_ _ _ _ | | ____ ___ | | ____ ___ | | ____ ___ | | ____ ___ | |/ _ / __| | |/ _ / __| | |/ _ / __| | |/ _ / __| | | (_ \__ \ | | (_ \__ \ | | (_ \__ \ | | (_ \__ \ |_|\____\___/ |_|\____\___/ |_|\____\___/ |_|\____\___/ GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY GUIDE TO HOCKEY ================================================================ Five Star - ELECTRONIC EDITION - * * * * * ================================================================ Issue 59 December 23, 1996 It's like free, man ---------------------------------------------------------------- Visit us on the web at http://www.lcshockey.com/ ================================================================ Keenan's Reign Comes to an End ================================================================ By Jim Iovino A sigh of relief could be heard throughout the Blues' clubhouse and the entire city of St. Louis after the announcement of the firing of Blues head coach Mike Keenan on Thursday, December 19. With Keenan's tight grip on the day-to-day operations of the Blues, many within the organization felt powerless and the fans of St. Louis found themselves without a voice. And until Keenan's departure, neither thought to have any hope of getting back the old Blues team that they knew and loved. Keenan originally left the New York Rangers because he wanted a chance to be the head coach and general manager of his own team. When the Blues offered him what he wanted, Keenan jumped at the offer. And as soon as he arrived in St. Louis, Keenan made no mistake about showing the city who was in control of the Blues franchise. He was. But unfortunately, Keenan made irrational moves, pissed off players, fans and owners alike and destroyed any focus or direction the team had made in its previous 27 seasons in the NHL. What was it Napoleon said after his unsuccessful attempt at taking over Russia and his loss of 450,000 troops in the process? "Do over?" Keenan's attitude with his team changed day-to-day. Players were often benched if they didn't perform up to the standards Keenan wanted, although his players seldom knew what those standards were. Even star players were granted no liberties or shown no mercy under the strong arm of "Iron Mike." Brett Hull's feuding with his head coach started during Keenan's first training camp in St. Louis. During camp in September of 1994, Hull argued with Keenan and asked to be traded. While that didn't happen, several of his high-profile teammates also asked to leave town, and their wishes were granted. Hull's centerman at the time, Craig Janney, got off to a rocky start with Keenan from the get-go. Janney, who is known around the league as a "soft" player, was benched opening night of the 1994-95 season, asked to be traded soon after and found himself in San Jose by March. There was no secret that Janney wasn't Keenan's type of player anyway. Teammate Kevin Miller also asked to be traded early in the 1994-95 season and was dealt to the Sharks as well in March. Players came and went throughout Keenan's tenure as head coach and general manager. Keenan made 24 trades (and even more call-ups, demotions and releases) during his two and a half years in St. Louis. Only two players have remained with the Blues throughout Keenan's regime; Hull and Al MacInnis. The following is a comparison between the roster which Keenan began with in 1994 and the one he left behind at the time of his firing. Preseason roster for 1994-95 season: Forwards - Craig Janney, Peter Stastny, Guy Carbonneau, Brendan Shanahan, Kevin Miller, Esa Tikkanen, Phillipe Bozon, Dave Mackey, Basil McRae, Vitaili Prokhorov, Tony Twist, Brett Hull, Denny Felsner, Igor Korolev, Kelly Chase. Defenseman - Al MacInnis, Steve Duchesne, Doug Lidster, Murray Baron, Rick Zombo, Tom Tilley, Daniel Laperriere, Terry Hollinger, Bill Houlder. Goaltenders - Curtis Joseph, Jon Casey. Roster at time of Keenan's firing: Forwards - Pierre Turgeon, Craig MacTavish, Peter Zezel, Harry York, Jim Campbell, Jamal Mayers, Geoff Courtnall, Tony Twist, Stephane Matteau, Scott Pellerin, Mike Peluso, Brett Hull, Joe Murphy, Brian Noonan, Steve Leach, Rob Pearson. Defensemen - Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Igor Kravchuk, Marc Bergevin, Trent Yawney, Libor Zabransky, Ricard Persson. Goaltenders - Grant Fuhr, Jon Casey, Jamie McLennan. Keenan inherited a St. Louis team with little depth in 1994 due to a lack of top draft picks and erratic spending on high-priced free agents, but when looking at the current Blues' roster, the lack of depth is still there. And Keenan's team currently has the third-highest payroll in the league. A lot of that has to do with Keenan's bad habit of signing players to big contracts and then either trading them away in a dispute or releasing them outright. Dale Hawerchuk is a good example. Keenan signed the free agent to a big contract despite the fact that no other teams were really interested in the aging veteran. Then, when Hawerchuk's play did not live up to expectations, Keenan had to bite the bullet and deal Hawerchuk to the Flyers for Craig MacTavish. If that wasn't enough, Keenan even had to pay part of Hawerchuk's contract. This season alone, the Blues' payroll includes $2.27 million toward contract buyouts of players Keenan released and another $2.4 million for former players like Hawerchuk who were traded to other teams. The Blues can now add another $7 million or so into those figures for the payoff on the rest of Keenan's contract, which was supposed to last until 2001. But while money is key, it is not the big reason Keenan is out in St. Louis. Even more important is the strong relationship between the Blues franchise and the community that Keenan strained and almost destroyed entirely. After a warm welcome, Blues' fans soon soured after watching Keenan's cold attitude and seemingly insensitivity toward them and their favorite players. Perhaps the two biggest stars that Keenan exiled from St. Louis were goaltender Curtis Joseph and left wing Brendan Shanahan. Both are all-stars, but neither were liked much by Keenan. However, perhaps in Keenan's defense, the departure of both players had more to do with money than performance. Joseph was dealt due to contract problems with the team. Shanahan was also traded after upper management asked for the payroll to be cut. But the fact remains: Keenan traded away many solid players in St. Louis and got little in return. Joseph was essentially traded for Shayne Corson. Corson never provided the leadership he was supposed to and was dealt this season for Pierre Turgeon, who is not a leader in any right and has never proven himself in the playoffs. Steve Duchesne, a gifted offensive defenseman, would have fit in nicely with many teams around the league looking for the final piece of a championship puzzle. Duchesne could have brought a lot more in return than the second-round pick Ottawa gave up for him (Keenan has gone on the record saying he couldn't afford to get players in return because of the payroll problem in St. Louis...whatever). But of all the deals he made, the Shanahan trade really hurt Keenan's relationship with the fans of St. Louis. Shanahan's popularity in St. Louis matched, or perhaps went beyond, that of Hull, who still remains with the team. Shanahan's charming personality and his willingness to open himself up to the city made him quite popular with the fans. However, Shanahan and Keenan began their bickering when Keenan played mind games with Janney, who was one of Shanahan's best friends on the team. Things went downhill from there. Shanahan's departure to Hartford in exchange for unproven defenseman Chris Pronger let fans down and started rumors swirling of Keenan's demise. After the trade, Keenan was booed on home ice and trashed in the papers, which isn't a good way to create good PR with fans. And then there was Wayne Gretzky. Like Napoleon had done many times throughout Europe, Keenan stormed Los Angeles and came away with its prize possession. But after all of the fanfare displayed and prospects traded away, Blues fans, like Napoleon's troops, were left out in the cold. Because of all the turmoil between Hull and Keenan, and because the end of his career might not have been too fun if he played for Keenan, Gretzky passed on the offer to stay in St. Louis and left to play with Mark Messier in New York. Keenan's credibility took a severe blow when Gretzky opted to end his Blues career after just 31 games. If one of the greatest players of all time doesn't want to play for Keenan, who would? After giving up a significant chunk of the Blues' top prospects in order to get Gretzky, Keenan, Blues ownership and the fans were left with nothing but No. 99 jerseys on the 50 percent off racks. This season was more of the same for Keenan. He brought in more of his favorite players (Mike Peluso), but it was still the same old Keenan-coached team. The Blues weren't winning, players fought with the coach and franchise lost even more direction than before. Some will say Brett Hull is responsible for the firing of Mike Keenan. But in reality, it is Keenan himself who is to blame for his early exit. Keenan has not adapted to the times. In an era of big free agents, he didn't spend his money well. In an era of players' coaches, he didn't handle situations well. And in an era where the choices are win or be fired, Keenan is unemployed. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Keenan fails! ----------------------------------------------------------------- By Joe Ashkar Christmas came early for many Blues fans. Just 29 months after being hailed as the savior who would take the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup, coach and general manager Mike Keenan was fired along with longtime club president Jack Quinn. Blues chairman Jerry Ritter put an end to a disastrous two-and-a-half year reign in which a talented and promising Blues team was dismantled and turned into a mucking and grinding team with turmoil labeled all over it. Erratic performance on the ice, controversy in the locker room, questionable trades of fan favorites, and falling attendance eventually led to the inevitable firing of "Iron" Mike. Ritter made the official announcement at a press conference Thursday morning at Kiel Center. "On behalf of our fans and the welfare of the St. Louis Blues organization, it's time we make a change." Ritter said. "The trust built over 30 years between the St. Louis Blues and our fans is being strained, And that's absolutely unacceptable. "Mike Keenan has the reputation of being a solid hockey man but the Blues have not lived up to our expectations under his leadership, it's time we make a change" Ritter added. Former general manager Ron Caron will take over as interim GM and assistant coach Jimmy Roberts will assume the responsibilities of interim head coach. Former baseball executive Mark Sauer was named club president replacing Jack Quinn, who held the position since 1986. Sauer, 50, is new to hockey but he was the Pittsburgh Pirates' club president and a former St. Louis Cardinals executive vice president and chief operating officer. "The best thing we can do for our fans is to win," Sauer said. "We'll do everything we can to be more fan-friendly. We all want to make Blues hockey fun again." Ritter tried to make it clear that Keenan's firing was not a direct result of his continuous feud with team superstar Brett Hull, but admitted that it was becoming detrimental to the team. "The continuous feuding has become a distraction," Ritter said. "We told Brett there was no winner in this quarrel with Mike. We also told Brett we expected more leadership." According to Ritter and the Blues ownership group, Keenan was dismissed due to his team's lack of on-ice success and the continuous drop in home attendance. The Blues averaged a club record 19,489 in their first season at Kiel Center in 1995 but dropped to 18,806 in 1996 and 15,991 this season. He came, he traded, he failed. Keenan abruptly left the New York Rangers in the summer of 1994 after leading them to their first Stanley Cup in 44 years. He was lured over to St. Louis when he was offered both general manager and coaching duties for a lucrative contract paying him over $2 million a year. Upon his arrival to the Gateway City, Keenan was treated as a hero based on his track record. He had led every one of his NHL teams to the Stanley Cup Finals and nothing less than a Stanley Cup was expected by the long suffering Blues fans. The Blues had not made it past the second round of the playoffs since 1986. His first year with the Blues, the 1995 lockout-shortened season, was full of excitement but ended with disappointment. The Blues finished third overall with a record of 28-15-5 but they were shocked in seven games by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs. After the first round loss and a cost-cutting mandate by the team ownership group, Keenan traded away many fan favorites and completely restructured the team. His demise started with the trade of Brendan Shanahan to the Hartford Whalers for Chris Pronger. Shanahan was a crowd favorite and his popularity rivaled that of Brett Hull. Keenan could not come to terms with another fan favorite, Curtis Joseph. So he traded Joseph to the Edmonton Oilers to reacquire two drafts picks lost in the signing of free agent Shayne Corson. In addition to the above, core players such as Steve Duchesne, Esa Tikkanen and Kevin Miller were traded for virtually no return value. The fans showed their displeasure when they heavily booed him on opening night of the 1996 season. The team floated around the .500 mark all season long and fans were losing interest until the acquisition of Wayne Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings. Gretzky rejuvenated fan interest and played a major role in generating excitement in a memorable playoff run. The Blues dispensed of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round and were and overtime goal away from eliminating the high-flying Detroit Red Wings for a trip to the Conference Finals. But after the Blues failed to re-sign Gretzky as a free agent and losing him to the New York Rangers, the fans lost faith in their franchise. They blamed Keenan for criticizing Gretzky's performance in the second round of the playoffs which led to his departure from the team. Jack Quinn was also criticized for retracting a contract offer of $21 million for three years to keep the Great One in a Bluenote uniform. During the off-season, Keenan signed free-agent winger Joe Murphy to a ridiculous contract worth near $10 million over three years and overspent on the signing of defensemen Marc Bergevin and Trent Yawney who at best rank 5th and 6th among defensemen of the team. On the ice, the result was not much different than the 95-96 season when the team finished 32-34-16 including a losing season at home for the first time in a decade. This season, the Blues were 15-17-1 including a five-game home losing streak and an 8-0 humiliating loss to the Vancouver Canucks. For the first time in his illustrious career, the slick coach was fired for failing to produce a winner and take an NHL team to the Stanley Cup round. Keenan compiled a 75-66-22 regular season record and was a disappointing 10-10 in the playoffs during his tenure with the Blues. Keenan did not leave the Blues empty handed. The Blues reportedly owe him a sum of at least $7 million for the remaining of a five-year contract and due within 60 days of termination. The search for a new coach has started and the Blues would like to fill the head coaching position as soon as possible. Jimmy Roberts remains a long shot candidate but the choices seems to boil down to Colorado Avalanche assistant coach Joel Quenneville and former Blues coach Jacques Demers. The Blues seem to be in no rush to fill the general manager's position with Ron Caron back at the helm. Bob Berry remains as assistant GM and Roger Nielson continues in his assistant coach position. On another note, Blues conditioning coach and fitness consultant Bob Kersey resigned from his position in support for Keenan. Kersey, the husband of Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, initially worked with goaltender Grant Fuhr after he reported overweight and out of shape to training camp in 1995. He later worked with the Blues on a regular basis for the past two seasons. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Some More Caffeine in the Flyers' Diet ---------------------------------------------------------------- By Eric Meyer It's the latest craze in Philly. You can't get it with cream and sugar, just in orange and black. It's coffee, err...um...Coffey, Paul Coffey. He wanted out of Hartford as soon as he got there via Detroit. So two months later, after trade negotiations that seemed like they would just never come to fruition, the man with four Stanley Cup rings, 375 career goals and 1,418 career points was finally given his wish. The two-time Norris Trophy winner, defenseman Paul Coffey was dealt to the Flyers on December 15 along with a third-round draft pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft for defenseman Kevin Haller, the Flyers' first-round pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft and the Whalers' seventh-round pick which had been previously acquired from the Whalers in exchange for then Flyer winger, Kevin Dineen. Depsite having only eight points in 20 games with the Whalers this season, in Coffey, the Flyers get not only a great defenseman, but also a field general for the power play and a veteran player that not only knows how to win (he has four Cup rings to prove it) but a guy who has played with such greats as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, etc, etc: all players that also know how to win. Though the price for Coffey wasn't as high as it once seemed it would be (oft rumored to be dealt to the Flyers for Chris Therien, Pat Falloon and Rod Brind'Amour/Shjon Podein), in giving up Kevin Haller and a first- and seventh-round pick the Flyers lose one of their most consistent defensemen as well as the opportunity to take part in the first round of what is thought to be one of the deepest NHL Entry Drafts in a long time. How it came to be: It took one trade early in the season for the rumor mill in Philadelphia to begin to pick up steam. On October 9, Coffey was dealt from the Detroit Red Wings along with Keith Primeau and a first round pick to Hartford in exchange for Brendan Shanahan and Bryan Glynn. Coffey immediately began to voice his displeasure with the deal, expressing a great interest to be dealt once again to a serious contender and out of Hartford. And of course, the Philadelphia Flyers immediately vaulted to the forefront. The names that began to fly around: Pat Falloon, Karl Dykhuis, Shjon Podein, Rod Brind'Amour, Chris Therien, Dale Hawerchuk. On the other end, the deal which was supposed to bring Coffey to the Flyers was to have included (at one time or another) such names as Geoff Sanderson and Andrew Cassels. In fact, until quite recently, Kevin Haller's name had never really been mentioned in the media circle as a name being considered in this deal. He had actually been rumored to be shipped to Ottawa for Radek Bonk. It just goes to show that rumors are rumors and mean nothing until something is actually done. Trade rumors aside, despite sitting atop the Northeast Division, there has been a lot of unrest in the Hartford organization this season. The threat of a potential move has lingered in Hartford for a few seasons now and the general feel over that span of time is that Hartford is a bad place to not only watch hockey and be a fan, but also to play hockey. Paul Coffey by expressing his displeasure in Hartford was really setting no great precedent. Earlier this season, Brendan Shanahan had made it crystal clear that he did not want to play for Hartford, thus prompting the trade with the Red Wings. But just over two months after that deal was made sending Shanahan to Detroit and bringing Coffey to Hartford, the highest scoring defenseman of all time, Paul Coffey, finally got his wish with 10 days to spare before Christmas as he was finally dealt again to what he believed to be a serious contender in the Philadelphia Flyers. The immediate impact: So what can we expect from Paul Coffey now that he is finally a member of the Philadelphia Flyers? Well, we can expect him to fit in right away. He was traded to the Flyers on Sunday and during the week the entire Flyers team and coaching staff took the future Hall of Fame defenseman out to dinner in order to make their new teammate immediately feel at home and make him feel like he would fit in with the team. Dinner aside, before pondering his impact, consider this amazing statistic: Paul Coffey has amassed over 1400 points in his NHL career. The leading Flyer defenseman in career points before Coffey's arrival was Petr Svoboda with 319 points in almost 800 games played. Combine all of the Flyers' defensemen: Svoboda, Therien, Dykhuis, Eric Desjardins, Kjell Samuelsson and Janne Niinimaa and you get 865 career points. That being said, look for Paul Coffey to help this team score some goals. Taking nothing away from his prowess as a pure defenseman, Paul Coffey has made a name for himself as a strong skater, a fine passer, and an expert, goal scoring marksman. The Flyers were 7-0-1 in the eight games before the trade for Coffey, but look for him to become a leader on this team right away, especially on the power play. Before the trade the Flyers were near the bottom of the league in power-play efficiency with just 18 goals in 140 attempts, leaving them 23rd overall in the NHL. Hartford, on the other hand was third in the league with at 21.3% success rate with the man-advantage. In his first game as a Flyer, Coffey's new team went 1-for-3 on the man-advantage against the Isles, with Coffey assisting on a Lindros goal. Now yes, the Flyers lack of power-play production with Eric Lindros injured for much of the season is not indicative of how effective it would normally be. Yet, with Coffey now in the Flyers lineup, Head Coach Terry Murray will now have the luxury of putting an experienced power-play expert out on the ice with either Eric Lindros at the point, or as was the case in his first game as a Flyer against the Islanders on December 19, pairing Coffey with rookie Janne Niinimaa. But let's focus for a second on how Coffey's arrival will impact the Flyers defensive corp. For starters, he should have a great influence on the aforementioned, Janne Niinimaa. The youngster who was benched for many games early on in the season has begun to really come on as of late. His one goal and 14 assists, good for 15 points, ranks him second among Flyers defensemen, trailing only Eric Desjardins. It appears the Flyers and Coach Terry Murray will want Coffey not only to be a leader on this team, but to be a role model of sorts on the ice for Niinimaa in the hopes that he will help mold the youngster. Niinimaa, who spent his boyhood idolizing Coffey, should become a better all around defenseman. Though when asked after his first game as a Flyer what Paul thought about being paired with young Janne, he told reporters that it was more of a thrill for him than for his young linemate, just having the chance to play with and help teach the young defenseman about the game, while watching him improve. And guess what? In his first game as a Flyers defenseman, one assist and one goal, the first in the NHL for Mr. Niinimaa. As for Coffey? Three assists in his first game, setting up Lindros twice in addition to Niinimaa. Coffey's arrival also means that Terry Murray can realign his defensive pairings. Murray originally leaned towards pairing Coffey with Eric Desjardins as his top defensive combination, but then changed his mind in the hope that Paul Coffey would be able to do for Niinimaa, what he had done for Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. With Coffey paired up alongside Niinimaa, Murray can then make Desjardins and Petr Svodoba, a tandem that was utilized at various times this season, a consistent pairing. That will leave Murray the decision to make a final pairing out of Kjell Samuelsson, Chris Therien and Karl Dykhuis, with the odd man out finding himself out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. Lately, that unlucky soul has been third-year man Chris Therien. Terry Murray has chosen to scratch Therien in six of the last seven games. Now that Coffey has arrived here in Philadelphia, it appears the wheeling and dealing might not be done just yet. Are the Flyers still worried about their defense now that one of their solid defensemen in Kevin Haller is gone? Well, heed the words of Terry Murray if you think that acquiring Paul Coffey might weaken the defense and lead to more goals allowed from the Flyers, "Let's not kid ourselves here. Paul's been in the league a number of years and he's played world class hockey. He's been against top lines pretty much his whole life. Defensive play is not a concern here." By the way, in his first game as a Flyer, Coffey's new team pitched their third straight shutout in a row. In his second game as a Flyer, another shutout. So it seems the Flyers have set their sights once again on Bruin winger and ex-Flyer Rick Tocchet. It was less than a month ago that the Bruins and Flyers appeared close to completing a deal that would send Tocchet to the orange and black for Dale Hawerchuk and Kevin Haller. But now that Haller is gone, it would only seem likely that the two defensemen with any sort of trade value that the Flyers could afford to part with now would be Karl Dykhuis and Chris Therien. Could a package of one of these defensemen and a Flyers forward to the Bruins in exchange for Tocchet be in the near future? Possibly. Coffey's long-term impact: Well, I guess you can't call one or two seasons a long-term impact. But, bet on the fact that the man who is under contract for the next two seasons will have a significant long-term effect on this team. He's a leader who has played with other leaders, both young and old. While on Pittsburgh, his team won a Stanley Cup and his presence helped such players as Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Kevin Stevens, Jaromir Jagr and Larry Murphy excel. As a member of the Red Wings with teammates Steve Yzerman and Sergei Federov, his team made the Cup finals in '94-95. And of course, as a member of the Edmonton Oilers with future Hall-of-Famers Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, and "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky, his team won three Cups. No doubt, Coffey should be able to bring some of what he brought to the five other teams he has played for in the past, in terms of leadership and strong play on the ice. And that strong play and leadership should have a great effect on the Flyers, including center Eric Lindros. In fact, until he is able to find a permanent residence in the Philadelphia area for his family, Coffey will live with teammate, Lindros. The Flyers big gun should benefit many-fold as the season progresses with the addition of Coffey. Coming back from groin problems, in addition to his physical play, Lindros is just now beginning to come into his own by really starting to regain the scoring touch that has made one of the elite players in the NHL. Said Terry Murray after the Flyers 5-0 win over the Islanders on Eric Lindros' return to the team after his injury, "I told him this. This is the best I've seen him play since I've been here." And of course, the biggest impact that Coffey should have, short term or long term, is giving the Flyers their best shot in many years at winning Lord Stanley's Cup. Though he may not be the final piece in the puzzle, with guys like Lindros, LeClair and Hextall already here, the Flyers may have gotten themselves the missing corner piece in Coffey. ======================================================== World Domination Update, Vol.2 No.8 ======================================================== by LCS: guide to hockey Can you believe another two weeks have past? Neither can we. Time flys when you're trying to dominate the world. Here is the latest from the offices of LCS... LCS: The Announcement List Do you want to be reminded of future issues of LCS? If so, sign up for the LCS Announcement List by sending an e-mail message to zippy@psu.edu. The list will alert you to new issue releases, features and news from LCS. LCS Debut on AOL Set For December 23...Delayed by AOL Just after the exciting holiday season, LCS will open a new AOL area. The new area will mean a lot to you, our valued readers. For our readers on AOL, all LCS material from the web will be made available through the usual AOL interface. Of course, AOL users will also have the opportunity to participate in scheduled chat sessions and message boards. However, the biggest change will be in the amount of daily material LCS produces. Starting on December 23, LCS will be producing additional daily features for your reading enjoyment that will be made available to AOL users and non-AOL users alike. So, we hope that many of our loyal readers will make plans to help us celebrate the opening of our new AOL area. As the time draws closer, we will announce other new features and areas that you can expect from LCS. LCS: the hockey pool November 24th marked the end of the first epoch of the LCS pool. The top three epoch finishers will be awarded prizes at the end of the season. Please take time to find out how well your team is doing. The pool rules and results are available from LCS: the hockey pool. LCS: 'round the 'net Announcement In order to make accessing LCS easier for you, our valued readers, LCS can now be found at http://www.lcshockey.com. Eventually this will become our permanent address on the 'Net. But don't worry, our old address at http://www.canadas.net/sports/Sportif/ will remain valid. NHL Directory An addition has been made to the LCS web site. To serve you, our valued customer better, we have created the NHL Directory. A wealth of team and NHL information is included in the directory, including: arena information; team addresses, phone numbers and fax numbers; general manager, coach and captain histories; and links to team records, retired jersey numbers, current rosters and schedules. LCS: Questions o' the Month The Questions o' the Month have been a formidable challenge to all who have dared solve their riddles. So difficult are these questions that not a single soul was able to correctly all 10 Munsters trivia questions for the month of November. Needless to say we're disappointed with you, our valued readers. That's why this month we've decided to go with a classic television program you all should know, The Brady Bunch. If you answer all 10 questions right, you'll be entered in a drawing for a free LCS T-shirt. LCS: the t-shirt Offical LCS t-shirts can now be purchased by the general public. The shirts are 100% cotton and come in three colors (size XL only). All shirts sport a spiffy LCS logo on the front. To find out how to order, visit the LCS t-shirt page. Our supply of shirts is running low and once they're gone this shirt design will never be available again. Coming Soon! LCS on AOL, a classic television spokesman, the opening of the LCS Hall of Fame, and much, much more... _____________________________________________________ CREDITS Michael Dell........................Editor-in-Chief Zippy the Wonder Chimp.................Computer Boy Jim Iovino.............................Ace Reporter Matthew Secosky............................Whatever Dan Hurwitz.............Force for Cultural Hegemony John Kreiser.....................Featured Columnist David A. Feete......................Featured Writer Sandi Trudo...................Anaheim Correspondent Matt Brown.....................Boston Correspondent Valerie Hammerl...............Buffalo Correspondent WANTED........................Calgary Correspondent Dan Glovier...................Chicago Correspondent Matt Gitchell................Colorado Correspondent Jim Panenka....................Dallas Correspondent Jonah Sigel...................Detroit Correspondent Simon D. Lewis...............Edmonton Correspondent Eric A. Seiden................Florida Correspondent Steve Gallichio..............Hartford Correspondent Matt Moore................Los Angeles Correspondent Jacques Robert...............Montreal Correspondent David Ibrahim..............New Jersey Correspondent David Strauss...............Islanders Correspondent Alex Frias....................Rangers Correspondent The Nosebleeders..............Ottawa Correspondents Eric Meyer...............Philadelphia Correspondent Jeff Brown....................Phoenix Correspondent Joe Ashkar..................St. Louis Correspondent Mark Spiegel.................San Jose Correspondent Troy Ely....................Tampa Bay Correspondent Brad Ross.....................Toronto Correspondent Carol Schram................Vancouver Correspondent Jason Sheehan..............Washington Correspondent Tricia McMillan...................AHL Correspondent ---------------------------------------------------- LCS: guide to hockey issue 59 December 23 - January 7 1996.Email address: sportif@oak.westol.com Good ol' postal address: 632 Hempfield Street, Greensburg, PA 15601. Web Site: http://www.lcshockey.com/ ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------- NHL Round-up ------------------------------------------------------------- By LCS: guide to hockey General NHL News Whale Want Out of Mall The Hartford Whalers have told Gov. John G. Rowland that they will leave unless Connecticut taxpayers build them a new arena. The arena could cost as much as $240 million, the team said in a report sent to Rowland by an official of the National Hockey League team. While the 15,635-seat Civic Center is cool, even if the Whale sold out every game and maximized money from concessions and advertising, the team would continue to lose money. Like many teams, the Whale claim that only a new arena with fancy luxury box seating would help the Whale turn a profit. NHL Expansion Update The National Hockey League could add as many as four new teams, but expansion will not occur before the 1998-99 season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told general managers Thursday in Phoenix. The NHL has received expansion applications from 11 groups in eight cities. Representatives of those interests will make presentations to the league Jan. 13 and 14 in New York, said Bettman, who noted there is no timetable for reviewing those bids. Houston has submitted three applications for franchises and the following cities also have applied: Atlanta; Columbus, Ohio; Hamilton, Ontario; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Nashville, Tenn.; Norfolk, Va.; Oklahoma City and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. The fee for new franchises will be not less than $75 million and groups must meet several conditions, Bettman said. Patrick Award Winners Announced Former Buffalo Sabres owner Seymour H. Knox III, Sabres center Pat LaFontaine and Harvard Athletic Director Bill Cleary were named recipients of the 1997 Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. Knox, who brought the National Hockey League to Buffalo in 1970 and guided the Sabres for more than 25 years, died May 22nd. He served as the team's first chairman and president and represented it on the NHL Board of Governors until his death. Knox also was a driving force behind construction of the Sabres' new home, Marine Midland Arena, which was dedicated to the Knox brothers when it opened in September. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 1993. LaFontaine, a five-time All-Star, won the NHL's Bill Masterton Trophy in 1995 for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. He has represented the United States at the international level at the 1984 Winter Olympics and at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Cleary is the winningest coach in Harvard hockey history. Under his leadership, the Crimson won two ECAC championships, four Beanpot Tournament titles and 11 Ivy League crowns. As a player, he set single-season school records for goals (42) and points (89) in a season. Powell Dead at 84 Powell, who died from a heart attack last Thursday in Pittsburgh, smoked a cigar and wore a hat when he worked as a goal judge at the Civic Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He volunteered as a goal judge during the season in exchange for two seats and a parking space. He missed his first Penguins home game in 55 years only last week. Gretzky Milestone Wayne Gretzky reached the 1,800-assist plateau for his career, dishing out two on December 14 to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Gretzky set up Alexei Kovalev for No. 1,800 before setting up Brian Noonan for another in the second period. Messier Milestones Mark Messier reached the 1500 point milestone in a 7-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on December 22. Messier had 2 goals and 2 assists in the victory. His two tallies moved him past Bruins legend Johnny Bucyk into 12th place on the all-time goal scoring list with 556. He reached the 1500 point mark when he assisted Alexei Kovalev's first period goal. All-Star Update Voting for the starting line-ups for the 1997 NHL All-Star game concluded December 15. Here are the final results and starting line-ups: Eastern Conference WINGERS VOTES Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh 189,286 Dino Ciccarelli, Tampa Bay 105,830 John LeClair, Philadelphia 104,669 Bill Guerin, New Jersey 93,676 Rick Tocchet, Boston 71,870 Ray Sheppard, Florida 69,885 Zigmund Palffy, NY Islanders 67,830 Scott Mellanby, Florida 63,915 Peter Bondra, Washington 63,611 Adam Graves, NY Rangers 60,177 y-Keith Primeau, Hartford 54,605 Rod Brind'Amour, Philadelphia 51,098 Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa 46,022 Geoff Sanderson, Hartford 44,233 Steve Thomas, New Jersey 38,260 Martin Rucinsky, Montreal 38,143 Mikael Renberg, Philadelphia 36,935 x-Shayne Corson, Montreal 36,544 Mark Recchi, Montreal 32,079 CENTERS Wayne Gretzky, NY Rangers 125,793 Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh 95,174 Mark Messier, NY Rangers 93,851 Eric Lindros, Philadelphia 83,857 Pat LaFontaine, Buffalo 64,737 Vincent Damphousse, Montreal 47,912 Adam Oates, Boston 44,908 Petr Nedved, Pittsburgh 38,741 Brian Bradley, Tampa Bay 38,162 Alexei Yashin, Ottawa 31,941 Ron Francis, Pittsburgh 22,339 DEFENSEMEN Ray Bourque, Boston 184,315 Brian Leetch, NY Rangers 166,163 y-Paul Coffey, Philadelphia 159,523 Ed Jovanoski, Florida 130,965 Scott Stevens, New Jersey 125,413 Kevin Hatcher, Pittsburgh 79,823 Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey 75,557 Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia 74,781 Roman Hamrlik, Tampa Bay 69,822 Phil Housley, Washington 59,498 Robert Svehla, Florida 55,293 Darius Kasparaitis, Pittsburgh 50,152 Sergei Gonchar, Washington 37,626 Steve Duchesne, Ottawa 34,435 Garry Galley, Buffalo 28,019 Jeff Brown, Hartford 23,074 GOALTENDERS John Vanbiesbrouck, Florida 200,457 Martin Brodeur, New Jersey 95,131 Mike Richter, NY Rangers 69,863 Ron Hextall, Philadelphia 55,899 Daren Puppa, Tampa Bay 50,079 Jim Carey, Washington 46,875 Bill Ranford, Boston 36,544 Dominik Hasek, Buffalo 34,298 Jocelyn Thibeault, Montreal 33,295 Sean Burke, Hartford 30,994 x-appears on Western Conference ballot with St. Louis. Obtained by Montreal via trade, 10/29/96 y-appears on Western Conference ballot with Detroit. Obtained by Hartford via trade, 10/9/96 Western Conference WINGERS VOTES Brett Hull, St. Louis 145,830 Paul Kariya, Anaheim 127,024 Pavel Bure, Vancouver 121,297 Teemu Selanne, Anaheim 104,441 Keith Tkachuk, Phoenix 99,626 x-Brendan Shanahan, Detroit 91,244 Theoren Fleury, Calgary 85,165 Claude Lemieux, Colorado 72,992 Pat Verbeek, Dallas 55,301 Jari Kurri, Anaheim 50,810 Owen Nolan, San Jose 50,309 Trevor Linden, Vancouver 42,893 Alexander Mogilny, Vancouver 41,453 Wendel Clark, Toronto 38,148 Geoff Courtnall, St. Louis 35,800 Ulf Dahlen, San Jose 26,618 Dimitri Khristich, Los Angeles 17,662 CENTERS VOTES Joe Sakic, Colorado 152,826 Peter Forsberg, Colorado 81,948 Steve Yzerman, Detroit 63,769 Mike Modano, Dallas 56,780 Sergei Fedorov, Detroit 56,748 Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix 53,239 Ray Ferraro, Los Angeles 33,527 Mats Sundin, Toronto 30,147 Doug Gilmour, Toronto 24,040 Doug Weight, Edmonton 21,985 Jason Arnott, Edmonton 21,721 Alexei Zhamnov, Chicago 21,075 y-Pierre Turgeon, St. Louis 20,316 DEFENSEMEN VOTES Chris Chelios, Chicago 215,150 Sandis Ozolinsh, Colorado 121,811 Derian Hatcher, Dallas 94,341 Al MacInnis, St. Louis 81,323 Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit 76,183 Uwe Krupp, Colorado 74,808 Sergei Zubov, Dallas 73,316 Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit 61,514 Rob Blake, Los Angeles 55,382 Gary Suter, Chicago 53,772 Steve Chiasson, Calgary 45,862 Oleg Tverdovsky, Phoenix 44,962 Mathieu Schneider, Toronto 39,447 Jyrki Lumme, Vancouver 26,637 GOALTENDERS VOTES Patrick Roy, Colorado 208,564 Chris Osgood, Detroit 77,471 Ed Belfour, Chicago 67,622 Grant Fuhr, St. Louis 42,178 Curtis Joseph, Edmonton 41,543 Nikolai Khabibulin, Phoenix 41,135 Felix Potvin, Toronto 37,230 Trevor Kidd, Calgary 33,792 Guy Hebert, Anaheim 32,203 Kirk McLean, Vancouver 28,828 x-appears on Eastern Conference ballot, with Hartford. Obtained by Detroit via trade, 10/9/96. y-appears on Eastern Conference ballot, with Montreal. Obtained by St. Louis via trade, 10/29/96. Firings...Hirings...Signings...etc... Coyotes Fire General Manager Phoenix Coyotes general manager John Paddock was fired on December 11 after the team's 10-15-4 start. The Coyotes managed to score a mere 69 goals in that span and found themselves three points out of a playoff spot. The team announced that Bobby Smith will continue as executive vice president of hockey operations and will be directly responsible for the on-ice product of the hockey club. Keenan Sent Packing After single-handedly destroying a once proud St. Louis franchise, the Blues fired their beloved coach and general manager, Mike Keenan. Yippie, see this issues main features for full details. Meanwhile, here are the career coaching records for "Iron" Mike: Regular season Year, team W L T Pct. 84-85 Phil-x 53 20 7 .706 85-86 Phil 53 23 4 .688 86-87 Phil 46 26 8 .625 87-88 Phil 38 33 9 .531 88-89 Chi 27 41 12 .413 89-90 Chi 41 33 6 .550 90-91 Chi 49 23 8 .663 91-92 Chi 36 29 15 .544 93-94 NYR 52 24 8 .667 94-95 StL 28 15 5 .635 95-96 StL 32 34 16 .487 96-97 StL 15 17 1 .470 Totals 470 318 99 .586 x-NHL Coach of the Year Playoffs Year, team W L Pct. 84-85 Phil 12 7 .632 85-86 Phil 2 3 .400 86-87 Phil 15 11 .577 87-88 Phil 3 4 .429 88-89 Chi 9 7 .563 89-90 Chi 10 10 .500 90-91 Chi 2 4 .333 91-92 Chi 12 6 .667 93-94 NYR-z 16 7 .696 94-95 StL 3 4 .428 95-96 StL 7 6 .538 Totals 91 69 .569 z-Stanley Cup champion NHL Announces Various Things William L. Daly will join the National Hockey League as senior vice president for legal affairs in January. Daly, who worked as outside counsel to the league during collective bargaining negotiations with the players, replaces Jeffrey Pash, who is moving to the NFL as executive vice president. Bettman also announced the promotions of David Zimmerman to vice president and general counsel and Kate Jones to assistant general counsel. King Zobmo The Los Angeles Kings signed veteran defenseman Rick Zombo to a one-year contract on December 15 and announced he will report to Phoenix (IHL) for conditioning. The 33-year-old Zombo has not played this season Police Blotter: None. ------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Losses ------------------------------------------------------------- By Jason Sheehan In this month of holiday cheer, the Washington Capitals must feel like the boy who got nuttin' for Christmas. The Capitals have given goodwill to all opponents, only winning one out of eight games played in December (Dec. 20 versus San Jose) and losing nine out of their last 11 contests overall. Washington hasn't been blown out by the mediocre competition it's faced this month. Although wins have been rare and losses are coming at an alarming rate, the Capitals haven't lost a game by more than two goals, accomplished by Detroit, Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders. Due to poor play at inopportune times, the Capitals, who entered the month of December in third place overall in the Eastern Conference, have plummeted out of the playoff picture. "I can't stand to lose," said left winger Chris Simon. "It pisses me off more than anything. This is our living and our job and I think we have to wake up. "You can't blame one guy or two guys. I think it's the whole team and it's small mistakes that are causing a big problem. I just hope we can stick tightly together and pull through this, because we have a great bunch of guys on the team." Washington has had many chances to win close games, but as Simon said, precious wins are slipping through its fingers. Even with top players such as center Michal Pivonka, right winger Peter Bondra and center Joe Juneau returning from injuries, losses continue to pile up. Coach Jim Schoenfeld has stated his team no longer has any excuses for its woes. The Capitals' recent West Coast trip exemplifies exactly what can go wrong with a hockey team that lacks confidence. In San Jose on Dec. 12th, the Capitals trailed after two periods of play, 3-2 but were within striking distance. That distance widened when Tony Granato scored a short-handed goal early in the period. It all started when left winger Andrei Nikolishin threw a blind pass to startled goaltender Jim Carey. Carey then panicked and threw the puck up the middle to Tony Granato, who easily snapped a shot into the net. After suffering a 5-4 loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Dec. 13, the Capitals appeared to be back on track the next night in Los Angeles. It finally looked like the Capitals were going to end their month-long slump as they led 4-2 with approximately two minutes remaining in the game. But then tragedy struck. Kings Coach Larry Robinson deserves credit for the move of the year when he pulled former Capitals goaltender Byron Dafoe with 2:29 left in the game. Los Angeles then took advantage of the shell-shocked Capitals by scoring two quick goals to earn a tie. Philippe Boucher scored with 1:29 left and Brad Smyth single-handedly canceled Washington's victory parade with only 26 seconds left on the clock. The tie snapped a five-game losing streak, the longest in Schoenfeld's regimen, but left the Capitals with an empty feeling in their stomachs. However, it does get worse. In Phoenix on Dec. 17, the Capitals skated into the third period with a 2-1 lead but folded late as the Coyotes scored three unanswered goals and devastated the Capitals, 4-3. It was the first time the Capitals had lost when leading after two periods of play (11-1-1). When asked if it could possibly get any worse than this, Simon quickly said, "I hope not." "The thing that is costing us games are small mistakes," he continued. "I don't think you can point the finger at certain individuals. I think it's the whole team. We're all making minor mistakes that are causing major problems and the major problem is losing. "Until we can correct those mistakes, I think the games are going to keep going like this. We're going to have a 50/50 chance instead of dominating and winning a full 60 minutes." Simon's powerful words carried over into the Capitals next contest at USAir Arena for a rematch against San Jose on Dec. 20. When Simon speaks, everyone listens. Instead of being victims late in a game, the Capitals finally played the role of dominators as defenseman Phil Housley snapped out of a goal-scoring slump and broke a 2-2 tie with 2:27 remaining in the game. Housley streaked down the right side of the ice and roofed a backhand shot over goaltender Chris Terreri. However, the win was short-lived. The next night at Boston, Washington waved its magic wand once again and found a way to lose in the game's final minute. After the Capitals, who trailed by two goals going into the third period, tied the score at 3-3, Rob DiMaio netted his second goal of the contest with only 56 seconds left to catapult Boston to its third straight win. To make things worse, the Bruins found a way to win without the services of stars Rick Tocchet, Ray Bourque, Steve Heinze, and Bill Ranford. Schoenfeld just hopes his club will stop giving opponents early Christmas presents. "Losing sometimes begets more losing," said Schoenfeld after the loss in Phoenix. "I think with our crew, guys are trying to do too much. It's just a matter of recapturing our focus. We'll go back home and we'll keep teaching. The players will keep trying and it will turn itself around. I mean, it won't turn itself around, we'll turn it around." Schoenfeld continued by saying there are still many games left to be played. "There's still 100 points available to us and we're going to get a big chunk of it." When asked if the Capitals are in trouble, he spoke without hesitating and said, "No. Not at all." Yet, not everyone in the Capitals' dressing room is pessimistic. Like Simon and Schoenfeld, Bondra is blaming small mistakes for the Capitals' recent woes. He thinks the slump will soon turn into a winning streak if the Capitals stick together. "We lost the game, but we have a lot of good stuff to point [to]," said Bondra. "It's a way to dig up from the hole and take a look at the good stuff. Hopefully, the next game we'll play well the whole game, 60 minutes. We'll win that game. "We have to get some confidence back. As soon as we get that, we'll win a lot of games. We can beat any team in the league." =============================================================== Do the Right Thing: Avoid Expansion =============================================================== By Jim Iovino Eleven different applicants in nine cities are salivating at the thoughts of bringing the best ice hockey in the world to their towns, yet the NHL isn't as keen on taking the fastest game on ice to new marketplaces anytime soon. A little over a week ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that league expansion is highly unlikely for the 1997-98 season and that no firm timetable is in place for when the league will add more teams. If Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors are smart, they should put any thoughts of expansion on the back burner and let them simmer for years. NHL hockey might be the "coolest game on earth," but what fans pay big money to see on the ice today is a watered-down version of hockey filled with marginal talent and marginal action. Since 1991, the NHL has introduced five new teams, with the latest expansion in 1993, bringing the league's total number of teams to 26. And with the addition of each new team, the league's talent pool has been depleted, the style of play has changed and the game itself has evolved into a weak comparison of what it was in the past. Looking at the leading scorers for each team in the league, it is easy to see how far the talent level in the league has gone down. Fourteen of 26 teams in the NHL do not have a leading scorer who is averaging over a point per game. There are two factors in this. First of all, the number of superstars in the league does not equate with the number of teams. And second, because of the lack of superior talent, a majority of teams in the league try to make up by playing tight-checking or clutch-and-grab hockey. That means low-scoring games, trap defenses, hooking, holding and interference, smothering of the star players' talent and a general decrease in the flow of NHL games. Stars like Mario Lemieux have become frustrated with the increased clutching and grabbing throughout the league. And as well he should be. The tight-checking style of game has made the average NHL player just as valuable (if not more) as the superstar. Unfortunately, teams that pay the superstars a hell of a lot more money than other teams pay the grinders feel cheated because their stars can't accomplish what they're supposed to go out on the ice and do. Expansion would not help the cause. Adding more teams to the league would mean more marginal players added to NHL rosters -- players who in all honesty shouldn't be there. Even today there are players on big league rosters who can't excel at the minor league level, but due to the number of roster spots open on teams, and because of high salaries, those players are being used too frequently. Perhaps the last great season in the NHL was the 1992-93 campaign. The San Jose Sharks organization was already in the league for a season, while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators joined the NHL for the first time. However, even though all three teams struggled, there still seemed to be enough talent to go around. Leagues such as the IHL were developing some quality players, and the exploitation of leagues in Russia and all across Europe was in full force. While the expansion teams didn't do well on the ice, they didn't impede the progress of the rest of the league in any shape or form, either. Mario Lemieux came back to beat out Pat LaFontaine in an exciting scoring race. Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny each shocked the league by scoring 76 goals. Teams did not win by hooking and holding their opponent, but by playing better hockey. The next season Anaheim and Florida entered the league, and signs that expansion was taking its toll were everywhere. Existing rosters were depleted in order to satisfy the new teams, but capable replacements weren't available because of all the expansion over the past few seasons. Scoring was down across the board, but it was by no means due to better goaltending. Teams that didn't have great goal scorers reverted to other measures. The quality of hockey decreased throughout the league. Ever since then, the game hasn't been the same. Because more and more teams cannot spend big money to get or keep the superstars of the game, they are reverting to the clutching and grabbing of teams like the Panthers. More expansion would bring even more mediocrity than there already is in the game. The star players in the league, the ones that bring the fans into the arenas, don't like the stifling defense. And the fans don't enjoy the clutching and grabbing that creates boring, skill-less contests. So with that said, NHL expansion is a no-no: now and in the immediate future. Until the talent pool of players coming up through the system can be replenished and the quality of hockey is comparable to that of recent seasons, the NHL should be happy with the 26-team league already in place. If the league ever does decide to expand, the staff of LCS will personally drive to New York and will beat Commissioner Gary Bettman, or the current NHL weasel of choice, viscously about the head and shoulders with nickel-filled socks, to illustrate the league's selling out. We will then shout at the top of our lungs, "Take that, commissioner-boy! How you like them apples? Huh? How you like them apples?" We don't exactly know what that means... but we really hate apples. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Murray Burning for Chance with Flames ---------------------------------------------------------------- by Tricia McMillan Hockey is played in countries all over the world today, and over a dozen nations have produced at least one player presently in the NHL. So ordinarily it wouldn't be so surprising that a player was discovered in Japan... except that this player also happened to be a two time All-Star in the Western Hockey League. Strange but true, Calgary's Marty Murray was one of the WHL's top players with the Brandon Wheat Kings but went unscouted and unnoticed until he went to Japan with Canada's under 18 team in 1992 and an NHL head coach happened to be in attendance. "I was selected to play for Canada in the Pacific Cup in Japan, and Dave King was over there," explains the loquacious Murray. King was at the time the head coach for Calgary and spending his summer assisting the tournament's organizers. While Murray caught King's eye, Calgary never approached Murray prior to the draft and surprised him by drafting him in the fourth round in 1993. Central Scouting had failed to even rank Murray, despite his scoring prowess with Brandon as he totalled 94 points the season prior to the draft. "It was very disappointing... it was frustrating," Murray says. "This type of thing motivates me and it turns out everything's worked out well. Hopefully after my hockey career's done I can look back and kinda chuckle about it." Other teams aren't chuckling about their failure to notice Murray; not only did he continue to score at a torrid pace for Brandon, leading the entire WHL in assists during the 94-95 season, but he was named Best Forward at the 1995 World Junior Championships as he won gold with Team Canada. Murray's performance in the tournament (15 points in seven games) finally got him some attention. "You know you're playing against the best hockey players in the world and just the opportunity to get a chance to represent your country is a great experience," thinks Murray. "It definitely elevates your game." Murray, now 21, got more attention in the AHL, where he was first named to the 95-96 Canadian All-Star team and then earned Rookie of the Game honors in the somewhat undignified guise of the 'Ritz Air Crisps' award. No matter what the name of the award and despite some butterflies, Murray enjoyed the trip to Hershey. "It was a little bit nerve-wracking, my first year pro to be playing in the AHL All-Star Game, but it was a great experience," he says. "There's going to be a lot of scouts there and everything, you know you have to go there and make a great impression, but it's just a lot of fun and definitely I was glad to be a part of it." A gifted passer and exceptional playmaker, Murray started the 95-96 season in Calgary, playing in 15 games and posting numbers somewhat more typical of a Lady Byng winner (0 PiMs) than an Art Ross winner (3 G, 3 A, 6 Pts) and promptly found himself dispatched to Saint John to get his professional legs under him. "It's just that guys are older and stronger and the game's that much more faster and everybody's committed to playing defense [in the pros]. The points you used to get in junior don't come as easy here," says Murray. "[The AHL]'s a good developmental league as far as getting better, it'll definitely help me. I think it's really beneficial to anybody playing in the AHL just to get a taste of what pro hockey's like." In Saint John Murray's offensive numbers were more to expectations (GP 58, 25 G, 31 A, 56 pts) and he did get a few penalty minutes - 20. Theoren Fleury he ain't, despite being of somewhat similar size and an admirer of his team captain. At 5'9", 170 lbs, Murray doesn't cut an imposing figure on the ice, and his lack of size was responsible for some of the lack of scouting attention. But he bristles at the idea he's not big enough for the NHL. "I think there's always people that are going to say I'm too small to play but that's a bit of an incentive for me. I think I have the heart and character that it takes to play in the NHL," he says. "I got to play in a few games last year and I held my own pretty good, I feel that I can be an NHL player." Murray hails from Deloraine, Manitoba, population definitely small. "I come from a town of 30 people believe or not," he says, "So I had to travel... I played hockey in a little town called Pierson, Manitoba." And while many Canadians start playing at a young age, not many start younger than Murray did. "I started playing hockey when I wasn't even two years old yet!" he notes. "I'd seen all my older cousins and friends pick it up and from day one I was interested." In keeping with his somewhat unusual track to the top, Manitoban Murray grew up a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, and even though he was a high-scoring forward, his hero was a defensive forward: Bob Gainey. "You always like the guy who was the captain. I really like the way he worked and seemed to dedicate himself to the game," he explains. Despite being a top-flight scorer, Murray feels there's much more to the game than just scoring. "You can't play as an individual, you've got to use your teammates around you," he thinks. He cites becoming a two-way player and being dependable for his teammates as his goals for his time in Saint John. But... "I don't want to be here [in Saint John]," Murray says rather bluntly. He got off to a good start, as Murray presently leads the young Flames in scoring (10 G, 24 A, 34 Pts). (Murray was recalled to Calgary shortly after this interview but played only two games before being returned to Saint John.) Murray has plenty of incentive to return to the NHL, as the first trip made everything worthwhile. "Scoring my first NHL goal, it's just an unbelievable feeling," he says, "It's hard to describe, but you see the puck go over the line and all the years you put into the game and all the work you did, it seems it paid off. Playing against the Gretzkys and the Fedorovs... you try not to be in awe but it's pretty exciting to be out on the ice with those guys." But regardless of when he returns to the NHL for good, Murray doesn't feel hockey is only about making it to the top. "Just have fun and work at it and enjoy yourself and make lots of new friends," he suggests to hockey hopefuls, "'cause it doesn't last forever and you've definitely got to enjoy it while you can." -------------------------------------------------------------- Where Have You Gone, Boudaboum? -------------------------------------------------------------- by Michael Dell Do you feel it? There's almost a palpable sense of longing in the air these days around NHL arenas. Something is definitely wrong. The league is just not the same as it once was. While some scratch their heads in wonderment while contemplating the source of the discontent, LCS has the answer. To us, the missing ingredient is quite obvious. And it has been missing since the end of the 1994-95 season. It's the one personality that used to energize fans from around the globe with wacky high jinks and kooky dancing, while all the while staying true to the tradition and spirit of the game. We are of course talking about Boudaboum, the former mascot of the Quebec Nordiques. He may have appeared to be a big blue furry freak to many, but to us he was a hero, a role model, a way of life. Boudaboum embodied everything that was good about the NHL, without ever getting bogged down in the hypocrisy that often characterizes the league. He was fun, exciting, and good-natured, everything a mascot should be. Whether it was dancing to the latest tunes or just goofing around with the kids, Boudaboum always entertained. He was the personification of team spirit. Yes, he was the perfect mascot. Sadly, those glorious days are now just a memory. When the Nordiques moved south following the 1994-95 season to become the Colorado Avalanche, Boudaboum was left behind. While the team he so dutifully supported during the many lean years in Quebec was busy winning a championship, Boudaboum wasn't there to sip from the Cup or place a ring on his finger. In fact, no one seems to know where Boudaboum was. Or is, for that matter. Almost faster than his rise to prominence in the field of mascots, Boudaboum has seemingly disappeared from the pubic's consciousness. With the people of Quebec City still mourning the loss of their franchise and the citizens of Colorado busy celebrating their champions, Boudaboum's plight has gone unnoticed. Where is he? What has he been doing? Is he in need of help? The questions come easily, yet the answers are hard to find. Well, LCS is here to get to the bottom of the mystery. We have officially undertaken the "Search for Boudaboum". LCS will not rest until he is found. Then it is our intention to make Boudaboum the official mascot of LCS, that is if he's kind enough to have us. We started our search by digging into Boudaboum's past in order to try and find some clues to his current whereabouts. Unfortunately, there just aren't a lot of resources available on the subject. With the normal outlets exhausted, we turned to our pimp informants. As usual, they did the job. Of course, this following time line of events is built entirely upon pimp informant tips. So if some of the dates turn out to be wrong, blame the pimps, not us. I repeat, blame the pimps, not us. As near as we can tell, Boudaboum was born in Quebec City around 1960. There wasn't a lot of information available about his parents, but we're assuming they were circus people for the obvious reasons. It's not certain when exactly he chose to become a mascot, however, when one looks like Boudaboum, the choices in life are rather limited. While Quebec was always in his heart, there is plenty of evidence that shows Boudaboum did live in the United States for several years. Most notably, his graduating from the Certified Mascots University (CMU) located in Fernwood, Ohio. After honing his craft in the specialized institute, Boudaboum was quickly signed up by the Quebec Nordiques to become the club's official mascot in the fall of 1983. His impact on the team, and the very league itself, was both immediate and profound. Boudaboum elevated the entire mascot profession with his electric dance numbers and kooky shenanigans. With Boudaboum quickly making Le Colisee the most exciting arena in the league, superstardom came knocking on his door. Offers to appear in commercials, television shows, and movies came rolling in by the truckloads. Despite the many lucrative offers, Boudaboum refused to sell out, wanting instead to stay true to his art form. In fact, few people, if any, knew Boudaboum away from the rink. When he wasn't busy entertaining the crowds at Le Colisee, he was an intensely private mascot. He would normally spend off days held up in his downtown loft apartment, occasionally sneaking out after sunset to take a rare constitutional. Traces of a personal life are scarce at best, although he was once romantically linked to Victoria Secret model Stephanie Seymour for a short time in the late 80s. The relationship didn't last long. Despite all her undeniable charms, Ms. Seymour could not compete with Boudaboum's one true love... entertaining crowds. In order to try and get to know Boudaboum a little better, LCS attempted to track down some important people from his past. While most leads only brought dead ends lined with aggravation, we were able to contact Professor Charles Robinson, the headmaster of CMU. "I still remember the day he arrived at the steps of the University, a naive innocent from Quebec City," remembered Professor Robinson. "It's hard to believe that youngster would one day become the greatest mascot in the world." Boudaboum's adjustment to college life in Ohio was a smooth one. It wasn't long before he was a big man on campus. "He was well-liked by every one and an excellent student," proclaimed Robinson. "He graduated at the top of his class with honors. I think few in attendance will ever forget his valedictorian address. There wasn't a dry eye in the house... it was just that funny" Boudaboum attended CMU from 1978-1982, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in General Tomfoolery. While at school, Boudaboum harnessed the skills that would one day make him a legend in the field. "He was a rather quiet kid, kept to himself a lot," remembers Robinson. "Yet put him in front of an audience and he'd illuminate even the darkest of rooms with his personality and showmanship. He was just a natural performer." One day in particular stands out in Robinson's mind. It was the day that he knew his prized pupil was on the threshold of greatness. It was March 23, 1977. Boudaboum was representing CMU in the finals of the North American Mascot Challenge. On this occasion the competition, which is held annually to recognize and honor up-and-coming mascots, was being held in the gymnasium of CMU's local arch-rival, Mascot Tech. The room was packed to the rafters with rowdy Tech fans screaming for the hometown favorite, Bippy the Snow Elf. But that didn't bother Boudaboum. "I can still see Boudaboum strutting out on stage with courage in his heart and defiance in his eyes," tells Robinson. "Most mascots would have been terrified to try and entertain such a mob, but not Boudaboum. He wasn't intimidated by the crowd's harassment. In fact, I think he fed off it." As soon as the first chords of Disco Inferno hit the air, Boudaboum was a dancing blue blur of brilliance. He performed with such ease and grace that even the staunchest Mascot Tech supporter soon fell prey to Boudaboum's greatness. In a matter of seconds, the entire auditorium was won over behind the strength of his creative genius. A new convert was made with each new hand jive or pelvic thrust the furry blue Astaire put forth. It was obvious to Robinson at the time that the crowd was witnessing something special. "It was simply amazing. Even now it's hard to put into words. I remember one sequence where Boudaboum did two cartwheels into a handstand and then three forward somersaults before hopping in the air and landing in a split. The real effective part tho' was when at the end he turned and sold it with a look. All this while wearing a dress and playing the trumpet... like I said, it was amazing." By the end of Boudaboum's spirited routine, the outcome of the competition was a foregone conclusion. With the once hostile crowd now chanting his name and urging him on with rhythmic applause, Boudaboum displayed his professionalism by politely bowing to the masses and then quietly walking off stage. The magnitude of the performance was not lost on the other finals participant, Bippy the Snow Elf. Once considered the favorite on his home turf, Bippy was reduced to a quivering sack of insecurity by the dazzling display he had just witnessed. His coaches and teammates tried to reassure him, but the words rang hollow. Everyone in attendance knew who the true champion was. Bippy never did take the stage that day. Sadly, the now fanatical pro-Boudaboum crowd didn't even notice. "Yeah, I really felt bad for Bippy the Snow Elf," admits Robinson. "Everyone was so excited by Boudaboum's performance, that Bippy sort of got lost in the shuffle. Bippy never really was the same after that." Truer words were never spoken. Just as fate brought the two together on that day in 1982, the same mystical force soon had the two mascots traveling in distinctly opposite directions. While Boudaboum skyrocketed to superstardom with the Quebec Nordiques, a far different hand was dealt to Bippy. After having his confidence shattered and his sole meaning for existence questioned, Bippy became reclusive and dropped out of Mascot Tech. With nowhere else to go, he turned to the one friend he had left. The bottle. "I was a mess," confesses a now sober Bippy. "I just wandered around from town to town getting plastered and picking up loose women. Basically my life was a series of honkey tonks and one- nighters with no place to go when the bars closed." While it may sound glamorous at first, the appeal of Bippy's self-indulgent lifestyle quickly faded. He poured a little bit of his soul into every glass. Each bottle emptied was another step down the path to self-destruction. While it didn't take long before he hit rock bottom, it took many years before he realized it. "I was so drunk that I don't remember how I got there, but I do remember waking up one morning laying face down in the gutter. I always thought that was just an expression, but there I was in the gutter. So I guess it really does happen." Having no desire to pull himself from the filth, Bippy continued to remain motionless in the watery grime of the city street waiting patiently for the icy cold grip of death to free him from his mortal hell. Thankfully, a different hand reached forth to offer help. This one was blue and furry. "At first I thought I was hallucinating, I did that a lot back then. But there he was, Boudaboum in all his glory. It had been almost ten years since the competition, but there he was standing over me reaching out his hand. I was too wasted to stand, so he picked me up and began carrying me down the street. He saved my life that night. Boudaboum saved my life," recalled a tearful Bippy. >From that point on, Boudaboum took Bippy under his wing and gave the lost mascot the guidance he so desperately needed. The two became inseparable as Boudaboum slowly helped Bippy rebuild his fractured life. "I'll never forget what he did for me. He nursed me back to health and got me to kick the bottle for good. I've been clean ever since. Without Boudaboum doing what he did, I wouldn't be here today. He was just a wonderful... wonderful... well, whatever the hell he was, he was wonderful." The reason that Boudaboum was able to help Bippy was that he traveled a similar road earlier in life. It seems after one particularly strenuous performance during his early days as a mascot, Boudaboum was turned on to pain killers by a colleague. At first he just used them to get through the rough times, but soon he was popping them even on days when he didn't perform. Since he was always somewhat aloof, no one noticed the addiction taking root. After months of denial, Boudaboum finally admitted he had a problem when he no longer felt the passion to go out and excite crowds with his wacky antics. Once he recognized the problem, Boudaboum conquered his addiction thanks to his strong will and the ability to throw himself into his performing. Even so, it was a painful battle that he had to fight by himself. In helping Bippy, he was trying to make sure at least one other mascot wouldn't have to go it alone. "Whenever I came close to falling off the wagon, Boudaboum was there to catch me. He was a tremendous example of what clean living could do for a mascot. After all, he was in a similar situation to myself not long before, and he made it back. And I knew if he could do it, then it was possible. Once I knew that, and with his constant support, staying sober was easy." With Bippy's alcoholism put behind them, Boudaboum then set his attention towards rebuilding Bippy's career as a mascot. It wasn't easy. Word had gotten around the mascot community of Bippy's battle with the bottle. Even though he was now clean, there wasn't exactly a line of employers throwing contracts Bippy's way. And when Boudaboum was able to convince someone to give his apprentice an audition, things didn't always go as planned. "Those first few job interviews were tough. Boudaboum had helped me get my timing back and even wrote a few killer routines for me, but getting over the fear of taking the stage again was extremely difficult," admitted Bippy. After several failed attempts, Boudaboum finally got Bippy over his stage fright during an audition for the organizers of the Quebec City Winter Carnival. "It was really kind of ironic that the one guy that made me feel so inferior and not worthy of being a mascot all those many years ago, was now urging me back on to the stage. He just kept telling me that I was a great mascot and that I could do it. I didn't believe him at first, but then I realized, hey, this is Boudaboum talkin'... he's the greatest mascot in the world... he can recognize talent when he sees it." His spirits lifted by Boudaboum's words of encouragement, Bippy did indeed retake the stage. Drawing from the strength of his friend waiting in the wings, Bippy impressed the organizers of the Winter Carnival so much, that they signed him to a contract on the spot. The long journey back was complete. Bippy was once again a true mascot. "I was so excited to be a mascot again, you wouldn't believe it. It was such a great feeling. Yet it couldn't compare to the feeling I got when Boudaboum put his arm around me afterwards and said how proud he was of me. That was special... that was something special..." How proud was Boudaboum? Well, a few nights later he brought Bippy out to center ice at a Nordiques home game to take part in a ceremonial faceoff. The occasion? To commemorate Bippy's return. "That's when I knew I was back for real. That night was so special to me. There I was at center ice at an NHL hockey game with all the fans at Le Colisee cheering for me and welcoming me to the city. It was a dream come true." Soon Bippy's gig with the Winter Carnival led to bigger and better things. This combined with Boudaboum's duties as the Nordiques mascot meant that the two friends began to see less and less of each other. Although his mentor wasn't always around in person, Bippy always carried Boudaboum's spirit with him wherever he went and stayed true to the clean-living example his blue buddy offered. It appeared both mascots were at the top of the hill when disaster struck in the summer of 1995. The Quebec Nordiques were sold to the Comsat Corporation and the franchise was being moved to Denver, Colorado. Bippy received a desperate phone call. "I was living in Malibu at the time, doing some work on Baywatch when I got the call. I'll never forget the fear in his voice when he spoke. He was so scared. He knew the club wasn't going to take him with 'em. He was just so scared. I was due on the set and told him to just sit tight and I'd call him later that night, but I never did get a hold of him again. That was the last time I talked to him. Now I'm the one that's scared." It's been nearly 18 months and still no word from Boudaboum. Bippy fears that the sudden shock of the Nordiques leaving Quebec may have sent his friend back down the path to drug abuse. "The move had to be just devastating for Boudaboum. He lived and breathed Nordiques hockey. He bled baby blue. Being tossed aside like that had to be terrible for him. I just hope he's alive and okay. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him... and miss him." Considering Boudaboum's troubled past and the concerns of Bippy, LCS thought it might be a good idea to talk to an expert on such matters. So we contacted Greensburg, Pennsylvania's own Dr. Martin Abernathy, who is a practicing Psychologist specializing in depression. Dr. Abernathy helped the staff of LCS through a very troubling time in our lives, when the Starsky and Hutch reruns were taken off the air, and we were hoping he could shed some light on Boudaboum's current state of mind. "It's not uncommon for people to fall into a deep depression upon losing employment," explained Dr. Abernathy. "I'm not familiar with the workings of a mascot's brain, having never treated one myself, but I would imagine it would be quite similar to that of a human's." "The key is to empathize with Boudaboum and his situation. One has to actually go inside his skin, or fur as the case may be, and feel what he must have felt. There he was performing his heart out in order to try and cheer up the Quebec crowds and urge on his team, and he gets rewarded with the loss of his job. But it just wasn't a job to Boudaboum, it was his life. And to make matters worse, there was absolutely no chance of him ever getting it back. The Colorado Avalanche will never return to Quebec and be the Nordiques. Those days are gone forever. There's nothing Boudaboum could do to set things straight. Not only did he lose a job, he lost his whole world." When told of Boudaboum's past addiction to pain killers, Dr. Abernathy's outlook on the situation became even more bleak. "Unfortunately, it is very common for past drug abusers to return to the safety of their addiction when faced with times of adversity. The fact that he has been missing so long, and has been known to succumb to such dangers before, is very disturbing." LCS feels it's our duty to try and find Boudaboum before it's too late. Perhaps we're overreacting. Maybe he just got a gig pumping gas at a petrol station in some Quebec suburb. Then again, he could be huddled up in the corner of an abandoned warehouse with a glossy look in his eyes and a needle sticking out his arm. LCS will not rest until Boudaboum is found. We are begging you, our valued readers, to please help in our quest. If you have a tip on the current whereabouts of Boudaboum, please email us at sportif@oak.westol.com Even if you don't have a tip on where we might find Boudaboum, please feel free to write with your fond memories of the gentle blue giant. Next issue, we hope to compile a list of memorable Boudaboum moments so that it may help comfort his many fans in this time of need. It's LCS' dream to once again see Boudaboum strutting his stuff to the delight of a frenzied arena crowd. If we all pull together and do our part, LCS knows its dream will become a reality. Stay true, Boudaboum... wherever you are. =============================================================== Brett Hull Hits 500 =============================================================== by Michael Dell Hey, Mike Keenan? Now what's up? Perhaps in a good-bye gesture to the former St. Louis Blues coach, Brett Hull recorded three goals in a 7-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night, December 22, to become the 24th player in NHL history to reach the magical 500-goal milestone. The hat trick was the 26th of Hull's career and gives him 15 goals on the season. It was originally thought that Hull notched number 500 twenty seconds into the third period, only to have the goal taken away about five minutes later when video replays showed the shot had actually been deflected off Stephane Matteau's leg. Not wanting to let the special night slip away, Hull went back to work and rifled a shot past Stephane Fiset at the 10:25 mark to secure his legendary status for a second time. LCS planned to have a real nice retrospective on Hull's career when he reached 500, but there just wasted enough time before the deadline to get something done. So we'll run it next issue. This is just too big of a story to do a rush job on, and we felt we should at least include some sort of feature on it this time. Seeing how this is hardly large enough to call a feature, in order to take up more space I will now hum. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (gasp) hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (gasp) hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Keenan Fan Club President Mourning ---------------------------------------------------------------- by Michael Dell On December 19, Mike Keenan was relieved of his coaching and general manager duties by the St. Louis Blues organization. A few moments later, the entire city of St. Louis let out a collective "Yippee!" The news was greeted with similar results all around the hockey world. However, there was one person who was rather distressed by word of the firing. No, not Keenan's psychologist. I'm of course talking about that wild and wacky president of the Official Mike Keenan Fan Club, Kenny Bloom. For those of you not around last issue, LCS discovered Kenny practically in our own backyard, operating a Tasty Freeze ice cream parlor in nearby Youngwood, Pennsylvania. He became enamored with the former St. Louis coach when Keenan gave him a five-dollar tip on a free cup of ice chips while passing through town last Spring. Kenny was so inspired by this accidental brush with greatness, that he eventually founded the fan club as a way of honoring his new-found hero. While few will consider the club's membership large, unless you're often impressed by the number four, Kenny's dedication to his idol is certainly something to behold. It only seemed fair that we contact Kenny again this week to get his reactions to the recent events. Here now, is a transcript of our latest conversation with Kenny.
LCS: Kenny, first off, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us again. We really appreciate it. Kenny: No problem, it's my pleasure. Luckily, with it being so cold out, business at the Tasty Freeze is kind of slow. At least now I have time to mourn. LCS: Yeah, I didn't want to say anything, but I thought it was kind of odd that you were wearin' all black. Kenny: Oh, well, that doesn't have anything to do with Mike Keenan... it's just every Thursday I like to pay tribute to Johnny Cash. LCS: I'd ask what that means, but I'm afraid you'd tell me. Back to the matter at hand, how are you dealing with the news of Mike Keenan's firing? Kenny: Well, I'll be honest, it hasn't been easy. Somehow without Mike behind the St. Louis bench, life just isn't the same. It's as if my whole world got flipped upside down. Things are even different down at the old Tasty Freeze. The chocolate doesn't taste as rich, the sprinkles don't look as colorful, and the cones taste a little stale. Each morning when I arrive at work, I bow to the six-foot poster of Mike above the register just like normal, but somehow it's not the same. LCS: Speaking of the Tasty Freeze, what was that motto you wrote for it? I know you told me last time, but I can't remember. I do recall it being extremely clever. Think you could learn me? Kenny: I am kind of proud of it, I wrote it myself ya know? Anyway, the Tasty Freeze motto is "If it ain't frozen and it ain't tasty... then it's not Tasty Freeze." LCS: Ah, yes, that was great, that was fun. But listen, I think I came up with a motto your fan club could use for Mike Keenan. Kenny: Oh, how wonderful! I can't wait to hear it! LCS: Ready? Kenny: Yeah. LCS: Okay, here goes. "If he ain't insane and he ain't unemployed... then he's not Mike Keenan." Kenny: That's not very funny. LCS: Sorry, I was just trying to help. So how's the rest of the fan club taking it? Kenny: Mother is just heartbroken. Although, come to think of it, that might just be because she missed Matlock last week. Mother just loves Andy Griffith. LCS: How about your brother? Kenny: Yeah, Chester likes Andy Griffith too. But he prefers the old Andy Griffith Show to Matlock. LCS: No, you knucklehead, I was talking about Keenan... how does he feel about Keenan? Kenny: Oh, well, actually I'm not sure if Chet has heard the news. He's been kind of busy since he got his job at the bowling alley back. LCS: Hey, Kenny, that reminds me of a riddle I heard about Mike Keenan. Maybe you could use it at one of your next meetings. Would you like to hear it? Kenny: um, okay... LCS: What's the difference between Mike Keenan and your brother Chester? Kenny: I don't know, what? LCS: Your brother has a job. Kenny: That's not very funny. LCS: I'm sorry. So, how's your dog been lately? He is the fourth and final member of the fan club right? Kenny: Lightning has been just fine, but I must correct you, he's not the last member of the club. LCS: Really? Did you guys snag a new member over the last week? Kenny: Actually we got five new members. LCS: Wow! Five new members? That's mighty impressive. Who are they? Kenny: Well, they're right here, let me introduce you. This here is Leroy. To his left is Charlie, Stevie, Dwayne, and Pepe. They're all really big Mike Keenan fans. LCS: Um, Kenny? Kenny: Yes? LCS: There's no one else here... it's just you and me buddy. Kenny: Alright guys, settle down! Dwayne, give Pepe back his sombrero! Don't throw it, hand it to him! Charlie, get off the table! Okay, now look at what you did! That's it, if you guys can't behave you'll have to go wait outside on the burro! Now go on, git! I'm sorry about that, but sometimes the guys get a little rowdy. LCS: You're really taking Keenan's firing kind of hard, aren't you, Kenny? Kenny: Yeah, I guess so. LCS: I think now would probably be a good time to end the interview, with you scaring the hell out of me and all, but before you go, how'd you like to hear a swell knock-knock joke about Mike Keenan? You could share it with the guys on the long burro ride home. It's pretty funny... Kenny: Well, okay... as long as you're sure it doesn't make fun of him. LCS: Oh, of course it doesn't. Kenny: Okay, what is it? LCS: Knock knock. Kenny: Who's there? LCS: Mike Keenan. Kenny: Mike Keenan who? LCS: Mike Keenan who needs a job! Kenny: That's not very funny. LCS: Well, I originally heard it in Canadian, so it probably lost something in the translation. Let me try it again. Knock knock. Kenny: Who's there? LCS: Mike Keenan. Kenny: Mike Keenan who? LCS: Mike Keenan who needs a job, eh! Kenny: That's still not very funny. LCS: Neither is what Keenan did to the Blues franchise. =============================================================== Special LCS Christmas Interview: Elmo =============================================================== by Michael Dell By now everyone knows that the hottest toy this Christmas season is none other than "Tickle Me Elmo". Basically, it's a stuffed vibrating version of the popular Sesame Street character. Yet despite its simplicity, the little fellahs are flying off the shelves at record pace. Never wanting to let a chance for cheap commercialism pass us by, we here at LCS tried to cash in on the toy's popularity by marketing "Tickle Me Zippy". Granted, we don't have the money to actually produce stuffed versions of Zippy, but that didn't stop us. Instead, we simply constructed a makeshift wooden booth that we set up in front of Sportif tours, the 32-story headquarters of LCS: Guide to Hockey located in the heart of the thriving metropolis that is Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and took Zippy to the streets for all the world to enjoy. The plan was simple. Give us a dollar and you get to tickle Zippy. Dollar, tickle, dollar, tickle, dollar, tickle. Seemed easy enough, right? That's what we thought. Then Zippy had to go and bite some little kid's finger off. I mean, really, big deal! The kid's got nine more, for cryin' out loud! But no! We had to shut down operations just because of a little blood. If Jim Henson was treated like this, the "Muppets" probably never would have gotten off the ground. Anyway, we were kind of bummed out when our newest get-rich-quick scheme ended in failure. However, our spirits were lifted when Elmo, the Sesame Street character himself, agreed to do an interview with us. The results were kind of surprising. Here now, is the transcript of that interview.
LCS: Elmo, thanks for chatting with us. Are you havin' a festive holiday season? Elmo: Yeeeeeeees! A very festive holiday season! It's such a wonderful time of year! I just love seeing people happy! LCS: Well, you certainly are making a lot of children happy this year. But I can't speak for their parents who have to try and find a "Tickle Me Elmo". What's it like being the inspiration behind the hottest Christmas toy? Elmo: Oh, it's wonderful! I love making people happy! The season is all about love and I just like to try and spread love wherever I go! LCS: I've seen you on TV a lot lately promoting the stuffed version of yourself. Do you enjoy doing such publicity tours? Elmo: Oh, yeeeeeeees! LCS: Are you sure? Because you look kind of tired to me. Elmo: No, really, I just love it... it's wonderful! I love to help spread love! LCS: Are you really, really sure? Because, I don't know, you just seem a little off to me? Elmo: No, I'm sure... I love it... it's wonderful... i love to spread love and all that jazz... yadda, yadda, yadda... LCS: See right there! That's what I'm talkin' about! You just seem different somehow. Are you sure the hectic pace of the season isn't starting to get to you a little bit? Elmo: Listen, punk. Who the hell's hand is up your a**? Because he must not be hearin' too well! Listen to me when I'm talkin' to ya, boy! I'm cuttin', but you ain't bleedin'! I love spreading love! Christmas is wonderful! I love it! Got it, slappy? LCS: Now see, I think somethin's wrong... you just don't seem yourself... you never talked like that on Sesame Street. Elmo: How the f*** would you know? You don't f***** know me, man! Hey, in case you haven't noticed, Sesame Street is just a TV show! Hello? It's make believe! Earth to, dumb***? Come in, dumb***? LCS: Are you feeling all right? Elmo: Yeah, I'm feelin' f***** great. But I'd feel better with a smoke. Can I smoke in here, or are you gonna be a d*** about it? Elmo: Um, well, do you think you really should? I mean kids do look up to you... Elmo: Hey, I'm not a f***** role model for no punk*** kids. I'm not a parent either. Well, I guess I could be... somewhere... but I like to keep movin', if you know what I mean? Elmo don't hang around for breakfast, if you catch my drift. LCS: That's terrible! What kind of a muppet are you? Elmo: F*** you, dude! And f*** your gay a** hockey rag! You guys blow anyway. And just so you know, Johnny Cullen f***** sucks. LCS: Watch yourself. Elmo: Why what are you gonna do about it, you f**itty a** punk? I'll make you my b****, fool! LCS: Elmo, why don't you just calm down. Elmo: Don't tell me what to do, b****! Elmo does whatever the f*** he wants! Got that, turkey? LCS: I just can't help but think that when people read this they'll be turned off. Elmo: Whatever, b****. Like anyone even reads your piece of s*** rag! More people read my grocery list than read this s***! LCS: Yeah, I could see that. You've probably got like butlers and stuff, huh? Elmo: You got that straight, mutha f*****! Now I gots to go. I've got an interview with Katie Couric tomorrow morning and she's one bad little mamma. Peace, I'm out.
So, there you have it. Rather enlightening, wouldn't you say? ================================================================= TEAM REPORTS ================================================================= EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION ----------------------------------------------------------------- FLORIDA PANTHERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Doug MacLean Roster: C - Brian Skrudland, Rob Niedermayer, Martin Straka, Steve Washburn. LW - Johan Garpenlov, Dave Lowry, Bill Lindsay, Mike Hough, Radek Dvorak. RW - Scott Mellanby, Ray Sheppard, Jody Hull, Tom Fitzgerald, Jason Podollan. D - Robert Svehla, Gord Murphy, Ed Jovanovski, Paul Laus, Terry Carkner, Rhett Warrener, Per Gustafsson. G - John Vanbiesbrouck, Mark Fitzpatrick. Injuries: Rob Niedermayer, c (MCL tear, out until late December/early January); NOTE: The flu has been making the rounds of the team and on any given night a few players have been scratched for this; listing them all would be a duplication of the team roster. No player has missed more than two games as the result of this unwelcome visitor. Transactions: None. Game Results: 12/10 at Philadelphia L 5-4 12/11 at Hartford L 5-2 12/15 Edmonton W 6-3 12/19 at Ottawa L 5-2 12/20 at Chicago W 3-1 12/22 at NY Rangers TEAM NEWS by Eric Seiden "It's another hockey night in South Florida, and here come your Panthers," bellowed the announcer happily as the Panthers returned from their first two-game losing streak this season. But the streak, happily ended at just two. For the Panthers every win this month is very important. Playing fifteen of the next nineteen on the road and only four games at home for the entire month of December wears hard on any team. After a disappointing two-game road trip, the Panthers came home. They were badly outplayed by the Flyers and were handed a rare lose in Philadelphia. The Panthers usually win on the road against Philly but not this time. By game's end in the City of Brotherly Love, twelve players were jammed into two penalty boxes, setting a team record for the Panthers. And then the next day against Hartford, the Panthers took a commanding lead of 2-0 only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by allowing four unanswered goals (the fifth being an empty-netter). It wasn't a proud moment in Panthers history. Fortunately the streak did end. The Panthers came home to host Edmonton and went up 3-0 in the first period before the Oilers came back and tied it at 3-3. The Panthers then rang up three more to secure a 6-3 win. The resemblance to a hockey team was minimal as the Panthers defense fell apart in the middle of the game only to spring back to life late. But Edmonton didn't have the heart it takes to beat the Panthers. As everyone is aware, the 15th of December began league-wide enforcement of the goalie pad regulations. In a disturbing note, I must state that personal observation clearly indicated that John Vanbiesbrouck and Curtis Joseph's pads were noticeably much smaller in this battle. Mark Fitzpatrick, who did not play, wore his usual pads. For the Ottawa game, the Panthers came to play a full half game, and it showed. The Panthers rolled over and played dead for large portions of the contest. But as the beginning of a long, arduous road trip, it was a worrisome omen. This horrendous loss by Vanbiesbrouck would see him sit the next night in Chicago while Fitzpatrick started. Fortunately, the Panthers responded against the Hawks. Chicago which has been in the midst of a home losing streak came to play, and though the Blackhawks clearly outplayed the Panthers, they lost the game anyway. Sadly, the Blackhawks game marked many forgettable moments. Chicago had two goals disallowed as being after the whistle. The first one was clearly a good call. The second was clearly in the net long before the whistle. After the game, even goaltender Mark Fitzpatrick conceded this point. Fortunately, while the call was bad it did not decide the outcome of the game as only a few seconds were left. A rain of litter came down on the ice from Chicago fans causing a delay of over five minutes. The NHL's rule of littering the ice remained untested despite this. The Chicago game marked the return of Johan Garpenlov from over five weeks of absence with a torn MCL. This is sharply contrasted to Martin Straka who, while still playing on the ice every game, has been making serious turnovers and skating as if he's not playing the same game as the rest of the team. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEW JERSEY DEVILS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Jacques Lemaire Roster: C - Bob Carpenter, Bobby Holik, Sergei Brylin. LW - Dave Andreychuk, Steve Thomas, Mike Peluso, Valeri Zelepukin, Brian Rolston, Jay Pandolfo, Patrik Elias. RW - Bill Guerin, John MacLean, Randy McKay, Reid Simpson, Denis Pederson. D - Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, Lyle Odelein, Shawn Chambers, Jason Smith, Rickard Persson, Kevin Dean. G - Martin Brodeur, Mike Dunham. Injuries: Reid Simpson, rw (achy all over, indefinite); Petr Sykora, c (groin, one week); Steve Thomas, lw (ankle, out one week); Bobby Carpenter, c (bruised shoulder, day-to-day). Transactions: Sent Petr Sykora, c, to Albany (AHL). Game results: 12/10 at Toronto W 5-2 12/12 at Boston W 7-4 12/14 Montreal T 3-3 12/16 at Calgary W 5-0 12/18 at Vancouver W 2-1 12/20 at Edmonton W 3-2 TEAM NEWS by David Ibrahim The Devils never cease to amaze. Just when it looked like this team was going in the tank, they reel off a nice streak, going 5-0-1 over the past two weeks. What's even better is that the Devils have begun to find their scoring touch, scoring seven against Boston and five each against Toronto and Calgary, respectively. Their streak started out with a 5-2 domination over the leafs in Toronto, then a 7-4 shootout against Boston. After a 3-3 tie against Montreal in which their old pal Stephane Richer scored twice, the Devils went on their yearly road trip to the northwest which usually turns into a disaster. Instead, NJ handily defeated each of the three teams in five nights, something they have never done before. They also set a team record with their fifth straight road win. In the immortal words of Darth Vader: "Impressive, most impressive." Why the sudden surge in scoring and all the recent wins? A couple of reasons. First, veteran RW John MacLean has stepped up his game tremendously, returning to pre-knee injury form that has slowed him down the last couple of years. He's scored four in the last six games, and leads the team with 13 overall. The second, and probably more important, reason is that the youngsters on the team have come to life and are brimming with confidence. Brian Rolston, an all-star at the college and Olympic level, is really beginning to blossom. His shot is the hardest on the Devils and among the best in the NHL. On this most recent road trip he scored two in Calgary and another against the Oilers. Twenty-one-year-old center Denis Pederson has been proving himself both offensively and defensively, while 5'7" Steve Sullivan looks like a young Doug Gilmour. With talented wingers Jay Pandolfo and Patrik Elias (who scored his first NHL goal against Boston on 12/12) added to the mix, the Devils future is happening now. What's even more encouraging is that this streak is occurring among some glaring negatives. RW Bill Guerin looks completely lost and seems to have forgotten what game he's playing. He hasn't scored in weeks and has gone through periodic benchings during games, Lemaire's punishment for poor play. Even worse, the Devils power play has sunk to the bottom of the league. They're operating around 11%, and have been at less than 10% over the last 10 games, although they scored power-play goals in Vancouver and Edmonton. Lemaire description of the power play: "It's a complete embarrassment." The Devils are hoping to get Sykora and Thomas back from injury soon, two key players with the man-advantage. The Devils finally seemed to have solidified themselves on all ends of the ice, and the confidence level is obviously way up. Even grouchy old Jacques has been showing an old Christmas cheer. Hopefully, their winning (and scoring) ways will continue, and when Thomas and Sykora get back, it should be full steam ahead. Off the Boards * When Sykora returns from injury, the Devils will have a problem with a glut of players at center. With Sullivan, Holik and Pederson playing so well, it will be hard to remove any one of them from the lineup. One suggestion floating around is to put together a package including Bobby Carpenter and Sergei Brylin to make space at center. But as Devils insider "Cowboy" Bryn Marcus puts it: "That's no package, that's a letter bomb." We'll have to wait and see. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK ISLANDERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Mike Milbury Roster: C - Travis Green, Bryan Smolinski, Derek Armstrong, Claude Lapointe. LW - Derek King, Marty McInnis, Niclas Anderssen, Dave McLlwain, Brent Hughes, Paul Kruse. RW - Zigmund Palffy, Dan Plante, Randy Wood. D - Scott Lachance, Dennis Vaske, Richard Pilon, Bryan McCabe, Kenny Jonsson, Bryan Berard, Doug Houda. G - Eric Fichaud, Tommy Salo, Tommy Soderstrom. Injuries: Dennis Vaske, d (concussion, indefinite); Ziggy Palffy, rw (shoulder, day-to-day). Transacations: Sent Todd Bertuzzi, lw, to Utah (IHL). Mick Vukota, rw, announced his retirement. Game Results 12/10 Phoenix W 8-2 12/11 at Rangers W 5-3 12/14 at Tampa L 1-4 12/17 Los Angeles W 4-3 12/19 at Philadelphia L 0-5 12/21 Dallas L 2-3 TEAM NEWS by David Strauss Quick, which Islander player is a veteran of over 500 NHL games, and who once scored a natural hat trick against Washington within a single period? Nope. Next guess. Uh uh. One more try. Sorry, wrong there too. The answer is Mick Vukota, and beyond the issue of Mick's fighting ability, there is the question of that period against Washington, and experts have long concluded that it was due to some strange rip in the universe, or a paradox in the space/time continuum, or more simply, a mass hallucination of the species caused by too many of those Nassau Coliseum nacho snacks. Whatever the reason, it appears that Vukota has ended his NHL career, having played 510 games, solely on heart and guts, scoring 16 goals and 45 points and earning 1,879 penalty minutes. This season, signed to a one-way contract that pays him $450,000 and $500,000 next year, he had one goal and 71 penalty minutes in 17 games. Vukota, 30, had not played since Nov. 30, sitting out five straight games. He was the second senior Islander after Derek King, this being his 10th season with the Islanders. He first joined the Isles during the 1987-88 season, the last time the Islanders won their division. GM/coach Mike Milbury spoke about the move. "Mick has been out a lot, and he's a guy that feels really troubled if he doesn't dress. I told him a few days ago I would seek interest (in him) from other clubs... I appreciate what Mick has brought in terms of commitment to the Islanders, he's been a good team guy, but he wasn't playing, (and) we need to get people playing." "I've prepared for this for the last couple of training camps," Vukota said, showing class to the end. "I think of all the good things that have happened to me over my NHL career because the Islanders gave me a chance - and that includes meeting my wife." Said Milbury: "He's been a good soldier." Vukota became expendable with the addition of Paul Kruse to the Isles a few weeks ago. "Mike's brought in players who are younger, who are able to contribute in a positive way, and that has been the focus, rather than a 30-year-old guy. I understood when I first came up that this was about transition. I also understood that one day there would be role reversal and I would be the one being replaced." "It is gut-wrenching for me, because the team is finally playing well, and I wish I could be a part of it. But my teammates know how I feel about them and, despite the fact that I haven't been dressing, I never once thought of quitting or walking out on them. I have a commitment to this hockey club, and I'll hang in there until my last fingernail pops off... I have nothing but great memories and gratitude to this organization for what I've had here." "I told Mike that I would report wherever he sent me; I'd go there and work hard and keep an eye on Todd." Todd, of course, besides being the name used most in teen-slasher films, refers here to 1993 number one pick Todd Bertuzzi, having one hell of a sophmore slump. Bertuzzi, 21, has been a disappointment all season, scoring just one goal and three assists in 24 games, after scoring 18 goals and 39 points as a rookie. The 6-3, 225-pound winger was sent to the Islanders IHL affiliate in Utah and left immediately to join the team. He played three games in Utah, had one goal, and was -3. Recalled for one game to match Philadelphia's size, he was immediately sent back to Utah to spend Christmas in the IHL. Milbury had been trying to motivate Bertuzzi in a myriad of ways, but finally could keep from sending the forward down no longer. "Todd needs to make some more progress. As a coach, I feel responsible, in part, for not getting the most out of Todd." Milbury said the move is not a signal that the team has given up on Bertuzzi, who is in the second year of a four-year, $4.6 million, one-way contract. Milbury felt other players had earned playing time over Bertuzzi, most notably the overachieving Niklas Andersson, and if the second-year pro is going to progress, he needs to play somewhere. "He said, `I don't think I'm your kind of player,"' Milbury said of the conversation yesterday with Bertuzzi. "I said, `What is my kind of player? Is it Dan Plante or Ziggy Palffy, Nik Andersson or Paul Kruse, Kenny Jonsson or Rich Pilon?' There is room for a lot of different players here. The players we want here are the players who are playing well." Milbury explained he still wants Bertuzzi on his team, assuming he finds himself in the minors. The Islanders had hoped that Bertuzzi's size would make him the next Clark Gillies, and Milbury even brought in Gillies to speak to Bertuzzi. It had no visible effect, though, and Bertuzzi hasn't displayed one-tenth of Gillies' heart. Bertuzzi had only 25 shots on net the entire season (about two period's output for, say, Paul Kariya) and failed to use his size or strength at all. He had no fighting majors, did not play physically, and was a healthy scratch in three of the last eight games before his demotion, including the 5-3 win over the Rangers at the Garden. Bertuzzi, who has never been in the minors, tried to put the best face on the demotion. "I've got to get back my confidence," he said. "I've got to get back my love for the game. I haven't been playing. I've been miserable. But this is part of the maturing process. You get to see what the other side is and realize how fortunate you are to be playing at this level... I've got to find myself." As Milbury said, trying to handle the demotion with kid gloves: "This shouldn't be construed as giving up on the kid. We as a coaching staff have failed - and, we take it personally - to get this kid to play at a level necessary to help our club. Todd cares. And he has tried. He's a good person, a good teammate... But, for whatever reason, it has not come about for him. We're trying whatever we can to get the most out of what is a very impressive package - on paper... Maybe all these comparisons to Clark [Gillies] were unfair. He's got to be Todd Bertuzzi." Notes: The Islanders have responded to the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in Mineola by former team physician Jeffrey Minkoff, who is seeking $19,800 in payments for services rendered last season. No trial date has been set. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK RANGERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Colin Campbell Rosters: C - Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Sergei Nemchinov, Niklas Sundstrom, Christian Dube. LW - Adam Graves, Luc Robitaille, Daniel Goneau, Darren Langdon, Bill Berg. RW - Alexei Kovalev, Brian Noonan, Pat Flatley, Shane Churla. D - Brian Leetch, Ulf Samuelsson, Jeff Beukeboom, Bruce Driver, Doug Lidster, Alexander Karpovstev, Jay More, Eric Cairns. G - Mike Richter, Glenn Healy. Injuries: Darren Langdon, lw (sprained right knee, early-mid January). Transactions: Recalled Ryan BandenBussche, rw, from Binghamton (AHL). Recalled Eric Cairns, d, from Binghamton (AHL). Game Results 12/12 Islanders L 5-3 12/14 at Buffalo W 3-0 12/16 Hartford W 5-2 12/18 Los Angeles W 4-0 12/21 at Montreal W 3-2 OT TEAM NEWS by Alex Frias Barely a month ago they were owners of a 7-13-4 record, in the bottom half of the Atlantic division and seemingly powerless to stop their downward spiral. Then came a 3-1 victory in Phoenix and a 5-2 thrashing of the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. The two wins started a snowball of success which has led to a 10-1-1 surge in the standings and is a testament to the Rangers' pride. No longer just strong on paper, the Rangers are carrying that over to the ice. "We're showing that; we're proving it by winning," said Wayne Gretzky. "By no means have we solved the world's problems but we have really turned things around and we are playing with a lot more confidence. You can see it on the ice. We're starting to establish ourselves and get an identity. Maybe the nine guys who weren't here in camp did hurt us a little bit." Richter Rollin': Last year it was his game-opening breakaway save on Mario Lemieux on Nov. 21, 1995, it was the unmistakable turning point for a Ranger team winless in three straight and struggling to find themselves at that point. They went on a 22-6-9 tear following that stop. This time around it seems Keith Tkachuk is Lemieux, and instead of a chilly Garden, the Rangers were in sweaty Phoenix, or at least that's what coach Colin Campbell believes. "It started with Richter's save on Tkachuk in Phoenix," Campbell has said repeatedly during the 10-1-1 surge that began that night with a sweaty win in the desert and continued with a no-sweat triumph over the Kings at the Garden. A trademark complete split on which Richter threw his limbs in four different directions to repel a point-blank put-back by Tkachuk, preserved a 2-1 lead until Messier's empty-net goal completed the victory. Richter has been brilliant since. He's 9-0-1 with an almost invisible 1.69 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage since that victory on Nov. 26. He is limiting the distance he comes out of his net to challenge shooters to a few feet above the crease, thereby giving his reflexes and flexibility a chance to really shine. Plus, he is keeping his puck play simple and thereby reducing the exposure of the only weak part of his game. His teammate's dramatic defensive improvement has also played a key role in Richter's incredible numbers as goaltending and overall team defense are a chicken-and-egg proposition. And if history does repeats itself, then all I got to say is watch out NHL. "Unlucky" Luc Becoming "Lucky" Again: Luc Robitaille said he knew everything would be all right between him and Gretzky the moment TGO walked into the Rangers' dressing room. This is the same guy who an upset Robitaille accused of engineering his trade of Los Angeles in the summer of 1994. The same guy whom Rangers bigwigs feared could not co-exist in the same locker room with Robitaille, no less play on the same line with him. But Robitaille, who never played more than an occasional shift with Gretzky in the six years they were teammates in Los Angeles, has a complete understanding of how to play with The Great One: get him the puck and get open. And Robitaille is starting to help Gretzky in his chase for his 200th scoring title by turning his gorgeous setups into assists by burying the chances they produce. Robitaille, who has scored six goals in seven games, is no longer the No. 1 whipping boy of the Garden fans. And the two goals he scored in the 4-0 shutout over the Kings marked Robitaille's second two-goal night of the season. That number should more than multiply itself. Team Toughness: After climbing over the Mendoza line for the first time all season with a 5-2 win over Hartford, Mark Messier stood at his locker stall and publicly called for team president Neil Smith to acquire an enforcer to protect the team's stars. "With (Darren) Langdon out and (Shane) Churla coming off an eye injury, physically we need to find somebody who will protect us and protect the team," Messier said. "With those guys out of the lineup, certainly there's a void there." After first-period goals by Berg, Robitaille and Graves were augmented by tallies by Lidster and Gretzky, the significantly bigger Whalers took to bashing. After a few one-on-one run-ins that the Rangers lost pitifully, it got frightening when Shane Churla, who was risking permanent blurred vision just by playing with a still-healing fracture under his left eye, took matters into his own hands and challenged heavyweight Stu Grimson, who had earlier crosschecked him in the mouth. Let's just say things weren't pretty and Churla left the ice lucky that the blood gushing down his face was coming from a nasty cut above that eye. "I think that they came in tonight and didn't have enough respect for us physically and started taking liberties because of it. You've got to be able to cover all bases. And right now, we're not solid in that area," Messier said. Smith, who had earlier in the week recalled AHL tough guy Ryan VandenBussche for reinforcements, said that he believed the Rangers have enough toughness to survive and thrive. "We have team toughness," Smith said. "Nobody ever messes with (Graves) or (Jeff Beukeboom) or anybody on the ice when they're on the ice. And Mess scares half the guys in the league." Even though the Rangers have team toughness, with Langdon gone for three to four weeks and Churla immobilized with the eye injury, the Blueshirts are lacking somebody that they will actually play more than one shift a game and stick up for the Gretzky's, Kovalev's and Sundstrom's on this team. Graves Moves to the Middle: With Messier sidelined, Adam Graves centered a checking line with Bill Berg and Patrick Flatley. They were being matched up with the opponent's top lines and in certain cases held them scoreless. "I've been disappointed at times not finishing, getting opportunities and not putting it in the net, because I like to contribute in that way," Graves said. "One thing I try to concentrate on, and I'm not ashamed at all, is skating hard and trying to do the little things. At times I wasn't physical enough and now I'm starting to get into a groove where I'm finishing all my checks and getting good angles." Graves, who has been living in the shadow of his 52-goal campaign back in the '93-'94 season, thinks he can be the player he was before back surgery. "I feel I'm getting back to that," Graves said. "Although last year in the playoffs I felt unbelievable, I'm starting to get in that feeling. My skating is starting to come along the last nine or 10 games. That's the key to my game." With Messier back from injury, Graves was moved back to his familiar role alongside Mess. Don't be surprised if Colin Campbell decides to make Graves his checking center if Sergei Nemchinov has trouble producing. Dube Shipped Out: Rookie C Christian Dube was shipped to the World Junior Championships in Switzerland to play for Team Canada. Dube changed his tune about going to the tournament since GM Neil Smith assured his roster spot would be there when he returned. "I want to go there and be the best player in the tournament and a leader for Team Canada," Dube said. "Last year I had 145 points in junior and now I have two points in 22 games. If I go I want to score."

Game Recaps

Dec. 12, lost to Islanders 5-3: The line of Niklas Andersson-Bryan Smolinski-Zigmund Pally combined for seven points and 12 shots on goal as the Isles snapped the Rangers' season-high seven-game unbeaten streak and once again failed to lift themselves over the .500 mark. Dec. 14, won at Buffalo 3-0: Rangers' willingness to deal with the Sabre's physical challenge allows Gretzky and Kovalev to shine in a thorough 3-0 beating in the teams' first meeting at the new Marine Midland Arena. The shutout was the Rangers' second straight shutout on the road. Dec. 17, beat Hartford 5-2: The Captain's first game back from a 10-day injury, came at just the right time, as he led his team above the .500 mark for the first time all season. Dec. 19, beat Los Angeles 4-0: Robitaille buried two goals off Gretzky setups to support Mike Richter's shutout goaltending in a no-fuss 4-0 victory over the Kings that extended the Rangers' month-long surge to 9-1-1. Dec. 21, beat Montreal 3-2 in OT: Gretzky set up all three Rangers goals, including the game-winner with a gorgeous pass from behind the net that the suddenly-hot Luc Robitaille buried 42 seconds into overtime. Richter stopped 27 shots, enabling the visitors to extend their winning steak to four games and add a 12th game to the month-long surge (10-1-1). ----------------------------------------------------------------- PHILADELPHIA FLYERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Terry Murray C - Eric Lindros, Rod Brind'Amour, Dale Hawerchuk, Joel Otto, Daniel Lacroix. LW - John LeClair, Dan Kordic, Shjon Podein. RW - Mikael Renberg, Pat Falloon, John Druce, Trent Klatt, Dainius Zubrus, Scott Daniels. D - Eric Desjardins, Paul Coffey, Petr Svoboda, Chris Therien, Karl Dykhuis, Kjell Samuelsson, Janne Niinimaa. G - Ron Hextall, Garth Snow. Injuries: John Druce, rw (sustained a sprained right shoulder vs. Florida on Dec. 10...Has missed the last four games...Is out of action one to two weeks). Transactions: Paul Coffey, d, acquired along with a third-round pick in the 1997 entry NHL Entry Draft, from the Hartford Whales in exchange for Kevin Haller, the Flyers' first-round pick and the Whales' seventh-round pick (previously acquired in a trade for Kevin Dineen on Dec. 28, 1995) in 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Game Results: 12/10 Florida W 5-4 12/12 Hartford W 3-2 12/14 at Hartford W 4-0 12/15 Boston W 6-0 12/19 NY Islanders W 5-0 12/21 St. Louis W 4-0 TEAM NEWS by Eric Meyer Simply Amazing! Four straight shutouts. 262 minutes and 30 seconds without allowing a goal and still going after completing their fourth shutout, a 4-0 win over the Keenan-less St. Louis Blues. Said goaltender Ron Hextall after getting his second consecutive shutout (goaltender Garth Snow recorded the other two), "You don't get four shutouts in a row. I don't care who it is. You could be All-Universe, and there's still no way." Well believe it, baby! This team, I guess you could say, is (read with a lot of facetiousness) kinda, maybe, sorta, on a roll. And I guess you could say, opposing teams are going to have to start resorting to bribery if they expect to score a goal in the near future. That makes seven wins in a row for the Flyers, nine wins and one tie in their last ten games, and just one point behind Florida for not only first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, but one point off the pace for the best record in the NHL following their win over the Blues. To think they were 7-0-1 in their last eight games after Sunday's 6-0 schallacking of the Boston Bruins. Makes you think that if it ain't broke then you don't try and fix it. Right? RIGHT? Well, tell that to GM Bobby Clarke as after six weeks of negotiations with the Hartford Whalers, the Flyers and Hartford finally decided to pull the trigger on the deal that would give Paul Coffey his wish to be dealt out of Hartford and to what he deemed a serious contender, and the Flyers a legitimate defensive scoring machine. Not only that, but the trade would give the Flyers their best shot in years at a Stanley Cup. On Sunday, the Flyers ended weeks of speculation by sending defenseman Kevin Haller and a first- and seventh-round draft choice in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft to Hartford in exchange for defenseman Paul Coffey and a third-round draft choice. Looking to bolster their power play and get some leadership on defense, the Flyers felt that they could afford to sacrifice one of their best pure defensemen in Haller who spent most of his time as a member of the Flyers paired with ex-Montreal teammate, Eric Desjardins. And though they were reluctant to do so, the Flyers gave up a first-round draft choice in an upcoming 1997 draft thought to be one of the deepest, richest drafts in many years. So if it ain't broke, I guess you can fix it, because in his first game as a Flyer: three assists for Paul Coffey and a third consecutive shutout for the Flyers in a 5-0 win over the Isles. Second game: no points, but some solid defense and another shutout for the team. With all of the trade hooplah and press coverage that followed the Coffey trade, what seemed to almost get lost in the back pages of almost every respective sports section of almost every local periodical in the Philadelphia area were the stories about how well the Flyers had been playing. And "well" isn't really the word to describe the Flyers performance over their last 10 games. I'd call it domination. But don't get caught using that word around Head Coach Terry Murray. He'll tell you, "We're not trying to show any team up or dominate by trying to do something different or intentional. We're just trying to intentionally play good hockey. If in your view it happens to be some domination in situations, so be it." So be it. Well let's go into a little detail here and talk about this last stretch of games and try and analyze what's different here and what's really been working for the Flyers. Before we take a look at the stellar defense that has really come to the forefront in the last four games, I'm going to concentrate on one of the biggest reasons that the Flyers have really exploded as of late. Actually, this reason is about 6'4", 229 lbs, and wears number 88. His play has been described by coach Terry Murray as, "the best he's seen since he's been here" meaning Eric Lindros has really picked up his game since his return from a groin injury. The big center has registered points in his last ten games, had scored goals in his last five games until being held goal-less by the Blues (though he did get two assists), is now second on the team for power-play goals with three, and was named NHL Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 9-15. But don't just concentrate on his scoring, though it kinda smacks you across the face like a ton of bricks, but also consider his renewed physical play, which come to think about it, might also be like like being smacked across the face like a ton of bricks. Lindros has made it his duty to inflict physical punishment on the opposition while making opposing goaltenders equally unhappy. But while Lindros has been wreaking havoc on the opposition lately, let's not forget about his two, more than capable Legion of Doom linemates: Mikael Renberg, and John LeClair. LeClair has been playing as well in these last ten games, as he has all season. He truly is the one player, with a few exceptions early on, that has played at a consistently high level all season. He now leads the team in points with 36. His 20 goals lead the team and place him in the top ten in goal scoring league wide, while his 16 assists tie him for second on the team with Renberg. His +/- rating of +14 is also tops on the team. In his last ten games, LeClair has tallied seven goals and seven assists. Renberg, on the other hand, hasn't really been the model of consistency all year. Probably still feeling some of the effects of an injured abdominal muscle suffered last season and without the services of linemate Eric Lindros for the first twenty-plus games, Renberg's play had been mired in mediocrity, but in the last ten games, with the addition of Lindros and some improved conditioning, Renberg's game has taken off and returned to the form of early last season. His 23 points trail only LeClair, Brind'Amour and Hawerchuk. And what about Rod Brind'Amour and Dale Hawerchuk? The return of Eric Linros seems to have really sparked the play of Brind'Amour. The player who often commented that he as well as the rest of the team had been haunted by inconsistent play early on, has really responded to the return of big number 88, with some timely goals, and more intense play on the ice. In the last ten games, during the Flyers unbeaten streak, Brindy has five goals and seven assists. Dale Hawerchuk, without the burden of centering the top line...wait, let me restate that, without the added responsibility of centering the top line, has found a comfortable spot for himself between Brind'Amour and Trent Klatt. He has one goal and ten assists in his last ten, and has become one of coach Terry Murray's favorites to put out on the power play. One more paragraph before I reflect on the Flyers defense and goaltending so let me take the chance to talk about the unsung fourth line of the Flyers, Dan LaCroix, Scott Daniels, and Dan Kordic. Simply stated: they've been kicking some serious ass out there. Daniels, Kordic and LaCroix haven't been the least bit tentative to lay a bodycheck or drop the gloves and grapple with an opposing goon or two. Just talk to Florida's Ed Jovanovski who had the smack put down on him by Dan LaCroix recently. New York's Paul Kruse and Jesse Belanger found out what it was like to feel the wrath of Scotty Daniels. Ok, let's talk about the defense and the goaltending. It's been excellent. Pre-Coffey and post-Coffey, this defense has been stifling the opposition, igniting quick transition with crisp passes and fast skating and have made goaltenders Garth Snow's and Ron Hextall's jobs quite easy. The tandem of Coffey and Niinimaa have been an offensive threat each and every time they have been on the ice together. Both players possess, accurate, rifle shots, but also boast great passing skills to boot. In their first game together, Coffey - three assists, Niinimaa - one goal, one assist. Desjardins and Svoboda, the tandem that had been used at times in the season to stifle the opposition's top line, have been reunited and have significantly responded not in the scoring column, but through their defensive prowess on the ice. Combined, they are +6 in the last two games, and well, two shutouts means they haven't given up any goals either. And what about Karl Dykhuis and Kjell Samuelsson? Well, the goal scoring machine (read with sarcasm) that is Kjell Samuelsson, has picked it up with two goals in his last four games, while Karl Dykhuis, playing for the scratched Chris Therien, has shown Terry Murray that he deserves to get a fair amount of ice time. Finally, the goaltending, which, having recorded four consecutive shutouts, is playing well to say the least. Snow and Hextall have combined to brush aside all 97 shots that they have faced in the team's last four games. What else is there to really say, except...they've been perfect. 9-0-1 in their last ten and four straight shutouts...writing this article has been a thrill and a pleasure. Meyer's Flyers Tidbits... * Following the team's 4-0 win over St. Louis, the Flyers currently boast a streak of 262 1/2 minutes (spanning five games) without allowing a goal. That streak crushed the old team record for most minutes in a row without allowing a goal, 174 1/2 minutes, established in November of 1977. * The Flyers got their fourth shutout in a row by defeating the Blues at home, 4-0. That was the second straight game the Blues had been shutout. In fact, the Blues have gone without a goal in three of their last four games. Don't be surprised if the results are similar the nex time these two teams meet at the CoreStates. The Flyers are 35-3-4 in their last 42 games against the Blues at home, and are now 1-0 career in the CoreStates Center against the Blues. ----------------------------------------------------------------- TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Terry Crisp Roster: C - Brian Bradley, Chris Gratton, John Cullen, Daymond Langkow, Allen Egeland. LW - Paul Ysebaert, Shawn Burr, Rob Zamuner, Jason Weimer, Rudy Poeschek, Patrick Poulin, Brent Peterson. RW - Brian Bellows, Alexander Selivanov, Mikael Andersson, Paul Brousseau. D - Roman Hamrlik, Bill Houlder, Cory Cross, Dave Shaw, Igor Ulanov, Drew Bannister, Jay Wells, Craig Wolanin. G - Daren Puppa, Corey Schwab, Derek Wilkinson, Rick Tabaracci. Injuries: Daren Puppa, g (back surgery, indefinite); Paul Ysebaert, lw (strained groin, indefinite); Jason Weimer, lw (broken bursa sac in right elbow, indefinite); Mikael Andersson, lw; Shawn Burr, lw (broken/severed finger, 2 weeks) Transactions: Recalled Paul Brousseau, rw; Allan Egeland, c; from Adirondack (AHL). Game Results: 12/12 Edmonton T 2-2 12/14 NY Islanders W 4-1 12/16 at Montreal W 4-2 12/18 at Buffalo L 5-3 12/19 at Boston L 3-0 12/21 at Hartford L 6-5 OT TEAM NEWS by Troy Ely Ahhh.....back from my exil, er, secret mission -- just who do you think got Mulder out of the Gulag? Actually, I was hired by Nestle's to determine if they had a case of trademark infringement against Energizer. It seems that the hell-spawn drum-beating bunny looks too much like the Qwik rabbit after a binge of Strawberry Qwik. Given the amount of sugar in Qwik, it's not too surprising that the bunny can pound that drum for years on end. Speaking of strawberry Qwik, you know, I believe that I drank it once, in about 1976, and it was revolting. I can still remember what it tastes like. Who's brilliant idea was it, anyway? Geez...then they decided to make *banana* Qwik, just in case the strawberry flavor hadn't killed you. And while I'm discussing powdered drink mixes of my youth, what ever happened to Funny Face? I can't be the only one that preferred it over Kool-Aid and its wall-crashing behemoth of a mascot. While Kool-Aid was busy inventing flavors stranger than Willy Wonka ever dreamed, Funny Face stuck to fruit flavours. They gave them names like "Goofy Grape," and had a mascot for each flavour. The mascots were the Fruit-of-the-Loom guys gone insane -- pieces of fruit with maniacal expressions, hence the name, Funny Face. You could order plastic cups with the faces on them, and I had, well, still have three of them. Now, of course, they hold the requisite LCS drink-of-choice -- Colt 45 -- but time and again I pine for simpler days. Hmmmm....I guess that it's rather obvious why the editor sent me away. And I doubt that he'll be happy to learn that I lost my Thorazine prescription. Have I urged you to vote Cullen? Please do so. Visit the NHL's web site once a day, and place a write-in vote for the idol of millions from 8 to 80, Johnny Cullen. Better yet, get yourself a tiny little Perl script that allows you to vote as often as you like, and have them all counted. Plop in Johnny Cullen, set it to vote, oh, once a minute, and sit back and relax, knowing that you're helping to make the All-Star Game more enjoyable for the entire world. Not that I would ever, ever, *ever* do such a thing myself. No, no... not me. And to the throngs of new AOL readers, who now wonder why I'm allowed outside more than once per day, hey, what do you expect? It's still free. Ummmm...I feel like I've forgotten to tell you something. Oh yeah, that hockey thing...the reason I get threatening email from Brian Burke. Face it folks, when last we left the men with Lightning Bolts on their pants, they were dead last in the NHL; however, they had put together a two-game winning streak, thanks to their annual West coast swing, which always brings a few wins. The Lightning returned home to face the Edmonton Oilers for the only time this season at the Ice Palace. With the Lightning home record barely better than the German's in World Wars, the last person they needed to see in the opposing net was Curtis Joseph, "fresh" from his 52-save thriller against Detroit. Well, after 17 shots aginst Joseph in the first, the Lightning found themselves down 1-0, and without Brantt Myhers, who got a wee bit over-zealous with an elbow. But the Lightning tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period on a goal by gritty gutty Robby Zamuner. Unfortunately, Joseph continued his amazing play, giving up only one more goal to the men with Lightning Bolts on their pants. Lucky for the Lightning, it was the game-tying goal. This time it was Roman Hamrlik who found the net in the third with a power-play marker to tie it at 2-2. When the smoke had cleared, Joseph had stopped 42 shots. Two games, 94 saves, and no wins. And Cam Neely thought that he had it bad without ESPNews as a player....Cujo's dog probably did get kicked. Although Hamrlik scored, he still hasn't done much to win the favor of the Lightning fans this season. Coach Terry Crisp benched Hamrlik against the Kings earlier in the week, due primarily to poor defensive play. The benching -- hardly an uncommon move by NHL coaches -- broke Hamrlik's consecutive-games-played streak at 168. Perhaps the move sent a message to the rest of the team, but obviously not to Roman, who openly wondered why he had been benched by saying, "I must not be an important player here because I don't play." Please stop with the whining, mister one-time All-Star. If you were putting up a point per game, perhaps Coach Crisp would overlook the occasional defensive lapse. But last I checked, your defence was abyssmal, and you weren't scoring a lick. Since you're a defenceman, how about protecting your own end first, before trying to rush up the ice every play. Unfortunately, all of the strife with Hamr has probably served to only lessen his trade value, making it even more unlikely that he'll leave in trade, since I doubt that GM Phil Esposito would be willing to give him away and admit his draft-day blunder. Okay, back to the festivities on the ice. Well, it's not a win, but the tie against the Oilers meant that the Lightning had a three-game unbeaten streak going into a home game against Mike Milbury and the fish-stick boys, who came in winners of three straight. You know what, this is getting a bit annoying. After one period, I felt like I had been watching the Lightning play Troop 439. The powder play squandered numerous opprtunities, including a 5-on-3; the team outshot the Isles 13-2, yet, after 20 minutes, the Lightning were losing 1-0. Granted, it would be nigh impossible to continue the dominance without the Lightning rebounding. And, sure enough, the Bolts responded. Of course, it was late in the second period before the Lightning tied the game on Chris Gratton's ninth goal of the season. Rick Tabaracci kept the Lightning momentum alive with two seconds remaining in the period when he turned away a Ziggy Palffy breakaway. That save kickstarted the Lightning, who buried the Islanders in the third period with three unanswered goals, including Gratton's second of the game. Presto, changeo...the Lightning had a 4-1 *home* victory. Goodness, gracious Ma -- that's a four-game unbeaten streak! Perhaps overlooked by the casual NHL watcher has been the play of Lightning winger Rob Zamuner, who has been with the team since its inception. Zamuner, who has shown constant improvement since the inaugural season, continued his increased offensive output. Zamuner has always been the heart of the Lightning penalty-killing unit, but his recent point-scoring binge has helped offset the scoring drought facing Ciccarelli, Selivanov, and others. In the win against the Islanders, Zamuner had another two points as he assisted on each of the final two goals. His grit and tenacity as a forechecker, and his consistent play night in and night out has earned him the respect of Lightning loyals, as well as fans around the league. In fact, Robby leads the league in All-Star write-in votes. I guess our loyal readers aren't voting for Johnny Cullen as often as we thought. The Lightning next traveled to Montreal for a game against Les Habitents at the Keg. Of course, Montreal is one of those teams that the Lightning flat out own. Couple the confidence of the past success, with the current good play, and all signs point to another Lightning win. WIthout Saku Koivu, the Canadiens are a different team, obviously lacking the offensive spark that they have shown much of this season. The Habs managed a whopping four shots in the first period, compared to the Lightning's sixteen. However, the score stood at 0-0 after one period. Umm...have we seen this Lightning first-period "dominance" before? If you, our reader, have been asleep, please go back and re-read some earlier paragraphs. Well, not being down after a first period is a bit of a new experience for the men with Lightning Bolts on their pants. I wonder how they would react... Gardy-Loo! The Bolts kept up the pressure, and came away with a 4-2 win. Chris Gratton scored two goals for the second straight game, and the Lightning were unbeaten in five. You know, something seems to have jump-started Gratton -- the fourth-year center, and Lightning first-round draft pick. After a dismal first dozen games, when he was mired with a plus/minus rating that looked like a Moose Jaw winter temperature, Gratton has rebounded over the past month. In addition to the recent scoring burst, he has greatly improved in one very important area -- confidence. Gratton's increased confidence has carried over to every aspect of his game. His aggressive play has picked up tremendously, and now matches his power-forward size. He's handling the puck *much* better, making crisper passes, winning key faceoffs, and generally keeps his feet moving, as opposed to gliding into the zone without knowing what he wanted to do, or where he was going. Sure, it's taken a few seasons, but Gratton is developing into a solid NHL center. Remember -- he's only 21 -- he's got a long and promising career ahead of him. If the Lightning are going to develop into a perennial playoff contender, Chris Gratton will have to continue his strong play and improvement. After Montreal, the Lightning made a stop in Buffalo. It was ugly. I really don't want to talk about it. 3-0 Buffalo after the first period made my stomach turn. Luckily, the Lightning made it somewhat respectable, pulling to within 4-3 before an empty-net goal cemented the end of the unbeaten streak with a 5-3 loss. Off to Boston for a game against the Bruins at the Fleet Centre. Can you say "stomach-turning?" I knew that you could. After sleep-walking through two periods, and the solid play of Bill Ranford, the Lightning were down 2-0 after two. Then things got frightening. Ex-Lightning player Rob DiMaio slashed Shawn Burr early in the third period. And this was no ordinary slash, unfortunately. Unbeknownst to DiMaio, who was now busy pounding Daymond Langkow, the slash had not only broken Shawn Burr's left ring finger, but also nearly severed it at the first knuckle. Burr was immediately rushed to the hospital where the tip of the finger, as well as the nail, were sewn back on. Although Burr is expected to miss two weeks, he may not fully recover -- there is a good posibility that the injury may not heal, and that he may lose the tip of the finger. It was, as Burr said, "the most disgusting thing I have ever seen." Toss in some unsportsmanlike penalties, Brantt Myhers' questionable checking-from-behind penalty which got him an early exit, plus Rudy Poeschek's instigator drubbing of DiMaio late in the game, and I almost forgot that a game was being played. And to be honest, I wish that they hadn't played. The Lightning lost a second-straight game, this time a 3-0 blanking. The Lightning ended their four-game, pre-holiday road trip with a stop at the mall to face America's team, the Hartford Whalers. Ah yes, Hartford...former home of current Lightning players Mikael Andersson -- who was out with an injury -- Patrick Poulin, and our hero, Johnny Cullen. Lemme tell ya, folks, if this was not a game originally scheduled for ESPN2, they were probably pretty happy that they picked it up. Sure, both the mighty Whale and the men with Lightning Bolts on their pants are a bit of a surprise this season. The Whale still sit atop the Northeast division, and the Bolts are still in the cellar of the NHL. But this game had the ugliness of a stretch-run contest, not a late-December, mid-season dog-days-of-hockey battle. By the end of the first period, Keith Primeau was out with a concussion -- the victim of a Rudy Poeschek check. Glen Featherstone was out with a broken foot -- the result of blocking a shot. Nelson Emerson was dripping blood all over the ice -- damaged by a Chris Gratton high-stick. And the men with Lightning Bolts on their pants had a 3-1 lead, with Dino Ciccarelli factoring in all three goals to the tune of one goal, and two assists. The Whale tied the game at three apiece early in the second period with two goals in less than two minutes. The outburst caused Terry Crisp to yank netminder Corey Schwab in favor of Rick Tabaracci. Tabaracci fended off the remainder of the Whaler's scoring opportunities in the second, and allowed the Lightning to regain the lead when Pat Poulin notched the Lightning's second power-play goal of the game to end the period scoring with the Lightning ahead 4-3. By the middle of the third period, referee Paul Devorski was home watching Star Search. Meanwhile, the two teams on the ice took notice, and picked up the intensity. Hartford's Geoff Sanderson scored his second goal of the game to tie the game at 4-4. Sanderson and his linemates generated scoring chances nearly every shift, and kept testing Tabaracci. When the hitting picked up, and the quality scoring chances lessened, Daymond Langkow put the Lightning up at 8:21 of the third. But the Sanderson-Dineen-Cassels line quickly struck back when Andrew Cassels scored just a minute later to tie the game at 5-5. Neither team could find the net in the final ten minutes, so the folks at the mall got some free hockey. In overtime, the general rule is "shoot the puck." It doesn't matter who you are, or what position you are in. if you can see the net, throw the puck at it -- you never know. The other key is to clear the zone -- something that the Lightning had not been doing well in the third period. Such was the case in the extra period. After a failed clearing pass, Robert Kron, who had almost 100 shots this season, with only one goal to show, fired a bad-angle shot from the low circle, and beat Tabaracci for the game-winning goal. Tabaracci clearly did not expect the shot, as he had not moved towards the side of the net to block an attempt. The Whale emerged with a 6-5 overtime victory, and the team jumped the bench like they had won a playoff series. The Lightning injuries took its toll against the Whalers. With so many forwards scratched, and so many penalties to kill, the Lightning forwards each saw a great deal of ice time, often in odd parings. Unlike the Whalers, who were able to play three or four set lines at all times, Coach Crisp had to repeatedly juggle the Lightning offensive lines. The extra ice time, as well as the line inconsistency, led to a number of Lightning turnovers late in the game, which ultimately led to the Hartford goals. One pair that did see quite a bit of time together was Chris Gratton and rookie Daymond Langkow. Gratton's progress was discussed earlier, but until now, I haven't spoken much about Langkow. Recently, Langkow has been moved to the wing -- a different position than his normal center that he played in juniors. The move to wing, coupled with the chance to play with the improved Gratton, seems to have boosted Langkow's confidence. Daymond is below-average size for an NHL'er, but boasts trmendous speed, play-making abilities, and grit. Langkow is very similar in size to veteran Dino Ciccarelli, who has been known to dig and grind a wee bit in his career. Over the past two weeks, Langkow has shown a great deal of promise. He played the best game of his career against Montreal, and had a tremendous game against Hartford as well. A lot of media hype surrounded Daymond entering the season, and perhaps he was pressing too much -- too eager to prove himself. But now his continued hard work is beginning to pay dividends, and his increased self-confidence will only serve to improve his play. The Lightning get Sunday off before a home game against the Washington Capitals on the 23rd. With the Bolts' home record, and their persistent dismal performance against the Capitals, it doesn't look like a very merry Christmas present for Cullen and Co. On Thursay, the 26th, the Lightning will face intra-state rival Florida for the first time this season. It's ESPN's national hockey night game, so don't miss it, like me, who will be north of the border trying to see if Dino's parents will let me sit on the couch and watch their son play some hockey. You know, I asked for a Bauer Lithium stick for Christmas, and everyone kept telling me that I'd shoot my eye out. Have a great holiday season everyone...see you next year! ----------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON CAPITALS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Jim Schoenfeld ROSTER: C - Michal Pivonka, Joe Juneau, Dale Hunter, Kevin Kaminski. LW - Andrei Nikolishin, Chris Simon, Jason Allison, Steve Konowalchuk, Andrew Brunette. RW - Peter Bondra, Kelly Miller, Todd Krygier, Mike Eagles, Craig Berube. D - Mark Tinordi, Calle Johansson, Sylvain Cote, Sergei Gonchar, Joe Reekie, Ken Klee, Phil Housley. G - Jim Carey, Olaf Kolzig. Injuries: Pat Peake, c (shattered right heel, 2-4 weeks). Transactions: Eric Charron, d, assigned to AHL Portland. Andrew Brunette, lw, sent to Portland. Andrew Brunette, lw, recalled from Portland. Anson Carter, c, sent to Portland. Stefan Ustorf, c, sent to Portland. Stewart Malgunas, d, recalled from Portland. Stewart Malgunas, d, sent to Portland. Jaroslav Svejkovsky, lw, sent to Portland. Game Results: 12/11 at San Jose L 3-2 12/13 at Anaheim L 5-4 12/14 at Los Angeles T 4-4 12/17 at Phoenix L 4-3 12/20 San Jose W 3-2 12/21 at Boston L 4-3 Team News by Jason Sheehan

Rough sledding for Caps

Just when things looked like they couldn't possibly get any worse, they did. When star players Joe Juneau, Peter Bondra and Michal Pivonka were deemed healthy enough to play two weeks ago, it looked like the Capitals were finally going to put a halt to their losing ways. But in the wild world of hockey where predictions often fall short, Washington just dug itself into a deeper hole. Their recent West Coast trip was the worst one in many years. Washington left California and Arizona's sunshine without a win. The Capitals also were winless in December until they defeated San Jose at USAir Arena Dec. 20. Overall, It appears that the Capitals have done everything they can within their power to lose games, which is due to a lack of confidence and mistakes at inopportune times. These problems have resulted in losing close games, which could have easily been won. "It's (losing streak) always tough, but we keep playing better and better," said Bondra. "We're always making mistakes and those mistakes cost us games. "It looks like we can't control leads. We have to work on that. We just need to get confident and win a couple games. Sometimes all we need is a big break. So far, we haven't gotten any breaks at all. We've had a lot of chances but can't put the puck in the net." In San Jose on Dec. 11, Washington was within reaching distance of the Sharks after two periods of play, trailing 2-1. But then, the sail fell off the ship. Sharks' forward Tony Granato dashed all hopes of a great start to the four-game West Coast swing by scoring short-handed early in the third period. Left wing/center Andrei Nikolishin made a fatal mistake which led to the goal when he sent a blind pass alongside his own end-line to goaltender Jim Carey. Carey, obviously shaken by the turn of events, made the second mistake by turning the puck over to Granato, who easily snapped a shot by the Capitals' panic-stricken netminder. Right winger Todd Krygier scored at 4:57 of the third period to put the Capitals within one, but the Sharks put up a defensive wall that Washington was unable to penetrate. After failing to control a two-goal lead in Anaheim Dec. 14 (a 5-4 loss), the Capitals bettered, or worsened, themselves the next night in Los Angeles. This time, Washington appeared to have a lock on things, leading 4-2 with just 2:00 remaining in the game. But then, the Capitals were thrown to the lions, or Kings in this case, as they skated off the ice with a 4-4 tie. The downward spiral began when Kings' coach Larry Robinson pulled former Capitals' goaltender Byron Dafoe with 2:29 left. His moved payed gigantic dividends. Philippe Boucher cut the lead in half when he beat Capitals' backup goalie Olaf Kolzig with 1:29 left. Then, Brad Smyth scored the game-tying goal with just 26 seconds left, spoiling a Capitals' victory celebration that was planned a tad too early. Left Winger Chris Simon, though, isn't placing the blame on anyone. He thinks small mistakes are the reason why the Capitals have been struggling lately. "The thing that is costing us games are small mistakes," said Simon. "I don't think you can point the finger at certain individuals. I think it's the whole team. We're all making minor mistakes that are causing major problems and the major problem is losing." If the major problem is losing, the Capitals sure looked like they enjoyed giving holiday cheer to the Phoenix Coyotes Dec. 18. Washington lost yet another game (4-3) that should have been won. In doing so, their winless streak extended to a season-long seven games, the longest since Coach Jim Schoenfeld took over in 1994. For the first time since a Nov. 30 win at Montreal, the Capitals took a lead (2-1) into the third period. But then, the wheels came off the barrel. Former Capital Jim Johnson, who once went through a string without scoring a goal in over 100 games, lit the lamp and tied the score at 2-2. "Right before their second goal, we had two or three great chances to make it a 3-1 lead," said Schoenfeld. "Wakaluk made great saves to keep his team at a one-goal deficit and they came down and with a point shot from Jimmy Johnson, they were able to tie the game." Phoenix, though, didn't stop there. Oleg Tverdovsky one-timed Jeremy Roenick's cross-ice pass past Carey for the lead at 10:23. Then, Keith Tkachuk provided all the insurance Phoenix needed on this night by pouncing on a rebound shot from the stick of Teppo Numminen past Carey. Simon scored a power-play goal with 18 seconds left, with Carey pulled for an extra attacker and Bob Corkum in the penalty box. But it was too little too late for Washington, who saw its record when leading after two periods fall to 11-1-1. After the game, Schoenfeld placed blame on missed coverages and losing defenseman Mark Tinordi for the third period with a hand injury. Tinordi mashed his hand during a second-period fight with Kris King, but did return for the Capitals' next game against San Jose on Dec. 20. "Tonight, I think the biggest factor for us was the absence of Mark Tinordi," said Schoenfeld. "The matchup that worked favorably for us was Tinordi-Klee. And then with Reekie-Gonchar, we weren't able to use [them]. You add to that the fact that a couple of our forwards turned the puck over in miscoverage, and it created some scoring opportunities for the Coyotes. "The thing that is costing us games are small mistakes," he continued. "I don't think you can point the finger at certain individuals. I think it's the whole team. We're all making minor mistakes that are causing major problems and the major problem is losing." Washington's only win in December came against the Pacific Division cellar-dwelling San Jose Sharks at USAir Arena Dec. 20. For the first time since defeating Montreal at Molson Centre, the Capitals finally played well for a full 60 minutes. Yet, it still looked like they had a chance to lose again. Defenseman Phil Housley, who hadn't scored a goal in 11 games, carried the Capitals to victory when he roofed a backhand shot over goalie Chris Terreri with 2:27 remaining in the third period. Carey, meanwhile, stopped 19 shots to snap a career-high five-game losing streak. "Losing begets losing because of your lack of confidence," said Schoenfeld. "It's a downward spiral. We're not on a winning streak, but it's certainly a much better feeling than after a loss." That feeling crumbled like a gingerbread cookie the next night in Boston. Washington played poorly and found itself buried in a 3-1 hole after two periods of play. Yet, the Capitals were not ready to roll over and die. Instead, they put together 19 strong minutes of hockey, and tied the score at 3-3 with goals from defenseman Sergei Gonchar (his fourth in three games at 2:12) and center Dale Hunter (at 6:38). However, it was the one minute Washington stopped playing hard that cost them the game. The depleted Bruins, who were missing top scorer Steve Heinze, all-star defenseman Ray Bourque and rugged winger Rich Tocchet, were in no mood to throw in the towel on this night. Instead, the B's stung the Capitals where it hurts most, in the loss column. Rob DiMaio slid a rebound shot from Jozef Stumpel under a diving Carey with only 56 seconds to lift his team to a 4-3 win, while Washington found a way to dig itself another hole. It was DiMaio's second goal of the night. It's starting to look like a goaltender may have to put together a herculean effort to steal a game from the jaws of defeat. However, Simon hopes Carey and Kolzig won't be forced to single- handedly win a game all by themselves. "Our goalies have enough pressure on them as it is," he said. "They come to play every night and they play hard. We have to make sure that we play a full 60 minutes in front of them. They can't be relied on to win games solely for us. "I think we have a good hockey team with two great goaltenders. Hopefully, we can pull through this together and get back on a winning track." Schoenfeld, on the other hand, doesn't approach the long 82-game schedule thinking about losing and winning streaks. Instead, he focuses on one game at a time. "Well, there are no good losing streaks," said Schoenfeld. "I don't think of it in terms of streaks, winning or losing streaks. I think of it in preparation for the next game. We can't undo what's been done, whether it's good or bad. All we can do is focus on our next opponent. That's where our focus will be."

Allison watches from afar

No one has fallen on harder times quite like center/left winger Jason Allison. Allison, who was named the Capitals' player of the month in October, has been mired in a slump for the past two months. He hasn't scored a goal in 20 games: his last came against Philadelphia Oct. 30. As a result of his inability to score, Allison has been a healthy scratch for four out of the last seven games. "I got into a little slump," said Allison, eating pizza on press row in Phoenix. "Being the young guy, you lose a lot of ice time if you're not scoring. Joe Juneau got hurt too. We were playing well together. Now, it's tough. It's hard to get a lot of ice time when you're not scoring. Hopefully, I'll start to get some ice time." He continued by commenting how much easier the game looks as a spectator. "It's (hockey) always a lot easier when you're watching," he said. "You'll see things that will make you say, 'what did you do that for,' when meanwhile you've done it 100 times. You don't realize how fast the game is when you're actually on the ice. Up here, everything looks so much slower and so much easier." Allison, however, seems to be a mainstay in Washington. Instead of sending him down to Portland, the Capitals sent Jaroslav Svejkovsky, Anson Carter, Andrew Brunette and Eric Charron down to the AHL. When asked about a possible trip to Portland, Allison quickly said, "I hope not." He'll need to start scoring goals again if he plans to keep his bags unpacked.

No jet lag for Malgunas

After Charron injured his ribs in Anaheim, Stewart Malgunas was called upon to travel from Providence to Los Angeles. This was no usual call-up for Malgunas. After losing to the Providence Bruins the previous night, Malgunas had to hop on a plane and make it to Los Angeles before the puck dropped at 7:30 PST. He traveled across three time zones that day and made it to The Great Western Forum at 6:00. Most people would be tired after such a long trip, but for Malgunas, his day had just begun. "I wouldn't say I felt the rubbery legs," he said. "I actually felt pretty good, because I was running on pure adrenaline. I had another chance at the NHL. You can't think how tired you are. You have to block that out of your mind and just play as hard as you possibly can." Fortunately for the Capitals and unfortunately for Malgunas, Cote and Johansson returned to the lineup Dec. 20, sending Malgunas back to the minor leagues.

Congratulations Kelly

Winger Kelly Miller played his 759th game as a Capital Dec. 21 at Boston, placing him above Mike Gartner for most all-time games played wearing a Capitals' sweater.

Upcoming games

Life doesn't get any easier for the troubled Capitals in the next two weeks. They will try to climb back into the playoff race against tough opponents such as Detroit, Pittsburgh, Florida and Hartford. After this tough stretch, the Capitals will either be back in the hunt, or trying to pick up wreckage resembling the Titanic. The next two weeks could decide the fate of this hockey team. Writer's Note: I'd like to wish a special thanks to LCS' Phoenix Correspondent Jeff Brown and the Phoenix Coyotes for the hospitality I received during my recent trip to Phoenix. ================================================================ ================================================================= TEAM REPORTS ================================================================= EASTERN CONFERENCE NORTHEASTERN DIVISION ----------------------------------------------------------------- BOSTON BRUINS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Steve Kasper Roster: C - Adam Oates, Jozef Stumpel, Ted Donato, Clayton Beddoes, Trent McCleary. LW - Troy Mallette, Brett Harkins, Rob Dimaio, Andre Roy, Todd Elik. RW - Rick Tocchet, Steve Heinze, Sandy Moger, Sheldon Kennedy, Jeff Odgers, Landon Wilson, Tim Sweeney. D - Ray Bourque, Don Sweeney, Kyle McLaren, Dean Chynoweth, Steve Staios, Barry Richter, Mattias Timander, Anders Myrvold, Dean Malkoc. G - Bill Ranford, Rob Tallas. Injuries: Dean Malkoc, d (underwent wrist surgery, indefinite), Rick Tocchet, rw (strained knee, day-to-day), Ray Bourque, d (Strained oblique muscle, indefinite), Steve Heinze, rw (torn MCL, hip and groin strain, 6-8 weeks), Landon Wilson, rw (clavicle, indefinite), Sandy Moger, rw (eblow surgery, indefinite), Clayton Beddoes, c (bruised ribs, indefinite). Transactions: Sent Scott Bailey g, to Providence of the AHL. Called up Rob Tallas g, Todd Elik lw, Anders Myrvold d, and Tim Sweeney, rw, from Providence of the AHL. Game Results 12/12 New Jersey L 4-7 12/14 Buffalo L 0-4 12/15 at Philadelphia L 0-6 12/17 at Pittsburgh W 6-4 12/19 Tampa Bay W 3-0 12/21 Washington W 4-3 TEAM NEWS by Matt Brown Let's start with a nice holiday limerick. There once was a team called the Bruins, Whose real home rink was in ruins. They moved to the Fleet, Where they always got beat, And their home fans were getting a ... Christmas Greeting from Bruins Management. Not much rhyme or rhythm, but after all, this is a fine family publication. Come to think of it, there hasn't been much rhyme or reason to the Bruins season so far, so our little ditty fits right in. Take the last six games. The Bruins finished out their home stand a dreadful 0-5-1, losing pitifully to New Jersey and getting skunked by Buffalo. These games were as painful to watch as they were to play. The road, however, provided little hope of relief, because the Bruins were facing the red hot Flyers next, then traveling to Pittsburgh, where they had won a game like once in the 90s (0-11-1 since the last win on January 2, 1990). The Bruins dragged into Philly, got toasted 6-0, managing to be shut out for the second time in a row, and dregged out, having been outscored 17 to 4 over the last three games, and getting close to scraping the bottom of the Eastern Conference barrel. By this time, the rumor mill had cranked up the "Steve Kasper’s gone" refrain, and there were false reports of firings, resignation press conferences, and Jacques Demers riding in on a white horse to save the franchise. Well, it didn't happen (apparently, St. Louis was more in need of a saviour than Boston). Contrary to all expectations, the Bruins went into the Igloo and were hardly in a mood to "Beware the Penguins." Without Ray Bourque and Rick Tocchet and Sandy Moger (injured previously), the Bs fell behind, then lost their top goal scorer to a questionable hit from Nefarious Darius. Darius Kasparaitis, who plays hockey like he is getting kickbacks from orthepedic surgeons in every NHL city, pulled one of his notorious low hip checks on Steve Heinze. Pop goes the medial collateral ligament, along with assorted other hip and groin muscles. Even though Darius lined up Heinze from across the ice, and skated into him backwards and low, no penalty was called. Worse, the already depleted Bruins lost their leading goal scorer for 6-8 weeks. However, the team seemed to thrive on adversity this time, instead of causing more of it, by setting off on a second period tear that saw them score five goals, most of them by the makeshift line of Ted Donato, Tim Sweeney, and (hold onto your hat) Barry Richter! Barry hadn't played much forward since his college years at Wisconsin, but something seemed to click. Donato, back at his natural position (center), had a career night, with two goals and two assists, while his linemates each had a goal and an assist. Unlike several times in recent years, when the Bruins had outplayed the Pens only to fold in the final period, this time they held off a late charge by Mario and company for the win. While this year's edition of the Penguins is struggling mightily, this win was still a remarkable accomplishment for the Bruins, given their depleted roster and recent play. The big roster move, putting Jozef Stumpel on the first line with Adam Oates and Steve Heinze, was undone by Kasparaitis (The anti-Kaspar? Sounds almost Biblical). But the rest of the team pulled together, took advantage of Penguin miscues, and actually won for the first time in six games. Two days later, the Bruins continued to surprise, this time winning on home ice of all places, shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning. This game, Kasper had to shuffle players around again, as Tim Sweeney missed the game to be with his wife for the birth of their son, Timothy. So his hot line from the last game was already gone. So this game, the line of Sheldon Kennedy, Troy Mallette, and Brent Harkins provided the fireworks, picking up two goals and two assists, While seldom scoring Trent McCleary chipped one in. Boston was outshot 34 to 25, but Bill Ranford was immense, getting his second shutout this seaason, and the 14th of his career. This game also saw the Boston debut of the only Norwegian player in the NHL, Anders Myrvold, who was acquired with Landon Wilson from Colorado, and who had been playing well in Providence. Sheldon Kennedy again provided some spark against the Washington Capitals, as the Bruins unbelievably won their second in a row at home. Kennedy has scored in three straight games, and the teamwork between Sheldon, smooth operator Brent Harkins, and cornerman Troy Mallette is beginning to show. An even brighter sign, though, was that Rob Dimaio, back on skates and filling in for Heinze on the top line with Oates and Stumpel, had two goals including the winner with less than a minute to play in the game. Another bright spot was a first NHL goal for Steve Staios, who has been playing better in the last three games. Steve had a very rough time of it against Philly and Buffalo, going -6 in the +/- stats. He rebounded to show a +4 total over the two previous wins, and was only -1 against the Caps. Nothing comes easy to this team, however. Kasper had to juggle again, as Tim Sweeney was back and Bill Ranford had the flu. So Kasper started Rob Tallas, and put the Donato-Sweeney-Richter combo back together. After building a 3-goal lead, the Bruins lost focus early in the third, and let the Caps tie the score. Kasper, in his post-game press conference, said "I'm scratching my head," about how the team could play such strong fundamental hockey, and then just totally lose focus for 10 minutes, then pick up right where they left off, and win the game. Part of the change in the team’s play is that they have resigned themselves to playing the dreaded, reviled trap. Essentially, instead of playing aggressively and overextending themselves, giving up odd-man breaks, the Bruins are playing back a little and trying to force those mistakes on their opponents. Is it exciting? Well, most Bruins fans this year would say "Better a trappy win than a scrappy, crappy loss." Still, even with a modest three-game winning streak going, the Holiday trading moratorium declared by the NHL had to be a relief to a number of Bruins players. Although no such holiday spirit extends to NHL coaches, the improved performance of the team, even very short-staffed and without key players like Bourque and Tocchet, had to give Steve Kasper at least something to smile about heading into Christmas week. ----------------------------------------------------------------- BUFFALO SABRES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Ted Nolan Roster: C - Pat LaFontaine, Mike Peca, Derek Plante, Brian Holzinger, Anatoli Semenov. LW - Brad May, Randy Burridge, Michal Grosek, Rob Ray. RW - Dixon Ward, Donald Audette, Jason Dawe, Matthew Barnaby. D - Alexei Zhitnik, Garry Galley, Darryl Shannon, Jay McKee, Mike Wilson, Bob Boughner, Richard Smehlik. G - Dominik Hasek, Andrei Trefilov, Steve Shields. Injuries: Brad May, lw (hand, three weeks); Andrei Trefilov, g (shoulder, 6-8 weeks); Pat LaFontaine, c (post-concussion syndrome, 2.5 months). Transactions: Curtis Brown, rw, reassigned to Rochester (AHL). Barrie Moore, rw, recalled from Rochester (AHL), reassigned to Rochester (AHL). Steve Shields, g, recalled from Rochester (AHL). Game Results 12/11 at Montreal W 3-2 OT 12/13 NY Rangers L 3-0 12/14 at Boston W 4-0 12/18 Tampa Bay W 5-3 12/20 Los Angeles W 6-2 12/21 at Ottawa W 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Valerie Hammerl It's been a busy few weeks for the Sabres. On December 10 they shipped rookied Curtis Brown to Rochester, while Barrie Moore continues to seesaw back and forth between Buffalo and Rochester. Buffalo defeated archrival Montreal in the Molson Centre, with Dixon Ward notching the game-winner. They then were shut out by the New York Rangers, but rebounded with a shutout of their own, against division rival Boston. The shutout placed Dominik Hasek as the leader in shutouts overall by a Sabre goaltender in the history of the club. It would be the start of a four-game winning streak. They defeated Tampa Bay 5-3, breaking the Lightning's five game unbeaten streak, then shocked L.A. 6-2 with four unanswered goals, but lost winger Brad May, who suffered a broken hand. They also learned that results of an MRI on backup netminder Andrei Trefilov revealed a torn labrum in his right shoulder, which would require surgery and take 6-8 weeks. Trefilov injured the shoulder in practice. Next was Ottawa, and a 3-2 win was official when a late Ottawa goal was waived off due to a player in the crease. * Late club president Seymour H. Knox III and current captain Pat LaFontaine were named recipients of the Lester B. Patrick award for 1997. * Ted Darling, the original "Voice of the Sabres", passed away on December 20. Darling, who was part of the original Sabre broadcasts, retired in 1991 when he became unable to perform his duties due to Pick's Disease. Darling covered play-by-play for the 1975 Stanley Cup playoff "fog game" against Philadelphia, was present for the milestones of the French Connection line, and once, when he was unable to leave Buffalo due to a blizzard, did play-by-play for a Buffalo-Montreal game at the Forum from his living room. Darling, 61, was a recipient of the Foster Hewitt award and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. A moment of silence prior to the Buffalo-L.A. game was held in his memory. * It took 30 games into the season, but the Sabres have finally outshot an opponent. * The Buffalo Sabres are currently leading the Northeast Division. ----------------------------------------------------------------- HARTFORD WHALERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Paul Maurice Roster: C - Andrew Cassels, Keith Primeau, Jeff O'Neill, Mark Janssens. LW - Geoff Sanderson, Steven Rice, Paul Ranheim, Hnat Domenichelli, Stu Grimson, Jeff Daniels. RW - Kevin Dineen, Nelson Emerson, Robert Kron, Kelly Chase. D - Glen Wesley, Adam Burt, Curtis Leschyshyn, Marek Malik, Kevin Haller, Alexander Godynyuk, Gerald Diduck, Glen Featherstone, Jeff Brown, G - Jason Muzzatti, Jean Sebastien Giguere, Sean Burke. Injuries: Jeff Brown, d (back surgery [23 October], out for regular season); Sean Burke, g (strained thumb [30 November], out until All-Star break); Sami Kapanen, lw (torn MCL [30 November], out until All-Star break); Kelly Chase, lw (knee, day-to-day); Jeff Daniels, lw (torn knee ligament [20 December], six-to-eight weeks); Gerald Diduck, d (hernia surgery [19 December], two weeks); Glen Featherstone, d (broken foot [21 December], four-to-six weeks). Transactions: 21Dec96: Hnat Domenichelli, LW/C, recalled from Springfield (AHL); 15Dec96: Kevin Haller, D, and 1997 1st and 7th round draft choices acquired form Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Paul Coffey, D, and 1997 3rd round draft choice; 14Dec96: Jason McBain, D, returned to Springfield; 12Dec96: Jason McBain, D, recalled from Springfield. Game Results: 12/11 Florida W 5-3 12/12 @ Philadelphia L 3-2 12/14 Philadelphia L 4-0 12/16 @ NY Ranger L 5-2 12/17 St Louis W 5-3 12/20 Dallas L 4-1 12/21 Tampa Bay W 6-5 OT TEAM NEWS by Steve Gallichio Rewind. March 24, 1996. Jim Rutherford, regarding the Whalers' future in Connecticut, said of a possible new arena: "There are five or six steps we have to go through. A new building is probably the sixth step, and it's five to 10 years down the road, after we've learned what we need to know about the market." Fast forward. December 18, 1996. In a report to state officials, team business consultant Lou Beer, regarding the Whalers' future in Connecticut, said of a possible new arena: "In order for the Whalers to remain in Connecticut, it is necessary that a state of the art arena facility [be constructed] as soon as possible." Pause. My, how time flies when you're having fun. Didn't even see those five years scoot by, did you? Presumably, the team has now learned what they need to know about the market. On the Whalers' behalf, Beer later specifically pointed to the fact that the report to Governor John Rowland was "not intended as a conclusion, but was preliminary in nature and was designed to begin a discussion. "We did not make any demands, but rather urged that a process of study and exploration begin." Despite Beer's soft sell, it's fairly obvious where the exploration will have to end - at the foot of a new hockey arena - for the Whalers to look past the end of this or next year in Hartford. The positive sign is that there is an ongoing dialogue between the two sides. Now it will just take sifting through each side's public posturing to determine how far either is willing to move. We already know that the team is willing to move far, far away. Despite the monstrous $160-$240 million price tag placed on the potential new home, as well as the strong language issued on each side on behalf of their position, neither side has dismissed the other out of hand (yet). Much of the posturing so far has revolved around out clauses and the geographic location of any possible building. Regardless of the course that the arena talks take from here, these most recent developments signal the latest passing of the baton in the Team Tumult Marathon, the decades-long quest to avoid peace and calm at all costs. Last spring, the conclusion of the now-sort-of-legendary ticket drive to save the Whale saw the baton of torment handed to Brendan Shanahan, who promptly beat Whaler fans over the head with it throughout the summer and into the early stages of the season. Upon his departure in October, Shan the Half-man passed the controversy stick to Paul Coffey, who bore it for a only couple of months, seemingly marked by more fraudulent injuries than offensive contributions, before dishing it off, in a neat full circle, back to the team and state for the new round of arena negotiations. All this and more, in the unending quest to make sure the Whalers never have more than a three-day stretch devoid of soap opera-like undertones looming all around the team. The Coffey era in Hartford ended not with a whimper but a bang. Coffey had become increasingly petulant about being forced to suit up for a first place hockey team, to the point where his black cloud was affecting anyone within a two-mile whining radius. Captain Kevin Dineen seemingly took matters into his own hands in an interview aired during a Whalers/Flyers game last weekend. Dineen called on the Whalers to deal, or to deal with, Coffey, saying "whether it's to another team, or just home, it's getting to the point where he has to go somewhere." And a day later, he did. To those same Flyers, along with a 1997 third-round draft choice, in exchange for defenseman Kevin Haller and first- and seventh-round draft picks in 1997. Ironically, the seventh-round pick exchanged was the same one the Whalers sent to Philadelphia to re-acquire Dineen last winter. The impact, and the origin, of Dineen's remarks are somewhat in question. Even as Dineen's comments were airing, Coffey was sitting out the game while Rutherford finalized the deal with Clarke that had seemingly been in the works for weeks. And Coffey took every available opportunity after the deal to cast the comments in a more favorable light, claiming that the whole situation was orchestrated by the two of them in order to speed up his departure. "You know, the things [Dineen] said were kind of premeditated. We both talked about it and it helped speed up the process." Dineen demurred somewhat in response, admitting that he did speak to Coffey beforehand about what he was going to say. The extent of Coffey's input is unclear, with Dineen preferring to leave it with "We both felt that it was best if he left, and now he's gone." The deal leaves the Whalers with two first-round picks in 1997, albeit likely very late in the round, along with Haller and center Keith Primeau, to show for Shanny's Irish Sweepstakes held earlier this fall. Rutherford had been adamant in both trades about receiving first-round picks in return. And through it all, the Whalers remain with a tenuous, partial hold on first place in the Northeast Division entering their Christmas break, despite a rash of injuries and a stretch marked by the team's poorest hockey of the season. In the same week that defenseman Glen Wesley returned after missing several weeks out with a broken foot, defenseman Gerald Diduck and Glen Featherstone each were sidelined; Diduck with hernia surgery and Featherstone with a broken foot. Winger Jeff Daniels, replacing the injured Sami Kapanen, will be out for a couple of months after catching a rut in the ice and tearing a knee ligament. Primeau suffered a concussion courtesy of a Rudy Poeschek stick to the head. The newly infirm join Sean Burke (sprained thumb ligaments) and Jeff Brown, out with season ending back surgery, on the injured rolls. Hartford ended a stretch of seven games in eleven nights with a 3-4-0 record accompanied by wild mood swings. The Whale started the stretch with a rousing home victory over Florida, capped by a five-goal third period. Next followed consecutive thumpings by Philadelphia (twice) and the Rangers, followed by a 2-1 homestand, sandwiching ugly wins over St. Louis (Mike Keenan's last game as a Blue) and Tampa Bay around a lethargic loss to Dallas. All three wins saw the team erase third-period deficits - a tribute both to the team's resilience, as well as their inability to grab a lead. Hartford's opponents have scored the first goal in each of the Whalers' past seven games. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MONTREAL CANADIENS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Mario Tremblay Roster: C - Saku Koivu, Marc Bureau, Darcy Tucker, Vincent Damphousse LW -Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet, Scott Thornton, Terry Ryan, Brian Savage, Pierre Sévigny RW - Mark Recchi, Stephane Richer, Turner Stevenson, Valeri Bure, Chris Murray D - Vladimir Malakhov, Jason Cullimore, Murray Barron, Stephane Quintal, Patrice Brisebois, Peter Popovic, David Wilkie G - Jocelyn Thibault, Pat Jablonski. Injuries: Saku Koivu, c (torn MCL in knee, 6-8 weeks); Marc Bureau, c (torn ACL and MCL, possibly out for season); Benoit Brunet, lw (fractured left fibula, indefinite); Shayne Corson, lw (knee, a few days); Terry Ryan, lw (post-concussion syndrome, indefinite); Darcy Tucker, c (knee, indefinite). Transactions: Sebastien Bordeleau, c, recalled from Fredericton (AHL). Game Results 12/11 Buffalo L 3-2 OT 12/14 at New Jersey T 3-3 12/16 Tampa Bay L 4-2 12/21 Rangers L 3-2 OT TEAM NEWS by Jacques Robert

NO KOIVU... NO CANDY

Christmas is not bringing happiness in Canadiens ranks: a winless team, an injury list getting longer and longer day after day, players at loss when explaining why they are so miserable. Well, it is like Canadiens fans are stunned by their favorites performances and they might begin to be turned off by their Habs. At least, as the season was at an early stage, spectacular hockey was offered in the brand new Molson Center... This time around, a boring hockey is delivered on ice so that fans are about to wonder if it is worth buying such expensive tickets. Once again, time couldn't get worse. Actually, evertything was set up to have the Canadiens back on tracks. Remember: a few weeks ago, media went as far as to question the coaching staff competence... As a result, in the end of November, Mario's boys won a couple of games in a row. Since then, nothing noticeable has been made on the ice. Yes, injured key players got in the picture: Saku Koivu, the best team scorer, was hurt against Chicago and so was center Marc Bureau. Thus, Tremblay had to jiggle offensive lines: Bure-Rucinsky-Damphousse; Savage-Recchi-Richer; Tucker-Thornton-Stevenson had to prove to themselves that they could get the job done. As for Damphousse, his current performance is very deceiving. He has scored only nine goals thus far, whereas "Vinny" was named Canadien Player of the Month in December '95. This year (before the game against NYR), Vincent was a -14. Actually, confidence is simply not there for "cousin Vinny" and it showed in the third period against Tampa when he missed three easy goals against Rick Tabaracci. No wonder he holds one of the worst plus-minus record among the League! Plus, Bure and Martin Rucinsky are simply not living up to their reputations.

RICHER IN GREAT SHAPE

Fortunately, Savage, Recchi and Richer play their games pretty well. In particular Richer, who got out of his way to score twice against his former New Jersey teammates. Savage and Recchi are, more than ever, key players. In the absence of Koivu, the scoring rank is being lead by those two players who are very constant in taking charge of the offense: Against Tampa bay, didn't they steal the show with a total of seven points! As for the other forwards... Stevenson-Tucker-Thornton, fans aren't expecting anything while awaiting Benoit Brunet and Shayne Corson's comebacks. Stevenson? He is dressed because of his physical skills and Thornton, on the left wing, has cement hands. As a matter of fact, most forwards just haven't been doing the job. The defence is all by itself more than often enough. Koivu had this to say when prompted to rate his teamates performances: "The forwards don't come back, so the other team is getting the shots and jumping on the rebounds. We, (the forwards) have been making it very tough on the defenceman and the goalies."

THIBAULT CANNOT TAKE THE PRESSURE

However, defencemen have to share the blame. Guys like Brisebois and Murray Baron are far from being outstanding. "Breeze-by" (Brisebois' nickname) is not being physically involved; as a result, the opponents are constantly in good position to shoot on Thibault or Jablonski. Eh! How come Thibault faced 38 shots against Tampa, one of the teams which is going nowhere? Consequently, more than ever, goalies have to accomplish great feats to keep their team alive. Although Thibault is very spectacular, it seems that he cannot take the pressure any longer. Thus, when he's needed to make the big save to keep his team in the game, he chokes. That unconsistency may summarize the loss against Tampa when Mikael Andersson's 45-foot short-handed goal beat Thibault who admitted that he should have stopped the puck. Therefore, statistics show that The Canadiens give up an average of 34.97 shots per game (through games of Dec.17). The worst NHL record! The bottom line is The Canadiens can't take advantage of scoring opportunities, particulary on power plays. Ever since Turgeon left the team, power-play efficiency is at 13.5% (against 29.5% with Turgeon). Needless to say that many fans are calling for changes. Toronto Maple Leaf, Doug Gilmour, was even rumored in a trade. But GM R. Houle ruled out the possibilty of new blood. "We have to find solutions out our existing line-up," he said. Sure! But Sebastien Bordeleau was called up twice from Fredericton... and he was very seldom used, as it was the case against the Rangers. In short, it seems like Canadiens whole strategy is merely being improvised... It remains that, almost at mid-season, the Habs are not in contention for a playoff spot. Obviously, things can evolve positively as Koivu returns to the game in a few weeks. However, without Koivu, the Canadiens wouldn't expect making it to the post-season games. That's the main conclusion, Koivu's absence leads everyone to reach for the time being. And who knows if Koivu would have won his matchup against Gretzky as Montreal took on NYR? It remains that Gretzky was very instrumental in helping New York to snap a four-year losing streak in Montreal. Just to rub it in! ----------------------------------------------------------------- OTTAWA SENATORS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Jacques Martin Roster: C - Alexei Yashin, Radek Bonk, Shaun Van Allen, Dave Hannan, Bruce Gardiner, Sergei Zholtok. LW - Shawn McEachern, Tom Chorske, Randy Cunneyworth, Dennis Vial, Denny Lambert, Jason Zent. RW - Daniel Alfredsson, Alexandre Daigle, Andreas Dackell, Denis Chasse. D - Steve Duchesne, Sean Hill, Stanislav Neckar, Frank Musil, Lance Pitlick, Jason York, Wade Redden, Janne Laukkanen. G - Damian Rhodes, Ron Tugnutt. Injuries: Tom Chorske, lw (retinal surgery on eye, two weeks); Sean Hill, d (torn ACL, out for season); Stanislav Neckar, d (torn ACL, out for season); Dennis Vial, lw (broken finger, day-to-day); Radek Bonk, c (broken wrist, sidelined indefinitely); Shawn McEachern, lw (fractured jaw, one month). Transactions: Called up Jason Zent, lw, from Worcester (AHL) Dec. 16. Returned Phil Von Stefenelli, d, to Detroit (IHL) Dec 16. Returned Radim Bicanek, d, to Worcester (AHL) Dec 19. Game Results 12/10 at Calgary T 5-5 12/13 Phoenix L 4-2 12/15 Dallas L 4-0 12/19 Florida W 5-2 TEAM NEWS by The Nosebleeders An Open Letter to the Big Guy Santa Claus North Pole HOHOHO Dear Santa, Hi big guy, its the Nosebleeders from all the way down here in Ottawa. Chances are that you are bogged down with work at the moment, as you busily prepare your sleigh for Christmas. So, we'll cut to the chase. We were both good little boys this year, Santa. We made every effort to say nice things about the Ottawa Senators, and we never made fun of them behind their backs. We also made every effort not to use any cuss words whenever the Senators blew yet another lead, or gave up a short-handed goal on a 5-on-3 advantage. We found words like "fudge", and "darn" and "golly" worked just as well as the street language! We always obeyed our masters, Pierre Gauthier and Jacques Martin. When they told us to that the team was "much improved", we believed them without an ounce of doubt. We also did a lot of charity work this year, each donating hundreds of dollars to such worthy causes as the Senators box office, Corel Centre Parking Control and Ogden Entertainment concessions (including but not limited to "Beers of the World"). So, as you can see Santa, we truly deserve to be on your "Good" list. So what do we want for Christmas? First, we would love to have an offense that works. Frankly, we're getting pretty tired of seeing zeroes all over the scorecard. A few weeks ago, you surprised us with an early Christmas gift by giving Shawn MacEachern his first goal in 15 games. But before we could say "Happy days are here again", he got knocked out of the lineup with a broken jaw. As for the power play... too depressing to mention here. Get one of your elves to teach the Senators basic math - namely, that having five players on the ice to face off against four or three opponents should generally work in their favour. And then there's that Yashin guy... paid millions to score goals and dazzle the crowd with his playmaking abilities, yet he is doing nothing except ticking fans off with his 'selfish' attitude on the ice. He's a tough one to figure out, right Santa? We always believed that pairing him with another Russian would be the spark he needs. So please, Santa, if you could get us a good Russian forward, we'd appreciate it. Somehow, we can't see Sergei Zholtok being the answer. Secondly, we wouldn't mind if you could spike the Senators cafeteria food with iron, vitamins and other healthy minerals. How else can you explain the team's brittle health? Bonk- broken wrist. Vial - broken finger. MacEachern - broken jaw. Neckar and Hill - knees ripped to shreds. Heck (see, we're learning Santa!) even their eyes are going bad, Tom Chorske being the first casualty. Result? Sens fans - broken hearts. Help.... Third, and we think this will be a gift that keeps on giving, if you could pull a few strings, maybe you could hook up with the Ghost of Senators Past and have him pay a visit to Pierre Gauthier. Have Mr. Ghost take Mr. Gauthier back to the 1920s, when the Senators were the world's best hockey franchise and the Ottawa Valley was the heartbed of hockey. Then have him show Mr. Gauthier the evils winters of 1992, 1993 and 1994, when ol' Ebeneezer Sexton ruled the team with an iron fist and, in the process, dragged them down to the depths of ridicule. Maybe this little visit will remind Gauthier that the Senators cannot afford to sit back and wait until their current crop of players matures. Injuries have depleted the team, fans are getting restless and turnstiles are simply turning rusty what with not turning and all. Now is the time to shake the team up - swing a deal, or two, or three. We tried to wake up Mr. Gauthier in the last issue, Santa, but to no avail. Can you help, Nicky-boy? Lastly, for not only the Senators but the league at large, can you give the Mr. Gary Bettmen consistent refereeing that allows teams to play hockey? So that's it, Santa. Seems like a lot, but in retrospect, all we're asking for is to see the Senators in the 1996-97 playoff highlight video cassette. We hope this wish list is not too late, and that it doesn't cause you any burdens in your hectic schedule. Looking forward to your visit to Ottawa. Signed, your two biggest fans, Dave DeRosa Stephen Guest P.S. If none of the wishes above are possible to fulfill, then we'll gladly settle for two "Tickle Me Elmo"s. Oh the fun you can have! Up In Smoke The Senators completed their gruelling six day swing across Western Canada with a ticket to the dance against the struggling Calgary Flames at the Saddledome. If anything, this road trip brought out the "Jekyl and Hide" in Ottawa. In Edmonton, the Senators showed no pulse, as their corpses were easily dissected by a much quicker Oiler squad. In Vancouver, the team suddenly displayed its more methodical, conservative, defensive-oriented style of hockey, en route to a 3-2 win at GM Place. One could only wonder which Senators team would show up in their rendez-vous with Calgary. Intent on confusing the beegeezus out of their fans, the Senators came out flying, playing a brand of firewagon hockey the likes of which has never before been seen in the Red, White and Black Zone. Yet, despite the inspired play of Daniel Alfredsson and Christer Olsson (who?), the Senators still could not escape the Stampede City with two points, settling instead for a 5-5 tie, thanks to a goal by Calgary's Jonas Hoglund with only 48 seconds left in the contest. Once again, the Senators downfall was their inability to hold onto the lead. Down 2-1 late in the first period, the Senators exploded for three unanswered goals, building up a 4-2 lead by the mid-point of the second. But before the second intermission rang in, Calgary banged home two quick goals to tie it up. The Sens jumped out ahead in the third, but then could not shut down the Flames in the final minute, and the rest, as they say, is history... Despite the effort (and the point), Sens boss Jacques Martin was not impressed. After all, Calgary was forced to dress 10 rookies, including five on defence. "It was a hell of a game, but we beat ourselves," he summed up, rather nicely. A Game of "First"s Not only was the Ottawa-Calgary game by far one of the most entertaining of the season, it was also the most interesting for the number of "firsts" that took place. Alexei Yashin's goal was his "first" in 14 games. Tom Chorske's goal was his "first" in nine. Christer Olsson's and Sergei Zholtok's goals were their "first"s as Ottawa Senators. Phil Von Stefenelli, normally a defenceman, registered his "first" point as a forward. How ironic that despite the Senators' "first"s, Ottawa is still dead "last" in the overall standings. And Now For Something Completely Different... What would hockey reporting be like without mentioning the words "contract", "agent", "negotiating" and "clauses." It turns out that the Ottawa Senators are very close to signing young prospect Chris Phillips. Phillips, the Senators' first overall draft pick last year, walked out of the Senators camp just prior to the regular season opener after he accused the club of not giving him a fair chance of making the team. According to The Ottawa Sun, Sens GM Pierre Gauthier and Phillips' agent, Stacey McAlpine, have already agreed that Phillips will receive his $875,000 US per year rookie salary cap that he's entitled to over the next three years. The only things left on the table are the various bonuses Phillips would receive for individual and team play. "Of the 26 issues on the table, 24 are more or less settled," McAlpine told The Sun. Twenty-six issues?!?! For a rookie?!?! The times, my friends, they are-a changin'... Look for Philips to shine as one of the Canadian veterans as this years World Junior Championships in Geneva. The Canucks are looking to make it five Championships in a row. Not to be out-done by a rookie, Sens star Daniel Alfredsson has decided to switch agents in order to get a bigger piece of the pie next year when his two-year deal comes up for re-negotiation. Alfredsson replaced Boston-based agent Neil Abott with Mike Barnett of Los Angeles. Barnett, if you recall, is one of the league's most prominent agents, representing such stars as Wayne Gretzky of the New York Rangers, and Mats Sundin of Toronto. Alfredsson, rookie-of-the-year last year and current Sens scoring leader, is looking to improve on his current salary of $320,000 per year - a bargain in comparison to other players of equal or lesser talent. Bark At the Moon The Senators next returned home from Calgary to face the Phoenix Coyotes at the Corel Centre. The Coyotes are, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most perplexing teams in the NHL. With names like Keith Tkachuk, Mike Gartner, Jeremy Roenick, Craig Janney, Cliff Ronning, Oleg Tverdovsky and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin in the lineup, one would expect the Rabid Dogs to be competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Instead, Phoenix sits 11th in the 13-team Western Conference and dead last in the league in goals scored. Looking for a scapegoat, the Coyotes recently fired GM John Paddock, a long-time associate with the club during their days in Winnipeg. With the firing fresh in the team's memory, one would have expected Phoenix to prey on the struggling Senators in any attempt to avoid the new-found wrath of Coyotes' hockey operations boss Bobby Smith. Except for one thing... nobody bothered to remind Phoenix about this usual phenomenon. Playing before the smallest hockey crowd in Corel Centre history - only 11,441 - the Senators could not capitalize on the surprisingly uninspired play of the Coyotes, dropping a 4-2 decision. This game was closer than the score as the Sens had a goal called back late in the third period that would have tied the game... The NHL, on E.S.P. Although the Senators' listless play was a major reason for the loss, many would also argue that referee Ron Schick should take part of the blame. With just 26 seconds left in the game, Schick called back an apparent Senators goal that would have tied the game at three apiece, claiming he blew the whistle before the puck went in. Although video replay proved otherwise, Schick nevertheless maintained his innocence. Phoenix then countered with an empty-netter with 14 seconds left to slam the door shut. However, what was absolutely mind-baffling was Schick's explanation after the game. Sens head coach Jacques Martin confronted Schick after he reviewed the video replay. Schick's response? As soon as he made up his mind to blow the whistle, the play was dead, even if the whistle wasn't actually blown. Oh great, so now the league is operating on telepathy! What next, E.S.P.? We can just see the press release right now..."NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced today that his clairvoyant, Madame Zorba, predicted that Chicago would win the Stanley Cup next year. Next season has thus been cancelled, and arrangements have been made to ship the Cup immediately to Windy City authorities." Firing Squad About the only good thing to report on the loss to the Coyotes was the effort put in by rejuvenated star Alexandre Daigle. Daigle tied a club record for most shots on goal in a period with six in the first. He nows shares the record with Randy Cunneyworth and former Senator Sylvain Turgeon (remember him?). Kudos to the petit tigre. The Stars Are Out...In A Matinee? While many hockey fans scratch their heads over the Coyotes' poor performances to date, many are also scratching their heads trying to figure out how Dallas could be playing so well. With the exception of Mike Modano and the injured Derian Hatcher, one would be hard-pressed to find a real "Star" among the Stars. Suffice it to say that Bob Gainey should be a front-runner for the league's executive-of-the-year award and ditto to Mr. Hitchcock for his coaching wizardry. In a rare matinee game at the Corel Centre, the Senators decided that an afternoon nap was far more appealing than playing the Stars, and the result was a 4-0 whitewashing. Simply put, Ottawa stunk, and once again, poor Ron Tugnutt had to pay for his teammates' laziness. Playing in only his sixth game of the season and first at home, Tugnutt was victimized by three goals on just eight shots, including two short-handed goals in just 26 seconds. Bench boss Jacques Martin pulled Tugnutt after the two-goal no-no, but was quick to absolve Tugger of the blame. "I had to do something to try and shake things up," he reasoned after the game. Even more frustrating is the fact that Ottawa could have stolen two points had they even bothered to show up. Stealing a page from Phoenix's playbook, Dallas put in one of their worst efforts of the season, mustering only 15 shots on net for the whole game. The fact that it was enough to soundly beat Ottawa speaks volumes as to the Senators performance. Good News and Bad News... First, the bad news: with the loss, Ottawa extended their winless streak at home to six games, their last win at home coming against Chicago on November 15. The good news: Ottawa plays most of the second half of the season on the road. We're grasping at straws here, people... Panthers Declawed Much like the Dallas Stars are to the Western Conference, the Florida Panthers continue to be the "surprise" of the Eastern Conference. Sure, they went to the Stanley Cup finals last year, but how many people really expected their good fortune to run this long? Heading into battle at the Corel Centre, the Panthers were leading the Eastern Conference standings with 43 points. By all accounts, playing their weaker expansion sister from Bytown should have been an easy two points. But let's not forget, people, that we are talking about the Ottawa Senators - a team as wildly unpredictable as they come. Coming off back-to-back losses to Phoenix and Dallas at home, the Sens faced the daunting task of rejuvenating their fortunes against the best defence in the league. So what did the Senators go out and do? Oh, they proceeded to slam four unanswered goals in the second period against the Beezer and Co. en route to a convincing 5-2 victory... that's all. In what was their best performance to date - perhaps in team history - the Senators offence proved to be too much for Florida, as incredible as it sounds. Powered by their tight forechecking, the Senators were able to capitalize off some rare Florida mistakes and converted them into goals. For the first time in centuries, it seemed, the Senators special teams registered a "plus" on the night, blanking Florida on four power-play opportunities while dinging home a beautiful short-handed goal, courtesy of Dave Hannan's lumber. At the other end of the rink, goaltender Damian Rhodes registered Kudos #12 on the season, turning a stellar performance after he gave up an early goal to Radek Dvorak. The same could not be said for his counterpart, John Vanbiesbrouck, who was yanked for the first time in memory after the Senators second period outburst. A New Era? The Florida game marked the first time that Alexei Yashin, Daniel Alfredsson and Sergei Zholtok were paired up together. The reviews were pretty favourable, as both Yashin and Alfredsson notched a goal and an assist. And So This Is Christmas... It seems that Christmas DOES bring out the best in people, even if their team is in dead last place. An anonymous donor left a Tickle Me Elmo doll at the Senators front office prior to the Panthers game. The popular toy was then auctioned off at the Corel Centre, with proceeds going to a local Boys and Girls Club. So How Does This Improve Their Penalty Killing? The day after the Panthers game, the Senators attended a two-hour drug and alcohol awareness session with league officials. Sens management has taken a nod from the airline industry where every empty seat is a lost dollar. Youth fares and seat sales are now a common theme at many games. The airlines may want to take a cue or two from the Sens including discounting the parking and $1 hotdogs (compare that to airport cafeteria prices). The Sens have not, as yet, done anything about the rumour of a fan putting a curse on them as the result of the beer price hike to $4.25 at the start of this season. Bruce Gardiner's recent scoring streak may have something to do with the pregame dipping of his stick into the toilet, then again it may not. The Sens recent injuries forced them to take a team of non-fighters on their western road trip. The frustration for the enforcers was obvious. Following the Vancouver game Gino Odjick kept asking "who're you supposed to hit out there?" The recent reports on oversized goalie equipment brought back fond memories for Sens backup goalie Ron Tugnutt who played with suspected offender Patrick "extra extra large please" Roy. Buffalo is Ottawa's next challenge. Things were looking up as the Sabres had problems getting to Ottawa and have had to charter the Raptors (NBA) plane. Here's hoping that some of the Raptors winning ways (NOT) will rub off on the Sabres; but then again the Pro-line odds strangely have Ottawa favoured for the game. I'm Just Knots About Laura, and She's Just Knots About Me... Since this is Christmas, we'll end this column with some great news. Senators goaltender Damian Rhodes recently announced his engagement to girlfriend Laura Wickes. The two will tie the knot next summer. The Nosebleeders wish the two lovebirds all the best for their future together! Merry Christmas to all LCS browsers and fellow staffers! ----------------------------------------------------------------- PITTSBURGH PENGUINS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Eddie Johnston Roster: C - Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Petr Nedved, Stu Barnes, Tyler Wright. LW - Andreas Johansson, Alex Hicks, Dave Roche, Joe Dziedzic, Alek Stojanov. RW - Jaromir Jagr, Tomas Sandstrom, Glen Murray, Joey Mullen. D - Darius Kasparaitis, Kevin Hatcher, Chris Tamer, Fredrick Olausson, Jason Woolley, J. J. Daigneault, Francois Leroux, Craig Muni, Neil Wilkinson. G - Tom Barrasso, Ken Wregget, Patrick Lalime. Injuries: Chris Tamer, d (abdominal injury, on injured reserve); Neil Wilkinson, d (abdominal injury, still gettin' close); Tom Barrasso, g (shoulder, indefinite); Andreas Johansson, lw (sparated shoulder, indefinite); Alex Hicks, lw (hip, day-to- day); Petr Nedved, c (bruised tail bone, day-to-day). Transactions: Returned Phillippe DeRouville, g, to Kansas City (IHL). Game Results 12/10 at Los Angeles W 5-3 12/11 at Anaheim W 7-3 12/13 at San Jose W 4-0 12/15 at Chicago L 2-1 12/17 Boston L 6-4 12/19 at St. Louis W 4-0 12/21 San Jose W 3-1 TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell

Birds Still Truckin'

Continuing their hot play with a 5-2-0 record over the past two weeks, the Pittsburgh Penguins have secured their spot in third place in the Northeastern Division. The Penguins, who now check in at 16-15-3, have 35 points and are only three back of Buffalo and Hartford for first place. After all the trades of a few weeks ago, the team was hoping to get back to .500 by Christmas. With only one game remaining to be played, a Monday night contest against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, that mission has been accomplished. Since the first trade that brought Darius Kasparaitis and Andreas Johansson, the Penguins are 11-2-3. This just in, that's pretty good. Lalime!: The big story in Pittsburgh at the moment is the play of rookie netminder Patrick Lalime. Often criticized for their organization's lack of goaltending depth, the Penguins didn't panic and make a trade when Tom Barrasso went out with a season-ending shoulder injury. Instead, they gave the backup job to the 22-year-old Lalime, who had never appeared in the NHL, and hoped for the best. Lalime has rewarded the club's confidence in him by going 5-0-0 in his first five decisions, even earning his first career shutout with a 20-save performance in a 4-0 win against San Jose on December 13. Some people around the league may be questioning Lalime's record, figuring it's just one of them rookie fluke things. But they shouldn't. This kid is the real deal. Someone should really video tape one of his performances and sell it as an instructional video. Lalime is just picture perfect with his butterfly style. Because of his size (6'2"), he doesn't fall prey to the usual butterfly problem of going down too early. Since even when he does, he's still big enough to take away the top part of the cage. The best thing about Lalime is his angle play. He's always square to the shooter and out on top of the crease challenging. Combine his strong angle work with his good size, and the result is that most shots just hit him. Not many of his saves are spectacular, but that's okay. It's always better to make a whole mess of ordinary saves than just a few spectacular ones. While Lalime continues to shine, Kenny Wregget has been having his problems of late. It's the same old story with Wregget, he just can't control rebounds. It seems every shot, no matter how weak, always gets left a few feet in front of the net for the nearest opponent's stick. Wregget probably had his worst game of the season against the Bruins on December 17 when he allowed six goals in just two periods of action. Granted, not all the goals were his fault, but a few definitely were. Lalime replaced him at the start of the third and shut the door, stopping all seven shots he faced. Wregget rebounded his next time out by shutting out the Blues, 4- 0 in St. Louis. He definitely needed that. There may not be a goaltending controversy brewing just yet, but don't be surprised to see Lalime's playing time increased. Oh, That Kooky Kaspar: There was a pretty wacky occurrence at the end of Lalime's 4-0 shutout of the Sharks in San Jose. As the horn sounded and the Pens swarmed to congratulate Lalime on his first career NHL whitewash, Darius Kasparaitis collected the game puck and skated towards his teammates. Everyone just took for granted that Darius would give the puck to Lalime. Except that there guy ain't hooked up quite right. With a smile on his face and fun in his heart, Kaspar gleefully tossed the puck over the glass and into the stands, apparently not aware of its meaning. Almost immediately the rest of the Pens went to the glass pleading with the fan to return the puck. Things didn't appear to be going too well and then Mario Lemieux skated over and gestured to the fan, and that's really all it took. When Lemieux speaks, people listen. J.J. Daigneault reportedly traded the fan his stick in exchange for the puck. Lalime was later asked in a TV interview about the comical event and jokingly said something to the effect of, "I guess Darius wasn't used to shutouts over on Long Island." Streaks Snapped: The Penguins had their 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) snapped at the United Center in Chicago on December 15. It was the last stop on the club's four-game western road swing, not to mention the eighth game in twelve days, and the Birds were visibly sleepy. They gave it a good go under the circumstances, but fell short on a late goal by Hawk defenseman Keith Carney. Jaromir Jagr had a nine-game goal-scoring streak snapped against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on December 11. Jaromir recorded two assists in the 7-3 win, but couldn't light the lamp. Bruin Befuddlement: If ever there was a recipe for a pummeling, it was on December 17 when the Boston Bruins paid a visit to the Civic Arena. Not only had the bear cubs not won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh since January 2, 1990 (an 0-11- 1 stretch, 0-16-1 counting playoffs), but the B's took the ice on this night without all-world defenseman Ray Bourque. Throw in the fact that the Bruins had not scored a goal in their two previous games, and most were chalking this up in the Penguin win column before it even started. Lemieux got things rolling with a swell wrist shot over the always spectacular Bill Ranford's catching glove five minutes in, to give the Pens a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. The turning point of the game occurred a few minutes later when Steve Heinze scored an incredibly weak short-handed goal to knot the score at 1-1. All short-handed goals are huge, but soft ones are killers. Ken Wregget was a little off his angle and Heinze's shot nicked the blade of Kevin Hatcher's stick and changed directions slightly before finding its way just inside the shortside post. If Wregget is positioned better, he makes the save. It just seemed he really wasn't concentrating on the shot as much as he should, since it was launched from out high along the left wing boards. In fact, he looked kind of drowsy the rest of the night. >From there on out, it was all Boston. The Bruins rattled off four straight goals at the start of the second period and the game was all but decided. The Pens made it close at the end thanks to a brilliant individual effort from Ron Francis, which saw him weave his way through the entire Boston defense before snapping a shot over Ranford's glove, but even the awe-inspiring display couldn't spark a comeback. The final score was 6-4, although it hardly reflected how poorly the club played. Turnovers in the neutral zone led directly to four goals, and is the kind of stuff good teams just don't let happen. The recent unbeaten streak proved the Pens are capable of playing excellent hockey, but this game was another glaring example that things still aren't perfect. The poor showing against the Bruins can be explained rather easily, though. Teams always have trouble in their first game at home following an extended road trip. It's just one of those constants in hockey. Throw in the incredibly demanding stretch of games the club had just played, and it's easy to understand the letdown against the Bears. It's not excusable, but it is understandable. The important thing was following it up with an impressive 4-0 win the next time out against St. Louis. A shutout can wash away the taste of a bad performance rather easily. Sandstrom Goin' Strong: Last issue it was noted that Sandstrom missed two games with the flu. Well, it has since been learned that Sandstrom was not sick, but was a healthy scratch by coach Eddie Johnston. Not happy with Sandstrom's play, EJ hoped the forced time off would get the streaky Swede fired up. The ploy appeared to work when Sandstrom returned to the lineup with a vengeance, potting two goals against San Jose a few nights after his press box sabbatical ended. Unfortunately, he hasn't scored since. He's still playing better tho', driving to the net consistently and once again stirring up trouble on occasion. Injury Update: The Pens new depth at forward has been tested recently, with a rash of injuries rubbing out more than one Bird. Andreas Johansson missed one game with back spasms against Anaheim on December 7, and then suffered a separated shoulder in the club's next outing three nights later against Los Angeles. He'll be out for at least another couple weeks. It's really a shame, since the young Swede was starting to find his offensive game just at the time of the injury. Alex Hicks joined the injury parade a few games later with a bruised hip. It's not expected to be serious and he could be back any day now. An interesting note about Hicks: He has two goals since becoming a Penguin, one in each outing against his former Duck teammates. He must have hated life in Anaheim. The most important recent injury is the one to Petr Nedved. Petey got destroyed by a Chris Pronger center-ice check in Pittsburgh's 4-0 win over the Blues on December 19. The collision knocked him all loopy and he was forced out of the game early. He also sat out the next game against the Sharks, a 3-1 win. The injury is listed as a bruised tail bone, and he could be back as soon as Monday night. As long as he can sit on the plane to Toronto that is. The status on the rest of the injured players hasn't changed. Barrasso is still out for the season, Tamer is indefinite, and Wilkinson was close to returning before another minor setback. So no one really knows for sure. Kasparaitis Crushes (latest victim here): Darius has done it again. Already owning a long list of past victims who have felt the wrath of his hip checks, Kaspar added yet another when he torpedoed Steve Heinze along the boards during Pittsburgh's recent 6-4 loss to the Bruins. It was actually a clean hit, although some might consider it dirty. Heinze, Boston's leading goal scorer (Huh? Wha'? Huh? What's wrong with that sentence?), was trying to make his way up the right wing wall of the neutral zone when Darius launched himself hip-first into the Bruin forward. Heinze crumpled to the ice in pain and will be out 6-8 weeks with a knee injury. Kaspar and Hatch: Starsky and Hutch, look out! Pittsburgh has its own dynamic crime-fighting duo in town. The minute Eddie Johnston put Darius Kasparaitis and Kevin Hatcher together as a defensive pairing, it became apparent the coach had stumbled into something good. The two have been a dominating force for the Penguins over the past few weeks. Hatcher is among the defensive scoring leaders in the league with six goals and 29 points. He also leads the team in +/- with a +15. Meanwhile, in 16 games with the Pens, Kaspar has a goal and eight points to go along with an amazing +21. His -7 while with the Isles brings his total down to a +14, otherwise he'd be runnin' away with the team lead. Top of the Charts: Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr have completed their rise to the top of the scoring charts. At the time of this writing, both men were tied with Wayne Gretzky for the league lead in points with 50. Although, Gretzky had played two more games than Jagr and three more than Lemieux. Jagr still leads the league in goals with 30, although he hasn't scored one in his last four games. Mario is quickly closing ground, checking in with 21 red lights. Lemieux Looking Good: Last issue it was reported that Lemieux was still looking sleepy. Well, it now looks like his alarm clock has gone off. Mario appears good as new lately, finally starting to finish chances around the net and otherwise dominating play. Mario did not have a multiple-goal game this season until he found the net twice against Anaheim on December 11. Since then, Lemieux has posted two more multiple-goal games, including the 38th hat trick of his career on December 19 at St. Louis. Mario now has 11 goals in his past nine games, including six in his last three. He once again has that look in his eyes and that hop in his step that makes Lemieux different from all other mortals. After feeling sorry for the guy the first few months of the season, it's now fun to watch Mario play again. Each shift is an event. Even when he isn't scoring goals, he's still taunting the opposition with magical stickhandling and some real nifty passes. He set up the game-winner in the Pens recent 3-1 win over San Jose with a breathtaking journey all over the Pittsburgh offensive zone, weaving through Shark defenders with the greatest of ease and drawing all the attention to himself, before dealing a no-look behind-the-back pass to Daigneault pinching late form the point. It was one of those plays that no other player in the game could dream about, let alone make. It had pretty much been decided that Jagr was the best player in the game right now, but this recent outburst by Lemieux reminded everyone that he isn't retired yet. All-World Line Switched Up: The All-World Line of Lemieux, Jagr, and Francis continues to dominate. The trio has scored something like 416 goals in the 14 games since they were put together. Honest... 416 goals. The club's record since the threesome became one on November 22 is 10-2-2. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, when Nedved got knocked loopy by Pronger in St. Louis, the line had to be split up in order to balance things out a bit. So, against the Sharks, Francis moved to the second unit, while Joey Mullen moved up to play with Lemieux and Jagr. Sadly, Joey still couldn't find the net and remains five goals shy of 500. Trailing 1-0 and feeling the team needed a spark, EJ snuck Francis out with Mario and Jaromir. The move paved off immediately when Francis gave Lemieux a gorgeous cross-ice pass into the San Jose zone that Mario coverted into a highlight film goal. One shift. One goal. EJ has said that when Nedved returns the All-World trio will be back together. And despite some feeling that the line should eventually be split up, EJ has said he might keep them together for the long haul. LCS agrees. Keep 'em together, baby! Yeehaw! They're the All-World Line! Yeehaw!

Short Game Recaps

Dec. 10 won at Los Angeles, 5-3: The Pens kicked off the four-game western road trip with a solid showing against the Kings. LA made it close late on a goal by Rob Blake, but Jagr sealed the game with an empty-netter in the final seconds, his second goal of the contest. Lemieux, Nedved, and Roche also added goals. Nedved's was of the usual overpowering-wrist-shot variety. This was the club's third consecutive 5-3 victory... that's odd. Dec. 11 won at Anaheim, 7-3: The Pens went buckwild on the water fowl, chasing a seemingly confused Mikhail Shtalenkov out of the Anaheim net. Mike O'Neill fared no better, and the Birds rolled to the easy 7-3 win. Lemieux stretched his goal- scoring streak to four games with a pair of red lights, amazingly it was his first multi-goal game of the season. Nedved also chipped in two goals, while Hicks, Dziedzic, and Hatcher each added one. Dziedzic's goal was his first of the season. Unfortunately, despite the barrage of goals, Jagr saw his nine- game goal-scoring streak come to an end. Lalime was once again in net, recording his third win in as many starts. The triumph drew the Pens to the .500 mark for the first time this season, as they leveled off at 13-13-3. Dec. 13 won at San Jose, 4-0: The Birds completed a three-game sweep of California by clubbing the Sharks 4-0. This was probably the team's best performance of the season, limiting Broadway Bernie Nicholls and crew to just 20 shots on goal. Lalime was playing in his second straight game and earned his first career shutout thanks to the strong team effort. Bernie came close to spoiling Lalime's first whitewash when he clanged a drive off the left post, but that was as close as the Sharks would come on this night. Wright, Jagr, and Sandstrom, who had a pair, did the damage for Pittsburgh. And, yes, if you've been paying attention, you'd have realized that this win pushed the Pens above .500 for the first time on the season, at 14-13-3. Dec. 15 lost at Chicago, 2-1: This game was a heartbreaker. This was the club's eighth game in just twelve days, and the boys definitely appeared drowsy. Yet even while obviously sleepy, the Pens managed to battle the Hawks to a 1-1 tie late into the third period, with Tony Amonte and Jason Woolley exchanging goals. Then, with less than two minutes left in regulation, Keith Carney gathered a loose puck high along the left wing boards and wristed a weak shot towards the Pittsburgh cage. As the shot made its way to the net, winger Ethan Moreau cut in front of Kenny Wregget and screened the Penguin netminder. The puck snuck through Moreau's legs and over Wregget's glove for the winner. Wregget argued that Moreau had interfered with him by banging into his glove hand as the Chicago forward crossed in front, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The loss dropped the Pens back to .500 and ended their ten-game unbeaten streak (8-0- 2). Dec. 17 lost to Boston, 6-4: This game was silly. No need to talk about it anymore, it just sucked. Lemieux had a pair, Stojanov and Francis also scored. Dec. 19 won at St. Louis, 4-0: In the wake of the Mike Keenan firing, the Pens blanked the Blues 4-0 behind Lemieux's 38th career hat trick. Lemieux turned the natural trick with three straight goals in the second period, and Hatcher added a nifty wrister between Jon Casey's pads in the same frame to ice it away. Mario also assisted on Hatcher's goal, while Jagr had helpers on all four tallies. Wregget was in net, recording his second shutout of the season and the eighth of his career. While we're on the subject of natural hat tricks, let's clear up a common misconception. Some people think that it takes all three goals being scored in the same period to be a natural hat trick. Not so fast, Kenny. To be a natural trick, all three goals have to be scored in a row. The period has nothin' to do with it. Some may argue this point, but, well, they'd be wrong. Dec. 21, beat San Jose 3-1: The Sharks took a 1-0 lead in the first when Viktor Kozlov wristed a shot from the high right slot off the skate of J.J. Daigneault and up over Lalime's shoulder. The Pens got even in the second period when Mario freaked Marty McSorley with a quick inside move from the left wing and wristed a shot down low past Chris Terreri. Then in the third period, Lemieux learned the entire Shark team by controlling the puck in the offensive zone for an eternity, dancing his way through 10 or 12 guys before setting up Daigneault, who skated in from the point and wristed the puck five-hole, for the eventual game- winner. That's right, 10 or 12 guys. People were actually jumping off the bench trying to stop Mario, but it just couldn't be done. Francis sealed it with an empty-netter. Lalime had 32 saves. ================================================================= ================================================================= TEAM REPORTS ================================================================= WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL DIVISION ----------------------------------------------------------------- CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Craig Hartsburg Roster: C - Alexei Zhamnov, Kevin Miller, Denis Savard, Jeff Shantz, Brent Sutter, Adam Creighton. LW - Murray Craven, Bob Probert, Jim Cummins, Ethan Moreau. RW - Tony Amonte, Eric Daze, Darin Kimble, Sergei Krivokrasov. D - Chris Chelios, Gary Suter, Steve Smith, Eric Weinrich, Cam Russell, Keith Carney, Enrico Ciccone, Ivan Droppa, Tuomas Gronman. G - Ed Belfour, Jeff Hackett. Injuries: Steve Smith, d (back, day-to-day); Brent Sutter, c (groin thingy, indefinite) Transactions: Recalled and then sent down Dave Chyzowski, f, from Indianapolis (IHL); Recalled and then sent down Sergei Klimovich, f, from Indianapolis (IHL). Game Results: 12/09 Toronto L 3-1 12/12 at Detroit L 6-2 12/13 at St. Louis W 4-1 12/15 Pittsburgh W 2-1 12/18 Dallas L 3-2 12/20 Florida L 3-1 TEAM NEWS by Dan Glovier Pass Da Stats! Since we started the last article with some stats, let's do so again. Warning! These stats may look familiar and may cause eye damage if you stare directly at them. * The Hawks have lost six of their last eight games. Their two wins were a road victory against the Blues (everyone, even the Hawks, are beating the Blues right now) and a home win against the once mighty, and faltering pretty badly, Penguins. * They have lost six of their last seven at home. * They have been held to two goals or less in nine of their last 11 games. Remember, You're Under Oath In a very weird and bizarre move, Bob Pulford not only spoke to the press, but also stepped to the plate when he said, "Our job is to make trades, and we haven't done it ... We still haven't got the center we knew we needed." The whole world knew Pully wanted Bryan Smolinski, and he wanted him badly. Once the Hawks were beaten out of that race, you would figure that they would go after another player to fill a very, very big void. Or not. What's frightening is that there is no real talk about any players coming here. Sure there are always some whispers about the disgruntled veteran wanting out of some other city and coming here. The Rick Tocchet and (the ever-present) Brett Hull rumors have come and gone quickly and quietly. Heck, even the annual Chris Gratton sighting has been postponed. If the Hawks don't make the move for another center, they have absolutely no chance of making any noise in the playoffs. None. If they do get a legitimate number two center, then things start to look a bit better. At this point, the Hawks management cold realistically say that they are done trading, and let the cards fall where they may. Now, if they really want to take a shot at the Cup, they follow up with another forward who could put the puck in the net. A 25-30 goal guy at least. The only problem with this is that the entire league is looking for some of these guys. We've Found Him Bob Probert did the unexpected last week: he actually showed up for a game against Detroit! He was a physical force, netting himself a fighting hat trick (Aaron Ward, Darren McCarty, and a donneybrook with Brendan Shanahan). In case he wasn't wore out yet, in the following game he went at it with Tony Twist. All year long it appeared as though Probert just wasn't in the groove on anything. His role was supposedly changed, and with it, he changed. Coach Hartsburg has changed the system a bit, and now he's telling the defensemen not to join the play as much, to dump it in deep, and let some of the Hawks big forwards, like Probert, do their thing in the corners. The team has still not played well, but at least Bob Probert now feels more into the game. Dazed and Confused Eric Daze has suffered his first back-to-back game benching in his NHL career. Ironically, they were both wins (St. Louis and Pittsburgh). To watch Eric Daze play is to watch someone who is really, really struggling. Kinda like Cindy Brady, who doesn't want to be a tattletale, but knows that if she doesn't tell on Bobby that he will join a biker gang. Daze could use one to go in off of his leg, skate, head, or even his stick. Anything to get some of the pressure off of the struggling sophomore. ----------------------------------------------------------------- DALLAS STARS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Ken Hitchcock Roster: C-Mike Modano, Todd Harvey, Guy Carbonneau, Joe Nieuwendyk, Bob Bassen. LW-Dave Reid, Greg Adams, Benoit Hogue, Brent Gilchrist, Bill Huard. RW-Pat Verbeek, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jere Lehtinen, Grant Marshall, Sergei Makarov, Mike Kennedy. D-Derian Hatcher, Craig Ludwig, Darryl Sydor, Grant Ledyard, Mike Lalor, Richard Matvichuck, Sergei Zubov. G-Arturs Irbe, Andy Moog. Injuries: Bob Bassen, c (corrective surgery for herniated disk in neck, skating with team); Derian Hatcher, d (strained knee, 2-4 weeks); Brent Gilchrist, lw (pulled groin, 2-4 weeks). Transactions: Recalled Dan Keczmer, d, from the Michigan K-Wings (IHL). Game Results: 12/11 St. Louis T 5-5 12/13 Vancouver W 2-1 12/15 at Ottawa W 4-0 12/18 at Chicago W 3-2 12/20 at Hartford W 4-1 12/21 at NY Islanders W 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Jim Panenka HO! HO! HO! This will be a very Merry Christmas for the Dallas Stars. The team has completely recovered from the short slump it suffered following the heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to the Panthers on Nov. 22. The Stars have regained their position in the standings, now in a three-way tie for first place overall with Florida and Colorado. All three teams have 45 points. Dallas' record is 21-10-3. Dallas just capped off a perfect four-game road trip, beating all four opponents convincingly. What got them back on track? Well, winning is a funny thing. It is a very delicate state of existence for a modern NHL team. The Stars used their aggressive forechecking to grind teams down, wear them out, and then capitalize on the resulting turnovers. Following this formula is what got the Stars to their early 6-0 run in the first place. The players let down their guard a bit after the first loss of the season, and teams that were ready and paying attention stepped in to serve Dallas a slice of humble pie. The Vancouver Canucks were one team to do so. The Canucks handily beat Dallas 2-0 on Nov. 19 by using their team speed to overwhelm the Stars. Then, two games later, the Panthers won in overtime. This loss shook the team to its foundation, and all of the sudden the team seemed to lose confidence and began dropping games like hot potatoes. It appeared as if the Stars were afraid that they would go back into an extended funk, as they had most of last season. That disaster of a campaign has left deep scars on all the players. It only took one loss. The entire team forgot how to win. They began trying too hard, forcing plays and taking too many chances. They got buried because of it. They had strayed from the simple system that got them here. It took six games for Dallas to get back on track. It looked like the team was waiting for the rematch against the Panthers. The Stars played an almost identical game to the first. Only this time, they split a point with the Panthers. This is what helped spring the Stars out of their funk. It quickly became a test of character. Would the Stars continue losing, would they become a flash in the pan? The stage was set. Dallas' captain went on the shelf with a sprained knee on Dec. 8. It was time for the defense to step up and compensate for the obviously huge loss of Hatcher. It was time to put up or shut up. Three days later, on Dec. 11, the Stars hosted the St. Louis Blues at home. The game began on the wrong foot. The Blues were able to take advantage of some early confusion by the defense to score on their first rush. Both Stars defensemen failed to take the incoming Blues player, and that player sent a shot in on Moog. Moog handled the shot, but left a soft rebound just to his right of the crease. While the defense was busy scrambling to take out the first player, Al MacInnis snuck in and mopped up the rebound. Although it looked like a Blues player was in the crease before the puck went in, the referee Trottier decided it wasn't worth a second look. What a big mistake that was. As you may recall, Dallas' fortunes had been reversed somewhat by some sloppy officiating. The team had several goals called back in recent games, the most noticeable being the original 2-1 loss to Florida. Well, old Andy Moog had enough of that type of setback. The normally calm veteran went nuts! To put it simply, Moog went postal. When the play was not reviewed, Moog skated out to the blue line to give Trottier a few choice words. Trottier didn't bite, sticking firmly to the original call not to review the goal. Moog skated back to his net and knocked it off the pegs in disgust, screaming his lungs out. Trottier pegs Moog for a two-minute penalty, MacInnis rips in his second of the game, another screaming slapshot on the power play. That boy can shoot the biscuit, alright! Moog turns red as a beet. You could see the steam coming from his ears (well, almost, anyway). Moog was never able to settle down, and the rest of the team was fully rocked back on its heels. MacInnis scored his third, a natural hat trick, about 10 minutes later. Courtnall put in the last coffin nail, making it 4-0, shortly before the period was to end. The only sign of life for Dallas was provided by the prolific Greg Adams, who scored to make it 4-1 at the end of one. Hitchcock showed his class and respect for the team by leaving Moog in, and by not coming unglued. Hitchcock was most likely impressed by Moog's display of team spirit, that competitive fire that made him lose it when the team took another unfair shot. Not to mention that Moog was not at fault directly for the goals. What transpired in the second period should go down in the books as one of the most inspirational comebacks ever witnessed in professional sports. Moog's spark was enough to bring back the old Stars, the team that wasn't afraid of winning, the team that out-worked their opponents. Dallas came out flying in the second period, and went straight to the high-energy forechecking game that has carried them so far. Quite simply, the Stars flat out took over the game from that moment on. Complete domination followed. Dallas scored three unanswered goals, one from Modano, one from Reid and one from Matvichuck. In one period, the Stars outworked and broke down the Blues, and tied the game at four goals apiece. But, the Bluenotes weren't done just yet. Pierre Turgeon scored one in the third to put St. Louis back up, 5-4. It looked like the comeback may have been for nothing. But, Joe Nieuwendyk preserved the rally by slipping in his fifth of the year to tie it back at five all. Despite numerous scoring threats, the Stars weren't able to put the Blues away, but instead skated away with a point, again in overtime. Make no mistake about it, though. That game meant much more to the team, their coach, the city they play in, the fans that watch them, and the columnist that covers them for LCS! It was an unmistakable sign that this team is for real. And, that they mean business. That overtime tie heaped tons of respect on the Stars. Dallas' players have bought into Hitchcock's system wholesale. It is a simple system, but one that won't work unless everyone is on board. Hitchcock has often said that he believes the team is just now really learning how to win. It is obvious that each and every player has made a pact to be totally committed to the team effort. That is the one and only reason the Stars have enjoyed the success they have had up to this point. The Stars own the best road record in the league of 12-4-1. This is mainly due to the perfect four-game road trip the team just finished. Just before the road trip, Dallas also beat Vancouver, a team which had beaten them twice before in as many meetings. Obviously, Dallas is not only winning again, but winning convincingly. With Derian Hatcher out, the spotlight was turned on the defense to pick up the slack and continue winning. To their credit, not only has the defense stepped up, but the entire team has joined the "unit of six" in preserving the good thing the team has going. So, now the Stars are sitting pretty, and are in the driver's seat. Florida was just beaten by the up-and-coming New York Rangers, and Colorado has yet to play. So, technically Dallas is first place, considering they have more wins and fewer ties than Florida and Colorado. The Stars have the chance to continue the winning streak, which is now at five games (seven games unbeaten). Dallas will host the San Jose Sharks at home on Dec. 23. Hopefully, the fans will rally around their team. The Stars have been unimpressive at home with a 9-6-2 record. The power play has also slumped more at home than on the road, where there is more pressure on the team to perform for the fans. Although not totally silent, the power play has only scored four times in the last 20 chances. This will need to be corrected, and soon, if the Stars have any chance at longevity in the playoffs. Other notes: * Defenseman Richard Matvichuck has had an incredible 10 games or so. To say he has stepped up is a total understatement. Mattie is currently riding a five goals, one assist scoring streak in six games. The first few goals were unplanned, but Matvichuck has continued to press up forward looking for another bowl of soup any chance he gets. Five goals in six games for a defenseman? Apparently coach Hitchcock has given Matvichuck the green light to keep pressing. Dallas' coach likes to ride a combination that is working, so the coach probably told Mattie to just go with it, and try to get as many goals as he can while the streak stays alive. All of this comes after a tough game against the Flyers, where Matvichuck was given the task of keeping big No. 88, Eric Lindros, at bay. Mattie was equal to this task, as well as many others, to say the least. The duel with Lindros inspired Matvichuck to develop his checking game. Mattie had to step up to this role in Hatcher's absence. Before this, Richard wasn't known as someone who likes to run a guy into the boards. Well, lets just say there have been many booming hits along the boards coming from good old No. 24. Matvichuck will quickly begin getting the recognition he deserves as one of the best up-and-coming defensive players in the league. * The other members of the "unit of six" have also stepped up to give Matvichuck a hand. Craig Ludwig already has more points now than he had all last year, with two goals and five assists. His second goal came just recently during Hatcher's absence. Ludwig's seven points place him third in scoring among defensemen. Matvichuck and Darryl Sydor both have 10 points apiece. And, that is a big help to the cause. Sydor has also stepped up quite a bit, and has really found his home on the team. Last year, he didn't appear to fit in very well, but "Sid" is definitely having a great campaign this season, showing he has considerable talent as a solid two-way defenseman. And, Mike Lalor and Grant Ledyard have stepped it up a notch and have backed up their teammates' performances. Dallas' defense has always been recognized as one of the better around, and was taken for granted at many times. The incredible rally the unit has pulled off during the absence of its leader is nothing short of spectacular. * Mike Modano (surprise, surprise) still leads the way in points production with 13 goals, 19 assists. Greg Adams is third place overall with 24 points, but it is his 15 goals that are more important. Gus has gone on a bit of a scoring binge, including a beautiful laser-beam he put past the Hartford goalie during their Dec. 20 match-up. Adams was positioned at a severe angle to the left of the goaltender, and picked up a loose puck and wristed it into a sliver of space between Muzzatti's shoulder and the crossbar. This goal was reminiscent of Joe Sakic's commercial. You know, the one where he is sitting on the bench, and shoots a quarter into a vending machine slot, and then shoots the puck to retrieve the soft drink of his choice, and casually remarks "Well, I'm still working the bugs out," when the soda can sprays his cohort, Uwe Krupp. Adams goal was a literal rendition of that commercial. The amount of space that Gus had to shoot at was pretty damn small. Somehow, that puck found its way into the net. Yep, that goal is just another highlight reel addition for old "OT Adams." Joe Nieuwendyk has turned all of his recent troubles aside, and has stepped into the key role the team needs him to fill. He has four points in the last six games, and has scored a power-play goal against Ottawa, and the game-winner against the Islanders. Who's to say is isn't smart giving up prospects for a proven, veteran talent? Although Jarome Iginla, the prospect Dallas traded to Calgary for Nieuwendyk, is making a big splash as a rookie, Nieuwendyk's playoff experience will prove to be invaluable when that time rolls around. The most important news regarding point production has been Pat Verbeek's lack of it. Well, that is a little harsh, but unfortunately, for whatever reasons, Verbeek has been unable to extend the scoring streak he began in the first six games. While he has assists o' plenty (18), he has only managed eight goals to date. The eighth finally came at Chicago during the teams' recent road trip. Hopefully this will break him out of the slump. It hasn't been from a lack of effort on Verbeek's part, however. The ex-Blueshirt is still one of the key components to the team. Colin Campbell would probably love to have him back. Hitchcock has shuffled Verbeek down to Carbonneau and Reid's forechecking line. The idea is to put all the gritty players on one line. This strategy has paid off in the number of turnovers that line has been forcing, many of which the Stars have capitalized on. * Hitchcock has been shuffling wingers in and out of the lineups. But, the core of the lines still remains consistent. There is the Modano line, still with Lehtinen, the Nieuwendyk-Adams line, the Harvey-Langenbrunner pairing, and the Carbonneau-Reid pairing with Verbeek. Some key changes include moving Adams with Nieuwendyk, and Hogue with Modano. These changes were to inspire them to take fewer chances on Modano's line, and to hopefully get Benoit Hogue to overcome some of his streakiness. Also, Zubov has been moved away from the point during the power play, with Modano taking over the quarterback role, for now. The latest recipe for success for the power play is to simply put the puck on net as quickly as possible after the faceoff. The unit has had trouble putting chances on net, despite cycling the puck well, for the most part. Adams and Nieuwendyk have both scored in this fashion. There is no easy explanation for the problems on the advantage, but the biggest key seems to be the casualness the Stars approach the power play with. Dallas just doesn't act as aggressively with an advantage as they do without it. * On the injury front, Dallas has only received more bad news. Brent Gilchrist, easily the team's best two-way forward, suffered a groin pull just recently, and will be out an indeterminate number of weeks. Both Gilchrist and Hatcher are key members of the team, and it will be a very big challenge to overcome the loss of both players. On the positive side, Bob Bassen is now just a short time away from finally getting a chance to play for the first time in almost two seasons. He is due to be cleared for contact play sometime in January. Injuries remain the biggest threat to the team. * Doghouse report: Mike Kennedy is still the sole tenant in Hitchcock's doghouse. The only other consistent scratch has been Sergei Makarov, who played only two games, and failed to make any sort of an impact. The team has kept quiet about Makarov, only stating that they are "reviewing his situation" to see what sort of future he has with the team. Why dump the guy after only two appearances? He had a full year off, it will obviously take some time for him to get back into the game, if he was given a chance. Evidently, there just isn't a place for him on the team. Come on! Give the guy a chance, at least! * So far, there is not much to report on the goaltending situation. Despite going postal against St. Louis, Moog has otherwise been rock-solid for the Stars. And, when Irbe has been called in to give Andy a rest, the team has played well enough in front of Irbe to keep the wins coming. Hopefully Turek is developing his game well enough in the minors to be called back up again, if needed. Thankfully, Moog remains healthy enough, and is playing well enough, to continue as the main netminder. It could all go away very quickly if Moog gets injured. ----------------------------------------------------------------- DETROIT RED WINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Scotty Bowman Roster: C - Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Igor Larionov, Greg Johnson, Kris Draper. LW - Brendan Shanahan, Tomas Holmstrom, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Martin Lapointe, Bob Errey, Tim Taylor. RW - Doug Brown, Mathieu Dandenault, Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby. D - Nicklas Lidstrom, Bob Rouse, Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Fetisov, Jamie Pushor, Brian Glynn, Aaron Ward. G - Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood, Kevin Hodson. Injuries: None. Transactions: None. Game Results: 12/10 Edmonton T 0-0 12/12 Chicago W 6-2 12/15 Toronto W 3-1 12/17 at Colorado L 4-3 12/18 at Calgary T 3-3 12/20 at Vancouver L 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Jonah Sigel 2-2-2 and struggling???? Once again the Wings seem to be victims of their past success. The past six games have resulted in two wins, two ties and two losses, yet it has become apparent that the team is simply unable to perform at the same level they have in the past. In the last couple of years, one loss would be followed by a string of eight or nine wins. This season, despite the addition of Brendan Shanahan and the much improved play of Steve Yzerman, the team is struggling to get going. One NHL coach notices the change. "We used to come into the Joe and simply realize that it would take a miracle not to get crushed here. That has changed, this team has become beatable, and as the saying goes on any given..." Despite all their detractors, Bowman has his team right up in the standings and, once again, ahead of the rest of the division. Only an improved Dallas team has shown much competition in the standings. WINNING BATTLES LOSING WARS The cat calls have been ongoing for season here: "The Wings must get tougher." "They get pushed around too easily." "They have no heart." And the list goes on. On the 17th, the Wings went into Colorado looking for a little bit of revenge from last year's playoff thrashing. Many Wings were hoping to get a run at Claude Lemieux for his nasty hit on Kris Draper, yet Claude is off nursing an injury. As it turned out, hockey fans got a taste of the playoffs in December. Despite a rather quiet and uneventful first period, the second and third had fans sitting on the edge of their seats. This game had it all. Avalanche players, yes players, were removed on stretchers as the mood turned real ugly. It was one of the most spirited games the Wings have played in some time. Unfortunately for the Wings, they were unable to claim victory in the one category that really matters and they went home losers. The fans tried their best to show their support by calling national call-in shows with their support claiming that the Wings had won the battles, yet the Avalanche faithful had an easy reply -- "We beat you again." OFFSIDES Assistant coach Barry Smith has left the team to take a head coaching job in Sweden and he has been replaced by ex-wing Mike Krushelnyski. "Krusher" is a long-time NHLer who brings some intangibles to the team. Most notable is the fact that he is fluent in Russian and thus will be able to converse with the Soviet 5. Perhaps, more importantly, he will be able to understand them as they trash talk the coaching staff.....Ex-Wing himself, Mickey Redmond, has been in the broadcast booth for years doing color commentary for the Wings on T.V. It seems that lately he has become notorious for being a huge homer. One G.M. said, "You may as well be listening to one of the Illitch's call the game, Mick is so one-sided one has to think what happened to his competitive nature." Happy Holidays! ----------------------------------------------------------------- PHOENIX COYOTES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Don Hay Roster: C -Jeremy Roenick, Cliff Ronning, Craig Janney, Mike Eastwood, Chad Kilger, Mike Stapleton, Bob Corkum, Travis Hansen. LW -Keith Tkachuk, Darrin Shannon, Kris King, Jim McKenzie, Igor Korolev. RW - Mike Gartner, Shane Doan, Dallas Drake. D - Teppo Numminen, Oleg Tverdosky, Dave Manson, Norm Maciver, Brad McCrimmon, Jeff Finley, Jim Johnson, Deron Quint. G - Nikolai Khabibulin, Darcy Wakaluk. Injuries: Norm Maciver, d (neck surgery on 11/22, out indefinitely). Transactions: None. Game Results: 12/09 at NY Rangers L 5-2 12/10 at NY Islanders L 8-2 12/13 at Ottawa W 4-2 12/14 at Toronto W 5-3 12/17 Washington W 4-3 12/20 Toronto W 5-2 TEAM NEWS by Jeff Brown Tis the Season to be Howlin The Phoenix Coyotes are spreading holiday cheer in the Valley of the Sun, giving the desert city a hockey team to be proud of this Christmas. Though they started the last road trip with two strong victories in St. Louis and New Jersey, it seemed to be just a flash in the pan after being skated out of New York last week with their tails between their legs. Things looked bleak for the Coyotes, who were still staring at a sub-par record and last place in the standings. Patience must be a virtue for head coach Don Hay. "You'd like to say they should all know each other by now...but it takes time to gel," Hay said after the 5-2 loss to the Rangers. But the tone changed after the 8-2 walloping at the hands of the Islanders. "After a disappointing loss, you've got to wake some guys up," Hay said. "There's going to be changes in the lineup now." Though no one would come out and say it, there was a sense of urgency, a slightly worried tone in the voices heard around the locker room. Then came the front office shakeup that sent general manager John Paddock packing. Many thought it would be Hay, a first-year coach, who would lose his job, and even though the decision was made to let Paddock go, there was still talk that Hay might be next. Unless something happened soon, it wouldn't be a very happy holiday season for the Coyotes. Not be taken for a group of underachieving, would-be hockey players, the pack banded together, completing the road trip with wins in Ottawa and in Toronto. The Dogs then returned to the den and skated past Washington and Toronto, thus claiming eight of their last 11 and proving that they are indeed for real. Captain Keith Tkachuk credits hard work and determination across the board. "Everybody's stepped up their game...we knew we were in a bad situation before that big road trip. We were going nowhere and everybody just turned it around. We're playing with a lot of confidence right now." With the win against the Maple Leafs on Dec. 20, the Coyotes moved to within one game of .500 (14-15-4), are in sole possession of third place in the Central Division and currently hold the final home-ice slot in the Western Conference playoff bracket. Is it too early for this kind of talk, Jeremy Roenick? "It's much too early...we have to make sure we continue to work hard and keep climbing, not take any steps backwards, and just continue to be dominant. We're playing very well right now...we've just got to ride the wave." Oh Captain Keith Tkachuk certainly knows how to lead by example. He has said that everyone needs to step up in order for this team to come together, and no one has played harder than the team captain himself. Scoring two goals in each of the last three games, Tkachuk now has 18 goals this season, tied for eighth amongst all goal scorers. He is well on track to repeat last season's feat of 50 goals scored. His 32 points in 33 games leads the team, but don't look for Tkachuk to take much credit for the team's recent success. "I'm just getting some bounces right now...I've got to credit my linemates for that." Good 'luk Much of the Coyotes recent turnaround can be credited to the fantastic play between the pipes. However it hasn't been coming from World Cup phenom Nikolai Khabibulin. Rather, career backup-man Darcy Wakaluk has risen to the occasion, all but taking Khabibulin's job as starting goaltender. Wakaluk has won his last 4 starts, and is 8-1-1 overall. He has put together an impressive 2.57 GAA and a save percentage of nearly 92 percent. "We seem to be playing pretty well when I'm in there, but one guy can't make the difference," Wakaluk said. Tell that to Khabibulin. After replacing Wakaluk to begin the second period on Dec. 9 versus the Rangers, with the Coyotes down by one goal but playing extremely well, the Coyotes one-time starting goalie was put to shame by New York. Five shots and three goals later it was all but over. The next night, Hay stuck with his number one against the Islanders. It was even worse than the night before; six goals in the second period, leading to an 8-2 loss. Since then, it's been only Wakaluk in net. Khabibulin seems to be taking it well. "I don't like to play once a week," he said, "but we have to go with the hot goalie. Darcy's playing great. I'll wait for my chance." The way the Coyotes are playing, he may be waiting for some time. Said assistant coach Paul MacLean: "If you've got the hot pony, you ride him until he cools off." Phoenix Firsts Everyone is getting in on the action in the recent Coyotes victories. Defenseman Brad McCrimmon, just two weeks after grabbing his 400th career assist, netted his first goal of the season Dec. 13 against Ottawa. It was the 81st career goal for the 17-year veteran. Defenseman Dave Manson, known more for his PIM statistics (2197 at last count) than his scoring, notched his first goal of the season on Dec. 14 versus Toronto, the 84th of his career. Defenseman Jim Johnson, playing in his 11th NHL season, scored his first goal as a Coyote on Dec. 17 against Washington. It was the 25th of his career, and it came at a great time for J.J., against his old teammates. Not to be outdone, Left wing Jim MacKenzie became the last Coyote to score his first goal of the season when he lit the lamp on Dec. 20 against Toronto. It was the 22nd goal of his career. Upcoming The Coyotes skate once more at home this week against Calgary, and then it's off to California for Christmas at Disneyland. The Dogs skate at Anaheim and Los Angeles before coming home for a quick stop, a one game homestand against Vancouver on Dec. 27. The Coyotes will bring in the new year on the road, with games against Detroit, Chicago, Washington, and Buffalo. They will return home to face the Red Wings on Jan. 9. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ST. LOUIS BLUES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Jimmy Roberts Roster: C - Pierre Turgeon, Craig MacTavish, Peter Zezel, Harry York, Jim Campbell, Jamal Mayers. LW - Geoff Courtnall, Tony Twist, Stephane Matteau, Scott Pellerin, Mike Peluso. RW - Brett Hull, Joe Murphy, Brian Noonan, Steve Leach, Rob Pearson. D - Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Igor Kravchuk, Marc Bergevin, Trent Yawney, Libor Zabransky, Ricard Persson. G - Grant Fuhr, Jon Casey, Jamie McLennan. Injuries: None. Transactions: Fired head coach/general manager Mike Keenan and president Jack Quinn. Jimmy Roberts replaced Keenan as coach. Mark Sauer named new team president. Game Results: 12/11 at Dallas T 5-5 12/13 Chicago L 4-1 12/15 Vancouver L 8-0 12/17 at Hartford L 5-3 12/19 Pittsburgh L 4-0 12/21 at Philadelphia L 4-0 TEAM NEWS by Jim Iovino Mike Keenan is gone, but the mess he left the team with is still there. That means the Blues won't be winning lots of games any time soon. Even Brett Hull admits that it is going to take some time to set things straight. Keenan left the team after losing three straight games. The first was a 4-1 loss to the Hawks, which proved St. Louis has even less scoring depth than Chicago, even though the Blues signed former Blackhawk Joe Murphy in the off-season. After that embarrassing home loss, the Blues rebounded by losing to the Vancouver Canucks 8-0, and once again the loss was on home ice. The Canucks assembled a super line of Alex Mogilny, Pavel Bure and Esa Tikkanen for the game and it paid off. The three went crazy-nuts against the Blues, who looked dazed and confused the entire evening. The Blues had a chance to escape the media pressure in their hometown with a trip to Hartford, which is anything but a thriving media metropolis. However, despite the jolly good shoppers wishing the Blues their best in the Mall, St. Louis fell at the tail of the Mighty Whale, 5-3. That was all for Keenan (see feature story in this issue for details). With the pressures of playing under the iron fist of Keenan off of the players' shoulders, they felt free enough to go and get shut out by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mario Lemieux continued his dominance of Blues goaltender Jon Casey with a hat trick. Despite not scoring a goal, Jaromir Jagr made his presence felt by assisting on all four Penguin goals on the night. The Blues had trouble just getting shots on goal against Pittsburgh, which spelled trouble for St. Louis. They didn't get their first shot on goal in the second period until extremely late in the period and only managed three shot on goal for the entire period. Against Pittsburgh's defense, that's bad. After getting shut out by the Penguins, nothing less would be expected of the Blues against the Flyers, who just happened to post back-to-back shutouts in their past two games. Not a team that likes to break trends, the Blues obliged by getting shut out for the second straight game. While Mike Keenan may be gone in St. Louis, it appears his legacy will continue for quite some time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Mike Murphy Roster: C - Doug Gilmour, Kirk Muller, Jamie Baker, Darby Hendrickson, Kelly Fairchild, Brandon Convery, Brian Wiseman. LW - Fredrik Modin, Wendel Clark, Todd Warriner, Nick Kypreos. RW - Mats Sundin, Sergei Berezin, Tie Domi, Mike Craig. D -Matt Martin, Dave Ellett, Jeff Ware, Jamie Heward, Jamie Macoun, Dimitri Yushkevich, Larry Murphy, Mathieu Schneider, David Cooper. G - Felix Potvin, Marcel Cousineau. Injuries: Nick Kypreos, lw (broken leg, out at least six weeks); Wendel Clark, lw (broken thumb, out 4-6 weeks). Transactions: Recalled David Cooper, d, and Brian Wiseman, c, from St. John's (AHL); assigned Mark Kolesar, lw, and Greg Smyth, d, to St. John's. Game results: 12/14 Phoenix L 5-3 12/15 at Detroit L 3-1 12/17 at San Jose W 6-3 12/20 at Phoenix L 5-2 12/21 at Colorado W 6-2 TEAM NEWS by Jim Iovino Break up the Leafs!!! Don't look now, but the Maple Leafs have won two of their past three games, including a 6-2 stomping of the Avalanche. Look out Central Division, here come the Leafs!!! Ok, so perhaps bandwagon jumping is a little inappropriate at this point in time. The Leafs are still in last place in the Central with a 14-21 record. But the Colorado game has given diehard fans reason to believe. Toronto surprised everyone with their 6-2 win against the Avs. Recent call-up David Cooper started the ball rolling with a power play goal in the first period. Cooper was originally a first-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres before joining the Leafs. Mats Sundin increased the Leafs' lead with a goal of his own in the first. At one point in the second period the Leafs found themselves with a 4-1 lead, hardly what anyone expected from a Toronto team without Wendel Clark. Sundin went on to score two more in the game for the hat trick. That was a key in this game for the Leafs. Throughout the season, people have beckoned for better play from the Leafs' star players and that's exactly what happened against Colorado. Sundin scored a hat trick. Doug Gilmour added three assists. Felix Potvin came up with 30 saves against a potent Avalanche attack. The game showed what could happen if the Leafs' best players showed up to play every game. They could actually win a few contests here and there. Perhaps the players have realized this as well. Time has not run out on the season for the Leafs. They are in last place in the Central, but are just five points behind the St. Louis Blues, who are in third place in the division. ================================================================ ================================================================= TEAM REPORTS ================================================================= WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION ----------------------------------------------------------------- ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Ron Wilson Roster: C - Jari Kurri, Kevin Todd, Steve Rucchin, Ted Drury. LW - Paul Kariya, Shawn Antoski, Brian Bellows, Garry Valk, Ken Baumgartner, Warren Rychel, Jeremy Stevenson. RW - Teemu Selanne, Joe Sacco, Roman Oksiuta, J.F. Jomphe. D - Milos Holan, Dave Karpa, Bobby Dollas, Dmitri Mironov, Darren Van Impe, Jason Marshall, Ruslan Salei, Nikolai Tsulygin. G - Guy Hebert, Mikhail Shtalenkov. Injuries: None. Transactions: Assigned Valeri Karpov, rw, to Baltimore (AHL). Game Results: 12/11 Pittsburgh L 7-3 12/13 Washington W 5-4 12/20 Calgary W 7-0 TEAM NEWS by Jim Iovino The Mighty Ducks are continuing to have the hot hand in the Western Conference. Anaheim has lost just three times in its past 13 games. The Ducks' latest win was a 7-0 shellacking of the hapless Calgary Flames. The key for the Ducks in this contest was their tremedous penalty-killing unit. Anaheim kept the Flames off of the scoreboard by holding Calgary to zero goals with the man advantage. While that might not seem too spectacular, what the Ducks did offensively despite being down a man certainly was. The Ducks racked up three short-handed goals during the Flames four power-play opportunities. The Calgary game also continued the strong play of Guy Hebert between the pipes. Hebert stopped all 39 Flames shots for his eighth win of the season. The Ducks' game against the Flames was the team's first in a week when they faced off against the Washington Capitals. As always, Peter Bondra put on a show for the fans. He scored a hat trick against the Ducks, including one goal on the power play and another short-handed. However, Bondra missed a penalty shot in the second period against starting goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov. Countering the Capitals main weapon wasn't Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya, but rather the tandem of J.F. Jomphe and Dmitri Mironov. That's right. Jomphe and Mironov. Mironov continued his impressive play since coming over from the Penguins in a trade by scoring two goals. Jomphe added another two tallies as the Ducks rallied to beat the Caps, 5-4. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CALGARY FLAMES ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Pierre Page Roster: C - Robert Reichel, Dave Gagner, Jerome Iginla, Cory Stillman, German Titov, Corey Millen, Aaron Gavey. LW - Mike Sullivan, Jonas Hoglund, Marko Jantunen, Jocelyn Lemieux, Sasha Lakovic. RW - Theo Fleury, Ronnie Stern, Sandy McCarthy, Ed Ward, Pavel Torgajev, D - Steve Chiasson, James Patrick, Zarley Zalapski, Tommy Albelin, Jamie Huscroft, Cal Hulse, Todd Simpson, Joel Bouchard, Jamie Allison, Chris O'Sullivan, Yves Racine. G - Trevor Kidd, Dwayne Roloson. Injuries: Zarley Zalapski, d (surgery on ACL in right knee, out for season); James Patrick, d (surgery on ACL in left knee, out for season); Steve Chiasson, d (re-injured medial collateral ligament in left knee, day-to-day); Tommy Albelin, d (pulled oblique muscle in side, day-to-day). Transactions: Reassigned Marty Murray, c, to Saint John (AHL); recalled Sami Helenius, d, from Saint John; reassigned Marko Jantunen, lw, from Saint John to Swedish Elite League; acquired Yves Racine, d, from San Jose for future considerations; returned Sami Helenius, d, to Saint John. Game Results: 12/10 Ottawa T 5-5 12/12 at Los Angeles W 5-1 12/14 Colorado W 4-1 12/16 New Jersey L 5-0 12/18 Detroit T 3-3 12/20 at Anaheim L 7-0 TEAM NEWS by Ryan Ferris Quick Notes: Calgary Flames defensemen Zarley Zalapski and James Patrick have undergone season-ending surgery to repair torn knee ligaments. The 28-year-old Zalapski played only two games this season and went on injured reserve Oct. 6, while Patrick, 33, suffered his injury in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Dec. 3 and has three goals and an assist in 19 games. The Calgary defense already features four rookies: Jamie Allison, Joel Bouchard, Chris O'Sullivan and Todd Simpson. In order to help their injured defensive corps, the Flames acquired veteran defenseman Yves Racine from the San Jose Sharks for future considerations. He will join Tommy Albelin and Steve Chiasson as the veterans on the Flames' blue line. Editor's note: Sure, the Flames invited Yves Racine to spend Christmas in Calgary, but what better way to spend the holidays than with an old-school Calgary Flames team report? This one here by Ryan Ferris appeared in Issue 32, which came out on Dec. 12, 1995. Enjoy! Nieuwendyk Trade Update As time drags on, the rumors continue to abound over any possible deals involving the Flames' disgruntled center Joe Nieuwendyk. Now that the team and Joe have officially come to an impass in negotiations, the fact that a deal is coming is inevitable. Being that a trade is one of the few topics of optimism surrounding the team, the big question on the minds of fans is, "When will it happen?" A local newspaper recently ran a story on the front page of its sports section outlining a very plausible deal between the Calgary Flames and the New Jersey Devils. The Devils appear to be interested in obtaining some goal-scoring. In addition, they have plenty of young talent that the Flames would be interested in aquiring to stengthen their youth movement. Michael Sykora and Bill Guerin are two names that have surfaced more than once in these rumors. According to sources from Joe's camp, the deal was as good as done a week ago. On the Flames' end, interim GM Al Coates was quoted as saying that if a reasonable offer was on the table, the team would accept it, because too much time has been spent on this affair already. So why are the Calgary Flames not Nieuwendyk-less? One consideration may be the fact that there is a clause somewhere that states any trade involving Joe Nieuwendyk has to be approved by he and his agent. If being dealt to a contender has importance, then there is no team closer to the Stanley Cup than the defending champs. That, plus the fact that Joe has lost nearly $500,000 in salary by being on the sidelines this long make that scenario doubtful. Perhaps more importantly, it has been a few weeks since the firing of General Manager Doug Risebrough, and there has not been a noticeable improvement in the play of the team. The scapegoat has been put to pasture. It has now become a reality that the Flames might be out of playoff contention before the New Year. Wait a minute... I am receiving a last minute update... yes, it is now official. The Calgary Flames are low on talent! What was seen a short time ago as a key deal to save the 1995-96 season has become a sit-and-wait proposition with consideration to the long-term future of the franchise. It is too bad that the burn marks from the Doug Gilmour deal still remain on the carpet of the Flames' front office. It is this trauma that has cost the team the chance to land a franchise player in return and make a run at salvaging this season. If the team was to have the opportunity to trade for a player of Nieuwendyk's talent tomorrow, it is unlikely they would accept the burden of a multi-million dollar salary in what has now officially become a rebuilding year. If and when the team is able to obtain some future talent, it appears the Flames have cloned the mission of the Edmonton Oilers; to serve as a minor talent development system for the bigger market teams. Once upon a time there was a stigma haunting teams travelling through Alberta. Calgary and Edmonton were powerhouses at home. An NHL team leaving the province with a pair of wins was rare. Now it is the norm, and the disparity between big and small markets seems to be at fault. And so the Calgary Flames continue to wait for the right deal to approach them. If another NHL team is to hang their jersey on Joe Nieuwendyk this season, they must be able to offer a competitive package of youth, talent, and draft picks. Until then, Al Coates has made one thing clear - the Calgary Flames must wait until the price is right. Yes!! I Can See the Light... On the strength of back-to-back wins, the Flames managed to end this two week period on a .500 winning clip. By no means of the imagination does any Flames' fan interpret this as anything else than a temporary surge, considering that the two wins were versus Edmonton and San Jose. However, there were some events worth getting excited about. In the game versus San Jose, Michael Nylander scored what may be the goal of the season. Word has it that he played like a man possessed. I did not see the game, but I am willing to believe the words of Coach Pierre Page amid my doubts. Since then, Nylander has been unable to provide concrete proof of his demonic possession. Team trainers fear that his demon has been temporarily exorcised. As well, the trio of Paul Kruse (who finally scored his first goal of the season versus Winnipeg), Jamie Huscroft and Ed Ward were impressive in many of the outings. Unfortunately, their success has been put on hold temporarily due to Ward's rib injury. Who is Ed Ward you may ask? Well, even I don't know, but tune in next time for a 'Feature on Ed Ward', to be followed up by a crazed membership drive for the Ed Ward fan club. And lastly, by defeating Edmonton 8-2, the team broke out of a scoring slump that had them limited to four goals or less in every game this season. As well, the Battle of Alberta seemed to be rekindled, and in a way it was heart warming to see Jamie Huscroft push David Oliver's face into the ice for 'bumping' into goalie Rick Tabaracci. It is this show of emotion and team unity that has been lacking to date. By the way, David and Rick were able to meet shortly after the mishap and say 'sorry'. Who says hockey has too much violence? ----------------------------------------------------------------- COLORADO AVALANCHE ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Marc Crawford Roster: C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Stephane Yelle. LW - Valeri Kamensky, Yves Sarault, Rene Corbet, Eric Lacroix. RW - Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Keith Jones, Scott Young, Mike Keane. D - Sandis Ozolinsh, Sylvain Lefebvre, Uwe Krupp, Adam Foote, Alexei Gusarov, Jon Klemm, Brent Severyn, Aaron Miller. G - Patrick Roy, Craig Billington, Marc Denis. Injuries: Claude Lemieux, rw (surgery for torn abdominal muscle, out two months); Rene Corbet, lw (concussion, day-to-day); Alexei Gusarov, d (concussion, day-to-day); Peter Forsberg, c (bruised thigh, day-to-day). Transactions: None. Game Results: 12/11 at Vancouver W 6-1 12/14 at Calgary L 4-1 12/17 Detroit W 4-3 12/18 at Edmonton T 4-4 TEAM NEWS by Michael Dell, editor and Nicole Agostino, Stat Girl Forsberg Hurt Good ol' Petey Forsberg got rubbed out on December 14 when the Avalanche were melted by the Flames, 4-1, in Calgary. The injury occurred in the second period when Forsberg crossed the Calgary stripe on left wing and attempted to waltz around rookie defenseman Todd Simpson with a quick inside-out move to the slot. Forsberg managed to pull off a similar trick earlier in the period, to set up Joe Sakic for a goal, but wasn't so lucky the second time. Has he was passing Simpson, the Flame blueliner stuck out his knee and sent Forsberg sprawling to the ice. No penalty was called on the play and Forsberg was left to limp off the ice before collapsing in the runway leading back to the Colorado dressing room. He wouldn't return that night or for the next three games. He is currently listed as day-to-day with a deep left thigh bruise. Forsberg tried to downplay the incident, but Colorado coach Marc Crawford and club GM Pierre Lacroix were incensed that Simpson's hit did not draw a game misconduct for intent to injure, or any penalty at all for that matter. Both men became even more angry when the tape was reviewed by the league and there was still no punishment handed down, allowing Simpson to get off without even so much as a slap on the wrist. Crawford ripped into the league for its apparent neglect in trying to protect the game's star players. When asked what he thought of Simpson not being suspended, Forsberg said, "That's cool..." No, Petey, that's cool. While no threats of retribution were made against Simpson, buzz has it that things could get ugly when the two clubs meet Monday night, December 23, in Colorado. One for the Ages When Detroit rolled into town on December 17 to renew acquaintances, things didn't look too good for the Avalanche. After all, Forsberg wasn't in the lineup and Claude Lemieux was still on the shelf recovering from abdominal surgery. It's tough to beat Detroit at full strength, let alone when a club is missing two of its top four forwards. Luckily, Colorado still had Joe Sakic and Valeri Kamensky. Adam Deadmarsh got things started when he banged a power-play goal past Mike Vernon at 5:23 of the first period. It was the only tally in the opening frame, but this evening was just getting started. The Wings took control of the game early in the second period on three straight goals from Sergei Fedorov, Greg Johnson, and Igor Larionov, with all three coming in a five-minute span. While the goals were damaging, it was an injury to Rene Corbet that really seemed to knock the wind out of the Avalanche. Corbet got slammed into the boards with a clean shoulder check from Detroit defenseman Aaron Ward and crashed to the ice, striking the back of his head when he fell. He laid motionless on the ice for several minutes in a pool of his own blood before he was finally carted off on a stretcher. While the hit itself wasn't illegal as far as technique was concerned, its timing was definitely wrong. The play had already been blown dead on a two- line pass when Ward walloped Corbet. This minor detail was overlooked by the officials, and Ward got off without a penalty. Corbet, on the other hand, was taken to a nearby hospital with a mild concussion and a 12-stitch cut on the back of his head. Seeing their teammate prone on the ice seemed to stun the Avalanche, as it was shortly there after that the Wings exploded to take the 3-1 lead. The club definitely needed a spark to turn things around. Enter Valeri Kamensky. Quite possibly the best pure skill player in the game today, Kamensky gathered a loose puck in his own end and began to weave his way up ice. Driving into the Detroit zone down the left wing, Kamensky peeled off and drifted through the high slot all the way to the right wing boards, before taking off behind the net. Sensing that Kamensky was getting ready to attempt a wraparound, Vernon wildly lunged from right to left and swung his goaltender's stick like a mad man along the ice. Without ever slowing down, Kamensky blazed out from behind the cage and effortlessly stickhandled around Vernon's attempted pokecheck. He quickly squared and tried to roof the puck, only to have his shot denied by Vernon's flailing pads. Deadmarsh was there to collect the rebound, tho', and slid it home to make the score 3- 2. The goal came just 50 seconds after Larionov made it 3-1, and definitely swung the game's momentum back to Colorado. The third period featured yet another stretcher ride for an Avalanche player. This time Martin Lapointe was the culprit, grabbing Alexei Gusarov and spinning the Russian defenseman into the boards head-first. The impact of the collision knocked Gusarov unconscious for several minutes. Lapointe was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct, opening the door for the Avalanche. Gusarov was wheeled off and was checked out at the hospital, being diagnosed with a concussion. Now that's taking one for the team. Colorado couldn't get much going on the ensuing power play, that is until Slava Fetisov hacked Scott Young in the face, drawing a double-minor for high-sticking. The referee missed the penalty, even tho' Young was carrying the puck at the time, but was helped out by the linesmen in order to correct his oversight during the next whistle. Unfortunately, the whistle was because Mike Ricci buried Bob Errey into the ice with a brutal cross-check to the upper back. After the penalties got squared away, the Avalanche went up by two men for an entire two minutes. After struggling to get things set up, the men with feet on their shoulders finally got the puck to Joe Sakic along the right wing boards. Sakic surveyed the situation and slipped a beautiful pass cross-ice to Young at the left hash mark. Young wasted little time in wristing a shot past Vernon to knot the game at 3-3. Less than four minutes later the comeback was completed when Eric Lacroix collected the rebound of a Sakic backhand shot and dumped it into the net behind Vernon to take a 4-3 lead. The goal sent the McNichols Arena crowd into hysterics and had the Red Wings wondering what happened. Patrick Roy shut the door over the remaining six minutes that were left on the clock, and Colorado held on for an amazing 4-3 win. This game was just tremendous from start to finish. It had all the intensity of a playoff war and the injuries to Corbet and Gusarov only added to the bad blood between the two squads. While it was an incredible win for Colorado, the Red Wings have to be shaking their heads. Having already been dominated 4-1 at Joe Louis Arena earlier this season, and now blowing a 3-1 lead despite the Avalanche not having Forsberg or Lemieux and suffering two more major injuries during the game, the Wings must be wondering what they have to do to beat this club. Another playoff meeting between these two would be something special. Sakic and Kamensky Do It Again The Avalanche didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the big win over Detroit, they had to be on a plane for Edmonton that night in order to take on the Oilers. Things didn't go smoothly in the transportation department when the club's scheduled flight got scrapped and the team was forced to take a later plane that arrived in Edmonton only a few hours before the opening faceoff. With his team tired, Sakic stepped to the forefront and once again rallied the troops. The Avalanche were losing 4-3 late in the third when Joe took things into his own hands. Already having two assists on the night, Sakic exploded through the neutral zone and split the Edmonton defense just inside the Oiler blue line to bust in all alone on Curtis Joseph. He was skating so fast and freaking so many defensemen, that Sakic didn't really have time to deke, so he tried to fire a wrist shot to the top right corner of the cage. Joseph managed to get his glove on it, just barely, and the puck skipped to the backboards. Without even breaking stride, Sakic continued on past the net, circled into the right corner, collected the loose puck, and began to make his way back up the right wing boards. As he was doing all this, the Oiler defenders were still trying to recover from the first time they got used and were just now closing in on Joe for a second time. That's when Sakic broke out the funk and demonstrated his uncanny passing skills. Still not slowing down a lick, and with defenders bearing down on him, Sakic fired a no- look pass into the slot right on the blade of Kamensky coming late on the play. With everyone mystified by Sakic, including Joseph, Kamensky easily deposited the tying goal, which was his second of the game. The contest ended 4-4, but afterwards all talk was about Sakic. Edmonton coach Ron Low marveled at Sakic's ability to dominate a game, noting that the Oilers tried three different lines against Sakic, only to have all three get abused. Moral of the story: Sakic is one bad mutha. Leafs in a Laugher After the incredible win over Detroit and the thrilling come- from-behind tie in Edmonton, the club was due for a letdown. And it came on December 21 at home against Toronto. The Maple Leafs, who have struggled all season long, came into Denver and man-handled the Avalanche in a 6-2 throttling. Former Nordique Mats Sundin recorded a hat trick, showing that he still has mad skills. But guess what, Mats? You don't have a ring. Live with it. Crawford called the game the worst outing the team has had since he's been behind the bench. That's strong. Sakic had a lone assist in the loss, giving him 14 goals and 46 points on the season and keeping him on pace with the league leaders. Patrick Roy gave up all six goals and was yanked five minutes into the third period. Ouch. Editor's note: Due to unforseen circumstances, and a bad case of Christmas fever, a regular Avalanche team report will not be seen at this time. Please enjoy the following: Hello...This is Stat Girl. Since the Avalanche Correspondent decided to take this issue off, I decided to do my part by writing the Avalanche Team Report to let Ace Reporter Jim Iovino take a break. There's just one problem...I haven't seen an Avalanche game in the last two weeks, so I decided to do what I do best. Rate the looks of each player of the Avalanche roster using, of course, the Johnny Cullen rating system which is as follows: 5 Cullens -- I drool instantly at the sight of him. 4 Cullens -- Hot but not quite drool inspiring. 3 Cullens -- Average, I will stare at him if there's no one better on the ice. 2 Cullens -- Not quite bottom of the barrel but we're getting there. 1 Cullen -- Two words -- Lyle Odelein. Here we go... Head Coach: Marc Crawford -- 3 Cullens Roster: C - Joe Sakic -- 5 Cullens, Definitely the best looking lad of them all - Peter Forsberg -- 2 Cullens, Unfortunately skill doesn't always correspond with looks - Mike Ricci -- 1 Cullen - Stephane Yelle -- 3 Cullens LW - Valeri Kamensky -- 4 Cullens - Yves Sarault -- 3 Cullens - Rene Corbet -- 3 Cullens - Eric Lacroix -- 2 Cullens RW - Claude Lemieux -- 2 Cullens - Adam Deadmarsh -- 3 Cullens - Keith Jones -- 2 Cullens - ScottYoung -- 3 Cullens - Mike Keane -- 3 Cullens D - Sandis Ozolinsh -- 4 Cullens - Sylvain Lefebvre -- 3 Cullens - Uwe Krupp -- 1 Cullen - Adam Foote -- 3 Cullens - Alexei Gusarov -- 2 Cullens - Jon Klemm -- 2 Cullens - Brent Severyn -- 2 Cullens - Aaron Miller -- 2 Cullens G - Patrick Roy -- 2 Cullens - Craig Billington -- 2 Cullens - Marc Denis -- 3 Cullens The ACR (Average Cullen Rating) of this team is a 2.6 which in no ways compares to some of the other teams in the league such as Detroit (They get bonus points because they have Brendan Shanahan) or Toronto (Potvin and Sundin -- Yum!). I guess that's it. It was just nice to type something other than endless hockey statistics. Thanks for reading and send any comments to Zippy... ----------------------------------------------------------------- EDMONTON OILERS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Ron Low Roster: C - Doug Weight, Jason Arnott, Todd Marchant. LW - Dean McAmmond, Rem Murray, Miroslav Satan, Ryan Smyth, Mats Lindgren. RW - Mariusz Czerkawski, Mike Grier, Dave Oliver, Andrei Kovalenko, Kelly Buchberger, Louie DeBrusk. D - Kevin Lowe, Luke Richardson, Bryan Marchment, Jiri Slegr, Boris Mironov, Jeff Norton, Donald Dufresne, Daniel McGillis, Michel Petit. G - Curtis Joseph, Bob Essensa. Injuries: None. Transactions: None. Game Results: 12/10 at Detroit T 0-0 12/12 at Tampa T 2-2 12/15 at Florida L 6-3 12/18 Colorado T 4-4 12/20 New Jersey L 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Simon D. Lewis Still Knockin' at the Door As Edmonton settles into another late December deep freeze (-30 C) the Oilers' forward progress is frozen too. They're two games into a 13-game run in which they play 10 times at home. It started with a tie against the Avalanche and a loss to the Devils. While the young team is showing all kinds of promise, they still have to be classified as pretenders and not contenders. Colorado had all kinds of reasons to lose to Edmonton on the 18th. They had just beaten Detroit in a close game the night before. They were beset with aircraft mechanical problems and didn't get to their Edmonton hotel until four hours before the opening faceoff. Peter Forsberg, Alexei Gusarov and Rene Corbet were injured. It looked like a good night for the boys in dark blue to beat the champs. Enter Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic. Both brought their "A" games. The Oilers played with spirit and determination, especially captain Kelly Buchberger, but made enough mistakes to lose the lead three times. Conclusion: pretenders. Against New Jersey they carried the play, had two goals called back after video replay, and lost the game. Once more the Oilers demonstrated that they lack something, that intangible quality that the better teams all have. It's that resolve and determination, that knowledge that, no matter what, the game can be won. Conclusion: pretenders. What's that Sound? If you listen closely you can hear the sound of former St. Louis Blues around the NHL cheering the demise of Iron Mike Keenan. No word on whether Curtis Joseph, Jeff Norton and Donald Dufresne are going back to St. Loo for the parade and party. Trip the Trap Man! That neutral zone trap is dull, dull, dull. New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire will tell you that the trap wins games and that's all that matters. Fans of flowing hockey would like to stuff that "defence first" mentality back down his throat. It's a great excuse for playing on the European sized ice surfaces. Making His Point David Oliver sat out a lot of games in November and December. He got his chance for redemption against Colorado. Oliver played a smart, tough game. He was in Roy's face on the power play and was wise enough to keep his shifts short. Coach Ron Low was happy. Let's see if he can keep a spot or if he fades again. Norton Healthy Scratch Jeff Norton is paid a lot of money to generate offence from his defender's position. It hasn't been happening. Not only that, but he was on the ice for five of the six goals Florida scored against the Oilers in that last game of their recent road trip. Coach Low decided it was time for Norton to watch a game from the press box. Norton was reasonably receptive to the idea. He acknowledged his failings and made like the good soldier. If he can get his game in shape he'll be a big factor in any success the Oilers have. Tank Tracks Andrei "The Tank" Kovalenko seems to have found a home he likes. Maybe the northern Alberta weather reminds him of Russia. Whatever it is, he's a major presence on the team. Kovalenko potted two really determined goals against the Avalanche for a season total of 15. He and Ryan Smyth are leading the team. It's hard to believe that he wore out his welcome so quickly in Montreal. Many folks are waiting to see what he does if the Oilers manage to return to the playoffs. This guy is tough on the puck and a smart hockey player. If he plays like he is now for the rest of the season, there will be no question that the Oilers won that trade with the Habs. Edmonton gave up Scott Thornton in the deal. Change Pays Off Word is that the Oilers new jersey design is a hit with the fans. The Oilers-owned chain of stores, Champions, is completely sold out of the road blue uniforms. There's not much left in the whites either. They're scrambling to get more on the shelves before Christmas. ----------------------------------------------------------------- LOS ANGELES KINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Larry Robinson Roster: C - Yanic Perreault, Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Neal Broten. LW - Dimitri Khristich, Kevin Stevens, Vladimir Tsyplakov, Barry Potomski, Craig Johnson. RW - Brad Smyth, Ed Olczyk, Vitali Yachmenev, Dan Bylsma.. D - Rob Blake, Doug Zmolek, Mattias Norstrom, Phillippe Boucher, Sean O'Donnell, Steve Finn, John Slaney. G - Stephane Fiset, Byron Dafoe. Injuries: Jan Vopat, d (back, day-to-day); Yanic Perreault, c (just achy all over, day-to-day). Transactions: Recalled Neal Broten, c, from Phoenix (IHL). Game Results: 12/11 Pittsburgh L 5-3 12/13 Calgary L 5-1 12/14 Washington T 4-4 12/17 at NY Islanders L 4-3 12/18 at NY Rangers L 4-0 12/20 at Buffalo L 6-2 TEAM NEWS by Matt Moore Frustration is overwhelming the Kings, from the coach on down. The Kings have lost 11 of their last 15 games with the only high point being a tie with the Washington Capitals at home, which is a pretty sad high point. The latest loss came at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, who seemed to be controlled by the Kings 10 minutes into the game. With a 2-0 lead, the Kings simply sat back and let the Sabres physically dominate them, and with the excellent goaltending of Dominik Hasek backing them up, the Sabres scored six unanswered goals to walk away with a 6-2 win. The game also saw the continuation of the pitiful power play of the Kings, which went 0-for-3 and extended its woes to 0 for the last 36 opportunities. This came after the Kings were simply outclassed by the New York Rangers, who proved that the Kings have a long way to go before they become a good team, let alone an elite team. Losing 4-0, the Kings were beaten on every front but one, the lack of effort category. The Kings seemingly gave up after the first period and they showed a lack of leadership. The older players had been doing some good earlier in the season, showing the way by grinding it out in the corners and helping the younger players get into the game. However, they seem to have taken the charity approach to a fault. They need to just go into a game and make the big plays that are needed to win the game. Players like a Ray Ferraro and a Dmitri Khristich, who have been pretty good goal scorers in the NHL before, need to just shoot the puck more. They have gotten "Wayne Gretzky Disease" where they are more interested in making that extra pass in scoring opportunities, where if they connect it becomes a sure goal, but when it doesn't it causes that opportunity to be lost. Shoot, dammit! The worst that can happen is that the puck won't go in. The best is that it does or that someone like a Kevin Stevens or a Brad Smyth will smack the rebound on in. So that's two good versus one bad...which seems to be pretty good odds. ----------------------------------------------------------------- SAN JOSE SHARKS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Al Sims Roster: C - Viktor Kozlov, Bernie Nicholls, Ron Sutter, Darren Turcotte. LW - Tony Granato, Jeff Friesen, Andrei Nazarov, Tim Hunter, Dody Wood, Ray Whitney. RW - Ulf Dahlen, Shean Donovan, Owen Nolan, Todd Ewen. D - Doug Bodger, Michal Sykora, Marcus Ragnarsson, Todd Gill, Al Iafrate, Greg Hawgood, Mike Rathje, Marty McSorley, Vlastimil Kroupa. G - Chris Terreri, Kelly Hrudey. Injuries: Mike Rathje, d (surgery to repair groin tendon, two months); Todd Ewen, rw (groin, day-to-day). Transactions: Recalled Ray Whitney, lw, from Utah (IHL); temporarily called-up Jan Caloun, rw, from Kentucky; temporarily assigned Andrei Nazarov, lw, to Kentucky (AHL); traded Yves Racine, d, (currently playing for Quebec Rafales, IHL) to Calgary for future considerations. Game Results: 12/11 Washington W 3-2 12/13 Pittsburgh L 4-0 12/17 Toronto L 6-3 12/20 at Washington L 3-2 12/21 at Pittsburgh L 3-1 TEAM NEWS by Mark Spiegel After two road wins against the Blues and Stars, the Sharks had a golden opportunity to advance in the standings with some wins during a four-game homestand. Unfortunately Team Teal could only manage a single win against the Capitals, sandwiched between loses to Tampa, the Penguins and Toronto. The loss to the Leafs moved San Jose back into the Western Conference cellar. While the road has been kinder to the Sharks than their home ice, the tailspin has so far continued, with road loses against the Caps and at the "Igloo". "We're not playing as a team right now," commented winger Tony Granato. "It's frutrating because if we just played .500 at home we'd be in the thick of things." "We've got too many chiefs and not enough indians," added Bernie Nichols. "It's no fun to have yelling and screaming and being told how bad you're playing." The latest Problem de Jour the Sharks are attempting to address is goal scoring. As of Saturday, San Jose was tied with Ottawa for fewest goals scored, with 81 goals. Most of the older Sharks are scoring at about what you would expect from them. Bernie Nicholls currently has six goals, which projects out to 15 for the season. A little under the 19 he scored last season with the Blackhawks. Tony Granato, Darren Turcotte, and Al Iafrate project out to 27, 18 and 13 goals for the year. About their season averages. The big disappointment is Ulf Dahlen, who so far has only scored four goals. Owen Nolan leads the younger players in scoring, with twelve goals. However, this projects out to only 30 goals for the season, a lot less than the team has been expecting. The remaining younger players project out to 20 goals for Jeff Friesen, Viktor Kozlov, 17 goals, and Andrei Nazarov, 15 goals. To try to put some more goal scoring into the lineup, wingers Jan Caloun and Ray Whitney were recalled from the minors. Last year, Caloun scored four goals in his first four shots in the NHL. This year, Jan didn't even last four games before being sent back to Kentucky. Whitney, playing for Utah of the IHL after initially being sent to Kentucky, has so far remained scoreless in San Jose. As of Dec. 21, the Sharks are 11-18-4, good for 26 points. They are five points behind the last playoff spot in the West. Last season at this date San Jose was 7-23-4, for 18 points. Black and Blue Sharks Planet Al Iafrate is slowly getting back to full speed from the fractured toe he suffered in the Hartford game. So far Al has missed 12 of the last 14 games, as lingering pain and swelling in the toe have prevented a full recovery. The groin injury epidemic spreading around the league has hit Sharks defenseman Mike Rathje big time. Mike will miss nearly two months after surgery to repair a groin tendon. Rathje has only played in one of the last 17 games. Sharks Trivia Quiz: Last issue's quiz was: Who is the Sharks' all-time leader for PIM during the playoffs? The answer is: Jamie Baker with 42 PIM. This issue's quiz is: When did the Sharks last record a regular season shutout of an opponent? Answer next issue... ----------------------------------------------------------------- VANCOUVER CANUCKS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Head Coach: Tom Renney Roster: C - Trevor Linden, Mike Ridley, Mike Sillinger, Scott Walker, Lonny Bohonos, Alexander Semak; LW - Martin Gelinas, Markus Naslund, Esa Tikkanen, Gino Odjick, Donald Brashear, David Roberts; RW - Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Russ Courtnall, Troy Crowder; D - Jyrki Lumme, Dana Murzyn, Bret Hedican, Chris Joseph, Mark Wotton, Dave Babych, Adrian Aucoin, Leif Rohlin; G - Kirk McLean, Corey Hirsch, Mike Fountain Injuries: Trevor Linden, c (sprained MCL Dec. 1, 4-6 weeks); Russ Courtnall, rw (groin strain Dec. 3, one more week); Scott Walker, rw (groin pull Dec. 13, day-to-day); Chris Joseph, d (groin strain Dec. 18, day-to-day); Kirk McLean, g (arthroscopic knee surgery Nov. 11, one more week); Dave Roberts, lw (missed one game Dec. 11 with flu); Dana Murzyn, d (returned from shoulder strain Dec. 13, missed four games); Dave Babych, d (returned from groin strain Dec. 13, missed three games); Bret Hedican, d (returned from groin strain Dec. 20, missed five games) Transactions: Returned Frank Kucera, d, to Syracuse (AHL) Dec. 13 after two games. Game Results: 12/11 Colorado L 6-1 12/13 at Dallas L 2-1 12/15 at St. Louis W 8-0 12/18 New Jersey L 2-1 12/20 Detroit W 3-2 TEAM NEWS by Carol Schram Last season, the Vancouver Canucks lost a total of 197 man-games to injury, 67 of which were accounted for by Pavel Bure's torn ACL and subsequent knee surgery. In 1996-97, after just 32 games played, injured Canuck players have already missed 116 games, which multiplies out to 297 missed games if the boys go down at the same rate for the rest of the season. On average, 3.6 regulars have been out of the lineup for every game this year. Ironically, only Mike Ridley has appeared in every regular season contest, and his back was still acting up so badly during training camp that the dependable center was said to be considering retirement. Ten weeks later, he's our ironman! Vancouver is also into its second month with an unshakable flu bug wreaking havoc on players, coaches, and training staff. Only a few players' conditions have been made public: many Canucks are finding themselves on the ice doing what they can for the team when they would much rather be eating chicken soup or driving the porcelain bus. Corey Hirsch was so sick on the night of the New Jersey game that he barely had the energy to be a backup. In the blink of an eye, his skintone would change from fiery red to ghostly pale, and skating around before the beginning of periods, Hirsch skated with the weariness of a never-ending journey. Captain Trevor Linden is still limping noticeably as he enters his fourth week of rehabilitation on his injured knee. His teammates reflect that state as they struggle along with their undermanned squad. Over the last two weeks, there have been two great moments of euphoria, and two more devastating low points. Nervous anxiety summed up the mood when the Colorado Avalanche returned to town Dec. 11. The Canucks were still licking their wounds from back-to-back losses to the Stanley Cup Champions earlier in the season, including a 9-2 humiliation on the road. To make matters worse, Colorado had been seriously underperforming right before this visit to the west coast. They looked ready to break loose, and they did. Corey Hirsch made three fabulous saves in the first two minutes as the 'Lanche started the game with all guns blazing. No matter, though -- it was still 2-0 Colorado at the end of the first period, 5-0 by the end of the second, and 6-1 when the damage was done. Sakic and Forsberg were on fire, while the Canucks' best line was Gino Odjick and Donald Brashear, this time flanking Lonny Bohonos. Bure and Mogilny were nowhere to be found when the chips were down. After the game, Coach Renney lashed out at his superstars -- then punished them by making fans' dreams come true, putting the Russians on the same line with defensively responsible left winger Esa Tikkanen at center. Renney has repeatedly said that he's reluctant to play Bure and Mogilny together because it concentrates Vancouver's offensive attack into one checkable unit. Both players have had good games here and there, but they are growing more and more frustrated by their inability to put the biscuit in the basket. There have also been rumors that Bure and Mogilny feel stifled by Renney's system and believe that, by paying so much attention to defense, they are missing out on the scoring opportunities that they need to be effective. In effect, this new "Euro line" is supposed to free up the Russians to concentrate on offense, while Tikkanen looks after the line's defensive responsibilities and feeds them the puck. All those years playing with Wayne Gretzky in Edmonton should have been perfect training for the feisty Finn. The "Eggs in One Basket" line debuted on the road against Dallas -- a good team to whom the Canucks had yet to surrender a point so far this season. This time, however, Andy Moog stood on his head and the Stars put out one of their patented solid defensive efforts. Lonny Bohonos got the lone Vancouver marker, his first-ever NHL goal, in a 2-1 loss. Nevertheless, the mood was pretty high-spirited: the effort was much better than it had been against Colorado, and while Bure and Mogilny hadn't been able to put the puck in the net, they enjoyed a number of good chances and played with more spark and enthusiasm than in many recent games. Next up was slumping St. Louis, who looked ripe for the picking. Sure enough, the Blues picked this day to quit on coach Mike Keenan, and the Russians went to town. Final tally: three goals and an assist for Mogilny, two goals and three assists for Bure, four assists for Tikkanen, and an 8-0 shellacking that finally earned Iron Mike his multi-million dollar walking papers. Corey Hirsch's impressive 42-shot shutout was overshadowed by the offensive outburst, and it was starting to look like the boys were back on track. But the Canucks returned home to meet up with the New Jersey Devils, who have been quietly trapping their way to one of the best records in hockey. Jacques Lemaire's boring but effective system was in prime form as the Devils held Vancouver to just eight shots and surrendered only one goal -- a weird behind-the-net tally by Gino Odjick that bounced in off the back of Martin Brodeur's goal stick. Odjick was the offensive star of the game with two shots on goal and a two-game goal-scoring streak, but the Canucks were on the wrong end of a couple of calls by Paul Stewart that made the difference in a 2-1 loss that will be remembered for its franchise-low shot total. Detroit came to town two nights later, also slumping but undefeated in five years of visits to Vancouver. The Canucks put out a solid effort with 10 shots on goal in the first period alone. They took an early 1-0 lead on a big point shot from Adrian Aucoin and got the score up to 3-1 by the third on a lucky goal from Bohonos and a beautiful top-shelf shot from Martin Gelinas. Late in the game, the Canucks opened the door just a crack when Steve Yzerman capitalized on a late power-play, but Corey Hirsch promptly slammed it shut again. For a change, Vancouver came out on the right end of a one-goal game. OTHER NEWS * Farmhands Mike Fountain and Lonny Bohonos are probably happy enough that they won't be home for the holidays, since their services will be required with the Canucks awhile longer yet. Kirk McLean is expected to return from his knee injury shortly after Christmas, while at forward, Russ Courtnall and Scott Walker both remain sidelined with nagging groin problems. For their parts, both Fountain and Bohonos have taken full advantage of their roles. Mike may not have gotten a win in his first-ever start at the Garage against New Jersey, but he did stop 30 shots and was named third star. And while Bure and Mogilny continue to be snake-bitten on many a night, Bohonos has managed to show a goal-scorer's touch and luck around the net and has managed to pick up a couple of goals and a number of chances, most recently working on a line with Martin Gelinas and Mike Ridley. * The Canucks' annual Superskills competition was a fun family event on Dec. 21. Reigning champion Bret Hedican returned from injury in time to participate in the hardest shot contest, where Adrian Aucoin clocked a team-high 98.4 MPH. This year's fastest skater was Markus Naslund, with a time of 13.89 seconds. Corey Hirsch took the goaltending honors for Team Black. Minor hockey players from around the Lower Mainland also participated in the competition alongside the guys from the big squad. * While Vancouver's goalies were quick to insist that they would be unaffected by the newly vigilant enforcement of equipment regulations, both Corey Hirsch and Mike Fountain had to make a few subtle changes. Hirsch says he supports the enforcement because he thinks the league's bigger goalies gained more of an advantage from oversized equipment, but he still spent a month breaking in new pads before finally being forced to wear them in a game situation against Dallas two days before the deadline. Hirsch's old blocker was a centimeter too big, while his pads were a half inch to an inch too wide. Since he made the change, he has allowed just four goals and has been named a star in all three games he's played. Mike Fountain also had to quickly break in new pads as the enforcement kicked in, but says he hasn't had any problems. Team training staff also literally shaved half an inch off Fountain's blocker. Kirk McLean says he has always ensured his equipment was below the legal limit. He had some new pads made this past summer and is sure they're well within the specifications. * The Mother Corporation, Orca Bay, will drag Vancouver a little closer to the realities of hockey in the 1990s when it debuts Canucks' pay-per-view coverage on New Year's Eve against Philadelphia. Three other games will also be offered during the next couple of months in the commercial-free format at a price of $9.95 a game or $34.95 for the four-game package. Orca Bay has also announced that it will suspend operations of its Roller Hockey International team, the Vancouver VooDoo, for the 1997 season. Players will be returned to the RHI re-entry draft for distribution to other teams. No permanent decision has been made about the long-term future of the VooDoo, which has placed six players in the NHL during its brief existence, including ex-Canuck Jose Charbonneau. * From the "Orca Bay in Cyberspace" department, Jyrki Lumme was the latest Canuck to host his own live chat. Lumme was quick to praise veterans Dave Babych and Dana Murzyn for stepping up their leadership roles in Trevor Linden's absence, and fielded a number of questions from Finnish natives curious about the activities and future of one of their favorite sons. * The World Junior Championships kick off right after Christmas in Geneva, Switzerland, and Canucks' prospect Peter Schaefer will be at forward as Canada attempts to win its fifth straight title. Swedish defenseman Matthias Ohlund picked up the best defenseman award at last year's tournament but continues to play with Lulea of Sweden since the Canucks were unable to sign him this summer. ================================================================= Next Issue: January 7, 1997. A new year, a new issue. ================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------- NHL STANDINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------- Eastern Conference NORTHEAST DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD Buffalo 34 18 14 2 38 103 95 9-5-1 9-9-1 Hartford 33 16 11 6 38 104 106 11-6-1 5-5-5 Pittsburgh 34 16 15 3 35 119 112 9-3-2 7-12-1 Boston 33 13 15 5 31 94 114 7-11-4 6-4-1 Montreal 34 12 17 5 29 111 119 8-7-2 4-10-3 Ottawa 31 9 15 7 25 81 97 5-8-4 4-7-3 ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD Philadelphia 36 21 12 3 45 110 86 11-6-1 10-6-2 Florida 34 19 8 7 45 104 80 10-2-4 9-6-3 NY Rangers 37 18 14 5 41 131 100 10-7-2 8-7-3 New Jersey 32 19 11 2 40 89 77 9-5-2 10-6-0 Washington 34 14 18 2 30 91 95 7-7-1 7-11-1 NY Islanders 33 11 14 8 30 87 92 8-7-2 3-7-6 Tampa Bay 32 11 18 3 25 91 103 3-8-3 8-10-0 Western Conference CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD Dallas 34 21 10 3 45 99 78 9-6-2 12-4-1 Detroit 35 18 11 6 42 104 68 11-4-3 7-7-3 St Louis 36 16 19 1 33 101 120 8-10-0 8-9-1 Phoenix 34 14 16 4 32 89 107 7-9-4 7-7-0 Chicago 36 14 18 4 32 88 92 6-11-1 8-7-3 Toronto 35 14 21 0 28 104 123 9-8-0 5-13-0 PACIFIC DIVISION GP W L T PTS GF GA HOME ROAD Colorado 34 19 10 5 43 119 82 11-4-3 8-6-2 Vancouver 32 16 15 1 33 100 98 8-7-0 8-8-1 Edmonton 36 14 18 4 32 114 114 7-8-2 7-10-2 Calgary 36 13 18 5 31 90 102 7-7-2 6-11-3 Anaheim 33 12 16 5 29 97 105 9-9-2 3-7-3 Los Angeles 35 12 19 4 28 93 120 6-7-2 6-12-2 San Jose 33 11 18 4 26 81 109 5-9-2 6-9-2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NHL LEAGUE LEADERS ----------------------------------------------------------------- PLAYER TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG ------------------------- ---- -- --- --- --- --- --- -- -- -- -- --- ---- WAYNE GRETZKY NYR 37 14 38 52 13 8 4 0 1 1 146 9.6 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 30 20 50 13 32 7 2 4 1 139 21.6 MARIO LEMIEUX PIT 33 21 29 50 8 24 8 0 3 0 144 14.6 MATS SUNDIN TOR 35 22 26 48 9 20 3 3 4 0 123 17.9 JOE SAKIC COL 34 14 32 46 2 18 5 1 4 0 155 9.0 TEEMU SELANNE ANA 33 18 26 44 3- 14 3 1 3 1 106 17.0 PETER FORSBERG COL 31 12 31 43 17 20 4 2 2 0 79 15.2 STEVE YZERMAN DET 35 11 30 41 20 28 3 0 2 0 96 11.5 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 19 21 40 16 58 8 2 3 2 139 13.7 SAKU KOIVU MON 30 13 25 38 4 20 4 0 2 0 84 15.5 RON FRANCIS PIT 34 11 27 38 7 4 3 1 1 0 84 13.1 BRIAN LEETCH NYR 37 9 29 38 12 20 5 0 0 0 125 7.2 ZIGMUND PALFFY NYI 32 20 17 37 14 31 4 2 4 0 114 17.5 GEOFF SANDERSON HAR 33 21 15 36 1- 15 6 1 2 1 115 18.3 JOHN LECLAIR PHI 36 20 16 36 12 28 5 0 3 0 146 13.7 MARK RECCHI MON 34 15 21 36 7 38 3 1 2 0 75 20.0 TONY AMONTE CHI 36 22 13 35 19 28 6 1 1 1 104 21.2 MARK MESSIER NYR 31 18 17 35 5 29 4 4 3 0 110 16.4 THEOREN FLEURY CGY 36 16 17 33 5- 48 6 0 1 2 150 10.7 PETR NEDVED PIT 33 16 17 33 4 26 7 1 2 0 82 19.5 BRIAN SAVAGE MON 33 13 20 33 2 27 4 0 0 0 95 13.7 KEITH TKACHUK PHO 34 19 13 32 2- 77 3 2 2 1 125 15.2 BRETT HULL STL 35 15 17 32 11- 4 5 0 3 0 133 11.3 VALERI KAMENSKY COL 29 13 19 32 9 22 2 0 2 1 68 19.1 SANDIS OZOLINSH COL 34 10 22 32 11 36 3 0 0 1 105 9.5 --- INDIVIDUAL LEADERS --- -- GOAL SCORING -- -- ASSISTS -- NAME TEAM GP G NAME TEAM GP A ------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- --- JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 30 WAYNE GRETZKY NYR 37 38 MATS SUNDIN TOR 35 22 JOE SAKIC COL 34 32 TONY AMONTE CHI 36 22 PETER FORSBERG COL 31 31 MARIO LEMIEUX PIT 33 21 STEVE YZERMAN DET 35 30 GEOFF SANDERSON HAR 33 21 MARIO LEMIEUX PIT 33 29 ZIGMUND PALFFY NYI 32 20 BRIAN LEETCH NYR 37 29 JOHN LECLAIR PHI 36 20 RON FRANCIS PIT 34 27 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 19 TEEMU SELANNE ANA 33 26 KEITH TKACHUK PHO 34 19 MATS SUNDIN TOR 35 26 MARK MESSIER NYR 31 18 SAKU KOIVU MON 30 25 TEEMU SELANNE ANA 33 18 PIERRE TURGEON STL 32 23 KEVIN HATCHER PIT 34 23 DOUG GILMOUR TOR 35 23 -- POWER PLAY GOALS -- -- SHORT HANDED GOALS -- NAME TEAM GP PP NAME TEAM GP SH ------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- --- RAY SHEPPARD FLA 32 8 MARK MESSIER NYR 31 4 MARIO LEMIEUX PIT 33 8 ADAM GRAVES NYR 37 4 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 8 MATS SUNDIN TOR 35 3 DANIEL ALFREDSSON OTT 31 7 TODD MARCHANT EDM 36 3 PETR NEDVED PIT 33 7 BRIAN BRADLEY TAM 23 2 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 7 MIKAEL ANDERSSON TAM 27 2 GERMAN TITOV CGY 35 7 RICHARD MATVICHUK DAL 29 2 PAUL KARIYA ANA 20 6 RON SUTTER SAN 29 2 GEOFF SANDERSON HAR 33 6 STEVE HEINZE BOS 30 2 TONY AMONTE CHI 36 6 PATRICK POULIN TAM 30 2 THEOREN FLEURY CGY 36 6 PETER BONDRA WAS 31 2 PETER FORSBERG COL 31 2 TRENT KLATT PHI 32 2 ZIGMUND PALFFY NYI 32 2 BRIAN ROLSTON NJD 32 2 MARTIN RUCINSKY MON 32 2 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 2 MIKE MODANO DAL 34 2 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 2 KEITH TKACHUK PHO 34 2 SERGEI FEDOROV DET 35 2 -- GAME WINNING GOALS -- -- OVERTIME GOALS -- NAME TEAM GP GW NAME TEAM GP GOT ------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- --- MIKE MODANO DAL 34 5 RICK TOCCHET BOS 19 1 JIM CAMPBELL STL 36 5 JODY HULL FLA 24 1 PAUL KARIYA ANA 20 4 JEREMY ROENICK PHO 24 1 DONALD AUDETTE BUF 27 4 DONALD AUDETTE BUF 27 1 WENDEL CLARK TOR 30 4 SHAWN BURR TAM 29 1 ZIGMUND PALFFY NYI 32 4 CHRIS JOSEPH VAN 30 1 MIKE RIDLEY VAN 32 4 SAKU KOIVU MON 30 1 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 4 MIKE SILLINGER VAN 30 1 JOE SAKIC COL 34 4 ESA TIKKANEN VAN 30 1 MATS SUNDIN TOR 35 4 DARREN TURCOTTE SAN 30 1 AARON MILLER COL 18 3 SCOTT NIEDERMAYER NJD 32 1 JEREMY ROENICK PHO 24 3 VIKTOR KOZLOV SAN 33 1 ERIC DAZE CHI 26 3 ROBERT KRON HAR 33 1 ALEXANDER SELIVANOV TAM 30 3 CURTIS LESCHYSHYN HAR 33 1 DARREN TURCOTTE SAN 30 3 BRYAN MCCABE NYI 33 1 JONAS HOGLUND CGY 31 3 ADAM OATES BOS 33 1 KEITH JONES COL 31 3 JEFF SHANTZ CHI 33 1 DEAN MCAMMOND EDM 31 3 MIKE GARTNER PHO 34 1 MARK MESSIER NYR 31 3 MICHAL GROSEK BUF 34 1 BILL GUERIN NJD 32 3 MIKE MODANO DAL 34 1 TRENT KLATT PHI 32 3 DARRIN SHANNON PHO 34 1 JOHN MACLEAN NJD 32 3 KEITH TKACHUK PHO 34 1 BRIAN ROLSTON NJD 32 3 DIXON WARD BUF 34 1 MARTIN RUCINSKY MON 32 3 GERMAN TITOV CGY 35 1 RAY SHEPPARD FLA 32 3 HARRY YORK STL 35 1 KEVIN DINEEN HAR 33 3 ROD BRIND'AMOUR PHI 36 1 MARIO LEMIEUX PIT 33 3 LUC ROBITAILLE NYR 37 1 ADAM OATES BOS 33 3 TEEMU SELANNE ANA 33 3 BRIAN HOLZINGER BUF 34 3 BILL LINDSAY FLA 34 3 MIKE GARTNER PHO 34 3 VYACHESLAV KOZLOV DET 34 3 DARREN MCCARTY DET 34 3 SCOTT MELLANBY FLA 34 3 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 3 PAT VERBEEK DAL 34 3 BRETT HULL STL 35 3 GERMAN TITOV CGY 35 3 HARRY YORK STL 35 3 JOHN LECLAIR PHI 36 3 RYAN SMYTH EDM 36 3 LUC ROBITAILLE NYR 37 3 -- GAME TYING GOALS -- NAME TEAM GP GT ------------------------- ---- -- --- ADAM GRAVES NYR 37 3 ERIC LINDROS PHI 13 2 ALEXANDRE DAIGLE OTT 31 2 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 2 THEOREN FLEURY CGY 36 2 -- SHOTS -- -- FIRST GOALS -- NAME TEAM GP S NAME TEAM GP FG ------------------------- ---- -- --- ------------------------- ---- -- --- JOE SAKIC COL 34 155 BRIAN ROLSTON NJD 32 6 AL MACINNIS STL 35 150 SCOTT MELLANBY FLA 34 5 THEOREN FLEURY CGY 36 150 JOE SAKIC COL 34 5 JASON ARNOTT EDM 36 146 TONY AMONTE CHI 36 5 JOHN LECLAIR PHI 36 146 BRIAN NOONAN NYR 30 4 WAYNE GRETZKY NYR 37 146 DINO CICCARELLI TAM 32 4 MARIO LEMIEUX PIT 33 144 OWEN NOLAN SAN 32 4 SERGEI FEDOROV DET 35 141 PETR NEDVED PIT 33 4 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 139 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 4 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 139 VYACHESLAV KOZLOV DET 34 4 MIKE MODANO DAL 34 134 DEREK PLANTE BUF 34 4 AL MACINNIS STL 35 4 RAY FERRARO LOS 35 4 MATS SUNDIN TOR 35 4 -- SHOOTING PERCENTAGE (MIN 31 SHOTS) -- NAME TEAM GP G S PCTG ------------------------- ---- -- --- --- ---- MIKE RIDLEY VAN 32 10 32 31.3 NIKLAS SUNDSTROM NYR 37 15 53 28.3 MIROSLAV SATAN EDM 32 10 38 26.3 RAY FERRARO LOS 35 14 55 25.5 MARKUS NASLUND VAN 31 10 42 23.8 STEPHANE MATTEAU STL 31 10 42 23.8 DANIEL GONEAU NYR 37 10 43 23.3 WARREN RYCHEL ANA 32 7 31 22.6 ANDREAS DACKELL OTT 31 7 32 21.9 JAROMIR JAGR PIT 34 30 139 21.6 TONY AMONTE CHI 36 22 104 21.2 ERIC LINDROS PHI 13 9 43 20.9 MARIUSZ CZERKAWSKI EDM 32 13 63 20.6 MATTHEW BARNABY BUF 26 9 44 20.5 ALEXANDER MOGILNY VAN 30 15 75 20.0 MARK RECCHI MON 34 15 75 20.0 JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER DAL 34 9 45 20.0 ANDREI KOVALENKO EDM 35 16 82 19.5 PETR NEDVED PIT 33 16 82 19.5 GREG ADAMS DAL 34 15 78 19.2 VALERI KAMENSKY COL 29 13 68 19.1 JEFF O'NEILL HAR 30 10 53 18.9 REM MURRAY EDM 36 7 37 18.9 DEREK PLANTE BUF 34 16 86 18.6 STEPHANE RICHER MON 28 12 65 18.5 ERIC LACROIX COL 34 10 54 18.5 -- PLUS/MINUS -- NAME TEAM GP +/- ------------------------- ---- -- --- STEVE YZERMAN DET 35 20 TONY AMONTE CHI 36 19 VLADIMIR KONSTANTINOV DET 32 18 MIKE MODANO DAL 34 17 PETER FORSBERG COL 31 17 VYACHESLAV KOZLOV DET 34 16 BRENDAN SHANAHAN DET 34 16 ALEXANDER KARPOVTSEV NYR 36 15 KEVIN HATCHER PIT 34 15 JERE LEHTINEN DAL 34 15 DAVE ANDREYCHUK NJD 32 15 VIACHESLAV FETISOV DET 27 15 --- GOALTENDING LEADERS --- -- GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE -- (MIN 10 GP) GOALTENDER TEAM GP GA AVG ------------------------- ---- -- --- ----- CHRIS OSGOOD DET 25 40 1.69 MIKE DUNHAM NJD 11 12 1.86 ANDY MOOG DAL 26 50 2.04 JEFF HACKETT CHI 10 21 2.09 MARTIN BRODEUR NJD 25 50 2.13 RON HEXTALL PHI 26 53 2.16 JOHN VANBIESBROUCK FLA 24 51 2.20 GLENN HEALY NYR 11 24 2.23 MARK FITZPATRICK FLA 15 26 2.25 PATRICK ROY COL 29 68 2.34 -- WINS -- GOALTENDER TEAM GP W L T ------------------------- ---- --- -- -- -- PATRICK ROY COL 29 18 7 4 DOMINIK HASEK BUF 32 18 12 2 RON HEXTALL PHI 26 17 7 1 ANDY MOOG DAL 26 16 6 2 MIKE RICHTER NYR 27 16 9 2 MARTIN BRODEUR NJD 25 15 7 2 GRANT FUHR STL 30 15 13 1 CURTIS JOSEPH EDM 32 13 14 4 CHRIS OSGOOD DET 25 12 6 5 JOHN VANBIESBROUCK FLA 24 12 6 5 FELIX POTVIN TOR 32 12 18 0 -- SAVE PERCENTAGE -- GOALTENDER TEAM GP GA SA SPCTG ------------------------- ---- --- --- ---- ----- ROMAN TUREK DAL 1 1 26 .962 CRAIG BILLINGTON COL 6 8 131 .939 KEVIN HODSON DET 4 5 73 .932 CHRIS OSGOOD DET 25 40 583 .931 MIKE DUNHAM NJD 11 12 171 .930 JEFF HACKETT CHI 10 21 294 .929 PATRICK LALIME PIT 7 11 149 .926 MARK FITZPATRICK FLA 15 26 346 .925 JOHN VANBIESBROUCK FLA 24 51 656 .922 DOMINIK HASEK BUF 32 82 1037 .921 -- SHUTOUTS -- GOALTENDER TEAM GP SO W L T ------------------------- ---- --- -- -- -- -- PATRICK ROY COL 29 5 18 7 4 CHRIS OSGOOD DET 25 4 12 6 5 DOMINIK HASEK BUF 32 4 18 12 2 CURTIS JOSEPH EDM 32 4 13 14 4 GUY HEBERT ANA 23 3 8 9 5 RON HEXTALL PHI 26 3 17 7 1 ANDY MOOG DAL 26 3 16 6 2 GARTH SNOW PHI 13 2 4 5 2 COREY SCHWAB TAM 18 2 6 9 1 COREY HIRSCH VAN 20 2 9 9 1 STEPHANE FISET LOS 21 2 5 13 3 TREVOR KIDD CGY 21 2 7 10 3 TOMMY SALO NYI 22 2 8 8 4 MARTIN BRODEUR NJD 25 2 15 7 2 KEN WREGGET PIT 26 2 11 10 3 BILL RANFORD BOS 27 2 11 10 5 MIKE RICHTER NYR 27 2 16 9 2 ============================================================================== lcsguidetohockeylcsguidetohockeylcsguidetohockeylcsguidetohockeylcsguidetohock ==============================================================================