 _               _                  _               _
| | ____  __    | | ____ ___       | | ____ ___    | | ____ ___ 
| |/  _ / __|   | |/  _ / __|      | |/  _ / __|   | |/  _ / __| 
| |  (_ \__ \   | |  (_ \__ \      | |  (_ \__ \   | |  (_ \__ \
|_|\____\___/   |_|\____\___/      |_|\____\___/   |_|\____\___/  
GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY  GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY  
================================================================ 
Five Star            - ELECTRONIC EDITION -            * * * * * 
================================================================
Issue 114              February 24, 1999           281,000 bytes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Visit us on the web at http://www.lcshockey.com/ for all your 
hockey needs... not really.      

To subscribe/unsubscribe from the LCS Hockey mailing list 
contact zippy@lcshockey.com

---------------------------------------------------------------
Senate Majority Leader
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

Alexei Yashin and Thomas Banacek.  The differences between the
two men are obvious.  One is Russian, the other has his roots in
Poland.  One calls Ottawa home, the other operates out of Boston. 
One makes money by scoring goals, the other has accumulated a
vast fortune by scoring lost objects for insurance companies.  

But these two distinctly different individuals have one thing in
common.  They both wear turtlenecks.  

In fact, it was Banacek who first popularized the turtleneck look
during the mid-1970s as the star of his self-titled TV show. 
Portrayed by the legendary George Peppard, Banacek was a wealthy
playboy who worked as a freelance insurance investigator.  He
specialized in the impossible.  Whenever the perfect crime was
committed, the insurance companies were forced to swallow their
pride and come to Banacek for help.  Help he would gladly give,
for his ten percent of the insured value of the stolen object,
that is.  Oh, he was the sly one.  

Hey, remember when he had to recover that whole truckload of
priceless paintings?  Or how about the time he figured out how
someone made a computer the size of a room disappear?  Aw, that
was great, that was fun.

At the moment, it would appear that the NHL could be in use of
Banacek's rather unique services.  For it seems that someone has
helped the Ottawa Senators steal first place in the Northeast
Division.  Except the culprit's identity isn't very mysterious. 
It wouldn't take Banacek long before he followed the trail right
to the doorstep of his turtleneck clad comrade, Alexei Yashin.

The 26-year-old center has been a dominant performer this season
for the Senators, leading his club to an astounding record of 32-
16-8.  Since January 1, no team in the NHL has posted a better
record than Ottawa's mark of 16-3-4.  

The franchise leader in career games (395), goals (161), assists
(211), and points (372), Yashin has been the whole f'n show in
Ottawa.  He currently leads the club in goals (27), assists (38),
points (65), plus-minus (+21), power-play goals (10), and shots
(209).  His 65 points place him sixth overall in the league
scoring race and have him on target to shatter his career best
numbers of 35 goals and 79 points.    

The success of the team and its star center has the city of
Ottawa in a frenzy.  After years of frustration, it's fun to be a
Senator fan.  

"The atmosphere in Ottawa is great," says Yashin.  "I think it
started after we beat the New Jersey Devils in the playoffs last
year.  You could feel it, like the building was shaking during
the last game, last minute when we got a 3-1 lead.  This kind of
atmosphere I hope will be the same all year long and we have the
support of the fans very much."      

Despite the playoff success a year ago, and having made the
postseason two years running, Ottawa's current prosperity is
catching many by surprise.  The club's roster isn't exactly
filled with superstars.  Aside from Yashin, the only other
marquee player is the brilliant Daniel Alfredsson, but he hasn't
been much help, suffering through a disastrous, injury-plagued
campaign.  The Swedish sniper has only been able to account for
seven goals and 19 points in 37 games.  

Even with Alfredsson scuffling to find his stride, Ottawa has
still managed to score 164 goals, the sixth highest total in the
NHL.  Shawn McEachern (26-20-46), Andreas Johansson (17-15-32),
Andreas Dackell (11-20-31), Magnus Arvedson (12-16-28), Vaclav
Prospal (5-19-24), and Radek Bonk (9-12-21) have all contributed
to the cause.  The offense has also gotten a spark from the play
of Czech rookie Marian Hossa, who has posted seven goals and 14
points in 34 games.  

Reading those names, it's impossible to ignore the European
influence among the Ottawa offense.  Of the team's top nine
forwards, four are Swedish, two Czech, one Russian, one Slovakian, and one
American.  Yet the cultural diversity has not been a hinderance.
           
"I don't really know why, but I think because it is not like
Czech Republic hockey or Russian hockey or European hockey,
anymore," explains Yashin.  "It is all like NHL hockey and
whenever the guy is good enough to play in the NHL and does a
good job for the team, the team is very happy with them.  

"I think that is the case in our team because a lot of guys are
from different countries, but we are really getting along
together very well and we support each other very well and it
doesn't matter what kind of language you can speak, we all can
find a very good connection and that is why we have been
successful lately."

While the club's overall goal total is excellent, don't be fooled
into thinking that the Senators are a run-and-gun squad.  The
majority of Ottawa's offense comes from its unwavering commitment
to team defense.  Only the Dallas Stars (107) have allowed fewer
goals than the men from Canada's capital city (118).      

The Sens are a counterpuncher.  They trap, force turnovers at
center, then use their speed and skill to make the opposition
pay.  When needed, they can also use that same speed to forecheck
hard in the offensive zone.  But the Senators are at their best
when they're playing a patient, defensive game.

The forwards' involvement in the defensive system is vital since
the Senators lack a Norris Trophy candidate along the blue line. 
Ottawa's got more no-names on defense than the 1972 Miami
Dolphins.  A group of Jason York, Wade Redden, Igor Kravchuk,
Janne Laukkanen, Patrick Traverse, Chris Phillips, Sami Salo, and
Lance Pitlick may not be spectacular, but it's solid.  They all
know their roles.  They keep it simple.  They keep it smart.  

Goaltending has long been considered Ottawa's biggest weakness. 
The last line of defense is made up of Ron Tugnutt and Damian
Rhodes, hardly a combination to challenge the likes of Dominik
Hasek, Martin Brodeur, or Tom Barrasso.  But the Senators'
safety-first approach to hockey has insulated their goaltenders
quite nicely.  Tugnutt is having a season for the ages, leading
the league with a sick 1.57 goals-against average and an equally
unhealthy .935 save percentage.  

"Ron Tugnutt and Damian Rhodes mean a lot to our team," says
Yashin.  "We have been playing very good defensively and great
goaltending is always a very important part of a hockey game and
very important part of winning success.  I think they have been
playing very good lately and that is probably why our team's been
winning."

Both Tugnutt and Rhodes have appeared in 30 games this season,
but Tugnutt is clearly emerging as the number one guy between the
pipes.  Yashin, for one, has plenty of confidence in the former
Quebec Nordiques netminder.
   
"I can really say we have been playing very good defensively,"
cites Yashin.  "But he is a great goalie and he enjoys his time in
Ottawa and he is very happy and that's why he is probably playing
so great and we all support him very much.  So is Damian Rhodes. 
We are just very happy with how they have been playing lately. 
The goalie is the biggest part of our team, we all know that. 
And if he continues to play the same, we probably have a chance
to win some hockey games."
                   
If one can buy into the club's goaltending, Ottawa's remaining
weakness of note would be toughness.  The Senators aren't going
to intimidate anyone.  They try to use their superior skating to
combat bigger, stronger teams like the Flyers and Devils.  But if
things get ugly, they could get real ugly.  The Sens don't have a
proven heavyweight to settle things down.  Chris Murray will
throw, but he's about the only one.  It's an obvious concern.  Or
can the Senators survive without fighting?
    
"No, I think the fight has always been part of a game," says
Yashin.  "It is a big part and Chris Murray got hurt, but we all
try to play very physical and we got some guys who can really
play physical, but not the kind to get in a fight.  I think every
team needs somebody who can stand out on a professional level,
you know what I mean, to really be prepared and have some
fighting skills.  It is the rules of the National Hockey League,
and I am sure when Chris comes back, he will do the job for us."

Let's review.  The Senators don't have a superstar defenseman,
they don't have a superstar goaltender, and they don't have
toughness.  So why are they only one point out of first place in
the Eastern Conference?  Good question.  It could come down to
good old fashioned team chemistry.

"We are very happy with everybody who is in our dressing room and
all our guys are excited and try to give their best effort they
can give every night," explains Yashin.  "Doesn't matter how high
you have been drafted in the draft, or if you came from Europe,
it doesn't make a difference.  We just want to have a great
atmosphere in the dressing room which gives us opportunities to
play great games."

Chemistry, shmemistry.  After considering all the possible
factors behind the impressive play of Yashin and the Senators,
I've come to the conclusion that one thing is responsible.  The
turtleneck.  No doubt, the chin-hugging sweater of the swank is
behind it all.  

In hopes of substantiating my opinion, I paid a visit to "The
Fashion Cookie," Greensburg's premier boutique for the social
elite, conveniently located on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue
and East Otterman Street.  Mr. Pierre, the shop's openly gay
proprietor, shared my assessment of Yashin's wardrobe.

"It is, how you say?  Bold, exciting!" proclaimed Mr. Pierre with
a forced French accent, punctuating the remark with a theatrical
wave of his right hand.  "I love it so!  I get tingly thinking
about it!"

Mr. Pierre playfully tipped his beret to one side and continued.

"Hockey is such a physical game.  Very physical," said Mr.
Pierre, wrinkling his brow and squinting his eyes for effect. 
"Yet by wearing the turtleneck, Alexei brings a sense of
sophistication to his brutal, brutal world.  He need not bloody
his hands with the common player.  He has the turtleneck!

"But there's more to it than that," ventured the passionate Mr.
Pierre.  "There's also a sense of mystery.  I see a turtleneck
and I think 'Ooh, what is he hiding?'  He must be hiding
something.  It's very exciting!  What are you hiding, Alexei? 
What are you hiding?"

One thing's for sure, Yashin isn't hiding on the ice.  He's been
a true captain and leader for the Sens.  Like his turtleneck,
Yashin wears his C with pride.

"Yeah, it is a lot of responsibility," admits Yashin.  "Being
captain on a Canadian team, where hockey is the No. 1 sport.  I
mean, it is great, but it is a lot of responsibility too.  It is
a lot of pressure.  But I have great people around me and great
guys.  They support me very much and we probably, all together,
try to push ourselves onto a different level and it has been
working lately and I hope we will do the same in the future."

Ottawa fans are hoping that Yashin can continue to push the
Senators deep into the playoffs.  Hmm, I wonder how the Stanley
Cup would look in a turtleneck?

  
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CREDITS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Dell........................Editor-in-Chief
Zippy..................................Computer Boy
Jim Iovino.............................Ace Reporter
Matthew Secosky............................Employed
Nicole Agostino.......................Scored a Goal
Alex Carswell.................Anaheim Correspondent
Matt Brown.....................Boston Correspondent
Matt Barr.....................Buffalo Correspondent
Vacant........................Calgary Correspondent
Vacant.......................Carolina Correspondent
Thomas Crawford...............Chicago Correspondent
Greg D'Avis..................Colorado Correspondent
Jim Panenka....................Dallas Correspondent
Dino Cacciola.................Detroit Correspondent
Aubrey Chau..................Edmonton Correspondent
Vacant........................Florida Correspondent
Matt Moore................Los Angeles Correspondent
Jacques Robert...............Montreal Correspondent
Jeff Middleton..............Nashville Correspondent
Vacant.....................New Jersey Correspondent
David Strauss...............Islanders Correspondent
Alex Frias....................Rangers Correspondent
The Nosebleeders..............Ottawa Correspondents
Chuck Michio.............Philadelphia Correspondent
Bob Chebat....................Phoenix Correspondent
Jerry Fairish..............Pittsburgh Correspondent
Tom Cooper..................St. Louis Correspondent
Vacant.......................San Jose Correspondent
Seth Lerman.................Tampa Bay Correspondent
Jonah Sigel...................Toronto Correspondent
Jeff Dubois.................Vancouver Correspondent
Jason Sheehan..............Washington Correspondent
Tricia McMillan...................AHL Correspondent
Howard Fienberg.......................Correspondent
-----------------------------------------------------------------
LCS Hockey - Issue 114 - February 24, 1999.  All rights reserved 
because we, like, called ahead and stuff. Email address: 
info@lcshockey.com  Street Address: 406 Sheffield Drive, 
Greensburg, PA 15601.  Web Address: www.lcshockey.com
Direct Address: Something from the meat case, Linda?
-----------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------
Pittsburgh Makes It Fun
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

It seems like a write a feature on the Pittsburgh Penguins every
other issue.  But I'm sure that it is in no way a reflection on
our Pittsburgh Correspondent.  Honest.  Anyway...

The Penguins were back in the news recently when they rattled off
a headline-grabbing 10-game winning streak.  And it was a
significant ten spot, featuring some of the most exciting
displays of offensive hockey since the NHL's Golden Year of 1992-
93.    

With the brilliance of Jaromir Jagr leading the way, the Arctic
Birds waddled their way to 45 goals during the streak.  The Czech
Wonder Kid clicked for 10 goals and 26 points while playing at a
+13.  That's quality.  The binge pushed him all the way to the
top of the league scoring race, where he still sits with 27 goals
and 87 points in 56 games.    

Forget about the points, the best part of the streak was seeing
Jagr develop into a true captain.  Whenever the team needed a
spark, whether on the ice or in the room, Jaromir delivered.  

On February 2, the Penguins found themselves trailing Dominik
Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in the third period.  Jagr stood
up on the bench and told his teammates that they weren't going to
lose.  He then went out and set up the tying and winning goals
before closing things out with an empty-netter.  

Throughout the entire streak, Jagr displayed the ability to take
over games at will.  In a 3-2 win over Montreal on February 9,
there were two shifts late in the third period where Jagr simply
manhandled every Canadien defender on the ice.  There was just
nothing they could do to stop him.  He wouldn't be denied.  For a
second it almost seemed as if the eight on the back of his jersey
was a six.  Thanks to his play during the streak, Jagr is now the
man to beat for the Hart Trophy.    
      
Pittsburgh's winning ways coincided with Jagr being placed on a
line with the always dangerous Kip Miller on the left side and
Czech rookie Jan Hrdina in the middle.  Feel free to laugh. 
That's what most everyone else did when coach Kevin Constantine
wrote their numbers together on the chalkboard.  But the trio's
production was no laughing matter.  Miller bagged nine goals and
17 points and was a +12.  Hrdina notched three goals and 11
points of his own, while skating at a +9.

Other heroes during the ten-game tear included Alexei Kovalev (6-
6-12, +10), Jiri Slegr (1-7-8, +16), and Darius Kasparaitis (58
hits).

The streak began on January 28 with a 6-0 win over the Toronto
Maple Leafs at the Civic Arena.  Boston, Montreal (twice),
Buffalo, Florida, Detroit, Vancouver, Nashville, and Washington
were likewise dispatched before the good times ended on February
17 in Long Island with a 3-1 loss to the Isles.  It seems the
Islanders are always doing something to screw things up.  Not
only did they knock the Birds out of the 1992-93 playoffs, but
that same season saw them snap Mario Lemieux's 12-game goal-
scoring streak.  Why don't they just, like, knock if off?

The Isles never would have gotten a chance to act as spoiler had
it not been for the Penguins pulling off an NHL record three
consecutive overtime wins.  

The first came on February 9 against the Canadiens.  Montreal was
2:41 away from escaping with a 2-1 win when the man named Kip
busted in on left wing and drilled a slap shot through the five-
hole of Frederic Chabot to tie the game.  The overtime proved to
be equally dramatic.  With only 29 ticks left on the clock,
Kovalev somehow found himself all alone in front of the Montreal
net with the puck.  There wasn't a defender within ten feet of
him.  Not even realizing how much time he had, Kovalev fired a
quick shot that slipped its way through Chabot for the winner. 
There was much rejoicing.  

Two nights later the Vancouver Canucks came to town.  This was a
wide-open affair from the opening faceoff.  The Pens battled back
from two separate two-goal deficits to take a 5-4 lead, only to
watch Todd Bertuzzi knot the score at 5-5 late in the third.  At
1:21 of the overtime, Jagr decided to send the fans home happy. 
Jaromir took a pass from Miller off the right wing boards and
darted into the high slot, pulling the puck sharply to his
forehand in order to avoid a pokecheck from Mattias Ohlund.  In
the very same motion, and before Ohlund could recover, Jagr laced
a perfectly placed wrist shot off the left wing post and behind a
startled Corey Hirsch.  It was number 68's second goal and third
point of the evening.

On February 13, the Penguins found themselves in Nashville for
their first ever meeting with the Predators.  The streak appeared
to be in some serious jeopardy when little Cliffy Ronning tied
the score 2-2 at 19:00 of the third period.  But it was no big
thing.  By this time the Birds weren't scared to play an extra
five.  

With three and a half minutes gone in the overtime, Jagr drew two
defenders to him at center and somehow worked the puck free to
Miller, sending him in on right wing on a two-on-one with
Kovalev.  Miller had a seam to make the pass, and if he gets it
on Kovalev's stick it's a done deal, but he instead elected to
take the shot himself.  That's when I started to yell "You fu..."
only to catch myself as the puck found the net, changing the
initial "f" sound into a chant of "Firecracker, firecracker,
shish boom bah! Bugs Bunny! Bugs Bunny! Rah, rah, rah!"  I'm
always thinking.  There is no off position on the genius switch.

The streak lasted one more game, a 7-3 win at the Igloo over the
Capitals.  It was an overwhelming offensive display.  Olaf Kolzig
got pulled at 6:17 of the second period after allowing five goals
on 14 shots.  This may sound silly, but Kolzig actually played
great.  If not for Olie, the Pens could have easily had an eight
or nine up in lights.  They were just that dominant.  

So how did the lowly Islanders, of all people, end the run? 
Well, Tommy Salo played a great game in net, stopping 20 of 21. 
Zdeno Chara was incredibly physical all night long, punishing the
Penguin forwards with his 6'9" frame on every occasion.  And,
most importantly, the game was played away from the friendly
confines of the Civic Arena.  Eight of the ten wins during the
streak came on home ice.  The Penguins simply aren't the same
team away from the Igloo.  

Pittsburgh's 19-5-5 home record is the best in the NHL. 
Conversely, they're a below .500 team on the road (12-13-2). 
That fact was established with two more losses upon leaving the
Island.  The first was a pathetic 6-1 clubbing by the Rangers, in
which former Penguins Petr Nedved, Kevin Stevens, and Ulf
Samuelsson each scored goals.  Then came a 2-1 loss to the Flyers
in Philadelphia.  The game was nowhere near as close as the
score.  Outside of a weak power-play goal from the point by Marty
Straka early in the first period, the Birds could generate
absolutely nothing in the way of offense against the bigger,
stronger Flyers.  

The Penguins returned home on February 21 to host the slumping
Phoenix Coyotes and promptly ended their three-game slide with a
4-1 victory.  The Pittsburgh cause was aided considerably by
Nikolai Khabibulin, who gave up three extremely soft goals.  How
soft were they?  If you poked them in the stomach they giggled. 
There's a joke in there somewhere.  Happy hunting.

Following up the ten-game winning string with three straight road
losses brings to mind the obvious question, exactly how good are
the Penguins?  Um, they're pretty good.  Serious Cup contenders? 
Maybe.  Entertaining as all hell?  Sure.

No doubt, the Penguins have the most skilled team in the NHL. 
They're fun to watch.  And they owe it all to one man.  Alexei
Kovalev.  The guy is simply amazing with the puck.  His hands are
faster than Sugar Ray Robinson's.  He's been playing the point on
the power play for no other reason than that when he carries the
puck up ice it's an automatic entry into the offensive zone. 
There's nothing the opposition can do.  He just makes people look
stupid.  For as great as Jagr is, no one, and I mean no one, gets
more gasps of astonishment from the fans in Pittsburgh than
Kovalev.  He's something special.  

Kovalev's arrival has changed the team's entire philosophy.  Last
season the club won with solid team defense.  Once Kovalev came
to town and joined the likes of Jagr, Straka, Robert Lang, German
Titov, and Stu Barnes, it was clear that it might be time for a
change.  

The Penguins had lost five of six before the streak began.  It
was after that fifth loss that Jagr held a meeting with the
troops and decided it was time to open things up a bit.  They
wouldn't neglect their defensive responsibilities completely, but
they would make a few sacrifices in that area in order to play to
their strengths, which are passing, skating, puck control, and
the ability to select the perfect wine for any meal.  

Constantine and the rest of the coaching staff recognized that
their roster had changed dramatically from the season before and
allowed their talent to do what it does best.  The result was 45
goals in ten games.  

But then came the three road losses.  To win on the road, a team
needs to be patient.  Unfortunately, patience isn't a virtue of
many high-scoring teams, including this current version of the
Penguins.  An opportunity to make something happen on the rush
isn't going to present itself each and every trip up ice.  It's
up to the players to make the proper read and get the puck deep
when the defense is holding the line.  But giving up on making
the perfect play is a hard thing to do for such talented guys as
Jagr, Kovalev, and friends.  They're confident they can make
something happen on every rush.  This often leads to turnovers at
the stripe and awfully long periods of frustration.  

Hard work will be talent every time.  But nothing beats talent
that works hard.  If the Penguins want to win they can't take
shortcuts.  When the situation calls for it, they're going to
have to get the puck deep and compete in the corners.  Eventually
the defense will start to back up and give the line.  That's when
the natural creativity can take over.  It's all about making the
smart play.  

When the Penguins try to play soft at home, and continually make
mistakes at the opposing blue line, the fans get all over them
and they eventually snap to their senses and get the puck deep. 
But there's no such wake-up call on the road.  Constantine can
only do so much.  He can't sit the whole team.  It's up to the
players to sacrifice themselves for the cause and pay the price
in the corners.  If they don't have it in their heart than
there's nothing the coach can do.  

In the span of one year, the Penguins have gone from Fred
Sanford's old pickup truck to Dave Starsky's flashy Ford Tarino. 
That's not an easy adjustment.  It'll take some time.    

There's been talk that the Penguins should add some more grit up
front, making it easier for them to play a dump-and-chase style
when needed.  Barnes' name is heard most often as the one leaving
town.  But what's the point?  Having one guy willing to play ugly
isn't going to matter if the other eight forwards aren't going to
share in the commitment.  

Right now the club has three lines that can score; Miller-Hrdina-
Jagr, Barnes-Straka-Kovalev, and Titov-Lang-Morozov.  How many
teams can say that?  I just don't know if it's worth breaking
that up in order to add a touch more grit.  Unless the club's top
talent is willing to pay the price, all the character role
players in the world won't make a difference.    

If Barnes does get moved, it will likely be for a defenseman. 
Buffalo's Mike Wilson is one possibility.  The Penguins could
definitely use the help along the blue line.  Their top four of
Kevin Hatcher, Jiri Slegr, Darius Kasparaitis, and Brad Werenka
is steady.  The problem's in the five and six spots.  When
healthy, Bobby Dollas has played well, but he's been banged up of
late.  Ian Moran and Maxim Galanov are the other two guys getting
the most playing time.  Moran is an excellent penalty killer and
shot blocker that will do anything to help the team win.  It's
nice having him in the lineup.  Galanov is, well, Russian.  So
that's pretty cool.  

Of course, there's one other thing to consider when discussing
possible personnel moves, and that's how the change will affect
team chemistry.  This Penguin squad is a pretty tight-knit bunch. 
And Barnes has always been popular with the fans.  Trading him
could be a huge mistake, just ask the Florida Panthers.  

As it stands, the Penguins have three dangerous scoring lines,
four solid defensemen, and a proven winner in net in Tom
Barrasso.  They're also the most exciting team in hockey.  And oh
yeah, they've got the fifth most points in the NHL, boasting a
record of 31-18-7.  Is there really a reason to complain?   

I say just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.  It's not often
that fans have the chance to witness a team that features the
likes of Jagr's individual dominance, Kovalev's remarkable
creativity, Straka's exhilarating speed, and Kasparaitis' bone-
rattling checks.  That's a lot of entertainment.  And you don't
even have to leave a tip when you're done.  

I don't even know what that means.  I just wasn't sure how to end
the story.  Here are a few other closing lines to choose from. 
Just pick the one you like and go nuts.      

"And it won't even poison your liver."

"And you don't even need a handful of dollar bills to enjoy it."

"And you don't even need a blood test afterwards."

                 
                         
---------------------------------------------------------------
Struggling Stars Could Change Scenery
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Jim Iovino      

Struggling Stars Could Change Scenery
By Jim Iovino

While most trade talk around the league seems to center on Theo
Fleury and Chris Chelios, there are some other big- name players
who could find themselves pulling on a different sweater by the
March 23 trading deadline. 

One of those players who hardly has been noticed this season is
Alexander Mogilny.  The former 50-plus goal scorer has had the
worst season of his career this year.  Mogilny has just six goals
and 21 assists in 38 games.  Six goals in unheard of for a player
of Mogilny's caliber.  But three separate injuries have hampered
his game severely this year.  

With Mogilny struggling to find his game and the Canucks struggling
to win a game, there has been a lot of talk of Vancouver general
manager Brian Burke sending Mogilny off to a playoff contender
before the trading deadline. Hey, if Burke can trade Pavel Bure,
then why not Mogilny, too?  

Mogilny admits that the thought of being traded has entered his
mind.  He knows he's not helping the Canucks the way he's playing
now.  And he's not sure how much of a help he can be in the future,
as the Canucks seem to be in a weird sort of transition period.
 

But Mogilny is not alone.  Vincent Damphousse is another player who
could see action with another team before the season is through.
 

Like Mogilny, Damphousse is struggling through the worst season of
his career.  He has scored 31 points (including 11 goals) in 54
games.  Over the past three seasons his point totals have slipped
drastically, as well.  He went from 94 points in 1995-96 to 81 the
next year and 59 the season after that.  

Adding to the trade rumors is the fact that Damphousse will be an
unrestricted free agent after the season.  If the Canadiens fall
even lower in the playoff race, Damphousse and his $3.3 million
salary could be moved for a prospect or two.  

Damphousse might not be the only Canadien dealt.  Teammates Mark
Recchi and Stephane Quintal will also be unrestricted free agents
who could exit stage left.  

Recchi has struggled this season, as well.  His point totals have
declined significantly this season.  He's also the team's
highest-paid player.  A contender could use the services of Recchi
for the remainder of the season if the price is right.  Recchi has
a lot more upside than Damphousse.  The Wrecking Ball's skills were
put on display in the All- Star Game when he played well on a line
with Fleury and Wayne Gretzky.  

Perhaps a team like the Dallas Stars, who are seeking a winger,
could offer a nice package to get Recchi. Damphousse, meanwhile,
might find a home in a town like Buffalo.  The Sabres have been
searching for a two-way center for over a year.  The lost out in
the Ron Francis bidding.  Perhaps they'll find Damphousse to be a
cheap alternative.  

As for Mogilny...it will be extremely difficult to find a team
willing to give up much for him at this point in his career.  It
might be better for the Canucks to hang on to him and wait until
next year.  But then again, if the price is right, Mogilny could be
dealt elsewhere.  

---------------------------------------------------------------
More Stuff...
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

MORE TIE TRIPE
The NHL brain trust is at it again.  Still looking for a way to
settle tie games, the league has decided to experiment with
playing the overtime session four skaters a side.  And who gets
to be the lab monkey?  The AHL, of course.  The American Hockey
League will use the new overtime format for the remainder of the
season.  The NHL suits will then study the results and make yet
another idiotic proposal at some point in the future. 

What is wrong with these people?  You can't play four-on-four in
overtime.  That's weak.  If you think it's such a swell idea for
OT, then why not play the entire game four-on-four?  You know why
you couldn't do that?  Because then it wouldn't be hockey!  It's
a five-on-five world out there, skating fours is just a pathetic
gimmick.

Hey, I have an idea.  How about we play sixty minutes of hockey
and then, if the game is tied, settle things with three innings
of baseball.  It's the same principle.  Four-on-four hockey is
not hockey.  And that's all I've got to say about that.

Apparently no one is listening to me, but the best solution to
the quandary is to just play until somebody scores.  If it's good
enough for the playoffs, it's good enough for the regular season. 
I don't want to get too involved in arguing the point, since I
already wrote an award-winning article on this very subject like
in issue 106 or something, but there's really no reason this
format couldn't be adopted.  Sure, some travel plans might get
screwed, but who cares?  Oh yeah, I forgot, we wouldn't want to
inconvenience the millionaires.

If you're too yella to play until someone scores, then I've got a
Plan B.  No points for a tie.  That's right, if a game ends in a
draw then neither team gets a point.  This would force clubs to
actually try in win games in overtime and not simply survive
them.  Two points or nothing.  It won't do away with the problem
of ties completely, but at least it would add plenty of
excitement to the equation.

And in case you're wondering, shootouts are still gay.

FEDOROV'S NICE AND STUFF
Sergei Fedorov, in the midst of a disappointing season with the
Red Wings, has announced that he will donate his entire $2
million salary to charity.  The money will be used to establish a
foundation to help kids around the Detroit area.  It's tough to
boo a guy that donates $2 million to charity.  Sure, Fedorov's
got more money than Oprah, but it's still an amazing thing to do. 
Way to go, Sergei.          

This really is quite the gesture on Fedorov's part.  I was so
touched that I've decided to donate my entire seven-figure salary
to charity, as well.  Sure, all the figures are zeroes, but what
the hell?  It's for charity.

RAY HONORED
Rob Ray was recently recognized for his tireless charitable
contributions and community service with the second annual NHL
Foundation Player Award.  The award is given to an NHL
player who applies the core values of hockey -- commitment,
perseverance, and teamwork -- to enrich the lives of people in
his community.  Ray will be presented a grant of $25,000 to
donate to the local charitable organizations of his choice.

Ray has had long-term associations with the Roswell Park Cancer
Institute, Children's Hospital, March of Dimes Birth Defects
Foundation, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western New York. 
In addition, he awards an $8,000 annual scholarship to a local
college student, makes more than 75 hospital visits a year, and
has developed the "Rob Ray's Christmas Program", which provides
clothing, toys, and food to families during the holiday season.

"I am honored and humbled to receive the NHL Foundation Player
Award, particularly since I was selected among my peers
throughout the League," said Ray.  "I am privileged to play
hockey for a living, and proud to call Buffalo my home, and if I
can make a difference in people's lives through making an effort
in the community, I think it's the least I can do."

No, Rob, it's not the least you can do.  Take it from me.  Just
when you think I do nothing I always find a way to do less.  
 
If you're scoring at home, Kelly Chase won the award in its
inaugural year.

I'M JUST THE BOY WITH THE NEW HAIRCUT
Tony Amonte cut off all his hair.  While the flowing mane was his
tag, it was starting to get a little silly.  Long hair can be
tricky.  There's a real fine line between cool and hippie lookin'
freak.  Amonte caught himself just in time.  And since he wasn't
putting the puck in the net like he was at the beginning of the
campaign, a change might do him good.  

In a related story, I'm actually starting to let my hair grow out
a bit.  Although, it has nothing to do with superstitions about
scoring goals.  But it probably does have something to do with me
being a shiftless punk with no ambition.   

BLOOD FEUD
It may not be on par with LCS Hockey's rivalry with Bil Keane,
the creator of the hilariously funny comic strip "Family Circus,"
but the Phoenix Coyotes and Anaheim Mighty Ducks seem to have
developed a blood feud of their own.

In the Ducks' 5-1 win over the Coyotes on February 14, Anaheim
defenseman Ruslan Salei high-sticked Mike Stapleton, cutting the
Phoenix center for 27 stitches.  There was no penalty called on
the play.  That's always trouble.  

The Coyotes spent the rest of the game trying to get their pound
of flesh, causing Anaheim coach Craig Hartsburg to say that the
Desert Dogs took themselves out of the game by trying to seek
revenge.  Jim Schoenfeld was not amused.  

"You know what?" said the Phoenix coach.  "Then maybe we're not
finished getting even... even if it costs us another game." 
Schoeny later added, "Unlike them, we're in a position where we
can waste a few points."

Aw, that's good stuff.  Schoeny always makes it fun.  The two
clubs meet again on March 13.    
         
COOLNESS UPDATE
Here are the ten coolest players in the NHL as of February 22,
1999.

1. Darius Kasparaitis, Pittsburgh Penguins 
2. Darcy Tucker, Tampa Bay Lightning 
3. Theo Fleury, Calgary Flames 
4. Tony Amonte, Chicago Blackhawks 
5. John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers 
6. Alexei Kovalev, Pittsburgh Penguins 
7. Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings 
8. Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wings 
9. Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver Canucks 
10. Gary Roberts, Carolina Hurricanes 

While we're at it, here are the five least coolest players.

1. Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings 
2. Garth Snow, Vancouver Canucks 
3. Jamie Macoun, Detroit Red Wings 
4. Rich Pilon, New York Islanders 
5. Slava Kozlov, Detroit Red Wings

It's feast or famine with the Wings.  Their dressing room must
look like one of those old McDLT containers.  Keeps the cool side
cool and the lame side lame.  


---------------------------------------------------------------
The Regression Effect
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Howard Fienberg

Common wisdom is hard to argue. Being portrayed on the cover of
Sports Illustrated is bad luck and will hurt your career. Rookies
usually fizzle in their second year in the NHL. Firing the coach
will improve the team's performance.

Being on SI's cover is, in fact, usually followed by a downturn
in one's career. Why? A plague on both your houses and may
Matthew Barnaby come knocking on your front teeth with a chrome
stick. Well, that is what the athletes believe. Actually, it is
because you usually reach the cover when you are at the pinnacle
of your career, not the end. It is simple logic that thereafter,
your career will be in some form of decline.

Sophomore players tend to really blow. Bryan Berard had an
outstanding rookie season ('96-'97) and took home the Calder
Trophy as best rookie. And the next year? His plus-minus rating
was so bad he was getting defensive zone tutoring from Phil
Housley. But this season? He's making end-to-end rushes and
providing the power in Toronto's power play. Must have been the
sophomore slump. Teemu Selanne's rookie season, '92-'93, when he
blew away the league with the highest rookie goal total ever, was
followed by a rather fallow second season in the harsh cold
climate of Winnipeg.

But no, the "slump" is a myth. There is no overall tendency for
performance to be lower in a player's second year than in his
first. However, it is common for certain players to find
themselves in a "slump" in their second year. Those certain
players happen to be those who had the most outstanding
rookie stints. Their success was probably bolstered by a bit of
random error, and can be expected to decline to average the next
year.

The regression effect is when two variables are imperfectly
related (like a sophomore and rookie season), extreme values -
high or low - in one are often matched by less extreme values in
the other. So, a truly poor or absolutely great season will tend
to be followed by an average one. Since a player's performance at
different periods of time is imperfectly correlated, we can use
the regression effect to guess that a "hot" streak will be
followed by an average period. That average period will APPEAR
cold as Winnipeg to an uppity fan, a superstitious player, or the
likes of Al Strachan, because they are blinded by the hot point -
which was most likely just a statistical irregularity.

So perception enters into it. Who remembers Ryan Smyth's rookie
season? Let me refresh your memory - two goals and nine assists.
Real Calder Trophy stuff, right? And the '96-'97 season, he
breaks out - 39 goals, 22 assists. He didn't suffer no danged
sophomore slump, because no one noticed him the season before.
Just like the cover of Sports Illustrated, we notice the guys who
are at the top, and we remember them, to the exclusion of the
nobodies. Fans remember dazzling debuts, outstanding rookie
seasons. So a belief in the sophomore slump results from a fan's
tendency to only the remember the outstanding bits, and failure
to realize that the grand plays of such players are likely to
regress in their sophomore seasons.

Which brings me to Dirk "Diggler" Graham. Nice guy, that Dirk.
Maybe you don't think he deserved to be put in the unemployment
line. Maybe you think that GM Pulford handed him a deck without
any aces. Or, any Kings, Queens, and Jacks for that matter. Hey,
let's face it, Dirk was lucky he had any cards at all, not to
mention so many twos and threes. And those twos and threes don't
do much unless you and/or your buddies have had a lot of alcohol.
Maybe you think the moon is made out of green cheese. Well,
frankly, I don't much care what you think. Because firing the
coach is a sure-fire cure to improve a team's record. Unless the
guy is singing off key and ruining the track, this is so dead
wrong, we had to dig up Clarence Campbell to prove it. And boy,
was he mad!

Generally, it is true that teams tend to perform better after
firing the coach or manager. (Exceptions do exist, like the
Lightning. But they are owned by aliens from Planet 10, so they
don't count. Come to think of it, most of their players mail in
their performances from Planet 10 as well.) But that upswing in
performance is not "caused" by the firing, even if it may be
correlated. Certainly there are cases where the dumping of an
unpopular coach (Hey, calling Iron Mike Keenan) may have some
causal effect on a team's playing level, but that improvement
could just as likely be accounted for by the regression effect.
Especially since they are usually fired when a team has hit rock
bottom, there is only one way to go - up.

So expect the Blackhawks to start to play a little better, maybe
even start winning some games. Yeah, winning, remember those days
Chicago? But don't expect a real turnaround. Luck can only take
you so far, and the odds are stacked against it in the Windy
City.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Chimp Bytes: General NHL News and Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Zippy

Hurricanes sign Kidd to extension

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Hurricanes signed goaltender Trevor Kidd to a
two year, $4.4 million contract extension, the team announced
Tuesday. Kidd will earn $1.5 million this season. Kidd, 26, is 6-9-3
with a 2.75 goals against average and two shutouts in 19 games
this season serving as the backup to Arturs Irbe. 
     
Blackhawks fire Graham

CHICAGO - So what do you do when your team is struggling? 
Fire the coach, of course. That's just what the Chicago Blackhawks did recently.  
Dirk Graham, who has led the Hawks to their worst record in 42 years as coach, 
was fired Monday. Assistant coach Lorne Molleken will replace Graham as interim
coach. Denis Savard will stay on as assistant coach. Graham will
remain with the Blackhawks organization, team officials said,
although his new position was unclear.

Sure, Graham didn't have mad NHL coaching experience, but could the blame for the team's poor performance be entirely his fault?  Doubtful.  Other than Amonte and Chelios, the team is severly lacking quality players.  Players with character.  Zhamnov a Blackhawk?  That's not just a problem, it should be a crime.

Mario Lemieux meets with Marino lawyer

PITTSBURGH - Former Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux,
who is working on a proposal to take over the bankrupt franchise,
will meet Tuesday with team co-owner and Roger Marino's lawyer. The
session will be used to discuss the $26.2 million in deferred compensation 
owed Lemieux. It's very likely that Lemieux will receive the majority of 
his compensation in the form of team equity after the team is reorganized.

Former Islanders owner Spano arrested

Former Islanders owner John Spano was arrested by federal
agents after he was accused of writing two worthless rent checks
for $10,000. He is in custody and probably will be moved to the
Metropolitan Detention Center, which is a federal prison in Brooklyn.
Though Spano wasn't charged with a crime, prosecutors argued
that his actions violated conditions of his bail.		
				

---------------------------------------------------------------
AHL News
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Tricia McMillan

Player of the Week (Feb. 7): Cincinnati didn't have to do
much this week. Just two games, and all they had to do in those
was watch the goalie. Tom Askey picks up the POTW after
allowing only one goal in those two contests, both wins for the
Mighty Ducks. Askey started by shutting out Hamilton then spotted
them one the next game for a .50 GAA and .985 save percentage for
the week. In all, he stopped 67 of 68 shots.

Player of the Week (Feb. 14): The Providence Bruins have
produced their fourth different POTW, this time with AHL leading
scorer Randy Robitaille finally getting a turn. And what a
week he had, with ten points in four games, eight of them
assists. With 28 points in his last 15 games, Robitaille now
leads the AHL in both total points and assists, but won't be
adding to them for a while as Boston finally decided he was worth
a look.

Guinea Pigs: All the AHL needs is an exercise wheel in the
front office to complete the change. Despite the fact the AHL
does a reasonable job of resolving tie games (38% of AHL ties
were decided in OT), the NHL talked the AHL into trying more
experiments in OT - specifically, playing four-on-four. The
change went into effect Feb. 19 and lasts until the end of the
regular season. Since the AHL is already using a different OT
format than the NHL, any difference this rule may make is still
inapplicable to the NHL - but they're doing it anyway.

For the record, should a team be penalized in OT or a penalty
from regulation carry over, the teams would play four on three.
If a penalty is called in overtime which ordinarily would result
in a five on three (yeah, right, I'll believe that when I see
it), it will be played at five on three. The first game subject
to this new rule was the Feb. 20 game between Saint John and St.
John's, which was won by the Flames in overtime.

Hanging Them Up: Back in December, Phantoms captain John
Stevens was hit in the eye with a puck and suffered a detached
retina. The word then was the injury would end his career.
On February 10, following surgery to reattach the retina and
medical indications he would not regain full vision, Stevens
admitted as much and retired. After he recovers from the surgery
the Phantoms will keep him on as an assistant coach.

All Kinds of Crunch: The Syracuse Crunch took a rare lead
in their game against Rochester on Valentine's Day, but we may
never know if they would have finally ended their 11-game
non-winning streak. Because Syracuse wasn't the only 'crunch' on
the ice - there was also the unpleasant sound of skate blades on
cement. The War Memorial Arena was unable to put down an adequate
amount of ice prior to the game and the result was truly thin
ice, with several holes and numerous incidents of blades striking
the floor. After one period of trying to play sans ice, both
teams agreed to give it up and try again later. The game will be
rescheduled.    

Goalie Shortage: St. Louis is a little short in that
department right now. Grant Fuhr is out, so Rich Parent was
called up from Worcester. Then he suffered a freak warmup injury
so Brent Johnson was called up from the IceCats. Then Jamie
McLennan was injured so Scott Roche, who has never started a game
in the AHL much less the NHL, got the call. That left
Peoria backup Dan Murphy, who was just supposed to be spelling
Roche in the ECHL, as Worcester's No. 1 goaltender. All this
leads to the ultimate question - who's playing in Peoria?

Conducting Business: In their own unique way, of course,
are the Islanders. As you may recall, the Islanders agreed to let
Dane Jackson continue playing in Rochester last season despite
signing on with the Isles. Well, now the Islanders are suing the
Amerks for half of Jackson's salary. Jackson broke his ankle and
missed about half the season, worth $37,000 in salary. Since
Jackson's workers compensation came via the Islanders, the Amerks
presumed Jackson was getting paid through workers comp and didn't
pay him themselves. But if the Islanders even filed a claim for
compensation, they won't admit to it and have demanded payment
from the Amerks.  The Amerks continue to maintain the Isles'
policy should have paid it. Stay tuned.

Strange: More wacky ref calls from Hershey. Kentucky's
Alex Boikov picked up a penalty against Hershey Feb. 21 that sent
everyone at the game scurrying for the rulebook - and
apparently, no one was able to find any rule regarding that
penalty in the rulebook. T-Blade Curtis Doell dropped his stick
and Boikov picked it up with the intent of returning it to Doell,
but the puck came to Boikov before he could give the stick back.
Referee Kevin Maguire called a minor on Boikov for using two
sticks. 

The Rest of the Story:  Two winning streaks came to halt
in the same game Feb. 9. Both the Phantoms' six-game and the
Bruins' three-game streaks ended when the teams tied, 2-2...

Aaron Brand, Kevyn Adams, Ryan Pepperall and Mark Deyell - they
all had a goal and two assists, as St. John's spanked Saint John
7-2 Feb. 10. Ladislav Kohn also had three points...

Cincinnati also posted a 7-2 that evening, as Eric Lecompte and
Frank Banham combined for seven assists in the win over
Adirondack...

Albany blew a 2-0 lead on Lowell Feb. 10, allowing the Monsters
four third-period goals...

Fredericton has only won two games on the road in 1999 - both in
Worcester. Mathieu Garon stopped 41 of 42 shots in the Habs' 3-1
win there Feb. 10...

Rochester's Dean Sylvester turned in a natural hat trick in the
second period of the Amerks' 4-1 defeat of New Haven the same
night...

As of February 10, 1999, 165 AHL players had been recalled to the
NHL. Portland sent the most players onward and upward, with 15
reporting to Washington or Chicago. Conversely, St. John's
has only sent two players - Jeff Reese and Francis Larivee - to
Toronto...

The current shutout pace would bring the AHL's season total to
83. The record of 61 seems to be in serious jeopardy...

Providence's Shawn Bates had a 14-game point streak, all the more
unusual because he was in Boston for three months in the middle
of it...

Should the Rochester Americans continue their present progress,
they will break the modern AHL record for fewest goals allowed in
a season. Saint John set the record last year, allowing only 201
goals and a 2.51 GAA. Rochester is on pace to give up - 167. At a
2.08 GAA. Wow...

Hartford's Brad Smyth launched 13 shots on goal against Lowell
Feb. 7, an AHL season high. He got a hat trick out of it...

Springfield's Robert Esche, Rochester's Martin Biron and
Hamilton's Steve Passmore have all played over 2,000 minutes
already this season...

Being the Maytag repairman wasn't enough for Hamilton backup
backstop Tim Thomas - he quit. Frustrated behind Passmore, Thomas
simply packed and left to return to the Finnish leagues...

The Providence Bruins' success is somewhat odd given that they
lead the league in penalty minutes, averaging 31.2 minutes per
game...

The Lowell Lock Monsters haven't won a home game since Dec. 19...

Jeff Williams only needs to score eight goals - in 34 games - to
become Albany's all-time single season goal-scoring champ.
Shouldn't be a problem for him...

Philadelphia leads - and I do mean, LEADS - the AHL in short-
handed goals. The Phantoms have scored 18 of them. In second
place is Albany. They have 9...

As of Feb. 10, the AHL's best penalty killers were - the Hamilton
Bulldogs, at 87.97%. Rochester is second...

Pittsburgh Penguin rookie Martin Sonnenberg has been in
Pittsburgh since last year. Specifically, Dec. 29, 1998. And he
still leads the AHL rookies in power-play goals...

Providence kept on trucking Feb. 12 with a 7-2 pounding of
Portland. Landon Wilson picked up a hat trick plus a helper, and
Terry Virtue and Brandon Smith had three assists each...

Chris Ferraro scored twice, unassisted, once short-handed, but it
was Daniel Lacroix who got the game-winner for Hamilton Feb. 12
against Fredericton. Final score, 3-2...

The Springfield Falcons didn't want to lose to Hartford Feb. 12,
so they scored the tying goal with four seconds left in
regulation. They went on to win the game 4-3 in OT...

Syracuse extended their losing streak to nine and non-winning
streak to ten with a 4-2 loss to Hershey, which scored in the
first minute of the game and kept going from there...

The Phantoms' seven-game unbeaten streak ended Feb. 12 with a 2-1
loss to Albany. John Madden scored the game-winner...

Hamilton has the best penalty killing in the AHL, but forgot to
tell Hershey that. The Bears scored four power-play goals,
including two on a five-on-three, in their 6-3 win on Feb. 13.
Blueliner Chris Armstrong scored a hat trick on just three shots,
all on the man-advantage, and Ville Niemenen and Mike Gaul also
had three points...

ECHL callup Martin Villeneuve did the job for Fredericton Feb.
13, stopping 45 of 47 shots to defeat the River Rats 4-2. Darcy
Harris scored the game-winner...

Dean Sylvester had a pair of goals as Rochester won 5-2 over
Syracuse Feb. 13.  Mike Harder also had three points as Syracuse
lost their tenth in a row. The record is 16...

Hartford scored the important goal late this time, picking up the
game-winner from Christian Dube with exactly one minute left to
beat Worcester 3-2...

Providence boosted their latest unbeaten streak to six with a 4-1
win against New Haven. Randy Robitaille scored two...

Cincinnati took advantage of the Flames Feb. 13 with a 5-3 win,
capped by Frank Banham's third-period natural hat trick...

Lowell got an overtime goal from defenseman Mike Mader to take
down St. John's 2-1 on Feb.
13...

Kentucky's 4-1 win over Adirondack on Valentine's Day included
two short-handed, empty-net goals. All four T-Blade goals came in
the last period...

Jean-Pierre Dumont returned from a sprained ankle to score twice
and pick up an assist as Portland beat St. John's 6-3 on Feb. 14.
Josef Marha set up three goals...

Lowell trampled Fredericton 7-1 on Feb. 14, getting a pair of
goals from the returning John Namestnikov and another pair from
Sean Haggerty... 

Landon Wilson kept it up with two more goals including the game-
winner from Providence Feb. 14 in a 5-2 win over Hartford. The
WolfPack took a two-goal lead, then let the Bruins have their
way the rest of the way...

The league is looking into an incident between Worcester and
Philadelphia on Valentine's day.  IceCat Bryce Salvador was
jumped by a Phantoms player during intermission under the stands.
Given the light sentence Greg Smyth received for a similar
transgression, not much will come of this...

Speaking of Greg Smyth, he'll miss the next month of play and for
a real change, it's not league-mandated. Smyth dislocated the
knee and ankle on the same leg in a game mishap...

The Philadelphia Phantoms are now the second AHL team to top
300,000 in attendance in three consecutive years. Providence did
it first...

Believe it or not, there is a team that can beat Providence.
Hartford is 4-2-0 against Providence this season...
              
The Springfield Falcons have gone to overtime twelve times this
season and haven't lost yet. They have won five times. Both marks
lead the AHL...

Lowell defenseman Mike Mader has only scored three goals for the
Lock Monsters. All three were game-winners...

Bryan Muir was the fiftieth different player to appear in a game
for Portland this year, a new franchise record...

Two AHL teams feature three players with 50 points or better:
Philadelphia (Jim Montgomery, Richard Park and Peter White) and
St. John's (Jason Podollan, Lonny Bohonos and Ladislav
Kohn)...

The closing of Maple Leaf Gardens left the Hersheypark Arena as
the oldest professional hockey arena in North America. Catch a
piece of history - before it's replaced too...
                                
The Bears scored twelve power-play goals in four home games and
missed another by two seconds...

The Hamilton Bulldogs are ranked second in short-handed goals and
in penalty killing at 87.12%, despite allowing four power-play
goals to Hershey in one game...

The Syracuse Crunch had 233 man-games lost to injury in their
first 52 games. They lost 149 all of last season...

Kentucky won their fourth straight and Adirondack dropped their
fourth straight in a 4-2 final Feb. 15, as Dan Boyle had a three-
point game...

Springfield scored two power-play goals on an early five on three
and the Falcons went on to knock down Worcester 4-1 Feb. 15...

Brian Wesenberg's second goal of the game in overtime boosted the
Phantoms over Cincinnati 3-2 on Feb. 15...

Portland's Jean-Pierre Dumont scored a power-play goal in the
third period to give the Pirates a tie with the Red Wings Feb.
15. It was the first time this season the Pirates got a point
from a game in which they didn't lead after two periods...
   
ECHL callup Dan Murphy came close to a shutout of the Lowell Lock
Monsters Feb. 17, but settled for a 5-1 win. Lowell has yet to
beat Worcester...

Providence's latest unbeaten streak ended at seven when New Haven
clipped the Bruins 4-3 on Feb. 17. Mike Fountain stopped 48
shots...

Darren Sinclair, who had scored one goal all season, scored two
on the power-play and Syracuse ended an 11 game winless streak
with a 4-3 win over Saint John Feb. 17. UHL goalie Patrick
Charbonneau, signed as an emergency backup, stopped 29 shots for
the win...

Another Rochester-Hamilton game, another shutout of the Bulldogs.
Martin Biron did it again, getting his sixth shutout and third
against Hamilton Feb. 17 as the Amerks won 3-0. Biron has
faced 217 Hamilton shots this season and stopped 210 of them for
a .970 save percentage...

Saint John allowed Syracuse their first win in 11 games, then
picked up their first win in ten games against St. John's Feb. 19
with a 5-3 win...

Ken Sutton scored a pair and John Madden had a three-point game
as Albany defeated Hamilton 4-1 on Feb. 19...

Syracuse returned to form Feb. 19 and lost to Cincinnati, 7-4. 
Frank Banham scored a pair for the Ducks...

Fredericton's Jose Theodore stopped 41 shots for his second
shutout of the season. The Canadiens defeated Springfield 2-0
despite being outshot 41 to 12 and facing NHL goaltender
Jimmy Waite, with the Falcons for conditioning...

The Hartford WolfPack took a 4-0 lead over Adirondack into the
third period and darn near blew it, allowing the Wings three
goals before hanging on to win...

Clash of the titans in Lexington and Providence came away with a
4-2 victory over Kentucky Feb. 19, ending the T-Blades' four-game
win streak...
 
Lowell got the game-winner from Dmitri Nabokov with 93 seconds
left to take out Worcester 4-3 Feb. 19...

Philadelphia managed to stay ahead of a Martin Biron-less
Rochester Feb. 19, winning 4-2 on a pair of goals from Jim
Montgomery...

First they got a point after trailing after two periods. Now,
they won one. Portland defeated New Haven 3-2 on Feb. 19, after
trailing 2-1 coming into the third period. Jean-Pierre Dumont's
late goal gave it to the Pirates...

Portland couldn't keep it up though, losing the next night to
Lowell by another 3-2 score. Dumont scored two more goals in the
loss...

He finally got to start a game and Scott Roche made it count,
coming with a few minutes of a shutout as Worcester beat New
Haven 2-1 Feb. 20...

The AHL's first OT game under the new rules went to Saint John
when Greg Pankewicz picked up the winning goal for a 6-5 victory
over St. John's. Sergei Varlamov had three points for the
Flames, Lonny Bohonos had four for the Leafs...

The Hamilton Bulldogs ended a three-game losing streak against
Syracuse, picking up a 4-2 win Feb. 20 on Daniel Lacroix's pair
of goals. Both Syracuse goals were scored by ECHL callup
Stewart Bodtker...

Fredericton scored three goals in 71 seconds and went on to
defeat Hartford 5-3 on Feb. 20...

Kentucky captain Jarrett Deuling had a hand in all of the
T-Blades goals in their 4-0 win over the Phantoms Feb. 20,
setting up two power-play goals in the second period and scoring
two short-handed goals in the third. Steve Guolla had three
assists and John Nabokov picked up his fifth shutout, second
against Philadelphia...

Christian Matte scored a pair and Marc Denis came within 18
seconds of a shutout Feb. 20 against Adirondack. The Bears went
on to win 4-1...

Chris Taylor scored two goals for the Bruins against Cincinnati
as they defeated the Ducks 4-2 Feb. 20...

Marcus Nilson scored two for New Haven in the Beast's 3-3 tie
with Springfield. New Haven got a point despite giving up two
goals to the Falcons in 16 seconds...

Jim Montgomery picked up the game-winner for Philadelphia as they
whacked the Ducks 3-2 Feb. 21...

Another night, another two goals for Daniel Lacroix. Yeah, you
read that right. Lacroix went double up on Syracuse again as the
Hamilton Bulldogs won again 5-3. Sergei Yerkovich had a three-
point game for the Bulldogs...

Marcel Cousineau stopped 29 for his third shutout of the season,
blanking Hartford 4-0 on Feb. 21. Evgeny Korolev and Sean
Haggerty each scored two goals...

The Bears went nuts on special teams again, this time with two
power-play and one short-handed goal against Kentucky in a 4-3
win over the division leaders Feb. 21...

Albany defeated Rochester 4-2 on Feb. 21 on a game-winner from
Matt Ruchty, Rochester's second loss since Martin Biron went to
Buffalo...


---------------------------------------------------------------
Reader Mail
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

It's been a long time since we ran a reader mail column.  So,
like, here's one.  Now leave me alone.  Oh yeah, letters may be
edited for content in cases when the writer rambles incoherently
or says something really stupid.    

TUGNUTT TIRADE
Last October, I read your article on 'Thanks Expansion' (October
14) and agreed with you in large part but could not believe my
eyes when I caught Ron Tugnutt in your list of the unwashed.
Surely it was a typo. Surely the gang at LCS must watch more
games than those coming out of Vancouver, Toronto and
Philadelphia. I was going to write to ask if Zippy was handing
out the cheap drugs over at the LCS bunker but I held back,
pulling that old groin injury in the process. Well now I can't
help myself. 

I'm sure to many of you guys, the Tugger is having a fine season,
but to the rest of us who knew he was going to enter his third
surprising fine season there is less amazement. Now I understand
how misunderstood the Quebec Nordiques fans must have felt when
all the world paid attention to the larger market clubs and
ignored the jewels they had back home. I for one am tired of
watching Toronto and Montreal games in the Ottawa Valley when we
have a perfectly good product to watch on TV here at home. But we
all know the beer and TV execs know best what is good for the
fan. Does LCS?

Gilles Leger 
Ottawa

LCS:  Dearest Gilles, I myself am a former Quebec
Nordiques fan.  A real serious fan.  Real serious.  I love myself
some Ronnie Tugnutt.  I even painted my first goalie helmet to
match the one he wore with the Nords.  Hell, I still have the
newspaper boxscore of his 70-save performance against the Bruins
in the Garden.  

Tugnutt deserves all the credit in the world for having a
marvelous season.  He's actually on pace to break the existing
record for lowest goals-against average in a season since the
dawn of the modern era in 1942-43, when the center red line was
added to the mix.  Tony Esposito holds the current standard,
posting a 1.77 GAA in 1971-72.  Tugnutt currently checks in at
1.57.  However, it should be noted that he's only appeared in 30 games, 
while most number ones are clocked in the mid-40s.   
 
But let's not get delirious with Tuggermania.  Let's face it, he
works behind a club that plays terrific team defense.  Playing
goal in Ottawa isn't the toughest gig in show business.  He faces
an average of 23 shots an outing.  That's a light workload.  I
face more shots than that on any given Wednesday night.  Or
Friday night.  Or Saturday night.  Or, well, you get the idea.

And while Tugnutt is cool, let's not allow one remarkable showing
to wash away an entire 10-year career.  Before this season he had
only recorded a save percentage above .900 once, and that was in
1997-98 when he checked in with a very pedestrian .905.  Last
season was also the first time he ever posted a goals-against
below 2.80.   

Remember, Tugnutt was out of the league completely in 1995-96,
playing for Portland of the AHL.  Had it not been for expansion,
and the ongoing struggle of 26 clubs trying to find two competent
goaltenders, Ronnie never would have been given a second chance.  

Tugnutt's a great guy and one of my personal favorites, but he's
not an elite goaltender.  When ranking the 27 starting netminders
in this league, Tugger would probably come in somewhere between
20 and 27.  As great a year as he's having, teams aren't going to
fear him in the playoffs.  He's small, slow, and awkward.  

But he's still cool. 


NOT A FLEURY FAN
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This letter is regarding Theo Fleury being
named as one of the top five coolest players in the NHL.)

Wow, you've got to kidding.  Theo Fleury?  There is no doubt that
this guy has guts and can put the puck in net, but his tremendous
diving is sickening.  He should change his name to Thespian
Fleury and move to Hollywood.  Don Cherry must be turning over in
his grave... oh, is he still alive?

Steve Weaver 
Parts Unknown

LCS:  Steve, sorry, but Theo Fleury is the man.   I,
myself, have never known him to dive.  But even if he did, who
could blame him?  If I was playing in Calgary I'd be diving
too... off the nearest bridge.  Aw, I like to kid the folks in
Calgary.  I tease in fun.  


SINGAPORE CALLING
Hi, I'm a Canadian expat living in Singapore and a big fan of
your web page.  I also happen to be in charge of ice and street
hockey out here. I've been reading LCS pretty much since I first
came out here in 1995 and you were even the first link we added
to our web site when our team finally put one up in 1997.  We
felt your pain during those tough times when you were looking for
your Mr. Drummond and even attempted to have a charity event to
raise money for LCS.  Unfortunately we only managed to come up
with 10,000 Indonesian Rupiah and that wasn't enough for postage
to mail it to you so we thought screw it, they're just a bunch of
bums anyway.

So getting to the point, I read your article about your Happy
Birthday Baby Jesus tournament and I thought "Hey wouldn't it be
fun to beat those LCS punks in a street hockey game."  And since
the answer was yes, I'm wondering if you'd like to come out to
Asia to play in the annual Mekong Cup tournament.  The Mekong Cup
is the largest street hockey tournament in South East Asia.  By
street hockey I mean with running shoes, not in-line skates.  

This will be the 5th year and should hopefully feature teams (of
mainly expats) from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam, Bangkok,
Hong Kong and an alumni team from North America.  It's held in
Phuket, Thailand where we play on an old tennis court at a very
nice beach front resort.  Dates have yet to be confirmed but it
is usually in early June.  It is also somewhat of a charity event
with money going to Father Joe, which is an organization that
helps out delinquents (much like yourself but younger) in
Bangkok.  

The hockey is really good but the tournament is as much about fun
as anything and Thailand is something to be experienced if you've
never been there.  You know what they say about one night in
Bangkok...

Cheers,

Alan Roessel 
Singapore

LCS:  Alan, thank you very much for the kind words about
LCS and the invitation to Singapore.  As much as I'd like to
learn the folks of Asia old school on the finer points of street
hockey, sadly, I'm afraid I'll be unable to attend.  Aside from
the usual parole violations and whatnot, the fact that my bank
account is home to exactly $13.64 pretty much excludes leaving
the house, let alone the country.  

If you, our valued readers, would like to learn more about Alan
and the fine folks in Singapore, check out their web page at   
<a
href="http://www.angelfire.com/ok/sporehockey">http://www.angelfi
re.com/ok/sporehockey</a>


JERICOHOLIC
Is Chris Jericho really your Official Wrestler?  Because he's
pretty damn cool.

Steve Wilson 
Greensburg

LCS:  Yes, Chris Jericho is our Official Wrestler.  No
joke.  And, yes, he is pretty damn cool.  If you haven't seen him
around much lately that's because he's currently in a contract
situation that could see him switching employers in the near
future.  We hope to have updates as events transpire.  
  
TRADE TALK
Do you think that Fleury and\or Chelios will be traded before the
deadline?  I heard that Fleury is headed to Philadelphia... is
this possible? And what about Chelios?

Thanks a lot,

Enrico Bonifazio 
Italy

LCS:  Enrico, I'm not privy to any special information,
I'm like really out of the loop.  I probably wouldn't even
recognize the loop if I saw it.  But I would say you can count on
Fleury being traded before the deadline.  

Philly is doubtful.  I just don't think Bobby Clarke is good
enough to pull off the trade.  The big frontrunner at the moment
seems to be the New York Rangers, with San Jose and Buffalo still 
possibilities.  The real dark horse, though, appears to be Dallas.  
But the Flames would rather trade him East for obvious reasons.  

The big hitch is that Theo, who will be an unrestricted free
agent this summer, has stated for the record that if he gets
traded he will not automatically re-sign with his new club.  He
is intent on testing the free-agent market.  This pretty much
cripples any bargaining leverage for Calgary.  The Flames will
just have to take what they can or lose him for nothing come
July.    
  
As for Chelios, I can't really see him being traded.  He is
Chicago.  That would be a public relations nightmare.  He should
retire a Blackhawk.  Although, he is plenty old and that team
isn't going anywhere, so it's not completely out of the question. 
But I doubt it.  

Doug Gilmour is the guy that should get the boot.  But his
ridiculously large contract makes him almost untradeable.  Six
million dollars for a small, goal-scoring impaired, second-line
center?  God bless capitalism.

And while Chicago is trimming the dead wood, cut Alexei Zhamnov
loose.  The Blackhawks simply aren't a team that can be built
around a Russian center.  The day he was traded for Jeremy
Roenick is the day the Blackhawk organization lost its identity.  


I'M SORRY
Don't ever call me again.

(Name withheld upon request)

LCS:  I won't.


WHAT HAPPENED?
What the hell happened to your web site?  Where's the Web Extra? 
And are you ever going to update the stat section?

Tom Hill 
New Brunswick

LCS:  Tom, I think I see the problem.  See, what you
wanted to do was send this letter to someone who gives a rat's
ass.

But since you did ask, yes, the web site has been scaled down
this season.  We're just doing issues, and only issues.  The
reason is quite simple.  We're all just starting to go our
separate ways.  Zippy is a serious mover and shaker in the world
of technology, Jim is a big-time sports reporter on the local
scene, Matthew is busy doing all his Matthew stuff, and I spend
the time between issues working at becoming a real writer while I
patiently await my burgeoning career in fraud/bunko to take hold. 

Yet despite all our different interests, we still try to rally
the troops once every two weeks to produce our usual mediocre
publication.  Why?  Because we care about you, our valued readers.  

You are, without doubt, the twelve most important people in our lives.  
And that comes from right here.  I know you couldn't see, but I was 
tapping my chest in an effort to symbolize that the sentiment came 
straight from my heart.  So when I said "And that comes from right here," 
I meant my heart.  Seriously.  From the heart.            


---------------------------------------------------------------
LCS Hockey - The Publicity Tour
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Michael Dell

As many on you may have noticed, I really wasn't involved with
the last issue, at least as far as editing and writing goes.  I
took the issue off in order to embark on a rigorous
journey across North America to spread the gospel of LCS Hockey. 

With personal appearances set in Philadelphia, New York, Dover,
Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, and Los Angeles, it was my duty to
take the word of LCS Hockey to the people.    

We knew beforehand that the impact of such a whirlwind publicity
tour could prove to be very beneficial.  Many among the inner
circle felt this would be, without doubt, the defining moment in
the life of LCS Hockey.  The very future of the grand publication
would be resting on my actions in the days to follow.  I knew the
responsibility involved and I accepted it.  I would be under
constant pressure to perform every step of the way... and loving
it.

Now, as I sit here typing this drivel, it's hard to believe that
it's all over.  The two weeks came and went in a blur. 
Thankfully, the memories will live on.  Wanting to share my
experiences with you, our valued readers, I kept a journal of my
personal two-week Odyssey.  It's inspiring, it's exciting, it
will make you feel what it means to be alive.  

Read.  Share.  Enjoy.

THE LCS HOCKEY PUBLICITY TOUR

DAY 1:  Wanting to get on the road early, I woke up at the
ungodly hour of two in the afternoon.  I wasn't happy about it. 
This strange, orange glowing object in the sky furthered my
disenchantment.  But I had to persevere.  I had to continue.  All
of LCS Hockey was depending on me.  There was just one problem. 
I couldn't find my car keys.  Considering this an ominous sign, I
decided to go back to sleep.  

DAY 2:  Still couldn't find car keys.  Maybe tomorrow.

DAY 3:  Found keys but couldn't find car.  Went back to
sleep.

DAY 4:  Found car, but misplaced keys.  Found keys again. 
Lost keys.  Found keys.  Lost.  Found.  Lost.  Found.  This
ongoing game of cat and mouse drained my strength something
fierce.  I was in no shape to drive.  Went back to sleep. 

DAY 5:  When I woke up I had no idea where the hell I was. 
It was quite frightening.  With no other option at my disposal, I
decided to go back to sleep and hoped that someone would take me
home while I slumbered.  It wasn't until later that I realized I
had just fallen asleep upside-down in my bed and had really been
in my own room the entire time.  I was so relieved that I slept
peacefully for the rest of the day.   

DAY 6:  It was kind of nippy outside.  I chill easily. 
And it is the cold and flu season.  Didn't want to risk it. 
Stayed home and slept.

DAY 7:  "Columbo" was on.  

DAY 8:  Something just didn't feel "right."

DAY 9:  Actually left the house and got in the car.  Drove
all the way to the end of my street before forgetting where I was
going.  Turned around and came home.  

DAY 10:  Was occupied by a shiny bronze object I found on
the floor.  It was small, thin, and round in shape.  Apparently
some sort of pagan currency, on one side it had the words "In God
We Trust" printed above a picture of a man resembling Ike
Turner.  Studied it for hours.  Took a break.  Studied it some
more.  Went to sleep.  

DAY 11:  Can no longer remember why I'm keeping this
journal.  Must be a homework assignment of some sort.  But I
don't go to school.  Maybe my therapist asked me to do it as a
way for me to get in touch with myself?  Wait, I don't have a
therapist.  Then who is that lady?  And why do I pay her eighty-
five bucks an hour?  Oh wait.  Never mind.  

DAY 12:  Discovered that crayons are not candy.  They
actually taste like wax.  Purple is my favorite.  

DAY 13:  A black plastic box in the corner of the room
began to make a ringing sound.  It would pause for a brief moment
and then ring again.  Clearly it was bewitched by some evil
magical power.  I turned off the lights and hid under the bed
until it stopped.  

DAY 14:  Zippy came by to see how the publicity tour went. 
I said, "What publicity tour?"  He laughed and said, "No,
seriously, how'd it go?"  Not knowing how to respond, I said,
"Cool."  He seemed pleased.  He asked a few more questions.  I
answered each one by saying "cool."  He left.  I went to sleep.

                    
---------------------------------------------------------------
Help Wanted
---------------------------------------------------------------
by LCS Hockey

Every year it's the same old story.  We always start the season
with a full roster of correspondents, but it never lasts long. 
The ranks have once again become depleted thanks to the usual
deportations and accidental bludgeonings, not to mention our
ongoing blood feud with Bil Keane, the creator of the hilariously
funny "Family Circus" comic strip.

But, as the old saying goes, one person's mysterious
disappearance is another person's golden opportunity.  The
following correspondent gigs are now up for grabs:

Calgary 
Carolina 
New Jersey 
San Jose 

As an LCS Hockey team correspondent, it will be your
responsibility to file a team report once every two weeks for
issues.  You'll also be given first crack at all feature articles
involving your team.  

And what do you get out of the deal?  Well, how about the pride
and satisfaction that comes with being associated with such a
prestigious publication as LCS Hockey?  Oh, that isn't enough? 
Well, how about the honor of calling Zippy the Wonder Chimp
"friend"?  Still no deal?  What's wrong with you!  We're talkin'
Zippy here!  He's not just your ordinary chimp.  Oh no.  He's a
wonder chimp, damn it!  A wonder chimp!  

If you're interested, write to us at <a
href=mailto:dell@lcshockey.com>dell@lcshockey.com</a> and tell us
all about yourself.  Make sure you include information like age,
location, past writing experience, and the names of as many
Charlie's Angels as you can remember.  Hint: there were six.  

And be sure to make the letter strong.  Because we're basing our
decisions on 'em.  

Thank you.

================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Rob Ftorek 
   
Roster: C - Bobby Holik, Bob Carpenter, Denis Pederson, Petr
Sykora, Jason Arnott, Sergei Brylin, Brendan Morrison. LW - Dave
Andreychuk, Brian Rolston, Scott Daniels, Jay Pandolfo, Sasha 
Lakovic. RW - Patrik Elias, Randy McKay, Vadim Sharifijanov,
Krzysztof Oliwa. D - Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken
Daneyko, Lyle Odelein, Kevin Dean, Sheldon Souray, Brad
Bombardir, Ken Sutton. G - Martin Brodeur, Chris Terreri.

Injuries: Dave Andreychuk returned to the lineup after missing 
21 games with a broken right ankle.   

Transactions: None.

Game Results:
2/12 Washington    L 3-2
2/13 Carolina      W 6-4
2/15 Toronto       T 3-3
2/17 Tampa Bay     W 7-1
2/19 at Detroit    L 3-1
2/20 NY Islanders  L 3-2
2/22 at Tampa Bay  W 3-2

TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

We're still missing a New Jersey correspondent.  So that means
I'll try and honor the Devils as only I can.  That's right,
through limerick.  I bet you thought I was going to say Haiku,
didn't ya?  Nope, not this time.  I'm all about limericks.  Ahem. 

There once was a Devil from Nantucket, 
His... 

On second thought, maybe I should stick with Haikus.

Andreychuk is back, 
I like to call him David, 
Have you seen my pants?

Remember, my book of Haikus, entitled "Haikus? I Got Your Haikus
Right Here," can be purchased at better bookstores everywhere.  

Thank you.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Bill Stewart
   
Roster: C - Robert Reichel, Trevor Linden, Bryan Smolinski, 
Claude Lapointe, Sergei Nemchinov, Craig Janney. LW - Mike Watt,
Mike Hough, Ted Donato, Gino Odjick. RW - Zigmund Palffy, Joe
Sacco, Mariusz Czerkawski, Kevin Miller, Mark Lawrence, Steve
Webb. D - Kenny Jonsson, Scott Lachance, Richard Pilon, Eric
Brewer, David Harlock, Barry Richter, Zdeno Chara, Ted Crowley. G
- Felix Potvin, Tommy Salo, Wade Flaherty. 

Injuries: Felix Potvin, g (groin strain, 7-10 days);  Gino
Odjick, lw (abdominal surgery, season); Eric Cairns, d (ankle,
indefinite).

Transactions:  None.

Game Results
2/12 Nashville     L 2-1
2/13 Buffalo       T 2-2
2/15 Tampa Bay     T 3-3
2/17 Pittsburgh    W 3-1 
2/20 at New Jersey W 3-2
2/21 at Carolina   L 4-1

TEAM NEWS by David Strauss

Another year, another lottery for the Isles.

Year after year, Islander fans start the season with hope.  The
young defense is going to prosper, the forwards are going to fill
the net, and the goaltending will be spectacular.

In 1999, the young defense was traded, the forwards are scoring
less than Monica Lewinsky at a Republican fundraiser, and the
goaltending?  Well, okay, it hasn't been bad, but it sure has
been cranky.

The symbol of the Isles lack of consistency over the last few
years would certainly be the debacle that was the Bryan Berard
for Felix Potvin deal, but it's not the main reason.  Chalk that
up to questionable ownership that came riding into Uniondale last
season wearing a white hat and promising to restore the glory,
and in reality refused to pay the team's top player for a third
of the season, gave the captain a take it or leave it offer, has
refused to sign any free agents, and oh yeah, is willing to spend
$800 million to buy the Washington Redskins.

And while we're pointing the finger at ownership (actually, it's
only me...we media types like to use the pronoun "we" to pretend
we speak for more than our own ego), how about management?  Mike
Milbury has made almost two dozen trades in his tenure as
Islanders coach, and while some of them were good (getting
Kenny Jonsson and Mike Watt), and some of them questionable
(Trevor Linden for Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe), some of them
have been really, really bad (basically losing Travis Green for a
used skate bag and a 9th rounder, and the Berard deal).
  
It boils down to one question: Has Milbury made this team better
from his deals, using almost 100 players over the last few years? 
No.  And since he stepped down as coach, he's been pulling a JD
Salinger, and has disappeared from the media.  For a guy who used
to relish his spotlight on ESPN, that means he's either
shellshocked from his failure as coach and GM, or practicing
the black arts.  My bet is on the former, but you know those
Boston guys.

With Toronto coming to town this week, the Isles have been forced
to look at just how bad Felix Potvin has been for them.  Potvin
has a 3.86 goals-against average and has a 1-6-1 record as an
Islander. He's given up a lot of soft goals and, after sitting
out for a month before the trade, strained his groin and missed
several games.

"This hasn't been easy," Potvin has said.   No kidding.

The ironic part is that the guy that Milbury decided wasn't good
enough to play goal for a last place team, Tommy Salo, has been
very good since the deal.  New coach Bill Stewart, without saying
so, certainly prefers to have the Swede in net.

"I didn't think I'd still be here," Salo admitted. "The way Mike
handled it was hard for me. He should have traded me before he
had two of us. I felt like he pointed the finger at me [for the
team's failings]. Now that Mike's not here [coaching] any more, I
think it's more relaxed. I think everyone feels that way. Players
are just more confident. They're holding the puck longer, making
plays. They're less afraid of screwing up any more."

So add one more question to the Isles' clouded future.   Whether
Mike Milbury will be around next season.

*****

The Isles' Jeckyl and Hyde season continued last week with a
typical stretch of games. 

They played one of their best games this season on Saturday,
overcoming a third-period 2-1 deficit to beat the New Jersey
Devils, 3-2, at Continental Airlines Arena, running their modest
unbeaten streak to 2-0-2.  Then, they had one of their worst
games of the year (a tough call, there have been a lot) losing to
the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1, on Sunday at Greensboro Coliseum.

"Unfortunately, things like this happen," Islanders coach Bill
Stewart said. "It's a learning process and we're certainly going
to keep everything in perspective. There's a simple fact that
over the course of the last seven games we've lost just twice --
and, I thought we, for the most part, competed very well. You do
have letdowns over the course of the season, but consistent
teams always show up and we have to learn that as a group." 


The Islanders are 5-5-4 since Stewart took over as coach on
January 21. 

Without physical defenseman Rich Pilon, who had left the team
after the game Saturday to attend the funeral of his grandmother
back home in Canada, the Islanders were physically punished by
the Hurricanes.  

Stewart called it "our B game." He said, "You have to answer the
bell.  I am not going to beat them up over it. They've been beat
up enough." 

The team now faces its fifth straight season without a postseason
berth. That will become the longest streak in the league if the
Hurricanes -- formerly the Hartford Whalers -- end their
six-season drought with a postseason appearance this year. 

*****

John Spano, awaiting sentencing after admitting in federal court
he had committed fraud in order to obtain an $80 million loan
from Fleet Bank to purchase the Islanders in 1997, was arrested
last week in Philadelphia on charges he violated the terms of his
bail -- because he allegedly passed bad checks for business and
personal dealings. 

The arrest was announced by federal officials on Long Island.
Neither Spano nor his attorney could be reached for comment. 
Which means that he definitely learned something in his time as
pseudo-Isles-owner.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK RANGERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: John Muckler

Rosters:  C - Wayne Gretzky, Manny Malhotra, Petr Nedved, Marc
Savard.  LW - Brent Fedyk, Adam Graves, Darren Langdon, Kevin
Stevens, Eric Lacroix.  RW - Todd Harvey, Mike Knuble, John
MacLean, Niklas Sundstrom.  D - Jeff Beukeboom, Brian Leetch,
Stan Neckar, Peter Popovic, Ulf Samuelsson, Mathieu Schneider,
Ruman Ndur, Chris Tamer, Rich Brennan.  G - Mike Richter, Dan
Cloutier.

Injuries: Jeff Beukeboom, d (concussion, indefinite); Peter
Popovic, d (eye, day-to-day); Todd Harvey, c (thumb, day-to-day).

Transactions: Traded Sean Pronger, c, to Los Angeles in exchange
for Eric Lacroix, lw.  Traded Geoff Smith, d, and Jeff Finley, d,
to St. Louis in exchange for future considerations.  

Game Results:
2/12 Carolina     L 3-1
2/14 Detroit      L 4-2
2/15 at Nashville W 7-4
2/17 Montreal     L 6-3
2/19 Pittsburgh   W 6-1
2/21 at Edmonton  W 2-1 OT
2/22 at Calgary   L 6-2

TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

The Rangers have gone 3-4-0 the past two weeks.  Not exactly the
kind of production that's going to secure a playoff spot.  The
Blueshirts are currently tied with Washington for eleventh in the
Eastern Conference with 53 points.  They trail tenth place
Montreal by a single point, ninth place Boston by two points, and
are four points behind Florida for the eighth and final
invitation to the postseason.  Every game is crucial from here on
out.  Unless, you know, you've got something better to do, then
screw it.  

HOWE MUCH LONGER?:  Wayne Gretzky remains tied with Gordie
Howe with 1,071 total career goals, including the WHA and
playoffs.  Many were hoping that he'd eclipse the mark on
February 21 when he returned to Edmonton, but it didn't happen. 

Wayne had a shot to break the record two days earlier against
Pittsburgh, but elected to forego a quality chance in front in
order to one-touch a pass across to Adam Graves for an easy tap-
in.  It was vintage Gretzky.  It brought a tear to my eye.  Just
talking about it now gets me kind of choked up.

On February 15 in Nashville, Gretzky didn't find the net but he
did put on a ghetto clinic in terms of passing.  The Great One
recorded five assists on the night and paced the Rangers to a 7-4
triumph over the Predators.  Five assists ain't no joke.  

Yee-haw!  I'm Wayne Gretzky!  Yee-haw!

But before I get too giddy, I would like to ask one favor. 
Wayne, buddy, would it bust your ass to be a plus once in a
while?  C'mon, dude, help a brother out.  How do you expect me to
play you in my hockey pool if you're a -2 every night?  It's kind
of embarrassing to look to the right of your name and see a -20. 
At least I know I'm embarrassed for you.  See what you can do. 
Thanks.  

I think part of the problem is that Wayne needs more speed on his
line.  I don't want to tell John Muckler how to do his job, lord
knows he's busy enough trying to look like Police Squad's Frank
Drebin and all, but I'd move Petr Nedved up to the right wing
with Gretzky and Graves.  

Sure, this will leave the Rangers painfully weak up the middle,
but guess what?  They're already painfully weak up the middle. 
You might as well stack one line and hope for the best.  As it is
now the only time Gretzky and Graves are a threat to score is on
the power play.  They're both just too slow to score off the rush
with any consistency.  They need someone on their line to stretch
the defense.  And until Neil Smith works up the courage to go
after Theo Fleury, Nedved is the best man for the job.  
    
HARVEY HURT:  Todd Harvey is on the shelf again.  The
scrappy center is being forced to sit out because of pain in his
fractured right thumb.  You know, I recently had a broken right
thumb my damn self.  Frankly, the pain was the best part.  I have
no idea what Harvey's complaining about.  I'm actually thinking
about having mine broken again just for the hell of it.  Plus,
maybe it will heal straight this time instead of in the
freakishly crooked angle it is now.  But really, it's no big
thing.  You can hardly tell when I wear gloves... really thick
gloves.  

TRADES:  The Rangers added more grit by picking up Eric
Lacroix from Los Angeles in exchange for Sean Pronger, who came
over from Pittsburgh in the Nedved deal.  

Lacroix is a tremendous competitor that gives it his all on every
shift.  He never passes up a check and will hit relentlessly all
night long.  As long as the Rangers don't expect too much from
him, like 15 to 20 goals to go along with his physical play,
Lacroix will be an excellent addition.  

New York is Lacroix's third team this season.  He started the
year in Colorado amidst some controversy regarding his father
being the Avalanche GM before his good ol' dad shipped him to Los
Angeles.   

Lacroix certainly got off to a good start with his new teammates,
scoring the overtime game-winner to beat the Oilers in Edmonton
on February 21.

The Rangers also made another trade, sending defensemen Jeff
Finley and Geoff Smith to St. Louis for future considerations. 
So basically what Neil Smith is saying is that if he could have
traded these guys for less, he would have.  

WHAT GOALTENDING CONTROVERSY?:  It seemed like the Rangers
might have a bit of a goaltending controversy on their hands, or
at least it did until the club went out West.

It all started with two horrendous starts by Mike Richter.  The
first came on February 14 against Detroit.  Richter yielded three
goals on 12 shots in the game's first 15 minutes before giving
way to backup Dan Cloutier, who stopped all 17 shots faced. 
Cloutier was given the next start in Nashville and made 29 saves
in the 7-4 win.  

Muckler came back with Richter on February 17 against Montreal. 
Bad decision.  Once again, Richter was victimized for three
first-period goals, this time in the first five minutes and 32
seconds of the game.  Cloutier came in to mop up and turned away
34 of 37 shots the rest of the way.  

Cloutier was given the nod on February 19 against Pittsburgh and
responded with a spectacular 32-save effort in a 6-1 win.  The
youngster was being praised left and right for his play.  Ulf
Samuelsson was especially impressed with how the kid battled,
even going so far as to say that Cloutier played more physical
than he did.    

Most everyone expected Cloutier to be in net when the Rangers
arrived in Edmonton, but Muckler played a hunch and started
Richter.  The former Stanley Cup winner came through like a
champ, making 39 saves in the 2-1 overtime win.  All was right
with the world.  Or was it?  

The next night in Calgary, Cloutier got wrecked.  He gave up two
goals on three shots in the game's first 5:09.  Richter came in
and stopped 31 of 35, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 6-2
drubbing at the hands of the Flames.  

So maybe Ranger fans shouldn't start calling for the trading of
Richter just yet.  It would seem that Cloutier could still use
some seasoning.  Paprika is always popular.  
   


-----------------------------------------------------------------
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Roger Neilson

Roster: C - Rod Brind'Amour, Marc Bureau, , Daymond Langkow, Eric
Lindros. LW - Colin Forbes, Dan Kordic, John LeClair, Roman
Vopat, Valeri Zelepukin. RW - Jody Hull, Keith Jones, Andrei
Kovalenko, Mikael Renberg, Dainius Zubrus. D - Dave Babych, Ryan
Bast, Andy Delmore, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Dan McGillis,
Luke Richardson, Chris Therien, Dmitri Tertyshny. G - Ron
Hextall, Jean-Marc Pelletier, John Vanbiesbrouck.

Injuries: Dave Babych, d (fractured foot, day to day).

Transactions: None.

Game results:
02/11 at Anaheim      L 5-4
02/12 at Los Angeles  L 4-3
02/14 at Colorado     T 4-4
02/16 at Phoenix      W 4-1
02/18 Montreal        L 3-1
02/20 at Ottawa       L 4-1
02/21 Pittsburgh      W 2-1

TEAM NEWS by Chuck Michio

BACK TO REALITY
Got that old sinking feeling again?

After watching the Flyers unleash seemingly endless amounts of
whoop ass on the NHL over the past two months, even I was
starting to think they were legitimate contenders for the Stanley
Cup. Maybe it was all the cough syrup I was drinking at the time
because it sure seems crazy now.

Sunday night's win over Pittsburgh helped the boys in orange and
black regain first place in the Eastern Conference, but it didn't
help to erase the memories of a gruesome western swing that saw
pucks entering the Flyers net faster than cheeseburgers used to
fly down Chris Farley's throat.

What the hell happened? How did a team that played flawless
defense for weeks suddenly turn into a bunch of Paul Coffey
clones? Was it jet lag? Lack of focus? Sure, the fact that John
Vanbiesbrouck and Ron Hextall spread their legs with Madonna-like
frequency didn't help much, but goaltending alone doesn't account
for the alarming number of goals the team allowed in the last two
weeks. Something more must be wrong.

I think I know what it is.

"We've got a good bunch of guys. We just want to make sure things
don't start slipping," said Chris Therien after a team meeting
last weekend.

Anyone out there comforted by words like that? Anyone other than
Buffalo Sabres fans, that is?

Sometimes, you can't help but get the feeling that Terry Murray
was right.

THE CHELIOS WATCH
Watching the Flyers play out west must have made Bob Clarke's
sphincter do some serious puckering. Look for Trader Bob to do
something to stop the bleeding, but don't expect to see longtime
Flyers nemesis Chris Chelios in orange and black anytime soon.

Apparently, Chelios has responded to persistent rumors that he's
headed to the Flyers by doing what he does best--opening his big
mouth and spewing out crap. Reportedly, Chelios said that Clarke
should "shut up" when he was recently asked about a possible
trade to Philly. I'm sure Dainius Zubrus can understand that
sentiment, but I doubt the outburst will increase the odds that
Chelios will become a Flyer.

I also doubt that there's any truth to the rumors that another of
the Flyers least favorite men, Ulf Samuelsson, might be bringing
his act to Broad Street. If there's anyone in the league who
hates Clarke more than Rangers GM Neil Smith, I'd like to know
who it is. I doubt Smith would help Clarke if he was falling into
a giant meat grinder, let alone trade him a player who could
become a key playoff cog. If logic plays any part here, Arnold
Schwarzenegger will anchor "Nightline" before Samuelsson becomes
a Flyer.

A more likely scenario would be the return of former Flyer Mark
Recchi, who can apparently be had for a used puck bag at the
moment. Recchi wouldn't address the Flyers biggest need, another
reliable defensive defenseman, but he would give the team another
scoring threat on the right wing.

A TWIN BRIND'AMOUR?
There are some things that you can only learn from reading LCS
Hockey.

Has anyone else noticed that Mr. Consistency, Rod Brind'Amour,
has been stinking up the ice worse than a hippo with diarrhea
lately? Not only has Brind'Amour failed to score in his last 10
games, he's made some uncharacteristically horrific defensive
plays, too.

Conventional minds would probably blame Brind'Amour's poor play
on a rib injury he suffered just before the start of his goal
drought. That's probably what the Flyers would have us believe,
too. But I believe the truth may be more sinister.

Is it possible that Brind'Amour has an uncoordinated twin brother
who takes his place at times--unbeknownst to all but a few in the
Flyers hierarchy?

Not only would that theory shed light upon how Brind'Amour has
been able to amass the longest current iron man streak in the
NHL, it would also explain the horrific slumps that have plagued
his career at times and his occasional propensity for missing
wide-open nets.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of this potential conspiracy
is the possibility, however slight it may be, that another man as
ugly as Brind'Amour might be roaming the streets of my hometown
at this moment.

Sounds like a potential X-Files episode to me.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Kevin Constantine
     
Roster:  C - Martin Straka, Robert Lang, Jan Hrdina, Tyler
Wright. LW - German Titov, Stu Barnes, Kip Miller, Ian Moran, Dan
Kesa.  RW - Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Aleksey Morozov, Robby
Brown, Martin Sonnenberg. D - Darius Kasparaitis, Kevin Hatcher,
Brad Werenka, Jiri Slegr, Bobby Dollas, Neil Wilkinson, Jeff
Serowik, Victor Ignatjev, Maxim Galanov. G - Tom Barrasso, Peter
Skudra. 

Injuries: Jeff Serowik, d (concusison, day-to-day); Victor
Ignatjev, d (shoulder, indefinite).  Rob Brown returned from
missing over 20 games with a broken foot.  

Transactions: None.

Game Results
2/11 Vancouver       W 6-5 OT
2/13 at Nashville    W 3-2 OT
2/15 Washington      W 7-3
2/17 at NY Islanders L 3-1
2/19 at NY Rangers   L 6-1
2/21 at Philadelphia L 2-1

TEAM NEWS by Jerry Fairish

I guess the Penguins couldn't go on winning forever, but they
could have at least waited until Issue 114 was ready for
publication.  Why?  That way I could make up more incredible song
parodies for you the reader.  I know how popular they were based
on the amount of e-mail I received.  My favorite was a simple
one-word message that just read, "DIE!"  I think the readers are
really starting to take a liking to me.

Anyway, the Penguins were able to put together a 10-game winning
streak only to have it snapped on Long Island by the pathetic
Islanders.  If anyone should be whining to the press this week it
should be the Penguins not Ziggy Palffy, who decided to cry about
his team earlier this week after the Isles tied the Tampa Bay
Lightning.  Ziggy questioned his teammates after the Isles were
only able to manage a tie against the Bolts.

"They are the worst team in the NHL and we tie. I don't know
what's going on, but we have to be a little more hungry for the
puck and score the goals because if we want to make the playoffs
we can't play like that."  

I got news for you, Zig... YOU'RE NOT MUCH BETTER, SO GROW UP!

The Pens are a lot of fun to watch recently, seemingly scoring
goals at will and playing the type of defense that wins you
games.  And the problem that the Pens have been facing all
season, namely goaltending, worked itself out.  However, the
Penguins are now going to realize that with injury-prone Tom
Barrasso going down every other game with some sort of boo-boo,
Peter Skudra is going to have to step-up and do the job.  

Skudra has definitely put together some impressive stats (11-5-3,
2.94 GAA), unfortunately it hasn't been against the NHL's elite. 
Skudra has without doubt played well, but he's played like a
goalie on a team in the middle of a winning streak.  This means
that he didn't have to make as many of the "tough saves."  He
hasn't had to play like a starting goalie.  The Pens have scored
goal after goal insuring Skudra that if he made a mistake the
rest of the team could cover it.  I got news for y'all... against
teams like Dallas, Colorado, Philly, Skudra will be eaten alive. 

While Skudra is, as a friend of mine described, "athletic," he is
not a very good goalie.  His angles are weak and he's very small,
not that size matters, but it does in this case. The Penguins
should have never let Ken Wregget get out of their hands.  He,
too, has had problems this season, but he had the perfect role
here in Pittsburgh, not to mention he was a fan favorite.  But I
don't own the team.  Speaking of which...

Mario Lemieux is reportedly in negotiations to purchase the team,
which is in financial turmoil right now.  Lemieux, who is still
owed over $26 million by the Pens, is trying to put together a
group of investors to purchase the team, but more importantly
keep it in Pittsburgh.  Mario is meeting with city and NHL
officials trying to figure out what it will take to get his plan
off the ground.

One more thing...

Hi, Sam.
       
=================================================================
  
================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHEASTERN DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BOSTON BRUINS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Pat Burns

Roster: C - Jason Allison, Anson Carter, Joe Thornton, Tim
Taylor.  LW - Sergei Samsonov, Ken Baumgartner, Rob
Dimaio, Peter Ferraro, Ken Belanger. RW - Dimitri Khristich,
Steve Heinze, Per Johan Axelsson, Cameron Mann, Randy Robitaille. 
D - Ray Bourque, Don Sweeney, Dave Ellett, Kyle McLaren, Hal
Gill, Darren Van Impe, Grant Ledyard, Mattias Timander. G - Byron
Dafoe, Rob Tallas.

Injuries: Steve Heinze, rw (hip flexor, day-to-day); Darren Van
Impe, d (shoulder, day-to-day).

Transactions:  Recalled Cameron Mann, rw, from Providence (AHL).

Game Results
2/12 at Calgary   L 4-3
2/13 at Vancouver L 3-1
2/18 at Ottawa    L 2-0
2/21 at Chicago   W 6-3

TEAM NEWS by Matt Brown

If you want to try to measure the value of Kyle McLaren to the
Boston Bruins, don't bother with points, or plus/minus, or any of
that stuff. All you need to know is 3-8-3.  

That's the Bruins' record over the 14 games Kyle missed due to a
shoulder injury.  Without him, the Bruins defense was off kilter,
as defensive pairings needed to be rotated, and his regular
partner, Don Sweeney, was nowhere near as effective with Grant
Ledyard or Dave Ellett as he was with Kyle. Kyle and Donnie go
together like, well, like Ray Bourque and Hal Gill, or like Ray
Bourque and Don Sweeney, back when Don was the young guy learning
his trade by playing with Ray.  Just as the youth, strength, and
size of Hal Gill are complimentary to the experience and skill of
Ray Bourque, Kyle McLaren's energy, power, and grit complement
Sweeney's speed and defensive know-how.

Now Kyle is back, and in his return game against Ottawa, he
helped bolster a Bruin team that has been battered both on the
scoreboard and in the infirmary.  Unfortunately, little else went
right for the Bruins, from the fluky backhander by Daniel
Alfredsson that bounced into the Boston goal off Anson Carter's
glove only 1:17 into the game, to the shutout that Bruins nemesis
Ron Tugnutt pitched at his favorite opponent.  If all Tugnutt's
games were against the Bruins, he would be a Hockey Hall of Fame
goaltender -- ever since the 70-save overtime tie he played as a
Nordique in Boston Garden, the guy has been a curse to the Black
and Gold.

Ever take the family on a big trip, only to have everyone come
down with the flu, and then little Johnny breaks his leg and you
spend half your vacation time in some nasty emergency room,
feeling like a Bosnian refugee?

Well, that kind of summarizes the Bruins' road trip to Western
Canada.  After a decent start against Edmonton and a 2-0 win,
most of the team got the flu and the injuries started to pile up.
Steve Heinze with a pulled groin, Darren Van Impe with a shoulder
separation, Sergei Samsonov with a nasty thigh bruise, Peter
Ferraro with a bruised foot, PJ Axelsson with a sprained wrist,
and Pat Burns with an ever-present scowl that looked like it
would require surgical removal.  

The injury situation got so bad that Landon Wilson, called up
from Providence of the AHL, didn't even get into a game before he
ended up on the sick list. Wilson went to the hospital with
suspected appendicitis, but it turned out to be an abdominal
strain.  Either way, Wilson never hit the ice for the Bs - it
isn't much help when your call-ups are laid-up.  

Injuries happen, but when a team is not talent-stocked, injuries
are harder to overcome. To rise to the occasion, a team must have
confidence and motivation.

The Bruins had some of that spunk coming off a road win in
Edmonton, but lost a large portion of their gumption when they
coughed up a win to Calgary on a desperation tip-in goal with
under ten seconds to play.  Joe Thornton had tied the game with
about a minute left on a strong power move to the net.  But the
Bruins dawdled in their zone, looking ahead to overtime, and a
Flame's shot casually thrown at the net was tipped away from
Byron Dafoe and into the goal, sinking the Bruin's hopes and
confidence.

They played the next game, against Vancouver, like they all had
the flu (and they did) and were in danger of imminent collapse
(and they did).  Against two western teams that have not even
showed the potential to live up to their potential, the Bruins
were off-guard and unconscious, respectively.  In the Calgary
game, the Bruins at least showed some offense, getting three
goals. But against Vancouver, goalie Rob Tallas was mostly left
to fend for himself, and minus Samsonov, Heinze, and others, the
offense looked like it wasn't sure which goal to shoot at. Even
the goal they scored was the result of a Vancouver defenseman
sweeping an Anson Carter shot past a surprised Garth Snow.

The Bruins' play of late is enough to send their fans fleeing the
country. In fact, this fan is heading for the Virgin Islands for
vacation, and the initial concern about missing some Bruins
hockey is beginning to turn into "How far can I get away, for how
long?"  But surely after a few days in the sun, that concern
will turn into "Do any bars on St. Marten get NESN?"

In the meantime, this report will get filed before the Bruins
play their weekend game, so let's have a little fun with
predictions.  Now, the immediate temptation, since the Bruins
play at Chicago on Sunday, is to do a rip-off of the Saturday
Night Live Bears fans shtick, substituting Pat Burns for Ditka:
"Let's see, if da Broons cloned Pat Burns 20 times, and they all
played against the Blackhawks, what would the score be?  Well,
Todd, 103-0, unless there was a fight and 19 of the Pat Burns
clones got thrown out of the game. Then the Flyers might score,
if Pat Burns the backup goalie got tired of outskating the entire
Chicago team, and couldn't get back to the goal after scoring
number 103."

No, let's not be silly.  Even if the Bruins are suddenly now a
last place team, and have slipped behind Montreal into 10th place
in the East, they are miles ahead of the sorry-ass season the
Blackhawks are having.  With 33 losses already, mired dead last
in the poor-excuse-for-a-conference West, the Hawks are having
the kind of year Bill Wirtz deserves to have annually.  (Wirtz,
you might remember, fraudulently stole Bobby Orr from the Bruins,
and then ripped off - with the help of sleazebag pal Alan
Eagleson - the greatest hockey player ever, to the point where
Orr had to hawk ATM cards on TV to send his kid to college.
Really. No exaggeration.)

So what is our prediction? A dreadful game against a dreadful
team, and the Bruins have had a tendency lately to play down to
the level of their weakest opponent. The only way this game could
get worse is if Chris Chelios and Ray Bourque get into an old-guy
slap fight.  4-1 Hawks, with Tony Amonte and Eric Daze making the
Bruins wish they had made a trade to get them.  Unless of course,
Harry Sinden makes that trade while the Bs are in Chicago, and
Tony and Eric suit up for the Bruins.  Then they will collide
with each other and be out for the season, confirming what Harry
always says about the folly of trading for high-priced players.

Speaking of Harry, the prospects for a trade to solve the Bruins'
woes were dealt another blow when Harry made the shrewd
statement, referring to the Bruins' lack of interest in obtaining
Theo Fleury, that he won't be bringing five, six or seven million
dollar players into Boston, no sirree. This clever ploy was meant
to trick these players and their dopey agents into wanting to cut
their salaries to come to Boston and play for the world's only
hockey genius. It will have top-notch players begging to be
Bruins, and the Bruins' own potential young stars will be
yearning for their chance to go into contract negotiations
with Mr. Generosity.  Hope you didn't get any of that dripping
sarcasm on you. 

Now to be almost fair, there are a lot of NHL teams that have
thrown fiscal caution to the wind to suck up high-priced players,
and they are paying dearly for it, with no silver cups in the
trophy case.  On the other hand, there are fans in New York and
Detroit and Colorado who have kissed a Cup or two, and would say
"it is better to have paid, and won one, then never have to won
at all."

Unfortunately, what Harry's words say to Bruins fans is "Don't
expect to see a Stanley Cup in Boston for another twenty-five
years unless it is visiting, but we've got plenty of $4.00
Expresso and $5.00 Nachos, courtesy of Delaware North.  Enjoy the
circus, err, hockey game."

As much as this correspondent would like to say happy things
about the Bruins every two weeks, lately there hasn't been much
to cheer about.  So better to follow a time-honored Boston
tradition that "When the going gets tough, whine about it."  The
idea is that if you make yourself feel miserable enough about
this week, next week is sure to look better.  So what if the
Bruins are losing, and the Celtics can barely beat an NBA team
from Vancouver, and Roger Clemens is traded to the hated Yankees,
and every Patriot player you liked is now a New York Jet?  Things
will be better tomorrow!  

Hey, after all, Ray Bourque is still alive and well, Walter Zenga
is back with the New England Revolution, and the Red Sox have
raised their ticket prices again.  Well, two outta three ain't
bad.

Two weeks from now, everything will be great.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
BUFFALO SABRES
----------------------------------------------------------------- 
Head Coach: Lindy Ruff

Roster: C - Michael Peca, Brian Holzinger, Curtis Brown, Wayne
Primeau, Erik Rasmussen, Derek Plante. LW - Dixon Ward, Geoff
Sanderson, Michal Grosek, Paul Kruse, Randy Cunneyworth. RW -
Vaclav Varada, Miroslav Satan, Matthew Barnaby, Rob Ray. D -
Darryl Shannon, Alexei Zhitnik, Jason Woolley, Jay McKee, Richard
Smehlik, James Patrick, Mike Wilson, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. G -
Dominik Hasek, Dwayne Roloson, Martin Biron. 

Injuries: Vaclav Varada, rw (day-to-day, ankle); Jay McKee, d
(out 1-2 weeks, bruised foot); Dominik Hasek, g (day-to-day,
gaaahhh!!!). 

Transactions: February 19 -- recalled Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, d,
from Rochester (AHL).  Reassigned Cory Sarich, d, to Rochester. 
February 18 -- recalled Martin Biron, g, from Rochester (AHL) 
Placed Jay McKee, d, on injured reserve retroactive to Sunday,
February 14.  February 13 -- recalled Erik Rasmussen, c/lw, from
Rochester.

Game Results
02/09 at Ottawa      T 1-1
02/11 Montreal       W 5-2
02/13 NY Islanders   T 2-2
02/15 Carolina       W 3-2
02/17 Toronto        L 3-2 OT
02/19 San Jose       W 4-2
02/21 Detroit        T 4-4

TEAM NEWS by Matt Barr

The Seventh Sign

Dominik Hasek can't be going around pulling groins, least of all
his own.

The Sabres careened from first overall in the Conference to being
almost on the playoff bubble, but were showing signs of recovery
before Hasek hurt himself in an OT loss to the Leafs.

The bright side is that the injury doesn't appear to be serious,
and that the team has continued its improved play in the two
games started by Dwayne "Maytag" Roloson. 

Hasek will likely sit out the team's next game against the
always-humorous Calgary Flames and be reevaluated from there.

Without Hasek, the team was workmanlike in its dispatching the
Sharks, and matched the Red Wings and Slava Kozlov goal-for-goal
in a 4-4 tie.

Righting the Ship

With only an overtime loss since we last spoke, things began
looking up again for the free-falling Sabres with a hard-fought
1-1 tie in Kanata against the suddenly distant Ottawa Senators on
the ninth, followed by a 5-2 pasting of the Canadiens two nights
later.  The Montreal game was the first in ten games when the
Sabres scored the first goal.  Snipers Paul Kruse (2), Randy
Cunneyworth and Mike Wilson snapped out of... well, career-long
goal scoring slumps in the game.

A lackadaisical tie against the Island was followed by a
lackadaisical first two periods against Carolina.  The Sabres
came to play in period three, though, pouring on 16 shots against
Arturs Irbe and pulling out the win on a Michael Peca goal.

The Leafs' first win in Buffalo in eight years was the result of
an uncharacteristic behind-the-net boo-boo by Darryl Shannon, who
was stripped by Steve Thomas behind the net and watched as Mats
Sundin potted the overtime game-winner.

Rocking the Boat

Amidst success on the ice, as the Matt Barnaby situation
continued to fester, more pus oozed from under the surface of the
open sores on the underbelly of the organization.  Rumors of a
grumbling amongst players about Derek Plante's diminished role on
the team.  Rob Ray said to have broken some of Barnaby's teeth. 
Michal Grosek, once benched for a me-first attitude, reportedly
asking coach Lindy Ruff to separate him from Miro Satan's line
because Satan is a "puck hog" (see "Satan Named Player of the
Week," below).

Meanwhile, Barnaby is still routinely a healthy scratch, but Doug
Gilmour played in the last game at Maple Leaf Gardens and Matt's
still here.  The rumor making the rounds was that the Sabres and
Blackhawks had agreed to a swap involving the two players, to be
consummated after the former Leaf great got a chance to close out
his old barn.  Did someone mention Barnes?  Stu Barnes is still
with the Pittsburgh Penguins, too.  

Big Pete Arrives

Quite an intense fortnight off the ice for the boys, punctuated
nicely by the recall from Rochester of somebody with a name like
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre.  We're reminded of how Mike Foligno used
to tease Gil Perreault about Bert's success being a result of his
Italian heritage.

Grand-Pierre was the actual warm body John Muckler got for Yuri
Khmylev three years ago.  In his first two games with the Sabres,
he got himself noticed with some Korab-like hits and some
Schoenfeld-ish clearing of the crease.  The NHL game didn't
appear to be too fast for the big guy, either.  It'll be fun
watching Big Pete develop.

Sarich Comes and Goes

Super-prospect Cory Sarich's cup of coffee in Buffalo had "shake
up the roster" and "dangle the kid a carrot" and "for a good time
call Krista Haas" written all over it, but it provided a valuable
peak into the future.  Case in point, Game One of the Sarich
(pronounced like a Beatle saying "saw itch") Era featured the
first-year pro taking a regular turn late in regulation and in
overtime of a 1-1 tie in a critically important division game. 
Other than yanking down Andreas Johansson as he burned by him
down the right wing in the second period, Sarich appeared
anything but out of place on NHL ice.  You never know, it might
be an omen of things to come that Sarich was not penalized on the
play, but Johansson was given a misconduct for overemphasizing
that point.

Satan Named Player of the Week

Miro Satan was named NHL Player of the Week in the midst of a
six-game goal scoring streak.  Satan netted four and racked up a
plus-8 during the week.  Satan could have had two to four more if
not for those goldang goal posts, especially against Toronto.

Ray a Swell Guy

Rob Ray, one of our all-time favorite players, was awarded a
grant of $25,000 from the NHL Foundation as winner of the
Foundation's annual award for outstanding community service on
February 17.  Ray will allocate the award among the charitable
pursuits of his choice.  Among those he's been involved in for
years are Roswell Park, Children's Hospital, the March of Dimes
and Make-A-Wish Foundation of WNY.  Ray also funds an annual
$8,000 college scholarship in the area and "Rob Ray's Christmas
Program," which provides food, clothing and toys to needy
families around the holidays.

Ray celebrated the award by beating the snot out of Tie Domi
later that evening.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
MONTREAL CANADIENS  
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Alain Vigneault
   
Roster: C - Saku Koivu, Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Trent
McLeary, Sergei Zholtok. LW - Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky,
Benoit Brunet, Terry Ryan, Brian Savage, Dave Morissette, Patrick
Poulin. RW - Mark Recchi, Turner Stevenson, Jonas Hoglund, Jason
Dawe. D - Vladimir Malakhov, Stephane Quintal, Patrice Brisebois,
Brett Clark, Miloslav Guren, Craig Rivet, Igor Ulanov, Eric
Weinrich, Alain Nasreddine. G - Frederic Chabot, Jeff Hackett.

Injuries: Jason Dawe, rw (concussion, indefinite).

Transactions: 02/07 - Jose Theodore, g, recalled from Fredericton
(AHL), then sent back on 02/16; 02/22 - Sylvain Blouin, lw,
assigned to Fredericton (AHL).

Game Results  
02/09 at Pittsburgh   L 3-2 OT
02/11 at Buffalo      L 5-2   
02/13 Florida         W 4-0
02/17 at NY Rangers   W 6-3   
02/18 at Philadelphia W 3-1
02/20 at Toronto      L 3-2 OT

TEAM NEWS by Jacques Robert

Surprise, Surprise!

Yes, the Habs are going against the odds and looking like a team
inside and out. With the infirmary nearly empty of offensive
players who deliver goals and great team spirit, Montreal has
managed to win important games against Florida, NY Rangers and
Philadelphia. It's not enough to clinch the final playoff berth,
but the team is on the right track.

A record of 5-5-0 since January 31 doesn't tell the full story.
Two overtime losses with less than two minutes left against
Pittsburgh and Toronto are proof that they have to be taken
seriously by other teams fighting for the last playoff spot. In
the 3-2 loss in Pittsburgh, Damphousse ended a nine-game goal
scoring drought since Dec. 9 at Phoenix - not counting his goal
into an empty net on Jan. 16. The Habs were within less than
three minutes from a 2-1 win when Frederic Chabot allowed the
Penguins' second goal. 

"It seems to be the way our season is going," Montreal coach
Alain Vigneault said.  "I though for a good portion of the game
we played all right defensively. Jagr is an outstanding player
and is very difficult to contain one-on-one. He can do magic out
there."

In Toronto at the new Air Canada Centre, Montreal Scott Thornton
scored to tie the game 2-2 in the third on a power play but all
hopes faded when Toronto Steve Thomas scored with 72 seconds left
in overtime. 

"It was a hard-fought game both ways. We had our chances to win
this game. We had the opportunity to win, we didn't win and it's
a very tough and frustrating loss for us," said Vigneault.

But times have changed, and the Habs have learned to take
advantage of the other teams misfortune. With a healthy Jeff
Hackett back in the lineup after missing two games with a hip
flexor, Montreal won 4-0 in Florida. The Panthers were playing
without Pavel Bure. Koivu scored two power-play goals to record
his first two-goal game of the season. Mark Recchi made his 500th
NHL assist.

Four days later, the Canadiens offensive power came alive against
the NY Rangers, who were playing for the third time in four
nights. Rucinsky, Hoglund, and Corson scored in a 67-second span
early in the first period, Damphousse in the second, Thornton and
Quintal in the third to win 6-3 in New York. The Rangers could
not take advantage of four power plays in the second period. 

"If we didn't take so many penalties, it would have been an
even easier game for us," said Montreal netminder Jeff Hackett.

The following night, the Habs won a big one against the Flyers.
Montreal took advantage of a suddenly struggling Philadelphia
team, with only one win in their last six games. Zholtok, Koivu
(his fourth in four games) and Recchi scored to give the Habs a
3-1 victory.

Those three wins showed how important Jeff Hackett is to the team
both physically and mentally. The Montreal goalie's absence cost
the Habs four precious points in losses against Pittsburgh (3-2)
and Buffalo (5-2).  Frederic Chabot and especially Jose Theodore
are just not reliable or experienced enough to take over.
Theodore surrendered three goals on six shots in the first period
against the Sabres. 

So things look brighter, but it's time for a reality check:
Montreal is in 10th place behind Boston and Florida. Plus, the
Habs have played more games than their opponents. However, who's
to tell, if things continue to go their way... 



-----------------------------------------------------------------
OTTAWA SENATORS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Jacques Martin

Roster: C - Alexei Yashin, Vaclav Prospal, Radek Bonk, Shaun Van
Allen, Bruce Gardiner, Steve Martins. LW - Shawn McEachern,
Marian Hossa, Magnus Arvedson, Andreas Johansson. RW - Daniel
Alfredsson, Andreas Dackell, Chris Murray, Bill Berg. D - Lance
Pitlick, Patrick Traverse, Chris Phillips, Sami Salo, Wade
Redden, Jason York, Janne Laukkanen, Igor Kravchuk. G - Damian
Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt.

Injuries: Dec 12 - Lance Pitlick, bruised hip, athroscopic
surgury, 8-10 weeks. Jan 16 - Chris Murray, sprained left
knee/MCL, 8-10 weeks. Feb 09 - Steve Martins, hip and shoulder,
Day-to-day. Feb 09 - Sami Salo, thigh, Day-to-Day. Feb 09 - Bruce
Gardiner bruised right foot. Feb 20 - Chris Phillips, sprained
right ankle, Day-to-Day. Feb 20 - Patrick Travese, separated
shoulder, 4-6 weeks.

Transactions: 02/09 John Gruden returned to Detroit (IHL).
 
Game Results
02/09 Buffalo         T 1-1 
02/11 Florida         L 3-1 
02/13 Washington      W 2-1 
02/15 Chicago         W 6-2 
02/18 Boston          W 2-0
02/20 Philadelphia    W 4-1 

TEAM NEWS by The Nosebleeders

The Senators continued to tear up the league this two-week
period. They moved past the Toronto Maple Leafs into first place
in the Northeast Division race and end the period just one point
shy of first place in the Eastern Conference.  The team is now 16
games over .500 and is in third overall in the NHL.  Excluding
ties, this season they are playing .646 hockey. Including ties 
their winning percentage goes up to .714.  The Senators sit just
one point back of the Philadelphia Flyers for first in the
Eastern Conference and are seven points back of Dallas for first
place overall.

After coming off a three-game western Canadian road trip, the
team settled in for six home games in a row.  After a 1-1 tie
against Buffalo and a tough loss to Florida, the Senators won
four in a row against Washington, Chicago, Boston and
Philadelphia.  The team has now finished 10 season series and are
8-0-2.  They are 17-3-5 in their last 25 games. Last season 
at this point they were two games under .500; they made the semi
finals.

Notes 

* The Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators played to a 1-1 tie. 
This was the fourth time this season the two teams has battled to
a tie.  If the playoffs were to start the day after the two faced
each other, they would have been in 2nd and seventh place - good
enough for a first round playoff matchup.

* Alexei Yashin continues his strong play.  He has scored four
goals and three assists in his last four games.

* Andreas Dackell has three points in the last three games.

* The Florida loss broke an eleven game (7-0-4) undefeated streak
for goalie Ron Tugnutt.

* Against Florida, Daniel Alfredsson returned to the Senators
lineup after a five-game absence due to injury.

* Pavel Bure travelled with the Panthers but did not play due to
injury.

* After beating Toronto soundly, the Blackhawks took Sunday off
before facing the Senators on a Monday night.  The result was a
6-2 Senators win - the exact score of the Hawks victory against
the Leafs. Yashin and Redden both had two-goal performances.

* Against the Flyers, Eric Lindros' 18-game scoring streak was
snapped.

* The win knocked the Flyers from first place in the Eastern
Conference. This was short lived, as the Flyers played again the
next day and won while the Senators did not play.

* Chris Phillips, out for 21 games since January 1st, returned
against the Flyers only to again injure his ankle.  He left the
Corel Centre on crutches.


* Patrick Traverse also left the game.  A Valerie Zelepukin check
separated his shoulder. Traverse has played in 39 NHL games this
season - the team has been counting as they need to expose a
defensemen with at least 40 games in the summer expansion draft.

* A Luke Richardson hit resulted in a face injury to Andreas
Johansson.

Despite the strong record, Ottawa could still be an upset
candidate in the first round - this remains a young team with a
few holes.  An enforcer would certainly help for the 'second
season'.

Quiz Time

Fifty-four NHL players have scored over 1,000 points in their
career.  Only 13 players have more than 1400 points.  Name four
players with 1,000 points who have played for only one team
during their career.  Hint: two are still active.

Canadian market conditions continued to plague the team this
period.  Despite sellout or near sellout crowds in each of the
six games of the homestand, top Sens brass was suggesting the
City of Kanata knock some part of their property tax from the
arena.  They further suggested that other concessions should be
made in order to ensure that the team can compete for top talent.
Rod Bryden expressed his concern that he may not be able to
continue to subsidize the team and may have to sell them if
market conditions don't improve. 

In related news, Alexei Yashin's agent was quoted as saying that
Yashin will be looking to sign with whatever team it makes the
most business sense to sign with.  He expects Bure numbers ($59
million over six years).  The Nosebleeders are not looking
forward to another beer price hike.  Large beer at the games are
already $11 each.

The Nosebleeders remember many a good concert and hockey game as
they raise a glass and toast Maple Leaf Gardens - "Lack of beer
availability aside - thanks for the memories and good luck in
your retirement."

Quiz Time

In order (overall ranking listed first) : 6th Mario Lemieux
(Pitts), 9th Stan Mikita (Chic), 10th Steve Yzerman (Det), 11th
Ray Bourque (Bos).  Paul Coffey (7th overall) leads all players
having played on eight different teams
(Edm-Pit-LA-Det-Hart-Phil-Chi-Car).  There are currently no
Senators in the list.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Pat Quinn

Roster: C - Mats Sundin, Steve Sullivan, Alyn McCauley. LW -
Fredrik Modin, Steve Thomas, Todd Warriner, Derek King, Kris
King, Igor Korolev, Garry Valk, Ladislav Kohn. RW - Sergei
Berezin, Tie Domi, Mike Johnson, David Nemirovsky. D - Bryan
Berard, Sylvain Cote, Dimitri Yushkevich, Alexander Karpovtsev,
Jason Smith, Daniil Markov, Glen Featherstone, Tomas Kaberle,
Yanick Tremblay, Chris McAllister. G - Curtis Joseph, Glenn
Healy. 

Injuries: 2/17/99 - Glenn Healy no longer on IR.
2/15/99 - Fredrik Modin, lw, placed on IR - broken collar bone.

Transactions: 2/17/99 - Jeff Ware, d, traded to Florida Panthers
for David Nemirovsky, rw.  2/16/99 - Darby Hendrickson, c, traded
to Vancouver Canucks for Chris McAllister, d.  2/15/99 - Ladislav
Kohn, lw, called up from St. John's (AHL).  2/11/99 - Jeff Reese
sent to minors Kentucky (AHL).

Game Results
02/13 Blackhawks  L 6-2
02/15 at Devils   T 3-3 
02/17 at Sabres   W 3-2 
02/20 Canadiens   W 3-2 
02/22 at Capitals L 4-3

TEAM NEWS by Jonah A. Sigel

GOODBYE, OLD GAL. HELLO, HANGAR

The most anticipated two weeks of the Maple Leaf season have
finally come and gone.  Hockey's last shrine is now history and
its newest concrete arena has its newest tenant.  

Maple Leaf Gardens is no more the home of Hockey Night in Canada,
the Air Canada Center is the current home of the Maple Leafs. 
Gone is the cozy atmosphere, from which so many greats once
played and millions called their home, too.  Instead, home is now
a beautiful arena in which everything works, and it is, from all
reports, a thing of beauty.  There are luxury suits, lots of new
seats, and so far the rats have not followed the tenants.

The closing of the Gardens was an emotional affair with Dave the
Tiger Williams sobbing openly as the grand old lady was closed
down.  For Leaf fans it was a real treat to watch the closing
ceremony.  Generations of Leafs past and present participated in
an hour long ceremony after the leafs got hammered by the
visiting Blackhawks, 6-2.  While it would have been nice for the
Leafs to close out with a win, it seems, in retrospect, fitting
that they go out the way they started with a loss to the same
team that opened the barn.  It says here it was one game that the
result was secondary.

The opening of the new arena was met with much anticipation. 
There was lots of hoopla all week which ended with a parade from
MLG to the ACC.  Game night arrived with the crew from HNIC not
in the house, but rather doing the game from other locals, why?
One of the CBC's unions was on strike.  After the much
anticipated, and fairly quick opening, the game was under way.
With the exception of the opening few minutes and the final
moments of OT, the contest was a yawner.  The ice quality was
poor, but everyone seemed quite impressed with the new facility,
especially when Steve Thomas scored the winner in OT.

All in all, it will take time to adjust to the new building.  It
is already strange watching the Leafs in home whites in an
unfamiliar home.  However, as great as the Gardens was for its
history, it really had become outdated.  As one sports writer
quipped the day after game one in the ACC, the success of the new 
building rests solely on the success of the team.  If ownership
in any way cuts the hockey budget, and the on ice product slips,
then people will not care where they are playing and there will
be no hope of new or even continued tradition.  As bad as the
Leafs have been in the past, they always played at an arena in
which people enjoyed visiting.  The Skydome got old very quickly,
coincidentally around the same time as the Blue Jays went into
the toilet.  The new arena can be a great thing so long as the on
ice product continues to be exciting and successful.

================================================================
================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
================================================================
EASTERN CONFERENCE
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CAROLINA HURRICANES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Paul Maurice

Roster: C - Ron Francis, Keith Primeau, Jeff O'Neill, Kent
Manderville. RW - Ray Sheppard, Sami Kapanen, Kevin Dineen,
Robert Kron. LW - Gary Roberts, Martin Gelinas, Paul Ranheim,
Bates Battaglia, Byron Ritchie. D - Paul Coffey, Steve Chiasson,
Glen Wesley, Adam Burt, Curtis Leschyshyn, Sean Hill, Dave Karpa,
Nolan Pratt, Mike Rucinski, Marek Malik. G - Trevor Kidd, Arturs
Irbe.

Injuries: Steve Chiasson, d (bruised shoulder, indefinite); Dave
Karpa, d (torn ACL/MCL, indefinite).

Transactions: None.

Game Results
2/10 at Toronto    W 6-5
2/12 at NY Rangers W 3-1
2/13 at New Jersey L 6-4
2/15 at Buffalo    L 3-2
2/18 Washington    T 2-2
2/20 at Tampa Bay  W 3-2
2/21 NY Islanders  W 4-1

TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

The Hurricanes knew they had to take advantage of the injury to
Pavel Bure.  They were given a golden opportunity to pull away
from the Florida Panthers in the standings and, to some extent,
have responded.  The Canes went 4-2-1 in their past seven games,
increasing their lead in the Southeast Division to seven points
over the Bure-less Panthers.  Hopefully seven points will be
enough.  Pavel is slated to return to action on Wednesday night,
February 24.  

EVERYBODY LOVES BATES:  One of the pleasant surprises of
the past couple weeks has been the play of Bates Battaglia. 
Since being placed on the top line with Keith Primeau and Ray
Sheppard, the 23-year-old left winger has been a standout for the
Canes, recording three goals and an assist in his past five
games.  

Primeau is perhaps Battaglia's biggest supporter.  It was
actually his idea to move the youngster to the top line.  And
when Big Keith gets an idea, it's usually wise to try and make it
happen.  It took some pestering, but Paul Maurice eventually
complied.  

At 6-2, 195 pounds, Battaglia is strong along the boards and in
the corners while also possessing good hands around the cage. 
He's really fit in well with his new linemates.

"I think Bates is an awesome player," said Primeau in the
Greensboro News and Record.  "The sky's the limit for this kid. 
He's got all the ability in the world."

You know, that statement from Primeau reminds me of something my
eighth grade English teacher once said about me.  All you really
have to do is replace "Bates" with "Michael" and "awesome player"
with "ignorant jackass" and it's almost word for word.  

TRADE RUMORS:  The Hurricanes are said to be in the market
for another offensive defenseman that can move the puck. 
Naturally, this brings Edmonton into the picture, since the
Oilers have a glut of talented defensemen, including Boris
Mironov, Roman Hamrlik, and Janne Niinimaa.  But in order to pry
one of those prized blueliners loose, the Canes might have to
part with either Arturs Irbe or Trevor Kidd.  

MILESTONES:  With two assists in the win over Tampa Bay,
Ron Francis moved past Stan Mikita into eighth place on the all-
time scoring list with 1,467 points.  

Paul Coffey recently appeared in his 1,300th career game and
recorded his 1,100th career assist.  That assist total is a might
impressive, but it's still two shy of the total number of NHL
teams for which Coffey has played.  

Ray Sheppard scored two goals in the win over the Isles, giving
him 21 on the season.  Sheppard has now scored at least 20 goals
for an NHL record six different teams.  Those clubs are, in
order, Buffalo, NY Rangers, Detroit, San Jose, Florida, and
Carolina.  

BRIEF GAME RECAPS
Feb. 10, won at Toronto, 6-5:  The Canes got two goals in
each period.  Francis was the boy, notching a pair of goals and
three assists.  Irbe stopped 24 shots.  The Leafs got a late goal
from Fredrik Modin at 19:56 of the third to make the score a bit
misleading.

Feb. 12, won at NY Rangers, 3-1:  More balance from the
Canes.  Curtis Leschyshyn scored in the first, Sami Kapanen in
the second, and Battaglia in the third.  Irbe turned aside 30 of
31 shots.

Feb. 13, lost at New Jersey, 6-4:  Carolina trailed 4-3
late in the third when Jay Pandolfo gave the Devils a two-goal
cushion at 17:56.  Randy McKay connected 14 seconds later to put
the game out of reach.  A goal by Paul Ranheim with 1:10 left in
regulation made the final 6-4.  Kidd took the loss, giving up the
six goals on 30 shots.  Primeau sat out the game with an injured
hand.

Feb. 15, lost at Buffalo, 3-2:  Michael Peca broke a 2-2
tie at 4:04 of the third.  Dominik Hasek then shut the door,
stopping 36 shots on the night to lead the Sabres to victory. 
Irbe took the loss with 33 saves of his own.  Martin Gelinas had
both goals for Carolina.  

Feb. 18, tied Washington, 2-2:  The Hurricanes trailed 2-0
but managed to salvage a tie when Battaglia deflected a Nolan
Pratt shot at 17:19 of the third to knot the game at 2-2. 
Primeau had the other goal.  Irbe stopped 20 of 22.

Feb. 20, won at Tampa Bay, 3-2:  The boys in red fell
behind 2-0 for the second straight game, except this time they
were able to squeak out a win.  Jeff O'Neill, playing in his
first game since returning from a neck injury, got the comeback
started at 10:50 of the second.  Francis then set up a pair of
third-period goals from Kapanen, at 1:32, and Gary Roberts, at
15:34, to steal the win.  Roberts' goal was sweet.  He freaked
half the Bolt team down the slot before jamming a shot off Tampa
goaltender Corey Schwab that hopped high into the air and
eventually dropped over the goal line.  Roberts is cool like
that.  Irbe stopped 28 to get the win.

Feb. 21, beat the Islanders, 4-1:  The Canes finally
started a game properly, taking a 3-0 lead behind first-period
goals from Primeau, O'Neill, and Sheppard, who would later add an
empty-netter.  Irbe was back in net and stopped 28 more shots. 
Irbe like wall.  Chomp, chomp, chomp.  Irbe like wall.

                      

-----------------------------------------------------------------
FLORIDA PANTHERS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Florida report was late.  You'll have to visit the web site to 
read it.  Aw, you'll get over it...
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Jacques Demers
   
Roster:  C - Darcy Tucker, Chris Gratton, Mike Sillinger, Vincent
Lecavalier, Xavier Delisle. RW - Mikael Andersson, Alexandre
Daigle, Sandy McCarthy, Michael Nylander.  LW - Wendel Clark,
Benoit Hogue, Stephane Richer, Rob Zamuner, Robert Petrovicky. D
- Cory Cross, Petr Svoboda, David Wilkie, Jassen Cullimore, Pavel
Kubina, Kjell Samuelsson, Drew Bannister, Andrei Skopintsev,
Karei Betik. G - Bill Ranford, Daren Puppa, Corey Schwab, Derek
Wilkinson.

Injuries: Daren Puppa, g (groin injury, out for season); Drew
Bannister, d (broken foot, day-to-day); Mikael Andersson, rw 
(knee injury, indefinite).

Transactions: Recall Karel Betik, d, from Cleveland (IHL); assign
Mike McBain, d, and Sami Helenius, d, to Cleveland (IHL); recall
Xavier Delisle, c, from Cleveland (IHL); sign Robert Petrovicky,
c, from Grand Rapids, (IHL); assign Brent Peterson, lw, to Grand
Rapids (IHL); recall Derek Wilkinson, g, from Cleveland (IHL).

Game Results
02/10 St. Louis  L 5-4
02/13 San Jose   L 3-1
02/15 Islanders  T 3-3
02/17 New Jersey L 7-1
02/19 Phoenix    W 4-2
02/20 Carolina   L 3-2
02/22 New Jersey L 3-2

TEAM NEWS by Seth Lerman

With the Lightning still unable to stretch together two
consecutive wins, the Tampa Tribune reported that Detroit Pistons
owner William Davidson will bid on the Lightning and the rights
to the Ice Palace by the end of the week.
  
It was reported that Lightning owner Art Williams said that he is
seeking between $125 million - $130 million for the pair.
  
"Everything is moving very well and we're not disappointed with
anything we're seeing," said Pistons president Tom Wilson to the
Tampa Tribune.  "By the end of the week, we could agree on a
number.  The key thing for us the next few days is to decide
whether we're in or out."
  
For those that still care, Davidson was interested in purchasing
the team last season, only to lose his bid to Williams.
  
On the ice, the Lightning continue to find new ways to lose
despite the promise from Jacques Demers that the team will come
around.  It is no secret that Demers is highly confident that the
future of the team is with the youngsters.  However, statistics
will paint a different portrait.        

Excluding last year's first overall pick, Vincent Lecavalier, who
is just 18, the Lightning youngsters have contributed little
during this campaign, especially in the goal-scoring department. 
Chris Gratton (3), Alex Daigle (1), Michael Nylander (1), Steve
Kelly (1), and Brent Peterson (2) have combined for eight goals
in a combined 106 games.

On defense, only Pavel Kubina has played with any consistency.
However, he leads all Lightning defenseman with a minus-22
rating.  A costly mistake against the St. Louis Blues landed Mike
McBain in Cleveland, while David Wilkie and Andrei Skopintsev
have both struggled. 

"We have to let the young guys play, they are the future of the
franchise," said Demers.  "Everyday I get teams calling me about
Kubina and (Darcy) Tucker.  I will not trade them.  If I do, I'll
destroy the future of this franchise."
  
With the way things are going now, Demers might not be around to
see the future.  Art Williams has said that if the Lightning
don't improve by the middle of next season, Demers will be
replaced.  That's if Williams still owns the team.  At present,
it does not appear that he will.  The question remains, will
another ownership change, the second in less than a year, and
another coaching change, destroy what little of the fan base that
is left? 

"I've been going to Lightning games for four years," said Greg
Turner, a fan from Orlando, Florida.  "This is by far the worst
team I've seen.  I remember the first playoff game against the
Flyers.  The place was rocking.  Now, there is nobody here.  I
cannot see things getting better anytime soon." 
  
The Lightning's current losing streak is at two games.  Prior to
that, they lost 16 out of their last 20.  Their leading scorer,
Wendel Clark, has 33 points.  He is followed by Darcy Tucker with
30.  No other player has more than 19.
  
On the trade front, rumors involving Clark continue to remain
hot.  The latest team to enter the rumor mill is the St. Louis
Blues.  Larry Pleau, general manager of the Blues, was in town
February 10th to see his team defeat the Lightning 5-4, and was
spotted jotting down notes in the press box.    
  
It is a foregone conclusion that Clark will be traded before the
March 23rd deadline.  The only question that remains is will Art
Williams still be around?   


-----------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Ron Wilson

Roster: C - Adam Oates, Jan Bulis, Andrei Nikolishin, Michal
Pivonka, Dale Hunter. LW - Joe Juneau, Brian Bellows, Richard
Zednik, Steve Konowalchuk, Yogi Svejkovsky. RW - Peter Bondra,
Craig Berube, Kelly Miller, Mike Eagles, James Black. D - Calle
Johansson, Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Ken Klee, Enrico Ciccone.
G - Olaf Kolzig, Rick Tabaracci.

Injuries: Tom Chorske, lw (abdomen/groin, 3-5 weeks); Chris
Simon, lw (shoulder surgery, out for season); Jeff Toms, lw
(abdomen, 4-6 weeks); Brendan Witt, d (wrist, 1 week); Dmitri
Mironov, d (back spasms, indefinite); Mark Tinordi (sprained
ankle, 4-6 weeks); Andrei Nikolishin, c (bruised thumb,
day-to-day).

Transactions: Assigned Nolan Baumgartner, d, to Portland (AHL).

Game Results:
2/09 at NY Islanders  W 2-1
2/12 at New Jersey    W 3-2
2/13 at Ottawa        L 2-1
2/15 at Pittsburgh    L 7-3
2/18 at Carolina      T 2-2
2/20 San Jose         W 3-1
2/22 Toronto          W 4-3

TEAM NEWS by Jason Sheehan

Capitals Still Fighting for Playoff Spot

The Washington Capitals stayed in the playoff hunt, successfully
completing a five-game road trip - their last long trip of the
season - by playing .500 hockey (2-2-1).

More impressive, however, is the fact Washington returned home
and beat San Jose and Toronto, extending its home winning streak
to five games.  As a result of its newly found consistency,
Washington (24-28-5) trails the Florida Panthers (21-21-15) by
only four points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the
Eastern Conference.

Four teams - Florida, Boston, Montreal, the Rangers and
Washington - are fighting for the final berth.

"It's a huge win," Washington coach Ron Wilson said after his
club defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3. "Every team you play
now, they're battling for position in the standings and we're
battling for ours. At this point, you don't have to say too much.
You just keep reminding everybody that all the points are equally
important."

One catalyst of the Capitals recent surge into playoff contention
is Sergei Gonchar. The defenseman, despite missing two weeks with
a wrist injury, has scored 13 goals in his last 22 games.

When Gonchar returned Feb. 18 at Carolina, he picked up right
where he left off, scoring a first period, power-play goal to
help the Capitals keep pace with their Eastern Conference
counterparts with a 2-2 tie. For an encore, he scored two
power-play goals to help down the Sharks, 3-1, and picked up an
assist in Washington's victory over Toronto.

"He's the kind of guy that I'd pay 100 bucks to see play,"
defenseman Enrico Ciccone said. "He's gone for two or three
weeks, and then he scores three goals like he hasn't missed a
day. I wish I had two percent of what he has."

Gonchar ranks fourth in the league in goals scored by defensemen
with 13. St. Louis' Al MacInnis leads with 16 goals.

Tinordi Sprains Ankle

Washington's worst nemesis, the injury bug, is back. Its victim?
Defenseman Mark Tinordi.

Tinordi, who returned to action last month from a groin injury,
will miss four-to-six weeks with a sprained ankle. His latest
injury occurred Feb. 22 when he awkwardly slid into the goal-post
while attempting to stop a second-period breakaway bid by Maple
Leafs defenseman Bryan Berard. If it's any consolation for
Tinordi, the instant replay official ruled he knocked the net off
the marsh pegs before Berard slid his shot past goaltender Olie
Kolzig.

With Tinordi sidelined, the Capitals are down to five defensemen.
Brendan Witt, nursing a sprained wrist, isn't expected back for
another week. And recent call-ups, Stewart Malgunas and Nolan
Baumgartner, are both on the shelf with injuries.

If general manager George McPhee doesn't make a trade or recall a
player with no NHL experience, the Capitals will be forced to
dress five defensemen. That experiment failed once this season in
a 7-3 loss at Pittsburgh on Feb. 15.

Center Andrei Nikolishin also was injured against Toronto. He is
listed as day-to-day with a bruised thumb.

================================================================

=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
CENTRAL DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Lorne Molleken
   
roster:  C - Doug Gilmour, Mark Janssens, Chad Kilger, Josef Marha, 
Todd White, Alexei Zhamnov. LW - Eric Daze, Jean-Yves Leroux, Mike
Maneluk, Ethan Moreau, Bob Probert, Reid Simpson.  RW - Tony
Amonte, Nelson Emerson, Ed Olczyk. D - Jamie Allison, Brad Brown,
Chris Chelios, Christian Laflamme, Dave Manson, Bryan Muir, Doug
Zmolek. G - Mark Fitzpatrick, Jocelyn Thibault. 

injuries: Doug Zmolek, d (slight concussion Feb. 15, day-to-day);
Trent Yawney, d (broken arm Jan. 9, out for season (placed on IR
Jan. 9)). 

transactions: Recalled Bryan Muir, d, from Portland (AHL).  Fired
head coach Dirk Graham and replaced him with interim coach Lorne
Molleken. Announced Trent Yawney, d, will retire and become an
assistant coach. 

game results:
2/10 San Jose    L 5-2
2/12 Detroit     L 2-1
2/13 at Toronto  W 6-2
2/15 at Ottawa   L 6-2
2/17 Vancouver   W 4-0
2/19 at Dallas   L 5-1
2/21 Boston      L 6-3

team news by Jim Iovino

Dirk ditched

The experiment is over. 

Dirk Graham, who had no head coaching experience when he took over
the talent-starved Blackhawks before the season, was fired on Feb.
22 after pushing his team to the edge of a very nice bridge...to
jump off of.  

Graham's Hawks had lost 10 of their last 12 games before his firing,
and were 19 games under .500. More often than not, Graham could
be found ripping on his players or making excuses for his own
failures as a head coach. Any time something went wrong, Graham
blamed his players for being too laid back or not as enthused as
they should have been. But isn't that the coach's job to get
them fired up for games?  Hmmm... 

Taking over the strugglers is Lorne Molleken.  Nope, I have no idea
who he is, either.  Apparently he's 42 years old and was formerly
of the Edmonton Oiler organization before this season. He used to
coach the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League and a team
in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He has been dubbed
interim coach in Chicago.  Graham will remain in the organization
is some capacity.  My guess is laundry boy.  

On another coaching note, it seems injured defenseman Trent Yawney
will retire to become an assistant coach with the team.  Yawney
broke his arm in a game on Jan. 9, and is out for the season. 
Instead of trying to make a recovery, Yawney wants to hang up the
skates and get into coaching.  Yawney is 33.  

Chelios still a Hawk

Chris Chelios has struck a deal with the Hawks, making him
un-tradable for the rest of the season. But rumors still persist
that Cheli will be leaving Chi-town.  Why?  Because the deal
Chelios made is just a handshake deal.  Nothing was put in writing.
 

The Philadelphia Inquirer continues to harass Flyer management to
make a deal for Chelios.  They want him in Philly to shore up what
they see is a weak defense.  Of course, they want Theo Fleury,
too.  Is that gonna happen?  Not a chance.  The Flyers might get
one of the guys, but not both.  No players were mentioned in any of
these so-called trades.  

On ice action...

Who cares?

-----------------------------------------------------------------
DETROIT RED WINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Scotty Bowman

Roster: C - Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Kris  Draper, Sergei
Fedorov. LW - Brendan Shanahan, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Doug Brown, 
Tomas Holmstrom, Kirk Maltby, Brent Gilchrist. RW - Darren McCarty,
Martin  Lapointe, Mathieu Dandenault, Stacey Roest D - Nicklas
Lidstrom, Larry Murphy,  Jamie Macoun, Aaron Ward, Uwe Krupp,
Anders Eriksson, Todd Gill, Yan Golubovsky  . G - Chris Osgood,
Norm Maracle, Kevin Hodson. 

TRANSACTIONS: Recalled Yan  Golubovsky, d, from Adirondack (AHL);
recalled Petr Klima, lw, from Adirondack. 

INJURIES: Brent Gilchrist, lw (hernia, indefinite); Todd Gill, d
(broken arm, day-to-day); Joe Kocur, rw (abdominal strain,
day-to-day); Uwe Krupp, d (back problems, two weeks). 

RESULTS                  
2/09 at Nashville   W 5-2 
2/11 Edmonton       W 4-2 
2/12 at Chicago     W 2-1 
2/14 at NY Rangers  W 4-2 
2/17 San Jose       W 3-1 
2/19 New Jersey     W 3-1 
2/21 at Buffalo     T 4-4 

Team News by Dino Cacciola

DETROIT 5, NASHVILLE 2 

Winger Brendan Shanahan produced his first multi-point game since
Dec. 22. He started a four-goal second period with a goal and an
assist as the Red Wings beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 in the
music city.  

"I knew with my impending free agency that  the talk was going to
start at some point regardless of how the season was  going," said
Shanahan, "To be on my shoulders is fine. I can handle it."  

Shanahan now has scored three goals in his past six games after a 
scoring drought of goals that lasted 15 games. During that stretch
trade rumors  prevailed regarding Shanahan. "As much as I was snake
bitten, I didn't want  anybody to be able to say I wasn't giving it
100 percent," Shanahan said.  His hard work has finally paid off.
The goal was Shanahan's 20th this season,  giving him 11 straight
seasons with at least 20 goals. He now has 383 career  goals.  

Along with Shanahan's scoring and the four-goal second period, the
Wings snapped a two-game losing streak. The Red Wings got going by
scoring three goals off just nine shots within the first eight
minutes of the second period.  

Sergei Fedorov started the barrage, breaking a 1-1 tie with a wrist
shot from  the left circle 31 seconds into the period. Shanahan set
up Kirk Maltby's goal  with a pass from behind the net and then
scored himself three minutes later off a faceoff with a slap shot
from the top of the right circle at 7:57. Nicklas  Lidstrom scored
after taking a cross ice pass from Larry Murphy for a 5-2  Detroit
lead 13:12 into the period. That was Lidstrom's 400 point of his
very productive career. The Professor Igor Larionov had the other
Red Wing goal.  

DETROIT 4, EDMONTON 2 

Sergei Fedorov had a goal and an assist and Chris Osgood had 29
saves as the  Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2. Fedorov has
scored goals in two straight games after getting only three in his
previous 16. When he and Brendan Shanahan started getting most of
the blame for the Red Wings' recent scoring struggles, Fedorov 
blamed it on declining ice time. So head coach Scotty Bowman gave
him more ice  time.  

"I feel personally pretty good," Fedorov said. "I feel like  I've
got more room and got my game in shape. I definitely enjoy myself
out there  much more than I have." Playing on a line with Brendan
Shanahan and Steve  Yzerman does not hurt either. He was also put
on a unit with Larry Murphy and  Nicklas Lidstrom on the blue line.
"I think that five man unit played well  together," Bowman said.
"It's going to help us because Murphy and  Lidstrom are good
offensive players besides being good defensemen."  

Fedorov netted his 14th goal to break a 1-1 tie in the second period
and  helped set up Yzerman's 21st in the third. The Red Wings are
13-1 when Fedorov  scores a goal and 14-22-4 when he doesn't. So it
is about time that he has found  his touch again.  "It's like I've
said, if we rely on each other and count  on each other, we look to
ourselves for solutions," Shanahan said. The hot  Vyacheslav Kozlov
and Marty Lapointe scored the Wings other goals.  

The Wings' second line of Kozlov, Lapointe, and Igor Larionov has
been  playing very well as of late. They are clicking and the Wings
as a whole seem to  be firing on all cylinders at the moment.  

DETROIT 2, CHICAGO 1 

The Red Wings seem to be regaining their winning touch. A touch that
has been  pretty much absent all season long on a consistent basis.
Two power-play goals and sharp goaltending by Chris Osgood gave them
their third straight win, a 2-1  decision over the rival Chicago
Blackhawks.  

"I think our play has turned around somewhat," said defenseman 
Larry Murphy. Murphy's goal at 5:16 of the third period snapped a
1-1 tie and  stood up as the game winner. "Obviously, we're not
where we want to be, but  it seems we're moving in the right
direction and finding ways to win. And hats  off to Chris Osgood.
He made some big saves for us."  

Osgood stopped 25 of 26 Blackhawk shots, including a point blank
attempt by  Eric Daze with three minutes remaining in the third
period. "I've been  playing the way I'd like to since Christmas,"
Osgood said. "Earlier, we we're taking games for granted and losing
by one  goal. But now, we're playing with the emotion and drive
we're used to, so we're  winning close games instead of losing
them."  

Murphy scored the game winner when he took a pass in the slot from
Sergei  Fedorov and shot the puck past goaltender Jocelyn Thibault
from about 20 feet  out to make it 2-1.  

The goal was Murphy's ninth of the season and gave him 38 points,
tied with  St. Louis' Al Macinnis for the NHL defenseman scoring
lead. Martin Lapointe also  scored. The Wings improved to 4-0-0
against Chicago this season. Lapointe tied  it 1-1 with a
power-play score at 5:33 of the second period. The game was 
seemingly more lopsided than the scored indicated as the Wings
dominated play  for most of the game.  

DETROIT 4, N.Y. RANGERS 2 

The Wings were up by three goals and nearly blew the game as the
Rangers  almost came back to win. But the Wings are usually very
good at protecting  leads. They did enough protecting to beat the
New York Rangers 4-2. The game  had Scotty Bowman very nervous. "We
had a game like this before, we were up by four and nearly lost
it," Bowman said. "Yeah, I was  concerned."  

Ozzie played sweet between the pipes. "Osgood was solid," Bowman 
said. "The goaltending has been great and Fedorov and Yzerman have
been tough to stop." Captain Steve Yzerman  and Sergei Fedorov each
had a goal in a three goal first period before the Red  Wings held
off a late surge by the Rangers. The Red Wings improved to 22-0-1 
when leading after the second period. It was the fourth straight
victory for the  defending champions.  

Osgood made 29 saves in the win. Nicklas Lidstrom, assisting from
Yzerman  scored an empty netter for the final margin. "We knew we
had to come out  strong against this team," Fedorov said. "They
almost scored a tying  goal. It wasn't our best play. But
eventually, we held onto it and Osgood made a  few stops and gave
us a chance to win this game."  

The Red Wings improved their Central Division lead to 11 points over
St. Louis. Petr Klima, playing his first game in the NHL in two
years, also scored  for the Red Wings. It was his first goal for the
Wings in 10 years since he last  played for Detroit before being
traded away. A nice home coming of sorts. He  faked a slap shot and
let a writser go on the short side.  

DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1 

Former Red Wing Mike Vernon was Chris Osgood's teacher two years
ago. Now,  they have a friendly rivalry, and Osgood has a leg up on
boasting. Brendan  Shanahan scored the game winning goal, but it
was Osgood's near excellent play  that kept the Wings in the game
as the Red Wings defeated the San Jose Sharks,  3-1, for their
fifth straight win.  

It also was Ozzie's fifth straight victory as well. He had 30 saves
in the win. Vernon made 23 saves against his former team. "They
were a hot  team," said Osgood, "We had our moments, but we didn't
play as well as  we have lately."  

It was the first time Osgood and Vernon, best friends off the ice,
squared  off this season. Norm Maracle was in goal for the Red
Wings in both earlier  meetings, which the teams tied. "We really
don't talk about it much when we  play each other," Osgood said.
"It's not a serious battle. It's  definitely fun playing against
him. I get bragging rights in the summer."  Vyacheslav Kozlov and
Dougie Brown also scored for the Wings.  

Brendan Shanahan snapped a 1-1 tie with his 21st goal 31 seconds
into the  second period. Brown's insurance goal, his eighth, came
while both sides were  short a man at 4:56 of the third period.
Kozlov's 14th goal in the first period  gave Detroit a 1-0 lead. He
took a nice pass from Igor Larionov and sneaked a shot from the
slot under the glove of Mike Vernon, who was screened by Darren 
McCarty.  

DETROIT 3, NEW JERSEY 1 

Steve Yzerman scored two goals and the Detroit Red Wings won their
sixth  straight game, beating the New Jersey Devils 3-1. "That was
a great game by  Stevie," Sergei Fedorov said. "I enjoyed him. It
was pretty to  watch." Not as pretty as some tennis players yet
still very pretty. Chris  Osgood made 21 saves in the win. Igor
Larionov also scored.  

Yzerman gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal with
4:24 left  in the first period, just seconds after Kris Draper
finished serving a penalty.  "It wasn't just tonight. Yzerman does
that all the time," Devil  forward Bobby Holik said. "He's been
doing it for 15 years. He's not  slowing down any time soon. He
showed us again that you can't give him any room to breathe.  He's
just a great hockey player."  

Larionov made it 2-0 with his 10th goal at 6:31 of the second.
Yzerman's 24th  goal and second of the night came at 8:22 of the
second period on an assist from  goalie Chris Osgood. It was an end
to end rush. But that wasnt the only  moment of the game. Bad blood
between the two teams stemmed from their previous meeting when
Krzysztof Oliwa injured two players. Early in the first period 
Darren McCarty and Oliwa went toe to toe in a battle. The brawl
came at 9:12,  exactly six seconds after the two had stepped back
on the ice from serving  minors following some bumping and trash
talking. McCarty, giving up four inches  and 20 pounds, took the
pretty much the worst of it as Oliwa knocked off his  helmet, and
fell to the ice on top of him.  

BUFFALO 4, DETROIT 4 (OT) 

Almost five goals! Not quite but a hat trick is pretty cool. Kozlov
scored  three goals to help forge a 4-4 tie with the Hasek-less
Buffalo Sabres. Getting  the nod with the playmaker was Igor
Larionov. "He held the puck while I  picked up my speed, and he
gave me some nice passes," said Kozlov,  "There were two or three
players around him and he still found the open  spot."  

Kozlov's long shot from the top of the faceoff circle midway through
the  third period deflected off a defenseman's stick and allowed
Kozlov to finish  with a goal in each period of the game.  It was the
third career hat trick for  Kozlov. Kozzie nearly won it when his
shot hit the crossbar in overtime. "I  tried to fake a couple of
times," Kozlov said. "He went down and I  just missed it." 

Sergei Fedorov scored the other goal for the Red Wings, whose
winning streak  was snapped at six games. 

The Wings carried the play most of the game as they have been in
recent  weeks.  

Some final thoughts...

It's crunch time and the Wings are definitely gelling. The trading
deadline is sure to bring someone in to shore up the defense.
Playing so well  with some key players still injured can only be a
bonus. The resurgence of  Shanahan and Fedorov bodes well for the
team in the final quarter. The Wings are  hot and it is about time,
that's for sure. Nonetheless they still do not  have a great record
against the better teams in the league and will need to  dwell on
that issue in the upcoming weeks before the playoffs arrive. What
remains to be seen is what this team is really made of and capable
of. The greatest and toughest tasks lie ahead.   

-----------------------------------------------------------------
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Nashville report was late, too.  We'll update the website as 
soon as it arrives.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
ST. LOUIS BLUES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
   
Roster: C - Craig Conroy, Mike Eastwood, Pascal Rheaume, Pierre
Turgeon, Michal Handzus. LW - Geoff Courtnall, Michel Picard, Tony
Twist, Pavol Demitra. RW - Jim Campbell, Kelly Chase, Scott
Pellerin, Scott Young, Jamal Mayers. D - Marc Bergevin, Jeff
Finley, Rory Fitzpatrick, Al MacInnis, Chris McAlpine, Rudy
Poeschek, Chris Pronger, Jamie Rivers, Ricard Persson. G - Grant
Fuhr, Jamie McLennan, Scott Roche. 

Injuries: Geoff Courtnall, lw (post-concussion syndrome 12/9,
day-to-day); Grant Fuhr, g (knee 2/6, four to six weeks); Rudy
Poeschek, d (sprained ankle 1/28, day-to-day); Marc Bergevin, d
(stomach muscle 1/11, day-to-day); Chris Pronger, d (bruised ankle
2/15, day-to-day); Rich Parent, g (scrotal contusion 2/13, three
weeks). 

Transactions:  2/13- acquired Jeff Finley, d, and Geoff Smith, d,
from New York Rangers for future considerations; 2/16 - recalled
Scott Roche, g, form Worcester (AHL); 2/22 - sent Chris Kenady, rw,
to New York Rangers to complete February 13 trade. 

Game Results:
2/10 at Tampa Bay  W  5-4
2/11 San Jose      L  5-1
2/13 Edmonton      L  3-2
2/15 Vancouver     W  8-1
2/18 Florida       T  0-0
2/20 Nashville     L  4-3
2/22 Los Angeles   W  5-1

TEAM NEWS by Tom Cooper

A Ghost From The Past

He's back!!! At least this time, he didn't bring Keenan with him.
 

Former Blues President Jack Quinn is suing the team for the $800,000
he says the team owes him from a previous contract that he said was
guaranteed through Jan. 13, 2003.  

Both Quinn and former head coach/general manager Mike Keenan were
fired in December 1996, but Quinn was retained as a consultant at a
salary of $250,000 per year. The Blues fired Quinn after the team
was fined $1.5 million for tampering with Scott Stevens in 1994,
while Quinn was still team president.  

"The contract was a guaranteed contract; they have to pay it," said
Merle Silverstein, Quinn's lawyer.  

Along with the salary dispute, Quinn says the team owes him $31,200
for a car allowance and $25,000 in medical benefits. 

<i>Onto The Games</i>

Could It Happen Again?

When I talked to you last, the St. Louis Blues had pulled the
impossible.  

For the first time in 69 games, the Blues won a game when trailing
after two periods. They did so against Florida. But, would it be
asking too much for the Blues to win another one. Well, chances are
it wouldn't happen against Tampa Bay because teams really need to
try to get behind the Lightning.  

The Blues tried hard...really hard. 

Chris Gratton put Tampa Bay on the board first. The man who was
rejected by Philadelphia like a baboon heart tallied just 52
seconds in to give the 'Ning a 1-0 lead. (Gratton's goal was
assisted by Alexander Daigle who has been rejected by Philadelphia,
Ottawa, and Pamela Anderson Lee.)  

Pavol Demitra tied the game about four minutes later with his 24th
on the year, but Benoit Hogue gave Tampa Bay the lead after one at
2-1.  

The Blues started to pull away early in the second. Scott Pellerin
tied the game at 2-2 just 1:06 into the middle frame, then Scott
Young scored his 12th just 20 seconds later, giving the Blues a
one-goal lead.  

Of course, like most Blues leads, this one would hold. (Surgeon
General's Warning: Exposure to extreme sarcasm may be hazardous to
your helath. Parental Discretion Advised.)  

It took about 15 minutes, but Tampa Bay tied the game. Stephane
Richer and Rob Zaumner set up Darcy Tucker to tie the game at 3-3.
Just 140 ticks later, Tampa Bay took the lead when Tucker scored
again, this time on the power play, giving Tampa a 4-3 lead going
into the final period.  

The Blues trailing after two. It's a good thing I didn't ruin it and
elude to this at the beginning.  

Pavol Demitra penciled his second of the game nine minutes into the
third to tie the game at 4-4. With 4:23 left in regulation, Terry
Yake put St. Louis up for good as they came back from a deficit
after the second to win 5-4.  

"It's been a long time and I think we finally got the monkey off our
back. We believed we could do it," said Yake. "Any way we can win,
we'll take it.  

"We had a good feeling in the dressing room after the second period.
We weren't happy with ourselves, but we've scoring some goals lately
and we thought we could come out and win this hockey game," Yake
said. "Thanks to the game before, it rolled over and we did it
again."  

Jamie McLennan stopped 18 of 22 shots for only his 10th win of the
season.  

It Should Be An Easy Win

The San Jose Sharks aren't exactly the greatest team in the league.
Then again, they never were.  

Once again, the Sharks were hovering around the basement of the
western-most division in the NHL; they've stayed away from the
cellar thanks to the Los Angeles Kings.  

So, looking at those facts, the outcome of the Blues' game against
the Sharks should surprise some. San Jose jumped out to a 3-0 lead
early in the second period, thanks to two goals by rookie Alexander
Korolyuk. The Blues fought back, though. Al MacInnis picked up his
15th on the season a little more than halfway through the second to
make it 3-1.  

That didn't matter. 

San Jose added a Jeff Friesen goal 49 seconds later and a Dave Lowry
goal late in the third to cruise to a 5-1 victory over the Blues. 

"Some nights it's like you can just see it's not there," St. Louis
coach Joel Quenneville said. "Tonight was one of those nights where
you could have done anything and nothing was going to change."  

The End of One of the Streaks

The Edmonton Oilers, trying to hold on to their eighth-place
position in the West, had lost eight straight. The St. Louis Blues
were in the midst of a four-game home losing streak.  

Something had to give as the Blues hosted Edmonton in the second
game of their seven game homestand.  

The Oilers tried to give first when Bill Guerin scored 7:50 in to
give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. The Bluenotes got back under seven
minutes later when Pierre Turgeon took a pass from Pavol Demitra
and beat Bob Essensa to tie the game at 1-1.  

After 12:20 of tied hockey, Ryan Smyth took the rebound of Dean
McAmmond's shot and beat Jamie McLennan to give the Oilers a 2-1
lead after two.  

Then, the Blues reverted to their old ways. 

Although Pascal Rheaume tied the game at 2-2 with 10:56 left, Smyth
picked up his second of the game to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead and
end St. Louis's 2-0-0 streak when trailing after two periods.  

The Game With 'Couver

OK- This one is simple. 

The Blues scored a ton of goals. (Eight) 

The Canucks scored very few goals. (One) 

It was not competitive. 

The Game With Florida

OK- This one is just as simple as the prior, if not easier. 

The Blues scored very few goals. (Zero) 

The Panthers scored very few goals. (Zero) 

It was competitive, it's just that nobody scored. 

It was the first home scoreless tie for the Blues since January 7,
1978.  

Simple, eh? 

Another Battle With Expansion

The Blues play in an easy division. The only team they need to look
out for is Detroit.  Chicago is nowhere near competitive and the
expansion Predators are realistically capable of making the
playoffs, but they should be beatable.  

The Predators didn't think so. 

After each team putt two goals on the board in the first, Nashville
took the advantage. Jaime Heward scored his second of the game
midway through the second to push the score to 3-2.  Nashville
nailed the coffin shut early in the third when John Slaney appeared
to deflect a shot off of Blues defenseman Bryan Helmer.  

Pascal Rheaume did score with five seconds left, but it was too
little too late as Nashville beat the Blues 4-3.  

St. Louis, who outshot the Preds 37-22, lost to the expansion club
for the second time this season.  

A Rematch of Last Year's Playoffs

They're not the same team they were 10 months ago. The Los Angeles
Kings have fallen off drastically from the team that pounded its
way to fifth in the Western Conference and looked to be dominant in
seasons to come. But injuries and poor play have dropped them to
the same class as Tampa Bay.  

With all of the hardships the Kings have gone through, it's no
wonder the Blues had their way with them. After Pavol Demitra
scored 5:23 into the first, the Blues put up a three-spot in the
second, including Demitra's second of the night as the Blues
destroyed the once mighty Kings, 5-1.  

"I thought we played with more determination and it was a needed
effort," Blues' head coach Joel Quenneville said. 

For Demitra, his second goal set a new career-high at 27, and tied
the number scored last season by former Bluenote Brett Hull.
================================================================
=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHWEST DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CALGARY FLAMES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Brian Sutter
   
Roster: C - Andrew Cassels, Clarke Wilm, Cory Stillman, Jeff Shantz, Steve
Dubinsky, Eric Landry. LW - Bob Bassen, Ed Ward, Jason Wiemer, Dave
Roche. RW - Valeri Bure, Theoren Fleury, Jarome Iginla, Martin St.
Louis, Rocky Thompson. D - Tommy Albelin, Cale Hulse, Derek Morris,
Todd Simpson, Steve Smith, Phil Housley, Dennis Gauthier, Chris
O'Sullivan.  G - Ken Wregget, Fred Brathwaite. 

Injuries: Dave Roche, lw (returned Feb. 19 after missing 18 games
with a knee injury); Andrew Cassels, c (groin injury Feb. 1,
day-to-day); Rocky Thompson, rw (concussion Jan. 16, indefinite). 

Transactions: Recalled Chris O'Sullivan, d, and Eric Landry, c, from
Saint John (AHL); Signed Phil Housley, d, to a contract extension
through the 1999-2000 season. 

Game Results:
2/12 Boston       W 4-3
2/19 Anaheim      W 6-3
2/20 Los Angeles  T 2-2
2/22 NY Rangers   W 6-2

TEAM NEWS by Jim Iovino

A Fleury of Theo News

Theo Fleury continues to be the only news coming out of Calgary
these days.  

Besides being among the league's top scorers, Fleury is also being
coveted by numerous teams via free agency or a trade.  It's been no
secret that the free-agent-to-be is wanted by the Flyers, Sharks,
Devils and Sabres.  Now add the Kings to the list.  

Fleury recently admitted to turning down a four-year, $25 million
contract offer given to him by the Kings, who were willing to trade
for him if he accepted the contract.  

Fleury is now saying he will turn down all contract offers for the
rest of the season so he can test the free-agent market in the
summer.  This makes it nearly impossible for the Flames to trade
him now.  Why would a team give up a prospect or player with no
guarantee of Fleury signing a long-term deal?  

So now it looks like Fleury will stay in Calgary and help the Flames
make a run at the playoffs.  That run is shaping up nicely.  The
Flames are unbeaten in their last six games.  Fleury has played a
major part, including a goal and an assist in a blowout 6-2 win over
Wayne Gretzky and the New York Rangers.  

More Fleury

Lil' Theo made more news recently by becoming the Flames' all-time
leader in career points.  Fleury passed Al MacInnis with two goals
and an assist against the Mighty Ducks, which gave him 824 points
in 787 games.  MacInnis held the previous record with 822 points
(213 goals) during his 13-year career with Calgary.  MacInnis still
holds the record for games played by a Flame, but Fleury is closing
in on that mark, too.  Theo has played in 787 games. MacInnis's
record is 803.  


-----------------------------------------------------------------
COLORADO AVALANCHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Bob Hartley
   
Roster:  C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Stephane Yelle, Chris Drury.
LW - Valeri Kamensky, Rene Corbet, Milan Hejduk, Shean Donovan,
Warren Rychel.  RW - Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Shjon Podein,
Jeff Odgers. D - Sandis Ozolinsh, Sylvain Lefebvre, Adam Foote,
Alexei Gusarov, Jon Klemm, Aaron Miller, Greg deVries, Cam Russell,
Eric Messier.  G - Patrick Roy, Craig Billington, Marc Denis.

Injuries: Warren Rychel, lw (hand, indefinite); Patrick Roy, g
(groin, day-to-day).

Transactions: Assigned Scott Parker, rw, to Hershey (AHL). Recalled
Eric Messier, d, from Hershey. Recalled Marc Denis, g, from
Hershey. 

Game results:
2/09 Calgary       L 2-1
2/13 Phoenix       L 4-1
2/14 Philadelphia  T 4-4
2/19 at Nashville  T 4-4
2/21 at Dallas     T 1-1

TEAM NEWS by Greg D'Avis

Go ahead, make your "ugly tie" jokes. We're used to it. 

After the team record 12-game winning streak crashed to a halt,
Colorado started up with a brand new pattern. 

Right when everyone was starting to say, "They'll never lose again!"
the Avalanche sputtered and lost a dull game to the always pesky
Flames, who seem to win three games a year, all against the
Avalanche.  

Keeping up with the frequent-nemesis theme, the Coyotes - who've
suddenly discovered, after years of futility, how to beat Colorado
every time -- visited town and, as always this season, stomped
Colorado. The Avalanche wasted a couple 5-on-3 power plays and the
full-game absence of Keith Tkachuk.  

After being manhandled by Phoenix, Colorado faced a daunting task:
the arrival of the mighty Flyers and a few thousand of their
transplanted fans, all loud and drunk. (The fans, not the Flyers.
Well, maybe the Flyers, too.)  

All the fans -- those who weren't kicked out for fighting in the
stands -- witnessed a mighty fine game that left absolutely no one
satisfied.  

The Avs came out and scored. Then Philly dominated for about 30
minutes (including a goal by former Av Keith Jones -- with his foot
in the crease! Ptah.). Then the Avs stormed back with three
third-period goals to take a 4-3 lead. Then John LeClair tied it
up.  

Both goalies were amazing in OT, and it stayed a tie, and everyone
left -- the Flyers fans chanting "Let's Go Flyers," me giving the
finger to everyone in a Lindros jersey (except when they were
bigger than me).  

On to Nashville, where the Avalanche had way too much trouble
earlier this year -- and again this time around. Colorado needed a
Joe Sakic hat trick to storm back from a 4-2 third period deficit
and tie again.  

Then back to Dallas, where Colorado stole one a few weeks ago.
Patrick Roy played through a strained groin and matched Ed Belfour
save-for-save, as Colorado eked out a tie.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
EDMONTON OILERS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Ron Low
   
Roster:  C - Doug Weight Todd Marchant, Rem Murray, Josef Beranek,
Chris Ferraro   LW - Dean McAmmond, Alex Selivanov, Mats Lindgren,
Ryan Smyth, Dan Lacouture. RW - Bill Guerin, Mike Grier, Pat
Falloon, Georges Laraque. D - Sean Brown, Roman Hamrlik, Boris
Mironov, Frank Musil, Janne Niinimaa, Tom Poti,  Marty McSorley.  G
- Bob Essensa, Mikhail Shtalenkov, Steve Passmore. 

Injuries: Kelly Buchberger, rw (fractured arm, should be another
week). 

Transactions: Feb. 22 - Assigned Boyd Devereaux, c, and Todd
Rierden, d, to the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) and recalled Chris
Ferraro, c, and Steve Passmore, g. 

Game Results:
2/08 at Calgary      L 2-1
2/09 Boston          L 2-0
2/11 Detroit         L 4-2
2/13 St. Louis       W 3-2
2/15 at Dallas       L 4-1
2/17 at Anaheim      W 6-2
2/18 at Los Angeles  L 3-2
2/21 NY Rangers      L 2-1

Team News by Aubrey Chau

The Oilers can't win.  What else is new?  What's the solution?  Who
knows, fire the coach, trade some players.  How about get Jaromir
Jagr?  He'll solve our scoring woes.  

Sure the Oilers could try all those things, but nobody really knows
what to do to cure the Oilers' losing ways.  If this continues the
Oilers should be ready to get out the golf clubs, because they
won't be going to the playoffs.  

With a tenuous grip on eighth place in the Western Conference, the
Calgary Flames are just one point behind the Oilers.  It's a pretty
ugly situation.  What can they Oilers do to end their losing ways? 
Scotch and lots of it?  Well, drinking will help, but it won't win
them any games.  

How about try harder and play a whole 60 minutes?  Well they tried
that.  On Sunday night against Wayne Gretzky and the New York
Rangers, the Oilers did everything they needed to win.  But they
still lost.  

The Oilers' outhustled and outchanced the Rangers, but were unable
to bury the puck past a hot Mike Richter.  They had the 1-0 lead,
but the Rangers were able to mount a comeback and defeat the Oil 45
seconds into overtime.  

In the end what killed the Oilers was their inability to bury
chances.  Again the Oilers now have no confidence around the net
and it shows.  With the heavy hands of Todd
(I-can't-put-a-puck-in-the-ocean) Marchant and company, the Oilers
really need an injection of confidence and luck.  

I'M LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

Maybe just an injection of new blood will do the trick.  Coach Ron
Low certainly hopes so.  The Oilers called up some young turks from
their top farm team the Hamilton Bulldogs.  

Those lucky dogs coming up are centre Chris Ferraro, winger Dan
Lacouture and goalie Steve Passmore.  

They won't be getting into the Oilers lineup immediately, but Low
will want to get a good look at them sometime during the next few
weeks.  Ferraro is the Bulldogs leading scorer, while Lacouture has
been the Bulldog's best player since January.  

Passmore will be the most interesting callup, especially with the
Oilers' unsteady goaltending situation.  Bob Essensa has been
holding up the fort of late, but Mikail Shtalenkov has been
struggling.  

Passmore has been ruling the AHL and the word is he has a chance to
definitely stick with the Oilers and could be a start by next
season.  

With Essensa's wife expecting a child, look for Passmore to get his
chance.  

Since the Oilers called up three players, they had to send down a
few.  That meant centre Boyd Devereaux and Todd Rierden got the
bump.  

Low stressed Devereaux was mostly sent down for conditioning, and
his situation would be a temporary one.  Devereaux has been a
healthy scratch of late, and when he does dress he gets very little
ice time.  Coach wants him to see some more ice and it looks like
Hamilton is what the doctor ordered.  

Rierden hasn't been dressing lately, even though he played well
enough when he was dressed.  He became a victim of the numbers
game.  He should return before the end of the season.  

SCARE HIM TO SCORE

Before the Oilers game in Anaheim, newbie Oiler Alexander Selivanov
was a chalkmark away from being a healthy scratch.  But unexpected
family matters (no, not the show with that lovable Erkel) forced
second line centre Joe Beranek to return to Edmonton.  

This put Selivanov onto the Oilers first line beside Doug Weight and
Billy the Butcher Guerin.  Silly Selly responded with a hat trick in
the third period to lead the Oilers to a 6-2 win over the Ducks. 

Then the next game in Los Angeles Alex the Great comes out and pots
another two goals in an Oilers' losing cause. 

Looks like Selivanov just needs a good kick in the rear end (or the
kidneys) to jumpstart his effort.  

Trade Rumours

Not very much on the trade rumour front.  It's pretty quiet.  The
only Oiler subject to trade talk around here is still Boris
Mironov.  A new possible destination is Buffalo.  But it's all
speculation.  

Bobo, who is a restricted free agent this summer said even if he is
traded he would still make Edmonton his home in the offseason. 
Bobo is on the verge of getting his Canadian citizenship and loves
it here in Edmonton.  

Let's hope the Oilers will keep him and re-sign him this summer,
even if he can go to arbitration and ask for about $3.5 million. 
With Roman Hamrlik also a restricted free agent, it looks as if
it's going to be another long summer for Oilers GM Glen Sather. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
VANCOUVER CANUCKS 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Marc Crawford

ROSTER: C - Mark Messier, Dave Gagner, Harry York, Dave Scatchard,
Peter Zezel, Darby Hendrickson, Steve Washburn. LW - Todd Bertuzzi,
Brad May, Markus Naslund, Donald Brashear, Bert Robertsson. RW -
Alexander Mogilny, Bill Muckalt, Trent Klatt, Steve Staios. D -
Adrian Aucoin, Murray Baron, Jamie Huscroft, Ed Jovanoski, Bryan
McCabe, Dana Murzyn, Mattias Ohlund, Jason Strudwick. G - Garth
Snow, Corey Hirsch. 

INJURIES: Mark Messier, c (knee, 4-6 weeks), Peter Zezel, c (leg
injury, should be back soon); Ed Jovanovski, d (foot, out 2-3 weeks).

TRANSACTIONS: Traded Chris McAllister, lw, to Toronto for Darby
Hendrickson, c; acquired Steve Washburn, c, from Florida on waivers.

GAME RESULTS:
2/09 at New Jersey  W 4-3
2/11 at Pittsburgh  L 6-5 OT
2/13 Boston         W 3-1
2/15 at St. Louis   L 8-1
2/17 at Chicago     L 4-0
2/20 Anaheim        L 5-1

Team News by Jeff Dubois

If you'll kindly refer to the last three entries under "Game
Results", you'll probably notice something startling.  If what
you've noticed if the same thing that I've noticed, you may even be
thinking that the great mystery of the Vancouver Canucks inability
to win has been uncovered. 

That's right - the opposition has scored many goals while the Canucks
have subsequently scored very few. The precise numbers in fact are 17
goals against and two goals for. The more advanced hockey fan sees
those figures not just as numbers, but rather as strong indications
that: 

1) The opposition is scoring many, many goals. 

2) The offensive output is slightly stronger than Tony Danza's
career.  

Did I hear Tony Danza? I think we all remember the amusing antics
that took place  as Tony and Judith Light discovered "Who's The
Boss". Which makes me wonder, who the boss of the Vancouver Canucks?
If it's Brian Burke, has someone told him? 

Burke has to decide if this team is making a run for the playoffs or
retooling for next season. There is no middle ground. There is
little point in keeping the likes of Dave Gagner and Peter Zezel
around if the schedule is just being played out. These two are
taking time away from younger guys like Dave Scatchard, Harry York
and the newly acquired Darby Hendrickson and Steve Washburn, both
of whom could make positive contributions. 

And if this team is going to make a run for the playoffs, something
has to done now, because the current line-up isn't going to make up
the ever-increasing gap. 

I would like to think that Burke will make the smart long-term
decision and get rid of the dead wood. I think that Dave Gagner might
have some value to a team with the need for a play-making centre and
Zezel won't yield much in return, but it'll relieve us of some
salary and give those younger guys a bit more ice time. The Canucks
are in a competitive race for 26th in the league, which would give
us a shot at a very high draft pick. Getting rid of Zezel and
Gagner might just help us in that race. 

That offensive lapse mentioned above can be easily explained. Mark
Messier's injury has deprived the team of its number one centre.
Naslund's production has dropped, but he has missed Messier and is
now being keyed on more by the opposition. That said, he is still
only one goal away from 30. I would have taken 30 goals from Naslund
at the start of the year with no questions asked. 

Bertuzzi has also been quiet as of late, with the exception of two
highlight reel goals versus Jersey and Boston. Alex Mogilny is still
asleep and Bill Muckalt has hit a bit of a wall, and has been dropped
down to the third line by Marc Crawford. Without the contributions of
these five, goal scoring will be an ongoing struggle. 

Surprising as it may sound, even downright crappy teams have some
positive aspects. The Canucks for instance are doing one hell of a
job of getting something out of nothing. With the exception of the
Bure trade, Burke's four transactions have brought York,
Hendrickson, Washburn and Trent Klatt to the Canucks in exchange for
Chris McAllister and a low draft pick. All four of those new Canucks
are playing, which I suppose is sort of good. 

Goaltender Kevin Weekes, acquired with Jovanovski and Gagner, has
really been impressing in the IHL. Canucks Assistant GM Dave Nonis
has made two contract proposals and the club is taking a serious look
at giving him some games this season. 

The problem, it seems, is Weekes' agent Tony Calabrese. He has only
one client, and therefore has a lot of time on his hands to whine,
complain, nitpick etc.  If Weekes does sign this year, it will at
least give Canuck fans a chance to take a look at the future in goal.
Anybody who brings optimism with them is more than welcome around
here. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts... 

Happy thoughts, you say? What could possibly make a starving
journalist happier than getting to choose the best Vancouver Canuck
over the past two weeks? Food, perhaps! But I'll  settle for
revealing the latest winner of the Wayne Axford Award for Sporting
Excellence. The winner is Adrian Aucoin.  

It's tough to select a defenceman when you've allowed 27 goals in the
last six games, but Aucoin has played physically and has contributed
offensively, more than can be said for about 20 other Canucks.
Aucoin beat out Bryan McCabe and Todd Bertuzzi for the honour with
237 votes while McCabe and Bertuzzi garnered 122 and 98 votes
respectively. Congratulations, Adrian, you've earned it! 

Aucoin now has one Axford Cup selection while Markus Naslund
continues to lead with two. This award, of course, was inspired by
the model example set by Wayne Axford, teacher and pop icon at
Cariboo Hill Secondary School in Burnaby, BC .  Wayne Axford's
leadership, flair and work ethic are the assets we hope to see in
Vancouver Canuck players...sometime soon...please!
================================================================

=================================================================
TEAM REPORTS
=================================================================
WESTERN CONFERENCE
PACIFIC DIVISION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Craig Hartsburg
   
ROSTER: C - Matt Cullen, Travis Green, Steve Rucchin, Marty McInnis.
LW - Johan Davidsson, Ted Drury, Stu Grimson, Paul Kariya, Jim
McKenzie. RW - Antti Aalto, Jeff Nielsen, Tomas Sandstrom, Teemu
Selanne. D - Kevin Haller, Jason Marshall, Frederik Olausson, Jamie
Pushor, Ruslan Salei, Pascal Trepanier, Pavel Trnka, Dan Trebil.  G
- Guy Hebert, Dominic Roussel.

INJURIES: Steve Rucchin, c (broken nose (2/19), playing); Jamie
Pushor, d (bruised left shoulder/chest (2/14), day-to-day).

TRANSACTIONS: 2/26, recalled Dan Trebil, d, from Cincinnati (AHL).

GAME RESULTS:
2/10 Philadelphia    W 5-4
2/12 Dallas          L 3-2
2/14 at Phoenix      W 5-1
2/15 at Los Angeles  W 3-1
2/17 Edmonton        L 6-2
2/19 at Calgary      L 6-3
2/20 at Vancouver    W 5-1

TEAM NEWS by Alex Carswell

HELTER SKELTER

To paraphrase -- all right, bastardize -- the song: "Sometimes you
kill; sometimes you get killed." And that was the story of this
segment for the Ducks. Coming off a four-game winning streak that,
with the exception of a hard-earned victory over a lackadaisical
Flyers club, impressed no one, Anaheim began a mercurial stretch of
games. Overmatched and dispatched by Dallas with the Stars' usual
aplomb, Anaheim played a breakthrough pair of contests against
Phoenix and the Kings.  

Phoenix games are always spirited, and in a rowdy 5-1 win, the Ducks
managed to get scoring from the oft-sought "others" -- Rucchin (2),
Drury and McKenzie -- and get firmly under the skin of their desert
adversaries. The game started physical, continued with many
unpenalized cheap shots, resulted in injury to Jamie Pushor --
courtesy of Keith Tkachuk's cross-borderline hit -- and ended with
former Coyotes tough-guy McKenzie smirking at his old friends after
potting the final goal.  

McKenzie would later say he enjoyed yammering with pal Tkachuk,
whose head, he says, compares favorably to a Jack-in-the-Box,
size-wise. Hothead Phoenix coach Jim Schoenfeld, meanwhile, later
indicated that the Coyotes' ire and game-costing lack of discipline
harkens way back to Ruslan Salei's early-season "slew-footing" of
Daniel Briere. Not that that's a bad thing, said Schoeny, noting
that "maybe we're not finished getting back at them. Unlike [the
Ducks], we're in a position where we can waste a few points."  

Can you believe this guy's never won coach of the year? 

But the Ducks will take wasted points from Phoenix anytime, and
they earned a few of their own the next night in LA. Again,
"others" did the trick -- this time in the guise of Tomas
Sandstrom, who notched a penalty shot among his pair of markers.
 

SKIDDING

Then all hell broke loose. The team sleepwalked through a 6-2 home
loss to Edmonton and journeyed to a 6-3 pelting at Calgary. The
reshuffled lines were reshuffled again. Guy Hebert was sub-par.
Kariya -- in the midst of all this scoring by "others" -- was
slumping.  

Then, just in the nick of time, came ... Vancouver! And all was
well. Kariya lit up the hapless 'Nucks, notching a penalty shot of
his own; Hebert came back to form. The team headed for three days
rest before a rematch with the Oilers, full of relief that a
"difficult stretch" of seven games in 11 nights was over, and only
slightly rationalizing the losses away to fatigue. 

Was it scheduling? Will the new lines click? Will Dan Trebil,
brought up because of Jamie Pushor's injury, ever play? Will Matt
Cullen ever work his way back up to the first line? And what will
the Ducks name the sponsored in-arena blimp now that the contest
deadline is over?  

You're on the edge of your set now, aren't you? 

COMING UP

Four key contests against conference rivals open the next nine-game
LCS segment. After Edmonton (three points behind the Ducks), and a
home-and-home with San Jose (one point back), Anaheim entertains
struggling LA. Four wins here -- deserved, cheap, boring,
lucky...however -- would be a huge start for the stretch run. Four
points would be a disappointment. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
DALLAS STARS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head coach: Ken Hitchcock

Roster:  C - Mike Modano, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Tony Hrkac,
Brian Skrudland. LW- Jamie  Langenbrunner, Jason Botterill, Dave
Reid, Brent Severyn, Jere Lehtinen, Dan Keczmer. RW- Brett Hull,
Mike Keane, Grant Marshall, Pat Verbeek. D-Derian Hatcher, Craig
Ludwig, Darryl Sydor, Shawn Chambers, Richard Matvichuk, Sergei
Zubov, Sergei Gusev. G-Ed Belfour, Roman Turek. 

Injuries: Brian Skrudland, c (chest contusion, 2-4 weeks). Darryl
Sydor, d (sprained knee, 7-14 days). 

Transactions: Recalled Jason Botterill, lw, from the Michigan
K-Wings (IHL). 

Game Results:
2/12 at Anaheim     W 3-2
2/13 at Los Angeles W 3-2
2/15 Edmonton       W 4-1
2/17 Florida        W 2-1
2/19 Chicago        W 5-1
2/21 Colorado       T 1-1 OT

Team News by Jim Panenka

The Real Stars Are Back

Yes, they're back. After turning in a rather lackluster 4-4-2
performance in 10 games from 1/10 through 2/7, the Stars have
ripped out an impressive string of 5-0-1 in their last six games.
 

The reasons for the previous poor performances seem to be due to
burnout more than anything. Dallas had played a pretty grueling
schedule during that time, and since (most) hockey players are mere
humans, there will of course be a time when the team collectively
runs out of gas.  

Luckily for the Stars, they found a few good lines after coach
Hitchcock started the line lottery system again in order to find
those winning combinations.  

Joe Nieuwendyk's line had faltered after the feisty Pat Verbeek was
pulled off the rotation, but Hitchcock has since reunited that line
with good results. Verbeek turned in some typical gritty
performances, including a great assist and fantastic forechecking
during his 1,200th NHL game.  

The newest line to have success was the somewhat unusual combination
of Brent Severyn, Dan Keczmer, and Tony Hrkac. Severyn has played
extremely well with a lot of energy, and has been rewarded with a
goal and two assists after being a healthy scratch for several
months.  

Hrkac is playing like he wants to stay with the club, stating that
he is playing the best he can play in order to remain in the lineup
- after also being a healthy scratch more often than not. If he
continues to set up Severyn as well as score like they have been,
that's almost a guarantee. But you never know with Hitchcock. He
changes lines more often than Chicago changes coaches.  

The fact that the Severyn line is taking some of the load off of the
still-faltering Nieuwendyk line has meant that the Stars have been
able to win a few of those boring 2-1 stinkers they may have
otherwise lost.  

There has been too much pressure on the Modano line lately, despite
the fact that the line has been playing like one of the best trios
in the league.  

Brett Hull has turned into a scoring machine lately, and seems to
have scored at least one goal in the last 4-5 games. Of course, the
fact that his father - the great Hall of Famer Bobby Hull - has been
in the Reunion Arena press box for the last few games hasn't hurt.
Who wouldn't want to impress Bobby Hull!?  

Hull has scored some goals that just flat out scream. His slap shot
from the side boards near the circle have been just unstoppable.
They seem to pound in behind the net faster than the hapless
netminders can even react. His shot is just plain scary, man. He
currently leads the Stars in goals with 25 - putting him on a 30-35
goal pace. Finally, somebody has past Darryl Sydor's place as the
second-highest scoring Star.  

Mike Modano came under fire recently after a particularly poor
performance during the 2-1 win over Florida on 2/17. Hitchcock put
another center in his place (Hrkac?) for a few shifts during that
game in an effort to wake up Modano, who Hitchcock was describing
as "a passenger" during the game.  

Mo had said he and his line were just flat out of energy, stating
"when Jere (Lehtinen) says he's tired, you know something is up."
 

Modano took the criticism to heart, and came back the next game
against Chicago to light up the nets with his second hat trick of
the season and sixth of his career. Hull also scored during this
game.  

"You know when you've played bad," said Modano in his defense. "Our
line had to bounce back. But we're not machines. We're human and it
can catch up to you. Our line had an awful game, but that's why you
have 22 players and not just three. It was our turn tonight."  

Hitchcock said after the Chicago game that he should have seen that
Modano, Hull and Lehtinen were out of gas against Florida. 

"When you're playing over 20 minutes a game like they are, you
forget that people run out of energy," Hitchcock said. "By taking
yesterday off, we were a lot stronger tonight."  

That 5-1 win over Chicago really gave the team a boost, and they
turned in another impressive playoff-style performance to tie the
surging Colorado Avalanche 1-1.  

Essentially, the team has found the right combo of forwards and has
gotten back on track when it comes to working hard game-in and
game-out. They are showing the signs of once again being cup
contenders.  

Other Notes:

*Pat Verbeek was a trooper when asked by Hitchcock to reduce his ice
time so he could rotate in forwards Langenbrunner and Marshall for
more experience before the playoffs begin. Verbeek simply recognized
this as a good chance to play at just about anywhere he's needed on
the team, meaning he pretty well has free reign to get into the
opponent's faces in any way he wants to. This move will be good for
all parties involved, and his lack of bitching when it came to
hurting his individual numbers during a free-agent season won't go
unnoticed.  

*Hitchcock plans to begin resting some of the elder veterans on the
team like Carbonneau and Ludwig in order to prep for the upcoming
playoffs. While it's bad they have to, it's good that these players
have a chance to come back fresh when they are needed the most.
 

*Darryl Sydor suffered a slight tear in the knee after colliding
with a Colorado player during the team's 1-1 tie. It appeared to be
a clean hip check, one Sydor seemed to have not paid attention to.
Normally, a player would try to move laterally to avoid the
collision, but Sydor was carrying the puck and was looking up ice
to make a play while in the neutral zone, about to cross the Avs
blue line. Sydor is expected to make a quick comeback, but
hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come for other Stars
players. (sorry about bringing the injury thing up last issue - I
knew that would jinx the team...DOH!)  

*I spoke with GM Bob Gainey about the possibility of a trade, and
the gist of his answer was pretty predictable: 

"Nobody wants to give us anything right now. Besides, we've done the
'trade young players for veterans' thing a few times already.  But
there are some quality players available right now. Maybe we can pick
up a free agent."  

Personally, I am doubtful they will make any moves. But as with the
Todd Harvey for Skrudland-Keane deal with New York, Gainey has
proven he likes to surprise people. He just might still pull one
off. Dallas is still woefully lacking in true left wings.  


-----------------------------------------------------------------
LOS ANGELES KINGS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach:  Larry Robinson

Roster:  C - Jozef Stumpel, Olli Jokinen, Ian Laperriere,  Ray
Ferraro, Yanic Perreault, Sean Pronger.  LW - Eric Lacroix,
Vladimir Tsyplakov, Luc Robitaille,  Craig Johnson,  Josh Green. 
RW - Russ Courtnall,  Glen Murray,  Sandy Moger, Daniel Audette,
Pavel Rosa.  D - Garry Galley, Rob Blake, Sean O'Donnell, Doug
Bodger, Mattias Norstrom, Steve Duchesne, Philippe Boucher.  G -
Stephane Fiset,  Jamie Storr. 

Injuries: Steve McKenna, lw (abdominal strain, does it matter?). 
Vladimir Tsyplakov, lw (knee, week to week).  Mark Visheau, d
(urinary tract obstruction ewwww, season). 

Transactions:  Traded Eric Lacroix, lw, to the Rangers in exchange
for Sean Pronger, c. 

Game Results
2/10  at Phoenix    L 3-0
2/11  Philadelphia  W 4-3
2/13  Dallas        L 3-2
2/15  Anaheim       L 3-1
2/18  Edmonton      W 3-2
2/20  at Calgary    T 2-2
2/22  at St. Louis  L 5-1

Team News by Matthew Moore

The season might not be done with yet, but the Kings almost are.  I
was hoping to be able to write something positive about the Kings
this time around, and actually had a brief chance to do so when the
Kings came from behind and ambushed the Flyers.  But true to form
the Kings promptly lost all of their momentum and disappeared in
three of the next five games.  

I'm not sure which was more disgusting to watch: the total
domination of the Kings by cross-town rivals Anaheim or the
embarrassing attempt at defense that they threw at the Blues. 
Hmmmm...I'll go out on a limb and say the Blues game.  

In that game there were three goals scored by Blues at point blank
range, with nary a defenseman in sight. And as usual the normal
"We've got to work harder" mantra was said by all the Kings.  Maybe
if they say it enough it will happen, kind of like Dorothy clicking
her heels together in the Wizard Of Oz.  But I tend to doubt it.
 

It sounds like a foregone conclusion that Larry Robinson will be
fired (or maybe reassigned like Dirk Graham was in Chicago).  I
don't think that will be enough to right the Kings from this
disaster of a season.  Individual players need to be held
responsible for not doing their jobs, especially players who have
disappeared from making any attempt at playing hard.  Those players
include forwards who are not willing to pay the price by crashing
the front of the net, or the defensemen who don't feel like
clearing the front of their net.  

I could honestly say that if the Kings used that criteria to weed
out players they would lose half of the team if not more. 

Good news: After missing 19 games due to a strained knee ligament,
Glen Murray returned against the Flames.  He played pretty well
considering he was having to get used to a brace and was also
having to get his conditioning back.  

Now the bad news:  Winger Vladimir Tsyplakov sprained his left knee
in the game against the Oilers.  He'll be out for at least a week.
 

Theo Fleury brought to an end any chance the Kings had of trading
for him by rejecting a Kings offer of $25 million over 4 years.  He
intends to explore the free agent market this summer when he will
be an unrestricted free agent.  Hopefully the Kings will make a run
at him then.  But the nixed trade would have supposedly sent Yanic
Perreault to the Flames, which would have been interesting since
then we could see Perreault not score for 20 games while in a
Flames uniform.  

And finally, Kings former owner Jeffrey Sudikoff pleaded guilty to
federal insider trading charges this past Friday.  He was the owner
of the Kings who was supposed to save the franchise from financial
ruin after the federal conviction of the previous Kings owner Bruce
McNall.  Maybe they'll get to talk hockey up in the Lompoc Federal
Prison. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX COYOTES
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Jim Schoenfeld 

Roster: C - Jeremy Roenick, Bob Corkum, Mike Stapleton, Juha Ylonen,
Daniel Briere, Tavis Hansen, Trevor Letowski. LW - Keith Tkachuk,
Greg Adams, Jim Cummins, Mike Sullivan, Louie DeBrusk. RW - Rick
Tocchet, Dallas Drake, Brad Isbister, Shane Doan, Rob Murray. D -
Keith Carney, Gerald Diduck, Jyrki Lumme, Teppo Numminen, Oleg
Tverdovsky, Deron Quint, JJ Daigneult. G - Nikolai Khabibulin, Robert
Esche. 

Injuries: 2/03 - Brad Isbister, lw (hernia surgery, six weeks); 2/19
- Dallas Drake, rw (shoulder, updated to day-to-day); 2/19 - Juha
Ylonen, c (knee, undetermined at this time); 2/19 - JJ Daigneault, d
(knee, 7-10 days); 2/20 - Mike Stapleton, c (facial cut, day-to-day);
2/20 - Shane Doan, rw (facial cut, day-to-day); 2/20 - Greg Adams, lw
(groin pull, day-to-day). 

Transactions: 2/17 - sent Jimmy Waite, g, to Springfield (AHL) and
recalled Robert Esche, g, from Springfield.

GAME RESULTS
2/08 San Jose           L 3-0
2/10 Los Angeles        W 3-0
2/13 at Colorado        W 4-1
2/14 Anaheim            L 5-1
2/16 Philadelphia       L 4-1
2/19 at Tampa Bay       L 4-2
2/20 at Florida         L 7-1
2/22 at Pittsburgh      L 4-1

TEAM NEWS by Bob Chebat

The Coyotes ended their longest home stand of the season on a sour
note with two straight lopsided losses to Anaheim and Philadelphia,
only to head out to their longest road trip of the season, touring
the East Coast.  

The trip has gotten off to a less than favorable start with losses
in Tampa Bay (yes, you read that correctly), Florida and
Pittsburgh. The Lightning snapped a 10-game winless streak, the
Panthers busted out of a scoring drought without Pavel Bure in a
7-1 rout, and the Penguins ended a three-game slump with a 4-1 win
on Monday night. The only good news is that the Coyotes next
opponent, the Washington Capitals, have won five straight home
games. Since the Coyotes are streak breakers this trip, who knows,
they may just snap out of it.  

Injuries have taken their toll on the team as well. The roster looks
like that of the Springfield Falcons with names like Robert Esche,
Joe Dziedzic, JF Jomphe, Rob Murray, Trevor Letowski and Tavis
Hansen. Jimmy Waite was sent to Springfield prior to the road trip to
"find his game" as head coach Jim Schoenfeld put it, and in his first
appearance, allowed two goals on just 12 shots.  

Robert Esche has come in relief of Nikolai Khabibulin in the last
two games after the Boolin Wall surrendered seven goals before each
game was 30 minutes old. Esche looked strong in both appearances,
but the defense in front of him has been lacking tremendously.  

The Coyotes will not return the once friendly confines of America
West Arena until March 5th when the Detroit Red Wings make their
second appearance in Phoenix this season. Phoenix has played
Detroit twice this season and won both meetings by a combined score
of 9-3.  

Injuries are not the only problem plaguing the Coyotes, putting the
puck in the net has not come easy either. Despite outshooting their
opponents in many of their games, goals are few and far between. The
current road trip of four games has seen four goals, three from Rick
Tocchet and one from Captain Tkachuk. The two are tied for the team
lead with 21 each. The once-hot Jeremy Roenick has cooled off
considerably since Dallas Drake has been sidelined.  Drake hopes to
return to the lineup this week against Washington.  

Even with the scoring woes, do not look for the Coyotes to make any
major changes to the lineup before the trading deadline on March
23. They have a payroll budget to stick to and will not be in the
market for any highly priced rent-a-players for the stretch run,
such as Theo Fleury, Mark Recchi or Doug Gilmour.  

A healthy Coyotes team that gets back to basics and follows the
Schoenfeld system can be successful, but will they be able to
recapture that winning feeling they had over the first two months
of the season? Only time will tell.  

For game-by-game updates, photos and more, please visit my
Unofficial Coyotes Web Site at http://bizbud.com/coyotes.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
SAN JOSE SHARKS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Head Coach: Darryl Sutter 
     
roster: C - Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Mike Ricci, Tony Granato,
Ron Sutter, Jarrod Skalde. LW - Murray Craven, Stephane Matteau,
Dave Lowry, Jeff Friesen, Shawn Burr. RW - Ron Stern, Owen Nolan,
Joe Murphy, Brantt Myhres, Alexander Korolyuk. D - Bryan Marchment,
Bill Houlder, Marcus Ragnarsson, Mike Rathje, Andrei Zyuzin, Bob
Rouse, Jeff Norton, Andy Sutton, Shawn Heins. G - Mike Vernon,
Steve Shields. 

injuries: Gary Suter, d (tricep, rest of season); Ron Sutter, c (eye
injury Feb. 15, 1-2 weeks); Bryan Marchment, d (shoulder injury Jan.
7, 1-2 weeks); Tony Granato, rw (knee injury Jan. 11, indefinite).

transactions: Recalled Shawn Heins, d, from loan to the Canadian
National Team; recalled Jarrod Skalde, c, from Kentucky (AHL);
recalled Shawn Burr, f, from Kentucky. 

Game Results
2/04 at Phoenix      L 3-1
2/06 at Los Angeles  L 2-0
2/08 at Phoenix      W 3-0
2/10 at Chicago      W 5-2
2/11 at St. Louis    W 5-1
2/13 at Tampa Bay    W 3-1
2/15 at Florida      T 2-2
2/17 at Detroit      L 3-1
2/19 at Buffalo      L 4-2
2/20 at Washington   L 3-1

team news by Jim Iovino

Road Trip from Hell Ends

Damn...the scheduling gods must not like the San Jose Sharks.  Lord
knows I don't. 

The Sharks just returned from a 10-game road trip that started out
in Phoenix, then went to the Midwest, then to Florida, then
Michigan, then New York and finally to Washington. 

Yeah, that's gotta suck. 

The Sharks finished the trip 4-5-1.  Not great, but it could have
been a lot worse.  The trip started off poorly, with the Sharks
losing the first two games. But then Mike Vernon got hot and San
Jose won four straight.  Vernon helped yield the Sharks' opponents
to four goals in those four games. He was named the NHL player of
the week for his efforts. 

San Jose tied the next game with Florida, then ran out of steam. 
The Sharks finished the trip by losing back-to-back-to-back games
against the Red Wings, Sabres and Capitals. 

Ten games in 16 days on the road was a terrible experience.  But the
outcome could have been a lot worse.  The Sharks could have suffered
a total collapse, but as is, they are still in the playoff picture.
Thanks to an extremely weak Western Conference, the Sharks are in
seventh place despite having a 20-25-13 record. 

In other news, the Sharks are no closer to landing Theo Fleury.  The
Flames winger said he will not accept any contracts the rest of this
season and instead take his chances in the offseason. 

That be the news.  I'm out.
================================================================
---------------------------------------------------------------
Player Stats thru February 21
---------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM P NO  PLAYER                 GP   G   A PTS +/-  PIM PP SH GW GT   S  PCTG
ANA  L  9  Kariya, Paul           58  25  48  73   7   34  5  2  1  0 314   8.0
ANA  R  8  Selanne, Teemu         51  31  40  71   7   20 17  0  4  1 182  17.0
ANA  C 20  Rucchin, Steve         58  21  33  54   9   18  4  0  4  1 129  16.3
ANA  D  2  Olausson, Fredrik      52  14  28  42   9   26  9  0  2  0  95  14.7
ANA  C 16  McInnis, Marty         58  17  24  41 -15   30  9  1  5  0 105  16.2
ANA  C 39  Green, Travis          55  10  13  23  -2   59  2  1  0  0 108   9.3
ANA  R 17  Sandstrom, Tomas       34  10  11  21  -5   28  5  0  2  0  71  14.1
ANA  C 11  Cullen, Matt           51   6  12  18 -13   39  4  1  0  0  75   8.0
ANA  D 24  Salei, Ruslan          52   2  10  12  -4   51  1  0  0  0 101   2.0
ANA  C 18  Drury, Ted             51   3   5   8   8   36  0  0  0  0  44   6.8
ANA  C 14 *Aalto, Antti           50   3   4   7  -7   14  2  0  0  0  44   6.8
ANA  C 22 *Davidsson, Johan       51   3   4   7  -7   12  1  0  1  0  46   6.5
ANA  D 23  Marshall, Jason        52   0   6   6  -2  104  0  0  0  0  46   0.0
ANA  L 33  McKenzie, Jim          49   3   2   5 -13   59  1  0  1  0  40   7.5
ANA  D 25 *Crowley, Mike      M   20   2   3   5 -10   16  1  0  1  0  41   4.9
ANA  L 32  Grimson, Stu           53   3   0   3   2  127  0  0  1  0   9  33.3
ANA  D 27 *Trepanier, Pascal      34   1   2   3  -3   38  0  0  1  0  33   3.0
ANA  R 19  Nielsen, Jeff          56   1   2   3  -4   15  0  0  1  0  62   1.6
ANA  D  7  Trnka, Pavel           42   0   3   3   3   42  0  0  0  0  36   0.0
ANA  D  4  Pushor, Jamie          52   1   1   2 -10   84  0  0  0  0  54   1.9
ANA  D  5  Haller, Kevin          58   0   2   2  -2   90  0  0  0  0  47   0.0
ANA  D 34  Trebil, Dan             1   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
ANA  L 12 *LeClerc, Mike      M    2   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
BOS  L 12  Khristich, Dmitri      55  24  30  54   7   38  8  1  4  1 106  22.6
BOS  C 41  Allison, Jason         56  15  35  50   0   40  4  1  1  0 117  12.8
BOS  L 14  Samsonov, Sergei       55  20  22  42  -7   14  5  0  6  1 110  18.2
BOS  D 77  Bourque, Ray           55   5  33  38  -1   26  4  0  2  0 179   2.8
BOS  R 23  Heinze, Steve          51  13  12  25   0   28  4  0  3  0 107  12.1
BOS  C  6  Thornton, Joe          56  11  11  22  -2   48  4  0  1  0  88  12.5
BOS  D 20  Van Impe, Darren   R   47   5  13  18  -8   55  4  0  0  0  87   5.7
BOS  C 19  DiMaio, Rob            48   3  14  17  -9   68  0  0  0  0  84   3.6
BOS  C 33  Carter, Anson          29   8   8  16  -2   10  4  0  1  0  53  15.1
BOS  C 42  Ferraro, Peter         41   6   7  13  10   44  1  0  1  0  58  10.3
BOS  L 11  Axelsson, P.J.         52   6   7  13  -7    8  0  0  1  0  90   6.7
BOS  D 32  Sweeney, Don           56   2   8  10   8   48  0  0  0  0  54   3.7
BOS  D 18  McLaren, Kyle          27   5   4   9  -7   34  3  0  0  0  57   8.8
BOS  D 36  Ledyard, Grant         34   2   7   9 -11   25  1  0  0  0  38   5.3
BOS  C 38  Taylor, Chris          37   3   5   8  -3   12  0  1  0  0  60   5.0
BOS  C 26  Taylor, Tim            24   3   4   7  -4   14  0  0  1  0  42   7.1
BOS  C 17 *Bates, Shawn       M   25   3   4   7   2    2  0  0  0  0  23  13.0
BOS  D 25  Gill, Hal              56   2   5   7  -5   44  0  0  1  0  73   2.7
BOS  D 44  Ellett, Dave           39   0   6   6  10   23  0  0  0  0  35   0.0
BOS  L 16  Belanger, Ken          37   2   1   3  -2  124  0  0  0  0  13  15.4
BOS  L 57 *Laaksonen, Antti   M   11   1   2   3  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
BOS  L 22  Baumgartner, Ken       54   1   1   2  -5   97  0  0  0  1   9  11.1
BOS  C 28  Savage, Andre      M    6   1   0   1   2    0  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
BOS  R 10 *Mann, Cameron          11   1   0   1  -3    4  0  0  1  0  14   7.1
BOS  C 21 *Robitaille, Randy       2   0   1   1   0    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BOS  D 37  Timander, Mattias       4   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
BOS  C 56 *Nordstrom, Peter   M    2   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
BOS  C 72 *Nickulas, Eric     M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
BOS  D 55 *Girard, Jonathan   R    3   0   0   0   1    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
BOS  D 29  Vaske, Dennis      M    3   0   0   0  -3    6  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
BOS  D 53 *Smith, Brandon     M    4   0   0   0   3    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
BOS  R 27  Wilson, Landon     M    4   0   0   0  -2    4  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
BOS  L 51 *Henderson, Jay     M    4   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
BOS  D 71  Virtue, Terry      M    4   0   0   0   2    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BOS  C 61 *Mathieu, Marquis   M    9   0   0   0  -1    8  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
BUF  L 81  Satan, Miroslav        56  27  21  48  16   32  7  2  2  0 149  18.1
BUF  L 18  Grosek, Michal         57  14  26  40  16   87  3  0  2  0 108  13.0
BUF  C 27  Peca, Michael          57  22  17  39   2   46  9  0  6  1 138  15.9
BUF  C 37  Brown, Curtis          54  15  23  38  21   32  5  1  3  3  96  15.6
BUF  R 15  Ward, Dixon            56  16  19  35   8   34  2  1  3  0  73  21.9
BUF  D  5  Woolley, Jason         56   4  25  29  14   50  2  0  1  0 121   3.3
BUF  C 19  Holzinger, Brian       56  16  12  28   7   25  5  0  2  0 102  15.7
BUF  D 44  Zhitnik, Alexei        56   6  18  24 -10   70  2  1  2  0 124   4.8
BUF  R 25  Varada, Vaclav     R   51   7  16  23   5   45  1  0  1  0  84   8.3
BUF  L 80  Sanderson, Geoff       52  10  12  22   5   16  1  0  1  0 106   9.4
BUF  R 36  Barnaby, Matthew       39   4  14  18   2  132  0  0  3  0  49   8.2
BUF  C 26  Plante, Derek          34   2  11  13   3   12  0  0  0  0  54   3.7
BUF  D  8  Shannon, Darryl        53   2  11  13  24   46  1  0  0  0  66   3.0
BUF  D 42  Smehlik, Richard       47   1  10  11  -9   34  0  0  0  0  42   2.4
BUF  C 22  Primeau, Wayne         43   3   5   8  -4   34  0  0  0  1  39   7.7
BUF  C  9 *Rasmussen, Erik        36   2   6   8   8   37  0  0  0  0  36   5.6
BUF  D  3  Patrick, James         39   1   6   7  11   16  0  0  0  0  26   3.8
BUF  D 74  McKee, Jay         R   51   0   6   6  19   58  0  0  0  0  42   0.0
BUF  L 17  Cunneyworth, Randy     12   1   2   3   1    0  0  0  0  0  10  10.0
BUF  D  4  Wilson, Mike           23   1   2   3   8   29  0  0  1  0  26   3.8
BUF  R 32  Ray, Rob               51   0   3   3  -2  172  0  0  0  0  16   0.0
BUF  L 24  Kruse, Paul            27   2   0   2  -1   77  0  0  0  0  20  10.0
BUF  D 21  Hurlbut, Mike      M    1   0   0   0   2    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BUF  D 34 *Grand-Pierre, Jean-Luc  2   0   0   0   2    6  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
BUF  C 83 *Pittis, Domenic    M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
BUF  D 29 *Holland, Jason     M    3   0   0   0  -1    8  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
BUF  D  6 *Sarich, Cory            4   0   0   0   3    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
CGY  R 14  Fleury, Theo           57  29  36  65  19   66  7  3  3  1 240  12.1
CGY  D  6  Housley, Phil          57   5  30  35   7   44  2  0  0  0 126   4.0
CGY  R 12  Iginla, Jarome         57  21  12  33   5   54  5  0  3  1 131  16.0
CGY  C 16  Stillman, Cory         51  15  18  33   3   26  6  0  3  1 106  14.2
CGY  R  8  Bure, Valeri           55  12  21  33   2   14  4  0  0  0 156   7.7
CGY  D 53  Morris, Derek          56   6  25  31   7   71  2  0  2  1 125   4.8
CGY  C 21  Cassels, Andrew    R   49  10  16  26  -5   14  4  0  2  0  70  14.3
CGY  C 11  Shantz, Jeff           55  10  12  22  10   32  1  1  3  0  58  17.2
CGY  C 24  Wiemer, Jason          57   6  11  17  -8  149  0  0  1  0  96   6.3
CGY  C 23 *Wilm, Clarke           54   7   6  13  10   40  1  2  0  0  66  10.6
CGY  D 55  Smith, Steve           56   1  11  12   1   62  0  0  0  0  31   3.2
CGY  C 18  Dubinsky, Steve        48   3   6   9  -9   12  0  2  0  0  49   6.1
CGY  D 32  Hulse, Cale            54   3   6   9  -6   87  0  0  0  0  57   5.3
CGY  D 27  Simpson, Todd          57   1   6   7  10  128  0  0  0  0  37   2.7
CGY  L 62  Nazarov, Andrei        38   5   1   6  -6   49  0  0  1  1  35  14.3
CGY  R 42  Ward, Ed               45   3   2   5  -1   48  0  0  0  0  36   8.3
CGY  C 25  Roche, Dave        R   26   2   3   5   0   29  1  0  2  0  21   9.5
CGY  D  5  Albelin, Tommy         38   1   3   4  -4    6  0  0  0  0  20   5.0
CGY  D  3 *Gauthier, Denis        32   2   1   3   2   31  0  0  0  0  22   9.1
CGY  R 33  Pankewicz, Greg    M   18   0   3   3   0   20  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
CGY  C 15 *St. Louis, Martin  M   13   1   1   2  -2   10  0  0  0  0  14   7.1
CGY  C 28  Bassen, Bob            33   1   1   2 -12   30  0  0  0  0  38   2.6
CGY  C 17  Domenichelli, Hnat M    4   1   0   1  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
CGY  D 19  O'Sullivan, Chris       3   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
CGY  C 44 *Fata, Rico         R   20   0   1   1   0    4  0  0  0  0  13   0.0
CGY  L  7  Dingman, Chris     M    2   0   0   0  -2   17  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CGY  R 22 *Thompson, Rocky    R    3   0   0   0   0   25  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
CGY  D 38  Charron, Eric      M    3   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CAR  C 55  Primeau, Keith         58  25  22  47   9   63  9  1  4  1 138  18.1
CAR  R 26  Sheppard, Ray          56  21  26  47   7   10  5  0  4  1 151  13.9
CAR  L 24  Kapanen, Sami          58  16  24  40  -1    4  3  0  6  0 150  10.7
CAR  L 10  Roberts, Gary          55  11  25  36  -3   98  0  0  4  0  99  11.1
CAR  C 21  Francis, Ron           59  11  24  35  -8   22  3  0  1  0  90  12.2
CAR  C 92  O'Neill, Jeff          52  12  10  22   2   54  3  0  1  0  80  15.0
CAR  L 18  Kron, Robert           58   8  13  21  -6    8  3  1  1  0 107   7.5
CAR  L 23  Gelinas, Martin        57  10   9  19  -1   45  0  0  1  0  74  13.5
CAR  R 11  Dineen, Kevin          54   8   9  17   6   73  0  0  1  0  77  10.4
CAR  D  2  Wesley, Glen           59   4  13  17  12   36  0  0  2  0  94   4.3
CAR  L 28  Ranheim, Paul          55   7   7  14   3   10  0  2  1  0  44  15.9
CAR  D 77  Coffey, Paul           33   2  10  12  -8   16  1  0  0  0  49   4.1
CAR  L 13  Battaglia, Bates       42   4   7  11   5   12  0  0  0  1  39  10.3
CAR  L 44  Manderville, Kent      58   4   7  11   9   30  0  0  0  0  53   7.5
CAR  D  4  Pratt, Nolan           38   1   9  10  10   47  0  0  1  0  25   4.0
CAR  D  3  Chiasson, Steve    R   24   1   8   9   6   12  1  0  0  0  65   1.5
CAR  D  7  Leschyshyn, Curtis     48   2   5   7   4   48  0  0  0  0  27   7.4
CAR  D  5  Malik, Marek           30   1   6   7  -5   24  0  0  0  0  21   4.8
CAR  D 22  Hill, Sean             37   0   4   4   3   26  0  0  0  0  29   0.0
CAR  D  6  Burt, Adam             51   0   3   3   3   46  0  0  0  0  37   0.0
CAR  D 33  Karpa, David       R   21   0   2   2   1   32  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
CAR  D 14 *Halko, Steve       M   12   0   1   1   2   10  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
CAR  D 46 *Rucinski, Mike     M   12   0   1   1  -1    6  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
CAR  C 15 *Ritchie, Byron     M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
CAR  C 31 *MacDonald, Craig        3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CAR  R 45 *Willis, Shane      M    6   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
CHI  R 10  Amonte, Tony           59  29  21  50  -9   48 11  1  4  0 183  15.8
CHI  C 93  Gilmour, Doug          59  14  33  47 -16   41  7  1  3  0  93  15.1
CHI  R 11  Emerson, Nelson        59  12  22  34   7   49  3  0  1  2 168   7.1
CHI  C 36  Zhamnov, Alex          53  11  22  33 -20   24  4  1  1  1 144   7.6
CHI  D  7  Chelios, Chris         54   8  19  27  -5   81  2  1  0  1 136   5.9
CHI  L 55  Daze, Eric             49  13   9  22 -23   16  6  0  1  2 120  10.8
CHI  C 15  Kilger, Chad           58  12  10  22  -3   30  2  1  1  1  61  19.7
CHI  R 14 *Maneluk, Mike          41   6   9  15   6   16  1  0  1  0  52  11.5
CHI  L 24  Probert, Bob           55   3  11  14 -16  127  0  0  1  0  65   4.6
CHI  D 22  Manson, Dave           52   2  12  14  -8  101  2  0  0  0 104   1.9
CHI  L 19  Moreau, Ethan          57   8   5  13  -5   78  0  0  1  0  70  11.4
CHI  C 26 *White, Todd            31   5   8  13  -1   20  2  0  0  0  38  13.2
CHI  D  4  Zmolek, Doug           45   0  11  11   0   77  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
CHI  L 25 *Cleary, Dan        M   35   4   5   9  -1   24  0  0  0  0  49   8.2
CHI  C 16  Olczyk, Ed             39   4   5   9  -8   14  0  1  2  0  54   7.4
CHI  D  3  Laflamme, Christian    53   1   8   9  -7   60  0  0  0  0  42   2.4
CHI  D  2 *Brown, Brad            45   1   5   6 -10  141  0  0  0  1  13   7.7
CHI  L 33  Simpson, Reid          34   2   3   5   1   87  0  0  0  0  11  18.2
CHI  L 23  Leroux, Jean-Yves      17   1   2   3  -5   10  0  0  0  0  13   7.7
CHI  D 37 *Muir, Bryan            37   1   2   3   3   38  0  0  0  0  59   1.7
CHI  D 38  Allison, Jamie         23   1   0   1  -8   38  0  0  0  0  14   7.1
CHI  C 20  Janssens, Mark         50   1   0   1  -9   61  0  0  0  0  25   4.0
CHI  C 44  Marha, Josef           12   0   1   1  -5    0  0  0  0  0  14   0.0
CHI  R 39 *Mills, Craig       M    7   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
CHI  R 17 *Dumont, Jean-PierreM    7   0   0   0  -2    4  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
CHI  R 27 *Jones, Ty          M    8   0   0   0  -1   12  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
CHI  D  6 *Royer, Remi        M   18   0   0   0 -10   67  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
CHI  D  5  Yawney, Trent      R   20   0   0   0  -6   32  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
COL  C 21  Forsberg, Peter        55  16  48  64  18   78  3  1  4  0 147  10.9
COL  C 19  Sakic, Joe             48  28  34  62  13   20  8  5  5  1 185  15.1
COL  L 13  Kamensky, Valeri       55  13  27  40   1   24  2  0  2  0 107  12.1
COL  R 18  Deadmarsh, Adam        52  16  19  35  -2   69  7  0  3  0 118  13.6
COL  R 22  Lemieux, Claude        57  20  12  32  -3   78  9  0  8  1 214   9.3
COL  C 37 *Drury, Chris           54  12  19  31   8   45  4  0  1  1  85  14.1
COL  R 23 *Hejduk, Milan          57   7  17  24  -2   18  3  0  3  0 131   5.3
COL  L 20  Corbet, Rene           53   8  14  22   3   58  2  0  1  0  82   9.8
COL  R 12  Donovan, Shean         49   7   9  16   6   29  1  0  1  0  71   9.9
COL  D  2  Lefebvre, Sylvain      51   2  13  15  13   31  0  0  0  0  48   4.2
COL  C 26  Yelle, Stephane        48   7   6  13  -3   30  1  0  0  0  73   9.6
COL  D 52  Foote, Adam            39   3   9  12   8   49  2  0  0  0  54   5.6
COL  D  8  Ozolinsh, Sandis       15   2  10  12  10   12  2  0  0  0  28   7.1
COL  D  3  Miller, Aaron          55   3   8  11   0   40  1  0  1  0  61   4.9
COL  D  5  Gusarov, Alexei        31   1   8   9   3   18  0  0  0  0  16   6.3
COL  L 25  Podein, Shjon          31   1   3   4  -2   10  0  0  0  0  38   2.6
COL  D  7  de Vries, Greg         55   1   3   4  -7   56  0  0  0  0  50   2.0
COL  R 36  Odgers, Jeff           50   2   1   3  -1  168  1  0  0  0  24   8.3
COL  D 24  Klemm, Jon             23   1   2   3   6   23  0  0  0  0  20   5.0
COL  D  4  Russell, Cam           42   1   2   3  -4   94  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
COL  D 29  Messier, Eric          14   1   1   2  -1    8  0  0  0  0  17   5.9
COL  L 16  Rychel, Warren     R   16   0   2   2   1   44  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
COL  R 14 *Matte, Christian   M    5   1   0   1  -1    0  0  0  0  0   7  14.3
COL  D 15 *Gaul, Mike         M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
COL  C 44 *Aubin, Serge       M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
COL  D 59 *White, Brian       M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
COL  D 32  Buchanan, Jeff     M    6   0   0   0   1    6  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
COL  D 43 *Smith, Dan         M   12   0   0   0   5    9  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
COL  D  6 *Belak, Wade        M   22   0   0   0  -2   71  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
COL  R 27 *Parker, Scott      M   27   0   0   0  -3   71  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
DAL  C  9  Modano, Mike           54  20  39  59  21   34  5  2  4  1 149  13.4
DAL  R 22  Hull, Brett            44  25  19  44  16   20 12  0  9  0 140  17.9
DAL  D  5  Sydor, Darryl          54  12  28  40  -4   25  7  0  2  1 122   9.8
DAL  R 26  Lehtinen, Jere         49  17  18  35  20   16  7  1  2  0 121  14.0
DAL  C 25  Nieuwendyk, Joe        44  12  19  31  -1   24  5  0  2  0  95  12.6
DAL  C 15  Langenbrunner, Jamie   49   8  23  31   9   40  4  0  1  0  85   9.4
DAL  D 56  Zubov, Sergei          54   7  22  29   1   20  3  0  2  0 106   6.6
DAL  R 16  Verbeek, Pat           54  12   9  21   6   86  7  0  1  1  86  14.0
DAL  R 29  Marshall, Grant        54  10  10  20   2   61  2  0  3  0  68  14.7
DAL  D  2  Hatcher, Derian        54   8  12  20  16   66  2  0  2  0  86   9.3
DAL  C 41  Hrkac, Tony            47   7  11  18   6   20  2  0  1  1  43  16.3
DAL  R 12  Keane, Mike            53   3  13  16   1   50  1  1  1  0  62   4.8
DAL  C 21  Carbonneau, Guy        52   2  11  13  -3   23  0  0  2  0  41   4.9
DAL  D 24  Matvichuk, Richard     52   3   8  11  19   32  1  0  0  0  41   7.3
DAL  L 14  Reid, Dave             51   3   7  10  -1    8  0  0  0  0  53   5.7
DAL  D 27  Chambers, Shawn        47   2   5   7   2   14  1  0  1  0  56   3.6
DAL  D  3  Ludwig, Craig          53   2   4   6  11   67  0  0  0  0  28   7.1
DAL  C 10  Skrudland, Brian   R   37   4   1   5   2   33  0  0  1  0  30  13.3
DAL  D  4 *Gusev, Sergey          14   1   3   4   1    4  0  0  1  0  18   5.6
DAL  L 17  Severyn, Brent         18   1   2   3   0   35  0  0  0  0  14   7.1
DAL  D  6  Keczmer, Dan           20   0   1   1  -1   20  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
DAL  C 23  Gavey, Aaron       M    2   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
DAL  L 28 *Botterill, Jason        8   0   0   0  -1   14  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
DAL  L 46 *Wright, Jamie      M    8   0   0   0  -4    0  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
DET  C 19  Yzerman, Steve         58  24  32  56   9   38 10  2  3  0 179  13.4
DET  C  8  Larionov, Igor         58  10  34  44   4   40  3  0  2  0  64  15.6
DET  L 14  Shanahan, Brendan      59  21  22  43   4   97  2  0  4  0 220   9.5
DET  C 91  Fedorov, Sergei        59  16  25  41   3   34  3  1  2  0 168   9.5
DET  D 55  Murphy, Larry          58   9  32  41  19   38  4  1  2  0 127   7.1
DET  R 25  McCarty, Darren        59  14  25  39  10   93  6  0  1  1 122  11.5
DET  D  5  Lidstrom, Nicklas      59  10  27  37  15   10  5  1  2  0 151   6.6
DET  C 13  Kozlov, Vyacheslav     56  17  17  34   3   35  2  0  3  2 156  10.9
DET  R 20  Lapointe, Martin       55  14  12  26   8  111  6  1  3  0 112  12.5
DET  L 96  Holmstrom, Tomas       59   8  13  21 -12   46  5  0  4  0  74  10.8
DET  R 17  Brown, Doug            58   8  10  18   0   32  3  1  1  0 137   5.8
DET  C 33  Draper, Kris           57   3   9  12  -2   67  0  0  1  0  59   5.1
DET  D 44  Eriksson, Anders       54   2  10  12   6   30  0  0  1  0  59   3.4
DET  R 18  Maltby, Kirk           35   4   5   9  -5   18  0  0  1  0  45   8.9
DET  C 23 *Roest, Stacy           40   2   7   9  -4   10  0  0  0  0  37   5.4
DET  D 11  Dandenault, Mathieu    52   2   7   9  13   39  0  0  0  0  65   3.1
DET  D 15  Gill, Todd             43   3   5   8 -14   22  1  0  0  1  56   5.4
DET  R 26  Kocur, Joe         R   36   2   5   7   0   70  0  0  0  0  20  10.0
DET  D 34  Macoun, Jamie          53   1   6   7  -9   32  0  0  0  0  46   2.2
DET  D 27  Ward, Aaron            37   3   3   6  -8   37  0  0  0  0  26  11.5
DET  D  4  Krupp, Uwe         R   22   3   2   5   0    6  0  0  0  0  32   9.4
DET  L 85  Klima, Petr             4   1   0   1   0    0  0  0  1  0   8  12.5
DET  D  3  Houda, Doug             3   0   1   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
DET  D 28 *Golubovsky, Yan        10   0   1   1   3   12  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
DET  L 22 *Audet, Philippe    M    4   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
EDM  R  9  Guerin, Bill           57  23  24  47  16  112 11  0  1  1 176  13.1
EDM  L 20  Beranek, Josef         50  16  22  38   6   15  7  0  2  0 122  13.1
EDM  D  2  Mironov, Boris         52   6  26  32  12   96  1  0  3  1 115   5.2
EDM  R 10  Falloon, Pat           57  14  13  27   4   14  6  0  1  0 115  12.2
EDM  R 28  Selivanov, Alexander AL55  11  15  26  -4   22  1  0  1  0 145   7.6
EDM  R 25  Grier, Mike            57  10  14  24  -4   42  0  1  0  0  91  11.0
EDM  D 22  Hamrlik, Roman         51   4  18  22   3   40  1  0  0  0 110   3.6
EDM  C 37  McAmmond, Dean         54   7  14  21   4   36  1  0  0  0 101   6.9
EDM  L 17  Murray, Rem            53  11   9  20   4   16  1  0  2  0  67  16.4
EDM  L 94  Smyth, Ryan            53   9  11  20   2   48  3  0  2  2 126   7.1
EDM  D 44  Niinimaa, Janne        56   3  17  20  16   58  1  0  1  0  99   3.0
EDM  C 26  Marchant, Todd         57   6  12  18   0   34  1  0  0  0 128   4.7
EDM  C 39  Weight, Doug           19   3  15  18   1    6  0  0  0  0  28  10.7
EDM  C 19  Devereaux, Boyd        51   6   7  13   1   21  0  1  4  1  36  16.7
EDM  C 14  Lindgren, Mats         39   3  10  13   3   18  0  1  0  0  47   6.4
EDM  D  5 *Poti, Tom              52   3  10  13   3   32  2  0  1  0  67   4.5
EDM  R 16  Buchberger, Kelly  R   37   4   3   7  -2   59  0  2  1  0  24  16.7
EDM  R 42  K. Brown, Kevin    M   12   4   2   6  -2    0  2  0  0  0  13  30.8
EDM  D 46  Reirden, Todd          17   2   3   5  -1   20  0  0  0  0  26   7.7
EDM  D 23 *Brown, Sean            37   0   4   4   1  120  0  0  0  0  20   0.0
EDM  R 27 *Laraque, Georges       20   2   1   3   1   39  0  0  0  0   9  22.2
EDM  D 33  McSorley, Marty        30   1   2   3  -1   70  0  0  0  0  18   5.6
EDM  D  8  Musil, Frank           23   0   2   2   0   20  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
EDM  D 32 *Millar, Craig      M   24   0   2   2  -6   19  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
EDM  C 34  Dowd, Jim               1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
EDM  L 21  Lacroix, Daniel         1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
EDM  L 28  Huard, Bill        R    3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
EDM  C  7 *Lindquist, Fredrik M    8   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
FLA  C 14  Whitney, Ray           56  17  27  44   0   10  4  0  4  1 119  14.3
FLA  C 44  Niedermayer, Rob       57  15  23  38  -4   38  5  1  2  2 100  15.0
FLA  C 25  Kozlov, Viktor         47  10  27  37  11   12  3  1  1  0 160   6.3
FLA  R 27  Mellanby, Scott        44  12  15  27   3   39  3  0  3  2  89  13.5
FLA  D 24  Svehla, Robert         55   7  20  27  -8   48  3  0  0  1 114   6.1
FLA  R 19  Dvorak, Radek          57  10  16  26  -2   23  0  3  0  0 115   8.7
FLA  L 21 *Parrish, Mark          48  15   9  24   1   21  4  0  3  0  93  16.1
FLA  L 11  Lindsay, Bill          57  10   9  19  -4   78  0  0  2  0 109   9.2
FLA  L 16 *Kvasha, Oleg           54   9   9  18   3   39  2  0  2  1 112   8.0
FLA  D  4  Hedican, Bret          53   4  13  17   3   42  0  2  1  1  73   5.5
FLA  R 10  Bure, Pavel        R    7   8   3  11   4    2  3  0  0  1  29  27.6
FLA  D  8 *Spacek, Jaroslav       41   3   7  10   6   22  2  1  0  0  53   5.7
FLA  D  3  Laus, Paul             56   1   9  10   4  187  0  0  0  0  44   2.3
FLA  L 29  Garpenlov, Johan       47   4   4   8  -9   38  0  0  0  1  54   7.4
FLA  L  9  Muller, Kirk           57   2   6   8  -7   38  0  0  0  0  74   2.7
FLA  R 22  Ciccarelli, Dino   R   14   6   1   7  -1   27  5  0  1  0  23  26.1
FLA  D  7  Warrener, Rhett        36   0   7   7  -3   62  0  0  0  0  23   0.0
FLA  D  5  Murphy, Gord           51   0   7   7   4   16  0  0  0  0  56   0.0
FLA  D  2  Carkner, Terry         43   1   5   6  -2   41  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
FLA  L 18  Hicks, Alex            32   0   5   5  -2   41  0  0  0  0  30   0.0
FLA  L 28 *Worrell, Peter         38   2   2   4  -1  156  0  0  1  0  26   7.7
FLA  D  6 *Ratchuk, Peter     M   18   1   1   2   2    4  0  0  0  0  21   4.8
FLA  D 26 *Boyle, Dan              2   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
FLA  R 26  Nemirovsky, David  R    2   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
FLA  R 10 *Nilson, Marcus     M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
FLA  C 23  Wells, Chris            5   0   0   0   1    8  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
FLA  L 12 *Hay, Dwayne        M    9   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
LAK  L 20  Robitaille, Luc        57  30  27  57   3   38  8  0  6  0 197  15.2
LAK  R 27  Murray, Glen           38  15  13  28  -5   20  3  3  3  0 113  13.3
LAK  C 44  Perreault, Yanic       52  10  15  25  -1   26  2  2  1  0  96  10.4
LAK  C 15  Stumpel, Jozef         44   9  13  22 -16   10  1  0  1  0  96   9.4
LAK  D 28  Duchesne, Steve        53   4  17  21  -2   22  1  0  1  0  90   4.4
LAK  R 10  Audette, Donald        26  10  10  20   5   35  2  0  1  0  75  13.3
LAK  C 26  Ferraro, Ray           41  10  10  20   8   49  2  0  2  0  50  20.0
LAK  D  4  Blake, Rob             39   4  16  20  -4   84  2  1  0  0 126   3.2
LAK  L  9  Tsyplakov, Vladimir    56   8  11  19  -3   30  0  2  1  0  88   9.1
LAK  R 55 *Rosa, Pavel            21   4  10  14   1    4  0  0  0  0  42   9.5
LAK  C 12 *Jokinen, Olli          41   7   6  13  -4   27  3  1  0  0  53  13.2
LAK  L 23  Johnson, Craig         48   5   7  12 -10   22  1  0  2  0  68   7.4
LAK  D  3  Galley, Garry          42   3   8  11  -1   20  2  0  0  0  54   5.6
LAK  D  6  O'Donnell, Sean        57   1  10  11   6  138  0  0  0  0  46   2.2
LAK  D  8  Bodger, Doug           41   0  10  10   1   16  0  0  0  0  41   0.0
LAK  C 11  Convery, Brandon       15   2   7   9   4   12  0  0  1  0  14  14.3
LAK  R 19  Courtnall, Russ        33   2   7   9  -4    6  0  0  0  0  42   4.8
LAK  C 22  Laperriere, Ian        47   1   6   7  -6   96  0  0  0  0  40   2.5
LAK  D 43  Boucher, Philippe      30   1   5   6 -10   26  1  0  0  0  58   1.7
LAK  C 45  Moger, Sandy           31   3   2   5  -7   20  0  0  2  0  22  13.6
LAK  R 24  LaFayette, Nathan  M   25   2   2   4  -2   35  0  1  1  0  33   6.1
LAK  L 21 *Green, Josh        M   26   1   3   4  -6    8  1  0  0  0  34   2.9
LAK  D 48 *Visheau, Mark      R   28   1   3   4  -7  107  0  0  0  0  10  10.0
LAK  D 14  Norstrom, Mattias      57   1   3   4  -7   30  0  1  0  0  47   2.1
LAK  C 29  Pronger, Sean          19   0   3   3  -3    6  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
LAK  L 17  Johnson, Matt          34   2   0   2  -3   99  0  0  0  0   6  33.3
LAK  D 54 *Nemecek, Jan       M    4   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
LAK  R 42  Bylsma, Dan        M    8   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
LAK  L  7  McKenna, Steve     R   11   0   0   0   0   17  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
MTL  R  8  Recchi, Mark           55  11  32  43  -6   24  3  0  2  0 131   8.4
MTL  C 25  Damphousse, Vincent    54  11  20  31  -3   42  3  2  2  0 125   8.8
MTL  C 11  Koivu, Saku            44  11  17  28  -7   22  4  2  0  0  92  12.0
MTL  L 26  Rucinsky, Martin       53  14  13  27 -13   42  5  0  1  0 143   9.8
MTL  L 17  Brunet, Benoit         53  12  15  27   0   31  3  2  0  0 103  11.7
MTL  D 38  Malakhov, Vladimir     48  10  16  26  -5   61  6  0  2  0 111   9.0
MTL  L 27  Corson, Shayne         49   9  16  25  -7   86  7  0  3  0 116   7.8
MTL  L 37  Poulin, Patrick        58   7  13  20   1   19  0  1  1  0  71   9.9
MTL  D  5  Quintal, Stephane      59   6  13  19  -9   58  1  1  3  0 108   5.6
MTL  L 49  Savage, Brian          31  10   7  17  -6   14  3  0  3  1  69  14.5
MTL  D 22  Weinrich, Eric         57   5  12  17 -20   62  2  0  1  0  86   5.8
MTL  R 23  Stevenson, Turner      46   4  12  16   1   67  0  0  1  1  73   5.5
MTL  R 44  Hoglund, Jonas         53   7   8  15  -5   10  1  0  0  1  84   8.3
MTL  C 34  Zholtok, Sergei        50   5   9  14  -9    6  1  0  2  0  62   8.1
MTL  R 21  Dawe, Jason            48   4   6  10  -2   20  0  0  0  0  64   6.3
MTL  D 43  Brisebois, Patrice     44   3   7  10  -8   26  1  0  1  0  83   3.6
MTL  D 52  Rivet, Craig           51   2   7   9   2   60  0  0  0  0  28   7.1
MTL  C 24  Thornton, Scott        28   5   2   7   4   55  0  0  0  1  30  16.7
MTL  D 55  Ulanov, Igor           55   2   4   6  -5   79  0  0  0  0  38   5.3
MTL  D 29  Clark, Brett           46   2   2   4  -2   16  0  0  0  0  28   7.1
MTL  C 15  Houde, Eric        M    8   1   1   2  -2    2  0  0  1  0   4  25.0
MTL  C 46 *Higgins, Matt      M   25   1   0   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0  12   8.3
MTL  L 14 *Ryan, Terry        M    1   0   0   0   0    5  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
MTL  R 42 *Delisle, Jonathan  M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
MTL  D 48 *Guren, Miroslav    M    4   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
MTL  L 53 *Blouin, Sylvain         4   0   0   0   0   17  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
MTL  R 45 *Asham, Aaron       M    5   0   0   0  -3    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
MTL  L 35  Bashkirov, Andrei  M    5   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
MTL  L 36  Morissette, Dave   M    7   0   0   0   1   35  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
MTL  D 56 *Nasreddine, Alain      15   0   0   0  -1   52  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
MTL  R  6  McCleary, Trent        31   0   0   0  -2   17  0  0  0  0  14   0.0
NSH  C  7  Ronning, Cliff         55  16  28  44   0   30  7  0  3  0 170   9.4
NSH  C 22  Johnson, Greg          53  15  28  43  -1   14  2  3  0  0 102  14.7
NSH  R 25  Krivokrasov, Sergei    45  18  17  35   2   30  7  0  4  1 132  13.6
NSH  L 10  Kjellberg, Patric      55  10  19  29 -10   20  2  0  1  0  83  12.0
NSH  L 19  Brunette, Andrew       56   8  18  26  -5   22  5  0  1  0  54  14.8
NSH  C 24  Walker, Scott          46   7  16  23   0   68  0  1  1  0  65  10.8
NSH  C 71  Bordeleau, Sebastien   50   8  14  22 -13   14  0  0  3  0 112   7.1
NSH  R 21  Fitzgerald, Tom        55   9  10  19 -21   32  0  0  1  0 119   7.6
NSH  D 20  Heward, Jamie          48   6  11  17 -19   40  4  0  1  0 107   5.6
NSH  R 23  Atcheynum, Blair       41   7   6  13  -8   14  2  0  1  0  56  12.5
NSH  R 43  Yachmenev, Vitali  R   33   5   7  12  -5   10  0  0  2  0  48  10.4
NSH  L 28  Lambert, Denny         51   4   8  12  -5  150  1  0  0  0  40  10.0
NSH  D 15  Berehowsky, Drake      49   0  11  11  -8  105  0  0  0  0  53   0.0
NSH  L 16  Peltonen, Ville    R   14   5   5  10   1    2  1  0  0  0  31  16.1
NSH  C  9  Turcotte, Darren   R   38   4   5   9  -9   16  0  0  1  0  73   5.5
NSH  D 42  Bouchard, Joel         39   2   7   9 -12   39  0  0  0  0  44   4.5
NSH  D  5  Vopat, Jan             40   5   3   8   3   20  0  0  0  0  37  13.5
NSH  D  6  Boughner, Bob          54   2   6   8  -7   95  0  0  0  0  46   4.3
NSH  D 27  Slaney, John           30   1   7   8  -8   10  0  0  1  0  57   1.8
NSH  L 32  Daniels, Jeff      M    9   1   3   4  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
NSH  R 18 *Mowers, Mark           14   0   4   4   1    2  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
NSH  D 44 *Timonen, Kimmo         25   0   4   4   4   18  0  0  0  0  37   0.0
NSH  C  7  Nelson, Jeff       M    9   2   1   3  -1    2  0  0  0  0   8  25.0
NSH  D  4  More, Jay          R   18   0   2   2   2   18  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
NSH  L 17 *Cote, Patrick          49   0   2   2  -4  159  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
NSH  L  8  Friedman, Doug     M    2   0   1   1   0   14  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
NSH  D 40 *Skrastins, Karlis  M    2   0   1   1   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NSH  D  2  Zettler, Rob       M    2   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NSH  R 12  Smyth, Brad        M    3   0   0   0  -1    6  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
NSH  C 12  Valicevic, Rob     M    7   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
NJD  L 16  Holik, Bobby           56  23  27  50  19   78  4  0  6  0 192  12.0
NJD  C 17  Sykora, Petr           56  20  24  44   1   18 10  0  3  0 138  14.5
NJD  C 14  Rolston, Brian         58  15  25  40   5   14  3  4  1  0 147  10.2
NJD  C 25  Arnott, Jason          53  13  17  30  -4   59  6  0  1  0 125  10.4
NJD  C  9 *Morrison, Brendan      52   8  22  30  -3   18  3  0  1  0  74  10.8
NJD  D 27  Niedermayer, Scott     48   7  22  29   8   14  1  1  1  0 106   6.6
NJD  R 21  McKay, Randy           48  14  14  28  16  116  3  0  4  0 100  14.0
NJD  L 26  Elias, Patrik          50   9  18  27   5   28  0  0  1  0  81  11.1
NJD  R  8 *Sharifijanov, Vadim    39   8  15  23   8   16  0  0  2  0  55  14.5
NJD  L 20  Pandolfo, Jay          56  14   8  22   1    8  1  1  4  0  91  15.4
NJD  L 23  Andreychuk, Dave       30  11  11  22   1   16  3  0  3  1  73  15.1
NJD  D  4  Stevens, Scott         56   5  17  22  22   46  0  0  1  0  88   5.7
NJD  D 24  Odelein, Lyle          55   3  19  22   2   69  1  0  0  1  80   3.8
NJD  C 10  Pederson, Denis        57   9  10  19  -3   50  2  0  1  0 120   7.5
NJD  L 29  Oliwa, Krzysztof       46   5   6  11   5  146  0  0  1  0  41  12.2
NJD  C 18  Brylin, Sergei         33   4   7  11   4   20  2  0  1  0  32  12.5
NJD  D  3  Daneyko, Ken           58   2   7   9  19   45  0  0  0  0  43   4.7
NJD  D  2  Souray, Sheldon        48   1   5   6   3   70  0  0  0  0  66   1.5
NJD  D 28  Dean, Kevin            40   0   6   6  -2   16  0  0  0  0  27   0.0
NJD  C 19  Carpenter, Bob         40   0   4   4  -1   20  0  0  0  0  47   0.0
NJD  D  6  Bombardir, Brad        41   0   4   4  -6   12  0  0  0  0  32   0.0
NJD  L 32  Lakovic, Sasha         16   0   3   3   0   59  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
NJD  L 11 *Madden, John       M    4   0   1   1  -2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
NJD  L 22  Daniels, Scott     M    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NJD  D  7  Sutton, Ken        M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYI  C 21  Reichel, Robert        59  17  31  48 -10   32  3  1  1  1 145  11.7
NYI  C 32  Linden, Trevor         59  14  21  35 -13   24  7  1  1  0 124  11.3
NYI  C 13  Lapointe, Claude       59  13  19  32  -9   48  2  2  1  0  91  14.3
NYI  C 20  Smolinski, Bryan       59  10  18  28  -7   36  6  0  3  0 168   6.0
NYI  C 11  Janney, Craig          51   5  21  26 -13   14  2  0  0  1  44  11.4
NYI  R 25  Czerkawski, Mariusz    55  13  12  25 -10   12  4  0  0  2 138   9.4
NYI  R 16  Palffy, Zigmund        27  12  12  24  -4   24  2  0  0  0  91  13.2
NYI  D 29  Jonsson, Kenny         41   7  13  20  -7   18  6  0  0  0  49  14.3
NYI  L 15  Donato, Ted            58   7  13  20  -5   27  1  0  0  0  77   9.1
NYI  L 12 *Watt, Mike             53   5  13  18  -1    8  0  0  2  0  49  10.2
NYI  R 44  Lawrence, Mark         37   7   9  16  -4   20  0  0  2  0  51  13.7
NYI  C 17  Nemchinov, Sergei      55   7   7  14 -13   16  1  0  0  0  52  13.5
NYI  D 38  Richter, Barry         50   5   9  14  -8   16  0  0  1  0  78   6.4
NYI  D  4 *Brewer, Eric           45   3   5   8 -11   20  0  0  0  0  47   6.4
NYI  D  7  Lachance, Scott        53   1   7   8 -16   29  1  0  0  0  33   3.0
NYI  L 24  Odjick, Gino       R   23   4   3   7  -2  133  1  0  2  0  28  14.3
NYI  D  6  Harlock, David         49   2   5   7 -13   52  0  0  0  0  27   7.4
NYI  C 11  Miller, Kevin      M   33   1   5   6  -5   13  0  0  0  0  37   2.7
NYI  D  3 *Chara, Zdeno           36   1   5   6  -3   58  0  0  0  0  33   3.0
NYI  D  2  Pilon, Rich            44   0   4   4  -4   75  0  0  0  0  23   0.0
NYI  D 36  Crowley, Ted           13   1   2   3  -1    2  1  0  0  0  20   5.0
NYI  R 14  Sacco, Joe             53   2   0   2 -19   31  0  1  2  0  69   2.9
NYI  D 39  Malkoc, Dean       M    2   0   1   1   3    7  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
NYI  C 37 *Nabokov, Dmitri    M    1   0   0   0   1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
NYI  L 18  Hough, Mike        M   11   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
NYI  R  8  Webb, Steve            31   0   0   0  -8   24  0  0  0  0  12   0.0
NYR  C 99  Gretzky, Wayne         57   8  48  56 -20    8  3  0  2  1 108   7.4
NYR  R 15  MacLean, John          57  20  17  37   2   34  8  1  1  0 162  12.3
NYR  D  2  Leetch, Brian          57   9  28  37  -7   28  2  0  1  0 124   7.3
NYR  L  9  Graves, Adam           57  27   9  36 -14   41 12  1  5  0 151  17.9
NYR  L 24  Sundstrom, Niklas      56  10  23  33  -6   18  1  1  2  0  63  15.9
NYR  C 33  Savard, Marc           45   9  24  33   7   20  4  0  1  0  75  12.0
NYR  C 93  Nedved, Petr           38  12  20  32  -6   38  3  1  0  0 108  11.1
NYR  L 17  Stevens, Kevin         56  14  17  31   1   46  4  0  3  0  88  15.9
NYR  R 20  Harvey, Todd           37  11  17  28  -1   72  6  0  2  1  58  19.0
NYR  R 22  Knuble, Mike           57  11  14  25  -2   18  3  0  1  0  76  14.5
NYR  D 25  Schneider, Mathieu     50   7  16  23 -10   26  4  0  2  0 105   6.7
NYR  D  5  Samuelsson, Ulf        56   4   6  10   1   81  0  0  0  0  32  12.5
NYR  D 23  Beukeboom, Jeff    R   45   0   9   9  -2   60  0  0  0  0   8   0.0
NYR  L 37  Fedyk, Brent           42   4   4   8 -10   20  0  1  0  0  39  10.3
NYR  C  6 *Malhotra, Manny        48   5   2   7  -5    9  0  0  1  0  29  17.2
NYR  D 34  Popovic, Peter     R   51   1   3   4 -12   30  0  0  0  0  45   2.2
NYR  L 10  Tikkanen, Esa      M   32   0   3   3  -5   38  0  0  0  0  25   0.0
NYR  D 12 *Brennan, Rich           3   1   1   2   0    2  0  0  0  0   6  16.7
NYR  L 28  Lacroix, Eric          39   1   1   2  -7   18  0  0  1  0  25   4.0
NYR  R 21  Fraser, Scott      M   17   0   2   2  -5    4  0  0  0  0  13   0.0
NYR  D  3  Neckar, Stan           18   0   2   2  -1    6  0  0  0  0   9   0.0
NYR  D  8  Mertzig, Jan       M   23   0   2   2  -5    8  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
NYR  D  4  Tamer, Chris           38   0   2   2  -4   75  0  0  0  0  27   0.0
NYR  D 36 *Ndur, Rumun            15   0   1   1   0   32  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
NYR  L 14  Witehall, Johan    M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYR  C 18  Armstrong, Derek        3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
NYR  L 28  Stock, P.J.        M    5   0   0   0  -1    6  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
NYR  L 19  Langdon, Darren        32   0   0   0  -4   55  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
OTW  C 19  Yashin, Alexei         56  27  38  65  21   42 10  0  2  1 212  12.7
OTW  L 15  McEachern, Shawn       56  26  20  46  14   36  6  0  3  1 165  15.8
OTW  C 21  Johansson, Andreas     54  17  15  32   4   34  6  0  5  0 114  14.9
OTW  R 10  Dackell, Andreas       51  11  20  31  11   20  4  0  3  0  72  15.3
OTW  L 20  Arvedson, Magnus       54  12  16  28  21   36  0  2  4  0  92  13.0
OTW  D 33  York, Jason            53   4  24  28  15   30  2  0  0  1 122   3.3
OTW  C 13  Prospal, Vaclav        53   5  19  24   2   43  2  0  2  0  76   6.6
OTW  D  6  Redden, Wade           54   7  15  22  13   48  3  0  1  0  98   7.1
OTW  C 14  Bonk, Radek            55  12   9  21  12   36  0  1  6  0  71  16.9
OTW  R 11  Alfredsson, Daniel     37   7  12  19   5   10  2  0  3  0 107   6.5
OTW  D 29  Kravchuk, Igor         55   3  14  17  10   24  2  0  0  0 124   2.4
OTW  L 18 *Hossa, Marian          34   7   7  14  10   16  0  0  0  0  72   9.7
OTW  C 22  Van Allen, Shaun       53   5   7  12   3   16  0  1  0  0  34  14.7
OTW  C 25  Gardiner, Bruce        41   4   6  10   5   29  0  0  1  0  48   8.3
OTW  D  3 *Traverse, Patrick      39   1   7   8   8   16  0  0  0  0  29   3.4
OTW  D 27  Laukkanen, Janne       30   0   8   8  10   16  0  0  0  0  27   0.0
OTW  R 12  Oliver, David      M   17   2   5   7   1    4  0  0  0  0  18  11.1
OTW  D  5 *Salo, Sami             37   2   5   7  13   18  1  0  1  0  56   3.6
OTW  R 17  Murray, Chris      R   35   1   6   7  -2   60  0  0  0  0  33   3.0
OTW  D  4  Phillips, Chris        31   3   3   6  -2   30  2  0  0  0  44   6.8
OTW  C 16  Martins, Steve         26   4   1   5   4    8  1  0  1  0  24  16.7
OTW  L  9  Berg, Bill             23   1   2   3   1    7  0  0  0  1  21   4.8
OTW  D  2  Pitlick, Lance     R   26   2   0   2   7   23  0  0  0  0  15  13.3
OTW  L 26  Crowe, Phil        M    8   0   1   1   1    4  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
OTW  L 37  Sarault, Yves           8   0   1   1   1    2  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
OTW  D 24  Gruden, John       M    4   0   0   0   2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
OTW  D 23  Bicanek, Radim     M    6   0   0   0   0    4  0  0  0  0   6   0.0
PHI  C 88  Lindros, Eric          55  34  47  81  38   95  8  1  1  2 186  18.3
PHI  L 10  LeClair, John          57  37  40  77  38   16 12  0  6  2 182  20.3
PHI  C 17  Brind'Amour, Rod       57  19  36  55  10   29  8  0  2  2 135  14.1
PHI  R 20  Jones, Keith           53  15  27  42  32   70  2  0  3  0  99  15.2
PHI  D 37  Desjardins, Eric       53  12  28  40  29   26  3  0  1  0 146   8.2
PHI  D  3  McGillis, Dan          57   7  28  35  12   44  6  0  3  0 127   5.5
PHI  R 15  Kovalenko, Andrei      52  13  14  27  -7   30  2  0  3  1  77  16.9
PHI  C 18  Langkow, Daymond       53  11  15  26   7   19  3  0  2  0 100  11.0
PHI  R 19  Renberg, Mikael        41   8  14  22   8   12  3  0  2  0  88   9.1
PHI  L 26  Zelepukin, Valeri      49  11   6  17   8   35  0  0  4  0  82  13.4
PHI  D  6  Therien, Chris         50   3  14  17  30   36  1  0  0  0  73   4.1
PHI  L 12  Forbes, Colin          55   9   7  16   1   45  0  0  4  0  76  11.8
PHI  R  8  Hull, Jody             49   2  11  13   7   10  0  0  1  0  50   4.0
PHI  C 28  Bureau, Marc           46   3   6   9  -3    4  0  0  0  0  32   9.4
PHI  D 24  Dykhuis, Karl          55   3   5   8 -15   38  0  0  0  0  57   5.3
PHI  D  5 *Tertyshny, Dimitri     46   1   7   8   1   22  0  0  0  0  49   2.0
PHI  R  9  Zubrus, Dainius        56   3   4   7  -6   25  0  1  0  0  45   6.7
PHI  D 22  Richardson, Luke       57   0   4   4   6   83  0  0  0  0  36   0.0
PHI  D 44  Babych, Dave       R   28   0   3   3   1   20  0  0  0  0  36   0.0
PHI  C 29  Vopat, Roman           36   0   3   3  -6   72  0  0  0  0  17   0.0
PHI  R 15  Greig, Mark        M    3   1   1   2   2    2  0  0  0  0   4  25.0
PHI  D 43 *Delmore, Andy      M    2   0   1   1  -1    0  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
PHI  D 32 *Bast, Ryan         M    2   0   1   1   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  L 40  Zent, Jason        M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  L 21  Kordic, Dan        M    2   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHI  D 25  Joseph, Chris      M    2   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  C 14  White, Peter       M    3   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHI  C 15  Park, Richard      M    4   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHI  R    *Bonvie, Dennis         11   0   0   0  -4   44  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHO  C 97  Roenick, Jeremy        54  19  32  51   5   80  4  0  3  0 148  12.8
PHO  R 22  Tocchet, Rick          55  21  19  40  12  103  4  1  3  0 123  17.1
PHO  L  7  Tkachuk, Keith         42  20  20  40  17   78  8  0  4  1 137  14.6
PHO  L 17  Adams, Greg            55  13  18  31  -2   20  3  0  3  0 129  10.1
PHO  D 27  Numminen, Teppo        56   8  20  28   2   24  0  0  0  2 113   7.1
PHO  D 20  Lumme, Jyrki           52   7  20  27   8   32  1  0  4  0 110   6.4
PHO  R 11  Drake, Dallas      R   37   8  13  21  14   44  0  0  3  0  79  10.1
PHO  C 36  Ylonen, Juha           55   6  15  21  16   20  2  0  1  0  64   9.4
PHO  D 10  Tverdovsky, Oleg       56   5  16  21  15   18  2  0  1  0  87   5.7
PHO  C  8 *Briere, Daniel         52   8  11  19   2   30  2  0  2  0  75  10.7
PHO  C 21  Corkum, Bob            55   7   6  13   2    9  0  0  0  0 109   6.4
PHO  C 14  Stapleton, Mike        51   5   8  13  -3   28  0  2  1  0  75   6.7
PHO  R 19  Doan, Shane            55   3   9  12  -8   37  0  0  0  0 114   2.6
PHO  D  3  Carney, Keith          56   0  11  11  14   44  0  0  0  0  39   0.0
PHO  D  5  Quint, Deron           41   2   6   8  -9   14  1  0  0  0  50   4.0
PHO  D 33  Daigneault, J.J.       51   2   6   8  -7   46  1  0  1  0  54   3.7
PHO  R 16  Isbister, Brad     R   29   3   4   7   0   41  0  0  2  0  46   6.5
PHO  R 15  Cummins, Jim           33   1   5   6   2  151  0  0  0  0  11   9.1
PHO  C 26  Sullivan, Mike         41   2   3   5  -8   12  0  1  1  0  51   3.9
PHO  C 50 *Letowski, Trevor   M   13   2   2   4   3    2  0  0  0  0   7  28.6
PHO  C 47 *Hansen, Tavis          13   2   1   3   1   12  0  0  0  0   9  22.2
PHO  C 12  Murray, Rob            10   1   2   3   3    2  0  0  0  0   8  12.5
PHO  R 23  Leach, Steve           15   0   2   2  -3   11  0  0  0  0   9   0.0
PHO  D  4  Diduck, Gerald         39   0   2   2  11   68  0  0  0  0  34   0.0
PHO  D 55 *Doig, Jason        M    9   0   1   1   2   10  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PHO  L 49  Dziedzic, Joe           1   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
PHO  L 29  DeBrusk, Louie     M    4   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
PIT  R 68  Jagr, Jaromir          55  27  60  87  18   50  7  1  6  0 230  11.7
PIT  C 82  Straka, Martin         55  25  33  58   7   20  5  3  2  1 128  19.5
PIT  C  9  Titov, German          52  10  32  42  11   26  2  1  3  0  85  11.8
PIT  R 27  Kovalev, Alexei        50  18  20  38  -2   29  4  1  3  0 124  14.5
PIT  D  4  Hatcher, Kevin         55  11  25  36  16   22  4  2  3  0 118   9.3
PIT  C 20  Lang, Robert           55  18  15  33 -13   22  5  0  3  1 117  15.4
PIT  C 38 *Hrdina, Jan            55   9  20  29   5   28  3  0  2  0  62  14.5
PIT  C 14  Barnes, Stu            55  17  11  28  -8   18 11  0  2  0 133  12.8
PIT  C 37  Miller, Kip            52  14  14  28   8   20  1  0  3  0  81  17.3
PIT  D  5  Werenka, Brad          55   4  15  19  17   60  1  0  4  0  54   7.4
PIT  D 71  Slegr, Jiri            37   2  14  16  13   61  0  0  0  0  56   3.6
PIT  R 95  Morozov, Aleksey       40   7   5  12   6   12  0  0  0  0  50  14.0
PIT  R 44  Brown, Rob             31   4   7  11  -1    8  2  0  0  0  40  10.0
PIT  D  8  Dollas, Bobby          45   1   6   7  -3   52  0  0  0  0  23   4.3
PIT  D 16  Serowik, Jeff      R   26   0   6   6  -4   16  0  0  0  0  26   0.0
PIT  D 47 *Galanov, Maxim         41   3   2   5  -5   10  2  0  0  1  35   8.6
PIT  R 25  Kesa, Dan              43   1   4   5   0   27  0  0  0  1  20   5.0
PIT  R 24  Moran, Ian             36   2   2   4   2   21  0  1  0  0  32   6.3
PIT  D 11  Kasparaitis, Darius    45   1   3   4  11   68  0  0  0  0  27   3.7
PIT  L 12 *Sonnenberg, Martin     25   1   1   2   2   17  0  0  0  0  10  10.0
PIT  L 18  Lebeau, Patrick    M    8   1   0   1  -2    2  0  0  0  0   4  25.0
PIT  D 23  Ignatjev, Victor   R   11   0   1   1  -3    6  0  0  0  0  15   0.0
PIT  D  6  Wilkinson, Neil        13   0   0   0  -1    9  0  0  0  0   5   0.0
PIT  C 29  Wright, Tyler          44   0   0   0  -1   59  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
SJS  L 39  Friesen, Jeff          54  18  22  40  -2   24  8  1  2  1 157  11.5
SJS  R 11  Nolan, Owen            54  12  19  31   4   70  4  1  1  0 144   8.3
SJS  C 14  Marleau, Patrick       57  13  17  30   3   16  3  0  3  1  85  15.3
SJS  C 19  Sturm, Marco           58  13  16  29   2   40  3  2  3  1 105  12.4
SJS  C 18  Ricci, Mike            58  10  19  29   0   42  2  1  2  1  74  13.5
SJS  R 17  Murphy, Joe            52  14  13  27   5   51  4  0  1  1 130  10.8
SJS  D  2  Houlder, Bill          57   5  18  23  10   34  4  0  2  0  87   5.7
SJS  L 37  Matteau, Stephane      48   7  11  18   5   54  0  0  0  0  49  14.3
SJS  R 15 *Korolyuk, Alex         31   5   9  14  -2   18  0  0  0  0  48  10.4
SJS  D  5  Norton, Jeff           48   3  11  14   4   22  2  0  1  0  56   5.4
SJS  L 26  Lowry, Dave            44   6   7  13  -2   18  2  0  0  1  41  14.6
SJS  R 22  Stern, Ronnie          55   5   7  12   1  116  1  0  1  0  70   7.1
SJS  R 21  Granato, Tony      R   30   6   5  11   3   50  0  1  1  1  55  10.9
SJS  L 32  Craven, Murray         36   2   9  11  -2   18  0  0  1  0  49   4.1
SJS  D  3  Rouse, Bob             55   0  10  10   0   36  0  0  0  0  61   0.0
SJS  D 40  Rathje, Mike           58   4   4   8   0   28  1  0  1  0  48   8.3
SJS  C 12  Sutter, Ron        R   39   3   5   8  -5   38  0  0  1  0  48   6.3
SJS  D 10  Ragnarsson, Marcus     50   0   7   7   2   36  0  0  0  0  52   0.0
SJS  D 27  Marchment, Bryan   R   38   1   4   5  -5   69  0  0  0  0  37   2.7
SJS  D  4  Zyuzin, Andrei         18   2   1   3   4   17  2  0  0  0  32   6.3
SJS  C  8  Skalde, Jarrod         15   1   1   2  -4    4  0  0  0  1  15   6.7
SJS  D  6 *Hannan, Scott      M    5   0   2   2   0    6  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
SJS  C  9  Nicholls, Bernie   R   10   0   2   2  -4    4  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
SJS  C 36  Guolla, Steve      M    7   1   0   1   1    6  0  0  0  0  18   5.6
SJS  R 33  Myhres, Brantt         23   1   0   1  -2   99  0  0  0  0   5  20.0
SJS  C 13  Baker, Jamie       M    1   0   1   1   1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
SJS  L  7  Burr, Shawn            14   0   1   1  -2   14  0  0  0  0  20   0.0
SJS  D 42 *Sutton, Andy           24   0   1   1  -7   53  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
SJS  D 20  Suter, Gary        R    1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
SJS  R 25  Craig, Mike        M    1   0   0   0  -1    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
SJS  D 23 *Heins, Shawn            2   0   0   0  -1    2  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
STL  L 38  Demitra, Pavol         55  25  32  57   6   12 12  0  7  0 169  14.8
STL  D  2  MacInnis, Al           55  16  25  41  16   52  9  1  2  2 199   8.0
STL  C 77  Turgeon, Pierre        41  20  20  40   1   24  4  0  3  1 128  15.6
STL  D 44  Pronger, Chris         47   9  24  33   1   79  4  0  0  0 121   7.4
STL  R 48  Young, Scott           52  13  19  32   4   21  6  0  3  0 139   9.4
STL  C 22  Conroy, Craig          55   8  18  26   5   26  0  0  0  0 113   7.1
STL  C 32  Eastwood, Mike         55   7  16  23  11   26  0  0  0  0  54  13.0
STL  L 33  Pellerin, Scott        54  13   9  22  -1   24  0  3  2  0  87  14.9
STL  R 27  Yake, Terry            34   7  14  21  -5   24  3  0  3  0  34  20.6
STL  C 25  Rheaume, Pascal        46   8  11  19   5   24  2  0  0  0  68  11.8
STL  R 10  Campbell, Jim          44   3  15  18 -10   35  1  0  0  0  76   3.9
STL  C 26 *Handzus, Michal        55   3  10  13 -11   26  0  0  0  0  66   4.5
STL  L 14  Courtnall, Geoff   R   21   3   7  10   1   26  0  0  1  0  54   5.6
STL  C 15 *Reasoner, Marty    M   22   3   7  10   2    8  1  0  0  0  33   9.1
STL  L 34  Picard, Michel         25   4   5   9  -5    6  0  0  1  0  26  15.4
STL  L 56 *Bartecko, Lubos    M   13   2   5   7  -2    4  0  0  0  0  13  15.4
STL  L 18  Twist, Tony            42   2   5   7   2  121  0  0  0  0  19  10.5
STL  R 39  Chase, Kelly           33   1   5   6   3  103  0  0  0  0  15   6.7
STL  D  6  Rivers, Jamie          54   0   5   5  -3   37  0  0  0  0  52   0.0
STL  C 21 *Mayers, Jamal           7   2   2   4   0    7  0  0  0  0  16  12.5
STL  D  7  Persson, Ricard        28   1   3   4   2   54  0  0  0  0  30   3.3
STL  D 36  Helmer, Bryan          36   0   3   3   6   42  0  0  0  0  43   0.0
STL  D 37  Finley, Jeff            6   0   1   1   0    4  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
STL  D  4  Bergevin, Marc     R   36   0   1   1  -1   63  0  0  0  0  30   0.0
STL  D 19  McAlpine, Chris        40   0   1   1 -12   46  0  0  0  0  44   0.0
STL  D 42  Fitzpatrick, Rory  M    1   0   0   0  -3    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
STL  C 55 *Hecht, Jochen      M    3   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
STL  D 00  Smith, Geoff            4   0   0   0  -5    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
STL  D 20  Poeschek, Rudy     R   15   0   0   0  -1   33  0  0  0  0   8   0.0
TBL  L 17  Clark, Wendel          53  21  12  33 -20   28  9  0  1  1 142  14.8
TBL  C 16  Tucker, Darcy          57  15  15  30 -26  133  5  2  2  0 125  12.0
TBL  C 77  Gratton, Chris         53   4  15  19 -23   96  0  0  0  1 119   3.4
TBL  C 33  Hogue, Benoit          51   8   9  17 -19   42  2  0  2  0  79  10.1
TBL  R 44  Richer, Stephane       40   3  14  17 -16   18  1  1  0  0  80   3.8
TBL  C  8 *Lecavalier, Vincent    57   9   7  16 -18   10  2  0  1  1  82  11.0
TBL  D  4  Cross, Cory        R   46   2  13  15 -19   72  0  0  0  0  71   2.8
TBL  D 13 *Kubina, Pavel          43   5   8  13 -23   62  2  0  1  0  76   6.6
TBL  D  5  Cullimore, Jassen      53   4   8  12 -16   58  1  0  1  0  53   7.5
TBL  D 23  Svoboda, Petr          38   4   6  10   1   55  1  1  1  0  59   6.8
TBL  C  9  Nylander, Michael      22   3   7  10  -4    2  1  0  0  0  20  15.0
TBL  R 10  McCarthy, Sandy        56   4   5   9 -21  124  1  0  0  0  70   5.7
TBL  C 21  Daigle, Alexandre      41   4   4   8 -10    4  2  0  1  0  40  10.0
TBL  L  7  Zamuner, Rob           36   3   5   8  -7   16  0  0  1  0  52   5.8
TBL  C 26  Sillinger, Mike        54   4   3   7 -19   16  0  1  0  0  58   6.9
TBL  R 34  Andersson, Mikael  R   40   2   3   5  -8    4  0  0  0  0  40   5.0
TBL  D 49  Wilkie, David          28   1   4   5 -13   25  0  0  0  0  25   4.0
TBL  D  2  McBain, Mike           30   0   5   5  -9   12  0  0  0  0  19   0.0
TBL  C 11  Kelly, Steve       M   25   1   3   4 -13   19  0  0  1  0  12   8.3
TBL  L 27  Peterson, Brent    M   18   2   1   3  -1    0  0  0  0  0  14  14.3
TBL  D 23  Sykora, Michal     M   10   1   2   3  -7    0  0  0  1  0  24   4.2
TBL  D 55  Bannister, Drew        14   1   1   2   0   18  0  0  0  0  22   4.5
TBL  D 28  Samuelsson, Kjell      35   1   1   2 -10   30  0  0  0  0  17   5.9
TBL  D  6 *Betik, Karel            3   0   2   2  -3    2  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
TBL  D  3 *Helenius, Sami          8   1   0   1  -5   23  0  1  0  0   4  25.0
TBL  D 46  Skopintsev, Andrei     13   1   0   1  -2   10  0  0  0  0  14   7.1
TBL  C 14  Petrovicky, Robert      4   0   1   1   0    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
TBL  C 15  Ysebaert, Paul     M   10   0   1   1  -5    2  0  0  0  0  10   0.0
TBL  C 43 *Delisle, Xavier         1   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
TBL  C 12  Cullen, John       R    4   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
TBL  D 71 *Larocque, Mario    M    5   0   0   0  -4   16  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
TOR  C 13  Sundin, Mats           56  20  38  58   8   34  4  0  6  0 151  13.2
TOR  L 32  Thomas, Steve          56  22  28  50  11   31  8  0  6  0 156  14.1
TOR  R 22  Korolev, Igor          53  11  28  39   9   36  1  0  2  0  75  14.7
TOR  L  7  King, Derek            55  18  18  36   5   12  5  0  2  0 110  16.4
TOR  R 94  Berezin, Sergei        50  21  14  35   8   12  6  0  3  0 166  12.7
TOR  R 20  Johnson, Mike          55  16  13  29   5   22  4  3  1  0 114  14.0
TOR  C 11  Sullivan, Steve        38  12  12  24   4   20  2  0  2  0  72  16.7
TOR  L 19  Modin, Fredrik     R   53  12  12  24   5   29  1  0  3  1  87  13.8
TOR  D 34  Berard, Bryan          45   7  17  24  -9   34  4  0  4  0  96   7.3
TOR  C 18  McCauley, Alyn     R   35   7  15  22   4    2  1  0  1  0  64  10.9
TOR  D 36  Yushkevich, Dimitri    52   5  16  21  15   72  2  1  0  0  73   6.8
TOR  D  3  Cote, Sylvain          56   3  17  20   6   20  0  0  1  0  91   3.3
TOR  D 15 *Kaberle, Tomas         44   3  14  17  -6    6  0  0  2  0  48   6.3
TOR  L  8  Warriner, Todd         31   7   9  16  -2   12  1  0  1  0  62  11.3
TOR  L 10  Valk, Garry            51   5  11  16   2   39  1  0  0  1  68   7.4
TOR  D 52  Karpovtsev, Alexander  35   2  13  15  25   26  1  0  0  0  35   5.7
TOR  R 28  Domi, Tie              46   5   9  14   1  125  0  0  0  0  42  11.9
TOR  D 25  Smith, Jason           55   2  11  13  -8   40  0  0  0  0  52   3.8
TOR  D 38  Tremblay, Yannick      32   2   7   9   5   16  0  0  0  0  34   5.9
TOR  D 55 *Markov, Daniil         36   2   2   4  -5   18  0  0  0  0  14  14.3
TOR  L 12  King, Kris             48   2   1   3 -14   68  0  1  1  0  24   8.3
TOR  D 33  McAllister, Chris      28   1   1   2  -7   63  0  0  0  1   6  16.7
TOR  R 39 *Kohn, Ladislav          3   0   2   2   2    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
TOR  D  2  Eakins, Dallas         18   0   2   2   3   24  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
TOR  D  4  Dahl, Kevin        M    3   0   0   0   0    2  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
VAN  R 19  Naslund, Markus        55  29  19  48 -11   58 13  0  3  1 145  20.0
VAN  C 11  Messier, Mark      R   52  13  31  44 -13   29  4  2  2  0  89  14.6
VAN  R 17 *Muckalt, Bill          57  15  18  33  -2   51  4  2  1  0  91  16.5
VAN  R 89  Mogilny, Alexander     38   6  21  27  -4   34  1  2  1  1  66   9.1
VAN  D  2  Ohlund, Mattias        57   7  18  25 -15   69  2  0  1  0  97   7.2
VAN  C 15  Gagner, Dave           50   5  18  23 -12   45  2  0  0  1  68   7.4
VAN  D  6  Aucoin, Adrian         57  14   8  22  -9   65 10  2  1  0 119  11.8
VAN  D 55  Jovanovski, Ed         51   5  15  20  -2   84  1  0  1  0  83   6.0
VAN  C 20  Scatchard, Dave        57  10   8  18  -7   99  0  1  2  0  99  10.1
VAN  L  8  Brashear, Donald       57   7   9  16 -13  142  1  0  1  0  84   8.3
VAN  C 44  Bertuzzi, Todd         26   8   7  15  -3   38  1  0  3  0  57  14.0
VAN  D  4  McCabe, Bryan          44   5  10  15 -10   70  1  2  0  0  51   9.8
VAN  L  9  May, Brad              51   4  11  15  -9   81  1  0  0  0  69   5.8
VAN  C 22  Zezel, Peter       R   35   6   7  13   4   16  1  0  2  0  43  14.0
VAN  R 26  Klatt, Trent           56   4   9  13  -3   10  0  0  0  0  54   7.4
VAN  C 27  York, Harry            38   5   7  12  -1   16  1  0  0  0  39  12.8
VAN  C 14  Hendrickson, Darby     37   2   3   5  -5   36  0  0  0  0  37   5.4
VAN  D 23  Baron, Murray          56   0   3   3 -18   75  0  0  0  0  35   0.0
VAN  D  5  Murzyn, Dana           12   0   2   2   1   21  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
VAN  D 18  Robertsson, Bert       22   0   2   2  -4    2  0  0  0  0   7   0.0
VAN  L 24 *Cooke, Matt        M   26   0   2   2 -10   23  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
VAN  D 34  Strudwick, Jason       40   0   2   2 -10   77  0  0  0  0  13   0.0
VAN  L 15 *Schaefer, Peter    M    8   1   0   1  -5    2  1  0  0  0   6  16.7
VAN  C 14 *Holden, Josh       M   11   0   1   1  -3    6  0  0  0  0  11   0.0
VAN  D  7  Huscroft, Jamie        22   0   1   1  -3   61  0  0  0  0  18   0.0
VAN  R 25  Staios, Steve          49   0   1   1 -11   52  0  0  0  0  25   0.0
VAN  C 28  Washburn, Steve         5   0   0   0  -1    4  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
WSH  R 12  Bondra, Peter          55  27  18  45  -1   50  5  2  5  1 234  11.5
WSH  C 90  Juneau, Joe            55  13  23  36  -5   16  2  1  3  0 132   9.8
WSH  C 77  Oates, Adam            33   9  23  32   1   10  3  0  0  0  56  16.1
WSH  D  6  Johansson, Calle       56   8  17  25   9   20  2  0  2  1 123   6.5
WSH  L 13  Nikolishin, Andrei     47   4  20  24   4   18  0  1  0  0  82   4.9
WSH  C 22  Konowalchuk, Steve     41  11  10  21  -1   26  3  1  2  0  93  11.8
WSH  L 23  Bellows, Brian         55  10  11  21  -6   20  4  0  1  0 116   8.6
WSH  C  8  Bulis, Jan             28   7  11  18   5    4  3  0  3  0  44  15.9
WSH  C 28  Black, James           49   7  10  17   5    4  0  0  0  0  79   8.9
WSH  D 55  Gonchar, Sergei        34  13   3  16  -1   31  9  0  2  0 108  12.0
WSH  D 15  Mironov, Dmitri    R   46   2  14  16  -5   80  2  0  0  0  86   2.3
WSH  R  2  Klee, Ken              52   5   6  11  -5   52  0  0  1  0  71   7.0
WSH  L 17  Simon, Chris       R   23   3   7  10  -4   48  0  0  0  0  29  10.3
WSH  L 44  Zednik, Richard        23   5   3   8  -4   34  1  0  2  0  54   9.3
WSH  C 20  Pivonka, Michal        15   4   3   7  -5    8  2  0  0  0  19  21.1
WSH  L 27  Berube, Craig          53   3   4   7  -5  160  0  0  0  0  32   9.4
WSH  D 29  Reekie, Joe            47   0   7   7  10   46  0  0  0  0  53   0.0
WSH  R 34  Svejkovsky, Jarolsav   14   3   3   6   2    8  1  0  1  0  28  10.7
WSH  D 19  Witt, Brendan      R   39   1   5   6  -1   54  0  0  0  0  32   3.1
WSH  D 24  Tinordi, Mark          47   0   6   6  -5  106  0  0  0  0  31   0.0
WSH  L 10  Miller, Kelly          36   2   3   5  -3   25  0  0  1  0  33   6.1
WSH  C 36  Eagles, Mike           32   2   2   4  -3   39  0  0  0  0  23   8.7
WSH  L 21  Toms, Jeff         R    5   1   3   4   4    0  0  0  0  0   5  20.0
WSH  C 32  Hunter, Dale           43   0   4   4  -5   94  0  0  0  0  16   0.0
WSH  C 26 *Herr, Matt         M   18   1   2   3  -2    6  0  0  0  0  21   4.8
WSH  D 39  Ciccone, Enrico        35   1   1   2  -2   82  0  0  0  0  25   4.0
WSH  L  9  Chorske, Tom           15   0   2   2  -3    6  0  0  0  0  24   0.0
WSH  L 18  Halverson, Trevor  M    5   0   1   1  -1    2  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
WSH  D 39  Poapst, Steve      M    1   0   0   0  -2    0  0  0  0  0   0   0.0
WSH  R 14  Augusta, Patrik    M    2   0   0   0   0    0  0  0  0  0   4   0.0
WSH  R 14  Lefebvre, Patrice  M    3   0   0   0  -2    2  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
WSH  L 48 *Gratton, Benoit    M    4   0   0   0   0    6  0  0  0  0   3   0.0
WSH  D 38 *Baumgartner, Nolan      5   0   0   0  -3    0  0  0  0  0   1   0.0
WSH  D  3  Malgunas, Stewart  M   10   0   0   0  -5    6  0  0  0  0   2   0.0
---------------------------------------------------------------
Goaltender Stats thru February 21
---------------------------------------------------------------
TM  NO GOALTENDER          GPI  MINS   AVG  W  L  T EN SO  GA   SA  SPCT G  A PIM
ANA 31 Hebert, Guy          50  2994  2.42 22 21  7  3  5 121 1553  .922 0  1   0
ANA 30 Roussel, Dominic     10   514  2.57  2  4  2  1  1  22  286  .923 0  0   0
BOS 34 Dafoe, Byron         45  2596  2.13 17 19  7  3  6  92 1216  .924 0  2  19
BOS 35 Tallas, Rob          14   807  2.68  6  5  2  1  1  36  358  .899 0  0   0
BUF 39 Hasek, Dominik       52  3071  1.97 25 15 10  2  8 101 1553  .935 0  0  12
BUF 30 Roloson, Dwayne       8   403  2.98  2  4  1  1  0  20  192  .896 0  0   2
CGY 40 Brathwaite, Fred     16   990  2.24  6  4  6  0  1  37  478  .923 0  1   2
CGY 30*Moss, Tyler        M 11   550  2.51  3  7  0  0  0  23  295  .922 0  1   0
CGY 31 Wregget, Ken         13   752  2.71  5  5  2  1  1  34  368  .908 0  1   4
CGY 47*Giguere, Jean-Seba M 15   860  3.21  6  7  1  2  0  46  447  .897 0  1   4
CGY 35 Trefilov, Andrei      5   186  4.84  0  4  0  0  0  15  104  .856 0  0   0
CGY  1*Garner, Tyrone     N  3   139  5.18  0  2  0  0  0  12   74  .838 0  0   0
CAR  1 Irbe, Arturs         43  2556  2.25 21 13  7  3  5  96 1259  .924 0  0   6
CAR 37 Kidd, Trevor         19  1027  2.75  6  9  3  3  2  47  474  .901 0  0   0
CHI 41 Thibault, Jocelyn    46  2643  2.79 14 26  5  5  4 123 1309  .906 0  0   0
CHI 30 Fitzpatrick, Mark    18   908  2.91  3  6  4  1  0  44  459  .904 0  0   2
COL 33 Roy, Patrick         42  2524  2.16 21 14  6  3  5  91 1122  .919 0  0  24
COL 30*Denis, Marc        M  4   217  2.49  1  1  1  0  0   9  110  .918 0  0   0
COL  1 Billington, Craig    14   702  2.99  7  6  0  1  0  35  308  .886 0  0   2
DAL  1 Turek, Roman         16   885  1.90 10  1  2  1  0  28  355  .921 0  0   0
DAL 20 Belfour, Ed          42  2395  1.95 25  9  7  0  3  78  897  .913 0  0   8
DET 38*Maracle, Norm        13   642  2.24  5  3  2  1  0  24  296  .919 0  0   0
DET 30 Osgood, Chris        48  2788  2.43 26 19  3  3  2 113 1242  .909 0  2   6
DET 37 Hodson, Kevin         3   117  3.08  0  1  0  0  0   6   49  .878 0  0   0
EDM 30 Essensa, Bob         31  1685  2.46 10 11  5  1  0  69  759  .909 0  1   0
EDM 35 Shtalenkov, Mikhail  33  1772  2.61 12 16  3  2  3  77  767  .900 0  0   2
FLA 31 Burke, Sean          42  2471  2.48 16 13 13  0  2 102 1167  .913 0  3   8
FLA  1 McLean, Kirk         18  1018  2.65  5  8  2  0  1  45  470  .904 0  0   0
LAK  1*Storr, Jamie         23  1277  2.35 10 10  2  2  4  50  596  .916 0  1   6
LAK 35 Fiset, Stephane      21  1211  2.48  9 10  1  2  1  50  607  .918 0  0   0
LAK 32*Legace, Manny      M 16   859  2.58  2  9  2  5  0  37  415  .911 0  1   0
LAK 31*Bach, Ryan            2    88  4.77  0  2  0  0  0   7   60  .883 0  0   0
MTL 39 Chabot, Frederic      5   195  2.15  0  1  0  0  0   7   81  .914 0  0   2
MTL 31 Hackett, Jeff        46  2599  2.56 19 19  7  5  3 111 1154  .904 0  0   6
MTL 60*Theodore, Jose     M 15   771  3.35  3 10  0  1  0  43  333  .871 0  0   0
NSH  1 Dunham, Mike         29  1579  3.00 12 12  3  1  0  79  887  .911 0  0   4
NSH 29*Vokoun, Tomas        27  1351  3.20  8 13  3  2  1  72  731  .902 0  1   4
NSH 35 Fichaud, Eric         9   447  3.22  0  6  0  1  0  24  229  .895 0  0   0
NSH 30*Mason, Chris       M  3    69  5.22  0  0  0  0  0   6   44  .864 0  0   0
NJD 31 Terreri, Chris        9   537  2.46  6  3  0  0  1  22  221  .900 0  0   0
NJD 30 Brodeur, Martin      49  2969  2.47 25 17  7  3  3 122 1255  .903 0  2   4
NYI 35 Salo, Tommy          42  2462  2.61 16 20  5  4  5 107 1115  .904 0  0  10
NYI  1*Cousineau, Marcel  M  6   293  2.87  0  4  0  0  0  14  119  .882 0  0   0
NYI 30 Flaherty, Wade        8   348  3.62  1  4  1  2  0  21  169  .876 0  0   2
NYI 28 Potvin, Felix        13   764  3.85  4  8  1  1  0  49  380  .871 0  0   0
NYR 39*Cloutier, Dan        16   811  2.29  5  5  2  2  0  31  420  .926 0  0   2
NYR 35 Richter, Mike        47  2638  2.75 18 22  5  5  3 121 1280  .905 0  0   0
OTW 31 Tugnutt, Ron         30  1762  1.57 17  6  5  2  3  46  711  .935 0  0   0
OTW  1 Rhodes, Damian       30  1634  2.57 15 10  3  0  1  70  714  .902 1  0   4
PHI 34 Vanbiesbrouck, John  42  2487  2.03 20 10 10  2  6  84  943  .911 0  1  10
PHI 27 Hextall, Ron         19   991  2.18 10  4  3  0  0  36  377  .905 0  0   0
PHO 35 Khabibulin, Nikolai  43  2489  1.95 23 13  6  3  6  81 1127  .928 0  0   4
PHO 28 Waite, Jimmy       M 15   874  2.54  6  4  4  0  1  37  380  .903 0  0   2
PHO 42*Esche, Robert         1    40  4.50  0  0  0  0  0   3   18  .833 0  0   0
PIT 35 Barrasso, Tom        35  1895  2.47 16 12  3  3  3  78  799  .902 0  3  20
PIT 30*Aubin, Jean-Sebast M  9   309  2.52  3  1  1  0  1  13  112  .884 0  0   0
PIT  1*Skudra, Peter        21  1123  2.94 11  5  3  1  2  55  490  .888 0  0   0
SJS 31 Shields, Steve       21  1187  2.22  5  8  5  1  1  44  528  .917 0  1   2
SJS 29 Vernon, Mike         41  2345  2.28 15 17  8  2  4  89  981  .909 0  0   8
STL  1*Johnson, Brent        1    20  0.00  0  0  0  0  0   0   10 1.000 0  0   0
STL 29 McLennan, Jamie      29  1574  2.40 11 13  4  3  3  63  555  .886 0  0   0
STL 30*Parent, Rich       R 10   519  2.54  4  3  1  1  1  22  193  .886 0  0   2
STL 31 Fuhr, Grant        R 23  1224  2.70  7  7  5  0  1  55  444  .876 0  0   8
TBL 35*Wilkinson, Derek      1    60  2.00  1  0  0  0  0   2   38  .947 0  0   0
TBL  1*Bierk, Zac         M  1    59  2.03  0  1  0  0  0   2   21  .905 0  0   0
TBL 93 Puppa, Darren      R 13   691  2.87  5  6  1  1  2  33  350  .906 0  1   0
TBL 30 Ranford, Bill        29  1534  3.75  3 17  3  2  1  96  832  .885 0  0   2
TBL 32 Schwab, Corey        20  1095  3.78  3 16  1  2  0  69  608  .887 0  2   4
TOR 30 Healy, Glenn          4   243  2.47  3  1  0  0  0  10  110  .909 0  0   0
TOR 31 Joseph, Curtis       46  2732  2.81 25 16  4  2  2 128 1293  .901 0  5   4
TOR 35 Reese *MNR*           2   106  4.53  1  1  0  0  0   8   51  .843 0  0   0
VAN 30 Snow, Garth          47  2520  3.12 15 24  4  3  2 131 1239  .894 0  1  16
VAN 31 Hirsch, Corey        20   919  3.13  3  8  3  0  1  48  435  .890 0  0   0
WSH 40 Rosati, Mike       M  1    28  0.00  1  0  0  0  0   0   12 1.000 0  0   0
WSH 31 Tabaracci, Rick      15   741  2.35  2  6  3  1  1  29  323  .910 0  0   2
WSH 37 Kolzig, Olaf         47  2602  2.61 20 22  2  4  3 113 1117  .899 0  1  19

Stats provided by Brad Murray.  To subscribe to the free NHL boxscore or 
stat mailing lists, go to http://nhlstats.home.ml.org or send a blank 
message with no subject to nhlboxscores-on@lists.advantage.com.  To 
unsubscribe send a blank message with no subject to nhlstats-off@lists.advantage.com.
Boxscores and stats are archived at http://nhlarchive.home.ml.org
========================================================================
lcshockeylcshockeylcshockeylcshockeylcshockeylcshockeysighlcshockeylcsho
========================================================================