to three years of
watching "The Greatest Moments in Hartford Whaler Hockey" video
clips. If you chose 'False', then we're glad to see you've been
paying attention.
With the Sens struggling big time, now was not the moment to
throw the Flyers at them again. But sure enough, there the Sens
were, playing before a sold out CoreStates Center against the
Legion of Badda-Bing, Badda-Boom. Despite a stellar performance
by goalie Damian Rhodes, Ottawa proceeded to stink the place out,
losing 1-0, their third straight and 11th straight versus Philly.
* This loss is more frustrating than any other blowout at the
hands of King Eric and his men. How often does a team hold
Philadelphia to only one goal and yet still lose? With Ron
Hextall in net!?! Calgon, take us away....
* How bad is the Sens offense? Coach Jacques Martin slapped Radek
Bonk on a line with rookie defenceman Chris Phillips. Puh-leez.
What?....What?!? WHAT?!?!
Prior to the Flyers game, heavy-metal stars Metallica played a
free outdoor concert before 40,000 faithful in the arena's
parking lot. Good thing the Senators offensive guns were silent,
we don't think Flyers' fans could have taken much more noise.
Now That's Dedication
Flyers' defenceman Janne (Nincompoop) Niinimaa was a healthy
scratch for the Sens' game. Rumor has it he took the day off to
fulfill one of his dreams: see a Metallica concert live. We pray
that rumor wasn't true. That rustling sound you hear is Eddie
Shore rolling in his grave.
The Boy Is Back In Town
Every time the Detroit Red Wings visit Ottawa, great excitement
flushes through the city. No, it's not necessarily because
Detroit is the Stanley Cup champions, nor is it due to an obvious
lack of Original Six visits to Bytown. All the hoopla is focused
around one of the region's favorite native sons: Steve Yzerman.
Ottawa and its surrounding region has produced many famous NHLers
over the years: from Frank Finnigan, Aurel Joliat and Cyclone
Taylor in the Golden Era, to modern bigshots like Denis Potvin,
Billy Smith, Mike Gartner, and Guy Lafleur. But no player today
seems to bring Bytown hockey fans out of their slumber than
Stevie Y.
The last time Yzerman was in town, back in August, he was
presiding over a ceremony which saw his hometown rename an arena
complex after him. However, in the Wings matchup against Ottawa,
it appeared as if Yzerman also owned the Corel Centre. Chipping
in two goals and assisting on another, Yzerman carried the Red
Wings on his back en route to a 4-2 victory over Ottawa, the Sens
fourth straight loss.
"I bet you there wasn't a dry eye in Nepean," Wings winger
Brendan Shanahan quipped to a reporter after the game. Yzerman's
response? "Ya, ya, ya."
Modesty - a definite Ottawa trait. Atta boy, Stevie.
Coincidence?
The Nepean Sportsplex, now known as Steve Yzerman Arena, is
exactly 19 kilometers from the Corel Centre, via the Hunt Club
extension to Highway 416. This can only mean one thing, folks:
we really have no social lives whatsoever.
"Excuse Me, Sir, But Your 15 Minutes of Fame Are Up. Please
Return to Your Normal Life."
Stephen Adler - not the former drummer of Guns N' Roses, rather
the head statistician for visiting TV crews at the Corel Centre -
gained celebrity status this week when he appeared on the Oprah
Winfrey Show. Adler, 21 and a student at the University of
Ottawa, was called upon to talk about how he landed his first
'big break' in the TV business - a four month stint at ABC Sports
- through the help big-shot executive Dennis Swanson, who also
gave Winfrey her big break back in the early 1980s. After the
show, Swanson, Winfrey, her boyfriend, and Adler retired to
Oprah's condo for dinner. "You couldn't find a nicer person,
especially with that much money," Adler told The Ottawa Sun.
"She's really down to earth."
Good job, Stephen. Although you did Ottawa proud, you'll never be
as famous as that other Steve guy... what's his name... he plays
for Detroit... oh well, no offense, eh?
Fit To Be Tied
Sporting the bruises of a horrible four-game losing streak, the
Sens next had to face the surprising Boston Bruins at the Fleet
Centre for a Saturday night matchup.
Traditionally, Boston has been a tough team to beat, however, in
recent years they went from "Bid, Bad Bruins" to "Just plain
awful Bruins." Enter Pat Burns. In a bat of an eyelash, Burns
has taken his rag-tag collection of hockey players to sudden
respectability.
After jumping out to a 3-1 lead, the Sens defense decided to pack
it in early, allowing Boston to storm back to a 3-3 tie.
* How close were the Sens to a big juicy 'W'? Boston's tying
goal came with only 12.6 seconds left in the game - that's just
inexcusable.
The Nosebleeder Jinx Is Over
In the past, we've always seemed to jinx the Senators through our
bi-weekly report. Remember two years ago when we reported that
Stan Neckar was the Senators Iron Man for most consecutive games
played, only to witness him get hurt a few days later? Well, it
seems that trend has reversed itself. How so? Take a look at the
scoresheet for the Bruins game. Sean Hill and Jason York - each
scoring a goal, and breaking their respective scoring slumps that
we reported on earlier in this column.
With that kind of touch, we are pleased to offer the following
pieces of information: Ottawa hasn't won a Stanley Cup in
decades, Alexei Yashin hasn't won a scoring title in his career,
and the Nosebleeders have yet to win a Pulitzer Prize for their
reporting excellence.
We'll see what happens now.
And Another Thing...
People seem to be in kahooks over how ugly the Carolina
Hurricanes' uniforms are. Sorry, but the Bruins take the prize
for the ugliest uniforms in the NHL. Is tradition not sacred
anymore? Put the Bruins back in the Original Six unis, and quit
trying to make a quick buck at the merchandise stand.
Thanks for listening.
Drumroll Please
Mike Peluso and Blair Atcheynum are the only two original
Senators still active in the NHL. Peluso became a fan favorite
in his two years in Ottawa, before he was dealt to New Jersey,
where he won the Stanley Cup in 1995. He has since played with
St. Louis and is currently with the Calgary Flames.
Atcheynum saw limited action in the red, white and black. Today,
he is a member of the Dallas Stars.
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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
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Head Coach: Kevin Constantine
Roster: C - Ron Francis, Martin Straka, Stu Barnes, C. Ferraro,
Tyler Wright. LW - Andreas Johansson, P. Ferraro, Alex Hicks,
Garry Valk. RW - Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Morozov, Ed Olczyk, Robby
Brown. D - Darius Kasparaitis, Kevin Hatcher, Chris Tamer,
Fredrik Olausson, Neil Wilkinson, Ian Moran, Brad Werenka, Jiri
Slegr, Toumas Gronman. G - Tom Barrasso, Ken Wregget, Peter
Skudra.
Injuries: Jaromir Jagr, rw (groin, day-to-day); Tuomas Gronman, d
(flu, day-to-day); Kevin Hatcher, d (bruised leg, day-to-day);
Ken Wregget, g (back, placed on ir retroactive to Oct 6, to be
evaluated in 2 weeks); Ian Moran, d (knee, indefinately); Jiri
Slegr, d (hip flexor, day-to-day); Andreas Johansson, c (bruised
ribs, day-to-day).
Transactions: Sent Sven Butenschon, d, to Syacuse of the AHL on
Nov. 13th.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Northeast Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61
Game Results:
11/05 Dallas L 5-2
11/07 at Detroit T 1-1
11/08 Buffalo T 2-2
11/12 Washington L 4-1
11/14 at NY Rangers L 3-1
11/15 at Toronto W 5-0
TEAM NEWS by Brett Taylor
Times are tough for the beat-up Pens.
Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Hatcher and Jiri Slegr all missed Saturday's
game against Toronto, and Andreas Johansson left early with
bruised ribs. Not to mention that Kenny Wregget is out
indefinitely with his back injury.
The injuries have taken their toll on the Pens who broke a six-
game winless streak with a 5-0 stomping of the Leafs in Toronto
on Saturday.
Offensive Drought: Since the long road trip that the team
hoped would typify its play for the rest of the season, the Pens
have not been able to put the same kind of offensive numbers up,
or get many wins for that matter.
Before the 5-0 win on Saturday, they hadn't been able to muster
more than two goals in a game since the 7-6 shootout against
Vancouver at the Civic Arena on Nov. 1. The goals appear to come
for the Pens in big bursts. Like seven or five in a game, but
between those two games they never scored more than two.
The defense has not been bad, but if you can't score more than
two goals a game, you can't win. They need to get back to playing
strong defense and letting the chances come.
Ron Francis Becomes 13th All-Time Scorer: He may have been
left off the ballet for the North American All-Star team, but Ron
Francis is still one of the best two-way centers on the planet.
His goal and assist against Toronto moved him past John Bucyk
for 13th on the all-time NHL scoring list with 1,370 points.
Francis leads the Pens with eight goals and 15 assists for 23
points in 22 games. Surprisingly though, he is a minus-6, a stat.
that I'm sure bothers him. But by the end of the season it will
be a plus -- guaranteed.
Also in that same game against the Leafs, Tom Barrasso recorded
his 25th shutout in his career and his 12th as a Penguin. The 12
shutouts are the most in club history, surpassing Les Binkley.
Morozov Sparkles: Alexei Morozov continues to blossom for
the Pens. After a seeming eternity between his second and third
goals of the season, Morozov has seemed to remember where the
back of the net is located. He only has five goals on the year,
but his overall level of play is picking up. He carries the puck
with more confidence, and does better things with it once he gets
in the zone. He is reminiscent of Jaromir Jagr in his young days,
attempting to pull off gallant plays singlehandedly...and almost
succeeding.
Morozov has shown signs of being able to throw his large frame
around al well. A few games ago against Buffalo, Alexei planted
Derek Plante while the Buffalo winger skated with his head down.
It sort of reminded me of old school Kevin Stevens. The Pens need
that kind of thing from some of their big forwards. They have had
some of the biggest strongest, least physical forwards in the
league over the past few seasons, and if they are going to be a
defensive team it is imperative that they get the big guys
doing big guy things. Maybe Morozov can be a good power forward,
not just a 6-1 195 lb finesse player.
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TEAM REPORTS
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EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
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FLORIDA PANTHERS
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Head Coach: Doug MacLean
Roster: C - Kirk Muller, Rob Niedermayer, Dave Gagner, Steve
Washburn, Chris Wells. LW - Johan Garpenlov, Dave Lowry, Bill
Lindsay, Radek Dvorak, David Nemirovsky. RW - Scott Mellanby,
Ray Sheppard, Jody Hull, Tom Fitzgerald. D - Robert Svehla, Gord
Murphy, Ed Jovanovski, Paul Laus, Terry Carkner, Rhett Warrener,
Dallas Eakins. G - John Vanbiesbrouck, Mark Fitzpatrick, Kevin
Weekes.
Injuries: Kevin Weekes, g (damaged nerve & cut pinky finger, 1 to
3 weeks); Radek Dvorak, rw (broken wrist, 4 weeks); Steve
Washburn, c (shoulder, 1 weeks); Esa Tikkanen, lw (broken leg, 6
to 8 weeks).
Transactions: Acquired winger Ray Whitney (wears #14) from the
Edmonton Oilers off waivers. Acquired left wing Viktor Kozlov
(wears #25) and a fifth-round draft pick from San Jose for Dave
Lowry and a first-round 1998 pick.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results:
11/05 New Jersey L 4-2
11/06 at Buffalo W 4-2
11/09 Washington W 3-2
11/12 NY Islanders T 2-2
11/14 Philadelphia L 5-2
11/15 at NY Islanders W 1-0
TEAM NEWS by Eric Seiden
"It's a hockey night in South Florida, and here come your
Panthers," screamed the announcer to the empty stands. In true
Miami fashion, fans stay away from a losing team in droves. Of
all the home games, the only one where all the sold-out seats
were full was the Flyers game. However, play from newly acquired
Ray Whitney may change all that. In his first five games as a
Panther, he has five points; this is something the Panthers need
if he can maintain his consistency.
In the game against the New York Islanders on 11/15, Mark
Fitzpatrick followed up an exciting win in Buffalo with a shutout
against the Islanders. The win against the Islanders was his
100th career win, and one that made everyone happy. However this
goal wasn't as big for Fitzpatrick as his win on 11/6 in
Buffalo where he snapped a year long winless streak, gaining his
first win since 12-23-1996. With the monkey off his back he is
beginning to shine.
Although the game against the Islanders was exciting in that it
was Mark Fitzpatrick's 100th win, it did manage to bore the fans
in to a stupor as what may go down as one of the most boring
games in Panthers history.
While the game in Washington was a nice win, it was especially
sweet for team captain Scott Mellanby who scored his 500th career
point in that game. The game looked to be a tie until the
remaining 29 seconds on the clock. Often the Panthers are
criticized for not making the clutch play. Rob Niedermayer
saved the day scoring the game-winner with 29 seconds on the
clock.
A special thanks to Capitals goalie Bill Ranford who was kind
enough to alert the Panthers to the crumpled David Nemirovsky
behind the goal. The Panthers didn't notice, and Ranford actually
skated towards the Panthers bench and shouted the medic down.
Class act there. Although everyone was scared as Nemirovsky was
carried off the ice, it turned out to be nothing more than a
bad bruise.
In ongoing news, Kirk Muller still looks flat as does Ray
Sheppard who can't seem to keep his eye on the puck or his stick
on the ice. Dave Gagner still looks nice on the ice and continues
to impress. We won't even begin to talk about Ed Jovanovski, who
has replaced Chris Wells as my (and many fans) personal whipping
boy, although during the 11/5 Islanders game he certainly seemed
to make an effort to get out of his year-long "let's try to hurt
my team" mode of playing.
Ray Whitney, wearing former Panther Stu Barnes' #14, has managed
to impress the fans enough with his aggressive style of play that
nobody has taken umbrage at his theft of the number. Newly
acquired Viktor Kozlov, using Geoff Smith's #25, has had only two
games to prove himself and the jury's still out.
The Flyers game, characterized as the grudge match of the year
because of Eric Lindros' cheap shot on Niedermayer earlier this
year, turned out to be a hard played, but non-violent game. Paul
Laus' threat to remove Lindros from the planet never
materialized. Fifty-five seconds into the game, Niedermayer
went to the box and cooled off. Though the score shows a big
Philadelphia win, the margin was slim until the last period when
Philadelphia came back into the game strongly. The game was a 2-2
tie until then. The Panthers played their best game all season
and were simply beat up by the Flyers.
Goalie Kevin Weekes, a fan favorite from the minors, is still
nursing the finger Kirk Muller stepped on accidentally. What was
originally thought to be a cut finger has turned out to be some
minor nerve damage and his recovery time is questionable.
In other news, several Panthers have been spotted playing with
CCM jerseys instead of their official team uniforms made by
Starter. Nobody is particularly sure why. The Florida Panthers
will put season tickets on sale for the new arena on 11-23 and
they have been making the hot and heavy push to all interested
fans. While season ticket sales this year have been perfect
(the arena is sold out of season tickets), current play has made
the number of people moving to the new arena less than
spectacular. Ticket prices will go up an average of $6 per seat
at the new arena. Club seats are being introduced at $61 per
game.
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NEW JERSEY DEVILS
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Head Coach: Jacques Lemaire
Roster: C - Doug Gilmour, Bob Carpenter, Bobby Holik, Denis
Pederson, Petr Sykora. LW - Dave Andreychuk, Brian Rolston,
Valeri Zelepukin, Krzysztof Oliwa, Reid Simpson, Patrik Elias,
Jay Pandolfo RW - John MacLean, Randy McKay, Steve Thomas.
D - Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Lyle Odelein, Kevin Dean,
Brad Bombardir, Ken Sutton, Sheldon Souray.
G - Martin Brodeur, Mike Dunham.
Injuries: 11/8 - LW Reid Simpson, tightness in hamstring,
day-to-day. 11/11 - D Lyle Odelein, bruised right shoulder,
day-to-day. 11/12 - LW Sasha Lakovic, broken right leg, out at
least six weeks.
Transactions: 11/8 - Placed D Ken Daneyko on IR. Placed LW
Reid Simpson on IR. 11/10 - Recalled LW Sasha Lakovic from
Albany (AHL). Assigned LW Jay Pandolfo to Albany (AHL).
11/12 - Placed LW Sasha Lakovic on IR. Recalled D Sheldon
Souray from Albany (AHL). 11/13 Recalled LW Jay Pandolfo
from Albany (AHL).
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results:
11/04 Los Angeles L 3-0
11/05 at Florida W 4-2
11/08 Boston W 2-0
11/10 at Islanders W 3-1
11/12 at Rangers W 3-2
11/14 Colorado W 4-1
11/15 at Buffalo W 3-2
11/18 Calgary W 2-1
TEAM NEWS by Phil Aromando
According to Bobby Holik, the Devils "feel like they can win
every night". Normally this would sound like a generic athletic
sound bite meant to display an inherent confidence in one's team;
after all, so many things are said before and after games, it's
hard to determine what's truthful and what's simply good PR. But
anyone that's watched the Devils on the ice over the past two
weeks would have to say he’s right.
The Devils are playing with a high level of confidence and
effectiveness. They have won their last seven games, tying the
franchise record of seven straight wins set back in October of
1993, Jacques Lemaire’s first month as head coach. As Lemaire
said before the Calgary game, "These past four games have been
the best we’ve had in a while."
And that’s not simply because of the defense, goaltending or a
system. The Devils are scoring goals. They have had at least
three a game in their last five out of seven games against
excellent goaltenders like Richter, Roy, Hasek and Vanbiesbrouck.
So how could they have been shut out by Stephane Fiset and the LA
Kings? The Devils launched thirty-six shots at Fiset, but they
rarely were in close. Most of the shots came from the perimeter
and there was hardly a rebound. Los Angeles played a physical
and tight defensive game: they beat the Devils to the puck,
blocked passing lanes and generally limited their opportunities.
The few chances the Devils did have, they missed. For example,
Brian Rolston, on a wraparound attempt in the middle of the
second, couldn’t get the puck high enough to get it over Fiset.
He had the right idea, but couldn’t finish. When you get few
chances in a close game, misses like that matter - especially
when the power play goes 0-6. Mike Dunham started in goal. Glen
Murray scored twice for the Kings.
The Devils were in Florida to take on the Panthers the very next
night. We all know that Lemaire is unhappy with the travel
demands of the schedule this season, but rather than let it
bother him, he’s finding ways to work with it. The team got in
at 2:30 a.m. Instead of worrying about how late his players went
to bed, he made sure they didn’t get up too early. Only Martin
Brodeur showed up for the morning skate - after all, he sat the
previous night and hadn’t played since the 1st of November
against Washington. The strategy worked.
Although Florida scored first, the Devils had a 2-1 lead after
one. Randy McKay scored the first Jersey goal and Scott
Niedermayer, who had two goals on the night (second time this
season), broke the deadlock on a beautiful move off a breakaway
that beat the Beezer low on the stick side. Nieder scored again
late in the second on a power play to put the team up 3-1.
The Devils played with a surprising jump and boldness that was
missing the previous night against the Kings. It served them
well in the second half of the third period. Bill Lindsay’s goal
brought the Panthers within one and energized the squad but
Brodeur denied them in close during the onslaught. John
MacLean’s empty-netter iced the Florida comeback attempt. The
goal was MacLean’s 700th career point.
Florida was without coach Doug McLean. He was serving the first
of a two-game suspension for verbal abuse of an official after a
game the previous weekend. It was Dave Andreychuk’s first game
back since bruising his foot late in the game against Tampa on
the 18th of October. He missed six games. The win snapped a
seven-game winless streak for the Devils at Miami Arena. It was
Brodeur’s fifth straight victory.
Brodeur’s sixth straight victory came against Boston. The
new-look Bruins employ a version of the trap. They were beaten
at their own game. The Devils only allowed four shots on goal
through the first period. Patrik Elias scored on the power play
(a nice deflection off a Gilmour shot) in the first to put the
Devils ahead for good. Doug Gilmour’s empty-netter in the third
capped off the scoring. The last time the Bruins played the
Devils, they lost by the same exact score.
Brodeur had mild flu-like symptoms all day but still played.
Although he was not too strongly tested he did pay a physical
price twice. In the second, a hard shot by Anson Carter in close
dinged Brodeur in the mask. Towards the end of the same period,
while the Devils were on a power play, Brodeur skated out towards
the blue line to get to the puck. Rob Dimaio wanted it as well.
They collided just as Brodeur flicked the puck out of the rink
and into the stands. Dimaio managed to knock Brodeur to the ice
and take his mask with him. It was very dramatic looking but
neither player was penalized or injured. It was the most
exciting moment of an otherwise defensively oriented game.
Brodeur’s shutout streak was snapped by Ziggy Palffy early in the
next game against the Islanders. Valeri Zelepukin tied it late in
the first but it was Patrik Elias’ goal late in the second that
impressed. Elias picked up an errant clearing attempt by Rich
Pilon, skated into the left faceoff circle and fired it on net.
It had a surgical accuracy. The puck went just over goalie Tommy
Salo’s right shoulder and into the upper corner of the goal. It
happened so quickly and with such precision that one can’t help
but think he’s really coming into his own. (The goal was Elias’
league leading 5th game-winning goal.) The goal also inspired a
new nickname from his teammates: "7-Eleven". Why? Because he’s
everywhere and he’s always open.
The Islanders made a go at the Devils in the third (13 shots and
a lot of pressure) but Brodeur was there to stop them. Late in
the game he denied the Islanders twice from in close. The most
impressive was a glove save off a Robert Reichel shot with just
under a minute left. Bobby Carpenter’s empty-netter sealed the
victory. (The third game in a row that the Devils scored into an
empty net.)
The victory was not without its downside. With less than ten
seconds left, Lyle Odelein took a hit from Todd Bertuzzi. It
aggravated a bruise on his right shoulder that had been made
worse by Claude Lapointe earlier in the game. (Odelein sat out
the next game against the Rangers. What is it with last minute
injuries and this team? Against the Kings, Petr Sykora was very
nearly maimed towards the end.) And Mike Dunham’s goalie mask
was stolen. At the Memorial Coliseum, the extra goalie sits to
the side of his teammates (similar to Pittsburgh). Apparently he
wasn’t paying attention and it was swiped from his side. If he
were needed in that game he would have had to wear Brodeur’s. A
Long Island police officer personally returned the mask a few
days later after he said he confiscated it from some kids he saw
trying to sell it at some type of memorabilia shop.
Although the Devils have trouble winning on the Island, they have
even more trouble in Madison Square Garden. Going into this game
they were 1-6-3 in their last 10 visits. It was the first
meeting of the season between the hated rivals.
The game started cautiously enough but the Devils gained the edge
in the second. Petr Sykora scored his seventh, unassisted, after
picking off a Jeff Beukeboom clearing attempt. He skated in from
along the boards and shot, beating Mike Richter on the stick
side. Brian Rolston finally scored his first of the season a
little over six minutes later on a pretty play with Gilmour and
Pederson. Again, they picked the puck up off a turnover, skated
in, gave and went. From behind the net Gilmour spotted Rolston
skating into the crease. He fluttered a pass through that landed
on Rolston’s stick and deflected towards Richter and through his
legs. Rolston looked more relieved than excited. He’s been
pressing real hard since ending his holdout.
Brodeur would have loved to have a shutout but Niklas Sundstrom
broke it up early in the third. 1:26 in, Kevin Stevens fed
Sundstrom cross crease for an easy score. The Rangers, realizing
it was only a one-goal game, turned it up. But Bobby Holik
scored halfway through the third on a slapper from just beyond
the blue line that seemed to catch Richter off guard. That
didn’t deter the Rangers, though. They came right back and
scored less than two minutes later. Scott Stevens and Valeri
Zelepukin got crossed up in front of Brodeur as he was trying to
cover up a Gretzky shot. But they got in the way, and the puck
slid through to Sundstrom who tapped it in as he skated by.
(Sundstrom nearly had a hat trick two minutes later but hit the
side of the net.) The Devils held on and they had their fourth
straight victory.
Patrik Elias took the only Devil penalty at, ironically enough,
7:11 of the third. (This season, at the Garden, whenever a
penalty is called, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, now of the
New People’s Court fame, is seen on the scoreboard announcing the
penalty and it’s duration.)
It was an impressive win for the Devils because only two
defensemen from last season’s roster, Scott Stevens and Scott
Niedermayer, were suited up. Due to Odelein’s injury and Ken
Daneyko’s absence, Lemaire dressed Souray, Bombardir, Sutton and
Dean. (Souray even had an assist - his first NHL point.) The
victory was Martin Brodeur’s eighth straight and tied Chris
Terreri’s franchise record for consecutive goalie wins.
With a chance to break Terreri’s record, who better for Brodeur
to face than his childhood idol, Patrick Roy? The Avalanche were
coming off a tough physical game the night before in Philadelphia
and it showed.
The Devils jumped out early on a skillful goal by Bobby Holik.
After being tied up in the lower right circle by Adam Foote,
Holik went towards the net, received a pass off his skate,
steadied the puck and backhanded it through traffic past Roy.
Stephane Yelle scored less than two minutes later to even the
score after his shot was deflected by Brad Bombardir past
Brodeur. But Randy McKay scored with less than seven minutes to
go in the first, beating Roy on a low glove side shot as he
cruised through the high slot. It was a soft goal for Roy.
Normally, he’d stop that type of shot. McKay’s goal was his
ninth. It took him 77 games to score that many last season.
Brad Bombardir tallied his first NHL point on the assist.
The Devils rolled the rest of the game. Bobby Holik scored again
in the second and Petr Sykora added another in the third to put
the game out of reach. The line of McKay-Holik-Elias is becoming
one of the most consistent on the team. The power play with
Gilmour and Niedermayer was, for a while, a sure thing. But it
has fallen off. In fact, it’s fallen from 1st to 4th in the
league. They haven’t scored a power-play goal in five games
(0-15). For a team that historically has trouble scoring goals,
that makes the past week’s goal production that much more
impressive. Maybe the addition of Gilmour and the output from
McKay, Elias and Sykora will make those goal struggles a thing of
the past. If anything, it will take even more pressure off
Brodeur and allow the defense to really dominate.
The Avalanche just couldn’t seem to generate any offense. I’m
not sure it was all because of the Devils defense or if Colorado
was not completely rested and prepared for the Devils confident
attack after such a physical game against the Flyers the evening
before. Peter Forsberg and Sandis Ozolinsh did not play for the
Avalanche.
The win was Brodeur’s ninth straight - a new franchise record.
Since Brodeur’s streak began, he’s had a 0.99 GAA and a .957 save
percentage. Also, he’s now 7-4 in games when he faces Roy;
winning the last three.
The Devils' power play may be in a slump but their penalty
killing has been excellent. The first goal in the Buffalo game
by Mike Peca was the first power-play goal they allowed in nine
games (18 kills). But that’s all they allowed.
The Devils failed to score on the power play again (0-4) but Dave
Andreychuk scored his first goal since returning from his injury.
His last goal was against Buffalo on October 11th. Doug Gilmour
scored to put the Devils ahead in the middle of the first. Bobby
Holik scored the eventual game-winner early in the second on a
long shot that beat Hasek - similar but a little closer in than
the shot that he beat Richter with a few games earlier. Buffalo
made it close on a goal by Michal Grosek late in the third after
pulling Hasek for the extra skater, but couldn’t tie it before
time ran out.
Hasek did not look his best. A number of Devils players
commented on it after the game. John MacLean said: "He seemed to
be fighting it a bit". Holik: "I don’t want to say he’s shaky
but in games in the past, he was a lot tougher to score on."
Maybe the booing and ill will from the Buffalo fans is finally
getting to him. It may be a bigger distraction than he’s
allowing. Brodeur, meanwhile, continued to add to his team
consecutive win record - it was his tenth straight.
Brodeur recorded his eleventh straight win against Calgary, the
NHL’s worst road team (0-7-4). It may have been his least
difficult win of the entire streak. He only faced 12 shots all
game. Despite outshooting the Flames 13-3 in the first, the
Devils didn’t score until midway through the second, a period in
which they outshot Calgary 18-2.
Lopsided as those stats seem, the Flames were in the game the
whole way. Rick "Floppy" Tabaracci was the difference. Although
Denis Pederson and Doug Gilmour scored two minutes apart in the
second (Gilmour’s was a nice backhander off a Sykora shot that
hit the post and bounced out to him. Scott Niedermayer assisted
on both goals) the floodgates never opened. A goal by Andrew
Cassels a minute later off a feed from Theoren Fleury, beating
Brodeur through his pads, seemed to convince the Flames that
although badly outshot they could still win or at least fight for
a tie. (The Devils are the only NHL team yet to have a tie this
season.) Not even the power play helped the Devils. They
couldn’t even convert on a five-on-three late in the second and
ended the game 0-4.
Tabaracci made save after acrobatic save keeping the game within
reach as Calgary seemed close to solving Brodeur in the third.
German Titov had a great opportunity thwarted by Brodeur in the
third: rushing in on a partial breakaway, Titov had the puck
knocked off his stick by Brodeur. There was a strong feeling
that Calgary was going to tie the score, and deserved to, but
simply ran out of time.
After the game, Lemaire was very disappointed with Jersey’s play.
He was dismayed that they were able to take so many shots and not
score and allow so few shots and still feel like they stole one.
"They had plenty of pressure on us (in the third) and they had a
chance to score the tying goal. We shouldn’t have been in that
situation where it was close."
As empty as the Calgary win may have felt for Lemaire, there’s no
denying how hot the Devils and Martin Brodeur are right now.
Although the power play is in a bit of a nosedive (0-23 over
seven games), the penalty killers have only allowed one goal in
11 contests (23 of 24). Martin Brodeur leads the league in wins
(14), GAA (1.65), and save percentage (.930). The defense is
playing as well as they ever have over the past few seasons and
there aren’t even veterans filling all the spots. Really, there
is nothing to complain about. They are setting and tying
franchise records all over the place.
Perhaps the most illuminating statistic so far this season is
this: The Devils record when leading going into the third period
is 13-0-0. Hopefully, this confidence and effectiveness will
carry through the entire season and injuries don’t begin to
mount. The team is really beginning to come together and quietly
build momentum. As I said a few weeks ago, this could be one
season worth the watch.
Ken Daneyko Update
It turns out that Ken Daneyko’s unexplained absence two weeks ago
was quite serious. He has voluntarily checked himself into a
rehabilitation program of some sort. No one is really saying
what is wrong or where he is. The only word from the Devils is
that he is being treated by two doctors, one from the NHL and one
from the NHLPA, and no one will reveal where he is. The news of
his personal troubles surprised many people but there were
reports in the local papers that Mark Messier may have had
something to do with Daneyko seeking out help. Daneyko and
Messier are good friends and they were seen having a somber talk
the day of the Vancouver game. It was the last game Daneyko
played in before removing himself from the lineup. We all wish
him well and look forward to his return.
Useful Banter
There’s a lot of talk about who will or who won’t be playing goal
for Team Canada in the upcoming Olympics. There’s talk of Brett
Hull and USA mates boycotting the festivities if 1996 World Cup
teammate Bill Guerin isn’t on the roster. One thing’s for sure:
Valeri Zelepukin has been named to the Russian Olympic hockey
team.
Olympics or not, Bill Guerin is still unsigned. As for turning
down a three-year $5.1 million offer, Lou Lamoriello said: "I’ve
done all I can do." Guerin still wants to be traded. One report
had him going to Pittsburgh. Time is winding down quickly on his
season.
The Devils won the Duracell Power Play award for best NHL power
play during the month of October. Free batteries for everyone.
RECENT LINES
OFFENSE
Andreychuk-Gilmour-Sykora
Rolston-Carpenter-MacLean
Elias-Holik-McKay
Zelepukin-Pederson-Oliwa
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Stevens-Dean
Niedermayer-Bombardir
Odelein-Sutton
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NEW YORK ISLANDERS
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Head Coach: Rick Bowness
Roster: C - Robert Reichel, Travis Green, Bryan Smolinski,
Claude Lapointe, Sergei Nemchinov. LW - Mike Hough, Paul Kruse,
Ken Belanger, Tom Chorske. RW - Zigmund Palffy, Mariusz
Czerkawski, Dan Plante, Todd Bertuzzi, Steve Webb. D - Scott
Lachance, Bryan Berard, Dennis Vaske, Richard Pilon, Bryan
McCabe, Kenny Jonsson, Doug Houda, Jason Holland. G - Eric
Fichaud, Wade Flaherty, Tommy Salo.
Injuries: Dennis Vaske, d (concussion [what else?], day to day);
Rich Pilon, d (groin [what else?], day to day); Scott Lachance, d
(pinky [wh..er, never mind], playing with splint).
Transactions: 11/12 Recalled Jason Holland, d, from Kentucky
(AHL). Recalled Steve Webb, benchwarmer, from Kentucky (AHL).
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results
11/05 Edmonton T 4-4
11/07 at Carolina W 3-2
11/08 Chicago L 4-2
11/10 New Jersey L 3-1
11/12 at Florida T 2-2
11/14 at Tampa W 4-1
11/15 Florida L 1-0
TEAM NEWS by David Strauss
It was the most overrated argument in Long Island since Joey
Buttafucco told his director he was dropping out of porn films.
Islanders coach Rick Bowness called captain Bryan McCabe and
assistant captains Zigmund Palffy and Scott Lachance into his
office after a 2-2 tie with the Florida Panthers at Miami Arena.
The meeting quickly devolved into a love-fest of profanity,
reminding most reporters of your average Martin Lawrence
concert.
But, according to Bowness, there was no story there. According
to the usually mild-mannered coach, he "provoked" the meeting.
And it wasn't in way related to the rumors that GM Mike Milbury
has received permission to fire Bowness if the Isles don't
improve. Milbury, who has voiced his displeasure with the game-
day preparation of the team, reportedly told a representative of
team owner John O. Pickett earlier this season that he would not
hesitate to fire Bowness.
"All I can tell you was it was for a reason. It was done for a
reason," said Bowness, smiling like a chesire cat. When asked
what the reason was, Bowness responded, in his best J. Michael
Straczynski cryptic manner, "Good luck." So much for
communication with the media.
Bowness decided to take out his anger on his captains,
challenging them and hoping they'd fight back. They certainly
did, especially McCabe, who was heard screaming at Bowness
during the 10-minute shouting match.
The love-in followed a game in which the Islanders jumped out
(well, more like stumbled-out-with-a-nasty-hangover) to a
horrible start -- a first period where they fell behind 2-0,
committing four penalties and being outshot 17-4.
"Rick and I talk about getting the team ready," said McCabe.
"Nobody's happy with some of the starts we've had. But to even
question what he has done, when the team is making such
progress? We're .500, in line for a playoff spot."
"We're making strides," Bowness said. "We're a young team. We're
growing. We have a lot to learn. But we will learn if we
continue to grow. You can never forget the fact that we have a
very young team and it's a learning experience, what it takes to
be competitive at this level. You've just got to guide them
through it. It doesn't happen overnight."
Bowness then took a page out of the playbook of every peewee
coach in Canada. Yell at the boys, then take them out for
pizza. After the team arrived in Tampa late Wednesday night, he
had a get-together in his hotel suite, complete with beer, soda,
pizza and, he said, "conversation." As he said: "We had a good
time."
"It was `Boys Night Out,'" McCabe said. "But in. We stayed in.
It was good to get across to the guys that we're all still a
team. It was fun. You need to get some of the frustration out
once in a while. You've got to blow off steam once in a while.
Sometimes you let it out in the room with the guys. Sometimes
it's with the coaches. Last night it was with the coaches."
Congrats to Trottier
Congratulations go out to Bryan Trottier, the greatest two-way
centerman of all time, who was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of
Fame this week. Trots joins Dynasty teammates Mike Bossy, Denis
Potvin, and Billy Smith, plus coach Al Arbour, in the Hall.
Trottier is No. 9 on the all-time points list with 1,425 (524
goals, 901 assists). But his thoughts these days are on the
American Hockey League, not the NHL. Trottier is the head coach
of the Portland Pirates, the top farm club of the Washington
Capitals.
"I like work. I like to keep busy," Trottier said. "It seems
like I always have a zillion things to do. The only time I
really look back (on my playing career) is when people ask me
about it. I have a multitude of goals. I want to be a good
coach. I want to be a good dad. In any event, I have nothing to
complain about."
While Trottier is still bitter about the treatment he received
at the hands of Isles management in the early 90s, he still has
nothing but love for the fans who supported him for 15 years in
Uniondale. "I love Long Island. I'll always love Long Island.
I'll never, ever forget the great fans," said Trottier, 41.
"There are super, super memories for me there and there always
will be."
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NEW YORK RANGERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Colin Campbell
Rosters: C - Wayne Gretzky, Pat LaFontaine, Brian Skrudland,
Mike Eastwood. LW - Adam Graves, Kevin Stevens, Bill Berg,
Darren Langdon, Tim Sweeney. RW - Niklas Sundstrom, Alexei
Kovalev, Mike Keane, Johan Lindbom, Ryan VandenBussche. D -
Brian Leetch, Ulf Samuelsson, Jeff Beukeboom, Bruce Driver, Doug
Lidster, Alexander Karpovstev, Eric Cairns, Jeff Finley. G -
Mike Richter, Jason Muzzatti.
Injuries: Adam Graves, lw (sprained right knee, one week).
Transactions: Sent Johan Lindbom, rw, to Hartford (AHL).
Recalled Lindbom from Hartford. Acquired Brad Smyth, rw, from
Los Angeles for future considerations. Assigned Smyth to
Hartford (AHL).
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results:
11/03 Edmonton T 2-2
11/06 at Colorado W 4-2
11/07 at Dallas T 2-2
11/12 New Jersey L 3-2
11/14 Pittsburgh W 3-1
11/16 Colorado W 4-1
TEAM NEWS by Alex Frias, NY Rangers Team Correspondent
He Shoots, He Scores!: The wait is over. No, the Knicks
didn't win a championship. Alexei Kovalev finally scored a goal!
Driving down the wing after taking a dish from Tim Sweeney,
Kovalev slammed on the brakes in the right circle to freeze
Garden favorite Darius Kasparaitis. He then went on to step
around him and whistle a wrist shot over Tom Barrasso's shoulder
and into the top of the net to break a 1- 1 tie with the Penguins
with 11:10 left. It became the game-winner as the Blueshirts
went on to win 3-1.
"It felt great, actually," Kovalev said of ending the goalless
streak that had dated back to Jan. 9, the night he suffered the
major knee injury against Tampa Bay that ended his 1996-97
campaign. "Finally I scored a goal... and we won the game. We
finally won a game at home, which is what is most important for
us."
"We needed the win and Alex needed the weight off his shoulders,"
said Colin Campbell. The same Campbell who had benched Kovalev
for 45-minutes in Dallas and gave him all of two shifts in the
second period in Ottawa.
But did Alex (isn't that a swell name) stop there... no, he went
into the Colorado game and scored the game-winner in that one.
Son-of-a-gun got a two-game goal streak. That's odd...
Trade Talk: Despite the team's recent relatively good
play, trade rumors are flying high. And with the recent
Vancouver hiring of the infamous Mike Keenan, there have been
whispers that some deals between the two teams aren't far off.
And given the fact that its either my way or the high way with
Iron Mike, you have to believe something is going down.
GM Neil Smith is itching to move Kovalev, who's good play as of
late has just helped rise his stock, and Keenan has been a fan
since calling the Russian winger "an untamed stallion" when he
coached him during the Ranger Stanley Cup season of 1993-94. On
the flip side, Kovalev makes $1.5 million while Pavel Bure and
Alexander Mogilny, either one possible on the Vancouver end of a
trade, both make over $5 million a year which creates a problem
for Smith who is maxed out with a $44 million budget. So either
the difference will have to be coughed up by Cablevision or Smith
would have to throw in a defensemen, mostly likely either
Alexander Karpovtsev or Jeff Beukeboom.
On a lighter note, The Rangers acquired right winger Brad Smyth
from the Los Angeles Kings for future considerations.
Smyth, 24, had one goal and three assists in nine games for the
Kings this season. He has 11 goals and 12 assists in 68 career
NHL games.
Smyth was immediately assigned to Hartford in the AHL.
Injury Analysis: Brian Skrudland (broken index finger)
returned against the Avalanche after missing nine games and
reunited the formidable checking line with Bill Berg and Mike
Keane.
Rookie forward Johan Lindbom (dislocated shoulder) made his NHL
debut against the Devils. Lindbom, who impressed in preseason
with his hard-hitting, is expected to do the same now that he is
finally healthy. And unlike some other guys on this team
(Kovalev?), he knows his role.
"If I don't hit, I'll be sitting in the stands," said Lindbom.
Adam Graves (sprained right knee on October 24) is skating and
could return this week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Wayne Cashman
ROSTER: C - Eric Lindros, Chris Gratton, Dan LaCroix, Joel Otto,
Vaclav Prospal. LW - Rod Brind'Amour, Dan Kordic, John LeClair,
Shjon Podein, Brantt Myhres. RW - Pat Falloon, Trent Klatt,
Dainius Zubrus. D - Paul Coffey, Eric Desjardins, Chris Joseph,
Janne Niinimaa, Luke Richardson, Kjell Samuelsson, Petr Svoboda,
Chris Therien. G - Ron Hextall, Garth Snow, Neil Little.
Injuries: Joel Otto, c (elbow, day-to-day); Dan Kordic, lw (lower
back strain, day-to-day).
Transactions: Nov 3 - Recalled goaltender Neil Little and right
wing Brantt Myhres from the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American
Hockey League; Nov 5 - Assigned right wing John Druce to
Philadelphia of the American Hockey League.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results
11/02 Dallas T 3-3
11/03 at St. Louis W 6-1
11/06 Edmonton W 6-2
11/08 at Ottawa W 4-3
11/11 Ottawa W 1-0
11/13 Colorado L 2-1
11/14 at Florida W 5-2
11/16 Tampa Bay W 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Eric Meyer
WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN...
...Well so far at least. Let's do a quick recap:
Two wins to open the season (2-0)
Then two losses (2-2)
Then one loss in the next seven games (7-3-1)
Winless in their next four games (7-5-3)
Including a two tie overlap, six games straight unbeaten (11-5-3)
A loss to Colorado (11-6-3)
Two more wins over Florida and Tampa Bay (13-6-3)
So where does that leave us? Oh yeah, tops in the Atlantic
Division following Sunday's action, one point ahead of New Jersey
despite having played in three more games than the Devils.
Well, in the last article, I spoke of the demise of the
Flyers...well, relative demise if you will. For we just passed
the quarter poll and well..four games winless is four games
winless. But what now? Well, 6-1 in their last seven games and
once beaten in their last nine games.
So what of this quick turnaround? Well, let's look to the big
guns. Of course I'm talkin' 'bout Lindros and LeClair. Whether
you pair them with Dainius Zubrus, or Vinnie Prospal, or Rod
Brind'Amour or even Trent Klatt as was the case against Tampa
Bay, number 88 and number 10 always seem to get the job done.
John LeClair Eric Lindros
goals assists goals assists
vs. Dallas 1 0 0 2
vs. St. Louis 1 1 2 0
vs. Edmonton 2 3 scratched
vs. Ottawa 1 0 0 1
vs. Ottawa 0 0 0 0
vs. Colorado 0 0 0 0
vs. Florida 2 1 0 2
vs. Tampa Bay 0 1 0 1
Ok, we know Lindros and LeClair are good, but what else spurred
on this big turnaround? How about improvements in the power play.
Well, a goal on the man-advantage against Dallas broke an 0-24
slump that had been simply killing the team.
Since then, the power play has gotten new life. 1-4 against
Dallas, 1-3 against St. Louis, 4-5 against Edmonton, 1-5 combined
against Ottawa, 0-4 against Colorado, 2-4 against Florida, and
0-3 against Tampa Bay. Not too shabby considering the shambles
that had been the Flyers power play for the first 15 or so games
of the season.
Other players picking up the pace...try Rod Brind'Amour, Paul
Coffey and Ron Hextall.
Brind'Amour has played his typical solid two way hockey all
season on the second and third lines, but his scoring has really
picked up in the past few games. Two goals against Tampa Bay not
only gave him nine goals for the season and five goals in his
last eight games, but also put him tied for tenth on the Flyers
All-Time scoring list with Rick Tocchet.
Paul Coffey's much need scoring production has also jumped by
leaps and bounds in his past few games. Despite still looking
sluggish at times on the defensive end, and despite having some
problems while paired with young defenseman Janne Niinimaa, the
numbers are indeed starting to come around. Two goals and four
assists, including the only goal against Ottawa in the Flyers 1-0
victory that night have helped the Flyers get back on track,
taking the pressure off some of the team's bigger guns.
Even Ron Hextall has raised his level of play. In his first
game back after being injured against Dallas, the wily veteran
turned aside each and every shot from Ottawa in their game
CoreStates to lead the Flyers to a 1-0 win. In his next game
against the powerhouse that is the Colorado Avalanche, despite
losing the game, Hexy would turn aside 21 of 23 shots in a solid
effort. Finally, on Sunday, despite a shaky first period, giving
up two bad goals to Tampa Bay's Alexander Selivanov, Hextall held
down the fort for the final two periods and change to help the
Flyers gain a 3-2 victory.
HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER...
Yes, the champ is Dan Kordic. He is the undisputed fighting champ
on the team. Eric Lindros still needs to get a few more scraps
under his belt and Dan LaCroix, while always game to drop the
gloves, doesn't quite have the tools. So who's the number one
contender? Enter Brantt Myhres. Yeah, you remember him.
The guy who always took cheap shots at Eric Lindros when still a
member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the guy who always gave the
Flyers fits, he's now a member of the orange and black, and
ladies and gents, he looks like a pretty powerful pugilist. In
just his first game, against Colorado, it took Mr. Myhres just
one minute and 14 seconds to drop the gloves and scrap with the
Avalanche's Francois Leroux. Myhres would later get booted from
the game in the third period after a misconduct penalty. After a
roughing call against Florida the next night, on Sunday I
witnessed an absolute mauling of Tampa Bay's Jamie Huscroft.
Needless to say, Dan Kordic better watch out, because Brantt
Myhres is an up and comer.
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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Jacques Demers
Roster: C - Jeff Toms, Paul Ysebaert, Daymond Langkow,
Brian Bradley, Brent Peterson. RW - Mikael Renberg, Mick Vukota,
Dino Ciccarelli, Alexander Selivanov, Mikael Anderson, Paul
Brousseau. LW - Rob Zamuner, Troy Mallette, Jason Wiemer, Patrick
Poulin, Vladimir Vujtek. D - Cory Cross. Jeff Norton, Jamie
Huscroft, Karl Dykhuis, David Shaw, Yves Racine, Roman Hamrlik,
Igor Ulanov. G - Daren Puppa, Corey Schwab.
Injuries: Troy Mallette, lw (herniated disk, indefinite); Dino
Ciccarelli, rw (elbow surgery, indefinite); Brian Bradley, c
(concussion, day-to-day); Vladimir Vujtek, lw (virus,
day-to-day).
Transactions: Names Jacques Demers Head Coach; recall Paul
Brousseau, rw, from Adirondack (AHL); Recall Brent Peterson, c,
from Adirondack (AHL).
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results
11/05 at Anaheim L 5-2
11/06 at Los Angeles L 5-2
11/08 at San Jose L 3-1
11/11 at Phoenix L 5-2
11/14 Islanders L 4-1
11/16 at Philadelphia L 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Seth Lerman
The Tampa Bay Lightning, mired in a thirteen-game winless streak,
named Jacques Demers head coach November 12. In typical Demers
fashion, he fired several shots at Lightning players at the press
conference announcing his appointment as head coach.
"Some of these players are six months away from being out of the
NHL ... if they're thinking they're going to wait around (to
perform), thinking they'll get a contract somewhere else. ... I'm
not talking about all of them. There's a good nucleus. They just
have to believe in themselves that they can win," said Demers.
"The fans have been cheated here by the players, and that's the
end of that," he added.
Demers became a late candidate as the Lightning tried to find a
replacement for Terry Crisp, who was fired October 26. Rick
Paterson served as interim coach for six games, all Lightning
losses. He will remain as an assistant to Demers.
"He is a strong motivational coach, and everywhere he has gone he
has been able to bring out the best in players," Lightning
general manager Phil Esposito said. "I believe that's exactly the
type of coach that is needed in our organization."
"This team needs to find an identity. ... There are not enough
players who get mad after losing, and it's time for the fans to
know that that's going to stop," said Demers.
But as was the case previous to his arrival, the Lightning have
not played well. In Demers' first two games as coach, the
Lightning fell to the New York Islanders and the Philadelphia
Flyers, extending the winless streak to fifteen, a club record,
and the longest such streak in the NHL this season.
In 11 full NHL seasons, Demers has a 375-372-112 record with
Quebec, St. Louis, Detroit and Montreal while guiding teams to
the playoffs eight times.
Three days after being named coach Jacques Demers fined eight
players, including captain Mikael Renberg and assistant captain
Rob Zamuner for being late to practice a day after losing to the
New York Islanders 4-1.
The other six players who were fined were Mikael Andersson, Mick
Vukota, Roman Hamrlik, Igor Ulanov, Karl Dykhuis, and Daren
Puppa. The amounts of the fines were not disclosed.
"This is not trying to prove something," Demers said. "This is
what happened and this is what the consequences are. The
rules are made for everybody."
At his first team meeting after being named Lightning coach last
Wednesday, Demers instructed players to report one hour before
the start of practice and two hours before the start of a game.
With a practice to begin at 10 o'clock Saturday, Demers brought
the players together in the dressing room at 8:55 and "realized
half of the team was missing." Three additional players just beat
the 9:00 reporting time, while the other eight arrived late.
"Some players obviously are not being very responsible," Demers
said. "The guys on the ice were very professional about the whole
thing. They were there and didn't miss a beat."
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WASHINGTON CAPITALS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Ron Wilson
Roster: C - Adam Oates, Joe Juneau, Dale Hunter, Jan Bulis,
Benoit Gratton. LW- Steve Konowalchuk, Chris Simon, Ken Klee,
Todd Krygier. RW - Peter Bondra, Richard Zednik, Craig Berube,
Kelly Miller. D - Phil Housley, Calle Johansson, Mark Tinordi,
Sylvain Cote, Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Brendan Witt. G - Olaf
Kolzig, Bill Ranford.
Injuries: Andrei Nikolishin, lw (torn knee ligaments, 6-10
weeks); Pat Peake, rw (ankle, indefinite - needs surgery); Yogi
Svejkovsky, lw (sprained ankle, day-to-day); Michal Pivonka, c
(fractured hand, 4-6 weeks); Mike Eagles, lw (fractured wrist, 5
weeks).
Transactions: Assigned Ryan Mulhern, lw, Dwayne Hay, lw, and
Andrew Brunette, lw, to Portland (AHL). Recalled Benoit Gratton,
c, from Portland. Placed Pat Peake, c, and Michal Pivonka, c, on
injured reserve. Chris Simon, lw, suspended for three games for a
racial epithet directed at Edmonton Oilers forward Mike Grier.
Standings:
Eastern Conference -- Atlantic Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72
Game Results:
11/04 Vancouver W 2-1
11/05 at Boston L 2-0
11/08 Edmonton W 2-1
11/09 at Florida L 3-2
11/12 at Pittsburgh W 4-1
11/13 at Buffalo W 3-2
11/15 at Montreal W 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Jason Sheehan
Simon Under Scrutiny for Racial Slur
Washington Capitals left wing Chris Simon, a Native American from
the Ojibwa Tribe, possibly made the biggest mistake of his career
when he directed two damaging words to Edmonton Oilers forward
Mike Grier, who is an African American.
Simon shouted the two-word racial epithet at Grier after the
final horn sounded Nov. 8 at USAirways Arena in Landover,
Maryland. At the end of the game, the benches cleared and both
sides nearly came to blows. This was all caused by a few hard
checks in the game's final minute; not from Simon's harmful
epithet. That occurred in the maley.
The conflict reached a fever pitch when Simon demoralized Grier
with the racial slur, which was heard by a couple officials.
Fortunately, the officials were able to quickly usher both teams
off the ice.
Simon was suspended for three games. It was the first time the
NHL has ruled on a foul resulting from a racial epithet.
"At the end of the game we came on the ice," said Simon. "The two
of us had words to say to each other. At the end, that came out.
It shouldn't have happened."
"I think it's disgusting," said Oilers center Doug Weight after
the game. "It's ridiculous. It's not part of the game. It has
nothing to do with the game of hockey. I'm embarrassed by it. We
play hard against each other but that's not what it's supposed to
come to."
The suspension could have been longer if Simon had refused to
take matters into his own hands by apologizing to Grier for his
actions.
Capitals general manager George McPhee accompanied Simon on a
trip to Toronto, where he met Grier and apologized. Grier
accepted the apology and is ready to move on with the rest of his
career.
"Slats (Glen Sather) called me this afternoon (Tuesday) and said
that Chris was really struggling with this and he was really
upset about what had happened and he wanted to meet," said Grier.
"I said sure. It'd be great to get everything out of the way. So
we just went up there and talked for about five minutes. It went
pretty well."
"He said, `I'm sorry' several times and I believed him," Grier
continued. "He had a very sincere look in his eye and his manner
about him seemed very honest. It takes a stand-up person to come
out here and handle the situation as quickly as he did. I accept
his apology."
Like Grier, Simon has had racial epithets directed his way by
opposing players. That's what makes this scenario so strange.
Simon is proud of his heritage. He wears his hair long and has a
tattoo to honor his tribe.
"Its been done to me growing up, and I should have known better,"
said Simon.
"I'm very saddened and embarrassed by what took place," he
continued. "... It's unacceptable. There's no excuse for it.
"Before I saw Mike this was very hard for me. The last two nights
before that I didn't sleep. But the most important thing for me
was to apologize to him, to the Washington Capitals organization
and the people of Washington."
Simon returned to the lineup Nov. 15 in Montreal and collected
two assists. The Capitals won 3-2, snapping the Canadians'
seven-game winning streak.
Housley Reaches 1,000-Point Milestone
It took 15 years, five teams and 1,084 games to score his 1,000th
point. But Capitals defenseman Phil Housley has persevered, and
scored the milestone point on a 5-on-3 power play Nov. 8 against
Edmonton.
In a game marred by Simon's racial slur, Housley collected his
1,000th point on an assist, tapping a pass to defenseman Calle
Johansson, who one-timed a shot through goalie Curtis Joseph's
pads.
The Capitals emptied the bench to congratulate Housley. Capitals'
ownership will reward Housley for his remarkable feat Nov. 18th
when the Capitals return home to play the Colorado Avalanche.
Housley is the fifth defenseman and second American-born player
to score 1,000 points. Teammate Adam Oates collected his 1,000th
point Oct. 8. The Capitals will likely become the first team in
NHL-history to have three players score 1,000 points when center
Dale Hunter surpasses the mark. Hunter needs 11-points to join
the select group.
Wilson Named Olympic Coach of Team USA
It was bound to happen.
Washington coach Ron Wilson led a group of strangers to an
improbable win against Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, a
precursor to the Olympics.
Lou Lamoriello, general manager of Team USA, took awhile to name
both the players and coaching staff for the Olympics, which will
be held in Nagano next February. But when he made his final
decision, all Lamoriello had to examine was the way Wilson helped
the World Cup team gel into a collective unit capable of beating
the best the world has to offer.
"We are pleased to have such a quality group of coaches, led by
Ron Wilson, to prepare and lead our American players in Japan,"
said Lamoriello. "Their collective experience and success in
professional and international competition will be important in
helping our players perform to the very best of their ability."
Wilson was named coach of the Capitals shortly after he was fired
by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Anaheim cited conflicted opinions
as the major reason for releasing Wilson. But winning ways tend
to attract hockey teams, which is exactly what happened when
McPhee, one of Wilson's longtime friends, named him coach in
Washington.
Now, he'll be taking a long trip to Japan as he tries to bring
gold back to U.S. shores for the first time since the "Miracle on
Ice" team won the Gold Metal in 1980 at Lake Placid.
"I'm greatly honored to be selected as the head coach for Team
USA," stated Wilson. "I'm certainly following in some great
footsteps of past coaches. I fully understand the importance of
this position and hope to duplicate the success of our World Cup
championship in this year's Olympics."
Oates and Bondra Ignite the Flame
A couple weeks ago, when nine Capitals were injured, Oates
approached Wilson and asked for his permission to play on the
number one line with right wing Peter Bondra. At the time, Bondra
was struggling, which was probably related to the contract
dispute that caused the speedy winger to leave training camp.
Bondra, still without a new, renegotiated contract, led the
Capitals in goals for the last two seasons. Now with Oates, who
helped Brett Hull and Cam Neely achieve career seasons, Bondra is
scoring goals in bunches and leading the Capitals to victory.
Bondra (12 goals) and Oates (19 points) currently hold the two
best scoring streaks on the club. Bondra has registered three
goals in his last three games, while Oates has scored seven
points in his last four games (two goals, five assists).
Kolzig Grasps Top Spot in Net
Goaltender Olaf Kolzig has been Wilson's greatest find this
season. And surprisingly, the Capitals netminder has been in the
organization his entire career.
When Ranford was deemed fit to play, Wilson said he planned to
alternative his goaltenders. But the rotating goalies stopped
turning in a 360-degree pattern when the Capitals traveled to the
blizzards of Buffalo Oct. 13.
That night, Ranford was recovering from the flu, so Wilson
decided to reward Kolzig for his stellar play the previous night
at Pittsburgh, a 4-1 victory. Kolzig didn't disappoint. He made
key saves at key times to defeat the Sabres, 3-2, and made
possibly his greatest start of the season in Montreal two nights
later. The Capitals rallied behind Kolzig's 33 saves, most of
them difficult, to beat the Canadians, 3-2.
Wilson refuses to call Ranford his backup goaltender, but
Kolzig's play may have moved him down a notch, from 1b to 1c.
Kolzig has won a career-high 10 games (10-3-2) and has posted a
stellar goals-against average of 2.03. Ranford, meanwhile, is
1-4-0, dropping his last four decisions. His goals-against
average is wavering at 3.28.
Upcoming Games
11/18 vs Colorado
11/22 vs San Jose
11/23 at Florida
11/26 vs Montreal
11/27 at Ottawa
11/29 at Boston
The Capitals play their last game at USAirways Arena Nov. 26
against the Montreal Canadians. Before the game, longtime Capital
defenseman Rod Langway will have his number retired. Langway's
no. 5 will hang briefly in the rafters at USAirways Arena before
it's moved to MCI Center, which will host its first hockey game
Dec. 5 when the Capitals host the Florida Panthers.
Other highlights during the next two weeks include three straight
home games and the second reunion of the year at Boston Nov. 29
with former Capitals Dimitri Khristich, Byron Dafoe, Anson
Carter, Jason Allison and Jim Carey. The last three players
listed were part of a blockbuster deal last March that sent
Carter, Allison and Carey to Boston for Ranford, Oates and Rick
Tocchet. Tocchet is now playing in Phoenix.
Goaltender Carey, once dubbed by owner Abe Pollin as the
Capitals' franchise player, was benched in favor of Dafoe when
the two clubs first met Nov. 5 in Boston. The Bruins won the game
2-0. Dafoe earned the shutout and Khristich had a goal for
Boston. Ranford took the loss.
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TEAM REPORTS
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL DIVISION
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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
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Head Coach: Craig Hartsburg
Roster: C - Alexei Zhamnov, Jeff Shantz, Steve Dubinsky, Brent
Sutter, Greg Johnson, Todd White. LW - Bob Probert, Ethan Moreau,
Eric Daze, James Black, Jean-Yves Leroux. RW - Tony Amonte, Sergei
Krivokrasov, Jim Cummins, Martin Gendron. D - Chris Chelios, Gary
Suter, Eric Weinrich, Keith Carney, Trent Yawney. G - Jefff Hackett,
Chris Terreri Kirk Daubenspeck, Andrei Trefilov.
Injuries: Bob Probert, lw (shoudler, day-to-day); Ethan Moreau, lw
(hand injury, day-to-day); Chris Tererri, g (fractured left ring
finger, 4-6 weeks); Brent Sutter, c (shoulder injury, indefinite).
Transactions: Acquired Andrei Trefilov, g, from the Buffalo Sabres
for a conditional draft pick; recalled Kirk Daubenspeck, g, from
Indianapolis (IHL); assigned Kevin Miller, rw, to Indianapolis.
Assigned Dan Cleary, lw, to Indianapolis for conditioning
purposes.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Central Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56
Game Results:
11/06 St. Louis W 2-1
11/08 at NY Islanders W 4-2
11/10 Calgary T 1-1
11/11 at Toronto L 5-2
11/13 Toronto L 2-1
11/16 Detroit T 3-3
TEAM NEWS by Jim "Puffy" Iovino
Troubles between the pipes
Just when things were starting to look peachy in goal for the
Blackhawks, trouble struck once again. With former starting goalie
Jeff Hackett just returing to the team from a sprained right ankle,
Chris Terreri, who took over the No. 1 job from Hackett went down
with an injury of his own.
Terreri will be out of the lineup for four to six weeks after
fracturing his left ring finger in a game last week. Terreri was a
big reason why Chicago was getting back into the hunt for a
playoffs spot during the past few weeks. He has accumulated a 7-9
record so far this season with a 2.22 GAA and a .907 save
percentage.
Luckily for the Hawks, Hackett is fully recovered from his injury
and has stepped back into the starting spot. Had he not been ready
to go, the Hawks would have had to stick Kirk Daubenspeck, who was
acquired from Ottawa over the offseason, between the pipes.
Daubenspeck was ranked no higher than fifth in the Senators'
organizational depth chart.
The Hawks used to have Jimmy Waite as their third goalie, but he now
wears a Coyote sweater while backing up Nikolai Khabibulin in
Phoenix. The Hawks realized they were in a bind in goal, so they
went out and acquired Andrei Trefilov from the Buffalo Sabres for a
conditional draft pick. Trefilov was third in rank in Buffalo
behind Dominik Hasek and Steve Shields.
Up next:
The Blackhawks continue their slow climb back to the .500 mark on
the road. The Hawks do a west coast swing, squaring off against
Anaheim, LA, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and back to Ottawa before
coming back home in December for a five-game home stand.
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DALLAS STARS
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Head coach: Ken Hitchcock
Roster: C-Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Bob
Bassen. LW-Dave Reid, Greg Adams, Benoit Hogue, Bob Errey, Patrick
Cote, Jeff Mitchell. RW-Todd Harvey, Pat Verbeek, Jamie
Langenbrunner, Jere Lehtinen, Grant Marshall. D-Derian Hatcher,
Craig Ludwig, Darryl Sydor, Shawn Chambers, Richard Matvichuck,
Sergei Zubov, Sergey Gusev, Craig Muni. G-Ed Belfour, Roman Turek,
Manny Fernandez.
Injuries: Roman Turek, g (strained groin, 1-2 weeks); Patrick
Cote, lw (sprained shoulder, indefinite); Shawn Chambers, d
(broken thumb, 2-3 weeks).
Transactions: Recalled Sergey Gusev, d, from the Michigan K-
Wings (IHL); recalled Manny Fernandez, g, from Michigan; recalled
Jamie Wright, rw, from Michigan; recalled Jeff Mitchell, lw, from
Michigan; reassigned Dan Keczmer, d, to Michigan; reassigned Juha
Lind, lw, to Michigan.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Central Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56
Game Results:
11/05 at Pittsburgh W 5-2
11/07 NY Rangers T 2-2 OT
11/10 St. Louis L 7-1
11/12 Boston T 3-3 OT
11/15 at Los Angeles W 5-1
Team News by Jim Panenka
Falling Stars
The Stars have begun dropping in the rankings quickly since
starting a serious streak of inconsistency. The team is losing its
cohesion and the players have started to stray from their system
in search for the finesse game.
Instead of everyone being on the same page, and having enough
resolve to tough out those close 2-3 or 3-1 games, the Stars have
resorted to individual play-making and have squandered the lead
several times recently.
The Stars are the type of team that will only win consistently
when every single player plays flat-out, and when they all play
together as a team in the same system. Dallas just isn't talented
enough to start moving around softly, wasting time looking for the
perfect finesse plays.
Every team in the league now knows what to expect from the Stars,
because almost every team plays the same hard-forechecking
system against Dallas that Hitchcock brought to the Lone Star State.
And it's working against the Stars.
Dallas seems to be playing well early in games, but the battle level
shown by the players wears down in direct relation to how much time
is left in the game, even though a one- or two-goal lead is still
there to be protected.
And, the Stars were flat-out embarrassed 7-1 by St. Louis after
playing the worst game ever seen by this reporter. The team played
slow and soft, and they were readily dominated by the Blues.
Even Patrick Cote, the team's tough guy, couldn't get any
satisfaction against St. Louis. Cote dropped the gloves with Tony
Twist, which turned out to be a really bad idea. Twist easily
handled Cote, and left Patrick on the IR due to a sprained
shoulder he suffered during the fight.
Todd Harvey spoke for everyone when he was quoted as saying that
the game was "the worst professional hockey game I've ever been
associated with."
The Stars followed up an impressive 3-1-1 Eastern road trip with a
lousy 0-1-2 home stand. Funny enough, Ed Belfour's home-and-away
record reflects these numbers. Belfour is still undefeated with a
6-0-2 record on the road. His record while playing a recent
home stand at Reunion Arena was an ugly 0-1-2.
Belfour has been playing as inconsistently as his team. Even
though the recent home losses didn't seem to be entirely his
fault, Belfour still admitted that he didn't play well during one
of the losses. His play has been so spotty that it has been
reported that several teammates have begun to let Eddie hear about
it.
He still says he is having a hard time adjusting to the way the
Stars try to block shots in front of him, but that can't be a
crutch for Belfour to rest on all season. Something tells this old
dog that Belfour just isn't comfortable in Dallas, period.
Even Hitchcock, who has lit up into Eddie once or twice for his
uneven play, hasn't seemed to have gotten through to Belfour. This
probably hasn't been the first time Belfour has been criticized by
his team. Only time will tell if the Eagle will respond and begin
playing the great game everyone knows he still has in him.
On the other hand, you have to remember that the Stars are still a
team that could be considered good enough to be one of the top
three in their conference.
Dallas can, and often does, follow up poor games with great ones.
That was the case following the disappointing 0-1-2 home stand.
Dallas traveled to Los Angeles to visit the Kings. The
Stars played a tight, impressive game where Dallas' special teams
unit made the difference in the 5-1 victory.
Dallas had five different forwards score on the special teams.
Verbeek, Langenbrunner, Hogue and Nieuwendyk all scored on the
power play. Mike Modano scored his third short-handed goal.
While this is a great turnaround, the team's recent ups and downs
make it difficult to expect them to continue playing as well as
they did on Nov. 15 at Los Angeles.
Several roster moves made necessary because of injuries have made
the uncertainty quotient rise even higher. Dallas recalled goalie
Manny Fernandez because of the groin injury to Roman Turek, the
Stars' regular backup netminder.
Dallas had to recall young defense prospect Sergey Gusev to fill
in for the missing Cote and Chambers. Shawn Chambers is still
recovering from a broken finger.
Gusev gave up several goals during his last stay in Dallas, and
his play was not aggressive enough. Hitchcock said Gusev still
needs some more exposure to the NHL, so they are apparently giving
it to him while the other two defensemen recover from injury.
Hitchcock has also recalled forwards Jamie Wright and Jeff
Mitchell to give Grant Marshall some competition for his job.
Hitchcock benched Marshall recently, citing Marshall's lack of
energy and dedication.
"Marshall's not playing because we're not happy with him," Ken
Hitchcock said. "For him to play, Grant Marshall has to be hard on
puck pursuit, hard on the forecheck and he has to play a physical
game. If we can't get that from him, we'll look for it from
someone else."
Jamie Langenbrunner has been playing an exceptionally strong game
recently, and has been given a chance to show just how versatile
he is. Ken Hitchcock has enough confidence in Jamie to use him as
the replacement player for any one of the three members of
Modano's first line.
When Lehtinen was out with a shoulder problem, Langenbrunner
filled in for him. When Modano was forced to miss a game recently
because of a bruised ankle, Langenbrunner filled in for him as
well. And, when Greg Adams had a recent injury of some type
against the LA Kings, Jamie got the nod to fill in for Gus, too.
This is a marked improvement for a player that was used as a
grinding forechecker on the "energy line" just last year. Goals
were not meant to be part of Langenbrunner's contribution last
year. That didn't matter to Jamie - he finished with 13 goals and 26
assists, which ranked him sixth overall in NHL rookie point scoring.
Langenbrunner already has eight goals and four assists.
Hitchcock has been rewarding Jamie for his improvements in speed,
defensive play along the boards in the offensive zone, and overall
scoring touch.
Since all three members of Modano's line have missed time recently,
Mike's overall scoring has suffered accordingly. Modano's
short-handed goal against LA on November 16 was his first goal
scored in about the last five or six games.
Joe Nieuwendyk, Pat Verbeek, and Benoit Hogue were given the
challenge to make up for the slowed pace of Modano's line by
scoring more while their line was on the ice. This line was also
assigned more ice time to help accomplish the task at hand.
Nieuwendyk has responded the best of all. Joe has scored 12 goals
and eight assists for 20 points. The 12 goals give Joe the lead in
scoring for Dallas over Modano's 10. Modano still leads Nieuwendyk
overall with 25 points compared to Joe's 20.
Nieuwendyk recently scored his first hat trick since moving to
Dallas, and has the team lead in game-winning goals (3). From late
October to early November, Joe recorded an impressive seven-game
point streak.
Joe isn't the only member of Nieuwendyk's line to respond. Pat
Verbeek continues to deliver, and has become much more of a
consistent presence. This is a big change from his scoring
struggles from last season.
Verbeek is third overall in scoring on the Stars with seven goals, 11
assists for 18 points. Verbeek already has four multi-point games
this season. Over the last 10 games Patty's played in, he has
scored four goals and eight assists for 12 points. He is now tied for
first on the Stars in penalty minutes (30), is tied for second in
points (17) and plus/minus (+8) and is third in assists (11). Pat
Verbeek is currently the only player in NHL history with over 400
goals (436) and 2,000 penalty minutes (2,386).
Benoit Hogue has also responded by upping his intensity level, and
by becoming the focused, physical player Hitchcock expects of him.
Hogue only has three goals and four assists for seven points so far
- but he is showing quite a bit of improvement, much like Pat
Verbeek, over last season's play.
Despite their usual great defensive play, the main pairing of
Hatcher-Matvichuk has struggled some lately. Hatcher had a soft
pass that resulted in a goal-against, and Matvichuk put a shot on
his own goal in a near-in clearing attempt.
And, to make matters worse, Hatcher also had a goal-against go in
after a puck deflected in off of his skate. Craig Ludwig knocked a
goal in against Belfour with his stick. These are the types of
plays that drive a coach to drink - heavily, not to mention
hurting Belfour's adaptation to the Stars shot-blocking defense.
The Stars are still a great team, obviously. But right now, they
are extremely underachieving and are a team on the fall. They need
to get back on track quickly, before the rest of the league starts
passing them by.
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DETROIT RED WINGS
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Head Coach: Scotty Bowman
Roster C - Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Kris Draper. LW - Brendan
Shanahan, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Doug Brown, Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk
Maltby, Brent Gilchrist. RW - Darren McCarty, Joey Kocur, Martin
Lapointe. D - Nicklas Lidstrom, Bob Rouse, Slava Fetisov, Larry
Murphy, Jamie Pushor, Aaron Ward, Anders Eriksson, Mathieu
Dandenault. G - Chris Osgood, Kevin Hodson.
INJURIES: None.
TRANSACTIONS: None.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Central Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56
GAME RESULTS:
11/05 at Carolina L 3-1
11/07 Pittsburgh T 1-1
11/09 Calgary W 6-3
11/11 Colorado L 2-0
11/13 at Ottawa W 4-2
11/15 at St. Louis L 5-2
11/16 at Chicago T 3-3
TEAM NEWS by Dino Cacciola
EYE OF THE STORM
The Red Wings were trying for their seventh straight road win to
start the season, which would have tied the NHL record set by the
1940 Toronto Maple Leafs. But that was not to be as the Hurricanes
prevailed with a 3-1 win in Carolina. Two goals by Sami Kapanen on
Chris Osgood in the third period were enough for the Canes to
solidify the win.
The Red Wings managed only 20 shots, including a penalty shot in the
third period by Brendan Shanahan that Trevor Kidd managed to stop.
The lackluster performance by the Wings was mirrored in essence by
their going 0 for 4 on the power play.
DOOBY DOOBY DOO
Brendan Shanahan scored his sixth goal of the season with 49 seconds
to play to give the Red Wings a tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The goal was a shorthanded tally. Rookie Alexei Morozov scored for
the Penguins. Goalie Chris Osgood finished with 16 saves and
improved his record to 9-2-3 this season. The Red Wings out shot the
Penguins 24 to 17. The newly improved defensive system by the
Penguins, which seems to be a take off of the left wing lock system
imposed by the Red Wings, was very effective in the tie.
PUT OUT THE FIRE
Shanahan had two more goals and an assist and linemate Igor Larionov
added a goal and two assists as the Detroit Red Wings kept the
Calgary Flames winless on the road with a 6-3 victory at the Joe
Louis Arena. Jamie Pushor and Kris Draper each contributed a goal and
an assist for the Red Wings, who improved to 2-0-1 against Calgary
this season. The Wings are 2-0-1 in their last three home games. The
game was marred by penalties. The Wings scored once on eight chances
and the Flames were stoned on six chances by Chris Osgood.
Strangely enough, Shanahan and Theo Fleury of the Flames each scored
their 700th career NHL point in the game.
SNOWED IN
Craig Billington stopped 32 shots in his first appearance in three
weeks and Rene Corbet and Eric Messier scored in the third period
to give the Colorado Avalanche a 2-0 victory over the arch rival
Detroit Red Wings.
It was their first regular-season meeting since a fight-filled
contest on March 26 that many Red Wings credited with bringing the
team together for their playoff run. This game started much like
that March 26 contest with Colorado's Claude Lemieux fighting
Detroit's Darren McCarty three seconds into the game. Lemieux lined
up on the off wing to start the game. The two exchanged words and
started to go at it once the puck was dropped. McCarty had to
remove the visor of Lemieux during the fight. It was a very even
fight with both holding their own. McCarty did land a pretty good
shot to the eye of Lemieux in the tussle.
Afterwards, Lemieux said it was something that he had to do.
McCarty said that he now had respect for Lemiuex as a hockey
player, but not as a person still. Claude, all you had to do was
apologize for your cowardly hit on Draper and none of this would
have happened. Nonetheless, this chapter may have been closed
finally, but the rivalry of the two teams has only begun to heat
up.
Billington and Chris Osgood, who made 18 saves, battled through a
scoreless two periods before Corbet put the Avalanche ahead for
good when he backhanded his own rebound with 8:17 remaining.
Messier provided insurance with 2:33 remaining when he snapped a
wrist shot through Osgood's pads for his third goal. Is it me or
has Osgood been extremely weak in the third period of games
recently? It is like he has lost focus of the task at hand or
something. Perhaps it's the focus of the team as a whole. But they
can't keep doing this over and over, or it will cost them. The Red
Wings had many shots, but most were long range. The Avalanche seems
to have a form of the left wing lock imposed as well. It was very
effective.
CAPITAL OFFENSE
Captain Steve Yzerman returned home to scored a goal and set up
another in the first period and added an empty-netter in the third
as the Detroit Red Wings edged the Ottawa Senators, 4-2.
Wingers Martin Lapointe and Darren McCarty also scored for Detroit,
which improved to 7-1 on the road this season and 3-1-1 all-time at
Ottawa. In seven career games against Ottawa, Yzerman has four
goals and four assists. I guess playing in front of mom pumps you
up!
The Red Wings have been powerless with the extra man, going 1-for-23
in their last five games. Detroit won despite being out shot, 35-23.
Kevin Hodson made 33 saves for the Red Wings to run his record to
3-1.
FIRST PERIOD BLUES
The St. Louis Blues scored three early first-period goals and that
was enough to hold off the Red Wings for a 5-2 victory. Brett Hull
fired home two goals and one assist. Chris Osgood did not look so
good as the Blues clearly dominated early on. The Red Wings did
manage a power-play goal, but are only 2 for 29 in their last six
games. They are also now second to the overall leading Blues for
the best record in the league. The Wings are 0-2-4 in their last
six meetings with the Blues during the regular season. Grant Fuhr
is the main reason why. The Wings are 3-4-1 in their last eight
games.
Do the Red Wings miss Sergei Fedorov? It may now be
apparent that he is desperately being missed. They lack the
offensive presence up the middle that can break a defense with
blazing speed. Sergei is that center! However, his Russian
teammates don't feel the same way about it as I do. They are
miffed that he has put his desires ahead of that of the team. They
are also miffed since he did not want to go to Russia during the
summer with them and is now there with his 16-year-old girl friend
who is in a tennis tournament. Sergei was skating with his former
team CSKA as last reported. No news lately on any talks about his
return.
EIGHT SECONDS
Defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom scored his second goal of the game with
eight seconds left in regulation as the Red Wings rallied for a 3-3
tie with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wings pulled goaltender Kevin
Hodson for an extra attacker with over a minute to play. With time
just about to run out, Lidstrom fired a blast from the left point
that went through traffic and just trickled through the pads of
goaltender Jeff Hackett for his eighth goal of the season.
Brendan Shanahan scored a power-play goal for the Red Wings, who are
winless in their last four trips to Chicago (0-2- 2). Kevin Hodson
made 23 saves to run his record to 3-1-1. With the tie, the Wings
are now tied with the Blues for the best record overall.
On deck: Islanders, Dallas, two games with Montreal, and Ottawa.
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PHOENIX COYOTES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Jim Schoenfeld
Roster: C - Bob Corkum, Craig Janney, Jeremy Roenick, Cliff
Ronning, Mike Stapleton. LW - Brad Isbister, Darrin Shannon, Keith
Tkachuk, Juha Ylonen, Shane Doan. RW - Dallas Drake, Mike Gartner,
Jocelyn Lemieux, Jim McKenzie, Rick Tocchet. D - Murray Baron,
Gerlad Diduck, Jim Johnson, Norm Maciver, Jayson More, Teppo
Numminen, John Slaney, Jason Doig. G - Nikolai Khabibulin, Jimmy
Waite.
Injuries: Darcy Wakaluk, g (arthroscopic knee surgery, out 4-6
months (IR - Sept 30)); Jim Johnson, d (post-concussion syndrome,
day-to-day); Jocelyn Lemieux, rw (bruised ribs, day-to-day); Jayson
More, d, groin strain, day-to-day (IR - Nov. 7)); Darrin Shannon,
rw (cracked bone in hand (IR - Oct. 23), 7-10 days); Mike Gartner,
rw (2nd degree MCL (knee) tear (IR - Nov. 2), 3-5 weeks).
Transactions: 11/4 recalled Scott Levins, c, from Springfield (AHL);
11/7 assigned Levins and Deron Quint, d, to Springfield; recalled
Shane Doan, lw, and Sean Gagnon, d, from Springfield; 11/10 assigned
Gagnon to Springfield; 11/13 recalled Jason Doig, d, from
Springfield.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Central Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56
Game Results:
11/05 at Montreal L 4-2
11/06 at Ottawa L 4-1
11/08 at Toronto W 3-0
11/11 Tampa Bay W 6-2
11/13 Montreal L 5-2
11/15 San Jose W 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Jeff Brown
Playing for Par
It would seem that wherever one draws the line of mediocrity in the
NHL standings thus far this season, the Phoenix Coyotes would fall
right on or just slightly above that line. Nearly one-quarter of
the way into the 1997-98 season, the Coyotes find themselves still
struggling to find...well, themselves. Granted, an above .500 team
is something hockey fans in Phoenix are not used to seeing, though by
the looks of the team on paper, the fans have a viable gripe.
With big names like Tkachuk, Roenick, Tocchet, Janney, and Gartner
leading the attack, and the up-and- coming Nikolai Khabibulin
minding the pipes, this team should be sitting pretty near the top
of the relatively weak Western Conference. Instead, they cling to
a just-better-than even record at 9-8-2, some nights showing up to
play while other nights content to ice dance with their opponents
for 60 minutes.
Granted, the Coyotes have been plagued by injuries early on, the
most critical perhaps to veteran goal scorer Mike Gartner.
Gartner, who is just two goals shy of eclipsing 700 for his career,
banged knees with pesky Calgary Flame Theo Fleury and will miss
four to six weeks because of the collision.
Casualties have also hurt the Coyotes' defense, with almost every
member of the unit losing at least one man-game to injury. Add to
this the continuing contract war between GM Bobby Smith and
All-star blueliner Oleg Tverdovsky, and what you get is a team weak
on defense. Recent call-ups John Slaney and Jason Doig have added
size and strength, but their inexperience has cost the team at
times. Head coach Jim Schoenfield has had his share of
frustrations and is still trying to find lines that work night in
and night out. The Coyotes often shown an individualistic effort,
and the lack of cohesiveness is showing in the loss column.
It should be said that there are some positives for the Coyotes thus
far. The team has played relatively well at home (6-3-1) and had a
couple of big games against the best teams in the league (winning at
Philadelphia and tying Colorado) early on. They've had a surprise in
the superb play of rookie Brad Isbister (4-3-7 with a +4 rating and
33 penalty minutes) and the fact that the preseason holdout did not
affect the play of Captain Coyote Keith Tkachuk (11-12-23 in 19
games). Undeniably, the team MVP has been goaltender Nikolai
Khabibulin. The "Bulin Wall" has saved the Coyotes from disaster on
numerous occasions, and his 2.71 GAA is more indicative of his
performance than his 8-8-1 record.
What this all adds up to is that unless they find a way to get along
and play as a team, and for 60 minutes a game, they will owe an
apology to those fans dedicated enough to keep filling the seats at
America West Arena. The only consistency we've seen so far has been
that this team is good enough to win against those teams they should
be beating, but not good enough to beat teams better than they are.
The Coyotes are 8- 2-0 against teams with a record worse than their
own and are 1-6-2 against teams as good as or better then they are in
the standings.
What this will lead to over an 82-game season is a seventh or eighth
seed in the playoffs and yet another first-round exit for the
franchise. Those results did not make Don Hay man of the year in the
Coyotes front office last season and they won't do well for Coach
Schoenfeld this season.
Still no O in Coyotes Defense
A quick glance at the Coyotes' statistics so far this season shows
Teppo Numminen as the team's leading scorer among defensemen. Not
bad, considering that last year he spent all season covering for
Oleg Tverdovsky, the young Russian all-star who played more offense
than defense, though he did score 55 points, which was good enough
for fourth in the NHL in scoring for defensemen. Apparently is
wasn't good enough to convince general manager Bobby Smith that
Tverdovsky was worth the $2 million a year salary he was asking
for. As a Group II free agent, the 24 year-old defenseman opted to
holdout for offers from other teams, offers which the Coyotes have
a right to match or allow in return for draft picks. Tverdovsky
waited, but no offers have come in, and although negotiations with
the Coyotes have narrowed to within $300,000 there seems to be no
end in sight to the dispute.
As far as comments from the team, Smith has been adamantly quiet
during the holdout period, except to deny that any trades were in
the works. More recently, however, Smith has spoken out that it
was unrealistic to think Oleg would play for the team this season.
"He hasn't responded to our latest offer," Smith said. "I'm saying
this because I don't want it to be an issue for our players. I
don't want any them to use his absence as an excuse."
Because Tverdovsky is only 24 years old, the Coyotes will maintain
the rights to his services, even if he elects not to sign with the
team. The situation will remain unchanged unless Smith trades him,
or until he turns 31 years old. In the meantime, the young Russian
remains confident that he will soon play again, as he works out
regularly with the York University hockey team outside of Toronto,
Canada.
The Coolest Game in Nagano
For the first time ever, hockey in the Winter Olympics will include
the very best players in the world. The International Olympic
Committee has decided to allow National Hockey League players to
represent their home countries in the Olympic Games, to be held
this coming February in Nagano, Japan. The NHL has altered its
schedule to allow for a two-week break in the regular season, and
what will be a nice vacation for some will be the chance of a
lifetime for some of the league's best players.
USA Hockey, the governing body for hockey across the nation
announced last week that Coyotes Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick
would be among those representing the United States in the Olympic
games. Tkachuk, who held an assistant captain role in Team USA's
gold medal effort at the World Cup of Hockey Championships last
year, is again expected to don the A on his sweater.
"It's a huge honor to be selected to represent my country," said
Tkachuk. "I'm looking forward to playing together again with all of
those great players. Last year at the World Cup, the US showed
that we are a world hockey power, and we look forward to Nagano to
try and prove it once again."
Tkachuk was also a member of the U.S. Olympic team in Albertville,
France in 1992, where Team USA finished fourth. Roenick, who did
not play on the World Cup team last summer due to contract
negotiations with Chicago and then Phoenix, did represent the U.S.
in 1991 on the Canada Cup and World Championship teams. Both
players also represented the U.S. on World Junior Championship
teams.
"This will be the best hockey in the world played by the best
players in the world," said Roenick. "To be named to this team, at
this time, is certainly a thrill, and we feel that we have a strong
chance of bringing home the gold, just like in 1980."
The Waite is over
It can get awfully lonely at the end of the Phoenix Coyotes bench;
just ask anyone who's played a backup role to Nikolai Khabibulin.
Dating back to last January, the dynamic Russian has filled the
pipes at the start of 60 consecutive Coyotes' games, putting him
second only to Grant Fuhr, who started 72 consecutive games for the
St. Louis Blues two seasons ago. The streak came to an end
Saturday night in San Jose, as head coach Jim Schoenfeld opted for
backup netminder Jimmy Waite against the Sharks.
"We started Jimmy for a combination of reasons," Schoenfeld said.
"Obviously, Niki is due for a rest, and we thought Jimmy could win
the game." The 9-8-2 head coach proved prophetic, as Waite stopped
28 shots and won his first contest since February, 1995.
Perhaps the biggest thing Waite needs to work on in between starts
is conditioning. After the game he suffered from dehydration and
needed an IV before traveling back to Phoenix.
"I was anxious to get it over with," he said. "I'm a little
dehydrated. But my job is to give Niki a break, and if I don't do
well, then I'm not doing my job." Waite got some help from Dallas
Drake, who scored just 34 seconds into the game, and from Keith
Tkachuk who netted a goal and two assists. Tkachuk leads the team
in scoring with 23 points in 19 games.
As for Khabibulin, he didn't seem to mind being kept from the
personal milestone.
"It's no big deal," he said. "It had to come to an end sometime,
anyway. It's a long season. We need two goaltenders and Jimmy
needed some work."
Upcoming
The Coyotes head to Vancouver before hosting a three-game home stand
beginning this Saturday with Toronto. Also coming to town are the
St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars. It's then off to Dallas on
11/29 for the back-end of a home-and-home series and the start of a
seven-game road trip. The Coyotes next play at home on December 12
against Pittsburgh.
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ST. LOUIS BLUES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
Roster: C - Pierre Turgeon, Darren Turcotte, Harry York, Craig
Conroy, Pascal Rheaume. LW - Geoff Courtnall, Tony Twist, Pavol
Demitra. RW - Brett Hull, Jim Campbell, Joe Murphy, Scott Pellerin,
Rudy Poeschek, Blair Atcheynum, Kelly Chase, Terry Yake. D - Al
MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Steve Duchesne, Marc Bergevin, Chris
McAlpine, Jamie Rivers. G - Grant Fuhr, Jamie McLennan, Brent
Johnson.
Injuries: Joe Murphy, rw (surgery to repair torn ligaments in
left wrist, 3-4 months); Pierre Turgeon, c (broken right forearm
Oct. 4, indefinite).
Transactions: None.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Central Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56
Game Results:
11/03 Philadelphia L 5-1
11/06 at Chicago L 2-1
11/08 at Colorado L 4-1
11/10 at Dallas W 7-1
11/13 Boston W 4-2
11/15 Detroit W 5-2
11/17 at Toronto W 3-2
TEAM NEWS by Joe Ashkar
With a quarter on the NHL season already in the bag, the St. Louis
Blues continue to impress as they sit on top of the National Hockey
League standings. The Blues lead all teams with 32 points after 22
games.
The Blues propelled into first place after a current four-game
winning streak, which included a 4-2 thumping of the Stanley Cup
champions and division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings.
After tough back-to-back losses for the first time this season, the
Blues got back on the winning track thanks mostly to a revived
Brett Hull. Hull, who was named NHL player of the week for the
second time this season, ended a personal drought of six scoreless
games during which the Blues lost road games to the Chicago
Blackhawks and the Colorado Avalanche.
To shake things up, Blues coach Joel Quenneville shifted Hull back
to his natural right wing position and placed him on a line with
Geoff Courtnall and center Pavol Demitra. Since the move, the line
has been wreaking havoc for opposing defensemen.
It all started when the Blues stormed into Dallas and handed the
tough and defensively oriented Stars a 7-1 beating in front of
their home crowd. Hull led the way with a goal and three assists
while Demitra netted two goals and Courtnall chipped in with a goal
and an assist.
Three nights later, the same line worked magic in front of the home
crowd at Kiel Center and combined for eight points to erase a 2-0
deficit against the Boston Bruins en route to a 4-2 Blues victory.
Hull had a goal and two assists, Demitra earned three assists and
the pesky Courtnall a goal and an assist.
In their biggest game of the first quarter of the season, the Blues
downed the Detroit Red Wings with another eight-point performance
from their number one line. This time Hull led the way with two
goals and an assist, Demitra dished out two helpers while Courtnall
added a goal and an assist.
The Blues' success continued on Monday when they visited Maple Leaf
Gardens and handed the Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 loss. The Blues
were actually outplayed by the Leafs throughout the game but it
seems that good teams always find a way to win and bad teams always
find a bad way to lose. The Blues stole two points as Al MacInnis
scored the game winner with two seconds left in the game on a fluke
shot from behind the red line against Felix Potvin.
Leading the league in wins and overall standings could be attributed
to many reasons, but Joel Quenneville has the team clicking on all
cylinders and many players lead the league in various categories:
*Brett Hull is sixth in overall scoring with 12 goals and 13 assists
for 25 points. After a six games scoreless streak, he exploded for 10
points in his next three to grab NHL player of the week honors for
the second time this season. Hull is also tied for the lead in
power-play goals (6) and game-winning goals (5).
*In addition to Hull, Steve Duchesne and Al MacInnis are
respectively first and second overall in defensemen scoring.
Duchesne leads all defensemen with 18 assists while MacInnis leads
his peers with 10 goals.
*The resurgent Geoff Courtnall is second among the plus/minus
leaders and Chris Pronger ranks fourth in the same category.
*Goaltender Grant Fuhr has been nothing short of stellar with a 2.04
goals-against average, .913 save percentage and a record of 12-3-2
bettered only by New Jersey's Martin Brodeur (13-3-0).
*Special teams have been key for the Blues all season long. The
penalty-killing units, anchored by gritty forwards Craig Conroy,
Scott Pellerin and Blair Atcheynum, is best in the league with a 91
percent killing rate while the power-play unit ranks sixth overall
with an 18.6 success rate.
In comparison to their previous 10 games, the Blues have a
relatively easier schedule as they face the Edmonton Oilers, Mighty
Ducks of Anaheim, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings and the New
York Islanders for their remaining games in November.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Mike Murphy
Roster: C - Darby Hendrickson, Steve Sullivan, Alyn McCauley. LW -
Fredrik Modin, Wendel Clark, Todd Warriner, Derek King, Kris King,
Igor Korolev. RW - Mats Sundin, Sergei Berezin, Tie Domi, Mike
Johnson, Martin Prochazka. D - Jamie Macoun, Dimitri Yushkevich,
Mathieu Schneider, Per Gustafsson, Jason Smith, Rob Zettler, Yannick
Tremblay, Matt Martin. G - Felix Potvin, Glenn Healy.
Injuries: 11/8 Rob Zettler, d (dislocated thumb, indefinite).
Transactions: 11/11 recalled Matt Martin, d, from St. John's (AHL);
11/8 placed Rob Zettler, d, on IR; 11/7 sent Marcel Cousineau, g, to
St. John's; 11/5 sent David Cooper, d, to St. John's; 11/3 recalled
Yannick Tremblay, d, and Marcel Cousineau, g, from St. John's; 11/2
sent Kevyn Adams, c, to St. John's.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Central Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56
Game Results:
11/04 at San Jose T 0-0
11/05 at Calgary W 4-3
11/08 Phoenix L 3-0
11/11 Chicago W 5-2
11/13 at Chicago W 2-1
11/15 Pittsburgh L 5-0
TEAM NEWS by Jonah A. Sigel
Well My Bags Are Packed But...
Ken Dryden and the rest of the Leaf brass are desperately trying to
convince their fellow Canadian clubs to allow the Leafs to move to
the Eastern Conference starting next season and not as originally
planned (2003). It appears that both Montreal and Ottawa are
agreeable while the Western teams are not. As bad as the Leafs
have been in recent years, they still are a big draw in Western
Canada. Should the Leafs be allowed to move, Western teams will
want to be assured of the same type of gate from the Leafs, Habs
and the NHL. It appears that the Leafs have managed to get enough
of the 2/3 required votes to assure the move as long as a creative
schedule can be created that would still provide the Western
Canadian teams with numerous home games against the Leafs and Habs.
Just when things were looking up, the Leafs came out flat again on a
Saturday night. After back-to-back hard fought victories against
the Blackhawks, the Leafs laid an egg versus the handicapped Pens.
Neither Jaromir Jagr (trade demand or injury) nor Kevin Hatcher
(injury) were in the lineup, yet the Leafs came up short.. .way
short. As the Leafs approach the quarter pole, this much is
certain, none of the off-season changes have helped. Mats Sundin
is learning that being the lone talent on a team makes it very easy
for other teams to shadow you, and unless you are able to really
step up your game every night, you too will be invisible. The lone
star has been the play of Alyn McCauley, who has looked very good
on a very bad team.
As bad as the Leafs are, it seems that things are not going to
change very quickly. In a recent Toronto Star interview, Ken
Dryden reiterated his goal of making the playoffs this season and
shot down the possibility of throwing the towel in to secure a
higher draft choice next June. Dryden was quoted as saying that
tanking the season was not in the cards for the Leafs, that they
were trying to do everything to get to the playoffs. The media
sharks swarmed on Dryden's words with memories of Cliff Fletcher's
infamous Draft Schmaft claim of a year ago.
However, with a little thought it seems that Dryden said no more
than he really could afford to do. The Leafs are an expensive
product. Fans pack the Gardens nightly and pay top dollar for
their tickets. Their sponsors pay serious money to be Leaf
sponsors and both their radio and TV rights holder have both forked
up serious change to carry the Leafs. How would it look, if on
November 1st, the team GM is throwing in the towel on the season.
Dryden has a great deal of work to do. While it says here that he
has already made a few mistakes, Rome too was not built in a day.
He has the enormous task of undoing years of bad management by
previous rein holders. The next couple of months will bring
decisions of trades, coaches, scouts, buildings and realignment. We
will soon get a better gauge of whether the Leafs are going forward
or just spinning their wheels.
================================================================
=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PACIFIC DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Pierre Page
ROSTER: C: Matt Cullen, Mark Janssens, Richard Park, Sean Pronger,
Steve Rucchin, Kevin Todd; LW: Shawn Antoski, Ted Drury, Espen
Knutsen, Tomas Sandstrom; RW: Warren Rychel, Joe Sacco, Teemu
Selanne, Scott Young; D: J.J. Daigneault, Bobby Dollas, David Karpa,
Jason Marshall, Dmitri Mironov, Ruslan Salei, Brent Severyn, Pavel
Trnka, Darren Van Impe; G: Guy Hebert, Mikhail Shtalenkov.
INJURIES: Dmitri Mironov, d (strained chest muscle, day-to-day);
Brent Severyn, lw/d (herniated disk, out 2 weeks); Bobby Dollas, d
(lacerated tendon in left wrist, out 2-4 weeks).
TRANSACTIONS: 11/03 recalled Pavel Trnka, d, from Cincinnati (AHL);
11/05, placed Brent Severyn, lw/d, on Injured Reserve.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
GAME RESULTS:
11/05 Tampa Bay W 5-2
11/07 at Calgary W 4-3 OT
11/08 at Vancouver W 3-2
11/10 San Jose L 6-4
11/12 Montreal L 4-3 OT
11/14 Vancouver T 3-3
11/16 Dallas L 4-0
TEAM NEWS by Alex Carswell
THE UNFRIENDLY CONFINES
While the Ducks seem to be Kings of the Road lately, their home woes
continue. After capping hapless Tampa Bay at The Pond, the team
swept back-to-back contests in Calgary and Vancouver before
returning home for four games in seven nights. But home cooking
didn't satisfy, and the squad managed only one of a possible eight
points.
At the start of the home stand, Anaheim was just two points behind
Colorado for first -- yes, first -- in the Pacific. But by the time
the Stars handed the Ducks a 4-0 beating that was every bit as
thorough as the score indicates, the Avs had stretched their lead
to six points.
The Ducks played well against Vancouver in Mike Keenan's debut, and
decently in losing a heartbreaker to Montreal in overtime. But they
twice squandered two-goal leads (and wasted a first-period hat
trick by Teemu Selanne) in handing the Sharks a 6-4 win, and failed
to show up against the smothering Dallas trap. Particularly wanting
was the team's blue line play, which suffered from Dmitri Mironov's
second consecutive absence due to a chest injury.
FLASH ON FIRE
Win or lose, Selanne continues to sizzle. One personal high, however
-- the birth of his second son -- may have helped snap another.
Selanne's team record and personal-best 11-game goal-scoring streak
came to an end against Montreal. Despite wife Sirpa going into labor
at 4 AM and giving birth to Eetu Nikodemus Selanne at 2:09 PM, the
proud papa played well that night. But Selanne could not light the
lamp -- barely misfiring on one golden tap-in opportunity -- and the
streak ended as the NHL's longest since Mario Lemieux's 12-gamer in
1993.
The in-streak stats were awesome: 17 goals and 19 points, leading
the Ducks on a 6-2-2 roll (both losses to Detroit) from Oct.
21-Nov. 10. And Teemu potted the deciding goal in six of those
contests. Selanne's play from October 20-26 (6-1-7) also earned him
NHL Player of the Week honors and, with 20 goals in 20 games, the
Finnish Flash was on pace to better his NHL rookie record of 76
goals. Selanne's play has earned him tight, physical defensive
coverage from the opposition nearly every night, making his
achievement -- and his diplomatic approach to typically lax
officiating -- all the more remarkable.
DYNAMIC DUOS
The Ducks have also benefited from the dynamic play of a few others
of late. Stoppers Guy Hebert & Michael Shtalenkov continue to shine
in an almost-regular rotation. But perhaps the most pleasant
surprise has been the excellent play of defensive pair Jason
Marshall and Ruslan Salei. Since Salei was called up, the two
(usually partners) have contributed significantly at both ends of
the ice and compensated well for the loss of steady Bobby Dollas on
the blue line. Salei went 3-3-6 with a +8 since his recall, while
Marshall posted 1-2-3 and a +9 over the last nine games.
Also pitching in; Scott Young, who came up big against Calgary (two
goals, including the OT winner) and Vancouver (one goal). Matt
Cullen, who has meshed beautifully with Selanne and lw Joe Sacco,
racking up five assists since being promoted to the bigs. As for
Sacco, he scored the Ducks first-ever penalty shot (against
Montreal) and added a shorty against Vancouver.
TODAY'S LINES
Pierre Page continues to juggle his lines with regularity. A couple
of near constants, however, include Sacco-Rucchin-Selanne and
Drury-Janssens-Rychel. Cullen replaces Rucchin on Selanne's second
line, while Rucchin also doubles with Young and Tomas Sandstrom,
who has struggled of late. But there's a blue plate special almost
every period -- especially when things aren't going well -- and
thanks to the rotating presence of Richard Park and Kevin Todd.
Rucchin, meanwhile, would likely see a lot more ice time, but is
still slightly hobbled by a slow-healing groin injury.
A MEAL, BUT NO DEAL
In the last issue we suggested GM Ferreira might want to visit
Kariya while the team was in Vancouver. While that didn't happen,
Selanne brought Kariya to meet with the team. The current captain
invited -- insisted, actually -- that Kariya join his
once-and-future mates at the team meal before the 11/08 contest.
Selanne said he felt it was important that Kariya, who admitted
being a bit nervous, come get reacquainted -- and meet, as the case
may be -- the team he'll rejoin once his contract stalemate is
broken.
Until he returns, the Ducks know they have to forget about #9 come
game time. But Selanne's invitation shows that Kariya is never far
from their thoughts...and may provide just the spark needed to
ignite Kariya's desire to get back into the action.
COMING UP
The next two weeks have Anaheim mostly on the road, which seems to
be a blessing rather than a problem. They mix home tilts against
Chicago and New Jersey into a schedule that has them playing eight
of the next 10 games off The Pond. The tough roadie includes games
on consecutive nights in Edmonton and Calgary, then -- two days
later -- in Toronto and Buffalo.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CALGARY FLAMES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Brian Sutter
roster: C - Andrew Cassels, Jim Dowd, Aaron Gavey, Eric Landry,
Michael Nylander, Cory Stillman. RW - Theoren Fleury, Jarome
Iginla, Sandy McCarthy, Ron Stern. LW - Chris Dingman, Todd
Hlushko, Jonas Hoglund, Marty McInnis, Mike Peluso, German Titov,
Ed Ward. D - Tommy Albelin, Jamie Allison, Joel Bouchard, Cale
Hulse, Derek Morris, James Patrick, Todd Simpson, Zarley Zalapski.
G - Tyler Moss, Dwayne Roloson, Rick Tabaracci.
injuries: Erik Andersson, rw, returned from a concussion, November
10, missed thirteen games; Todd Hlushko, lw, returned from a
concussion, November 13, missed eleven games; Ron Stern (knee
injury), rw, still indefinitely, missed whole season so far; Aaron
Gavey (abdominal strain), c, day-to-day, missed seven games so far;
Cory Stillman (sore ribs), c, day-to-day, missed two games so far;
Sandy McCarthy (sprained shoulder), rw, day-to-day, missed one game
so far; James Patrick (neck burners), d, day-to-day, missed one
game so far.
transactions: add Jamie Allison, d, from Saint John (AHL),
November 10; add Dwayne Roloson, g, from Saint John (AHL), November
10; add Eric Landry, c, from Saint John (AHL), November 14; delete
Kevin Dahl, d, to Chicago (IHL), November 5; delete Erik Andersson
to Saint John (AHL), November 11; delete Todd Hlushko to Saint John
(AHL), November 14.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
game results:
11/05 Toronto L 4-3
11/07 Anaheim L 4-3 OT
11/09 at Detroit L 6-3
11/10 at Chicago T 1-1
11/13 Carolina L 4-2
11/15 at Edmonton T 2-2
TEAM NEWS by Tony Wong
season results: 3W-13L-5T, 11 points, last in the Pacific, last in
the Western Division, last in the league save Tampa Bay!
Two Weeks at a Glance:
It seemed like an opportune time to turn the corner. A hot goalie.
Two weeks worth of weak teams. All the Flames had to do was put in a
decent effort and they could suddenly be back in the playoff hunt in
the Western Conference.
Could have.
Instead, against mediocre competition, Calgary went 0-4-2. Moss was
ordinary. Everyone else was worse. Instead of challenging the .500
mark, the Flames are now fighting for last place in the league.
Against Toronto, one got a definite feeling of deja vu. Forgetting
all about their best player AGAIN, Mats Sundin scored twice to lead
the Leafs to another victory against the Flames. Heck, wins
against our mighty Flames account for three of the four Leaf
victories this year! All I know is Mats Sundin better send us all
Christmas presents this year... Even starting the wonder kid, Tyler
Moss, couldn't change things. Moss absorbed his first loss in the
NHL, with a very ordinary 22-save performance.
Two days later, the effort was slightly better, but the result the
same. Remembering that keeping a lid on the other team's best
player was important, the Flames did a pretty good job holding the
hottest player in the league, Teemu Selanne in check. Though Teemu
managed to squeeze one in in the second period, Selanne was
relatively quiet. The problem was Scott Young. On a very ordinary
slap shot from the right circle with 1:26 left in overtime, Young
beat Moss to the glove side for his second goal. Ouch. Flames
lose! Flames lose!
On the "I told you so register" though, Rick Tabaracci got a point.
Sutter couldn't have done much worse with Tabaracci in net. Figuring
that he would get the start against the Ducks, Rick flipped his lid
when Sutter named Moss as his starter after practice. After much
yelling behind closed doors, a visibly upset Tabaracci emerged.
While his official line was "no comment", the usually amicable
Tabaracci was clearly angry.
The next game, Tabaracci got his chance. Perhaps lulled to sleep by
a long and boring presentation of Stanley Cup rings to start the
game, the Flames forgot to show up for the first period.
Tabaracci, too. Unfortunately, the goal judges did show, and one
period and eight shots later, the Flames were down 3-0. Awake for
the start of the second period, the Flames rattled off three quick
goals to tie the game at three. It seemed as though the tables had
turned.
Then, in what is becoming a very bad theme for the season, the
Flames took an exceptionally stupid penalty. Coming out of his net
to play a shoot-in, Tabaracci misjudged the speed of the incoming
Detroit player. So with momentum on his side, Tabaracci raised his
arms to defend himself and ran smack into him. Oops, that's a
charging penalty. Shanahan scores on the ensuing power play,
Detroit re-awakens, and the rest, as they say, is history. Red
Wings win 6-3.
With 10 minutes left in the game, Theoren "I've got to get some
headlines in LCS every week" Fleury flipped out. Unsportmanlike
conduct minor. Oh, make that a double minor. Then Fleury said
some very bad things to Mr. Referee. A sin worth at least a
thousand "Hail Marys." Or a Gross Misconduct. AND a Game
Misconduct. Oh, and let me flush any chances of a comeback down
the toilet on my way out. Come on Theo, smarten up.
In ensuring the action off the ice is just as good on it, Coates had
a little "general manager-to-players" chat after the morning
practice in Chicago. No coaches allowed. Hmm, maybe Al should
have a few more morning chats, as the message definitely got
through. With Dwayne Roloson in the nets straight from the minors
and the regulars "inspired" by Coate's little talk, the Flames
outskated, outshot (30 to 19) and heck, OUTPLAYED the Blackhawks.
The Flames simply dominated them. If not for Jeff Hackett, the
Flames have a win. As it stands, the Flames left with an
impressive 1-1 tie (well, as impressive as a "TIE" can be).
With the losing streak broken, the Flames began to get charged up
for their next game. Usually, it would just "another night,
another game." However the next game was against Carolina in
Calgary.
Homecoming for the traded duo of Gary Roberts and Trevor Kidd.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Taken down by groin injuries (and we
all know how painful THOSE can be), Roberts and Kidd were both
scratches for the game. However, forgotten former Flame Steve
Chiasson did play. And boy, did he ever. A goal and two assists
later, Carolina left with a 4-2 win.
While Chiasson did his part in whacking the Flames good, another bad
penalty helped out Carolina's cause. With the game tied at two in
the third period, McCarthy was unceremoniously cross-checked from
behind by Adam Burt. Quickly assessing the situation at hand, Sandy
did what every good undisciplined player does - he retaliated. From
his knees, McCarthy turned around and speared the first Hurricane he
saw. Poor, innocent Keith Primeau got it real good right on the leg.
Luckily (for Primeau), McCarthy had the courtesy to do it right in
front of referee Kimmerly. On the ensuing power play, Primeau tipped
a Kevin Dineen's shot to put Carolina ahead for good. After the
goal, Primeau gave McCarthy a major league taunt. Primeau
immediately turned towards the penalty box and pointed right at
McCarthy. "Gotcha."
In other low-lights, Stu Grimson proved that the bigger they are,
the harder they fall. After dancing around for position with Chris
Dingman, Grimson dropped the big rookie with one punch.
Embarassments galore.
Could things get worse? Do you have to ask?
In Edmonton, the Oilers came up with perhaps their best game of the
season, taking the play to the Flames. While the Flames didn't play
all that poorly, the Oilers simply outclassed them. With perhaps the
most beautiful goal in a Flames game this year, Doug Weight scored on
an impressive rush 31 seconds in. After zipping by several Flames in
the neutral zone, Weight undressed Jamie Allison to get a partial
breakaway on Tabaracci. Then, faking a backhand, Weight waited for
Tabaracci to commit before curling the puck back around and snapping
it by the 'ole boy. 1-0 Edmonton.
Though Weight made Tabaracci look silly on the play, it would be the
last time, as Tabaracci would virtually stone the Oilers from that
point on, stopping all but one of their shots to salvage a 2-2 tie.
Overall, the six games were a huge disappointment. Against mediocre
competition, the Flames failed to capitalize to improve their plight.
Undisciplined and uninspired play was the trademark of this stretch.
For a team with very little scoring talent, the Flames need above
average goaltending and solid, disciplined play from everyone else to
win. With inconsistent performances from all three goalies (Moss,
Tabaracci and Roloson) and a number of stupid penalties (see Fleury,
McCarthy and Roloson), it really wasn't too surprising that Calgary
went without a win.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
While Sutter's credo of "hard work" inspired many of the players in
the pre-season, the act is starting to wear thin as the losses
mount. While predecessors Pierre Page and Dave King, went too far
into the strategic elements of the game, Sutter's loosely defined
style doesn't seem to be working either. Sutter's coaching style
is actually very reminiscent of Mario Tremblay last year in
Montreal. While Tremblay was great behind the bench, the lack of a
system with clearly laid out roles and responsibilities confused
the players. Sutter's not that bad, but based on how the team is
currently performing, perhaps a little adjustment is needed. The
question is, can Sutter adapt? It will be interesting to see if
(and how) he does.
Three Amigos, Part Deux
In a familiar scenario for Calgary fans, the three-goalie system has
returned yet again. With the call-up of Dwayne Roloson for the
Chicago Blackhawks game, the Flames once again have three goalies.
Though Sutter hasn't officially called it as such, it seems that
the hated "play whoever's hot" rule is back.
Will it work? Well, yes and no. While the competitiveness will
initially improve the performances, the lack of work will
eventually catch up and depress the play of all. So if Sutter's
smart, he'll get a few good starts out all three and then send his
least favorite back to the baby Flames.
Making Trouble for Zalapski...
As with all struggling teams, we the media are always ready to help
Mr. Coates out by starting a few trade rumours. Who shall we deal?
How about Zarley Zalapski? After recovering from a major knee
injury last year, Zalapski has been horrible this year. To top it
off, it seems like Sutter doesn't really like Zalapski, sitting him
out on a number of occasions. On a team loaded with young
defensemen and a $1.6 million dollar price tag attached to Zarley,
it looks like a simple move. Where to? How about to one of the
Florida teams or Montreal? Dave King has always been a fan. Or
Chicago? The Blackhawks love to load up on veteran defensemen. In
any case, Zalapski should be relatively easy to deal. Solid
defensively, Zalapski has good mobility and a little bit of
offensive flair. Relatively cheap in terms of market value,
Zalapski could fit in anywhere. Did I hear that the Flyers need
more defense? Golly Trent Klatt would look good as a Flame... In
any case, the sooner they move him, the less of his salary they'll
have to eat.
Upcoming Games:
11/18 at New Jersey
11/20 at Florida
11/22 at Tampa Bay
11/23 at Carolina
11/27 Chicago
11/29 Anaheim
Once again, the Flames have it easy for the next stretch. Other
than playing the super-hot Devils, the Flames have some pretty soft
competition. With some solid goaltending and a consistent effort,
we're gonna go out on a limb and say that the Flames could again
win five of their next six games, putting them at 8- 14-5. Sad
still, but it's a start. With some luck, they might even win all
six. On second thought, let's be realistic. The Devils are VERY
hot.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
COLORADO AVALANCHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Marc Crawford
Roster: C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Stephane Yelle,
Jari Kurri. LW - Valeri Kamensky, Rene Corbet, Eric Lacroix. RW -
Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Keith Jones, Jeff Odgers. D - Sandis
Ozolinsh, Sylvain Lefebvre, Uwe Krupp, Adam Foote, Alexei Gusarov,
Jon Klemm, Aaron Miller, Eric Messier, Francois Leroux, Pascal
Trepanier. G - Patrick Roy, Craig Billington.
Injuries: Sandis Ozolinsh, d (knee, day-to-day); Jon Klemm, d
(thumb, mid-November); Keith Jones, rw (knee, late November); Wade
Belak, d (shoulder, early February).
TRANSACTIONS: Assigned Josef Marha, c, and Yves Sarault, lw, to
Hershey (AHL). Recalled Christian Matte, rw, from Hershey. Assigned
Matte to Hershey.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
GAME RESULTS:
11/05 NY Rangers L 4-2
11/08 St. Louis W 4-1
11/11 at Detroit W 2-0
11/13 at Philadelphia W 2-1
11/14 at New Jersey L 4-1
11/16 at NY Rangers L 4-1
TEAM NEWS by Greg D'Avis
If nothing else, recent games have shown the Avalanche's ability to
deal with adversity. Missing their leading scorer and top
power-play producer as Peter Forsberg and Sandis Ozolinsh spent
time on the ever-growing injured list, and reeling from a couple
weeks of uninspired play, the team went on the most difficult road
trip possible - Detroit, Philadelphia and New Jersey in three days
- and acquitted themselves well.
November began poorly as the team followed up a listless performance
against Calgary with possibly its worst game of the year, a home
loss to the mediocre Rangers. All those underachieving Blueshirts
played like gangbusters, and the Smurf-sized New Yorkers manhandled
the Avalanche in what was, all in all, a pretty ugly scene.
The first two periods against the Blues were equally uninspiring -
the only things of note were Peter Forsberg going down to a leg
injury and Stephane Yelle's first goal of the year. (No worries on
ol' Foppa - he's already back.) But come the third period, the
grinders of the Avalanche exploded - Alexei Gusarov, Rene Corbet
and Eric Lacroix scored minutes apart to end the Avalanche home
stand on a high note.
The next game was the one the whole hockey world watched: the
opening of this season's Colorado-Detroit tilt. Things started off
weird as coach Marc Crawford caused the voices of Coloradans
everywhere to raise as one: "Moron!" Rather than Patrick Roy,
Crawford started backup Craig Billington, who'd played only twice
before. Then, three seconds into the game, Claude Lemieux dropped
the gloves and fought toe-to-toe with last season's nemesis, Darren
McCarty. Both moves worked: Billington played his finest game in
years, shutting out the Wings, and the Avs got goals from Corbet
and Eric Messier to win 2-0. After the opening brawl, the game was
remarkably bloodless; chippy, but no more fights.
Corbet has been one of the most improved players on the ice this
season. He's already halfway to last year's goal total, and has
been the one player who has had an impact every single night. In
addition to increased scoring, he's been effective in all roles;
power play, penalty kill, agitator, fighter. His improvement gives
the Avalanche yet another effective two-way forward.
Things were ripe for a letdown; after the emotional Detroit game,
they went into Philadelphia, where Roy (back in nets) had a stellar
total of one win against the Flyers in his career. But again, the
Avs shut down the other team's offense - the defensive pairing of
Adam Foote and Messier shut the Legion of Doom down - and got just
enough goals to win.
The next night, the third game in four nights against elite
competition, the letdown finally came. The Avalanche had nothing
left and the Devils breezed to a 4-1 win. The game illustrated one
of the biggest problems facing the Avalanche lately - the scorers
ain't scoring. Since Forsberg went down, Sakic is the only big gun
who's been scoring; Valeri Kamensky, Lemieux and Adam Deadmarsh
have all been shut down. Though it's great to get goals from the
Yelles, the Corbets, the Jeff Odgers, if the Avalanche want to
truly be the threat they're capable of being, then the
aforementioned players have gotta get back on track.
Once again, the Avalanche faced the Rangers in November, and once
again, they stunk. If there's anything good to say about their
second loss of the year, well, at least they're lending
synchronicity to the team report by beginning and ending with a
Rangers loss. That's really not that good.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
EDMONTON OILERS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Ron Low
Roster: C - Doug Weight, Jason Arnott, Todd Marchant, Boyd
Devereaux. LW - Dean McAmmond, Rem Murray, Ryan Smyth, Mats
Lindgren, Bill Huard, Joe Hulbig, Mike Watt. RW - Mike Grier,
Andrei Kovalenko, Kelly Buchberger, Georges Laraque. D - Drew
Bannister, Sean Brown, Greg deVries, Kevin Lowe, Bryan Marchment,
Boris Mironov, Craig Millar, Ladislav Benysek. G - Curtis Joseph,
Bob Essensa.
Injuries: Kevin Lowe, d (inner ear infection, placed on IR Oct 23,
out indefinitely); Bill Huard, lw (returned from 2nd degree sprain
of MCL in right knee Nov 6 after missing nine games); Bryan
Marchment, d (surgery to drain abscess on buttocks (no, really) Nov
13, out 4 weeks).
Transactions: Ray Whitney, c, claimed off waivers by Florida (NHL)
Nov 6; Sent Dennis Bonvie, f, Steve Kelly, c, Jason Bowen, lw, and
Drake Berehowsky, d, to Hamilton (AHL) Nov 13; Recalled Sean
Brown, d, Ladislav Benysek, d, Georges Laraque, rw, Mike Watt, lw,
and Joe Hulbig, lw, from Hamilton (AHL) Nov 13.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
Game Results:
11/03 at NY Rangers T 2-2
11/05 at NY Islanders T 4-4
11/06 at Philadelphia L 6-2
11/08 at Washington L 2-1
11/10 at Buffalo T 4-4
11/12 Carolina L 6-4
11/15 Calgary T 2-2
TEAM NEWS by Simon D. Lewis
The Hamilton Airlift
Oiler GM Glenn Sather couldn't fire the whole team, couldn't ship
his high priced but under-achieving stars to the minors, and had no
desire to axe his coach. The result was he shipped out the bottom
of his roster and brought up five guys who have been doing well
down on the farm. All this in an effort to shake up the slumping
Oilers.
Gone to Hamilton are Dennis Bonvie, Steve Kelly, Drake Berehowsky
and Jason Bowen. The new faces in town are Sean Brown, Ladislav
Benysek, Georges Laraque, Mike Watt and Joe Hulbig. Defencemen
Brown and Benysek have a chance to show their stuff since both
Kevin Lowe and Bryan Marchment are out with injuries. The others
will be counted on to add some enthusiasm to a team that can't buy
a win.
This is the first step in trying to force something resembling a
pulse into the near lifeless corpse that is the Edmonton Oilers.
By mid-November they hadn't won since October 29 when they beat the
Phoenix Coyotes 3-2.
Their six-game eastern road trip was a disaster as they notched a
0-3-3 record. Their subsequent two-game home stand resulted in
another tie and another loss.
Mystery or What?
The coaching staff, management and players are at a loss to explain
what has happened to the marquee story of last year's playoffs.
Were they playing way over their heads then or are they
under-achieving now?
What's really different? Luke Richardson is sporting Philly
orange. Mariusz Czerkawski and Miroslav Satan are plying their
trade in the state of New York at The Island and Buffalo
respectively. The elder statesman and link to the glory of the
Gretzky Oilers, Kevin Lowe has missed most of the season with an
inner ear infection. The guys who scored all those goals last year
aren't doing it again. Kovalenko has yet to score. Jason Arnott
has had some posts and crossbars but often is not a factor in a
game. Ryan Smyth is drawing the attention of some of the league's
best checkers and has not, as yet, figured out how to get his game
up to the next level.
We note with interest that centre Ray Whitney started scoring goals
as soon as Florida picked him up on waivers from the Oilers.
Then there are the mistakes. This team is predicated on speed.
The Oilers always have been a team that believes the best defence
is a good offence. This season they haven't played smart enough
hockey to play that fast, offensive game. Their young and
inexperienced defence can't keep up and makes too many errors to
win at this style of play.
Jaws dropped late last week when Coach Low speculated on adopting
the "trap" style.
"There may have to be a change in style. A trap initiated," Low
said. "Maybe some kind of one-four (defensive scheme). There is
something that has to be addressed: an assessment of talent."
Bum Deal
You have to strain to pull back on the tacky humour on this story.
Defenceman Bryan Marchment had a boil on his buttocks. It was
lanced but then the infection spread requiring Marchment to have
surgery to drain the resulting abscess.
He's in a lot of pain and doesn't look to be back for a month.
This is some really bad news for an Oiler blue line that's pretty
thin on experience.
Still for Sale
Houston's Leslie Alexander left Edmonton in a huff on November
4th. He did not have a deal to buy the Oilers. He and current
owner Peter Pocklington positioned themselves in a "they done us
wrong" kind of stance.
The deal had fallen through because the City of Edmonton refused to
budge on a 1994 agreement that bound the Oilers to stay in the
Great White North until 2004. This location agreement was
negotiated in return for approximately $14 million in arena
renovations and concessions to the hockey club by the city. The
team cannot move.
Prospective owner Alexander had designed an offer to buy the Oilers
that required an adjustment to the location agreement. Edmonton
officials flatly refused and Alexander hit the road. Peter
Pocklington was publicly embarrassed and many of the Oiler faithful
were happy to see it. Peter Puck is not a popular man.
The latest angle is that there is still a local consortium of
buyers ready to go. They are reportedly waiting until the hype
from November 16's Grey Cup football final dies down before they
come forward again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
LOS ANGELES KINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Larry Robinson
Roster: C - Ray Ferraro, Olli Jokinen, Ian Laperriere, Donald
MacLean, Yanic Perreault, Jozef Stumpel, Roman Vopat. LW - Craig
Johnson, Matt Johnson, Luc Robitaille, Vladimir Tsyplakov, Steve
McKenna, Dan Bylsma. RW - Sandy Moger, Glenn Murray, Russ
Courtnall. D - Aki Berg, Rob Blake, Phillippe Boucher, Garry
Galley, Mattias Norstrom, Sean O'Donnell, Doug Zmolek. G -
Frederic Chabot, Stephane Fiset.
Injuries: Ray Ferraro, c (knee, very very soon); Vladimir
Tsyplakov, lw (broken bones, day-to-day).
Transactions: Signed free agent Russ Courtnall, rw. Traded Brad
Smyth, rw, to the New York Rangers in exchange for a conditional
draft pick.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
Results:
11/04 at New Jersey W 3-0
11/06 Tampa Bay W 5-2
11/08 Montreal L 4-1
11/11 Vancouver W 8-2
11/13 San Jose W 6-3
11/15 Dallas L 5-1
TEAM NEWS by Matt Moore
The Kings have continued to show they have dramatically improved
from last year. They had one of their biggest victories in the
past several years when they shut out the Devils in New Jersey.
The game was highlighted by two goals from Glen Murray, the
excellent goaltending by Stephane Fiset, and a devastating check on
Patrik Elias by Rob Blake. Blake had his best defensive game of
the year and showed how he can control games with his physical
play, which is something that really hasn't been seen since before
his injuries.
The game against Tampa Bay was actually pretty sad, with the
Lightning looking like they didn't want to be there. Murray threw
in two more goals, and it turned into an ugly game in the last two
periods when the Lightning decided that if they couldn't beat the
Kings that they should at least try and beat them up. Sad,
especially considering that they are at a distinct size
disadvantage to the Kings and they were failures at even this. The
good news in this game was that it was the first time in King
history that the Kings have defeated the Lightning at the Forum.
There is still work to be done to the Kings before they can become
contenders, and the game against Montreal showed that. Yikes, the
Kings looked slow compared to the little Canadiens, and they got
trapped into trying to play a speed style against them. The Kings
scrambled, looked disorganized and were all around lousy. The game
showed what happens when they can't physically dominate the other
team. Was it a coincidence that the ever-fast Russ Courtnall was
signed following this game? I doubt it...
The next game, against the Canucks, might have been that last straw
to drive Vancouver to Keenan, which sure as heck will be better for
them than Tom Renney. The Canucks played the Kings pretty even
during the first period, and the Kings were lucky to get out of
that period with a lead. Then the combination of Yanic Perreault
and Luc Robitaille simply trashed the Canucks with a combined five
goals and two assists, with Perreault getting his second hat trick
of the season. This win was especially sweet, considering it was
the first divisional win of the season for the Kings and since,
well, we all really hate Donald Brashear (although I wouldn't mind
him on the Kings). The downside was that Vladimir Tsyplakov, the
playmaker of the Perreault/Murray line, broke a bone in his hand
and will be out for several games. Darn.
The San Jose Sharks made the next trip into the forum, bringing
that embarrassment Andrei Nazarov with them. Well, the Kings broke
out to a 4-1 lead through two periods, then promptly fell asleep.
The Sharks scored the next two goals in a 28-second period to bring
it to 4-3 and to scare the hell out of the Forum crowd. But it was
all for nothing, as Sean Mckenna scored the first NHL goal of his
career and Yanic Perreault throwing in yet another goal, so the
Kings won 6-3.
Two good games followed by a real bad game. The Kings are following
this schedule and they showed it in their game against the Stars.
The Stars scored the first two goals of the game and they simply
dominated the Kings defensively. Dallas showed why they are one of
the top teams of the league in this game, and the Kings showed why
they aren't. Quite simple.
Jamie Storr and Vitali Yachmenev are both on the verge of rejoining
the Kings. Storr is going to start a few more games with the Long
Beach Ice Dogs, with him hopefully being able to come back and
relieve an overworked Stephane Fiset. Yachemenev is also working
himself back into shape following his return from a contract
holdout and will probably be the first call up in case of an injury
to a King forward. Hopefully the Yachmenev of the rookie year will
be the one to reappear and not the version of last season that
scored about as often as Dan Bylsma.
Ray Ferraro is also about to return from the injury list. Hasn't
played since the third game of the season when he got his knee
injured by a nice cheap shot. I don't know if his return is
necessarily a good thing, since him coming back will probably
affect the playing time given to players like Jozef Stumpel and
Yanic Perreault, two players who have gone on impressive hot
streaks and single-handedly have won games for the Kings this
season.
Last but not least is an update of the betting taking place amongst
the LCS staff. I have a bet with Editor-In- Chief Michael Dell and
my hero Zippy that the Kings will wind up with more points than the
Pittsburgh Penguins, with a possible additional bet that the Kings
will also end with more points than the Sharks, although I'm not
sure if that bet was official since I think I was sniffing paint
thinner at the time. But here are the standings:
GP W L T PTS
Pens 22 9 9 4 22
Kings 21 9 8 4 22
Sharks 21 6 14 1 13
As you can see, the Kings have drawn to a tie with the Pens with one
less game played. Yee-haw. I can already picture myself spending
all that money on a bottle of Dr Pepper. Now if only that punk Jim
Iovino would step up to bet...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SAN JOSE SHARKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Darryl Sutter
roster: C - Tony Granato, Bernie Nicholls, Ron Sutter, Dody Wood,
Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Jarold Skalde. LW - Niklas Andersson,
Shawn Burr, Murray Craven, Jeff Friesen, Tony Granato, Stephan
Goulla, Stephane Matteau, Andrei Nazarov, Dave Lowry. RW - Owen
Nolan, Shean Donovan. D - Doug Bodger, Todd Gill, Bill Houlder, Al
Iafrate, Marty McSorley, Marcus Ragnarsson, Mike Rathje, Rich
Brennan G - Mike Vernon, Kelly Hrudey.
injuries: Al Iafrate, d (back, day-to-day), Tony Granato, lw (broken
jaw, indefinite), Bernie Nicholls, c (broken thumb, 10 days).
transactions: recalled Niklas Andersson, lw, from Kentucky (IHL);
traded Viktor Kozlov, lw, to Florida for 1998 first round draft
pick, acquired Dave Lowry, lw, from Florida for fifth round '98
draft pick.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
game results:
11/04 Toronto T 0-0
11/07 Montreal L 4-3
11/08 Tampa Bay W 3-1
11/10 Anaheim W 6-4
11/12 Vancouver L 5-2
11/13 Los Angeles L 6-3
11/15 Phoenix L 3-2
team news: Al Swanson, San Jose Correspondent
Last time your humble correspondent had said how difficult it was to
report on a team like the Sharks. The past two weeks have amply
illustrated why: A complete lack of consistency.
Toward the end of last year, with San Jose out of the races, the
team decides to set shot on goal records. They figure if they
shoot, sooner or later they will score. This year, they've toyed
with that idea over an over. 45 shots into the chest pads of the
opposing goalie - but they lose! Then they replay tapes of the
playoff years (reverent sounds of 'oooh') and see Igor Larionov
saying that all they need is four or five quality shots a period
and they'll win. Let's try that, they say. But they lose!
Hmmm, what's wrong? Consistency.
Darryl Sutter has induced fear. For a bunch of guys used to losing
and who may actually be comfortable with it, this is a good thing.
But so far, he's not been able to induce consistency.
There's no consistency on defense: whether to play the trap or go
man-to-man. Of course, in Sutter's defense, the d-men have been
significantly less than consistent themselves. Actually, that might
not be being fair to Houlder, Gill and Bodger. They are pretty
consistent -- and they're good. Rathje has his moments. But they
are short lived. McSorley spends too much time in the sin bin to
really measure his effect. In that way, he's almost like Dody Wood.
There's no consistency in scoring, either. Nolan, Kozlov and Nazarov
should be at the heart of this team, scoring half or more of the
goals between them. Instead, Nolan's got three (one an empty
netter), Kozlov has five (but only one in eight games, plus who
cares now?) and Nazarov...six shots, one goal, one assist and 27
PIM. Two fighting majors in just the Phoenix game. How impressive.
Consistency is the first thing Sutter has to instill. Next is
working on defense, then offense.
Folks, as much as it pains me to say, it ain't gonna happen this
year. Sutter said it best himself, "If we play .500 hockey, that's
the best we can expect out of this team." And that's asking a lot
from a team that's never played .500 hockey -- even in their
playoff years.
Game Recaps:
A Whole Lotta Nuthin' Goin' On -- Leafs @ Sharks
Well, at least Toronto brought a whole series of firsts to the Shark
Tank. The first shutout of the year for SJ (but the second against!)
and Mike Vernon. The first tie of the year. The first tie with no
score ever for the team (and the first for the Maple Leafs in 10
years).
Mike Vernon recorded his 15th career shutout as the Sharks and the
Leafs couldn't find a way to the back of the net. Oh sure, both
teams had some good chances, but no great ones. There weren't any
disputed feet or legs or heads in the crease, but no pucks, either.
Marcus Ragnarsson sat this one out 'cause he was suspended for a
rude spear against the Blues (his second stick-related incident in
41 games).
The only real highlight was when Bernie Nicholls (yes, he still
plays occasionally) skated over Glenn Healy's hand while he was on
the ice 10 feet from the crease. The play had not been blown dead
yet and ol' Bern was trying to get that piece of rubber out of
Healy's glove. Almost got some fingers, instead. No call on the
play and they had to bring in their third goalie (Marcel Cousineau)
for the last four minutes of the third and all of overtime. (Potvin
was already in Calgary...probably laughing at the Flames.)
San Jose whoops Montreal...Yeah, right -- Montreal @ San
Jose
Ok, they did play well. Maybe better than that at times. Three
power-play goals against one of the top teams (right now) in the
NHL. But the Sharks still lost.
The Habs came out in the first like banshees and in a space of a
half a minute, San Jose was down 2-0. The remainder of the first
period looked like a practice game. No INTENSITY. Coach Sutter
pulled the guys aside and had a talk about career directions. Low
and behold, Viktor Kozlov ended his goal drought of seven games
when he put one past Jocelyn Thibault -- which also ended a 145
minute scoreless run for San Jose.
OK, let's make some excuses. Granato was out with a broken jaw.
Iafrate was out, etc.... Blah, blah, blah. Actually, it was
Rathje's fault for deflecting in that last goal. No, it was Deano's
fault for not signing Fedorov.
Sharks hit by Lightning...and survive! -- Tampa Bay @ San
Jose
Last year, SJ always did better on the second night of back-to-back
games and this first double-header of the season was no different.
San Jose played better defensive hockey while managing to score two
incredibly lucky goals. In fact, had the Lightning not been
playing, the Sharks may have lost. Both goals -- though credited to
Sharks players, should have had at least assists given to Tampa Bay
skaters as both came off the skates of Lightning players. San Jose
finished it up with an empty netter from Jeff Freisen.
It would be nice to say San Jose dominated the game and that's the
reason for the win. But in reality, Tampa Bay just sucked worse.
San Jose couldn't put together any plays that needed more than one
pass, couldn't keep TB out of their zone -- Kelly Hrudey was
incredible and really deserved a shutout - and couldn't score a
legit goal. It was a case of a bunch of good golfers playing bad
hockey.
Sharks visit Pond.. Eat Ducks -- Sharks @ Anaheim
San Jose lost all four matches to the Ducks last year, but last year
they had Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya. This year, they win the first
(in VERY convincing style), but the Ducks only have Selanne. Ok,
'only Selanne' did get a natural hat trick in just over half the
first period. And he was a big thorn in the Shark skin the rest of
the night.
The first period was all Anaheim. Hell, it was all Selanne. His
first went in after 40 seconds.
Then Bernie Nicholls put his first of the year past Guy Herbert.
After that, San Jose was only able to catch glimpses of the puck as
it went past Mike Vernon. Three Selanne shots, three Selanne goals
for his second hat trick of the year, 13th of his career. But it
was to be an unlucky 13.
After the start of the second, with the Ducks ahead 3-2 (Jeff
Freisen managed one during a five-on-three), San Jose came out like
a ..er.. Shark! The Finned Ones put four more by Herbert in the
next 20 minutes. Too bad only two counted. In the third, Rich
Brennan again scored his first NHL goal -- again cause his was one
of the non-goals from the second. Jeff Freisen followed up 12
seconds later with his second of the night, seventh of the year. To
end it all, with Anaheim on the PP with 35 seconds left, Owen Nolan
slams home the empty netter for a SJ 6-4 victory.
Canucks beat Sharks ... What the hell is a Canuck, anyway? --
Vancouver @ SJ
This was another painful game to watch. Continuing a very scary
trend, the Finned Fakers allowed three goals in the first period.
Vancouver came into the game on a 10-game losing streak and didn't
intend to continue it. Pavel Bure (who has more goals against Shark
goalies than we scored last year) was as much a pain that night as
Teemu Selanne had been the night before. The Sharks played lousy D
again, as we had to painfully watch Mike (the Sloth) Rathje try to
catch Bure or Mogilny as he flew past him time and again. (If we
had to trade a first rounder, couldn't it have been Mike?) End
result? A third period rally to 3-2, only to have it handed to them
on a plate for a 5-2 Vancouver win.
Battle of the Titans... -- SJ @ LA
Once again, as if the previous games hadn't convinced them, the
Sharks allowed three goals before the first intermission. They
finished this game with a 6-3 loss. This game should have been a
barn stormer, what with Matt Johnson and Andrei Nazarov on the same
patch of ice together again. And it was, for LA. Yanic Perreault
had two goals and an assist for LA, who has beaten the Sharks each
of the last three meetings. Wait, so has everyone else!
Good things to come out of this game? Todd Gill's sixth of the year
and Billy Houlder's fourth. OK, it ain't much. At least Nazarov's
face is intact.
Coyotes kill Sharks..again -- SJ @ Phoenix
Coyote captain Keith Tkachuk scored a goal and set up two others in
another rout of the Sharks. Maybe rout is too strong. Nonetheless,
San Jose is actually doing worse this year than last and who'd of
thought they could manage that? Two less goals for, two more goals
against.
Anyway, back to Phoenix. Marco Sturm put in his fourth and Andrei
Nazarov (during one of his rare appearances on the ice that didn't
end up with him in the box) somehow got his first.
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VANCOUVER CANUCKS
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Head Coach: Mike Keenan
Roster: C - Mark Messier, Trevor Linden, Mike Sillinger, Dave
Scatchard; LW - Martin Gelinas, Markus Naslund, Gino Odjick,
Donald Brashear, David Roberts, Larry Courville; RW - Alex
Mogilny, Pavel Bure, Brian Noonan, Lonny Bohonos, Scott Walker; D
- Jyrki Lumme, Dana Murzyn, Matthias Ohlund, Grant Ledyard, Bret
Hedican, Dave Babych, Steve Staios, Chris McAllister; G - Kirk
McLean, Arturs Irbe.
Injuries: Grant Ledyard, d (returned November 3 from mild
concussion, missed one game); Jyrki Lumme, d (returned November 8
from groin pull, missed 4 games); Martin Gelinas, lw (Grade 2
knee sprain October 13, four weeks); Dave Roberts, lw (abdominal
strain October 23, indefinite); Adrian Aucoin, d (groin pull
October 30, played November 12 but remains day-to-day); Dave
Babych, d (back strain November 4, day-to-day); Gino Odjick, lw
(groin strain November 8, day-to-day); Larry Courville, lw (ankle
November 11, day-to-day); Scott Walker, rw (broken nose November
16, day-to-day); Matthias Ohlund, d (strained ligaments in hand
November 16, day-to- day).
Transactions: fired Pat Quinn, President and General Manager,
November 4; assigned Chris McAllister, d, to Syracuse (AHL)
November 5; signed free agent Alex Mogilny, rw, to a four-year
$17.2 million contract November 7; recalled Bert Robertsson, d,
from Syracuse (AHL) November 7; assigned Larry Courville, lw, to
Syracuse (AHL) November 8; assigned Bert Robertsson, d, and
Lubomir Vaic, c, to Syracuse (AHL) November 10; recalled Chris
McAllister, d, and Larry Courville, lw, from Syracuse (AHL)
November 11; fired Tom Renney, Head Coach, and Terry Bangen,
Assistant Coach, November 14; named Mike Keenan Head Coach.
Standings:
Western Conference -- Pacific Division
Team GP W L T PTS GF GA
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71
GAME RESULTS
11/03 at Carolina L 5-4
11/04 at Washington L 2-1
11/08 Anaheim L 3-2
11/11 at Los Angeles L 8-2
11/12 at San Jose W 5-2
11/14 at Anaheim T 3-3
11/16 Carolina W 4-1
TEAM NEWS by Carol Schram
If anyone has been on a desert island since the Vancouver Canucks
missed the playoffs last spring, one important detail must be
mentioned before we get down to brass tacks:
I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!
You may have expected that Tom Renney would lose his job as Canuck
head coach. That has finally come to pass. But did you expect that
he'd be replaced by "Iron Mike" Keenan? Did you think Pat Quinn
would be spending his November playing golf in the desert to
relieve the sting of his recent firing? Did you think Mark Messier
would be the man leading the Canucks into this new era? Did you
think Trevor Linden wouldn't be captain? Did you think they'd be
wearing blue uniforms with Killer Whales on their chests?
On Remembrance Day, the Canucks added a statistic to their record
book that most of us would just as soon forget. They lost an 8-2
stinker to the Los Angeles Kings, marking a franchise-high 10
straight defeats. They hit the old mark of nine in a row four
times in the past, but this was a new mark of futility - the worst
team ever. When you consider this squad finished with just 48
points in its second NHL season and finished 15 games below .500 as
recently as 1990-91, 10 consecutive losses is quite an achievement.
It really wasn't supposed to be this way. After the Canucks reached
Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994, they seemed to lose
their momentum during the lockout year, finishing with an average
record and only winning one round in the playoffs. That summer, they
moved into their new arena and signed Alex Mogilny. Things were
supposed to get better, but Pavel Bure blew out his knee, the Canucks
slipped to third in their division, and they lost their first-round
playoff matchup against Colorado. So, the team hired a shiny new
coach, Tom Renney. They pursued Wayne Gretzky, unsuccessfully, as
well that summer, but the group went at the task with renewed vigour
again come fall.
Somehow, things got even worse. Bure's health was questionable all
season long, but in 1996-97, it became increasingly obvious that
this team wasn't pulling on the same rein. Buckets of blame were
deflected at the young coach who didn't know how to treat his
stars. The most vocal players were shipped out of town but,
despite a strong finish, the Canucks missed the playoffs for the
first time this decade.
Still, Renney held onto his job. And Pat Quinn set out to shore up
his personnel over the summer. He signed unrestricted free agents
like Grant Ledyard and Arturs Irbe, and brought most of his own
free agents back into camp, including heralded rookie Matthias
Ohlund. The biggest story of the summer, though, was the signing
of one particular free agent. Suddenly, the so-called Greatest
Leader in Team Sports, Mark Messier, was captaining our team.
Many believed that the Canucks' complacency couldn't last under
Messier's regime. But I don't think anyone foresaw how bad things
would have to get before this team turned the corner. Did they
tank on purpose in order to facilitate these major changes? Or had
the mood in the room grown so poisonous that a 10-game
losing-streak was unavoidable?
Either way, after a month of watching their hapless team lose much
more than they won, Orca Bay ownership and upper management decided
that they had seen enough. The only saving grace about a road loss
to the Carolina Hurricanes was the fact that there were only about
eight or nine spectators at the arena in Greensboro to see the
damage. The Hurricanes scored a season-high five goals in handing
the Canucks consecutive loss number seven, and Vancouver's
goals-against continued its tumble to the bottom of the standings.
The next morning, owner John McCaw's right-hand man Stan McCammon
flew out to meet the team in Washington, where he handed down the
news. To the shock of many, Pat Quinn was the first to be axed, as
he was relieved of his two titles - General Manager and Club
President. Few will argue that Quinn was instrumental in the
development of this franchise since he first arrived in 1987.
Quinn changed Vancouver's perception of what hockey means to this
city.
In the mid-eighties, there was only one team in hockey, the Edmonton
Oilers. They didn't live too far away from Vancouver, and their
shadow hung over this city for years as they would drop by three or
four times a year to pummel our sad little team with the ridiculous
yellow uniforms. In the mid-eighties, you could get Canuck tickets
from a scalper for about five bucks, and the only sellouts were for
exciting opponents like the Oilers or the Montreal Canadiens.
Starting with the 1988 drafting of Trevor Linden, Pat Quinn slowly
began to change that culture. He made a number of ruthless trades
in his first five years, acquiring Kirk McLean, Greg Adams, Geoff
Courtnall, Cliff Ronning, Jyrki Lumme, Dana Murzyn, and others. He
pulled Igor Larionov out from behind the Iron Curtain, and the
Russian's work behind the scenes led to the drafting of the
Canucks' first-ever superstar, Pavel Bure, 113th overall in 1989.
In 1988-89, Canucks fans were thrilled that their team battled
eventual Stanley Cup winner Calgary to the seventh game of their
first-round series, losing only by a Stan Smyl goalpost and a Joel
Otto skate in the crease on the Flames' winning goal. By 1991-92,
a big, strong, determined team surprised everyone by leaping out of
the gate in October on its way to a 96-point regular season, and
the club set a franchise record the following year, with 101
points. In 1993-94 the team slid back to what was then considered
mediocrity, finishing just one point above .500. But after
squeaking out of a tight first-round series against Calgary with a
series of nail-biting overtime wins, the Canucks found themselves
in the Stanley Cup finals just over a month later, against none
other than Mike Keenan, Mark Messier, and the dominant New York
Rangers.
It was probably the most exciting final of this decade, and the
memories still resonate for everyone involved. After getting down
three games to one to the decided favorites, the Canucks clawed
their way back to tie the series at three games apiece, then lost a
heartbreaking Game Seven at Madison Square Garden by a 3-2 margin.
As Keenan, Messier and the Rangers cavorted with the Stanley Cup,
Quinn's boys squatted on the ice, heads down, exhausted and
defeated.
Now, as of November 4, 1997, they're not Quinn's boys anymore. As
of November 13, 1997, they're Keenan's boys.and so far, they seem
to like it!
When Orca Bay announced Quinn's firing, they said their search for
a new GM could take several weeks, but they would move as quickly
as possible. The timetable was likely sped up by the players' lack
of response on the ice. Despite a valiant effort, they did not find
their scoring touch as they dropped three more games: 2-1 in
Washington, then 3-2 at home against Anaheim and the 8-2 drubbing
against the Kings to make it 10 in a row.
The last two losses came with holdout winger Alex Mogilny back in
the lineup. His signing was announced just three days after
Quinn's firing, although the powers at Orca Bay emphasized that
Quinn had done the majority of the work on the negotiation and it
was not the lack of progress on this front that led to his
dismissal. Within a day, Mogilny was in the lineup and while he
looked good, he was complaining a bit about his conditioning and
his timing. Nonetheless, it was a good publicity move to give the
home fans something to celebrate as their team came home with eight
straight losses under its belt, and the crowd went surprisingly
easy on their sad-sack team as it dropped it ninth in a row.
While such experiments have failed in the past, Tom Renney coached
his last game as a Canuck with all his eggs in one basket, putting
Mogilny on the left side with Messier and Bure. Sure enough, they
made the difference as Bure started the scoring with a successful
penalty shot against Mike Vernon. Pavel also added two more
assists, and Messier and Mogilny racked up a helper apiece as the
team tallied its first win in just over three weeks. It didn't
even feel good by that point, it just felt like a relief. After
all, no matter how bad the team had become, they couldn't lose
every game.could they?
Fluke or not, the losing streak ended too late to save Tom Renney
and his assistant Terry Bangen. While Orca Bay executives were
pretty mysterious about the G.M. search, it took them just nine
days to make a new hiring - as head coach. Mike Keenan had been
the prime rumor right from the get-go, because of his past
association with Messier but also because of his reputation for
discipline and his solid winning record. Keenan has worn out his
welcome, in one way or another, in each of the four cities that he
has coached in the past, but there's no arguing that he has had his
successes along the way - most drastically, winning the Stanley Cup
with the New York Rangers.
Keenan's player personnel moves in St. Louis and his treatment of
fan favorite Brett Hull were the two primary reasons for his ouster
last winter. Despite his solid record, he was not offered any of
the dozen or so head coaching positions that came open this
summer. Yet it appeared that he could be a good fit here in
Vancouver. Most Canucks fans still have bitter memories of that
Game Seven smirk, but if we could learn to appreciate Mark Messier,
I guess we could learn to appreciate Keenan. His hiring was a
clear indication that Orca Bay had not written off the season when
they fired Quinn; on the contrary, they were more determined than
ever to right the ship before it sank deeper.
So far, in two games under Iron Mike's regime, there is room for
cautious optimism. Keenan insists that his year off has left him
time for reflection, and he is now a kinder, gentler coach. He
also says that he is going to take his time evaluating talent
before making any moves, and the jokes are flying that he won't
have to trade for Brian Noonan, since the grinding winger is
already here.
It's well known that Keenan likes to coach talent, however, and with
one of his favorites, Mark Messier, already at the helm, Keenan has
been giving Bure and Mogilny gobs of ice time: short shifts, but
playing in all situations - even strength, four-on-four, power-play,
and penalty kill. Keenan also broke up the pairing of Bure and
Messier, which had been together all season, during the Carolina
game, and the world did not stop turning.
The second line currently consists of Trevor Linden and Mike
Sillinger plus, depending on the situation, either finesse guy
Markus Naslund or enforcer Donald Brashear. At the third line
center spot, Dave Scatchard has probably seen more ice time in the
last two games than in his entire NHL career to date. He is
getting involved in the play, picking up this third goal of the
season against Carolina, and the big rookie looks like he could be
an early Keenan favorite. The rest of the forward spots have been
spotty, but Keenan is playing huge defenseman Chris McAllister on
the occasional shift on the wing for the first time in his career,
and Lonny Bohonos dressed but didn't take a shift in the Carolina
game. It will be interesting to see how he continues to cope with
his manpower up front once Martin Gelinas, Dave Roberts, and Gino
Odjick return from their respective injuries.
It has been pointed out that one of Keenan's first moves when he
enters a new coaching situation is to acquire a quality defenseman
to build the team around. In Chicago, he gave up Denis Savard for
Chris Chelios; in St. Louis, it was Brendan Shanahan for Chris
Pronger. So far, Keenan is showing an unnerving attraction to, of
all people, long-time whipping boy Dana "the Pylon" Murzyn. The
lumbering defenseman has been a favorite target for abuse by
talk-show callers for years, and Tom Renney had started to take
heed and sit the big man due to his lack of speed. But Keenan
seems to have marked Murzyn as an early reclamation project, giving
him and partner Jyrki Lumme tons of ice time, and the pair seem to
be responding. Murzyn, of all people, scored a terrific goal from
the slot in the Carolina game - his first point of the year - and
was named third star of the game. One pundit suggests that Keenan
is planning to make Murzyn into "his new Jeff Beukeboom", and thus,
may be able to avoid the unappealing trade market.
Keenan has also gotta like the pairing of Ledyard and rookie
Matthias Ohlund, although Bret Hedican and Steve Staios may be on
shakier ground. Both are former Blues, and while Hedican was moved
before Keenan took over, he has moments of flightiness that may not
match the Iron Mike style. Staios was traded away by Keenan in
March of 1996, after seeing action only with the farm team in
Peoria. Staios was called up at one point, but never saw game
action. Nonetheless, a couple of years later he has developed a
feisty, physical, take-no-prisoners style, and he has been seeing a
decent amount of ice-time, so far, as a sixth defenseman. Adrian
Aucoin is another blueliner who may find himself on the bubble once
he returns from injury.
So - the bleeding has stopped, for now. After losing 10 in a row,
the Canucks have picked up five of their last six possible points.
Thanks to the lousy performances of other teams in their divisions
through the past month, they are actually just three points away
from the eighth playoff spot.
The Carolina victory came with lower shots against, solid
goaltending, and a two-goal performance from Alex Mogilny, who is
only just starting to get on track. Most importantly, though, the
energy around the team has changed palpably. Celebrations after
goals look truly heart-felt. There is much back-slapping and
high-fiving on the bench. Players are sticking up for each other
on the ice. In short, for the first time in a long time, this is
starting to look like a hockey team. We will never know whether
the players intentionally orchestrated these changes, but we did
know that there was going to have to be an essential change at the
core of the team to address was what wrong - not over the past
month, but over the past three years. If these players were really
playing that much below their potential, then something had to be
done. Given that Pat Quinn would probably never have hired a coach
of Keenan's caliber and reputation, it appears that these moves
were necessary, and the early returns show that they have generated
the requisite results. The Canucks are moving out of the cellar of
the Western Conference, out of last place in goals against, and
hopefully will become known this year for more than just their
press conferences.
OTHER NOTES:
*After Keenan's hiring, the official party line at Orca Bay remains
that the search for a General Manager is "ongoing". Right now, a
la the Toronto Maple Leafs, GM duties are being handled by
committee. Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Steve
Tambellini is the go-to guy for player personnel issues - the one
to phone if you're interested in talking trade, although all
personnel decisions must be agreed upon by both Tambellini and Mike
Keenan. Tambellini is an ex-Canuck winger who retired in 1988 and
immediately joined the Vancouver front office, as assistant Media
Relations director. Over the past decade, Tambellini has slowly
climbed the corporate ladder and assumed his current title this
past summer, in essence sharing George McPhee's old duties with
former Chief Scout, now Assistant General Manager, Mike Penny.
Both these men have been Quinn proteges, but Tambellini in
particular is proving adept at understanding what it takes, now, to
be an Orca Bay man. He is walking an amazingly fine line where he
appears to be carrying on Quinn's legacy while, at the same time,
advancing at lightning speed up the ranks of the organization.
While the GM duties at this point are still, ostensibly, being
handled by Tambellini, Penny, Orca Bay CEO Steven Bellringer and
Deputy Chairman Stan McCammon, if Operation Keenan continues to go
as well as its early returns imply, don't be surprised to see
Tambellini alone in the General Manager's office by season's end.
*Despite the fact that the Canucks are still cellar-dwelling in
terms of goals-against, netminding continues to be the least of the
team's worries. Kirk McLean's average took a beating during the
losing streak, and before his win against Carolina, his last
victory came on Thanksgiving Day, when he shut out the Edmonton
Oilers. Arturs Irbe managed to eke out two wins of his own along
the way, against both his old teams, looking solid back in October
in a 5-1 win over the surging Dallas Stars and putting forth a good
effort to stop the San Jose Sharks' two-game winning streak and put
the Canucks out of their 10-loss misery last week. When Irbe has
been called in to relieve McLean during the blowouts, he has played
as badly as McLean, but on the rare occasions that he starts, he
does deliver the goods. Nonetheless, Mike Keenan is known for
playing one goalie to death and McLean likes gobs of ice-time, so,
in the short term, expect the current situation to remain
unchanged.
*Meanwhile, Corey Hirsch is single-handedly changing the fortunes of
the Syracuse Crunch. After starting the season with a brutal 1-8-2
record, the Crunch has won five straight since Corey joined the
squad. Their offense is firing better, but Hirsch is making the
difference with solid, aggressive goaltending against the best teams
in the AHL. This may not be the time to be peaking, but if one of
the Canucks' goalies goes down with an injury, Hirsch is definitely
ready to go.
*Don't look now, but despite the Canucks' horrific record, Pavel
Bure is 12th in NHL scoring after the Carolina game, with 22 points
in 21 games. Bure's contract will skyrocket into the stratosphere
if the Russian Rocket gets 40 goals and 80 points this year, and no
matter what other agendas this team might have, Bure appears
determined to make that happen, as he is maintaining a point-a-game
pace on cruise control. Once he starts to bury some of those shots
that he's currently missing, Bure could well be a force in this
season's Art Ross Trophy sweepstakes. Alex Mogilny has some
catching up to do after missing 16 games, but he is also going at a
point-a- game since his return to the lineup, and with three goals
in his last two games, his productivity looks like it's only just
starting to match his potential.
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NHL STANDINGS Thru November 17, 1997
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Eastern Conference
Northeast Division GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD OT
Montreal 21 14 5 2 30 71 45 6-4-2 8-1-0 1-1-2
Boston 21 11 7 3 25 55 49 3-3-2 8-4-1 1-0-3
Ottawa 22 9 9 4 22 62 57 5-5-1 4-4-3 0-0-4
Pittsburgh 22 9 9 4 22 59 59 2-4-2 7-5-2 2-0-4
Carolina 21 8 10 3 19 58 62 5-3-2 3-7-1 0-1-3
Buffalo 19 5 10 4 14 47 61 2-5-1 3-5-3 2-0-4
Atlantic Division GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD OT
Philadelphia 22 13 6 3 29 68 51 8-4-1 5-2-2 1-0-3
New Jersey 19 14 5 0 28 60 34 8-2-0 6-3-0 1-0-0
Washington 21 12 7 2 26 60 48 5-1-1 7-6-1 0-0-2
NY Islanders 20 8 8 4 20 56 50 3-6-1 5-2-3 0-0-4
NY Rangers 20 6 7 7 19 51 50 4-4-4 2-3-3 0-0-7
Florida 19 6 9 4 16 42 57 2-5-3 4-4-1 0-1-4
Tampa Bay 20 2 16 2 6 34 72 1-5-1 1-11-1 0-0-2
Western Conference
Central Division GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD OT
St Louis 22 15 5 2 32 72 47 10-2-1 5-3-1 1-0-2
Detroit 22 13 5 4 30 73 52 6-3-3 7-2-1 0-0-4
Dallas 22 12 6 4 28 70 55 4-3-2 8-3-2 1-0-4
Phoenix 20 10 8 2 22 63 56 7-3-1 3-5-1 0-1-2
Chicago 21 7 12 2 16 40 55 5-6-2 2-6-0 0-0-2
Toronto 19 6 10 3 15 38 56 2-7-1 4-3-2 0-0-3
Pacific Division GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD OT
Colorado 21 10 5 6 26 61 52 5-1-4 5-4-2 0-1-6
Los Angeles 21 9 8 4 22 72 60 6-5-0 3-3-4 0-2-4
Anaheim 21 8 8 5 21 54 59 3-6-3 5-2-2 1-1-5
Edmonton 21 5 11 5 15 49 73 3-5-2 2-6-3 1-0-5
San Jose 21 6 14 1 13 53 69 3-8-1 3-6-0 0-1-1
Vancouver 21 5 13 3 13 53 74 3-5-2 2-8-1 0-2-3
Calgary 21 3 13 5 11 53 71 3-7-1 0-6-4 1-2-5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL LEAGUE LEADERS Thru November 17, 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(+) - ROOKIE
--- INDIVIDUAL SCORING LEADERS ---
PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG
------------------ -------------- -- --- --- --- --- --- -- -- -- -- --- ----
JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA 22 18 12 30 12 14 5 0 4 0 85 21.2
ERIC LINDROS PHILADELPHIA 21 9 21 30 11 40 1 0 1 0 64 14.1
MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 10 17 27 8 8 2 3 0 0 85 11.8
TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM 21 20 6 26 4 8 3 0 4 2 81 24.7
SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL 21 8 18 26 3 32 6 0 1 0 40 20.0
KEITH TKACHUK PHOENIX 20 12 13 25 9 26 2 0 2 0 67 17.9
BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 22 12 13 25 1- 4 6 0 5 0 77 15.6
JOZEF STUMPEL LOS ANGELES 21 7 17 24 7 24 2 0 1 1 47 14.9
JOE SAKIC COLORADO 21 11 12 23 4 18 5 0 0 0 73 15.1
MARK RECCHI MONTREAL 21 10 13 23 5 8 2 0 2 0 42 23.8
RON FRANCIS PITTSBURGH 22 8 15 23 5- 4 2 0 3 0 50 16.0
ZIGMUND PALFFY NY ISLANDERS 20 11 11 22 0 4 5 0 1 0 62 17.7
ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS 20 8 14 22 1- 8 2 0 0 1 54 14.8
PAVEL BURE VANCOUVER 21 8 14 22 1 16 3 0 2 0 80 10.0
ALEXEI YASHIN OTTAWA 22 8 14 22 4 10 1 0 1 0 71 11.3
STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS 22 4 18 22 8 10 1 0 0 0 38 10.5
JOE NIEUWENDYK DALLAS 22 13 8 21 4 8 3 0 3 0 63 20.6
JAROMIR JAGR PITTSBURGH 20 7 14 21 0 14 1 0 1 0 68 10.3
ADAM OATES WASHINGTON 21 7 14 21 4 4 1 1 2 0 35 20.0
CRAIG JANNEY PHOENIX 20 5 16 21 10 6 2 0 0 0 20 25.0
SAKU KOIVU MONTREAL 21 5 16 21 3 16 0 0 2 0 49 10.2
PETER FORSBERG COLORADO 18 4 17 21 5 24 1 0 1 0 58 6.9
DEFENSEMEN
PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG
STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS 22 4 18 22 8 10 1 0 0 0 38 10.5
AL MACINNIS ST LOUIS 22 10 9 19 7 20 4 1 2 0 73 13.7
NICKLAS LIDSTROM DETROIT 21 8 11 19 0 2 3 1 1 1 58 13.8
VLADIMIR MALAKHOV MONTREAL 20 5 13 18 12 12 4 0 1 0 47 10.6
SERGEI ZUBOV DALLAS 22 3 15 18 6 0 1 1 1 0 38 7.9
BRYAN BERARD NY ISLANDERS 17 7 9 16 11- 12 6 0 1 1 57 12.3
LARRY MURPHY DETROIT 22 2 14 16 8 21 1 0 2 0 32 6.3
CALLE JOHANSSON WASHINGTON 21 7 7 14 7 8 5 0 0 2 50 14.0
SCOTT NIEDERMAYER NEW JERSEY 19 5 9 14 7 4 4 0 1 0 43 11.6
GARRY GALLEY LOS ANGELES 20 4 10 14 3 18 4 0 0 0 34 11.8
IGOR KRAVCHUK OTTAWA 22 4 10 14 0 4 2 1 0 1 57 7.0
-- GOAL SCORING -- -- ASSISTS --
NAME TEAM GP G NAME TEAM GP A
TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM 21 20 ERIC LINDROS PHILADELPHIA 21 21
JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA 22 18 SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL 21 18
YANIC PERREAULT LOS ANGELES 21 14 STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS 22 18
JOE NIEUWENDYK DALLAS 22 13 PETER FORSBERG COLORADO 18 17
PETER BONDRA WASHINGTON 20 12 MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 17
KEITH TKACHUK PHOENIX 20 12 JOZEF STUMPEL LOS ANGELES 21 17
BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 22 12 CRAIG JANNEY PHOENIX 20 16
JASON DAWE BUFFALO 19 11 SAKU KOIVU MONTREAL 21 16
ZIGMUND PALFFY NY ISLANDERS 20 11 DOUG GILMOUR NEW JERSEY 19 15
JOE SAKIC COLORADO 21 11 RON FRANCIS PITTSBURGH 22 15
TED DONATO BOSTON 21 11 IGOR LARIONOV DETROIT 22 15
SAMI KAPANEN CAROLINA 21 11 SERGEI ZUBOV DALLAS 22 15
CORY STILLMAN CALGARY 17 10 GARY ROBERTS CAROLINA 19 14
BRENDAN SHANAHAN DETROIT 18 10 WAYNE GRETZKY NY RANGERS 20 14
PAT LAFONTAINE NY RANGERS 20 10 JAROMIR JAGR PITTSBURGH 20 14
MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 10 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS 20 14
MARK RECCHI MONTREAL 21 10 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON 21 14
LUC ROBITAILLE LOS ANGELES 21 10 PAVEL BURE VANCOUVER 21 14
GEOFF COURTNALL ST LOUIS 22 10 LARRY MURPHY DETROIT 22 14
AL MACINNIS ST LOUIS 22 10 ALEXEI YASHIN OTTAWA 22 14
-- POWER PLAY GOALS -- -- SHORT HAND GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP PP NAME TEAM GP SH
BRYAN BERARD NY ISLANDERS 17 6 MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 3
BRENDAN SHANAHAN DETROIT 18 6 JERE LEHTINEN DALLAS 12 2
SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL 21 6 MARTIN STRAKA PITTSBURGH 22 2
BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 22 6 50 PLAYERS WITH ONE
ZIGMUND PALFFY NY ISLANDERS 20 5
CALLE JOHANSSON WASHINGTON 21 5
JOE SAKIC COLORADO 21 5
DOUG WEIGHT EDMONTON 21 5
JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA 22 5
-- POWER PLAY ASSISTS -- -- SHORT HAND ASSISTS --
NAME TEAM GP PPA NAME TEAM GP SHA
ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS 20 10 STEVE RUCCHIN ANAHEIM 13 2
STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS 22 10 BRET HEDICAN VANCOUVER 18 2
DOUG GILMOUR NEW JERSEY 19 9 THEOREN FLEURY CALGARY 21 2
SAKU KOIVU MONTREAL 21 9 MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 2
PETER FORSBERG COLORADO 18 8 52 PLAYERS WITH ONE
MARK RECCHI MONTREAL 21 8
NICKLAS LIDSTROM DETROIT 21 8
-- POWER PLAY POINTS -- -- SHORT HAND POINTS --
NAME TEAM GP PPP NAME TEAM GP SHP
BRYAN BERARD NY ISLANDERS 17 13 MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 5
ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS 20 12 JERE LEHTINEN DALLAS 12 3
ZIGMUND PALFFY NY ISLANDERS 20 12 MARTIN STRAKA PITTSBURGH 22 3
SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL 21 12 JOE JUNEAU WASHINGTON 13 2
VLADIMIR MALAKHOV MONTREAL 20 11 STEVE RUCCHIN ANAHEIM 13 2
NICKLAS LIDSTROM DETROIT 21 11 BENOIT BRUNET MONTREAL 18 2
STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS 22 11 BRET HEDICAN VANCOUVER 18 2
DOUG GILMOUR NEW JERSEY 19 10 THEOREN FLEURY CALGARY 21 2
MARK RECCHI MONTREAL 21 10 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON 21 2
JOE SAKIC COLORADO 21 10 *DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 2
DOUG WEIGHT EDMONTON 21 10 ROD BRIND'AMOUR PHILADELPHIA 22 2
BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 22 10 ANDREAS JOHANSSON PITTSBURGH 22 2
AL MACINNIS ST LOUIS 22 10
-- GAME WINNING GOALS -- -- GAME TYING GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP GW NAME TEAM GP GT
*PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 5 PAT LAFONTAINE NY RANGERS 20 3
BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 22 5 CALLE JOHANSSON WASHINGTON 21 2
BRENDAN SHANAHAN DETROIT 18 4 TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM 21 2
PETER BONDRA WASHINGTON 20 4 36 PLAYERS WITH ONE
LUC ROBITAILLE LOS ANGELES 21 4
TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM 21 4
JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA 22 4
-- SHOTS --
NAME TEAM GP S
MIKE MODANO DALLAS 21 85
JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA 22 85
TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM 21 81
RYAN SMYTH EDMONTON 21 81
PAVEL BURE VANCOUVER 21 80
BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 22 77
JOE SAKIC COLORADO 21 73
AL MACINNIS ST LOUIS 22 73
-- SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (MIN 19 SHOTS) --
NAME TEAM GP G S PCTG
------------------ ------------ -- --- --- -----
*PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 8 24 33.3
RANDY MCKAY NEW JERSEY 19 9 32 28.1
DANIEL ALFREDSSON OTTAWA 9 7 25 28.0
*DONALD MACLEAN LOS ANGELES 17 5 19 26.3
YANIC PERREAULT LOS ANGELES 21 14 54 25.9
DAVE GAGNER FLORIDA 19 8 31 25.8
JASON DAWE BUFFALO 19 11 43 25.6
-- PLUS/MINUS --
NAME TEAM GP +/-
DAINIUS ZUBRUS PHILADELPHIA 15 16
GEOFF COURTNALL ST LOUIS 22 15
BOBBY HOLIK NEW JERSEY 19 14
RANDY MCKAY NEW JERSEY 19 13
CHRIS PRONGER ST LOUIS 22 13
VLADIMIR TSYPLAKOV LOS ANGELES 13 12
VLADIMIR MALAKHOV MONTREAL 20 12
UWE KRUPP COLORADO 21 12
TED DONATO BOSTON 21 12
JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA 22 12
--- CONSECUTIVE SCORING STREAKS ---
-- GOALS SCORED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
11 TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM Oct 21 Nov 10 17
7 JOE SAKIC COLORADO Oct 07 Oct 22 7
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 11 Oct 23 8
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 29 Nov 08 7
6 ED OLCZYK PITTSBURGH Oct 19 Nov 01 6
-- ASSISTS AWARDED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO A
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
7 SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL Oct 25 Nov 07 9
7 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS Oct 03 Oct 19 8
7 JOE SAKIC COLORADO Oct 09 Oct 24 8
7 MIKE MODANO DALLAS Oct 25 Nov 07 7
6 ANSON CARTER BOSTON Oct 13 Oct 23 8
5 RON FRANCIS PITTSBURGH Oct 17 Oct 25 7
5 WAYNE GRETZKY NY RANGERS Oct 26 Nov 05 7
5 PAT VERBEEK DALLAS Oct 28 Nov 05 7
5 SERGEI NEMCHINOV NY ISLANDERS Nov 05 Nov 12 7
5 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 6 #
5 DEAN MCAMMOND EDMONTON Nov 05 Nov 12 6
5 CRAIG JANNEY PHOENIX Oct 01 Oct 11 5
5 NIKLAS SUNDSTROM NY RANGERS Oct 24 Nov 03 5
-- POINTS GAINED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G A PTS
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- --- --- ---
11 TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM Oct 21 Nov 10 17 2 19
9 MARK MESSIER VANCOUVER Oct 30 Nov 16 5 8 13 #
9 ZIGMUND PALFFY NY ISLANDERS Oct 29 Nov 14 6 7 13
8 JOE SAKIC COLORADO Oct 07 Oct 24 7 8 15
8 SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL Oct 23 Nov 07 5 9 14
8 JOZEF STUMPEL LOS ANGELES Oct 01 Oct 17 5 8 13
8 WAYNE GRETZKY NY RANGERS Oct 24 Nov 12 3 8 11
7 DOUG GILMOUR NEW JERSEY Oct 11 Oct 30 2 10 12
7 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS Oct 03 Oct 19 4 8 12
7 JOE NIEUWENDYK DALLAS Oct 24 Nov 05 7 3 10
7 PAT VERBEEK DALLAS Oct 24 Nov 05 3 7 10
7 ANSON CARTER BOSTON Oct 13 Oct 25 1 8 9
7 MIKE MODANO DALLAS Oct 25 Nov 07 1 7 8
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 11 Oct 23 8 3 11
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 29 Nov 08 7 4 11
6 STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS Oct 01 Oct 13 2 8 10
6 MARK RECCHI MONTREAL Oct 27 Nov 07 3 7 10
6 NICKLAS LIDSTROM DETROIT Oct 10 Oct 20 3 7 10
6 KEITH TKACHUK PHOENIX Oct 11 Oct 26 4 4 8
6 DMITRI MIRONOV ANAHEIM Oct 15 Oct 25 3 5 8
6 NIKLAS SUNDSTROM NY RANGERS Oct 24 Nov 05 3 5 8
6 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS Oct 25 Nov 05 2 5 7
6 BRYAN BERARD NY ISLANDERS Oct 03 Oct 16 3 4 7
6 ED OLCZYK PITTSBURGH Oct 19 Nov 01 6 0 6
6 MIROSLAV SATAN BUFFALO Oct 26 Nov 08 2 4 6
6 MICHAL GROSEK BUFFALO Oct 09 Oct 22 2 4 6
--- CURRENT SCORING STREAKS ---
-- ASSISTS AWARDED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO A
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
5 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 6
-- POINTS GAINED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G A PTS
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- --- --- ---
9 MARK MESSIER VANCOUVER Oct 30 Nov 16 5 8 13
5 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 3 6 9
5 PETER BONDRA WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 5 2 7
5 BRIAN NOONAN VANCOUVER Nov 08 Nov 16 3 3 6
5 JOZEF STUMPEL LOS ANGELES Nov 06 Nov 15 1 5 6
5 RAY WHITNEY EDM-FLA Nov 06 Nov 15 4 1 5
PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG
VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 3 10 13 8- 8 2 0 0 0 33 9.1
MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 4 7 11 7- 4 2 0 0 0 33 12.1
MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 4 7 11 1- 14 0 0 3 0 39 10.3
PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 8 2 10 7 10 2 0 5 0 24 33.3
RICHARD ZEDNIK WASHINGTON 21 5 4 9 0 12 2 0 0 0 54 9.3
DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 3 6 9 2- 19 2 1 0 1 38 7.9
MATTIAS OHLUND VANCOUVER 21 1 8 9 1 16 0 0 0 0 52 1.9
ERIC MESSIER COLORADO 17 3 5 8 4 4 0 0 0 0 22 13.6
DONALD MACLEAN LOS ANGELES 17 5 2 7 1- 4 2 0 0 0 19 26.3
ALEXEI MOROZOV PITTSBURGH 20 5 2 7 4- 0 1 0 0 0 26 19.2
BRAD ISBISTER PHOENIX 20 4 3 7 5 35 1 0 1 0 38 10.5
SERGEI SAMSONOV BOSTON 21 2 5 7 5- 2 0 0 0 0 35 5.7
-- GOAL SCORING -- -- ASSISTS --
NAME TEAM GP G NAME TEAM GP A
PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 8 VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 10
DONALD MACLEAN LOS ANGELES 17 5 MATTIAS OHLUND VANCOUVER 21 8
ALEXEI MOROZOV PITTSBURGH 20 5 MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 7
RICHARD ZEDNIK WASHINGTON 21 5 MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 7
CRAIG MILLAR EDMONTON 9 4 DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 6
MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 4 MATT CULLEN ANAHEIM 10 5
BRAD ISBISTER PHOENIX 20 4 ERIC MESSIER COLORADO 17 5
MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 4 CHRIS PHILLIPS OTTAWA 17 5
JAROSLAV SVEJKOVSK WASHINGTON 10 3 PER AXELSSON BOSTON 21 5
ESPEN KNUTSEN ANAHEIM 17 3 SERGEI SAMSONOV BOSTON 21 5
MICHAEL KNUBLE DETROIT 17 3 MAGNUS ARVEDSON OTTAWA 15 4
ERIC MESSIER COLORADO 17 3 JAN BULIS WASHINGTON 20 4
DAVE SCATCHARD VANCOUVER 17 3 RICHARD ZEDNIK WASHINGTON 21 4
DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 3
VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 3
-- POWER PLAY GOALS -- -- SHORT HAND GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP PP NAME TEAM GP SH
PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 2 DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 1
DONALD MACLEAN LOS ANGELES 17 2
MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 2
RICHARD ZEDNIK WASHINGTON 21 2
DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 2
VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 2
-- POWER PLAY ASSISTS -- -- SHORT HAND ASSISTS --
NAME TEAM GP PPA NAME TEAM GP SHA
CHRIS PHILLIPS OTTAWA 17 3 DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 1
MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 3
MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 3
MATTIAS OHLUND VANCOUVER 21 3
MARC SAVARD NY RANGERS 12 2
ERIC MESSIER COLORADO 17 2
PATRICK MARLEAU SAN JOSE 18 2
SERGEI SAMSONOV BOSTON 21 2
VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 2
-- POWER PLAY POINTS -- -- SHORT HAND POINTS --
NAME TEAM GP PPP NAME TEAM GP SHP
MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 5 DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 2
VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 4
CHRIS PHILLIPS OTTAWA 17 3
MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 3
MATTIAS OHLUND VANCOUVER 21 3
DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 3
-- GAME WINNING GOALS -- -- GAME TYING GOALS --
NAME TEAM GP GW NAME TEAM GP GT
PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 5 ESPEN KNUTSEN ANAHEIM 17 1
MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 3 DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 1
WADE BELAK COLORADO 6 1
JAROSLAV SVEJKOVSK WASHINGTON 10 1
ALYN MCCAULEY TORONTO 19 1
BRAD ISBISTER PHOENIX 20 1
-- SHOTS --
NAME TEAM GP S
RICHARD ZEDNIK WASHINGTON 21 54
MATTIAS OHLUND VANCOUVER 21 52
PER AXELSSON BOSTON 21 41
MARCO STURM SAN JOSE 20 39
BRAD ISBISTER PHOENIX 20 38
DEREK MORRIS CALGARY 21 38
SERGEI SAMSONOV BOSTON 21 35
MIKE JOHNSON TORONTO 19 33
VACLAV PROSPAL PHILADELPHIA 22 33
-- SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (MIN 19 SHOTS) --
NAME TEAM GP G S PCTG
PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 8 24 33.3
DONALD MACLEAN LOS ANGELES 17 5 19 26.3
ALEXEI MOROZOV PITTSBURGH 20 5 26 19.2
ESPEN KNUTSEN ANAHEIM 17 3 20 15.0
JAROSLAV SVEJKOVSK WASHINGTON 10 3 21 14.3
ERIC MESSIER COLORADO 17 3 22 13.6
-- PLUS/MINUS --
NAME TEAM GP +/-
PATRIK ELIAS NEW JERSEY 15 7
CHRISTIAN LAFLAMME CHICAGO 15 6
ANDERS ERIKSSON DETROIT 8 5
BRAD ISBISTER PHOENIX 20 5
ERIK RASMUSSEN BUFFALO 15 4
ERIC MESSIER COLORADO 17 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RANDOM NHL STATS Thru November 17, 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hat Tricks
1. Dave Gagner, FLA at PIT, Oct 4th, 1st season, 1st career.
2. Mark Recchi, MON at BOS, Oct 4th, 1st season, 3rd career.
3. Adam Oates, WAS at NYI, Oct 8th, 1st season, 7th career.
4. Brett Hull, STL vs LOS, Oct 9th, 1st season, 28th career.
5. Mike Modano, DAL vs CHI, Oct 10th, 1st season, 4th career.
6. John Leclair, PHI at MON, Oct 11th, 1st season, 7th career.
7. Wayne Gretzky, NYR at VAN, Oct 11th, 1st season, 50th career.
8. Cory Stillman, CGY at DET, Oct 12th, 1st season, 1st career.
9. Zigmund Palffy, NYI at SAN, Oct 16th, 1st season, 4th career.
10. Pavel Bure, VAN at DAL, Oct 21st, 1st season, 7th career.
11. Shawn Mceachern, OTT at TOR, Oct 22nd, 1st season, 2nd career.
12. Teemu Selanne, ANA at NYR, Oct 26th, 1st season, 12th career.
13. Yanic Perreault, LOS at DET, Oct 31st, 1st season, 1st career.
14. Joe Nieuwendyk, DAL at PIT, Nov 5th, 1st season, 11th career.
15. Vincent Damphousse, MON at LOS, Nov 8th, 1st season, 10th career.
16. Jason Dawe, BUF vs EDM, Nov 10th, 1st season, 2nd career.
17. Teemu Selanne, ANA vs SAN, Nov 10th, 2nd season, 13th career.
18. Yanic Perreault, LOS vs VAN, Nov 11th, 2nd season, 2nd career.
19. Sami Kapanen, CAR at EDM, Nov 12th, 1st season, 1st career.
Shutouts
1. Tommy Salo, NYI vs TOR, 3-0, Oct 4th, 28 saves, 1st season, 6th career.
2. Patrick Roy, COL at EDM, 3-0, Oct 5th, 34 saves, 1st season, 38th career.
3. Damian Rhodes, OTT at SAN, 1-0, Oct 7th, 23 saves, 1st season, 4th career.
4. Andy Moog, MON at PIT, 3-0, Oct 8th, 26 saves, 1st season, 26th career.
5. Chris Osgood, DET vs TAM, 3-0, Oct 10th, 29 saves, 1st season, 15th career.
6. Ed Belfour, DAL vs CHI, 7-0, Oct 10th, 14 saves, 1st season, 31st career.
7. Jim Carey, BOS at ANA, 3-0, Oct 13th, 27 saves, 1st season, 15th career.
8. Kirk Mclean, VAN vs EDM, 3-0, Oct 13th, 33 saves, 1st season, 20th career.
9. Tom Barrasso, PIT at NYR, 1-0, Oct 14th, 36 saves, 1st season, 25th career.
10. Olaf Kolzig, WAS at CHI, 2-0, Oct 15th, 30 saves, 1st season, 3rd career.
11. Ed Belfour, DAL vs FLA, 4-0, Oct 16th, 12 saves, 2nd season, 32nd career.
12. Grant Fuhr, STL at CHI, 2-0, Oct 17th, 28 saves, 1st season, 21st career.
13. Jim Carey, BOS at VAN, 2-0, Oct 17th, 32 saves, 2nd season, 16th career.
14. Byron Dafoe, BOS at CGY, 3-0, Oct 18th, 30 saves, 1st season, 2nd career.
15. Mike Dunham, NJD vs TAM, 5-0, Oct 18th, 27 saves, 1st season, 3rd career.
16. Chris Terreri, CHI at NYR, 1-0, Oct 22nd, 31 saves, 1st season, 8th career.
17. Jocelyn Thibault, MON vs FLA, 3-0, Oct 22nd, 26 saves, 1st season, 6th career.
18. Ed Belfour, DAL at CHI, 2-0, Oct 24th, 22 saves, 3rd season, 34th career.
19. Martin Brodeur, NJD at PHI, 5-0, Oct 27th, 20 saves, 1st season, 23rd career.
20. Chris Terreri, CHI vs VAN, 3-0, Oct 29th, 19 saves, 2nd season, 9th career.
21. Guy Hebert, ANA at BOS, 3-0, Oct 30th, 25 saves, 1st season, 14th career.
22. Grant Fuhr, STL vs SAN, 2-0, Nov 1st, 24 saves, 2nd season, 22nd career.
23. Mike Vernon, SAN vs TOR, 0-0, Nov 4th, 19 saves, 1st season, 14th career.
24. Stephane Fiset, LOS at NJD, 3-0, Nov 4th, 36 saves, 1st season, 11th career.
25. Byron Dafoe, BOS vs WAS, 2-0, Nov 6th, 21 saves, 2nd season, 3rd career.
26. Martin Brodeur, NJD vs BOS, 2-0, Nov 8th, 17 saves, 2nd season, 24th career.
27. Nikolai Khabibulin, PHO at TOR, 3-0, Nov 8th, 25 saves, 1st season, 10th career.
28. Craig Billington, COL at DET, 2-0, Nov 11th, 32 saves, 1st season, 7th career.
29. Ron Hextall, PHI vs OTT, 1-0, Nov 11th, 16 saves, 1st season, 20th career.
30. Mark Fitzpatrick, FLA at NYI, 1-0, Nov 15th, 23 saves, 1st season, 7th career.
31. Tom Barrasso, PIT at TOR, 5-0, Nov 15th, 20 saves, 2nd season, 26th career.
32. Ed Belfour, DAL at ANA, 4-0, Nov 16th, 31 saves, 4th season, 35th career.
Penalty Shots
1. TRENT KLATT (PHI) UNSUCCESSFUL AGAINST JOHN VANBIESBROUCK (FLA)
GAME NO. 3, Oct 1. FINAL SCORE: FLA 1 AT PHI 3
2. ROB DIMAIO (BOS) UNSUCCESSFUL AGAINST ANDY MOOG (MTL)
GAME NO. 21, Oct 4. FINAL SCORE: MTL 4 AT BOS 1
3. JERE LEHTINEN (DAL) SCORED AGAINST DOMINIK HASEK (BUF)
GAME NO. 34, Oct 7. FINAL SCORE: DAL 4 AT BUF 2
4. DOUG WEIGHT (EDM) SCORED AGAINST MIKE RICHTER (NYR)
GAME NO. 43, Oct 8. FINAL SCORE: NYR 3 AT EDM 3
5. ROB ZAMUNER (T.B) UNSUCCESSFUL AGAINST CHRIS TERRERI (CHI)
GAME NO. 46, Oct 9. FINAL SCORE: T.B 4 AT CHI 1
6. MIKE KEANE (NYR) SCORED AGAINST COREY SCHWAB (T.B)
GAME NO. 129, Oct 24. FINAL SCORE: T.B 3 AT NYR 4
7. JOE SAKIC (COL) SCORED AGAINST TYLER MOSS (CGY)
GAME NO. 178, Nov 1. FINAL SCORE: CGY 3 AT COL 3
8. BRENDAN SHANAHAN (DET) UNSUCCESSFUL AGAINST TREVOR KIDD (CAR)
GAME NO. 191, Nov 5. FINAL SCORE: DET 1 AT CAR 3
9. PAVEL BURE (VAN) SCORED AGAINST MIKE VERNON (S.J)
GAME NO. 238, Nov 12. FINAL SCORE: VAN 5 AT S.J 2
10. JOE SACCO (ANA) SCORED AGAINST JOCELYN THIBAULT (MTL)
GAME NO. 239, Nov 12. FINAL SCORE: MTL 4 AT ANA 3
TOTAL SHOTS: 10
TOTAL GOALS: 6
--- DURACELL POWER PLAY REPORT ---
(ADV) TOTAL ADVANTAGES (PPGF) POWER-PLAY GOALS FOR
(PCTG) ARRIVED BY DIVIDING NUMBER OF POWER-PLAY GOALS
BY TOTAL ADVANTAGES
-------- HOME --------- -------- ROAD --------- ------- OVER ALL -------
TEAM GP ADV PPGF PCTG TEAM GP ADV PPGF PCTG TEAM GP ADV PPGF PCTG
1 N.J 10 48 13 27.1 MTL 9 44 13 29.5 MTL 21 95 22 23.2
2 STL 13 65 16 24.6 DET 10 41 10 24.4 NYI 20 93 21 22.6
3 CAR 10 41 10 24.4 NYI 10 46 11 23.9 CAR 21 100 21 21.0
4 WSH 7 31 7 22.6 BOS 13 46 10 21.7 N.J 19 87 18 20.7
5 PIT 8 45 10 22.2 S.J 9 42 9 21.4 DET 22 97 19 19.6
6 NYI 10 47 10 21.3 DAL 13 54 11 20.4 STL 22 97 18 18.6
7 BUF 8 33 7 21.2 L.A 10 35 7 20.0 DAL 22 88 16 18.2
8 TOR 10 49 9 18.4 PHI 9 36 7 19.4 BOS 21 83 15 18.1
9 MTL 12 51 9 17.6 COL 11 48 9 18.8 WSH 21 90 16 17.8
10 PHI 13 67 11 16.4 CAR 11 59 11 18.6 PHI 22 103 18 17.5
11 DET 12 56 9 16.1 OTT 11 51 9 17.6 L.A 21 90 15 16.7
12 OTT 11 53 8 15.1 ANA 9 32 5 15.6 OTT 22 104 17 16.3
13 DAL 9 34 5 14.7 WSH 14 59 9 15.3 BUF 19 88 14 15.9
14 L.A 11 55 8 14.5 EDM 11 56 8 14.3 PIT 22 115 17 14.8
15 PHO 11 56 8 14.3 CGY 10 44 6 13.6 COL 21 106 15 14.2
16 BOS 8 37 5 13.5 VAN 11 44 6 13.6 PHO 20 101 14 13.9
17 CGY 11 54 7 13.0 PHO 9 45 6 13.3 ANA 21 87 12 13.8
18 ANA 12 55 7 12.7 N.J 9 39 5 12.8 CGY 21 98 13 13.3
19 NYR 12 52 6 11.5 BUF 11 55 7 12.7 EDM 21 120 15 12.5
20 EDM 10 64 7 10.9 NYR 8 35 4 11.4 S.J 21 113 14 12.4
21 T.B 7 39 4 10.3 FLA 9 46 5 10.9 TOR 19 96 11 11.5
22 COL 10 58 6 10.3 PIT 14 70 7 10.0 NYR 20 87 10 11.5
23 VAN 10 47 4 8.5 T.B 13 65 6 9.2 VAN 21 91 10 11.0
24 FLA 10 55 4 7.3 CHI 8 38 3 7.9 T.B 20 104 10 9.6
25 S.J 12 71 5 7.0 STL 9 32 2 6.3 FLA 19 101 9 8.9
26 CHI 13 62 3 4.8 TOR 9 47 2 4.3 CHI 21 100 6 6.0
270 1325 198 14.9 270 1209 188 15.6 270 2534 386 15.2
--- TEAMS' PENALTY KILLING RECORD ---
(TSH) TOTAL TIMES SHORT-HANDED (PPGA) POWER-PLAY GOALS AGAINST
(PCTG) ARRIVED BY DIVIDING -TIMES SHORT MINUS POWER-PLAY GOALS AGAINST-
BY TIMES SHORT
-------- HOME --------- -------- ROAD --------- ------- OVER ALL -------
TEAM GP TSH PPGA PCTG TEAM GP TSH PPGA PCTG TEAM GP TSH PPGA PCTG
1 DET 12 55 3 94.5 STL 9 34 1 97.1 STL 22 89 8 91.0
2 NYR 12 47 3 93.6 TOR 9 37 2 94.6 N.J 19 61 6 90.2
3 WSH 7 29 2 93.1 N.J 9 29 2 93.1 NYR 20 101 10 90.1
4 NYI 10 39 4 89.7 BOS 13 50 5 90.0 DET 22 98 10 89.8
5 VAN 10 45 5 88.9 CHI 8 38 4 89.5 NYI 20 95 10 89.5
6 PHI 13 62 7 88.7 PIT 14 57 6 89.5 WSH 21 94 10 89.4
7 CAR 10 44 5 88.6 NYI 10 56 6 89.3 TOR 19 84 10 88.1
8 N.J 10 32 4 87.5 DAL 13 53 6 88.7 BOS 21 80 10 87.5
9 STL 13 55 7 87.3 WSH 14 65 8 87.7 PHI 22 117 15 87.2
10 BUF 8 37 5 86.5 COL 11 55 7 87.3 CHI 21 91 12 86.8
11 COL 10 50 7 86.0 NYR 8 54 7 87.0 COL 21 105 14 86.7
12 CGY 11 50 7 86.0 T.B 13 65 9 86.2 DAL 22 86 13 84.9
13 PHO 11 64 9 85.9 OTT 11 50 7 86.0 PHO 20 116 18 84.5
14 CHI 13 53 8 84.9 PHI 9 55 8 85.5 PIT 22 88 14 84.1
15 BOS 8 30 5 83.3 S.J 9 46 7 84.8 CAR 21 114 19 83.3
16 TOR 10 47 8 83.0 L.A 10 45 7 84.4 CGY 21 108 18 83.3
17 ANA 12 50 9 82.0 MTL 9 51 8 84.3 OTT 22 89 15 83.1
18 MTL 12 55 10 81.8 FLA 9 50 8 84.0 MTL 21 106 18 83.0
19 FLA 10 49 10 79.6 DET 10 43 7 83.7 T.B 20 101 18 82.2
20 L.A 11 54 11 79.6 PHO 9 52 9 82.7 FLA 19 99 18 81.8
21 OTT 11 39 8 79.5 EDM 11 55 10 81.8 L.A 21 99 18 81.8
22 S.J 12 67 14 79.1 ANA 9 42 8 81.0 ANA 21 92 17 81.5
23 DAL 9 33 7 78.8 CGY 10 58 11 81.0 S.J 21 113 21 81.4
24 EDM 10 56 13 76.8 CAR 11 70 14 80.0 VAN 21 100 19 81.0
25 T.B 7 36 9 75.0 VAN 11 55 14 74.5 EDM 21 111 23 79.3
26 PIT 8 31 8 74.2 BUF 11 60 17 71.7 BUF 19 97 22 77.3
270 1209 188 84.4 270 1325 198 85.1 270 2534 386 84.8
--- SHORT HAND GOALS FOR ---
--- HOME --- --- ROAD --- - OVER ALL -
TEAM GP SHGF TEAM GP SHGF TEAM GP SHGF
1 CGY 11 3 DAL 13 5 DAL 22 6
2 MTL 12 3 FLA 9 3 STL 22 5
3 T.B 7 2 STL 9 3 WSH 21 4
4 WSH 7 2 PIT 14 3 CGY 21 4
5 CAR 10 2 OTT 11 2 PIT 22 4
6 PHO 11 2 VAN 11 2 FLA 19 3
7 ANA 12 2 WSH 14 2 MTL 21 3
8 DET 12 2 CHI 8 1 CAR 21 3
9 STL 13 2 ANA 9 1 VAN 21 3
10 PIT 8 1 PHI 9 1 ANA 21 3
11 BOS 8 1 S.J 9 1 DET 22 3
12 DAL 9 1 DET 10 1 T.B 20 2
13 EDM 10 1 NYI 10 1 PHO 20 2
14 VAN 10 1 CGY 10 1 NYI 20 2
15 NYI 10 1 CAR 11 1 OTT 22 2
16 L.A 11 1 BUF 11 1 PHI 22 2
17 PHI 13 1 NYR 8 0 BUF 19 1
18 BUF 8 0 N.J 9 0 L.A 21 1
19 TOR 10 0 PHO 9 0 CHI 21 1
20 COL 10 0 MTL 9 0 S.J 21 1
21 N.J 10 0 TOR 9 0 EDM 21 1
22 FLA 10 0 L.A 10 0 BOS 21 1
23 OTT 11 0 EDM 11 0 TOR 19 0
24 S.J 12 0 COL 11 0 N.J 19 0
25 NYR 12 0 BOS 13 0 NYR 20 0
26 CHI 13 0 T.B 13 0 COL 21 0
270 28 270 29 270 57
--- SHORT HAND GOALS AGAINST ---
--- HOME --- --- ROAD --- - OVER ALL -
TEAM GP SHGA TEAM GP SHGA TEAM GP SHGA
1 PHI 13 0 BOS 13 0 PHI 22 0
2 CHI 13 0 CAR 11 0 CAR 21 0
3 S.J 12 0 L.A 10 0 S.J 21 0
4 PHO 11 0 DET 10 0 BOS 21 0
5 OTT 11 0 NYI 10 0 PHO 20 0
6 COL 10 0 CGY 10 0 OTT 22 1
7 CAR 10 0 PHO 9 0 STL 22 1
8 EDM 10 0 ANA 9 0 CGY 21 1
9 N.J 10 0 STL 9 0 EDM 21 1
10 BOS 8 0 PHI 9 0 N.J 19 1
11 STL 13 1 S.J 9 0 DET 22 2
12 NYR 12 1 WSH 14 1 L.A 21 2
13 CGY 11 1 OTT 11 1 WSH 21 2
14 FLA 10 1 EDM 11 1 CHI 21 2
15 WSH 7 1 N.J 9 1 MTL 21 3
16 MTL 12 2 MTL 9 1 COL 21 3
17 DET 12 2 PIT 14 2 ANA 21 3
18 L.A 11 2 DAL 13 2 NYR 20 3
19 TOR 10 2 T.B 13 2 NYI 20 3
20 VAN 10 2 BUF 11 2 FLA 19 3
21 DAL 9 2 FLA 9 2 PIT 22 4
22 PIT 8 2 CHI 8 2 DAL 22 4
23 BUF 8 2 NYR 8 2 T.B 20 4
24 T.B 7 2 COL 11 3 BUF 19 4
25 ANA 12 3 VAN 11 3 VAN 21 5
26 NYI 10 3 TOR 9 3 TOR 19 5
270 29 270 28 270 57
--- TEAMS' OVERTIME RECORDS ---
-------- HOME --------- -------- ROAD --------- ------- OVERALL -------
GP W L T PTS PCTG GP W L T PTS PCTG GP W L T PTS PCTG
--- -- -- --- --- ----- --- -- -- --- --- ----- --- -- -- --- --- -----
N.J 1 1 0 0 2 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 2 1.000
PIT 3 1 0 2 4 .667 3 1 0 2 4 .667 6 2 0 4 8 .667
BUF 1 0 0 1 1 .500 5 2 0 3 7 .700 6 2 0 4 8 .667
STL 2 1 0 1 3 .750 1 0 0 1 1 .500 3 1 0 2 4 .667
BOS 2 0 0 2 2 .500 2 1 0 1 3 .750 4 1 0 3 5 .625
PHI 1 0 0 1 1 .500 3 1 0 2 4 .667 4 1 0 3 5 .625
DAL 3 1 0 2 4 .667 2 0 0 2 2 .500 5 1 0 4 6 .600
EDM 2 0 0 2 2 .500 4 1 0 3 5 .625 6 1 0 5 7 .583
ANA 4 0 1 3 3 .375 3 1 0 2 4 .667 7 1 1 5 7 .500
NYR 4 0 0 4 4 .500 3 0 0 3 3 .500 7 0 0 7 7 .500
MTL 2 0 0 2 2 .500 2 1 1 0 2 .500 4 1 1 2 4 .500
OTT 1 0 0 1 1 .500 3 0 0 3 3 .500 4 0 0 4 4 .500
NYI 1 0 0 1 1 .500 3 0 0 3 3 .500 4 0 0 4 4 .500
DET 3 0 0 3 3 .500 1 0 0 1 1 .500 4 0 0 4 4 .500
TOR 1 0 0 1 1 .500 2 0 0 2 2 .500 3 0 0 3 3 .500
T.B 1 0 0 1 1 .500 1 0 0 1 1 .500 2 0 0 2 2 .500
WSH 1 0 0 1 1 .500 1 0 0 1 1 .500 2 0 0 2 2 .500
CHI 2 0 0 2 2 .500 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 2 2 .500
CGY 3 1 1 1 3 .500 5 0 1 4 4 .400 8 1 2 5 7 .438
COL 4 0 0 4 4 .500 3 0 1 2 2 .333 7 0 1 6 6 .429
FLA 4 0 1 3 3 .375 1 0 0 1 1 .500 5 0 1 4 4 .400
CAR 3 0 1 2 2 .333 1 0 0 1 1 .500 4 0 1 3 3 .375
L.A 1 0 1 0 0 .000 5 0 1 4 4 .400 6 0 2 4 4 .333
PHO 2 0 1 1 1 .250 1 0 0 1 1 .500 3 0 1 2 2 .333
VAN 3 0 1 2 2 .333 2 0 1 1 1 .250 5 0 2 3 3 .300
S.J 2 0 1 1 1 .250 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 1 1 1 .250
TOT 57 5 8 44 54 .474 57 8 5 44 60 .526 57 13 13 44 114 1.000
LGM DATE SCORED BY TEAM TIME FINAL SCORE
---- ------- -------------------- -------------------- ---- ----------------
42 Oct 8 TED DONATO BOSTON 2:09 BOS 3 AT PHO 2
47 Oct 9 BRETT HULL ST LOUIS 3:16 L.A 2 AT STL 3
70 Oct 13 ERIC LINDROS PHILADELPHIA 1:49 PHI 3 AT S.J 2
74 Oct 14 DAVE REID DALLAS 1:17 CGY 4 AT DAL 5
90 Oct 17 MICHAEL NYLANDER CALGARY 4:40 COL 5 AT CGY 6
105 Oct 19 TODD MARCHANT EDMONTON 3:05 EDM 3 AT L.A 2
124 Oct 23 PETR SYKORA NEW JERSEY 4:43 MTL 1 AT N.J 2
140 Oct 25 KEVIN HATCHER PITTSBURGH 0:41 PIT 3 AT VAN 2
167 Oct 31 JASON DAWE BUFFALO 3:21 BUF 3 AT CAR 2
172 Nov 1 ROB BROWN PITTSBURGH 3:52 VAN 6 AT PIT 7
176 Nov 1 DIXON WARD BUFFALO 1:14 BUF 4 AT FLA 3
208 Nov 7 SCOTT YOUNG ANAHEIM 3:34 ANA 4 AT CGY 3
239 Nov 12 VALERI BURE MONTREAL 4:07 MTL 4 AT ANA 3
(#) - CURRENT STREAK
--- CONSECUTIVE SCORING STREAKS ---
-- GOALS SCORED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
11 TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM Oct 21 Nov 10 17
7 JOE SAKIC COLORADO Oct 07 Oct 22 7
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 11 Oct 23 8
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 29 Nov 08 7
6 ED OLCZYK PITTSBURGH Oct 19 Nov 01 6
-- ASSISTS AWARDED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO A
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
7 SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL Oct 25 Nov 07 9
7 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS Oct 03 Oct 19 8
7 JOE SAKIC COLORADO Oct 09 Oct 24 8
7 MIKE MODANO DALLAS Oct 25 Nov 07 7
6 ANSON CARTER BOSTON Oct 13 Oct 23 8
5 RON FRANCIS PITTSBURGH Oct 17 Oct 25 7
5 WAYNE GRETZKY NY RANGERS Oct 26 Nov 05 7
5 PAT VERBEEK DALLAS Oct 28 Nov 05 7
5 SERGEI NEMCHINOV NY ISLANDERS Nov 05 Nov 12 7
5 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 6 #
5 DEAN MCAMMOND EDMONTON Nov 05 Nov 12 6
5 CRAIG JANNEY PHOENIX Oct 01 Oct 11 5
5 NIKLAS SUNDSTROM NY RANGERS Oct 24 Nov 03 5
-- POINTS GAINED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G A PTS
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- --- --- ---
11 TEEMU SELANNE ANAHEIM Oct 21 Nov 10 17 2 19
9 MARK MESSIER VANCOUVER Oct 30 Nov 16 5 8 13 #
9 ZIGMUND PALFFY NY ISLANDERS Oct 29 Nov 14 6 7 13
8 JOE SAKIC COLORADO Oct 07 Oct 24 7 8 15
8 SHAYNE CORSON MONTREAL Oct 23 Nov 07 5 9 14
8 JOZEF STUMPEL LOS ANGELES Oct 01 Oct 17 5 8 13
8 WAYNE GRETZKY NY RANGERS Oct 24 Nov 12 3 8 11
7 DOUG GILMOUR NEW JERSEY Oct 11 Oct 30 2 10 12
7 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS Oct 03 Oct 19 4 8 12
7 JOE NIEUWENDYK DALLAS Oct 24 Nov 05 7 3 10
7 PAT VERBEEK DALLAS Oct 24 Nov 05 3 7 10
7 ANSON CARTER BOSTON Oct 13 Oct 25 1 8 9
7 MIKE MODANO DALLAS Oct 25 Nov 07 1 7 8
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 11 Oct 23 8 3 11
6 JOHN LECLAIR PHILADELPHIA Oct 29 Nov 08 7 4 11
6 STEVE DUCHESNE ST LOUIS Oct 01 Oct 13 2 8 10
6 MARK RECCHI MONTREAL Oct 27 Nov 07 3 7 10
6 NICKLAS LIDSTROM DETROIT Oct 10 Oct 20 3 7 10
6 KEITH TKACHUK PHOENIX Oct 11 Oct 26 4 4 8
6 DMITRI MIRONOV ANAHEIM Oct 15 Oct 25 3 5 8
6 NIKLAS SUNDSTROM NY RANGERS Oct 24 Nov 05 3 5 8
6 ROBERT REICHEL NY ISLANDERS Oct 25 Nov 05 2 5 7
6 BRYAN BERARD NY ISLANDERS Oct 03 Oct 16 3 4 7
6 ED OLCZYK PITTSBURGH Oct 19 Nov 01 6 0 6
6 MIROSLAV SATAN BUFFALO Oct 26 Nov 08 2 4 6
6 MICHAL GROSEK BUFFALO Oct 09 Oct 22 2 4 6
--- CURRENT SCORING STREAKS ---
-- GOALS SCORED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
NONE
-- ASSISTS AWARDED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO A
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- ---
5 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 6
-- POINTS GAINED IN 5 OR MORE CONSECUTIVE GAMES --
GM PLAYER TEAM FROM TO G A PTS
-- ------------------ --------------- ------- ------- --- --- ---
9 MARK MESSIER VANCOUVER Oct 30 Nov 16 5 8 13
5 ADAM OATES WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 3 6 9
5 PETER BONDRA WASHINGTON Nov 08 Nov 15 5 2 7
5 BRIAN NOONAN VANCOUVER Nov 08 Nov 16 3 3 6
5 JOZEF STUMPEL LOS ANGELES Nov 06 Nov 15 1 5 6
5 RAY WHITNEY EDM-FLA Nov 06 Nov 15 4 1 5
--- TEAM STREAKS ---
CONSECUTIVE WINS - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
7 ST LOUIS OCT. 3 OCT. 18
7 MONTREAL NOV. 1 NOV. 13
6 NEW JERSEY NOV. 5 NOV. 15 #
5 BOSTON OCT. 13 OCT. 21
5 CHICAGO OCT. 29 NOV. 8
4 DETROIT OCT. 1 OCT. 10
4 WASHINGTON OCT. 1 OCT. 8
4 COLORADO OCT. 3 OCT. 9
4 DALLAS OCT. 10 OCT. 18
4 OTTAWA OCT. 15 OCT. 22
4 DETROIT OCT. 22 OCT. 29
4 DALLAS OCT. 24 OCT. 29
4 PHILADELPHIA NOV. 3 NOV. 11
4 ST LOUIS NOV. 10 NOV. 17 #
3 PHILADELPHIA OCT. 9 OCT. 13
3 WASHINGTON OCT. 11 OCT. 18
3 PITTSBURGH OCT. 17 OCT. 22
3 ST LOUIS OCT. 23 OCT. 29
3 NEW JERSEY OCT. 27 NOV. 1
3 NY ISLANDERS OCT. 29 NOV. 1
3 BOSTON NOV. 1 NOV. 6
3 ANAHEIM NOV. 5 NOV. 8
3 COLORADO NOV. 8 NOV. 13
3 CAROLINA NOV. 9 NOV. 13
3 WASHINGTON NOV. 12 NOV. 15 #
CONSECUTIVE UNDEFEATED - MINIMUM 5 GAMES
GM TEAM W T FROM TO
-- -------------------- -- -- ------- -------
8 ST LOUIS 7 1 OCT. 3 OCT. 20
7 COLORADO 5 2 OCT. 1 OCT. 15
7 MONTREAL 7 0 NOV. 1 NOV. 13
6 DETROIT 5 1 OCT. 1 OCT. 14
6 PITTSBURGH 5 1 OCT. 11 OCT. 22
6 BOSTON 5 1 OCT. 13 OCT. 23
6 DETROIT 5 1 OCT. 18 OCT. 29
6 CHICAGO 5 1 OCT. 29 NOV. 10
6 PHILADELPHIA 4 2 OCT. 31 NOV. 11
6 NEW JERSEY 6 0 NOV. 5 NOV. 15 #
5 NY RANGERS 1 4 OCT. 3 OCT. 11
5 OTTAWA 4 1 OCT. 15 OCT. 23
5 ST LOUIS 4 1 OCT. 23 NOV. 1
5 DALLAS 4 1 OCT. 24 NOV. 2
5 NY ISLANDERS 4 1 OCT. 29 NOV. 7
CONSECUTIVE HOME WINS - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
7 ST LOUIS OCT. 3 OCT. 25
4 OTTAWA OCT. 4 OCT. 19
4 NEW JERSEY OCT. 8 OCT. 23
4 CHICAGO OCT. 29 NOV. 6
3 WASHINGTON OCT. 3 OCT. 11
3 PHILADELPHIA OCT. 9 OCT. 23
3 DALLAS OCT. 10 OCT. 16
3 PHOENIX OCT. 26 NOV. 11
3 MONTREAL NOV. 1 NOV. 5
CONSECUTIVE HOME TIES - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
NOT AVAILABLE
CONSECUTIVE HOME UNDEFEATED - MINIMUM 5 GAMES
GM TEAM W T FROM TO
-- -------------------- -- -- ------- -------
9 ST LOUIS 8 1 OCT. 3 NOV. 1
8 COLORADO 4 4 OCT. 1 NOV. 1
5 OTTAWA 4 1 OCT. 4 OCT. 23
5 CHICAGO 4 1 OCT. 29 NOV. 10
CONSECUTIVE ROAD WINS - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
6 DETROIT OCT. 1 OCT. 26
6 BOSTON OCT. 13 NOV. 2
5 MONTREAL OCT. 25 NOV. 13 #
5 NEW JERSEY OCT. 27 NOV. 15 #
3 COLORADO OCT. 3 OCT. 15
3 MONTREAL OCT. 4 OCT. 17
3 PITTSBURGH OCT. 17 OCT. 22
3 OTTAWA OCT. 22 OCT. 30
3 DALLAS OCT. 24 OCT. 29
3 FLORIDA OCT. 25 NOV. 15 #
3 CAROLINA OCT. 26 NOV. 13
3 PHILADELPHIA NOV. 3 NOV. 14 #
3 DALLAS NOV. 5 NOV. 16 #
3 WASHINGTON NOV. 12 NOV. 15 #
CONSECUTIVE ROAD UNDEFEATED - MINIMUM 5 GAMES
GM TEAM W T FROM TO
-- -------------------- -- -- ------- -------
6 DETROIT 6 0 OCT. 1 OCT. 26
6 BOSTON 6 0 OCT. 13 NOV. 2
5 PITTSBURGH 4 1 OCT. 14 OCT. 22
5 ANAHEIM 3 2 OCT. 21 OCT. 30
5 MONTREAL 5 0 OCT. 25 NOV. 13 #
5 NEW JERSEY 5 0 OCT. 27 NOV. 15 #
--- CURRENT TEAM STREAKS ---
CONSECUTIVE WINS - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
6 NEW JERSEY NOV. 5 NOV. 15
4 ST LOUIS NOV. 10 NOV. 17
3 WASHINGTON NOV. 12 NOV. 15
CONSECUTIVE UNDEFEATED - MINIMUM 5 GAMES
GM TEAM W T FROM TO
-- -------------------- -- -- ------- -------
6 NEW JERSEY 6 0 NOV. 5 NOV. 15
CONSECUTIVE HOME WINS - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
NOT AVAILABLE
CONSECUTIVE HOME UNDEFEATED - MINIMUM 5 GAMES
GM TEAM W T FROM TO
-- -------------------- -- -- ------- -------
NOT AVAILABLE
CONSECUTIVE ROAD WINS - MINIMUM 3 GAMES
GM TEAM FROM TO
-- -------------------- ------- -------
5 MONTREAL OCT. 25 NOV. 13
5 NEW JERSEY OCT. 27 NOV. 15
3 FLORIDA OCT. 25 NOV. 15
3 PHILADELPHIA NOV. 3 NOV. 14
3 DALLAS NOV. 5 NOV. 16
3 WASHINGTON NOV. 12 NOV. 15
CONSECUTIVE ROAD UNDEFEATED - MINIMUM 5 GAMES
GM TEAM W T FROM TO
-- -------------------- -- -- ------- -------
5 MONTREAL 5 0 OCT. 25 NOV. 13
5 NEW JERSEY 5 0 OCT. 27 NOV. 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NHL PLAYER STATS Thru November 16, 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM P NO PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S SPCT
ANA R 8 TEEMU SELANNE 21 20 6 26 4 8 3 0 4 2 81 24.7
ANA D 15 DMITRI MIRONOV 19 4 9 13 -1 36 2 0 1 0 42 9.5
ANA R 48 SCOTT YOUNG 21 5 5 10 -5 8 1 1 1 0 47 10.6
ANA C 20 STEVE RUCCHIN 13 1 9 10 4 2 0 0 0 0 21 4.8
ANA R 17 TOMAS SANDSTROM 21 4 3 7 -5 24 2 0 0 1 53 7.5
ANA C 10 SEAN PRONGER 21 2 5 7 0 12 1 0 1 0 21 9.5
ANA C 13 TED DRURY 21 4 2 6 3 27 0 1 0 0 35 11.4
ANA D 24 RUSLAN SALEI 13 3 3 6 7 22 1 0 0 0 25 12.0
ANA D 36 J.J. DAIGNEAULT 20 1 5 6 -1 10 0 0 1 0 32 3.1
ANA R 14 JOE SACCO 21 1 5 6 1 8 0 1 0 0 36 2.8
ANA C 12 KEVIN TODD 11 2 3 5 3 4 1 0 0 0 14 14.3
ANA C 45 *MATT CULLEN 10 0 5 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 .0
ANA C 18 MARK JANSSENS 21 0 5 5 -1 38 0 0 0 0 15 .0
ANA D 29 DARREN VAN IMPE 18 1 3 4 -7 2 0 0 0 0 21 4.8
ANA L 16 WARREN RYCHEL 21 1 3 4 -2 71 0 0 0 0 19 5.3
ANA C 21 *ESPEN KNUTSEN 17 3 0 3 -10 6 1 0 0 1 20 15.0
ANA D 23 JASON MARSHALL 19 1 2 3 3 33 0 0 0 0 13 7.7
ANA D 33 DAVE KARPA 21 0 3 3 -1 52 0 0 0 0 15 .0
ANA C 32 RICHARD PARK 9 0 2 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 7 .0
ANA L 11 SHAWN ANTOSKI 9 1 0 1 1 18 0 0 0 0 6 16.7
ANA D 2 BOBBY DOLLAS 8 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 .0
ANA D 34 DANIEL TREBIL 8 0 1 1 -2 2 0 0 0 0 5 .0
ANA D 7 *PAVEL TRNKA 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 .0
ANA L 22 BRENT SEVERYN 9 0 0 0 -4 50 0 0 0 0 4 .0
ANA G 35 M. SHTALENKOV 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
ANA G 31 GUY HEBERT 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
BOS L 21 TED DONATO 20 10 6 16 10 10 2 0 2 1 46 21.7
BOS R 41 JASON ALLISON 20 5 11 16 7 14 0 0 3 1 23 21.7
BOS R 19 ROB DIMAIO 20 4 9 13 -2 21 0 0 2 1 28 14.3
BOS D 77 RAY BOURQUE 20 5 7 12 2 12 4 0 1 0 56 8.9
BOS C 12 DMITRI KHRISTICH 20 6 5 11 10 6 3 0 0 0 30 20.0
BOS C 26 TIM TAYLOR 20 7 3 10 -5 15 0 1 0 0 37 18.9
BOS C 33 ANSON CARTER 18 1 9 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 35 2.9
BOS D 44 DAVE ELLETT 20 2 7 9 3 10 2 0 1 0 29 6.9
BOS D 18 KYLE MCLAREN 15 2 5 7 6 21 1 0 0 0 23 8.7
BOS L 14 *SERGEI SAMSONOV 20 2 5 7 -4 2 0 0 0 0 35 5.7
BOS R 57 *PER AXELSSON 20 1 4 5 -6 4 1 0 0 0 39 2.6
BOS L 42 MIKE SULLIVAN 17 1 3 4 -1 6 0 0 1 0 23 4.3
BOS D 32 DON SWEENEY 20 0 3 3 5 12 0 0 0 0 20 .0
BOS C 17 *SHAWN BATES 13 2 0 2 -3 2 0 0 0 0 12 16.7
BOS R 23 STEVE HEINZE 4 1 1 2 -1 8 1 0 0 0 6 16.7
BOS D 75 *HAL GILL 7 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 20.0
BOS D 37 MATTIAS TIMANDER 18 1 0 1 -10 6 0 0 0 0 14 7.1
BOS G 34 BYRON DAFOE 15 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
BOS D 28 DEAN CHYNOWETH 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
BOS C 45 ROBERT LANG 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 .0
BOS R 60 *KIRK NIELSEN 6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
BOS G 30 JIM CAREY 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
BOS C 6 *JOE THORNTON 14 0 0 0 -3 8 0 0 0 0 7 .0
BOS L 22 KEN BAUMGARTNER 20 0 0 0 -3 48 0 0 0 0 10 .0
BOS D 29 DEAN MALKOC 20 0 0 0 -6 53 0 0 0 0 8 .0
BUF R 17 JASON DAWE 19 11 6 17 6 8 2 1 2 1 43 25.6
BUF L 81 MIROSLAV SATAN 19 7 5 12 -5 8 4 0 1 0 41 17.1
BUF C 26 DEREK PLANTE 16 4 8 12 -3 4 2 0 0 0 42 9.5
BUF C 19 BRIAN HOLZINGER 18 3 6 9 -11 8 2 0 0 0 31 9.7
BUF L 18 MICHAL GROSEK 18 2 7 9 -2 7 1 0 0 0 26 7.7
BUF D 8 DARRYL SHANNON 19 1 8 9 8 10 1 0 1 0 25 4.0
BUF C 37 CURTIS BROWN 10 3 3 6 -3 12 0 0 0 0 10 30.0
BUF L 10 BRAD MAY 13 2 4 6 3 48 0 0 0 0 16 12.5
BUF D 44 ALEXEI ZHITNIK 15 2 4 6 -5 12 0 0 0 1 42 4.8
BUF D 74 JAY MCKEE 19 1 5 6 -2 14 0 0 0 0 24 4.2
BUF R 15 DIXON WARD 17 3 2 5 0 6 0 0 1 0 25 12.0
BUF C 27 MICHAEL PECA 5 2 3 5 4 2 2 0 0 0 9 22.2
BUF D 42 RICHARD SMEHLIK 19 0 5 5 -4 10 0 0 0 0 27 .0
BUF R 28 DONALD AUDETTE 12 2 2 4 -5 19 0 0 0 0 28 7.1
BUF C 9 *ERIK RASMUSSEN 15 2 2 4 4 14 0 0 0 0 25 8.0
BUF L 12 RANDY BURRIDGE 13 1 1 2 -3 0 0 0 0 0 14 7.1
BUF C 22 WAYNE PRIMEAU 17 1 1 2 1 14 0 0 0 0 15 6.7
BUF D 5 JASON WOOLLEY 8 0 2 2 -3 6 0 0 0 0 10 .0
BUF R 36 MATTHEW BARNABY 14 0 2 2 -2 42 0 0 0 0 17 .0
BUF D 6 BOB BOUGHNER 14 0 1 1 -5 35 0 0 0 0 5 .0
BUF D 4 MIKE WILSON 17 0 1 1 3 14 0 0 0 0 15 .0
BUF D 21 MIKE HURLBUT 3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 0 0 3 .0
BUF C 45 *SCOTT NICHOL 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 .0
BUF G 31 *STEVE SHIELDS 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
BUF G 39 DOMINIK HASEK 15 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 .0
BUF R 32 ROB RAY 19 0 0 0 -3 114 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CGY C 16 CORY STILLMAN 17 10 8 18 1 12 4 0 0 1 57 17.5
CGY L 18 MARTY MCINNIS 21 7 11 18 -3 12 2 1 0 0 39 17.9
CGY R 14 THEOREN FLEURY 21 6 12 18 7 72 1 0 1 0 68 8.8
CGY R 12 JAROME IGINLA 21 5 5 10 -6 16 0 0 0 0 38 13.2
CGY D 32 CALE HULSE 19 3 7 10 0 31 0 1 0 0 47 6.4
CGY C 21 ANDREW CASSELS 20 3 7 10 -4 14 2 0 0 1 30 10.0
CGY D 53 *DEREK MORRIS 21 3 6 9 -2 19 2 1 0 1 38 7.9
CGY C 92 MICHAEL NYLANDER 17 2 5 7 1 8 0 0 1 0 17 11.8
CGY L 13 GERMAN TITOV 17 2 5 7 -6 4 0 1 0 0 24 8.3
CGY L 44 JONAS HOGLUND 20 3 3 6 -3 4 0 0 0 0 49 6.1
CGY D 33 ZARLEY ZALAPSKI 19 1 5 6 -5 26 1 0 0 0 26 3.8
CGY D 34 JIM DOWD 10 1 4 5 2 4 0 0 0 0 19 5.3
CGY R 15 SANDY MCCARTHY 20 2 2 4 -9 53 0 0 0 0 25 8.0
CGY D 3 JAMES PATRICK 14 1 3 4 -3 4 0 0 0 0 12 8.3
CGY C 23 AARON GAVEY 10 1 2 3 -1 2 0 0 1 0 14 7.1
CGY D 5 TOMMY ALBELIN 18 0 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 21 .0
CGY L 7 *CHRIS DINGMAN 20 2 0 2 -8 19 1 0 0 0 17 11.8
CGY D 6 JOEL BOUCHARD 12 1 1 2 -7 10 0 0 0 0 10 10.0
CGY G 30 DWAYNE ROLOSON 6 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CGY G 31 RICK TABARACCI 11 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CGY D 27 TODD SIMPSON 11 0 1 1 -4 27 0 0 0 0 19 .0
CGY R 29 ERIK ANDERSSON 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
CGY C 11 *ERIC LANDRY 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CGY D 4 KEVIN DAHL 3 0 0 0 -6 0 0 0 0 0 3 .0
CGY D 2 *JAMIE ALLISON 3 0 0 0 -2 2 0 0 0 0 2 .0
CGY G 1 *TYLER MOSS 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CGY C 57 *STEVE BEGIN 5 0 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 0 2 .0
CGY L 42 ED WARD 8 0 0 0 -4 8 0 0 0 0 8 .0
CGY D 24 *DENIS GAUTHIER 8 0 0 0 -5 16 0 0 0 0 3 .0
CGY L 8 MIKE PELUSO 19 0 0 0 -5 94 0 0 0 0 8 .0
CAR L 10 GARY ROBERTS 19 5 14 19 5 32 2 0 0 1 33 15.2
CAR R 24 SAMI KAPANEN 21 11 7 18 3 0 2 0 3 0 45 24.4
CAR C 55 KEITH PRIMEAU 20 7 9 16 6 24 3 1 1 0 36 19.4
CAR R 19 NELSON EMERSON 21 5 8 13 -4 14 2 0 1 0 52 9.6
CAR D 21 JEFF BROWN 17 2 8 10 2 12 2 0 0 0 40 5.0
CAR D 3 STEVE CHIASSON 18 2 8 10 2 27 2 0 0 0 44 4.5
CAR R 18 ROBERT KRON 20 4 5 9 -7 2 2 0 0 0 36 11.1
CAR C 92 JEFF O'NEILL 17 2 6 8 -3 14 1 0 0 0 17 11.8
CAR L 8 GEOFF SANDERSON 21 5 2 7 -6 15 2 0 0 1 55 9.1
CAR R 27 STEPHEN LEACH 21 4 3 7 -9 27 1 1 2 0 28 14.3
CAR R 11 KEVIN DINEEN 14 3 4 7 -2 27 0 0 0 0 26 11.5
CAR D 2 GLEN WESLEY 21 1 5 6 1 16 0 0 0 0 37 2.7
CAR L 28 PAUL RANHEIM 12 3 1 4 0 4 0 1 0 0 11 27.3
CAR D 7 CURTIS LESCHYSHYN 16 1 3 4 0 14 1 0 1 0 10 10.0
CAR D 5 KEVIN HALLER 20 1 3 4 -7 20 0 0 0 0 24 4.2
CAR C 44 KENT MANDERVILLE 20 1 3 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 17 5.9
CAR L 32 STU GRIMSON 21 1 2 3 3 49 0 0 0 0 5 20.0
CAR R 12 STEVEN RICE 17 0 3 3 -8 25 0 0 0 0 12 .0
CAR D 6 ADAM BURT 20 0 3 3 -6 36 0 0 0 0 14 .0
CAR D 39 ENRICO CICCONE 6 0 2 2 3 63 0 0 0 0 3 .0
CAR D 14 *STEVEN HALKO 6 0 1 1 -4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
CAR R 17 CHRIS MURRAY 7 0 1 1 2 22 0 0 0 0 3 .0
CAR G 1 SEAN BURKE 11 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CAR D 4 *NOLAN PRATT 2 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 0 2 .0
CAR G 37 TREVOR KIDD 11 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CHI R 10 TONY AMONTE 21 8 9 17 4 14 1 0 2 0 61 13.1
CHI R 25 SERGEI KRIVOKRASOV 21 6 6 12 0 6 0 0 2 0 51 11.8
CHI L 55 ERIC DAZE 21 6 3 9 1 6 0 0 2 0 46 13.0
CHI C 36 ALEXEI ZHAMNOV 17 2 7 9 -1 10 1 0 0 0 52 3.8
CHI L 19 ETHAN MOREAU 20 3 5 8 -4 33 2 0 0 0 33 9.1
CHI D 7 CHRIS CHELIOS 21 0 8 8 -6 26 0 0 0 0 51 .0
CHI C 22 GREG JOHNSON 14 4 2 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 17 23.5
CHI C 11 JEFF SHANTZ 21 2 4 6 -3 18 0 0 0 0 24 8.3
CHI D 20 GARY SUTER 21 1 5 6 -5 14 0 0 0 0 51 2.0
CHI D 4 KEITH CARNEY 21 1 5 6 -4 22 0 1 0 0 22 4.5
CHI D 2 ERIC WEINRICH 21 1 4 5 -5 10 0 0 0 0 23 4.3
CHI L 38 JAMES BLACK 12 2 2 4 -3 0 0 0 1 0 27 7.4
CHI C 12 BRENT SUTTER 14 0 4 4 -4 8 0 0 0 0 14 .0
CHI L 24 BOB PROBERT 7 2 1 3 -4 27 2 0 0 0 11 18.2
CHI C 14 STEVE DUBINSKY 21 1 1 2 -4 8 0 0 0 0 24 4.2
CHI D 3 *CHRISTIAN LAFLAMME 15 0 2 2 6 7 0 0 0 0 19 .0
CHI C 26 *TODD WHITE 6 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 50.0
CHI L 23 *JEAN-YVES LEROUX 19 1 0 1 -5 11 0 0 0 0 16 6.3
CHI L 54 BRIAN FELSNER 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CHI R 17 KEVIN MILLER 5 0 1 1 -1 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CHI D 6 MICHAL SYKORA 7 0 1 1 -5 8 0 0 0 0 11 .0
CHI R 39 *CRAIG MILLS 8 0 1 1 -2 23 0 0 0 0 1 .0
CHI R 15 JIM CUMMINS 16 0 1 1 -2 54 0 0 0 0 8 .0
CHI R 16 MARTIN GENDRON 2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .0
CHI G 31 JEFF HACKETT 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
CHI L 32 *DANIEL CLEARY 6 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 4 .0
CHI D 8 CAM RUSSELL 11 0 0 0 -1 14 0 0 0 0 5 .0
CHI D 5 TRENT YAWNEY 14 0 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 7 .0
CHI G 40 CHRIS TERRERI 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
COL C 19 JOE SAKIC 21 11 12 23 4 18 5 0 0 0 73 15.1
COL C 21 PETER FORSBERG 18 4 17 21 5 24 1 0 1 0 58 6.9
COL L 13 VALERI KAMENSKY 21 7 7 14 0 22 3 0 0 0 45 15.6
COL R 18 ADAM DEADMARSH 21 6 7 13 8 38 2 0 2 1 51 11.8
COL R 22 CLAUDE LEMIEUX 20 4 6 10 -1 39 2 0 0 0 60 6.7
COL D 4 UWE KRUPP 21 2 7 9 12 10 1 0 1 0 43 4.7
COL C 17 JARI KURRI 21 2 7 9 7 6 1 0 0 0 17 11.8
COL L 28 ERIC LACROIX 21 4 4 8 1 16 0 0 1 0 24 16.7
COL D 29 *ERIC MESSIER 17 3 5 8 4 4 0 0 0 0 22 13.6
COL L 20 RENE CORBET 19 5 2 7 -1 43 0 0 2 1 36 13.9
COL C 26 STEPHANE YELLE 21 2 5 7 -1 18 0 0 0 0 17 11.8
COL D 52 ADAM FOOTE 21 1 6 7 -3 19 0 0 0 0 22 4.5
COL D 24 JON KLEMM 14 3 1 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 19 15.8
COL D 8 SANDIS OZOLINSH 6 1 3 4 0 15 0 0 1 0 12 8.3
COL C 9 MIKE RICCI 5 0 4 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 4 .0
COL R 16 JEFF ODGERS 11 2 1 3 0 31 0 0 0 0 13 15.4
COL D 5 ALEXEI GUSAROV 19 1 2 3 0 16 0 0 1 0 9 11.1
COL D 2 SYLVAIN LEFEBVRE 21 0 3 3 4 6 0 0 0 0 13 .0
COL C 10 *JOSEF MARHA 2 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 100.0
COL D 6 *WADE BELAK 6 1 1 2 -1 22 0 0 1 0 2 50.0
COL D 27 FRANCOIS LEROUX 20 0 2 2 -2 50 0 0 0 0 5 .0
COL L 15 YVES SARAULT 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 100.0
COL D 7 *PASCAL TREPANIER 13 0 1 1 -2 16 0 0 0 0 8 .0
COL G 33 PATRICK ROY 18 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 .0
COL R 14 *CHRISTIAN MATTE 1 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 0 0 1 .0
COL G 1 CRAIG BILLINGTON 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
COL D 3 AARON MILLER 16 0 0 0 -2 6 0 0 0 0 8 .0
DAL C 9 MIKE MODANO 21 10 17 27 8 8 2 3 0 0 85 11.8
DAL C 25 JOE NIEUWENDYK 22 13 8 21 4 8 3 0 3 0 63 20.6
DAL R 16 PAT VERBEEK 22 7 11 18 9 32 2 0 2 0 53 13.2
DAL D 56 SERGEI ZUBOV 22 3 15 18 6 0 1 1 1 0 38 7.9
DAL L 23 GREG ADAMS 21 5 8 13 5 8 1 0 0 0 32 15.6
DAL C 15 JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER 22 8 4 12 0 4 2 0 2 1 34 23.5
DAL R 26 JERE LEHTINEN 12 5 5 10 10 4 1 2 1 0 25 20.0
DAL D 5 DARRYL SYDOR 19 1 9 10 11 15 1 0 0 0 38 2.6
DAL L 33 BENOIT HOGUE 19 3 5 8 7 12 2 0 1 0 20 15.0
DAL D 2 DERIAN HATCHER 17 2 6 8 0 30 0 0 1 0 11 18.2
DAL L 14 DAVE REID 22 4 2 6 -8 0 1 0 1 0 41 9.8
DAL D 24 RICHARD MATVICHUK 22 3 3 6 2 18 0 0 0 0 22 13.6
DAL C 10 TODD HARVEY 21 3 2 5 -2 30 0 0 0 0 35 8.6
DAL C 21 GUY CARBONNEAU 18 0 5 5 -4 12 0 0 0 0 16 .0
DAL L 12 BOB ERREY 13 1 2 3 1 12 0 0 0 0 8 12.5
DAL D 27 SHAWN CHAMBERS 8 0 3 3 -2 2 0 0 0 0 10 .0
DAL R 29 GRANT MARSHALL 19 2 0 2 -5 15 0 0 0 0 17 11.8
DAL C 28 BOB BASSEN 20 0 2 2 -1 19 0 0 0 0 9 .0
DAL D 3 CRAIG LUDWIG 22 0 2 2 8 16 0 0 0 0 9 .0
DAL D 22 CRAIG MUNI 11 0 1 1 3 8 0 0 0 0 4 .0
DAL C 36 *JEFFREY MITCHELL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
DAL L 46 *JAMIE WRIGHT 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
DAL L 17 *PATRICK COTE 3 0 0 0 -1 15 0 0 0 0 3 .0
DAL D 6 DAN KECZMER 4 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 3 .0
DAL G 1 *ROMAN TUREK 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
DAL C 11 *JUHA LIND 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
DAL D 4 *SERGEY GUSEV 7 0 0 0 -5 2 0 0 0 0 5 .0
DAL G 20 ED BELFOUR 17 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 .0
DET L 14 BRENDAN SHANAHAN 18 10 10 20 8 13 6 1 4 1 68 14.7
DET D 5 NICKLAS LIDSTROM 21 8 11 19 0 2 3 1 1 1 58 13.8
DET C 19 STEVE YZERMAN 22 7 12 19 -1 16 1 1 0 1 50 14.0
DET C 8 IGOR LARIONOV 22 3 15 18 10 16 1 0 0 0 29 10.3
DET D 55 LARRY MURPHY 22 2 14 16 8 21 1 0 2 0 32 6.3
DET L 13 VYACHESLAV KOZLOV 22 7 6 13 -1 12 2 0 0 0 62 11.3
DET R 25 DARREN MCCARTY 22 5 8 13 3 45 2 0 0 0 52 9.6
DET R 20 MARTIN LAPOINTE 22 5 5 10 2 10 0 0 1 0 42 11.9
DET C 33 KRIS DRAPER 22 4 6 10 0 14 0 0 1 0 29 13.8
DET L 41 BRENT GILCHRIST 22 4 6 10 4 14 1 0 1 0 49 8.2
DET R 17 DOUG BROWN 22 6 3 9 5 6 2 0 1 0 36 16.7
DET R 11 MATHIEU DANDENAULT 19 3 4 7 3 21 0 0 0 0 20 15.0
DET D 27 AARON WARD 19 1 5 6 -1 14 0 0 0 0 17 5.9
DET D 4 JAMIE PUSHOR 22 1 5 6 7 28 0 0 0 0 15 6.7
DET R 22 *MICHAEL KNUBLE 17 3 2 5 2 8 0 0 0 0 13 23.1
DET D 2 VIACHESLAV FETISOV 18 2 3 5 6 18 0 0 1 0 21 9.5
DET R 26 JOEY KOCUR 18 2 1 3 0 23 0 0 1 0 12 16.7
DET D 44 *ANDERS ERIKSSON 8 0 3 3 5 6 0 0 0 0 12 .0
DET D 3 BOB ROUSE 22 0 3 3 -4 14 0 0 0 0 14 .0
DET L 18 KIRK MALTBY 6 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 .0
DET L 15 TOMAS HOLMSTROM 10 0 2 2 2 6 0 0 0 0 5 .0
DET G 31 *KEVIN HODSON 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
DET G 30 CHRIS OSGOOD 17 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
EDM C 39 DOUG WEIGHT 20 8 11 19 0 12 5 0 1 0 58 13.8
EDM L 37 DEAN MCAMMOND 16 4 7 11 5 8 0 0 0 0 18 22.2
EDM L 94 RYAN SMYTH 20 5 5 10 -14 22 3 0 0 1 79 6.3
EDM C 7 JASON ARNOTT 20 3 6 9 -14 41 1 0 0 0 56 5.4
EDM D 2 BORIS MIRONOV 20 5 3 8 -3 20 2 0 0 1 44 11.4
EDM L 51 ANDREI KOVALENKO 17 0 8 8 -4 12 0 0 0 0 29 .0
EDM R 25 MIKE GRIER 19 2 5 7 0 21 0 0 0 0 29 6.9
EDM C 26 TODD MARCHANT 18 2 4 6 1 6 0 0 1 0 49 4.1
EDM D 33 DANIEL MCGILLIS 17 2 3 5 -5 18 1 0 1 1 36 5.6
EDM C 14 MATS LINDGREN 20 2 3 5 0 12 0 1 1 0 36 5.6
EDM R 16 KELLY BUCHBERGER 20 1 4 5 -2 17 0 0 0 0 18 5.6
EDM D 32 *CRAIG MILLAR 8 4 0 4 -1 6 1 0 0 0 9 44.4
EDM L 17 REM MURRAY 12 3 0 3 -4 4 0 0 0 0 12 25.0
EDM D 5 GREG DE VRIES 17 3 0 3 -5 13 0 0 0 0 15 20.0
EDM D 15 DRAKE BEREHOWSKY 19 1 2 3 -3 36 1 0 1 0 27 3.7
EDM C 10 *STEVE KELLY 13 0 2 2 -3 8 0 0 0 0 3 .0
EDM D 55 DREW BANNISTER 15 0 2 2 -3 15 0 0 0 0 16 .0
EDM C 19 *BOYD DEVEREAUX 15 0 2 2 -2 4 0 0 0 0 13 .0
EDM L 9 *MIKE WATT 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
EDM D 24 BRYAN MARCHMENT 16 0 1 1 -1 22 0 0 0 0 5 .0
EDM D 21 *LADISLAV BENYSEK 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
EDM R 27 *GEORGES LARAQUE 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 .0
EDM R 36 *DENNIS BONVIE 2 0 0 0 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 .0
EDM D 23 *SEAN BROWN 2 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
EDM L 12 *JOE HULBIG 3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
EDM G 30 BOB ESSENSA 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
EDM D 29 JASON BOWEN 4 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 3 .0
EDM D 4 KEVIN LOWE 5 0 0 0 -5 20 0 0 0 0 2 .0
EDM L 28 BILL HUARD 10 0 0 0 -2 4 0 0 0 0 5 .0
EDM G 31 CURTIS JOSEPH 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
FLA C 15 DAVE GAGNER 19 8 7 15 -2 27 0 1 1 0 31 25.8
FLA D 24 ROBERT SVEHLA 19 1 10 11 -2 16 0 0 0 0 22 4.5
FLA L 11 BILL LINDSAY 19 6 4 10 3 12 0 1 2 0 39 15.4
FLA R 27 SCOTT MELLANBY 19 5 5 10 -5 39 2 0 0 0 47 10.6
FLA L 14 RAY WHITNEY 14 5 4 9 1 2 2 0 1 0 29 17.2
FLA L 25 VIKTOR KOZLOV 20 5 2 7 -3 2 2 0 0 0 55 9.1
FLA L 97 ESA TIKKANEN 14 1 6 7 -3 10 0 0 0 0 20 5.0
FLA R 21 TOM FITZGERALD 19 3 3 6 3 4 0 0 0 0 27 11.1
FLA D 5 GORD MURPHY 19 2 4 6 -1 12 2 0 0 0 35 5.7
FLA C 44 ROB NIEDERMAYER 9 3 2 5 -2 18 1 0 1 0 21 14.3
FLA L 9 KIRK MULLER 19 0 5 5 -5 12 0 0 0 0 22 .0
FLA D 3 PAUL LAUS 19 0 5 5 -3 74 0 0 0 0 13 .0
FLA C 23 CHRIS WELLS 19 2 2 4 1 16 0 0 0 0 23 8.7
FLA R 51 DAVID NEMIROVSKY 12 2 1 3 -5 4 1 0 1 0 15 13.3
FLA R 26 RAY SHEPPARD 17 2 1 3 -4 0 1 0 0 0 40 5.0
FLA R 12 JODY HULL 14 2 0 2 1 4 0 1 0 0 14 14.3
FLA C 22 *STEVE WASHBURN 9 1 1 2 -1 6 0 0 0 0 8 12.5
FLA R 19 RADEK DVORAK 10 0 2 2 -4 4 0 0 0 0 7 .0
FLA D 55 ED JOVANOVSKI 19 0 2 2 -1 34 0 0 0 0 18 .0
FLA D 7 RHETT WARRENER 19 0 2 2 -3 25 0 0 0 0 14 .0
FLA G 34 J. VANBIESBROUCK 12 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
FLA D 8 DALLAS EAKINS 4 0 0 0 1 12 0 0 0 0 3 .0
FLA G 1 *KEVIN WEEKES 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
FLA G 30 MARK FITZPATRICK 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
FLA L 29 JOHAN GARPENLOV 13 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 12 .0
FLA D 2 TERRY CARKNER 17 0 0 0 -4 12 0 0 0 0 5 .0
LAK C 15 JOZEF STUMPEL 21 7 17 24 7 24 2 0 1 1 47 14.9
LAK L 20 LUC ROBITAILLE 21 10 10 20 6 18 3 0 4 0 57 17.5
LAK C 44 YANIC PERREAULT 21 14 4 18 11 12 0 0 1 0 54 25.9
LAK R 27 GLEN MURRAY 20 7 9 16 9 10 1 0 2 0 50 14.0
LAK L 23 CRAIG JOHNSON 21 6 10 16 5 2 1 0 0 0 29 20.7
LAK D 3 GARRY GALLEY 20 4 10 14 3 18 4 0 0 0 34 11.8
LAK L 9 VLADIMIR TSYPLAKOV 13 3 10 13 12 4 1 0 0 0 23 13.0
LAK R 45 SANDY MOGER 21 3 7 10 5 25 1 0 1 0 32 9.4
LAK D 4 ROB BLAKE 21 2 6 8 1 29 0 0 0 0 69 2.9
LAK C 10 *DONALD MACLEAN 17 5 2 7 -1 4 2 0 0 0 19 26.3
LAK D 28 PHILIPPE BOUCHER 15 4 3 7 7 24 0 0 0 0 28 14.3
LAK D 6 SEAN O'DONNELL 20 0 7 7 7 38 0 0 0 0 20 .0
LAK C 22 IAN LAPERRIERE 21 2 4 6 -5 37 0 1 0 0 21 9.5
LAK D 5 AKI BERG 20 0 5 5 9 26 0 0 0 0 17 .0
LAK R 11 BRAD SMYTH 9 1 3 4 -1 4 0 0 0 0 12 8.3
LAK D 14 MATTIAS NORSTROM 15 1 3 4 7 8 0 0 0 0 9 11.1
LAK L 42 DAN BYLSMA 14 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 15 .0
LAK D 7 *STEVE MCKENNA 11 1 1 2 1 41 0 0 0 0 4 25.0
LAK L 17 MATT JOHNSON 17 1 1 2 -3 74 0 0 0 0 7 14.3
LAK C 12 ROMAN VOPAT 12 0 2 2 -1 30 0 0 0 0 13 .0
LAK C 26 RAY FERRARO 3 1 0 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 3 33.3
LAK R 19 RUSS COURTNALL 2 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 .0
LAK D 2 DOUG ZMOLEK 15 0 1 1 -3 41 0 0 0 0 6 .0
LAK G 31 FREDERIC CHABOT 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
LAK C 21 *OLLI JOKINEN 8 0 0 0 -5 6 0 0 0 0 12 .0
LAK G 35 STEPHANE FISET 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
MTL L 27 SHAYNE CORSON 20 7 16 23 0 32 5 0 1 0 36 19.4
MTL R 8 MARK RECCHI 20 8 13 21 3 8 2 0 2 0 40 20.0
MTL D 38 VLADIMIR MALAKHOV 19 5 13 18 10 12 4 0 1 0 44 11.4
MTL C 11 SAKU KOIVU 20 5 13 18 1 16 0 0 2 0 48 10.4
MTL R 20 VALERI BURE 20 6 10 16 8 14 2 0 1 0 70 8.6
MTL C 25 VINCENT DAMPHOUSSE 20 7 8 15 10 18 1 0 2 0 57 12.3
MTL L 26 MARTIN RUCINSKY 19 7 7 14 8 26 2 0 1 0 56 12.5
MTL L 17 BENOIT BRUNET 17 3 5 8 10 4 0 1 0 0 22 13.6
MTL D 43 PATRICE BRISEBOIS 20 2 6 8 7 27 1 0 0 0 32 6.3
MTL D 22 DAVE MANSON 20 2 5 7 8 26 2 0 0 0 40 5.0
MTL C 71 SEBASTIEN BORDELEAU 16 1 6 7 4 10 0 1 0 0 11 9.1
MTL R 44 STEPHANE RICHER 10 4 2 6 -2 5 2 0 0 0 16 25.0
MTL L 49 BRIAN SAVAGE 13 3 3 6 4 6 0 0 2 0 17 17.6
MTL D 5 STEPHANE QUINTAL 19 1 3 4 8 43 0 0 0 0 20 5.0
MTL C 28 MARC BUREAU 13 3 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 9 33.3
MTL D 34 PETER POPOVIC 9 1 2 3 4 6 0 0 0 0 10 10.0
MTL C 12 DARCY TUCKER 17 0 3 3 3 23 0 0 0 0 8 .0
MTL D 52 CRAIG RIVET 18 0 2 2 5 34 0 0 0 0 5 .0
MTL C 24 SCOTT THORNTON 19 0 2 2 7 24 0 0 0 0 9 .0
MTL D 3 DAVID WILKIE 1 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 100.0
MTL R 23 TURNER STEVENSON 14 1 0 1 0 39 0 0 0 0 10 10.0
MTL G 35 ANDY MOOG 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
MTL G 41 JOCELYN THIBAULT 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
MTL D 29 *BRETT CLARK 14 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 9 .0
NJD C 16 BOBBY HOLIK 19 8 11 19 14 24 1 0 3 0 65 12.3
NJD C 93 DOUG GILMOUR 19 4 15 19 5 10 1 0 0 0 28 14.3
NJD C 17 PETR SYKORA 17 8 8 16 2 10 2 0 1 0 43 18.6
NJD R 21 RANDY MCKAY 19 9 6 15 13 27 2 0 2 0 32 28.1
NJD D 27 SCOTT NIEDERMAYER 19 5 9 14 7 4 4 0 1 0 43 11.6
NJD R 15 JOHN MACLEAN 19 3 8 11 -2 6 1 0 1 0 55 5.5
NJD L 26 *PATRIK ELIAS 15 8 2 10 7 10 2 0 5 0 24 33.3
NJD L 23 DAVE ANDREYCHUK 13 2 7 9 9 2 1 0 1 0 34 5.9
NJD C 10 DENIS PEDERSON 18 2 4 6 -5 12 1 0 0 0 27 7.4
NJD D 24 LYLE ODELEIN 18 1 5 6 3 14 1 0 0 0 15 6.7
NJD L 25 VALERI ZELEPUKIN 17 2 3 5 -1 18 0 0 0 0 33 6.1
NJD C 19 BOB CARPENTER 17 4 0 4 1 6 0 0 0 0 17 23.5
NJD L 14 BRIAN ROLSTON 17 1 3 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 37 2.7
NJD D 28 KEVIN DEAN 19 1 3 4 1 4 1 0 0 0 12 8.3
NJD D 4 SCOTT STEVENS 19 0 3 3 5 8 0 0 0 0 31 .0
NJD R 32 STEVE THOMAS 8 2 0 2 -2 2 1 0 0 0 14 14.3
NJD D 5 VLASTIMIL KROUPA 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
NJD D 2 *SHELDON SOURAY 3 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
NJD L 20 JAY PANDOLFO 7 0 1 1 -3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .0
NJD D 3 KEN DANEYKO 11 0 1 1 2 24 0 0 0 0 5 .0
NJD L 29 *KRZYSZTOF OLIWA 11 0 1 1 1 48 0 0 0 0 6 .0
NJD D 6 *BRAD BOMBARDIR 15 0 1 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 3 .0
NJD L 8 SASHA LAKOVIC 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 .0
NJD L 22 SCOTT DANIELS 4 0 0 0 1 10 0 0 0 0 3 .0
NJD G 1 MIKE DUNHAM 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
NJD L 33 REID SIMPSON 6 0 0 0 -2 16 0 0 0 0 5 .0
NJD D 5 KEN SUTTON 8 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 3 .0
NJD G 30 MARTIN BRODEUR 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
NYI R 16 ZIGMUND PALFFY 20 11 11 22 0 4 5 0 1 0 62 17.7
NYI C 21 ROBERT REICHEL 20 8 14 22 -1 8 2 0 0 1 54 14.8
NYI D 34 BRYAN BERARD 17 7 9 16 -11 12 6 0 1 1 57 12.3
NYI C 39 TRAVIS GREEN 20 8 5 13 -4 26 3 0 1 1 42 19.0
NYI D 29 KENNY JONSSON 20 4 9 13 3 27 2 0 0 0 27 14.8
NYI C 17 SERGEI NEMCHINOV 20 2 9 11 2 2 0 1 1 0 20 10.0
NYI C 15 BRYAN SMOLINSKI 20 4 5 9 -7 8 1 0 2 0 52 7.7
NYI R 25 MARIUSZ CZERKAWSKI 19 2 7 9 4 2 0 0 0 0 42 4.8
NYI L 14 TOM CHORSKE 20 2 4 6 6 8 1 1 1 0 18 11.1
NYI C 13 CLAUDE LAPOINTE 20 4 1 5 -3 8 0 0 1 0 30 13.3
NYI R 44 TODD BERTUZZI 19 2 3 5 -4 30 0 0 0 0 26 7.7
NYI L 18 MIKE HOUGH 20 1 4 5 -2 6 0 0 0 0 15 6.7
NYI D 7 SCOTT LACHANCE 18 1 3 4 -6 6 1 0 0 0 13 7.7
NYI D 28 DENNIS VASKE 19 0 3 3 2 12 0 0 0 0 16 .0
NYI D 2 RICHARD PILON 18 0 2 2 6 58 0 0 0 0 13 .0
NYI D 6 DOUG HOUDA 7 0 1 1 -3 15 0 0 0 0 7 .0
NYI D 4 BRYAN MCCABE 20 0 1 1 1 39 0 0 0 0 23 .0
NYI D 46 *JASON HOLLAND 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
NYI R 48 *WARREN LUHNING 8 0 0 0 -4 0 0 0 0 0 6 .0
NYI G 1 ERIC FICHAUD 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
NYI G 35 TOMMY SALO 15 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
NYI L 33 KEN BELANGER 16 0 0 0 -1 70 0 0 0 0 3 .0
NYI L 24 PAUL KRUSE 18 0 0 0 -8 34 0 0 0 0 5 .0
NYR C 99 WAYNE GRETZKY 20 6 14 20 11 6 0 0 2 1 59 10.2
NYR C 16 PAT LAFONTAINE 20 10 9 19 -5 10 4 0 0 3 58 17.2
NYR R 24 NIKLAS SUNDSTROM 20 7 10 17 10 8 0 0 0 0 32 21.9
NYR L 17 KEVIN STEVENS 19 6 7 13 7 26 3 0 1 1 36 16.7
NYR D 2 BRIAN LEETCH 20 4 6 10 -15 8 1 0 1 0 64 6.3
NYR R 12 MIKE KEANE 20 4 4 8 5 21 0 0 0 0 33 12.1
NYR R 27 ALEXEI KOVALEV 20 2 6 8 -12 12 0 0 2 0 47 4.3
NYR L 37 TIM SWEENEY 9 3 4 7 5 6 1 0 0 0 14 21.4
NYR L 9 ADAM GRAVES 11 3 3 6 -5 9 1 0 0 0 36 8.3
NYR D 33 BRUCE DRIVER 19 2 4 6 10 4 0 0 0 0 28 7.1
NYR L 18 BILL BERG 20 1 4 5 -4 8 0 0 0 0 24 4.2
NYR D 5 ULF SAMUELSSON 19 1 3 4 5 47 0 0 0 0 24 4.2
NYR D 25 ALEXANDER KARPOVTSEV18 0 3 3 0 16 0 0 0 0 16 .0
NYR C 32 MIKE EASTWOOD 19 0 3 3 -1 6 0 0 0 0 13 .0
NYR D 26 JEFF FINLEY 14 1 1 2 8 12 0 0 0 0 6 16.7
NYR D 23 JEFF BEUKEBOOM 20 0 2 2 -13 68 0 0 0 0 9 .0
NYR R 8 *RYAN VANDENBUSSCHE 11 1 0 1 -1 29 0 0 0 0 1 100.0
NYR D 29 ERIC CAIRNS 7 0 1 1 6 22 0 0 0 0 1 .0
NYR C 20 BRIAN SKRUDLAND 11 0 1 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 11 .0
NYR L 15 DARREN LANGDON 20 0 1 1 1 51 0 0 0 0 4 .0
NYR G 31 JASON MUZZATTI 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
NYR L 21 JOHAN LINDBOM 3 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 0 2 .0
NYR D 6 DOUG LIDSTER 4 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 .0
NYR G 35 MIKE RICHTER 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
OTW C 19 ALEXEI YASHIN 21 6 14 20 3 10 1 0 1 0 68 8.8
OTW L 15 SHAWN MCEACHERN 21 9 5 14 1 14 2 1 2 0 65 13.8
OTW D 29 IGOR KRAVCHUK 21 4 9 13 -1 4 2 1 0 1 52 7.7
OTW R 11 DANIEL ALFREDSSON 9 7 4 11 5 0 3 0 3 0 25 28.0
OTW D 27 JANNE LAUKKANEN 19 3 8 11 0 22 2 0 1 0 23 13.0
OTW R 10 ANDREAS DACKELL 21 4 6 10 0 8 2 0 0 0 35 11.4
OTW C 16 SERGEI ZHOLTOK 20 3 6 9 2 6 1 0 0 0 27 11.1
OTW L 28 DENNY LAMBERT 16 4 3 7 8 62 0 0 0 1 21 19.0
OTW C 14 RADEK BONK 21 3 4 7 -4 6 1 0 0 0 28 10.7
OTW C 25 BRUCE GARDINER 20 1 6 7 1 19 0 0 0 0 26 3.8
OTW D 33 JASON YORK 21 1 6 7 5 24 0 0 0 0 31 3.2
OTW R 9 ALEXANDRE DAIGLE 13 4 2 6 -4 4 2 0 0 0 27 14.8
OTW D 5 *CHRIS PHILLIPS 17 1 5 6 2 4 0 0 0 0 24 4.2
OTW C 22 SHAUN VAN ALLEN 21 2 3 5 3 6 0 0 0 0 31 6.5
OTW L 20 *MAGNUS ARVEDSON 14 1 4 5 -2 8 0 0 0 0 14 7.1
OTW L 7 RANDY CUNNEYWORTH 21 1 4 5 -5 20 1 0 0 0 24 4.2
OTW D 6 WADE REDDEN 20 1 3 4 2 7 0 0 1 0 16 6.3
OTW R 26 PHILIP CROWE 9 3 0 3 3 24 0 0 1 0 6 50.0
OTW D 4 SEAN HILL 12 1 1 2 -1 6 0 0 0 0 16 6.3
OTW D 2 LANCE PITLICK 13 1 1 2 1 17 0 0 0 0 11 9.1
OTW L 18 *MARIAN HOSSA 7 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 10 .0
OTW G 1 DAMIAN RHODES 12 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
OTW D 24 STANISLAV NECKAR 13 0 1 1 -2 11 0 0 0 0 6 .0
OTW L 21 DENNIS VIAL 8 0 0 0 -1 26 0 0 0 0 1 .0
OTW G 31 RON TUGNUTT 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PHI L 10 JOHN LECLAIR 22 18 12 30 12 14 5 0 4 0 85 21.2
PHI C 88 ERIC LINDROS 21 9 21 30 11 40 1 0 1 0 64 14.1
PHI L 17 ROD BRIND'AMOUR 22 9 8 17 3 12 2 1 1 0 49 18.4
PHI R 9 DAINIUS ZUBRUS 15 4 12 16 16 8 1 0 3 0 23 17.4
PHI C 55 CHRIS GRATTON 22 3 10 13 4 34 2 0 0 0 56 5.4
PHI C 45 *VACLAV PROSPAL 22 3 10 13 -8 8 2 0 0 0 33 9.1
PHI D 77 PAUL COFFEY 21 2 9 11 8 12 1 0 1 0 42 4.8
PHI D 44 JANNE NIINIMAA 21 1 9 10 1 24 0 0 0 0 35 2.9
PHI R 20 TRENT KLATT 22 4 4 8 0 4 0 0 1 0 24 16.7
PHI D 37 ERIC DESJARDINS 17 3 5 8 5 10 2 1 0 0 29 10.3
PHI R 15 PAT FALLOON 17 3 4 7 -1 6 1 0 0 0 36 8.3
PHI L 25 SHJON PODEIN 22 4 2 6 0 19 0 0 1 0 41 9.8
PHI D 6 CHRIS THERIEN 21 0 5 5 -1 31 0 0 0 0 18 .0
PHI D 23 PETR SVOBODA 11 1 2 3 5 10 1 0 0 0 12 8.3
PHI C 32 DANIEL LACROIX 20 0 3 3 3 36 0 0 0 0 9 .0
PHI L 21 DAN KORDIC 19 1 1 2 3 47 0 0 0 0 5 20.0
PHI D 24 CHRIS JOSEPH 5 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 50.0
PHI L 12 *COLIN FORBES 5 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 8.3
PHI R 26 JOHN DRUCE 12 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 50.0
PHI D 28 KJELL SAMUELSSON 19 0 1 1 7 14 0 0 0 0 10 .0
PHI R 18 BRANTT MYHRES 3 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PHI G 30 GARTH SNOW 11 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PHI G 27 RON HEXTALL 12 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PHI C 29 JOEL OTTO 16 0 0 0 -3 20 0 0 0 0 11 .0
PHI D 22 LUKE RICHARDSON 21 0 0 0 1 39 0 0 0 0 14 .0
PHO L 7 KEITH TKACHUK 19 11 12 23 8 26 1 0 2 0 66 16.7
PHO C 15 CRAIG JANNEY 19 5 14 19 9 6 2 0 0 0 19 26.3
PHO C 97 JEREMY ROENICK 19 7 9 16 7 17 3 0 1 1 45 15.6
PHO R 11 DALLAS DRAKE 18 5 11 16 8 36 0 0 2 0 31 16.1
PHO R 92 RICK TOCCHET 15 7 4 11 4 25 3 0 2 0 46 15.2
PHO C 77 CLIFF RONNING 18 1 10 11 -2 4 0 0 0 0 26 3.8
PHO D 27 TEPPO NUMMINEN 19 3 6 9 11 14 0 0 0 0 23 13.0
PHO D 26 JOHN SLANEY 12 1 7 8 3 8 0 0 0 0 18 5.6
PHO R 16 *BRAD ISBISTER 19 4 3 7 4 33 1 0 1 0 36 11.1
PHO R 22 MIKE GARTNER 13 2 4 6 0 8 1 0 0 0 30 6.7
PHO D 4 GERALD DIDUCK 19 1 4 5 4 20 1 0 1 0 37 2.7
PHO C 21 BOB CORKUM 18 3 0 3 -5 4 0 1 0 0 23 13.0
PHO D 8 JIM JOHNSON 16 2 1 3 0 18 0 0 0 0 17 11.8
PHO D 5 DERON QUINT 7 1 2 3 2 4 1 0 0 0 11 9.1
PHO D 44 NORM MACIVER 10 1 2 3 0 10 0 0 0 0 11 9.1
PHO R 19 SHANE DOAN 6 0 3 3 -2 2 0 0 0 0 7 .0
PHO L 33 JIM MCKENZIE 19 2 0 2 -4 49 0 0 0 0 14 14.3
PHO R 32 JOCELYN LEMIEUX 7 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 7 .0
PHO L 34 DARRIN SHANNON 9 0 2 2 2 6 0 0 0 0 11 .0
PHO D 2 MURRAY BARON 19 0 2 2 -3 43 0 0 0 0 13 .0
PHO D 6 JAY MORE 12 1 0 1 2 16 0 1 0 0 7 14.3
PHO C 36 *JUHA YLONEN 13 0 1 1 -2 2 0 0 0 0 10 .0
PHO D 48 *SEAN GAGNON 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
PHO R 29 SCOTT LEVINS 2 0 0 0 -1 5 0 0 0 0 2 .0
PHO D 55 *JASON DOIG 2 0 0 0 -4 6 0 0 0 0 1 .0
PHO G 28 JIM WAITE 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PHO C 14 MIKE STAPLETON 11 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 6 .0
PHO G 35 N. KHABIBULIN 18 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PIT C 10 RON FRANCIS 22 8 15 23 -6 4 2 0 3 0 50 16.0
PIT R 68 JAROMIR JAGR 20 7 14 21 0 14 1 0 1 0 68 10.3
PIT C 38 ANDREAS JOHANSSON 22 3 10 13 5 4 0 1 0 0 32 9.4
PIT C 82 MARTIN STRAKA 22 6 6 12 -5 4 2 2 1 0 48 12.5
PIT R 44 ROB BROWN 22 3 9 12 1 13 0 0 1 0 39 7.7
PIT C 14 STU BARNES 19 4 7 11 1 6 2 0 1 0 43 9.3
PIT D 4 KEVIN HATCHER 19 4 6 10 -11 22 3 0 1 1 40 10.0
PIT L 16 ED OLCZYK 16 7 2 9 -5 15 3 1 1 0 40 17.5
PIT R 95 *ALEXEI MOROZOV 20 5 2 7 -4 0 1 0 0 0 26 19.2
PIT D 23 FREDRIK OLAUSSON 19 1 6 7 -5 24 0 0 0 0 28 3.6
PIT L 33 ALEX HICKS 21 1 6 7 1 27 0 0 0 0 27 3.7
PIT D 11 DARIUS KASPARAITIS 22 0 6 6 -3 20 0 0 0 0 22 .0
PIT D 71 JIRI SLEGR 21 2 3 5 8 39 1 0 0 0 30 6.7
PIT C 17 *PETER FERRARO 17 2 2 4 -2 6 0 0 0 0 12 16.7
PIT R 57 *CHRIS FERRARO 15 1 3 4 0 25 0 0 0 0 11 9.1
PIT C 29 TYLER WRIGHT 22 2 1 3 -3 22 1 0 0 0 16 12.5
PIT D 5 BRAD WERENKA 12 0 3 3 4 10 0 0 0 0 13 .0
PIT D 6 NEIL WILKINSON 10 1 1 2 0 15 1 0 0 0 6 16.7
PIT L 8 GARRY VALK 14 1 1 2 -2 19 0 0 0 1 10 10.0
PIT G 35 TOM BARRASSO 17 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PIT D 2 CHRIS TAMER 21 0 1 1 0 31 0 0 0 0 10 .0
PIT G 1 *PETER SKUDRA 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PIT D 42 *TUOMAS GRONMAN 4 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 7 .0
PIT G 31 KEN WREGGET 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
PIT D 22 *SVEN BUTENSCHON 8 0 0 0 -1 6 0 0 0 0 4 .0
SJS C 39 JEFF FRIESEN 18 7 6 13 -3 8 2 0 2 0 49 14.3
SJS R 11 OWEN NOLAN 21 3 9 12 -2 46 1 1 0 0 59 5.1
SJS C 19 *MARCO STURM 20 4 7 11 -1 14 0 0 3 0 39 10.3
SJS D 2 BILL HOULDER 21 4 7 11 -8 18 2 0 0 0 33 12.1
SJS D 23 TODD GILL 20 6 4 10 1 8 3 0 0 0 38 15.8
SJS L 21 TONY GRANATO 14 4 3 7 0 12 1 0 0 0 32 12.5
SJS C 8 JARROD SKALDE 10 2 5 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 18 11.1
SJS C 9 BERNIE NICHOLLS 14 1 6 7 -2 18 1 0 0 0 26 3.8
SJS R 42 SHEAN DONOVAN 19 3 3 6 3 22 0 0 0 0 23 13.0
SJS D 3 DOUG BODGER 19 2 4 6 3 18 0 0 0 0 25 8.0
SJS D 40 MIKE RATHJE 21 1 5 6 -9 20 0 0 0 0 23 4.3
SJS C 22 MURRAY CRAVEN 14 2 3 5 -2 2 0 0 1 0 23 8.7
SJS L 37 STEPHANE MATTEAU 18 0 5 5 -1 10 0 0 0 0 20 .0
SJS D 33 MARTY MCSORLEY 15 1 3 4 4 63 0 0 0 0 17 5.9
SJS C 14 *PATRICK MARLEAU 18 1 3 4 -6 4 0 0 0 0 19 5.3
SJS D 10 MARCUS RAGNARSSON 19 0 4 4 -4 21 0 0 0 0 13 .0
SJS L 28 SHAWN BURR 6 2 1 3 4 8 0 0 0 0 9 22.2
SJS C 27 *ALEXANDER KOROLYUK 6 1 2 3 -4 4 1 0 0 0 5 20.0
SJS D 7 *RICHARD BRENNAN 9 1 2 3 -4 2 1 0 0 0 17 5.9
SJS C 12 RON SUTTER 17 0 3 3 -1 8 0 0 0 0 15 .0
SJS L 17 STEPHEN GUOLLA 7 1 1 2 -2 0 0 0 0 0 9 11.1
SJS R 62 ANDREI NAZAROV 13 1 1 2 -2 36 0 0 0 0 7 14.3
SJS G 29 MIKE VERNON 14 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
SJS L 24 BARRY POTOMSKI 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
SJS L 34 NIKLAS ANDERSSON 4 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 0 0 6 .0
SJS L 15 DAVE LOWRY 8 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 0 0 5 .0
SJS C 16 DODY WOOD 8 0 0 0 -3 40 0 0 0 0 4 .0
SJS G 32 KELLY HRUDEY 9 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
STL R 16 BRETT HULL 21 12 13 25 -1 4 6 0 5 0 72 16.7
STL D 28 STEVE DUCHESNE 21 4 18 22 6 10 1 0 0 0 37 10.8
STL D 2 AL MACINNIS 21 9 9 18 6 20 4 1 1 0 71 12.7
STL R 38 PAVOL DEMITRA 21 7 11 18 6 12 1 1 2 0 46 15.2
STL L 14 GEOFF COURTNALL 21 9 7 16 15 22 0 0 1 0 50 18.0
STL R 10 JIM CAMPBELL 21 4 7 11 -1 12 1 0 1 0 44 9.1
STL R 33 SCOTT PELLERIN 21 4 5 9 2 14 0 1 0 0 23 17.4
STL D 44 CHRIS PRONGER 21 2 6 8 14 43 0 0 1 0 38 5.3
STL C 22 CRAIG CONROY 21 1 7 8 4 2 0 1 0 0 35 2.9
STL R 17 JOE MURPHY 17 3 4 7 5 12 2 0 0 0 38 7.9
STL R 23 BLAIR ATCHEYNUM 17 3 4 7 4 0 0 0 0 0 29 10.3
STL R 27 TERRY YAKE 16 3 3 6 2 4 1 1 2 0 12 25.0
STL C 37 HARRY YORK 20 2 2 4 -2 9 0 0 0 0 9 22.2
STL D 4 MARC BERGEVIN 21 1 3 4 -2 19 0 0 0 0 9 11.1
STL C 77 PIERRE TURGEON 3 0 4 4 -1 2 0 0 0 0 4 .0
STL D 20 RUDY POESCHEK 21 0 4 4 -2 19 0 0 0 0 10 .0
STL C 9 DARREN TURCOTTE 10 2 1 3 2 2 2 0 0 0 10 20.0
STL R 39 KELLY CHASE 18 2 1 3 2 49 0 0 1 0 6 33.3
STL C 25 *PASCAL RHEAUME 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 20.0
STL G 31 GRANT FUHR 16 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
STL G 30 *RICH PARENT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
STL D 19 CHRIS MCALPINE 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
STL G 29 JAMIE MCLENNAN 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
STL D 6 *JAMIE RIVERS 18 0 0 0 4 14 0 0 0 0 10 .0
STL L 18 TONY TWIST 20 0 0 0 -1 56 0 0 0 0 8 .0
TBL R 20 MIKAEL RENBERG 18 4 7 11 -10 14 1 0 0 0 53 7.5
TBL R 29 ALEXANDER SELIVANOV 18 5 5 10 -9 27 2 0 0 0 47 10.6
TBL R 22 DINO CICCARELLI 13 3 5 8 -9 22 1 0 1 0 46 6.5
TBL L 15 PAUL YSEBAERT 19 3 5 8 -11 8 0 1 0 0 27 11.1
TBL C 19 BRIAN BRADLEY 14 2 5 7 -9 6 2 0 0 0 24 8.3
TBL L 24 JASON WIEMER 19 4 2 6 -3 40 1 0 0 0 34 11.8
TBL D 6 JEFF NORTON 15 2 4 6 -13 18 2 0 0 0 24 8.3
TBL D 44 ROMAN HAMRLIK 19 1 5 6 -15 12 0 0 0 0 60 1.7
TBL L 7 ROB ZAMUNER 19 3 2 5 -8 17 0 1 0 0 28 10.7
TBL C 18 DAYMOND LANGKOW 18 2 2 4 -5 21 1 0 1 0 39 5.1
TBL L 79 VLADIMIR VUJTEK 14 1 2 3 0 10 0 0 0 0 18 5.6
TBL L 28 PATRICK POULIN 18 1 2 3 -3 8 0 0 0 0 13 7.7
TBL D 5 IGOR ULANOV 18 1 2 3 -9 34 0 0 0 0 10 10.0
TBL L 9 JEFF TOMS 12 0 2 2 -7 7 0 0 0 0 12 .0
TBL D 14 KARL DYKHUIS 16 1 0 1 -6 56 0 0 0 0 15 6.7
TBL D 27 DAVID SHAW 7 0 1 1 -2 2 0 0 0 0 9 .0
TBL D 33 YVES RACINE 10 0 1 1 -5 4 0 0 0 0 13 .0
TBL L 34 MIKAEL ANDERSSON 18 0 1 1 -4 2 0 0 0 0 22 .0
TBL R 10 PAUL BROUSSEAU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
TBL L 16 TROY MALLETTE 3 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 .0
TBL L 17 *BRENT PETERSON 3 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .0
TBL G 32 COREY SCHWAB 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
TBL G 93 DAREN PUPPA 13 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 .0
TBL D 8 JAMIE HUSCROFT 16 0 0 0 3 65 0 0 0 0 11 .0
TBL R 21 MICK VUKOTA 16 0 0 0 -4 48 0 0 0 0 4 .0
TBL D 4 CORY CROSS 18 0 0 0 -9 18 0 0 0 0 8 .0
TOR C 13 MATS SUNDIN 18 6 8 14 -6 10 1 0 2 0 57 10.5
TOR R 22 IGOR KOROLEV 17 6 5 11 -6 8 3 0 1 0 25 24.0
TOR R 20 *MIKE JOHNSON 18 3 6 9 -8 4 2 0 0 0 30 10.0
TOR R 94 SERGEI BEREZIN 16 5 3 8 -7 4 2 0 0 1 35 14.3
TOR D 72 MATHIEU SCHNEIDER 18 1 7 8 -4 4 0 0 0 0 50 2.0
TOR L 17 WENDEL CLARK 18 4 3 7 -7 53 2 0 1 0 57 7.0
TOR L 7 DEREK KING 13 1 6 7 -7 10 1 0 0 0 27 3.7
TOR L 8 TODD WARRINER 15 2 2 4 1 4 0 0 1 0 25 8.0
TOR C 14 DARBY HENDRICKSON 16 2 2 4 1 15 0 0 0 0 19 10.5
TOR C 11 STEVE SULLIVAN 11 1 3 4 -5 4 0 0 0 0 16 6.3
TOR C 18 *ALYN MCCAULEY 18 1 3 4 -3 0 0 0 1 0 16 6.3
TOR D 24 PER GUSTAFSSON 9 1 2 3 -7 6 0 0 0 0 11 9.1
TOR L 19 FREDRIK MODIN 13 1 2 3 -2 6 0 0 0 0 17 5.9
TOR D 25 JASON SMITH 18 1 1 2 -1 28 0 0 0 0 13 7.7
TOR D 34 JAMIE MACOUN 18 0 2 2 -2 18 0 0 0 0 14 .0
TOR R 28 TIE DOMI 16 1 0 1 0 68 0 0 0 0 15 6.7
TOR L 21 *MARTIN PROCHAZKA 5 0 1 1 -2 0 0 0 0 0 6 .0
TOR D 33 *DAVID COOPER 6 0 1 1 -1 6 0 0 0 0 9 .0
TOR D 2 ROB ZETTLER 10 0 1 1 -8 16 0 0 0 0 2 .0
TOR D 36 DIMITRI YUSHKEVICH 13 0 1 1 -4 12 0 0 0 0 21 .0
TOR G 31 *MARCEL COUSINEAU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
TOR C 42 *KEVYN ADAMS 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 .0
TOR G 30 GLENN HEALY 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
TOR D 38 *YANNICK TREMBLAY 6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
TOR D 26 CRAIG WOLANIN 10 0 0 0 -9 6 0 0 0 0 5 .0
TOR G 29 FELIX POTVIN 13 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0
TOR L 12 KRIS KING 18 0 0 0 -5 43 0 0 0 0 4 .0
VAN R 10 PAVEL BURE 21 8 14 22 1 16 3 0 2 0 80 10.0
VAN C 11 MARK MESSIER 21 7 9 16 0 6 1 1 0 0 33 21.2
VAN C 16 TREVOR LINDEN 21 5 7 12 -7 8 2 0 1 0 40 12.5
VAN L 19 MARKUS NASLUND 21 3 8 11 3 16 0 0 0 0 36 8.3
VAN R 28 BRIAN NOONAN 21 5 4 9 -7 16 1 0 0 1 22 22.7
VAN R 26 MIKE SILLINGER 20 3 6 9 -9 16 0 0 0 0 35 8.6
VAN D 3 BRET HEDICAN 18 1 8 9 6 18 0 0 0 0 29 3.4
VAN D 2 *MATTIAS OHLUND 21 1 8 9 1 16 0 0 0 0 52 1.9
VAN D 4 GRANT LEDYARD 20 1 7 8 2 8 0 0 0 0 32 3.1
VAN R 24 SCOTT WALKER 21 2 5 7 -3 36 0 1 0 0 16 12.5
VAN D 21 JYRKI LUMME 14 2 4 6 -13 10 2 0 0 0 17 11.8
VAN R 89 ALEXANDER MOGILNY 5 3 2 5 -4 0 1 0 0 0 12 25.0
VAN L 8 DONALD BRASHEAR 21 1 3 4 -7 117 0 0 0 1 16 6.3
VAN C 20 *DAVE SCATCHARD 17 3 0 3 1 12 0 0 0 0 11 27.3
VAN L 23 MARTIN GELINAS 5 2 1 3 2 4 0 1 1 0 12 16.7
VAN D 25 STEVE STAIOS 21 2 0 2 -1 48 0 0 0 0 14 14.3
VAN C 9 *LUBOMIR VAIC 5 1 1 2 -2 2 0 0 0 0 8 12.5
VAN L 7 DAVID ROBERTS 9 1 1 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 13 7.7
VAN D 5 DANA MURZYN 14 1 0 1 -8 12 0 0 1 0 15 6.7
VAN L 29 GINO ODJICK 14 1 0 1 -1 40 0 0 0 0 12 8.3
VAN D 44 DAVE BABYCH 7 0 1 1 -2 4 0 0 0 0 4 .0
VAN D 48 *BERT ROBERTSSON 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
VAN D 6 ADRIAN AUCOIN 5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .0
VAN D 27 MARK WOTTON 5 0 0 0 -2 6 0 0 0 0 3 .0
VAN D 36 *CHRIS MCALLISTER 5 0 0 0 -3 18 0 0 0 0 2 .0
VAN G 32 ARTURS IRBE 6 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 .0
VAN L 22 *LARRY COURVILLE 6 0 0 0 -4 5 0 0 0 0 1 .0
VAN R 17 LONNY BOHONOS 16 0 0 0 -7 2 0 0 0 0 18 .0
VAN G 1 KIRK MCLEAN 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
WSH C 77 ADAM OATES 21 7 14 21 4 4 1 1 2 0 35 20.0
WSH R 12 PETER BONDRA 20 12 8 20 1 14 4 0 4 0 72 16.7
WSH D 6 CALLE JOHANSSON 21 7 7 14 7 8 5 0 0 2 50 14.0
WSH C 90 JOE JUNEAU 13 2 9 11 1 6 0 1 0 0 23 8.7
WSH D 96 PHIL HOUSLEY 18 2 9 11 -5 6 1 1 0 0 39 5.1
WSH L 44 *RICHARD ZEDNIK 21 5 4 9 0 12 2 0 0 0 54 9.3
WSH L 22 STEVE KONOWALCHUK 21 2 5 7 5 8 0 0 0 0 37 5.4
WSH D 24 MARK TINORDI 18 3 3 6 0 12 0 0 0 0 17 17.6
WSH L 17 CHRIS SIMON 13 2 4 6 2 32 1 0 1 0 19 10.5
WSH C 8 *JAN BULIS 20 2 4 6 -1 14 0 0 0 0 12 16.7
WSH C 32 DALE HUNTER 21 2 4 6 1 22 0 0 1 0 21 9.5
WSH C 20 MICHAL PIVONKA 14 1 5 6 4 12 0 0 0 0 19 5.3
WSH D 19 BRENDAN WITT 21 1 5 6 3 38 0 0 0 0 16 6.3
WSH D 3 SYLVAIN COTE 18 1 4 5 2 8 0 0 0 0 34 2.9
WSH L 34 *JAROSLAV SVEJKOVSKY 10 3 1 4 -1 8 1 0 1 0 21 14.3
WSH L 27 CRAIG BERUBE 14 3 1 4 2 30 0 0 0 0 9 33.3
WSH C 28 *JAN BENDA 9 0 3 3 1 6 0 0 0 0 8 .0
WSH L 10 KELLY MILLER 15 2 0 2 -5 2 0 1 1 0 18 11.1
WSH D 55 SERGEI GONCHAR 13 1 1 2 1 6 1 0 0 0 13 7.7
WSH D 29 JOE REEKIE 16 1 1 2 3 12 0 0 1 0 9 11.1
WSH D 2 KEN KLEE 13 1 0 1 1 6 0 0 1 0 17 5.9
WSH C 48 *BENOIT GRATTON 3 0 1 1 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 .0
WSH G 37 OLAF KOLZIG 17 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
WSH C 14 PAT PEAKE 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 .0
WSH L 42 *DWAYNE HAY 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 .0
WSH C 26 *RYAN MULHERN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
WSH L 18 ANDREW BRUNETTE 3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .0
WSH G 30 BILL RANFORD 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0
WSH L 36 MIKE EAGLES 8 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 6 .0
WSH L 9 TODD KRYGIER 8 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 0 14 .0
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NHL GOALTENDING STATS Thru November 16, 1997
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TM NO GOALTENDER GPI MINS AVG W L T EN SO GA SA SPCT G A PIM
ANA 31 GUY HEBERT 12 733 2.62 4 6 2 2 1 32 372 .914 0 0 0
ANA 35 M. SHTALENKOV 10 557 2.69 4 2 3 0 0 25 272 .908 0 0 0
BOS 34 BYRON DAFOE 15 838 2.22 7 5 3 1 2 31 382 .919 0 1 0
BOS 30 JIM CAREY 7 376 2.39 3 2 0 0 2 15 164 .909 0 0 0
BUF 31 *STEVE SHIELDS 6 312 2.31 1 2 2 0 0 12 149 .919 0 0 0
BUF 39 DOMINIK HASEK 15 849 3.39 4 8 2 1 0 48 429 .888 0 0 6
CGY 30 DWAYNE ROLOSON 6 315 2.86 0 3 2 1 0 15 125 .880 0 1 2
CGY 1 *TYLER MOSS 5 307 3.13 2 2 1 0 0 16 149 .893 0 0 0
CGY 31 RICK TABARACCI 11 664 3.43 1 8 2 1 0 38 278 .863 0 1 4
CAR 37 TREVOR KIDD 11 636 2.45 6 5 0 2 0 26 268 .903 0 0 2
CAR 1 SEAN BURKE 11 635 3.21 2 5 3 0 0 34 293 .884 0 1 4
CHI 40 CHRIS TERRERI 17 972 2.22 7 9 0 4 2 36 386 .907 0 0 0
CHI 31 JEFF HACKETT 5 285 3.16 0 3 2 0 0 15 131 .885 0 0 0
COL 33 PATRICK ROY 18 1107 2.28 8 4 6 2 1 42 553 .924 0 1 4
COL 1 CRAIG BILLINGTON 3 185 2.59 2 1 0 0 1 8 99 .919 0 0 0
DAL 20 ED BELFOUR 17 968 2.17 9 3 4 0 4 35 341 .897 0 0 6
DAL 1 *ROMAN TUREK 7 368 3.10 3 3 0 1 0 19 140 .864 0 0 0
DET 30 CHRIS OSGOOD 17 1025 2.17 10 4 3 0 1 37 432 .914 0 0 2
DET 31 *KEVIN HODSON 6 310 2.90 3 1 1 0 0 15 149 .899 0 0 0
EDM 31 CURTIS JOSEPH 17 1011 3.09 5 7 5 1 0 52 474 .890 0 0 0
EDM 30 BOB ESSENSA 4 212 3.96 0 3 0 0 0 14 96 .854 0 0 0
FLA 1 *KEVIN WEEKES 4 123 1.95 0 0 1 0 0 4 59 .932 0 0 0
FLA 30 MARK FITZPATRICK 6 319 3.01 2 3 1 0 1 16 136 .882 0 0 0
FLA 34 J. VANBIESBROUCK 12 716 3.02 4 6 2 1 0 36 320 .888 0 1 0
LAK 35 STEPHANE FISET 18 1096 2.68 8 7 3 2 1 49 530 .908 0 0 0
LAK 31 FREDERIC CHABOT 3 184 2.93 1 1 1 0 0 9 89 .899 0 0 0
MTL 41 JOCELYN THIBAULT 12 656 2.10 7 2 1 0 1 23 273 .916 0 0 0
MTL 35 ANDY MOOG 10 561 2.25 6 3 1 0 1 21 265 .921 0 0 0
NJD 30 MARTIN BRODEUR 16 943 1.65 13 3 0 1 2 26 370 .930 0 0 0
NJD 1 MIKE DUNHAM 4 199 2.11 1 2 0 0 1 7 81 .914 0 0 0
NYI 1 ERIC FICHAUD 8 427 2.25 2 3 3 0 0 16 215 .926 0 0 0
NYI 35 TOMMY SALO 15 786 2.29 6 5 1 4 1 30 353 .915 0 0 2
NYR 35 MIKE RICHTER 18 1074 2.40 6 6 6 0 0 43 452 .905 0 0 0
NYR 31 JASON MUZZATTI 3 155 2.71 0 1 1 0 0 7 67 .896 0 0 0
OTW 31 RON TUGNUTT 9 553 1.84 4 2 3 2 0 17 187 .909 0 0 0
OTW 1 DAMIAN RHODES 12 720 2.67 5 6 1 2 1 32 318 .899 0 1 0
PHI 27 RON HEXTALL 12 709 2.03 7 2 3 0 1 24 285 .916 0 0 6
PHI 30 GARTH SNOW 11 626 2.59 6 4 0 0 0 27 283 .905 0 0 6
PHO 35 N. KHABIBULIN 18 1041 2.71 8 8 2 1 1 47 495 .905 0 0 8
PHO 28 JIM WAITE 3 107 2.80 1 0 0 0 0 5 47 .894 0 0 0
PIT 1 *PETER SKUDRA 3 112 1.07 0 0 1 1 0 2 39 .949 0 0 0
PIT 35 TOM BARRASSO 17 953 2.39 8 6 2 4 2 38 419 .909 0 1 0
PIT 31 KEN WREGGET 6 273 2.86 1 3 1 1 0 13 126 .897 0 0 2
SJS 32 KELLY HRUDEY 9 466 2.58 1 6 0 2 0 20 180 .889 0 0 2
SJS 29 MIKE VERNON 14 793 3.56 5 8 1 0 1 47 330 .858 0 1 2
STL 30 *RICH PARENT 1 12 .00 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.000 0 0 0
STL 31 GRANT FUHR 16 942 2.04 11 3 2 0 2 32 354 .910 0 1 0
STL 29 JAMIE MCLENNAN 6 317 2.46 3 2 0 0 0 13 136 .904 0 0 0
TBL 93 DAREN PUPPA 13 729 3.05 2 10 1 4 0 37 328 .887 0 0 6
TBL 32 COREY SCHWAB 7 415 3.76 0 5 1 1 0 26 192 .865 0 0 2
TOR 31 *MARCEL COUSINEAU 1 9 .00 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1.000 0 0 0
TOR 30 GLENN HEALY 6 322 2.80 0 4 1 1 0 15 128 .883 0 0 0
TOR 29 FELIX POTVIN 13 761 2.92 6 5 2 0 0 37 373 .901 0 0 2
VAN 1 KIRK MCLEAN 17 982 3.42 3 11 3 1 1 56 496 .887 0 0 0
VAN 32 ARTURS IRBE 6 290 3.52 2 2 0 0 0 17 156 .891 0 0 5
WSH 37 OLAF KOLZIG 17 1007 2.03 11 3 2 0 1 34 471 .928 0 1 0
WSH 30 BILL RANFORD 5 256 3.28 1 4 0 0 0 14 131 .893 0 0 0
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