Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
March 28, 2006
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Canucks slipping without Salo, Jovo
STRETCH DRIVE The most feared word in Vancouver during the stretch run is ‘indefinite.’ That’s the status of two of their top blueliners, Ed Jovanovski and Sami Salo. Both are out with injuries with no return date set. Without the key pair, the Canucks began a freefall down the Western Conference standings and, rather than compete for the Northwest Division title, found themselves in a battle just to make the playoffs. Jovanovski (abdominal) has played just one full game since Jan. 1, while Salo tore muscles in his right shoulder at the Olympics. The Canucks won just two of seven games after the Olympics (2-4-1) and even the trade deadline additions of Keith Carney and Eric Weinrich couldn’t halt the slide. Vancouver’s special teams have suffered greatly as Jovanovski and Salo play key minutes…
Elements of Italy affect Rangers’ play
STRETCH DRIVE The Rangers are feeling the impact of the Olympics. That’s not surprising, given seven Blueshirts advanced to the medal round in Turin and thus were fatigued upon their return to the NHL. Coach Tom Renney had mapped his season-long schedule in September with allowances for the Olympics (the Rangers almost never practice on Sunday and rarely skate more than once if they’re off two days in a row). But now he faces the challenge of keeping his team both fresh and sharp down the stretch. Jaromir Jagr’s health is, of course, of primary concern. Jagr, who had been bothered by a sore groin most of the season, reinjured it during the bronze-medal game and then sustained a hip injury versus Atlanta March 12. It’s likely no coincidence that game was…
CROSSWORD
ACROSS 1 Famed coach ___ Bowman 4 Punch ___ led the Leafs to their last Cup 9 They’ve twice lost the Cup final (and have never won it) 10 ___ Regehr was in Turin 11 In Minnesota, they were known as the ___ Stars 12 The ‘O’ in OHL 13 A ___ is an attempt to score 15 Shade of blue worn by the Sharks 18 Eric ___ is among Canada’s all-time Olympic scoring leaders 21 Glendale is Phoenix’s 23 Sending the puck the length of the rink 24 There’s no NHL ___-___ Game because of the Olympics 25 Nickname of St. Louis’s first NHL entry 26 Cristobal Huet’s homeland DOWN 1 Where Ilya Kovalchuk finished among NHL scorers in 2003-04 2 Ed Snider is ___ in Philadelphia 3 Coyotes coach recently implicated in a gambling scandal 5 Deserve 6 The Flames are one-half of ‘The Battle of ___’ 7 Slap…
Loss of Cole hurts despite adding stars
STRETCH DRIVE No one can accuse the Hurricanes of standing pat. They picked up Doug Weight long before the trade deadline and then outbid other contenders for Mark Recchi. But the real issue is the subtraction of Erik Cole. When Cole broke a vertebra in his neck after a hit from behind by Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik, the Canes lost their third-leading scorer and a player who was changing games with his speed and power. “There’s no question we’re going to miss Erik,” said coach Peter Laviolette, whose team won once in its first four games without Cole. Still, Recchi and Weight are more than capable of helping to fill that void. After a slow start, Weight came alive with three goals and six points in a three-game span. “I feel like I’ve had a lot…
Made possible with the support of
